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A STUDY OF EDUCATION SECTOR POLICY PRIOTIZATION IN AFRICA
DURING 1980 — 2000: A COMPARISON OF THREE POLICY PERSPECTIVES

By

Bernard Gwekwerere

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan Stated University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education

2009

ABSTRACT

A STUDY OF EDUCATION SECTOR POLICY PRIORITIZATION IN AFRICA
DURING 1980 — 2000: A COMPARISON OF THREE POLICY PERSPECTIVES

By

Bernard Gwekwerere

The World Conference on Education for All and the Millennium Development
Goals provide pivotal guide to education sector policies in Africa and other developing
regions. These policy guides promote basic education more than they do higher
education. They argue that basic education provides higher rates of return on investment
than higher education, and that it reduces poverty. Other scholars and policy analysts
provide counter evidence against the claims for basic education. Despite the vigorous and
spirited counter arguments and evidence of the weakness of the claims that anchor the

support for basic education, there is no relenting in the prioritization of basic education.

While claims are made that education policy prioritization is based on rational
decision making, prevailing policy school argues that policy making and prioritization is
hardly a rational process. If policy making is hardly a rational process, how then are
policies made? The question of how policy is made has eluded policy researchers and
analysts for ages. This question is important in Africa where the marginalization of
higher education is an age old question with a troubling history for Africans. It has a
troubling history in that the Africans have had to fight colonial skepticism before the first
universities could be established. Now it seems that they have to convince the World

Bank and other international organizations of the need and support for higher education.

This study analyzes three policy documents, the Conference of African Ministers
of Education (1982), the World Conference on Education for All (1990) and the Tanzania
Education and Training policy (1995) to examine how different interest groups
interpreted the same education sector condition. The study used an Education Sector
Policy Analysis Framework to examine the establishment of policy agency, and how

each agency interpreted education sector problems and solutions for Tanzania.

The findings demonstrate the complexity of understanding policy and
policymaking. Policy and policymaking is better explained within an institutional context
that examines how interest groups develop and construct social analysis rubrics which
frame an angle for seeing and filtering a reconstructed reality of society. The social
pattern arising out of the reconstructed reality allows interest groups to administer a
stabilizing framework that isolates each group’s version of the social problem facing

society at a particular period.

The policy frame that gains legitimacy and prevails over the other alternatives is
the one that makes greater claims to knowledge and expertise. Claims on knowledge and
expertise are made through an institutional fiamework that employs professionals who
study and promote a particular social analytical rubric that results in a particular frame of
problems and solutions. The prevailing focus on basic education policy in Tanzania, and
Africa in general, is largely promoted by international organizations that claim
knowledge and expertise of international education and development. There is hardly any
institutional framework, based on knowledge and expertise, to develop a social analysis
rubric that filters a reconstructed reality to express the thoughts and views of Afi'icans,

necessarily weakening their legitimacy of support for higher education.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In many ways it is unbelievable that I am looking back at my completed graduate
school journey. At many points along the journey I felt that I had reached a pre-mature
end. I could never have guessed the low and high points that made my journey. If I had
predicted the low points of the journey I would have seriously considered avoiding it.
Now that I am here at the end, I am glad that I chose the greatest adventure of my life.
My personality has been graciously and keenly enriched by the journey. At this point I
feel that I am a fuller person as a result of the rigorous molding that I experienced during

this unpredictably dizzying, humbling and character building journey.

I am excited that I can celebrate my success, more so for the outcome that I was
never able to anticipate for the greater part of my journey. Turns out, it has become the
biggest and most pleasant surprise of my life. It is a pleasant surprise for which I owe the
success to tenaciously gracious commitment of friends, family, colleagues and faculty.
Without the unreserved support that was generously extended to me, the outcome would
not be anything to celebrate. Due to space restrictions 1 can only name a very small
fraction of the generous people who rooted for me so graciously to give my journey a

celebrated outcome.

I still feel contrite about the sacrifice that my wife, Yovita, and daughters Kundai,
Ruva and Zviko made for me to be here today. I know that they are excited for me, and I

can only be grateful. I owe you big time Yovi and our daughters.

I am gratefiil to my dissertation and guidance committee for their full

commitment to my completion. My dissertation and guidance Chair, Dr. Reitu Mabukela,

went all out to rescue and return me back on course from my many close shave pre-
mature stops. Her guidance and support were impeccable. Dr. Jack Schwille and Dr
Marilyn Amey contributed tremendously to my intellectual grth and extended a crucial
financial safety net that assured my stay in the program. Dr. Chris Dunbar became my

invaluable mentor who reassured me and contributed enormously to my personal growth.

Again, I do not have enough space to name all the fiiends, family and colleagues
who made my completion their personal commitment. I am forever indebted and proud to
have the greatest network in the world. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you one more

time. Mission accomplished.

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................. ix
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................. xi
LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS .................................................................. xii

CHAPTER ONE _ 1

INTRODUCTION 1

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ........................................................................................ 4
RESEARCH QUESTIONS ..................................................................................................... 7
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................... 7
RATIONALE FOR STUDY .................................................................................................... 8
DISSERTATION OVERVIEW ............................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER TWO _ ...... 11
LITERATURE REVIEW 1 1
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1 1
PUBLIC POLICY .............................................................................................................. 1 1
EDUCATION SECTOR POLICIES IN TANZANIA 1961 - 2000 .............................................. 13
Primary education policy .......................................................................................... 13
Secondary education policy ....................................................................................... 14
Higher education policy ............................................................................................ I5
RATIONALITY 1N POLICY STUDIES ................................................................................... l6
HIGHER EDUCATION IN TANZANIA ................................................................................. 19
Universities as institutions of teaching ...................................................................... 20
Research role of the university in Tanzania .............................................................. 21
University service role in Tanzania ........................................................................... 23
SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................... 24
CHAPTER THREE - - 25
METHODS 25
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 25
RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................................... 26
THE EDUCATION SECTOR POLICY ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK ........................................... 27
SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................... 42

CHAPTER FOUR 43

FINDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF EDUCATION

(COMEA) OF AFRICAN MEMBER STATES (1982) 43

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 43
ESTABLISHING POLICY AGENCY ..................................................................................... 43
Building consensus .................................................................................................... 44

vi

Gaining momentum ................................................................................................... 48

 

 

Naming of the agency ................................................................................................ 51
FRAMING PROBLEMS ...................................................................................................... 53
Labeling of education problems by the Harare Declaration .................................... 53
Legitimizing problems ............................................................................................... 61
FRAMING AFRICAN EDUCATION SOLUTIONS ................................................................... 74
Labeling of the solutions ........................................................................................... 74
Competing solution interpretations ........................................................................... 9 7
SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 102
CHAPTER FIVE -_ 103
FINDINGS OF THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION FOR ALL
(WCEF A) (1990) 103
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 103
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WCEFA (1990) POLICY AGENCY .......................................... 103
Building Consensus ................................................................................................. 103
Building momentum ................................................................................................. 104
Naming of WCEFA .................................................................................................. 106
Labeling problems ................................................................................................... 1 09
Legitimizing policy problems .................................................................................. 112
FRAMING SOLUTIONS ................................................................................................... 1 16
Labeling solutions ................................................................................................... I 16
Legitimizing policy solution .................................................................................... 122
SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 129
CHAPTER SIX 130

 

A COMPARATIVE DISCUSSION OF FRAMING OF EDUCATION SECTOR
PROBLEMS BETWEEN THE WCEFA (1990) AND THE HARARE

 

 

 

DECLARATION (1982) - 130
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 130
FORMATION OF POLICY AGENCY .................................................................................. 131

Building consensus .................................................................................................. 131
Naming the policy framework ................................................................................. 133
Gaining momentum ................................................................................................. 135
FRAMING PROBLEMS BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ......................................... 136
FRAMING OF PROBLEMS BY THE AFRICAN MINISTERS OF EDUCATION .......................... 141
SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 147

CHAPTER SEVEN 148

THE TANZANIA EDUCATION AND TRAINING POLICY (1995) 148
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 148
ESTABLISHING THE POLICY AGENCY ............................................................................ 150

Consensus building .................................................................................................. 151
Naming the policy .................................................................................................... 152
Building momentum ................................................................................................. 153
FRAMING THE PROBLEMS ............................................................................................. 154

vii

Labeling of education sector problems in the Education and Training policy (1995)

 

 

 

................................................................................................................................. 1 5 4
Legitimizing policy problems .................................................................................. 159
Competing problem interpretation .......................................................................... I 64
ETP (1995) FRAMING OF EDUCATION SECTOR POLICY SOLUTIONS ............................... 168
Labeling solutions ................................................................................................... 168
Access and equity .................................................................................................... 168
Legitimizing policy solutions ................................................................................... 1 72
Competing policy interpretation .............................................................................. 1 75
SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 17 8
CHAPTER EIGHT 179
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 179
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 179
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND .......................................................................................... I 80
ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICY AGENCY ........................................................................... I82
FRAMING EDUCATION SECTOR PROBLEMS .................................................................... 187
FRAMING EDUCATION SECTOR SOLUTIONS ................................................................... I90
SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... I 94
APPENDIX ..... 196
CREATING THE CODES AND SELECTING POLICIES FOR STUDY ............ 196
Identifying the policy frameworks for study ............................................................ 196
CODING ........................................................................................................................ 197
Generating initial template codes for data analysis ................................................ 198
Abstraction .............................................................................................................. 203
BIBLIOGRAPHY 208

 

viii

List of Tables

Table 6.1 Comparative Interpretation of COMEA (1982) and WCEFA (1990) ........... 121

Table 7.1 Comparison of COMEA (1982), WCEFA (1990) and Tanzania ETP (1995).139

List of Figures

Figure 3.1 Overview of the education policy analytical framework ......................... 28
Figure 3.2 State One: Establishing the policy agency .......................................... 29
Figure 3.3 Stage Two: Framing Policy problems ............................................... 37
Figure 7.1 The Public Policy Interpretive Pathway Model ................................... 162
Figure 9.1: Steps in interpretive content analysis ............................................. 203
Figure 9.2 Framing policy problem ............................................................. 204
Figure 9.3 Framing policy solutions ............................................................ 205
Figure 9.3 Education sector policy framework timeline ..................................... 206

UN

UNDP

UNECA

UNICEF

UNESCO

List Abbreviations

United Nations

United Nations Development Program

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

United Nations Children’s Fund

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

xi

Chapter One

Introduction

Education sector policy prioritization in Afiica has oscillated between higher and
primary education (Brock-Utne, 2000) with the longest period of attention and support
paid to primary education (Wedgwood 2007). The situation has contributed to the
deterioration of higher education, which has continuously failed to attract fiscal and
planning support relative to primary education (Bloom et a1, 2006; Lulat, 2005). There
has been recent change of tone in support of higher education (World Bank 1994), but
nothing compared to the vociferous Millennium Development Goals (2000) and the
Universal Primary Education that provide fiscal, planning and monitoring mechanisms
for primary education. Primary education has attracted greater attention, for the longest
time on the basis of claims of higher economic rates of return on investment
(Psacharopolous and Patrinos 2002; Psacharopolous 1981, 1988), and egalitarian
justification. Arguments that cast reasonable doubt on the claims of rates of return
(Bennel 1995, 1996) and claims of increased importance of higher education in the
modern, knowledge driven world (World Bank 1994, Dudertadt 2000) have not directed

attention towards higher education of similar proportions to that for basic education.

Each of the major policy guidelines that influence education sector policy in
Africa, the World Conference on Education for All (W CEFA) (1990) and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDG) (2000), publishes annual progress reports that direct

attention and resources towards primary education in Afiica and other developing

regions. The annual monitoring reports reinforces the pursuit of achieving universal
primary education by 2015 (EF A report, 2006, 2007; Millennium Development Goals
reports, 2006, 2007). Both reports do not include higher education in their goals, but
present it in the discussion as having the potential and capacity to consume

disproportionate amount of resources compared to basic education, (EFA report, 2007).

The marginalization of higher education is perpetuated by the drive to achieve
universal primary education by 2015 (EPA, 2000; MDG, 2000) notwithstanding claims
that knowledge creation and application determine social and economic competitiveness
in the modern world ((Dudeestadt, 2000; Friedman 2005; World Bank, 1998/1990).
According to the World Development Report (1998/90), “. . .if we want to raise the living
standards as a household or as a country. . .we must do more than simply transform more
resources, for resources are scarce. We must use those resources in ways that generate
even higher returns to our efforts and investments. That too takes knowledge,” 9p. 16.).
In this statement the World Bank (1989/90) acknowledges the pivotal position of
knowledge creation and application in development. Of particular note is the
acknowledgement of the need to generate and apply knowledge in order to gain higher
returns from decreasing national resources. The report highlights the important role of
knowledge in the modern world, it states that “Knowledge has become perhaps the most

important factor determining standard of living - more than land, tools, or labor,” (p. 16).

Knowledge creation and application are among the major roles and
responsibilities of higher education (Boyer, 1990; Duderstadt, 2000; Altbach, 2001). Yet
this critical role of creating knowledge for generating higher returns from national

resources is not part of the arguments on education sector policy in developing countries.

The international policy guidelines (WCEF A 1990; MDG report 2000) argue for primary
education, notwithstanding the weak role of primary education in knowledge creation.
The authors of the World Development report (1989/90) argue that creation and
application of knowledge is critical to achieving increased competitiveness, as well as

gain higher returns from decreasing national resources.

The critical role of knowledge creation and application is made more apparent by
the goals of the international policy guidelines (EFA, 1990; MDG, 2000), which
ironically leave out higher education among their roles. The goals of these international
policy guidelines include poverty reduction, eliminating gender disparity in primary
schools, combating HIV/AIDS malaria and other diseases. Knowledge creation and
application is necessary to better understand these problems as well as generate
appropriate solutions. At a conference on “The Role of African Universities in the
Attainment of Millennium Development Goals,” Gravenir et a1 (2006) lamented that
“. . .universities, especially those in Africa, have not been optimally utilized to catalyze
development,” (p. 73). Gravenir et a1 (2006) further observed that “. . .the role of
universities, not only in improving the quality of education, but also in meeting the
MDGs remains a curios omission in almost all MDG reports,” (p. 73). The purpose of
this study is to shed light on the curios omission of higher education as a goal, among the

goals of the international education policy guides as observed by Gravenir et a1 (2006).

In order to shed light on the curios omission and perceived marginalization of
higher education in Afiica, this study analyzed three major policy guidelines developed
for the education sector in Africa, and Tanzania. The study examined the policy guideline

developed at the conference of African ministers of education in 1982 (The Harare

Declaration), the EFA (1990) and the Tanzania Education and Training policy (1995).
The policies were developed by three fairly distinct policy groups. It is the contention of
the current study that policy problems do not exists as objective entities but as diffuse and
subjective public concerns that are actively and socially constructed into policy problems,
which can be addressed (Stone 1988; Dery, 1984). This is evident in Tanzania education
sector policy where the tension between policy analysts who favor primary education
(MDG 2000; EF A, 1990; 2000) and those that favor higher education (Gravenir et a1,
2006) continues. In a situation where policy problems exist as diffuse public problem
areas, different policy groups are likely to see different policy problems. Accordingly the
current study began by identifying the particular policy groups that developed each of the

education sector policy guidelines selected for this study.

After identifying the policy groups for each policy guideline, the researcher
proceeded to examine the social construction of policy problem as each group flamed and
labeled policy problems, essentially crystallizing policy problems into existence (Dery,
1984). The study examined the policy labels generated by each policy group and how
these labels favored primary or higher education. Once the researcher identified the labels
generated by each policy group, the next step was to analyze the transformation of the
policy problems to policy solutions. Again the researcher examined how the solution

flames and labels favored either side of the education policy sector.

Description of the problem
For decades policy analysts have lamented that the education sector in Aflica has
been in a crisis (King, 2007; Samof and Carol, 2004). Various efforts have been made to

address the crisis (N yerere, 1964; Wedgwood, 2007). The scarcity of resources forced the

policy actors to choose between the education sub-sectors. They chose to prioritize
primary education over higher education (Palmer, 2006; King 2007). The Situation has
not only led to the deterioration of higher education (Lulat, 2005) but also to the
deterioration of the quality of primary education, increased dropout rates and other
education sector problems (Galvenir et all, 2005). Education policy analysts have
expressed concern at the neglect of higher education in Africa, suggesting that this
neglect of higher education may be responsible for the crisis in the education sector

(Palmer, 2006; Galvenir et a1 2005).

Policy arguments and studies that demonstrate the need and importance of higher
education in Africa (Palmer, 2006; King, 2007) have not gained as much traction as those
that favor primary education. The BF A (1990, 2000) and MDG (2000) which favor
primary education continue to drive education sector policy in Afiica. The drive is
reinforced through the annual monitoring reports that assess progress towards achieving

universal primary education by the year 2015.

The goal of achieving universal primary education is not new to Afiica (Nyerere,
1964; Education and development for Aflica, 1961). Past attempts to achieve universal
education have been unsuccessful, (Wedgwood, 2007; WCEF A, 2000). Policy actors
have argued that the failures were largely due to a lack of sufficient resources (EF A
monitoring report, 2009). As such the international community requested more resources
(WEF A, 2000) and moved forward the target for achieving universal primary education
to 2015. While there are still countries that are not likely to achieve the goal of universal

primary education by 2015, yet again, Tanzania has made adequate progress. However,

this is not the first time that Tanzania has achieved universal primary education, only to

tumble down.

The regress of enrollment rates in Tanzania after initially achieving universal
primary education by the late seventies as well as the deterioration of the quality of
primary education during the period of universal primary education suggest the need for
a vibrant higher education to produce sufficient numbers of well trained teachers, and
publish books for use in the schools, as well as conduct studies to improve the quality of
education. As 2015 approaches when universal primary education is expected to be
achieved, there are indications that the goal will not be achieved by many countries in
Afiica (EFA monitoring report, 2006, 2007). It is also not clear whether Tanzania will
hold on to its progress in achieving universal primary education by 2015 or what needs to
be done to be able to hold onto that achievement. The government of Tanzania has
already put together a committee to revamp the Education and Training Policy (1995).
The government lamented that the Education and Training Policy was not serving the
current needs of the people of Tanzania. The committee that was announced in May
2008, was supposed to present its recommendations to government by December, 2008.

That did not happen and still has not happened yet.

The education sector problems were compelling enough for the government to
call for revamping their education policy. There was a general dissatisfaction with the
education system and the products that came out of it. There were also concerns about
poor quality of education, high rates of drop out, inadequate teachers, books and
educational inflastructure (Wedgwood, 2007; Sarnoff, 1997). Yet it is another thing to

translate the dissatisfaction with the education system into policy problems and solutions

that can be addressed. The education policy committee has not produced the policy

recommendations that it should have presented to the government in December, 2008.

Research Questions

This study examines four central questions:

1) How did policy actors flame primary, secondary and higher education sector
problems at the World Conference on Education for All (1990) campaign?

2) How did policy actors flame primary, secondary and higher education sector
problems and solutions in the Tanzania Education and Training policy (1995).

3) How did the Afiican ministers of education flame education sector problems and
solutions at the Harare Declaration (1982) conference?

4) How did the World Conference on Education for All (1990) and the Conference
of Ministers of Education of Afiican Member States influence national education

policy in Tanzania?

Purpose of the study

According to King et, (1994) a research question must address an important question to
the real world that is “. . .consequential for political, social or economic life, for
understanding something that significantly affects many people’s lives,” (p. 15). In other
words the purpose of a study Should be to increase understanding of a social phenomenon
that has consequence to society. The purpose of this study is to determine how the basic
education policy focus has endured in Tanzania, in the face of contesting and compelling
arguments (W edgewood, 2007; King et a1 2005), and examine the space for generating

competing policy alternatives.

Education sector problems are more complex and wider than the issue of high out
of school population that is the enduring focus of education sector policy in Aflica (King
et a1, 2005; Cohn et all, 198 7). The current study will find out the factors that favored
continued support and prioritization of basic education. This is important for researchers
and policy analysts to understand as they are puzzled at how the primary education policy
focus has endured (Wedgwood, 2007). This is especially important as there are
opportunities coming up for a Shift in policy. Currently Tanzania is in the process of
revamping its education policy, and the year 2015 is approaching when the target for
achieving education for all will be reconsidered. Unless the factors that have favored the
enduring nature of basic education are explained, the policy windows that are presented

in Tanzania and the year 2015 will be missed.

Rationale for study

This section addresses the contribution of the study to “an identified scholarly
literature by increasing our collective ability to construct verified explanations of some
aspect of the world,” (King et a1, 1994, p. 15). The current study makes a contribution to
the literature on the study of public policy, particularly education sector policy making in
Afiica. Such a study, according to King et al (1994) is important in that “It also
guarantees that the work done will be important to others, thus improving the success of

the cormnunity of scholars taken as a whole,” (p. 16).

The international development targets that were set to be achieved in 2015 do not
include higher education (Millennium Development Goals, 2000; World Conference on

Education for All, 1990, 2000). This exclusion of higher education in the international

targets has led to the marginalization of fiscal and planning support for that subsector in

Tanzania and Afiica in general. The marginalization of higher education has become a
concern for education policy analysts who have embarked on policy studies to explain the

policy focus on basic education, (King et al, 2007; Wedgwood, 2007; Palmer 2006).

In its recent special issue the International Journal of Educational Development
(2007) focused on the topic “Beyond basic education and towards an expanded vision of
education — for poverty reduction and growth.” The education policy research articles in
the special issue investigate the marginalization of higher education in developing
countries (Wedgwood, 2007, Rose, 2007, King et al 2007). Notwithstanding the
importance of higher education as demonstrated by the studies, policy makers continue to
favor basic education. This study contributes to the academic conversation that is

attempting to explain the endurance of the primary education policy focus.

Dissertation Overview

The study is organized into seven chapters. Chapter one gives an overview of the
study. Chapter two presents the review of literature that provides a foundation for the
study. In chapter three the researcher presents the methods that were used to conduct
systematic data collection for the interpretive education policy study. Chapter four is
where the researcher uses the education policy analytical flamework, introduced in
Chapter three, to analyze the policy document prepared by the Conference of Ministers of
Education of Afiican Member States (1982). This is followed by Chapter Five where the
researcher again uses the analytical flarnework to analyze the policy document prepared
by the World Conference on Education for All (1990). In Chapter Six, the researcher
draws out the different ways in which the two conferences, mentioned above, perceived

education sector problems and solutions for Afiica. Chapter Seven is where the

researcher presents an analysis of the national Tanzania Education and Training Policy
(1990). In the last part, Chapter Eight, the researcher draws conclusion of the study,
discussing the influence of the international views of the education sector on Tanzania
national education policy and deriving an explanation of why the focus on basic

education has persisted in Tanzania and Afiica in general.

10

Chapter Two

Literature Review

Introduction

This literature review “interprets policy in terms of discourse, that is a struggle
between meanings and over meanings,” (Henry et a1, 2001, p.128). Henry et a1 (2001)
fiIrther states that, “Policy always involves suturing together competing discourses which
represent competing interests,” (p. 128). As such the literature presented in this chapter
reviews the flaming of education sector policy in Tanzania and also examines the broader
discourses within which the education sec tor policies are constructed and flamed. The
review sets a foundation for the study by examining academic and research discourse on
rationality in policy studies, higher education in policy discourse, public policy and major

education sector policies in Tanzania.

Public Policy

This section reviews literature on public policy in order to place the study into
perspective. Public policy is about the art, politics and science of managing scarcity. It is
about how governments make decisions concerning allocation of resources toward
achieving some specified goals, (Colebatch 1998). A popular definition of public policy
is the one by Dye (1998) that, “Whatever government chooses to do or not do,” (p. 2).

Dye (1998) chooses this Open definition arguing that it is never clear what public policy

11

is. Dye (1998) avoids giving a clear definition of public policy arguing that most

definitions imply that government have clear goals when they make decision and yet,

we can never be sure whether or not a particular action has a goal, or if it does,
what that goal is. ...We may wish that government act in a ‘purposeful, goal
oriented’ fashion, but we know that all too flequently they do not, (Dye 1998, p.

3).

This problem raised by Dye (1998) makes it difficult to define public policy. This
difficulty is reflected in a number of public policy books reviewed, that elected to leave
out the definition. Yet public policy is an important social process that affects people’s
lives, and choices that they can make. It is an important process in that it involves a few
representatives making decisions on behalf of a larger majority. Decisions that are made
in public policy affect a majority who are not part of the decision making process
(Colebacth 2005). Public policy decisions allocate resources between groups who may
not be satisfied with the allocation made. As such public policy is usually contested
territory because it is not always possible to make decisions on behalf of competing

groups in a manner that satisfies the groups involved.

What makes policy important and contested is that it does not give choice to
individual. To say that something is policy implies that it is an authoritative directive
(Colebatch 1998). It is to be followed. Since policy is made by a selected few, those who
have to live with the policy want to believe that the representatives making policy have
their best interests and know what they are doing. As such policy implies that expertise

has been applied to come up with a well considered decision. According to Colebatch

12

(1998), “. . .policy requires knowledge, both of the problem area, and of the firings that

might be done about it,” (p. 7).

What makes policy complex is that it is not about describing social issues and
what needs to be done, but rather “it labels what we see so that we can make sense of it in
a particular way,” (Colebatch, 1998, p. 11). In other words phenomenon is circumscribed
and given name, and meaning. Not everyone will agree with the labels given because the
labels are a result of social interpretation which may vary between groups. When policy
labels are generated they flame problems and solutions according to a particular O
interpretation. Colebatch (1998) says, “To state that ‘policy’ is a particular way of
flaming the action implies that there are alternatives, and there certainly are,” (p. 12). It

then raises the question of whose policies are adopted and whose are left out.
Education sector policies in Tanzania 1961 — 2000

Primary education policy

Independence was seen as a time to restore the educational imbalances created
during the colonial era. The government removed the standard IV exams that were seen
as unnecessary bottlenecks placed in the way of Tanzanians, to make it difficult for them
to get through primary education. The government went on to build more primary schools
in rural areas where the majority of the people of Tanzania lived (Maliyarnkono, 1979).
The result was that more students completed the seven years of primary school which,

had been curtailed by the standard IV exams during the colonial era.

The removal of the standard IV exams was not enough for the people of Tanzania

who hungered for education, they wentnt ahead and opened up “many unaided primary

13

schools ...notably in Kilimanjaro, Bujoba, and Rungwe, (Msekwa and Maliyamkono, (p.
27.). Government removed school for fees primary education in 1973 for the purpose of
achieving universal primary education by 1977 (Bogonko 1992). The resultant increase in
enrollment led to high drop out and low quality of education. Enrollment reached an all

time high during the early seventies.

Secondary education policy

According to the UN report of the education planning mission (1963) “At 1 November
1961, there were 42 secondary schools providing education for 6,031 pupils,” (p. 51)
Secondary education had been neglected more than primary education during the colonial
period. This neglect led to a shortage of Tanzanians with the education and skills required
to fill the middle and top level jobs. The shortage was exacerbated by the departure of
colonial settlers at independence. According to Bogonko (1992), “The Development
Plan for Tanganyika 1961/62 -lO63/64, for example, aimed to increase the number of
school certificate candidates three times and that of HSC candidates six times by 1964”
(p. 67). The high school certificate candidates were those students that completed Form

IV and would become candidates for teachers colleges.

The late President Nyerere (198 5) stated that, “The shortage of educated people
was so great that many of the experienced teachers in both secondary and primary
schools had to be transferred flom education to other types of needed work in the new
government,” (p. 46). It was therefore envisaged that the most direct solution to the
shortage of human resources was to increase the pool of candidates available for those
high level positions. According to the development plan for Tanganyika 1961/62 -—

1963/64 “The Government considers that, at this stage of the country’s development, the

14

greatest need is for considerable expansion of secondary education,” (p. 79). Increased
supply of students flom the primary school also led to more students than the secondary

schools could take.

During the 1980’s, expanding demand and inadequate resources led to the greater
reliance on external funding. That in turn meant that education planning took the

form of marketing projects to external assistance agencies,(Samoff, 1994, p. 101).

Higher education policy

Shortage of human resources with higher education qualifications was even more
acute, prompting the government to adopt an aggressive policy for increasing enrollment
at that level. The University of Dar es Salaam was established in 1961. Support for higher
education was not to last long before there was concern that the support benefitted only a
few students at the expense of the poor majority. In 1967 at the Arusha Declaration, the
government announced its education for self-reliance policy, which promoted Afiican
values. The govemment argued in the policy on self-reliance that there were too few
places for students to proceed to higher education yet the education system did not fully
prepare the majority students who were unable to proceed to higher education. The
education for self reliance policy introduced a curriculum that fully prepared the majority
of the students who were unable to proceed to higher education so that they could

contribute to society (N yerere, 1967).

The Arusha declaration was followed by the Musoma resolution that required

students to complete 2 years of national service before they could be admitted for

15

university education (Luhanga et a1, 2005). By the period of the late 70’s to early 808’

support for higher education had weakened.

Rationality in policy studies

Policy researchers and analysts have not figured out how public policies are
arrived at (Fischer 2003). The modern day belief in knowledge tends to convince some
policy actors in the rational approach to policy formation. According to this perspective,
knowledge about policy problems drives policy solutions (Fischer 2003). In other words
policies are arrived at after considering knowledge and expertise about a policy problem
that leads to rational policy solutions. The prioritization of basic education over higher
education in developing countries (King, 2007) is portrayed as a result of careful
consideration of the relative rates of return on investment for the different education sub-
sectors (Psacharopolous, 1994, 1987, 1991). Wedgewood (2007) states that social rates of
return are higher for primary education, which is 3,6%, while social rates for secondary
education is 1.6%, and negligible for higher and vocational education. Such evidence has
been demonstrated in earlier studies by Psacharopolous (1973) and became some of the
foundational basis driving the prioritization of primary education in developing countries,
leading to the pro-primary education policy guidelines such as the Millennium

Development Goals (2000) and Dakar conference (2000).

The pro-primary education guidelines have led to diversion of funding away flom
higher education institutions (Sarnmoff and Carrol, 2004; Lulat, 2005). The strength of
the claims for pro-primary education policies, according to their proponents, lies in the
relative advantages of investing in primary education compared to higher education,

(World Bank, 1980, 1994). The claims about rates of return as driving the pro-primary

16

education policy choice portray a rational process that is based on objectivity. Even
though the claims and accuracy about the rates of returns are hotly contested (Klees,
19986; Bennel, 1996, 1995; Lulat, 2005), the claims continue to drive the prioritization of

primary education over higher education in developing countries.

