Peace Corps language teachersOne of the language teachers here was telling me about his education and the state of higher ed in Niger. He said that because of IMF/World Bank requirements, Niger is trying to discourage people from pursuing education past grade 6, and rather wants them to enter the workforce early. As a result, people with higher education are having a harder time finding appropriate work. There just isn't a lot of energy put into developing the kinds of jobs for the educated work force. I don't understand the nuts and bolts of this, nor do I understand the IMF/World Bank perspective, but I definitely understand my friend's concern. He has a master's degree in geophysics from a college in the Ivory Coast, and he wants to work in eastern Niger doing petroleum surveying/extraction. You can imagine, we had a lot if interesting conversations/views to share about petroleum-related topics and enviromental rights (ala Ecuador). Anyway he is an outstanding teacher, fluent in at least four languages, and he's going to apply for a Fulbright to study in the US. and get a PhD in geophysics.
No comments:
Post a Comment