ttep Newtenez •i y

ARCHIVES

Vol.XNo.4, October-December 1992 Published quarterly in English, French and Spanish editions Gratis

Strengthening training institutions: an on-going priority

E VER since its foundation in 1963, the Institute has been designed to operate with a very small team of

high-level professionals supported by a 'Council of Consultant Fellows'—a group of internationally recognized specialists and experts. As the programme has developed over the years, the Institute's list of correspondents has expanded to include former trainees, national researchers and trainers, and occasional collaborators, thereby creating a closely-knit fabric of informal professional contacts throughout the world, enabling HEP to operate simultaneously in all regions.

However, while in its early years the Institute's programme was directed mainly at educational planners and adminis­trators, relying entirely on the co-operation of specialists, the need became apparent, from the mid-1970s, for HEP to gradually build up relationships with institutions and teams in UNESCO Member States.

This need to institutionalize IIEP's

In this issue... The focus is on estabtíshing close working relationships with training institutions around the world. The first article (p.l) outlines the development of HEP policy in this area. Two other articles illustrate this theme: one concerns IIEP's contri­bution towards strengthening educa­tional planning in Madagascar (p.10), the other a workshop held in Mauritius to examine the problems planners face in mobilizinghuman resources to achieve economic development (p.5). Finally, there is news of the DAE Secretariat (p.6), a summary of a new HEP publication on private tuition (p.7), a report on Venezuela's ten-year educa­tional plan(p.9) and a note on innovations in the IIEP Documentation Centre (p. 12).

professional contacts was justified in particular by the consequences of the declining number of trained personnel in educational planning and administration (due to the instability of employment in the public sector), and the necessity to safeguard those programmes designed to develop national capacities in this field.

For example, concerning the training activities, IIEP organized a series of intensive courses in school mappingfor the benefit of teams of officials at the central and regional levels of government departments. Similarly, the implemen­tation of the Institute's research pro­gramme on higher education relied on the co-operation of national teams, and the conclusions drawn from the case studies were usually the subject of high-level national research workshops led by policy­makers, decision-makers, experts and researchers.

With effect from the 1980s, the Institute was faced with a substantial explosion of the demand for training, and had to consider how to cope with it.

This explosion was the outcome of the broadening of the concept of educational planning on the one hand, and the reassessment of the role of the State on the other. Planning now encompasses not only the traditional aspects of the formulation of policy options, the preparation of plans and the study of their feasibility, but also programming, administration, manage­ment and evaluation.

Furthermore, planning is tied in with the emergence, along with quantitative approaches and rigid fixed-term forecasts, of approaches incorporating indications of trends over periods of time—periods which may be of variable length and be periodically adjustable. And in addition, because of the plain facts of economic austerity, educa-

IIEP institutionalizes its world-wide professional contacts

I.I. E. P. - 1 . 1 . P. E 9. RUE E.-OELACTOiX - 75116 PARIS

-3.N0V.19Q2

CENTRE DE DOCUMENTATION

All newsletter correspondence should be

addressed to: The Editor,

IIEP Newsletter, International Institute tor

Educational Planning 7-9, rue Eugène-Delacroix,

75116 Paris Telephone: (1) 45.03.77.00

Fax: (1)40.72.83.66 Telex: 640032

Cables: Eduplan Paris

IIEP/1IPE- DOCUMENTATION Periodical

An IIEP Seminar launches an experi­

mental project designed to strengthen

collaboration with training institutes in

developing countries

tional planning has now become an unavoidable necessity; it is no longer confined to the task of planning the development of education but rather it is more and more used as a tool to maintain and safeguard the quality of educational systems with limited resources, and so forestall what would otherwise be the inevitable deterioration of conditions in the classroom.

What is more, educational planninghas regained its relevance now that it cannot continue to be centralized and authoritarian and has become indicative and strategic, involving different partners and prota­gonists in educational decision-making.

Finally, all these factors - the challen­ging of the role of the State, the trend towards growing decentralization, the development of partnerships, the advent of new protagonists and the new concerns affecting educational authorities - have contributed to a multiplication of the training needs and of the potential target groups to be trained, together with a broadening of the content of training programmes in the field of educational planning and administration.

This was noted at the international seminar marking the 25th anniversary of HEP in 1989, and confirmed at the UNESCOWorld Conference heldinMexico City in March 1990. In an effort to take stock of training needs, the Institute conducted two surveys in September 1990, one among governmental departments in developing countries, the other among the various training institutes in educational planning and management. Despite low response rates, the convergingresults from the two surveys speak for themselves: • In most cases, senior staff are trained abroad. • The need for training in educational planning covers a wide range of staff to be trained at all levels. • Objectives, target groups, content, training materials and methods vary from one training institution to another. • There is a considerable gap between the supply and demand for training. • The present supply of training oppor­tunities is largely inadequate.

