Shadrack, 20, Tanzania: Yes it can cope if teachers will be more trained and adding the number of teachers. Then education should be more practical to help the school leaver tobe job creator rather than job seeker.

Is to be more knowladgable to the changing world hance being more practical in helping the society and earning their income. More so higher education helps people to know the evils of the governmemtmand their leaders hance correcting them where necessary for the benefits of the mass .However if the education is not practical it will lead to unemployement problames and later political instabilities.

It should be focused on vocational subjects to help candidates to be able to employ themselves

Vocational traings should be provided to them.

Reduce the number of students in schools.

Francis, 23, Cameroon: for the primary school is just the basic education and cannot be the end of education or school because secondary school is the intermediate and higher education is almost the final school has no end even the most educated still go to school and cannot possess all the knowledge in his small head today in developing country to figth against poverty the emphasis is on the basic education if it's a begining ok if not it's wrong because development can be if only we restructure our whole education system

i'll answer more next time this is just the introduction.

Rabia, 18, Pakistan: According to Oxford Dictionary the meaning of education;

o noun 1 the process of educating or being educated. 2 the theory and practice of teaching. 3 information about or training in a particular subject. 4 (an education) informal an enlightening experience.

So basically, education does not only mean to sit and open a book. It is a much wider aspect. A young child when first enters a school, is directly transported to a new world. A different environment from home. There are other "students" just like him, which from the beginning denotes a competitive enviornment. Which, in my opinion, shapes a person for the future that lies ahead of him. By interacting with other students, he 'extracts' and exchanges information and learns to perceive things in alot of perspectives.

However, attaining primary education is not enough, infact it is the fist step towards "success." Okay, waking up in the morning is so not good, and so is cramming for the tests. But instead of looking at the whole picture it is important tht we notice the small blocks tht contribute towards the biiger/complete picture.

As you grow up, you have to follow some kind of knowledgable pattern, as so not to astray from the norms and rules of the civilissed soceity. So, in my opinion, for the betterment of the country, it is essential for a person to be aware of his own rights, his fellow-beings rights, his society rights, his city rights and his country rights. In order to acheive this, it is essential that one must complete their education. Coming from a country like Pakistan, I am well aware of this hinderance.

Nadia, 25, Afghanistan: I think that the education system reform can help children stay not only at the primary level but continue secondary and high school as well. That is because in developing countries, children are part of the work force and they need to bring money home, so if they stay in school they can not earn money. Hence, survival becomes the reason to leave education. I finished primary and secondary schools because my parents were educated and worked, so I did not have to work; however, when we immigrated to Pakistan, my parents education was not enough and they did not have jobs, so I had to work and leave my high school incomplete. Same thing applies to higher education as well. I think the solution can be a combination of both vocational and academic subjects in school so that children, who drop out, can earn a living with their acquired skills. I assume that when they are able to earn a decent income, the chances are that they would go back to school and finish the rest; at least!

I did that. Non-formal education plays a huge role in learning for life and I am an example of that. I changed my life from a child-labor to an employee in an int'l organization to a student in the US. I could have never done it if I had not had my non-formal education.

Lorena, 26, Philippines: The education systems in itself can really help that if it is properly implemented. Implications to access for secondary and hihger education are possibilities of increasing professionals especially if this access on higher education is focussed on imparting to the students both vocational and academic subjects.

Young children especially who are living in the remote areas will be able to proceed in thier studies when access to secondary and hihger education will be made, that of course if the certain educational program is willing to provide. i think it is best to identify the kind of students or the group of interested youth to whom the specific curriculum will be given because each individual has his or her own interest but for sure good i think it should be that vocational will be accompanied with academics.

Programs for youth who have dropped earlier is good. It may give direction to this young people to focus to what is really good for thier lives. The non-formal education can act as a secondary source of obtaining education.

Presley, 28, Nigeria: The education system in most countries especially Africa? Countries is nothing to write home about.ln Nigeria as a case study, many of the Citizens do not have access to education due to financial support or family background.

The vocational or academic subjects is not the problem that makes the youths backword in theirs education but the governments in various countries contribute to the fall of education.The primary to secondary schools are not well defined to their citizens,miss use of fund allocated to education.

For instant,am also a student in University of Abuja a part-time student reading Business Administration an 100level but finding difficult to go ahead my study a person with high expectation and intelectual but no assistant from any body.We are eight in the family my mother is late because of hypertention and stroke lead to her untimely death.all my sibling have finished theirs primary ! and secondary educations but no support financially this had affect ours lives and opportunities in becoming great men and women but l still believe there is hope for the hopeless with God and those who cares for people with this education problem.

What role the can the non-formal education can play.what they needs to do is to assist those who can not finance themselves back to school upto higher degree and highers degree.more money or loans could be given to the less privillege in ours societies.lastly,the Worldbank should look in it critically in this poor countries and poor families who can not send their ward to school.Thanks and God. Frm Presley Anegbe in Nigeria.

Devaraj, 28, India: Education For All can be achieved only when it is available everywhere in affordable price.

Just an example : every 1 among 3 persons are having a mobile phone in India. How? Due to the technology advancement and huge production, the price has come down and became affordable for everyone.

Invole the technology for reachability : There are lack of good teachers now to cater the increasing number of students, as many youth prefer engineeringa and IT jobs, which fetch more money. Still many good teachers exist.

Idea 1 : Using the technology education should be made available for everyone and EVERYWHERE. One good example is, lessons/teachings should be video graphed and should be made available in CDs, so that any student or interested youth can learn as per his wish. Anybody can learn from television using a CD player, or he can use a computer to learn as per his wish, or he can go and learn in educational HUBS (kiosks that should be made available in many areas, which would be having these educational CDs for low cost and computers to operate, for the people who dont have TV or Computer)

Idea 2 : Evaluation and Certification is another issue in educational implementation. Online examinations shouls be made available for the people to evaluate themselves and being certified.

