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EFA
Africa Bulletin Board-
N° 3 - May 2002
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format
Dear
Readers of the EFA bulletin,
Please find enclosed here the third edition of the EFA bulletin.
The focus of this edition is on strategies of support for elaboration
of the EFA National Action Plans. The BREDA has launched a number
of initiatives in relation to member states in order to assist the
countries in production of credible EFA National Action Plans before
the deadline of September 2002. After a number of follow-up missions
carried out at national level, BREDA has organized a series of Regional
and Sub-regional meetings in the period from March to May 2002.
The aim of these meetings has been to evaluate progress made, to
identify obstacles and to seek solutions to enhance the EFA process.
Please refer to the EFA Africa web site for further information
on these meetings (www.dakar.unesco.org/efa/index_fr.shtml).
We
are very happy for the many contributions received from the different
areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. We would like to seize this opportunity
to thank you and to express our hopes for a continued fruitful collaboration.
We
hope you will enjoy reading the latest news in our bulletin and
we would like to invite you also to visit our web site for more
information.
Armoogum
Parsuramen
Director
of BREDA
****************************************************
Support
Strategy for the elaboration of EFA National Action Plans (NAP)
****************************************************
BREDA
identified two main ways to help member states to develop their
national EFA action Plans.
In
the countries where an education and training program is already
in place, and where an important documentation, policy orientation
and education sector development strategies already exist, BREDA
will seek, if needed, to help strengthen the existing documentation
through the conduct of thematic studies. Such studies would allow
a more informed EFA policy formulation in relation with the existing
plan.
- review
the macro-economic framework using a simulation model of school
influx and resource requirements for the consideration of EFA
objectives;
-
review
the national education and training program in relation to the
EFA objectives, in order to adapt EFA aspects and measures initially
reserved for other sub-sectors. At the institutional level,
existing EFA coordination units must be strengthened on the
technical and information aspects; ministries in charge of EFA
also should be reinforced for a better mobilisation of other
EFA partners.
In
countries where an education and training program is not yet developed,
the process can take longer. In some instances, like in Niger, the
first stage in the planning process focused on basic education,
taking into consideration the EFA dimensions. The countries that
do not have an education program, and are planning to develop one
for the entire sector are unlikely to have an EFA plan by September.
BREDA's support strategy for the development of EFA national action
plans is at three levels:
At the international level: the focus is on capacity building of
national teams, through training, workshops and various consultations.
Among the activities undertaken at the international level, one
can mention: the Paris meeting (September 2001), the FAPED meeting
(January 2002) and the Training of Education journalists (February
2002). These different activities have received UNICEF, UNFPA and
the World Bank backing.
Besides, the unit in charge of follow-up of the Dakar framework
of action in BREDA was reinforced thanks to France, the World Bank
and Denmark, Luxembourg, Nigeria and Gambia support, in terms of
qualified staff (experts and associate experts).
At the regional level: in order to assess the progress in the elaboration
of the national action plans, four meetings of the regional and
sub-regional forums have been planned. The Regional Forum met in
March 2002. Two sub-regional forums have been held in March and
April and one is planned to be held in May. During these meetings,
technical tools are produced to help national teams in charge of
developing EFA national Action Plan. These meetings offer also the
opportunity for sub-regional countries to share their best experiences
and put together the scarce resources that are available.
At the national level: with the decentralisation of the biennial
resources, UNESCO African offices have modest resources to support
member states for the development of EFA national action plans.
Therefore, the support needed will be provided in close collaboration
with the various EFA sponsors in the field and under UNESCO coordination.
Contact: Mr Benoît Sossou
DFU / BREDA
***************************************
Follow-up mission of EFA national action
plans (NAPs)
***************************************
In September 2001, BREDA, in collaboration with main development
partners, organised in Paris a meeting of the national EFA coordinators
of the 46 sub-Saharan African countries in order to encourage the
development of EFA national action plans.
After analysing a quick survey on the progress of the action plans
done the day before the meeting, the results were that out of 42
countries, that answered the questionnaire, only Senegal has a EFA
action plan and 36 were planning to have it by September 2002.