The 1990 Seminar

In December 1990 the Institute organized a seminar attended by some 15 principals of training institutes or directors of

training programmes, i.e. heads of univer­sity departments, heads of Ministry of Education training units, and represen­tatives of the UNESCO Secretariat and Regional Offices.

This seminar was an opportunity for: • analysing national needs (both quanti­tative and qualitative) for training at different levels; • discussing the methodological aspects of identifying these needs; • examining ways and means of strengthening national capacities for the training of educational planners and administrators; • giving thought to the conditions of co­operation between HEP, other UNESCO bodies, and the institutes represented.

The discussions were centred in particular on the priority to be given to: • the training of trainers; • the preparation and distribution of teaching materials; • co-operation between institutions offering training opportunities at different levels.

In conclusion, H E P declared its intention to enter into co-operation agreements with institutions wishing to intensify andformalizetheirrelations with the Institute.

Laying the foundations

These individual agreements define the framework, structure and scope of the different types of collaboration between IIEP and training institutes. Specifically, the following institutes have so far entered into agreements with IIEP: • Regional Centre for Educational InnovationandTechnology(INNOTECH), established by SEAMEO, the Philippines, in December 1990. • University of Zimbabwe (Department of Educational Administration), in July 1991. • Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI), in August 1991. • University of Rio de Janeiro (Faculty of Education), in February 1992. • National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), India, in February 1992. • Madagascar Institute for Planning Techniques (IMaTeP), in June 1992. • Centre d'orientation et de la planifica­tion de l'éducation (COPE), Morocco, in July 1992.

2 IIEP Newsletter/October-December 1992

An agreement is currently being prepared with the Instituto Superior Pedagógico (ISP), Mozambique.

Agreements reached

Working relationships between HEP and its partner institutes have been further consolidated in the 18 months since the seminar was held. With the exception of NIEPA, which has co-operated mainly in IIEFs research activities, the main thrust of this innovative programme has un­doubtedly been in the area of training activities. These activities cover a wide range, including the participation of the partner institutes in IIEFs own training programmes, the exchange of staff, the preparation and exchange of teaching materials, and the joint organization of training seminars and courses.

The following examples give a good indication of the diversity of forms which this collaboration takes, and the pragmatic way in which it is put into effect.

The Department of Educational Admin­istration of the University of Zimbabwe co-operated with HEP in 1991 in arranging a study tour by senior Namibian authoritie s in three African countries: Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe. The tour was part of a wider training project for educational administrators in Namibia, and its purpose was to familiarize the participants with the structures of educational planning and administration in the host countries. The tour was followed by a seminar organized by the Department enabling the partici­pants to consolidate and evaluate what they had seen and learned.

In conjunction with the same institution, IIEP is currently conducting an intensive course on data management in education, attended by senior officials from Southern African countries (SDACC).

In 1991 the Institute provided a set of publications and co-operated in the preparation of an instructional module entitled 'Introduction to Information Systems' for SEAMEO-INNOTECH in Manila, Philippines. This material will be used by the Centre for instructional purposes. In 1992 IIEP took an active part in preparing a course to be held in 1993 on collaboration between schools and commu­nities for effective non-formal education.

At the request of COPE (Centre d'Orientation et de Planification en Education) in Rabat, Morocco, the

Institute has supplied documents and teaching materials. IIEP staff and the Director of COPE have held discussions in Rabat and Paris on ways and means of implementing future co-operation pro­grammes, including the possibility of a member of the COPE teaching staff visiting the IIEP to become familiar with a module of the 1992-1993 Annual Training Pro­gramme. In addition, a COPE researcher is co-operating in research conducted by IIEP on the planning of science education in Morocco.

Since August 1991, IIEP has been working in conjunction with the Mozambique Ministry of Education and the Instituto Superior Pedagógico on a pilot programme leading to a Master's Degree (licenciatura) in education with the specialized option of educational planning. Under this programme, which is funded by UNDP, seven senior officials from the Ministry of Education are preparing theses on subjects concerned with key areas of educational planning. They have undergone three weeks of special training in Maputo, and the course tutors have provided guidance during several visits toMozambique. Four ofthese trainees completed their theses during a visit to IIEP in late October 1991. ISP plans to strengthen its relations with IIEP during the coming academic year.

With the help of IIEP, the Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria prepared a project for the creation of a specialized institute for educational planning and administration: the Nigerian Institute for Educational Planning. IIEP will assist in definingthetrainingprogramme's content and preparing the teaching materials.

In the context of a programme to improve EPA structures and practices in Madagascar, funded by the World Bank and UNDP, the Institute is co-operating with the Madagascar Institute forPlanning Techniques (ImaTeP) in providing an educational management course. IIEP is helping in the design stage of the programme, the jointproduction of teaching materials, and the training of trainers.