Though these ideas have to be brainstormed and improved, this would surely improve the reachability with less running cost and effort.

Leslie, 44, United States: The system can cope. Sometimes I think that teachers are only there to receive their paychecks, sometimes I feel as though they don't really care. I feel this way because a lot of times the teachers are dealing with fights, behavioral problems and such and I feel that they have given up and just teach to teach, not really caring who learns or listens. And if they leave I suppose that's one less child to have to deal with.

I don't think that access to a seconday school is the systems problem. It is the person. If they drop out then they need to realize that it is their life that they must contend with. In other words, ‘no deposit, no return.' Of course such schools should always be available for those who wish to enter to further their education. And I think that the cirriculum should be more vocational because many times people that aren't ‘academically inclined' are not able to deal with a 4 year school. Vocational schools are a plus for those who want to narrow their focus.

The youth who have dropped out will have to take on that responsibility, no one can make you learn. You have to wake up and realize that knowledge is power, in otherwords education is power.

Joy, 24, Kenya: the systems, especially in kenya cannot cope, and this is seen in the large numbers of people missing university slots. Higher education is good, but it needs to be more focused, with specialisation starting in the earlier years (2nd year), be more practical than theroritical. most of the university graduates know almost nothing by the time they join industries. Nonformal education should be in a position to elivate the standards of youth who have dropped out of school, and for the people who could not afford to pay school fees.

Jenean, 30, United States: Non-formal education can play an extremely important role in teaching young people how to be life long learners. Classes can be designed around the schedules of the students so they do not conflict with work and other responsibilities and the teaching methods can be more dynamic, interactive, relevent, and be more participatory than what the formal school system may offer. This can have a significant impact on the lives of youth, inspiring them to continue seeking out new knowledge and information for the rest of their lives, allowing them to make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Eric, 17, Philippines: When it comes to education, the nature of what is being taught is important. I live in a country where students are educated and trained to be, well shall we say, employees in the future. Now there is nothing wrong with what is being taught, but the method leaves a mindset that seems to have the ultimate goal of having its students become good---employees. I believe that it leaves a certain stigma that incapacitates the student from becoming better in the future,leaving him mediocre, thinking to himself, "One day i'd like to work for THAT company ..." when he could instead be saying, "One day i'll own my company ..."

Fitriah, 24, Indonesia: I think that the curriculum should be more focused on Vocational. Thus, after graduating from the school they have ability to own their busines or at least they are ready to work. But also the amount of subject is not so many. So, the students are able to understand easily and implement what they have already learnt. It's really different with the curriculum in my country, Indonesia. I teach in Pesantren in East Java. My students have to learn more than 20 subjects. It's really hard for junior high school students. So, I think the goverment should design again the curriculum.

Julia, 26, United Kingdom: Children should be made aware of the range of jobs that are available to them from a very early age and if they show a real interest in a subject no matter what there should be more career advisors and guidance councellors on hand to be able to advise them correctly.This could stop the number of children dropping out of a one size fits all education system where if you do not want to do a normal nine to five job you are discouraged. There also need to be a re-working of the outdated system and more vocatinal subjects need to be included with possibility of more on the job training insead of just a week in your last year where you dont have the chance to make a fully informed decision have work experience every year.

There needs to be a support network for children who drop out of school for whatever reason as at the moment as soon as they are of the books they are forgotten about.

Nik, 20, Australia: I'll put my answer in two parts. Firstly, the education system that we have is excellent in many ways, but improvements can be made. These improvements can be put towards different styles of education such as agricultural based learning on a small scale. Many young people believe that tomatoes come from cans and milk from bottles, and this is a very big problem. Also, opportunities for students to find out who they are through challenges such as hikes/travel have proven to be rewarding and entertaining. A well-rounded education, meaning Sciences(Biology, Physics & Psychology), Arts, Humanities, Argriculture, is incredibly important for the future of these children, and the world.

Secondly, why does education finish at age 18? or later for the wealthy/lucky? Could it not be compulsory or voluntary that, for 2 weeks every year, people are invited to attend classes at their schools. Learning is a life-long process, and although not everything can be learnt in a schooling atmosphere, people need motivation to keep learning. Peace & Thankyou.

Elizabeth, 20, Nigeria: Education systems can cope with those demands in the sense that those people who are responsible for the teaching and make-understanding what is to be thought to these youngones are to make every possible means that they understand and enjoy the way the system is been governed. Likewise, encouraging and inspiring them more on the value of school education.
The implications for access to secondary and higher education are
- understand more about life
- realizing the implications of what is happening at the present times
- being on your guild.

The curriculum should be focus on both the vocation and academic subjects because in all secondary institution both vocation and academic work hand in hand.

There should be programs organized for youth who have drop out of school. These programs should mostly base on skilled work which can and maybe useful to the society and inotherwords, they do not loss their aquired value from school.

Non-formal education play a vital role in learning for life in such a way that they help youth to grow more in all aspect of life and reach them in their most needs which formal education is not reachable.

Male Mirene, 19, Cameroon: As for what i see in my country i doesn't think that the education systeme can cope with the demands of those who are leaving primary school.this becaus the primary school systeme does not offer enough skills to be use by those who are leaving primary school. Access to secondry education is not offer to evry body due to financial problems this emplies high fees, didatical matirials cost a lot so poor children can't gain access to secondry education . the curriculum should be focused on vocational subjects, becaus one cant easily be self employ after recieving a vocational education. As for shool drop out educational program should be organise by NGOs.non formal-education can help reduce the rate illetracy.

Ananda, 24, Nepal: For addressing the demands of the primary school leavers, the focus should be upon the issues of livelihood security as my thesis about the issues of poor children's inclusion in primary schools points out. The livelihood options of poor children are so vulnerable that choice of one option leads to cut another one. Therefore, for addressing their demand, the local level planning should be done in an integrated manner which will enable them to create enabling environment for them to purchase the education.

