ADEA DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES WORKING GROUP ON EDUCATION SECTOR ANALYSIS (WGESA) 1 JANUARY 2000 - 31 DECEMBER 2001
Education sector analysis has come to play a critical role for policy development in Africa. This is due both to the need by most countries for international aid and to the extensive use by international agencies of background studies to guide their program and project activities. As most of the analyses have been commissioned or conducted by the international agencies, they have often replaced rather than supplemented nationally conducted studies. Their value to national policy-making has therefore been questionable. In its earlier work, in particular the inventory and analytic overviews of education sector studies undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa during 1985-89 (Review of Recent Sector Studies and Preparation of a Sector Study Data Base, 1989), in South Africa during 1993-95 (After Apartheid, What? A Review of Externally Initiated, Commissioned, and Supported Studies of Education in South Africa, 1994) and in sub-Saharan Africa during 1990-94 (Analyses , Agendas and Priorities for Education in Africa: A review of externally initiated, commissioned and supported studies of education in Africa, 1990-1994), the Working Group on Education Sector Analysis raised concerns about the accessibility, quality and utility of undertaken education sector studies. Accessibility has generally been restricted, the quality often questionable due both to content and process, and the utility often limited to short-term solutions rather than long-term development of the education system in the countries in question. In particular, studies have often been insufficiently attentive to the national context and to the situational factors which affect policy measures. This has led to universal policy prescriptions and neglect of national agendas. Furthermore, African participation in education sector analysis has been limited both in terms of numbers and in terms of responsibility, and the link between educational research and policy making has been weak. In the current spirit of partnership and ownership, the Working Group is seeking to find innovative ways of strengthening national policy-making processes through improving the quality, utility and accessibility of education sector analysis. This has been done in two major ways: through facilitation of national reviews of education sector analysis undertaken by national teams in an effort to enhance national capacity and institution building; and through improving agency practices in terms of content and process, including their increased use of African capacities and reliance on national leadership in education sector analysis. The current biennial programme will build upon the previous analytical work. The focus of its future work will gradually be enhanced to include both education sector analysis and policy analysis, more broadly. At the core of its activities is the intention to contribute to capacity building in education sector and policy analysis of its key African constituencies. In light of the urge at the ADEA Biennial in Johannesburg in December 1999, the Working Group will consider how to incorporate a focus on HIV/AIDS, particularly in its future analytical work. Global Objectives The overall objectives are to strengthen national policy-making processes through improved quality, use and accessibility of education sector and policy analysis, and to promote African capacities and leadership in the area as means to design relevant national education policies and development cooperation programmes. Immediate Objectives The immediate objectives are:
Strategies WGESA combines advocacy, analytic and capacity development strategies. As a step towards changing existing practices, the Group seeks to enhance understanding and dialogue on critical issues in education sector and policy analysis particularly among national governments, African research institutions and individuals, and international funding and technical assistance agencies. The Group facilitates and participates in activities which are both retrospective and, increasingly, pro-active. It favours the development of a more demand-oriented approach to its work and will, therefore, to the extent possible respond positively to requests for its inputs at the country level and seek to promote such demands. Most activities contain advocacy, analytic and capacity development elements. Capacity development strategies are understood broadly as means to develop and reinforce the skills in education sector and policy analysis, improve its quality and use, and transfer experiences from education sector analysis in order to improve practices and capacities in undertaking it. It is particularly important for the Working Group to strengthen the relevance of education sector analysis for national policy-making or the link between research and policy-making. Therefore, the Group works particularly with African policy-makers from ministries of education and other government institutions, African and other research communities, and international funding and technical assistance agencies. The underlying assumption of the Group is that increased awareness and understanding of the critical issues in education sector analysis among these three constituencies, increased dialogue among them concerning ways to improve practice, strengthened capacities in undertaking education sector and policy analysis, and strengthened use of research in policy-making could all assist in developing more appropriate long-term educational policies in the different national contexts in Africa. WGESA's programme is decided by its Steering Committee which has representatives of ministries of education, agencies, researchers and other experts (see V.1 below). The Working Group works actively with the two African research networks for East and Southern Africa (ERNESA) and West and Central Africa (ERNWACA), whose co-ordinators are both members of the Steering Committee. It is currently seeking to strengthen its links with other African institutions, in particular ministries of education, in order to contribute to their institutional development and their leadership role in future processes of education sector and policy analysis. It is expected to increasingly work in countries where education sector programmes are being developed. Programme Components The work plan consists of different, mutually reinforcing, activities. After the completion of the inventory and analytic overviews of education sector studies referred to above, the Group shifted the focus of its work to country-based activities in Africa. This has included country-led reviews of education sector analysis and technical support of pilot studies in education sector analysis undertaken by international agencies in cooperation with national ministries of education or as regionally or nationally-led activities. Ongoing activities in this area will be completed and new cooperative arrangements established to support new analytic and capacity development activities, some of which through working directly with two African institutions: SADC and CONFEMEN. The efforts to ensure dissemination of the work of the Group and to increase its visibility and rooting in Africa will also continue to be pursued. The individual components of the programme have been grouped into three major areas: Country-based Initiatives, Analytical Work and Skills Development. Measures concerning visibility and rooting of the Group in Africa appear under Coordination and Management.