The comparison of the rates of return (Psacharopolous (1981) are based on “. . .the
opportunity cost of staying in school beyond the age 18 instead of working in the labor
market. This opportunity cost is measured by the earnings of labor with secondary school
qualifications,” (p. 323). The comparison of the returns are based on the opportunity costs
of staying in school instead of working, implying that the benefits of the education sub-
levels are only those that accrue to individuals flom participating in school. Unlike
primary education, the benefits of higher education dot not only come flom potential
earnings of individuals but more so flom their role in knowledge creation. An important
role of higher education is the creation of knowledge, which is applied to generate
solutions that address problems facing society (World Bank 2002). Any calculation that
orrrits this fundamental role of higher education misses a significant proportion of the

benefit of higher education.

It becomes inaccurate to claim higher rates of return on primary education when
the calculations do not take into account a significant proportion of the benefits of higher
education emanating flom knowledge creation and application. Stone (1 98 8) laments this
claim of a common denominator where it does not exist. Stone (1988) observed that,
“Numbers force a common denominator where there is none, “(p. 136). Stone calls that
forced denominator a case of synechdoche, which refers to portrayal of a part of a

problem as the whole. Stone (198 8) argues that, “The fundamental issues of any policy

17

conflict are always contained in the question of how to count the problem,” (p. 127).
Decisions of how to count the problem are based on setting boundaries around what
counts as a problem, leading to decisions of what becomes an appropriate solution. In this
case the problem definition sets the narrow boundaries around the benefits of education
to individuals at different sub-levels of education, which omits the benefits flom

knowledge creation in the higher education system.

Wood (1985) refers to the fundamental issues of deciding what counts in policy
problems as labeling. According to Wood (1985), through the process of labeling,
decision are made on what counts as higher education. Woods (1985) laments that,

“. . .the significance of labeling has been underestimated as an aspect of policy discourse
and especially for its structural impact (through creation, reinforcement and reproduction)
upon the institutions and their ideologies through which we are managed,” (p. 5). Wood
(1985) proceeds to state that, “Thus the validity of labels becomes not a matter of
substantive objectivity but of the ability to use labels effectively in action as designation

which define parameters for thought and behavior,” (p. 7.).

Rationality in policy discourse is enhanced by labels and measurement that allows

counting. Stone (1988) argues that numbers

...hide all the difficult choices that go into a count. And certain kinds of numbers
...not only conceal the underlying choices but seemingly advertize the prowess of
the measure. . ..To offer one of these numbers is by itself a gesture of authority (p.

137).).

18

Thus the claims of the rates of return dominate and guide education sector policies in
developing countries by virtue of the authoritative nature of the measure
(Psacharopolous, 1994, 1987). The choices that are concealed in the measures of the rates
of return emanate flom the fact that the indicators of the different education sub-sector do
not have an objective existence, but are rather products of social construction (Berger and
Luckmann, 1964). In other words the indicators are abstractions that form partial

representation of reality.

Higher Education in Tanzania

Policy makers in Tanzania and other developing countries make education policy
decisions that are intended to get the best returns on investment. In other words when
they prioritize primary education, it is because they believe that there are higher rates of
return on investing flom primary than higher education. As noted above, the question of
what constitutes higher education is not clear. It is thus important to review the literature

on how higher education is understood, thought and talked about in Tanzania.

The problem of understanding what constitutes higher education is not new. It is
evident in the history of higher education. During its formative years (Newman, 1964;
Kerr, 1995), there were serious debates about what constituted higher education. Higher
education has evolved flom being conceived of as institutions of teaching (Newman,
1964) to von Humboldt’s research universities (Fallis, 2007), to the more encompassing
perspective of the modern university as an institution for teaching, research and service,
(Altbach, 2001 ). In Tanzania, higher education evolved during the early post-colonial
period influenced by the political need to advance the education level of the people of

Tanzania. While the political drive led higher education to be thought about as

19

institutions for advancing the level of education of the people of Tanzania, the role of
higher education is more than that. The review will now examine the multiple roles of

higher education as perceived in Tanzania.

Universities as institutions of teaching

Universities form a distinctly characteristic form of multi—purpose higher
education institutions. While they are distinctly multi-purpose, universities in Tanzania
are debated and thought about more as teaching institutions (Lulat 2005). As such this
section will start by reviewing literature on the role of universities as institutions of
teaching. The prominence of the role of universities as teaching institutions can be
explained as historical. During the late fifties into the sixties, African countries were
gaining political independence (Lulat 2005). There was concern about too few Afiicans
educated enough to take over the middle to high level jobs that would be vacated by the
colonialists. Recommendations were made at the Conference on the Development of

Higher Education in Afiica held in 1962 to increase enrollment at universities.

According to Mkude and Cooksey (2003), “The first higher education institution
in the country was established in 1961 as a College of the University of London. The
University College of Tanganyika, as it was called, started with the Faculty of Law,” (p.
583). From these modest beginnings the University of Dar es Salaam grew rapidly,
increasing its programs and enrollment (Luhanga et a1, 2003). University education
tremendously improved life chances by opening many opportunities for rising up the
ladder in the many career opportunities vacated by the former colonial masters (Meena
1979). The rapid increase in the size of the university became a strain on the national

budget leading to debate about returns to society of the investment made in educating

20

university students. The government responded by requiring university bound students to
complete one year national service, and two years of satisfactory work experience before
they could be accepted (Luhanga 2003). The government viewed the university as an
investment by the poor in their future, through the contribution of university-educated
students to society (N yerere, (1964). The university students did not quite share the same
view. The requirement for national service riled them, making them conflontational
against the government. The conflontation damaged the image of university students who
were viewed as irrational and detached flom the society that sacrificed for their
education. The government and the people of Tanzania began to question the benefits of
university education. The university was known to society largely for its students who got

the lion’s share of the meager national budget.

As noted earlier, the role of the university has been debated in the past. Newman
was one of the early scholars who argued for the university as a teaching institution.
Newman (1961) stated that, “The view taken of a University ...is the following:- That it
is a place of teaching universal knowledge,” (p.4). Newman (1961) argued that there were
other institutions that were responsible for research. However the view of the university
as a teaching institute was not influenced by Newman’s argument, but rather by

pragmatic needs for human resources.

Research role of the university in Tanzania

While Newman was advocating liberal education as the role of the university,
“the example of the Germany University was leading other scholars to propose a different
purpose of higher education, one in which research, particularly scientific, was upper

most,” (Altibach 2001, p. 118). The argument 5 for research were made on the basis that,

21

the “. . .world was neither as chaotic nor as the working of God’s conscious hand; rather
the world was approached as a mechanism that conforms to laws than can be expressed
mathematically,” (F allis 2007,p. 27). This new idea of the university became associated
with modernity, as observed by fallis (2007) that, “. . .the modern university is concerned

with research and the discovery of knowledge,” (p. 28).

The research role of universities in Afiica is one that was overshadowed by the
need for human resources. There was certainly a place for universities as research
institutions to produce knowledge required to address many of the problems that faced
Tanzania and Aflica generally. However research was never a priority. The government
did not allocate sufficient funding for research (Mkude et a1, 2003). As a result of the
weak support for research, Afiican universities have not played an important role in

knowledge creation.

It is ironic that the university’s role of knowledge creation was down played in
Tanzania and Africa in general, when it had the most potential to address the myriad
problems facing the country and continent. The research role of universities might have
suffered largely because the debates about the role of the university were carried out in
the policy and political arena (N yerere, 1964). The African academics recognized the
research role of universities. They argued that the research needed to be relevant to the
Aflican environment (Wandira 1977). Wandira (1977) stated that the idea of the Afiican
university was debated at a conference held by the Association of Afiican Universities in
1972. The conference argued that, “The Aflican University must be one that draws its
inspiration flom its environment, not a transplanted tree, but growing flom a seed that is

planted and nurtured in the Aflican soil,” (Wandira, 1977, p. 22, quoting Yesufu). The

22

conference argued that relevant research contributed to addressing local problems and
“amelioration of the life of the ordinary man and the rural poor,” (Wandira, 1977, p. 23).
While the university was seen as a symbol for national development, knowledge creation

did not figure prominently.

Prominent universities of the world are known more for their research than
teaching (Boyer, 1990). According to Boyer (1990) the push for university research
increased during the Great Depression when universities joined in the war “to bring
victory to the nation,” (Boyer 1990, p. 10). The effort led to the establishment of the
National Defense Research Committee, which later became the Office of Scientific
Research and Development (Boyer, 1990). In this case knowledge creation was given a
prominent role in addressing social problems, as opposed to human resource in the case

of the Afiican university.

University service role in Tanzania

The people of Tanzania were committed to the service role of the university. The
University of Dar es Salaam was supposed to support the local communities and help
them address their problems since they were funded by taxes collected flom the poor.
Wandira (1977) quotes flom the Chancellor of the University of Botswana and Swaziland
talking about the role of the university that, “Nothing gives our countries greater pleasure
than to see our Colleges and University grow in service to the community beyond their

walls, standing in the midst of that community for something which is not already there,”

(p. 26).

23

According to Ngara (1995) the role of service provision is left to individuals
who have to make personal choices. There is no incentive to engage in service provision.
Ngara (1995) goes on to recommend that universities be offer consultancies as incentives
to offer service to their local communities. According to Meena (1979), the University of
Dar es Salaam provided various services to local communities that included setting,
moderating and making national exams, writing syllabi and offering legal advice to those
who could not hire lawyers. Meena (1979) also points out that University of Dar es
Salaam had institutions that provided service to local communities. These institutions
included Economic Research Bureau, Bureau of Resource Assessment and Institute of

Development studies.

It is clear flom the review that higher education is dominated by the role of
teaching, at the expense of the other roles. This overemphasis of teaching is also apparent
in the policies of education in Tanzania. However the literature review demonstrates that
the concept of higher education is not fully understood as used in policies where the term

largely makes reference to teaching as solely constituting higher education.

Summary

The literature review has discussed and analyzed what is already known about
education policy in Tanzania. The review began by discussing public policy to find out
what is already known. This is immediately followed by a review of education policies in
Tanzania. The discussion on education policy in Tanzania is followed by the concept of
policy rationality which analyzes the policy as rational decision. The final section
discusses the concept of higher education and its multiple purposes. The next chapter will

present and discuss the methods that the researcher used to collect data for this study.

24

Chapter Three

Methods

Introduction

A discussion of the methods is a critical component of any social scientific
inquiry (King et a1, 1994). Methods define how data will be collected and analyzed
leading to conclusions that are consistent with the approach employed. According to
King et a1 (1994) “The content of ‘science’ is primarily the methods and rules, not the
subject matter, since we can use these methods to study virtually anything,” (p. 11). This
section describes the methods and rules of science that were applied in the design of the

study consistent with agreed conduct of a scientific inquiry.

The purpose of the methods section is to generate credible, reliable and valid data
that can be used to draw inferences about a social phenomenon. In the case of this study
the methods used generated reliable and credible data to make inferences about education
sector policy prioritization in Aflica. The study seeks to understand how policy actors for
selected policies made sense of, and interpreted policy problems, leading to prioritization
of a particular education sub-sector, in this case leading to the prioritization of primary
education in Tanzania. The focus on sense making and interpretation of education sector
problems suggest the use of “. . .interpretivist (also referred to as constructivist) paradigm,
which portrays a world in which reality is socially constructed, complex, and ever

changing,” (Glesne 1999, p. 5).

25

The interpretive perspective acknowledges multiple views of common
experiences as a result of social construction of reality. In order to generate credible,
valid and reliable data about socially constructed reality, interpretive researchers must
suspend judgment about phenOmena that they want to investigate and let the subjects
generate the content, (Paris and Reynolds, 1983). The purpose of interpretive
investigation is to gain insight into subjects’ interpretation of phenomena. This is
important in policy studies where unlike “. . .the world of nature, as explored by the
natural scientist, does not ‘mean’ anything to the molecules, atoms, and electrons the
observational field of the social scientist — social reality — has a specific meaning and
relevance structure for human beings located within it,” (Paris and Reynolds, 1983, p.
168). Cohen and Manion (1983) add that, “The data thus yielded will be glossed with the
meaning and purpose of those people who are their source,” (p. 39). Cohen and Manion
(1983) proceed to state tha . “ The scientific aim of investigation by an interpretive
researcher is to understand how this glossing over of reality goes on at one time and in
one place and compare it with what goes on in different times and places,” (p. 39). The
current study examined the meaning that policy actors ascribed to education sector
problems resulting in prioritization of a particular education sub-sector. The researcher
developed an interpretive analytical flarnework for studying the selected education sector

polices.

Research questions
The researcher set out to firrther the understanding of the following questions about

education policy sector in Tanzania:

26

1) How did policy actors flame primary, secondary and higher education sector
problems at the World Conference on Education for All (1990) campaign?

2) How did policy actors flame primary, secondary and higher education problems
and solutions in the Education and Training Policy (1995) in Tanzania?

3) How did the Aflican ministers of education flame education sector problems and
solutions at their Harare Declaration (1982) conference?

4) How did each the World Conference on Education for All (1990) and the
Conference of Ministers of Education of Afiican Member States (1982) influence

national education policy in Tanzania?

The Education Sector Policy Analysis Framework

The current section describes the analytical flamework that was developed for the
purpose of studying the education sector policies identified for the study. The analytical
flamework is fundamental to an understanding of the study. Without a complete
understanding of this analytical flamework it is difficult to comprehend the analysis of
the various policy flameworks selected for the study. A detailed description of how the

flamework was developed is presented in the appendix.

The researcher set out to study the way in which educations sector policies were
formulated, leading to the prevalence of primary education over higher education in
Tanzania. In order to do that the researcher selected three policy flameworks which were
investigated to bring forth an understanding of the policy formulation processes that led
to the persistent favor of basic education. The policies that were selected for the study

are:

27

o The Harare Declaration (1982) (The Conference of Aflican Ministers of
Education)
0 World Conference of Education for All (1990)
0 Tanzania Education and Training Policy (1995).
The Harare Declaration (1982) was one in a series of conferences held by the Aflican
ministers of education to offer direction to Aflican states on their education sector
policies. The Harare Declaration (1982) was selected because it was the last conference

of Aflican ministers of education to be held prior to the World Conference on Education

for All (W CEFA) in 1990.

The WCEF A (1990) was a global forum that discussed and offered guidance to
education sector policies of developing countries in particular. The WCEFA (1990) had
tremendous influence on the education sector policies of developing countries, including
Aflican countries such as Tanzania. The Tanzania Education and Training Policy (1995)
was the first education sector policy in that country after the period of Nyerere, the
president who had influenced earlier education polices. This policy demonstrated a shift
away flom socialist Tanzania to capitalism. It followed the WCEFA (1990) that provided
guidance of the international perspective for education sector policy in developing
countries. It also came afier the Harare Declaration that had provided guidance of the

African perspective of education sector policy in Afiica.

The education policy analytical flamework is a three stage process for
examining the origin and development of a policy as described below. Figure 3.1 shows
the stages of the education analytical flamework that was used to analyze and make sense

of the education sector problems as they were interpreted by the three policy groups, the

28

World Conference of Education for All, Conference of Ministers of Education of Afiican

Member States, and the government of Tanzania.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
Establishing policy Framing policy F r anring policy
agency problems solutions

0 Build policy 0 Label problem 0 Label solution
consensus
O Legitimize 0 Legitimize
o Gain policy problems solution
momentum
0 Contesting 0 Contesting
o Naming the problem solution
POIiCY perspectives perspectives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3.1 Overview of the education policy analytical flamework

The analytical policy flamework consists of three stages which include
establishing the policy agency, framing the problems and framing the policy
solutions (Dery, 1984; Schon and Rein, 1994). The first step of establishing the policy
agency analyzes the way in which policy actors coalesce around a particular policy
problem. It brings an understanding into the identity and interests of the groups that come
together to flame policy problems, how members are recruited to join the policy agency,

and it also examines the naming of the policy flamework (Apthorpe, 1996).

Following the establishment of the policy agency, the next step is framing
policy problems. This step examines the labels given to particular policy problems
(Cornwall and Brock, 2005). It seeks to answer the question about what is the problem

and what parameters constitute the problem. It begins with labeling of the problem,

29

followed by legitimizing of the problem (Dowling and Pfeffer, 1975; Suchman, 1995)
wherein the problem is justified as to why public resources should be expended on it.
Another subcategory is the contesting policy problem that examines the alternative policy

labels (Portz, 1996; Harcourt, 1998).

The last stage is that of framing the solutions which consist of three categories
that include labeling the solution, legitimizing the solution and contestng solutions
(Harcourt, 1998). As pointed out above, the analytical education flamework is
fundamental to understanding of the current study. The analytical flarnework is applied to
the selected polices for the purpose of generating and manipulating data. Following the

description of the overview of the flamework, each stage will now be described in detail.

 

Establishment of policy agency

Establishment

of policy
agency

I
l

 

 

 

 

Building
Consensus

Building
momentum

Naming the

policy

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3.2 Stage One: Establishing the policy Agency

30

The previous section presented an overview of the education policy sector
analytical flamework. The current section presents the detailed flamework. Stage one of
the analytical flamework is the establishment of the policy agency which analyzes how

policy agents come together to flame a particular policy.

In general policy narratives present a perspective about some aspect of public
concern that requires public intervention (Zahariadis 2008; Fischer 2003). The purpose of
policy narratives is to persuade the public that the problem described is real and requires
public resources. Policy narrative focus on the substantive content of a policy, in other
words they focus on the problems and how they need to be addressed. The format
assumes that a policy problem is objective, and it does not matter who identifies it
(Radaelli 1999; Rein and Fischer 1993). The assumption is that any policy group will
come up with the same policy problems. This is not necessarily the case in public policy
problems. Harcourt (1998) argues that, “The point to stress is that not only does reality
beg interpretation in order to be acted upon by human agents, and therefore policy
problems are subject to interpretation but, more importantly, different ‘flames’ steer
choices of alternative courses for actions, solutions and policy instruments,” (p. 370).
Different groups tend to be affected in different ways by any particular social situation
(Berger and Luckman 2002; Portz 1996). As such different groups hold different

perspectives and interests about a public concern.

It is thus important when analyzing a policy to examine the interest groups that
come together to define the policy (Radaelli 1999). When a public concern arises, policy
actors build a policy agencythat becomes an authority over the issue. While the policy

agency is ascribed authority over a policy issue (Radaelli 1999), research indicates that

31

the policy actors tend to serve the interests of their group (Entrnan, 2004). It is thus
important in a policy analysis to study the identity and interests of the groups who joined

together to form a policy agency that becomes the authority over an issue.

According to the analytical flamework developed for this study, the stage of
establishing of the policy agency consists of three categories. One category is that of
building consensus (Weiss, 1989). At this stage a leading policy actor seeks other like-
minded actors to coalesce around a policy position. The purpose of this stage is to bring
together those actors that are influential and capable of leading in a particular policy
persuasion (Adler and Haas 1992; Haas, 1992). The consensus building stage examines
how actors take the lead in advocating for a policy position. Since prevailing actors take
the lead in advocating for a particular position, the analytical flamework examines
command and authority of policy actors in the policy position that they advocate for
(Radaelli 1999, Haas, 1992). This authority derives out of the group’s claimed knowledge
of the policy area, ability to mm the policy position or political identification with the
policy area (Adler and Haas 1992). Claims of knowledge about a policy area tend to
command greater authority over a policy area because they are considered to be objective
and based on good research (Davite 2007; Radaelli 1999). Being able to fund a particular
policy position gives the position a better chance in policy advocacy (Takala 1999). A
group that couples its policy position with concomitant funding is more likely to see its
position through (Craig and Porter 2002). A political position is based on claims that the
group will be more directly affected by the outcomes of the policy (Radaelli 1999). Based
on the argument that a group will experience and live with the outcomes of a policy

(Entrnan 2004), a group that claims political identification with a problem argues that it

32

understands the policy problem much better and should define the policy problem

(Radaelli 1999).

The purpose of the stage of building momentum is to examine the strength of the
different coalitions and identify the coalition that will command public respect and trust
enough to attract and enroll important constituencies to their side (Haas 1992). Once a
core team has been built that commands enough authority over a policy position, the
consensus group proceeds to enroll important constituencies for the implementation of
the policy position. The analytic flamework examines the constituencies that are recruited
and their claims to knowledge, firnding availability or political identification with the
problem (Craig and Porter, 2002). In general the consensual group hosts conferences or
some other similar forum that brings heightened attention to a policy position, and gives
the impression that something is being done about a public problem. The intention of this
stage is to examine the hype that is created about a particular policy position to attract
important constituencies who perceive an escape route out of the problem. The forum
draws varying level of public attention, with the high profile policy actors drawing more

attention and visibility.

Of particular importance in drawing attention and persuading important
constituencies during the stage of gaining momentum is the naming of the policy
position (Apthorpe 1996; Cornwall and Brock, 2005). The flamework analyzes the name
to find out how it highlights an aspect of the policy position that is considered the most
persuasive to the important constituencies (Rein and Schon 1993). The name given to the
forum is important for its symbolic significance (Stone 1997; Yanow 1999, 2000). The

name becomes the popular identification of policy position. According to Yanow (1993)

33

“The name assigned to a problematic terrain focuses attention on certain elements and
leads to neglect of others,” (p. 153).It is quickly taken for granted yet it sends the
message about how a problem will be addressed (Yanow, 1999; Cornwall and Brock,
2005). The name is supposed to appeal to the important constituencies so that they
choose to join the cause. “To have that appeal, it needs to speak to those who work in
development and speak about their preoccupations, their hopes, their values,” (Cornwall

and Brock, 2005).

Successful policy names that attract the widest constituencies tend to be dramatic
and broad (Yanow, 1999; Cornwall and Brock, 2005). Cornwall and Brock (2005) refer
to these policy names or labels as development buzz words. Cornwall and Brock (2005)
argue about development buzz words that, “their propensity to shelter multiple meanings
makes them politically expedient, shielding those who use them flom attack by lending
the possibility of cormnon meaning to extremely disparate actors,” (p. 1056). Dramatic
policy names give the impression of a crisis necessarily creating a sense of urgency to

address the problem.

Dramatic policy names may be created out of the attractiveness and simplicity of
the solution implied in the name. Policy names that are net dramatic may not have an
appeal to any important constituencies in that such names may not energies those
constituencies. They do not offer a popular discourse as do dramatic policy names, which
“provided conceptual coherence, a direction for action, a basis for persuasion, and a
flamework for the collection and analysis of data — order, action, and analysis,” (Rein and

Schon 1993, p. 153).

34

The purpose of establishing a policy agency is to command authority over a
policy area as well as to persuade the following of important constituencies (Haas, 1992;
Adler and Haas, 1992). It is important to command authority and persuade important
constituencies because the policy agency not only has authority to define what become
accepted policy problems and solutions, but also attracts resources to their particular
position (Meyer and Rowan, 1977). The public’s perception of the strength of a policy
agency determines the resources that will be attracted to a policy area (Salancik and
Pfeffer, 1977). It is important to note that much of the information about the
establishment of the policy agency is not presented in the policy narratives. This
analytical flamework allows the analysis to seek relevant data outside of the policy
document under study. This is an important feature of the analytical flamework, which
allows the flexibility to identify other sources of data to fill in those gaps that are not

provided by the policy docrunent.

The three sub-stages of building consensus, building momentum and naming the
agency together constitute the first stage of establishing the policy agency that will
proceed to define a policy problem perspective and solution. The following section
describes the next stage of the education policy analysis, which is that of flaming the

problem.

35

 

Establishment of policy agency

 

 

Establishment
" of policy
agency

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 
  
    

  

Building
momentum

Naming the
policy

Building
consensus

    
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3.3 Stage two: Framing policy problems

It has been pointed out that problems are not objective entities waiting to be
discovered but are subjective forms whose existence is determined by the policy group
who are bringing them into existence. In other words problems are talked into existence
(Dery, 1984), they are not ‘out there’ in some given shape. It is at the stage of the flaming
problems that the boundaries are set around a problem (Apthorpe, 1996; Harcourt, 1998).
There are three categories involved in the stage of flaming problems. One category is that

of labeling the problem.

Labeling problems is a process when particular aspects of a public concem are
tagged with a name that identifies specific parameters as the problems that are causing
public discomfort (Stone, 1997, Cornwall and Brock, 2005). Problems are labeled so that

they can be addressed. The parameters that are labeled as problems will attract public

36

attention and resources while those that are left out of the label are overshadowed.
Fischer (1993) agrees with Mayanard-Moody and Kelly who “describe the policy process
as a struggle over the symbols we invoke and the categories into which we place different
problems and solutions, because ultimately these symbols and categories will determine
that we will take,” (p. 61).The aspects of a problem that are left out of the label lose the
problem status (Haas, 1992; Adler and Hass, 992; Portz, 1996). When a dimension of
social issue is selected and assigned a problem label, that particular dimension of public
concern attains a problem status. A problem status means that when the dimension
identified and labeled as the problem is addressed, the result is an improved quality of life
for the group affected by the problem. The parameters that receive the problem label will
be the ones to be monitored to determine progress or lack thereof in addressing the

problem (EFA report 2007, 2008; MDG 2007).

Not all problems will draw attention and public resources. It is those problem
labels that are considered to be important that will receive public attention and resources.
In other words problems labels have to be legitimized. Generally problems are
legitimized by demonstrating the seriousness of the problem, the urgency of the problem
or the extent of the population affected by the problem (Entrnan 1993). Problems may
also be legitimized by having the support of those groups that have been ascribed
authority over the problem area (Haas 1992). As discussed above the groups may be
ascribed authority over a problem area due to their claims to knowledge of the problem
area, ability to fimd the solution or political identification with the problem (Radaelli

1999).

37

As discussed earlier that problem labels are talked into existence (Dery, 1984),
different policy groups will perceive the same problem in different ways. While policy
narratives tend to present a unified position about a particular problem perspective
(MDG, 2000; EFA, 1990, Adler and Haas, 1992) there exist contesting problem labels

(Entrnan 1993; Fischer 1993).

Fischer (1993) states that,

Each policy related idea is an argument, or rather a set of arguments, favoring
different ways of looking at the world. The task of the analyst is to examine the
multiple understandings of what otherwise appears to be 5 single concept, in
particular how these understandings are created and how they are manipulated (p.

61).

Policy narratives present a unified perspective because they represent the
perspective of the established policy agency (Haas, 1992). The perspective of those that
are not a part of the established policy agency is not presented in policy narratives, but
that does not mean that the perspective ceases to exist. It is important to find out the
contesting views and also whose alternative views they are. These contesting views may
not be found in the policy narratives. The starting point of finding the alternative views is
to get a thorough understanding of the mainstream view presented in the policy
document. A thorough understanding of the mainstream view seeks to find out the policy
groups who constitute the main view, and also go on to identify other groups whose view

may not concur. The analysis goes on to seek for the perspectives of the other groups

38

where they are likely to express those views. This is an important feature of the analytical

flamework it allows the analysis to move beyond the main policy documents under study.

The purpose of the process of flaming problems discussed here is to bring
problems into existence so that they can be addressed. The parameters that are granted
the problem status are the ones that will be eligible to receive public attention and
resources. The parameters that are left out of the problem label lose out on the resources
(Fischer 1993). Those parameters that do not make it to the policy narrative may still be
part of the alternative or contesting perspective (Harcourt 1998). The current analytical
flamework brings attention to both the perspective of the established agency and the
contesting perspective. Fischer (1993) agrees with Stone that “uncovering the hidden
arguments embedded in each policy concept, ...can illuminate and even at times resolve
the political conflicts that would otherwise only appear to be on the surface of the issue,”
(p. 61). Since the alternative or contesting perspective is not necessarily expressed in
policy narratives, the analytical flarnework looks beyond the policy narrative of the

established agency to gain access to contesting views.

39

 

Framing policy solutions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Framing
policy
solutions
I
Labeling Legitimizing Contesting
policy policy policy
solution solutions solutions

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3.4 Stage three: Framing the policy solutions

Just as problems are not objective entities, so the policy solutions are also talked
into existence (Dery 1984; Fischer 1993). In other words solutions are not ‘out there’ in
some given shape. It is at the stage of the flaming solutions that the boundaries are set
around a solution. There are three categories involved in the stage of flaming solutions.

One category is that of labeling the solution.

Labeling a solution involves identifying particular resources and support
mechanisms as the solutions that will address problems identified in the problem flaming
process described above. Those resources identified as holding the potential for
addressing particular problems are generated, sought after and mobilized (Craig and
Porter 2002). Just as in the problem flaming, those resources that do not receive the

solution status are not mobilized for the purpose of addressing the problem in question.

40

For any problem there will be any number of possible solutions (Stone 1988). It is
those solution labels that are considered to hold the most potential for addressing the
problem in question that will receive the solution status. Solutions may also be
legitimized by having the support of those groups that have been ascribed authority over
the problem area (Haas 1992; Stone 1988). As discussed above the groups may be
ascribed authority over a problem area due to their claims to knowledge of the problem

area, ability to firnd the solution or political identification with the problem.

As solutions labels are talked into existence, different policy groups will create
different solutions according to how they perceive the problem and their interest in the
policy problem (Takala, 1998). While policy narratives tend to present a unified position
about a particular policy solution, there exist contesting solution labels (Colebatch 1998).
Policy narratives present a unified perspective because they represent the perspective of
the established policy agency. The perspective of those that are not a part of the
established policy agency is not presented in policy narratives, but that does not mean
that the perspective ceases to exist (Colebatch 1998). It is important to find out the
contesting views and also whose alternative views they are. These contesting views may
not be found in the policy narratives. The starting point of finding the alternative views is
to get a thorough understanding of the mainstream view presented in the policy
document. A thorough understanding of the mainstream view seeks to find out the policy
groups who constitute the main view, and also go on to identify other groups whose view
may not concur. The analysis goes on to seek for the perspectives of the other groups

where they are likely to express those views. This is an important feature of the analytical

41

flamework that it allows the analysis to move beyond the main policy documents under

study.

