PREFACE



In conformity with UNESCO's Programme and Budget for 1994-195 and within the framework of UNESCO's International Project on Technical and Vocational Education (UNEVOC), the African Regional Office (BREDA) has closely worked with Member States in the region to promote the development of technical and vocational education.

In 1993-1995, case studies have been undertaken in both the English and French speaking countries in the Africa region. The case studies focused on two major areas of growing importance in technical and vocational education. One is the "Role of Technical and Vocational Education in Educational Systems"; the other is "Policy and Legislation in Technical and Vocational Education to enhance co-operation with the World of Work".

The case studies undertaken included those of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Swaziland while those from the Cameroon, Congo, Ce d'Ivoire, Madagascar and Senegal. These data from Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde were also collected. These case studies are representative samples of countries in the above and other zones of Sub-Saharan Africa. The similarities in their structures and administrative set-ups are greater than their differences. The problems and constraints which exist are also similar in many respects.

This publication is aimed at facilitating the achievement of UNESCO's goals through its international Project (UNEVOC) which include, inter alia, fostering the international exchange of ideas, experiences and studies on policy issues, and facilitating access to data bases and documentation.

The first chapter presents a synthesis of the case studies in which major trends taking place within the existing socio-economic context are discussed. These include: technical and vocational education within existing educational structures; cooperation between TVE institutions and enterprises; major challenges facing the nations in their afforts to develop TVE and the innovative measures undertaken in response to the problems and constrainsts experienced. The following chapters are individual country case studies giving a more detailed picture of natural afforts and challenges encountered in the development of TVE.

In the final chapter, the authors take the challenge to suggest, in a more comprehensive manner, some strategies in response to the problems and constrainsts raised in the proceeding chapters.

This comprehensive publication, depicting the challenges facing the African nations in their efforts to develop their technical and vocational education systems and the wide spectrum of national policies and innovative measures undertaken to meet these challenges, provides interesting insights and alternative strategies for policy makers, educational planners, researchers, and employers. It is also a worthy contribution of reading materials for students and lecturers in this scarcely researched and published field of education.

We are indeed grateful to the Member States for their active participation in this project, and wish to thank the following authors of the case studies, upon which this synthesis is based:

1. Aska, Kouadio; C魌e d'Ivoire
2. Baiden, F. A.; Ghana
3. Ehiametalor, E. T.; Nigeria
4. Lugujjo, E. and Mayindo, B.; Uganda
5. Manatsoa, Victor; Madagascar
6. Mndebele, C. B. S. and Lukhele, L. B.; Swaziland
7. Munetsi, N. N. M.; Zimbabwe
8. Ndimina, G.; Congo
9. Okaka, Peter O.; Kenya
10. Sock, Oumar; Senegal
11. Kabor? Martin; Burkina Faso
12. Mbangwana, Lucy; Cameroon

Finally we thank Dr. B. Wanjala Kerre, UNESCO's Consultant, for the editorial work of this publication.

The views expressed in this report are those of the individuals concerned and do not necessarily reflect those of UNESCO.

Pai OBANYA
Director
UNESCO Regional Office
Dakar, Senegal

Chapter 1: Technical and Vocational Education in Africa: A Synthesis of Case Studies

B. Wanjala KERRE*

INTRODUCTION

The Socio-Economic Context

The spirit of independence that swept through the African continent in the early 60s heralded a new era that saw a phenomenal expansion in Education and an increased demand for available goods and services. Improvement in health care, lead to higher population growth which in turn, put pressure on the demand for education, food, health services, housing, transportation and other needs.

Over the past three decades, Africa has had to face new challenges in both the political and the socio-economic contexts. There is hardly any country that has not been affected by these new challenges. The impacts and influences on education and training in general and on technical and vocational education and training in particular have been tremendous.

Most African countries today are still characterised by the following:

a) Fast growing populations, mainly within 3% range, most of which are composed of youth. For example 48% of Uganda's population is under 15 years of age and 20% being children under 5 years. This implies a heavily dependent population.

b) Most populations are rural based, between 70 and 90%, mainly depending on subsistence farming. In urban areas most people are engaged in crafts and manual labour.

c) Most African countries have fragile political systems some of which have in the past adversely affected economic and social activities. In the current political democratization process, more are still threatened with civil strives that are ethnically or religiously motivated.

d) The world economic recession experienced over the past decade found African economies most vulnerable. Combined with prevalent economic malaise at home, most countries experienced high rates of inflation, frequent devaluation of national currencies, and high interest rates, all of which adversely affected the growth of business and industry, and eroded the purchasing power of the people.