As the underdeveloped nations are presently focusing only upon building infrastructure the access to secondary and higher education can not be increased. Therefore, the focus should be upon demand side (which addresses the problems of households) along with creating conducive admosphere by appropriate supply side interventions.

The need of underdeveloped and developing countries indicate that the vocational education is the most for present day need to create highly productive labour force for upgrading their economy.

For those who have dropped out earlier, the non-formal education should be promoted so as to suit their present day employment/job which will increase their income level. These type of education should be organized to suit their time availability. These non-formal education will surely make them able to get the inner potential out of themselves.

Alex, 26, Papua New Guinea: The education system can cope with the huge demand of those leaving the primary level of school to still continue on to the secondary level if only those institutions which students come out from could provide a good learning environment and teachers be well trained not only accademicly but also trained to deal with student's social problems.The curricullum should focus on all schooling aspects to building up a student life be more self reliant respectful,trusthworthy in a society.

For youths who can't make to the formal system,theres allways a door still waiting for anybody to open and explore whats inside.

The youhts could be engaged in at small activities which help them earn something for thier living or else some social activities be included to thier coomunity program development just to occupy thier time from thinking other things like rascal activities which spoil thier life.

Thats all I have to share you ,hope I've answered the quistions well.

Iftikhar, 23, Pakistan: In Pakistan many Boys and girls have no access to primary education alothough majority of pakistani people want to provide quality eduvation to their children but poverty, inequality in economic sustem, behaviour of fuedal lords is major hindrance in promoting education. It should be stressed to the government to spend more to provide quality education to poor segment of society. Non formal ways for education can play very important role in Pakistan and if Pakistani tv channel allocate 2 hours daily for education speaically for learning english which is key to access quality education in our country abd very costly that common people can not afford it. This will bring very positive results.

Muhammad, 30, Pakistan: Education definitly play important role in the success of a society. But for the developing countries, the major issue is poverty. Due to severe poverty in some regions of the world, the children engage in labour work from the early child hood. They either work with their parents in the fields or join the market as sellers of different goods.e.g. vegetables or fruits. So this is on one hand, the issue of child labour and on the other hand high drop rate in primary education.

Thus, the issue of education and especially primary education in the developing countries is always intermingled with other problems so delicately that solution for one problem can create another problem. Informal education can be a good solution for situations where the children have no access to formal education. Such trainigs should be more vocational and should address the existing problems of the society directly.

Ifeanyichukwu, 26, Nigeria: the formal educational sytem is very much ideal for youths who have the wherewithal to acquire knowledge and basic life skills through accademics however in developing and transitional countries youhts living in rural enviroments suffer much in terms of choice and direction of kind of education to pursue as there have no clear path to follow as very few life substening oportunity exists for them hence there is need for vocational educational for youths in this group and must be timely too.the role of informal education can not be over emphasised espacially among disadvantaged youths living in rural areas and the quest to acquire good and modern agricultural trainings will help in rehabilitating shool drop outs.

Veronique, 17, Agrippah, 17, George, 17, Jack, 16, Maria, 16, Chikumbutso, 18, Clementina, 17, Zambia: The Children's Press Bureau (CPB) is a program under Youth Media, a Zambian non-governmental organisation. The CPB is staffed by children aged 12 to 18 years old and gives young people the power and means to express themselves through the media on issues that affect them, and to advocate the needs of children and youth to the Government and policy-makers.

From CPB members: Zambian secondary schools are not properly equipped to receive a higher number of students from primary schools. This is because there are fewer secondary schools than primary schools, and the existing schools lack infrastructure to cater to the current students. They would not be able to cater to new students. At present, there are some children in parts of the country that aren?t able to enrol in primary school because there are not enough schools to attend. This is something which the Zambian Government and it?s international partners, like the World Bank, need to invest in and improve soon.

The cut-off points at Grade 7 and Grade 9 also limit children's ability to attend school. In addition, primary education is not of a high standard at the moment, so it is difficult to see how these primary schoolchildren will be able to adapt to secondary schooling.

Accessing secondary school means gaining more knowledge that students can apply in their daily lives, even when they are not able to get a job. This will help them survive on their own. However, access to secondary school also means higher school-fees; money is taken away from the home. Being a secondary student ensures that a child can contribute more to the development of the nation that a primary school leaver can. Also, chances to get into colleges and universities are increased.

Zambia suffers from a high rate of high school drop-outs due to financial problems. Because of high unemployment rates, it would be best if people are taught vocational subjects more often than academic subjects as these are subjects that they can use. However, to aid development, the curriculum should be balanced on both academic and vocational subjects, and the academic subjects should be strongly encouraged because they give students a chance to choose their careers from a wider knowledge base. The Government must ensure that the curriculum includes moral and social subject areas so that students are well-equipped with information about sexuality, HIV, and other life skills. This is to prevent the educated people from dying of diseases like Aids.

In Zambia, there are very few programs for school drop-outs. They should be more focused on vocational training to encourage drop-outs to engage in something that will enable them to earn a living. Night school is also an option, and there are a few, but just not well publicised.

These are the views of Veronique Tembo (17), Agrippah Phiri (17), George Mubanga (17), Jack Lengwe (16), Maria Ngoma (16), Chikumbutso Phiri (18) and Clementina Mulungushi, 17.

Nadeem, 25, Pakistan: As education systems vary across the globe so does the need of the students. A need based approach to the education system would require a two fold movement, at national and global level. At national level countries should aim to eradicate the gaps between private and public educational institutions thereby providing equal opportunity to all, which includes the access to education for the very poor and providing a common curriculum, globally countries should get together and form an international standard that may be adaptalbe across the globe so the same theme of equal opportunity and access is applicable globally.

