What Works and What's New in Education: Africa Speaks!

What Works and What's New in Education: Africa Speaks!

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Participation

Theme of the meeting

Organization of the meeting

 

Part one: opening session

Opening Statements by South Africa

Keynote Speech from President Thabo Mbeki

Welcome From ADEA

Statements by agency representatives and Ministers of Education

 

Part Two: Substantive Sessions

Organization of the Sessions

Session One: Purpose, Process and Outcomes of the Prospective, Stock-Taking Review of Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Session Two: Capacity Development

Session Three: Access for All—Democratization of Educational Opportunities

Session Four: Community Participation

Session Five: Access for Girls

Session Six: Access and Quality—Innovative Teacher Policies

Session Seven: Quality—Improving Curricular and Teacher Inputs

Session Eight: Quality—Improving Curricular Relevance

 

Part Three: Breakaway Sessions

Groups 1 and 2: Strategies, processes and practices to promote education policy formulation that learns and builds from experience

Groups 3 and 4: Strategies for promoting dialogue and action around what works

Group 5: HIV/AIDS

Group 6: Networking and its utility for developing parternships based on what works

 

Part Four: Caucus of African Ministers of Education

Part Five: Wrap-Up and Closing Session

Annex 1: List of participants

Annex 2: Agenda of the meeting

Annex 3: List of Case Studies for the Prospective, Stock-Taking Review of Education in Africa

This document is a summary of the 1999 ADEA Biennial Meetings. The views and opinions expressed on this report are those of the authors and should not be attributed to ADEA, to its members or affiliated organizations or to any individual acting on behalf of ADEA. The report was prepared by a team composed of Nico Cloete, Director, Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET), Pretoria; Jo Muller, Professor of Curriculum, Head of Education, University of Cape Town; and, Jenny Roberts, Education Consultant, Joint Education Trust (JET), Johannesburg.

The objective of this report is to provide an accurate account of the proceedings of the Johannesburg Biennial Meeting. The meeting focused on country experiences brought to light by ADEA's "Prospective, Stock-Taking Review of Education in Africa". A synthesis document of this review was distributed in Johannesburg which provided the basis of the discussions during the meeting. The document will be published at a later stage.

Published by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). ISBN: 92-9178-024-3

A French edition of this book entitled "Education en Afrique -- Réussites et innovations : L'Afrique parle !, Compte rendu de la biennale de l'ADEA. (Johannesburg, 5-9 décembre 1999)" is available: ISBN: 92-9178-025-1

Cover design: Marie Moncet

Painting by: Raymond Andrews (South Africa)

Financial support for the 1999 ADEA Biennial Meeting and for publishing of this report is provided out of ADEA Core Funds, to which the following organizations are contributing members: African Development Bank (ADB); Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); Carnegie Corporation of New York; Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA); International Development Research Centre (IDRC); International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP); Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD); Rockefeller Foundation; Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF); United States Agency for International Development (USAID); the World Bank; Department of Development Cooperation (Austria); Department for International Development, U.K. (DfID); Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Department for International Development Cooperation; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of International Cooperation and Development (France); Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands; and, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Federal Departement of Foreign Affairs.

© Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) 2000

Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
International Institute for Educational Planning

7-9 rue Eugène-Delacroix, Paris 75116, France

Web Site: http://www.adeanet.org/

List of Abbreviations

ECE      Early Childhood Education
EFA      Education for All
EMIS     Education Management Information System
GER      Gross Enrolment Ratio
IT       Information Technology
UPE      Universal Primary Education

Introduction

The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) held its 1999 Biennial Meeting in Johannesburg December 5-9, 1999.¹

Participation

The meeting was attended by 230 participants including 37 ministers and deputy ministers and 75 senior government officials from 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, there were 140 participants from 43 bilateral or multilateral development agencies, foundations, non-governmental organizations and other bodies. Members of ADEA Working Groups, resource persons coming from 24 African countries and members of the ADEA Secretariat and of other organizing agencies also attended. The list of participants is reproduced in ANNEX 1: List of participants.

The following African countries were represented at the meeting: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad,
Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São-Tomé et Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe.

The following agencies and organizations sent participants to the meeting:

(a) Bilateral agencies: Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Austria; Administration générale de la coopération au développement (AGCD), Belgium; Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA); Department for International development Cooperation (DIDC), Finland; Direction générale de la coopération internationale et du développement, ministère des Affaires étrangères and Agence française de développement, France; Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Germany; Higher Education for Development Cooperation (HEDCO) and Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nederlandse organisatie voor internationae (NUFFIC), Netherlands; Ministry of Development Cooperation (NORAD), and Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs, Norway; Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Switzerland; Department for International Development (DfID), United Kingdom; United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

(b) Multilateral agencies, Foundations, NGOs and other bodies: All Africa teachers organisation (AATO); Agence française de la Francophonie; Association internationale pour la promotion de l'éducation en Afrique (AIPEA); Association of African Universities (AAU); Carnegie Corporation of New York; Commonwealth of Learning; Commonwealth Secretariat; Conférence des ministres de l'éducation des pays ayant en commun l'usage du français (CONFEMEN); European Commission (EC); Fédération africaine des associations de parents d'élèves et d'étudiants (FAPE); Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE); International Association of Universities (IAU); International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP); Rockefeller Foundation; Syndicat des enseignants de l'éducation nationale (SEENA); United Nations Development Program (UNDP); United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO); United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); World Bank.

Theme of the meeting

The general theme of the meeting was: What Works and What's New in Education: Africa Speaks! The meeting focused on "successful" African educational experiences that have adressed the issues of access, quality and capacity development.These experiences were brought to light by a major exercise launched by ADEA in 1998, referred to as the "Prospective Stock-Taking Review of Education in Africa". Ministries of Education of all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa were invited to identify educational experiences they considered to have had successful outcomes. Country teams then proceeded to document theses experiences and to draft reports. This resulted in a rich stock of case studies coming from 25 countries and 5 ADEA Working Groups. The case studies were discussed in a series of panels where the country team leaders played a central role.

Organization of the meeting

The meeting was conducted in several parts . The agenda of the meeting appears in Annex 2: Agenda of the meeting:

(a) During the opening session, a keynote speech was given by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. This session was a joint opening session for both the ADEA Biennial Meeting and the Education For All Sub-Saharan Conference.

(b) Eight plenary sessions, each focusing on a particular issue related to the general theme of the meeting:

Session I: Purpose, process and outcomes of the Prospective Stock-Taking Review of Education in sub-Saharan Africa

Session II: Capacity development

Session III: Access for all—democratization of
educational opportunities

Session IV: Community participation

Session V: Access for girls

Session VI: Access and quality—innovative teacher policies

Session VII: Quality—improving curricular and teacher inputs

Session VIII: Quality—improving curricular
relevance

(c) Breakaway sessions, conducted in small groups, explored in greater depth issues raised in the plenary sessions.

(d) The African Ministers of Education held a closed session during the meeting.

(e) Session IX, conducted in plenary, reported on the small group breakaway sessions and the meeting of the African Ministers of Education.

(f) The Closing Session wrapped up the meetingand reflected on implications of the Prospective, Stock-Taking Exercise for the various actors involved in education in Africa. Suggestions on how the process
initiated by the Prospective, Stock-Taking Exercise could be taken forward were made.

A background document synthesizing work conducted for the Prospective, Stock-Taking Review of Education in Africa was distributed to all participants. It summarizes the lessons learned from the country and Working Group reports. The document will be published by ADEA at a later stage.

A number of peripheral meetings took place immediately before and during the ADEA Biennial Meeting. Several ADEA Working Groups held meetings: the Working Group on Nonformal Education organized a "Seminar on The Dynamics of Nonformal Education"; the Working Group on Sector Analysis held a "Seminar on National Reviews of Education Sector Analysis"; a "Regional Seminar on Education and Finance" was organized by the Working Group on Finance and Education; and, the Working Group on Female Participation organized an Open Forum. In addition FAWE held its Executive Committee Meeting and a Donors Round Table and the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) held a "Seminar on Private and Community Schools".

1. Note on coordination with the EFA Sub-Saharan Conference Meeting:

The ADEA Biennial Meeting was held at the same dates and place as the Education For All (EFA) Sub-Saharan Africa Conference. This was decided to encourage greater coordination between ADEA and EFA and to make the most effective use of the time and travel budgets of the people attending both meetings. Each meeting had its respective objectives, agenda, sessions and participants. The opening session was held in common.

Part One: Opening Session

Opening Statements by South Africa

Hon. Prof. Kader Asmal, Minister of Education from South Africa welcomed participants to the ADEA Biennial Meeting and concurrent Education For All (EFA) Sub-Saharan Africa Conference. He said that ADEA was meeting for the second time in Africa, and that South Africa was honored to be hosting this conference, which reflected a sincere effort to develop partnerships between Ministries of Education and between them and their external partners. He then introduced Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa as a true son of Africa. Mr. Mbeki, he said, is both a scholar and a lover of poetry, who has given top priority to education and has reaffirmed the commitment of his Education Ministry to the principles embodied in the maxim, "Learners must learn, educators must educate and managers must manage".

Keynote Speech
from President Thabo Mbeki

President Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of South Africa welcomed the participants to South Africa and expressed his pleasure that his country had been chosen as the place where such important issues would be discussed. In his keynote speech he noted that the development of the continent depends upon those who work in the field of education. If the coming century is to be characterized as truly African, the realization of this goal depends upon the success of our educational systems. Nowhere in the world has sustained development been achieved without a well-functioning educational system, without universal and sound primary education, without effective higher education and research sectors, or without equality of educational opportunity.

The legacy of colonial education, he continued, which divorces the African child from his or her own experiences and environment, is a key issue. The inadequate incorporation of Africans into the capitalist world is another, resulting in the creation of a dependent and exploitable class rather than one of entrepreneurs. Furthermore, Africa has been impoverished through the destruction of traditional agriculture and has been forced into primary production. Leading centers of learning are being destroyed as people are forced back into poverty and their histories erased: Neocolonialism has merely continued the process. Only through transcontinental cooperation and solidarity will Africa be able to achieve a better life for all. The African child must be intellectually emancipated if we are to build a caring, humane and sustainable African society.

In this context, President Mbeki stressed, it is important that African orientated agencies such as ADEA collectively effect change by cementing ties between educationalists. We must have common goals and a common agenda, he insisted, if we are to realize our ideals. Africans must cease to see themselves as fulfilling merely national roles and must become part of continent-wide movement for development.

The present development phase requires a new class of intellectuals in both economic and social areas. If we are to create entrepreneurs in Africa, we must also create an intelligentsia. Intellectuals must not isolate themselves: they must help build a humane society. The HIV/AIDS epidemic demands the urgent attention of our intellectuals. We must also promote the use of information technology in education, he said, to create links between places and institutions, urban and rural areas, in order that African children are able to advance scientifically and to compete on an equal footing with the rest of the world. Economic modernization depends upon improvement of science education and on the establishment of skills in science and technology. Women, especially those from poor and rural areas, must also be actively involved in this process.

In closing, President Mbeki reiterated that organizations such as ADEA, with its Intra-Africa Exchanges have a vital role to play in the sharing of African expertise because they disseminate research findings while encouraging collective work, the exchange of academics, and the twinning of institutions. National strengths in areas such as medicine and agriculture should be recognized, to enable students from a country lacking in expertise to study in another which possesses such expertise. This would enable students from Africa to share the best in continental expertise and would promote a continental awareness of cooperative development. ADEA's focus on success stories was a clear milestone contribution to African development.

The President expressed his pleasure in opening the ADEA Biennial Meeting and the EFA Sub-Saharan Africa Conference as both meetings were being held concurrently.

Welcome From ADEA

Ms Sissel Volan, Chair of ADEA and Senior Education Advisor from NORAD then welcomed the participants from ADEA and EFA. We meet at a time when the state of education in Africa is still a cause of grave concern, she noted. Forty million children are still unable to exercise their right to education and two-thirds live on less than $US1 per day; 11 million have died from, and 22 million are infected with, HIV/AIDS. Among the teaching corps, there are not enough new teachers to compensate for those who are sick or who die of AIDS. It is essential that we alleviate poverty, fight HIV/AIDS and provide children with a better future. For all these reasons, then, concern for education tops the political agenda in Africa. Although responsibility is anchored at the national level, Ministers need both national and international partners. ADEA's central mandate is to promote and sustain partnerships between ministers, funding agencies and researchers in an environment of openness, collegiality and trust. The work of ADEA has contributed to preparing the ground for a new culture of cooperation and a new way of doing business.

Ms Volan stressed that the Prospective, Stocktaking Review of Education in Africa coordinated by ADEA had set the basis for the conference. Through it, ADEA has challenged Ministers of Education to present initiatives which they consider successful and which "have worked". The focus is thus on practicality. Practice is necessarily local; to focus on practice would help counter a tendency to think of Africa merely in terms of general solutions. It is also important that fragmentation be replaced by cohesion. A sector-wide approach, and consensus-building between partners based on trust, rights and obligations, are steps in this process.

Speaking about her own organization, NORAD, the Chair pointed out that that it had negotiated a consultancy agreement with the Norwegian Ministry of Education to help promote dialogue with sister ministries in the South. Many similarities exist between ministries throughout the world. Ministries of Education in the North have an important role to play in development education; yet now, at a time when development partnerships are most needed, developed countries are experiencing aid fatigue. For development projects to prosper they need community consensus and support. The subject of development could be included in the school curriculum, she suggested. There is a constant need for public support for development activities, and for fostering closer relationships between ministries and development agencies.

The majority of children who do not attend school are girls. The Forum for African Women Educationalists, FAWE, is the principal advocate of girls' education on the continent. It is a pleasure and privilege, Ms. Volan said, to work with these motivated women of Africa on such an important issue.

In conclusion she expressed her hope that participants would find the coming days meaningful.

Hon. Bireme Abderahim Hamid, Interim Alternate Chair of ADEA and Minister of Basic and Secondary Education and Literacy from Chad then took the floor. He conveyed his thanks to the hosts for the quality and warmth of their welcome. This Biennale, following the one held in Dakar, would allow countries to develop and strengthen their partnerships, he observed. He outlined the ADEA framework of case-studies based on success stories, presented by country and field of activity: despite their weaknesses, he said, they provide models from which lessons may be learned. The reports of these studies from 25 countries and 5 Working Groups, would be made available. Their purpose is to identify constructive policies, processes and practices in recognized problem areas in African education and thus to promote a culture of looking for solutions within the African context.

According to Hon. Hamid, ADEA's work is two-fold: to make solutions known and to create channels through which policies can be based on `true experiences'. He hoped that exchanges during this meeting would lead to an increased awareness of lessons learned and would provide opportunities for the development of education. He congratulated the national teams and working groups on the quality of their work and the relevance of the results achieved in such a short time. He thanked the Steering Committee, the Secretariat, and the coordinators of the national case studies for their important contributions.

Statements by agency representatives and Ministers of Education

The next speaker, Ms Aïcha Bah-Diallo, Director of Basic Education, UNESCO and representing its Director General, declared that our main aim is to ensure that young children, men and women receive a high-quality education which will prepare them for the future. She said that UNESCO had followed with great interest the activities of ADEA and had participated in all the ADEA Biennial Meetings. She said that UNESCO had adopted the global declaration of Education for All, with a focus on the learner and the learning process. This makes provision for the fundamental needs of education by promoting universal access, equity, learning, promotion of knowledge, improvement of the environment in which education takes place, development of partnerships and the strengthening of international solidarity.

The mid-decade meeting in Amman evaluated the success of efforts to attain universal basic education within 10 years. After 5 years, it was confirmed that countries in Africa were indeed moving in the right direction, but the results are not sufficient. Africa, she reported, has the lowest economic growth rate and the highest illiteracy rate in the world. Less than 10% of the poorest inhabitants have access to education. Those who benefit most are mainly urban-based, attend private institutions, and come from the middle class. Furthermore, some two-thirds of those who do not attend schools are girls. In some countries 95% of qualified people are unable to find employment as their training has little relevance to the job market. Therefore, efforts must be refocused on equity, education for adults, greater relevance of education and improvement of teacher training. Countries, however, lack both the human and financial resources needed to carry out the EFA mandate: the debt burden places a major constraint on governments, most of which mobilize resources to service debt rather than to educate children. Ongoing wars are destroying the social fabric and preventing mobilization of human and financial resources. This situation is further aggravated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic: in one country alone, 1000 teachers are dying of HIV/AIDS while the training colleges can not produce even half that number.

The African continent has the potential to mobilize politicians, partners in development, NGOs and funders, but it must first build consensus about goals and priorities. UNESCO wishes to salute the work of consultative regional groups and participates in the consensus-building efforts of different UN organizations and the World Bank, as well as in designing and implementing educational reform in different countries. Its main aim is to help make education more relevant to needs and to explore all the different ways of doing so.

Ms Bah-Diallo said she was convinced that the 21^st century would see Africa come into its own. Heads of state must give priority to developing the human resources of the continent, for this is a prerequisite of development. Fortunately, she said, African Ministers of Education are firmly committed to working together, sharing experiences and developing cross-sectoral partnerships. She then ended by thanking the South African Government for its support to the ADEA biennale.

The next speaker was Hon. Sikanyiso Ndlovu, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Technology, Zimbabwe, speaking for the OAU Decade for Education. The record is a mixed one, he admitted. Some countries have forged ahead, others have sustained their gains without making any breakthroughs, and still others have slipped backwards. But he said this is not surprising when we consider that the continent has been plagued by wars and emergencies. We need to formulate a clear picture of successes and failures and to determine the reasons for the failures. It is to be hoped that the next decade will demonstrate concrete successes in the field of African education.

He then outlined how, following the victory over apartheid, African political agenda has shifted from struggles for liberation to the alleviation of mental oppression and the oppression of poverty: all stakeholders must cooperate in facing these challenges. Our best weapons in this struggle are not guns but knowledge, science, morals and cultural values. Peace, prosperity and enlightenment are our strategic objectives; we should create a continent in which we can celebrate our differences and our similarities. Education, although only one of the prerequisites for human development, is a key player in managing change.

The Deputy Minister then reminded participants that African Heads of State had reaffirmed their commitment to a decade of education in Africa. This commitment entails:

• A substantial increase in the proportion of the GNP allocated to education from lows of 2% to at least 6 _ 8%;

• The development of cost-effective modes of educational delivery;

• The provision of education relevant to State goals in economic development.

These commitments must be translated into action, he stressed. Government cannot do so alone, and Ministers of Education must encourage the participation of both civil society and the donor community. The donor community can play a positive or negative role in educational development: negative roles include dispensing large sums of money with negligible impact, because of an over-emphasis on physical construction and a lack of emphasis on building capacity in African institutions. In the coming century, more emphasis should be placed on innovative educational approaches. There is a need for learners who are able to apply their knowledge to entrepreneurship. Cognitive skills should be developed: children must learn to love reading; and we should also consider the affective domain and try to teach children to appreciate what they learn. Finally, education must be made more accessible to those who are now excluded, using technologies that facilitate distance learning.

Donor investment in developing African expertise education has been inadequate. Publishing organizations and similar enterprises also deserve development support. African scholarship must be strengthened and the ADEA Working Group on Books and Learning materials has done considerable work in this field.

Minister Ndlovu warned that it is necessary to move fast if the new millennium is to show a marked improvement over the past; we cannot afford to repeat our mistakes. We must achieve primary education for all in the next 5 years. For the past 10 years we have "rhetorised" over the need to provide quality and equity in education for girls: and it is to our shame that this meeting confirms we still have not closed the gender gap, particularly at secondary and tertiary levels. In some countries women constitute less than 10% of tertiary education students. Women are also under-represented in educational ministries and in decision-making positions. We should all re-dedicate ourselves to the improvement of education in the next millennium.

Hon. Jon Lilletun, Minister of Education from Norway, then took the floor to offer his congratulations to conference participants for adopting a positive approach to the challenges of education by looking at examples of success. The sharing of both experiences and dreams is one of the best ways to achieve development, he suggests, and there is a Nordic tradition of cooperation which has played an important role in educational development. One of the results of globalization is that international borders are less insulating than they were before, and the decrease in insularity is reflected in the increased availability of knowledge and skills for industries which are themselves becoming more knowledge and information-based. The development of information technology has contributed to the globalization of economies, education, cultures and other areas of activity, providing opportunities for long-distance cooperation in education and developing global networks.

Partnership is the key word, but cooperation takes time and money. The Norwegian Ministry is developing a policy of cooperation through national development agencies and through building links with sister ministries in the South. North-South networks will be beneficial, especially in sector programs. He closed his remarks with a rousing appeal: "Let us make Africa a better place to live; to bring up children—God bless Africa!"

Mr. Eduardo A. Doryan, Vice-President, Human Development Network, World Bank, began by saying that the choices we make today will determine whether Africa will claim the next century or will become peripheral to the world economy. Countries which invest in education should experience growth; and education skills, knowledge and technology will be increasingly important in the next century. The average adult in sub-Saharan Africa has had less than 3 years of education, while 70% of the population will be school children within the next 20 years. He confirmed that support for the education of children and adults will remain a priority of the World Bank.

Mr. Doryan said the World Bank wishes to learn from African experience and it recognizes the importance of a balanced approach to education, of strengthening education at all levels and affording an increased priority to higher education. Results of the ADEA Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise highlight many indigenous solutions which can contribute to global knowledge: it is important to transform isolated cases of success into continental solutions. The debt reduction initiative means that prospects for development are better than they have been in the past; high debt levels act as a brake on sustained development. Countries have therefore to develop poverty reduction strategies and keep education at the core of development. There is also an urgent need for reliable and comprehensive databases to monitor impact and evaluate progress: the World Bank has developed "toolkits" for countries on how these may be prepared.

HIV/AIDS is not merely a health problem; it is a serious development problem. Nine of the ten countries with the highest numbers of children living with HIV/AIDS are in sub-Saharan Africa. Schools are key places for health education and for stemming the spread of this disease. Contrary to the belief of many parents, sex education does not lead to increased sexual activity, he said. Education has a crucial role to play in dispelling the stigma which surrounds this epidemic; and ADEA is uniquely placed to help Africa with this task.

ADEA is therefore important in maintaining the balance between political support, policy, and research in education. The World Bank supports the Education for All initiative which gives highest priority to education and is ready to fund programs aimed at improving the quality of education and addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The last speaker at this opening session was Hon. Prof. Kader Asmal, Minister of Education of South Africa. He began by commenting on what he regarded as the brilliant but daunting stroke of holding both ADEA and EFA meetings concurrently.

He said that over the next few days the ADEA meeting would be inviting participants to consider African solutions to African problems—and how strange that we should need such reminders! Participants should not be beguiled by the comfortable atmosphere; there is an urgent need to get down to business. The EFA assessment meetings would consider a continent-wide assessment. We cannot move unless we speak the truth among ourselves, he reminded his audience. Although there is a place for pride in our achievements, there is no place for complacency.

Professor Asmal then enumerated the issues and "realities" that would be confronting participants during their four days of deliberation.

• The effects of HIV/AIDS on African communities: the educational system could be decimated. We must learn how to manage a society living with HIV/AIDS.

• Parts of the continent have been living with civil wars; these have affected the schooling of thousands of learners who have been recruited as child soldiers or have become victims of landmines. The sanctity of the school environment has been violated.

• Most countries have now recognized the notion of fundamental human rights in education, especially those of the girl child.

• There is a revival of racism and ethnic chauvinism in some donor countries. This must be eradicated from schools in both donor and African countries.

• Most countries now recognize the importance of education for citizenship, for establishing the common values of democratic citizenship and respect for the human rights of all citizens.

