Volume 16, Number 1 Volume From the African Press Striving for Quality: Making Headway in Distance Editorial The Next Steps Education ow can educational quality be improved Now that the Biennale is over, however, what Focus as we work toward EFA? To answer this can be done to ensure that these lessons have a real Hquestion, ADEA initiated an exercise impact and lead to changes in the learning process The ADEA in 2002 that, for over a year, involved the entire at the school and classroom levels? Biennale ADEA community: African ministries of education, on Quality ADEA Working Groups, development agencies, Working on the seven pillars of regional networks, NGOs and educationists. The qualitative improvement results were impressive: 22 country case studies, 3 reviews of development agency experiences, The ADEA Steering Committee meeting held in 15 background papers, 4 thematic syntheses and Geneva in April 2004 was devoted to this crucial a discussion paper entitled “The Challenge of question. Taking Stock Learning: Improving the Quality of Education in For ADEA, the major challenges are: establish- The Quality of Sub-Saharan Africa”. This bumper crop of research ing a culture of quality among the main stakeholders Education fuelled the discussions of the 2003 Biennale, which in the education system and development partners; in sub-Saharan proved to be a rewarding forum for dialogue and providing them with policies, strategies, method- Africa learning about effective policies and practices for ologies and operational tools to leverage quality improving educational quality. improvement; and thus facilitating the transfer of The participants’ assessment of the Biennale lessons learned at the international and/or regional was highly positive. They considered that the les- levels toward country contexts. sons learned from the exercise gave them a better The emphasis has therefore been placed on understanding of the essential issues that determine the seven fundamental pillars identified by the Close Up on an quality, and that these lessons could help them to quality study, on which efforts should be focused: Education System do their jobs better. creating learning opportunities; improving Cameroon instructional practices; managing the challenge of equity; increasing school autonomy and flex- ibility; nurturing community support; ensuring a realistic financial framework; responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and to conflict situations. ADEA proposes to build on these pillars as a foundation for extending and deepening Technical Briefs the process of reflection, research and action, while integrating this process into the following Enrolment profile fields: z teachers’ professional development; z implementing reforms at the school and classroom levels; z decentralization and diversification of provision, and participation by communities and parents; Documents z adaptation of curricula and use of national Studies on Quality languages; La pensée, artwork by Malcolm de Chazal (Mauritius) z monitoring and evaluation of quality; January-March 2004 From the African Press Contents End of Editorial Focus z equity, equality and financing is- field activities, and to get development ADEA Biennale, Grand Baie, sues. agencies involved in supporting them in this process. Mauritius, December 3-6, 2003 For each of these fields, various strategies for action are planned: New partnerships for quality { From the African Press z the continuation of research and Making Headway experimentation oriented toward The implementation of follow-up activi- in Distance Education ........................ 3 learning-by-doing, investigation of ties for improving quality also requires promising practices, the develop- commitment from all partners of the { Focus ment of innovation in the field and education system. the production of knowledge that is Development agencies will be called Striving for Quality: Next Steps.......... 1 relevant in the African context; upon to make quality improvement one The Quest for Quality: z stepping up action in the field of the priorities of their aid strategies. Towards a Learning Community .......... 5 through support to information- ADEA Working Groups are also en- sharing and capacity building ac- Biennial Meeting Honored by the couraged to make an active contribution tivities though the organization of presence of Heads of State to the follow up of the quality improve- of Mauritius and Mali ........................ 9 meetings between countries facing ment issues that fall within their purview. Assessing the Quality of Education similar challenges; It would also be helpful if the culture and in Africa ........................................ 10 z widespread dissemination of knowl- the pillars of quality improvement were edge through publications and other included in various aspects of their work Dakar Framework for Action............. 11 media: publishing information on programs: analytical work, capacity Teacher Professional Development: ... 15 promising experiences, keeping building, advocacy and networking. Making Education More Relevant...... 17 others abreast of fields of knowledge As for regional networks and that are crucial to quality improve- institutes, most of them have already { Documents ment, and sharing the discussions indicated their willingness to work in and conclusions of the Biennale partnership with ADEA on matters Studies and Documents on Quality .... 13 with a broader public; where their web of relationships and z meetings to encourage reform- their specializations allow them to have { Briefs oriented policy dialogue and to build an impact in African countries. In accor- a consensus among education stake- dance with its mission, ADEA will aim WG Briefs...................................... 20 holders with a view to joint action. at strengthening regional and national { Close up on an institutions that are mandated to build national capacity, as part of the unend- Education System Moving toward action ing process of improving educational in the field Close-up on the Cameroon quality. Education System ............................ 21 ADEA therefore contacted all the minis- ters of education in sub-Saharan Africa A long-term investment { Technical Briefs to invite them to show interest in one or more of these pillars, in accordance with Research on the quality issue has thus Enrolment Profile ............................. 25 their national priorities and their ongoing opened up a broad field offering new programs. The plan is to form networks dynamics for the actions undertaken { Calendar of countries that share the same interests by ADEA. Quality becomes a long-term so that they can move forward together investment and a framework for system- Meetings and Activities..................... 26 and broaden their experience on the atizing the activities of the association. basis of the lessons learned from the Finding ways of maximizing the impact quality exercise, while continuing to of these activities at country level will exchange ideas concerning the problems undoubtedly constitute a maturation and encountered and the solutions tested. In improvement of ADEA’s mission to serve support of this concerted approach, educational development in Africa. ADEA undertakes to mobilize regional and international expertise to assist MAMADOU NDOYE African countries in their research and EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, ADEA» The ADEA Biennial Meeting was held December 3-6, 2003 at the International Conference Center in Grand Baie, Mauritius. The theme of the meeting was “The Quest for Quality: Learning from the African Experience”. 2 ADEA Newsletter January - March 2004 ADEA Newsletter January - March 2004 3 From the African Press Contents End of Editorial All-Africa Ministers’ Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education, Cape Town, South Africa, February 1–4, 2004 The participants agreed with Hafiz Wali from the Education Tax Fund in Making Headway Nigeria, who said there was simply “no alternative” but to adopt DE/OL as the preferred educational solution to the in Distance growing demand for education. How else, asked Wali, would Nigeria deal with the demand for education ? Education Nearly 1 million candidates qualified for university admission this year, but 1 only about 100 000 places are avail- Journalist By Cornia Pretorius , able. There are 4 million primary school leavers who need access to secondary Have distance education and open learning made way in Africa? Over twenty education and Nigeria needs to train Ministers of Education met in Capetown to discuss issues related to implementa- about 40 000 teachers. tion, quality, regional collaboration and regulation. Sir John Daniel, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Education, strik- istance education and open the promise and the pitfalls of DE/OL. ingly summarized this as he talked of the learning (DE/OL) is a package According to Asmal’s definition distance “eternal triangle of education” that con- D that is easy to sell in the market- education and open learning means sists of the three vectors: access, quality place of educational ideas, strategies and removing the barriers to learn through and cost. “The problem you face,” he policies. Who would not want to buy a the mechanism of distance education told the ministers of education, “is that tried, tested and affordable product that that makes it possible even if teacher with conventional methods the eternal is about giving hope, creating opportu- and student are separated by time and triangle constrains what you