COMED and
the United Nations Special Initiative for Africa
The COMED program is implemented jointly by ADEA and the World Bank that provides its support within the framework of the United Nations Special Initiative for Africa (UNSIA). Mamadou Ndoye, UNSIA Coordinator, World Bank and former Minister of Education, Senegal shares his thoughts on how the COMED program can contribute to advancing education in Africa.
What is the link between the COMED program and UNSIA?
It is within the framework of the United Nations Special
Initiative for Africa (UNSIA) that the World Bank provides
support to the COMED program. This support, channeled
through the Norwegian Trust Fund, is justified because the
objectives of COMED fall within those of UNSIA. Mobilization
for education, capacity building of the different actors,
and building a consensus around projects and programs
are some of COMED's principal poles. Given the
diverse exchanges and interactions it supports, the program
contributes to the principal goals assigned to UNSIA.
These goals are the following:
- to promote education as a top priority;
- to reinforce national capacities to design, initiate and put into place educational development programs;
- to facilitate dialogue and aspire towards a consensus between the actors of the system, in order to obtain the support that is crucial to the success of these programs;
- to support reforms to alleviate the obstacles that weigh on the demand for and supply of education; and
- to support the mobilization and the coordination of long term external assistance.
What role can COMED play for education in Africa?
The image that a society has of its education system influences
public opinion, attitudes, and behavior. This image
is largely dependent on what the media projects. In Africa,
one must improve the image of education in the eyes
of the public, the community, and the government. At issue
is how to stimulate the community's demand for education
and to increase the participation of government and society
in developing this demand and reinforcing the quality
and relevance of education.
The poles of intervention expected from the COMED
program are:
- to clarify the challenges to be made in order to better define the priorities in the sector;
- to target the main obstacles to educational development;
- to adopt adequate strategies; and
- to identify and mobilize efforts and energies in favor of
education.
By training African journalists who are specialized in education,
the COMED program also reinforces their capabilities
for analyzing basic education data. This training should allow
them to prioritize education problems in order to choose, analyze
and disseminate information on the substantive issues that
are crucial to the development of education.
How can COMED support Education for All objectives in African countries?
The path towards basic Education for All remains difficult
for Africa which is the continent furthest from the
EFA objectives, where one child out of four does not go
to school, and one out of two adults are illiterate. It is
also the only region of the world where the number of
children who are not in school is on the increase and
where the gross enrollment rates have regressed to the
level of 1980. Consequently, it is urgent that the pace
of educational development be accelerated. This demands
a strong political will and exceptional mobilization.
The COMED program can contribute to this by advocating
basic Education for All--a fundamental human
right, a requisite for development, and a benefit
for the poor. These arguments must be directed at political
decisionmakers to lift the objectives of basic Education
for All to the top of government priorities.
But experience shows that new policies and reforms
are only successful when their objectives and strategies
are shared by society's principal actors. Therefore, the
COMED program will also have to build institutional
and technical capacities in communication in order for
information and awareness campaigns to have an effect.
How can COMED lend its support within the context of debt reduction in African countries?
The debt owed by many African countries is a deep hindrance
to the development of the social sectors, especially
that of education. The Initiative for Highly Indebted
Poor Countries (HIPC) aims at converting this debt in their
favor, thus transforming the obstacle into a resource.
This is an opportunity to be seized. For example, in
one country in southern Africa, the financing of an Education
for All program requires about US$717.2 million
over ten years, or US$71.7 million dollars per year. A
reduction of the debt in the framework of the HIPC would
free up $US117 million per year. The COMED program
can be a precious source of information and awareness
for those who are strong advocates for education, so that
a significant part of the resources freedup by debt reduction
could be directed to education.
Once the appropriate resources are allocated to education,
the question of their rational use must be addressed
so that the results are up to expectations. A wise communication
policy will require transparency and the pursuit
of pertinent, cost-efficient solutions.
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