• There is an urgent need to create a gender-sensitive education environment.

• Information Technology—educational TV, radio and interactive distance learning can increase access to education. The technological revolution has been constrained by underdevelopment of infrastructure and monopolistic practices, sometimes by groups outside the African continent. Nevertheless, "We have to be a bit modest about our expectations. We must get our basics right!"

• Constraints on budgetary allocations—structural adjustment packages—have not been the solution to Africa's problems. Many countries are crippled by debt.

• The challenges are daunting, but must be addressed.

Minister Asmal concluded with the call, "Forward to the greater impetus of future delivery and implementation!"

Part Two: Substantive Sessions

Organization of the Sessions

The opening ceremony was followed by eight sessions in which general themes related to the national case studies were explored. During these sessions, the Chair often made opening observations, then invited the panelists to present their views and experiences; then, the Chair interacted with the panelists, asking questions or soliciting additional information. Then, the discussions were opened to all participants on an informal basis of give and take.

After these plenary sessions, one afternoon was devoted to small group discussions (breakaway groups) that examined specific topics. At the same time, the Caucus of Ministers met in a closed meeting. The last day was devoted to a final wrap-up session and to the closing remarks.

Throughout the four days, the approach was informal, with panel presentations and comments from the Chair aimed more at stimulating reflection and debate through the sharing of experience, than at presenting expert views. The account that follows is not exhaustive, Rather, it gives an overview of the highlights and flavor of the exchanges.

Session One:
Purpose, Process and Outcomes of the Prospective, Stocktaking Review of Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Session 1 was chaired by Mr. Mamadou Ndoye, Coordinator of the United nations Special Initiative for Africa (UNSIA), World Bank and former Minister of Education, Senegal. Mr. Ndoye explained that the first session would be devoted to the Prospective, Stock-Taking Exercise of Education in Africa on which the Biennial Meeting was grounded. He invited Ms Mmantsetsa Marope, Lead specialist of the technical team for the Prospective, Stock-Taking Study and presently at the World Bank, to present the process by which the exercise was conducted, as well as the major findings and lessons learned.

Opening remarks

In her opening remarks, Ms Mmantsetsa Marope, lead specialist of the ADEA Technical Team thanked the country teams and ADEA working groups who prepared the Prospective, Stocktaking Review. The Review, she explained, was based on the premise that Africa not only faces many educational challenges, but also possesses considerable experience in dealing with them. The report highlights success and plays down the constraints: Africa should not be preoccupied with problematic areas only. Although constraints cannot be ignored, they should be considered within the broader context. The customary focus on constraints has undermined Africa's self-confidence, with the result that solutions have been sought outside of Africa. She said the report had been organized to address three questions:

What we did. The project began with a review of African interventions which appear to have been successful, or hold promise, for addressing the challenges of educational development in terms of equitable access, improvement of relevant good-quality education, and the enhancement of capacity to deliver. Emphasis has been placed on factual evidence: success must be demonstrated. However, country teams frequently lacked the records required to produce such evidence, which clearly demonstrates the need for continuing evaluation of the successful interventions. Country teams had been asked to describe the methods which they followed to develop each case study; because there are fundamental lessons in taking stock of how success is achieved. Team members had to teach one another, to "build" the capacity of their colleagues. The reviews themselves were located within the Ministries of Education, which seemed the most appropriate place. It was hoped that the exercise would encourage more reflection within Government.

How we did it. ADEA established the Review framework in the course of two seminars. The process required the full commitment of participants, whose participation itself was mandated directly by their respective Ministers. The Review carries the clear imprint of the actors and activities that it encompassed, including this Biennial meeting.

What we learned. Details of each case study are contained in country reports which have been summarized in the Prospective Stocktaking Review _ Draft Synthesis Report, a document distributed to all participants. Among those factors identified as helping to ensure the success of various initiatives are:

• Democratization and the norm of equality: macro-political contexts which nurture equity are the most conducive to educational development (the Zimbabwe Science Project is an example). In post-independence Africa, however, the immediate focus has often been on inequality; with the result that in many cases these or other inequalities re-established themselves, even several years after independence.

• Political vision, conviction and commitment: the Uganda case study, for example, reveals a commitment to provision of primary education. Such success requires champions who are highly placed.

• Readiness to develop "as you go": planning must not be allowed to delay implementation; refinement can be achieved en route.

• Consultative and inclusive policy development and programming: plans need a broad consensus for success, as has been demonstrated, for example, in the Madagascar "dina" schools. Broad-based support had to be garnered through consultation.

• Perceived relevance and sensitivity to real and perceived needs: the willingness, especially that of very poor communities, to invest in the improvement of education depends upon their understanding and appreciation of its value for them.

• Decentralization of management and control of education: After independence we took schools away from local communities, made them government schools and almost completely de-skilled communities of what they knew best. Now we have a new basis for decentralized responsibility.

• Information and analysis-based policy and programming: many successful cases have benefited from having a data and analytical research base. The Namibian EMIS intervention is an example.

• A holistic multifaceted approach: success cannot be ascribed to any single measure: successful interventions are usually multifaceted. The Uganda-UPE policy implementation is a good example.

• Cost-effective resource utilization: success may stem from innovative cost-saving, as in the case of the double-shift system in Gambia, or from the use of non-civil-service teachers in Senegal.

• Networking and the development of pan-African professional communities: the ADEA Working Groups offer a striking example of this principle.

Hon. Amanya Mushega, Minister of Public Service from Uganda, former long-time Minister of Education and Chair of the ADEA Bureau of Ministers when the framework for the studies was developed, reiterated how the study was provoked by the now commonplace catalogue of failures of the African continent. There is a tendency to focus on the negative aspects of interventions, he lamented. For example, even though a substantial increase in the number of classrooms was reported, any praise was lost in the din about a possible decrease in quality. Studies have also tended to focus on educational developments and improvements happening in Western and Northern countries instead of inquiring what lessons might be learned from other African countries. There is much to be learned from Africa. The answer to the question of whether the results fulfill the expectations of the Steering Committee is yes; it has been a collective effort and the Committee is happy both with the process and the outcome.

The Chair then asked the other participants for questions and comments. Here is a brief summary:

• How do countries deal with the challenge of community participation in curriculum involvement?

• Under-qualified teachers present a huge challenge to the education system. Communities have often recruited teachers who had taught effectively in their schools, but the Government would be dissatisfied, believing the teachers to be inadequately trained and not orientated to subject content.

• What criteria were employed to assess the successes related in the case studies? There did not seem to be many indicators for outcomes in the research report. How were successes evaluated?

• Inequalities tend to reappear after a time. Even when a problem seemed to be solved, it would be allowed to creep back in. What was being done with this recurring problem? Are we getting anywhere?

• Success stories constitute our only hope. We should be happy that solutions can be found within Africa. "This study helped to formulate education policy in my country. We have a rich experience and we ought to make use of it. The study has allowed me to reduce costs, even in the area of looking for expertise. It has allowed me to take measures and realize that they can be successful. If we wish to know about national languages, we look to Mali and Niger. If we wish to know about nomadic tribes, we look to Nigeria."

In her response, Ms Marope observed that there was not yet a very strong culture of monitoring interventions. Some of the cases reported were five to ten years old. The indicators of success were often not specified at the start of an intervention. Researchers had often to rely on subjective feelings and data. Countries need first to prove to themselves that a given intervention has been a success, and should engage in more systematic monitoring of what they did. The Oxfam report indicated that access to education had expanded rapidly, then lost ground, but was again on the rise. South Africa and Zimbabwe were examples of countries in which democratization provided the stimulus to expand access. Thus, momentum and commitment had to be maintained.

At this point, the Chair asked for a clarification of ADEA's raison d'être and how the theme of the Biennale fit into the overall perspective of ADEA. Mr. Richard Sack, ADEA Executive Secretary, described how ADEA had changed over the years. It started as a "donor's club", but subsequently became more concerned about partnerships and about cooperating more closely with Ministers of Education. The 1997 ADEA Biennial Meeting took up that challenge. The theme of that meeting was "Partnerships for Capacity-Building and Quality Improvements in Education". The background documentation and the discussions of the meeting explored the theory and practice of partnerships that characterize the work of all the ADEA constituents. The role of relevant knowledge—how it is defined, developed, used and controlled—appeared to be central to the practice of effective partnerships. With the theme of "What Works and What's New in Education: Africa Speaks!", the 1999 Biennial Meeting took the next logical step. It focused on the knowledge bases for viable policies and partnerships. The starting point was an understanding that effective and enduring partnerships are based on clear understandings of each partner's assets—not on one partner's assets and the other's deficits. That is why the ADEA Steering Committee commissioned the Prospective, Stocktaking Review of Education in Africa. Through this exercise, 25 countries volunteered to present case studies on what works and has paid dividends in tackling issues of access, quality and capacity building. A basic premise of this exercise was that the knowledge needed for education policy formulation must, first and foremost, emerge from the experience of those most directly concerned. To prepare for the 1999 Biennial Meeting, ADEA took up this challenge and, in turn, challenged all African education ministries to identify and analyze interventions that have paid such dividends.

Mr. Adriaan Verspoor, Lead Education Specialist from the World Bank responded to the question about how agencies would see this review by stating that it would affect Bank strategies and assistance. Rather than revise the 1988 regional strategy paper, the Bank had decided to wait until the ADEA findings were available. This study would affect assistance packages as the new strategy will go beyond providing financial assistance, to focus on capacity building and the utilization of existing resources. The findings will also provide incentive to change project design and implementation. Countries should be more collaborative and inclusive and should broaden participation in their project design. An enormous task lies ahead in working with African planners to improve monitoring and evaluation. Although processes are reasonably well documented in the Review, it is nevertheless weak in assessing concrete outcomes and cost factors. A strategy for monitoring, evaluation and regular data collection is urgently required. While there is a need for more case studies, the quality of data collection should also be improved.

The Chair solicited further discussion and a participant commented that, following independence, many countries had had initial successes in educational reform. Although problems changed during the post-independence period the solutions stayed the same. Some such problems are associated with the slow development of African economies, and there has been no educational planning for economic development.

A UNESCO representative commented from the floor that the evidence of capacity building at institutional level is an impressive feature of the case studies. Although UNESCO was aware of obstacles to planning in Africa, it is important to know that solutions nevertheless existed. UNESCO has a medium term strategy which ends in 2001 and the ADEA document could provide a useful reference tool in preparing UNESCO's next strategy.

Mr. Pierre Jacquemot from France suggested that we ought carefully to consider the extent to which the reviews could be sustained and generalized; these should remain at the national level until we have evidence that results can be consistently reproduced. The development of internal expertise is an important outcome of the project.

The Minister from the Seychelles then questioned whether the timeframes adopted for the study were sufficient. He asked whether the methodology was the best and most suitable. The process has highlighted certain points which suggest that African ministers need to reconsider. One such point is the need to strengthen Ministries with better evaluation and monitoring units which conduct research to provide Ministries with information. This information could also be used by donors and other African ministers. The questions must be asked: Was the process correct? Do we really believe in it? Do we believe that the process should continue?

The Chair then called on Mr. Djibril Debourou, member of the ADEA Technical Team, who observed that there were many themes which had not been raised in the report. He hoped that the research would be extended, and that the meeting would make suggestions in this regard. The document had missed some success stories and he hoped that more countries would participate in the next round.

Hon. Wurie from Sierra Leone explained that his country had not participated because of war, but that the study was very valuable and served to provide others with useful lessons. There is a need to develop yardsticks for comparing programs.

A participant from the Congosaid that the situation in his country was very difficult because there was a lack of stability, a lack of leadership for various projects and a lack of trained personnel.

The USAID advisor, Mr. Ash Hartwell, expressed the general consensus by saying that much work in education development in Africa had been deficit-focused. The project had achieved a cognitive shift to focusing on assets. The result was cathartic and therapeutic.

Ms Mmantsetsa Marope from the ADEA Technical Team was asked by the Chair to respond to some of the comments. She stressed that the cases were necessarily limited by the input of participating countries. The Working Group on Education Sector Analysis would in future address issues of internal synergies while the Zimbabwe case study would deal with issues of external efficiency. It is important not to make premature generalizations from the studies, she said. Trends, rather than conclusions, were being presented. There is no reason to assume that solutions will work in different places without appropriate modification to suit local circumstances.

The Chair closed the session by remarking that although questions about method and the validity of results were certainly important, in this study the process was more significant than the results. African problems must attract African solutions; this is the fundamental message of the Prospective, Stocktaking Review. We must learn from our own success stories and from others; only in this way will we develop African capacities. The partnerships that ADEA wants to develop should be directed toward and anchored in internal work; otherwise external relationships will lack foundation. There must be a re-orientation before we engage in externally-focused activities, and this means that an institutional culture must be developed as a matter of urgency.

Session Two:
Capacity Development

The session was chaired by Hon. Edward Khiddu Makubuya, Minister of Education and Sports, Uganda. He briefly introduced the panelists, then invited each of them to summarize their case studies and to answer questions.

Ms Felicity Leburu-Sianga, Chief Education Officer, Ministry of Education in Botswana was the first speaker. She reported on a strategy to expand secondary education in Botswana. This strategy is part of Botswana's policy of accelerated training of local personnel to service the country's economy. Its success is underscored by the fact that Botswana has reached virtual self-sufficiency in hiring most of the high level personnel required by the Ministry of Education. As in the case of Universal Primary Education (UPE) in Uganda, this policy is the outcome of having a clearly articulated political will at a time when many considered the goal unattainable. By 1999, Botswana nationals accounted for 99.7% of all staff in primary school, 82% of all secondary school teaching posts, and 74% of lecturers in Colleges of Education (all six of which are headed by nationals); the number of special education teachers has risen from four to 82; and the proportion of trained primary school teachers has increased from 62% in 1976 to 92% in 1999.

According to Ms Leburu-Sianga, Botswana has achieved this through institutional capacity building and by means of planning processes that obliged it both to prioritize issues and to monitor and evaluate results. We have learned that training must be responsive to needs, she stated, and that inputs alone cannot determine high quality outputs. Realistic targets should be set, the environment should be conducive to change, and policies should support change. Joint agenda-setting with partners is an important factor. Retention of staff has been a major problem and incentives had to be provided to persuade them to stay. New staff had to be trained to combat attrition. Botswana has learned a great deal from the process by reflecting on what has been done previously.

TheChair then opened the floor for questions and comments: A participant from Zambia noted that in many countries head teachers were often appointed without any special training. What had Botswana done with respect to the training of head teachers? Another participant asked how teachers were selected, while a third from Sudan wanted to know how qualified teachers could be retained in a decentralized context such as existed in his country. He also asked how teachers should be deployed and wondered if efficiency might not be sacrificed with so much emphasis on quality.

Ms. Leburu-Sianga replied that in Botswana untrained teachers are not allowed to be head teachers. Current limitations of head teachers have been identified; and teacher advisors are being trained to provide head teachers with managerial support. The cascade model of training has been adopted. Secondary school head teachers are trained in school management. The project is being institutionalized within the university. Botswana initially selected teachers in possession of Standard 7 level; this criterion was progressively raised to Senior Certificate and then to General Certificate of Education. The certification format was changed and diplomas are now awarded.

The Chair then asked the second panelist Mr. Amani Yao, Research Officer in the Ministry of Education in Côte d'Ivoire, to present his case study. Mr. Yao described the development of a management information system for secondary school students in Côte d'Ivoire. He said it was designed:

• to give a clear view of student flow patterns and include information needed to prevent multiple or illicit enrollments;

• to improve planning for teachers, equipment and other budgetary requirements; and

• to rationalize the organization of examinations.

This involved compiling information on 600,000 students (each of whom was allocated an identification number) into a single database. Data inputting is now be regionalized. The system can be used to monitor the educational careers of students and to provide detailed statistical analyses. This project was developed in conjunction with an external partner and was initiated with three-year (1995 - 1998) pilot programs in two districts.

Implementation began with a communication strategy which included distribution of posters and information leaflets, countrywide meetings between representatives from all involved parties, and an information campaign conducted through print, radio and television media. Training local technicians in computer and organizational techniques was a central part of the implementation strategy, and a ministry department was created for this specific purpose. The principal results have been the simplification of student enrollment, easier administration of national exams, simplification in recording student careers and grades and faster retrieval of the statistical data which permits analysis of trends.

A participant asked how these new approaches had been welcomed and how the system would be generalized. How would costs and logistics be dealt with, he wanted to know?

Mr. Yao said that administrators had welcomed the first phase of the project. Feedback was sought from the system users; they reported that it had reduced the time needed to capture information and said that the system was more reliable. With respect to the generalization of the project, discussions between all departments using the software had taken place and the members of the project team had been retained. There has been some concern about the operation of the team after the funding period ended. A seminar to identify different options to sustain the operation was held and it appears that money will be allocated from the national budget for this purpose.

The Chair then introduced the third panelist, Mr. Jan Alberts, Education Specialist, Ministry of Basic Education and Culture, Namibia. Mr. Alberts reported on three areas: curriculum reform, Education Management Information System (EMIS), and examination and assessment. The stimulus for introduction of EMIS was a perceived need to redress inequalities following independence. The development of EMIS was motivated by a need, identified by senior policy makers in the Ministry, advisors and external partners, for a comprehensive information system which might guide them in making decisions. Key users identified were: management and staff of the Education Ministry, academic institutions, the private sector, international agencies, researchers and the general public. The forms in which data is displayed—whether tables, graphs or maps—are now based on user needs. A comprehensive Geographical Information Services (GIS) system links the geographic coordinates of all schools with EMIS data, population census data, and relevant geographical features. At present the system is used principally for school mapping, whereas other applications are under-utilized because of staff shortages. Having adequate staff is essential to the maintenance of EMIS. The EMIS Division has only five professional staff members; this is insufficient to address the needs and continued development of both EMIS and GIS.

What are the major lessons learned? That once senior managers have experienced a need for information, they will support the development of a suitable system; that user needs must be determined; that the purpose and use of the information should be established; that management support in compiling the data required should be encouraged; and that the content and final presentation of the data collected should be decided early on.

The major challenges posed were:

• the need to develop additional capacity in order to maintain the system;

• how best to collect financial and adult education information;

• how to routinely include information concerning both quality and external efficiency in EMIS; and

• how to increase the accessibility of available information.

Namibia has also developed a National Examinations and Assessment System which is linked to the EMIS system. The main components of this examinations system are: the development of a new philosophy to guide assessment policies and practices; the establishment of efficient structures for the governance and administration of examinations; the development of administrative and professional procedures for efficient and secure administration of national examinations; and the development of a computerized information system for processing examinations.

The next panelist was Ms Lene Buchert from UNESCO and the Coordinator of the ADEA Working Group on Education Sector Analysis. She outlined the main findings of her Group's study of the perceptions of policy-makers in education ministries in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Mozambique. The study found that there is a strong degree of commonality among the three countries in their understanding of the sector-wide approach and of its differences from traditional project assistance. However, this commonality is not uniform: there is sometimes a wide gap between the general understanding of the approach and understanding how to put it into practice. The sector-wide approach is understood to be based on partnerships between national governments and international funding and technical assistance agencies, including non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders in the education sector, often referred to as "development partners". This partnership is perceived as mutually beneficial, and one in which partners are equals, with the shared aim of ensuring national ownership of the development process. Strong leadership from the national government and adherence to government priorities and government-developed policy frameworks by the development partners is, therefore, expected.

While it is too early to categorize as "success stories" any of the three cases involving partnerships between Ministries of Education and international agencies in implementing sector-wide approaches, the following conclusions have been reached: government leadership is essential; the configuration of a country's external partners plays a role; institution and capacity development are critical; equal partnerships based on mutual understanding depend on open dialogue, continuous communication and equal access to necessary information; and values, ethics, and moral codes are important. The constellation of agencies in countries seems to affect impact. Agencies are not all the same—differences between personalities and personal capacities affect the process. Finally, promoting sector development programs is a process in-the-making, and not a blueprint.

A participant asked from the floor how donors could agree on processes and coordinate their inputs.
Ms Buchert replied that donors are under pressure both from the countries they support and from their own governments. It is up to government and local stakeholders to agree on plans and priorities, because donors lack the ability to coordinate efforts by themselves. She pointed out that the European Community has published guidelines on sector analysis in an effort to make coordination easier.

The next panelist was Mr. Bill Saint, Education Specialist in the World Bank and Coordinator of the ADEA Working Group on Higher Education. Mr. Saint reported that his Group had identified three successful efforts in higher education reform. The first focused on institutional reforms within a single university in Mozambique. The second analyzed a system-wide program of higher education reform which had been introduced by the Government of Cameroon during the 1990s. The third described an innovation in regional cooperation for graduate training and research. The Working Group stressed the importance of institutional planning which, while placing emphasis on stakeholder participation, could nevertheless be driven by a small group of managers with a vision of the value of the process. In stakeholder planning, many groups adopt a wait-and-see approach. Only when they realize that they can make a significant contribution and that it is in their interest to participate do they become more active. This type of participation requires considerable management skill, as conflict mediation, public education and negotiation become increasingly necessary. The study underscores the importance of good process: what is done and the manner in which it is done. In conclusion Mr. Saint pointed out that it might also be worthwhile conducting similar surveys that would identify successes among donor agencies.

The Chair concluded the session by opening the floor for discussion: One participant requested information concerning the development of teacher capacity and capacity development, while another wished to know how to get donors to coordinate their efforts. Another participant commented that coordination of donor efforts can only be achieved by means of pressure from national and home country stakeholders, but that the European Union guidelines could also help. Finally, the Minister from Gambia informed the meeting that she would like to implement the Namibian system in her country and hoped for the opportunity to visit Namibia for a first-hand look.

Session Three:
Access for All—Democratization of Educational Opportunities

The third session was chaired by Mr. Pierre Jacquemot, Director for Development and Technical Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France. Mr. Jacquemot introduced each panelist and presented the theme that would be discussed. He said discussions would focus on access for all to school and university from the angle of democratisation. He indicated that the question of access for girls would not be specifically discussed during this session. He also pointed out that three themes emerged clearly in the reports and would come out in the panel discussions: (i) national policies aiming at broadening access; (ii) access to early childhood education and the role of communities; and, (iii)equity and democratization related to access to higher education. Experiences from Uganda, Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea, Zanzibar and South Africa will illustrate these different themes. Mr. Jacquemot invited Mr. Ko-Chih Tung to present the situation in Africa in terms of access to education on the basis of activities he had conducted within the ADEA Statistics Working Group.

Opening remarks

The first to speak was Mr. Ko-Chih Tung from UNESCO who is the Coordinator of the Working Group on Education Statistics. Mr. Tung said that planning is not possible without statistics and, therefore, his Working Group had set about constructing an African network on educational statistics. Although it is difficult to generalize about the situation in Africa, since the continent is full of contrasts, there is a fairly clear picture of access to primary education. In general, enrollments grew to about 60% in 1980, declined by the mid-nineties, but regained their 1980 level by the end of the decade.

According to Mr. Tung, enrollments have increased in countries which are not at war, but they have declined in areas affected by civil strife. Rapid population growth has adversely affected access to education as governments have had difficulty in keeping pace with the need for provision. Africa is going through the early stage of industrialization: rural areas are becoming more and more depopulated while towns and cities are growing. Squatter settlements around cities are also growing. As a result of the rapid population growth, 40 million primary school children are out of school, and this figure is increasing. Africa is the only continent in the world in which the population is growing rapidly; this puts Africa perpetually in the position of having to catch up. In terms of gender equity there is still a 10% difference in enrollments between girls and boys, although there have been steady improvements in East and Southern Africa.