Lack of expertise and financial resources, and institutional hardship
hinder progress in the development of NAPs in many countries. The
results of the survey also reveal that, to help these countries
to have reliable EFA NAPs by the planned deadline of December 2002,
BREDA initiated follow-up missions to give technical support to
more than a dozen of countries, to make it easier for the concerned
countries to achieve substantial progress in the elaboration of
their NAPs. The missions were mainly aimed at taking contact with
national authorities in charge of EFA; give a technical support
to coordinating units; help national EFA coordination units in implementing
follow-up activities ; identify major constraints hindering starting-up
; discuss with partners about support strategies for developing
NAPs; hold consultation meetings with partners and governments in
order to achieve the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU)
and set out for the different stakeholders actions to undertake
in order to develop the platforms.
The findings of the mission were that 10 out of the 13 countries
visited have a national education and training program and are adapting
them to include the EFA objectives; 12 countries finished implementing
the administrative framework; two countries signed MOUs and one
(Senegal) completed its EFA plan.
In general, countries are facing three categories of problems: lack
of financial and technical resources; lack of information and documentation
relating to the EFA process; and, especially, a need to improve
commitment from governments and main development partners.
The current situation as described above shows, on the one hand,
the importance of the follow-up missions, which were positively
seen, and, on the other hand, the progress done by the countries
that benefited from these missions.
The follow-up missions had the following impact: i) most of the
coordinators in the countries visited were better considered by
their respective authorities; ii) governments and partners found
new incentive; iii) EFA information were better transmitted to them;
iv) work plans, drafts and technical structures were initiated;
and v) MOUs was drafted between governments and EFA partners was
darfted.
These results show how urgent it is to increase technical follow-up
missions in order to boost the EFA process. However, for that purpose,
it is required to mobilise more resources, get a united and permanent
commitment from all stakeholders (governments, partners, national
coordination units, follow-up teams, civil society, etc.) in a strengthened
partnership.
K. Abdon SOFONNOU
DFU / BREDA
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COUNTRY ACTIONS
****************
********
Cameroon
********
The National Plan of Action for Cameroon is in the process of being
finalized. The editorial group has met for four working sessions
in order to elaborate the analytic part of the plan. The National
Plan of Action for Cameroon will be ready before the Sub-regional
EFA Forum, which will take place in Yaounde from 22 to 25 April
2002. The editorial group has during the whole process benefited
from the support from the United Nations System in Cameroon (particularly
from the EFA partners) as well as from the Government of Cameroon.
*****************
Central African Republic
*****************
The process of elaborating the EFA Plan in The Central African Republic
has taken off slowly due to lack of funds. An information note sent
to the Government, to the National Assembly and to the radio for
public orientation has proven fruitful. In particular it has resulted
in the Government establishing a budget line for EFA in the national
budget at the amount of 10.000.000 FCFA.
Mr. Paul Mpayimana, education specialist from the Bureau of UNESCO-YAOUNDE
has carried out a mission to Bangui with the aim of mobilizing the
EFA partners and the Government. After this mission a meeting was
organized by the Cabinet of the Minister of Education on Wednesday
9, January 2002 for the signing of an EFA Memorandum of Understanding
with the participation of The National Commission of UNESCO, UNFPA,
UNICEF and The World Bank. The Memorandum of Understanding has recently
been signed by the EFA partners and the Government. At the moment
the EFA plan is being elaborated.
Contact: Paul Mpayimana
Education Specialist
UNESCO / Yaounde
*********
The Comoros
*********
On 15 March 2002, the Agreement on the Education and Training Master
Plan and the EFA-PNA was signed at the Ministry of National Education.
There are good perspectives to find financial support for the process.
The European Union for instance made a firm commitment to it. It
agreed with the Comoran government to adopt the education sector
as a priority and to invest in it, within the ninth EDF, 16 million
euros, i.e. about eight billion Comoran francs. Consequently, the
European Union becomes a sponsor of the process. Finally, France,
WHO and the International Organisation of Francophone Countries
(IOF), other bilateral and multilateral partners of the Comoran
Education, join in the movement because of their privileged relationship
with the Comoran Ministry of National Education, and due to the
priority they give to education. For this purpose, the agreement
specifies the collaboration framework between the various agencies
mentioned above.
