Education Sector Development Program - VLIR-UOS

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Education Sector Development Program IV General Education The general education sub-sector includes Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), primary education (grades 1-8), secondary education (grades 9-12) and Functional Adult Literacy. The priorities for general education under ESDP IV relate to two major objectives: to improve the quality of general education and to increase access and equity. A distinction is therefore made between programs aiming at improved quality and internal efficiency and programs aiming at achieving access and equity. The quality improvement program integrates core priorities such as “teacher and leader development” and “Information and Communication Technologies” (ICT). This chapter starts off with the identification of the main goals for General Education for ESDP IV. It subsequently looks at quality of Early Childhood Care and Education and of Primary and Secondary Education. This is followed by programs related to equity and access to Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary Education. There is subsequently a special section on Adult Education. Then comes the issue of provision of special support for the four emerging regions. School water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and community participation are the other priority programs which are part of this chapter. Sub-sector goals Under ESDP IV, the overall Goals for General Education are • to improve access to quality primary education in order to make sure that all children, youngsters and adults acquire the competencies, skills, values and attitudes enabling them to participate fully in social, economic and political development of Ethiopia and • to sustain equitable access to quality secondary education services as the basis and bridge to the demand of the economy for middle level and higher level human resources. Improving quality of General Education Quality of Early Childhood Education 1. Situation analysis Early Childhood Care and Education/ECCE has become one of the priorities for the education sector because it will be one of the potential inputs to the overall improvement of quality of education and reduction of drop out and repetition rates in later stages of formal schooling and because it leads to higher enrolments, particularly of girls. In addition, participating in ECCE is the right of the child and it has been considered as bedrock of EFA and the first step in meeting all the other EFA goals. This in turn contributes to the overarching Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty. It is more cost effective to institute preventive measures and support for children early on than to compensate for disadvantage as they grow older. Affordable and reliable early childhood education provides essential support for working parents, particularly mothers. Investment in quality early childhood education yields a high economic return, offsetting disadvantage and inequality, especially for children from poor families. Besides, ECCE has positive effects on female labour force participation and schooling of older siblings. It also levels the playing field by reducing inequalities between rich and poor and it is thus a key component to breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Cognizant of this rationale, the Ethiopian Government has given due attention to Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in the Education and Training Policy. As a result, ECCE has known an important expansion under ESDP III (see section on ECCE: Access and Equity). This was accompanied by an increase in the total number of teachers, resulting in a decrease in the pupil/teacher ratios from 32 in 2004/05 to 16 in 2008/2009. However, the share of trained teachers has decreased, from 74% in 2004/05 to 37% in 2008/2009. This has led to concerns with the quality of ECCE and these concerns are also based on the relative scarcity of teacher supervision and the unavailability of manuals and guidelines. The concerns over quality raise the wider question of the role of the government in the provision and regulation of ECCE and in quality assurance of ECCE programs. The role of the government and of other stakeholders, such as private providers and communities, has been clarified through the recent preparation of three fundamental 16
Education Sector Development Program IV policy documents: a national policy framework, a strategic operation plan and guidelines. Main challenges • Average qualifications of teachers have gone down. • The role of the government and stakeholders in quality assurance of ECCE needs further clarification and strengthening. • Regions and woredas feel they did not receive sufficient guidance and support from the Ministry. 2. Expected Program outcomes ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ A coherent governance structure for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) established, in collaboration with other relevant ministries (Ministry of Health and Ministry of women’s Affairs) with a view to coordinating ECCE policies and ensuring mainstreaming of ECCE in all relevant sector policies and programs Government leadership and regulation in terms of teacher supervision and inspection, of teacher certification and training and ECCE curriculum strengthened Quality of ECCE services improved with special attention to children with special needs. Leading role of the Ministry strengthened for the integrated, inter-ministerial implementation of the ECCE Policy and Strategic Framework. Key outcome targets A national steering committee and regional and woreda councils and committees will be established. National guidelines on curriculum, teacher training and certification and teacher supervision will be completed. % of trained/certified teachers will increase from 37% to 60% coordinating, supporting and monitoring the involvement of other stakeholders. The strategies to be implemented under ESDP IV cover four main areas. Firstly, the government and the various relevant ministries will make efforts to mainstream ECCE. In this regard, the overall governance structure and the mandate and role of the various stakeholders will be clarified. As part of this, the ministry will help establishing a national steering committee, regional councils and woreda technical committees. Secondly, the Ministry will reinforce its role in regulating and monitoring the quality of ECCE delivery. This will take place through the development of a curriculum and setting standards for play and learning materials which promote child-centered teaching and the child’s holistic development. This will be ensured partly through the setting up of accreditation and certification systems of teacher training and teacher qualification applicable both for community /public and private ECCE centers which in turn will help assign qualified teachers required for the level .This will be enhanced through the design of an effective ECCE supervision and inspection policy. Strong linkage will be created with families and the community, NGOs, Development Partners and Ministries of Health and Women’s Affairs (these ministries are ECCE signatories of MOU with the Ministry of Education) and other relevant stake holders. Thirdly, the ministry will more directly support quality improvement. In collaboration with other stakeholders, teacher support materials will be prepared and made available to ECCE centers. An enabling environment for the training of ECCE teachers and the supervision of ECCE centers will be promoted. Fourthly, colleges of teacher education will give more attention to ECCE teacher training and development in their teacher training programs. An enabling environment for the training of ECCE teachers and the supervision of ECCE centers will be promoted. 3. Policy and strategies While the government’s direct involvement in the provision of ECCE will remain limited, its role in maintaining the improvement of quality of ECCE and its governance through supervision and inspection will deepen during ESDP IV. The government’s role will be mainly one of promoting, 17
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Education Sector Development Program - VLIR-UOS

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