Access must be analyzed in terms of the ecological context, he said. In towns and cities which developed early, school choice is large and administrative capitals possess a variety of elite, private and general schools; this is not the case in sparsely-populated rural areas. Mining towns, where there are few family units, also lack schools. In emigrant areas there are many women and children: they have a higher female enrollment as boys leave to work in the mines. There is a great deal of population movement in the continent, and this is largely responsible for different access patterns.

EFA targets presented enrollment data in terms of age sets, but it is also important to consider ecological challenges, he said. The access opportunities of a girl living in the city are very different from those of a girl on the plantations, in arid regions, or in generally rural areas. This raises the question of what interventions are most appropriate for specific ecological target areas: this is the central planning issue.

The second panelist, Ms Florence Malinga, Commissioner for Education Planning, Ministry of Education and Sports, explained how Uganda has embarked on an ambitious, all-encompassing policy to achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE) by 2003. UPE had been recommended in the findings of a presidential commission and the policy was also expected to address such policy issues as access, equity, relevance, equality and capacity development. The President himself launched the program, promising to provide free education for 4 children per family. The policy will give priority to 2 girls per family and to children with disabilities. Accompanying this policy are reforms in the areas of teacher development and management, the primary school curriculum, the examination system, instructional materials, and national assessments and monitoring.

In order to achieve the UPE objectives the Ugandan government has committed itself to providing textbooks, basic physical facilities in the form of classrooms, laboratories, libraries and teachers' houses. This has been done by providing roofing sheets, cement, timber and nails. Local authorities and communities are expected to supply additional inputs, especially labor for construction. Government has also committed itself to the payment of teachers' salaries, and the training of teachers.

Ms. Malinga confirmed that the evidence of success is clear. From 1996 to 1997, enrollments increased by 73%, the number of pupils entering first grade almost tripled, and the Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) increased from 77% to 137%. The impact on access for girls, however, has been less dramatic; the percentage of female enrollment only increased from 45% in 1995 to 47% in 1999.

The first lesson learned has been that a realistic vision and plan, together with widespread consultation and participation of all stakeholders, is required for success. However, it is not necessary for everything to be in place in order to start implementation. Although some innovations are best introduced in phases, it is necessary to move forward continuously (even if very slowly) in order to maintain momentum. Also, It is more efficient to locate the administration and the management of education systems as near as possible to the schools themselves. Finally, factors related to values, ethics and moral codes must be borne in mind. This implies that:

• governments should provide a genuine response to the needs of people and be willing to act in accordance with that response

• transparency and democracy are necessary at all levels of the system, particularly the top.

• Uganda's external partners including the World Bank, USAID, DfID, Irish Aid, the Netherlands and NGOs have played a positive role because they coordinated their efforts. An institutional framework now exists to coordinate donor funding and to encourage common supervision of project and sector-wide initiatives.

The establishment of a teacher EMIS system formed part of the primary education reforms, Ms. Malinga said. An outreach program, by means of which teachers were trained, was established in a number of teacher training colleges. Districts were also asked to recruit unemployed and retired teachers to assist in teaching children at the start of UPE, and multi-grade and double-shift teaching were encouraged.

The Chair then opened the floor for comments. One person inquired about the average family size in Uganda and how children were selected to participate in the program. What happens to those who are not selected, he wondered? Another asked how Uganda plans to keep down the cost of textbooks. Someone else observed that the sustainability of universal primary education is ultimately dependent on political will and suggested that all political parties be made to sign a memorandum committing them to implementing basic education for all. In Ghana, for example, this right is enshrined in the Ghanaian constitution.

Ms Malinga responded by explaining that the Ugandan President had pledged to educate four children per family; this was in part a plan to control population growth. Parents would be expected to pay for any additional children. During the first enrollment, 6% of parents paid fees. Uganda had also formulated a national textbook plan, which reduced ratios due to massive investment. Some 2.8% of the recurrent primary education budget has therefore been committed to textbook replacement. There is also provision in medium-term policy to support textbooks.

Mr. Tung, the first panelist, added that textbooks were traditionally the most important educational resource. However, Africa has poor statistics in this regard. Textbook shortage is a difficult problem to resolve. Many countries have no printing or paper production industry. Alternatives to pulp-based paper should be found; in East Asia paper is made from rice and bamboo pulp. The lesson here is that learning materials can only be produced on a sustained basis from globally-available materials.

The next panelist introduced was Mr. Jones Belmont, Director, Resource Planning Project Development, Ministry of Education, Seychelles. The Seychelles is a small group of islands with a population of 80, 000. The country is focusing on universal primary education (UPE). Seychelles has a strong national identity despite its diversities of culture, language and faith. It has a dual system of private and government schools, characterized by much disparity. Government schools provide education to a lower grade and children rarely remain literate after leaving school. The government elected in 1997 decided that an aggressive strategy for the provision of education to all must be instituted. It also agreed to work with a range of partners as GDP is $1 500 per capita.

The program has proved very successful, Mr. Belmont concluded. In 1960, 70% of twelve-year-old children in Seychelles and 25% of fifteen-year-old children attended schools. But by 1991, enrollment rates had risen considerably at the pre-school, primary and secondary levels. Several factors have contributed toward these results. The first is a clear policy making the initial nine years of free, compulsory education for all a top priority. Other factors include fusion of the two previously parallel school systems and the subsequent abolition of private schools, and a zoning policy which requires that all children attend school within their local residential districts. Further contributing factors include free provision by the schools of education materials, including uniforms and meals. The introduction of a National Youth Service (which lasted for 18 years and has now been disbanded) also helped to prepare students for the world of work and service. Finally, there has been considerable financial support from external partners.

The fourth panelist was Mr. Abdulla M. Abdulla, Education Policy, Planning and Project Officer in the Ministry of Education in Zanzibar. He explained that Zanzibar consists of two main islands with a population of 850 000 comprising an African, Indian and Arab population of whom 98% are Muslim. As a result of the development of partnerships between Government, religious authorities who controlled Koranic education, and an external partner, Zanzibar increased its gross enrollment ratio for early childhood education (ECE) from 2.8% in 1988 to 86.2% in 1998. A significant result of this experience was that more girls than boys were enrolled in ECE; the GER for girls was 93% compared to 79% for boys.

The rapid growth in early childhood education has been facilitated by several factors. The first of these is the revision of pre-school education policy in 1991, which sensitized the community to the importance of early childhood education. A second factor is the use of pre-school education for screening admission into Standard 1; this was necessitated by a shortage of school places and the awareness of parents that pre-school education increased their children's chances of success in primary school. A third factor is the changing socio-economic environment which has resulted in many mothers finding full-time work outside their homes. The decision to include Koranic schools as providers of ECE by encouraging them to offer both secular and religious education has been a crucial factor. Finally, the participation of the community in building and running pre-schools helped to improve local knowledge and to impart an understanding of the benefits of ECE.

The Chair then asked what effect the intervention at ECE level had had on the results in primary and secondary sectors. Mr. Abdulla replied that performance in primary grades had improved. The principal reason for establishing pre-school education was to ensure readiness for primary education. Those who have attended pre-school show a marked difference in reading, writing and numeracy skills from those who have not. Children who lack pre-school education do not cope as well as those with pre-school experience and it has been necessary to establish special classes for them. Later in the school career, differences between them are not as marked.

A participant noted that the provision of pre-school education often falls outside the mandate of the Ministry of Education and that to provide early childhood education is sometimes considered an "elitist, middle-class phenomenon". Malnutrition, which affects cognitive development, often occurs at the critical age of about eighteen months, long before basic education level. How does this bear on ECE, and at what age levels? Mr. Abdulla replied that pre-school starts between the ages of 4 to 6 years. He agreed with the comment on nutritional status as a determinant of development. For these reasons, healthy nutrition is now included in the pre-school curriculum. "We collaborate with Ministries of Health and Women and Children to address issues of home care of children aged 1-3 years," he said.

Someone else commented that even with 100% enrollment, little may be achieved in the absence of explicit policies for retention. Mr. Tung replied that it may be crucial to review retention in addition to enrollment. Mauritius and Senegal, for instance, had high retention rates. Yet in some countries, only 4% of these students survived beyond grade 4. The main reasons for this were civil strife and poor opportunity prospects, such as, for example, the need to work in the mines.

Ms Marope asked what had been done to ensure that the gap between pre-school and non-pre-school primary performance was narrowed. Were the gains described due to the fact that primary schools have brought all children down to the lowest common denominator? What have the Koranic schools taught other primary schools? Mr. Abdulla explained that not all the approaches had been piloted in formal schools. There has been a focus on communication of health issues by older children to younger children. Those who attend the Koranic schools already possess reading and writing abilities when they join the formal education system and are therefore more advanced. Allocation of children who can and cannot read to different classes is in the interests of better classroom management and it allows learners to develop at their own pace.

At this point, the Chair introduced the fifth panelist, Mr. Santiago Bivini Mangue, Director General for Planning, Ministry of Education, Science and Francophonie in Equatorial Guinea. He described how, in 1990, Equatorial Guinea decided to intervene in the pre-primary sector to improve access to pre-primary schools. The goal was to address the development needs of children aged 3-6 years, to improve their health, and to respond to community needs. Guinea had to find additional funding; the Government paid teachers' salaries and UNICEF provided for the agents in charge of the programs. NGOs participated in the development of programs with communities helping to build new schools. A mid-term review was conducted in 1995 to assess the situation and determine whether objectives had been met; it also considered introducing new activities to see whether beneficiaries were satisfied, examined ways to deal with the challenges which had emerged and made recommendations for future programs. One issue that emerged was that politicians and ideologies posed a problem; people, logistical support and communities had become financially over-committed. Some centers had not been properly set up due to a lack of regulation in 1994 _ 1996. Among the major lessons learned, Mr. Mangue cited: development efforts must be made at national level; that the sensitization campaign had been very successful; that the training of qualified staff is crucial and that communities must be sensitized to a project's importance and purpose. To date, Guinea has not monitored the results of those who took part in the program, but it hopes to do so.

The final panelist was Ms Hanlie Griesel, Senior Researcher Quality Promotion Unit, University of Natal, South Africa. She opened her presentation by stating that the notion of access to higher education raises questions of who should have access and to what they should have access. Access for all is not a foregone conclusion. Five years after apartheid the most dramatic achievements in South Africa have been gender parity and a dramatic change in the racial profile, which has resulted in an increased participation of those previously denied access. The proportion of black African (i.e. in terms of race group classification) students in higher education institutions (universities and technikons) increased from 29% in 1988 to 41% in 1993 and then to 57% in 1998. From 1988 to 1993 total enrollments increased by 45%. There was an 11% increase in black African enrollments from 1993 to 1998. During the apartheid era most institutions of higher education were segregated, and the "historically-advantaged" (i.e., predominantly white) institutions were of generally higher quality. It is therefore particularly significant to note that the proportion of African students in these institutions has risen from 4% in 1988 to 14% in 1993 and to 40% in 1998.

Institutions of higher education have used a variety of strategies and approaches to increase access, she reported. The case study singles out six dimensions to illustrate improved access: systems management; regional partnerships; access to key fields of study; new modes of delivery; curriculum change; and testing. Taken together, the six dimensions constitute examples of good management and achievement of increased access across the higher education sector. Nevertheless, two challenges remain: to respond to the fall in retention rates, and to respond to the increasing impact that provision of private higher education is having on enrollment rates.

One important strategy for increasing access is to apply the testing program developed at the University of Cape Town, which is now being used by 22 other institutions. This program has implemented a system of testing applicants who do not meet the entry requirements of particular faculties. Since 1990, this program has admitted 1,806 students who have a completion rate of about 75%. Several reasons have been given for the achievement and sustainability of this testing system. These include institutional support based on both the perceived need for testing and the performance of the students admitted; the structural location of the program within the institution's Centre for Higher Education Development, which has enabled interaction with educational and curriculum development activities; participation in research and national policy initiatives; and strong management capacity in the implementation of the testing system. Using such testing as an approach to increasing access presents a particular challenge: how to achieve fairness and accuracy, rather than allowing testing to serve as a "gatekeeping" device that runs counter to the principle of equity.

The Chair then asked for comments and questions, which are summarized below. The Minister of Education from Malawi remarked on the use of the term "African", which he felt had made students seem so foreign. Ms. Griesel replied that sometimes, in the interests of redress, one has to use past racial terminology. Race must be taken into account in order to abolish racial inequalities; institutions in South Africa must institute corrective action to deal with a "historically-ordained pathology".

The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research from Sudan felt that access and merit should be balanced. In Sudan there was lower female participation in higher education in the past, but the country has now equalized enrollment and female participation stands at 60%. The establishment of universities in different provinces promotes access. 20% of the enrollment intake is reserved for those who have completed all their schooling in the region in which the university is located; this enables access to different faculties. In Sudan a distinction is drawn between governmental and private institutions, where board members are often members of the community. At present there are two international universities and 19 non-governmental colleges. Institutions must find ways of avoiding "admission without merit" and the over-commercialization of higher education. He then asked how merit is assessed in South Africa. Ms. Griesel said that there is a trend for the elite to attend private institutions; however, no figures on the actual numbers are available. This has particularly affected historically Black Institutions. There had been an inevitable lag between the establishment and the implementation of policy. Written policy has defined the parameters for operation, but in the future, funding formulas will have to take into account measures introduced to promote access and related issues.

Building on this discussion, the Hon. Prof. Asmal, Minister of Education from South Africa added that "Education should service the public good." There has been large-scale foreign investment, he said, in higher education; in fact, some of these institutions were listed on the Stock Exchange. The problem is that they do not form part of the national vision for higher education and they pillage resources from the public sector. These institutions recruit students both from South Africa and from the rest of Southern Africa. Many black parents are moving away from the public sector and going to private institutions. The relationship between fees charged and the delivery offered should be examined. Then the public sector could be made more competitive and better able to match what is offered by private sector institutions. He said that public institutions must compete as equals, and not with "our feet tied together and one hand behind our back."

Continuing the discussion on access and equity, another participant commented that it was always good to have policies established from the outset, but follow-up policies might also be necessary to address subsequent problems, such as the many students who failed to complete their education as a result of socio-economic problems and who dropped out. The problems of transfer from one level of education to another must be solved. Policies should be sensitive to the special needs of deprived areas and recognize that those attending secondary schools often came from the middle class.

Mr. Tung was given an opportunity to comment on a number of issues raised by the other speakers. Africa, he said, is the continent which has the greatest incidence of malnutrition. The role of the state in education is being transformed: the notion of the all-powerful, all-providing state is giving way to a more diversified concept. Education is influenced by politics: it is often said that when governments change we have to start afresh. Decentralization can render education less vulnerable to the vagaries of politics in the capital city. The student population has more than doubled, and teachers are needed to teach them. The qualification and distribution of teachers are two problems facing African education. It is difficult to induce teachers to work in remote areas. Disparities between well- and poorly-developed regions in countries translate into disparities in provision of education. Salaries in the public service sector have decreased and teachers find that they can no longer live on their salaries.

In concluding the session, Mr. Jacquemot,the Chair, noted the new emphasis on monitoring and on complementing access with a focus on student retention and a better quality of education. He suggested that new partnerships should be forged to help expand access to education. However, the presentations and comments made during Session 3 showed clearly that a wide range of solutions is already available.

Session Four:
Community Participation

This session was chaired by Ms. Aïcha Bah-Diallo, Director of Basic Education, UNESCO. She opened the session by saying that we have seen that governments acting on their own cannot provide formal education to all the children of a country. To do so, it is necessary to establish partnerships with communities. Communities can assist, for instance, by building schools, and recruiting and paying teachers. There is a trend towards devolution of power to communities. But is it fair, she wondered, to ask communities to contribute to their educational needs? Is it sustainable? Is it not merely a way of asking the poor to pay more for their education? How is appropriation of the school by the community demonstrated? What are the problems encountered? She asked the panelists to address these questions.

The first panelist to speak was Mr. Maurice Tilahimena, Technical Advisor, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Madagascar. He observed that although communities have started to own and build schools, this practice has its inherent limitations. He then outlined the salient aspects of the Madagascar experience, whose great innovation is the development of a contractual approach which links government, school and community. The program was introduced in 1994 and focuses on primary education. Contracts were signed between schools and communities, the terms of which were negotiated with the communities. The contracts address issues of access, quality and teacher development. In 1998 an educational program designed to strengthen and consolidate the evolving structures was adopted. During implementation it became evident that the results were not those desired and, consequently, the strategy was redirected. A major change was the decision of the Ministry to intervene directly in the communities. This resulted in two concurrent approaches; one is from the bottom up, in which schools forged partnership with the local community and local stakeholders; the other is from the top down, in which the Ministry is the principal agent. In each case a formal contract is adopted which links different groups through consensus.

The initial goals of the contractual approach were to facilitate access and retention, provide teachers and to distribute textbooks to the poorest children. The Government's commitment was to provide funds for materials, while communities provided local materials and agreed to promote enrollment and retention. The program was supported by UNICEF and the World Bank and involved 38 out of 111 school districts; 40% of schools participated. The communities hired and remunerated teachers, built new classrooms and set aside money for school maintenance. This experiment increased independent action and community self-reliance. However, the project was unable to recruit sufficient teachers or attain an acceptable teacher/pupil ratio; rates of enrollment nevertheless increased.

The next panelist was Mr. Mohamed Jallow, Director of Information Technology and Human Resources, Department of State for Education in Gambia. Mr. Jallow reported that 95% of the population of Gambia are Muslim; children are expected to attend the religious schools (madressahs) at the Darras (learning centers). The madressahs are an alternative to the formal school system. Most girls who are not in the formal system attend them. Some schools are totally owned by communities and their enrollment rate is nearly 100%. They are located close to the communities, which reduces the distance that learners have to travel. The Education Act specifies the responsibilities for the management of schools, stipulating as a priority that all schools must have a parent-teacher association, a bank account, a PTA chairperson and a treasurer. The main lesson from Gambia is that community involvement in school management impacts positively on enrollment.

The next person to speak was Mr. Aaron Barutwanayo, the Director General for Higher Education and Scientific Research, Ministry of Education in Burundi who remarked that many countries have successfully established access to primary education, but there is often a bottle-neck at secondary school level. In Burundi, there are few public secondary schools and only 5% of children have access to them. Government wishes to increase secondary school participation but, lacking sufficient funds, has had to pursue the route of community school partnership. Under this arrangement, communities were asked to build the schools, to provide teacher accommodation and to purchase school equipment, while Government was responsible for deploying and remunerating teachers and for the provision of teaching materials.

The result has been an increase in enrollment rate. The retention rate between primary and secondary school has increased over 9 years from 5% to 25%. The program has resulted in a leveling-out of regional differences; each town has one or two locally-managed schools. A total of 327 schools have been established, 237 of which are community schools. Boarding school facilities at public schools have been converted into classrooms and the number of girls in secondary schools has increased by 50%. Clearly, the experience has been successful, yet some challenges remain: the shortage of good teachers has raised concerns over the quality of education. Progress has been achieved under very difficult conditions and in the face of continual socio-political crises.

The next speaker was Mr. Amadé Badani, Director General of the École Normale Supérieure in Koudougou, Burkina Faso. He said that in his country community involvement is aimed at improving both access and quality. The government has identified communities where several basic conditions suggest that greater local involvement would be possible. These conditions include:

• the absence of any school within a 3-kilometer radius of a community;

• adequate population density;

• the existence of a school management committee;

• a formal request made by the village;

• the existence of a local water supply.

In Burkina Faso, communities are expected to promote access, recruitment, female participation and to organize the school itself. Management committees have been established in villages and mechanisms developed to reduce dropouts, particularly among girls. Mothers also play an important role in promoting girls' participation in education. Finally, it is the government's responsibility to provide school books, teaching equipment and support infrastructure such as health clinics. There are still challenges facing the program, however. These include the need to ensure sustainability of structures; the need to ensure that mechanisms exist to enable communities to play their allotted roles; and the need to improve quality of community involvement through training.

At this point in the session, The Chair invited questions and comments from the floor. One person wondered if there was too much emphasis placed on building schools and not enough on curriculum and textbooks. Another asked: How does one involve the community in the preparation of the curriculum? How much money does the community contribute? What is the difference between programs which depend on community contributions and those funded by donor aid? A final remark concerned the notion of participation. The speaker noted that `community participation' was a concept used mainly for poor communities that have very little materially to contribute. Consequently, quality and sustainability were invariably sacrificed. He concluded that donors promote `community partnerships' as a means of reducing their own level of support.

The next panelist was Mr. Gidado Tahir, Professor and Executive Secretary, National Commission for Nomadic Education, Nigeria. He reported on a Nigerian program to bring basic education to nomadic children. There are 12_13 million people in nomadic communities in Nigeria. The national nomadic education program started in 1986, and in 1989 an institution was created to pursue this initiative. Prior to this some provincial governments had embarked on various initiatives that had failed. A National Commission and four university centers across the country conducted research into the needs of the several nomadic communities to establish their number, and the number and ages of their children. One university center was assigned responsibility for curriculum development and examined the national curriculum to see how it could be adapted to the circumstances of the nomadic groups. At first materials were developed in the language of the individual nomadic group, but English was used for levels higher than Grade 3.

Teachers were recruited from the existing cohort of teachers who had attended National Certificate of Education College. They had been trained to teach in conventional schools and had had no special training in teaching nomads. Now the university provides continuous training to teachers servicing the nomadic communities because it is important that they understand something about those they will teaching. Government has also had to offer additional incentives—such as financial incentives, bicycles and transport from towns to nomadic homesteads—to teachers assigned to teach in nomadic communities. To achieve sustainability it has been necessary to build capacity. Nomadic adults are trained so that they are able to "modernize" their societies. Radio is used to mobilize communities to set up schools of their own.

Several lessons can be drawn from this program, the speaker suggested. The first step towards success came with recognition of the need for change, together with recognition of the fact that the formal education system does not reach the nomads. The second was the holistic nature of the intervention and its process, together with a strategy for the continuous mobilization of stakeholders. This was particularly important in view of the initial skepticism of the nomadic communities. To overcome this, a combination of approaches was adopted, including face-to-face meetings, working with veterinary extension agents; meetings with community leaders; use of radio and posters; and the decentralization of the decision-making processes through devolution to units and stakeholders involved in the program.

At this point a participant from Cameroon interjected that in her country the nomadic population had been encouraged to settle in more permanent homes which had been provided for them. Mothers stayed at home so that the children could go to school. She said this had contributed to the success of nomad schooling.

The Chair then introduced the next panelist,
Mr. Cream Wright, Head of the Education Department, Commonwealth Secretariat, and Coordinator of the ADEA Working Group on Nonformal Education. Mr. Wright asked what possibilities exist for establishing an interface between formal and non-formal education? How can we better equip communities to manage schools? Success is only one-third of the picture, he pointed out; there is also a need to understand why communities became involved in education. Why is it that only the rural poor communities are involved? Is it because they are seeking what has been denied to them? How can we develop a responsive curriculum? We should devote more effort to defining community needs and determining which needs should be met. It is necessary to make a conceptual shift to understand that education centers on learning rather than on schooling. Governments must facilitate, finance, and promote learning wherever it takes place. Communities should be offered options, opportunities and choices; and they need a voice in educational policy and in the allocation and distribution of resources. It is paradoxical that before communities can do this they must be empowered. Financing community options is a challenge because there must be some sense of equity in user costs and financing, rather than an expectation that communities be fully responsible for costs. Subsidies must be better targeted if the poor are to benefit.

The Chair then asked the other participants to join in the discussion. A brief summary of their comments and questions follows:

• What successes can your group report?

• What should the role of communities be in formulating education policy? Are there examples where this has occurred?

