Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).
THE EDUCATION FOR DEVELOPMENT AND DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE
FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999
Actual Estimate Request
Child Survival and Disease --- --- $4,500,000
Development Assistance --- --- $21,500,000
Economic Support Fund --- --- $10,000,000
Introduction
Four decades of development experience have made it clear that one of the most important determinants of development success is the level of education or human resource development of a country. Accordingly, the Administration has decided to launch a special initiative for education in Africa. This initiative will bring together resources and expertise from USAID, United States Information Agency, the State Department, the Peace Corps and a number of domestic agencies.
Development Challenge
The past twenty years of economic crisis and rapid population growth have led to a dramatic expansion in the number of students in schools at every level at the education system coupled with diminishing resources to provide quality education. As a result the quality of education, as measured by actual learning, has decreased dramatically. Africa faces three challenges:
1) Providing quality basic education for the 50% of its population which is below the age of 15;
2) Providing the skills required to its post-secondary students so that Africa can participate effectively in the global economy; and
3) Developing the institutions, values and knowledge needed to empower its people both politically and economically.
Other Donors
The initiative will work jointly with other donors active in the education sector in Africa -- the World Bank, France, Great Britain, the European Commission, and Scandinavian donors. In particular, the Education initiative will coordinate with the Association for the Development of African Education (ADAE), a network of donors and African stakeholders.
FY 1999 Program
Information Partnerships: The U.S. is by far the world's pre-eminent center for science and research. Equally important, it is the world's pre-eminent center of associational life, of governmental, organizational, and institutional experimentation. Many of these organizations -- be they state governments, professional associations, private businesses or educational institutions at all levels -- are interested in sharing their knowledge and experience with the rest of the world in general and with Africa in particular. Through the Education for Democracy nitiative, these partners will provide the information content, be it experiences, training modules, or research results, that will be shared with African partners with similar interests.
Technology: Rapidly emerging technologies -- in which Americans are world leaders -- make information more accessible, transferable and manageable. These technologies are the catalysts transforming economic and social structures around the world and supporting fast-paced sustainable development. Africa needs access to such information and techniques to adapt its development programs. The Education for Democracy initiative will dramatically expand access to new information
technologies, be they computers, internet, or other communication approaches such as radio and teleconferencing.
Cross Cutting Theme --The Role of Girls and Women: Given the vital importance of female education in the development process, particular attention will be paid to ensuring that these programs improve the quality of female education at all levels. For example, one major theme of the policy network will be increasing the participation of girls in basic education. The democracy network will have a major focus on women's groups.
THE EDUCATION FOR DEVELOPMENT AND DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE
FY 1999 PROGRAM SUMMARY
(in Thousands of Dollars)
USAID Strategic & Special Objectives Economic
Growth &
AgriculturePopulation
& Health
Environment
DemocracyHuman Capacity Development
Humanitarian
Assistance
TotalSP01. Ed for Democracy Initiative
-CSD
- DA
- ESF
---
21,500
10,000
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
4,500
---
---
---
---
---
4,500
21,500
10,000TOTAL
-CSD
- DA
- ESF
---
21,500
10,000
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
4,500
---
---
---
---
---
4,500
21,500
10,000
Director, Office of Sustainable Development: Jerome Wolgin
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: The Education for Development and Democracy Initiative
TITLE AND NUMBER: The Education for Development and Democracy Initiative: 698-SP01
STATUS: New
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1999: $4,500,000 CSD: $21,500,000 DA; $10,000,000 ESF
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1998 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003
Purpose: The purpose of the Education for Development and Democracy initiative is to catalyze major improvements in African education systems by linking them, through modern information technology, to the models, experiences and technologies that have served U.S. education so well.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: Over the past ten years, USAID has been working in the basic education and tertiary education fields in Africa. In basic education, USAID has been promoting substantial education reform through system-wide programs in ten African countries. These reforms include more sustainable finance, improved curricula, improved standards for learning, better management and management information systems, and greater involvement of local communities. The results have been substantially improved access, especially for girls, declining repeater rates, greater involvement of local communities, and improved learning at the school level. Work at the tertiary level has been more limited, but has demonstrated the success of partnership models that link U.S. universities to African higher education institutions.