The above situation has lead to:

a) a decline in enrollments in both education and training institutions;

b) falling standards in education and training;

c) a steady decline in employment opportunities in the public and private formal sectors; and

d) a rising tide of the unemployed and underemployed.

In Cameroon for example, Tchombe (1994, p. 24) shows that enrollment in TVE dropped from 93,651 in 1987/88 to 90,028 in 1990/91. Similar trends are revealed in other African countries. In Zimbabwe for example (table 1 a and b) enrolment dropped severely from 32.75% in 1981 for Primary and 67.10% in 1984 for Secondary to 4.02 in 1991 for Primary and 6.72 in 1993 for Secondary.

The situation in Kenya is similarly discouraging (table 2 a & b) where very minimal gain is recorded in Primary level enrolments from 1989-93 i.e. 1.4%. At Secondary level the drop was more drastic from a total enrolment of 640,735 in 1989 to 621,443 in 1992 i.e. 0.03%.

In Senegal the contribution of private institutions to education is much higher particularly for girls as depicted in table 3. It is even more true for enrolments in TVE colleges.

Table 1 * (a): Growth of Primary Education since Independence in Zimbabwe

YEAR	Nber OF SCHOOLS	GROWTH %	Nber OF PUPILS	GROWTH %	Nber OF STAFF	GROWTH (%)
1980	3,161	........	1,235,994	........	28,455	........
1981	3,698	16.99	1,715,169	38.77	37,773	32.75
1982	3,880	4.92	1,907,225	11.20	45,467	20.37
1983	3,960	2.06	2,044,487	7.20	52,502	15.47
1984	4,161	5.08	2,231,304	9.14	54,086	3.02
1985	4,234	1.75	2,216,878	-0.65	56,619	4.68
1986	4,297	1.49	2,265,053	2.17	58,257	2.89
1987	4,439	3.30	2,251,319	-0.61	57,120	-1.95
1988	4,471	0.72	2,212,103	-1.74	57,762	1.12
1989	4,504	0.74	2,219,171	0.32	58,370	1.05
1990	4,530	0.58	2,119,865	-4.47	60,886	4.31
1991	4,559	0.64	2,294,934	8.26	58,436	-4.02
1992	4,569	0.22	2,305,765	0.47	59,874	2.46
1993	4,578	0.20	2,436,671	5.68	60,959	1.81
1994	4,611	0.72	2,476,575	1.64	63,085	3.49

From Munetsi, N.N.M. (1995.) Country Case Study on Technical and Vocational Education in Zimbabwe, UNESCO/BREDA

Table 1 (b): Growth in Secondary Education since Independence

YEAR	Nber OF SCHOOLS	GROWTH (%)	Nber OF PUPILS	GROWTH (%)	Nber OF STAFF	GROWTH (%)
1980	197	........	74,321	........	3,730	........
1981	694	252.28	148,690	100. 06	4,874	30.67
1982	738	6.34	225,647	51.76	6,033	23.78
1983	790	7.05	316,438	40.24	8,808	46.00
1984	1,182	49.62	416,41.3	31.59	14,718	67.10
1985	1,215	2.79	482,000	15.75	17,315	17.65
1986	1,276	5.02	537,427	11.50	19,487	12.54
1987	1,395	9.33	604,652	12.51	21,981	12.80
1988	1,484	6.38	641,005	6.01	23,598	7.36
1989	1,502	1.21	695,882	8.56	24,547	4.02
1990	1,512	0.67	672,658	-3.34	25,487	3.83
1991	1,515	0.20	710,619	5.64	25,204	-1.11
1992	1,517	0.13	657,344	-7.50	25,792	2.33
1993	1,518	0.07	635,202	-3.37	24,058	-6.72
1994	1,521	0.20	679,416	6.96	25,597	6.40

From Munetsi N. N. M. (1995) Country Case Study on Technical and Vocational Education in Zimbabwe, UNESCO (BREDA)

