Introduction

At a time when many Sub-Saharan African (SSA) governments are faced with dwindling financial resources and an ever-growing demand for education, there is an urgent need to develop new skills and techniques to ensure that existing funds are efficiently and effectively managed and to explore previously untapped resources.

The goals of the WGFE include:

Strengthening the capacities of Ministries of Education and Finance to better manage the budget allocated to the Ministry of Education, opening up channels of communication between both institutions and disseminating best practices in resources allocation and management.

Enhancing decision makers’ understanding of educational finance and budgeting from a variety of SSA perspectives by undertaking national case studies.’

Promoting policy dialogue between the major stakeholders having a vested interest in the financing of education across the continent are some of the goals set by the Working Group on Finance and Education.

What is the Working Group on Finance and Education?

The Working Group on Finance and Education (WGFE) was founded in 1994 to promote discussion on policy issues related to financing, management and planning of education in sub-Saharan Africa. It provides a forum where African educational planners and economists and funding agencies can exchange information, develop tools and elaborate sound policies so as to better manage funds allocated to education.

The WGFE’s members include Ministries of Education and Finance, development agencies, research institutions and concerned civil society organizations. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) currently acts as lead agency for the working group. The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), a pan-African institution based in Dakar (Senegal), is responsible for the coordination of the working group’s activities.

The WGFE will increasingly develop the capacity of Ministries of Education and Finance within the context of sector-wide approaches (SWAp) or program-based approaches (PBA). In addition, the WGFE will also provide training in formulating the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Public Expenditure Review (PER) for the education sector. The working group will also strengthen the capacities of the Ministries of Education in the education sector finances within the context of national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs).

What are the objectives of the Working Group?

The overall goal is to improve educational planning, financing and management by strengthening education and finance ministries’ capacities to plan for, allocate and administer existing resources.

Specific objectives include: (i) strengthening linkages between the two ministries; (ii) developing the technical expertise of education sector personnel to formulate and implement policy related to education financing and budgets; and, (iii) enhancing resource allocation by providing planners with tools to analyze options and determine priorities in planning and budgeting.

The working group also aims to provide a forum for the gathering, exchange and ongoing analysis of information on education financing and management. Its strategy is to conduct country case studies, establish resource centers, hold regional workshops and develop practical reports and training materials to build national capacities in ­finance and management. Because the working group cuts across governments and individual country contexts, it will enables education and finance ministry personnel to identify their options and make decisions that impact on the quality of and access to education in their countries.

What does the Working Group do?

The main activities include:

• Country Case studies on education financing policies, practices and mechanisms. These will describe, in particular, the institutional arrangements between ministries of finance and education for budget planning and implementation;
• A pan-African inventory of practices and results including practical experiences with financing policies and strategies for the financing, planning and management of education budgets. The inventory will highlight successes, failures and innovative approaches;
• A pan-African network of experienced researchers in the field of education financing;
• Technical tools and training programs on budget planning and financial management for educational planners;
• Policy dialogue conference series on educational finance that brings together all the major stakeholders in this area.

Achievements

WGFE has succeeded in:

• enhancing the awareness of Ministers of Education and Finance and funding agencies of the essential role played by education finance within a global strategy to achieve quality education for all;
• improving dialogue between Ministries of Finance and Ministries of Education;
• publication of a bi-annual newsletter Kalan Kunda;
• publishing a literature review on education finance policies and practices in Africa;
• conducting case studies on financing and budgeting of education in ten countries (Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Swaziland and Tanzania);
• Running over twenty national and regional capacity building seminars that bring together high ranking officials from various Ministries of Education along with their colleagues from the Ministries of Finance, Local Government, and Information and Communication;
• Building strategic partnerships with institutions and organizations pursuing similar goals and objectives as the WGFE with the view of working collaboratively in strengthening planning, managing, and budgeting skills and competencies in selected African regions. An example of this collaboration is the Managing Educational Costs, Financing, and Budgeting (MECOFIBU) project with the German International institute for Capacity Building (InWent) in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.

WGFE will continue to work towards providing a common base of information on policy and operations in education. This will be of major assistance to all ADEA working groups given the cross-cutting nature of educational funding issues that are closely tied to educational planning and the on-gong budget constraints faced by SSA countries.

How to contact the Working Group

Working Group Coordinator:

Mohammed Chérif Diarra
CODESRIA
B.P. 3304 - Dakar, Senegal
Tel: +221 825 72 14 and/or 825 98 23
Fax: +221 825 69 44 and/or 824 12 89
Email: Mohamed.diarra@codesria.sn and/or mohamed.diarra@hotmail.com

Working Group leader:

Anne Banwell
Pan-African Program, General Africa Bureau
Canadian International Development Agency
200 Promenade du Portage
Gatineau Québec - KIA OG4 Canada
Tel: +(1)/819-994 4295 Fax: +(1)/819-997 5453
E-mail: anne_banwell@acdi-cida.gc.ca.