• How does one solve the transport problem in situations where students travel to school from different areas?

• Peasant communities are in fact not always poor. "States make us poor". Resources get allocated to items such as vehicles and armaments, whereas the communities receive nothing. Sometimes communities are actually wealthy, and many build schools during periods of crisis. "We had to think about the reallocation of resources. Three primary schools can be built for the cost of a single luxury vehicle."

• PTAs (Parent Teacher Associations) contribute a great deal to schools. Parents are seen as part of government in determining policies, but they cannot be asked to design programs as they lack the expertise. Burundi experiences problems with the qualification of teachers. There is a serious need to encourage South-South cooperation and to send teachers to qualification centers in neighboring countries.

• Community participation is not merely a matter of finance, but also a means of getting communities to accept control of their schools.

• Community participation in education is indispensable. It is crucial for attaining the goals of universal education. It is necessary that this participation be organized. The government must create a synergy between the state and the community. Power and resources have been transferred to communities; this has created an incentive to participate.

In closing, the Chair asked Ms Joyce Moock of the Rockefeller Foundation what lessons she thought the session had brought to the fore. Ms Moock said the prime issue is the importance of having checks and balances if participation is to succeed. She enumerated them as:

• the importance of defining legitimate communities and legitimate decision-making processes;

• equalizing finance to compensate for inequitable tax bases;

• the necessity of capacity building for planning;

• the viable division of labor, both central and local;

• teacher training and teacher upgrading;

• quality control; and

• the importance of transparency in expenditure to enable parents to understand how funds are utilized.

Session Five:
Access for Girls

The fifth session was chaired by Hon. Mame Bounama Sall, Minister of Basic Education and National Languages, Senegal, who opened the discussion by pointing out that girls are victims of discrimination: even if they have access to the educational system, there are other constraints which adversely affect them and their participation in the system. Of the 25 countries targeted by the study, there are few which do not give pride of place to the education of girls. He then invited panelists and participants to present some of the strategies which have proved successful in promoting girls' access to schooling.

First to speak was Mr. Aimé Gnimadi, Director of Studies and Programming of the National Centre for Research, Benin who said that the aim in Benin is to improve basic educational opportunities for girls in two ways: one is through the formal school system; the other is a community development project that provides basic education for "over-age", out-of-school girls. Both programs strive to increase the enrollment and retention rate of girls and have been developed and implemented in collaboration with Benin's external partners. Both are also based on diagnostic analyses which indicate that girls' absences from school are related to cultural factors and are aggravated by early pregnancies and curricular content which, according to parents, are not compatible with their expectations for their daughters.

The Benin program included affirmative action which: exempted girls in rural areas from payment of fees; established a girls' schooling network composed of community authorities, NGOs, parents, teachers and students; established boarding facilities; and developed school feeding programs in rural areas. The results have been very encouraging. From 1992/93 to 1997/98, the primary school GER for girls increased from 44% to 59% and the percentage of girls in total primary school enrollments rose from 34% to 38%. In three provinces, the girls' GER increased by over 60%. In secondary education, there has been a significant increase in girls' attendance from 1995/96 to 1997/98. During this period, girls' enrollments increased by 35%, compared to 30% for boys; in three provinces, girls' enrollments increased by over 50%.

What lessons could be drawn from this experience? The effectiveness of the school fee exemption policy was one; the need for it to be extended into urban areas was another. Benin tries to treat problems globally, to conduct awareness campaigns and to sensitize teachers to the necessity of education for girls: and also tries to increase community participation in running schools. As a result, more women have participated in management at village level and in pedagogical innovations.

During the discussions following the presentations, the Hon. Damien Zinsou Alahassa, Minister for Education and Scientific Research of Benin, reiterated that the government in Benin exempted girls from school fees. This, however, resulted in financial losses for the government which it was obliged to recover. The needed assistance was obtained through USAID.

The next speaker was Ms Nesta Sekwao, Assistant Commissioner for Educational Planning, Ministry of Education and Culture, Tanzania. In Tanzania the focus has historically been on basic education, she explained. In the 1970s, UPE campaigns resulted in increased enrollment in primary education, which closed the gender gap; there is now a 50/50 distribution in access. The present report describes a program which was initiated with the support of external partners, to enable academically capable girls from poor households in nine districts to attend and complete secondary school education. Government introduced a cost-sharing program in which parents are expected to contribute towards school fees, according to their means. Government identified two regions in which to pilot the project. The primary schools, together with their committees and teachers, selected six girls per school, of whom the government approved three. If they were high performers, the girls were then sent to government secondary schools; otherwise they were sent to non-government secondary schools. Fees were paid by the government. Uniforms, pocket money, books and accommodation fees were also provided. This project was community-based in that the community participated in the selection of girls.

The program supported 1,325 girls enrolled in 58 secondary schools. The drop-out rate for these girls was only 4.1% compared with the national figure of 32.6%. An evaluation has indicated that their performance is improving; it is higher than that of girls who have not benefited from this program. This program has also led to a heightened awareness of the importance of secondary education for girls.

A participant from USAID in Benin asked how sustainable a scholarship program based on donor support could be. Ms. Sekwao responded that the budgetary allocation to education has increased, and Government has borrowed money. "In future we shall have to find ways to empower communities to contribute to education," she said.

The Minister of Education from Zambia wished to know from Tanzania why the girls who did not do well were sent to non-governmental schools, while those who performed well were sent to government schools. Ms. Sekwao replied that placement of learners is dependent on the number of places available at Government and non-Government schools.

The Minister of Education from Lesotho explained that in his country the situation was different: there were more girls than boys in schools and universities. The Lesotho Government was becoming increasingly worried about the boy child. Government had to ensure that boy children enrolled in, and stayed in, school.

The Chair then gave the floor to Mr. Alndinglaouel Nebe, Coordinator of the Education and Vocational Training Unit, Ministry of Basic, Secondary Education and Literacy, Chad. Mr. Nebe said that two studies had been undertaken to identify those factors which exert a negative effect on school attendance of girls. Some of these are socio-cultural: for example, the position of women in society; early marriage; the economic exploitation of girls in agriculture; and the perception, which stems from the practice of exchange of dowries, of girls as economic commodities. The girl child must contend with factors which impede her progress, including a school environment which is not conducive to females and a male-orientated school curriculum which does not make provision for the fact that in reality, girls' needs are different from those of boys.

The new program, designed to encourage the enrollment of girls in Chad, includes the following measures: a large-scale sensitization campaign involving public and private media, forums, meetings, and workshops; training of teachers and facilitators; provision of school supplies, textbooks and a school uniform to each girl; payment of subsidies to communities to enable income-generating activities and to alleviate typical feminine work; provision of food rations through the World Food Program (WFP); elimination of school fees for girls; relaxation of age restrictions for girls; creation of early childhood care so that girls who were traditionally responsible for this kind of work are now able to attend school; the inclusion of household matters (home economics) in the curriculum; and the establishment of quotas for the recruitment of female teachers.

According to Mr. Nebe, four years after the program's establishment, results are encouraging: the number of girls in school has increased by 23% and their percentage of the overall school population has risen from 34.9% to 37.6%. This progress has not been without problems, mostly related to socio-cultural and economic issues. Furthermore, technical and logistical problems make it difficult to generalize this experience.

The Minister of Education from Côte d'Ivoire commented that he was wary of a quota system such as Chad's, since this made low female enrollments a female problem, which it was not. In his view, it was a combination of social and institutional problems which should be addressed in targeted ways, such as merit-based scholarships and girls' boarding schools. Levels of quality and effort had to be raised, and not merely enrollments. Mr. Nebereplied that women in general are under-represented in employment; one needs to consider the recruitment of more female teachers. Chad wishes to have 50% female teachers in schools, but there are insufficient trained female teachers to fill these posts.

Commenting on Chad's quota system,Mr. Mayatula said that South Africa, by virtue of its Labour Equity Act, had in effect a quota system supported by law. Mr. Nebe responded by saying that Chad had considered implementing legislative measures to support the education of married girls and the education of girls that had interrupted school because of pregnancies. He added that encouraging the enrolment of girls did not have a negative impact on boy's enrolment.

The next panelist was Ms Penina Mlama, Executive Director of FAWE and Coordinator of the Working Group on Female Participation. Ms. Mlama said that her Group's task was to evaluate the work being done by FAWE, which has chapters all over Africa and promotes the education of girls. The study first examines bursary schemes. It has become apparent that there is a very high demand from girls for fee support. Many children are orphaned as a result of conflict and HIV/AIDS, and girls are more likely than boys to drop out of school. Girls also suffer more when families select which children should be educated. Twelve FAWE chapters have started small schemes to provide bursaries which will provide needy girls with school access. In Ghana, for example, 15 girls have been subsidized. Although this number is small, this is an independent activity to which women contribute directly from their own earnings. Sixty girls are being assisted in Kenya; the numbers for Uganda are 90 in primary schools and 4 in secondary schools. This demonstrates that progress can be made even with modest resources. FAWE is currently approaching governments to see whether they can upgrade the programs. It has also recommended the programs be extended to Burkina Faso and Guinea.

The study also examined empowerment schemes. In Tanzania the FAWE chapter has developed a program named Tuseme ("let us speak out") which aims at empowering girls to speak out, express their concerns, identify solutions, and take action to solve problems which hinder their social and academic development. According to most of the teachers in the participating schools, Tuseme has improved the assertiveness, the confidence, and the academic and social performance of the girls.

Another feature reported on concerns instances where the girls themselves have contributed to solving problems of sexual harassment in schools, of lazy teachers who do not come to class, and of school management systems which do not give girls a voice. It has also increased their self-confidence and ability to perform in certain subjects, including mathematics and science. In another instance, girls have researched problems which impede their academic progress, and then reported on the problems through different media, such as plays and poetry. Girls' clubs, which try to solve these problems, have been established in schools. Ms. Mlama concluded with an appeal to ministers of education to scale up successes of these projects and activities initiated by FAWE.

The Chair then asked for questions and comments from participants. Discussions concerned the following points:

• Early marriage and pregnancy. In Cameroon, pregnant girls were suspended for a year but could be readmitted after delivery. Young girls in early marriages could still attend school provided that their husbands did not attend the same school.

• Why the gaps between girls and boys in Chad and Benin were not closing. Could it be possible that programs directed at girls actually gave an advantage to boys?

• Meetings should not simply pay lip service to the education of girls. Could not Biennale participants, for example, pledge a small part of their earnings, be it only 50 cents per month, towards the education of girls? A substantial amount could be raised from the salaries of civil servants alone. By January next year, half of the girls in the rural areas in Gambia would be financially provided for.

• How did people in Tanzania react when scholarships were given only to girls. For example, was it not difficult to deny scholarships to families where all the children were boys?

In responding to some of the remarks, Ms Mlama noted that despite early access to education the percentage of girls participating in the education system drops dramatically in later years of schooling. Girls face problems of sexual harassment and a lack of female role models. She noted that Benin has introduced a program named "Equity in the Classroom" which monitors gender-sensitive teaching practices. The speaker also noted a need to change sociocultural attitudes towards the education of girls. In particular, Ministers of Education were asked to consider instituting policies whereby girls would be allowed to return to school after pregnancy.

The discussion continued with the Minister of Education from Sudan commenting that the problem was more one of retention rather than one of access. If a school is located far from the community more girls than boys will drop out, discouraged by the irrelevance of the curriculum, early marriage, parental attitudes to coeducation, and the costs. In Sudan , the government provides free education to all and there are single-sex schools. The curriculum has been reformed, and currently 25% of study time is allocated to practical subjects.

A lively debate ensued. Ms Marope said that we should regard access to quality education as a starting point only. Education of girls is emphasized because of its emancipatory effects and the resultant socio-economic benefits to society as a whole.

Ms Schnuttgen from UNESCO reiterated that the main reasons for girls' lack of access to education were culturally-related. A community partnership approach is effective in increasing girls' participation in education and in sustaining their employment opportunities after school.

Mr. Byll-Cataria from Switzerland agreed, saying that the problem of girls' and women's education is not only one of access; the challenges which girls must meet today are also contributory factors. A gender-awareness policy is needed for working with communities and for training teachers. He wondered whether FAWE possessed documents which could help point the way.

A participant from the Commonwealth Secretariat said that he was excited by the FAWE report, as it targeted retention and empowerment and issues of quality. Such projects deserved further investment, and he urged Government ministers to adopt them.

In closing, the Chair thanked the panel and participants for their many fascinating contributions. The Cameroon example of allowing girls to re-enroll after pregnancy had been very interesting to learn about; in Senegal, he noted pregnant girls were not allowed re-entry into schools. This policy existed to ensure that girls finished school before becoming mothers, although clearly it does not work. He also re-emphasized the prime importance of strong political will in dealing with the gender gap.

Session Six:
Access and Quality _ Innovative Teacher Policies

The 6th session was chaired by Ms Julie Owen-Rea, Education and Training Officer, USAID. She opened the session by remarking that one of the greatest challenges of African education is the huge demand for, coupled with the small supply of, teachers. There are classrooms with over a hundred learners and only one teacher; elsewhere, teachers cannot teach properly because they cannot speak the right language. In other places still, teachers are available, but not where they are most needed. What can be done about this? Questions like these, she said, would be the session's focus.

The first person to speak was Mr. Papa Madéfall Gueye, Director of Literacy and Basic Education, Ministry of Basic Education and National Languages, Senegal, who discussed his country's `volunteer' teacher policy. This program was initiated to reverse the trend of a decline in numbers of teachers despite the ever-stronger demand for education. The viability of the volunteer teacher scheme was affected by several factors: thousands of classrooms were being built by communities, NGOs, and parents, but there were no teachers to teach in them; government's budget was too small to support the cost of increases in the numbers of Civil Service teachers; and there was a large number of unemployed university and secondary school graduates. Gaining acceptance of the volunteer teacher policy required intensive consultative efforts which included meetings with teacher unions, parent groups, and community associations, and also the use of mass media to inform and interact with the general public. Open dialogue helped to dispel many misunderstandings. Political will was required to surmount sectional interests (i.e. those of the teacher unions). The volunteer teachers in Senegal have come to be accepted as an essential link in a chain of solidarity which includes international examples such as the UN Volunteers, Volontaires du Progrès and the Peace Corps. The volunteer teachers agree to work for two years, renewable once only. During this period they receive in-service training and are paid a reduced salary. Housing is provided by the communities in which they teach and they receive health insurance. After they have finished their voluntary teaching stint, they may become `contractual' (i.e., not Civil Service) teachers with salary and career structures which attain their maximum after 22 years of service.

The results have been impressive. By 1998, 19% of all teachers were volunteers. From 1995, when this policy was instituted, to 1998, the GER increased from 54.6% to 61.2%. Girls in particular have benefited from this policy, and their enrollment rates have risen from 46.6% to 55.5%. Surveys conducted by inspectors and school directors indicate that the quality of the volunteers' work is satisfactory. Moreover, when taking the professional teacher exams, volunteers tend to obtain higher marks than other teachers. Finally, 10 billion CFA Francs (about US$17 million) have been saved through use of volunteer teachers, and redirected into the system.

At this point there were several questions from the floor: What is the difference in salary between a volunteer and an ordinary teacher? What are the qualifications necessary for a volunteer teacher? How was it possible to deliver quality education with a large number of volunteer teachers, they wanted to know?

Mr. Gueye responded by saying that volunteers who are under contract earn 83 500 to 143 000 CFA. This is about 50,000 CFA less than the salary of ordinary teachers. The qualification required is the equivalent of the `troisième' (4 years of secondary school). Approximately 80% of the volunteer teachers possess a high school diploma or university degree. The four-month training provided to the volunteers is intensive and is followed by professional examinations. About 70% of the volunteers pass these exams, compared with 30% of regular teachers. When the program was started it was seen as a "worst solution" option. Discussions were held with members of the teachers' unions, a communication plan was put in place and a national conference held to discuss the matter. Studies were carried out in conjunction with union representatives. Today the tradition of voluntary teachers is well established in Senegal. there is popular support for them and they have been honored at an "open day" for volunteers. "There is no better evaluation than that of the population", he concluded.

The Chair then introduced Mr. Elias Kenne, Primary School Teacher Training College, Cameroon who said he would cover two topics: the management of large classes, and how best to utilize teachers in schools. The teacher/pupil ratio in Cameroon decreased from around 1:50, which was the ratio throughout the 1980s, to 1:55 in 1991 and projected figures indicated a fall to 1:75 in 1995. These decreases corresponded with a projected overall teacher deficit in primary education of about 10,800. In the classrooms, learners work in the same way, regardless of number: there are sometimes 150 learners in a single urban classroom. In 1996 the `large group' pedagogic principle of teamwork was introduced. This is a pedagogically-reinforced form of double-shift teaching, designed to alleviate the effects of very large classes (100-200 pupils), especially in urban areas. This approach aims at counteracting the monotony found in large classes by using teaching methods based on increased pupil autonomy and active (non-directive) pedagogy. When working in this way, learners worked harder. Teamwork encouraged mutual aid, an African value. This approach also encourages the best learners to assist the weaker, shyer ones. Teachers are encouraged to share their responsibilities with learners, with the result that new relationships have developed in the classroom: learners have stopped fighting and are less afraid to ask questions and interact with teachers. Learners also appear to be more productive.

Volunteer teachers who are selected receive pre-service training, lasting for one to three years, depending on their level of education. They are expected to pay the cost of their training. On finishing the course, graduates are qualified to serve as non-Civil Service teachers in primary schools. They then submit applications to local commissions which proceed with the recruitment process. Those selected are awarded two-year renewable contracts for two ten-month periods (two school years). Their salaries are about 67.5% of those paid to civil service teachers with the same qualifications; they are paid from local government budgets. Among the advantages of the program to date: that it has provided employment to otherwise unemployed secondary school and university graduates, and pedagogically, these teachers have contributed to overall teaching quality; they have prevented some schools from closing due to the shortage of teachers, thereby contributing to improved access in some areas. Gross enrollment rates have progressed from 62.7% in 1994 to 69.2% in 1999; and in some educationally depressed zones, the new non-civil service teachers have enabled the creation of new schools. These teachers represent 18% of the total number of teachers; in some provinces, however, the proportion is 30%_60%. They work hard in the hope of getting tenure: many of them work harder than the permanent teachers. Government hopes to be able to find stable employment for them in the future.

There were several questions after Mr. Kenne spoke: How are teachers trained to teach large classes, one participant asked?. What is the threshold before the shift is doubled, another wanted to know? And how do learners manage to teach each other in large classes without resources?

Mr. Kenne replied by saying that they use seminars and open days for teachers. Open days are organized to discuss difficulties and obstacles with which teachers are faced. As a result, he said, new technique had been introduced and these management methods are now incorporated in new programs in teacher training colleges. In answer to the question concerning shifts, he acknowledged there was no threshold for doubling shifts—the double shift classrooms are still overcrowded. When the material is insufficient, teachers need to ensure that learners share materials. The teacher remains the teacher, but the roles change.

The next speaker was Mr. Alamah Conde, Deputy Inspector General of Education, Ministry of Pre-University Education, Guinea. He chose to report on Guinea's program and Civic Education of teacher redeployment. The re-deployment policy started in 1991-92 and it aimed to put teachers without classes into classes without teachers. At this time many teachers were unemployed or underemployed, there were teachers without classes and an abundance of administrative personnel who had initially been trained as teachers. The low school enrollment rate of 28% was incompatible with the high demand for education expressed by the population. This occurred at the time of the democratization process during which Guinea moved from a single to a multi-party state.

The results have been quite dramatic, he confirmed. The GER increased from 28% in 1990 to 40% in 1994 at little or no additional cost to the Government. Girls in particular benefited from this policy because part of the project was to assign female teachers to posts in rural schools, as directors and teachers. This had the effect of convincing local populations of the importance of sending their girls to school. From 1990 to 1994 the GER for girls increased from 26% to 32%. In addition, the percentage of non-salary budget increased. Overall, the program has led to a reinvigoration of the teaching corps.

Mr. Conde then summarized the main lessons from this experience: the importance of participation, involving all segments of the population and all concerned participants; the importance of having political will, active leadership and the commitment of the Ministry's senior staff; and the fact that the project did not depend on donor funding _ the donors assisted with technical data only.

A participant from the Seychelles wanted to know what had caused the mis-allocation in the first place and Mr. Conde replied that a management system had been lacking; there were also the various needs within the system. This is why there were enough teachers in economically viable districts, such as the capital city, but way too few in the remote rural districts.

The final speaker of the session was Mr. Paul Dogoh Bibi, Inspector General of Education, Côte d'Ivoire and Regional Coordinator, Working Group on the Teaching Profession, francophone section. He summarized the effects at country level of implanting staff development programs in Francophone countries. At first, he explained, the situation was plagued by difficult socio-economic conditions as all Francophone countries are subject to structural adjustment programs; there is a high demand for education but a very poor supply. The principal challenges recorded by the group are the need to build capacity at a national level; and the need for each national team to formulate a national action plan which is economically viable, politically supported, and socially acceptable.

According to Mr. Dogoh Bibi, the main achievements are: the establishment of participatory management; the development of a network of experts at national and continent levels; improved staff management methods; decentralization; establishment of recruitment policies; and the introduction of career paths for teachers. New management rules, designed to promote quality, have promoted new recruitment techniques, initiated ongoing training, and strengthened dialogue between ministries. There is still much to do at each country level. Training methods have certainly improved, but the new methods still have to be assessed.

The Chair opened the floor to the following questions and comments:

• Mr. Salih from Sudan commented that the core problem was a shortage of teachers and a lack of quality. Basic teacher training must be upgraded. All teacher training institutes in Sudan had been attached to universities.

• A participant from Chad related his country's experience using community teachers. Countries following a structural adjustment program were frequently not in a position to recruit enough teachers. Chad used `community' teachers supported by bureaucrats; these teachers contributed to the increase in the enrollment rate.

• The Secretary General of the National Education Teachers' Union in Gabon commented on the "volunteer" solution to the teacher shortage. Many countries have adopted the approach of specially recruiting teachers, but such campaigns have been conducted in the absence of criteria for teacher selection. This casts doubt on the competence of the recruits. What has been done will not facilitate competitiveness, the participant insisted. Policy-makers often claim that volunteers are better than the regular teachers. If this is really so, the training establishments will have to be closed, and recruiting can be done in the streets.

• The Secretary General of the All Africa Teachers Organization observed that Africa was full of ad hoc teaching measures that did not last. Standard 6 is simply not enough for a head teacher. "If we have a problem let us have a lasting solution", he appealed. The teaching profession is supposed to be one in which we want to attract and retain talented people. Cheap teachers are `cheat' teachers. The current measures are unacceptable to the teaching profession; they are contrary to the principles of the ILO and UNESCO convention on the teaching profession and the convention on equal pay for equal work. He concluded by saying that the "battle has been won but the war rages on."

• A participant from Sudan said that the deployment of teachers was a serious developmental problem. The problem must be solved. Perhaps the best solution would be to reward those willing to teach in difficult areas.

Responding to the discussion, Mr. Gueye acknowledged that at first he too had considered the "volunteer" solution a bad one, but that he had come to see it as the only way to solve the access problem. It was perhaps not the ideal approach, but it might be the best under the circumstances. The philosophy of creating `volunteer' teachers was in any case now well-established, and the communities wanted them; there could be no better evaluation than that.