Links re-established

The examples of activities listed above reveal the consolidation of relationships with the institutions represented at the 1990 seminar, as well as an increase in the number of IIEFs partners.

18 months later ... co-operation activities cover a wide range

IIEP Newsletter/October-December 1992 3

IIEP's action can promote

development... but cannot

replace political resolve

In this connection, it should be noted that the development of these partnership agreements coincided with continuing and ever closer co-operation between HEP and its 'natural' partners, namely the UNESCO Regional Offices. This is illustrated by the following examples:

In conjunction with BREDA (UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa) the Institute organized two intensive courses in 1991, one at Buea in Cameroon and the other in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Jointly with UNEDBAS (UNESCO Regional Office for Education in the Arab States) HEP organized an intensive course on the methodology of project preparation in Tunisia.

HEP is also co-operating with OREALC (UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean) in the training of trainers programme.

And finally, as highlighted in the previous edition of the HEP Newsletter, the Institute has recently collaborated with PROAP (the UNESCO Principal Regional Office in Asia and the Pacific) in the organization of a sub-regional workshop on education, employment and human resource development, held in June 1992 a t the headquar te rs of the Korean Educational Development Institute (one of the Institutes that has entered into a co­operative agreement with the HEP).

Outlook for the future

Though it is too early to draw firm conclusions, some lessons may already be learned from the present programme.

First ly, the strengthening of the capacities of HEFs partner institutions is a long-term process involving many uncertainties and, in many cases, is unfortunately never likely to advance beyond the stage of the expression of intentions. Though the intervention of HEP

can favour the creation of the requisite conditions (through the t raining of specialized trainers, the provision of materials, and conceptual contributions) it cannot replace political resolve, the leadership of the establishments concerned, and the latter's capacity to fit into the national - and preferably regional -network of protagonists in the field of educational planning and administration.

Secondly, it is a fact that new institu­tions have expressed their wish to establish relations and enter into exchange agree­ments with HEP, and that a number of new agreements will be reached in the future, thereby adding to the number of the Institute's partners. But such a trend assumes that three conditions will be met: (i) the existence of stable t ra ining establishments possessing adequate resources in terms of qualified staff, materials and facilities; (ii) the existence of relevant training programmes matched to requirements; and (iii) the mobilization of financial resources by HEP and especially by the partner institutions.

Thirdly, the approach to this interna­tional programme must be predominantly pragmatic; it must obey the logic of the partner institutions rather than conform to a pattern predetermined by HEP. The examples of activitieslisted above illustrate the wide diversity of needs and of the ways and means by which co-operation is achieved. These activities are undertaken with a view to strengthening the potential of each partner institution according to its specific features and in relation to resources available and current programmes.

In the end, however, some collaboration agreements will probably be more success­ful and fruitful than others; a great deal depends on the dynamism deployed by HEP and the institutions concerned.

JACQUES HALLAK AND MICHAELA MARTIN

Seminars on current issues in educational planning Every month or so, HEP hosts a three-

hour seminar in Paris on a topic

of interest to educational planners

DURING the summer months July and August, no seminars on current issues were organized. However they returned with a lively start in September when the following seminar was organized: • 24 September 1992. A new scenario for educational planning and management in Latin America: the impact of the external

debt, by Fernando Reimers, Institute Associate, Harvard Institute for Interna­tional Development, Cambridge, Mass., USA.

If you expect to be in Paris during the coming months, you are invited to contact the Institute to see whether a seminar coincides with your visit. •

4 HEP Newsletter/October-December 1992

TRAINING: HEP workshop seeks links between education, employment and human resource development

A note of optimism in human resource development

T HE que st for a better understanding of the relationship between educa­tion, employment and human

resource development was the purpose of the sub-regional workshop of 11 countries from Southern and Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean which took place in Mauritius during September.

Assessing the situation

More specifically, the objectives of the workshop were to provide the participants with a clear vision of the principalpro&Zems an educational planner faces in supplying adequately trained human resources for socio-economic development and in reducing the problem of unemployment. The participants were able to make a detailed examination of the various techniques of analysis and projection currently utilized in the planning of human resources in national or regional contexts, and to explore the policies and strategies which might be adopted for solving the identified problems.

The workshop, organized by HEP and the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) of the Commonwealth Secretariat, in co-operation with the Ministry of Education and Science, Mauritius, was attended by 26 delegates from Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In addition, two representatives of the liberation movement in South Africa - the African National Congress and the Pan-African Congress -participated in the workshop.

