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International Review of EducationJournal of Lifelong Learning ISSN 0020-8566 Int Rev EducDOI 10.1007/s11159-015-9520-y

Lifelong learning as an instrument forhuman capital development in Benin

Idowu Biao

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ORIGINAL PAPER

Lifelong learning as an instrument for human capitaldevelopment in Benin

Idowu Biao1

� Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2015

Abstract A review of the Benin education system shows that it is still heavily

school-based. Yet, a high level of wastage is currently being recorded at school level

(about 50% success rate at primary level, about 40% success rate at high school

level and about 1% enrolment rate of qualified candidates and success rate at tertiary

level), leading to the unintentional creation of a large population of unskilled and

unproductive youths and adults. Integrated education systems which hold great

potential and opportunities for both initial and continuing education remain hardly

explored and virtually untapped. Yet, the challenges of the 21st century are such

that only the unveiling and continuous cultivation of multi-faceted human capital

can help individual citizens lead both a productive and fulfilled life. Formal edu-

cation alone or non-formal education alone, irrespective of how well each is

delivered, is no longer sufficient in facing up to the multifarious challenges of the

21st century. If education is to serve Benin beneficially in this century, the current

national system of education must be reoriented to free up citizens’ human capital

through the implementation of an integrated educational system. This article pro-

poses a new national education system which is rooted in the concept of lifelong

learning and combines formal and non-formal systems of education for Benin.

Keywords Lifelong learning � Human capital � Human capital development �Proposed education system � Benin

Resume L’apprentissage tout au long de la vie, instrument de developpement du

capital humain au Benin – Une etude menee sur le systeme educatif beninois revele

que celui-ci s’appuie encore fortement sur l’enseignement scolaire. Cependant, le

taux eleve d’abandons actuellement enregistre par les etablissements (taux de succes

& Idowu Biao

idowubiao2014@gmail.com

1 Department of Adult Education, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

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DOI 10.1007/s11159-015-9520-y

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d’environ 50 % au niveau primaire, 40 % au niveau secondaire, taux d’inscription

de candidats qualifies et de succes de 1 % au niveau universitaire) engendre l’ap-

parition non desiree d’une importante population de jeunes et d’adultes non qualifies

et improductifs. Les systemes educatifs integres, qui renferment de vastes potentiels

et opportunites pour l’education initiale et continue, sont encore a peine explores et

quasiment inexploites. Pourtant, les defis du XXIe siecle sont tels que seule une

culture revelatrice et permanente d’un capital humain aux multiples facettes peut

aider chaque citoyen a mener une vie a la fois productive et epanouie. L’education

formelle a elle seule, ou l’enseignement non formel a lui seul, independamment de

la qualite de leur mise en œuvre, ne sont plus suffisants pour faire face aux nom-

breux defis du XXIe siecle. Pour que l’education puisse etre salutaire au Benin au

cours de ce siecle, le systeme educatif national actuel doit etre reoriente pour liberer

le capital humain des citoyens par le deploiement d’un systeme educatif integre.

L’auteur de cet article propose un nouveau systeme educatif national ancre dans le

concept de l’apprentissage tout au long de la vie et associant les systemes d’edu-

cation formelle et non formelle du pays.

Introduction

Education in general and learning in particular have been recognised over the ages

as tools for development and emancipation because they tend to free up human

potential and innate abilities which in turn enable individuals to transform their

environment in a beneficial way. Early in its existence, Benin showed a keen

realisation of this fact. Since its political independence in 1960, this West African

country has used education as a tool for social, cultural and economic development.

In addition, it has used its educated manpower as an export commodity especially

within Francophone African countries (Hough 1989).

However, more than half a century has gone by since the advent of Benin’s

independence, and the country’s education, despite the lowering of quality it

experienced during national economic downturns of the 1990s and mid-2000s,

continues to serve the citizenry as best it can. Like all modern African nation-states,

Benin has laid emphasis on formal education (the school system). Consequently,

during the colonial era and much of the political independence period, the school

system held sway within this country and produced persons with enviable

knowledge who were looked upon as ‘‘schooled and cultured’’ individuals. Even

the transitory revolutionary era of 1972–90 which sought to introduce a relatively

large dose of non-formal education in the country did not succeed in diminishing

appetite, investment and love for formal education.

Meanwhile, under the impulse of the dynamics of change, the world has

redefined education and its outcome especially within the last two and a half

decades (Delors 2013). Specifically, it has been suggested that learning at school is

neither able to firmly keep people within national mainstream economic lives nor

equip them with the life skills and critical faculties which are needed for success in

the 21st century (ibid.). Not all the ends which pre-1990 education served are still

relevant today (Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2002; Singh 1991). Those which

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still remain relevant are being tuned to help solve the issues which have arisen in the

21st century. Indeed the modes and processes of education employed up until the

end of the 1980s have now been significantly modified so as to make them more

suited for use in modern times (Boshier 2010; Delors 1998). Two relevant issues in

the current century are that

(1) all societies must necessarily become learning societies1 in order to keep up

with the dynamics of the century; and

(2) one learning mode which has the greatest potential to support such learning

societies is lifelong learning (Lima 2010; Boshier 2010).

The aims of this paper are to review Benin’s current educational system and to

propose an integrated system of education for this country which is both based on

the concept of lifelong learning and relevant to the exigencies of the century.