Session Seven:
Quality—Improving Curricular and Teacher Inputs

This session was chaired by Ms Francoise Caillods, Coordinator of Decentralized Activities, International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP), UNESCO. She opened the discussions by stating that access and retention rates will never be improved unless there is improvement in the quality of teaching. Two conditions must be met if quality teaching is to exist: the first is to have an appropriate curriculum; the second is to have a well-trained teaching corps, because implementation of the curriculum is the task of the teachers. It is also necessary to have a teaching corps that is able to work under difficult conditions. This prompts the question, How do we improve the quality of the teachers? How are teachers best motivated? How do we upgrade teachers with a poor initial training?

Ms Ann-Mauren Nyathi, Senior Education Officer, Ministry of Education and Manpower Development, Lesotho, was the first speaker. Her report examined the Lesotho Primary In-service Program, instituted in 1988 to address the problem of multi-grade teaching. Its primary aim, she explained, is to provide school_based professional support to schools. Multi-grade schools are usually small, situated in remote parts of the country, in areas with difficult terrain. Consequently, teachers have often to teach more than one class/standard in a single room. The conventional curriculum does not cater for this kind of teaching: and pre-service training does not prepare teachers for this sort of situation. This poses the question: who is best placed to support such teachers? Inspectorates in most post-independence countries are far too overloaded. This, then was the background to the project under discussion.

Accordingly, forty-five new teachers have been recruited for the program in Lesotho. The support focus is on teaching methodology, class management, materials development, assessment, school administration and community involvement. The teachers attend training sessions during the holidays. District resource teachers visit schools frequently and they are supervised by centrally-based senior resource teachers. Initial results show a great deal of discernible activity. District education officials and school managers report improved performance at the schools involved; management has improved and learners are more involved in their lessons.

Ms Caillods asked whether Lesotho was thinking of institutionalizing its program, and what had been the principal reasons for success. Ms Nyathi replied that the Ministry is not considering institutionalization, but is examining the elements which make the program successful and considering ways in which they may be promoted. These are the four elements:

• a cascade planning model;

• consultative planning which includes several departments of the National Ministry and the university;

• strong community support; and

• solid donor support.

A participant from Seychelles asked whether Lesotho was moving toward a situation in which schools would assume responsibility for their own professional development, and whether there had been an external evaluation of the program. Ms Nyathi responded that it is certainly desirable that teachers take the program into their own hands, but Lesotho has far to go. Capacity building and delivery are key phases at present. Two external evaluations have been carried out, one by the Program Manager, and an external one in 1985 that is based on the six focus areas of the program. It found that multi-grade teachers had improved their lesson planning, but that financial management remained their weakest area.

Other questions were then solicited from the floor: Could we have an indication of the size of classes with multi-grade teaching? What incentive packages were offered for teachers in difficult areas? Has the project been conducted throughout the country?

Ms Nyathi replied that the study focused on schools having between 1 and 3 teachers per school, with between 50-150 learners per school. In terms of incentives, after six months' training these teachers are placed at a salary notch higher than that of their colleagues; and they are provided with travel allowances. The project covered all 10 districts in the country, but most of the participating schools were in the more remote, mountainous areas.

The next speaker was Mr. Henry Kaluba, Coordinator, Working Group on the Teaching Profession, Anglophone Section. Mr. Kaluba started by discussing the lessons learned by his Working Group. In order to improve the quality of teachers, and ultimately the quality of education in schools, he said, there must be a clear vision of what we desire to achieve. The vision must provide direction; and policies and strategies should be holistic, realistic and pragmatic. Ministries must take hard decisions. Ad hoc decisions may be entertained, but must be evaluated and reconsidered to see whether they meet their objectives.

In 1993, an agenda was drawn up and endorsed by the Ministers of Education to serve as terms of reference. Many countries had addressed issues such as the financing of education, national human resource issues, national professional support, and school support. Teachers should understand who they are and what their role is with respect to other actors: they must form part of the process of change and reform. Also there is a very great need to address certain emerging issues such as HIV/AIDS and the effects of political conflict. The task of the Working Group has been to develop materials aimed at the improvement of teachers as professionals. Senior teachers are committed to providing support for the improvement of teacher quality through professional development. Sharing of materials across borders has also been addressed; for example, some South African materials are used in Ghana and Gambia.

He felt a number of lessons were worth noting:

• Ministries must be committed to reform;

• Indigenous expertise exists, although it usually does not receive enough recognition and resources—the Inspectorate, for example;

• Cross-border assistance is crucial;

• Materials are effective only if they are effectively disseminated.

The Chair asked Mr. Kaluba whether the Working Group had given thought to the effects of HIV/AIDS on the teaching profession, and on the issues of replacement and retraining. The capacity of education departments has been badly eroded in the past few years as a result of HIV/AIDS. Those lost included head teachers, teachers and administrators. It is important to know how many of each category had been lost so that interventions could be planned. The productivity of those infected has also been affected. Replacement of teachers is difficult. Young inexperienced teachers are increasingly forced to take over senior positions. It is difficult to know how long such people would last.

Mr. Kaluba replied that all of this has a great impact on the management of teachers: Should HIV/AIDS teachers have different conditions of service (e.g. should they be deployed near a hospital)? Should they be promoted? Should they have different health insurance? Should service contracts be terminable on medical grounds? What are the legal implications of these questions?

Mr. Amadou Hamidou, Technical Advisor, Ministry of Education from Niger was the next speaker. He addressed the use of national languages in primary schools. His case study assesses 25 years of bilingual teaching. In 1972, an experimental project using national languages along with active and participatory pedagogical methods was introduced. The poor quality and poor results of the traditional, French-language schools necessitated such a program: internal weaknesses in the system had contributed to a drop-out rate of 20%. At the end of primary school examination there was a 70% failure rate. Schools no longer enjoyed the trust of the population, and this was reflected in low enrollment and retention rates. Leaders were concerned about the situation. This program remained in the experimental phase until 1998, when its extension was authorized by law. During the experimental phase, national languages were used as the language of instruction and French was taught as a subject until grade 4. In grade 5, French became the medium of instruction. At present only 5,000 pupils (or about 1% of all primary school pupils) are enrolled in the 42 schools using this method.

Preliminary results indicate that the rates of success for the French part of the primary school-leaving exam are about three times higher for the experimental schools than for the traditional all-French language schools. The repetition and drop-out rates in the experimental schools are much lower (by a factor of 9!) and the class size is much smaller, with 20-25 pupils per teacher as compared to 50-90 in the traditional classes: and comparison of the 18 experimental schools with traditional schools reveals that test scores in all subjects are higher for pupils in the experimental schools. The positive effect of the experimental school is most pronounced in Grade 3, falling off towards Grade 6.

There were a number of lessons to be learned, Mr. Hamidou said. Long experience in bilingual education has enabled Niger to focus on the harmonization of languages at a national and sub-regional level. There is inter-country cooperation, but materials and textbooks are produced by nationals. Therefore, the essential elements of the program are in place. The problems of teacher training were solved when experimental schools were initiated. Teachers for experimental schools were chosen from traditional schools and received one month of theoretical training, after which they were placed in schools. Teachers were also trained for two months in linguistics and mathematics, and sent to practice teaching in an experimental school for 1 month. Unfortunately, despite these good results, the bilingual system has not been mainstreamed as the political will has been lacking. In future, after the elections, Niger will be able to establish a stable system and promulgate a law which promotes the teaching of national languages.

The Chairopened the floor to questions and comments:

• Did bilingual education reduce costs? Did it reduce repeater rates?

• Was Niger able to isolate the specific effect of using the national languages from other possible effects, such as smaller classes, and different textbooks?

• How replicable was this program if it was linked to class size?

• What is meant by the harmonization of languages? How was this achieved given the emotional attachment to language?

• Why was there a lack of political will?

Mr. Hamidou responded by explaining that, in the first stage, the pilot schools, as a result of donor funding, had had better resources than other schools; thereafter they had the same resources, but some differences remained. For example, the number of children per class was lower. Niger suffers from chronic political instability. There was political support for the idea, but Niger had no time to implement the program. The present Minister may not have the time to implement it either. Apart from political instability there is another fundamental issue, which is the extreme sensitivity of the language issue. It is very difficult where there are many national languages in one country. We may agree on the necessity of using the mother tongue, but how does one select which language to use? The choice of language creates many problems, the chief of these being that communities may not recognize themselves in the language chosen. Politicians consequently hesitated due to the extreme sensitivity of the issue. One might conclude that political courage was lacking, but an authoritarian decision may not be the best way to get results either.

The next speaker was Hon. Ms Kandakai, Minister of Education, Liberia, who reported on how the ADEA stocktaking exercise had provided an opportunity to reflect and document education during the conflict in Liberia. The conflict lasted from 1989 to 1998; throughout that period, primary and secondary school enrollments varied between about 365,000 and 320,000. The country was divided into factional enclaves, and up to a third of teachers and pupils were internally and externally displaced. The resumption of educational activities reflected the first stage of a return to normality and in 1999 enrollments increased by 77%. The existence, and persistence, of institutional structures has been a major factor in the survival of education and it demonstrates the importance of a well-knit institutional fabric wherever extreme circumstances such as civil strife prevail.

A good example is the Catholic Archdiocese of Monrovia, which remained active by presenting workshops on trauma, healing and the organization of emergency schools with trauma support. During the period of conflict, 30% of Catholic schools were either rebuilt or renovated and the Catholic authorities facilitated the reception and distribution of textbooks donated by overseas humanitarian sources. They also organized scholarships for displaced students. Another good example is the National Teachers Association of Liberia, which remained active and non-partisan during the conflict, and so was able to operate across the country. When the peace-keeping force arrived, the Association was ready to resume its activities and mobilize teachers from within and outside the country. This was important as it helped reduce the emigration of teachers, succeeded in bringing together public schools to solicit assistance from national and international NGOs, and brought back most teachers as volunteers, a group which constituted 40% of the teaching force. The Association also helped to organize trauma healing workshops for teachers who remained in the education system and taught throughout the war. The West African Examinations Council (WEAC/Liberia) resumed its activities as soon as relative peace was restored. By not concentrating its efforts on a specific warring factional area, WEAC was able to continue conducting the National Certificate Examinations throughout the country, as well as in refugee schools housed by neighboring countries.

A major lesson that can be drawn from this experience is that factional boundaries can be transcended when established institutions offer services during a period of crisis. Success is rooted in taking initiatives and a key feature is community involvement in schools to fill vacuums created by war. In addition, there is a high demand for education, high levels of community support, and an innovation-friendly environment.

The Chair again opened the floor for discussion. The Hon. Mapuri from Zanzibar commented on factors affecting teacher motivation. These include:

• adequate remuneration (very difficult to achieve in Africa);

• decent working conditions (very difficult to achieve in Africa);

• teacher-friendly support and supervision;

• in-service training which offers opportunities for upgrading and promotion.

He went on to say that Zanzibar had tried to change its approach on supervision to one which was more advisory and supportive. It had reduced the number of inspectors and allowed teacher advisors to provide in-school/in-class support. The policy of in-service teacher training tried to take into account all the short-term problems which teachers experience. Teachers were supportive of the new policy.

A participant from Guinea wanted to know from Niger why the political will was lacking once consensus was reached. In Guinea national languages were legally implemented from the first to the eighth year; but thereafter French was introduced as the language of learning and teaching. However, there were no materials in the national languages: the policy failed, and Guinea had reverted to French.

A participant from Zambia said that they had experienced similar problems to those of Niger regarding the general attitude of parents to the teaching of national languages in schools. They were trying to enhance the status of Zambian languages, but had not yet succeeded.

Hon. Mr. Miyanda from Zambia, prompted by his compatriot, expressed disappointment that there was not a better opportunity to discuss these issues in more detail. He said that the difficulty in implementing the language policy lay with the perceptions of people in the country. There were 73 tribes and it was very difficult to choose one language for instruction. It was at this point that the issue became politicized. Zambia had begun to call them `local' languages rather than national language. In the end, educational quality was affected by teachers: `You can give them all the degrees, but if they don't teach, there's no quality', he emphasized. He expressed sympathy with his teachers who, because of IMF `benchmarks', were paid less than higher education students received for stipends.

Another participant wanted to know from Niger and Liberia how one achieved political commitment. "Part of the problem lies in the way policy information is fed to politicians. Most African governments are so poor that they can only be persuaded by cost-saving arguments. Present the case in terms of fewer pupils repeating, and cost the implications; this is what persuades politicians. All of us must improve our presentation of information."

Hon. Mr. Ahmet Akilou Baringaye from Niger said that consensus in education was possible, but that did not mean political consensus. Political sensitivities should not be mistaken for a lack of political will.

Hon. Mr. Sallof Senegal agreed that the best way to allow children to acquire knowledge was to use national languages and that this was the best way for development. Six national languages had been codified and were taught in the non-formal sector in Senegal.

Hon. Mr. Alahassa from Benin also concurred with Mr. Akilou. It would be hard to find any community which would willingly disappear through assimilation when a national language was selected. Every community wanted the right to develop its own regional language. The only way forward was through decentralization. Each community should decide which language it wanted to use.

However, a participant from Burkina Faso disagreed. In Niger there were 8 national languages and sufficient pedagogic materials. They did not need to choose a single language. There was, in fact, a lack of political courage. Communities had to participate in making choices. In his country, government was supporting communities in selecting the medium of instruction.

Another participant asked Minister Akilou Baringaye from Niger whether it was affordable to use many national languages instead of one, and to have enough qualified teachers and textbooks for each language. Is it really helpful in unifying the nation to have so many languages? Despite immediate success, would it not create problems for future learning at secondary and tertiary level? Is it viable to use national languages at primary level? Rather, should not children's innate ability to learn other languages be used?

A participant from the Seychelles said that we must continue to stress the idea of a national language. Everyone learns one of the national languages, of which they have 16. Yet at school, children did not learn any of these languages. Has there been a comparison of countries which use a national language at primary school level with those which do not stress national languages?

Ms Chung from UNESCO made three points: First, there is a need to de-politicize the choice of national languages. South Africa is a good example. Nine languages are recognized there, but parents can choose. Secondly, a country must have dictionaries and textbooks before it gives any thought to changing the national language; and thirdly, the national language must be generally acceptable, otherwise it will simply ghettoize the children of the country.

The Chair concluded the lively discussion by emphasizing the need to carry out pilot and experimental projects before making policy. The role of good quality research is very important. There are great challenges ahead, and each country will have to call on all stakeholders to meet them. Political will and commitment to change are also very important. Efforts should be made to ensure adequate financial analysis of development programs; these analyses should demonstrate how the programs have promoted efficiency and saved money. Development benefits should be communicated in terms of financial benefits. Finally, there are ways to improve the quality of teaching; African expertise is available; and we must learn from the experience of one another.

Session Eight:
Quality—Improving Curricular Relevance

Hon. Bireme Abderahim Hamid, Minister of Basic and Secondary Education and Literacy from Chad opened the eighth session by saying that we need to determine what guarantees success. Previous sessions have shown that access in Africa is changing. If, however, this is not accompanied by improvements in the quality of education there will, in fact, be less education. We must discuss the matter of quality thoroughly and discuss possible solutions. He invited the panelists to describe the successes highlighted in their case studies.

The first to speak was Mr. Mamadou Mana Konate, Chief of Research and Evaluation Unit, Ministry of Basic Education, Mali, who said he would address his country's efforts to introduce instruction in national languages in primary schools. An experimental method of teaching national languages was introduced in 1987: termed "convergent pedagogy", it was designed to promote a more natural transition to instruction in French, the dominant language of instruction. The underlying aim of the project was to improve educational quality and learner performance. The approach is child-centered; the teacher acts as a facilitator. At present there are about 309 schools using this approach. Some 1300 teachers have been trained in the methodology and teaching advisors have been trained to support teachers. Initial evaluations of the program have yielded promising results.

Mali possesses several linguistic groups in various geographical regions. As part of the case study research, a parallel study to identify and analyze the linguistic needs of children was conducted. This study found that most children aged between three and six years spoke at least two regional languages, Bambara and their mother tongue. As French is the dominant medium of instruction, learners found it difficult to make a transition from `home' languages to those used in schools.

The project experienced problems in deciding which language should be used in schools. Before a particular language could be selected, it was necessary to determine whether it contained sufficient concepts for formal instruction and to establish its relationship to other local languages. In some cases the language had to be transcribed and materials produced. The project planners also had to take into account the number of teachers able to speak the different languages and, where necessary, train more teachers. Furthermore, the decision about which language to select should be made by the people affected, he said. Parents and teachers should also agree on the choice, bearing in mind the points made above: degree of "sophistication" of the language and extent to which it is apt to express academic and scientific notions; number of teachers trained in the language; and, the availability of learning materials in the language. Although the cost of teaching national languages must be kept in mind, it should be balanced against the benefits of reduced drop-out, repeater and attrition rates. It is important to sensitize people to these benefits.

The next panelist was Mr. Michael N. Mambo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education and Technology, Zimbabwe who reported that two successful projects have been undertaken in Zimbabwe: the Zimbabwe Secondary Science (Zim-Sci) Project and the Informal Sector Training and Resources Network (ISTARN). The Zim-Sci program aims to provide secondary school science teachers with cost-effective teaching materials and alternatives to traditional textbooks. The project was initiated at the University of Zimbabwe, and was subsequently taken over by Government with assistance from donor funding. The project was prompted by a lack of school infrastructure, teachers and science textbooks. Government wished to ensure that all learners were afforded the opportunity to study science, rather than those in urban centers only. After Independence, school enrollment increased dramatically; and it was necessary to ensure that the science curriculum was relevant to the needs of the learners and that the quality of education was maintained.

Materials provided by the project include basic alternatives to traditional science-teaching equipment which can be used in resource-poor environments—wire tripods, spirit lamps in place of Bunsen burners and tin cans instead of glass beakers. Each kit is accompanied by a sequential study guide which can be used both by teacher and learner. The equipment is intended to encourage hands-on activity. Teachers are trained in the use of the materials. The sustainability of the project has been ensured through the establishment of a trust fund to which each school pays a nominal amount on receiving the equipment; the interest generated by this fund is used to improve the project. Teachers must be trained in the use of the materials and in the rationale of the project; and they should be involved in the design and development of materials in order to increase project ownership. Initially the project experienced problems in the delivery of equipment. It was useful that the project had high-level political support from its inception. Finally, the Zim-Sci project increased A-level passes in science.

The second project, the Informal Sector Training and Resources Network (ISTARN) was initiated to provide skills for training unemployed youths. Mr. Mambo described how a rural province with an 8% urban population and an unemployment rate of 30% was selected for the initial phase; about half the province's population was below 15 years of age. The project provided skills training through partnerships between vocational institutes and agencies of the informal sector, i.e. traditional apprenticeship, business advice service and credit, and marketing support (the `township MBA'). It also mobilized informal sector firms to form associations to promote the interests of the sector concerned. Seven public training institutions participated in the program by offering training in skills which had been identified by the survey to be in demand in the area. In addition, a Small Business Advisors (SBA) Service was established to work both with apprentices who had graduated and who intended setting up their own businesses, and with other entrepreneurs who requested the service. A key element of this component was credit: depending on the performance of the business, recommendations could be made to an established Trust, which supported small enterprises, for bigger loans. To date, 317 apprentices have completed the program and a tracer study survey conducted on the first and the second cohorts of graduates of 74 reveals that 56% are self employed, 32% are employed by others and only 12% are unemployed. In addition, some 52% of the graduates are using skills and knowledge acquired during training. Project design, the flexibility of funding, and the ongoing monitoring and evaluation process, which enabled modifications to be made where necessary, will continue to be important features of the program.

At this point, two participants wished to add some comments.

• A member of the Botswana Ministry of Education indicated that her Ministry was implementing the Zim-Sci approach in its schools. She noted that the program was `very rich'. Using the special kit, science could be taught in multipurpose rooms as it was easy to move the equipment between classrooms Storage did not take up much room as the material could be packed into a small trunk. Activities could be standardized across schools as the materials were very clearly laid out. In areas where there was a shortage of science teachers, the materials had been used to train teachers. The equipment can be adapted to local conditions and teachers can be innovative in adding to the equipment, for example by using old bottles as beakers.

• The Minister from the Seychelles thanked Zimbabwe for making Science available to children, as this would give a boost to economic development.

Ms Carew Treffgarne, Senior Education Adviser, Department for International Development, UK and Convenor of the Working Group on Books and Learning Material was the next speaker. The Chair asked Ms Treffgarne to reflect on what this Working Group had learned. He noted that while the book is an essential teaching tool, it is very expensive; ways of making textbooks more accessible should be considered. The presenter was also asked whether her Working Group had considered the implications of learning materials on quality.

Ms Treffgarne explained that her Working Group wants to encourage publishing in national and cross-border languages, but also wishes to encourage tax breaks on books, printing equipment and paper for books to be printed in national languages. Cost-effectiveness and an increase in the availability of good quality books are crucial issues in the provision of learning resources. She thought several lessons could be learned from the experiences of Zimbabwe and Mali. The introduction of "convergent pedagogy" has revealed a willingness to "develop as you go". The programs in both Mali and Zimbabwe have addressed challenges as they emerged during implementation. It is impressive that the Zim-Sci project has provided over 78% of secondary schools with teaching equipment and materials which were low-cost and designed for use in resource-poor areas. It is also noteworthy that the program includes a sensitization program and that the ability of teachers to use the materials is being developed.

The Working Group was not concerned merely with the provision of textbooks, but also with the development of innovative responses to the shortage of teaching materials. The use of radio for teaching in Nigeria is a case in point. A holistic approach is important in developing a successful intervention. Provision of good materials includes paying attention to relevant In-Service Education and Training (INSET), editing materials, publishing and the role of book-selling outlets. Governments must work with the private sector in providing materials and ensuring that more learning materials are made available to schools. Providers must also respond to the increasing decentralization of educational provision and to the increase in choice of materials at local level.

Ms Treffgarneconfirmed that the working group had emphasized the importance of cost-effectiveness and the introduction of cost-recovery mechanisms—for example, the use of interest-generating trust funds and book rental schemes. There should be a focus on cost-reducing strategies to make learning support materials more available, she reiterated, and countries can share material which is already available. Several countries are investigating the use of the Zim-Sci materials and approach. Research shows that there are still huge differences in access to learning materials from country to country and from subject to subject. Policies to promote free circulation of books within the continent must be promoted. Ministries of Trade must be lobbied to reduce or abolish taxes on books.

The Chair asked Ms Treffgarne if the working group had seen a need for "getting the media on its side" so that its message could be promoted and she replied that it is not simply a case of lobbying the IMF and the media, but of asking what could be done by all the Ministries, regional economic communities and funding agencies together. Funding agencies and the private sector should meet with Ministries of Education to discuss strategies for getting more books into schools.

A participant criticized the presentation for seemingly ignoring Francophone countries and Ms Treffgarne replied that the Working Group is active in Francophone countries and would probably become more active, in collaboration with the World Bank. The Working Group intends close cooperation with the publishing sector in these countries.

A representative from the All African Teachers Union noted that teachers had to be encouraged to write learning materials. The Union had tried to promote this and had particularly encouraged women to participate in writing materials. He also noted that the "paper industry" should be taken seriously in Africa. There was a need to eliminate taxes on books, and the IMF and World Bank should be lobbied to allow countries to import books duty-free.

Hon. Mr. Omerfrom Sudan noted that in his country scholars appear to look down on the craft of writing textbooks and prefer instead to conduct research and publish in international academic journals. In Sudan, Government has met with universities and argued that the writing of textbooks should be promoted and given more prestige. It was felt that this would be possible if the author were provided with a substantial amount of money and given assistance in printing. Book distribution must be supported. Government has helped in textbook distribution by buying 1000 copies of a given textbook; these are then donated to libraries.