The opening address and a lecture on the Mauritius Master Plan were given by The Honourable Armoogum Parsuramen, Minister of Education and Science, Mauritius. The Honourable Ramduthsingh Jaddoo, Minister of Manpower Resources and Vocational and Technical Education, lectured on the role of training in human resource development in Mauritius. His Excellency Sir Victor Glover, Chief Justice of the Mauritian Supreme Court and Chairman of the Tertiary Education Commission, spoke on the problems of higher education and the world of work in Mauritius.

Previous training programmes on a similar theme have been organized by HEP for West and Central Africa (1991) and in the Pacific region (1992). The. technique of combining clear descriptions of national situations and key concepts with intense practical work and visits to the formal and informal sectors of the economy, substan­tially deepened awareness of the complex issues involved.

The generous provision by Mauritius of new computers for all participants enabled the workshop leaders to provide all national representat ives with a refreshingly demystifying encounter with computer modelling, building alternative scenarios for human resource development. The excellent physical and logistical support of the host country - combined with outstanding personal contributions by Ministers, educators, employers and trainers - illustrated its importance as a venue for such international events.

Earlier HEP programmes have led to the sober assessment that manpower estimates are necessary but certainly not sufficient as guides for educational policy, and all training courses have emphasized the importance of up-to-date and reliable information for planning purposes. Such views were certainly endorsed by the Mauritius workshop.

Moreover, while recognizingthe critical importance of basic education to economic development and social progress, delegates took the view that training for specific jobs in school was premature, expensive and largely ineffective in the countries represented at the workshop. This finding relates closely to the earlier published views of the HEP.

Host sets shining example

Particular emphasis was given to this issue by the fact that the workshop was taking place in a country experiencing full employment and extraordinary economic success; accelerated, intensive and skill-based training in industrial environments was seen as a vital means of maintaining economic progress.

Much was learned from the general feeling of optimism in the host country.

HEP Sub-regional Workshop on 'Education, employment and human resource development' held in Quatre Bornes, Mauritius, 7-18 September 1992

HEP Newsletter/October-December 1992 5

Links between education and

employment relate not only to economic

success, but to a better quality of life

With limited natural resources, the Maur i t ian experience a t tempted to demonstrate how human resources could be mobilized to achieve economic develop­ment. Countries recently experiencing independence - and representatives from the ANC and PAC looking to the future -stressed the significance of education as a means of developing democratic institu­tions and equality of opportunity. The delegates affirmed that the links between education and employment relate not only to economic success, but to a better quality of life for all members of the community. In short, to human resource development.

At the conclusion of the workshop, proposals were made for a series of follow-

up activities: first, upon returning to their countries, the participants would hold meetings with their respective official colleagues to discuss the findings and recommendations of the workshop and share the teaching materials; second, the participants would propose the organi­zation of national workshops on this subject, usingteachingmaterials supplied by IIEP; and third, the Institute would keep in close touch with the participants and provide intellectual support for any national programme in this field, subject to the availability of resources.

JAMES PORTER AND BIKAS C. SANYAL

CO-OPERATION: DAE Secretariat moves into IIEP building and starts programming activities

DAE has a busy start at its new headquarters

DAE/Ministerlal consultation in

Geneva was addressed by

UNESCO's Director General

W ITH the arrival and installation of the Executive Secretary of the Donors to African Education

(DAE), Christopher Shaw, at the Agency's new offices in the IIEP, the transfer of the DAE Secretariat from the World Bank to its new host agency has been completed.

Meetings in Geneva and Paris

One of the first activities of the Secretariat has been to confer with African Ministers of Education. In mid-September, an informal DAE meeting with the African Ministers of Education attending the 43rd International Conference on Education in Geneva was addressed by UNESCO's Director General, Mr. Federico Mayor. The meeting examined African participation in DAE activities and asked the African Ministers for their suggestions on priorities to guide the DAE's programme. It was attended by over 20 African Ministers and Akilu Habte of UNICEF, Jacques Hallak of IIEP, and Christopher Shaw.

A technical meeting at the end of September, at IIEP, allowed the DAE Working Group co-ordinators to share experiences on the group's progress to date. This meeting made suggestions for the co­ordination and strengthening of the DAE's Working Group mechanism and co­ordinated the timetable of activities for the next year.

Preparing future activities

The above activities laid the groundwork for the forthcoming meeting of the DAE Executive Committee (scheduled for the end of October at IIEP). At this major meeting, the Executive Committee will examine the DAE's programme activities,' the planned calendar of meetings and the consequent operational budget.

The programme activities presently include support to DAE Working Groups, sponsorship of African participation in the Working Groups, dissemination of results and donor co-ordination.

New initiatives are planned in the areas of educational expenditures/financing and the preparation of national educational policies.