In order to explore in specific settings the general lessons of the inventory and analytic overviews of education sector studies and in order to improve the relevance of education sector analysis for national policy-making, WGESA initiated four national country case studies. The Zimbabwe National Review of Education Sector Studies was completed in 1997 and the results of the study was published by the Working Group in English and French in 1999 entitled Review of Education Sector Analysis in Zimbabwe 1990-1996. A similar review has been completed in Ghana for which the report is expected to be available in English and French during the first half of 2000. Two other reviews in Burkina Faso and Ghana are expected to be completed and the reports published during 2000. Each country case had a common set of activities which form part of the Working Group=s strategy to develop individual and institutional capacities in education sector analysis, to facilitate co-ordination and dialogue between national and external constituencies, and to strengthen national policy-making. The content of the reviews was defined by national, self-constituted teams according to a broad framework developed by the Working Group. Most of the teams had members from both the national research community and the ministry of education. The review process included specific activities aimed at enhancing cooperation and dialogue among researchers, national policy-makers and implementers, and international agencies, for example in the selection of proposals, the setting-up of a reference committee and feed-back sessions for wider stakeholders. The reviews have included a country-specific inventory and analytic overview of education sector studies undertaken by external agencies, national governments and other institutions in the specific country, addressed matters concerning the content, methods and process of elaboration of the reviewed education sector studies, and identified strategies for improving and sustaining the use of education sector analysis in national policy-making. The role of the Working Group has been one of facilitation, i.e. provision of technical and intellectual feedback and financial support. The findings from the reviews, including provisional findings from a review in Mozambique (see I.2.2) were presented in a seminar organised by the Working Group in conjunction with the ADEA Biennial meeting in Johannesburg in December 1999. Further reviews of education sector analysis may be supported by the Working Group in case of country demand and if they represent a value added to the Working Group. If undertaken, the Working Group is likely to use members of the national review teams as resource persons in order to achieve a further capacity-building and multiplier effect and to further cross-fertilize African experiences.
WGESA provides technical support to pilot initiatives in education sector analysis undertaken by international agencies and national governments as one way of influencing ongoing practices. The Group provided technical assistance to the Pilot Study on the Co-ordination of Analytical Work on the Education Sector in Ethiopia which was undertaken within the framework of the European Union (EU) initiative in Education and Training, Horizon 2000. The study, which was co-ordinated by EU and the German Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), was concerned with issues of access to and dissemination of documents and opportunities for coordinated usage and production of sector studies by international funding and technical assistance agencies. The study was completed in 1998 and the report published by WGESA in English and French in 1999 entitled Studies of Education in Ethiopia. An inventory and overview of education sector studies in Ethiopia 1994-1997.