The Minister from Senegal commented that his country had considered the role of community involvement in educational quality. Efforts were made to ensure that everyone understood why programs had been designed in a specific way. It was necessary to show how communities would benefit from these approaches. He added that his Ministry operated in a context where Government was responsible for program delivery, but it needed communities to recommend programs which should be selected based on community needs and interests. Thereafter, Government would develop and deliver such programs.

Another participant commented on the relationship between the control of knowledge and access and quality. The Zim-Sci program was regarded as successful because teachers were actively involved in the production of knowledge. A representative of the All Africa Teachers Union supported this and noted that ownership, involvement and in-service training made this program successful. He noted that when teachers and organizations were equally concerned with quality in the formulation of programs, the program tended to be more successful. He urged the participation of teachers in curriculum development and recommended that subject associations be strengthened.

Finally, two participants suggested that Ministries should not simply pay lip service to the mainstreaming of gender awareness in the curriculum. Curriculum developers should make use of the huge talents of those with expertise in gender-related issues. It was also recommended that the working group consider the use of information communication technology in education in Africa.

The Chair then closed the session, saying that the sharing of expertise internal to Africa was both important and beneficial. The experiences of the Zim-Sci program had shown how other countries have already benefited from the program. Various factors seem to contribute to the quality of education. The teaching of national languages is a thorny issue fraught with political tensions, but it is a means to improve curricular relevance and the quality of learning. Another factor which contributes to quality improvement is the control of knowledge. Over time this will lead to changes in the role of the teacher in the classroom. Universities should be encouraged to participate in the drafting and design of textbooks. Finally, teaching in local languages creates differences amongst learners, and we should be absolutely sure that they improve the quality of learning before we advocate them.

Part Three: Breakaway Sessions

A number of subjects raised in the plenary sessions were discussed in greater depth in breakaway sessions.

Six discussion groups were formed and a topic was assigned to each group, as follows :

The rapporteurs assigned to each group reported back on the breakaway discussions during the ninth plenary session chaired byFather Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, Deputy Minister of Education, South Africa.

Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa extended a warm welcome to all participants of the Biennale. The panel was comprised of the rapporteurs from the six breakaway groups which had met the previous afternoon to discuss their topics: Ms Alice Hamer, Division Chief, South Region, African Development Bank; Mr. Djibril Debourou, Member of Parliament, Benin and member of the Prospective, Stock-Taking Review Technical Team; Ms Christine Bitougat, Secretary General of the National Education Teachers' Union, Gabon;Mr. Ash Hartwell, Education Policy Advisor, USAID; Mr. Stephen Matlin, Director, Human Resource Development Division, Commonwealth Secretariat; and Ms Mary Joy Pigozzi, Senior Education Advisor, Primary Education, UNICEF. He asked each breakaway group to draw conclusions and recommendations on how the lessons learned during the Biennale meeting could foster improved partnerships between agencies and Ministries and between Ministries and other actors in the education sector.

The report from each group is summarized below, with the comments and questions which followed each presentation.

Groups 1 and 2:
Strategies, processes and practices to promote education policy formulation that learns and builds from experience

Groups 1 and 2 tried to determine which kinds of information were most useful in the formulation of education policy. Ms Hamerreported that the following were identified:

• Comprehensive sectoral analysis, with a holistic approach;

• External evaluations of the performance of educational systems;

• Detailed inventory of educational activities currently in use;

• Information on education-related policies and strategies implemented in other countries, and an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses;

• Data on educational mapping in countries;

• Comprehensive statistics on current education systems and projections of their future requirements;

• Knowledge of educational practices which have been successful in other African countries;

• Information on the socio-cultural and environmental factors of relevant communities;

• Community perspectives relevant to the education of children within the community;

• Lessons which can be learned from non-traditional forms of education.

The groups also discussed ways in which African countries could improve the information base for education policy development. They felt it was necessary to develop more meaningful statistics on education systems by:

• Making data collection a priority;

• Allocating the resources necessary for effective data collection;

• Consolidating statistics on education from different government offices;

• Undertaking sound educational projections to determine future educational requirements.

Furthermore, the groups considered the development and strengthening of partnerships between various stakeholders responsible for the development and provision of education in Africa—Ministries, civil society, external financial and technical agencies. The following points were made:

• Partnerships should be characterized by mutual trust and confidence;

• Transparency and frankness must be part of the relationship;

• Donors/agencies and their governments must have a clear understanding of priorities and must be consistent in what they say;

• The policies of different development agencies must be harmonized.

Finally, participants identified the following factors which facilitate the institutionalization of innovation and change in education systems:

• Political commitment;

• Stable political leadership;

• Continuity in staff;

• Rigorous follow-up of innovations.

The Chair then gave the floor to the Minister of Education from Sudan who recommended that the ten types of information required for policy be placed in order of priority and importance.

Groups 3 and 4:
Strategies for promoting dialogue and action around what works

Groups 3 and 4 also addressed the question of what should be done with the case studies produced by country working groups and presented at the Biennale. Mr. Debourou noted that the case studies forming the basis of the Prospective, Stocktaking Report had merit and were of good quality; they deserved to be more widely disseminated.

Ms Bitougat observed that the case studies presented had relevance in other countries where innovations could be adapted to assist participants in finding solutions to some of the immediate problems of many African countries; for example, increasing access to science education and low-cost provision. The positive elements of each study should be extracted. In particular, the group noted the case studies produced by Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zanzibar, which were felt to have high applicability as extraordinary measures were not required to adapt or implement them in other contexts.

The following lessons could be drawn from the country studies mentioned above:

• Zanzibar—the use of religious/cultural institutions to make education more accessible to a greater number of people;

• Botswana—community involvement in teacher training;

• Zimbabwe—teaching of science with limited means and resources which resulted in the demystification of science for many learners; and

• Zimbabwe—The ISTARN project, which offered a creative means to provide skills promoting entrepreneurship in an area with high levels of unemployment.

All of the above activities could be undertaken without donor investment. Three key issues emerged from the experiences of these countries:

• the need to improve education;

• the importance of increased community interest and ownership of development programs;

• decreased reliance on donor funding.

It was suggested that countries wishing to make use of the experiences and programs of others should use the case studies to extract the principal lesson rather than to attempt to replicate every feature of the program. We must "learn from principle and not from the detail", Ms. Bitougat emphasized.

A participant commented from the floor that a lack of institutional memory in the management of education problems was a stumbling block to systematic reform: documents were not filed and information was not used. Donors should help develop ways of taking stock of past experiences. Governments were partly responsible for the lack of institutional memory as there was a high turnover of people in senior positions.

In conclusion, it was recommended that the detailed case studies be made available to participants. It was also suggested that ADEA make the case studies available in an electronic format on a Web Site. ADEA was requested to facilitate inter-country exchange and contact to enable Ministries of Education to learn better from the experiences of one another. As a final remark, the presenter stressed the importance of conducting impact assessments of programs and of developing capacity on the African continent to conduct similar studies.

Group 5: HIV/AIDS

Mr. Matlin reported on the breakaway session on HIV/AIDS. Apart from underscoring the seriousness and urgency of the issue for the African continent, it identified four priority areas of possible response:

• Wide-scale action in all schools and educational institutions, directed at promoting behavioral change;

• The development of strategies to deal with the impact of HIV/AIDS on both teachers and learners within the education system;

• Ways of addressing the greater vulnerability of girls and women to HIV/AIDS;

• Mobilizing all sectors and donors to sustain the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The group suggested short- and long-term strategies for dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Short-term strategies would include the development of mechanisms for coping with HIV/AIDS in countries living with the epidemic. In particular, the following short-term suggestions were made:

• dealing with the depletion of the teaching force by training teachers and administrators capable of working in both areas;

• changing school cultures to accommodate children who are heads of orphaned households.

Long-term strategies should encourage behavioral change through various teaching modes including life skills programs, use of peer role models, community involvement and media campaigns. Programs should also address gender-related issues associated with HIV/AIDS, particularly the susceptibility of girls and women to HIV/AIDS through rape, sexual exploitation and sexual violence. The presenter emphasized that men must be educated to abandon patterns of dominance, exploitation and violence which characterized many relationships with women.

The report generated extensive debate amongst conference participants. Their comments addressed three main issues:

• reflections on countries' experiences in addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis;

• suggestions for future action;

• recommendations to the ADEA secretariat;

At the Chair's request, participants then reported on different national experiences. In Kenya, for instance, the epidemic has been declared a national disaster, while in Ghana the problem was described as "pandemic". The school heads' education program had instituted an HIV/AIDS education program which aimed both to emphasize the seriousness of the problem and to promote awareness of it. The Ministry of Education had created special endowment funds for children affected by the disease. The Zambian Minister of Education indicated that in his country increasing numbers of teachers were being lost to the disease every year. In 1997, 600 teachers died or left the teaching profession due to HIV/AIDS; in 1998 the number was 1000. The Minister expressed concern at this trend and said that the supply of teachers was not keeping pace with the attrition rate. He suggested that countries assist one another in dealing with the effects of the disease on the education system.

In terms of future action the group recommended that the HIV/AIDS issue should occupy a central position in thinking and activities. People should consider how this could be achieved in their immediate work environments. Although HIV/AIDS also affects areas outside of education, educationalists have a special role to play since it is through education that behavioral change can be effected. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has particular impact in schools where many children are orphans, and teachers infected with the disease. A participant from Zambia suggested that human resource management strategies be developed to cope with the effects of the problem on the education profession. Specific suggestions included: the use of teaching assistants and training them on the job; better training of planners to deal with the problems; better information to facilitate planning; and re-employing retired teachers. Ways of thinking about the education system should move from a focus on schooling to a focus on learning which highlighted skills development. Mr. Verspoor of the World Bank suggested that radio be used more extensively in delivering education programs.

A UNICEF representative suggested that Ministries of Education develop employment policies for those affected by the disease. Policies should de-stigmatize the disease and allow those infected to play an important role in society. Mr. Saint of the World Bank suggested that a menu of `zero cost' action options, which could be implemented by organizations, be drawn up. In response, some participants discussed the appropriate mechanism for developing such a list. Strategies which facilitate cooperation with other groups—social, religious and cultural—in addressing the problem, should be developed. Attention must be paid to the manner in which the issue was addressed as HIV/AIDS-related topics are often culturally sensitive.

The Chair asked about the role of ADEA in dealing with the AIDS epidemic. Two suggestions were made:

• The ADEA Biennale should recommend that the HIV/AIDS issue be given prominence in the Dakar "Education for All" conference by making it a sixth theme of the conference rather than simply relegating it to a round-table discussion.

• ADEA and Government leaders should be part of the solution. ADEA should promote and publicize strategies which have been successful in various countries.

Mr. Richard Sack, ADEA Executive Secretary, responded to the questions and comments addressed to ADEA. He agreed that ADEA should be responsive to this problem and felt it necessary to continue to identify successful strategies which had been introduced in various countries. This wealth of experience constituted an asset which could be utilized. He suggested that the ADEA Working Group on the teaching profession consider the impact of HIV/AIDS in its work. The ADEA network should be used to rapidly disseminate information. An increasing number of countries were utilizing e-mail, as evidenced by the growing number of countries communicating by e-mail during the Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise. In response to the suggestion of developing and publishing a list of "zero cost" actions in the ADEA Newsletter, he expressed a concern that these strategies be based on sound evidence of their effectiveness.

In conclusion, the Chair stated that the role of religious institutions in combating HIV/AIDS should be considered, and partnerships should be formed between government, business, education and religious organizations to deal with the epidemic.

Group 6: Networking and its utility for developing parternships based on what works

Ms Pigozzi reported on the discussion about the possibilities for developing networks and partnerships based on successful experiences. It was felt that more effective country networks, which would facilitate and democratize access to information within countries, should be developed. There was a strong feeling that ADEA should continue to stress the development of African capacity and the use of African expertise. The group recommended that ADEA Working Groups should become more proactive. The group reiterated the request that each country appoint an ADEA coordinator who would be responsible for sharing information with key groups in their countries of operation.

The Chair solicited comments from the floor. Speakers noted the importance of improving communication and sharing information, particularly positive development experiences. The importance of access to Internet and E-mail was emphasized. Information Technology (e.g. e-mail) could be used in future. IT capacity must however be enhanced if this is to be effective. Existing IT development initiatives were acknowledged and appreciated. ADEA was asked to consider the possibility of establishing a Working Group on IT.

Part Four: Caucus of African Ministers of Education

The Caucus of African Ministers of Education held its 9^th meeting in Johannesburg during the Biennial Meeting. Hon. Mr. Lehohla,Minister of Education Lesotho reported back on the meeting during the ninth plenary session.

The Caucus of African Ministers was chaired by Hon. Bireme Abderahim Hamid Minister of Basic Education and Literacy, Chad. The meeting was attended by 28 Ministers, the Chair of ADEA, Ms Sissel Volan, and Mr. Richard Sack of the ADEA Secretariat. Two members of the Working Group evaluation team made presentations at the meeting.

The Bureau of Ministers is constituted on the basis of regional representation. Members serve a four-year term and are selected based on a system of rotation by alphabetical order within sub-regions. The Ministers agreed to a new composition of the Bureau as follows:

• Southern Africa region: Lesotho and South Africa

• West Africa region: Guinea Bissau, Liberia and Senegal

• East Africa region: Eritrea and Tanzania

• Central Africa region: Burundi and Chad

• Indian Ocean region: Madagascar

Hon. Mr. Hamid was elected Chair of the Caucus of Ministers and Hon. Mr. Lehohla of Lesotho was elected Vice-Chair.

It was agreed that member countries of the Bureau would each contribute $1000 annually to ADEA in addition to covering transportation costs to meetings of the Steering Committee. In 1998, three countries paid the annual contribution and in 1999 only one country paid. Transportation costs borne by Ministers amounted to about $5000 in 1999. It was agreed that Bureau members would pay both the annual contribution and their transport costs as an indication of their adherence to ADEA.

Ministers were briefed on progress made in the evaluation of the ADEA Working Groups. The evaluation was decided during the 10^thsession of the ADEA Steering Committee. It started in July 1999 and the evaluators subsequently met with funding agencies, Working Group members and country representatives. Key points from the evaluation are in two categories:

• elements relating to how the Working Groups operate;

• the impact of the Working Groups on ADEA partners.

The Ministers agreed that the Prospective, Stocktaking Review exercise had been worthwhile and should be expanded to include countries which had not participated to date. The Ministers made the following suggestions:

• Research, critical analysis and documentation of experiences at a national level should be institutionalized;

• There should be systematic monitoring, evaluation and costing of programs;

• A culture of analysis based on reliable data and evidence should be established;

• Further studies investigating factors associated with quality should be conducted.

The Ministers also suggested that more time be given at future meetings to in-depth discussion of the major issues. More emphasis should be placed on the small group meetings.

Hon. Mr. Hamid discussed the draft Code of Conduct for Funding Agencies, prepared by the European Commission. The Ministers felt that they needed more time to discuss the document with their technical staff. Discussions on the linking of debt reduction to education were postponed to a future meeting.

Ministers were briefed on the operations of the Guidance, Counselling and Youth Development Centre in Lilongwe, Malawi. It was recommended that, in view of the forthcoming World Conference of Education in Dakar, Senegal, coordination between MINEDAF, COMEDAF and ADEA be enhanced. Before attending this conference, countries should hold national workshops to share national reports and examine the global framework for action. Delegations to the conference should include members of Ministries of Education, NGOs and civil society.

Part Five: Wrap-Up and Closing Session

The 10th and final session of the ADEA Biennale was chaired by Ms Sissel Volan, Chair of ADEA. Three items were on the agenda: (i) a review of the Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise and the process followed; (ii) implications of this exercise for various actors; and, (iii) issues related to the format of the Biennale. The Chair noted that this was a session for "reflection, summing up and drawing conclusions". Previous sessions had provided many ideas and suggestions on how the process initiated by the Prospective, Stocktaking Review could be taken forward. Participants were reminded that this Biennale was just one point in a process.

The Chair asked Ms Mmantsetsa Marope to review the aims of the Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise and prompted participants to consider future actions with respect to the case studies. Ms Marope said that the exercise aimed to:

• Develop indigenous capacity to reflect critically, to analyze, understand and learn from positive experiences;

• Overcome dependency on external knowledge systems for solving development challenges in Africa; and

• Develop a sense of "self-efficacy". In the words of the Minister of Sierra Leone, the study was a form of "psycho-social therapy" as it brought about a change in the way in which development challenges are approached.

Although the studies emphasized the need to focus on success, a tendency nevertheless exists to revert to the habit of focusing on "what was wrong", she said. The decision to focus on successful initiatives was motivated by a desire to raise the level of confidence that international partners in the effectiveness of Africa's own expertise to address the challenges of educational development.

The case studies also aim to promote the development of concrete, reliable evidence which will form the basis of program replication. The studies and the conference recognize the need to address weaknesses in providing evidence resulting from a lack of institutional capacity to systematically document projects, along with a weak culture of monitoring and evaluation. We must consider how to remedy these weaknesses, Ms Marope reminded participants. The Prospective, Stocktaking exercise also aims to highlight factors facilitating success, to encourage the sharing of experiences and lessons, and to identify those elements and factors which are transferable and those which are context-specific. Ways in which these innovations can be made to work in different contexts must be considered.

The promotion and development of a sustained culture of critical self-reflection within Ministries of Education is part of the rationale for conducting the Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise. There is an absence of "institutional memory"; there must be collective ownership of the research process. The process of preparing the report is itself very important; it aims to be consultative, critical, reflective, introspective and prospective.

Ms Marope concluded by posing the following questions:

• Has the process of mainstreaming critical, collective, and introspective reflection been initiated? If not, how might this be done? If yes, how can it be sustained? How should the results be disseminated?

• What should we do about identified capacity gaps, especially those relating to the provision of credible evidence?

• How are we to keep alive the spirit of sharing and learning from each other? How do we continue to disseminate and share "cutting-edge" interventions and innovations in education development in Sub-Saharan Africa?

• Who should address the challenges which have been outlined and how should this task be approached?

• How do we remain responsive to current contextual challenges facing education development such as HIV/AIDS?

Hon. Mr. Hamid discussed the implications of the study for the Ministers of Education. He said that the Prospective, Stocktaking Report and case studies had been a novel experience, enabling us all to draw many valuable lessons from the experiences of others. The presentation of the case studies had sensitized Ministers to a range of issues; and the process of conducting them had emphasized the role of Ministries of Education in this respect. The case studies should not be ends in themselves: rather, they should be a stimulus to the establishment of a new, permanent and sustainable culture of commentary and reflection in the work of Ministries of Education. Ministries must introduce follow-up and monitoring mechanisms, paying particular attention to cost-effectiveness. In future, case studies should take into account the issue of quality in education: repetition and duplication in and between studies should be avoided.

Mr. Adriaan Verspoor of the World Bank then discussed the implications of the study for development and funding agencies and said that the Biennale had highlighted the need to ensure that the design of existing and future projects makes provision for the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Sharing of experiences, particularly those which are successful, should become an increasingly central part of agencies' work. Although it is necessary to seek solutions within the African continent, the focus on Africa should not be so exclusive that potential solutions from other regions experiencing similar problems are ignored. The Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise and subsequent discussions have emphasized the increasing importance of supporting reflection and research. Agencies should assist countries to develop and strengthen their monitoring and evaluation capacity. Building capacity in financial analysis should be afforded priority.

Too frequently, the need to monitor results gets forgotten during implementation of agency-funded projects, Mr. Verspoor observed.. Agencies should insist that progress reports be of high quality and that evaluation be carried out. In the light of the positive experiences of many countries, agencies should take seriously the challenge of taking successful pilot projects to scale. Sustainable development is not attained through "permanent pilot projects". Wide-scale implementation must be considered from the inception of these projects. Sector development programmes should be strengthened and debt relief must be used to accelerate educational development.

Mr. Débourou considered the implications of the Report for professional researchers. He first dealt with some of the criticisms raised by participants. Although the case studies tried to deal with the issue of quality in education, this was not always possible as many Ministries did not have sufficient information or research capacity to conduct such studies. The case studies presented here had taken place over a six-month period, which did not allow for large-scale data collection from inception.

Mr. Debourou felt that on the whole, the research community has not participated in the studies. There are several possible explanations for this, including reluctance of researchers to participate in exercises where the research agenda was determined by the Ministry. The Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise found that Ministries of Education often lack both the capacity to undertake research projects and the time to conduct such studies. Education is a science in which few people are experts. Closer cooperation with the research community should be established, particularly with respect to the validity of evaluation studies. Governments delegate the onus of development work to communities, yet they do not invest them with institutional power. Agencies should assist governments in the process of decentralization.

The panelists' presentations generated a great deal of discussion and comments from the floor. The discussion is summarized here according to the dominant themes which emerged.

Ms Fay Chung from UNESCO remarked that the Biennale, through the stocktaking exercise's focus on success, offered examples of strong institutions and provided a stimulus for governments and donors to share their successful experiences. Another participant noted that the exercise had built capacity and that there had been many "converts to the new religion [of stocktaking] which ADEA had been evangelizing".

Several participants criticized the methodology adopted in the case studies and indicated they felt some issues had not been adequately dealt with. Ms Chung commented that the validity of the methodology adopted in the studies should be examined more closely. She described the present exercise as "edging towards the truth"; its validity was increased by the use of multiple data sources. Recording success stories is only part of the process: it is important, and exciting, to consider challenges and to consider how successful experiences could be replicated. Innovations should be put into context.

Hon. Mr. Faure of the Seychelles emphasized the need for professional teams which can conduct similar case studies; a high level of analysis and rigorous methodology are prerequisites for demonstrating clearly that a given innovation is indeed successful: "No country will borrow something half-baked". Mr. Rajabu from Tanzania noted that the validity and reliability of the case studies is open to question; they are too descriptive and not sufficiently analytical.

Hon. Mr. Wurie from Sierra Leone commented that, in addition to methodological weaknesses, the studies do not cover sustainability and transferability in sufficient detail. He also indicated that only half of the countries which should have participated in the exercise had done so. Another speaker noted that questions of efficiency had not received much attention in the case studies and that the matters of student retention and relation of the curriculum to social and market needs had still to be addressed.

Participants made recommendations on ways in which the studies could have been improved. One speaker suggested that the research groups should have worked with quantifiable, specifically stated objectives, as general objectives were very difficult to evaluate. He also said that the analysis of results should have been related to development needs and that the evaluation methodology should have been appropriate to the objectives of the evaluation. Hon. Mr. Mutorwe from Namibia said that his country would like assistance in defining teacher competency as Namibia wished to introduce competency-based training for teachers. He felt that studies should consider issues "beyond basic education" and suggested an examination of the interaction between school and employment.

Several participants noted that the case studies initiated important processes within their Ministries of Education and highlighted the need for capacity building in evaluation and monitoring. Hon. Mr. Faure, from Seychelles, indicated that the development of monitoring and evaluation capacity would help nurture education systems. He noted that Ministries of Education ought ideally to make decisions on the basis of facts and evidence. Ministries should therefore enhance the capacity of professional evaluation teams. All countries should appoint monitoring and evaluation teams, as the lack of systematic monitoring was a systemic weaknesses noted by many countries. He emphasized the need to develop a "culture of collective reflection" which would move beyond superficial analysis. This comment was echoed by the participant from the Association of African Universities who underscored the need for "careful, critical" self reflection.

Mr. Saint from the World Bank commented on the quality and relevance of debates at the conference. He noted that development assistance had not been very effective and expressed concern about how the World Bank could be more effective in its assistance to countries. He suggested that a better understanding of sector roles, and of what was and was not successful, be developed. He also suggested that networking and synergy be strengthened to improve donor assistance. Funding agencies should support the identification of positive experiences and should consider ways of taking successful innovations to scale. He noted that ADEA was "a success story in itself" and that there are few networks which could copy what ADEA had done. A central focus on HIV/AIDS was very important, he maintained. Finally, he asked, how can the gap between the technological marvels of the first world and the lack of such technology in the third world be bridged?