Working groups in full swing

The DAE Working Groups are also pursuing a full programme this Fall. Meetings are scheduled in Maputo, Mozambique (higher education), Paris (femaleparticipation), Gaborone, Botswana (educational research and capacity building for policy analysis), and London (teacher management). Follow-up activities for the groups on textbooks and libraries and school examinations are also being prepared. •

6 IIEPNewsletter/October-December1992

DISSEMINATION: New monograph highlights an educational problem reaching endemic proportions

Private tuition: distorting the education system?

P RIVATE tutoringhas alongtradition in many countries but has become a huge money-earning business in

recent years. Upper-class and middle-classparentsareincreasinglyusingprivate tutoring as a means of retaining a relative advantage for their children in the education 'race'.

At the same time, private tutoring has been a welcome opportunity to increase the income of formal school teachers, whose salaries have often been seriously eroded over recent decades. Demand and supply factors are therefore reinforci ng each other, creating a real market for individual student coaching.

Research indicates that private tutoring has reached endemic proportions in several countries such as Bangladesh, India, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Thailand. In Malaysia, for example, a recent UNESCO report describes it as a "shadow educational system" or "tuition machine". In Japan, 86 per cent of Grade 9 children acknowledge having attended at some time the juku, a term that loosely covers all extracurricular lessons devoted to academic subjects. In the Republic of Korea, too, it has been calculated that 50 per cent of students in metropolitan academic high schools have private tutoring, whereas in Thailand, a National Education Commission survey in 1983 suggested that 65 per cent of both high school and college freshmen had received some form of tutoring. In Sri Lanka, a recent study shows that an average of 74.5 per cent of secondary school students have had private tutoring.

Although the phenomenon is wide-spread.ithasnotbeenproperly researched, and its educational and social consequences remain largely unexplored. A study prepared by a 1991/92 trainee and just published by IIEP1 is a contribution to bridgingthisknowledge gap. It analyses in detail private tutoring of primary school children in Mauritius, its causes and modalities, and also its consequences.

The author, A. Raffick Foondun, points to the fact that during the past decade considerable progress has been achieved

in Mauritius, with a very high level of rapid economic and social development. Among developing countries, he says, Mauritius has one of the most advanced educational systems: universal primary education has been achieved, with 98 per cent of primary school age children enrolled in schools; there is free education up to and including tertiary level; basic textbooks and school meals are provided free of charge at the primary level; increasing use is made of audio and video facilities; and the transition rates to the secondary and tertiary sectors have increased.

At the same time, however, a number of bottlenecks have occurred, the most important of which is a mad and relentless race to obtain a place in one of the prestigious secondary schools of the island.

Increased inequalities

This race is the subject of this monograph. The author argues that the private tutoring business not only increases inequalities in educational opportunities but also leads to a devaluation of teaching ethics and finally to a serious distortion of the aims of the education system itself.

Aheavy emphasis on examinations often leads to a situation where students are required to seek outside help. This is true in the Mauritian case where private tuition has become so widespread. A recent study has revealed that at the primary level, 11 per cent of children in Standard I take tuition, the proportion rising to 73 per cent in Standard VI. At the secondary level, the percentage of students who are tutored rises from 37 per cent in Form I to 88 per cent in Forms V and VI. Latest trends indicate that these proportions may have greatly increased.

In many countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, tutoring is accentuated because teachers are often underpaid and have to give tuition in order to survive. In Mauritius,Mr. Foondun saysthatteachers earn a reasonable salary, and 30 to 40 per cent of general purpose teachers, as well as teachers of Asian languages, do content themselves with their regular pay.

At the primary level, their salary is

1. 'Private tuition in Mauritius: the mad race fora place in a 'five-star' secondary school' by A. Raffick Foondun, Paris, IIEP, 1992, 36 pages. (Distribution charge: 15.00 French francs or US$3.00).

IIEP Newsletter/October- December 1992 7

more or less on a par with workers of the same category and of the same qualifica­tions, such as nurses, policemen and clerical officers. At the secondary level, graduate teachers earn more or less the same amount as graduates in other ministries, such as economists or agronomists.

The desire to give tuition therefore seems to have deeper motives and lies perhaps in the fact that Mauritius has become a capitalist and consumer society. The more money one makes, the more money one wants to make in a society where working overtime or in other activities for an additional fee is much sought after. Tutoring (or other private practices) thus becomes a vicious cycle difficult to stop because once teachers become accustomed to a second pay, it is very difficult for them to forego that additional income.

Furthermore, in most countries, students are not tutored by the same classroom teachers. In Sri Lanka, a study revealed that "students mostly obtain tuition from teachers, who are not from their own schools". In Mauritius, however, Mr. Foondun says that private tuition at the primary level is predominantly given by school teachers to their regular pupils after school hours and the proportion of teachers providing tuition to their regular students is 78 per cent of the total number of teachers involved.