The Working Group is currently providing technical assistance to the joint initiative in education sector analysis of the Mozambique Ministry of Education and the Nordic and Dutch development agencies. This initiative aims at contributing to the implementation of the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP), assisting in capacity-building within the Ministry of Education in Mozambique, and developing collaborative approaches to the process of education sector analysis. The first and second phase of the review are expected to represent a baseline analysis of the national education system as a means to monitor, assess and adjust the ESSP and to assist agencies with their information needs. A third phase is expected to focus on bringing into operation the recommendations of the first two phases, including articulating strategies for further development of human, organisational and institutional capacity for implementing and monitoring the ESSP. WGESA designed the framework for the initial activities and how they could be put into operation, and developed the Tender Documents which were used to invite proposals for a National Review of Education Sector Analysis in Mozambique from competing teams in Mozambique. The winning team, hosted by the Eduardo Mondlane University, was selected and the review launched in 1999. It is expected to be completed during the first half of 2000 when decisions will be taken concerning a follow-up third phase. WGESA facilitates the review in cooperation with the Ministry of Education in Mozambique, i.e. provides technical and intellectual inputs and has secured the funding for its execution.
The Royal Embassy of the Netherlands, Pretoria in cooperation with their Embassy in Harare is providing support to the SADC Human Resources Development Sector in the implementation of an initiative to prepare and develop a programme of regional-level activities that would provide direct support to selected national efforts at enhancing capacity in critical areas of education policy analysis, policy development, planning and management. The Working Group provided technical inputs to the preparatory needs assessment. This preparatory phase has led to a proposal for Improving Regional Capacity in Education Policy Development, Planning and Management. During 2000, the Working Group will explore concrete ways of collaboration with the SADC Secretariat in this phase of the work. It is envisaged that collaboration can be developed in the areas of education sector and policy analysis and that the national reviews in countries like Lesotho and Mozambique may prove to be useful for this initiative.
Along with its activities at country and regional level, WGESA regularly summarizes the lessons from its ongoing activities and feeds these lessons into the design of new activities. In the current programme, previous concerns with education sector analysis have been expanded to include a broader set of policy issues which are intended to reinforce a more pro-active profile for the Group. The planned activities are likely to cover:
This study represented the input of the Working Group to the Biennial meeting of ADEA in Johannesburg in December 1999. The focus of the study was to explore understandings and current practices of education sector development programmes in the three selected countries and the extent to which the formulation and/or implementation of sector programmes have led to new procedures and practices for partnership. Besides forming part of the ADEA Biennial, the synthesis of the study was presented at the regional meeting of country groups for the ADEA Stock-taking Exercise in Cotonou in June 1999, at the Oxford international conference on Poverty, Power and Partnership in September 1999, and in the seminar organized by the Working Group in Johannesburg in conjunction with the ADEA Biennial meeting The in-depth study is expected to be published during 2000. It is expected that the study can contribute important lessons for governments and agencies in their efforts to implement the sector-wide approach to educational development and provide a basis for the Working Group to actively link up with similar analyses in other countries.
During 2000, WGESA will initiate an evaluation of the national reviews of education sector analysis. The evaluation will be undertaken by selected members of the national review teams who will each evaluate other reviews than their own. The evaluation will be used as a basis for the Working Group to undertake further conceptual work in the area, particularly related to skills development and training modules (see III).
During 2000, WGESA will explore in detail with CONFEMEN/PASEC specific areas for cooperation based on the fact that both organisations have a critical interest in the use of research in policy-making and in education sector analysis. The possible collaboration may present an opportunity for the Working Group to bring sector analysis into the classroom.
In order to provide a sounder basis for evaluation of the merits of education sector analysis for education policy-making and reform efforts, the Working Group will consider to initiate a study on comparative experiences. The comparison is likely to be between countries which have made active use of education sector analysis versus countries which have not and/or on countries where education sector analysis has been undertaken on the initiative of the national government versus that of the international agencies. This focus may include an analysis of the outcomes and effects of the reports of Presidential Commissions which have been set up to advise on policies at various times in a number of different countries, for example Botswana, Ghana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
WGESA is currently considering how to strengthen the process of education sector analysis and its link to national policy-making processes in the context of development of education sector programmes. In order to develop and implement the sector programmes, in-country professionals need enhanced skills in analysing education sector issues and hands-on experiences in education sector work. The Working Group is planning a number of activities which are intended to be developed and implemented in close partnership with relevant African and other specialized institutions, such as ERNESA, ERNWACA, Faculties of Education and IIEP. These activities will reorient the Group towards assisting in the development of training modules in education sector analysis and in linking training programmes with substantive work in the area.
