ABSTRACT
The problems of education in the Third World are qualitatively different from those in the industrially developed Western world. Historically, the Third World remained colonized in the nineteenth century and in the first half of the twentieth century, a period which saw rapid development of science and technology. Several countries in the Third World acquired political independence soon after the Second World War, and began programmes for development. These countries faced, and continue to face, several problems (apart from poverty) such as huge populations with large growth rates, very high percentage of illiteracy, underdeveloped communication systems, and a poor infrastructure for education. Attempts for development are thwarted by lack of educated and trained manpower, while efforts for universalization of even elementary education are ineffective because of lack of development. The severe nature of this disparity is illustrated vividly by the fact the percentage of students remaining in the educational stream after the age of 20 is less than 5 for the bulk of the Third World, as against 38 for the developed world (see World Development Report, 1987).