National statistics of school leaving population may be used to identify the job creation requirement in the coming years, the same is applicable to the students completing secondary and higher education. An important aspect of education policy should be teacher training, monitoring and evaluation. The focus of the curriculum should be a balance between the vocational and academic subjects, keeping the balance tilted towards the academic side, for example if there are four terms in a year then one of them can be dedicated to vocational studies, the time period may vary as per requirement.

A detailed research is required to identify the causes of dropping out and minimizing the potential reasons for such an act on behlaf of the students, at the same time policy shoudl be focused to encourage a roll back to education scheme with incentives to the parents and students , especially focusing on homeless children who can be provided foster care and with that the opportunity to get educated. non-formal education should be targeted at social behavior and participation along with environmental awareness.

Panashe, 20, Zimbabwe: The education facility cannot cope with the systems in unprecedent numbers in Zimbabwe because the primary schoools are cheaper than secondary schools and the secondary schools are less than primary schools so the government should at least build more secondary schools. there should be an age exemption for those who have dropped out in order to encourage them to go back to school.There should be a balance between the two subjects because in the circular environment you do not neccessarily need academic achievement but the primary focus is on your personal talents.

Patience, 18, Zimbabwe: From Zim's perspective, Schools should be built to cater for different social groups against a background where other social groups do not have access to quality education due to high rates charged at those schools.

Implications
- Economic hardships(many families are earning an income which is below poverty datum line- they leave on less than a dollar per day
- Gender problems-some families prefer a boy child to a girl child since they beleave girl child is destined to marriage
- Access to school(distance to the nearest schools is beyond reach of many i.e schools are found more than 20 kms from thier homes having no ideal transport

Curriculum
It should be balanced so that it prepares young people for employment

School drop outs
- Vocational training
- Hand on work
- Sport academies
- Arts

Roles for non formal education
- It teaches practical life skills
- It builds positive character development among participating youth

FRANK, 18, Zimbabwe: THE EDUCTION SYSTEM CANNOT COPE WITH THE DEMANDS OF THOSE WHO ARE LEAVING PRIMARY SCHOOL SINCE THEY PUT MORE EMPHASIS ON ACADEMIC SUBJECTS HENCE THEY HARDLY FIND JOBS BECAUSE OF THE DECLINING FORMAL SECTOR.THIS IS MAINLY BECAUSE OF HIGH INFLATION AND OVERPOPULATION IN URBAN AREAS. THE CURRICULUM SHOULD FOCUS ON VOCATIONAL AND ACADEMIC SUBJECTS. EARLY DROPOUTS SHOULD BE OFFERED VOCATIONAL TRAINING TO PROMOTE SELF RELIANCE. THE NON FORMAL EDUCATION CAN EQUIP THOSE WHO FAILED TO ATTAIN HIGHER FORMAL EDUCATION. THIS CAN BE DONE THROUGH OFFERING VOCATIONAL PROJECTS.

Nathaniel, 22, South Africa: Not at all,in the kind of society we live in where qualifications and work experience are essential.When you enter in an interview room or read an advertisement on the newspaper about a job,you find that a vast majority of the information you learned at school is redundant and you end up having to improvise or incorporate your education with a course on the side.

The main aim of going to school is to prepare someone for society,however,the curricilum somehow seems inadequate to equip us for our ideal careers and leading to a low esteem in young people and which contributes to the high failure rate in most south African schools.

I believe they should not be neglected beause they too are part of society and leaders of tommorow.i think there should be some form of learnership program which will be equivalent to high school education and enable them to find employment.

Acquisition has proven to be one of the most effective tools of learning than formal education especially languages.Over 60% of the things we know and do we never learnt atr school so why not give a platform as part of our mainstream education.Education begins at home and that is where the foundation for success is laid before the academic orientation.Those same values we learnt form a major part of who we are and these are the same values we are embracing in the corporate world and we will pass them on to the next generation.

Traci, 28, United States: The need for a formal education is normally driven by the demand for education in the labor market. However, to have investment in highly technical fields, the human capital needs to be educated to perform highly technical jobs. With highly technical jobs comes increased standards of living. Therefore it is imperative for a country that wishes to improve the standard of living for its citizens must provide some type of education that focuses on the resources available within the country and the industy(s)that the country has relative comparative advantage in.

For every country the goals, skills and available resources are different. There will be no "one size fits all" education level worldwide. Furthermore, until all of the citizens of a developing country have received a primary education, the need for secondary and higher education will be minimal.

Additionally, there are many issues that contribute to low primary education completion in developing countries: goverment instability, low education subsidies, high poll taxes for education, severe poverty, disease. etc. These devasting issues make it hard for the citzens in developing countries to see a positive return on delaying income through education. With the little amount of time children in developing countries spend receiving an education it is imperative to teach them the skills necessary for survival—through literacy and mathematics, understanding of their local economy, politics, and vocational skills that will make them more productive doing the labor demanded in their country. It is not an either or education that is needed, rather as much education as can be taught given the fact that a 6th grade education in many developing countries is further than most children will get.

For children that have dropped out of school (most likely to work of help on the family farm), there should defintely be programs available to them to enable these children to receive an education so they may have a better life than their parents were capable of. This! same type of education should be made available to all the citizens of a country that were unable to receive a formal education in their youth as well.

Just a little over 100 years ago, many American children did not receive formal educations. Through private volunteers, settlement houses and publicity we were able to bring education to our poorest communities. Other countries need to look at the struggle Americans (as well as Europeans) faced in trying to educate our citizens. Our return on education took several generations to truly be seen, but it is readily apprarent now.

Muhmmad, 27, Pakistan: Q.1; about first quastion .my openion is that : YES through productive activities the education system of any society or country can stop the students leaving school at their primary level.