Lifelong learning

Within the conceptual framework of life after life, lifelong learning is learning that

begins in the womb and extends beyond the grave. However, for all practical

purposes, lifelong learning is usually conceived as learning that begins from the

time a person is conscious enough to learn (pre-school age) and ends with death

(Walters et al. 2014; Carneiro 2013; Delors 2013; Preece 2011). As such, it is

learning which spans the domains of informal, non-formal and formal education. It

is learning which takes into account and uses the fora of both the type of informal

education (learning within the club environment) made popular by Malcolm

Knowles (1989) and the generally accepted notion of informal education

(accidental, unplanned and/or home-based). In addition to the informal aspect,

lifelong learning also possesses its aspects of non-formal education (planned but

flexible) and formal education (planned but with rigid safeguards). On top of that,

lifelong learning makes it possible to renew one’s knowledge and to catch up on

latest developments in all aspects of human endeavours and living.

Yet, as important as the three platforms (informal, non-formal and formal

education) of lifelong learning appear to be, they neither constitute the factor which

defines the great expectations lifelong learning is thought to fulfil nor the catalyst of

the process capable of leading to these expectations. Rather, the decisive factor is

the ability to create and connect opportunities for informal, non-formal and formal

education and learning in such a way as to unfetter skills, information and

knowledge which ultimately prove to be useful and useable at relevant periods of an

individual’s life for the purpose of furthering and/or improving livelihood and well-

being.

Are conditions in Benin conducive to a lifelong learning framework? If the

answer is yes, would it be disposed to realise that which is expected of it? Such

expectations include human capital development! and ultimately the proof that

1 A learning society is a society which promotes and facilitates continuous learning, active citizenship

and social well-being.

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human capital development has taken place. In the simplest of renditions, human

capital means the skills resident within an individual, and human capital

development implies an ongoing process of education. However, this education

we are talking about is only a catalyst or an instrument which stimulates and brings

to life the dormant capacities and capabilities of an individual. If you consider each

individual as a rough diamond which remains hidden, covered with earth and all

imaginable dirt, education serves as the tool which removes the earth and dirt from

around the diamond (the individual) and enables it to reveal its true worth in all its

splendour. That true worth and those splendid qualities freed up by education

constitute the ‘‘capital’’.

Unlike ‘‘monetary capital’’ (money) stashed away in banks, this capital is derived

from dormant human talents and ideas and ultimately becomes an invaluable tool for

solving social, economic, political, cultural and psychological problems of immea-

surable proportions (Hartog and Van den Brink 2007; Ben-Porath et al. 2014).

But which kind of education stimulates and ultimately reveals human capital?

Are the quantity and quality of exposed human capital dependent on the kinds of

education offered? Even the most basic of all education (traditional literacy

education) can lead to some amount of human capital development through the

development of the skills of reading, writing and numeracy. However, the dynamics

of time (especially in the field of technological innovations) does alter the nature of

skills, knowledge and attitudes needed in societies. Consequently, the establishment

of learning societies within which lifelong learning may be employed as strategy has

become imperative. This strategy can not only serve to keep abreast with changes

happening at ever-increasing speed but also to develop in all citizens the zest to

learn on a continuous basis, providing them with flexibility in acquiring some

amount of renewable knowledge necessary to master all aspects of today’s

community life (Walters 2010; Eldred 2010).

Education in Benin

Benin is a Francophone West African country which attained independence on 1

August 1960. It occupies a land area of 43,483 square miles2 and in 2014 had a

population of about 11 million people (World Bank 2015). The story of modern

education in Benin must necessarily be explored across four eras, namely the

colonial period, the first decade of political independence, the two decades of the

Marxist-Leninist Revolution and the 25 years succeeding the period of the

Revolution.

By the 19th century, modern education was already firmly implanted in Benin. Its

origins however can be traced to both the slave trade and the activities of European

missionaries within the Bight of Benin during the 17th century AD (Araujo 2011;

Reddie 2007). It was further developed throughout the French colonial period,

recording its greatest expansion within the last decade leading to independence in

1960 (Mignanwande 2012).

2 112,620 square kilometres.

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The first decade (1960–70) of political independence continued to replicate

colonial educational policy within the new nation with greater development in

secondary and tertiary education. The quality of education was improved across all

segments (especially primary and secondary education) through the establishment

of numerous education inspection offices throughout the country. In addition to

numerous scholarships which made it possible for Benin citizens to study and train

outside Benin, a number of cultural, technical and scientific bilateral agreements

between France and Dahomey (renamed Benin in 1975), facilitated the establish-

ment of no less than three tertiary institutions3 in the country during this period

(Mignanwande 2012).

The advent of the Marxist-Leninist era (1972–1989) which was instituted by a

group of young military officers, occurred at a time marked by a series of

problematic educational reforms (one of which is referred to as the ‘‘Grossetete’’

reform)4 which threatened to throw the whole country into turmoil through

threatened actions of trade unions, student unions and students’ parents associations.

On coming to power in 1972, the military officers shelved the Grossetete reform and

promulgated the ‘‘Ecole Nouvelle’’ [New School] educational reform programme.

The Ecole Nouvelle reform programme, apart from seeking to make all citizens

politically conscious entities, offered to take citizens through three levels of

education (pre-tertiary, tertiary and continuing education levels) (Gomez 1977).

Pre-tertiary education was dispensed in nursery, primary, secondary and vocational

schools. Tertiary education was obtained in universities and specialised schools,

while continuing education was reserved for workers who needed to upgrade their

skills and/or knowledge and was run as a non-formal education programme in

specially designated workshops and learning environments (ibid.). However, the

restlessness of the population coupled with the demise of the socialist bloc in 1989

eventually compelled the Beninese government to abandon its Marxist-Leninist

stand and ‘‘new school’’ education policy, replacing it with a neo-liberal type of

governance and a more secular type of education (Vlakpa 2015; Ronen 2013).

