Working Group on Books and Learning Materials

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ADEA’s research into the book situation for EFA 2000 revealed that shortages of relevant, low cost books for use inside and outside school continue to undermine the provision of good quality Education for All. Uneven access to teaching and learning materials, inadequate provision of reading materials which develop vital literacy skills and unacceptable pupil/book ratios continue to predominate.

African publishers continue to be at a disadvantage in an economic context which tends to favor the import of books from abroad at the expense of those published in-country. The role of book selling and library networks in promoting better book reading habits and improving book circulation has been undervalued. Even in classrooms where textbook availability has improved, teachers do not always use them effectively.

Several pieces of research that the Working Group has undertaken highlight the lack of mechanisms for the systematic collection and updating of information on the book sector. They also identify a gap in good quality reading materials for the consolidation of newly acquired literacy skills in the languages that people use in their every day lives.

The WGBLM seeks to identify and disseminate innovative strategies for addressing the continuing book crisis, based on ADEA’s concern to share good practices.

What is the Working Group on Books and Learning Materials?

Founded in 1989, ADEA’s Working Group on Books and Learning Materials (the Books Group) is composed of African Ministries of Education, development agencies and civil society organizations concerned with materials development and dissemination. It works in close collaboration with two partner organizations based in Harare, the African Publishers’ Network (APNET), and the Pan African Booksellers’ Association (PABA). It also works in partnership with a number of NGOs involved in book development in Africa, such as ARED and BLD (Senegal), FUNDZA (Swaziland), READ (South Africa), BAMVITA and the Children’s Book Project (Tanzania), NABOTU (Uganda), ZBDC -(Zimbabwe).

Thanks to its growing pool of specialists on different aspects of book development and the book chain, the Working Group can help identify the technical and financial resources necessary for developing and implementing viable national book policies.

What are the objectives of the working group?

The Working Group is committed to supporting processes conducive to the formulation of adequate national book policies, with the objective of improving the provision of good quality educational materials, effective schooling, and literacy across sub-Saharan Africa. It strives to accomplish this by heightening the awareness of governments, the private sector, development agencies and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), that a holistic approach with a substantial input from African partners will lead to viable book policies.

The Books Group seeks to broaden its impact by creating a forum of policy makers, teachers, curriculum planners, publishers, materials designers, book distributors, booksellers, authors and illustrators with a professional interest in book content and book delivery-strategies.

The Working Group also tries to eliminate complex bureaucratic procedures (particularly in the fields of book procurement and intra-African trade) by urging governments, the private sector, development agencies and CSOs to adopt common strategies in national and regional book policy implementation.

What does the working group do?

The Working Group’s activities cover research, dissemination and networking. These three areas of activity aim to provide policy makers with a range of options to assist them in making decisions concerning the development of the book sector.

Recent research has included surveys on the economic factors affecting educational publishing in sub-Saharan Africa, and barriers to the intra-African trade in books in Southern Africa. In addition, the Books Group has commissioned case studies on various aspects of book distribution, book access systems, textbook financing schemes and the cost-effectiveness of publishing in national languages.

The outcomes of such research are disseminated through the Working Group’s publications Perspectives on African Book Development series, and through workshops, conferences and book fairs at national, regional and international levels.

The Working Group’s networking role, in partnership with governments, CSOs and funding agencies, has become increasingly important. The Books Group works closely with APNET, PABA and other members of its Steering Committee from SIDA, Danida, UNESCO, USAID, Ministries of Foreign Affairs in France and Finland, Ministries of Education in Chad, Eritrea, Niger, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Mozambique. Other significant partners have been the UNESCO/Danida Basic Learning Materials Initiative and the Zimbabwe International Book Fair Trust.

What has it achieved?

Since 1996 the Books Group has:

• Initiated a series of publications on key issues arising from book development in Africa: The Economics of Publishing Educational Materials in Africa; The Cost Effectiveness of Publishing Educational Materials in African Languages; Bibliographies of Publishing and the Book Chain in Sub-Saharan Africa; An Introduction to Publishing Management; Upgrading Book Distribution in Africa; Expanding the Book Trade Across Africa; Making book coordination work!

• Provided advice to Governments and agencies on specific aspects of their book policies;

• Supported the development of APNET’s Resource Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe;

• Encouraged agencies to rethink their book procurement policies (e.g. World Bank, DFID);

• Launched a joint campaign with APNET to promote book circulation in Africa through tax breaks and tax exemption for the publishing and bookselling industries;

• Worked with the ADEA Working Group on Education Statistics in order to develop a pilot module on Book Sector Statistics;

• Published a training manual on ‘Gender Sensitive Editing’;

• Played a key role in facilitating sessions on National Book Policies (1996), Access to Information (1997), Strategies to Promote Children’s Reading (1998), Women’s Voices (1999), Millenium Marketplace (2000) and Changing Lives: Promoting a Reading Culture in Africa (2001) during the Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) Indabas;

• Facilitated the establishment of guidelines for integrating gender aspects into national and agency book policies;

• Encouraged APNET & PABA to work together in complementary fashion, which has led to a historic memorandum of understanding on their respective roles in the book trade;

• Facilitated the emergence of a cadre of specialists in different aspects of book development and the book chain in Africa.

Anticipated Results

Book policies that promote a better reading and learning environment, and improve access to relevant reading material for children and adults.

Links with other ADEA Working Groups

Recent partners in joint activities have been the Working Groups on Nonformal Education, Education Statistics, the Teaching -Profession and Female Participation.

Further information on the Working Group is available at: www.ADEAnet.org

Working Group Publications

Click here for a list of reports of meetings and publications. Full text copies are available for selected publications and reports of meetings.

 

How to Contact the Working Group

Working Group Leader:
Carew Treffgarne
Department for International Development (DFID)
1 Palace Street, London SW1E 5HE, UK
Tel: + 44 (207) 023 0658
Fax: + 44 (207) 023 0287
E-mail: c-treffgarne@dfid.gov.uk

Read Educational Trust (RET)
P.O. Box 30994
Braamfontein 2017
Johannesburg, Gauteng SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: +27 11 496 3322
Fax: +27 11 496 3445
E-mail: cynthiah@read.co.za