Contact : Amroine Darkaoui
The Comoros
adarkaoui@hotmail.com
******
Malawi
******
A Working session on Education For All (EFA) for Malawi took place
from 26 to 29 November 2001 in Mangochi. Over one hundred representatives
drawn from a wide cross section of stakeholders and partners in
education development including NGOs, communities and cooperating
partners. Parents, teachers and students/pupils representatives
attended.
This working session was officially opened by the Minister of Education,
Science and Technology, Honourable Dr. George Nga Mtufu, MP, and
it was attended, throughout the three day period by the Principal
Secretary for Basic Education and the Secretary for the Ministry
of People with Disabilities, including the Directors of Education,
at Ministry Headquarters and Education Managers in the Education
Divisions and Districts.
The working session began with presentations of key issues papers
on the status of Education programmes in Malawi with which participants
developed the National EFA action plan based on the six EFA goals.
The need to improve the quality of teaching and learning was also
identified as one of the vital issues to be addressed vigorously
in the EFA action plan (teacher education pre- and in- service,
their motivations, provision of learning and teaching materials
and infrastructure, and reduction of pupil/teacher ratio). It looked
at the requirements of people with special educational needs from
a broader perspective. Finally, they developed and articulated action
plans to ensure that inclusive schooling, Early Childhood development
and Adult Education and Literacy and non-formal life skills education
for out-of-school youths are included in the EFA campaign.
Contact : David Mulera
For: Acting Executive Secretary
mnatcom@malawi.net
*******
Windhoek
*******
The first EFA National Forum Workshop took place in Windhoek on
6 March 2002. It was organized by the EFA Coordinator in collaboration
with the Directorate of Education Implementation Programmes (EPI)
in the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture, which is
also the Forum Secretariat, and the Namibia National Commission
for UNESCO. The expected outputs were:
- A
more coherent understanding of all issues related to EFA;
- An
agreement on a course of action to take in developing the EFA
national plan of action; and
- A
draft of a Memorandum of Understanding for Government and the
UN sister agencies in supporting EFA in Namibia.
Honorable
Dr. Elizabeth Amukugo, Member of Parliament, made a presentation
on the initiative for the creation of the Forum of African Parliamentarians
for Education (FAPED), which took place in Dakar in January 2002.
In her address, she informed the meeting about the importance of
parliamentarians involvement in educational issues, as they are
those who pass laws and make decisions at the national level, and
monitor the Execution of the laws and decision.
Aune Naanda from UNESCO made a presentation on UNESCO's role in
the whole EFA processes, mainly concentrating on the six EFA goals,
the challenges and constraints facing Africa, partnerships at national
levels and the importance of having a Memorandum of Understanding
with the UN sister agencies supporting EFA and the Government of
the Republic of Namibia.
Dr. Robert West, Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture,
made a presentation on EFA in Namibia. In his presentation he said
that Namibia was far advanced in the implementation of EFA. Dr.
West pointed out that the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Basic
Education, Sport and Culture 2001 - 2006, was a very good starting
point for the development of the EFA national plan as all the six
EFA goals are in the Strategic Plan. It was felt that due to the
limited time, the Forum should look at all the policy documents
and plans, including the poverty reduction plans in the country,
Vision 2030 and come up with the EFA plan, which should clearly
be linked to the Strategic Plan.
Mr. T. Kamupingene, EFA Coordinator, made a presentation on what
measures to be taken in order to finalize the EFA plan including
a proposed timetable and a Drafting Committee consisting of 8 members.
The Drafting Committee has been tasked to draft the MOU, which should
be finalized as soon as possible. National meetings for Forum members
would be called quarterly, as well as when the need arises. Otherwise,
the next big meeting will be in June 2002.
Contact : Aune Naanda
UNESCO Windhoeck
*****************************************
The
seminar "towards gender equality in basic education:
major challenges to meet the Dakar EFA goals"
*****************************************
From 17 to 22 February 2002 took place the seminar "Towards
Gender Equality in basic Education: Major Challenges to Meet the
Dakar EFA Goals" in Accra (Ghana).
