Improving learning outcomes and educational quality through the use of African languages and cultures / Burkina Faso hosts a pan-African conference
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina-Faso, January 15, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Burkina Faso hosts a pan-African conference for the successful implementation of multilingual education policies from 20 to 22 January 2010
From 20 to 22 January 2010, Ouagadougou, the capital of
Burkina Faso, will host a conference on the integration of African languages and cultures in
education, in which 26 African countries will take part.
The conference, jointly organized by the Association for the Development of Education in
Africa (ADEA), the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and Burkina Faso’s
Ministry of Basic Education and Literacy, will provide the opportunity for African ministries
of education, education sector professionals, experts and academics, and development
partners to engage in dialogue on the political and technical issues surrounding the
introduction of reforms to promote multilingual education policies using African languages
and cultures.
The use of African languages as teaching vehicles is recognized as a key factor in achieving
quality education in Africa. It has been observed that school system inefficiency, reflected in
high dropout and repetition rates, is largely due to the fact that children learn to read, acquire
knowledge and take examinations in a language that they often have not mastered and do not
speak.
A 2005 study on mother tongue instruction and bilingual education, commissioned by ADEA,
the UIL and GTZ and presented at a conference in Windhoek, Namibia, demonstrated the
need to promote multilingual education to improve learning outcomes and the efficiency of
African education systems. Based on the conclusions of the conference, a policy guide was
drafted.
Press release
For immediate release
Association for the Development of Education in Africa
African Development Bank (AfDB)
Temporary Relocation Agency
BP 323 – 1002 Tunis Belvédère – Tunisia
Tel.: +216/ 71 10 39 00
Email: t.desruelles@afdb.org web site: www.ADEAnet.org 2/2
In Ouagadougou, the participants will discuss the lessons learned from practical experiences
aimed at promoting and implementing effective multilingual education policies. They will
consider these lessons in depth in order to gain a better understanding of the conditions
required for success.
The conference will address the challenges relating to the political will, technical experience
and capacity building needed to introduce the extensive but necessary reform of policies and
practices concerning African languages in education, and consequently to improve the quality
of education for all in Africa. Another aim is to contribute to the achievement of the goals of
the African Union’s Plan of Action for the Second Decade of Education for Africa.
The conference will be divided into two parts. A one-day experts’ workshop will concentrate
on challenges and guiding principles for the development and implementation of policies on
education through African languages. Questions considered will include: legal frameworks
and policies; advocacy, particularly as addressed to communities; institutional strengthening
and capacity building; evaluation of learning outcomes; curricula and training; research. The
recommendations of the experts’ meeting will then be presented to ministers for their
validation.
The main outcome expected from the meeting is the adoption, and subsequent publication and
dissemination of a policy guide on the implementation of reforms concerning multilingual
education and the use of African languages as media of instruction.
Apart from Burkina Faso, the following countries are expected to send ministerial and
technical staff to the conference: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chad, Congo, Congo (Dem. Rep.), Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Libya,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda,
Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.
Tunis, January 14, 2010.
Press contacts:
• Alcinou Da Costa, communication and media consultant, alcinou@orange.fr
Tel in Créteil (France) : +33/ 1 49 80 34 82 ; +33/ 6 09 61 75 27 (cellular)
• Thanh-Hoa Desruelles, External relations and communication, ADEA, t.desruelles@afdb.org,
Tel in Tunis (Tunisia) : +216/ 7110 3432 (office), +216/ 21 69 11 46 (cellular – roaming)
SOURCE
Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