Following the review of the National Policy on Education, a 6–4–3–3–4 system

of education (6 years of primary education, 4 of junior high school, 3 of senior high

school, 3 of vocational centres and 4 of university education leading to a Masters

degree) was introduced in 1991 (Republic of Benin 1992). About a quarter of a

century later, students’ enrolment in Benin’s primary and (lower and upper)

secondary schools stood at 100 per cent and 68 per cent respectively (World Bank

Group 2014; Factfish 2014). However, class attendance rates hovered around 70 per

cent in primary schools and around 45 per cent in secondary schools (UNICEF

3 The Universite du Dahomey was founded in 1970 and renamed Universite Nationale du Benin (UNB)

in 1975, Its main campus is the Universite d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Cotonou. The other two tertiary

institutions were l’Institut d’Enseignement Superieur (for the study of Sciences), founded in 1965, and

The Centre d’Apprentissage Agricole, founded in 1963.4 The Grossetete Dossou-Yovo reform (named after the French education inspector Andre Grossetete and

Dahomey’s then Minister of Education Edmond Dossou-Yovo) ‘‘intended to break with the colonial

education system by giving priority to educational expansion […]. At secondary education level, the

contentious decision to limit the lycees to high school status, by removing the lower level, sparked the

resistance of lycee students’’ (Yessoufou 2011, p. 53).

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2014). The survival rate to the last primary school grade was 56 per cent (ibid.)

while that of the last secondary school grade lay below the 45 per cent mark (in

terms of class attendance rate). Only 1 per cent of gross enrolment (enrolment of

qualified candidates) and rate of success were achieved respectively at the higher

education level during the period under review (INHEA 2014), and these rates have

not really ever been significantly altered.

Both the major 1991 and the minor 2007 education reforms concerning the

abolition of school fees at primary school level and the introduction of vocational

re-training [conversion aux metiers] of university and secondary school graduates

remain deficient in a few important learning contents relevant to the times. Since

school-based national vocational training was found to be too bookish and slow in

responding to adjustments in the field and to social shocks (inability to quickly fill

vocational positions of persons who may have been transferred to another location

or passed away), a new approach to national vocational training was introduced in

2007 which required persons who had been successful or semi-successful at higher

or secondary education levels to undergo a predominantly practical vocational

training of their choice (Republic of Benin 2007). While this new approach to

vocational training is commendable, the learning contents currently lack not only

such vital and relevant curriculum contents as Information Communication

Technologies (ICTs) (Engel et al. 2011; Agyeman 2007) but also fail to teach the

use of social media in entrepreneurship, export opportunities and Benin business

ecology.

No nation can do away with a school system. However, each nation must

approach the running of its system of education with circumspection and a full

understanding of its characteristics and limitations. For example, since the running

costs of a school system are high, only wealthy nations of the global North are able

to make a success of it (UNICEF 2011). This is why the wisdom of Benin’s untiring

efforts in seeking workable complements to the school system through reforms and

the devising of relevant learning sub-systems is commendable.

However, lifelong learning is more than just one learning programme such as

vocational education or entrepreneurial education and the like. It is both an ongoing

process and the activity of building a mega-educational structure (i.e. a learning

society) within which individuals, groups of individuals sharing similar or divergent

interests and whole nations may shop for learning opportunities in accordance with

their inclinations, desires and the dictates of the times. As stated earlier, reflecting a

holistic approach to education, this mega-educational structure necessarily accom-

modates informal, non-formal and formal platforms.

While the ultimate good sought from national education systems is national

socio-economic development and well-being, the current Beninese school system

and a few vocational educational programmes are not proving able to prepare the

country’s fast-growing youth population for employment and productive engage-

ment. Benin’s population rose from 2.4 million in 1960 to about 11 million in 2014,

with the current proportion of persons aged 15–50 years at about 61 per cent (World

Bank 2015). This age bracket of 15–50 years is relevant because its members are

generally considered to constitute the active and productive citizens of any country.

These people therefore need both relevant education and employment to enable

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them to contribute their productive input to the developmental advancement of their

country.

Whereas within half a century, Benin’s population grew about fivefold, the

quantity and quality of its educational institutions and employment sectors grew

only minimally. With very few primary and secondary schools (the exact number

was not recorded and is therefore not known) and three tertiary institutions at

independence (Mignanwande 2012), Benin now has 112 primary schools, 61

secondary schools and 24 tertiary institutions (2 public universities, 7 private

universities, 5 vocational schools and 10 colleges of education) (Republique du

Benin 2014), sufficiently equipped to successfully release only 50 per cent, 45 per

cent and 1 per cent of its gross population of primary, secondary and tertiary

institutional learners respectively (World Bank Group 2014; INHEA 2014). The

adult literacy rate is 29 per cent (UNICEF 2014). The first major step aiming to

stimulate entrepreneurship activities in the country was taken by the Beninese

government only in May 2015 (IFC 2015). A high illiteracy rate concerning

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is pervasive throughout Benin,

since little is being done to promote digital know-how (Agyeman 2007). The kind of

liberal education which used to produce cultured and highly informed citizens

(Amedzero 2004) is now dead as a result of a concentration on the struggle for

survival engendered by a high level of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment,

particularly among tertiary institutions’ graduates, is gradually becoming a national

concern (AAU 2013). The majority of Benin citizens hold a job in agriculture, the

civil service and trading respectively. While the largest number of these workers are

found within the agricultural sector, the civil service and trading sectors share the

remaining population of workers in a 2 to 1 ratio respectively.

