Ministers Urge Widespread Promotion of the ECOWAS Reference Manual for Peace Education

8 October 2012
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Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

Abuja - Nigeria — ECOWAS Ministers of Education have urged the ECOWAS Commission, in collaboration with technical and financial partners and Member States, to widely promote the ECOWAS Reference Manual on Education for Peace. This was one of the recommendations of the 4th Meeting of Ministers which took place on Saturday, 6th October 2012, at the Commission's Abuja headquarters.

The ministers also called on Member States to incorporate the themes of the Manual into their reference frameworks of Teacher Training Institutes. They also advocated the improvement of Educational Management Information System (EMIS), revitalization of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), as well as the ratification and implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Education and Training.

On the EMIS improvement, the ministers urged the Commission to set up a regional observatory and an ECOWAS databank. Member States should also adopt the EMIS norms and standards and integrate them into their national education programmes, as well as develop national policies in this area and allocate supplementary funds specifically for the EMIS.

The ministers equally called on Member States to recruit, motivate and retain more specialised EMIS personnel to ensure the use of appropriate statistical processes and the production of quality data for evidence-based planning, decision-making, monitoring and evaluation of service delivery. For the TVET revitalisation, it was recommended that ECOWAS continue to build the capacity of Member States and produce a directory of technical and professional training institutes in the region, in order to enhance exchanges and cooperation.

Ministers responsible for the Education and Training sector were also requested to make a strong case to the Council of Ministers and the Authority of Heads of State and Government for greater commitment and investment in TVET and private sector participation in the sector. Other decisions of the meeting include the creation of an Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT), consolidation of studies underway on the regional and national qualifications frameworks for ECOWAS, as well as the ratification and implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Education and Training.

Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Toga Gayewea McIntosh, assured that the Commission would implement the Ministers' recommendations and decisions. In his closing remarks, Nigeria's Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i, expressed the hope for greater cooperation between Member States and the Commission, in addressing the major challenges of the education sector. Cote d'Ivoire is to host the 5th meeting of ECOWAS Ministers of Education and Training.

Read the original article on Ecowas.

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