Angola Progress Report 2009

ECD Database
Issue
Angola undertook its last official census in 1970, so the country is lacking reliable, up-to-date
statistical data. This obstructs planning and budgeting, evaluation, monitoring and implementation
of public policies and service delivery for early childhood development.
Action
A new ECD database has been finalized and is available at MINARS. Five MINARS staff were
trained to operate the database in December 2009, and an additional five staff members are to be
trained in 2010. The data collection system was simplified to accommodate unreliable access to
electricity and Internet at provincial level. Information was sent to provincial MINARS offices to
enable collection of statistical data in municipalities and then consolidated at the central level.
Impact
The ECD database was created to assist in drafting national policies and plans for early
childhood development. It is meant to assist in the elaboration of ECD policies and service
delivery, planning, budgeting, evaluation, monitoring and implementation.
Child-Friendly Schools
Issue
The Angolan education system was destroyed during the 27-year civil war and, despite
improvements during the 8 years of peace, significant challenges remain, with a net primary
enrolment ratio of only 66% and a primary completion rate of only 35%.
There are many reasons why children do not enrol and remain in school. The major problem is
the lack of adequate school infrastructure and teaching/learning materials, which leads to chronic
overcrowding of classrooms, and poor water and sanitation facilities. In addition, teachers are
often unqualified and thus cannot deliver high-quality education.
The child-friendly schools framework – Escolas Amigas da Crianca – being developed by MED
with UNICEF support aims to tackle the issues of access and quality in a comprehensive and
holistic manner. UNICEF has advocated extensively over the past years to prioritize the
mainstreaming of the integrated CFS approach as part of the country’s education reform.
Improving teaching and learning outcomes is at
the heart of the CFS approach. It focuses on
teachers, striving to make teaching more
relevant, child-centred and effective. This is
coupled with efforts to build the capacity of
school directors, ensure more community
participation and create safe, protective and
healthy schools in which children can reach
their full potential.
Action
To ensure the relevance of the CFS framework,
broad participation has been encouraged during
its development. This has included a study and
two workshops involving key stakeholders at
different levels to define the characteristics of
the Angolan CFS model. Financial support from
the Netherlands assists MED, as the lead CFS
partner, in these activities.
10