Q.2 : here the matter agin go to the first condion .when a student feel comfertable in his/her primary level .(socialy and financialy spacial in third word) s/he will absulutly continue education.

Q.3; This is the responsibility of the state and civil society to play their due role to make such policies wich could make the students countinue their education.i means the compulsury education for this age group.

Q .4 : yes curriculum should be also focused at this level. Q.4 skill developmental programmes should start through education departments for those who dropped their education at school level.cevel siciet should b motivated for this cause.

Q.4; the whole life spane it self ids a countinues learning process.non formal education through media (electronic as well as print) can play a better role for this.

Stanley, 67, Netherlands: Basically schoolteachers teach a curriculum that was thought to them at their teachers college by elderly who got their knowledge from still older books. This results in that the philosophies and ideologies that should carry our vision for the future is heavily outdated.As example many teachers still teach history as if it is a circular movement with heights and lows while Darwin and also Marx proved that history is evolutionary.

For the first time in history thanks to Google's we have pupils in our classrooms who know more than us. The school prepares us much to little for life.It might teach sex but it does not teach love and divorce. It does not teach us to ask questions and discover the truth for ourselves . It rather teaches us to believe in the authority of science and that of the teacher.

Ali, 28, India: In the context of my home country, India, although I don't have the exact figures, it appears that there are sufficient schools to cater to the demands of aspiring students. The problem, I think, lies not with the quantity, but with the quality, of such institutions. Are they really preparing students to meet the challenges of secondary / higher education or their life / careers? Only a few could say "yes."

As far as the focus of the curriculum is concerned, I think both the choices should be adequately available—that of academic and vocational subjects—and the student should be able to decide for him/herself. Again, the issue is not about the focus as much about what parents or institutions expect—even pressurise—the students to opt for.

Finally, the existing educational paraphernalia is just one way of developing the talents of individuals, maybe not the best. Because people have different / varying talents, and institutions cater in a very uniform way to all of them—without much concern for individual creativity—alternatives should not only be available but well-recognized, if a candidate is able to demonstrate his talent and workability outside the standard school system.

Dushyant, 28, India: First and foremost what is the basic objective of Education for the Society? I belive that the objective is to

1 develop skills and

2 improve human resource of the society which in turn will lead to better capital formation, industrial investment and better socio-economic conditions. So the active and wholehearted participation of the industry is very essential for the project. Cos they have mastered the art of quality implementation, maximum utilizatioin of the minimum resources and harnessing entreprenual skills. Also they have the foresight of the economic development of the future and guide the society in that direction

Education system needs to be changed in developing countries and especially countries like India from Asian country which follow a different system. As pointed out by Geert Hofstede in his book "Cultures and Organization" as well as from my experience of teaching in school and college the system in developing countries and Asian countries follow a system of "Guru Shishya" that which emphasis the role of teacher student. The words of a teacher or master is considered sacrosanct with direct correlation as well as necessary and sufficient causal factor with the quality of learning.

As far as India is concerned, where Education falls in State List the Government should relocate it to Union List for better co-ordination, standardization as well quality maintenance.

There should be emphasis on vocational and academic system along with industrial interaction for vocational training. The developing countries could ask for support for vocational training from ciuntries like Germany and Switzerland which have an excellent system. Also the admission entry should be absolutely transparent with no room for manipulation.

there should be a healthy and active participation from the Industry to get a feedback for understanding industrial needs as well as local people for localizing and generating a feeling of ownership for the educational institute.

For youths who have dropped out earlier the emphasis should be on vocational and hands on training and for youths who show academic brilliance the focus should be on developing analytical skills. Also entreprenual skills should be developed and harnessed with emphasis on self employement.

The government should use the technology of education Satellite for bringing in standarization and making learning interactive. Proper training should be imparted to anyone to ensure that the programs of EduSat are implemented effectively.

The World Bank should emphasis more on proper hands on implementaion rather than preparing reports after reports. Thw World Bank as well as Government should follow the system of KISS {Keep It Simple Stupid} and realize that planning is just the beginning of a project and not the end. Also projects once implemented should be analyzed and re-evaluated after certain time frame to modify in accordance with the feedback received. Reward system should be implemented for the workers implementing the system.

Nadeem, 25, Pakistan: As education systems vary across the globe so does the need of the students. A need based approach to the education system would require a two fold movement, at national and global level. At national level countries should aim to eradicate the gaps between private and public educational institutions thereby providing equal opportunity to all, which includes the access to education for the very poor and providing a common curriculum, globally countries should get together and form an international standard that may be adaptalbe across the globe so the same theme of equal opportunity and access is applicable globally.

National statistics of school leaving population may be used to identify the job creation requirement in the coming years, the same is applicable to the students completing secondary and higher education. An important aspect of education policy should be teacher training, monitoring and evaluation. The focus of the curriculum should be a balance between the vocational and academic subjects, keeping the balance tilted towards the academic side, for example if there are four terms in a year then one of them can be dedicated to vocational studies, the time period may vary as per requirement.

A detailed research is required to identify the causes of dropping out and minimizing the potential reasons for such an act on behlaf of the students, at the same time policy shoudl be focused to encourage a roll back to education scheme with incentives to the parents and students , especially focusing on homeless children who can be provided foster care and with that the opportunity to get educated. non-formal education should be targeted at social behavior and participation along with environmental awareness.

Sumant, 27, India: The children we are talking about, who leave the schools after primary education are from the poor families. They leave the education not because they dont want to learn, but because of financial constraints. They can earn a meal if they go for work instead of school. In most cases poor parents are always willing to send their children to school. This is visible because most of these children leave the school in the age when they are ready to earn[in 5th to 6th standards].

So if secondary education ensures them to provide earning capacity, there is a high chance of these chidren continuing their education. 100% attendance was found in rural schools during 'food for education' programs launched by Indian Government. If secondary education is based on vocational trainings as well as academic subjects, the leave of education can be increased significantly. Government can encourage industries to open training centers for their requirements, so that they can produce efficient workers.

