Shooting for the wrong target?: A reassessment of the international education goals for sub-Saharan Africa

The international education goals enshrined in the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have had a significant impact in sub-Saharan African countries. Are they likely to achieve the varied developmental roles ascribed to education, such as poverty reduction, improvements in child mortality, fertility decrease, increases in tax collection and rising economic growth? While several authors have questioned whether education generally can fulfil its ‘magic bullet’ role, this article will focus on some specific myths
underlying the education MDGs. Two myths are of particular concern. First, these MDGs focus on universal primary education (UPE), ignoring what is known about the benefits of education in sub-Saharan African countries. Second, the
MDG education goals are predicated on the concept of ‘human capital’, which assumes that investment in education can be treated like investment in physical capital and that it will lead to rising worker productivity and economic growth.
However, the human capital approach is subject to fundamental weaknesses and is not a useful guide for the way that educational improvements are likely to impact on economic growth in African economies.