WGESA has organised a number of seminars in relation to the national reviews of education sector analysis, for example in Maseru in November 1998, in Maputo in January 1999 and in Johannesburg in December 1999. It has also provided inputs to seminars organised in the countries undertaking reviews, viz. Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The purposes of these seminars were partly to create awareness of issues of education sector analysis and of the work of the Working Group, and partly to provide a basis to discuss comparative experiences and reinforce cross-fertilization of African expertise in education sector analysis. In order to enhance knowledge and understanding of education sector analysis and to be more pro-active in its work, the Working Group is likely to reinforce its seminar activities. It will also seek increasingly to act as a facilitator in relevant discussion workshops and seminars among international funding and technical assistance agencies and between national governments and international agencies. One example might be possible Working Group involvement in a seminar to launch the education sector assessment in Nigeria in early 2000. It is envisaged that the number of seminars will increase once the inputs to training modules have been completed (see III.2).
In its effort to strengthen education sector analysis practices, WGESA is currently investigating the possibility to cooperate with the International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP) in the development of modules for education sector analysis. As a starting point, the Working Group will undertake an analysis of already existing education sector analysis modules or guidelines, such as those produced by IIEP, USAID and the World Bank. This analytical work is likely to be undertaken during the second half of 2000. The results of this analysis as well as the further work based on the evaluation of the national reviews of education sector analysis and other work of the Working Group will provide the consolidated basis for it to decide whether it is in a position to importantly contribute to and supplement existing training modules. The contribution of the Working Group is expected to focus particularly on the process of education sector analysis and how education sector analysis can strengthen national policy-making processes. The modules are expected to be used to develop capacities in policy analysis for researchers, ministry and agency staff. They would be adapted to different stages of policy development in different countries and to the likely different needs of the target groups. They are also envisaged to assist in strengthening in-country capacities to monitor sector development programmes.
The Working Group is promoting its work through dissemination of its publications, a news poster, a web site and through presentation of the results of its work in different forums in the countries in which it is working and internationally at meetings and conferences. The news poster, which began to be produced in English and French in 1999, appears three times per year (January, May and October). It brings easily digestible information on the Working Group and its activities, including interviews with and opinions by members of its key constituencies. The web site of the Group is also accessible in English and French. It provides an overview of the Working Group, its structure, programme, activities and publications. Some of the publications, for example the summary of the Inventory and Analytic Overview of Education Sector Studies 1990-94 and the national reviews of education sector analysis will be available on the web site. The Group is intending to use its site as a mechanism for interactions with its members and the wider constituency with an interest in its work. This will first be attempted through the setting up of an interactive page to discuss the results of the partnership study (see II.1) once it has been finalized.
In order to better disseminate its work and consolidate itself on the ground in Africa, the Working Group is in the process of establishing a network of contact persons or focal points in different countries. At present, the Working Group has 23 contact persons in 23 different countries in Africa and 2 contact persons in two other countries outside of Africa. It is anticipated that these focal points will gradually become more institutionalised or be supplemented with institutions with a particular interest in education sector analysis through whom activities can be initiated and supported. This is already the case with country working groups arising out of the national reviews of education sector analysis in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Zimbabwe and with the collaboration through specific ERNESA and ERNWACA country chapters. The Working Group will encourage the focal points to begin to network through exchange of information and proposals for activities at country and regional level in order to encourage a more demand-oriented approach to the development of the Working Group. It also envisages that these and other moves, such as strengthened cooperation with SADC and CONFEMEN and perhaps other organisations such as SAQMEC, can form a basis for likely future decentralization of activities and, eventually, of the Group co-ordination to Africa.
