During 1998, WGESA continued work in one of its major areas of activity: country-based initiatives. These initiatives consist of: (i) national reviews of education sector analysis, facilitated and funded by WGESA; and (ii) technical assistance to innovative education sector analysis activities, funded by international agencies and/or governments in Africa.
The pilot study for the national reviews of education sector analysis was undertaken in Zimbabwe in 1996-97. Results of the study were presented at the WGESA meeting which was held during the ADEA Biennial Meeting in Dakar in October 1997. During 1998, another review was launched in Burkina Faso. Two new case countries were identified, Ghana and Lesotho where reviews are expected to commence in the first half of 1999.
Concerning technical assistance, WGESA provided inputs to the following activities: (i) the pilot study on the coordination of analytical work in the education sector in Ethiopia undertaken within the European Union Horizon 2000 Initiative, in collaboration with GTZ and DFID; (ii) the Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) Initiative in Educational Policy Development, Planning and Management funded by the Royal Embassy of the Netherlands, Pretoria and executed by the UNESCO sub-regional office in Harare; and (iii) the education sector analysis initiative of the Ministry of Education in Mozambique in collaboration with the Dutch and the Nordic agencies.
Major achievements in 1998 are summarized below:
National reviews of education sector analysis
- The final draft report for the pilot study on the Zimbabwe education sector analysis review was completed. The report will be published by WGESA in English and French and should be available in 1999.
- A national review of education sector analysis in Burkina Faso was launched at a meeting in Ouagadougou on November 4.
- A team was selected to undertake a national review of education sector analysis in Ghana.
- A national seminar was hosted in November in Maseru, Lesotho to discuss the review of education sector analysis in Lesotho. Proposals for a review were considered.
Technical assistance to innovative activities
- A pilot study on the coordination of analytical work in the education sector in Ethiopia is being completed. WGESA is responsible for the publication and dissemination of the report in English and French. The report will be available in 1999 (See description below).
- WGESA participated in the formulation of activities and preparation of tender documents for a national review of education sector analysis in Mozambique. The tender offer was launched by the Ministry of Education in October 1998.
The work of the Working Group has been analyzed by the Coordinator of WGESA in Prospects, vol. XXVIII, no. 3, September 1998 ("Education Sector Analysis in Africa: An Evolving Case in Mutual North-South Learning"). As from early 1999, information on the Working Group will be available on its new Web Site: www.education.unesco.org/wgesa and in a Newsletter, WGESA News.
Lene Buchert
Leader of the Working Group on Education Sector Analysis
Forthcoming publication
Studies on Education in Ethiopia. An Inventory and Analytic Overview of Education Sector Studies in Ethiopia, 1994-1997, by Tilahun Workineh, Tiussew Teferra, Ayalew Shibeshi and Malcolm Mercer. Paris, UNESCO/WGESA.
This report is the result of the pilot study on the coordination of analytical work in the education sector in Ethiopia. The study was conducted within the European Union Horizon 2000 Initiative. It was jointly sponsored by the European Commission, WGESA and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID). GTZ, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation, provided the lead consultant and WGESA provided technical assistance.
The objectives of the study were to access, review, summarize and make a critical review of studies produced between 1994 and 1997; and to articulate ways of improving information-sharing and coordination between key constituencies in Ethiopia.
In all, some 130 documents were examined, of which 66 are presented in an inventory form. Major themes, principal features and policy orientation of education sector analysis in Ethiopia are analyzed. Among the many findings are that most studies have focused on basic education, in line with government priorities. Furthermore, most studies were undertaken by nationals, indicating widespread national capacities in the field.
The major recommendation of the study is that information centers should be set up in institutions in Ethiopia in order to sustain education information gathering, analysis and sharing.
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