Aims of education deformed

Mr. Foondun argues that private tuition has indeed produced a parallel system, with the result that the education system has been thrown out of gear. Most people, he says, will agree that the two main functions of basic education are to inculcate knowledge and skills(the learningfunction) and to instil other socially relevant attitudes and values, including altruism and generosity (the socialization function).

Unfortunately, in Mauritius the selec-tionfunction, which has become the raison-d'être of the Certificate of Primary Education examinations, is so important that the two major purposes of primary education are destroyed. Weak pupils are thus neglected and cannot keep up with the teaching-learning process because the classespreparethehighflyers for entrance to the élite schools. The emphasis is on specific examination skills so that non-examinable subjects are given only a nominal presence in the actual teaching.

In this way, says Mr. Foondun, the learning function is reduced, leading to a narrow perception of what can and should be learned. Skills such as creativity are stifled, and time that should have been devotedto sports, television, casual reading and other extra-curricular activities is given to academic studies. Feelings of selfishness, too, both among students and parents, inevitably surface in this world where only the fittest survive.

The distortion of the system is implicitly confirmed, the monograph's author points out, in the Master Plan of Education which has this to say on examinations at the secondary level: "In many colleges, the purpose of the system appears to be to get pupils to pass the School Certificate and, to a lesser extent, the Higher School Certificate. Other purposes, such as providing the basis for training, encoura­ging different aptitudes and completing the students'groundingin basic education, appear to be accorded less weight."

Challenge for policy makers

Mr. Foondun argues that the alarming proportion that private tuition has assumed in Mauritius and in some other countries is an important challenge for policy-makers, not only because ithas serious implications on the social and private costs of primary education but also because it may well have negative psychological consequences on the future generation. Even more important is the fact that it may lead to a kind of perversion of the learning and socializing functions of the education system. Indeed, instead of inculcating useful knowledge and skills and instead of instillingsociallyrelevantvalues, education is promoting 'cramming* and selfishness. Moreover, far from being a leveller, education is widening the gap between rich and poor.

In this respect, Mr. Foondun says, it is encouraging to note that while the topic of private tuition only a few years ago would not have stirred much discussion, it has now started to make people uneasy and aroused many thought-provoking ideas.

But, he says, more research on the nature of private tuition and onitsfinancial, non-cognitive and psychological implica­tions will have to be carried out. Only then will it be possible to propose adequate policies and to prevent the mad race from getti ng out of control. •

8 HEP Newsletter/October-December 1992

CO-OPERATION: Looking in as Venezuela plans its education for the next ten years

Rediscovering long-term planning

A s THE task undertaken is formidable and extremely complex. In the face

1 of rapid social, technological and economic change, in landscapes of continual crises, many countries have limited their planning to short-term management. That is why, as professionals and specialists in planning, we are very interested in this meeting, not only because it discusses the future of Venezuelan education but also because of its significance to the future of educational planning in the world."

These were the words of Jacques Hallak, IIEP's Director, at the opening ceremony of the Workshop convened by the Venezuelan National Educational Council (CNE), together with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Planning (CORDIPLAN). Its purpose was to discuss the progress report and conclusions drawn by a national working group and which provided various analyses to guide educational development in a long-term perspective and on which future medium-and short-term educational plans for the country will be based.

Together . with CRESALC and CINTERPLAN, HEP had been invited to attend this meeting as outside observers to comment on methodological aspects of the undertaking and make international comparisons. The CNE had convened 134 participants, including members of the national team in charge of formulating the plan, as well as specialists from the CNE, the Ministries of Education and Planning, universities and other academic insti­tutions (both private and public).

Providing continuity

The Minister of Education gave the tone for the ensuing discussions saying that the proposed ten-year plan should aim to give continuity to the regular five-year plans mandated by the constitution and provide room for periodic readjustments. The implementation of the government's overall objective to decentralize education can only be studied and assessed over a long-term period. The technical documents which had been prepared were presented to the participants who then split into seven

working groups in order to analyse and recommend general strategies and specific lines of action for inclusion in the future Plan's chapters.

In the light of the debate which took place during the meeting, Mr. Hallak together with HEP programme specialist and head of training, Carlos Malpica, formulated four general observations at the end of the seminar-workshop.

Further discussions needed

Firstly, they recommended that some further workshops should be organized in order to help the technical team and the Ministry specialists progressively complete the formulation of the country's educational policy for the comingdecade; full advantage would thus be made of the dynamics generated by the seminar-workshop.

Secondly, they felt that the process and its products should be internalized by the Ministry officers and specialists through greater co-ordination and more joint reflexion and work. In this respect it might be helpful to organize short specialized seminars to discuss in depth some selected topics of strategic importance. This should gradually produce a global view of the plan and commitment for its implementation.

