Aid & Education in Eritrea:
Teacher Education and Education Sector Reform
2007- 2011
1. Eritrea: regional geography & population
Population: 5,291,370 (2008 Census)
Main Languages: Tigrinya, Arabic, English,
Italian
Ethnic groups: 9, inc. Tigrinya, Tigre, Saho,
Afar, Kunama.
GDP per capita: $397
2. Eritrea: history & politics
Ancient history:
C.25th BC: Land of Punt;
C. 8th – 5th BC: Kingdom of D’mt;
C. 1st BC – 940 AD: Aksumite Empire
Middle history:
C. 10th – C.18th: Trading links with and partial colonisation by Egypt; Yemen; Portuguese Goa;
Ottoman Empire; British Empire
Modern history:
1890 – 1941:Italian colony (following Italian invasion in 1870s)
1941 – 1951:British administration
1951: Federated with Ethiopia, under US-led UN resolution
1961 – 1991: Insurgency against Ethiopian Government
1993: UN recognition of Eritrean independence
1998: Eritrean-Ethiopian War
Present:
On-going border dispute with Ethiopia;
A one-party state governed by People’s Front for Democracy & Justice;
President: Isaisas Aferwerki
3. Eritrea: national geography & population
No. Zoba
Pop.
1
Ma’akel
538,749
2
3
4
Debub
Gash-Barka
Anseba
755,379
564,574
457,078
5
Northern Red Sea 459,056
6
Southern Red Sea 203,618
4. Eritrea: basic education system
Primary Education (Grades 1 – 5)
•Enrolments: 286,111 (approx. 52% of primary-age population)
•Completion Rate: 51%
•School Teachers: 7,507 (83% qualified Cert level)
•Pupil > Teacher Ratio: 45:1
Middle and Secondary Education (Grades 6 – 12)
•Enrolments: 247,431 (approx. 23% of middle/secondary-age population)
•Completion Rate: 51%
•School Teachers: 6,326 (92% qualified Dip. level)
•Pupil > Teacher Ratio: 52:1
5. Eritrea: basic education system
Zoba
PSs Sts
Ts
MSs Sts
Ts
SSs Sts
Ts
1 Ma’akel
104 61833 1784
46 42174 1126
21 29637 883
2 Debub
236 94987 2255
85 56369 1242
26 27685 648
3 Gash-Barka
200 57209 1467
61 21277 517
13
8125 272
4 Anseba
126 42893 1186
52
2271 503
12
8922 269
40 10057 283
10
5257 185
5 N. Red Sea
99 24799 644
6 S. Red Sea
35
TOTAL
4390 171
9
1963
69
800 286111 7507 293 151911 3740
2
1173
42
85 95520 2586
6. Eritrea: tertiary and teacher education
University of Asmara:
•College of Marine Biology (Masawa)
•College of Agriculture (Debub)
•College of Arts and Social Sciences (Keren)
•College of Business and Economics (Mendefara)
•College of Nursing and Health Technology (Asmara)
The Eritrean Institute of Technology (EIT), Asmara
•College of Education: MA, BA and Diploma of Education
(for middle + secondary teachers)
Asmara Teacher Education Institute (ATEI), Asmara
•Certificate of Education (for primary teachers)
Ministry of Education: HRD dept & Zoba Education Offices
•In-service training of teachers
7. The Eritrean Education Sector
Development Programme 2007 - 2011
•EU-funded: Eu52million
•Operated alongside projects from World Bank and UNICEF
Main strands of activity:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Capacity building to implement ODL for teacher education;
Policies and strategies for TVET;
Revise national curriculum;
Design of materials for English;
Develop educational monitoring and QA system;
Develop comprehensive accreditation and evaluation system;
In addition: a significant school-building programme.
8. ESDP: Teacher Education inputs
Outputs:
• EIT’s ODL Middle School Teacher Upgrading Programme (MSTUP)
• ATEI’s Self-study Elementary Teacher Upgrading Programme
Inputs A: capacity-building activities:
• ODL management and admin training for MoE, Zoba and EIT/ATEI staff
• ODL materials design training for EIT / ATEI staff
• training of tutors, sub-Zoba support staff etc.
Inputs B: programme design activities:
• Financial management;
• Admin and delivery systems;
• Institutional roles
• Content and materials design
• Assessment systems etc.
9. ESDP: Teacher Education ODL programmes
• EIT’s ODL Middle School Teacher Upgrading Programme (MSTUP)
• ATEI’s Self-study Elementary Teacher Upgrading Programme
Basic design model:
• 2 years in-service study
• Blended learning: self-study materials plus local tutorial sessions & residential
summer school
• Assessment : written assignments; classroom observation; end-of-year exams
Basic delivery model:
• EIT / ATEI: materials design & distribution; examinations; awards
• Zoba Offices: tutor recruitment; learner support; sub-Zoba co-ordination;
assignment collection
• MoE Dept of HRD: finances; monitoring; liaison
10. ESDP: Teacher Education ODL programmes
Design issues:
• Skepticism about ODL
• Emphasis on academic rather than practitioner content (esp. EIT)
• Preference for high face-to-face contact
Delivery issues:
• EIT / ATEI: low institutional capacity for undertaking field activities
• Zoba Offices: low institutional capacity for sub-Zoba activities
• Unclear lines of communication and authority between stakeholders
• Low levels of training and support for sub-Zoba staff (tutors; schools)
• Schedule delays not always passed to learners and tutors
• Irregular monitoring and follow-up by stakeholders
• Regional disparity in terms of access to resources, travel time & costs
11. ESDP: ODL programme outcomes
Successes:
• Good final pass rates (85% on both programmes)
• High levels of student satisfaction with materials and content
• Establishment of basic national frameworks for ODL delivery in education
• Enhanced understanding and capacity in ODL practice across all national
stakeholders
Necessary improvements:
• Low levels of student satisfaction with learner support and communications
• Improve communications between central stakeholders
• Address resourcing issues for stakeholders undertaking field activities
• Improve programme engagement at sub-Zoba level
• Identify potential for de-centralised initiatives to address local needs
chris.joynes@lidc.bloomsbury.ac.uk