The purpose of the process of flaming solutions discussed in the current section is
to bring solutions into existence that is perceived to address the problem of concern. A
solution dimension left out of the solution label is overshadowed even when it may hold
potential for addressing the problem. Those parameters that do not make it to the policy
narrative may still be part of the alternative or contesting perspective. The current
analytical flamework brings attention to both the perspective of the established agency
and the contesting perspective. Since the alternative or contesting perspective is not
necessarily expressed in policy documents (Fischer 1993), the current analytical
flamework looks beyond the policy documents of the established agency to gain access to

contesting views.

Summary

The analytical flamework discussed in this chapter will be illustrated using three
policy examples. In Chapter 4 the flamework is applied to the analysis of the Conference
of Ministers of Education of Afiican Member States, WCEFA (Chapter 5) and Tanzania
ETP (1995) (Chapter 7). What will become evident through the analysis is how different
approaches were employed to address Similar problems associated with Aflican

education.

42

Chapter Four

Findings of the Conference of Ministers of Education (CoMEA) of

African Member States (1982)

Introduction

The previous chapter introduced the methods and analytical flamework that were
used for the study. This chapter examines the Conference of the Ministers of Education
of Aflican Member States as an example of how the analytical flamework in chapter
three has been applied to analyze education sector policy. Through the discussion of the

COMEA the researcher sought to address the first research question:

How did the Afiican ministers of education flame education sector problems and

solutions at their Harare Declaration (1982) conference?

The researcher applied the policy analysis flamework to examine the establishment of
the policy agency, framing of education sector problems and solutions. The purpose
was to determine the way in which Afiican ministers of education perceived the
education sector problems that faced Afiica, as a context for understanding education

issues in Tanzania.

Establishing policy agency
The current section applies the code of establishing the policy agency to study

the Conference of Ministers of Education in Afiica (COMEA) (1982). The analysis uses

the sub-categories of presented in the analytical flamework in chapter 3, namely building

43

consensus, naming the agency and building momentum to study the establishment of

the policy agency that became the COMEA.

Building consensus

According to the analytical flamework presented earlier, the stage of building
consensus examines the buildup of common thought about a particular policy area by
some policy groups. The current section will analyze the buildup of common thought
about education sector problems facing Aflica as perceived by conference of ministers of
education, COMEA (1982). Since COMEA (1982) is a part of a series of conferences, it
was necessary to get back to the first conference in order to study how the conference
was organized, and who participated in the process. Accordingly the current section
explored the process Of consensus building among the actors starting at the launch of the
conference African ministers of education. The purpose was to find out the buildup of
consensus and the policy issues that prompted the actors to come together. COMEA
(1982) was selected because it was the last conference of African ministers of education
that was held before the WCEFA (1990), as such it was assumed that COMEA (1982)

represented Afiican common thought of education sector problems.

During the period leading to African political independence and immediately
after, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
spearheaded consensus building on the problems facing the education sector in Afiica.
UNESCO conducted surveys during the period of the late fifties to early sixties in which
it observed that African nations emerging out of colonialism did not have the necessary
competence and knowledge to run the newly independent nations. UNESCO (1960)

stated at its general conference that, “In 1959-60, over twelve staff members visited each

44

of the countries of Tropical Aflica, in most cases twice, to make a survey of their needs
and negotiate with them a UNESCO aid program,” (UNESCO 1960, p. 1). According to
the surveys, higher education was the least developed education sector. UNESCO (1960)
general conference stated that, “at the higher education level the needs are even more
urgent, being less that 1/30 the world percentage,” (p. 1). It went further to state, “that
one of UNESCO’S most urgent tasks is to help the newly independent countries, and
those which are preparing for independence, to overcome any harmful after-effects of
colonialism, such as economic, social and cultural underdevelopment, illiteracy, and the

serious shortage of trained personnel,” (UNESCO 1960, p74).

At the same general conference in 1960, UNESCO made a resolution to,

convene a conference of Aflican states in 1961 with a view to establishing an
inventory of educational needs and a program to meet those needs in the coming
years, and to invite the United Nations, the other specialized agencies and the
IAEA to cooperate with UNESCO in the preparation and organization of this

conference (UNESCO 1960, p. 24).

At this General Conference UNESCO (1960) declared that the education sector in

Afiica needed serious and urgent attention. It stated that,

the most urgent and vital need in Africa today is education; and in meeting this
need, planned and balanced education development must be both a part of the
economic and social plans of the region and an essential element in fulfillment of
the right to education embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Right,

(UNESCO 1960, p. 23).

45

Once UNESCO had made the resolution to convene a conference of Aflican states
that would establish the educational needs of the different countries, it went ahead and
enrolled United Nations Economic Commission for Aflica to co-host the conference. The
conference adopted an Outline of a plan for Aflican Educational Development. An
inventory of the plan demonstrated that the needs of the Afiican education sector “are
spread cross the full spectrum of education flom the primary school through the

university and adult education levels,” (UNESCO 1961, p. 5).

Aflicans concurred with the observations of UNESCO. This was at a time when
the few universities in Africa were all very new establishments arising out of turmoil and
demands to the colonial governments (Lulat 2005). The British did not have a policy on
higher education in Afiica till well after the Second World War (Lulat 2005). One of the
first reports on higher education produced in 1933 under the leadership of Sir James

Currie feared that,

There is a great danger, as we see it, of the Aflicans’ zeal for education being
neglected and ignored by the Government to whom they ought to be able to look
for its reasonable satisfaction... Our conclusion upon these considerations is that
the only right policy for the Government is to think out ahead a scheme of
developing selected institutions in Africa up to a real university standard, and that
this policy, as soon as decided upon, Should be publicly announced as officially

adopted (Lulat 2005, p. 221, quoting flom Ashby)

The first real universities in Africa were not to come until other commissions on higher

education. The most prominent reports leading to establishment of universities in Afiica

46

are the Elliot Commission (1945) and the Asquith Commission (1945) according to
Hussey (1945). These commissions resulted flom continued turmoil and demands for
higher education by Afiicans. Accordingly the concerns raised by UNESCO were in

concurrence with those of the Afiicans.

It is no wonder that UNESCO in concurrence with the Aflicans made the

following declarations:

(a) The development of human resources is as urgent and vital a task as the

development of natural resources.

(b) Educational development may be regarded as a highly profitable long-term

economic investment.

(c) Procedures must be adapted to economic circumstances, with emphasis on the
acquisition of scientific knowledge and its applications to the native Aflican

environment.

((1) In view of Africa’s present economic development needs, the highest priority

must be given to secondary and post-secondary education.

(e) All African States should aim at achieving universal primary education within
a maximum of 20 years, while continuing the work of adult education and

vocational training on massive scales.

(1) It must be possible to finance both the recurring and non-recurring costs of
education, in stages to be determined, flom loans as well as taxation (UNESCO,

1961,p.10).

47

Following this conference of African Heads of State held in 1961 to discuss an
inventory of educational facilities in Africa, the Conference of ministers of Education of
Afiican States was born. It is telling that a pivotal conference preparing for Afiican
independence was on education. There was consensus among the Afiicans and UNESCO
that education held the potential for development in Afiica. There was also consensus
that the colonial rulers had withheld education, particularly higher education, form
Aflicans (Lulat 2005). The first meeting of ministers of education of Aflican member
states was held in 1961, and regularly thereafter, leading to the Harare Declaration (1982)
that was selected for this study. The analysis moves flom the sub-stage of building
consensus to that of gaining moment on Aflican education by the ministers of

education.

Gaining momentum

The sub-stage of gaining momentum in the analytical flamework examines the
build up of hype for causes of Afiican education as perceived by the ministers of
education of Aflican Member States. As independence approached, there were high
levels of anticipation and hype about education among Aflicans (Lulat 2005). However
the Aflicans were not able to fund their education sector programs. It was necessary to
bring their plight to the attention of the international community. OnCe UNESCO and the
Heads of Aflican States had reached consensus on the inventory of educational needs and
developed the Outline of a Plan for African Education Development, the plan was
endorsed by the Economic and Social Council of the UN and transmitted to UN General

Assembly for consideration (UN 1961).

48

The UN General Assembly (1961) at its sixteenth session endorsed the outline

for African education, calling upon

the African countries to continue to devote increasing and ample resources to the
development of education in their territories, in accordance with the broad targets
of the five-year program set forth in the Outline of a Plan for Afiican Education

Development, (UN 1960, p. 24).

The UN Economic Commission Aflica at its 4th session also endorsed the outline, laying
the road for the meeting of the ministers of Afiican education. UNESCO (1961)

executive board at its 60th session authorized

...the Acting Director-General to convene and organize a meeting of Ministers of
Education of Afiican countries participating in the implementation of the Addis

Ababa Plan, to be held in Paris in March 1962 to consider the following agenda:
(i) Review of current national plans of educational development in the light of
national development programs;

(ii) Review, country by country, of projects to be undertaken in 1962 for
implementing the decisions of the Addis Ababa Conference, and of the financing

of these projects;

(iii) Establishment of the most effective machinery and procedures for keeping

under review the programs drawn up in accordance with the Addis Ababa Plan;

(p.11)

49

UNESCO secretariat together with the UN Economic Commission Afiica then
went on to host the first Conference of Ministers of Education of Afiican countries

participating in the implementation of the Plan for Afiican Educational Development

adopted at Addis Ababa. The functions of the Conference held in 1962 were:

(a) To review, and if necessary revise, the targets and costs established for the
short-term and long-term plan for educational development adopted by the Addis

Ababa Conference.

(b) To compare and analyze national educational plans established by the
authorities concerned in the States and territories represented in the Conference,
and the effect of such plans on the models established for the region as a whole at

the Addis Ababa Conference.

(c) To examine and analyze national education budgets in the light of the targets
established in the Plan in order to determine the part of the targets not covered by

the budgets as well as the cost of meeting it.

((1) To help in integrating educational plans in national programs of economic and

social development.

With the spirit of impeding independence of African States, education offered the
promise of development. The hype was reflected through the successive and close
regional and international conferences that discussed and endorsed the conduct of the
conference of ministers of education of Aflican member states. The period 1960 to 1962
was effervescent with ideas and conferences promoting education sector policies for an

emerging independent Afiica. Effervescence about education continued among the

50

Afiican ministers of education through their conference. It is not clear that the same
effervescence continued at the regional and international community about the
conference and its representation of African education sector problems. By] 982 there
was heightened hype of Afiican education seeing as the conference came closely after the
independence of Zimbabwe. The conference was subsequently held in Harare,
Zimbabwe. At this point Afiicans had failed to achieve universal primary education by
1980 as had been their plan. The failure of the Aflicans might have led to reducde

anticipation and hype of the conference among the regional and international community.

Naming of the agency

The sub-category of naming the agency examines naming of the conference and
the aspects Of the education sector problems that gain prominence flom the name.
According to Yanow (1996) names in organizational settings are part of an organizational
artifacts used to symbolize and convey intended meaning. As organizational artifacts,
names have meaning and symbolism with respect to intended audience. The conference
was launched with the name “Conference of Ministers of Education of Afiican Member
States” conveying meaning and symbolism of the authorities in charge of education
Aflica. This was during a period when there was effervescent hype and anticipation about
the potential of education to foster development in Aflica. As such the name did not
highlight any aspect of education that would be the focus of the conference rather it drew
attention to the Plan for Afiican Educational Development adopted at Addis Ababa.
Education was the buzz word for development in Aflica. It was enough to mention
education in the name of the conference at a time when answers to development problems

in Aflica were perceived to be vested in education. Policy making involves drawing

51

attention to aspects of a public problem through careful use of language. Language is
used to construct aspects of a social issue that become the focus of public solutions

(Fischer 1993).

According to Rochefort and Cobb (1994), “If policymaking is a struggle over
alternative realities, then language is the medium that reflects, advances, and interprets
these alternatives,” (p. 9). The focus of a particular alternative tends to influence and
motivate the type of politicking and subsequently the chances of a favorable outcome.
The name conveys the policy focus to potential sponsors which will help make decisions
about whether or not to support the policy. In the case of Afiica, there was S strong
perception that colonial governments had neglected education of Aflicans. AS
independence approached there was concern among the Aflicans and international
community that there was a lack of sufficient knowledge and skills required by Aflicans

to run the newly independent states.

By 1982 many more Aflican states had gained political independence. In 1982 the
conference chose the name Harare Declaration to highlight independence in Zimbabwe.
The name symbolize the prominence of politics in the education sector during the early
independence period. The name “Harare Declaration” symbolized a new and Independent

Aflica, an occasion that the Aflican ministers of education could not pass.

Together the sub-categories of building consensus, building momentum and
naming the policy agency provide an analysis of the establishment of the conference of
ministers of education of Aflican member states. The next stage analyzes how the policy

agency perceived the problems facing the African education sector. The analysis reflects

52

the interests of Aflican ministers of education as a category of policy actors representing

African thought.

Framing problems

In the preceding section, the researcher analyzed the setting up of the Conference
of Education Ministers of Education of Aflican States as a policy agency to drive Afiican
education sector policy. The analysis explored the conference flom its launch in the
sixties, to provide an historical foundation of the Harare Declaration held in 1982. The
researcher selected the Harare declaration (1982) for analysis because it is the last all
Aflican conference on education sector problems held during the period under study. The
problem flaming code used three categories of problem labeling, problem

legitimization and competing interpretations for analysis.

Labeling of education problems by the Harare Declaration

In this section the researcher analyzed the ways in which education sector problems
were typified and categorized by the ministers of education in Aflica. In other words,
what became acceptable education sector problems? The section of problems labeling

examined the categorization of education sector problems. Yanov (2000) states that,

classifying entails an interpretive choice on the basis of a decision about the relative
importance of certain features over others. . .The analyst needs to attend not only to
what characteristics are being highlighted as the basis for a category-making, but also

to which ones are being obscured or occluded, (p. 51).

It is important to note that the conference happened during the early post-colonial era.

With the memory of colonialism still flesh in their minds, the focus of the Afiican states

53

was to achieve autonomy from the former colonial masters. As such the Harare
declaration makes reference of the declarations of the Aflican Union, the Monrovia
declaration (1979) and Lagos Plan of Action (1980) both of which provided “guidelines
for national and collective self-reliance of the Afiican countries,” (UNESCO 1982, p.
24). The ministers defined education sector problems with the goal of achieving national

and collective self-reliance.

The conference divided the education sector problems into six categories that

included:

0 the eradication of illiteracy in Aflica

0 early childhood education

0 science and technology education for development

0 contribution of higher education to the development of African societies
0 educational research and teaching methodologies in the Aflica state

0 the use of Aflican languages as languages of education

Eradication of illiteracy in Africa

The current section investigated how illiteracy was defined by the Ministers of
African education as a problem, in other words where did the ministers set the boundaries
for reasoning and thinking about illiteracy in Afiica. The ministers received input flom
the UNESCO secretariat which presented a study on illiteracy. The study did not provide
the Ministers of Education in Africa with a firm definition of illiteracy. The UNESCO
study (1982) did not offer much help, saying that, “Illiteracy is the outcome of a highly

complex set of circumstances, not only educational, but also economic and social,”

54

(UNESCO 1982, p. 3). The study goes on to allude to the difficulty of defining an
illiterate person, saying that it was “difficult to assess the phenomenon of illiteracy with

any quantitative or qualitative precision,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 3).

After finding it difficult to define illiteracy, the study made an attempt to define a
literate person. This too was not any easier. The study offered different versions of a

literate person, the most extensive definition stated that:

a literate is one who has acquired the knowledge and skills indispensable to the
performance of all activities for which literacy is necessary in order to play an
effective part in his group and his community, and whose achievement in reading,
writing and arithmetic are such that they enable him to continue to use his abilities
for his personal development and for the development of the community, and to

participate actively in the life of his country, (UNESCO 1982, p. 4)

The conference left open the definition of the concept of illiteracy, in other words
illiteracy was identified as a problem but the parameters of the problem were not clear.
The conference did not provide definitive guidelines for thinking and reasoning about

illiteracy.

Early childhood education

This section examines the ministers’ perception of childhood education as a
problem, in other words what were the parameters of the problem of childhood education
as set by the conference. The conference pointed out that an important firnction of early
education centers was not to provide early childhood education necessarily, but more a

social function of creating time for mother who are usually tasked with providing

55

childcare. The conference commented about the early childhood education centers that,
“their educational role is virtually non-existent, and the parents or adolescence who
usually supervises them are not specially trained in this field,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 26).
The conference noted that parents were beginning to demand that early childhood centers
go beyond providing physical care for the children to prepare children for school. With
the increasing role and importance of school, the Afiican family was perceived as less

able to provide for intellectual growth and preparation of the children.

Early childhood education was largely a private provision resulting in
perpetuation of the colonial legacy in which those parents who could afford to pay had
access to good early childhood education. Even where early childhood education was
available, it was not providing the values appropriate to integrate children in the Afiican
environment. Research was not available about the kind of early childhood education that

was appropriate for early childhood Afiican education.

Science and technology education for development

(There was not enough content discussed for this topic)

The Contribution of Higher Education to the Development of African Societies

The problem of the contribution of higher education to the development of
Aflican societies was defined within the context of the early post-colonial era in which
the ministers lamented that their colonial masters had made “decision-making and most
functions involving planning and execution at higher and middle level, the
responsibilities of officials flom the colonial countries,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 75). They

went on to argue that, “African states, had, then to cope with a widespread need for the

56

training of the higher and middle level personnel that every area of development

required,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 75).

The conference noted that, “modernizing the traditional agricultural sector” was
“an area of primary concern to Afiica,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 75) that could benefit flom
higher education. Higher education was presented as an institution that held a potential
for improving the rural area sector where the majority of Afiicans lived. According to the

ministers,

it is, perhaps, in the sphere of rural development that the most specific and
pressing needs have come to light for the Aflican countries (that) have been
anxious to modernize the agricultural sector which not only supplies their main
export resources but has an essential role to play - through food production — in

improving living conditions in these countries, (p. 76).

Beside the problem of a severe shortage of higher and nriddle level personnel that
required the contribution of higher education, a pressing problem was that of a prevalence
of traditional agricultural practices that were not consistent with the emerging era of

modernization.

The conference noted also the lack of adequate local training for middle and
higher level personnel which was demonstrated by the continued need for overseas
training. The conference argued that overseas training did not solve the problem of
inadequate personnel for middle and higher level personnel, instead it created problems

of brain drain. The ministers observed that the deteriorating quality of training arising

57

flom increasing enrollments and the lower relative prestige of African universities led to

the continued demand for overseas training.

Another area raised by the conference as needing the contribution of higher
education was the perceived detachment of science and technology flom the African
environment. Conference participants argued that science and technology had tremendous
potential for generating knowledge that was necessary for improving the local quality of
life. However this was only possible if the science and technology was situated within the
local African environment. At the conference on higher education for Aflica held in

Tananarive (1962), the participants lamented about university students that,

the effect of education has too often been to remove them flom that sense of one-
ness with their societies without which they cannot effectively serve those
societies and help them in solving the problems of their transition to the modern

world, (UNESCO, 1963, p. 48).

The role of higher education was perceived to so profound that separate flom the
conference of ministers of education, a conference was held in 1962 on “the development
of higher education in Aflica.” The role of higher education was extensively discussed at
that conference, which led to another series of conferences on higher education in Afiica.
Higher education was seen as holding promise for true and meaningful independence
flom the colonial legacy and domination. According to the Tananarive Conference
(1962), “as the birth of the truly Aflican university is coeval with national independence,
so will Aflican fleedom be dependent upon the continued existence and vitality of the

university,” (UNESCO, 1963, p. 17). Accordingly the Tananarive Conference (1962)

58

went firrther to counsel that, “the universities in Afiica must consciously seek, through
their teaching and research, to assist in the solution of the problems facing the nations
they serve,” (UNESCO, 1963 p. 48). The university was seen as a beacon for prosperity

through addressing the various problems that restrained development in Afiica.
According to the ministers,

all education officials are agreed that education systems are coherent systems,
that institutions of higher education, through the agency of the degrees and
diplomas they confer, act as a motive force for the whole system and that the
groundwork for progress at all levels in education begins to be laid in the initial

stages of education — actually at the pre-school level, (UNESCO 1963, p. 86.)

They argued that institutions of higher education must contribute to the
improvement of the education system as a whole. One of the most important roles of the
higher education institutions was seen as the training of teachers who were seriously in

short supply in an environment of soaring enrollment.

Educational research and teaching methodologies in the African states

The Aflican ministers placed educational research within the context of economic

development. They noted that,

first of all, educational research presupposes developmental research in the
economic, social and cultural fields, for example research for the development of
available land and water resources, agriculture, trade and industry, community
health and welfare, mass communication and language development, the visual

and applied arts, (UNESCO 1982. p. 94).

59

The ministers identify the various areas of development that were considered as requiring
improvement. They named these areas as requiring research to generate knowledge about
the development areas that Should not only contribute to economic development, but also

contribute to school curricular.
The ministers went on to identify educational research problems as including:

0 Lack of adequate institutions for educational research
0 Wastage in the educational system due to inadequate and inappropriate
teacher training

0 Lack of research to address the problems facing the education system

The use of African languages as languages of education

Afiican ministers of education stated that, the need continued for the use of
Aflican languages as languages of education, and it was an urgent and pressing need,
(UNESCO, 1982, p. 106). They argued that language was important for national cohesion
which, in turn, was important for socio-economic development. They gave an example
that agricultural and rural development was important for socioeconomic development.
Language was perceived as important in government efforts to “orient mass thinking
towards the land and its use, to reach the small rural farmer and convince him about

better crop varieties and improved methods for better yields,” (UNESCO, 1982, p. 106).

The ministers observed that language policies were not fully developed in many
countries. The many languages in the Afiican countries made it difficult to come up with

fully accepted language policies. They went on to state that, “. . .it is because of this

60

multilingualism that some sates have opted for multiple Aflican national languages or

languages of education,” (UNESCO, 1982, p. 106).

The ministers identify the following problems in Aflican languages as languages of

education:

0 Lack of qualified researchers and research facilities for Afiican languages
0 Lack of psycholinguistic, curriculum and methodology research
0 Lack of printing and publishing facilities

0 Lack of training for Aflican languages research and teaching

Legitimizing problems

In the preceding discussion the researcher used the tag of labeling problem to analyze
the problems of Afiica education as perceived by the minister of education. This
discussion examined the way in which the Afiican ministers of education generated
problem labels, necessarily circumscribing how a education sector problems were
reasoned and thought about (Yanow 2000, 1996). The current section examines the way
in which the ministers generated support and appealed to the African public to view a
problem as important and worth of public support. The researcher analyzed the
legitimization of the problems that were generated by the Afiican ministers of education.
They generated the following problems which are the subject of analysis for

legitimization in the discussion that follows:

0 the eradication of illiteracy in Afiica
- early childhood education

0 science and technology education for development

61

0 contribution of higher education to the development of African societies
0 educational research and teaching methodologies in the Afiica state
0 the use of Afiican languages as languages of education
These five problems identified by the ministers now had to be legitimized to the broader

public.

Eradication of illiteracy in Africa

The African ministers of education labeled illiteracy as a problem, but as
discussed above, they did not go far in terms of defining the parameters of the problem of
illiteracy. The current section examines how the ill-defined problem was legitimized as a
problem deserving of public support. Notwithstanding that the ministers could not come
up with the definition of the problem of illiteracy, they were able to count the number Of
illiterates and demonstrate that there were large enough numbers to warrant public

support. According to the Afiican ministers,

having taken these facts and the relative value of the statistics into account, we
find that in 1980, in Afiica, according to the estimates and projections of
UNESCO Office of statistics, 60.6 per cent of the population aged 15 and over

was illiterate, (UNESCO, 1982, p. 4).

The ministers lamented that,

“This situation is alarming, as regards both respect for human rights in the sphere
of education and satisfaction of development demands. ...this injustice which
weighs them down then keeps them in a position of powerlessness and stagnation

and prevents them flom becoming socially and economically integrated in a new

62

world where technical and scientific advances are making more and more

knowledge and specialization a necessity, (p. 4).

The problem of illiteracy was legitimized as human rights issue following the
declaration of literacy as a human right in 1948. As a violation of human rights, illiteracy
was portrayed as an injustice, necessarily making an appeal for public support. Further to
the human rights issue, illiteracy was seen as depriving society of a large proportion of
potential contributors to social and economic advancement. Illiterates were seen as a drag
on social and economic advancement, which was particularly deplorable for the Afiican

states that were striving to join the new world of technical and scientific advancement.

llliteracy was legitimized as a problem on three accounts, that it was an injustice,
it was a drag to social, and economic advancement and that it affected a large number of
the African population. On the basis of these arguments, the Afiican ministers made a

persuasive appeal for public involvement in ameliorating the problem of illiteracy.

Early childhood education

The underpinning pillars for attracting public support during the eighties when the
Afiican ministers of education conducted their conference were development and self-
reliance. Afiican nations viewed themselves as emerging flom the drags of colonialism
and joining the new world. Public support was persuasively justifiable if it contributed to
development and increased self-reliance which severed the bonds of the colonial
domination. As such early childhood education was legitimized flom the unlikely angle
of creating time for women to participate in socioeconomic development. The Afiican

ministers of education noted that,

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1‘1

Among the many constraints that affect women and prevent them flom benefiting
flom economic and educational programs, mention is often made of the task of
caring of children flom two to six years of age, along with the chores of fetching

water and wood and pounding grain, (UNESCO, 1982, p. 26).

One would expect that early childhood education would be justified on the basis
of its educational function. This was not the case with the dominant function of the early
childhood education as portrayed by the Aflican ministers of education. The minister

doubted the educational value of early childhood education arguing that,

one may well demand to what extent these institutions which, flom certain
standpoints, facilitate the child’s entry into Westem—style elementary education,
truly ensure the development of his personality; his emotional and affective life,
his need to communicate, express himself, create, be independent, etc, (UNESCO,

1982,p.26)
Early childhood education was perceived as perpetuating colonial legacy.

There is yet another view that justified the increased importance of early
childhood education in the increasing formal education system. Formal education created
an educational void that could not be filled by the family before entry of children into
formal schools. Afiican families could not provide the education that was consistent with

formal school. The existence of the educational void justified early childhood education.

In general the Afiican ministers of education did not make a strong case for early

childhood education. While the Aflican ministers seemed to recognize the importance of

64

early childhood education, they did not view it as deserving serious public support

relative to other needs such as increased enrollment in primary education.

Science and technology education for development

The Afiican ministers of education viewed education as holding the promise to
development and self-reliance. They argued that education would only help to address
African problems if it was about improving the Aflican environment. They observed that
colonial science education was taught only at higher education levels, and it drew
examples flom foreign contexts. The ministers lamented that, “this explains in part why
Africa fell behind in the field of science and technology, and its backwardness in this
respect is one of the basic factors that account for its continuing state of
underdevelopment,” (UNESCO, 1982, p. 47). The legitimization of science and
technology was again based on the perceived potential for contributing to socioeconomic

independence flom the former colonizers. This was evident in the statement that,

...the current dependence on imported technologies of many African countries
stemmed flom the fact that the educational systems of the countries concerned did
not provide pupils and students with appropriate scientific and technological

training to meet the needs of the country,(UNESCO, 1982, p. 52).

The contribution of higher education to the development of African societies

In their pursuit for self-reliance, Afiican countries strove to employ qualified
Afiicans in high positions. There were not enough Aflicans with the qualifications to fill
those high positions. Higher education was seen as providing that role of educating

Africans for high level positions. The minister stated that,

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one of the of the normal functions of higher education in all countries, flom its
inception, has been to impart knowledge at the highest level, providing a pool of
graduates flom among whom the nation’s higher-echelon staff and those
responsible for the main sector of social, economic and scientific life are

recruited,(p. 74).

The importance of higher education was highlighted at the first Conference Of
Afiican States on the Development of Education in Afiica held in 1961, which was
followed the next year by the conference on the development of Higher Education in
Africa. It is instructive that African states held a conference at the dawn of Aflican
independence to highlight the central role of education in fostering socio-economic
development and complete political independence through the process of Afiicanization
in which Aflicans acquired adequate qualifications for decision making positions. The
Afiicans believed that solutions to their development problems were to be found in
education. They saw science and technology as holding the answers to their development
problems as demonstrated in their assertion that, “Science and technological development
is indeed not only a major aspect of global development as one of its vital factors, but it is
in fact the prerequisite for economic autonomy and, to a large extent, any genuine

independence,” (UNESCO 1974, p. 81).

Higher education was seen as holding solutions to the many problems facing
Afiica at the dawn of independence. This included unifying the continent and nations.
The conference on the “Development of Higher Education in Aflica” stated that, “this
imposes upon the African university responsibility to forge unity by assuming an Aflican

character, without becoming isolated flom the main stream of civilization,” (UNESCO

66

1963, p. 18). The universities would assume an African character by “adapting
curriculum to Afiican needs for enriching both the individual and the nations Of Africa,”
(UNESCO 1982, p. 18). With the experience of colonialism flesh in the minds of the
Afiican governments, there was a strong desire to instill Afiican pride and sever any

colonial legacy of cultural domination. The conference instructed that

...the continent’s institutions of higher learning should be truly African and make
ample provision for Afiican studies so as to build up a living Afiican culture, and,
furthermore promote the type of development that would give socio-cultural
factors their proper due, contributing this way to the efficiency of education at

every level, (UNESCO, 1982, p. 74).

With education viewed as holding promise to addressing the problems facing
Afiica, universities were tasked with improving the entire education system. According
to the conference on development of higher education in Africa, “this responsibility of
higher education will be realized through preparation and publication of textbooks and
educational journals, and of teaching materials,” (UNESCO, 1982, p. 19). This was an
important function for the university, improving the entire education system considering
that education had top priority in the Aflica states. That the university was given the role
of improving the entire education system meant that without the university, the entire

education system would weaken.

Educational research and teaching methodologies in the African states
As noted previously that during the early independence Afiican states placed a lot

of hope and trust in the education system to generate solutions to the myriad of its

67

development problems. In that vein, it was important that the education system itself
possessed the competence required to generate the solutions to address African problems.

The African ministers called for

...research in education for economic development, such research as would
promote educational reform and the better planning and administration of
education, studies for diversified educational strategies and policies; and regional
and international cooperation in thefield of educational research,(UNESCO, 1982

p. 93).