Thirdly, the HEP observers emphasized the need to keep a strictly national character of the work at this stage, without foreign interference, in complex and delicate issues concerning inter-institutional relation­ships, policy options, social participation, etc. which had to be coped with. Particular attention involving all social parties is required in designing the pragmatic conditions for implementing the govern­ment's decentralization programme. At a later stage, once the final documents have been drawn up, the technical team might consider consulting international spe­cialists in other seminars or workshops.

Finally, the HEP observers felt that the Venezuelan government urgently needed a long-term framework within which it could define pragmatic policies and strategies for its negotiations with international agencies. Such a document would be related to the work done for the

HEP attends a seminar-workshop from 27 to 30 July 1992 to discuss proposals fora new ten-year education plan in Venezuela

HEP Newsletter/October- December 1992 9

ten-year Education Plan, and be considered as alaisser-faire" scenario. The framework would be based on an analysis of inertia and trends hampering the evolution of Venezuelan education and could serve as a support for measures, plans and projects aimed at readjusting the country's educational system to suit changes defined by the national development strategy.

Follow-up

As a result of the seminar-workshop, HEP has received a requestfrom the Venezuelan Ministry of Education to assist in the

immediate preparation of a study on the inertia and main trends in the evolution of the educational system. The CNE has asked the Institute to organize a workshop in Paris in November 1992 to discuss the draft ten-year Plan. Finally, within the framework of the decentralization programme of the Venezuelan government, HEP has also been asked to co-operate in establishing a national programme for the in-service training of those specialists working on educational planning and administration at the central and regional levels. •

TRAINING: The extension of activities designed to strengthen national capacities

A new challenge for education in Madagascar HEP participates in a UNESCO programme

to strengthen educational planning

in Madagascar

I N October 1991 the Malgache Government entered into an agree­ment with UNESCO whereby the

Organization assumed responsibility for the implementation of the MAGPLANED programme for the development of educational planning in Madagascar. MAGPLANED is funded partly by the World Bank (through its budget for the strengthening of the education sector, CRESED) and partly through two UNDP projects. This pooling of financial resources enables a comprehensive programme of complementary activities to be undertaken. The programme includes studies, training, and the purchase of equipment and facilities, and covers key areas of educational planning and management in Madagascar. Launched in 1992, the programme will extend over a period of at least three consecutive years.

Both reform and consolidation

MAGPLANED comes at a crucial time for Madagascar. In 1979 the Malgache Government adopted a large-scale reform of the education system, aimed at democratizing it, that is to say giving all children the right to education, decen­tralizing the administrative machinery, and making Malgache the language of instruction at all levels. But the rapidity of this expansion and the lack of progressive

and systematic planning created numerous problems. The rate of recruitment of teachers was too high, there was a shortage of textbooks in the national language, and many teachershad difficulty in teachingin Malgache. Consequently, the quality of education declined considerably, and enrolment decreased. A number of schools had to close for lack of pupils.

What objectives?

The Malgache Government has adopted a new educational strategy. MAGPLANED defines priority areas for action aimed at: (i) computerizing the system of data collection, processing and analysis; (ii) s t rengthening the capacity for formulating and implementing education policies, inter alia by a series of studies; (iii) introducing school and university mapping; and (iv) setting up a structure to provide training in educational planning and management.

Synergy and durability

IIEP's involvement in MAGPLANED concerns training activities. The Institute will provide training, in school mapping, the diagnosis, projection and implemen­tation of education policies, and techniques of project appraisal and monitoring. HEP will also organize a national workshop for

10 HEP Newsletter/October-December 1992

the benefítof national decision-makers and of decentralized administrative units. This short workshop will seek to heighten decision-makers' awareness of the objectives of MAGPLANED and of the special problems involved in implementing education policies in a context of austerity and structural adjustment, as is the case in Madagascar.

The Institute will carry out several studies to analyze the problems en­countered in educational planning and to suggest new approaches where applicable. Teaching materials will be developed by Malgache nationals in conjunction with HEP experts, and national courses will be held at the conclusion of each component of the programme.

Parallel with the training of staff of the Ministry of Public Instruction and the Ministry of Universit ies, HEP will collaborate with the Institut Malgache des Techniques de Planification (IMaTeP) in thejoint preparation of specialized training in educational planning. IMaTeP has already acquired considerable experience in the training of planners, and seeks to widen the scope of its training and deepen its content. The simultaneous provision of training among staff of the Ministries and in IMaTeP will create a synergy; on the one hand, IMaTeP will benefit from the studies and training organized for Ministry personnel who will constitute its own future clientele, and, on the other, this mechanism will ensure the durability of the efforts deployed through a comprehensive strategy designed to strengthen the national training capacity.