Table 2 (a)*: Growth in Primary Education, 1989-1993 in Kenya

Year	Nber of Schools	Enrollments Boys	Girls	Total	Nber of Teachers Trained	Untrained	Total	% Untrained
1989	14,691	2,766,000	2,623,300	5,389,300	114,087	49,522	163,609	30.3
1990	14,864	2,766,300	2,262,000	5,392,300	121,461	51,656	173,117	29.8
1991	15,196	2,797,100	2,659,000	5,456,100	129,229	44,141	173,370	25.5
1992	15,465	2,806,800	2,723,400	5,530,200	135,405	40,954	176,359	23.2
1993*	15,902	2,832,695	2,633,322	5,466,017	142,517	32,531	175,048	18.6

* As at April, 1993

Table 2(b): Growth in Secondary Education in Kenya

Year	Nber of Schools	Enrollments Boys	Girls	Total	Nber of Teachers Trained	Untrained	Total	% Untrained
1989	2,654	383,135	257,695	640,735	17,139	10,917	28,05§	38.9
1990	2,678	353,695	264,766	618,461	19,431	11,190	30,621	36.5
1991	2,647	345,788	268,373	614,161	24,471	10,626	35,097	30.2
1992	2,632	355,097	266,364	621,443	27,447	9,113	36,560	24.9

Source: Economic Survey, 1993 and Ministry of Education

* From Okaka, P. (1993) A Country Case Study on Technical and Vocational Education in Kenya, UNESCO (BREDA)

Table 3: School Enrollments for Senegal 1992-1993

LEVEL	Nber of schools	Nber of schools	Enrollment
			Boys	Girls	Total	% Girls
Pre-primary school education	192	582	8877	8715	17592	49,54
Public	64	223	3499	3443	6942	49,6
Private	128	366	5378	5272	10650	49,5
Elementary school	2454	11910	424540	314020	738560	42,52
Public	2244	10330	384452	282488	666950	42,36
Private	210	1580	40078	31532	71610	44,03
Middle school	293	2776	87026	49042	136068	36,04
Public	145	1885	66531	33051	99582	33,19
Private	148	891	20495	15991	36486	43,83
General secondary school	66	1050	30922	15248	46170	33,03
Public	33	851	27025	12329	39354	31,33
Private	33	199	3897	2919	6816	42,83
Technical College	19	195	4766	2535	7301	34,72
Public	11	160	4147	1833	5980	30,65
Private	8	35	619	702	1321	53,14

Source: Ministry of Education, Senegal

Human Resource Development

The rapid expansion felt across African States shortly after their independence was basically due to the demand for education as a right and as a result of concerted efforts in its democratization. There was also a higher level commitment from the international community to assist the new nations in self governance. The thrust was for more literacy and academic knowledge to take over from the colonial administration.

A decade later, it dawned on most States that liberal education alone was not sufficient. The school curriculum was no longer relevant to the needs of new nations. They required, besides administrators and clerical officers, a cadre of qualified scientific and technological manpower to take over and develop the nation's productive capacities. Political independence without the capability and capacity to provide the nation with necessary goods and services such as food, housing, health care, transportation and communication, left the new Nation States still chronically dependent on developed nations and donnor agencies. In an effort to overcome this situation most countries reviewed their educational systems resulting in major changes and innovations.

In Kenya, for example, a new system of education, popularly known as 8.4.4., was introduced in 1985. It was a result of several national education commissions conducted since 1964. It embodied the new vision of vocationalizing the school curriculum after discovering that society had been disillusioned by the previous system of education that was mainly academic. The new system included changes in the structure where primary education would take 8 years, secondary education 4 years and a basic university degree 4 years (Kenya, 1984; Okaka, 1993).

Similarly Nigeria and Ghana also reviewed their educational systems and came up with new structures (6-3-3-4) comprising of 6 years of primary education, 3 years junior secondary, 3 years senior secondary and 4 years university education. (Ehiametalor, 1993; Baiden, 1993). Uganda is reviewing its educational system and has proposed a structure of 8-3-2-3 system which is still under debate (Lugujjo and Manyindo, 1993).

The Francophone countries of Africa have also experienced similar dilemas in general education and have instituted reviews on similar lines.

In this respect, it can be noted that National Fora on Education which brought changes into educational contents and at times structures were organized in French-speaking countries. Thus in Senegal a national forum on education and training in 1981 advocated among others.