The African ministers recognized that the education system itself had problems
that needed to be addressed. They also realized that the solutions to address the problems
that faced the education system were not readily available, but required to be studied. An
education system that was not performing well had serious consequences for the socio-
economic development of the Afiican states and their attempts to achieve self-reliance

and independence.

The use of African languages as languages of education

During the early eighties Aflican states were very much concerned with achieving
complete independence flom their colonial past. The use of Aflican languages for
educational instruction was considered a major indicator of severance flom the colonial
legacy. According to the minister of African education, “the need continues for the use of
Aflican languages as languages of education, and it is an urgent and pressing need,”
(UNESCO, 1982, p. 111). The use of African language as in educational instruction was

considered urgent because of its perceived importance in development. Afiican states

68

were striving for development. The ministers argued that, “development in this respect
consists of the development of national unity, cultural development, and economic and
social development,” (UNESCO, 1982, p. 111). Language was seen as paramount to
cultural cohesion which, in turn was important for participation in socio-economic
development. Language was also seen as an instrument for communication which was
important in the rural development activities of orienting mass thinking to modern

practices.

The Afiican ministers of education argued for the use of Aflican languages in
educational instruction because, “it is the principle that all education is best given through
the medium of the learner’s own language,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 113). The use of Aflican
language for educational instruction would allow for improved benefit flom educational

experiences according to the Afiican ministers of education.

Competing problems interpretations

The previous sections have discussed the way in which African ministers of
education labeled and legitimized educational problems. The current section moves the
discussion to the last aspect of flaming educational problems which is competing
problem interpretations. Policy problems are not always agreed upon, as such in the
current section the researcher explores any evidence of multiple interpretations of
educational problems by the African ministers of education on the five problems

identified by the ministers in the preceding discussion.

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Eradication of illiteracy in Africa
The equivocal nature of illiteracy makes it an area for potential competing
interpretations. The African ministers left open the definition of illiteracy. According to

the Afiican ministers,

in some countries south of the Sahara, the statistics do not take into account the
number of persons who have attended Koranic schools and who are thus literate
in Arabic, nor even persons who are literate in national languages, UNESCO

1982(p. 4).

In other words only those “literate in the official languages (English, French, Portuguese
or Spanish) were considered literate (Afiican ministers report, 1982, p. 4). This was
problemch in Afiica where the states were striving to improve the status of Aflican

languages and use them as languages of educational instruction.

The areas of competing interpretation of the concept of illiteracy are not discussed
sufficiently to show how they are resolved. Rather the ministers assume an agreement on
the concept of illiteracy. They went on to present data on the declining trends of literacy
taking advantage of the generally favorable public opinion about literacy and education
as necessary in the efforts to foster development. Any competing interpretations of

literacy were not explored fully in the report of the Afiican ministers of education.

Early childhood education
As noted earlier, the driving force for education program in Aflica was the
perception that education held potential for addressing problems of development and self-

reliance. AS such there were some, who would ask, “to what extent can the education of

70

children under the age of six years of age help Afiica to further national economic
development, as recommended at the Lagos conference?” (UNESCO 1982, p. 25). There
were those who viewed early childhood education as far removed flom advancing the
goal of national economic development. The promotion of basic education and literacy
was seen as having more immediate results to economic development. As such questions

were raised asking,

Is there not a danger that this new subject may divert attention flom the long-
standing problems which are still unresolved, and disperse available resources at a time
when the needs of education for development require their concentration, (UNESCO

l982,p.25)

Early childhood education was largely provided through private efforts which
made it costly and available to those with the necessary resources. The poor could not
afford to pay for early childhood education. Early childhood education was seen as
perpetuating the colonial legacy of inequality. Public intervention would have helped to
achieve equality yet “ministries of education, having assigned priority to the provision of
primary schooling, with all the difficulties involved in this undertaking were not eager to

assume this additional responsibility,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 30).

Science and technology education for development

The Afiican states placed hope and trust in the potential of education for
providing solutions to the myriad problems. These solutions were to come particularly
from science and technology. As such the Aflicans were in agreement about the potential

for science and technology in generating solutions for socio-economic development. The

71

ministers stated that, “the objective assigned to science education is the search for
solutions in line with the country’s economic and social needs,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 48).
The Afiicans did not see science and technology as neutral but as culture bound. As such
they valued that knowledge on science and technology was generated by Aflicans. The
international world that was important in funding the development activities viewed
knowledge on science and technology more as value flee. As such they did not see any

problems in exporting knowledge on science and technology to Afiican countries.

The Contribution of Higher Education to the Development of African Societies
Afiican ministers agreed and advocated for higher education in Afiica. An
exclusive conference to support and shape higher education in Afiica was held in 1962,
in Tananarive. In 1974 the Conference of Afiican States on Science and Technology
(1974) endorsed the role of higher education in generating solutions to Aflica’s
development and socio-economic development. The Afiican ministers of education
highlighted the importance of higher in education at their conference in 1976. Afiicans
agreed that colonial education systems had discriminated against the education of
Aflicans at higher levels which they required as they gained independence. At the dawn
of independence, the Aflicans were eager to employ other Aflicans in the high level,
decision making positions. Higher education was seen as important in equipping Aflicans

with the knowledge required to fill those high level positions.

The use of African languages as languages of education
Afiica had to contend with the legacy of the languages of the colonial masters that
had been established as official languages. The languages of the colonial era had gained

acceptance as the languages of instruction. Afiican ministers argued that the dominance

72

of the colonial language in the education system slowed progress in educating and
training the high level personnel which was demanded at independence. The Afiican

ministers of education argued that,

one of the biggest factors militating against the training of such cadres is that,
because of the elitist educational system inherited flom the colonial days, usually
this training has to be given through the medium of a foreign European language

or not at all, (UNESCO 1982, p. 111).

With the advent of independence there was the struggle to re-establish Afiican
pride and identity. The use of Afiican languages for educational instruction was seen as
an important step in re-establishing Aflican pride and identity. Each of the Afiican
countries had multiple languages that made it difficulty to come up with a language
policy that would be sufficiently inclusive for all the different tribes. During the eighties
Aflica was seen as beset with problems of national flagrnentation which hampered

development. The Africans argued that

Without national cultural valorization and a national cultural identity, little can be
achieved by way of national cohesion, and without this cohesion and, again, the
use of community cultural patterns as a firm base, little can be achieved by way of

national development, (UNESCO 1982, p. 111).

The third stage in the analytical flamework identifies the flaming of policy
solutions critical to the policy process. Therefore the ensuing discussion examines how

solutions were developed for the five problems identified by the Afiican ministers.

73

Framing African education solutions

At this point the researcher has interpreted the ways in which the Afiican
ministers of education flamed education sector problems in Aflica. The next step was to
investigate the ways in which the ministers flamed the solutions to the Afiican educations
sector problems. It is important to note that the conference came after the first
educational targets of achieving universal primary education by 1980 had been missed.
The research examines the way in which Afiican ministers of education flamed the next

round of solutions, considering that the first round had not achieved its goals.

As in the section above, the analysis of the flaming of the problems used the tags
developed for the study. The four tags developed and used to analyze the study include
labeling of the solution, legitimization of the solution, multiple interpretation of the

solution and mobilization of resources.

Labeling of the solutions

The analytical flamework identifies labeling the solution as the first step. The section
on labeling of the solution examined the definition of solutions as generated by the
Aflican ministers of education. The section analyses the parameters that were used to

circumscribe the solutions.

Eradication of illiteracy in Africa
Notwithstanding that the problem of illiteracy was not fully defined, being labeled
as a rather diffuse concept, the ministers recommended that the solution for Afiican states

was to

74

Continue and intensify the struggle against illiteracy, adopting overall strategies
which combine the efforts directed to the universal provision of primary
education and those directed to the elimination of illiteracy among adults and
young people who have not attended school, paying special attention to women

and girls and the rural population; (UNESCO 1982, p. 4).

The parameters of the solution for eliminating illiteracy were set at achieving
universal primary education and also elimination of illiteracy among adults and youth
who have not attended school, placing the focus on women and girls. The failure to
define illiteracy was carried over to the solution which stated that the way to eradicate
illiteracy was to “eliminate illiteracy among adults and young people who had not
attended school,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 4). The solution was left rather vague, which made
it difficult for Aflican nations to decide on what action to take to eliminate illiteracy
especially when the concept was not fully defined in the first place. The solution is clear

for those children Of school going age in which the action is to get all of them into school.

The solution also made linkages with universities by recommending that
universities take the role of conducting relevant research to improve educational and
literacy activities. The role of universities was especially important in the case of
eradicating illiteracy which had not been fully defined. There was room for universities to
conduct studies that would lead to an understanding of illiteracy so that it could be better

addressed.

Generating solutions for public policy problems is a challenge. Solutions at one

time can include parameters that can be declassified as solutions at another time even

75

when the problem remains the same. This happened at the Harare Declaration when the
ministers commented that, “Some states believed that the problems of illiteracy could be
solved by extending to illiterate adults the services of teachers with their conventional
methods of teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, by using foreign languages alone

and by offering curricular whose content was irrelevant to the adults,” (UNESCO 1982,

p. 5).

At one time Aflican states labeled learning writing, reading and arithmetic as the
solution to the problem of illiteracy, but at the Harare Declaration, learning arithmetic,
writing and reading was declassified as a solution to the problem of illiteracy. The
conference argued that learning arithmetic, reading and writing missed the true
dimensions of literacy, they commented that, “After 1966-1967, when the Experimental
World Literacy Program was launched (EWLP), the true dimensions of the literacy
phenomenon became better known,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 5). The Experimental World
Literacy Program launched by UNESCO introduced new dimensions of solutions to the
problem of illiteracy. The conference summarized the new dimensions of solutions that
Afiican states were adopting as including mass literacy programs, selective functional
literacy programs and universal primary education. The conference argued that, “in the
long run, it is undeniable that universal primary schooling for children would be one

means of eliminating illiteracy at its source,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 6).

In their summary of the efforts by Afiican states to eliminate illiteracy, Afiican

ministers stated that,

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Ivory Coast is also waging literacy campaign among adults in industry and
agriculture. Upper Volta and Senegal are performing experiments to improve the
efficiency of the present education system by reducing student wastage. Benin is
introducing a type of school which, in addition to theoretical knowledge, provides

training in civics and co-operative work,(UNESCO 1982, p. 6).

Literacy during the period leading to the conference had taken a dimension that
favored a functional approach as spearheaded by the Experimental World Literacy
Program. According to the ministers, “The firnctional approach accepted by many
countries has itself gone beyond the narrow flamework of vocational training to impinge
on political, economic, cultural and social matters,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 6). The
functional approach further promoted the use of local languages as a basis for generating
and promoting “Afiican thinking.” The conference argued that literature should be
generated in national languages in order to promote functional literacy. The ministers
stated tha , “. . .an effort Should be made to develop the use of national written languages
in government departments, rural communities ...and to set up libraries with books in the

national languages,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 7).

While there seemed to be an agreement of the magnitude of illiteracy in Aflica as
demonstrated by the large numbers of those quoted to be illiterate, the solution was not
clear as what to do to eliminate the phenomenon of illiteracy. The functional approach
seemed to gain increased favor together with universal primary education. Unlike the
Lagos plan of Action (1961) which set the goal of achieving universal primary education
in 1980, the Harare Declaration (1982) did not set a date when illiteracy was to be

eliminated. Rather they stated that the goal was to “Mobilize all available human

77

resources to achieve the target of universal primary schooling and to carry out literacy
programs and that for the latter purpose they encourage young people to volunteer for a

national youth service,” (p. 26).

A major dimension of the solution for illiteracy is basic education. According to

the conference basic education is designed to

help not only children attending school, but also those who have dropped out of
school, and ‘young people and adults (men and women) who have no schooling,
to receive an education that will enable them to earn a living and contribute to the

overall development of their country, (UNESCO 1982, p. 10).

The design of basic education consists of three aspects which include oral culture or

activation phase, literacy teaching phase and post-literacy phase.

The role of the activation phase is to generate the motivation and desire for
literacy skills. Participants examined the strengths and weaknesses of an oral culture and
way of life. Directed by the functional approach the activation stage focused at the
challenges that illiteracy posed to daily individual and personal lives. Participants were
motivated to seek literacy Skills which moved them to the second stage of literacy
teaching phase. At this stage participants learned the functional arithmetic, writing and
reading skills. Relevancy of content took precedence over the pedagogical aspects of

learning to read and write. According to the minister commenting about literacy they

stated that

firstly it is the bridge between a learning situation and the practicalities of a daily

life. . .the various educational components are always interconnected and their

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joint progress is determined either by the farming calendar, in rural areas, or by

the manufacturing progress, in the industrial sector, (UNESCO 1982 p. 13).

The final stage of the post literacy skills involved the integration and application
of the literacy Skills to improve individual lives and contribute to the betterment of
society as a whole. It focused on development and consolidation of learning as a lifelong

skill. It bridged formal and non-formal educational.

Early childhood education

Until the Harare Declaration (1982) early childhood education had not been
articulated as a solution to educational development in Afiica. The focus on achieving
universal primary education overshadowed early childhood education. Unlike early
childhood education, universal primary education and literacy programs were seen as
having an immediate effect to improved development in Afiica. Early childhood had to
be defined within the context of pursuing the goal of development. As such it took two
dimensions as defined at the Harare Declaration, which were the social and educational
function. The social fimction seemed to be accepted in that it was linked to immediate
outcomes related to development. The social firnction of the early childhood programs
was to allow women time to participate in development programs after the under six year

olds had gone to participate in the early childhood education programs.

The educational function was not clearly articulated by the ministers at the Harare

declaration (1982). The minister stated that,

although day-care centers, which are becoming widespread throughout Aflica, are

primarily designed to meet the physical needs of the child, there is an increasing

79

demand by mothers, on the other hand. . .for their transformation into educational
centers,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 26). The educational firnction of the centers played
second fiddle to the social function. The prevalence of the social function had an
bearing on the personnel that were employed to staff the centers. The ministers
commented about the centers that, “Their educational role is virtually non-
existent, and the parents or adolescents who usually supervise them are not

specifically trained in the field,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 25).

The educational function was more prominent in the urban areas which
perpetuated the elitist education for the few of the past colonial legacy. The focus of the
solution in that case was to reform the education system so that it would be relevant for
the Afiican child. The Afiican minister recommended that Afiican sates would need to
“Define the general aims of early childhood education as well as its ultimate goals and
objectives, adopt measures to develop suitable curricular and appropriate educational

materials,” (UNESCO 1982, up. 27).

Clearly the solution was defined very broadly. This was because the issue of the
development needed of the Aflican child was not yet firlly understood and was in its early
stages of being studied, (Durojaiye, 1980). In fact UNESCO held a seminar on “The
adaptation of pre-school education to the Afiican environment” in 1979 to generate
solutions to the problems of early childhood education in Aflica. The seminar was
followed by a report by Durojaiye, (1980) which called for the need of universities to
conduct research on early childhood education in order to shed light on the vast problems
that faced the sub-sector. The Afiican ministers of education concurred with the report in

their comment on the reform needs of early childhood education that “here again, there

80

are no studies available which might contribute to a better understanding of the
characteristic features of the Afiican environment and to promoting appropriate forms of

pre—school education,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 34).

Science and technology education for development

It is the running theme that the Afiican ministers of educatiOn perceived education
as holding the solution to the development problems in Aflica. The colonial education
system was condemned as having been irrelevant to the Afiicans and the Aflican
environment. The ministers considered it important that the education system was
reformed to align with the perceived needs of the Afiicans and their environment.
Accordingly the ministers commented that, “the major elements of the education system
— curricular, teachers and pupils — all need to be looked at afresh so that the particular
features of local situation may be taken into account,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 47). They went

on to recommend that Afiican states,

Take steps to strengthen the relationship between education, training and the
world of work, and with this end in view, include productive work in the
educational process at all educational levels and also in non-formal education

(UNESCO 1982, p. 29).

The solution took the dimension of reforming the content of science and science teaching
so that students were equipped with knowledge and skills to contribute to the socio-
economic development of the Afiican states. Commenting on those countries that were

making the appropriate reforms, the Afiican ministers said,

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A number of other countries, such as Swaziland, have given science education the
task of developing in pupils those abilities that will bring about urgently needed
improvements in the quality of life. This entails providing the population training
in those disciplines that could be immediately applied in remedying the problems
of subsistence, of the economy, and of rural development. (UNESCO 1982, p.

49).

The Afiican ministers argued that Afiica was endowed with natural resources that
required the application of science and technology to exploit them for development. They
concurred with an earlier conference of African Ministers Responsible for the
Application of Science and Technology to Development (1974) on science policies for

Afiican states that,

the study of their natural resources and the means to exploit them was an essential
element in any scientific policy directed to economic and social development, and
that the development of research on natural resources requires that more scientific

personnel be available, (UNESCO 1974, p. 51).

The ministers argued that the unemployed graduates demonstrated the problem of
an irrelevant educational curricular. According to the ministers, an appropriate
educational curricular would equip the graduates with the knowledge and skills to exploit

the abundant natural resources.

The contribution of higher education to the development of Africa states
Higher education was seen as providing the opportunity for producing Afiicans

with the relevant knowledge and qualifications to run the Afiican states. The dimension

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of the contribution of higher education to the development of Aflican states was defined
around manpower development. The Aflican ministers recommended to the Afiican

states that they

Conduct regular inquiries into their national manpower requirements and
formulate and implement coherent training policies as an integral part of
development plans, in order to avoid shortages and surpluses, taking care that

women are given equal opportunities with men,(UNESCO 1982, p. 93).

It has been noted already that African states placed hope and trust in the provision of
education to address its development problems. Higher education as the highest level of
the education sector was seen as hearing the solutions to all the development problems.
Higher education was tasked to generate solutions that ranged flom manpower
development through establishment of cultural identity to fostering socioeconomic

development. The Afiican ministers tasked Afiican states to:

0 Encourage higher educational establishments to promote Afiican cultures;

0 Enlist the services of higher education teachers and researchers to assess
development projects and to design and produce scientific equipment and
teaching materials, including textbooks for education in Afiica;

Fresh flom colonial dependence, the issue of securing total independence was
important. In order to secure total independence, Aflican states sought to develop science
and technology that was generated by Aflicans. The concept was called endogenous
development. The ministers stated that “One of the major problems which science and

technology education in Aflica must be instrumental in solving concerns the ending of

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technological dependence, brought about by the adoption. . .of foreign technology,”
(UNESCO 1982, p. 84). Higher education was tasked to generate technology that was

developed in Aflica for Afiicans. African ministers commented that,

There seems to be no doubt that the Afiican universities need to undertake
considerable amount of applied technological research, keyed to real development
requirements and based on thorough knowledge of the Aflican environment

(UNESCO 1982, p. 84).

While higher education was tasked with the multiple functions, the one that seemed
more prominent was that of manpower development. Over the twenty years leading to
1980, the Harare Declaration noted that enrolhnent in higher education increase more
than eiglrtfold, that was “at a rate faster than any other level of education,” (UNESCO

1982,p.74)

Educational research and teaching methodologies in the Africa state

During the 1980’s the education system bequeathed flom the colonial era,
according to the Afiican ministers, did not serve the interests of the Afiicans. Yet
education was perceived as playing a pivotal role of fostering socio-economic
development. Afiican ministers argued for educational research to generate knowledge
that was required to reform the education system so that it would serve the interest of the
Aflicans. The education system was fundamentally irrelevant in that the educational
content was divorced flom the realities of Africans. According to the Aflican ministers
relevant educational content would derive flom the development needs of the country.

The ministers argued that “. . .educational research presupposes development research in

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the economic, social and cultural fields, for example research for the development of the
available land and water resources, agriculture trade and industry,” (p. 94). Educational
content would then be derived flom the findings of development research. The minister
justified the appropriateness of selecting the content flom development research saying,
“in this way, content specification itself becomes a tool for creating national awareness

and helping to solve the problems of development,” (p. 101).

The solution of educational research is flamed around conducting research that would
generate knowledge necessary to align the education system with the development needs

of the Afiican states. Afiican ministers recommended the Afiican states to focus on;

o the renewal of education in order to ensure its relevance to the economic, social
and cultural development needs of the Afiican countries,
0 the aspirations of their peoples and to traditional Aflican values that hold out

promise for firture progress;
0 and to the strengthening of their political independence;(UNESCO 1982, p. 24).

The use of African languages as languages of education

Afiican ministers made a bold argument that,

...a universal principle which though often stated is so important for Afiica as to
bear much repetition. It is the principle that all education is best given through the

medium of the learner’s own language,(UNESCO 1982, p. 112).

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Accordingly the ministers flamed the solution on use of Aflican languages for
educational instruction around the development and implementation of Afiican language

policies. They stated;

That African Member States determined to develop their national languages adopt
coherent linguistic policies clearly defining the status of such languages and how
they are to be used in teaching and other fields, especially for the dissemination of

science and technology (UNESCO 1982, p. 28).

The argument was that the colonial education system relegated Aflican languages
away flom educational instruction. The Aflican ministers perceived the use of Afiican
languages for educational instruction as a step forward in the pursuit of complete
independence flom the colonial past. The use of the Afiican languages in school was
perceived to regain status of the Afiican languages that had deteriorated during the
colonial era. The status of the Aflican languages was also perceived to be tightly related
to the culture of the Aflican people, which the Aflican ministers of education were eager

to re-establish and promote. Accordingly the African ministers stated that,

When an Afiican language is used for teaching, the language skills of speaking,
reading, comprehension writing and so on previously taught through the medium of the
foreign languages must now be taught through the Aflican language medium, (UNESCO
1982, p. 128). The Afiican language was to replace the foreign languages as the language
of instruction. The ministers also recommended that teachers should learn the
methodology for teaching the Afiican languages that were relevant to the Afiican people

and environment.

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However the ministers recognized that the Afiican languages required linguistic
research to make them useable and accessible for educational instruction. This was more
so because of the myriad languages spoken in some individual Afiican countries. The
ministers acknowledged that, “a great need therefore is for the linguistic mapping and
description ofa_ll the 2000 or so Aflican languages,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 125). The
ministers noted that UNESCO had launched project Horizon 2000 to “attempt to achieve
systematic inventory the languages, clarify their orthographical problems and ensure their
integration into teaching and their use as vehicles of scientific knowledge,” (UNESCO

1982,p.125)

The ministers went on to argue that there was also need to make available
publishing facilities in the Aflican states. Local publishing would promote literature in

Afiican languages.

Legitimizing Solutions

In the preceding discussion the researcher used the tag of labeling solutions to
analyze the solutions of Afiica education as perceived by the minister of education. In
that section the researcher examined the way in which the Afiican ministers of education
generated solution labels, necessarily circumscribing how a solution is reasoned and
thought about. The current section examines the way in which the ministers generated
support and appealed to the African public to view a problem as important and worth of
public support. The researcher analyzed the legitimization of the solutions that were

generated by the Afiican ministers of education.

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Eradication of illiteracy in Africa

Any solution was legitimate if it addressed the problem of low socio-economic
development. Afiican states needed more of its people participating in and contributing to
development activities. Only literate people could contribute to the development of
Afiican states. The Afiican ministers stated tha , “. . .a literate population promotes rapid
national economic development and that any harmonious overall development needs to
enlist all the productive forces of the nation,” (UNESCO 1982, p. l). Linked to the issue
of development is the fact that women are in the majority of the illiterate, comprising
72.8 percent in 1980 (Aflican ministers of education, 1982). The ministers of education
observed that “To an increasing extent, literacy teaching for women is seen as a priority
that will be a condition of their informed participation in the development process and in
social change,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 8). They also noted that women had greater influence

on the health and upbringing of children.

Literacy was also seen as setting up people to participate in lifelong education.
Setting people up for lifelong education activities was important among these newly
independent African states that saw education as the ultimate solution to their problems
of development and total independence. Aflican ministers stated that, “Literacy teaching
as a factor of ‘consciousness raising’ implies a process of endogenous development
which would defeat its purpose if it were not part of a broader strategy to provide the
student at the literacy teaching center with a grounding in education and admit him into a

system of lifelong education,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 9).

The Harare Declaration noted that the solution of eradicating illiteracy was also

pointed out at the at the Lagos conference of Afiican ministers of education. The solution

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had been endorsed in 1976 by an earlier conference of Afiican ministers that sought to
address problems facing the African states. In addition to the Lagos meeting endorsing
the solution of eradicating illiteracy, UNESCO also endorsed the same solution at its
twenty-first session held in Belgrade (1980). At its twenty-first session UNESCO (1980)
stated that it was going to “give new impetus to the efforts to eradicate illiteracy, by
action both designed to ensure both access to education for all school-age children and

literacy training for adults, particularly in rural environments, (UNESCO 1980, p. 2).

UNESCO sponsored all the conferences of Aflican ministers of education. It had
the interests of the African states and it was the link to international funding for Aflican
education and development activities. At every conference the Afiican ministers of
education made two sets of recommendations, one set of recommendation was to the
Afiican states and the other was to UNESCO. UNESCO had the trust of the Afiican
states as an organization that worked for the interests of the Afiican states. It was

important that they endorsed the eradication of illiteracy in Afiica.

Early childhood education

Early childhood education seemed to be difficulty to legitimize. There were no
obvious and immediate benefits of contribution to development. There were two
functions assigned to early childhood education, a social and educational function. The
social function fleed women’s time to participate in development activities. In the
Aflican culture, women were saddled with the task of raising children, necessarily

reducing the time that was available for any development work.

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The educational function was not fully articulated making it less of a legitimate
solution to development activities in Aflica. The overwhelming demand to achieve
universal primary education left little government resources to support early childhood
education. As a result much of early childhood education was provided in private
institutions. The private provision left out the majority of the population that was poor
and could not afford the cost of privately offered early childhood education. As a result
early childhood was seen as a perpetuation of the elitist colonial education that benefited
the few who could afford it. There was a contradiction with the flee education for all

offered at the primary education level.

An important focus and concern for the African countries was the immediacy with
which public support and investment could contribute to individual and society quality of
life. The benefits of early childhood education did not seem like they would come
immediate enough compared to primary education. Even though the benefits of early
childhood did not seem to come soon, there were still benefits articulated for early
childhood education. The Afiican family did not provide a supportive early childhood

educational environment. The Afiican ministers of education lamented that

Not only does the child fail to find in his immediate surroundings the stimulus and
intellectual influence he needs to be able to develop, but the lack of material
resources and facilities in many Afiican households, and the hardships which are
a feature of the precarious living conditions of many of them, often hinder the

physical and intellectual development of the young child, (UNESCO 1982, p. 27).

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Early childhood education would provide that essential preparation for primary
education which was not provided by the Afiican family. It was agreed that the
introduction of formal school to the African society made irrelevant the cultural
education provided by the Afiican family. The behaviors that were valued by the Aflican
family were at times at odds with the behaviors valued in school. On the whole early
childhood education did not seem to have accepted legitimacy particularly on the
immediacy of benefits. At the dawn of independence, African states were in a hurry to

catch up with the rest of the world.

Science and technology education for development

If education was seen as holding hope for generating knowledge and skills
necessary for addressing the development problems in Afiica, science and technology
were seen as providing the direct solutions to development problems. It was therefore
important that the general population understand science and technology so that they
could participate and contribute in the development of the economy. The understanding
of science and technology would be developed through teaching and learning of science
and technology (Ajeyalenri, 1989). African ministers of education stated that, “The
objective assigned to science education is the search for solutions in line with the

country’s economic and social needs,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 48).

There was a sense of urgency during the early eighties to improve the quality of life
among the Aflican states in order for them to catch up with the developed countries.
Science and technology were seen as providing urgent results to development problems.
Science education according to the Afiican ministers entailed “providing the population

with training in those disciplines that could be immediately applied in remedying the

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problems of subsistence production, of the economy and of rural development,”

(UNESCO 1982, p. 49).

In addition to urgency of results, Aflican ministers valued self-sufficiency in which
Aflican states developed technologies more than just import form developed countries.
Afiican ministers stated that “Any action to improve the teaching of science and
technology in Aflica must be based on the principle of endogenous dev elopement,”
(UNESCO 1982, p. 63). The high value placed on endogenous development was due to
the perceived need for total independence flom the colonial legacy. The Aflican ministers
(1982) agreed with the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology (1979) to
introduce science and technological capacities built “in harmony with the social and
cultural traditions, the political structures and specific circumstances of individual

developing countries,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 63)

The application of science and technology to address development problems was
so important that a “Conference of Ministers of Afiican Member States Responsible for
the Application of Science and Technology to Development,” was held in 1974. The
conference highlighted the importance of national science policies and collaboration in
the science policies among African states. The conferences of Aflican ministers served to
demonstrate the importance of science and technology as a public issue that it warranted
that resources be expended to discuss the issue. This was more so when the conference
was sponsored and hosted by UNESCO which understood the interests of Afiican states

and other developing regions.

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Besides the urgency with which science and technology education contributed to
addressing the development problems of Afiica, there was also the fact that other prior
conferences had endorsed the importance of science and technology in addressing
Aflican development problems. These conferences included the Afiican ministers Of
education conference (1976), and the United Nations Conference of Science and

Technology (1979).

Contribution of higher education to the development of African societies

At the time of independence Aflican states were struggling to establish a
compelling Afiican identity and presence which they argued had been devalued by the
colonial experience and presence. A compelling Aflican identity, according to the
African ministers, would be established through generation of knowledge that was

culturally, socially and economically relevant for Afiicans. Afiican ministers stated that

the promotion of Afiican cultures is seen to be particularly necessary in as much
as colonization has meant cultural alienation and a break with tradition that have
made themselves felt both in education and in ways of life and the functioning of

society, (UNESCO 1982, p. 85).

It was also important that the culturally relevant knowledge be generated by

Aflicans, a process that they referred to as Afiicanization. The ministers stated that,

There seems to be no doubt that the Aflican universities need to undertake
considerable amount Of applied technology research, keyed to real development
requirements and based on thorough knowledge of the Afiican environment, and

at the same time to increase their basic research effort which alone can ensure the

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complete equality of status of institutions of higher education in Afiica with the

finest institutions with the rest of the world, (UNESCO 1982p. 84).

