In September 2000 advocates from 189 countries signed up to the United Nations Millennium Declaration which is a statement for the rights of the poor. The declaration commits countries to fighting poverty and has its main drivers set out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which include halving the numbers of people living in extreme poverty by 2015.
Many understand intuitively the notion of education as a public good. Broader approaches to societal development are often harder to “sell” than narrowly focused reforms that try to achieve “one thing at a time”. This may help to explain why the powerful intellectual leadership of Manmohan Singh in bringing about the needed economic reforms in India in 1991 was so concentrated on “liberalization” only, without a corresponding focus on the much needed broadening of social opportunities. Read more…