Description: The Education for Democracy Initiative will target three broad groups of customers:
Universities: African universities face problems of decaying infrastructure and unremunerative salaries for staff. They are built around an outdated elitist model that subsidizes all the costs of students and produces graduates largely for a shrinking public sector. The critical issue is to make African universities relevant for the development needs of Africa in the twenty-first century. U.S. colleges and universities -- particularly the land grant institutions -- offer a unique approach to tertiary education, one based on strong links to its stakeholder community. A major feature of the University Partnership program would be modelling a university outreach program that would move African universities away from the elitist model to one in which the university sees as one of its fundamental roles the provision of intellectual services to the community which supports it. U.S. universities, which have been in this outreach business for many years, could provide assistance to African universities in developing this capability. The areas where this could be done include, inter alia:
* agriculture
* business and labor force outreach
* public health
* environment
A second model where U.S. institutions excel is the community college. African universities have expanded beyond their capacity to provide quality education, and community colleges, offering both post-secondary skills training, plus the possibility of going on to an academic degree could serve to relieve this pressure and offer training needed at the post-secondary level.
Finally, U.S. universities are also struggling with financial sustainability issues, and could help African institutions to develop new sources of finance. The African state will not be able to continue to spend more than one-third of its educational budget on tertiary education. Universities will have to learn to sell services to the community, which will not only help them become more financially independent, but more relevant to the community's needs as well.
School-based Community Learning Centers: Over five years, a large number (10%) of primary and secondary schools will begin to play a significant role in the development of their communities. These
schools will become the information and communication focal points for the communities, offering access - and contributing - to the rich content, experiences and lessons learned by their partners throughout Africa and the United States. They would participate in school-to-school programs, link local communities within Africa and the U.S. and communicate with education associations and PTA's. They will never be closed, but be used by the community for a variety of teaching needs including basic business skills, literacy and numeracy, civic education, mentoring programs between business people and school children, and other information and training needs identified by the community.
The USAID Leland Initiative would catalyze the provision of hardware and internet connectivity, while the Peace Corps would provide critical training for the first generation of Community Learning Center managers. USAID, United States Information Agency (USIA) and a number of domestic agencies would identify U.S. partners who would provide the content.
Policy and Democracy Networks. In the new information age, hierarchies are no longer the best paradigm for organizing either thought or action. Increasingly, information is going to be provided by people and institutions without regard to location or formal relationships. The key buzzword is networking. There are already a large number of formal and informal networks active in Africa, many linked by e-mail and internet, some dependent on conferences, telephones and regular mail. Both USIA and USAID are already providing assistance to these networks.
The initiative would focus on two kinds of networks, and would provide both content and connectivity to them. The first are Democracy networks,including both non-governmental organizations, such as human rights groups, press associations and lawyers associations, and governmental bodies such as parliaments, local government authorities, and judges. The second network would focus on Education Reform Networks and include universities, educational research institutions, ministries of education, teachers associations and the like. These networks will be strengthened through a series of activities including:
* training
* exchanges and study tours
* electronic connectivity
* technical support
Host Country and Other Donors: This program will be working with ministries of education, African universities and other institutions of higher learning, and virtually all donors active in African education.
Beneficiaries: The direct beneficiaries will be over 2,500 primary and secondary schools and their attendant communities where resource centers will be developed, and over 25 African institutions of higher education.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, and Agencies: This initiative is built around the active participation of a large number of U.S. partners including the Peace Corps, United States Information Agency, the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, U.S. universities and community colleges, U.S. businesses (particularly computer manufacturers and information producers), U.S. foundations, non-governmental associations such as parent-teachers associations, and state and local governments.
Major Results Indicators:
* At least five African universities becoming more financially independent, and at least ten reorienting their mandate to provide more services to the community;
* Quality of learning increased in at least 20,000 schools resulting in reduction of repeater rates of 10% or more;
* Strengthen twenty-five regional and national Educational Reform Networks comprised of the leading educational policy-makers and practitioners in the United States and Africa.
* Strengthen 25 Democracy Networks where journalists, NGOs, women's advocacy, parliamentarians and civic leaders can jointly build expertise and capacity.
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