WGFE: A regional seminar on budgeting and finance is organized by the Working Group on Finance and Education previous page | next page The Working Group on Finance and Education (WGFE) held a seminar on budgeting and educational finance in Africa in Abidjan from 18 - 21 March 1999. Its purpose was to encourage group thinking about problems related to finance and the financial management of education in Africa. Participants included political leaders, officials from the ministries of education and finance, and representatives of funding agencies. They discussed various national experiments with improving the management of education, what problems were encountered, and what solutions were available or forthcoming. Who attended About fifty high-ranking officials from ministries of education and finance in ten countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia) participated. They were joined by representatives of the following funding agencies and non-governmental organizations involved in the financing of education: the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the World Bank, USAID, the Netherlands, Norway, French Cooperation, UNESCO, and the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH). Five Ministers attended: the Minister responsible for Basic Education and National Languages in Senegal, Senegal's Minister in charge of the national Plan, the Ugandan Minister for National Education and Sports, the Tanzanian Minister for National Education and Culture, and Cote d'Ivoire's Minister for National Education and Basic Training. The program Besides the presentation and discussion of case studies from six pilot countries, the program covered: o Budgeting and educational finance in Uganda; o A look at educational spending and budgeting in Zambia; and o Contributions from the education and training sector towards combating poverty in Côte d'Ivoire. The presentations were followed by a roundtable on: budgeting within a medium-term framework, promoting schooling for girls, and sharing the costs and management responsibility for teaching personnel. The three-day session ended with a summary statement of the basic directions needed to help guide development in the educational sectors of Africa. For more information, please contact: Diana Chaplin Leader of WGFE Pan-Africa Program (BFT) Canadian International Development Agency 200 Promenade du Portage - Hull, Québec - KIA OG4 Canada Tel: +1 (819) 994 42 67 Fax: +1 (819) 953 94 53 e-mail: diana_chaplin@acdi-cida.gc.ca Rémi Coffi Noumon Coordinators of WGFE CODESRIA - C.P. 3304 - Dakar, Senegal Tel: +221 25 98 22 Fax: +221 24 12 89 e-mail: codesria@sonatel.senet.net

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