This seminar was organised within the framework of the UN Girls'
Education Initiative, which was an integral part of the Dakar framework
for Action, and was designed for the ECOWAS Sub-region to develop
a network of national EFA Gender Focal Points responsible to reinforce
and support countries' efforts in a achieving Gender Equality and
eliminating Gender Gaps in basic education as stipulated in the
Dakar EFA goal.
In the seminar, the following issues were discussed: the current
situation of women and girl' education and gender equality in education
in the 12 participated countries, the existing regional co-operation
networks and the relevant experiences in Asia and needs of the countries
in the ECOWAS sub-region and sub-regional activities, in support
of countries' preparation of the National EFA Plans by 2002, in
particular to meet the Dakar EFA Goal V.
The seminar conclusions were that.
Firstly: social, cultural and economic barriers and discriminatory
practices which prevent girls and women from exercising their right
to education are still widely observed in many of the ECOWAS countries.
Secondly: they expressed needs for further improvement and
reinforcement at the national and sub-regional level, in co-ordination,
co-operation, information sharing as well as policy development
and implementation in order to achieve the Dakar Framework for Action
Goal V.
Thirdly: the participants expressed serious concerns over
gender biased practices and condition in schools and learning environment
and due attention should be paid to those girls and women in particularly
difficult conditions and in remote areas. Finally, they considered
the role of media as stressed in advocacy and sensitisation as well
as its function as a means for delivery of educational services.
UNESCO BREDA, as the Regional Bureau for Education, is expected
to play an active role in the sub-regional cooperation network.
Contact: Akiko Takahashi
Associate expert
LBE / BREDA
*****************************************
African Forum of Parliamentarians for Education (FAPED)
*****************************************
From 21 to 23 January 2002, the Forum of African Parliamentarians
for Education took place in Dakar. Nine African countries (Cameroon,
Cape Verde, Kenya, Morocco, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal
and Sudan) met to promote the creation of a framework in which to
exchange experiences and cooperation between members of parliament
in order to achieve the EFA objectives.
The Forum was an initiative of the Senegalese and Mauritius National
Assemblies, with the support of UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, the World Bank,
AU, ADEA, UPA and UNESCO.
The
objectives of FAPED are as follows:
- Capacity
building of members of parliament enabling them to increase budgetary
resources allocated to education;
- Better
monitoring of government education policies;
- Promoting
local communities education needs;
- Providing
an appropriate follow-up of recommendations resulting from international
conferences on education;
- Promoting
collaboration in education between African parliamentarians.
During
the forum, were discussed among other topics law and education in
the 21st century, the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD),
the draft statutes of FAPED.The
group will meet again in May 2002, at Port Louis (Mauritius). The
statutory meeting is planned for December 2002 alongside the Conference
of the African Education Ministers (MINEDAF VIII). The forum orientations
as well as the platform will be defined during that meeting.
***********************
Training
of Education Journalists
***********************
From 18 to 22 February 2002, UNESCO, UNICEF and PANAPRESS organised
jointly a training seminar for education journalists open to ten
African countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, The Comoros,
Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Senegal and Zambia,
and experts of the United Nations system and various NGOs and associations.
This workshop is part of the Dakar Forum on Education (April 2000)
where was identified the necessity of using New Information and
Communication Technologies to achieve Education for All (EFA) objectives.
For
this reason, the United Nations system in general, UNESCO and UNICEF
in particular, has launched, in collaboration with PANAPRESS, a
media coverage project, the first phase of which includes training
the journalists on concepts of education, awareness of the various
problems related to education, and information on how to solve them.
Various
presentations have been made about EFA main aspects and their relations
to media like the fight against the tendency to deny women the access
to education or HIV/Aids in Africa. Thus, media have become key
partners for EFA and play an important part in the diffusion of
information at national and local levels, allowing to get together
all stakeholders for the success of the EFA process.
Contact:
Benoît Sossou
DFU/BREDA Unit
b.sossou@unesco.org
________________________________________________
* For
further information on this Bulletin, please consult
site.breda@unesco.org
* To
read the Bulletin online and for previous issues, kindly visit
http://www.dakar.unesco.org/efa/bulletin_en.shtml
___________________________________________________
Contact : s.sossou@unesco.org
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