ADEA at a Glance

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ADEA

A forum for policy dialogue on education in sub-Saharan Africa

A network of education professionals, practitioners and researchers

A partnership between ministries of education and development agencies

A catalyst for education reform

 

What is ADEA?

ADEA is first and foremost a forum for policy dialogue on education policies. One of its major objectives is to encourage exchanges and reinforce links between ministries of education and development agencies.

ADEA is a forum that strives to promote more effective partnerships between its two major constituencies-African ministries of education and training as well as their external technical and funding partners.

One of the principles underlying ADEA's philosophy is that the responsibility of education rests with the governments of Africa. This is why ADEA is concerned with fostering a process that empowers African ministries of education and makes development agencies more responsive to the concept of national ownership. ADEA's activities focus on strengthening policy dialogue between governments and agencies, between governments, and between development agencies. Its activities also focus on enhancing institutional and technical capacities within Africa by establishing networks for the sharing of information and the dissemination of successful strategies and innovations. Within this context, ADEA fosters regional, sub-regional and cross-country exchanges as well as partnerships with civil society institutions.

How is ADEA governed?

ADEA is governed by a Steering Committee composed of ten African ministers of education and representatives of most multilateral, bilateral and private development organizations that work in the education sector in Africa. The Steering Committee is both ADEA's governing body and ADEA's primary instance for coordination among funding agencies, among African ministries of education, and between these two components.

The ten ministers of education who sit on the Steering Committee constitute the ADEA Bureau of Ministers. They are chosen by the Caucus of Ministers which consists of all the ministers of education of sub-Saharan Africa. Ministers are selected by region (Western Africa, Eastern Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean) and serve on the bureau for a four-year period. Bureau members are selected on the basis of alphabetical rotation by country. Both the Bureau of Ministers-which meets twice a year-and the Caucus of Ministers-which meets during ADEA's Biennial Meetings- are frameworks for dialogue and consultation on the challenges and opportunities for the development of education in Africa.

The ADEA Secretariat facilitates the coordination of the Working Groups, promotes information exchange and communication, organizes the Biennial and Steering Committee Meetings, develops and updates databases on education in Africa and coordinates programs and activities such as the intra-African exchange program.

Historical Overview

ADEA was first established in 1988 under the name Donors to African Education (DAE). Its initial mandate was derived from the recommendations of the World Bank 1988 study entitled Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policies for Adjustment, Revitalization and Expansion. The goal of DAE was to continue the policy dialogue initiated by that study and to act as a framework for improved coordination between development agencies. DAE was then managed by the Africa Region Human Development Department of the World Bank.

The association grew rapidly to include the participation of most multilateral, bilateral and private development organizations. However, soon after its creation it became evident that without the active involvement of African ministers of education, the effectiveness of this collaboration would be limited. Consequently, in 1992 five African ministers of education were asked to join the Steering Committee.

During the same year, a small independent secretariat was established in Paris and housed at the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) of UNESCO. The purpose of this move was to foster a broad sense of ownership among all members-African ministers and funding agencies alike.

In 1995 the association's official title changed from "Donors to African Education" to "Association for the Development of Education in Africa"(ADEA) in order to better reflect the partnership between ministers and development agencies.

In 1997, the number of ministers represented on the Steering Committee was increased from 7 to 10.

Key dates in ADEA's history

1988	- Donors to African Education (DAE) is founded.
1992	- DAE moves from the World Bank (Washington) to the IIEP (Paris). - The Steering Committee expands to include a Bureau of Ministers. - The association evolves into a partnership between development agencies and ministries of education.
1995	- DAE changes its name to ADEA (Association for the Development of Education in Africa).
1997	- The Bureau of Ministers expands to ten ministers. - It is decided hereafter to hold all Biennial Meetings in Africa.

How does ADEA foster dialogue?

ADEA considers policy dialogue as an essential element in the process of assisting African countries engaged in education reforms. The programs and activities conducted by the ADEA secretariat and working groups promote policy dialogue, and the Biennial Meetings are major venues for exchanges.

The Biennial Meetings are intended to promote frank and open exchanges between African ministers of education, senior representatives from development agencies and education specialists and researchers. These exchanges are essential in guiding ADEA in its future activities, dialogue remaining the best way to promote common understanding and progress. Matters of professional substance dominate the agenda of these meetings that go beyond the more formal concerns, such as approving a work program, a common declaration or charter. Participants at the Biennial Meetings discuss and explore various themes that are major issues for education in Africa.

