Angola: provincial planning mandate a success

25 July 2011
Completion of the first step in the area of planning

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©D. Gay - IIPE

On 6 July 2011, Angolan Ministry of Education (MED) officials and Provincial Education Directorate staff met in Luanda to conduct a national seminar on Planning at Provincial Level. The seminar concluded two and a half years of productive cooperation in the areas of provincial planning and inspection policy between the MED and IIEP, which operated within the Support to Primary Education Project (PAEP).

The provincial education development plans formulated by eight provinces were presented. These documents contain a situation analysis of the education sector at the provincial level, province-specific objectives and strategies, and a quantitative scenario, along with an estimation of the financial requirements. They are the result of a capacity development and technical assistance process that started in 2009 and through which around 40 provincial educational planners were trained by IIEP.

Also discussed at the seminar were the results achieved so far in each province in the field of inspection through the cooperation between IIEP-Buenos Aires and the MED. Strategies were proposed to scale up the new inspection work methodology to the whole country, as a means to enhance education quality. The seminar highlighted the contribution of inspectors to the implementation and monitoring of provincial education development plans. By the end of 2011, in addition to the eight inspection teams (40 inspectors) trained by IIEP, the MED will be able to rely on a group of inspection trainers able to train new recruits in all the provinces of Angola.

Promoting debate among decision-makers and partners

The gathering gave the MED the opportunity to state the need to increase the support and resources for the development of education in the provinces and for the attainment of the national objectives. A three-level dialogue was initiated between the MED, the Provincial Education Directorates and the development partners. The seminar also provided a chance for the educational authorities to sensitize other line Ministries to its challenges and needs.

A joint programme

The PAEP Project is financed by the European Union (EU). It is being implemented by, among other actors, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The UIS co-convened the seminar, where it presented a preliminary draft of the statistical yearbooks developed in the provinces and stressed the organic linkage that exists between the establishment of an Education Management Information System and planning.

The seminar was chaired by H.E. Mr. Narciso Damasio Dos Santos Benedito, acting Minister of Education, and attended by H.E. Mr. Bornito de Sousa Barthazar Diogo, Minister of Territorial Administration, as well as by a representative from the Ministry of Labour. The European Union was represented by H.E. Mr. Javier Puyol, Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation in Angola.

The seminar was organized jointly by the MED, IIEP and the UIS.

 

Read the IIEP Newseletter articles in "Resources":

  • Angola : planning at the provincial level, by Khadim Sylla, IIEP Newsletter May-August 2010
  • Angola: Planning reform within a training programme, by Marcelo Souto Simão, IIEP Newsletter May-August 2010



Photos (from left to right): Mr Jaime Franco, Director of Planning Department at the Ministry of Education ; H.E. Mr Narciso Damasio Dos Santos Benedito, Vice-Minister for Technical and Vocational Training; Mrs Fatima Lemos, Inspector General of Education, Chief of Staff of National Inspectorate of Education/ ©D. Gay - IIEP