Mercy Awuor Omollo

 CHRIST THE TEACHER INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION TANGAZA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN AFRICA) NAME OF LECTURE: MR. JOHN PAUL NGESO. MATRICULATION NO: C015022. TOPIC: THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN DEVELOPMENT. COURSE CODE: CED 491 DATE: 5th OCTOBER 2018 INTRODUCTION In this paper we are going to discuss the role of education the development of a country, society or an individual. A great look at what education and development is all about will be focused on. The discussion will be based on how education helps to develop a country’s economic states, how it helps to eradicate poverty, the importance of education in improving the living standards of an individual and how education will help the society to live healthily. Education and Development According Lynch et al (1997) state that education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development to that no country can achieve sustainable economic development without substantial investment in human capital. They explain that education enriches people's understanding of themselves and world. It improves the quality of their lives and leads to broad social benefits to individuals and society. In our view as Kenyans we can attest that education has help raise people's productivity and creativity in different fields such as agriculture, development of the infrastructures, in the health sector and in promoting entrepreneurship and technological advances. In addition it plays a very crucial role in securing economic and social progress and improving income distribution, Mahwah and Lawrence (2006). We realize that education is a vital investment for human despite the fact that so many people consider it as a long term investment which might end up as a waste due to lack of employment for the graduates and it is influenced by the environment within which it exists. According to David (1985) says that changes in technology, labor market patterns and general global environment, all require policy responses. Traditions, culture and faith all reflect upon the education system and at the same time are also affected by them. This is what makes us to view education as the main road towards the achievement of our societal growth and development. The term "developing" according to Leavis (1998) describes a currently observed situation and not a changing dynamic or expected direction of progress. Since the late 1990s, developing countries tended to demonstrate higher growth rates than developed countries. Developing countries include, in decreasing order of economic growth or size of the capital market and newly industrialized countries, emerging markets, frontier markets, least developed countries. Therefore, the least developed countries are the poorest of the developing countries, Clapham (2012). Whereas the term economic development means the growth of the standard of living of a nation’s people from a low-income economy to a high-income level. When the local quality of life is improved, then we say there is more economic development. The economic development is characterized by various factors like observing the waves of economic development and be able to understand how the development is happening. Education develops the economic state of a society Research shows that educational attainment is a strong predictor of well-being and that young adults completing high levels of education are more likely to achieve economic success Jerry (1976). We get to learn that education helps young people secure a broader range of jobs and protects against unemployment.  Additionally, higher education attainment can lead to higher wages and income.  According to Massyrova (2015) states that financial stability for young people starts with financial education and experiences, but depends on a stable job therefore, workforce development and training programs and employment opportunities allow young people to compete in today’s job market by providing them with the necessary skills and access to attain and maintain a job and advance in the workplace. Additionally, youth entrepreneurship programs can help low-income youth interested in becoming entrepreneurs.  Entrepreneurship education teaches important skills in math, planning, budgeting, marketing, and saving.  Also, it provides skills related to creativity, teamwork, and perseverance, critical thinking and taking initiative.  Through entrepreneurship education, youth also learn lessons about the value of failure, ethical decisions, networking, and negotiating, this help the students to be self-reliant and be able to make decision on their own.  Some policies to promote economic success through educational attainment and employment opportunities include: Encourage educational attainment. Any country should establish a Student Achievement Council to provide planning and oversight that can see into that every student is working hard to attain the educational goals by developing more effective policies to guide and monitor the success of students as they transition to higher education. Promote workforce training and employment services. Through the various ministries, a government should include comprehensive youth services like the National Youth Service in Kenya that provide youths with the opportunity to train in various fields this helps in preparing youths to move into the employment field. Support youth entrepreneurship.  Several states have nurtured entrepreneurship in their public education and higher education systems. Local school boards are required to implement career and technical education programs incorporated into the curricula that include knowledge of careers and all types of employment opportunities including, but not limited to, apprenticeships, entrepreneurship and small business ownership. Education helps to eradicate poverty Education and poverty are inversely related. The higher the level of education of the population, the lesser will be the number of poor persons because education imparts knowledge and skills which is supportive in higher wages. The direct effect of education on poverty reduction is through increasing the income or wages. The indirect effect of education on poverty is important with respect to ‘human poverty’ because as education improves the income, the fulfillment of basic necessities becomes easier and raises the living standard which surely means the fall in human poverty. So education that the learners receive should help them in working towards eradication of poverty in the society, (Jeffery, R. and Basu, M.A., 1996). Education helps people become better Citizens According to Mary (2002) educated people are aware of the socio-economic scenario of the country and can help in the progress of the country. Whether it is a simple thing like using water sparingly or taking a bus to work instead of using the bike or car in order to save fuel, the educated mass somehow or the other knows how to contribute towards the country’s well-being. One of the reasons for their awareness is because they have been taught these values in school, colleges and work places. Education Improves Standards of Health According to English (2017) literacy is key to good health of everybody in the society because through education one learns how to take good care of their health. By eating healthy, doing exercises, going for regular health checkups. Health education is very important because women need to be able to read about prenatal vitamins and other health information during their pregnancies. This, in turn, reduces the rates of prenatal and maternal mortality, and improves children’s health, too. The ability to read also is important in educating communities about clean water and sanitation, particularly if families need to use filters or boil water before drinking it to avoid waterborne illnesses, (Nick & Joe, 2000). Education helps in getting Jobs It goes without saying that unless a person is educated, he or she cannot get a worthwhile job. Unemployment is a serious obstacle in the development like Kenya and progress in a country’s economic status, thus posing a hindrance to the growth of the nation. The economic status of so many countries in the world is pathetic, due to the lack of educated people who do not possess adequate skills and thus are unemployed. This is why the developed countries are going an extra mile to create more jobs to their graduates by expanding the job markets (Toronto 1962). CONCLUSION There is some correspondence between levels of education and development. Education is a mark of progress at the individual and societal level and human capital theory is a reasonable account of the way that education contributes to income and productivity Tierney (2015). In so far as population control is necessary to deal with environmental degradation and poverty reduction, then the education of women and girls has powerful instrumental effects and is a crucial investment. In so far as development in Africa is constrained by limited governmental capacity, education and training can improve the situation. Rather more implicitly, in so far as local ownership of development is important, education may have some role to play here. Finally, there is a clear role for development education in re-educating northern populations so that they change their own practices and put pressures on their governments to do likewise. REFERENCE Castro, M. 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