Consequently, apart from recording a high dropout figure at the formal education

level, numerous Beninese educational and employment sectors are either underper-

forming or gradually being obliterated under the force of inaction. Yet, a typology of

education does exist which is capable of not only expanding opportunities within the

existing three main sectors of employment but also increasing new learning and

employment opportunities. For example, youths are predisposed to showing both

interest and ability in tradeswhichmay not be considered traditional (crafts and hands-

on technologies, tourism, hospitality industry, mountain climbing, surfing, skating,

etc.) in Africa in general and Benin in particular. The mere show of interest in these

non-traditional trades by youths tends to bring about a widened spectrum and field of

available employment opportunities in any country and is ultimately favourable for

attracting foreign direct investment to fund the development of these new areas of

productive activities. But it is the existence of a lifelong learning structure and not the

current narrow and micro-managed educational system which can expose youths to

non-traditional employment opportunities in Benin.

While the setting up of national lifelong learning projects usually tends to begin

with reliance on local resources with a view to addressing issues of relevance and

speed in access to educational returns, it is inconceivable that any nation, being part of

an increasingly globalised world, can succeed in relying solely on local resources

when building a lifelong learning project. Therefore, having tried out massive locally

initiated educational reforms for many years (according to Sarah Fichner [2009], the

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only recent major reform which involved the international community between

1990–94was derailed whenUSAID tried to influence the course of the reform through

the supply of inordinately huge funds),5 the time has come to consider shopping for

ideas for future reforms on the international scene for the purpose of not onlywidening

access to information but also for the purpose of opening up new fields of employment

opportunities. The establishment of a national lifelong learning project is particularly

amenable to the practice of shopping for reform orientations on the international scene

because one of the goals of lifelong learning is to produce world citizens who are

equipped to adapt to varying geopolitical and socio-economic conditions. Three

current international development agendas or phenomenamay offer guidance toBenin

in its quest to establish a national lifelong learning policy and project. These agendas

or phenomenamight be labelled ‘‘sustainable development’’, ‘‘humanmigration’’ and

‘‘the millennium development goals’’.

Education and international development agendas

These three international development agendas or phenomena (‘‘sustainable

development’’, ‘‘human migration’’ and ‘‘the millennium development goals’’)

have introduced learning themes and models which may also be useful for enriching

national educational designs.

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is a process of natural resource consumption which makes

it possible for the current generation to provide for its needs in terms of

environmental resources in such a way as to enable future generations to have more

than enough environmental resources to satisfy their own needs during their own

lifetime (Brundtland 1987).

The concept of ‘‘sustainable development’’ was formulated by the United Nations

in 1987 (Brundtland 1987) and at first laid emphasis on the environment and

environmental resources. However, more aspects of sustainable development have

been uncovered since. For example, it is now accepted that,

Sustainable Development is a broad and interdisciplinary field with many niche

areas. … this concept has often blurred the lines artificially drawn between

disciplines and ideologies, and has brought stakeholders across a wide spectrum

together to discuss our current path of development and the future of our society

and its place within nature (The Sustainable Leader 2013).

5 Fichner is referring to the New Study Programmes (NSP) reform, ‘‘a widely and controversially

discussed topic in Benin’’ (Fichner 2009, p. 2). ‘‘The aim of the reform was nothing less than the

development of an education system that was able to produce a new type of citizen: autonomous, self-

dependent and reflective. But the reform context was not one of autonomy but of reliance on foreign

financial and technical aid. The fact that USAID, a new donor in the Beninese arena of foreign assistance,

became the primary supporter of the reform programme, and North America its main source for

pedagogical inspiration, led to fierce debates about geopolitical factors in development cooperation’’

(ibid., p. 29).

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Therefore, beyond the initial emphasis on the environment, other consumption

styles and ways of using resources taken up by the discussion of sustainable

development include social, economic, political and cultural dimensions within the

framework of modern living (Powell et al. 2011). For example, sustainable

development starts with education and learning and ends with improved knowledge

which ultimately alters behaviours towards environmental, social and economic

resource consumption and in terms of politics and culture. Specifically, national

education strategies may benefit from the following four main steps in promoting

sustainable development:

(1) identification and outlining of community/society sustainability goals;

(2) analysis of the manner in which the current educational model aligns with

community sustainability goals;

(3) suggestion of alternative educational models which align with identified

community sustainability goals; and

(4) re-orientation of the whole society education system towards achieving

sustainability in all aspects of life (UNESCO 2005).

Human migration

Human migration is a process whereby an individual or groups of persons move

from one place to another, for a variety of reasons. These places (from where they

move and where they move to) may be situated either within or beyond the borders

of their countries. When the movement happens within the borders of one’s country,

such migration is referred to as internal migration while international migration is

migration which happens across international borders. Irrespective of the type,

migration has generally been described as a beneficial social phenomenon both for

the countries/places of origin and destination countries/places (Swing 2011),

although reservations apply in cases of massive human migration.

Human migration is driven by a number of factors including the desire to

improve personal economy or live in a more serene and trouble-free environment.

Within the context of education, the benefits of human migration are influenced and

to some extent determined by the amount and type of education and training a

potential migrant possesses prior to migration. Such an education may indicate both

the potential service which the migrant may render to his/her host country and the

migrant’s readiness and ability to adjust his/her current education to suit future

positions and services.

Most education systems will benefit from the availability of information on the

type of education and training citizens need to have acquired before leaving their

countries in order to be welcomed as migrants in specific parts of the world.

Millennium development goals

The United Nations eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs; UN 2000), the

most elaborate development agenda of the 21st century, constitute another

scheme of human development which has just run its first course (2000–2015). A

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number of success stories exist with regard to the MDGs, such as, for example,

successful halving of extreme poverty rates in sub-Saharan Africa; increased basic

education enrolment; improved health of pregnant women; reduction in infant

mortality; greater access to potable water; etc. (UNMC 2012). Yet, in spite of these

commendable achievements,

Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world in which the total number

of poor people has increased, more than doubling to 414 million in 2010 from

three decades earlier. The rate of extreme poverty dropped to 48% in 2010

from 51% in 1981. But the tiny improvement compared with other regions

meant that 34% of the world’s extreme-poor population came from Sub-

Saharan Africa in 2010. In 1981, it was 11% (Reddy 2013, p. 1).

