2002 ACTIVITY REPORT

The WGFE activities for 2002 consisted essentially of training, research and publication programs in accordance with the workplan developed for the year and approved by ADEA and CODESRIA. These seminars were intended for high-level sub-Saharan African officials in Ministries of Education and Finance in order to improve their skills and capacities in costing, financing, planning and budgeting of education.

RWANDA NATIONAL TRAINING SEMINAR
August 19 – 23, 2002 (Kigali, Rwanda)

This seminar was held as part of the program training and capacity building policy of sub-Saharan African Ministries of Education. As the Rwandan Minister of Education pointed out in his opening speech of the seminar, this training was overdue. In fact, Rwanda is implementing a bold decentralization policy and it was crucial for the regional education authorities to quantify the material and human resources needed to accomplish decentralization and for better budget preparation. Thirty excited participants from central and provincial administrations attended this workshop. The topics of the training covered costing, financing, planning and all aspects of budgeting.

ZIMBABWE NATIONAL TRAINING SEMINAR
September 23 – 27, 2002 (Harare, Zimbabwe)

Like the national training seminar for Rwanda, the training seminar of Zimbabwe covered budgeting (procedures, implementation and monitoring) as well as the identification of funding needs of African Ministries of Education. Twenty four participants from different regional education and finance offices of Zimbabwe attended the workshop.  

WORKING GROUP ON FINANCE AND EDUCATION STEERING COMMITTEE (SC) MEETING
October 21,  2002 (Paris, France)

All the members of the WGFE (funding agencies, african ministries of education and the implementing agency of the WG) attended the meeting. The discussions of the SC meeting focused on the introduction of new and old members of the SC, the introduction of the new Coordinator of the WG Dr. Mohamed Chérif DIARRA to the SC, the discussions of the Terms of Reference of the SC of the WG, the examination of the status of the WG, the introduction and discussion of the 2003 work plan and budget of the WG as well as the presentation of a new strategy of diversification of funding sources of the WG. The SC that has been somewhat revitalized was attended for the first time by several new members. The meeting gave the new Coordinator the opportunity to meet with the SC, and other ADEA WG members.  

LEADERS-COORDINATORS MEETING IN 2002

The WGFE was represented at the two Leaders-Coordinators meetings which took place in Paris, France in April and October 2002. At the April 2002 meeting, the WGFE was represented by Professor Adebayo Olukoshi, the Executive Secretary of CODESRIA which is the coordinating institution for the Group. At the October meeting, both Professor Olukoshi and Dr Mohamed Chérif Diarra, newly recruited as Coordinator of the WGFE were in attendance. A working session was held with CIDA/ACDI on the back of the April and October Leaders-Coordinators meetings.

COUNTRY-RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

The national case studies being undertaken in Kenya, Burkina Faso, Burundi, and Mozambique were continued in the year under review. The researchers were supported to conclude the case studies in the year under review preparatory to the final technical seminar to be held in 2003.

PUBLICATIONS ISSUED IN 2002

The publication of the country case studies which were already completed was undertaken in 2002. The Swazi and Senegalese case studies fall into this category.

PROGRAMMING SEMINAR FOR 2003 ACTIVITIES

The WGFE participated in the CODESRIA annual programming seminar at which the Council’s 2003 work plan was prepared, including the activity proposals of the Working Group and the scheduling to be followed.

TRAINING MANUAL REVISION SEMINAR

December, 21 – 23, 2002 (Accra, Ghana)

The purpose of this workshop attended by six experts was to lay out the blueprint of the new training manual that should be finalized by the end of 2003. This revision of the training has been compelling in light of  the ever changing context of educational costing, financing, planning and budgeting as well as the weaknesses in the current training manual. This exercise must also enable the integration of new aspects and directions of Sub-Saharan African educational policies. Consultants will be commited to finalize the foundation laid out by the technical committee in Accra. The new training manual once finalized will be published in three languages English, French and Portuguese and distributed all over Africa.