The culturally relevant knowledge produced by Afiicans would offer a
competitive alternative to the imported, culturally detached foreign generated knowledge.
Higher education was best placed to generate the kind of knowledge that was culturally
relevant to Afiica. The ministers stated that the aim of the universities is “. . .to provide
training of a new types which breaks away flom the traditional academic education
established by the former colonial powers,” Q). 79). Language is the mainstay of any
culture, as such ministers argued for the use of Afiican languages for educational
instruction. However the ministers recognized the problems that came with the use of
Afiican languages for educational instruction, necessarily calling higher education to

conduct research to generate the necessary knowledge. They state that

it has to be borne in mind that the complex problems raised by the use of African
national or mother tongues for the purpose of instruction cannot be overcome
unless there is considerable research dealing more specifically with the questions
of phonetic transcription, description, codification, unification and
standardization, not to mention the preparation of glossaries, grammars and

textbooks,(UNESCO 1982, p. 85).

Referring to the deliberations flom an earlier conference of ministers of education

concerning higher education, the Harare Declaration (1982) stated that

It further expressed the wish that the continent’s institutions of higher learning

should be truly African and make ample provision for Aflican studies so as to build a

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living Aflican culture, and furthermore, promote the type of development that would give
socio-cultural factors their proper due, contributing in this way to the efficiency Of

education at every level, (UNESCO 1982, p. 73).

Higher education in this case is legitimized as an institution that can help server
the dominance of the colonial legacy by generating endogenous knowledge that can stand
its own weight against the colonial knowledge that was considered irrelevant for the

Afiicans.

Educational research and teaching methodologies in the African States

AS Afiicans moved into the post-colonial era they were dissatisfied with the
colonial education. They resolved to replace colonial education system with an African
education system which would be culturally, socially and economically relevant to the
African environment. This education system did not pre-exist before independence, it had
to be developed during the early independence period, making it necessary for

educational research and teaching methodologies.

According to the Africans, relevant education would prepare the national
population to contribute to development activities. In order for that to happen the content
of education would be derived flom development research in such areas as agriculture,
health and environment. These areas of development were in their early exploratory
stages. Development research needed to be intensified because the knowledge generated
would provide content for teaching and learning in the new and relevant Aflican
education system. The high dropout rates were attributed to the irrelevant education

system of the colonial era. The Aflican ministers (1982) argued against the colonial

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education system saying “the examination system in practically all the states contributes
very largely to the school repeater problem and the huge dropout rates,” (UNESCO 1982,

p. 99).

The Afiican ministers advocated for the use of Afiican language in the new
education system, necessarily raising problems about how to introduce the Aflican
language system which had not been used before. There was no prior knowledge about
the use of African languages for educational instruction. The Afiican ministers (1982)

noted that there was need to find out

the answers to such questions as how and which Afiican languages to introduce
into the educational system especially in multi-lingual situation, for what purpose and at
what levels, Similarly, how to provide for non-Aflican language teaching (UNESCO

1982,p.100)

Afiicans were introducing a new education system which they did not have prior
experience or knowledge. It was therefore important to conduct educational research to

generate knowledge about the new relevant Afiican education system.

The use of African Languages as Languages of Education

The most pressing public policy issue for Afiicans at independence was the need
to propel social and economic development. Language was considered important in the
efforts to improve socio-economic development. The African ministers of education

(1982) stated that,

agricultural and rural development is vital to the economic development of

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the Aflican states. To meet this need, governments have to orient mass thinking
towards the land and its use, to reach the small rural farmer and convince him
about better crop varieties and improved methods for better yields and more

economic land usage, (UNESCO, p. 111).

Afiican languages were said to be important in reaching the majority rural population in
the development efforts. Development messages needed to be developed and
disseminated using the Afiican languages. The use of Aflican languages would mark a
sense of totals independence flom the colonial legacy, an issue that was important during

the early post-colonial era.

Competing solution interpretations

The previous sections have discussed the way in which Afiican ministers of
education labeled and legitimized educational solutions. The current section moves the
analysis to the aspect of competing solution interpretations. Policy solutions are not
always agreed upon by the various interested groups, as such in the current section the
researcher explores any evidence of multiple interpretations of educational solutions by

the African ministers of education.

Eradication of illiteracy in Africa

The Harare Declaration (1982) argued for functional literacy in which the
illiterates received knowledge specific for tasks that they were more likely to perform.
The ministers of education (1982) stated that the Afiican states needed to “ensure that the
content of literacy programs is relevant to the needs of the populations concerned, by

making sure that they have a practical, functional character,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 26).

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The functional literacy approach is presented as the unequivocal solution to eradication of

literacy. The solution does not refer to the problem raised in defining literacy. .

The direct and single focus nature of the firnctional literacy approach does not
mean that there are no other voices for a different approach. In fact there were voices that
argued that the functional approach was too restrictive. They argued that the functional
approach was too utilitarian, which narrowed the broad educational function. A
UNESCO (1976) report quoted Salame who stated that, “There is the risk that functional
literacy will supply the economy with individuals tailor-made to fit specific job
requirements instead of enabling each individual to understand, control and dominate

progress,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 121).

It is not clear, in a situation like this where there are contesting views about a
solution, what happens to the view that is not expressed in the policy document. In this
case what happens to the view that eradication of literacy should focus on broad
educational dimensions. The view that supports the broad educational dimension would
content that achieving functional literacy does not necessarily lead to eradication of
illiteracy. On the other hand those in favor of the functional approach responded by
widening the dimension of the approach stating that, “the functional approach accepted
by many countries has itself gone beyond the narrow flamework of vocational training to
impinge on political, economic, social and cultural matters,” (Harare Declaration, 1982,
p. 6). This argument acknowledges the weaknesses of the functional approach and
extends the dimension of the approach, but does not change it. It is not clear if the
contending base accepts the extent to which the functional approach is widened

especially when the ministers of education go on to state that “work oriented functional

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literacy is in vogue in many countries in Africa. The acquisition of the ability to read,

write and count should be geared to some occupation or work,” (UNESCO, 1982, p. 18).

Early childhood education in Africa

During the early post-colonial era Afiican states focused on addressing their
development problems. Education was important in so far as it provided potential for
addressing the development problems in the shortest possible time. Early childhood
education did not seem to provide any early solutions to the problems of development. In
general there was no real impetus to push for early childhood education. With little
impetus to push for early childhood education, the goals were loosely expressed. The

Harare Declaration (1982) set the goals for the Aflican states to

Define the general aims of early childhood education as well as its ultimate goals
and objectives, adopt measures to develop suitable curricula and appropriate
educational materials, and organize initial and in-service training for personnel

working in this field,(UNESCO, p. 27).

The loosely defined goals did not provide any grounds for controversy.
Alternative interpretations of solutions tend to arise when there are strong and clearly
defined sides and when there is interest in the issues coming flom varied groups. Early
childhood education did not prove to be such a hot button public issue. It did not have
clear links to development. The eighties fell into the third UN development decade in
which efforts were focused on achieving development in Aflican and other developing
countries. Contentious issues were more likely to be those that had a bearing on

development and had the interest of many groups of society.

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Science and technology education for development

Science and technology for development were hot button issues because they had
clear implications to development. Afiicans had clear view of development that involved
severing ties with the past colonial legacy. They wanted to introduce an Afiican form of
development that was aligned with the Afiican values. This kind of development would
be spearheaded by Afiicans. It was thus important for Afiicans to acquire the relevant
knowledge of science and technology that would make them competent to engage in

development activities.

However development itself was a contentious issue in which some groups flom
the developed world saw it as bringing technical expertise to provide proven knowledge
and skills required to develop Africa. This group believed that science and technology
were already available such that Aflica did not need to waste money and time developing
any new technologies. The Director General of UNESCO lamented at the Conference of
Ministers of Aflican Member States Responsible for the Application of Science and
Technology to Development (1974) that “. . .there were some people who persistently
maintained that scientific research was an expensive luxury which Afiican countries
would be well advised to abandon,” and yet as the Director General continued, “the
essential fact was that the movement was underway, that it was growing and that science
and technology were establishing themselves in the intellectual life of the Afiican

countries,” (UNESCO 1984, p. 6)

The Harare Declaration (1982) was clear about the need of African science and

technology education to spearhead development in Afiica. It does not mention the

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international view of providing expertise flom the international experts. In its third

Development Decade (1980) strategy document, the UN states that

“Efforts will be made at national and international levels to enable developing
countries to have easier access to technology — including advanced technology —
they require and to facilitate the transfer of such technology on a substantially

increased level,” (UN 1980, p. 6).

Contribution of higher education to the development of African societies

Similarly to science and technology education, higher education was seen as very
important in contributing to development in Aflica. It was seen as responsible for training
the Afiicans who would take control of high level decision making jobs. As Aflicans
promoted endogenous development, higher education was given an important role of
supplying Aflican human resources to spearhead development. On the other hand the

developed countries stood ready with expertise that could be put to use immediately.

The Afiicans were in general agreement that higher education had an important
role to play in generating knowledge, skills and human resources that were important in
the Africanization of development. Africanization or endogenous development was not
particularly important issues for the international development communities. Yet the
international community was an important part of funding the development programs in

Afiica.

Resource availability limited the education programs that could be funded by the
Afiican governments. The resource limitation also meant that higher education would

compete with the goal of universal primary education. This meant that when it came to

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setting the priorities between higher education and primary education there would be
contention. However the Harare Declaration (1982) does not raise any concerns of
potential contention. Rather they present a unified position on the importance of higher
education. The unified position is achieved by presenting the role of higher education in
those areas that the Afiican were agreed upon, saying that the role of higher education is
“. . .training of the nation’s higher echelon’s personnel, in the endogenous development of
science and technology, and in the safeguarding of cultural identity and the promotion of

culture,” (UNESCO 1982, p. 74).

Summary

This chapter discussed five problems identified by the ministers of education and the
solutions that they recommended. The Afiican ministers of education perceived the lack
of human resources with sufficient knowledge and skills to take up the jobs left by former
colonial masters as the pressing problem facing education Afiica. Their focus was on
developing a capacity for self-sufficiency through education. In general the ministers of
education viewed the education sector as covering the whole range of educational levels.
They saw higher education as offering the best opportunity for building self-sufficiency
in Afiican countries. The following section discusses the broad view of the same

problems of Afiican education as perceived by the international community.

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Chapter Five

Findings of the World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA)

(1990)

Introduction

This chapter presents the second example to illustrate the application of the
analytical flamework to the WCEF A (1990). The chapter demonstrates how the
international community interpreted education sector problems in Afiica and the

developing world in general.

Establishment of the WCEFA (1990) policy agency

The first step in the policy analysis framework is the establishment of the
policy agency. This section analyzes the establishment of the World Conference of
Education for All (1990) to examine how international development organizations came
together to launch was became the most enduring and influential education sector policy
guideline for Afiica. Establishment of the policy agency according to the policy analysis
flamework consists of three stages which include the naming of the agency, building

consensus and gaining momentum.

Building Consensus

The idea of the World Conference on Education for All started with the head of
UNICE F(King 1990). At the time when UNICEF started considering the idea of the
World Conference on Education for All, it was riding on a wave of a successful global

campaign on child survival (Black 1996). UNICEF was the sole sponsor of the successful

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campaign (Chabbott 2003; King 1990). However UNICEF did not proceed with the idea
of the WCEF A on its own. It sought to convince other organizations that it would work
with to sponsor the campaign. UNICEF sought the support of UNESCO, an organization
that was not financially robust at that time, having just lost the support of its major
donors, but had worked extensively on education sector issues in Aflica and other
developing countries, (Chabbott 2003). After UNICEF had secured the support of
UNESCO it formed an education consultative committee and then went on to seek the
support of the World Bank. The World Bank was positioning itself as a leader in
education sector issues for developing nations. After securing the support of the World
Bank, the consultative committee sought and secured the support of the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP). The World Bank, UNESCO, UNDP and UNICEF

became known as the hosting organizations for WCEF A (1990).

The group of the hosting organizations developed the original drafts for the
WCEFA (1990) in which they laid the ground for the promotion of basic education for
all. They developed two draft drafts, A and B which were later passed for discussion at

the regional conferences discussed below.

Building momentum

The current section studies the manner in which the hosting organizations went
about gaining momentum once they had reached consensus. During the period of
building consensus the hosting organizations developed two drafts A and B which lay out
the parameters of education for all. The step of gaining momentum involved holding nine
regional meetings which separately discussed draft B that had been produced by the

hosting organizations.

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In Afiica the regional meetings were held in Nairobi (Kenya) for East and
Southern Africa; Dakar (Senegal) for West and Central African; and Bamako (Mali) for
Sahelian countries. The regional meetings were held a matter of months before the world
conference. They created a sense of urgency and hype about education for all through the
consultative regional meetings. King (1990) states that “. . .the immediate plan was to
create a sense of urgency about the problem, and to create a consensus about its goals and

strategies: an international plan of action,” (p. 4).

The regional meetings built momentum by getting all the countries on board a globally
supported education campaign. According to King (1990) there was some skepticism at

the beginning, which later faded away

gradually as momentum built up, policy people in governments, and researchers
began to realize that, whatever the origins of the initiative, this would be probably
the only opportunity in the next 10 to 15 years when education and literacy
together would command the attention of all nations on the world

stage,(UNESCO 1990, p. l).

The conference added to the hype and momentum with the big names in
development, UNICEF, World Bank, UNDP and UNESCO hosting a global education
forum, the first of its kind in education, following closely on the hills of a successful
Health for all campaign (Chabbott 1990). “It attracted nearly 1500 delegates and
Observers flom 156 countries, four heads of state, over 100 Ministers of Education, heads

of several international organizations, professional teaching bodies, and NGOS flom all

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over the world,” (Black, 1996, p. 233). The participation of the big names and the size of

the conference helped to build momentum for education for all.

It was important to build momentum for the education for all campaign,
considering that the campaign was held during the time of heightened donor fatigue. It
was important to raise a lot of hype in order to attract the attention of potential donors
who were becoming skeptical following minimal progress emanating flom the three
development decades (Black, 1996; Chabbott, 2003). It was important during this time of
apathy to build momentum and enroll important actors that would be important for the
implementation of the education sector programs. It was also important to enroll the
national governments that would directly implement the education for all programs as
well as important potential funding organizations. The sponsoring organizations were
convinced that they generated sufficient momentum to generate the required resources.
The Director General of UNESCO observed that, “We have now generated sufficient
momentum to dare to be a little unrealistic - for only those who are a little rurrealistic can
make the impossible today possible tomorrow,” (UN 1980 p. 97). The high profile
conference drew attention of the world, building the necessary momentum required to get

the important policy actors on board.

Naming of WCEFA

As discussed earlier, naming of the policy agency highlights aspects of a problem
as perceived by a particular interest group. An organizational name is an artifact which is
explored in this section to find out the meaning that the World Conference on Education

for All portrayed about education sector problems in developing countries. Health for all

was the predecessor to the WCEFA (1990). United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

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made progress with health for all by selecting easily available cures for diseases that were
killing children in developing countries (Black 1996; King 1990; Chabott 2003). The
cures reduced premature death and improved the health of children in developing
countries. UNICEF which had led the health for all campaign was among the leading
organizations that organized WCEFA (1990). According to King (1990) “UNICEF was
certain that education for all would have much to learn flom the dramatization of Health
for All, and the campaigns for child survival and immunization which it had spearheaded

in the early 19805,” (p. 4).

Along the same lines with health for all, the hosting organizations chose the name
of Education For All. The WCEF A (1990) was organized at a time when donor fatigue
was setting in following the largely unsuccessful UN Development decades. In fact the
conference was organized during the eighties which were referred to as the lost decade
for Afiica due to the stagnation that characterized that period. However UNICEF -
spearheaded health for all that was singled out as the only success of the third

development decade (Chabbott 2003).

There was a need to reinvigorate donor support for development programs. The
title of ‘Education for All’ was coined to the education policy terrain to take advantage of
the momentum generated by the health for all campaign. The name ‘Education For All’

would attract the attention of the international funding organizations.

The name ascribed to any policy terrain becomes the selling point for that policy.
In order to be successful in attracting funding, a policy name must be persuasive to the

potential funding organizations. AS such a policy name may say more about the targeted

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funding partners than the problem. The name focuses attention on a specific aspect of a
problem. For any policy terrain there are many possible names, each potential name
highlights an aspect of the problem (Fischer 2003). While a name highlights an aspect of
a problem, it is used to represent the larger problem. In this case the name “World
Conference of Education for all: Meeting basic learning needs” focuses attention on basic
learning needs and yet it came to represent the main education sector policy for
developing countries. “Education for All: meeting basic needs” came to represent the
identity of education sector issues and problems in developing countries. In other words
the education sector terrain is thought about in terms of education for all. The name

education for all is not thought about as a product of social construction.

This section has discussed the establishment of the World Conference on
Education for All, which became influential in shaping education sector policy in Afiica.
The next section discusses in detail the way in which the WEFA (1990) discussed,

thought about and defined education sector problems in developing countries.
Framing the problems

The previous sections have explored the establishment of the policy agency that
hosted the World Conference on Education for All (1990). The current section examines
the manner in which the policy agents flamed education sector problems in developing
countries. The stage of flaming problems is examined using the categories of labeling

problems, legitimizing problems and contesting problem labels.

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Labeling problems

The WCEFA (1990) flamed education sector problems around the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (1945) that had asserted that everyone had a right to
education. This section on labeling problems examines the parameters that were ascribed
the problem status by the participants of the WCEF A (1990). The problems are set out

below:

More than 100 million children, including 60 million girls, have no access to primary
schooling

The problem is flamed as that of lack of access to primary education among 100
million children. The dimension that comes through in the number of out of school
children is that of inadequate access. The problem is further qualified by stressing that the
majority of those who are out of school are girls. By focusing on the numbers, the
parameters set out do not bring out or refer to what is taught in primary school. The
importance of giving a label to a problem is that the problem acquires an identity which it
will be thought and reasoned about. In this case the problem label generated was that of
the large number of children who were out of school, stressing also the gender bias of the
out of school population. It is important to note the labeling of problems because the

problem label suggests the solution that will be fitting for the problem.

More than 960 million adults, two-thirds of whom are women, are illiterate, and
functional illiteracy is a significant problem in all countries, industrialized and
developing,

The problem here is flamed around illiteracy, again stressing the gender bias of the

nature of the problem. The parameters set out as the problem are about the large numbers

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of those who were illiterate. Again as stated above, the problem label draws a boundary
around which education sector problems are reasoned and thought about. This does not
mean that the problem did not exist prior to the labelling, but that the label provided the
dimension of the problem that was singled out for attention. The label also added the
dimension of functional literacy which referred to a basic literacy that allowed people to
contribute to society and benefit flom available resources that required literacy to access

them

More than one-third of the world’s adults have no access to the printed knowledge,
new skills and technologies that could improve the quality of their lives and help them
shape, and adapt to social and cultural changes,

This problem label was flamed as that of a lack of access to printed knowledge and
new skills that were imperative in the modern world. The problems labels were generated
in comparison to the developed world. At the time of the WCEFA (1990) written
materials were readily available to societies in the developed world, to the extent that
they were taken for granted. This knowledge available to society Of the developed world
was seen as contributing to the improved quality of life and improved adaptability to

social and cultural changes.

More than 100 million children and countless adults fail to complete basic education
programs, millions more satisfy the attendance requirements but do not acquire
essential knowledge and skills (UNESCO, 1990, p. 4 7).

The problem of a large proportion of the population dropping out of school was also
labeled as one that needed attention. This problem connected with the one about the out

of school population discussed above. It demonstrated that it was one thing to get

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children into school and yet another to keep them in school to complete their required
period of study. The problem label added another dimension of failure to acquire the
knowledge and skills for those who completed the period of study. According to this
problem label, it was not enough to get children into school. Once in school they needed
to acquire a certain kind of knowledge and skills essential for them to lead a successful

life.

The WCEF A (1990) attracted world attention as a large and high profile forum where
education sector problems were labeled. The prominence of the conference buoyed the
labels that were ascribed to the education sector problems. As noted above, the
conference generated problem labels that focused on the size of out of school population.
The parameters that were ascribed the problem status were earmarked for resources.
Developing countries needed external resources to fund their education sector problems,
making it important that they accepted and implement those problems that were eligible
for international funding. The precedent had been set by the Health for All campaign
which provided resources for those areas that had been ascribed the problem status and

thus became eligible for external resources.

The problem labels discussed above circumscribed the dimensions for thinking about
education sector problems. The purpose of defining public policy problems is so that they
can be addressed. As such the labels are generated that point to an achievable solution.
The labels that were generated by the WCEFA (1990) highlighted the large number of
out of school population who could not enjoy social benefits of society. Progress could
then be measured against the reduction of the population that was not benefiting flom

social benefits.

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Not all problem labels were eligible for external and national resources. The policy
actors justified why particular problems were eligible for public resources. The next

section explores the manner in which problems were legitimized.

Legitinrizing policy problems

There are a number of ways in which problems were legitimized. One way was
that the problems were labeled by policy actors who claimed knowledge in the field of
education policy sector. UNESCO, UNDP, World Bank and UNICEF, were all known

for their work on education in developing countries.
The problems labels were analyzed to find out how they were legitimized.

More than 100 million children, including 60 million girls, have no access to primary
schooling

The concept of legitimacy is derived flom organizational and institutional literature
where legitimacy attracts resources from institutions that share similar values. Patel et a1
(2005) states that, “Legitimacy is regarded as an asset that sustains the flow of resources
flom the environment to the organization.” In this section labels of problems are
examined to find out how they were flamed to attract resources. Legitimacy is sought and
conferred flom external institutions that will provide required resources. There are three
types of legitimacy commonly referred to in organizational and institutional literature,
which are normative, pragmatic and cognitive. Normative legitimacy refers to the extent
to which an organization is judged to reflect socially accepted values and norms,

(Brinkerhofl', 2005).

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Pragmatic legitimacy is assessed “. . .in terms of the extent to which the organization
can act to serve the needs and interests of its stakeholders and constituencies,”
(Brinkerhoff, 2005, p. 5). The third form of legitimacy is cognitive legitimacy, which
refers to the extent to which the objectives and activities are considered proper,
appropriate and desirable, (Brinkerhoff, 2005). Legitimizing policy refers to the various
ways in which policy labels are flamed to generate resources. The resources are
generated flom international organizations. As such legitimization is about providing
policy labels that are persuasive to the external potential funding institutions. In this case
the study examines the extent to which policy labels were flamed to draw the attention

and resources flom international organizations and donor national governments.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) was used to legitimize the
problem of out of school children. The conference argued that, “ In the world of today
more than four decades after the Universal Declaration was adopted, no one would dare -
to deny that all children and young people have the right to a basic education,” (UN
l948,p. 76). The out of school population was then presented as justice denied. A gender
dimension was added to demonstrate that the majority of those out of school were
females. According to the conference participants, “. . .education can help ensure a safer,
healthier, more prosperous and environmentally sound world, while simultaneously
contributing to social, economic, and cultural progress, tolerance and international

cooperation,” (UNESCO 1990, p. 48).

The conference was hosted at the end of the forth development decade that had been
considered a lost decade. The nineties came at the time of donor fatigue when it was

necessary to flame problems so that they could reinvigorate donor motivation. As noted

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earlier, the conference was hosted at a time when the subject of children had gained
support and attention. According to Black (1996) “Whatever the underlying trends that
have altered social values and perceptions in what could be called ‘the century of the
child’, their encapsulation at the international level in certain events and documentary

expressions has played its own role in the advancement of children as an issue,” (p. 4).
The subject of out of school children found a sympathetic car during the nineties.

More than 960 million adults, two-thirds of whom are women, are illiterate, and
functional illiteracy is a sign ificant problem in all countries, industrialized and
developing

The subject of illiteracy was also important during the lost development decades. At
that time the developed world was struggling to introduce various technologies to the
developing world. The failure of adoption of the technologies was thought to be due to a

lack of relevant knowledge and skills among the majority of the population.

UNESCO got involved in various experiments on improving literacy in developing
countries. The subject of illiteracy was thus popular and persuasive during the period
leading to the education for all conference. The large numbers of adults who were
illiterate served to justify the need for improved literacy if the people were to be

competent to adopt the innovations flom the developed countries.

Another important issue was the gender bias among the illiterate at a time when the
subject of gender had also gained prominence in developing circles. . According to the

roundtable,

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An extensive World Bank study shows that where there has been heavy
investment in female primary education, benefits for all occur through higher
productivity, lower infant and maternal mortality, longer life expectancy for both

men and women, and lower fertility rates (UNESCO 1990, p. 184).

o More than one-third of the world ’s adults have no access to the printed
knowledge, new skills and technologies that could improve the quality of their
lives and help them shape, and adapt to social and cultural changes,

The lack of access to printed material is related to the issue of illiteracy discussed
above. This lack of reading materials would make the knowledge provided flom the
developed countries unavailable to the people of the developing countries necessarily
defeating the purpose. The developed world wanted to see an improvement in the quality
of life in the developing countries following the resources that had been channeled. The
lack of improved quality of life was explained by the unavailability of written material to

developing nations.

More than 100 million children and countless adults fail to complete basic education
programs, millions more satisfy the attendance requirements but do not acquire
essential knowledge and skills (UNESCO, 1990, p. 4 7).

There was a growing belief among developed nations and international
organizations that basic education laid the essential base for higher levels of education.
The conference stated that, “. . .sound basic education is fundamental to the strengthening
of higher levels of education and of scientific and technological literacy, capacity and
thus to self-reliant development,” (UNESCO 1990, p. 48). It was thus considered

imperative that those who enrolled into basic education go all the way to complete their

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studies. Those who completed were expected to have acquired the knowledge and Skills
essential for scientific literacy and a capacity to proceed to higher levels of education.
However a concern was raised that some of those who completed did not acquire those
skills that were expected out of basic education. The concern raised and justified the
question of quality of basic education. While it was important to get children into school, '
it was also important to focus on whether they were acquiring the essential knowledge

and skills while they were in school.

Framing solutions

The previous section analyzed the flaming of education sector problems by the
WCEFA (1990). This section moves the analysis to the next step of flaming solutions to
address the problems. Similar to flaming problems, the flaming of solutions is analyzed
using three categories of labeling solutions, legitimizing solutions and contesting

solutions.

Labeling solutions

Labeling solutions in public policy involves setting the parameters that become the
accepted solutions to a problem. The WCEFA (1990) called its solutions World
Declaration on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs. The conference

generated 10 articles to label each of the solutions. The articles included:

0 Article 1: Meeting Learning Needs
0 Article 2: Shaping the Vision
0 Article 3: Universalizing Access and Promoting Equity

0 Article4: Focusing on Learning Acquisition

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0 Article 5: Broadening the Means and scope of Basic Education
0 Article 6: Enhancing the Environment for Learning

0 Article 7: Strengthening Partnerships

0 Article 8: Developing Supportive Policy Context

0 Article 9: Mobilizing Resources

0 Article 10: Strengthening International Solidarity (UNESCO 1990)

Meeting learning needs

The conference stated that, “Every person, child, youth, and adult shall be able to
benefit flom educational opportunities designed to meet their basic learning needs,” (p.
48). During the eighties governments in developing countries were burdened with the
debt payments that led them to reduce budgetary allocations to education. Enrollments
that had risen steadily prior to the eighties had tumbled. According to the WCEF A
(1990), there was a basic learning need in humans that could only be developed in school.
This need involved acquiring numeric, and literacy knowledge as well as basic learning

content required to live a productive quality life, and contribute to society.

As noted earlier, the role of policy agency is to talk problems into existence so
that those problems can be talked and reasoned about. The concept of basic learning
needs became a fundamental aspect of the education for all campaign. It held promise
and attraction of laying ground for successive higher level learning as well as enabling
participants to reach their full capacity. While the concept was fundamentally important
in the education for all campaign, it was also not fully described or understood. An

attempt to understand the concept of basic education illustrates the point that policy

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solutions are not distinct and objective entities, but are diffuse constructions of policy

actors.

Beyond stating that basic learning needs are the requirements for numeric and
learning skills, and the content required to reach one’s firll potential, and live a quality
life, it was not clear how much of the numeric and literacy Skills formed that foundational
base for firture learning and a quality life. Once talked into existence, the concept of basic
learning needs took a life of its own to become a convenient professional lingo. The
concept was not fully explained and yet it was foundational to the claims made for the
benefits of education for all. It is not clear at what point one reaches the basic learning

need.

Shaping the vision

Participants at the WCEFA (1990) argued that, “to serve the basic learning needs of
all requires more than a recommitrnent to basic education as it now exists,” (p. 49). They
argued that the concept of basic education needed to be expanded in light of increased
“information and the unprecedented capacity to communicate,” (p. 49). The expanded

version of basic education included:

0 Universalizing access and promote equity

0 Focus on learning

0 Broaden means and scope of basic education
0 Enhance the environment of learning

0 Strengthen partnership. (UNESCO 1990)

The aspects of the expanded version are analyzed below.

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Universalizing access and promoting equity

Despite the lack of clear definition of basic education, the WCEFA (1990) argued
that access and equity were the most important aspects of education for all. The WCEFA
(1990) stated that, “Basic education should be provided to all children, youth and adults,”
(UNESCO l990,p. 49). As discussed above, the concept of basic education quickly
became accepted convenient professional lingo. It was never clear how primary education
became a cut off point at which the necessary knowledge and skills for productive life

would have been acquired.

Focusing on learning acquisition

The WCEFA (1990) recognized that it was not enough to look at the enrollment
numbers only but to also make sure that the population that completed basic education
acquired those skills claimed as benefits of education for all. As such WCEFA (1990)
stated that, “The focus of basic education must, therefore be on actual learning
acquisition and outcome, rather than exclusively open enrollment,” (UNESCO 1990, p.

50).

Broadening the means and scope of basic education

The WCEF A (1990) observed that basic learning needs were not static but
required to be redefined and broadened. The expansion of basic education would involve
acknowledging that learning begins at birth. Prior to the expanded vision, basic education
focused more on primary education. Now the expanded vision included preschool period

as an important component of basic education.

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The expanded vision reinforced the belief in primary education stating that “The
main delivery system for the basic education of children outside the family is primary
schooling,” (p. 50). The expanded vision continued to place importance of basic learning

in primary education.

The expanded vision recognized the literacy programs for youths and adults as
important aspects of basic education. According to WCEFA (1990), “Literacy programs
are indispensable because literacy is a necessary skill in itself and the foundation of other

life skills,” (p. 50).