Concerning structures, three levels:

- a 13 year basic education cycle including preschool education from 3 to 6 years and 10 year compulsory polyvalent education;

- a 3 year secondary and vocational education;

- a variable duration for higher education and research cycle.

Concerning contents, three main innovations:

- introduction of national languages into educational systems without ever giving up French;

- polytechnical orientation of programmes;

- introduction of religious education into the curricula respecting all freedoms guaranteed by a secular state.

Concerning qualitative objectives: priority is given to full schooling of children from 7 to 12 years by the year 2000; this will lead to an educational demand for other levels which should be planned in order to be met.

In the Central African Republic, a national forum on education and training was held in June 1994. It defined educational and training contents and structures. In addition to preschool, levels of education are as follows:

- Basic (primary) education I, 6 years

- Basic education II (Junior Secondary Education) 4 years Senior General and Technical Education 3 years.

Burkina Faso, Gabon Chad and Cameroon also held national fora on education and training. Other countries took the opportunity of National Sovereign Conferences (Chad, Benin, Congo, Niger, Togo, Gabon and Zaire) to decide on the orientations and structures of their educational systems.

Structures are in general similar and concern the following cycles:

.	Primary	-	6 years
.	Junior Secondary School	-	3 years
.	Senior Secondary School	-	3 years
.	Basic University Degree	-	4 years

Some variations include 7 years to 8 years of Primary education and 4 to 6 years of Secondary education in some countries as shown in table 4.

A common feature underlining educational reforms in Africa is the introduction and expansion of technical and vocational education in the general school curriculum. This is due to the increased realization of the importance of technical and vocational education in national development.

Role of Technical and Vocational Education in National Development

In the Human Development Report of 1994 the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) underscores the UN's lifelong commitment to engage in a battle for peace on two fronts: the security front to secure freedom from fear and the economic and social front where victory means freedom from want. The latter is inestricably linked to job security. (UNDP, 1994 p. 3).

Since the mid 1960's, as well exemplified by the situation in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Cameroon and several other African States, the paradox of "too many people looking for jobs and too many jobs unfilled" has baffled many planners and policy makers. There is a growing number of the unemployed among the educated while there is, at the same time, a persistent shortage of vocational and technical skills in many areas of the economy.

There is already a major mismatch between available trained manpower and the type of employment opportunities in the world of work. The problem is summarized in box 1 below by the Swazi Government.

Box 1: Swaziland Government Policy Statement

"All available information suggests that there exists a demand/supply disequilibrum with respect to trained people and the type of available employment opportunities. The disequilibrum varies according to level and type of skill. Thus, manual workers and those qualified for clerical positions will be oversupplied while scientific and technical professional will be undersupplied during the coming decade. In order to offset this problem. Government is committed to an appropriate expansion of postsecondary facilities which includes both an expansion of University facilities to accommodate the more highly qualified Swazi school leavers, and the creation of opportunities to pursue more technical and vocational subjects through institutions such as Vocational and Commercial Training Institute-Matsapha and Swaziland College of Technology." *

* From Mndebele, C.B. and Lukhele, L.B. (1993), pp. 116-117.

Most countries have recognized that a pool of skilled manpower in essential sectors like agriculture, construction, manufacturing, transportation, communications and commerce, for example, is critical to national development. It is through technical and vocational education and training that such manpower can be obtained. Various studies carried out by the World Bank and educational researchers have shown that investment in TVE is worthwhile no matter what the economic status of the country may be. This is increasingly becoming even more important with rapid technological changes impacting the world of work today. Whilst developed nations have been challenged to "retool" (retrain) their work force, the developing nations are greatly challenged to provide relevant training amidst changing work requirements and environments.

