Fostering the Development of Secondary Education in Africa: Norway-World Bank Partnership through SEIA (Secondary Educa

1. Fostering the Development of Secondary Education in Africa:Norway-World Bank Partnership through SEIA (Secondary Education in Africa) Jee-Peng TanWorld BankLaunch Seminar of the Norwegian Post-Primary Education Fund (NPEF)Oslo, Norway, Sept 13-14, 2006Based on work led by Jacob Bregman, World Bank Lead Education Specialist,with support from Adriaan Verspoor, World Bank Consultant andinput from Birger Fredriksen, World Bank Consultant

2. Importance of SEIA • Secondary Ed in Africa at a crossroads today • Urgent need for a coherent policy response • Obtaining results will require a shared basis for action • within each country • Between a country and its development partners

3. Overview of Presentation • Nature of Africa’s Sec Ed Challenge • The SEIA study’s participatory process and outcomes • Emerging messages from SEIA • Next Steps in the SEIA study

4. Nature of the Challenge Addressing the growing social demand; Providing Africa’s youth with “quality knowledge and competencies for the 21st century;” Enhancing contribution of SE to national cohesion; Achieving results under conditions of fiscal constraints and growing global competition.

5. Sub-Sahara Africa Population: 732 m (2005) of which Nigeria 135m 881 m (2015) 960 m (2020)

7. The Social Demand for Secondary Education • Pressure from population growth • Rapid increase in primary enrollments as a result of progress toward EFA and MDG goals • Primary school completers increasingly seek admission to junior secondary school • Many governments making universal 8-10 years of basic education a national goal

10. Regional averages in years of schooling in population ages 15+ Source: Barro and Lee, 2000

11. Korea and Kenya: from “Elite” to “Mass” Basic Education Source: SEIA Summary Report (Africa Region, forthcoming)

12. The Secondary Education Challenge in Africa • Africa’s JSE and SSE enrollment and completion rates still lag seriously behind those of other regions • Completing basic education of good quality critical for Africa’s future social and economic progress • Scale of expansion: enrollments in 2015 projected to double to over 60 million at 2000-04 growth rates; and to triple to 90 million with unchanged transition rates between primary and secondary education • Choice of model for expansion “….it is not possible to develop [the system] by counting first and foremost on external assistance. Our models…have to respond to our essential present and future needs and ultimately to our internal resources.” M. Ndoye at the 2nd SEIA Conference in 2004.

13. SEIA Study:Participatory process and outcomes

14. SEIA STUDY OBJECTIVES Support development of sustainable SE strategies in SSA, build capacity for SE with African educators, collect and analyze data, and stimulate discussion among partners Deliberate attention to: Participation by African country working groups (3-6 country case studies for each thematic study) Partnership with ADEA to foster exchange on SEIA results

15. SEIA STUDY PROCESS OUTPUTS • 8 thematic studies (6 completed) • TA support for developing national SE strategy in selected SSA countries • Two regional SEIA conferences (Uganda, 2003; and Senegal 2004); International Donor workshop (Vrije University Amsterdam Oct. 2004) • SEIA website & data analysis: worldbank.org/afr/seia • Multi-year collaboration among donors, funded by World Bank, NETF and Irish , Dutch, French Trust Funds

16. SEIA Thematic studies • Literacy review study on OECD trends in SE(IIEP; Ole Briseid and Francoise Caillods; 2005) • Access, financing and private providers in SEIA(Keith Lewin, University of Sussex; 2005) • TRANSE: “Transition mechanisms to / from SEIA”(TRANSE Group; UWC, Cape Town and NIFU, Oslo; 2005) • Governance and Management(American Institutes for Research, Deborah Glassman; Khulisa Management Systems South Africa, Pat Sullivan; 2006) • Curricula, Assessment and Examinations: Quality & Relevance for SEIA(Jan Van Den Akker, University Twente and Wout Ottevanger, Vrije University Amsterdam; forthcoming)

17. SEIA Thematic studies • SEIA Teachers & Principals: how to retain, maintain and retrain(Academy for Educational Development, Elizabeth Leu; National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Aidan Mulkeen; University of Minnesota, David W. Chapman & Joan G. DeJaeghere) • HESI: “The link between health, social issues and secondary education: life skills, health and civic education”Centre for International Education - LINS / Oslo University College, Robert Smith, Guro Nesbakken and Anders Wirak; TIP - University of Western Cape (Brenda Sonn) with Akershus University College (HIAK); Norwegian Board of Education, Oslo, (LS); National Institute of Technology, Oslo, (TI)

