The Power of Persistence: Education System ... - EQUIP123.net

emerging from violent left-right civil conflict in the early 1990s. Namibia was
also emerging from a lengthy war for independence, and became an independent
country in 1990. Zambia and Egypt did not have civil wars, but each faced
economic and political challenges.
In terms of education reforms, there are many similarities among the countries
during the period studied:
All were influenced by the major international influences of the period; in particular
the Education for All initiatives in 1990 and 2000, as well as the consensus in the donor
community for reforms involving decentralization and community participation.
Each of the countries has sought to introduce some form of school or communitybased
management, and has made one or more efforts to include administrative or
financial decentralization.
Other common goals of education initiatives include curriculum reform, teacher
professional development, standards for and assessment of learning outcomes
at the national or classroom level, girls’ education, and EMIS and information
systems. Specific approaches to these goals, and the reform processes and key
factors that influenced them in each country, differ — and reflect the political
and institutional environment at particular times.
It is also worth noting that the issue of school quality and learning outcomes
was on the agenda of all countries, in spite of having been undertaken during
the EFA era’s major international focus and reporting on improving access.
While all of the countries did prioritize access issues, education quality was
not ignored. Many of the reforms, particularly decentralization, school based
management, curriculum reform, and teacher training, were explicitly focused
on quality improvement.
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SECTION 2: lESSONS fROM COUNTRY CASE STUdIES