Speakers made recommendations on future action to follow the Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise. Ms Chung suggested that capacity to manage and mainstream various innovations should be developed in Ministries of Education. Private sector involvement in educational reform should be encouraged. Ministers were urged to "think globally and act locally". Mr. Byll-Cataria of the Swiss Development Agency noted that ADEA working groups focused on isolated aspects of educational strategy such as teacher provision, system expansion and financing, but did not focus on the links between these aspects. ADEA should facilitate capitalization on successful experiences. The Hon. Mr. Rajabu from Tanzania suggested that countries decide which case studies should be replicated and which factors were context- dependent. He proposed that ADEA revisit the studies so that the program designs would become better known and could be replicated by other countries. Mr. Hartwell, from USAID, asked whether the papers of individual case studies would be made available electronically. Ms Bah-Diallo of UNESCO hoped that the case studies would be used in the EFA 2000 conference and that the Ministers and ADEA would work to finalize them. She also asked that representatives of civil society be included in the delegations which would attend the EFA conference in Dakar and that feedback meetings should form part of the preparations for this conference.

The Chair, Ms Volan, said that the Steering Committee hoped each Ministry of Education would establish an ADEA desk which would channel information about ADEA throughout the education system.

Mr. Richard Sack addressed ADEA's future role with respect to the Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise and comments raised by participants. The research process, he said, revealed that Africa has a `capital' of valid experiences, which should continue to be identified. The momentum initiated by the study must be maintained and extended. ADEA must consider how this should be done. Several mechanisms had been suggested:

• The Prosspective, Stocktaking process should be continued in countries which had not participated in the initial studies;

• ADEA should continue to work with existing country teams;

• Intra-Africa exchange programs should be explored as ways of promoting transferability;

• Mechanisms for disseminating information should be integrated into a new program called "Communication for Education and Development", which is training information and communications specialists in Ministries of Education, and journalists;

• The Working Group on the Teaching Profession should ensure that the issue of HIV/AIDS is placed firmly on its agenda; and

• ADEA should apply the methodology and approach of the Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise to the issues of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The final session also considered comments on the format and structure of the Biennale. A participant from Austria said that oral presentations are not the most effective approach, and that ways of making presentations more "user-friendly" should be considered. The conference should also make more provision for "face-to-face" dialogue; plenary sessions should be reduced and more time allocated for work in small groups and networking. The Chair indicated that the Steering Committee was aware that some people felt there were too many presentations by panelists. She committed the Steering Committee to investigating more creative ways of organizing the Biennale and disseminating information.

The session was closed by the ADEA Chair who observed that the discussions had generated a wealth of information, comments and suggestions. The Steering Committee would reflect on these and determine an appropriate course of action. This conference and the Prospective, Stocktaking Exercise had provided a good beginning for taking the ADEA forward.

On behalf of the Steering Committee, the Chair expressed her sincere thanks to :

• the hosts of the Biennale, the South African Government and Ministry and Department of Education, who had made it possible to ensure that the conference ran smoothly;

• the various technical groups;

• the ADEA Secretariat which worked day and night organizing the conference;

• the interpreters; and

• the national teams who had conducted the case studies.

The Chair indicated ADEA's regret at being unable to invite every member of the country teams to the Biennale. Finally, the Chair thanked all the participants who made this Biennale so successful. In closing, she wished everyone a safe journey and expressed her hope that all participants would meet again in two years' time.

Annex 1: List of participants

Mme Judite Seabra MARTINS
Directrice du Cabinet juridique
Ministère de l'Education et de la Culture
Luanda

Mme Adelina Maria MENDES
Directrice de l'Enseignement privé
Ministère de l'Education et de la Culture
Luanda

BENIN

S.E. M. Damien Zinsou ALAHASSA
Ministère de l'Education nationale et de la Recherche scientifique
Cotonou

M. Joseph AHANHANZO
Directeur de la programmation et de la prospective
Ministère de l'Education nationale et de la Recherche scientifique
Cotonou

BURKINA FASO

M. Julien DABOUE
Directeur des Etudes et de la Planification
Ministère de l'Enseignement de base et
de l'Alphabétisation
Ouagadougou

CAMEROON

Hon. M. Joseph YUNGA TEGHEN
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Yaoundé

M. Apollinaire TCHAMENI
Directeur de la Prospective
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Yaoundé

COMORES

M. Amroine DARKAOUI
Directeur général de l'Organisation scolaire et de la scolarité
Ministère de l'Education nationale, de la Formation professionnelle et de la Francophonie
Moroni

CONGO

M. Camille NZIENGUI MABIKA
Inspecteur général de l'Enseignement
Ministère de l'Enseignement technique et de la Formation professionnelle
Brazzaville

COTE D'IVOIRE

S.E. M. Francis WODIE
Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche scientifique
Abidjan

S.E. M. Dossongui KONÉ
Ministère de l'Enseignement technique et de la Formation professionnelle
Abidjan

M. Laurent N'GUESSAN ZOUKOU
Conseiller technique
Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche scientifique
Abidjan

M. Seri Bi N'GUESSAN
Directeur général
Ministère de l'Enseignement technique et de la Formation professionnelle
Abidjan

Mme Alice KOUADIO ODOUNFA
Directeur de la Planification, de l'Evaluation
et des Statistiques
Ministère de l'Education nationale et de la Formation de base
Abidjan

ERITREA

Hon. Mr. Osman SALEH MOHAMMED
Ministry of Education
Asmara

Mr. Tesfamicael GERAHTU
Director General
Ministry of Education
Asmara

GABON

M. Amédée ISSEMBE
Haut Commissaire auprès du Ministre de l'Education nationale
Libreville

M. Adama MOUSSA DIARRA
Conseiller technique
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Libreville

GAMBIA

Hon. Mrs. Ann Therese NDONG-JATTA
Secretary of State for Education
Banjul

GHANA

Hon. Mr. Kwabena KYEREH
Deputy Minister
Ministry of Education
Accra

Mr. Stephen AYIDIYA
Coordinator for Development Partners
Ministry of Education
Accra

GUINEA

M. Saidou SOUARE
Coordonnateur du PASE
Ministère de l'Enseignement Pré-universitaire et de l'Education civique
Conakry

GUINEA BISSAU

M. Paulo PEREIRA
Directeur de Cabinet
Ministère de l'Education nationale, de la jeunesse, de la culture et des sports, Bissau

KENYA

Hon. Mr. Mathews Adams KARAURI
Assistant Minister
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
Nairobi

Mr. Erastus Muthuuri KIUGU
Secretary General
UNESCO National Commission
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
Nairobi

LESOTHO

Hon. Mr. Lesao Archibald LEHOHLA
Ministry of Education and Manpower Development
Maseru

Ms. Arcilia SEITLHEKO
Chief Education Officer
Ministry of Education and Manpower Development
Maseru

LIBERIA

Hon. Mrs. Evelyn KANDAKAI
Ministry of Education
Monrovia

MADAGASCAR

S.E. M. Jacquit Nivoson SIMON
Ministère de l'Enseignement secondaire
et de l'Education de base
Antananarivo

S.E. M. Boniface Manafetry LEVELO
Ministère de l'Enseignement technique et de la Formation professionnelle
Antananarivo

M. Dauphin R. ANDRIAMBOLOLONA
Directeur de la Recherche
Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur
Antananarivo

MALAWI

Hon. Mr. Ken LIPENGA
Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture
Lilongwe 3

Mr. Charles. D. NTHENDA
Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture
Lilongwe 3

MALI

M. Abdoulaye Salim CISSE
Conseiller technique chargé de l'Enseignement supérieur
Ministère des Enseignements secondaire, supérieur et de la Recherche scientifique
Bamako

MAURITANIA

M. Issa Ould BELLAL
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Nouakchott

M. Mohameden Ould BAGGA
Directeur de la Planification et de la Coopération
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Nouakchott

MOZAMBIQUE

S.E. M. Arnaldo Valente NHAVOTO
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Maputo

Mr. Manuel Francisco LOBO
Directeur Adjoint de la Planification
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Maputo

NAMIBIA

Hon. Mr. John MUTORWA
Ministry of Basic Education and Culture
Windhoek

Hon. Mr. Nahas ANGULA
Ministry of Higher Education, Vocational Training, Science and Technology
Windhoek

Ms. Vejanda KAUARIA
Education Officer
Ministry of Higher Education, Vocational Training, Science and Technology
Windhoek

NIGER

S.E. M. Ahmet Akilou BARINGAYE
Ministre d'Etat
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Niamey

NIGERIA

Hon. Mr. Lawal BATAGARAWA
Minister of State for Education
Federal Ministry of Education
Maitama

Mr. Balarabe LAWAL
Special Assistant
Federal Ministry of Education
Maitama

REPUBLIQUE CENTRAFRICAINE

S.E. M. Elois ANGUIMATE
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Bangui

M. Jonas GUEZEWANE-PIKI
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Bangui

REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO

M. Lwamba LWA NEMBA
Secrétaire général
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Kinshasa

M. Kizabi MANDA
Coordonnateur national
UNESCO
Kinshasa

RWANDA

Hon. Mr. Emmanuel MUDIDI
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Kigali

M. Faustin HABINEZA
Directeur, Gestion et Développement du Personnel enseignant
Kigali

SAO TOME & PRINCIPE

S.E. M. Peregrino DO SACRAMENTO DA COSTA
Ministère de l'Education nationale et de la Culture
Sao Tomé

SENEGAL

S.E. M. Mame Bounama SALL
Ministre délégué chargé de l'Education de base et des Langues nationales
Ministère de l'Education de base et des Langues nationales
Dakar

M. Macaty FALL
Conseiller technique
Ministère de l'Education de base et des Langues nationales
Dakar

M. Kassa DIAGNE
Directeur du Projet d'Appui au plan d'action
Ministère de l'Education de base et des Langues nationales
Dakar

SEYCHELLES

Hon. Mr. Danny FAURE
Ministry of Education
Mahé

Mr. Charles CONFAIT
Director General, Education Planning
Ministry of Education
Mahé

SIERRA LEONE

Hon. Mr. Alpha Tejan WURIE
Ministry of Youth, Education and Sports
Freetown

Mr. Alfred Bobson SESAY
Director General
Ministry of Youth, Education and Sports
Freetown

SOUTH AFRICA

Hon. Mr. Kader ASMAL
Ministry of Education
Pretoria

Hon. Father Smangaliso MKHATSHWA
Deputy Minister of Education
Ministry of Education
Pretoria

Mr. Thami MSELEKU
Director-General
Department of Education
Pretoria

Hon. Mr. Shepard M. MAYATULA
Department of Education
Pretoria
Dr. Trevor COOMBE
Deputy Director-General: Systems and Planning
Department of Education
Pretoria

Mr. Allan TAYLOR
Ministerial Adviser
Ministry of Education
Pretoria

Mr. Bheki KHUMALO
Ministerial Spokesman
Ministry of Education
Pretoria

Mr. Ghaleeb JEPPIE
Director of International Relations
Department of Education
Pretoria

Ms. Nasima BADSHA
Deputy Director-General: Higher Education
Department of Education
Pretoria

Members of the Executive Council
MECs (Provincial Ministers of Education)
Mr. P KGANARE, Free State Province
Mr. I JACOBS, Gauteng Province
Mr. E MUSHWANA, Northern Province

SUDAN

Hon. Mr. Ibrahim AHMED OMER
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
Khartoum

Mr. Hassan Mohmed SALIH
Secretary General
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
Khartoum

Mr. Ibrahim Suliman EL-DASIS
Director of Educational Evaluation
Ministry of Education
Khartoum

SWAZILAND

Hon. Rev. Abednego NTSHANGASE
Ministry of Education
Mbabane

Ms. Adelaide MKHONTA
Principal Secretary
Ministry of Education
Mbabane

Ms. Dorothy LITTLER
National Commission for UNESCO
Ministry of Education
Mbabane

TANZANIA

Mr. Abubakar RAJABU
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Education and Culture
Dar-es-Salaam

Mr. Charles KALUGULA
Director of Policy and Planning
Ministry of Education and Culture
Dar-es-Salaam

TCHAD

S.E. M. Bireme Abderahim HAMID
Ministère des Enseignements de base, du secondaire et de l'Alphabétisation
Ndjamena

M. Abderamane KOKO
Secrétaire exécutif
Comité national de l'Education et de la Formation
Ndjamena

M. Mahamat Bahradine OUMAR
Coordonnateur
Ministère du Plan
TR/Genève IV
Ndjamena

TOGO

M. Adji Otèth AYASSOR
Secrétaire général
Ministère de l'Education nationale et de la Recherche
Lomé

UGANDA

Hon. Mr. Edward KHIDDU MAKUBUYA
Ministry of Education and Sports
Kampala

Hon. Mr. Nuwe AMANYA MUSHEGA
Ministry of Public Service
Kampala

Mr. Francis X. K. LUBANGA
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Education and Sports
Kampala

ZAMBIA

Hon. Brig. Gen. Godfrey MIYANDA
Ministry of Education
Lusaka

Mr. John SHABOLYO
Assistant Director
Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training
Lusaka Mr. Christopher ZULU
Chief Inspector of Schools
Ministry of Education
Lusaka

ZANZIBAR/TANZANIA

Hon. Mr. Omar R. MAPURI
Ministry of Education
Zanzibar

Mr. Abdulhamid Y. MZEE
Principal Secretary
Ministry of Education
Zanzibar

ZIMBABWE

Hon. Mr. Gabriel Mharadze MACHINGA
Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture
Harare

Hon. Mr. Sikanyiso NDLOVU
Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Technology
Causeway - Harare

Bilateral Agencies

AUSTRIA
Mrs. Lydia SAADAT
Head of SectionVII/A/2b, Education and Training
Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Vienna

Ms. Gerti PERLAKI
Consultant for Gender Issues
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Vienna

Ms. Alexandra STRICKNER
Research Assistant
Austrian Foundation for Development Research
Vienna

Ms. Patrizia BITTER
Education Officer
Austrian Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Austrian Regional Bureau
Praia, CAPE VERDE

BELGIUM

Mr. Edwin BOURGEOIS
Deputy Adviser, Education Sector Strategies
Administration Générale de la Coopération au Développement (AGCD)
Brussels

CANADA

Ms. Diana CHAPLIN
Senior Development Officer
Agence Canadienne de Développement International (CIDA), Hull, Québec

DENMARK

Mr. Poul Erik RASMUSSEN
Education Advisor
Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Copenhagen

FINLAND

Mr. Heikki KOKKALA
Education Advisor
Department for International Development
Cooperation - DIDC
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Helsinki

Ms. Tuula GORDON
Department for International Development Cooperation - DIDC
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Helsinki

Mr. Tuomas TAKALA
University of Tampere
Department of Education
Tampere

FRANCE

M. Pierre JACQUEMOT
Directeur du développement et de la Coopération technique
Ministère des Affaires Etrangères
Paris

M. Lucien COUSIN
Chef de la Division de la Coopération éducative
Ministère des Affaires Etrangères
Paris

Mme Annie SEREN
Chef du Bureau des Enseignements scolaires
Ministère des Affaires Etrangères
Paris

M. Pierre COLOMBIER
Ambassade de France en Afrique du Sud
Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA

M. Jean-Claude BALMES
Chef de Division Education
Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
Paris

GERMANY

Ms. Gisela FROMMER
Senior Planning Officer
Education, Science and Youth Division
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)
Eschborn

IRELAND

Ms. Liz HIGGINS
Education Adviser
Department of Foreign Affairs
Dublin

Ms. Gill ROE
Programme Director
Higher Education for Development Cooperation (HEDCO)
Dublin

NETHERLANDS

Mr. Lucien WOLFS
Head, Education and Developing Countries Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Hague

Ms. Claudine HELLEMAN-TOXOPEUS
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Hague

Mr. Wim HOPPERS
Regional Education Specialist
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA

Ms. Ana ROCHKOVSKI
First Secretary, Education Expert
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Dar-es-Salaam, TANZANIA

Mr. Kees B. VAN DEN BOSCH
Regional Education Adviser
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Harare, ZIMBABWE

Mr. Jos Hendricus WALENKAMP
Director
Department of Human Resource and Institutional Development Nederlandse organisatie voor internationae samenwerking (NUFFIC)
The Hague

NORWAY

Hon. Mr. Jon LILLETUN
Minister of Education, Research and Church Affairs
Oslo

Mr. Hakon BJORNES
Director General
Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs
Oslo

Ms. Marianne LOE
Adviser
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Oslo

Mrs. Turid HALLSTROM
First Secretary
Royal Norwegian Embassy
Lusaka, ZAMBIA

Ms. Sissel VOLAN
Senior Education Adviser
Norwegian Agency of Development Cooperation
(NORAD), ADEA Chairperson
Oslo

Ms. Marit H. VEDELD
Education Adviser
NORAD
Oslo

Ms. Ellen CARM
Associate Professor
LINS, Oslo College
Oslo

Mr. Anders BREIDLID
Associate Professor, Chairman
LINS, Oslo College
Oslo

SWEDEN

Ms. Agneta LIND
Head, Education Division
Sida
Stockholm

Ms. Margareta HUSEN
Deputy Head, Education Division
Sida
Stockholm

SWITZERLAND

M. Ahlin BYLL-CATARIA
Chargé de programme
Direction du développement et de la coopération
Bern

Mme Fabienne LAGIER
Consultante
Direction du développement et de la coopération
Bern

UNITED KINGDOM

Ms. Myra HARRISON
Chief Education Adviser
Department for International Development (DfID)
London

Mr. Alan J. PENNY
Senior Education Adviser
Department for International Development (DfID)
Nairobi

Ms. Barbara PAYNE
Senior Education Adviser
Department for International Development (DfID)
Pretoria

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Ms. Sarah E. MOTEN
Coordinator, Education for Development and Democracy Initiative
USAID
Washington, D.C

Ms. Emily VARGAS-BARON
Deputy Assistant Administrator
USAID
Washington, D.C

Mrs. Julie OWEN-REA
Education and Training Officer
USAID
Washington, D.C

Ms. Carolyn I. COLEMAN
Deputy Coordinator, Education for Development and Democracy Initiative
USAID
Washington, D.C

Mr. Ash HARTWELL
Education Policy Advisor
USAID
Amherst, MA

Mr. Mitch KIRBY
Education Advisor
USAID
Washington, D.C

Mr. Talaat MOREAU
USAID
Washington, D.C

Ms. Sandra L. RUSSO
Higher Education Specialist
USAID
Washington, D.C

Ms. Yvette MALCIOLN
Basic Education Team Leader
USAID
Cotonou, BENIN

Mr. William E. MVALO
Senior Education Advisor
USAID
Lilongwe, MALAWI

Mrs. Catherine Powell MILES
Senior Technical Adviser
(Basic Education Support Project)
USAID
Windhoek, NAMIBIA

Mr. Patrick FINE
Education Team Leader
USAID
Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA

ADEA

Mr. Richard SACK
Executive Secretary
Paris, FRANCE

Mr. Akintola FATOYINBO
Communication Specialist
World Bank, Abidjan, CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Mr. Mamadou NDOYE
Coordinator of UNSIA Programme
World Bank, Washington, D.C, USA

Ms. Mmantsetsa MAROPE
Prospective, Stocktaking Technical Team Leader
World Bank, Washington, D.C, USA

M. Djibril DEBOUROU
Prospective, Stocktaking Technical Team
Member of Parliament
Assemblée Nationale
Porto-Novo, BENIN

M. Aimé DAMIBA
WG Evaluation Team member
Ouagadougou, BURKINA FASO

Ms. Diane PROUTY
WG Evaluation Team member
Washington, D.C, USA

African Development Bank

Ms. Alice HAMER
Division Chief, South Region
Abidjan, CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Mr. Paul DOUGNA
Abidjan, CÔTE D'IVOIRE

All Africa Teachers Organisation, Africa Regional Office (AATO)

Mr. Thomas Ango BEDIAKO
Chief Regional Coordinator (EI) Secretary General (AATO)
Lomé, TOGO

Agence Française de la Francophonie

M. Locha MATESO
Direction de l'Education et de la Formation technique et professionnelle
Paris, FRANCE

Association Internationale pour la Promotion de l'Education en Afrique (AIPEA)

M. Fulgence KONE
Secrétaire général
Paris, FRANCE

Association of African Universities (AAU)

Mr. Narciso MATOS
Secretary-General
Accra-North, GHANA
Mr. Akilagpa SAWYERR
Director of Research
Accra North, GHANA
Mr. Dominic Nmah TARPEH
Head, Administration and Finance and Acting Deputy Secretary General
Accra-North, GHANA

Carnegie Corporation of New York

Ms. Andrea JOHNSON
Program Associate
New York, USA

Commonwealth of Learning

Ms. Patricia McWILLIAMS
Education Specialist, Training
Vancouver, B.C, CANADA

Commonwealth Secretariat

Mr. Stephen MATLIN
Director, Human Resource Development Division
London, UNITED KINGDOM
Ms. Changu E. MANNATHOKO
Education Department
London, UNITED KINGDOM

Conférence des Ministres de l'Education des Pays francophones (CONFEMEN)

M. Bougouma NGOM
Secrétaire général
Dakar, SENEGAL

European Commission

Mr. Jose-Javier PANIAGUA
Principal Administrator
Brussels, BELGIUM

Fédération africaine des associations de parents d'élèves et étudiants (FAPE)

M. Martin ITOUA
Président
Brazzaville, CONGO

Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)

Ms. Penina MLAMA
Executive Director
Nairobi, KENYA

International Association of Universities (IAU)

Mr. Franz EBERHARD
Secretary-General
Paris, FRANCE

International Institute for Educational Planning

Mme Françoise CAILLODS
Coordonnateur pour les Activités Décentralisées
Paris, FRANCE

Rockefeller Foundation

Mrs. Joyce MOOCK
Associate Vice President
New York, USA

Ms. Katherine NAMUDDU
Senior Scientist
Nairobi, KENYA

Syndicat des Enseignants de l'Education Nationale (SEENA)

Mme Christiane BITOUGAT
Secrétaire générale
Libreville, GABON

UNDP

Mr. Babatunde THOMAS
Coordinator, UNSIA
New York, USA

Ms. Anjimile MTILA DOKA
Senior Advisor
New York, USA

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

Mr. Joseph N. NGU
Economic Affairs Officer
Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA

UNESCO

Mme Aïcha BAH DIALLO
Directeur, Education de base
Paris, FRANCE

Ms. Winsome GORDON
Director, Primary Education Sector
Paris, FRANCE

Mr. John NKINYANGI
Executive Secretary, MINEDAF VII
Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA

Ms. Susanne SCHNUTTGEN
Programme Specialist
Paris, FRANCE

M. Ibrahima BAH LALYA
Paris, FRANCE

UNICEF

Mr. Sheldon SHAEFFER
Chief, Education Section
New York, USA

Ms. Mary Joy PIGOZZI
Senior Education Advisor, Primary Education
New York, USA

Mrs. Aline BORY-ADAMS
Regional Education Adviser
Abidjan, CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Ms. Anna P. OBURA
Regional Education Advisor
Nairobi, KENYA

World Bank

Mr. Eduardo A. DORYAN
Vice-President, Human Development Network
Washington, D.C, USA