Even if they do not get job in the same organization, at least they are able to work somewhere else. Non-formal education plays much significant role than any academic education. It is non-formal learnings of a person, which makes him get going and think positively. Academic learnings only provide the base. But it is non-formal education which creates a social and efficient being.

Nagendra, 25, India: No the present education system cannot cope with the demnands of school drop-outs, especially in developing counties like India.

Access to secondary and higher eduacation helps one build their faculties and also gives them time to explore and understand options available to him/her. Moreover if a child does not continue with the higher education system, it is presumed that he has started earning his livelihood. This infact deprives him of the fun and joys of growing up and this I believe is a right denied. On a longer term perspective, in access to secondary and higher education to a major population would mean obvious downslide of the society.

It is not the question of Vocational or Academic, its the question of choice. It is like choosing more of either philosophy or automobile engineering. This again I believe adds to conditioning of the child. In a lot of schools (especially in India)which are accessible to the larger population, students don't have a choice of subjects. The University structures may provide for it but then due to lack of infrastructures,teachers,commercial viability or purely disinterest the subject choices are not given. Who loses?? The student.In the long run, its the society.

Reasons for dropping out would be the beginning point to design the programs for these youth. Financial, family, health,or pure reluctance,et al are the probable reasons. Moreover the situation differs in developing and developed contires.For instance, in countirs like India a lot of youth do not work part time during their years of higher eduaction.And even if they do, its not a substantial amount.Providing scholarships, reservations for the needy,cheap hostel facilities, night/evening classes,study groups,etc are programs that are usually devised and are also successful provided there is transparency in the system.

Non-formal education is an integral part of learning. It helps youth to get into practical situations and finding their solution, it teaches about relationships, about values, sportsmanship.....and a whole lot of intangibles which can only be experienced and not taught from a text book. A simple activity like trekking which I picked up during my school days has developed in me a love for nature, compassion towards animals and even plants, a drive to gather knowledge about the ecological system, about tribes. And above all it has instilled in me a constant urge to explore and stay fit.

Carina, 23, Canada: As a youth in post-secondary education in North American society (Canada) I would say that education systems are drastically unprepared to cope.

Demographic shifts in north america may be able to provide spaces in primary and secondary education, because it is required - but there is a drastic lack of preparedness in the post secondary education institutions - colleges, universities, techical institutes. The generation leading us currently does not seem to understand (or at least youth believe this for a large part) that a post secondary education is not as "rare" or "elitist" as it used to be. Most youth in their 20s view a post secondary education as essential to just get a decent entry level job. The degree, diploma or certificate is the new GED Diploma (high school diploma).

Governments are racing to create spaces without the requisite funding, which means spaces are created at the expense of quality. Attention has been drawn to significant skilled labour shortages in the north american economy due to the demographic shift - our generation has big shoes to fill with the boomer generation retiring - and this is certainly something that should be addressed, but not at the expense of academic subjects. University quality of academia should not be downgraded to create accessibility. We are living in a world now where an entire economy has developed around knowledge. We are the "information generation" - we have access to information at the touch of a finger that our predecessors never would have guessed at. We should continue to push the boundaries of academia and develop bright minds to carry us forward into the future with creativity and innovation.

However, we do need to remember that there will always be population who are academics, and non academics and we need to realize this. Almost every job requires higher education now - even secretaries are often asked to take a diploma. This is particularly discouraging for youths who have dropped out of school. Youths drop out for a variety of reasons, and a multitude of remedies could be proposed, but one particular remedy that needs to be proposed is drawing these youth back in when they are READY to return to school, not force them back before they are ready. They must have made their mind up to do so - then have the knowledge and resources and encouragement to ease them back into what can be an intimidating realm.

Education needs to continue throughout life and one thing that the older generation must realize is that our generation is far more conscious of "working to live" not "living to work." Our generation expects flexibility in working hours, locations, and we also expect to hold a greater variety and number of careers throughout our life. We expect to be life-long learners, and corporate / working world mentality needs to accept this by encouraging their employees to take classes. More companies should be paying for students to return to Post Secondary Education if they are setting the pre-qualifying education bar higher for the average citizen. The private / corporate world needs to take responsibility for education, because governments are increasingly struggling to do so on their own. Education benefits all, therefore, all should invest in education.

Randiana, 34, Madagascar: Q1: This depends on the nature of the education system in place : highly flexible vocational system, with frequent linkages to SMEs for training purposes. Learning by doing is key. Q2: Strong linkages with business community, low barriers to entry on the job market, frequent use of professionals in the teaching body. The german system which integrates youngsters into business life at an early stage should be analysed. Q3: In developing countries and especially sub saharan Africa reserve academic (long term studies) to a necessary restricted elite (based on merit) and spread vocational subjects to the education system as a whole. Q4: Linkages with private sector employers are essential. First part of school dropout to be financed/assisted by tax rebate or other form of incentive, second part is shifted to private sector responsibility (if job match potential is confirmed) . Q5: Permanent role of non formal education, which should include Business ethics, and civic education at all levels. Facilitation programs for non formal education should be made available to private sector employers.

Jacob, 44, Nigeria: With the explosion in population in my country Nigeria and the dwindling fortunes for investors in the education sector, I believe the education system cannot cope with the increasing number of primary school leavers. the implication for for access to higher education is the monumental fraud in the forgery of results and qualifying exams we are winessing now. thus, students are admitted with seemingly "good" results but make very bad students; leading to the management of same to graduate- this is partly the cause of the so-called decline in education. without doubt, there is an urgent need to make the educational system more responsive to the social needs of population explosion; making the curriculum more vocational in approach than it currently is. if this is achieved right from the primary school level, it would assist even those who drop out of school, to find relevance and skills to earn a meaningful living and contribut meaningfully to the society.