Policy dialogue is also promoted through ADEA's Steering Committee seminars. The main objective of these seminars is to provide a venue for high level discussions between ministers of education and member agencies on priority issues for education in Africa. Seminars have focused on: new initiatives and trends in development cooperation for education; the financing of education; the future of ADEA working groups in the present African context; and follow-up activities towards the improvement of educational quality.

ADEA also facilitates regional and sub-regional cooperation and dialogue. In response to needs expressed by the Bureau of African Ministers, it organizes technical or sub-regional ministerial meetings on topics of common interest in order to foster greater cooperation between countries. The following themes were explored in 2003, 2004 and 2005: education and HIV/AIDS; ICTs in education systems; education in conflict and post-conflict situations; secondary education; contractual teachers; bilingual and mother tongue instruction; and, education for rural people. ADEA also fosters partnerships with regional institutions and networks with a view to enhancing African capacities and supports the sharing of experiences between countries through its Intra-African Exchange program.

ADEA working groups

ADEA's working groups also cultivate policy dialogue around topics identified by African countries as key concerns for education in the region.
Working groups provide ADEA with a unique perspective on specific issues. They undertake exploratory work and examine ways to improve the performance in their specific domain. Although the working groups are all structured and managed in a different way they all carry out research, capacity building, advocacy and networking activities.

There are currently eleven ADEA working groups. They are led by funding agencies and/or ministries of education and other African organizations. Activities of some working groups are implemented by specialized agencies, such as UNESCO, or by African institutions.The working groups (with the lead agency in brackets) are:
- Books and Learning Materials (led by the British Department for International Development, DFID and coordinated from READ, Johannesburg);
- Distance Education and Open Learning (led by the Ministry of Education, Mauritius and BREDA);
- Communication for Education and Development (COMED) (led by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and based at the West African News Media and Development Centre (WANAD) in Cotonou, Benin);
- Early Childhood Development (led by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs);
- Education Statistics (led by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; coordinated by UNESCO Harare and Dakar);
- Education Sector Analysis (led by UNESCO-IIEP);
- Finance and Education (coordinated by CODESRIA, based in Dakar);
- The Teaching Profession (led by the Commonwealth Secretariat);
- Higher Education (led by the Association of African Universities (AAU) in Accra);
- Non-Formal Education (led by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, in collaboration with UNESCO); and,
- Mathematics and Science Education (led by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Kenya and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and coordinated by the Association for the Strengthening of Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education in Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (SMASSE-WECSA).

The activities of the former Working Group on Female Participation (WGFP) have been mainstreamed into The Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE). FAWE will continue to be involved in ADEA activities as a graduated working group and associate member.

ADEA also establishes ad hoc working groups which are intended to explore and tackle cross-cutting issues.

The Ad Hoc Group on HIV/AIDS was set up just after the 2001 Biennial Meeting to support the sharing of strategies and practices that mitigate the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in the education sector.

The Ad Hoc Group on Education Quality, created in 2002, carried out a vast study on improving educational quality in sub-Saharan Africa. This study was used as the basis for discussion during the 2003 ADEA Biennial Meetings.

The Ad Hoc Group on Post Primary Education is focusing on secondary education and preparation for the school-to-work transition.

The Ad Hoc Group on Policy Dialogue is tackling training needs in the areas of consultation, negotiation, communication, conflict prevention and conflict resolution.

The working groups and ad hoc groups promote cooperation and consensus-building among agencies to ensure policy coordination and coherence. Some groups have redefined the policy debate among governments and agencies in entire subsectors (such as higher education, non-formal education). Others have brought to the forefront of ministers' thinking essential issues such as gender equality, the importance of communication, early childhood development and books and learning materials. In the area of capacity building, the working groups have also assisted ministries in setting up statistical information systems and designing instruments to follow up on budgetary processes. They are also helping countries to strengthen policy dialogue competencies and develop communication policies.

Other programs and activities

The praxis approach being at the center of ADEA's working principles, its program includes the production and dissemination of a series of documents which report on successful experiences in the field of education in Africa.

