Promotion of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) under the ECOWAS e-Learning Initiative

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Promotion of Technical and Vocational Education
and Training (TVET) under the ECOWAS e-Learning
Initiative
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Outline of Presentation

• Background information
• General education situation
• Needs to Address
• Rescue measures
• Highlights of the status report of TVET
• Highlights of recommendations for TVET
  revitalization
• Unified Format for Learning Teaching and Training
  Materials (LTTM)
• Training of Trainers
• ECOWAS Policy Implementation Documents
• The Way Forward
• Partnerships

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

• Established by our founding fathers on 28th of
  May 1975, in Lagos, Nigeria
• Composed of 15 West African Countries (8
  Francophone, 5 Anglophone 2 Luxophone
  countries).
• With a population of 290 million in 2008
• Accounts for 4.6 of the world population and
  over 40 of that of sub-Saharan Africa
• Land area (5,110,914 km2), stretches from the
  Cape Verde archipelago in the West to Nigeria in
  the East.
• Therefore the most populated Regional Community
  in the Continent

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VISION OF ECOWAS

• The Vision of ECOWAS towards an ECOWAS
• Peoples as against ECOWAS of States is to
• achieve A region without borders in which
• the populations can access and are able to
• Harness its abundant resources by creating
• Opportunities for the population and sustainable
  environment.

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ECOWAS FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

• Equality and Interdependence
• Inter-state Co-operation
• Solidarity and collective self-reliance
• Harmonization of Policies and Programmes.
• Non-aggression
• Regional Peace, Stability and Security
• Peaceful Settlement of Disputes
• Respect, Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
• Promotion and Consolidation of Democracy and Good
  Governance
• Accountability, Economic and Social Justice.

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OBJECTIVES OF ECOWAS

• To promote cooperation and integration, leading
  to the establishment of an Economic and Monetary
  Union in West Africa in order to raise the living
  standards of its people, ensure economic growth,
  foster relations among Member States and
  contribute to the progress and development of the
  African Continent.

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GENERAL EDUCATION SITUATION

• Need to recall the general education situation in
  Africa Low enrolment, retention and completion
  rates
• High adult illiteracy rate (about 39.7 against
  average of 23.4 for developing countries)
• Twin problems of quality and cost of education
• Gender disparity
• High teacher-pupil ratio

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GENERAL EDUCATION SITUATION Contd

• High population of youths (about 60)
• Long distances from school
• Wide disparities between member states as well as
  between rural and urban areas.
• Inadequate infrastructure ICT and others
• High teacher-pupil/student ratio
• Outmoded teaching materials
• Exclusion of people in difficult circumstances
• High cost of education-gradually becoming the
  preserve of the rich
• Unemployment of school leavers

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Needs to Address

• Extension of education and training facilities
  with a bias on ICT facilitated learning as a
  means of providing skills, removing ignorance and
  causing a participation in the information
  society
• Inclusion of the disadvantaged population
• Improvement of quality of education through
  qualified teachers, improved teaching and
  learning materials and provision of learning and
  training opportunities
• Education to meet the socio-economic needs of the
  learners and the larger society

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Rescue measures

• Priority Areas including TVET adopted by the
  First Conference of Ministers of Education in
  2002
• Adoption of e-Learning as a further priority by
  the Second Conference of ECOWAS Ministers of
  Education in 2004
• Inauguration of a regional e-Learning Task Force
  by the President of ECOWAS Commission in 2006
• Survey of e-Learning in 2008

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Rescue measures cont.

• Renewed commitment in 2009 of the Third
  Conference of Ministers of Education and the
  36th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Heads of State
  and Government to the promotion of TVET
• Regional consultation that prepared a status
  report and made recommendations for revitalizing
  TVET in collaboration with UNESCO-BREDA and other
  relevant UN agencies and their allies
• Inauguration of Inter Agency Task Team of TVET
  partners

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Rescue measures cont.

• Identification, acknowledgement and adoption of
  the outcome of over 10 years of Collaboration
  between the government of Nigeria and UNESCO on
  online development and revision of TVET
  curriculum and Teaching and Learning Materials
• Development of regional e-learning Policy
  Statement in 2010
• Inauguration of the ECOWAS Committee of Resource
  Persons for the revitalization of TVET through
  e-learning

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Highlights of status report of TVET in the
ECOWAS Region

• All over West Africa, millions of young people
  leave primary and secondary school without any
  practical or employable skills to enter the
  labour market or the ability to earn an income
• The major challenges relate to a socio-economic
  environment that is characterised by slow
  economic growth, high population growth, and a
  growing number of poorly-educated and unskilled
  job-seeking school leavers
• Ratio of theory in teaching higher than
  practicals

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Highlights of status report of TVET in the
ECOWAS Region

• Over the past couple of years, some countries
  have taken steps to streamline and harmonize
  their TVET delivery systems by enacting
  appropriate laws and regulations. However
  progress is slow
• TVET in most ECOWAS countries still suffer from
  inadequate financing, poor management, inadequate
  qualified teachers, weak organisational
  structures marginalization and limited use of ICT
  in the delivery processes
• lack flexibility, relevance and responsiveness of
  TVET programmes

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Highlights of status report of TVET in the
ECOWAS Region contd