WGESA will continue to explore how links with other ADEA Working Groups, such as the Working Group on Education Statistics, and with key institutions in the area of education sector and policy analysis can be established. The latter includes, for example, SACMEQ. The Working Group is also currently exploring whether a co-operative arrangement with another agency or institution can be established in order to better ensure ITS sustainable development.
WGESA will continue to use the ADEA framework on Benchmarks and Inputs as a self-monitoring mechanism of its biennial programme. It will also continue to monitor funding through standard ADEA and UNESCO procedures.
WGESA has strong linkages with its key constituencies through its Steering Committee and regular interactions with its Associated/Interested Members. In addition, it now has an expanding network of contact and resource persons. Among its financial partners are agencies that are not members of its Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee meets twice per year (once in Paris and once in Africa). It is constituted of representatives of African ministries of education, the African research community, international agencies, and international and non-governmental organisations. The Working Group regularly reviews its composition in order to seek the most balanced overall representation. The Working Group was enlarged by three members in 1999 and is expected to be further enlarged during 2000. It is currently in the process of developing a set of criteria for membership. The Committee members currently represent the following organisations: Ministries of education: Ministry of Basic Education, Burkina Faso; Bureau Project Education, Ministry of Education, Madagascar; Ministry of Education, Mozambique; Ministries of Basic Education and Culture and Higher Education, Vocational Training, Science and Technology, Namibia. African research community: co-ordinators of ERNESA and ERNWACA; representative from Cheikh Anta Diop University. International funding and technical assistance agencies: Danida, Copenhagen; DFID, London; French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and French-speaking Countries, Paris; Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Helsinki; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, The Hague (shared responsibility with Royal Embassy of the Netherlands, Harare and Ouagadougou); USAID, Washington DC; the World Bank, Washington DC. International and non-governmental organisations: ADEA Secretariat, Paris; CONFEMEN (and the PASEC project), Dakar; UNESCO: BREDA, Dakar; UNESCO/IIEP, Paris; UNESCO/Division for the Reconstruction and Development of Education Systems (WGESA Co-ordinator), Paris.
In addition to financing received from the agencies that are represented on the Steering Committee, the activities of the Working Group have been supported by other agencies, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and UNICEF-Lesotho.
WGESA has 87 associated/interested members distributed in 39 countries in Africa, Europe and North America. Sixty-one of them belong to 27 different countries in Africa. The members are invited to participate in annual or biennial meetings of the Working Group and receive information on the Working Group activities on a regular basis. The members represent the following constituencies: African ministries of education and other ministries; the research community in and outside Africa; international funding and technical assistance agencies; international and non-governmental organisations. The Working Group is in the process of considering whether criteria for ordinary membership should be established.
Review of Education Sector Analysis in Ghana 1987-1998. Prepared by D.K. Agyeman, J.J.K. Baku and R. Gbadamosi assisted by E. Adabbor, K. Adoo-Adeku, M. Cudjoe, A.A. Essuman, E.K. Gala and C. Pomary. Paris, UNESCO/WGESA, expected 2000 (in English and French). Review of Education Sector Analysis in Burkina Faso 1994- 1999. Prepared by Working Group on Education Sector Analysis in Burkina Faso. Paris, UNESCO/WGESA, expected 2000 (in French and English). Review of Education Sector Analysis in Lesotho 1978-1999. E.M. Sebatane, D.P. Ambrose, M.K. Molise, A. Mothibili, S.T. Motlomelo, H.J. Nenty, E.M. Nthunya and V.M. Ntoi, and. Paris, UNESCO/WGESA, expected 2000 (in English and French). Review of Education Sector Analysis in Mozambique 1990-1998. Mário Mouzinho, Miguel Buendía Gomez, Wim Kouwenhoven, Adalberto Alberto and Clotilde Waddington. Paris, UNESCO/WGESA, expected 2000 (in English, French and Portuguese). Partnerships between Ministries of Education and International Funding and Technical Assistance Agencies in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mozambique. Lene Buchert, P.T.M. Marope, Josiane Rabetokotany, Joel Samoff and Tuomas Takala. Paris, UNESCO/WGESA, expected 2000 (in English and French). |
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