In the face of disappointing results such as this one and other less successful results

around the globe, the post-2015 MDG project has just been launched, appropriately

labelled ‘‘Sustainable Development Goals’’ (SDGs; UN 2015). The post-2015

project now includes 17 goals: inclusive growth for dignified livelihoods and

adequate standards of living; sufficient food and water for active living; appropriate

education and skills for productive participation in society; good health for the best

possible physical and mental well-being; security for ensuring freedom from

violence; etc.6 as well as numerous targets and an adequate number of indicators

(CIGI 2012).

Both the previous 8 millennium development goals and the current 17 post-2015

goals were and are rooted in one form of education or another. Besides the call for

the reinvigoration of the promotion of already existing forms of education (primary

education, adult education, health education, etc.), new typologies of education such

as ‘‘learning to be free’’ (Walters et al. 2014), ‘‘learning to know’’ and ‘‘learning to

live together’’ (Delors 2013), learning to build and live in EcCoWell cities (Biao

et al. 2013; Kearns 2012) and ‘‘learning to die well’’ (Biao 2013) have been

suggested in order to facilitate the promotion and implementation of specific social,

economic and cultural projects which are relevant to the realities of the 21st century.

One specific characteristic which underlies the nature of the education

recommended as being supportive of recent international development agendas is

the eclectic shape and content of such an education. Most development agendas are

better supported and promoted by a combination of learning acquired within as well

as outside of school under a multiplicity of circumstances and situations. In addition

to the learning garnered from the operationalisation of development projects

themselves, an individual tends to be engaged in an ongoing process of education as

s/he moves through life. This scenario ultimately creates the impression that in order

to live happily and contentedly in the current world environment, an individual and/

or society needs to keep participating not only in a myriad of development projects

6 The official icons for the 17 SDGs are labelled as follows: (1) no poverty; (2) zero hunger; (3) good

health and well-being; (4) quality education; (5) gender equality; (6) clean water and sanitation; (7)

affordable and clean energy; (8) decent work and economic growth; (9) industry, innovation and

infrastructure; (10) reduced inequalities; (11) sustainable cities and communities; (12) responsible

consumption and production; (13) climate action; (14) life below water; (15) life on land; (16) peace,

justice and strong institutions; and (17) partnerships for the goals (UN 2015).

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and programmes, s/he/it also needs to keep up this practice throughout a lifetime.

This is suggestive of a kind of lifelong learning project.

While the concept of ‘‘lifelong learning’’ was derived from an older concept

‘‘lifelong education’’ which is traceable to antiquity, it was not extensively

discussed before the early 20th century.

The idea of lifelong education was first fully articulated in this century by

Basil Yeaxlee (1929). He, along with Eduard Lindeman (1926) provided an

intellectual basis for a comprehensive understanding of education as a

continuing aspect of everyday life. In this, they touched upon various

continental traditions such as the French notion of education permanente and

drew upon developments within adult education within Britain and North

America. In more recent years we have seen a shift into discussion of lifelong

learning (UNESCO 1997).

Whereas ‘‘lifelong education’’ implies that some guidance and support (supply of

curricula, teachers/facilitators and infrastructure) are provided to learners through

some fairly formalised frame for the purpose of learning throughout life, ‘‘lifelong

learning’’ switches the perspective to that of the learner, laying emphasis on the fact

that the learner him/herself, relying on his/her own initiative, selects and utilises

learning opportunities from among those existing around him/her. Within the

construct, spirit and practice of lifelong learning, the learner is expected to create

learning opportunities for him/herself where they do not exist around him/her when

the need for learning arises.

The concept of ‘‘lifelong learning’’ was first made popular by the work of Edgar

Faure who headed the International Commission on the Development of Education

which presented a report to UNESCO (Faure et al. 1972). The report, as Faure puts

it in his cover letter to Rene Maheu, UNESCO’s Director-General at the time, is

a critical reflection by men of different origins and background, seeking, in

complete independence and objectivity, for over-all solutions to the major

problems involved in the development of education in a changing universe

(ibid., p. v).

The authors outlined the fact that the learning needs of the individual within a fast-

moving dynamic world cannot always wait for the slow and sluggish process in

which education systems usually adjust to new social, economic, cultural and

environmental realities. At about the same time, the ‘‘deschoolers’’ such as Ivan

Illich (1971), Everett Reimer (1971) and even Philip Coombs (1974; 1985)

advocated alternative routes to knowledge acquisition and learning, arguing that

school is either dead or in crisis.

Since the publication of the Faure report, many nations have tried to supplement

their regular public educational provision with other innovative learning opportu-

nities (such as adult basic education, entrepreneurship programmes, learning city

initiatives, etc.) which enable scores of citizens to learn according to their needs and

at their own pace. To achieve this feat, national lifelong learning policies were

developed which guided the rolling out of relevant integrated educational

subsystems. National lifelong learning policies usually outline the types and in

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some cases the number of formal, non-formal and informal learning options existing

within specific national borders, the nature and characteristics of potential ‘‘clients’’

for each learning option, the qualifications each option offers, the employability

routes attached to each option and the bridges existing across and within learning

options. Member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD),7 34 industrially highly developed countries, have achieved

the most in the area of the development of lifelong learning policies (Bengtsson

2013; Preece 2009).