Launching mission

MAGPLANED was launched in May 1992. A joint UNESCO-HEP mission visited Antananarivo to work out an indicative working schedule for 1992 and 1993 with the national decision-makers. This mission also enabled activities connected with the study of and training in school mapping to be launched. Finally, a joint IIEP-IMaTeP team analysed the need for training in educational planning and management. The results of this survey will determine the organization and contentof the training to be provided by IMaTeP in the future.

Other activities were launched by UNESCO following this initial mission. They included the design and setting up of an information system for the planning

and management of higher education in Madagascar. This project is organized in conjunction with the University of Quebec, which will help Madagascar's six uni­versities to design their computerized management system. In addition, a project concerning the issues of expenditure and finance was recently launched; its purpose is to harmonize the methodology of simulation with projections of the develop­ment of the education system. Other components of the programme will come into effect in 1993, when the activities of MAGPLANED will be in full operation.

Innovative approach

The overall design of the MAGPLANED programme reflects an approach that is innovative in several respects.

Firstly, the substantial body of activities involved - made possible thanks to inter­agency co-operation between the World Bank, UNDP and UNESCO - enables a critical mass of new equipment and facilities to be mobilized, along with the corresponding studiesandtrainingcourses.

Secondly, the activities are designed so that they complement and mutually reinforce one another, covering the key areas of educational planning. They are designed in such a way as to establish a sustainable national capacity beyond the framework ofMAGPLANED. Inparticular, it is the creation of a training structure in IMaTeP which, apart from the short- and medium-term training activities, will ensure the long-term viability of the project.

Thirdly, and again with a view to sustainability, Malgache nationals are closely involved in the implementation of the project. Mostof the studies and training courses are to be undertaken jointly by HEP and national staff, thereby providing training for the latter and improving national practices.

Lastly, MAGPLANED involves nationals at all levels of a largely decentralized Malgache administrative structure. The project provides for training, notably in school mapping, which mobilizes personnel from the local administrative and pedogogic zone, the district and provincial levels, and the relevant departments of the Ministry of Public Instruction.

ANDRE LEMAY AND MICHAELA MARTIN

Activities begin with an analysis of the need for training in educational planning and management

IIEPNewsletter/October-December1992 11

Documentation Centre: Computerization of the Centre's bookstock opens up new possibilities

EPIDOC - A new bibliographical data base available at HEP

EPIDOC provides access to up-to-date

documentation on educational planning

T HE HEP Documentation Centre possesses one of the richest book stocks on educational planning and

related areas specifically devoted to and for developing countries.

The Centre has more than 36,000 books and documents and nearly 600 collections of periodicals which are openly accessible to users. You will find documentation on a variety of subjects: social and economic development plans; complete collections of statistical year­books and reports; the documents and conclusions of all main conferences organized through­out the world on educational and training problems; national documents on orientations, pri­orities and innova­tions of education systems; copies of theses, reports, stu­dies prepared by in­stitutes, universi­ties, international and non-govern-

EPIDOC and CDS/ISIS

The EPIDOC data base operates under the UNESCO CDS/ISIS micro-computer software. Selected by librarians, documentalista and archivists In more than 130 countries, CDS/ ISIS is a software package conceived and developed by UNESCO for managing documentary data bases. Distributed free of charge, it is widely used in developing countries where the UNESCO General Information Programme (PGI) and the International Bureau of Education (IBE) organize training programmes on how to use it.The HEP Documentation Centre choseCDS/ ISIS to facilitate the exchange of information between researchers and/or institutions who do not necessarily have easy access to resource persons trained In computer techniques.

mental organiza­tions; one of the best collections of periodi­cals in English, French and Spanish deal­ing with education, training and develop­ment.

Whether you are interested in basic education in China, student loans in Latin America, or looking for enrolment rates in Togo, we can help you find the information you need.

Since 1991 the Centre has devoted all its energy to computerizing its new acqui­sitions, and constituting a data base

(EPIDOC) which provides access to the up-to-date documentation. EPIDOC contains references of 2,500 works, documents or periodical articles. If you are in Paris, do not hestitate to consult EPIDOC on the micro-computers installed in the Documen­tation Centre.

From IIEP, you can also consult data bases on the UNESCO mainframe com­puter, and thus obtain access to scientific

literature as well as information on other subjects.

The Documenta­tion Centre is open from Monday to Thursday, 2.00 to 6.00 pm. If you are unable to visit us, we will try, to the best of our ability and with the means at our disposal, to answer your re­quests for informa­tion.

A large part of the documentation we obtain is given to us by former trainees, friends of IIEP or by exchanging publi­

cations. This network guarantees us a unique stock. You are in the best position to help us enrich our documentation on your country. Please do not forget us. Any contributions you may wish to make can be sent directly to:

Françoise du Pouget IIEP Documentation Centre

7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix 75116 Paris

France.

Produced using desktop publishing and printing facilities available at the IIEP

12 IIEP Newsletter / October - December 1992