Box 2: The importance of TVE

A country's technical and vocational training system is a decisive factor determining the competitive strength and level of development of its economy. The education and training system, is largely determined by the country's socio-cultural, economic, demographic and technological development. Technological progress changes the needs of industry and commerce; economic development influences the resources needed to maintain and improve the training programmes; social development changes the climate of the labour market at local, national and regional level and demographic changes influence the supply of skilled manpower on labour market and the rate of recruitment of trainees in the technical and vocational training education system. The level of competence of a country's skilled workers and technicians is centrally important to the flexibility and productivity of its labour force. Skilled workers and technicians enhance the quality and efficiency of product development, usage, production and maintenance, and they supervise and train workers with lesser skills. The development of a skilled labour force makes an important contribution to national development. It is able to apply science and technology for transformation of materials into goods and services. A knowledgeable and capable skilled workforce is therefore the secret to economic success and national development. For example, fully proficient technicians and tradesmen ought to know how to handle a range of new types of equipment and understand the properties of new materials.*

* From Lugujjo, E. and Manyindo, B., (1993)

TVE IN THE NATIONAL EDUCATION FRAMEWORK

TVE in the Education Structure

An overview of educational structures in selected countries reveals common features as well as differences (See Appendix 1)

Most countries offer 9 years of basic education which include 6 years primary and 3 years junior secondary level education (See table 4). Secondary education is offered in two phases i.e. junior and senior levels each comprising three years for Ghana and Nigeria whilst Congo, and Senegal offer 4 years lower secondary and 3 years upper secondary level education. Uganda, Kenya and Swaziland offer slightly different structures. The duration to obtain basic university degree also varies from 3 years in Congo, Uganda and Swaziland to 4 years in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya.

In Cameroon two systems of education exist with two different sets of structures, programmes and examination practices. The Anglophone system is based on a 7-5-2 system (i.e. 7 years of primary school, 5 years of first cycle secondary school and 2 years of high school). The Francophone system is based on a 6-4-3 system (6 years of primary school, 4 years of first cycle secondary school and 3 years of second cycle secondary school). In both systems the duration of study in technical colleges is the same where entrants from primary level take a 4-3 year programme (i.e. 4 years first cycle and 3 years second cycle).

These variations in both Francophone and Anglophone countries are reflected in the total years of schooling, which range from 16 to 17 years to obtain a University degree.

Table 4: Duration of Study at each level of Education in selected African countries

COUNTRY	Primary level	Secondary level Junior & Senior		University	Total
Burkina Faso	6	4	+3	4	17
Cameroon*	6 (French) 7 (English)	4 5	+3 +2	3 3	16 17
Congo	6	4	+3	3	16
C魌e d'Ivoire	6	4	+3	4	17
Ghana	6	3	+3	4	16
Kenya	8	4		4	16
Madagascar	6	4	+3	4	17
Nigeria	6	3	+3	4	16
Senegal	6	4	+3	4	17
Swaziland	7	3	+3	3	16
Uganda	7	4	+2	3	16
Zimbabwe	7	4	+2	3	16

* Cameroon offers two separate systems. One for the French speaking Region and the other for the English speaking Region.

Source: UNESCO (BREDA) Country Case Studies

Of major interest in the education structures, is the manner in which technical and vocational education is linked into the formal education system. Except for a few cases e.g. Swaziland where those pursuing a vocational track will be dead ended in their further education in training, most systems have attempted to link up various lower levels and types of education and training to higher levels. Some of those best articulated include Ghana, Kenya, and Senegal.

Diagrams may not, however, reflect the realities of implementation. It is known for example that in as much as we may wish to see it happen, an artisan or craftsman will not find it easy to go to university. They must have extra drive and link or support programmes must be in place to make up for what theory was lost when the individual pursued a 90% practical curriculum. Graduates of Polytechnics in many systems find it difficult to get admission in regular universities most of which only recognize the academic track from the secondary school level.

For Francophone countries graduates of technical institutes (Lyc閑s Techniques) have more opportunities to proceed to undergraduate degree programmes in technical fields. Graduates of vocational training institutes (Lyc閑s Professionnels) usually proceed to the world of work (BREDA, 1994).

It is also noted that fewer countries have alternative TVE Programmes for those who discontinue primary education for various reasons.

Most national policy frameworks call for the integration of technical and vocational education in the general curriculum in order to offer each learner an opportunity to be exposed to the basic skills demanded in the world of work. However, the obvious dichotomy between TVE and general education in some of the structures would be detrimental to the close relationship envisaged.

While academic inability on the part of some of those who join the TVE Programmes should not be defended wholesome, it should not be used as an excuse to justify some of the highly selective mechanisms used to apportion the limited places often available at secondary or tertiary levels of education and training.

Objectives of TVE

The purpose and objectives advanced for technical and vocational education in a given country delineate the scope within which TVE is to be developed and implemented. An overview of the case studies presented here clearly indicates the uniformity of purpose and agreement in several objectives.