Lifelong learning policies within OECD countries

Policy directions of lifelong learning in OECD countries continue to be shaped by

two main factors, namely, system-wide considerations and learners’ demands. Since

the end of the Second World War, manufacturers’ and governmental monopolies on

education have been diminishing (Hassan 2011). The increase of technology and its

adoption and adaptation to a myriad of life styles have equally played a role in

modifying the manner in which education and learning are conceived and provided

in OECD countries today.

The official OECD concept of lifelong learning remains ‘‘learning from cradle to

grave’’ (OECD 2013) and the frame within which learning takes place keeps

widening as social, economic, political, technological and environmental challenges

arise. Currently, the components of lifelong learning in OECD countries may be

said to be made of

(1) basic survival skills (literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills in

technology-rich environments);

(2) the formal school system (pre-school, primary, secondary, technical and

tertiary);

(3) non-formal training (seminars, conferences and workshops and focus trainings

sponsored by large and very active and thus ‘‘visible’’ organisations); and

(4) informal training (short training sessions designed to solve identified

challenges carried out by individuals, communities and less visible organisa-

tions) (OECD 2013; Hassan 2011).

In order to facilitate the process of employment for persons who may have gone

through training within the lifelong learning framework, qualification bridges are

currently being established across learning programmes within OECD countries

(OECD 2015; Slowey and Schueze 2012).

7 OECD member countries currently (November 2015) include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada,

Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,

Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland,

Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the

United States.

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Lifelong learning policies in Africa

Nine African countries (South Africa, Swaziland, Gambia, Seychelles, Togo,

Zimbabwe, Kenya, Mauritius and Tanzania) currently have their lifelong policy

documents on the website of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong learning (UIL).8

While the South African and Tanzanian policy documents were already

formulated in 1995, the other African policy documents were developed during

the first decade of the 21st century. In the main, the policy documents outline a

broad and general concept of lifelong learning, estimate the population of potential

beneficiaries of lifelong learning, list possible learning programmes available within

national borders, identify a few relevant institutions which could be involved in the

management of lifelong learning and possible categories of facilitating personnel.

The documents rarely attempt to differentiate between lifelong education and

lifelong learning, and the terms ‘‘adult education’’, ‘‘non-formal education’’ and

‘‘lifelong education’’ are used interchangeably.

The current state and contents of African lifelong learning policy documents

confirm the earlier observation that lifelong learning in Africa is generally equated

to the traditional concept of adult education (Walters et al. 2014; Preece 2014) and

in the worst of scenarios confined to literacy education (Aitchison and Alidou 2009).

As if to support this view, while commenting on the South African lifelong learning

policy, Richard Lee remarked that ‘‘Although this policy may understandably

prioritise literacy and basic education, it should comprehend the whole range of

adult education’’ (Lee 2012, p. 3).

Lifelong learning policy in Benin

Benin does not yet have a lifelong learning policy in place. Although societies

which have made considerable progress in lifelong learning are ones which have

spent decades to attain a fair satisfaction in their needs for basic education prior to

their opening up to lifelong learning, Benin, and indeed many other African

countries, need not wait to attain such a high performance in basic education

provision before embarking on the development of a national lifelong learning

structure. The world is growing more complex by the day and formal education

alone or non-formal education alone, irrespective of how well each is delivered, is

no longer sufficient in facing up to the multifarious challenges of the 21st century.

Consequently, the aim of the Benin national lifelong learning policy should be

the expansion of learning and employment opportunities through the democratisa-

tion of education wherein, in addition to formal education, all citizens will be given

the opportunity to partake in varying types of learning using myriad structures that

promote independent learning throughout the country. Specifically, and drawing

from earlier identified weaknesses within the Benin national education and labour

8 ‘‘Collection of Lifelong Learning Policies and Strategies’’; see http://uil.unesco.org/home/programme-

areas/lifelong-learning-policies-and-strategies/news-target/collection-of-lifelong-learning-policies-and-

strategies/f5ac9347eccc863165c6bd881a8c99e1/ [accessed 30 October 2015].

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structures, the following key issues should be addressed by the proposed lifelong

learning policy for Benin: (1) the need to offer universal basic education and

universal adult basic education to all children, youths and out-of-school persons in

the country; (2) the need to expand the new non-formal vocational training for both

high school and university graduates; (3) entrepreneurship; (4) computer literacy;

(5) liberal education; (6) life-wide education and life-deep education; (7) non-

governmental organisations, civil societies and public–private partnerships and (8)

international partnerships.

The need to offer universal basic education and universal adult basiceducation to all children, youths and out-of-school persons in the country

About half the children enrolled in school who do not make it to the last class are

considered lacking in permanent traditional literacy skills (reading, writing and

arithmetic) since only completion of the primary school learning programme

confers ‘‘more or less permanent’’ traditional literacy (Wagner 2011, p. 128).

Permanent traditional literacy being a prerequisite for a sound basic education

(although another school of thought [Timpson 1988] holds that a paltry amount of

literacy would always promote the acquisition of valuable basic education), it is

imperative that all these children should be offered the opportunity to complete

primary education through lifelong learning. Even when the task of equipping all

school-age children with permanent literacy may have been achieved, it is known,

as stated earlier, that about 71 per cent of adult illiterates (UNICEF 2014) exist

within the country today who are in need of traditional literacy skills.

Unfortunately, traditional literacy skills alone are no longer sufficient to function

within the 21st century (UNESCO 1997). Basic education which would facilitate the

acquisition of useful and renewable information and attitude in the areas of basic

environmental science, health science, social sciences and the like is needed by all

citizens in the 21st century (CODESRIA 2011; Delors 1998).