• TVET teachers and practitioners do not derive
  adequate socio-economic benefit from their
  services
• Recruitment of qualified TVET teachers cannot
  match the better remuneration packages offered by
  industries
• One possible strategy to improve the practical
  skills and retain the services of qualified
  teachers is to arrange periodic upgrading courses
  and enterprise-based internships for those at
  post

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Highlights of recommendations for TVET
revitalization in ECOWAS

• Curriculum and Learning Materials development and
  revision
• Development of Regional and National
  Qualifications Frameworks
• Establishment of regional observatories
• Promotion of apprenticeship and skills training
  programmes
• Technical Teacher Training and the Training of
  Trainers
• Integration of ICT and entrepreneurship
  education into TVET

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Unified Format for Curriculum Development and
Revision

• The availability of curriculum development
  experts, skilled instructors and competent
  teachers with workplace experience is central to
  the acquisition of employable skills by all
  categories of learners.
• After series of consultation, ECOWAS experts
  adopted the outcome of decades of collaborative
  efforts with developing countries like Nigeria,
  Ethiopia, Libya, Djibouti, Bahrain and Iraq to
  adapt existing practice in Member Statesto the
  unified format for curriculum and learning
  materials development and revision

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Main features of the Unified Format

• The seven columns format which combines all the
  elements required in curricula are developed
  using Glooms taxonomy of knowledge
  comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis
  and evaluation
• Competency Based Contents
• General Objectives of subjects reflecting the Job
  description or Occupational Standards
• Specific Learning Outcomes
• Time allocation and breakdown by weeks (e.g.
  Semester15 weeks)

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Main features of the Unified Format contd

• Detailed Specific Learning Outcome Suggested
  Teacher Activity Required teaching and training
  Resources for both practicals and theory
• Assessments Guidelines
• 40-60 Practical Contents
• Includes Entrepreneurship and starting small
  projects
• Integrated ICT in all subjects as well as basic
  ICT training.

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Main advantages of the Unified Format

• Simple Layout
• Time Allocation for each learning outcome
• Clear Coordination and harmonisation of
  Theory-Practical
• Readily Converted to Textbook -List of Contents
• Horizontal Vertical coordination for al
  subjects
• Promotes learner competency and employability

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Main advantages of the Unified Format contd

• Easy Quality Assurance on Implementation
• Identifies resources and equipment
• Provides Guidelines for Assessments
• Affords the teachers opportunity of contributing
  to curriculum revision
• Handy for coordination and harmonisation at
  national and regional levels
• flexible and adaptable to existing curricula in
  Member States
• Promotes the use of animations

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Instructional Material Development

• This entails the development or revision of
  Learning, Teaching and Training Materials (LTTM )
  indicating generic features for all the
  programmes e.g cover Page with appropriate
  photos, list of Contents, weekly Content,
  activities, references
• First edition of LTTM will be ready for use by
  teachers and students after being reviewed (Peer
  Review) and edited for consistency
• All documents preferably converted to PDF and
  Compiled on CDs

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Instructional Material Development contd

• Best to upload to a dedicated Website using open
  source platform
• Evaluation and Revision
• Once implementation of the curricula and the use
  of LTTM commence, feedback from TVET
  institutions, Teachers and students regarding
  suggestions for improvements, new material to be
  added, and possible inclusion of Animation and
  Multimedia should be collected and analysed.

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Instructional Material Development contd

• Role of the teachers remains that of
• Developing detailed Personal Lesson Plan
  Material
• Adding Examples Other Supplementary Material
• Adding practical exercises Activities
• Introducing Animation Multimedia

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ECOWAS Training of TVET Trainers and
Administrators

• 8 sessions of TOTs were organized for 240
  teachers and administrators in 2010
• 16 Sessions for 480 Participants planned for
  2011- 2 sessions for 60 already conducted

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ECOWAS e-Learning Project Implementation
Documents (PIDs)

• PIDs developed from the ECOWAS e-learning Policy
  Document for the promotion of TVET delivery and
  entrepreneurial skills in Member States
• Though still undergoing adoption procedure
  include
• Cyber Corps
• Community Colleges Concept
• Technical and Vocational Skills and
  Entrepreneurship Development
• Career and Professional Development for the
  Public Service
•  

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ECOWAS e-Learning Project Implementation
Documents (PIDs)

• Excellence in E-Learning Awards
• Career and Professional Development in the
  Private Sector
• ICT Entrepreneurship Development
• E-learning Content Development Training
• All these projects are designed to be implemented
  through e-learning bearing in mind critical
  success factors such as electricity supplies,
  high cost of bandwidth, infrastructure and
  general resistance to modern technologies.

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The Way Forward

• Adoption of the PS and PIDs by members of
  Ministers in charge of Education, ICT and Labour
  in September 2011
• Vetting by ECOWAS Parliament
• Resource Mobilization
• Establishment of Coordination mechanism
• Actual implementation of the PIDs
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Implementation of the ECOWAS Roadmap for TVET
  Revitalization

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Partnerships

• ECOWAS acknowledges the fact that the
  peculiarities of the challenges confronting
  e-Learning in the region requires divers
  partnerships and collaboration among key
  stakeholders
• ECOWAS acknowledges and appreciates exiting
  collaboration with national governments, UNESCO
  and other Sister organizations and their allies,
  COL, ACCC, EU, ADB, the Private Sector, NGOs and
  donor organizations

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• THANK YOU
• JE VOUS REMERCIE
• MUITO OBRIGADO