Pole’S Newsletter - JUNE 2011 EDITORIAL
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Regional Bureau for Education in Africa United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization °17 The Dakar Educational Sector Analysis Pole’s newsletter - JUNE 2011 EDITORIAL Pole Mag, the Pôle de Dakar’s newsletter, is back after a brief NEWS interruption for technical reasons. The Gambia wants to confirm progress 2 This issue revolves around the two key words concentrating the new action strategy of the Pôle de Dakar. The first one is the Pole de Dakar, platform of expertise national leadership, which forms the basis for successful and capacity building 2 education policies in Africa. In this issue, we take up the experience of Cape Verde whose achievements in education are PSGSE Training: three years and two classes later 3 impressive in terms of regularity as well as quality. In my point of view, There are very useful lessons to learn from this experience in the area of national leadership with regard to designing and REPORT conducting educational policies. Cape Verde: on the way towards a ten-years’ The second key word concerns national capacity building, as it is universal education 4 the only way for the African countries to do away with their Interview with Mr. Brito, current dependence towards foreign technical assistance. This Director-General in the Ministry issue explains Pole’s new strategy, Whose goal is to provide of Education in Cape Verde 6 Africa with a platform of sustainable expertise and training based on local know-how in the field of education sector analysis. This IN THE COUNTRIES 7 initiative, if successful, will help professionalize the steering and management of African education systems. IN BRIEF To conclude, in my capacity as new coordinator of the Pole, Under publication 8 I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor Professor Jean The team 8 Pierre Jarousse for his thorough strategic work, reinforcing the foundations laid by Paul Coustere, the first coordinator of Pole de Dakar. Thanks to their strategic views and complementary actions, UNESCO is now able to provide member states with a continental platform of national capacity building and of expertise to support the reinforcement of national leadership in terms of educational policy. Mohammed Bougroum Pôle de Dakar Coordinator The Dakar Educational Sector Analysis Pole’s newsletter N°17 - JUNE 2011 Pole de Dakar, The Gambia platform of expertise wants to confirm and capacity building progress Since its establishment, the Pole de Three years after its opening, 117 Gambia has a favourable economy Dakar has responded to more than 20 senior executives from 14 different despite low domestic revenues and a requests from its member states. The countries have benefited from the high external dependency. In terms of Pole’s team, alone or in cooperation PSGSE training. Good practices are schooling and achievement, the results with other partners, has ensured the observed in terms of appropriation of are among the best in the Sub-Saharan technical supervision of the national the methodology by the national teams African countries of comparable wealth. teams in the realization of sector (Mauritania) and in terms of national Moreover, the state has committed diagnosis (RESEN), the elaboration of leadership strengthening (Benin, itself to the universal basic education of Financial Simulation Models in Burundi). The partnership with the 9 years. Education, the arbitration instruction of University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar educational policies, the elaboration of makes of this training a solution from The low proportion of the budget programming and national strategy within, and enhances its relevance and allocated by the State to education documents, as well as the construction impact. (18%) plays a role in maintaining a high of sector Mid-Term Expenditure financial implication of households, Framework. In line with the objectives Reinforced with this experience, the particularly at the basic education level. of EPT, all these actions facilitate the Pole de Dakar wishes to reinforce the This affects schooling demand in the elaboration and implementation of synergy between its main mission of poorest families and favours the national educational policies. direct technical support to countries phenomenon of school attrition. and its training activities. The objective According to a survey carried out in Having noted the lower level of the is to establish in Dakar a platform for 2009 , moreover the shortage of member states in educational policy national capacity building and expertise means which was mentioned once out analysts profiles able to manage the in education sector analysis which of 4, almost half of the households realization and the valorization of these enables African countries to reduce surveyed advanced religion to explain activities, the Pole de Dakar decided to their dependence on foreign technical the non-schooling of their children. complete its direct technical support to assistance. On this platform, Pole de Today, in Gambia, one out of four these states with a program for national Dakar