Education and Training in Ethiopia An Evaluation of Approaching EFA Goals

Project SustainabilityThe capacities of schools and teacher training institutions were improved by producingtraining modules and training people to produce teaching materials at institution levels.The training, programmes and teaching materials were not organized and preparedhaphazardly; first needs analyses were made, after which the materials were prepared, thetrainers trained, the materials edited further, only then followed by the implementation ofa cascade model. After an evaluation the materials were revised. Naturally enough,materials created in the 1990s are no longer up to date, though some of them have beenrevised at the local level. However, the pattern of creating new materials as such seemedstill current in the teacher education institutions that had been involved in the ESDPprocesses.Education professionals gained both improved skills and an increased understanding of thecomplexity of policy processes. The effectiveness of the training in promoting thedevelopment of the regional and central ESDPs 7was mentioned several times byadministrators and teacher educators. Before 1999 Finnish development cooperation madea remarkable contribution towards the growth of this expertise.The people interviewed at the MoE and the Ministry of Economic Development andCooperation (MEDaC) and their counterparts and senior experts in the Amhara andBenishangul-Gumuz Regions considered that the ESDP had created a capacity to manageand continue with the Ethiopian educational reform at regional and local level. The ESDPproject had appreciably (1) trained competent staff to serve at various levels ofadministration; (2) produced valuable educational materials and manuals, which will berevised locally as needed; (3) provided lessons through experiences gained in planning,implementing and monitoring the ESDP project in a participatory and flexible manner; (4)given the participants’ immediate experience of adjusting regional and local policies to theESDP through work for the ESDP project; and (5) provided material assistance in the formof equipment, facilities, vehicles and so on. All this has contributed to a quantitativeexpansion of education. There has been an increase also in female participation ineducation. In all, Finland has provided remarkable support for the ESDP in Ethiopia in the1990s.3. Monitoring the Education Sector Development ProgrammeNames of the Projects: Consultancy Services for Participation at Education SectorDevelopment ProcessSites: Ministry of Education, Addis AbebaDuration: June 1998 – September 1999Financing: Finland: FIM 324,285Implementing Agencies:FTP with GovernmentObjective: To plan, monitor and assess the ESDP as a donor participant; To follow up andanalyze the ESDP in EthiopiaPurposes: Management and administration of the services and expert inputs needed for thesector development programmepreparation and review process7 Education Sector Development Programme of Amhara National Regional State 1997/97-2001/02. August1997. Bahar Dar.83