ADEA Meetings in Geneva (September 30 - October 1, 1996)
Last fall, ADEA held a series of meetings at the International Conference Center in Geneva, including the Sixth Meeting of the Caucus of African Ministers of Education, a meeting of working group leaders and coordinators, and a special meeting organized by the Working Group on Books and Learning Materials. These meetings offered ministers the opportunity to become better informed on the activities of the working groups. They were also an occasion for ministers, working group leaders and coordinators, and other ADEA members to have a frank exchange of views.
Sixth Meeting of the Caucus of African Ministers of Education - October 1, 1996
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Harry Sawyerr, Minister of Education of Ghana.
The chairperson informed the ministers about the various ADEA meetings held since the beginning of the year. The reports on the meetings of the Bureau of Ministers (Accra, February 8 - 9 and August 23 - 24, 1996), the ADEA Steering Committee (March 28 - 30, 1996) and the Pan-African Seminar on The Problems and Prospects of the Use of African Languages in Education (Accra, August 26 - 30, 1996) were discussed.
Proposals made by the Bureau during the two meetings in Accra were submitted to the Caucus of Ministers for approval. As a result, Mr. Amanya Mushega, Minister of Education of Uganda, was elected vice-president of the Bureau of Ministers. The Caucus also supported the Bureau of Ministers’ proposal to replace Mrs. Diallo A•cha Bah (formerly Minister of Pre-university Education and Vocational Training in Guinea and ADEA Alternate Chairperson) by Mr. Harry Sawyerr in the capacity of Alternate Chairperson. Mr. Sawyerr’s nomination as president of the Observatory of the SŽgou Perspectives was also mentioned.
Concerning ADEA procedures, the ministers agreed that the chairing of ADEA should be rotated among funding agencies and ministers.
The working groups were invited to present their work programs to the ministers. This was an opportunity for Ministers to be better informed on the activities of the various working groups and for leaders/coordinators to get direct feedback from ministers.
The UN System-Wide Initiative for Africa launched by the United Nations and the World Bank on March 15, 1996 was discussed in length. Ministers insisted on the importance for countries to demonstrate leadership and develop their own programs. In order to make this explicit, the ministers proposed that the UN System-Wide Initiative for Africa be referred henceforth as the Special Initiative for Africa under the Guidance of Countries. Mr. Harry Sawyerr stressed the enormous benefits Africa is liable to gain from this initiative. However, it was pointed out that the different countries had not all reached the same level of preparation in terms of achieving the objectives set by the Initiative’s program. A questionnaire aimed at determining the degree of preparation of the various countries was distributed to the ministers.
The ministers were informed of the latest developments concerning the organization of the next ADEA Biennial. It is expected that the meeting will be jointly opened by the Presidents of Senegal and Uganda. Mr. Mamadou Ndoye, Minister in charge of Basic Education and National Languages in Senegal, extended an invitation to all African Ministers of Education to participate in the Biennial.
Meeting of ADEA working group leaders and coordinators - October 30, 1996
The leaders and coordinators of seven ADEA working groups (Education Sector Analysis, Non-Formal Education, Finance and Education, Books and Learning Materials, Female Participation, The Teaching Profession, Education Statistics) met on September 30 to pursue coordination efforts and discuss common concerns. The meeting welcomed the group on Non- Formal Education for the first time, since it gained full status as a working group in March 1996.
The idea of producing country profiles as an aid to coordination was advanced and met the approval of all participants. Each country profile would provide information on ADEA activities in a particular country, including a list of working group members and the detailed activities of the various working groups. The ADEA secretariat and the working groups will collaborate for the production of these profiles.
The participants reflected on a potential mechanism for evaluating their activities. Various objectives were mentioned, including: (i) help working groups measure the effectiveness of their work on the ground; (2) make the results of their work more accessible to the ministers; (3) stimulate the sharing of experiences between working groups. A committee is being formed to help establish an evaluation mechanism.
The ADEA Biennial was also on the agenda. Leaders and coordinators suggested themes and reflected on their contribution to the Biennial. Leaders and coordinators will meet again in Paris in March/April jointly with the Seventh Session of the Steering Committee. The meeting will lead to a better definition of each working group’s contribution to the Biennial.
Meeting Organized by the Working Group on Books and Learning Materials - October 1, 1996
The Working Group on Books and Learning Materials carried out several studies this year, including: Economics of Publishing Educational Materials in Africa, Cost-Effectiveness of Publishing in National and Local Languages, and Distribution and Dissemination Systems for Educational Materials in West Africa.
Intended for the ministers, the objective of the meeting was to report on the progress of the first two studies mentioned above, and to acquaint the ministers with the activities, the work program and the priorities of the working group.
Economics of Publishing in National and Local Languages
This study, commissioned at the beginning of the year, was conducted by Opifer S.A., a Finnish consultancy. Its goal is to assist African governments and publishers, as well as funding agencies, in their efforts to develop appropriate strategies for the sustainable provision of textbooks. The study identified a number of major obstacles to the production and proper distribution of educational materials. These include:
Lack of policies, strategies and plans:
All the ministries surveyed operate on an ad hoc day-to-day, year-to-year basis. None of the countries surveyed had a short, medium or long-term government book policy. Where countries do not have a book policy, there is a tendency for funding agencies to move in with their own agendas to fill the vacuum.
Lack of short, medium and long-term financial planning: There is a lack of predictability in textbook sales. If publishers know they can sell their products, they will produce more.
Weak financial base:
The weak financial base (capital and assets), high interest rates, and the low credibility rating of the publishing sector are major obstacles. The financial requirements for meeting international bids often preclude the participation of local African publishers.
Lack of management skills and training facilities:
National capacities in publishing and business and financial management need to be developed.
Lack of means for coordinating external assistance:
Funding agencies and recipient countries often have different priorities. In the absence of mechanisms for national coordination -such as master plans - funding agencies often follow their own agendas.
Case studies on the cost-effectiveness of publishing in national languages
The case studies are based on factual data which take into account the need to develop reading material in national languages.
The case studies were carried out in six African countries (Gambia, Madagascar, Namibia, Niger, Senegal and Zambia). They record a wide variety of current policies concerning languages and publishing. Publishers are not always willing to publish in local languages because of the small markets involved. Findings emphasize the importance of collecting data on language use and on costs related to publishing in national languages. Results also indicate that more attention needs to be given to the training of teachers and to the relationship between government policies on language and education and the publishing community.
Ministers’ comments
The ministers noted that the conflicting goals of education (a social benefit) and publishing (a commercial enterprise) constitute an additional obstacle to the production of books and educational materials. The cost of inputs and production -currently higher in Africa - was also raised. Several ministers agreed that common denominators between countries should be identified with a view to harmonizing certain books or educational materials which could then be produced collectively. Mr. Nahas Angula, Minister of Higher Education, Vocational Training, Science and Technology from Namibia recommended that the Books group look into the question of regional perspectives. He suggested that a paper be commissioned on ‘Enhancement of local language publication through regional collaboration’.
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