Lisa, 37, Guyana: The access to secondary education is something that is affected by a number of issues that face children and their families, especially during this time. Upon leaving primary school, children are at an age where they are seen as cheap and convenient labour, and where it can be rationalised(to some) that they would at least hyave benefitted from a basic education which should be sufficient to be useful to them in their future. I believe that the curriculumn should be flexible enough that it provides for both academic and vocational training. This way, the children who are not accademically inclined, or those who do not get the necessary support to do well academically, can benefir from vocational training. Vocational education can equip them with skills and knowledge that will help them to provide financially for themselves and their families. Programmes for youth who have dropped out earlier should be made available to youth.

However, in developing these programmes, we need to take into consideration the conditions that would have congtributed to the children dropping out in the first place. These issues would need to be addressed and taken into consideration if we wish children to be able to access them and for them to be successful.

Leonardo, 60, Italy: I would like answer a different question: can employmente systems in LDCs cope with the expections of those who are gaining higher education at university level? My experience (I tought at a faculty of economics in ana sub-saharan country)suggests that a big problem can arise whenever economic growth cannot catch up with the demand of higher and well remunerated jobs. In the countries where human capital is very scarce -like the one I lived and worked in for three years- all people graduating at the faculty were expecting to get a job at minimum as a vice-director in a Ministry (because the private sector was not generating jobs of the kind they felt they deserved); nobody was willing to go back to the town or village he/she was coming from (a particular aspect of this problem, affecting seriously the interior regions where medical care was more lacking,refers to the graduates of the faculty of medicine). The question is: up to what level is convenient to invest in hiher edu! cation rather than investing in primary and secundary education when coutry's finance resources for education are so very scarce?

Mandla, 40, South Africa: In my country education was divided according to the race and after liberation the gulf between the rich schools which were predominently whites and poor schools is growing exponentially. hence,our educational system cater for the rich and the poor. the poor children are excluded systematical in these schools where there are all facilties. Therefore for the rich the system can cope but for the poor and rural children it is difficult.

Secondary and higher education is not right but a luxury in most of societies here therefore, those who have will continue to afford to send their children in universuties and those who are poor will bear brunt of being poor. Unless we advocate and lobby for the Education to be the First Generation Right, thi status quo will always prevail.

Curriculum should consist with the dialy activities of that community. the main purpose of education is to answers to the problems of the people. If vocational is an answer let it be so. But my point is to have a curriculum that will be easy to the child to identify him/herself with in order to give solution that face him/ her and the society at that time. In short practical curriculum.

The youth which dropp out from school need to be cater for. my point of view is if we can lobby and advocate that all governments ensure that education is free and compolsory, few children can drop out from school. However we need to train those who are already out to be useful in the society. In high prevelant of HIV/AIDS in Africa, these youth can be trained to partipate on issues of Aids, they can be taught to farm this wwill help on poverty, they can also trained on how to make peace this can also help many war torn countries and many other projects.

Non formal edution is the basis of all educations, therefore it is extremely important. a person without non-formal education is like a tree without roots, it is trough ou informal education that we streamelined our formal education.

Mary, 39, Philippines: The current education system in the Philippines is centralized to the national Government. the national Government have not been able to adress the needs of the public school system as teachers in our province were re-tested and 70% failed the teachers test. If the teacher selection can be devolved to the local chief executives and a standard international platform of education be adapted (Singapore Math, or kumon style of educating children, with American/Brittish English integration and History be morally and ethically infused) One year of creative writting Chicago/MLA style and Computer skills be obligatory as wellas Farming/Agriculture/Aquaculture and skills training be a must for our country which is Agri/Aqua/Minning based. Creative Analysis be integrated by having a 1 year working expirience be introduced with the seciondary school. The whole system will benefit and more than that the general public will be much better prepared. Please refer to the book "The Organiza! tion of the Future" where drucker/hammer etc are contrubutors. I think life is education and education should be sustainable and enabling …

Faith, 41, United States: No, I do not believe that we as a country can deal with the demand of population leaving primary school and going to secondary or higher education. I think that we should definitely focus more on academic subjects. Anyone can choose a vocation and make it work, but basic education and higher education only come around once and each individual should jump at the chance and make it work. We should incorporate programs for youth who have dropped out of school to start once again. Everyone deserves a second chance. We cannot afford as a society to have large volumes of underachievers who end up homeless, unable to survive in an ever demanding, and changing world. Non-formal education can play a great role in learning for life. Especially for people who now have families and have not had a chance to go to school. This would give those individuals a chance to realize that they can always be learning and changing their role in life and also to allow each individual to keep ! growing and maturing to their fullest potential.

Amitadyuti, 61, India: The basic question is overall economic development and eradiction of poverty. Present education systems are designed to cater to the needs of a society which sustains on keeping a majority of population below sub human level. Unless equalisation of opporunity for being a partnet of economic progress and a benificiary of that progress is created, a large section of investmentment for higher education will be wasted. Non formal education can only play an associative role and may be really effective and productive only when related to overall economic development and eradiction of poverty.

Bruce, 69, United States: The developing world's secondary education system is inadequately funded because its growth is part of the estimated $1 trillion cost of infrastructure growth needed to accommodate the 75 million annual human population growth. People earning a median $2/capita/day simply don't have a spare $1 trillion/year ($13,000/new arrival). Yet it costs only a few dollars to avert a birth (via social content serial dramas) or a few tens of dollars via funding family planning. US development/humanitarian aid is spent 97% on accommodating developing world population growth and 3% on averting that population growth. If the US, the World Bank et al could just somehow be persuaded to change that 97-3 ratio to 90-10, we would see massive improvements in the growth of "human capital" (i.e. secondary education and beyond) in developing nations.