Most countries have stated in one form or another the general objective of technical and vocational education as follows:

To provide, alongside general education, knowledge and skills in technical and vocational fields in order to meet national manpower requirements in agriculture, business, industry and other technical services.

Specific Objectives:

The specific objectives of TVE commonly shared include the following:

1. To expose pupils at the basic education level to a wide range of practical activities in order to make them familiar with and to stimulate their interests in vocational subjects so as to give them equal opportunities to choose their future careers.

2. To facilitate the interpretation, application and translation of basic knowledge and understanding of fundamental facts and principles of scientific processes and techniques to be able to produce and use tools and labour-saving devices for productive work.

3. To inculcate an appreciation of the dignity of human labour as an invaluable resource base.

4. To equip students with relevant productive and entrepreneural skills that will prepare them for gainful employment or self employment.

5. To provide skilled labour to march the demand for manpower in the scientific, technological and commercial sectors of the nation's economy.

6. To refine and consolidate indigeneous artistic and technological skills in order to produce products of aesthetic and cultural value.

7. To impart skills necessary for the protection, utilization and conservation of environmental heritage.

8. To increase scientific and technological literacy among youth thus fostering a proper understanding of the intricacies of modern technological advancement.

9. To encourage the equal access and participation of girls and women in technical and vocational education.

10. To provide a sound foundation for further education and training in the spirit of lifelong learning.

Legislation of Technical and Vocational Education

The importance accorded to TVE in a given society is reflected in the existing legislation establishing it. It can be observed that legislation dealing with technical and vocational education in most countries came into effect much later after the promulgation of the Education Acts. Technical and vocational education may have been mentioned as was the case with the Ashby Commission of Nigeria in 1960 and in the Kenya Education Act in 1968 but effective policy implementation was to come much later on.

Vocational training, however, was well recognized as proven by the establishment of Vocational Training Act in Ghana (1970), Kenya (1971), Uganda (1979), Swaziland (1982), Zimbabwe (1978). There was a clear demarcation between vocational education and vocational training then.

After it became obvious that the educational systems adapted from the colonial systems were mainly academic leading to mass production of unemployable school leavers, various changes were introduced as each country reviewed and reformed its educational system. Most of these changes came in the 1980s and the 1990s.

In Nigeria, the National Policy on Education of 1981 effected in 1982 laid emphasis on technical and vocational education in the restructured (6-3-3-4) school system. In Kenya, a series of educational review committees culminated into the 8-4-4 school system in 1985. The curriculum was vocationalized and technical and vocational education was expanded beyond the normal school curriculum. A new Ministry responsible for post school vocational education and training was established in 1988 and a new vision for TVE articulated in a sessional paper on "Manpower Development for the Next Decade and Beyond in 1988. In 1984 Zimbabwe replaced the 1978 Vocational Training Act with a Manpower Planning and Development Act. The Act moved to the Ministry of Higher Education in 1988 from the Ministry of Labour Planning and Social Service. In 1994 the Act was revised to include the Administration of Teacher Education.

Ghana's constitution of 1992 through articles 25 and 38 reviewed its education system and revitalized technical and vocational education. This was further complemented by the Polytechnic law (1992) PNDCL, 317 which established polytechnics as tertiary level institutions.

Swaziland set up a National Education Review Committee which established a Special Committee in 1990 to study prevocational education. As a result of the committee findings, the Government has proposed the provision of a diversified, competency based curriculum to expose students to vocational subjects in agriculture, home economics, business and technical studies. (Mndebele and Lukhele, 1993).

In Uganda an Education Review Commission (EPRC) submitted to the Government a White Paper on technical and vocational education in 1992. The paper called for the restructuring of education to include technical and vocational education from primary to tertiary levels. It called for the integration of TVE and business education as well as equiping technical training institutions with modern tools and equipment.

An analysis of the evolution of education in Congo from 1960 underlines important steps towards the implementation of an educational policy with more or less well defined features. All of these characteristics are the will to promote democratic access to education.

In 1965, all schools were nationalised and put under state control. From 1970 to 1977 the background document l'Ecole du Peuple was produced.

