ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the author's involvement as an economist with education and the UN, especially but not only with UNESCO. His early involvement was with manpower planning as a guide to setting targets for the expansion of education in countries immediately before or just after independence in Africa. Secondary and higher education had been held back by the colonial system and there were urgent needs to replace colonial officials in government and many expatriates working elsewhere. This was the classic postcolonial manpower problem and called for economic analysis. At the Jomtien Conference in 1990, long-held goal of Education for All was accepted along with many others to create educational systems which were broader and more relevant. The author's work on Economic Commission for Africa gave a quantitative overview of the formal systems of education in Africa. The World Bank, UNICEF and UNDP were convinced of the need for a new international impetus for education and had teamed up with UNESCO.