18. SEIA Thematic studies • SMICT: “Developing Science, Mathematics and ICT (SMICT) in Secondary Education: Patterns and Promising Practices.”(Wout Ottevanger, Jan van den Akker, Leo de Feiter, Vrije University Amsterdam and University Twente, Netherlands) • Gender issues in SEIA(forthcoming) SEIA SUMMARY REPORT

19. SEIA-Science, Mathematics and ICT Study: 10 participating country teams • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Ghana • Namibia • Nigeria • Tanzania • Uganda • Senegal • South Africa • Zimbabwe

20. SEIA Summary Study:Emerging Messages

21. Emerging Messages • Many SSA countries are trapped in a low level of economic equilibrium, with inadequate human capital capacity and slow growth reinforcing each other in a vicious circle. • To gain sustained exit from this trap in today’s technology- and knowledge-driven global economy, and to promote social progress, countries must develop secondary education as part of their strategy, with the aim of: • Giving all young people a chance to complete 9-10 years of basic education of reasonable quality; • Equipping students with relevant skills; and • Creating opportunities for further learning—formal and informal. • Yet at present secondary education in SSA is poorly positioned to contribute to economic and social development as it could and should.

22. Emerging Messages • The context for the development and reform of secondary education in SSA countries is unique and very challenging • Incomes are much lower than the levels in industrialized countries or other developing countries earlier on in their development; • Growth has been uneven over time and across countries; • Subsistence agriculture dominates the economy; • The demographic transition is not yet underway; • The tax base is small, averaging between 14-16% of GDP; and • Primary school completion still not universalize; • Learning outcomes remains poor.

23. Emerging Messages • Current arrangements for financing and management of secondary education often give rise to unsustainable cost structures • Relative to primary education, the per student cost is three times as high for lower secondary education, and six times as high for senior secondary education. • Expansion of access will require distinguishing between JSE and SSE and typically a reduction in costs in both cycles. • Costs can come down by using teachers more efficiently • But countries will often also have to address the more complex issues pertaining to teacher pay, recruitment, training and career development.

24. Emerging Messages • Conditions differ across SSA, so each country must design its own model for secondary education development, taking into consideration issues such as: • Resource requirements relative to the available national means; • Ensuring equitable access for the disadvantaged; • Appropriate use of multiple delivery mechanisms; • Public-private partnerships to mobilize non-government resources as well as ensure that instruction is relevant and responsive to labor market needs; • Fostering quality while broadening access rapidly.

25. Emerging Messages • Curriculum reform is essential in transitioning from an elite to a mass system • JSE programs and assessments redesigned as part of basic education for all, imparting generic skills; • Vocational programs at JS leve expensive and have not lived up to expectations; • SSE programs need to prepare students for diversified life-long learning paths. • Management reforms will involve decentralization and must seek to increase flexibility • Pay attention to implementation of reforms – it is a key challenge

26. Emerging Messages • Meaningful expansion of secondary education requires effective implementation of quality improvements in primary education

27. Next Steps for SEIA

28. Completion of SEIA Summary Report • Draft in progress, to be available end of calendar year 2006 • Emphasis is on Junior and Senior SE; • Complements earlier work on TVET by Johanson and Adams (2004) • Senior advisory group (9-11 members) of African education specialists for in-depth comments and feedback • Feedback from development partners

29. Dissemination Plans for SEIA • ADEA and WB Africa Region to organize 3rd regional SEIA Conference, tentatively in March 2007 • Audience will include African senior politicians, African education institutes, and donor organizations • Objective is to share and discuss the SEIA report , seek common ground and agree on follow-up at international and country levels

30. Donors’ Role in Support of SE • African countries must develop their own strategy for development of secondary education and training – meeting conditions of sustainability, relevance and realism • Donors can offer TA and funds to help build capacity for the development and implementation of SE-TVET national plans, along lines of EFA FTI • Support must help improve teaching and learning, and promote equity in access to learning opportunities

31. Africa needs support to re-energize its secondary education system