Since Benin currently lacks this understanding and since the mechanism for

popularising and advancing the fact that more than mere literacy (permanent or

paltry) is needed for foundational active citizenship, a lifelong learning structure

will be able to both bring all to understand the need for learning beyond literacy and

to promote the acquisition of basic skills by all.

The need to expand the new non-formal, vocational training for both highschool and university graduates

The new hands-on vocational training programme (Republic of Benin 2007) which

has been found to be most functional and to generate a quicker return on investment

is currently limited to a few university graduates. Hence the continued dominance of

formal vocational training schools. Yet, judging from both the multitude of

unemployed graduates (about 60% [UNDP 2012]) and the fast rate at which

universities are churning out graduates (100,000 a year [ibid.]), it is important to

speed up the process of creating employment opportunities for new university

graduates and school leavers.

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Therefore, in addition to the training currently provided by formal vocational

training schools, the range of courses should also be expanded within the lifelong

learning structure of the hands-on non-formal vocational training in order to create

greater opportunity for national participation in vocational training.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a process of buying into that which the world of business has to

offer. It is a process of starting off a venture whose aim is to render a certain type of

service in exchange for payment. The service offered through entrepreneurship

differs from that offered via individual vocational or professional skill because in

the case of entrepreneurship the establishment of a distinctive venture precedes the

offer of service. The Duke Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (2014) posits

that the process of setting up a venture goes through five general stages, namely,

‘‘idea generation, opportunity evaluation, planning, launch and growth’’.

As stated earlier, the first major government show of support for entrepreneurial

activities in Benin only emerged in May 2015 (IFC 2015). Yet, as can be garnered

from the above discussion, success in entrepreneurship is not necessarily guaranteed

by taking the first step or by exhibiting first-time interest. Beyond this important first

step must follow a series of guided and independent training sessions which aim to

equip the future entrepreneur with relevant skills and instil in him/her the necessary

confidence.

Consequently, a place must be found within the national lifelong learning

structure to institute entrepreneurship training with a view not only to creating

awareness of its importance and indispensability among the citizenry but to equip an

ever-growing number of youths and adults with the skills needed to become

entrepreneurs.

Computer literacy

Although Benin was the first country in West Africa to connect to the Internet in

1995 (Agyeman 2007), learning in the area of Information Communication

Technologies (ICTs) is hardly promoted by the government. A few non-govern-

mental organisations (NGOs) do work in the area of ICT training in the country, but

the government has yet to back up and extend these efforts. The poor response of the

government towards the need for a vigorous promotion of ICT appreciation in Benin

has led Osei Tutu Agyeman to conclude that

it is obvious from this list of priorities that the education ministries do not have

the policy direction and political will to develop and integrate ICT into

education. In fact, ROCARE’s (Reseau Ouest et Centre Africain de Recherche

en Education) report on the application of ICTs in schools indicates that 75%

of the educational institutions have not received government aid to introduce

ICTs and that without proper management techniques, secondary school

students do not benefit from the use of ICTs. The current curricula do not

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include ICT courses or activities making it imperative for teachers, students,

and officials to be trained in the use of ICTs (ibid., p. 6).

Yet, in the 21st century, all human endeavours (study, learning, business, research,

entertainment, etc.) are enhanced and afforded a chance for greater success when

some ICT skills (the most basic of which are computer skills) are applied to them

(UNESCAP 2003; PANTLEG 1999).

Liberal education

Although, as stated earlier, the zest for liberal education which used to produce

cultured individuals has declined considerably as a result of the fact that the

majority of citizens now spend tremendous amounts of time and effort on fighting

off poverty, this type of education remains valuable for a number of reasons even

under the current stressful times. First, the world over, societies are busy shaping

themselves into knowledge societies within which access to information (abundant

and quick information) is key to individual and collective survival and happiness.

Second, there is a sense in which the possession of knowledge in fields which may

not be deemed to be one’s own areas of expertise bolster personal confidence and

mental stability. Third, with the acquisition and display of the right kind of

information and knowledge under all circumstances, a society and all the

individuals it constitutes tend to be looked upon highly.

Since the school system (the main formal educational setup in all societies

worldwide) has not been designed to supply all needed information and knowledge

for the achievement of the feats described earlier, it is through liberal education

(accessed through eclectic paths) that myriad types of information are obtainable

which would be useful for interaction within social, political, economic, artistic and

scientific circles.

Therefore, in spite of the focus on the tremendous achievements realised in the

area of technology since the middle of the 20th century and despite the current

difficult times, liberal education remains relevant to the process of making human

beings more human and more humane. Through learning about philosophy, ancient

history, anthropology, politics and current affairs, it will be possible for whole

generations to discover the long road humanity has travelled towards the need for

physical, psychological, political and environmental improvement and the long

distance yet to cover.

Through the provision of public libraries, electronic and hard copy information

centres, public spaces for discussion and other knowledge webs, it will be possible

to promote liberal education.

Life-wide education and life-deep education

‘‘Life-wide education’’ and ‘‘life-deep education’’ are emerging concepts within the

field of Adult and Lifelong learning. ‘‘Life-wide education’’ describes the breadth of

learning across, for example, family, cultural settings, communities, work and

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leisure; ‘‘life-deep education’’ relates to contemplative, meditative and spiritual

learning practices (Walters et al. 2014, p. 25).

Whereas much which exists within life-wide education could also be accessed

through liberal education, life-deep education needs to be a part of the lifelong

learning policy of Benin, not because the country has not proven to be spiritual but

for the purpose of deepening the spirituality which this country has displayed over

the years.