Enhancing environment for learning

The WCEFA (1990) argued that provision of learning activities were not
sufficient for learning to take place. They stated that, “Societies therefore must ensure
that all learners receive the nutrition, health care, physical and emotional support they
need in order to participate actively in and befit flom education,” (p. 51). Issues of health
care, physical and emotional support of learners were not considered essential in the
struggle to achieve basic education. However they came to be labeled as important issues
in the expanded vision. This demonstrated how generation of solution labels was a social

process in which policy actors fashioned labels that became accepted by the public.

Before the expanded vision, issues of health care, physical and emotional support
of the learner were considered to be the responsibility of the family. They were not
considered as part of the solution to basic education. With time it became apparent that it
was counterproductive to provide learning experiences to learners who were in no

condition to participate and benefit flom the learning experiences.

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Strengthening partnerships

Prior to the expanded vision there were efforts flom different groups to achieve
universal basic education. The efforts were not coordinated leading to duplication and
wasteful overlap. The WCEFA (1990) recognized the waste and labeled strengthened
partnerships as a solution, noting that “When we speak of “an expanded vision and a
renewed commitment,” partnerships are at the heart of it all,” (UNESCO 1990, p. 51).
Various organizations and groups were working to achieve universal basic education
without necessarily coordinating their efforts till the WCEFA (1990) announced

, partnerships as a solution label to achieving universal basic education.

Developing a supporting policy context

According to WCEF A (1990) there was need for a supportive policy context in
order to achieve basic education. The participants stated that, “supportive policies in the
social, cultural and economic sectors are required in order to realize the full provision and
utilization of basic education for individual and societal improvement,” (UNESCO 1990,
p. 51). The participants went further to state that, “Societies should also ensure a strong
intellectual and scientific environment for basic education. This implies improving higher

education and developing scientific research,” (p. 52).

Mobilizing resources

One of the major purposes of hosting the WCEFA (1990) was to mobilize
resources. The conference was held at a time when there was concern that government
resource allocation to the education sector was dwindling. The conference stated that, “If
basic education needs of all are to be met through a much broader scope of action flom

the past, it will be essential to mobilize existing and new financial, and human

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resources,” (p. 52). This label directs attention to new sources of resources that hither to
may have not been considered as available to basic education. The participants argued
that, “The urgent task of meeting basic leaning needs may require reallocation (of
resources) between sectors, as for example a transfer flom military to educational

expenditure,” (p. 52).

Strengthening international solidarity

The issue of international debt repayment caused tension between the developed
and developing nations. The developing nations argued that a large proportion of their
budget went to international debt repayment, leaving little in the national budget to
allocate to basic education. They requested debt relief flom the developed nations who

were not persuaded. The conference recommended that,

Creditors and debtors must seek innovative and equitable formulae to resolve
these burdens, since the capacity of many developing countries to respond effectively to
education and other basic needs will be greatly helped by finding solutions of the debt

problem,(UNESCO 1990, p. 52).

Legitimizing policy solution

The previous section has analyzed the generation of solution labels to address the
policy problems of basic education. This section analyzes the legitimization of the policy
labels. It has been discussed above that legitimacy is an important asset that determines
access to external resources. Solution labels will be analyzed to find out how they are

legitimized solutions so that they became worth of public resources.

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Meeting learning needs
The WCEFA (1990) agreed that there were minimum learning needs necessary
for individuals to leave a productive life. These minimum learning needs were

foundational to participation in higher levels of learning. WCEFA (1990) stated that,

Basic education is more than an end in itself. It is the foundation for lifelong
learning and human development on which countries may build, systematically, further

levels and types of education and training, (UNESCO 1990, p. 49).

The basic education concept was attractive to the international community not only for its
foundational importance, but also for the cost implications. UNICEF, which was one of
the main architects of WCEFA (1990), was motivated by its success in the child survival
campaign based on low cost technologies. In fashioning the education for all UNICEF
was looking for a solution that had the characteristics that had led to the success of the
child survival campaign which were “low cost doable interventions that would work on a
mass scale,” (Black, 1996). Chabbott (2003) put it more bluntly saying that “Grant (the
head of UNICEF) explained if he could demonstrate to the world how inexpensive it
could be to educate one human being, the world could be shamed into supporting a global

effort to educate all,” (p. 129).

The international world had been impressed with the progress made by the child
survival campaign. As such they were willing to support initiatives based on the same
successful principles that would focus on education for all. Further to this, the concept of

basic education was supported by scientific evidence coming flom internal rates of return

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(IRR). Referring to IRR which was promoted by the World Bank Chabbott (2003) stated

that,

Although strongly challenged in international and comparative education circles
for its heroic assumptions, this method consistently demonstrated much higher returns to
investment in primary education than in other levels of education in less industrialized

countries (p. 128).

Disputed as it was, the rate of return became the cornerstone of support for basic

education.

The predecessor of education for all, Health for All, had been based on scientific
evidence that led to the success of the campaign. International education and

development needed a scientific basis to support its education for all campaign.

According to Chabbott (2003)

“despite the objections, IR and cost benefit analyses were the closest the
international development field had come to a scientific, empirically based argument for
education and for differentiating the relative returns to different types of education,(p.

128).

The empirical basis was important at a time when development funding was dwindling
because donors wanted to base their decision on scientific research demonstrating the link

between development and education, (Chabbott, 126).

The concept of basic education gained a lot of legitimacy among the international

community who had become concerned with the post colonial focus on higher education

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which was benefiting the Afiican elite. The concept of basic education redirected support
flom the elite to the poor majority. Better still the shift to basic education was based on
empirical studies which demonstrated that there were greater returns flom primary

education than higher education per unit of investment.

Shaping the vision

This section examines the legitimization of the label of Shaping the vision, which
justifies an expanded vision of basic education. The participants argued that basic
education had been defined narrowly in the past. There was new information which
created space for new issues such as. The discussion of the legitimization of the new

issues follows below.

Universalizing access and promoting access

Only individuals with a certain minimum level of education were considered
productive in society and able to take advantage of the opportunities provided. The large
number of out of school population meant that few people were contributing to society or
benefiting flom the opportunities provided. As such, the WCEFA (1990) justified
universalizing and promoting access to basic education. The focus on universalizing
access drew attention to those vulnerable populations such as women, and girls, the poor,

street and working children and refugees.

Development organizations were concerned with the lack of adoption of practices
that they promoted which they attributed to a lack of basic education among the people
that they worked with. UNICEF for example noted that the success of its child survival

campaign depended on a population with a basic education that was able to follow

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instructions. The majority of the population that UNICEF and other development
organizations were working to influence did not have the basic education required to act

on the new practices.

Focusing on learning acquisition

The purpose of providing basic education was so that the individuals with the
basic education could contribute to society and achieve their full potential. The WCEFA
(1990) recognized that it was not enough to provide universal access. The conference
participants noted that, “The focus of basic education must, therefore be on actual
learning acquisition and outcome, rather than exclusively open enrollment,” (UNESCO
1990, p. 50). Once learners acquired basic education, they would be able to adopt the

modern practices promoted by the development organizations.

Broadening the means and scope of basic education

Basic education had focused largely on primary education, but the expanded
vision pointed to new research findings that created space for other levels of learning.
They argued that the “changing nature of basic learning needs of children, youth and
adults necessitated broadening and constantly redefining the scope of basic education,”
(W CEFA, 1990, p. 50). Research findings demonstrated that, “learning begins at birth,”
(UNESCO 1990, p. 50). The early childhood stage that had been left out of the basic

education was now incorporated.

Primary education retained its position as “the main delivery system for basic
education of children outside of the family,” (UNESCO 1990, p. 50). The rates of return

continued to favor primary education. There also those who dropped out of the primary

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education system who could then be covered by the literacy programs. The three
strategies of early childhood education, primary education and literacy programs would

cover all groups required to achieve universal basic education.

Enhancing the en vironment for learning

The WCEFA (1990) recognized that provision of access to learning opportunities
did not necessarily ensure that learning took place. It was necessary that the learner was
in a mental and physical state conducive for learning to take place. The conference stated
that, “societies, therefore, must ensure that all learners receive the nutrition, health, and
general physical and emotional support they need in order to participate actively in and
benefit flom their education,” (UNESCO 1990, p. 51). Support for nutrition, health and
general physical and emotional support had been the focus of UNICEF in its child

survival campaign.

Strengthen partnerships

The expanded vision of basic education incorporated a broad range of programs _
that went beyond provision of access of primary education, to include early childhood
education, and activities to enhance the environment for learning. The different programs
would be implemented by different groups, making it important that the different groups
worked together. The WCEFA (1990) stated that, “Genuine partnerships contribute to the
planning, implementation, managing and evaluating of basic education programs,”
(UNESCO 1990, p. 51). Partnerships were important at a time when there was growing
concern that donor organizations were working in competition that led to wastefirl
duplication of programs. Strengthening partnerships would help to identify and reduce

instances of wasteful duplication.

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Developing a supporting policy context

The purpose of the provision of basic education was to provide skills and
knowledge that would enable individuals to contribute to society. It was thus important to
make it possible for those with the skills to apply them. The participants stated that,
“Suitable economic, trade, labor, employment and health policies will enhance learners’
incentives and contributions to societal development,” (UNESCO 1990, 1990, p. 51). The
label suggests that there was some provision to support those with basic education so that

they could contribute to society.

Mobilizing resources

One of the main purposes for hosting the WCEF A (1990) was to mobilize resources. This
was important at a time when resources allocation to education had been going down,
leading to the reduction in enrollment. The increased enrollment required increased
resources to cater for the larger numbers of learners. The participants stated that, “If the
basic learning needs of all are to be met through a much broader scope of action than in
the past, it will be essential to mobilize existing and new financial, and human

resources,” (UNESCO 1990, p. 52).

Strengthening international solidarity

The unrest in some developing countries took away resources that could be used
for programs to support basic education, according to the conference participants. The
participants called on nations to resolve their conflicts, “and to settle displaced
populations, or facilitate their return ...and ensure that their basic learning needs are

met,”(UNESCO 1990, p. 52).

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Summary

The international community perceived education sector problems of developing
countries in a different way flom the perception of the Aflican ministers of education.
They saw the problem as mainly of the out of school population. Unlike the Aflican
ministers of education, the international community did not perceive higher education as
being part of the problems facing the education sector. Rather they saw the large numbers
of out of school population as hindering development in that they were unable to adopt
the new agricultural and other development practices. The next chapter goes in depth to
demonstrate the different perceptions of the Afiican ministers of education and the

international community in how they perceived education sector problems.

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Chapter Six

A comparative discussion of framing of education sector problems

between the WCEF A (1990) and the Harare Declaration (1982)

Introduction

The previous chapters analyzed the two policy flameworks, the Harare
Declaration (1982) held by the ministers of African education, and the WCEFA (1990)
held by the international community. The analyses applied the education policy analysis
flamework to examine the formation of policy agencies that went on to flame policy
problems and subsequent solution flameworks. Each policy agency came up with a
distinct set of policy problems and solutions even though they were addressing the same
situation. In this chapter the researcher synthesizes the way in which the two policy
groups arrived at the different ends. The focus of the synthesis is to make an
interpretation of how basic education gained higher priority over higher education. The
synthesis will compare the three stages of formation of policy agency, flaming problems

and solutions as they played out in the two policy flameworks.

Table 6.1 presents a summary of the education sector problems generated by the
WCEFA (1990) and COMEA (1982). The rest of the chapter provides a detailed
discussion of these labels, making a comparison of the claims-making of the two policy

groups about the same education sector condition.

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Table 6.1 Comparative Interpretation of COMEA (1982) and WCEFA (1990)

 

COMEA (1982)

WCEFA (1990)

 

 

the eradication of illiteracy in Afiica
early childhood education

science and technology education
for development

contribution of higher education to
the development of Afiican
societies

educational research and teaching
methodologies in the Afiica state
the use of Aflican languages as
languages of education

 

More than 100 million children,
including 60 million girls, have no
access to primary schooling

More than 960 million adults, two-
thirds of whom are women, are
illiterate

More than one-third of the world’s
adults have no access to the printed
knowledge

More than 100 million children and
countless adults fail to complete
basic education programs

 

Formation of policy agency

One of the main challenges in policy formation is that policies are outcomes of

social construction. In other words, while there may be public agreement that a certain

situation is causing public discomfort, there may not be agreement when it comes to

pinpoint the specific problem that needs to be addressed (Fischer 2003). Policy experts

have to interpret the uncomfortable situation into specific problems that can be addressed.

In this section the researcher compares the formation of the two policy agencies, setting

ground for explaining their different policy outcomes.

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Building consensus

The first stage in formation of policy agency is building consensus in which
policy actors construct a policy issue and coalesce around it. The idea of hosting the
WCEFA (1990) was first conceived by UNICEF. However, UNICEF did not command
professional control over matters of education. Its focus and expertise was centered on
health issues and working with matters that affected children. UNESCO had professional
command and control of education issues in developing nations. According to Scott
(1995) “The professions construct cognitive flameworks that define arenas within which
they claim jurisdiction and seek to exercise control,” (p. 96). Once they claim jurisdiction
over an area, professionals define social reality “by devising ontological flameworks,
proposing distinctions, creating typifications, and fabricating principles or guidelines for

action” (Scott, 1992, p. 139).

It is no coincidence that UNICEF went about identifying and enrolling
organizations that commanded professional control over education in developing
countries. Those with professional control define how issues can be thought about. The
team Of four, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP and World Bank was formed out of the giants
in education and development. They were recognized for their knowledge and work in
education and development. They had legitimate claim to knowledge about education and
development, and as such had the professional authority to define what would become the

accepted education policy issues in developing countries.

The purpose of consensus building is to constitute a policy agency that is
perceived to possess the competence required to reduce the uncertainty insocial

phenomena affecting a particular society. In the modern world this competence is

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ascribed to experts. The Afiican ministers of education would not be considered to be
professionals in the education sector (Wilensky, 1964). According to Wilensky (1964) a
profession is “based on systematic knowledge or doctrine acquired only through long
prescribed training,” (p. 138). This long prescribed training leads to claims of
professional authority over particular social areas. Those affected by a problematic social
condition do not necessarily have the necessary competence required to understand the

nature of the social phenomenon facing them (Wilensky, 1964).

The ministers of education came together to define the education policy issues for
a new era of Afiican education that was emerging flom colonialism. The consensus
building was largely motivated by the political need to consolidate their independency
flom their colonial past. The Afiican ministers of education would not be considered as
professionals in the education sector, but more like politicians or decision makers. In a
world that believed in knowledge and professionals as the legitimate sources of policy
relevant knowledge and information (Haas, 1992), the Afiican ministers were unlikely to

constitute a convincing policy formulation agency.

Naming the policy framework

In naming a policy flamework, a policy agency makes a popular appeal to the
public. As such the name should be persuasive to the intended audience. The name
“World Conference on Education for All: Meeting basic learning needs” appealed to a
world that was concerned about the staggering numbers of out of school population and
how to get this population back in school at low cost. The name “Education for All”
resonated well with the international community at a time when there was success with

“Health for All”. The Health for all campaign was successful in reducing the numbers of

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children dying flom diseases that were treatable. Taking advantage of the momentum of

Health for All, the international community adopted the name Education for All.

The second part of the name “Meeting basic learning needs” draws on the basic
needs approach that was gaining popularity among international development
organizations. Meeting basic needs defined a solution in terms familiar to the epistemic
communities of international development and education communities. It gave the appeal
of a solution that was based on expertise and knowledge about education policy problems
in Afiica. The perception that a policy solution was based on expertise and knowledge of
development and education problems in Aflica was important and valuable for seeking
funds flom the international world. According to Chabbott (2003), “Knowing that
educational development depends on funding flom international development donors,
professionals work to translate expert knowledge on education into international
development scripts,” (p. 134). (Chabbott (2003) goes further to state that, “the debate
over “basic education” in the late 19703 and early 19803 was, in part, a debate about
tactics: what was the best way to coax funds out of donor organization,” (p. 135). There
was no better way than to define a solution in terms that demonstrated the use of

knowledge and expertise agreed upon by the epistemic communities.

The Afiican ministers named their conference the Harare Declaration (1982), a
name that did not focus on any aspect of education that was familiar to the epistemic
communities. The name is not persuasive to any audience. It does not tell the public what
solution the ministers of education offered for the education sector in Aflica. To those in
the international development and education community, giving a name to a policy

flamework that does not clearly define the solution offered might suggest or affirm their

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concerns that the Aflican ministers were not professionals in the area of education and
development. This perception would weaken support for the policy framework of the
Aflican ministers of education. The name did not immediately suggest the policy solution

that the ministers offered.

Gaining momentum

The stage of gaining momentum is where new members are enrolled who will
largely be involved in implementation of the policy in question. As such this is the stage
for securing commitment for a particular policy flom those actors who will be important
for implementation. The hosting organizations of the WCEFA (1990) conducted nine
regional conferences to gain the commitment of the national governments. In Afiica the
International community held three prominent consultative meetings that brought
attention and hype to the WCEF A (1990). The climax momentum was reached at the
WCEFA (1990) when the 155 countries of the world announced declarations and

commitments to support basic education.

Discussions about basic learning needs were central to the conference, making
sure that all the participants got the message. There were exhibits, forty-eight roundtables
and three monographs all to demonstrate, inform and persuade the participants about the
importance of the concept of basic leanring needs (UNESCO 1990; Chabbott 2003; King
1990). The discussions and presentations about basic learning needs took place at a
prominent global stage. The international development community and national

governments made commitments to support basic learning needs.

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There was not as much hype in gaining momentum for the Afiican ministers of
education. In the run up to the first conference for Afiican ministers of education there
were no hyped conferences where the ministers presented their position as was done
through the regional conferences conducted by the inter-organizational committee in
preparation of the WCEF A (1990). The ministers submitted the Outline of a Plan for
Education Development to the UN Economic Commission which endorsed the outline
and passed it on to the UN General Assembly (1961). The UN General Assembly
endorsed the outline as well and passed it down to UNESCO (1961) executive board
which also endorsed it and gave the go ahead for the first conference of Afiican ministers

of education.

The international community formed a much stronger policy agency that
commanded authority and expertise over education and development in Aflica. The
establishment of the Afiican ministers as a policy agency was not based on their
command and expertise in the education sector. This placed them in a weaker position in

comparison to the international community.

Framing problems by the international community

This section made a comparison of the education policy problems as seen by the
Afiican ministers of education and by the WCEFA (1990). The two groups provide two
different perspectives of the same education sector situation in Afiica. It is no surprise
that the two groups came up with different policy flameworks for the same situation
because policy problems are products of social construction (Fischer 2003; Yanow 1996,

2000; Stone 1988).

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Both the Afiican ministers of education and the WCEFA (1990) recognized that
there was a problem with the education sector in Aflica. However they did not see the
same problem. The differences in the perceived problems by the two policy agents raise
the question about which problems gain prominence and why. In other words which

groups has figured out the real policy problems.

It is important that policy problems are flamed in a manner that is convincing and
persuasive enough to attract the necessary resources. UNICEF recognized the importance
of flaming education sector problems in Afiica well enough to attract resources. During
the time that UNICEF was pursuing its successful Health for All campaign, it recognized
the problem of large numbers of out of school children. UNICEF did not go ahead to
flame the education sector problem. Rather UNICEF recognized that it was not best
qualified to flame education sector problems in Afiica. UNICEF sought the support of

organizations that had the authority to flame education sector problems.

UNESCO and the World Bank were actively involved and connected to the
epistemic communities generating education sector theories and knowledge about the
education sector in Afiican and the other developing regions (Chabbott, 2003). By the
19808 the World Bank had introduced rates of return to investment in education that had
persistently demonstrated higher returns to primary education over higher education
(Psacharopolous and Woodhall, 1985). The concept of rate of returns gained credence
and legitimacy in the international development field despite challenges flom other

scholars because this was the closest the field could come to empirically based arguments

(Chabbott, 2003).

137

 

The WCEF A (1990) took place during the fourth UN Development Decade. The
education sector in Afiica was interpreted within the context of development efforts. The
fourth development decade followed the so called lost decade of the third UN
Development Decade. The UN introduced the development decades during the 1960s to
draw the attention of the developed world to the development concerns of Afiica and
other developing regions. By the fourth Development Decade fatigue was setting in
among the developed nations as the past development decades had not brought the
anticipated development. WCEFA (1990) came at a time when there were calls to renew
developments efforts. The focus was to find the simple and less costly ways of addressing
development shortfalls. The development discourse explained the lack of development as
due to the lack of appropriate education commensurate with modernization. Development
experts were concerned with extent of the out of school population. It was perceived as a

hindrance to development efforts.

The development discourse was important in directing resources to particular
areas Of social development. Development discourse was spearheaded by those who were
considered to be the experts in development issues facing the developing nations. The
importance of development discourse was highlighted by the United Nations which
declared the 19608 as the first Development Decade. This was followed by the second,
third and fourth development decades that drew attention and resources to development
needs in developing nations. Development discourse was generated by international
development professionals. They claimed rational knowledge of the development

jurisdiction. Any policies for developing nations had better potential for success if they

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were linked to the development discourse which was perceived as generated by

professionals and therefore legitimate and authentic.

In connecting to the development discourse, the WCEF A (1990) point out that
more than 100 million children including 60 million girls did not have access to school.
This discrepancy demonstrated the large population that would drag any development
efforts. The WCEFA (1990) communicated to the development community the potential
of education in furthering development efforts. More important was the fact that the
policy problem as flamed by the WCEFA (1990) made connections with the prevailing
development discourse. Further to pointing out the problem of out of school children,
WCEFA (1990) also pointed out that more that 960 milling adults, two thirds of whom
were women were illiterate. Again the conference shored the problem of illiterate adults
who were supposed to be implementing the development solutions. These development

solutions presupposed a literate population.

While the development solutions presupposed a literate population, WCEF A
(1990) noted that more than one third of the world’s population had no access to printed
knowledge, this at a time when the printed knowledge was driving the modern world.
Development solutions focused on the written knowledge to promote modern
technologies in such areas as agriculture and health. The lack of access to the written
knowledge especially in the developing nations made it difficult to disseminate the

modern technologies that were essential for development.

It was not only important that the out of school population got into school, but

that they completed the schooling in order for them to acquire the competence necessary

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to contribute and benefit flom the development efforts. The WCEFA (1990) noted with
concern that 100 million children and countless adults failed to complete basic education
programs. The concern about the failure of a significant proportion of the population to
complete basic education directly connected with the development discourse focus on

basic human needs. Basic education was considered a basic human need.

The development discourse made the assumption that the technologies and
knowledge required for modernization was available to the developed world. There was
no need for developing nations to recreate the modernization wheel that had already been
created for them by those in the developed nations. According to the development
discourse, the developing nations needed to adopt the technologies that were already in
existence. The focus on basic education agreed with the development discourse in that
basic education developed the knowledge and skills required to be able to adopt and

adapt the skills developed in the north.

The international community flamed basic education as the foundation for further
and higher levels of education. By focusing on basic education as the foundation for
further levels of education, the WCEFA (l990)8ugge8ted that once individuals acquired
basic education, they were competent on their own to take control of their needs for
further and higher education. In this flaming of education sector problems as focusing on
laying a foundation for higher levels of education, the higher levels of education were
explicitly left out of the policy flamework and implicitly suggested as following flom the

foundation laid in basic education.

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Development professionals argued that there was a certain critical level of
education below which individuals could fully function in a modern and literate society.
However once individuals reached that critical level of education, the basic education
level, they trigger a domino effect for subsequent competences and learning needs in their

life.

Education sector issues came to be encompassed under the international education
and development discourse. This was at a time when the child survival campaign was an
example of success in the development field driven by science-based knowledge and
technologies. Those concerned with the high out of school population were looking for
such simple technologies to save the education sector. There were no such simple
technologies in the education sector that would bring similar success. However the
problems in the education sector were flamed so that they could be amenable to the
simple technologies (Chabbott 2003). AS such the problems were flamed as low
enrollment, inequity and high drop out in basic education. Framed in this manner, the
problems would suggest fairly simple policy solutions of increasing enrollment and
improving equity. Framed in this manner the problems were in agreement with the

prevailing development discourse.

Framing of problems by the African ministers of education

The conference of Afiican ministers of education was constituted to address the
problems facing the education sector in Aflica at a time when the African countries were
transitioning into post-colonial independence. The problems of the Aflican education
were perceived to have been created by the colonial governments who had suppressed the

advancement of Afiicans (Lulat 2005). Independence meant a time to correct the

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discrepancies that had been created by the colonial governments. The denial of education,
particularly higher education, to Afiicans had created a dependence on the colonial
masters (UNESCO 1982). As such, when the African states attained independence, they
were eager to take control of their national affairs and become responsible of important
decisions about their people and nations. It continued to bother them that after
independence the most influential positions in their countries were still held by personnel
flom the former colonial masters or expatriates. They agreed that education was
important and necessary for the Afiicans to take control of their national affairs and sever

ties and dependence on past colonial masters.

African ministers of education flamed the education sector problems within the
context of the post-colonial era. The political motive took the lead in defining the
education sector problems. The problems of illiteracy, early childhood education, science
and technology education for development, contribution of higher education to the
development of Afiica, educational research and teaching methodologies in Afiican
states and the use of Afiican languages as for instruction were all flamed in the context of

the past colonial era.

Aflican ministers of education flamed the problem of illiteracy within the context
of the development discourse as well as within the post-colonial context. Within the
development context and discourse, the Afiican ministers recognized the need for a
literate population to participate in development efforts. They also recognized the
disparity in the gender distribution of the illiterate population. Women were in the large
majority of the illiterate population, necessarily disadvantaging them flom opportunities

provided for development. The Afiican ministers also flamed literacy as preparing

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individuals for lifelong learning. In other words, they framed the problem within the
development context that also framed basic education as preparing individuals for further

and higher education.

On the other hand the Aflican ministers of education also placed illiteracy within
the context of the post-colonial era. The Afiican ministers of education strongly raised
the issue of using local languages in literacy programs. They argued that local languages
had been marginalized during the colonial era. They saw it as their duty to restore the
importance of local languages during the post-colonial era. In general, the Afiican
ministers of education flamed illiteracy problems very much in line with the prevailing
development discourse. This may be explained by the fact that UNESCO’S work in
development focused on issues of illiteracy, and so its influence in flaming issues could

have helped in the agreement.

When it comes to children, development discourse focused on the health of
preschool children. Early childhood education was only beginning to be raised as an
issue. The general focus was on universal primary education. There was not much by way
of prevailing development discourse for the Aflican ministers of education to draw upon
on the issue of early childhood education. They however Observed that the traditional
Afiican home environment did not provide experiences that adequately prepared children
for school. The educational role of preschool experiences were not considered
particularly important during the period of study in Africa. Preschool experiences were
recognized more for releasing women’s time to engage in development work. As such the

preschool experiences did not focus on learning, and the people in charge of the children

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did not need to have any qualification in childhood education. They only needed to be

responsible adults.

Afiican ministers of education flamed the problems facing development in Afiica
as coming out of a lack of endogenous science and technology solutions. The Aflicans
were calling for new science and technology solutions de eloped by Afiicans, which was
contrary to the development discourse which argued that knowledge and technology were

already available and there was no need for the Afiicans to recreate the wheel.

The African ministers were motivated and prompted by an interest to break ties
with the colonial past. They viewed science and technologies flom the past as being
inappropriate and perpetuating their cognitive and intellectual dependency on the colonial
past. It was important for the Afiicans to build their own base of science and technology
that would be more appropriate for their culture and lifestyle. That argument was not
connected to the prevailing development discourse. The prevailing development
discourse as stated above, argued that science and technology was already available for
the Aflicans to adopt and adapt. The concern of the Aflicans about their colonial past was

not a part of the development discourse.

The Afiican ministers viewed the provision of science and technology as
perpetuating cognitive and intellectual dependence. As such they were eager to
participate in developing science and technologies to address their own problems.
Afiicans valued their participation in developing science and technologies that would
develop their cognitive and intellectual capacity and help to server dependence. While the

argument to develop their cognitive and intellectual capacity was a sound one, it did not

144

derive flom the authoritative development discourse. As said earlier the development
discourse was considered to be legitimate and authoritative as it was generated by

professionals in international development.

In the post-colonial era Afiicans were concerned that most of the middle and
higher levels positions were held by former colonial masters or expatriates. The situation
was troubling to the Afiicans who thought that independence did not mean much if the
decision making positions continued to be held by former colonial masters. Aflican
ministers saw higher education as important in providing the knowledge and competence

required for Aflicans to take over the middle and high level positions.

While Afiicans viewed as problematic that people flom their colonial past held
middle and high level positions, the situation was not problematic for the development
professionals. Development discourse focused on improving the quality of life in the
developing nations. Development epistemic communities did not focus on studying and
writing about whether Afiicans or non-Aflicans controlled middle and high level
positions. For the development professionals what mattered was for the Afiican nations

to improve their quality of life and attain higher levels of development.

Aflicans placed a lot of importance on higher education. Afiican ministers were
concerned that the education system left by the colonial system was not relevant to the
Afiican environment. They argued that the education alienated students flom their
environment. It was as such the role of higher education to study and develop a new

education system that oriented students to the Aflican environment.

145

Policy actors spend time flaming policy problems so that they can persuade the
public and potential funding partners that they have a thorough understanding of the
problems facing their society. Policy actors need to convince the public and potential
funding partners in order to attract resources required to fund the policy solutions. For the
Aflican ministers, it was important to convince the international community flom whom
they were seeking for additional funding. In order to convince the international
community, the African ministers needed to demonstrate that their flaming of the policy
problems was based on good policy knowledge and expertise. This would be achieved
by linking their policy arguments and problem flames to the prevailing education and

development discourse.

The education and development discourse is spearheaded by the professionals
who, as a result of their knowledge claims to international education and development,
have the professional authority to generate theories and models for education policy and
development. These professionals, according to Chabbott (2003) “. . .articulate and carry
packages of “correct” principles, “appropriate” policies and “best” practices to national

governments and non-govemmental organizations alike,” (p. 2).

Based on the need to achieve self-reliance, the flaming of the education sector
problems by the African ministers of education did not make connections with the
theories and models of education sector issues articulated by the international
development and education epistemic communities. There was not much theorizing
around the concept of self-reliance that drove the problem flames of the Afiican ministers
of education. Without that theorizing and connection to the prevailing discourse, the

policy framework of the African ministers of education would lack legitimacy.