In 1991 la Conf閞ence Nationale Souveraine the "Souvereign National Conference" was held which confirmed the failure of "l'Ecole du Peuple" the Peoples School and initiated several steps to reorientate the educational system. These were:

- the promotion of the technical and professional training by reforming the programme and adapting it to the socio-economic context;

- the active participation of socio-economic partners in the development of education;

- the creation of a state secretarial technical training. In Senegal, reference is made to the legislation and to the following steps since 1970:

- The Orientation Law of National Education of 1971 was the first law on national education and training in Senegal. It tries at once to assign to technical and professional training the target population of this training.

The Orientation Law of 1991

The recommendations of CNREF have led to the adoption of the orientation law for education of February 1991. This law includes, among others, two major innovations aiming at systematising a permanent basic education and a better oriented technical and professional training. Thus this was conceived the national and permanent education to serve the Senegalese people. It aims completely and definitively to eradicate illiteracy as well as the professional improvement and social promotion of all citizens by improving the living and employment conditions and increasing the productivity of the worker.

This new law takes into consideration various activities at the primary level with the objective of promoting manual work and introducing children to technical activities.

In Burkina Faso, reglementary texts in preparation are inspired by the political position statement of the Action Programme of the popular Front (professional and computer training being emphasized), the Five Year Development Plan 1991-1995 (priority to food and agricultural self-reliance, industrial development, implementing a National Fund for Employment), the programme of broad unity for Development and Democracy "the content and form of education corresponding to the present realities of our country are those which will put the emphasis on the diversity of professional training and are adapted to the socio-economic system needs, the mastering of agricultural techniques and agro-pastoral services, the mastering of water and technical services related to it, the management and marketing sciences, the health and education sciences, the computer sciences as well as all the areas that address the essential needs of the socio-economic fabric", and more recently the statement of President Blaise COMPAORE of June 2nd, 1994. On the basis of reviews from 1992 to 1994 of the various educational systems.

Administration of Technical and Vocational Education

Responsibility for TVE at the policy level is clearly manifested in existing legal and constitutional frameworks. However, administrative responsibility at the institutional level is very much diversified and varies from one country to the other. This diversity is mainly due to the uniqueness of comprehensive technical and vocational education. Three distinct features mainly account for it:

i) The educational component which is formal that is taught in the school curriculum.

ii) The training component which is provided in both formal and informal training institutions.

iii) Nonformal and informal TVE offered by Non-governmental Organizations, private proprietors, religious organizations etc.

The situation in Ghana, Zimbabwe and Kenya can illustrate this observation. In Ghana the Ministry of Education is responsible for General Education, Polytechnics, Technical Teacher Education Colleges and the Institute of Professional Studies. The Ministry of Employment and Social Services is responsible for the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) and Integrated Community Centre for Employable Skills (ICCES) while the Ministry of Transport and Communication is responsible for Ghana Technical Training Centre. Other technical and vocational training programmes are offered in different ministries and departments including the office of the Head of the Civil Service, Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health.

In Zimbabwe, school-based technical and vocational education is administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports while the administration and supervision of technical colleges is the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education.

In Kenya, the Ministry of Education is only responsible for the formal school curriculum including primary, secondary and teacher education colleges for these levels. The bulk of the technical and vocational education and training programmes are offered in institutions such as Youth Polytechnics, Technical Training Institutes, Institutes of Technology, National Polytechnics, Technical Teacher Training Colleges and National Industrial Vocational Training Centres (NIVTC) all of which fall under the Ministry of Research, Technical Training and Technology (MRTTT).

Other Ministries including Agriculture and life stock; Health; Communications and Lands and Settlement do have their own departmental schools catering for their specific training needs. There is a growing number of private schools and colleges offering various TVE programmes.

In most Francophone countries, the Ministry of Education has the overall responsibility for formal education including technical and vocational education. However some technical and vocational training programmes are run by other Ministries.

It is quite obvious that with increased demand for occupational training and the escalating cost of training, there is a need to harmonize the provision of TVE to avoid duplication and wastage that is currently going on. Harmonization will further enhance quality and relevance with appropriate certification.

Financing

Technical and vocational education and training programmes are expensive to run compared to general education. It has been estimated that the cost of one technical school is equivalent to two or three schools offering general education. Previously, Governments undertook total responsibility to finance TVE with some assistance from donor agencies.

