LUI's International Service Faculty of Education and International Studies

Address: Pilestredet 40, 0167 Oslo, Norway Postal Address: P.O. Box 4 St. Olavs pl., N-0130 Oslo, Norway     Ph:: +4722452138     Fax: +4722452850     Mail: lins@lui.hio.no

The launch seminar for

THE NORWEGIAN POST-PRIMARY

EDUCATION FUND FOR AFRICA

NPEF Seminar 2006, September 13th - 14th

Venue: Voksenåsen Culture and Conference Hotel, Oslo, Norway

Report from the launch seminar

Program

Presentations

Participants

The Launch Seminar of the new Norwegian Post-Primary Education Fund for Africa (NPEF) was arranged by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the World Bank and the Norwegian NPEF reference group, in cooperation with Norad and LINS.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Main target groups for the seminar:

• African policy makers, education managers, NGOs active in the field of education and researchers of education in Africa.
• Norwegian policy makers, education managers, NGOs active in the field of education and researchers of education in Africa.
• Representatives from the Development Cooperation organizations
• Teacher unions
• Students within the field of education and development

The seminar was attended by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon and addressed by the Norwegian Minister for International Development, Erik Solheim.

The seminar focused on an area of increasing importance for all African countries: The need to develop access, quality and relevance of secondary education.

The positive effects of basic education for all are beginning to make themselves felt across Africa, making the need for expanded, improved and relevant secondary education urgent. The seminar also focused on how Development Agencies, NGOs and the new Norwegian Post-Primary Education Program (NPEF) can contribute to the development of secondary education in Africa.

The main themes were:

Post-Primary education in Africa with focus on Secondary Education
An overview of the situation in African countries, with situational descriptions and focus on policy choices and dilemmas.

Challenges in Post-Primary education in Africa - a country case
- assessed by African education authorities and representatives of civil society in a country case.

Policy choices in secondary education common to all countries as part of their development - can Africa benefit from lessons learned in other countries?

• The OECD and Nordic experience
• The Asian experience

The role of Development Agencies, NGOs and Teacher Unions in support of secondary education in Africa.

How can the new Norwegian Post-Primary Education Fund (NPEF) support the key stakeholders in handling the challenges of secondary education in Africa?

Some critical policy choices on development of secondary education in Africa

Lower secondary education

Key issues:

• Universalize lower secondary education - implications?
• Gradually increase primary education to 7/8/9 years - implications?
  

Upper secondary education

Key issues:

• What share of graduates from basic education, or lower secondary, should continue in publicly-financed upper secondary education?
• What should the content be, given that most of the graduates in the foreseeable future will not find employment in the formal, modern sector?
• How can quality be secured through availability of qualified teachers and education managers

The balance between general secondary education and technical education and vocational training

Key issues:

• What should be the balance between general secondary education and technical education and vocational training?
• Degree of "vocalization" of the curriculum of general secondary education:
  - the "status" of vocational training as compares to more "academic streams",
  - the level at which TVET should start (e.g. after primary or lower secondary),
  - the private sector's role in providing TVET,

These policy issues and policy choices are at the core of the education debate in Africa today. They have been in the education debate and in the policy choices made by the OECD countries over the last four decades, and also in countries in economic transition in other parts of the world. Africa can learn from how other countries at various stages of development made their policy choices and implemented the chosen policies.

In this seminar focus was put on African countries, their situation, policy issues and policy choices. We targeted invitation to a number of African countries that are now in the process of reviewing policy choices for their secondary education or have started implementing the chosen policies. We did this by tapping into the experiences of the OECD countries, with special attention to the Nordic countries. We invited speakers with in-depth knowledge on the debates and the choices made by OECD countries at different stages of their development. Also representatives from an Asian country were invited to inform on their policy choices.

In drawing lessons, one needs to be keenly aware of the differences, such as:

• differences in economic structure and ability to both finance education expansion at the post-primary level and to provide gainful employment for the graduates
• the continued rapid population growth in Africa, that keeps investment needs in primary education high while the population of primary school age is declining in all other developing regions, allowing a shift of resources to post-primary education
• the impact of HIV/AIDS
• the continued weak institutional capacity in most low-income SSA countries.