Sankaran, 53, India: Transition from school is not a real issue of concern. The immediate concern is the the basic issue of not sending a child to school. The reason could be one of the following. a. lack of awareness of the importance of education in the knowledge world
b. complasence and careless attitude towards the purpose
c. requirement of farm attendants or lack of resources to meet the cost of farm help
d. nearness to school
e. inadequate revenue to meet the educational cost
f. bad example set by those in the visinity and so on.

If these immediate concerns are addressed, perhaps children not attending school will not be a cause of concern.

For achieving this, public administrative system is to be geared up so as to support a farmer or an artisan in his routine operations so that the children are not drawn in to the day to day house-hold/livelihood operations. There are many models on this.

Education system an cope up with the demands provide the system is strenthened with infrastrucutre and competent manpower.

In third world situation curriculam is a cause of concern, especially in countries that were under the colonial powers where the requirments were subserviant clerical meanials. We in India call the system as McCaulay (a British)model of education.

The curriculam needs to have lessons only on language and arithmatis. Once a child knows his /her language well and understands the logics all worldly things could be taught as non detail text/ project works/workshps. After matric level focus may be given for vocational /professional education. The dropped outs may be linked to commited NGOs. They may be propped by D L M ways.

Samson, 44, Tanzania: School levers, vocational subjects and others will be more meaninful to youth if will be linked to markets. Thats there should be a Marketing Linkage Facilities to products and services produced by youth. Another facility is financial and capital venture facility. 2. Marketing and Capital venture consults should deepened to youth development.

Ijaz, 45, Pakistan: Yes, Education systems are in difficulty in dealing with the growing demand of primary andn high school graduates. it normally should (in reality may not) mean more competition and better quality students getting access to secondary and higher education. Vocational studies are important however not at the expense of academic disciplines. Balance needed for long term sustainability of development. vocational programmes can also take care of the early drop outs. Non formal education is vital for making up for losses in time and speeding the overall growth process and its sustainability. Non formal education will help in reducing the resistance of the non educated large numbers to the forward pull of progress and development.

Eric, 38, Senegal: bonjour tous, j'attribut mon d'intervention sur l'aspect genre

l'éducation des jeunes filles et des femmes, nous comptons un nombre important de filles et de femmes non scolaris?es, dans ce contexte seul le non formelle peut les récuper?es et qui contribuera des avantages positives pour le développement de notre contient dont le non formelle peut rachater beaucoup de choses perdue.

Golden, 44, Zimbabwe: For a lot of communities in remote rural areas in the so-called less developed nations non-formal education has greater value in the passing on of oral histories, group identities, and vital life skills. While formal school curriculum is designed with good intentions there is a general oversight to leverage on local knowledge.

V.S., 60, India: I am confident that the education system approach if reconstructed to suit the mental thinking process of young generation, it can definitely cope up with the demands of drop outs of primary schools all over the world. Presently the young kids of primary schools have more attractions to divert their minds from stable, creative human nature to fast living & quick happiness which ends abruptly. This makes them disillusioned, depressed & unhappy. They loose faith in values of life & develop destructive nature. The only way to get them back to secondary & higher education is make the curriculum of studies attractive, hopeful, job oriented & to look forward to bright future.

The curriculum must develop in them confidence that the new subjects will not only be enjoyable attractive , challenging but will give them due earnings for betterment of their life. This is the challenge to educationist, career guidance experts. The non formal education need not to be bookish but should be acceptable approachable, practical & result oriented.

Servaas, 50, South Africa: Curriculum must focus much more on vocational and job/task related issues. Must we not change our views of education from the traditional western way of class rooms to an african system, because there is a critical shortage of schools, teachers and resources. How can you have one uniform system of schooling for the first and third world groups in one country like South-Africa. To make education now "average" is unfair to both sides.

Milton, 60, Ecuador: I believe that for lesser developed countries, primary education is urgent, strategic and imperative for their development. And also to achieve higher levels of real governability and political stability. Ignorant and un-educated people are easier to impress with empty promises. Of course this is not a leak-proof truth (History has shown us MANY exceptions), but gives them a fighting chance.

All goverments and Development International Institutions should make their best effort and put all their might behind primary basic and vocational education. Let's save the poorest of the poor. Then later we can worry about promoting and helping higher education needs. Besides, I think we have enough professionals for the next 20 years (one generation), many of whom are jobless and migrating to countries with higher opportunities and quality of life (which is a subject for further discution, in terms of poor countries subsidizing the development of rich countries)

All Governments should transfer most of their defense budgets to education, preventive health and sanitation programs; with no ecception, poor and rich. In the same manner, most countries should allocate their education budgets from Third-level education to primary and vocational education/ or focalizing their higher education spending, to subsidize the poor instead of generic programs that are so expensive and very low in real value.

All Armed forces must be converted into:
a) 50% for security and country defense
b) 50% for education and/or vocational training.

This will have a far reaching impact in:
1) Higher work opportunities and income generation as well as
2) real opportunities for the weakest sector of society,
3) will decrease most street delincuency,
4) decrease in drug consumption and trafficking

But, of course, this has to be accompanied with a profound change in attitude from most developed countries, towards equality opportunity and real free market competition. Besides, during a reasonable period my accept and adapt client-friendly (and respectful) policies for offering effective socio-economic aid to lesser developed regions; and also eliminating their protective commercial regulations and laws as well as their non-tariff standards and subsidies.

Leuf, 60, Sweden: First all type of eduction should have similar value. The education is the matter for the country and should as such be free. There should be a variety of options for secondary educations, including vocational as well as academic subjects. I strongly believe that leaving or excluding yound people from further eduction will in the long run deplete the country from human resources. At the age for secondary education young people are not fully ready for a proper choice of their line of education. Flexibility should be given. And most important don't take women out from the eduction system due to pregnancy.

Steele, 60+, France: Your questions are too adult for a young person to understand their import and reply.