Ms. Ruth KAGIA
Director, Strategy and Operations
Washington, D.C, USA

Mr. Arvil Van ADAMS
Sector Manager
Washington, D.C, USA

Mr. Jon LAUGLO
Senior Education Specialist
Washington, D.C, USA

Mr. Donald HAMILTON
Senior Education Planner
Washington, D.C, USA

Mr. Mourad EZZINE
Senior Human Development Specialist
Washington, D.C, USA

Mr. Nicholas BURNETT
Sector Manager
Washington, D.C, USA

Ms. Adriana JARAMILLO
Education Specialist
Washington, D.C, USA

Mr. Dzingai MUTUMBUKA
Sector Manager
Washington, D.C, USA

Mr. David BERK
Lead Specialist
Washington, D.C, USA

Mr. Adriaan VERSPOOR
Lead Specialist, Education
Washington, D.C, USA

Mr. Birger FREDRIKSEN
Sector Director, Human Development, Africa Region
Washington, D.C, USA

Ms. Maris O'ROURKE
Director of Education
Washington, D.C, USA

WG on Books and Learning Materials
Ms. Carew TREFFGARNE
Department for International
Development (DfID)
London, UNITED KINGDOM

WG on Early Childhood Development
Ms. Claudine HELLEMEN-TOXOPEUS
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Hague, THE NETHERLANDS

WG on Female Participation
Mrs. Mwajabu K. POSSI
Dar-es-Salaam, TANZANIA

WG on Finance and Education
M. Coffi Rémy NOUMON
CODESRIA
Dakar, SÉNÉGAL

WG on Education Sector Analysis
Ms. Lene BUCHERT
UNESCO ED/ERD
Paris, FRANCE

Mr. Joel SAMOFF
Stanford University
Palo Alto,USA

WG on Education Statistics
Mr. Ko-Chih TUNG
UNESCO Office
Harare, ZIMBABWE

WG on Higher Education
Mr. Bill SAINT
The World Bank
Washington D.C, USA

WG on Non-Formal Education
Mr. Cream WRIGHT
Commonwealth Secretariat
London, UNITED KINGDOM

M. Adama OUANE
Director
Institute for Education, UNESCO
Hamburg, GERMANY

WG on Teaching Profession (Anglophone section)
Mr. Henry KALUBA
Commonwealth Secretariat
London, UNITED KINGDOM

WG on Teaching Profession (Francophone section)
M. Paul DOGOH-BIBI
Coordonnateur régional
Abidjan, CÔTE D'IVOIRE

BENIN

M. Aimé GNIMADI
Directeur des Etudes
Centre Béninois de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique
Cotonou

BURKINA FASO

M. Amadé BADANI
Directeur général
Ecole Normale Supérieure
Koudougou

BURUNDI

M. Aaron BARUTWANAYO
Directeur général
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Bujunbura

BOTSWANA

Mrs. Felicity M. LEBURU-SIANGA
Chief Education Officer
Ministry of Education
Gaborone

CAMEROON

M. Elias KENNE
Professeur
Ecole NormaIe Intégrale
Yaoundé

COTE D'IVOIRE

M. Amani YAO
Chargé d'Etudes au Cabinet
Ministère de l'Education nationale et
de la Formation de base
Abidjan

GAMBIA

Mr. Mohamed JALLOW
Director of Information Technology
and Human Resources
Department of State for Education
Banjul

GUINEA

M. Alamah CONDE
Inspecteur général adjoint de l'éducation
Ministère de l'Enseignement Pré-universitaire et l'Education civique
Conakry

EQUATORIAL GUINEA
M. Santiago BIVINI MANGUE
Directeur général de la Planification de l'Education
Ministère de l'Education, de la Science
et de la Francophonie
Malabo

LESOTHO

Mrs. Ann-Maureen NYATHI
Senior Education Officer
Ministry of Education and Manpower Development
Mokhotong

LIBERIA

Hon. Mr. Isaac ROLAND
Deputy Minister of Education, Planning and Development
Monrovia

MADAGASCAR

M. Maurice TILAHIMENA
Conseiller technique
Ministère de l'Enseignement secondaire et
de l'Education de base
Antananarivo

MALI

M. Mamadou Mana KONATE
Chef de section de la recherche et de l'évaluation
Ministère de l'Education de base
Bamako

NAMIBIA

Mr. Jan ALBERTS
Ministry of Basic Education and Culture
Okahandja

NIGER

M. Amadou HAMIDOU
Conseiller technique
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Niamey

NIGERIA

Mr. Gidado TAHIR
Executive Secretary
National Commission for Nomadic Education
Kaduna

SENEGAL

M. Papa Madéfall GUEYE
Directeur de l'Alphabétisation et de l'Education de Base
Ministère de l'Education nationale
Dakar

SEYCHELLES

Mr. Jones Leon BELMONT
Director, Resource Planning Project Development
Ministry of Education
Mahé

SOUTH AFRICA

Ms. Hanlie GRIESEL
Senior Researcher, Quality Promotion Unit
University of Natal
Durban

TANZANIA

Mrs. Nesta V. SEKWAO
Assistant Commissioner for Education
Ministry of Education and Culture

TCHAD

M. Alndinglaouel NEBE
Coordonnateur de la cellule EFE
Ministère des Enseignements de base,
du secondaire et de l'Alphabétisation
N'Djamena

UGANDA

Mrs. Florence M. MALINGA
Commissioner, Educational Planning
Ministry of Education and Sports
Kampala

ZANZIBAR

Mr. Abdulla M. ABDULLA
Educational Policy, Planning and Project Officer
Ministry of Education
Zanzibar

ZIMBABWE

Mr. Michael MAMBO
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Higher Education and Technology
Harare

ADEA Secretariat

Mr. Hamidou BOUKARY
ADEA, Paris

Mrs. Jaya Sevamba CONHYE
ADEA, Paris

Mlle Stéphanie COHN

Mme Thanh-Hoa DESRUELLES
ADEA, Paris

Mr. Vincent SNIJDERS
ADEA, Paris

For the Internet room

Mr. Obie SHAW
AED/LELAND Internet Training
Washington DC, USA

Annex 2: Agenda of the meeting

Opening Session (9:30 _ 13:00)

Chair:

Hon. Prof. Kader ASMAL, Minister of Education, South Africa

Keynote speech

His Excellency Thabo MBEKI, President of the Republic of South Africa

Welcome from the ADEA

Ms. Sissel VOLAN, Chair of ADEA and Senior Education Advisor, NORAD

Hon. Bireme Abderahim HAMID, interim Alternate Chair of ADEA and Minister of Basic and Secondary Education and Literacy, Chad

Speeches

Hon. Sikanyiso NDLOVU, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Technology, Zimbabwe*

Mr. Eduardo A. DORYAN, Vice-President, Human Development Network, World Bank

Ms Aïcha BAH-DIALLO, Director of Basic Education, UNESCO

Hon. Jon LILLETUN, Minister of Education, Norway

Hon. Prof. Kader ASMAL Minister of Education, South Africa

*Replacing Hon. Ignatius CHOMBO, Minister of Higher Education and Technology, Zimbabwe and Chair of COMEDAF

Session 1 : Purpose, Process and Outcomes of the Prospective, Stocktaking Review of Education in
Sub-Saharan Africa (14:30 _ 16:00)

Chair: Mr. Mamadou NDOYE, ADEA, World Bank (and former Minister of Education, Senegal)

Presenters:
• Hon. Amanya MUSHEGA, Minister of Public Service, Uganda, former Minister of Education and former Chair of the ADEA Bureau of Ministers;

• Ms. Mmantsetsa MAROPE, Lead specialist of the ADEA Technical Team for the Prospective, Stocktaking Review of Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, and World Bank

Panelists:
• Hon. Bireme Abderahim HAMID, Chad

• Mr. Adriaan VERSPOOR, Lead Education Specialist,World Bank

• Ms. Mmantsetsa MAROPE

• Mr. Djibril DEBOUROU, University Professor and Member of Parliament, Benin

This session explored the overall objectives and purpose of the Prospective, Stocktaking Review of Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and the process by which the exercise was conducted. It set the scene for the entire meeting. The presentations explored: (i) the vision of this exercise; (ii) its meaning and importance for the development of education in Africa; (iii) its implications for the development of effective and viable partnerships between Ministries of Education and their external financing and technical partners (the "agencies"); and, (iv) an overview of the findings and the processes by which they came about.

Session 2. Capacity Development (16:30 -18:00)

Chair: Hon. Edward KHIDDU MAKUBUYA, Minister of Education and Sports, Uganda

Panelists:
• Ms. Felicity LEBURU-SIANGA, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Botswana

• Mr. Amani YAO, Research Officer, Ministry of Education, Côte d'Ivoire

• Mr. Jan ALBERTS, Director, National Institute for Educational Development, Ministry of Basic Education and Culture, Namibia

• Ms. Lene BUCHERT, UNESCO, Coordinator of the Working Group on Education Sector Analysis

Mr. Bill Saint, Principal Education Specialist, World Bank, and Coordinator of the Working Group on Higher Education

The topic of this session was central to the theme of the previous ADEA Biennial meeting in Dakar. The case studies from the three countries on this panel concentrated on capacity building through well-focused strategies for institutional and staff development, and the development of pedagogical and management information systems for informed policy-making and implementation. Case studies were presented from three countries:Côte d'Ivoire, Namibia and Botswana.

• Côte d'Ivoire's management information system for secondary school students is designed to: (i) provide a clear view of student flows; (ii) improve the planning for teacher, equipment and budgetary requirements; and (iii) rationalize the organization of examinations.

   

• Namibiareported on three capacity building efforts: (i) a multi-pronged approach that led to the development of a national capacity for effective and efficient curriculum development and the implementation of new curriculum within a decade: (ii) an integrated Education Management Information System that gives constant support to policy-makers and managers; and, (iii) an examinations and assessment system that has contributed to pedagogical and efficiency improvements in the education system.

   

• The case study from Botswanafocuses on the country's long-term staff development strategy for the education sector. This strategy has contributed to Botswana's high economic growth rate, high enrollment rates, and near self-sufficiency in terms of critical personnel. Strong commitment and conviction, along with solid institutional development strategies were central to this success.

   

   

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  Tuesday morning, 7th December

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  Session 3. Access for all—democratization of educational opportunities (9:00 _ 10:45)

   

  Chair: Mr. Pierre JACQUEMOT, Director for Development and Technical Cooperation,Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France

  Panelists:
  • Ms Florence MALINGA, Commissioner for Education Planning, Ministry of Education and Sports, Uganda

  • Mr. Jones BELMONT, Planning Officer, Ministry of Education and Culture, Seychelles

  • Mr. Abdulla M. ABDULLA, Education Policy, Planning and Project Officer, Ministry of Education, Zanzibar

  • Mr. Santiago BIVINI MANGUE, Director General for Planning, Ministry of Education, Science and Francophonie, Equatorial Guinea

  • Ms. Hanlie GRIESEL, Senior Researcher, University of Natal, South Africa

  • Mr. Ko-Chih TUNG, UNESCO, Coordinator of the Working Group on Education Statistics

   

  This session explored experiences in promoting equality of educational opportunities in early childhood, primary and higher education. Case studies were presented from Zanzibar, Equatorial Guinea, Uganda, Seychelles and South Africa.

   

• The case studies from Zanzibar and Equatorial Guineafocus on strategies to promote access to early childhood education. Zanzibar's strategy is based on partnerships between government and the religious authorities that control Koranic education. Community participation is central to Equatorial Guinea's strategy.

   

• The case studies from Uganda and Seychellesfocus on universal primary education (UPE). Uganda reports on its ambitious, all-encompassing policy to achieve UPE by 2003. This policy, implemented on all fronts, is simultaneously tackling the issues of access, equity, relevance, equality and capacity development. Seychelles reports on the policies and factors that enabled the achievement of UPE.

   

• The South Africacase study focuses on policies concerned with equity and redress in student access, particularly concerning African students' participation and success in higher education studies. This focus captures the substance of the educational debates and student political struggles of the late 1980s and early 1990s, many of which related to issues of access and were central to the transformation of higher education practices. The policies reported in this case study are closely related to South Africa's transformation during its emergence from the era of apartheid.

   

  Session 4. Community participation building (11:15 _ 13:00)

   

  Chair: Ms. Aïcha BAH-DIALLO, Director of Basic Education, UNESCO

  Panelists:
  •Mr. Maurice TILAHIMENA, Technical Advisor, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Madagascar

  • Mr. Mohammed JALLOW, Director of Information Technology and Human Resources, Ministry of Education, Gambia

  • Mr. Aaron BARUTWANAYO, Director General for Higher Education and Scientific
  Research, Ministry of Education, Burundi

  • Mr. Amadé BADANI, Director General, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Koudougou, Burkina Faso

  • Mr. Tahir GIDADO, Professor and Executive Secretary, National Commission for Nomadic Education, Nigeria

  • Mr. Cream WRIGHT, Head of Education Department, Commonwealth Secretariat, and Coordinator of the Working Group on Nonformal Education

   

  Community participation and partnerships are central elements in case studies from 13 countries. They constitute the policy approach most frequently referred to in case studies, a selection of which were discussed in this session.

   

• Madagascar's "contract-program" approach, which links government, school and community, is built on a foundation of already existing (often tacit) forms of cooperation, cultural norms and reciprocal obligations between community members. Its goal is to improve access through greater community involvement and responsibility in the running and management of schools.

   

• Gambiareported on the tendency of communities with high involvement in both school management and school mapping to have higher enrolment growth than those communities with little or no involvement.

   

• The Burundicase study focuses on the government's provision of financial and pedagogical incentives for communities to assume part of the costs of school construction.

   

• In Burkina Faso, the government promotes community participation by identifying communities where several basic conditions for greater community involvement are present. It then provides pedagogical services using trained teachers and school inspectors. Teachers are recruited from and by the communities with technical assistance and advice from the Ministry. Teachers' salaries are paid by the communities, along with contributions from international NGOs.

   

• Nigeriareported on a program to bring basic education to nomadic children. Curriculum and didactic materials were adapted and teachers were retooled to handle the needs of nomad children. Radio delivery and movable classrooms are used; standardized performance indicators and monitoring instruments were developed as part of a system for assessing the viability of the schools.

   

  ---

  Tuesday afternoon, 7th December

  ---

   

  Session 5. Access for girls ( 14:30 _ 16:00)

   

  Chair: Hon. Mame Bounama SALL, Minister of Basic Education and National Languages, Senegal

  Panelists:
  • Mr. Aimé GNIMADI, Research Director, Center for Scientific and Technical Research, Benin

  • Ms. Nesta SEKWAO, Assistant Commissioner for Educational Planning, Ministry of Education and Culture Tanzania

  • Mr. Alndingalaouel NEBE, Coordinator of the Education and Vocational Training Unit, Ministry of Basic, Secondary Education and Literacy, Chad

  • Ms. Penina MLAMA, Executive Director of FAWE and Coordinator of the Working Group on Female Participation

   

  This session focused on a variety of strategies that have succeeded in promoting girls' access to primary and secondary education.

   

• Beninreported on two interventions aimed at improving basic education opportunities for girls: one intervention for girls in the formal school system; and a community development project providing basic education opportunities to "over-age", out-of-school girls. Both interventions are based on diagnostic analyses indicating that girls' absences from school are related to cultural factors that are aggravated by early pregnancies, cost and curricular content.

   

• Tanzaniaalso reported on two programs. One is a scholarship scheme to assist academically capable girls from poor households in attending and completing secondary schools. The other is a program aimed at empowering girls to speak out, express their problems, identify solutions, and take action to solve the problems that hinder their social and academic development.

   

• Chadreported on an incentive program designed to overcome the socio-cultural and educational impediments to girls' enrollments in four rural communities.

   

  Session 6. Access and Quality—Innovative teacher policies (16:30 _ 18:00)

   

  Chair: Ms. Julie OWEN-REA, Education and Training Officer, USAID

  Panelists:
  • Mr. Papa Madéfall GUEYE, Director of Literacy and Basic Education, Ministry of Basic Education and National Languages, Senegal

  • Mr. Elias KENNE, Professeur, Primary School Teacher Training College, Cameroon

  • Mr. Alamah CONDE, Deputy Inspector General of Education, Ministry of Pre-University
  Education, Guinea

  • Mr. Paul Dogoh BIBI, Inspector General of Education, Côte d'Ivoire; and Regional Coordinator, Working Group on the Teaching Profession (Francophone section)

   

  A major impediment to increased access to primary education is the inability of national governments to mobilize, motivate and pay civil service salaries to the large number of teachers needed to ensure education for all. Case studies from Senegal, Cameroon and Guinea presented the innovative approaches and steps taken in their respective countries to address this problem.

   

• In Senegal, the Government developed a controversial policy to recruit "voluntary" teachers outside of the norms and salary scales of the civil service. Four years after the program began, 19% of all teachers were volunteers, thereby enabling a significant increase in enrollments.

   

• Cameroonreported on two approaches: one concerned the use of volunteer teachers recruited by the communities to serve in very large classes; the other is the recruitment of unemployed secondary school and university graduates as non-civil service teachers. They are required to pay tuition for their teacher training and then are employed as teachers at lower salaries than the civil service teachers.

   

• Guineareported on a program of teacher redeployment aimed at putting teachers without classes into classes without teachers. Enrollments have since increased significantly at little-to-no additional cost the government budget.

   

  ---

  Wednesday morning, 8th December

  ---

   

  Session 7. Quality—improving curricular and teacher inputs (9:00 _ 10:45)

   

  Chair: Ms Françoise CAILLODS, Coordinator of Decentralized Activities, IIEP

  Panelists:
  • Ms Ann-Mauren NYATHI, Senior Education Officer, Ministry of Education, Lesotho

  • Mr. Isaac ROLAND, Deputy Minister of Education for Planning and Development, Liberia

  • Mr. Hamidou AMADOU, Technical Advisor, Ministry of Education, Niger

  • Mr. Henry KALUBA, Coordinator, Working Group on the Teaching Profession (Anglophone section)

   

  Three countries featured in this session: Lesotho, Liberia and Niger.

   

• A key feature of Lesotho's Primary In-service Education Program is that it brings services for teacher development and support close to the schools and the classrooms. This program has a cascading architecture. Senior resource teachers work with the district resource teachers who are responsible for visiting schools, delivering advisory support to school administrators, and conducting on-the-job instructional supervision. Content includes teaching methodology, classroom management, child development, assessment and evaluation skills, school administration, materials development, and community and parent involvement in the school.

   

• Liberiareported on how an established institutional fabric enabled its educational system to survive under the extreme circumstances of civil conflict. As schools closed and teachers went into exile, the leadership of the National Teachers Association remained active. When the peace-keeping force arrived, the Association was ready to resume its activities and mobilize teachers within and outside of the country. This was important since (i) it helped reduce the emigration of teachers, (ii) succeeded in bringing public schools together to solicit assistance from national and international NGOs, (iii) brought back most teachers as volunteers, and (iv) helped to organize trauma healing workshops for teachers who remained in the education system and taught throughout the war.

   

• Nigerreported on an experimental program using national languages along with active and participatory pedagogical methods. The need was identified through observation of the traditional, French-language schools' poor quality and results.

   

  Session 8. Quality—improving curricular relevance (11:15 - 13:00)

   

  Chair: Hon. Bireme Abderahim HAMID, Minister of Basic and Secondary Education and Literacy, Chad

  Panelists:
  • Mr. Mamadou Mana KONATE, Head, Research and Evaluation Unit, Ministry of Basic Education, Mali

  • Mr. Michael N. MAMBO, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education and Technology, Zimbabwe

  • Ms. Carew TREFFGARNE, Senior Education Adviser, Department for International Development, UK, and Convener of the Working Group on Books and Learning Materials

   

  Although focusing on different sub-sectors, the Mali and Zimbabwe experiences have in common their use of active, child-centered pedagogical approaches. Four case studies (Mali, Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Niger) refer to active pedagogical approaches.

   

• Mali reported on its experimental "convergent pedagogy" whose implementation was prompted by a steady decline of quality in primary schools. This is an active pedagogy that is more child-centered than traditional approaches and uses mother tongue instruction. Pupils are expected to take an active role in learning; they are organized into teams, with the teacher serving as facilitator.

   

• Zimbabwe's Secondary Science Project (Zim-Sci) is an original and innovative response to the combined shortage of qualified science teachers, teaching space, equipment, and curriculum and instructional materials. The project developed tailor-made curriculum, syllabi and instructional manuals accompany the equipment. The curriculum attained higher contextual relevance by integrating concerns for health, nutrition, industry and environment into content. Elaborate manuals, coupled with easy-to-use equipment, made it easier for less qualified teachers to teach science. Classroom support systems have been built into the syllabus to improve teaching quality and to sharpen learning outcomes. Zim-Sci is characterized by the use of learner-centered approaches, an adaptability to the large class sizes and wide ability ranges brought about by expanded access.

   

• Zimbabwealso reported on its Informal Sector Training and Resources Network project which was initiated in a rural province with high unemployment and about half of the population below the age of 15. Its objective was to provide training for youths to set up their own businesses. The project provides skills training through partnerships between vocational institutes and the informal sector. The project also mobilizes informal sector firms to form associations for the promotion of that sector's interests, such as access to credit, business stands etc.

   

  ---

  Wednesday afternoon, 8th December

  ---

   

  Breakaway, small group sessions (14:30 _ 18:00)

   

  Participants were assigned to six discussion groups. Each group was asked to draw conclusions and recommendations on how lessons learned during the Biennial meeting can inform improved partnerships between agencies and ministries and between ministries and other actors in the education sector. Each group was also asked to explore the possibility of applying the lessons of this process (the case studies and the Biennial meeting itself) to improving the effectiveness of our institutional cultures. Groups were provided with an "agenda" of points to be discussed.

   

  A Chair, resource persons and a rapporteur were assigned to each group. The rapporteurs provided a synthesis of the groups' discussions to the plenary. Participants were divided in 6 groups. To ensure balance, participants were assigned discussion groups. The group explored the following topics:

   

  Groups Topic

  1 and 2 : Strategies, processes and practices to promote education policy formulation that learns and builds from experience

  3 and 4 : Working from "solutions" to strengthen partnerships: strategies for promoting dialogue and action around what works

  5 : Focus on HIV/AIDS

  6 : Focus on networking and its utility for developing effective partnerships based on what works.

   

  ---

  Thursday morning, 9th December

  ---

   

  Session 9. Reports from the breakaway groups and the Caucus of African Ministers (9:00 _ 10:45)

   

  Chair: Father Smangaliso MKHATSHWA, Deputy Minister of Education, South Africa

   

  Rapporteurs:

  • Ms Alice Hamer, Division Chief, South Region, African Development Bank;

  • Mr. Djibril Debourou, Prospective, Stock-Taking Review Technical Team

  • Ms Christine Bitougat,Secretary General, Trade Union of National Education Teachers, Gabon • Mr. Ash Hartwell, Education Policy Advisor, USAID

  • Mr. Stephen Matlin, Director, Human Resource Development Division, Commonwealth Secretariat • Ms Mary Joy Pigozzi, Senior Education Advisor, Primary Education, UNICEF.

   

  • Report from the Caucus of Ministers.

  • Panel with rapporteurs from the breakaway group discussions.

   

   

  Session 10. Wrap-up session and closing (11:15 _ 12:30)

   

  Chair: Ms. Sissel VOLAN, Chair, ADEA

   

  • Panel on lessons and conclusions from the Prospective, Stocktaking Review, including the lessons learned during the Biennial meeting (panel members drawn from the ADEA Steering Committee sub-committee and the ADEA technical team for this Review).

  • Closing of the Meeting.

Country

Title

Author(s) /Coordinator(s)

Working
Group

Title

Author(s)