Between 1960 and 1990, Benin registered about ten coups d’etat (the highest

number in Africa during the period). Yet, none of these coups d’etat led to loss of

human lives, as, thankfully, all incidents were bloodless. Any further learning which

may accentuate regard and reverence for human life can only be welcome. In

addition, since the democratic process was installed through a national conference

about a quarter of a century ago, no events have come to interrupt or jeopardise the

sustenance of democracy in this country which has demonstrated its relative love for

order, peace and regard for human life. One only needs to have experienced at first

hand the anxiety, palpitation and trauma caused by political instability and sheer

disrespect for human life in a number of countries to appreciate the achievement

being discussed here. A recommendation for life-deep learning is designed to

deepen these spiritual dispositions within the country.

Non-governmental organisations, civil societies and public–privatepartnerships

Beginning 1990 (the end of the Marxist-Leninist era), Benin’s private sector, which

was once stifled, has been growing steadily. However, there is a limit to the growth

of the private sector in a society which is known to be anything but affluent. In

addition, only a small number of NGOs are operating in Benin, and civil societies

are weak (University of Minnesota 2010). Yet, in spite of the weakness of these

structures, Benin’s government would derive support from these organisations

which live among the people and therefore hold vital information and skills which

can be useful for government operations and services.

For these reasons, Benin should seek the support of not only non-government and

civil society organisations in its quest to develop and promote lifelong learning, but

also that of the private sector. Since the government may not possess all necessary

means and skills, the intervention of these national organisations will facilitate the

actualisation of the national lifelong learning policy.

International partnerships

International partnerships are crucial in a project such as the development of a

lifelong learning policy. Benin stands to gain much out of the experience, guidance

and foresight of the societies which have already travelled the lifelong learning

planning route. In addition, funds for organising useful meetings, workshops and

even conferences are more easily accessible through international partnerships.

Furthermore, the reorganisation of the existing educational system as well as the

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stabilisation of the proposed system of education would need technical and financial

support which might be accessed through international partnerships.

For example, between the early 1990s and 2015, the work of an international

development partner known as Partners For Development (PFD) has succeeded in

attracting financial and technical support into Benin from numerous international

development partners such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),

the Canadian International Development Agency, the Australian Agency for

International Development, the Government of Japan and the Government of

Ireland.

These kinds of partnership also have the potential of helping the country to

establish, advance and sustain a lifelong learning project. In summary, the proposed

policy of lifelong learning stands diagrammatically as shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 1 details the structure of the proposed system of education for Benin in

the 21st century. The proposed structure is located within the context and frame of

lifelong learning. It displays three key components, namely a category of persons

who benefited from formal education; a category of persons who did not benefit

from formal education; and learning programmes available within the non-formal

education sector which could be benefited from both by persons who had and those

who had no formal education experience. Figure 1 further clarifies these two main

categories of potential beneficiaries of non-formal education by dividing them into

four different groupings such as ‘‘successful products of the formal education

system’’, ‘‘unsuccessful products of the formal education system’’, ‘‘youths without

formal education experience’’ and ‘‘adult illiterates’’.

The central position of the recommended non-formal education programmes and

the evident connection established between each of the four categories of potential

non-formal education learners speak to both the nature and meaning of lifelong

Fig. 1 Proposed Benin National Education System within the context of lifelong learning

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learning which usually connects the formal education sector with the non-formal

education sector and supplements learning received from the aforementioned

sectors with learning garnered from the informal learning sector. However, for all

practical purposes, learning within both the formal and non-formal education sectors

can more easily be planned for on a national scale than informal learning. Hence the

emphasis on formal and non-formal learning in Fig. 1.

Naturally, the establishment of the structures (additional or restructured formal

schools, public libraries, vocational centres, ICTs centres, etc.) recommended in

Fig. 1 and the integration of these structures into a holistic lifelong learning web

demand consultation (for the purpose of bringing all stakeholders to accept the need

for the recommended project), expertise (for the development of a lifelong learning

policy document) and funding (for the preparation, take-off and implementation

stages).

Conclusion

Where the country, with the support of national organisations and international

development partners, is able to provide facilities, expertise and funding for the

take-off of the activities programmed within the proposed system of education for

Benin in the 21st century, the democratisation of education would have been

facilitated and a larger spectrum of educational and learning opportunities would

have been opened up to a greater number of citizens than hitherto.

As citizens take advantage of the learning opportunities offered by the lifelong

learning web (especially those of the public libraries, liberal education and ICT

nuclei), they will stumble over new trades and employment opportunities. Where

they make an effort to train themselves in these trades, they will open up new areas

of productive engagements and thereby begin to reduce both unemployment and

poverty rates within the country.

In a general sense, apart from its advantage of reducing redundancy and tension

among the population, the freeing up of human capital through the provision of

numerous alternative routes to productive engagements is a wise way of

guaranteeing peace in society and securing the stability of national governments.

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The author

Idowu Biao is Professor of Lifelong learning at the Department of Adult Education, University of

Botswana. Previous positions include Deputy Director and Acting Director, Institute of Extra-Mural

Studies, National University of Lesotho. Latest publications include ‘‘The state of adult education in

Botswana in the twenty-first century’’ (book chapter, co-authored with T. Maruatona) in M. Milana & T.

Nesbit (eds), Global perspectives on adult education and learning policy (Palgrave Macmillan, New

York, 2015); ‘‘Leadership role of adult education departments in the practice of adult education in

Nigeria:1990–2010’’ (book chapter) in O.M. Modise (ed.), Cases on leadership in adult education (IGI

Global, Hersley, 2015) and ‘‘Multi-faceted training and employment approaches as panacea to higher

education graduate unemployment in Nigeria’’ (article, co-authored with S. Joshua, D. Azuh, and F.

Olanrewaju), Contemporary Journal of African Studies, 3(1), 1–15 (2015).

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