Written by national authors, these papers "tell the story" of how governments have approached and solved specific problems. Recent publications include: the reform of pre-service primary teacher training in Guinea, nomadic education in Nigeria, Zambia's primary reading program, bilingual education in Niger, critical reflection in teacher education in Namibia, improving educational quality in Mauritania. ADEA also encourages ministries of education in Africa to identify the initiatives that have worked in their countries, to evaluate them and to analyze the reasons for their success. This praxis approach has been applied for the Prospective, Stock-Taking Review of Education in Africa (1998-1999), as well as for the exercises on Scaling up Promising Policies and Practices (2000-2001), Identifying Effective Responses to HIV/AIDS (2000-2001) and Improving the Quality of Education (2002-2006). These different initiatives have brought to light a large stock of country experiences which are described in case studies made available on the ADEA web site.

The sharing of African expertise is a central concern that is addressed through ADEA's Intra-African exchange program designed to encourage the development of regional capacity and to build on successful experiences. The program is geared mainly to serve African ministries of education. It facilitates study visits by ministry officials interested in the experience of another country, or consultation missions by an African specialist to a country where he or she consults with the authorities on a specific education policy issue.

In order to further reinforce local leadership, ADEA also facilitates country-led coordination of funding agencies, and will provide countries with logistical and other support based on expressed needs.

A priority area of focus for ADEA - and its specific contribution to Education For All (EFA)-- is how to improve the quality of education. Two Biennial Meetings have reflected on this issue. ADEA is now deepening efforts on the ground through work carried out by its inter-country quality nodes.

ADEA is convinced that an effective means of supporting educational development is to encourage communication on this topic. To this end, in 2001 ADEA launched the Akintola Fatoyinbo Africa Education Journalism Award, which recognizes the best articles on education written by African journalists and published in the African press. ADEA hopes that the Award will spur journalists' interest in education and stimulate public debate on educational challenges facing education systems.

ADEA has also developed information databases on education in Africa. PRISME (Program and Project Information System on Education) a database of all major externally-funded education projects in Africa which is designed to allow development agencies to be better informed of what each one is doing and to enable ministers to learn what is happening across the continent.
ADEA Profile makes it possible to have detailed information on all activities carried out by ADEA, especially those of working groups.
CV-Experts is a database of African education experts containing information on their field of work and specialization.
Two other databases are currently being developed. The first one will provide information on regional and sub-regional institutions with activities relating to the development of education in Africa and the second on the needs and requests of African ministries of education.

How is ADEA funded?

ADEA is funded through two principal mechanisms. One primary source of funding comes through the membership fees that development partners are required to pay in order to be a member of the Steering Committee. Another funding source comes through grants provided by development agencies which are either earmarked for specific working groups or activities or go into the general budget. The resources are then used to finance policy dialogue, regional and sub-regional cooperation, working groups and ad hoc groups, knowledge management or publications and communication activities as well as the Secretariat's operating costs.

Who can participate in ADEA’s activities?

ADEA's two principal components are: African ministers of education and various development agencies.
Participation in meetings of the Steering Committee and of the Bureau (and Caucus) of Ministers is restricted. However, ADEA allows for broader participation in its other activities and meetings. Because of its role as a forum to foster policy dialogue on issues affecting education in Africa, broad stakeholder participation is essential to long-term impact.

ADEA uses a variety of mechanisms to reach various audiences. For instance, the Biennial Meetings target decision-makers who are instrumental in the formation and implementation of policy and to guide ADEA's program of activities. Furthermore, through working group activities and publications ADEA is able to reach practitioners and other stakeholders working at the school and community level.

Participating in ADEA is an excellent way of learning about the state of education in Africa. ADEA is a network through which ministers and ministry officials, educational professionals and development partners can share best practices and lessons learned. However, experience has shown that the greatest benefit of ADEA is the network that it provides in which informal discussions take place. These exchanges foster trust, build on government ownership of the educational reform process and have been critical in developing partnerships and improving relations between ministries of education and their technical and funding partners.

Contact Information

For further information on ADEA you may contact:
Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP)
7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix, 75116 Paris, France
Tel: +33/(0) 145 03 7757
Fax: +33/(0) 145 03 3965
E-mail: adea@iiep.unesco.org
Website: http://www.adeanet.org