146

Legitimacy comes flom policy “. . .being portrayed as the technical implementation of
rational solution to a problem,” (Nustad and Sending, 2000, p. 53). It is thus important for
any policy flamework to be linked to a body of knowledge. Nustad and Sending (2000)
argue that, “Scientific knowledge in this sense performs a symbolic task as it legitimizes
and renders credible ...political action,” (p. 53). The corollary is that a policy framework
that is not backed by a scientific body of knowledge has little or no credibility and is

rendered illegitimate.

Summary

The comparison demonstrated the different ways in which the international community
and the Afiican ministers of education perceived education sector problems in Aflica.
The next chapter moves flom the international perspective of education policy to a

national perspective of education policy in Tanzania.

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Chapter Seven

The Tanzania Education and Training policy (1995)

Introduction

This chapter presents the third example of the application of the analytical
flamework to the education sector policy. The policy analytical flamework consists of
three steps that include the establishment of a policy agency, flaming of problems and

solutions.

In 1995 the government of Tanzania announced the Education and training policy.
The policy was announced following the WCEFA (1990) and the Harare Declaration
(1982) held by the Afiican ministers of education. The WCEFA (1990) promoted a basic
education policy focus for all the developing nations. Developed nations and international
development organizations pledged resources for those nations that promoted the basic
education focus in their education sector policy. The focus on basic education promoted
by the WCEFA (1990) was driven by the knowledge and expertise of the development
epistemic communities. The World Bank had conducted studies that demonstrated that
primary education had higher rates of return on investment than higher education. The
development epistemic community was generating knowledge and expertise around the
concept of basic education. The concept was emerging as one that had promise for

releasing developing nations flom poverty and illiteracy.

148

Prior to the WCEF A (1990), the Afiican ministers of education had hosted the
Harare declaration that also set a direction for the education policy in African countries.
The Aflican ministers of education acknowledged basic education as one of the strategies
for addressing the education sector problems facing Afiica. However, the Afiican
ministers of education were not driven by the knowledge generated by the epistemic
communities. They were instead driven by the political motive to consolidate their
independence. While they acknowledge the need to achieve universal enrollment into
basic education programs, they prioritized higher education that would produce the
human resources qualified to fill the middle and higher level jobs that were still occupied

by their former colonial masters.

According to the Afiicans, a focus on basic education would perpetuate
dependence on their former colonial masters. In order to move away flom dependence on
the past colonial masters, the education policy framework presented by the Aflican
ministers of education focused on higher education, science and technology facilitated by
Afiican higher education and research institutions as well as promotion of local
languages as languages of instruction. This focus on reinforcing independence was not a
part of the international development discourse. The development discourse focused on

the potential of basic education to contribute to development.

Table 7.1 shows the labels of education sector problems constructed by the three
policy interest groups. It shows the extent to which the Tanzania ETP (1995) relates to
the policies of the international community and those of the Afiican ministers of

education.

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Table 7.1 Comparison of COMEA (1982), WCEFA (1990) and Tanzania ETP (1995)

 

 

 

COMEA (1982) WCEFA (1990) ETP (1995)

o the eradication of o More than 100 0 Access and equity
illiteracy in Afiica million children, (equivalent to

0 early childhood including 60 WCEFA 1990’s
education million girls, have concern with out of

0 science and no access to school population)
technology primary schooling 0 Liberalization
education for 0 More than 960 o Decentralization
development million adults, tWO- 0 Cost sharing

0 contribution of thirds 0f whom are a Quality of education
higher education to women, are (equivalent to
the development of illiterate WCEFA 1990’s

Afiican societies
educational research
and teaching
methodologies in the
Afiica state

the use of Afiican
languages as
languages of
education

 

More than one-
tlrird of the world’s
adults have no
access to the
printed knowledge
More than 100
million children
and countless
adults fail to
complete basic
education

programs

 

concern for low
completion rates)

 

The government of Tanzania began putting together a new education policy in

1993. The researcher examines the composition of the policy agency, and the flaming of

policy problem and solutions

150

 

Establishing the policy agency
This section will analyze the process of that established the Education and Training

policy (1995).

Consensus building

The nineties saw the World Bank taking a prominent role in directing the
education policy sector for developing nations. By this period the Bank had established
itself as a source of knowledge for education policy for developing nations, in addition to
frmding the implementation of programs that complied with its policies. During the
eighties and nineties the World Bank (1995) was promoting a general policy of
liberalization. Through this policy national governments were encouraged to privatize

and decentralize the provision of education (World Bank, 1995).

The education system in Tanzania had been centralized and the government had
followed the principles of socialism (Sarnoff 1994). During the eighties and nineties
Tanzania was seeking for funding flom the World Bank (Sarnoff, 1994) which was
promoting the liberalization through its economic structural adjustment program. A
National Education Task Force was set up to recommend an education sector policy. The
actively promoted structural adjustment program suggested a new education landscape in

the impending 21St century.

The National Education Task Force produced the Tanzania Education System for
the 21St century. The National Task Force was largely composed of academics and their
focus was on developing an education policy that prepared Tanzania to become

competitive in an increasingly global world (Buchert, 1997).There was little consultation

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in the development of the document which was printed in Leeds, United Kingdom. The

document did not receive much attention ((Buchert, 1997).

In February 1993, another policy drafting committee was established, consisting
of sixteen members and three sub-committees that consisted of government employees
flom various departments (Buchert 199; Sarnoff, 1994). The committee produced it 8 first
draft in September 1993 which was discussed with representatives of the Ministry of
Education and Culture, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher education, together
with other government departments. The document was entitled Tanzania integrated
education and training policy. The draft went through a series of other discussions to get

feedback

Following various changes, an advanced draft was presented to the Cabinet
Secretariat “which decided that it was far too long and the MSTHE (Ministry of Science,
Technology and Higher education) should formulate its own policy paper,” (Buchert,
1997, p. 49). Following further changes the Education and Training policy (1995) was

produced.

The policy drafts were submitted to the local representatives of international
organizations at their bimonthly interagency meetings. They provided feedback to the
policy drafts as they evolved. Buchert (1997) states that, “According to several of the
agency officials, their comments related to key areas which they felt were inadequately
dealt with in the policy paper and which reflected their ongoing work in Tanzania

education,” (p. 51).

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Naming the policy

The first policy draft was named “Tanzania integrated education and training
policy”. It was integrated in that the education policy covered the whole education sector,
flom primary to higher education. As discussed in earlier chapters, policy names play an
important role in generating attention and resources. Policy names that tell a compelling
story also attract resources flom funding partners who agree with the policy suggested in
the name. Besides suggesting an integrated education policy, the name Tanzania
integrated education and training policy did not draw attention to any particular focus that

draws attention.

After the committee presented the first draft to the Cabinet secretariat, the policy
name was changed to Education and Training policy. The word “integrated” was
removed after the secretariat recommended that the Ministry of Science, Technology and
Higher Education develop a separate policy specific to higher education. The final name

of the policy did not give any clue as to its focus, or what was driving the policy.

Building momentum

At the momentum building stage policy actors who will be important in
implementing the policy are recruited. This section analyzes the way in which policy
actors were recruited to gain acceptance of the Education and Training policy (1995). In
February 1995 the Education and Training policy, with a foreword written by the minister
of education was presented to Cabinet for approval. It was important to gain approval of
Cabinet to give the policy a government seal. In March (1995) the Education and
Training policy was presented to parliament for any comments as well as to gain the

support of the people of Tanzania. After the Education and Training policy (1995) had

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gained recognition and acceptance flom the legislative bodies, amendments were made to
the 1978 Education Act in October (1995) to incorporate the aspects introduced by the
policy. The particular amendments were those that pertained to “liberalization of the
education system..., ownership of schools; empowerment of local education officers,”

(King, 2006, p. 50).

The approval process of the document by government as its policy was important
also to the local representatives of the international development organizations that had
been seeking for a policy to guide their education and development activities (Buchert
1997). These development agencies had been involved in the development of the policy
document through their bimonthly interagency meetings. The development agencies
approved of the policy document which they had provided input to align the document

with their development interests (Buchert 1997).

According to Buchert (1997), the consultation process did not go all the way to
include headmasters and the wider public. This situation was rectified in 1996 when a

conference on the Education and training policy was held to familiarize

participants who are actors and stakeholders in various areas of education, with
the contents of the Education and Training policy and to discuss and agree on the

strategies for the policy’s implementation,(GoT 1997, p. xi).

Framing the problems
The current section analyzes the flaming of education sector problems by the people of

Tanzania.

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Labeling of education sector problems in the Education and Training policy (1995)
It has been pointed out earlier that policy problems do not exists as objective
entities, but as diffuse forms that are outcomes of social construction. Social construction
of policy problems involves setting boundaries that determine how a policy problem will
be thought and reasoned about. The problems labeled in the Education and Training
policy (1995) include access and equity, liberalization, decentralization and
implementation strategies (Odunga, 1997), children and adult education. Each of the

problems labels will be analyzed below.

Access and equity

According to the government of Tanzania, “Access to education refers to the
opportunities available to the target population to participate in that education, whereas
equity refers to the fairness in the distribution and allocation of educational resources to
various segments of society,” GOT, 1995, p. 17). The problem of access and equity was
taking a new form during the nineties with the introduction of liberalization and
privatization of education. Prior to the introduction of liberalization and privatization
education was provided to all by the government.” It became necessary during the period
of liberalization and privatization to determine the new way of thinking and reasoning

about the issues of access and equity.

Liberalization and privatization of education meant that access and equity was not
only about the available places in schools, but also the extent to which various sections of
the population could afford to pay for the provision of education. The government stated
that, “in the 19908 and beyond, there is need to re-examine issues of access and equity in

education within the context of a changed socio-economic and political environment,”

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(ETP, 1995, p. 17). The changed socio-economic situation brought by the economic
structural adjustment program reduced funding that was available to schools. There was
increased talk of quality of education that had been decreasing during the years of flee
education to meet universal primary education targets. It was important that schools

enrolled students that they could offer quality education and retain to completion.

The government was in a difficult position of changing access and equity without
looking like it was reneging on its commitment to proving education for all. As such,
even as it saw quality as important enough to affect enrollment, it set out safeguards for
groups that it considered to be vulnerable. Vulnerable were those groups that had whose
situation with respect to access and equity had improved the least during the period when
government focused on providing universal primary education. Migratory groups like
hunters, fishermen and pastoralists continued to suffer low enrolments. Girls were also
vulnerable due to cultural preferences for educating male children, and also the tendency
for girls to be married when they were still young. There were still regions that were
proportionally under-represented with respect to the national average. It was agreed that

this problem of geographical imbalances was becoming less of a problem.

Liberalization

According to Odunga (1997), “The liberalization of the establishment and
management of educational institutions involves the reduction of the role of the state in
the manipulation of prices and the opening up of all avenues of the economy to private
initiative and involvement,” (p. 13). After years of provision of flee education by a
central government, it became apparent that the government was unable to continue and

sustain the costs of provision of flee education. At a conference discussing the new

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policy it was stated that, “the problem which the 1995 Education and Training Policy is
trying to address is how to transform a centralized system of education whose financing
and provision is government dominated, into a liberalized one in which public and private
investments through competitive Signals of demand matched with supply,” (Ministry of

Education and Culture 1996, p. 69).

Provision of flee education was also not in line with the economic and structural
adjustment program (ESAP). Free provision of education did not encourage competition
or the market laws of demand and supply. Instead quality of education was decreasing
during the period of flee provision because schools did not compete for students. It did
not matter the quality of education that a school provided, government paid all schools
equally. A new term, liberalization, was introduced to say that government provision of
flee education was creating more problems that it was addressing. Private providers were
shut out of provision of education and yet government was not able to firnd enough

schools for the universal provision of flee education.

Decentralization

The introduction of liberalization and private resources raised problems of control
of schools and curriculum. Those who provided private funding needed to have more
control of their schools, and the government was concerned about maintaining some
minimmn standards in all schools. The private sector did see much incentive in providing
resources for schools that they could not control. It became necessary for the government
to decentralize, in other words pass on more decision making on educational matters to
the locals and at the same time maintaining a good quality of education. According to

Odunga (1997), “Decentralization facilitates popular participation and more democratic

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control over schools,” (p. 14). In other words some of the decrease in quality of education
was attributed to a failure to engage local participation in the provision of education.
Parents and local districts were left out in the provision of education in their areas.

Continued central control would be a disincentive for private providers of education.

With the governments concerned about minimum standards there was the problem
of agreeing on what services could be left to local control, and which ones would still
continue to be centralized. Government decided that some functions were at the core and
could only government could provide such functions as licensing teachers, school

registration and curriculum.

Cost sharing in education

Prior to liberalization the government of Tanzania had argued strongly that flee
provision of basic education was necessary to achieve universal primary education.
Liberalization allowed the introduction of privately owned schools that could not offer
flee education. The government itself was constrained by the structural adjustment
programs which promoted cost recovery. For its part, the government wanted to continue
to be seen as committed to providing universal primary education. Direct reintroduction
of school fees would look like the government was letting up on the commitment to
providing universal primary education. Nevertheless flee provision could not be
sustained both for budgetary reasons as well complying with the ESAP. Instead of
outright re-introduction of payment for school fees, the government introduced a concept
called cost sharing which would allow alternative forms of payment that were more

accessible to resource poor families.

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Quality of education

The label “quality of education” is one of those that demonstrate the diffuse
nature of public policy issues. While there was a concern for high quality of education in
Tanzania, it was not clear what makes for high quality of education. In other words what
are the characteristics of quality education? According to Mwenisongole (1997), quality
of education included teacher moral, in-service training, improving curriculum and

instructional materials, inflastructure and facilities.

The goal of provision of universal primary education stretched the resources
available to schools. There were not enough teachers, books or even schools to enroll
everyone who wanted. Those who enrolled in the overcrowded school did not proceed to
completion. Dropout rates were high as both parents and students did not see value in
school of low quality. The education did not improve the life chances that had been the

goal of education for parents and students.

Legitimizing policy problems
After policy problems were labeled as analyzed in the preceding section, the

government had to justify that the problems were worth of public attention and support.

Access and equity

The government had to be seen to be committed to provision of education at all
times. Abandoning that cause would have political consequences, and yet some of the
demands brought by the ESAP did not allow government to continue to provide flee
education. As such it was careful when it came to statements about pulling out flom

providing universal primary education. In the case of the quota system, inherent in the

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quota system has been its tendency to push up children with low achievement levels
while at the same time denying access to the more deserving ones,” (Education and

Training policy 1995, p. 21).

The government went on to state that the quota system had been a temporary
measure that had been put to address historical imbalances. As the imbalances were
leveled out, the government argued, there would be no need to keep the quota system. It
would have to be phased out. While the academics who argued against the quota system
had argued that the system be stopped, the government decided that it would be phased

out, as a compromise to appease its political base.

The government made the case that liberalization and privatization changed the
nature of access and equity in education in a manner that necessitated the government to
provide safeguards for those who would be potentially disadvantaged. The government
made the statement that it was still committed to achieving universal education and

upholding basic education as a human right.

Liberalization

Liberalization of education provision was part of the ESAP package that
demanded increased alignment with market forces. As such the government made a half-
hearted justification saying that liberalization would address the issue of access and
equity, only to follow that with a list of its own concerns. The list of concerns included
that some schools would close for failing to be competitive, leaving fewer schools.

Another concern was that some public schools would close too if they were not funded at

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the level of the private school. There also was a concern that there would be differences

in curricular that may have negative impact in the less resourceful districts.

The government was in a difficult position in that it needed to abide by the ESAP
because the package brought funding to the national budget. This is why it had to come
up with a justification for liberalization. It is thus not so surprising that the justification is
not very strong, and is immediately followed by a string of concerns. This conflicting
position of the government makes it difficult as to draw out its real justifications for
liberalization. It might be important to note also that the terminology of liberalization

came with the EASP. It was not a terminology that existed before this period.

Decentralization

According to the Odunga (1997), “with the increasing number of schools and
students nation-wide, it has become a reality that ‘the center can no longer hold’ to
control and direct everything that goes on in the schools,” (p. 14). In the past the
government had argued for government control in the provision of education. It saw itself
as best placed to offer and control education in order to uphold the status of education as
a basic human right. But as liberalization was increasing the ownership and diversity of
educational provision, government control would only stifle the potential for
liberalization to provide education to all the people of Tanzania. The centralized system
required that most decisions be made by the ministry which was counterproductive to the
liberalization system that required greater flexibility. The government stated in the ETP
(1995) that “Powers and decision-making in the management and administration of

education and training have remained heavily concentrated at the ministry level,” (p. 25).

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As in the above discussion, decentralization is a terminology that came with the
ESAP rhetoric. It is not very clear when the government makes real justification and
when it is playing along with the firnding band. It follows the justification with concerns
about possible deterioration of standards when locals, whom it considered not so
competent, took over control. At a conference on the new policy they stated tha , “. . .we
need to be certain whether the move is really a devolution of responsibility and authority
or whether we are merely de—concentrating the ministerial functions flom the center and
shifting them to district levels with the same control,” (p. 14). There was a reluctance to
let go of some of the control, which reached a compromise through selective control. The
government retained control of some functions and let go others that it envisaged would

be sufficient incentive for continued private sector interest.

Cost sharing in education

Again, the issue of cost sharing is to be ready and thought about within the
context of the ESAP that promoted a market economy where customers pay for services.
The government continues to be a conflicting position where it needs the funding that
comes with the ESAP. In order to access that funding, it has to align its rhetoric that that
of ESAP. However there were those who could not afford to pay for their education and
yet education was seen as a basic human right. The reason that the previous system had
allowed flee basic education was that a sizeable population could not afford to pay for
school when the government was working to achieve universal basic education. The
removal of school fees had been followed by increased enrollment rates but the

government was now in a situation where it was not able to cope with the demand.

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The introduction of a liberalized education system had the potential for meeting
the demand for education for all those who could afford to pay. However, the government
was still committed to achieving universal primary education. It became necessary to
come up with alternative forms of cost sharing that the resource poor section of the
population could afford, and that would not weaken the efforts and potential of the

liberalization of education.

The terminology was carefully chosen to reassure the people that the government
was not abandoning its commitment to universal provision of education. It communicated
that the locals would share in the cost Of running their schools since they had been given
greater control over the same schools. On the whole the government did not make a
strong case of justification for cost sharing. It did not come up with original justification

but followed the official rhetoric that came with the ESAP package.

Quality of education

There was a national outcry about decreased quality of education in Tanzania
following the increased enrollments. Rates of dropout increased as people did not see the
value Of low quality education. The government needed to do something about low
quality of education. It was not only important that the people of Tanzania had sufficient
access to education but that the education provided was of good quality. According to
Mwenisongole (1997), “. . .a good quality of education at all levels were constrained by
factors such as inadequate distribution of teachers, and teaching/learning materials, poor
teaching and learning environment, and shortage and qualified teachers,” (p. 18). A low
quality of education wasted the resources that were invested in the education system

because there were high rates of drop out and those who completed school did not have

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the knowledge and skills expected of their level of education. Without the expected level
of knowledge and skills, the products of the education system could not contribute
adequately to the development of Tanzania nor could the full benefit flom the resources

provided for a literate society.

The low quality of education was attributed to a number of different causes. The
problem of under qualified teachers was one of the causes of low quality of education.
There were not enough trained teachers for the increased numbers of schools and
students. The increased enrollment also strained the supply of teaching/learning

materials.

Competing problem interpretation

The preceding sections have discussed the labeling of problems and justification
of education sector by the government in power and its supporters. It is recognized that
there is also alternative education sector problem labels. This section analyzes the

alternative interpretation of the policy problems as expressed in the ETP (1995).

Access and equity

There did not seem to be much disagreement of alternative views on the issue of
access. Education was seen as the key to success in life, leading to increasing demand.
However the introduction of liberalization changed the meaning of access for what was
the importance of increased supply if the people could not afford to pay for it. The issue
of access had a different meaning during the days of the central government when

education (was supplied for flee. The problem was making enough places available.

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There was more disagreement with the issue of equity. Tanzania had instituted
quotas to balance out regional imbalances in the provision of education. Some of the
academic argued that the provision of the quota system disadvantaged some talented
children who would most likely benefit more both for themselves and society. In the ETP
(1995) it is stated that, “However, inherent in the quota system has been its tendency to
push up children with low achievement levels while at the same time denying access to
the more deserving ones,” (p. 21). The view was expressed more by the academics who
dealt with the students that had been pushed through by the quota system. Some of those
students who had benefited flom the quota system could not fully benefit flom the
potential of the education system because they not adequately prepared. These academics
argued that it was more important to select for further education those students who were
best qualified regardless of their region of residence. The politicians on the other had
wanted to address those regional imbalances that had been opened up during the colonial

rule.

Liberalization

Liberalization was seen as a concept introduced by the World Bank and other
international organizations which was interpreted by the people of Tanzania as taking
away the safeguards that had been introduced by the government to ensure that all people
had access to education. Some argued that the introduction of privatization might reignite
the regional inequities as private sectOr was more likely to focus on the more affluent

regions while neglecting the poor regions (Mushi, 1997).

Liberalization also suffered the image that it was seen as a foreign concept that

was introduced together with the unpopular structural adjustment program. As discussed

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above policy issues are talked into existence by particular groups of people according to
how they interpret a situation. AS such some argued that liberalization encourage regional
disparities in standards. The government and the people of Tanzania had worked to
achieve uniform standards for the whole country. The International community viewed
the uniform standards as stifling competition. The World Bank’s interpretation was that
governments lacked adequate information about the education sector causing them to
implement inefficient policies. The Bank took on the role of providing guidance to help
the Afiican governments see the complex education problem better. In its paper,
Priorities and Strategies for Education: A World Bank Review (1995) it stated that,
“Thus, the World Bank’s main contribution must be advice, designed to help
governments develop education policies suitable for the circumstances of their

countries,” (p 20).

Decentralization

Decentralization meant taking away power flom the ministry to districts and other
local areas. Some of the ministry officials were not confident that the districts and local
areas had the capacity to handle those responsibilities that had been handled by
professionals. For a long time the education system in Tanzania had been a centralized
system which the people had become used to and believe in. There was uniformity in
decisions and standards in the centralized system, decentralization was then seen as
allowing differential standards that disadvantaged the weak districts and local areas
(Galabawa, 1997). In their discussion of the ETP policy actors stated that, “. . .some
districts are unable to adequately finance social sector development programs in general

and education in particular,” (Galabawa, 1997, p. 48).

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It was also argued that some functions could not be decentralized, such firnctions
included setting of examinations, curriculum development, school inspection and

registration of schools (Galabawa, 1997).

Cost sharing

Cost sharing was particularly problematic with the parents who had been used to a
flee education. For them the government was abandoning its commitment to basic
education as a human right. Prior to liberalization the government had provided fee
education in order to increase enrollment rates. According to the people of Tanzania the
government continued to have that responsibility to educate its people. The government
was aware of that perception among its people and stated that “. . .people have to be
educated on their new role,” (Galabawa, 1997, p. 51). This is a new role that came with
accepting the terms and conditions of ESAP. Parents viewed cost sharing as just another

of the demands flom external donors.

Quality of education

There was a general agreement in the label of quality of education as an education
policy problem. However there is a also a robust understanding of the label. Factors that
affected quality of education were listed to include teacher training and professional
development, curriculum and instructional materials, inflastructure and facilities. The
label of quality of education in itself remained elusive with the policymakers opting to

leave out a description of what it was.

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ETP (1995) framing of education sector policy solutions
The previous section has analyzed the ETP (1995) flaming of education sector
policy solutions. This section will move proceed to analyze how those policy problems

were turned into policy solutions.

Labeling solutions
Policy solutions as already discussed have to be conceptualized and brought into
existence by policy actors generating labels and delineating what aspects will be included

in the solution label. As in the previous chapters each policy label will be analyzed.

Access and equity

The label of access and equity was generated to offer a solution as perceived flom
the problem flame. As such policy actors recounted the aspects that were admissible
under the label of access and equity. The label included opening up opportunities for
disadvantaged population particularly the transitional populations such as pastoralists and
hunters, and also orphans and street children. The label also including improving
opportunities for girls and also balancing out opportunities between geographical regions.
Odunga (1997) stated that, “The question of access and equity in education will focus on
issues of provision of adequate educational places for all groups, how affordable these
places are in terms of inputs required, attainability of set objectives of courses and social

and cultural relevance and acceptability of what schools offer,” (p. 13).

Liberalization
It has pointed out earlier that liberalization was a new concept introduced in

Tanzania during the eighties. It replaced the centralized government. The government

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had continued to be dogged by the problem of low enrollment at a time when its
education budget could not be increased. The ETP (1995) states that, “Given its limited
domestic resource base, the government now advocates increased role of private sector,
thereby broadening the participation base in the economy,” (p. xi). Liberalization was
introduced to provide increased educational opportunities while at the same time Opening
up alternative opportunities for funding education. Liberalization meant that for the first

time education would be provide by institutions other than government.

The new labels such as liberalization are evidence of the social construction of the
solutions to social problems. With flequent use, these labels become taken for-granted,
necessarily excluding them flom appropriate analysis, and yet a few years in the past the
term liberalization would not have been acceptable. Just as in the problem flaming
section, it is difficult to examine the label as used by the government. The analysis of the
labels is supposed to examine the generation and categorization of problems as they are
perceived by a particular group. This is made difficulty with the introduction of sweeping
socio-economic packages that introduce powerful incentives to adopt particular kinds of

rhetoric.

Decentralization

The introduction of ESAP brought with it other new labels that were changing the
provision of education. Decentralization of the education system was one of those labels.
This label meant that the central government would relinquish some of its powers to the
local districts. The ETP (1995) states that, “. . .it is necessary that Regional Education
Officers and District Education Officers have power to oversee and control the financial

resources generated and channeled into the region or district, and on matters pertaining to

169

education and training in their areas of jurisdiction,” (p. 30). Decentralization did not
mean that all processes would be decentralized. The central government argued that it
had the responsibility of maintaining high standards of education. It would achieve the
role of maintaining standards by continuing to centralize curriculum and examinations.
The ETP (1995) states that, “There shall be centralized examinations at the end of
Standard VII, Form 4, and Form 6, and Teacher Education Certificate and Diploma

courses,” (p. 59).

Cost Sharing in Education

Previously Tanzania had followed a policy of flee basic education but this was no
longer tenable under policies of liberalization. The re-introduction of school fees would
be perceived as relenting on the government commitment to basic education as a human
right. As such the label of cost sharing was created which maintained the perception that
the education was a basic human right, and that the public had a responsibility to share in
the cost of the provision of education. Recognizing that some people were not in a ,
position to pay for their education, the government introduced alternative forms of cost

sharing that the poor people could afford such as community contribution of labor.

Quality of education

The focus on achieving universal basic education led to an increase in enrollment
that overwhelmed the education system. The system could not provide a good quality of
education to the large volume of students. There was an outcry on the low quality of
education flom the people of Tanzania. In response the government introduced and
labeled the concept of quality education. As said earlier the government did not explicitly

define the label of quality education, the label remains rather diffuse. The solution

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presented promises inputs that will improve the quality of education. These inputs
include improving teacher motivation, placement and retention, providing adequate

curriculum and teaching materials, and finally improving inflastructure and facilities.

Following independence the most pressing worry on the minds of the government and its
people was to get people into school. However it became apparent that there was more to
increased enrollment than just getting children into school. It did not follow that the
students who completed school had acquired the necessary knowledge and skills. There
was also increased drop out as students and their parents were dissatisfied with the
benefits of the education resulting flom the increased enrollment. The government then
decided to focus attention on increasing quality of education so that those who completed

the system acquired the necessary knowledge and skills.

Unlike the label of access and equity which are clearly defined and targets set,
quality of education is not as explicitly defined. The label was used in a manner
suggesting that it was self explanatory. The government stated that, “The provision of
quality education and training is the ultimate goal of any education system,” (ETP, 1995,
p. 23). As said earlier the government focuses on the inputs that will lead to achievement
of quality education, even as that label of quality education is not defined. What the
government is clear about is that the “. . .education is intended to enable every child to
acquire broad and integrated knowledge, skills and understanding needed for survival,

conservation of the environment and lifelong education,” (ETP, 1995; p. 36).

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Legitimizing policy solutions

The previous section has presented the solution labels developed by the
government of Tanzania to address the problems facing its education sector. The current
section will analyze how the problems are justified as deserving of public policy

attention.

Access and equity

The ETP (1995) state that, “Government shall guarantee access to pre-primary
and primary education, and adult literacy to all citizens as a basic right,” (p. 18).
Government was obliged to address the issues of access and equity since education was
considered a basic right for all citizens. The government could not be seen to deny basic
rights to its citizens. These are rights that all citizens are entitled to and so it is the role of

government to protect and provide the rights.

The BF A (1990) was also in effect with the target of achieving universal primary
education in 2000. As such at the pace of enrollment the governments worried that, “data
suggest that “Education for All,” as endorsed by all countries at the J omtien Conference
in 1990, cannot be efficiently and effectively implemented unless radical measures are

taken to regulate on age entry and full attendance,” (p. 37).

Liberalization

At a time that the government was pushing for universal primary education it
recognized that its resources were not sufficient to sustain the increased enrollment.
Liberalization allowed the participation of more players in the provision of education

besides the government. The other players would reduce the burden on government

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allowing the government “to concentrate on policy guidance, legislation and supply of
essential public services that are not easily provided by the market,” (Odunga, 1997, p.
13). Odunga (1997) goes further to state that “This move is in line with the trends of the
national economy and is intended to help the public outcry for more places of education
at all levels,” (p. 13). The national economy had adopted the structural adjustment
program that opened the country to a market economy. Liberalization in the education

sector was thus in line and consistent with the new economic trends.

Decentralization

Odunga (1997) stated that, “The policy of decentralization is of authority over
schools is being taken to facilitate relevance, consumer orientation, local control of
standards and quick decision and action where needed,” (p. 14). Liberalization allowed
the expansion of the education sector by allowing more schools to be built. By allowing
new players in the education sector, liberalization allowed flexibility in the provision of
education. This flexibility was only possible through allowing local control and authority
over the provision of education. The central ministry thus had to relinquish some of its
authority and pass it on to local districts to allow them to make quick and appropriate

decisions.

