|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
  |
 |
  |
Guinea
>> Regional Overview >> Guinea Overview Program Data Sheet
675-003
USAID MISSION: Guinea
PROGRAM TITLE: Basic Education (Pillar: Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade)
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Quality basic education provided to a greater percentage of Guinean children, with emphasis on girls and rural children, 675-003
STATUS: Continuing
PLANNED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $5,700,000 DA
PROPOSED FY 2003 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $6,500,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2005Summary: Guinea's economic and political development is hindered by a lack of adequate human capital. USAID/Guinea builds human resources by supporting the expansion and improved quality of basic education for 1.6 million school-aged children, with a special emphasis on ensuring equity of access to education for girls and rural children. The program includes capacity-building activities for the Ministry of Education and Parent/Teacher Associations (PTA), teacher training for Guinea's 20,000 primary school teachers, and the development of innovative radio broadcasts and instructional materials for teachers and students. The program includes:
- training and technical assistance to Guinea's Ministry of Education to improve sectoral strategic planning, management, and decision-making in basic education;
- in-service teacher training and technical assistance in the production of instructional materials and teaching materials development;
- training and small grants to PTAs to increase community participation in basic education; and
- technical assistance in coalition building for girls' education, and training to local civil society alliances to address equity issues in education.
Inputs, Outputs, and Activities: FY 2002 Program: In FY 2002, USAID will provide Development Assistance resources to fund an expansion of activities that promote community participation and gender and rural/urban equity in education into 11 new prefectures. This expansion will provide training and technical support to 650 PTAs in the areas of improving internal governance, enhancing school management, improving educational quality, enhancing equity for girls, expanding basic literacy, and developing local action plans to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Support to PTAs and Local Alliances is intended to ensure sustainability of interventions in addressing quality education, access, equity, and obstacles to girls education. Small grants will be provided to these PTAs to use for local school improvement projects. Seventeen Local Alliances for Girls' Education will be developed to support improved equity in education. Technical assistance teams will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Education to develop and refine sector training for 20,000 teachers in Grades 1 through 6, promote the use of radio media for teacher development programs, develop interactive radio instruction lessons for all primary school students, and develop and distribute instructional materials.
SUBMISSION OF THIS PROGRAM DATA SHEET CONSTITUTES FORMAL RENOTIFICATION OF USAID'S INTENT TO OBLIGATE FY 2002 RESOURCES FOR THE ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED ABOVE Planned FY 2003 Program: USAID plans to use FY 2003 resources to further expand community participation and gender and rural/urban equity-enhancing activities to five new prefectures. A total of 881 PTAs will receive training, follow-on technical assistance, and small grants for school improvement. Fifty-two Local Alliances for Girls' Education will be supported in their advocacy efforts to ensure equity in education. Training will continue to be provided regularly to 20,000 primary school teachers, with a focus on improving reading instruction. Students in Grades 1- 6 in all regions of Guinea will benefit from interactive radio broadcasts that use model-teaching techniques.
Performance and Results: Over the life of the Strategic Objective, USAID's in-service teacher training approach will reach 25,000 teachers nationwide. By 2004, if the drive for universal education continues as planned, the program will impact on all Guinean school-aged children. During the same period, it is expected that 908 PTAs and 53 Local Alliances will be reinforced. USAID was the first donor in Guinea to emphasize the importance of gender equity in education. Building upon a highly successful social awareness campaign for the education of girls and rural children in the mid-1990s, USAID includes equity-enhancing initiatives throughout each aspect of its education program. Results can be seen in an increase in girls' primary school gross enrollment rates from 17% in 1990 to 50% in 2001. From 1990 to 2001, primary school gross enrollment rates increased from 28% to 61%, due in part to the contributions of USAID and other donors to the government's efforts to increase access to education.
During ten years of USAID support to primary education in Guinea, annual student enrollment has doubled, and girls' enrollment has tripled. With USAID assistance, Guinea's Ministry of Education has developed a tracking system for a package of minimal educational standards, called the Fundamental Quality and Equity Levels (FQEL) Planning Tool, which is currently used as a basis for planning and monitoring the primary education reform process. The FQEL Planning Tool has tracked significant progress during the past four years in the areas of gender equity in enrollment in primary school, the rational use of teacher and classroom resources, and academic achievement. In 2001, national consensus was reached on new quality standards in the areas of community/school relations, teacher development and performance, and instructional materials.
To improve classroom quality, USAID has supported interventions through an innovative "multi-channel" approach that includes (1) regular in-service teacher training, (2) the development and distribution of low-cost teaching manuals and student materials, (3) a radio-based teacher development program focused on general methodology and specific pedagogical innovations, and (4) interactive radio instructional programs. Results of this multi-channel approach have included increases in academic test performance of Grade 2 students.
To date, USAID has provided 258 PTAs with training in practical skills to improve their capacity to support local schools. Results from the pilot program have shown impressive and sustainable impacts on school quality, access, and equity in education. Small grants to PTAs have led to the construction or renovation of 372 classrooms, 24 teachers' residences, and 56 school offices. This has resulted in better school management, an improved teaching and learning environment, and access to education for 13,200 children in some of the poorest areas in Guinea. The development of 19 civil society Local Alliances for Girls' Education has resulted in dramatic success in increasing girls' enrollment and academic achievement in target zones.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID/Guinea's education activities are implemented by: (1) the Education Development Center (EDC) (prime) with Research Triangle Institute (RTI) (sub), and Creative Associates International (CAI) (sub); (2) World Education Guinea (prime) with Save the Children (sub), EDC (sub), RTI (sub), and the Academy for Educational Development (AED) (sub). AED will complete the "Strategies for Advancing Girls' Education" program in FY 2002.
US Financing in Thousands of Dollars
675-003 Quality primary education provided to a larger percentage of Guinean children, with emphasis on girls and rural children CSD DA DFA Through September 30, 2000 Obligations 17,789 0 19,482 Expenditures 9,088 0 19,482 Unliquidated 8,701 0 0 Fiscal Year 2001 Obligations 4,994 0 0 Expenditures 4,815 0 0 Through September 30, 2001 Obligations 22,783 0 19,482 Expenditures 13,903 0 19,482 Unliquidated 8,880 0 0 Prior Year Unobligated Funds Obligations 0 0 0 Planned Fiscal Year 2002 NOA Obligations 0 5,700 0 Total Planned Fiscal Year 2002 Obligations 0 5,700 0 Proposed Fiscal Year 2003 NOA Obligations 0 6,500 0 Future Obligations 0 6,500 0 Est. Total Cost 22,783 18,700 19,482
 |
|||
Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
