4th Conference of ECOWAS Ministers of Education to Consider Three Major Issues

26 September 2012
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Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

Abuja - Nigeria — The 4th Conference of ECOWAS Ministers of Education will take place in Abuja, Nigeria on Saturday 6 October, 2012. The main focus of the meeting will be the consideration of three major programmes which are, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Educational Management Information System (EMIS) and Education for Peace The first programme seeks to improve access for ECOWAS citizens to quality TVET at all levels of the educational system.

Again, it seeks to build the training capacities of TVET institutions and staff, as well as create and promote centres of excellence for this type of education. The meeting will present the opportunity for participants to review ECOWAS programmes in this area, and prepare a road map for implementation of the said programmes.

The main objective of the second programme, that is the EMIS, is to reverse the current "lack of data" trend. The system also aims to facilitate planning based on sound information bases and strict monitoring/evaluation of the performances of educational systems. The Ministers are expected to consider and adopt ECOWAS standards for the setting up of the system in Member States. With regard to the last programme, an ECOWAS Reference Manual for the training of trainers in the area of Education for Peace has been prepared following broad consultations at the regional level.

This Manual comprises seven modules treating a variety of topics from the Peace Culture to Conflict Management, Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance, Gender and Development, Public Health and Regional Integration. The Manual will be subject to further review during the meeting before submission to the Ministers for adoption. In addition to these different subjects, the Conference participants will assess ECOWAS efforts concerning identified challenges and prospects of the region in the education sector.

The different documents for the 4th Conference of ECOWAS Ministers of Education will centre primarily on enhancing learning outcomes at all levels and sectors of education. Accordingly, Ministers responsible for basic and secondary education, technical and vocational training as well as higher education for every Member State (that is, three Ministers per country) will participate in this meeting. The Conference will be preceded by the meeting of Experts from 1st to 5th October, 2012, the recommendations of which will be submitted for the consideration of the Ministers.

Read the original article on Ecowas.

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