Today the situation is becoming more difficult as governments are faced with difficult choices to cut back spending in education which has, on an average, been taking up to as much as 40% of the national budget in some countries. Since most African countries depend heavily on foreign aid and mainly from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Structural Adjustment Programmes imposed by these institutions have adversely affected the financing of TVE as well.

In this review, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda have indicated that their Governments still shoulder the entire cost for public TVE programmes. Other countries except Kenya have not shown any alternative arrangements yet.

The Kenyan government introduced a cost-sharing policy in 1988 when it called upon the communities, parents, and beneficiaries of TVE to assist the Government in raising additional funds to accelerate the expansion of training opportunities to increase access without compromising quality and relevance. Educational and Training Institutions at all levels have been challenged to engage in various fund raising activities including the installation of production units, farming and the provision of consultancies to business and industry.

Similarly, Senegal, C魌e d'Ivoire and Madagascar and Zimbabwe have introduced cost-sharing policies in their educational systems.

C魌e d'Ivoire has introduced a training levy fund in which enterprises contribute 1.2% of their salary payments for employees run by the Fonds National de R間ularisation (FNR). Enterprises can use 0.5% of their contribution to offer training for their own employees. The balance goes for training in small enterprises and individual cases where proposals have been submitted and approved.

As a result of the Structural Adjustment Programme, Cameroon has created the National Employment Fund (NEF) with the following objectives:

- To put together the offers and requests for employment;
- To make available information on employment opportunities;
- To give adequate information on job market to job seekers;
- To support those who wish to be self-employed or create enterprises.

The resources of NEF come from African Development Bank ADB, the World Bank, the trainers (15% of training cost), the enterprises involved in the co-funding of the Employment Diploma Programme and the NDGS.

In Senegal, as in all the other countries, the financing and regulation of technical and professional training have been assured a primary place by the State.

Apart from the State other resources come from international aid, the NGOs and mostly the enterprises. The enterprises annually pay to the State a tax called a lump sum contribution for the employers (CFCE). 6% of the CFCE is used in the National Office for Professional Training. (ONFP) NOPT for its functioning and its training activities. This 6% amounts approximately to 300 million CFA.

A study is presently being undertaken for the creation of a Fund for Technical and Professional Training financing.

All these initiatives indicate the great concern of various states to have reliable financing mechanisms for technical training at all levels.

It is very unlikely that more funding for TVE will be available in the foreseable future. It is incumbent on all African States currently heavily dependent on foreign aid to explore, more vigorously into alternative ways of financing their education and training programmes.

TVE in the School Curriculum

The extent to which credibility is given to national policy on TVE in the school system depends on the types of subjects offered and the status they are given in the curriculum. If they are not introduced early enough and if they are merely optional then both learners and society at large will not take them seriously.

Kenya seems to be the only country that offers a wide range of TVE subjects at the primary school level (see Table 5). These include: Agriculture, Art, Art and Craft, Business education, home science and music. Ghana offers agriculture and life skills at the basic education level. Other countries do not seem to focus on TVE at the basic education level.

At the Secondary School level, it can be observed (table 5) that a wide range of technical vocational education subjects are offered in each country. Whilst Kenya has the subjects singled out and offered as electives (only one out of 8 subjects) for the final examination, Ghana offers clusters of what is referred to as basic technical skills and vocational skills. Nigeria offers what it describes as technical, vocational and business programmes.

The TVE subjects in the school curriculum in most African countries still reflect the traditional courses that are geared toward imparting skills in a particular trade without much regard for technological changes that have impacted the world of work. As can be observed in table 5, such courses as woodwork, metalwork, electricity, home science and building construction are heavily trade oriented and one would not have adequate time out of a 35 minutes lesson in school to cover its basics. Further more, even the training of carpenters can no longer be sufficiently based on wood planing, jointing and finishing alone. Modern furniture production combines a variety of skills and materials.

Table 5: Technical and Vocational Subjects offered at Primary and Secondary level

Primary level	Ghana	Kenya	Nigeria	Uganda	Swazi land	Cameroon	Congo	C魌e d'Ivoire	Madagascar	Senegal
Agric	x	x				x		x		x
Art		x
Art & Craft		x				x
Busin Educ.		x
Home Scien		x				x
Music		x
Life Skills	x
Sec. level
Agric	x	x	x	x	x	x		x	x	x
Art & design		x