will provide leadership in direct students do not complete primary capacity building which ultimately would support to countries, while African school. ensure a national leadership in a partner Universities will take over the sustainable manner. This program, in training activity. To this end, three goals The analysis of teaching quality in partnership with the University Cheikh will have to be achieved: the Gambia indicates weaknesses even Anta Diop of Dakar (FASTEF), was consolidation of the experience with the during the early years of primary school. launched in 2007 through a one-year University Cheikh Anta Diop, (ii) the According to the EGRA / RTI study master’s program in the area of extention of this experience to cover conducted in 2010, more than one out "Sector Policies and Management of other language areas in Africa (English of four students in the third grade is Education Systems" (PSGSE). In part, speaking, Portuguese speaking and unable to read a single word, which with its distant-learning, the PSGSE Arabic speaking), (iii) the maintenance simply prevents him/her from following training program gives the member and development of political and the other levels of studies in normal states the opportunity to train ministry financial support from UNESCO, conditions. The non-optimal allocation officials in sufficient numbers to development agencies, continental and of teachers and textbooks in schools, appropriate the methodology of regional organizations working in the the challenges faced by some teachers education sector analysis, apply it field of education in Africa. mastering the basic skills , together directly at the national level, and with few links between school results exchange and valorize the work at the and the resources invested in the international level. schools, clearly demonstrate the existence of certain ineffective administrative and pedagogical practices threatening the Gambian education system quality. 2 PSGSE training: 3 years and 2 classes later To overcome the shortcomings of the 117 students from 14 different The ministries staff concerned by the system which hinder the offer of an countries have already benefited from training affirms they better master their education of quality in Gambia, the the PSGSE training. A study carried out education system as a whole and report, among other things, in 2010 helped draw up a first appraisal understand the usefulness of an recommends a better cover of Early about the impacts of this training . interaction between the different Child Education, a reflexion around the structures of the ministries. Better introduction of local languages in Reducing training costs and keeping equipped, more critical they also feel primary school, a better-adapted ministry executives in office, coupled more credible. The new skills acquired training provided for teachers, a more with the combination of face-to-face are essentially reused in the countries optimal distribution of school textbooks, and distance learning, on the one hand, during particular works or workshops a school timing respect through the allows for a direct application in the (NESER, sector plan elaboration, revision of the practice of double-shift countries and, on the other hand, MTEF, EFA...). Reusing the modules schooling and the reduction of makes targeting a large number of depends on the specific needs linked to students’ and teachers’ absenteeism. ministry executives possible. Thus it the function occupied, the new encourages national and international appointments resulting from the Finally, it is necessary to enhance the experts to meet with each other. training dealing essentially with production and the quality of statistical Despite the intensity of work planning or evaluation. However, the data for all the educational sub-sectors, experienced particularly during the staff trained within the departments including technical and vocational three gatherings in Dakar, the flexibility they belong to can be highly efficient training as well as non-formal of the training device and the teaching only if their potentials are effectively education, in order to ensure an quality are appreciated by the used by their ministries. effective and in-real-time piloting of the participants. policies implemented, be it at the Donors who had a chance to work with central or local levels. It seems that the secret behind the the newly trained staff speak about a success of the PSGSE training lies in a positive feedback from the teams, good organization of the time devoted about an effective transfer of tools and 1 Source: Poverty Social Impact Analysis (PSIA), to learning, a good knowledge of the techniques into the ministries, but also 2009. computer tool and regular teamwork, about better analysis capacities 2 Gove, A. and P. Cvelich. 2010. “Igniting Education the public heterogeneity being an asset. appreciable for a more valuable work for All. A Report by the Early Grade Learning According to the survey, almost all the and collaboration. Heads of the training Community of Practice.” Research Triangle Institute. participants have maintained beneficiaries explain that they have not 3 Blimpo, M.