Decentralization allowed participation of local communities in the provision of
education for their children. The centralized system did not allow participation of local
communities in the provision of education for their children. The decentralization system
argued that parents and other local members were important stakeholders who needed to
be involved in the provision of their children’s education. Local education boards were

created and/or strengthened to allow the participation of parents in educational provision.

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C 0st sharing in education

The local authority and control allowed to regions and schools also meant that
they became responsible for fiscal requirements of their schools. This meant local
communities had to raise funding for their education. Education was not flee any more
and yet it was still supposed to be a right for all citizens. Thus the label cost sharing was
introduced to pass the message that education would still be a right, but there was a need
to share the cost of providing it. Cost sharing allowed alternative forms of payments that
would be available to those with limited resources. The message was put across that there
were educational costs that needed to be borne by the beneficiaries of the education
system, and also so that the beneficiaries were not paying for the full cost. Since
education was a right for all citizens, some of the cost would be paid flom the central
government but the beneficiaries were required to contribute to the cost of educational
provision through means available to them. The concept of cost sharing was also a way of

persuading the local communities who had been used to flee provision of education.

Quality of education

According to Mwenisongole (1997), “There is a general belief that the quality of
education in Tanzania is low,” (p. 23). Mwenisongole (1997) goes on to list factors that
contributed to the low quality of education. As noted by Mwenisongole (1997), the public
agreed that the quality of education was poor. There was no discussion in the justification
of quality of education as to what about the quality was poor. It is clear though that the
low quality of education was associated with the increased enrollment which strained the
education system. A good quality of primary education lays ground for the participation

of individuals in higher levels of education. It was not clear what indicators demonstrate

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that a good foundation had been laid. It only became evident when the individuals that
came out of the school system did not participate fully in society that their education was
not of good quality. The public then blamed the school system for producing individual
who are not fully ready to contribute to their society. The policy actors seem to feed on
that public perception of low quality education without specifying the indicators of low

education.

Competing policy interpretation

The previous section has analyzed the legitimization of policy labels by the policy
actors who put the ETP (1995) together. This section goes on to analyze competing
interpretations of the policy labels put forward by the government. The analysis seeks to
analyze alternative policy labels since any policy label is a product of social creation.
Different groups are likely to come up with different labels according to how they are

affected by the problem.

Access and equity

There was a general agreement on the issue of increasing access as demonstrated
by the increased demand for education. Education was seen as holding the key to success
in life and was declared a right of every citizen. While the provision of access was
addressing the problem of low enrollment, critics argued that gender imbalances persisted
particularly at secondary and upper levels of education. Mbilinyi (1997) argued that
“girls and women have proportionately less access to schooling as they proceed up the
education pyramid, are disproportionately channeled into second rate, low performing
secondary schools, generally have poor academic performance than male counterparts,”

(p. 99). Mbilinyi (1997) argued that the seemingly successful solution of increasing

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access tended to overshadow the disadvantages of access and chances of success faced by
females. The solution label of increased access, according to Mbilinyi (1997), failed to
recognize the pervasive nature of the disproportionate gendered challenges. The solution
addressed only one aspect of the access problem, neglecting to address the challenges that

females continued to face once they were enrolled in the education system.

Mbilinyi (1997) offered a solution label to retain gender and district quotas which
she said helped to address challenges gender imbalances. This was at a time when other
argued that any form of preferential treatment of social groups was hurting the education
system as less able students displaced those who were qualified and better able to benefit

flom the education system.

Liberalization

While the government argued that liberalization was in line with the new national
economic trends that opened up more competition and therefore better service provision,
Mbilinyi (1997) argued that this was not the casein education, particularly for women
and girls. She argued that the introduction of cost sharing, removal of quotas that came as
a result of liberalization would disproportionately disadvantage women and other

disadvantaged groups.

Mbilinyi argued that the ETP (1995) should “Increase financial support to public
education at all levels as a first priority, while also encouraging private initiatives with
special attention to the needs of disadvantaged districts, schools, households and pupils,
particularly girls/women,” (p. 101). While the government argued for decreased public

support to schools, Mbilinyi argued for more public support that would benefit the

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disadvantaged who would otherwise be neglected by the privately funded education
system. Mbilinyi’s argument was in line with the view of education as a right to every

citizen.

Decentralization

The proponents of decentralization argued that it gave the locals more control in
the provision of an education that was relevant and responsive to local conditions. This
increased control meant that the local districts would become responsible for funding
their education. However some districts did not have the capacity to raise sufficient
funding which would lead to inequities that the government had addressed over the past
years. Galabawa (1997) argued that, “In order to ensure equity, the system should.
compensate local councils in economically under-privileged areas for their relative
inability to raise revenue flom local taxes,” (p. 37). Mbilinyi (1997) was pushing for
centralization in some aspects of educational provision such as the funding, particularly

in resource poor local areas.

Cost sharing

As discussed above cost sharing was seen as the government abandoning its
obligation to offer education as a right to all citizens Of Tanzania. Mbilinyi (1997)
particularly argued that the women and other disadvantaged groups would suffer more
flom cost sharing. The disadvantaged would be even more pronounced in the poor
districts, necessarily reversing equity gains made during the era of universal primary
education. In order to adhere to its commitment to education as a right, Mbilinyi (1997 )
argued that the government needed to continue to fund education particularly for

disadvantaged groups such as women and also in resource poor districts.

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Quality education

The issue of quality education did not receive particular attention as the focus was
more on access and equity. However as the increased enrollment overwhelmed the
system, the issue of quality of education became an issue. The diffuse nature of the label
of concept of quality education seems to make it difficult to develop alternative solution

labels. None of those that put the label forward have explained what it means by quality

education. The meaning is implied and assumed.

Summary

Just as in the case of the WCEFA (1990) and COMEA (1982), the Tanzania ETP (1995)
was examined for the establishment of the policy agency and the flaming of problems
and Solutions. It has been discussed that the purpose of establishing a policy agency is to
claim authority over an area of social concern. It is not clear in this case that the Tanzania
ETP established any authority. Rather they looked to existing authoritative groups to take
the lead. This is clear when it came to flaming education sector problems. The new labels
introduced came with the ESAP which was a one of the original groups that hosted
WCEF A (1990). The education sector problem labels were centered on issues of
enlbllment, just as with the WCEF A (1990). It follows that the solutions were focused on
increasing enrollment for basic education. Issues of higher education and research that

had been raised by the COMEA were not addressed by the ETP (1995).

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Chapter Eight

Discussion and conclusion

A policy of making “a whole people dependent upon a remote and unknown
country for all their ideas and for the very words in which to cloth them” must
“degrade their character, depress their energies, and render them incapable of

aspiring to any intellectual distinction” (Ashy 1964, p. 52).

Introduction

The study set out to further the understanding of the continued prioritization of
basic education over higher education in Aflica, in general, and Tanzania in particular. In
order to do that the study analyzed three education sector policies, that include a global,
Aflican and national policy perspective. The analysis demonstrated that the persistence of
prioritization of a basic education is an outcome of three aspects of the policy process.
The first aspect is that the WCEF A established an organizational and institutional
flamework that claimed authority over the education sector in Afiica. On the other hand
the COMEA did not establish an authoritative and institutional structure to rival and
continuously reinforce its position. The second is that the established organizational and
institutional structure of the WCEFA flamed policy problems in a simple and persuasive
manner, helped by the uses of numbers of out of school population that gave the
impression of rational policy process. The COMEA did not similarly flame its policy
problems in a Simple and rational form. Finally WCEFA presented its solutions in a low
cost doable and persuasive form. The rest of the chapter will elaborate on these lessons

and point to some implications of the study. It begins by laying out a historical basis of

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the education policy sector in Afiica, and goes on to elaborate on how the three policy

stages perpetuated the prioritization of basic education.

Historical background

The researcher chose to study policies that were formulated during the eighties
and nineties for analytical purposes only. The history of education sector policies dates
back to the 18008, and this history becomes a screen for interpreting succeeding policies.
In other words polices should not be seen in isolation, but rather in context of preceding
policies. To say that there is a continued prioritization of basic education is to suggest

that the basic education policy is viewed in an historical context.

The WCEFA (1990) viewed the education sector problems in Tanzania and
Afiica as that of large population without access to basic education. While the large
number of out of school population is a legitimate problem, it is only one aspect of the
education sector problems. Aflicans viewed the problem as that of African intellectual
dependency that was rooted in denial of opportunities for higher education, starting flom

the colonial era (Ashby 1964). The colonial governments feared that,

“a rise in numbers of Aflican graduates would be a major contribution to political
evolution and the demand for self-rule — a prospect which most colonial
administrators of the time were unwilling to promote,” (Furley and Watson,

1978).

The goal Of the colonial governments was to create and sustain an intellectual

dependency that allowed them to continue to rule and control the Aflican continent. This

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history of denial of higher education to Africans tends to prejudice any external policies

that seem to perpetuate the same policies of the past.

At independence, Afiicans were quick and eager to reverse the scourge of
intellectual dependency. It is thus very difficult for Aflicans to separate the past efforts of
the colonial governments to retain intellectual control through restricting access to higher
education (Furley and Watson, 1978; Ashby 1964) flom the new justification for
continuing to confine Aflicans to basic education (WCEFA). The WCEFA (1990) did not
consider the history of past colonial education sector policies as part of the flame within
which education sector policies would be interpreted by Afiicans. They did not view the
resultant continued intellectual dependency of Afiicans on the international community
as an education sector problem arising out of the confinement of Afiicans to basic
education. On the contrary, Aflicans viewed the consolidation of independence as an
important role of Afiican universities. Yesufu (1973) commented on the sudden increase
of post-independence universities in Afiica, saying they were a result of “Aflican

awareness of the need for a solid intellectual base for the consolidation of independence,”

(p. 37).

The different views demonstrate the complexity of defining educations sector
problems. The multiplicity of interpretations of social issues raises the question of which
policy attracts the most attention and acceptance as addressing the ‘real problem’. The
answer to this question does not necessarily lie in the merits of the content of the policy.
Each policy highlights different aspects of a complex social milieu. The strengths of a
policy seem to lie in the content, process and structure of the organizational and

institutional arrangement for the policy. Most policy analyses do not engage the character

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and nature of the interest groups involved in the formulation of particular policies. This
study gave a place for analyzing the coalition of interest groups as they typify and name

education sector problems.

Establishment of policy agency

This section draws the lessons and implications of the study concerning the
establishment of the policy agency. The researcher makes sense of the activities of the
establishment of the policy agents and how they contribute to an understanding of
perceived persistence of favorable support of basic education over higher education. The
researcher analyzes the activities of the stage of the establishment of policy agency to
draw lessons about the opposing views of the international community and the ministers

of education in Afiica, and comes up with extrapolations of the lessons learned.

The stage of the establishment of the policy agency is particularly important for
setting up an organizational and institutional structure that claims authority over a policy
area. Not only does it claim authority but it also defines how policy issues will be thought
about. The basis for the perceived persistence of support for basic education is embedded
in the organizational and institutional structure of the WCEF A and the original four
organizations. Without similar organizational and institutional structure, the COMEA
cannot competently argue for increased support of higher education. It needs an
organizational and institutional structure that can claim authority over education sector
policies in Afiica. This could be achieved by setting up an organizational and institutional
structure to further intellectual cause of the COMEA. Such an organizational body could
be based in one of the Aflican universities, or the Association of Afiican Universities

(AAA). Its role would be to coordinate studies of education sector polices in Aflican

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countries and generate a database for studying education policies in Africa. The idea
would be to establish professional and administrative authority over education sector
polices in Afiica. The body would produce progress reports on implementation of
education sector polices in the Afiican countries, necessarily reinforcing their

authoritative claims.

The study observed that the idea of education for all was born inside UNICEF,
following its success with low cost, persuasive and doable interventions during the child
survival campaign. UNICEF envisaged that it could transplant the winning formula to the
education sector. This low cost, persuasive and doable formula missed the other aspect
that contributed to the success of the child survival campaign. According to Chabbott

(2003) the success of the child survival campaign was driven more by,

“. . .intellectual consensus on the definition of the problem and its solution, a
technological innovation that created a new way of attacking the problem, and an

inexpensive means of delivering the innovation to remote areas,” (Chabbott 2003)

This was not the casein education. There was no intellectual consensus on the definition
of the problem, or surgical technology like immunization to attack the problem (Chabbott
2003). UNICEF viewed the sheer numbers of out of school population as an equivalent to
the large population of children who did not have access to immunization and other basic
health services that it had been able to address. Its goal during the stage of establishing a
policy agency was to find “. . .low-cost, doable interventions that would work on a mass

scale,” (Black 1996). It was driven more by the administrative expertise and authority

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(Etzion 1964) that it had gained during the successful child survival campaign (Black

1996)

This goal of pursuing a low-cost and doable intervention was one that would
attract funding flom the international community and national governments (Chabbott
2003). The pressure to fundraise gave tremendous administrative authority to
international development organizations, over professional education organizations
(Etzion 1964; Haas 1992). Etzion (1959) defines professional organization as
“. . .organizations whose major goal is to institutionalize knowledge and to sustain its
creation,” (p. 51). By this definition the WCEFA and the four key organizations are not
professional organizations in international education but more of administrative or
bureaucratic organizations (Haas 1992). One of their major goals is to fundraise and
distribute funding for development programs, not the creation and institutionalization of
education sector knowledge. The fact tha “. . .educational development depends on
funding flom international development donors,” (Chabbott 2003, p. 143) subordinated
the authority of international education professionals. It created a situation where
administrative authority of UNICEF prevailed over professional authority (Etzion 1964),
and led professionals “. . .to translate expert knowledge on education into international

development scripts,” (Chabbott 2003).

According to Chabbott (2003), “Educational development professionals did not
initiate the WCEF A, but in 1988 one of their principle forums, IWGE, did provide a site
for international development professionals to receive token approval for the conference
flom educational experts,” (p. 135). The role of educational professional was relegated to

providing approval and legitimacy to the driving motive of a low-cost and doable

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innovation. In other words an education sector problem was interpreted by a bureaucratic
organization (Haas 1992). Chabbott (2003) decries this dominance of the bureaucratic
interests, saying the debate over basic education was partly about tactics, “what was the

best way to coax more funds out of donor organizations,” Q). 134).

Whereas WCEF A (1990) was founded by preexisting organizations with authority
over international education and development, the COMEA was founded by ministers of
education coming flom newly independent countries that were not considered to be
experts in education. At the dawn of independence there did not exist an organizational
structure of Aflicans with authority over education sector problems. As such the CMEA
was hosted by UNESCO and UNECA, which continue to do so. It has been pointed out
that the continued hosting of the COMEA by UNESCO also means that there is no
organizational structure that continues to further the creation and institutionalization of
Afiican thoughts and knowledge on education policy. “Modern society is a society of
organizations,” (Etzion 1964). Without established organizational structures,
competitiveness of any given society is weakened. Organizations allow the creation of
new social units devoted to specific functions (Etzion 1964). While the WCEF A (1990)
continues to reinforce its goals through its organizational structure and annual monitoring
reports, the COMEA disbands and meets periodically, leaving it without an organizational
structure to firrther its goals. This lack of an authoritative organizational and institutional
structure leaves the Afiican nations, like Tanzania without a dependable resource to look
to ideas on education sector polices. They go on to look to the international community

that has the structure and authority to fill the gap.

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The study brought attention to the idea of multiple groups interpreting the same
policy situation differently. This is an aspect of policy that has been neglected in policy
analysis. Policy analysts have focused on the substantive content of policy on the premise
that content is driven by rational reasoning. The focus on substantive policy content left
out the interpretive factor of the policy groups. This study brings out the constructed
nature of policy problems and solutions. The constructed nature is hidden flom policy
documents that tend to present a united flont. By identifying different policy groups
constructing different interpretations of the same social situation, the study brings new
insight into policy analysis. The issue of multiple realities is brought to the flont of policy

analysis.

It is little acknowledged that Afiican ministers of education held different view
flom those of the WCEFA (1990), with the international community preferring to argue
that a substantial number of the Aflican countries participated at the WCEFA (1990), in
which case the conference reflects the views of the Afiicans as well. This means that the
international community is desirous of Africans views about their education sector
problems to be included in the WCEFA (1990). However the desire is not fully reflected
at the stage of establishment of the policy agency, which started with the coming
together of the four international organizations, UNICEF, World Bank, UNESCO and
UNDP. These four international organizations developed two drafts, A and B before they
consulted with the Afiicans. King (1990) states that, “Up to and including Draft B, the
major writing tasks had been undertaken by a small group of people flom UNICEF,

UNESCO and World Bank... it could be argued that the basic flamework and

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assumptions about what needed to be done had already been set by the 4 agencies and the

initial writers,” (p. 8).

The discussion of the of the education policies at the stage of the establishment of
the policy agency argues that the international development organizations’ support for
primary education is more flom a functional basis more than a professional basis. The
functional arguments favored support of basic education which was seen to be simple,
persuasive and doable. The bottom line for Africans in this case is that there is no
obvious demonstrable difference between the policy of the past colonial governments and
that of the international development agencies. The troubling weakness of the pro-
primary education that it inherited flom its colonial history is that it was pursued for

purposes that were degrading and suppressive to Aflicans.

Framing education sector problems

The previous section discussed the role of the stage of establishing policy agency
in furthering the understanding of the perceived persistence of support for basic
education. This section discusses the implications of the way in which the different
interest groups interpreted education sector problems for Afiica. It draws out the meaning
and lessons of the study with relation to how multiple interest groups interpret and flame

the same policy problem differently.

Black (1996) makes an intriguing observation about the Shift of wellbeing Of
children flom being a private matter into the realm of public concern. She observed that,
“Not long ago, the idea of a statesmen sitting at a conference table to discuss the well-

being of children would have been greeted with amazement, if not with derision,” (Black

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1996, p. 1). Black (1996) goes on to analyze the progressive shift of children into the
realm of public concern. There are many such examples of issues that were not
considered of public concern at one time, but became so at a later period. Best (1995) in
line with such observations argues that, “. . .social problems are not conditions; conditions
are merely the subject of claims. . ..It does not matter whether the conditions exist; it
matters only that people make claims about them,” (p. 6). In fact Best (1996) argues that
any social condition is a potential subject for claims-making. Claim-makers do not only
draw attention to particular social conditions, but they shape how the condition is

conceived and thought about.

This is an important assertion with respect to the WCEFA (1990) that draws
attention to out of school population as the problem facing the education sector in Afiica.
Drawing on their administrative and professional authority, the international community
typifies education sector problems in Aflica. They make several claims by giving labels
to education sector problems that focus on basic education. The WCEF A (1990) took a
very objectivist perspective of defining a social problem as a specific social condition
that is a concern to the public. They make an argument that higher education can wait in
Aflica for the reason that it benefits the elite. This problem was made more compelling
during the period of study due to the many university students’ demonstrations and their

apparent aloofiress to local conditions and concerns.

The fact that the international community labeled low enrollment at the primary
level of education as the major education sector problem in Afiican, while the Afiican
ministers of education labeled higher education as the major education sector problem

goes to demonstrate that the social condition is the subject of claims-making and not the

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policy problem. For the ministers of education the problem was that of continued Afiican
intellectual dependence. TO the Aflican minister, the denial of higher education had been
used in the past, during the colonial era, as a weapon of suppression. The international
community did not experience the denial of access to higher education. Their views are
not Shaped by the same history of restricted access that the Aflicans experienced. Their
history was Shaped more by a non-responsive poverty condition in Afiica and donor
fatigue. The different basis for claims-making meant that WCEFA and COMEA made

claims that were different flom each other.

Failure to recognize that social problems are the different claims made by the
different interest groups will make for an extended contestation of international
community and Africans. Recognition that social problems are indeed social
constructions creates space for the different groups to engage their different claims. It
allows the different groups to examine their warrants (Best 1986) for making particular
claims. In this case both groups would examine the history of past education sector
problems and the claims made in the past. Discussing this history as a screen that clouds
the way in which Afiicans view education sector problems and how that screen may
influence their claims-making might open new ways for making claims. It would also
provide the international community with an opportunity for learning about and

understanding the claims made by the Afiican ministers of education.

Such a discussion would also offer the Afiicans an opportunity to understand the
history of claims-making by the international community. The discussion would provide
an opportunity to disentangle the claims made by the international Community flom those

of the past colonial era, even though the bottom line of the policies may look the same.

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The resultant cross group understanding may enrich the different claims to become more
integrated or comprehensive. Acknowledging that conditions are subjects of claims-
making holds potential for a sea change in education sector policies by raising new
questions that would offer a new perspective. It allows the different groups to
acknowledge that their views are only claims that they are making about a condition, and
that there are various claims that can be made about the same condition. The groups may
ask what other claims are possible or do other groups make about the situation? What
kinds of claims do different groups make and why? What is missed out flom a group’s
claim that is present in other groups’ claims? What potential is there for reconciling the

different claims? What is gained or lost flom continuing to pursue different claims?

Framing education sector solutions

When social problems are seen as claims about social conditions, what does that
say of the solutions? This is the question that will be addressed in this section, drawing
on the outcome of the study. According to this constructivist perspective, public policy
solutions are social constructions aimed to create conditions that satisfy the claim-
makers. This already implies that public policy solutions are themselves contestable
arenas. Interest groups with different claims about a particular condition will have
different ideas about the solution. It is no wonder then that the solutions suggested by the
Afiican ministers of education are different flom those of the international community. It
is also no wonder that there is a perception that the international community denies
Afiicans access to higher education, and vice versa, that the international community

tends to view provision of higher education as catering for the Aflican elites only.

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This conflict lies in the claims-making and sense-making of the public policy
solutions. The most contested solution concerns the opposing sides of provision of more
opportunities for higher education or more of primary education. This is a statement that
seems clear at face value. A closer look at the statement through the claims-making lens
tells a different story about the complexity of the propositions nested in the concepts of
university and basic education. It is thus important to examine how the different claim-

makers view the different solutions.

The international community views basic education as an affordable and doable
education sector intervention that has a potential for bringing education to the majority of
Afiicans in line with the Human Rights Act (1948). On the other hand they see
universities as, “white elephants and flashy symbols of modernization: Ivory towers
occupied by minority elite, expensively educated, and as expensively continuously
maintained, at the expense of the vast majority of the population, with whom they have
little in common,” (Y usuf 1973). Guided by this claim about the education sector
solutions, it is not difficult to see why the international community would favor increased
provision of basic education. However it is also important to note that this perspective is

an outcome of their social construction.

Aflicans have different claims about higher education as a policy solution. They
see the current universities in Aflica a8 creations of the Asquith and other colonial

commissions. The Asquith commission was mandated,

“To consider the principles which Should guide the promotion of higher

education, learning and research and the development of universities in the

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colonies, and to explore means whereby universities and other appropriate bodies
in the United Kingdom may be able to cooperate with institutions of higher
education in the colonies in order to in order to give effect to these principles,”

(Lulat 2005, p. 227).

According to Furley and Watson (1978), “The Asquith report was, despite its
sincere wish to provide for the best interest of the colonies, a document of cultural
imperialism, promoting universities in Aflica very largely according to the accepted
British pattern. . .,” (p. 306). Afiicans were concerned by this colonial creation leading
them to hold a conference in 1973 to redefine an Afiican university. They lamented that,
“. . .after what might well be called a decade of Aflican Independence, the universities
seem to remain as foreign as their origin,” (Yusuf 1973). The university as created by the
colonial commissions did not serve the needs of the Aflicans. It also suggests that when
the international community and the Aflicans talk about university institutions, they may

not be refening to the same concept.

Yusuf (1973) argued that, “The truly African university must be one that draws its
inspiration flom its environment, not a transplanted tree, but growing flom a seed that is
planted and nurtured in the Aflican soil,” (p. 40). In other words the Afiicans see the
university institution that has created elitism, which the international community laments
about, as a foreign creation that they also are not happy with. When the Association of
Aflican Universities convened the conference about the Aflican university, it was arguing
that, “A fundamental redefinition of the role of the university seemed, therefore, to be
called for,” (Y usuf 1973, p. 39). This conference was not the first to call for a redefinition

of the Aflican university. At a conference held in Tananarive at the dawn of

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independence in 1962, Aflicans argued that, “no single type of foreign university can, in
itself, meet the aspirations of the Afiican people for social and economic development,”

(UNESCO 1963, p. 12).

When Afiicans argue for increased support for universities, they are referring to
an Afiican university that differs flom the creations of the Asquith and other colonial
commissions. They are arguing for, “Afiican institutions of higher education,” that “are
at once the main instrument of national progress, the chief guardian of the people’s
heritage and the voice of the people in the international councils of technology and
scholarship,” (UNECSO 1963, p. 13). This is a different kind of university that focuses
on the problems facing Aflica, including the problems of the education sector. It does not
just focus on student enrollment and the human resource perspective that constitutes the
international community’s image of universities in Aflica. In fact the conference of the
Aflican Association of Universities offered a comprehensive view of their view of the

role of the Afiican university. They suggested the following roles:

0 Pursuit, promotion and dissemination of knowledge. They argue that the
knowledge must be locally oriented and motivated.

0 Research. They argue that priority must be given to research into local
problems that will contribute to the amelioration, in particular, of the life
of the ordinary man and the rural poor.

0 Provision of intellectual leadership. This was to be seen as an important
role of the university in light of the high levels of illiteracy and the relative
inexperience of public and other functionaries.

o Manpower development.

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0 Promoting social and economic modernization. They argued that
universities must accept the challenge and the primary role of promoting
social cohesion, and setting examples in the establishment and operation
of democratic institutions.

0 Promoting inter-continental unity and international understanding. They
argued that the university must rediscover Aflica and provide the
intellectual foundation to reinforce the image of Afiica in the modern

world. (Yusuf 1973, p. 45).

This is a university that is clearly different flom that talked about and envisaged
by the international community. Again this reinforces that the constructivist perspective
that conditions are the subject of claims-making. The claims made about higher education
by the different local and international interest groups are different. Granted, the
university as envisaged by Aflicans does not exist yet. However, it is the university that
has potential to address Aflican education sector problems and at the same time
harnessing intellectual ownership. The Aflican university as a complex institution with its
roots in the developed world through the Asquith and other commissions make it
problematic to change its image, organizational and institutional structure. This may
explain the protracted change to the Afiican concept of a university. This problem should

not deter the solution of supporting Aflican universities.

Summary
A history of Aflican struggle for increased access to higher education has clouded
Aflican interpretation of education sector policies propounded by the international

community, which seem to perpetuate restricted access to higher. This situation may be

194

improved by moving away flom the objectivist perspective of the international
community to a growing constructivist perspective of viewing education sector policies
in Afiica. The mainstream objectivist perspective that fixes education sector problems in
low enrollment fails to recognize the social constructed nature of education sector
problems. The obj ectivist perspective trails behind a growing scholarship of
constructivist policy perspective (Yanow and Shwartz-Shea 2006; Fischer 2003; Best
1995; Robinson 1992). This growing perspective has greater potential for engaging
multiple policy groups when they recognize that policy problems represent claims-

making about a social condition.

The claims-making perspective also breathes new life into the policy solutions by
allowing the discussion of the different claims. For example the concept of the university
and basic education can be further examined by the contesting groups to bring out their
various biases and the history of the biases. Without adopting the constructivist
perspective, the prioritization of education sub-sector support will continue to be a
contested arena. The obj ectivist approach that promotes basic education will continue to
be seen as a perpetuation of Aflican intellectual dependence on the external world, which
started during the colonial era. At that time Afiicans argued that, “To suggest that
university standards can only be based on universal popular education is to ignore the
whole history of universities themselves. The great scholars of earlier centuries were not
the product of universal literacy in every artisan’s or peasant’s heart. It was the reverse,”

(Lulat 2005, p. 226).

195

APPENDIX

Creating the codes and selecting pOIicies for study

Identifying the policy frameworks for study

The researcher set out to investigate the policy process that led to the
development and acceptance of the basic education concept which, according to
international education policy literature drives education sector policies in developing
countries. According to the international education policy literature, the World
Conference on Education for All (WCEFA) (1990) is the most influential policy
flamework that brought together the world in a global effort to improve education sector
in developing countries. The WCEFA was selected as a base policy guideline that

influenced education sector policy in developing countries.

Due to the powerful influence of international organizations in local education
sector policies of developing countries, the researcher selected the WCEFA (1990) as the
base education sector policy guideline. At the local level, the Education and Training
policy (1995) was selected as the base local policy flamework as it is the first major

policy framework in Tanzania during the period under study.

The literature review revealed that the Afiican ministers of education were
meeting to flame education sector policies for Afiican countries since 1962. The

researcher wanted to find out the policy themes that prevailed before the introduction of

196

the WCEF A (1990). The researcher therefore Selected the last conference immediately

following the WCEFA (1990 which was The Harare Declaration (1982).

Coding

Coding refers to generation of labels attached to a section of “text to index it as
relating to a theme or issue in the data which the researcher has identified as important to
his or her interpretation,” (King, 1998, p. 119). The codes become the tools for data
analysis in interpretive content analysis. The process of code development is explained as
separate flom data analysis only for practical reasons. In practice, the process of code
development and data analysis are iterative, allowing codes to be deleted, added or

refined as the data is analyzed.

The current study used the template method to generate codes for data analysis.
According to King (1998) “The essence of the approach is that the researcher produces a
list of codes (a template) representing themes identified in their textual data,” (p. 118).
King (1998) states that the initial template derives flom the literature review, the
researcher’s own experience anecdotal and informal evidence and exploratory research.
In the case of the current study, the initial template derived flom two sets of literature.
One set is the literature on the policy process. This literature argues that the policy
process is a linear process that includes the definition of problem, definition of solution,
implementation of policy and evaluation (Colebatch 2003; Birkland 2005). A second set

of literature came flom selected chapter of the WCEFA (1990).

197

Generating initial template codes for data analysis
As pointed out above, the researcher set out to study the threes education sector policy

flameworks which are:

0 Harare Declaration (1982)

0 World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA) (1990)

0 Tanzania Training and Education policy (1995)
The first step was to generate a flamework for analyzing the policies. The flamework
would extract data on how policy actors generated education sector policies that favored

primary education in Tanzania during the period under study (1990 to 2000).

Guided by selected chapters of WCEFA (1990) and the literature review, the
researcher developed an initial mental sense of template code which included the actors’
projection of their interests, and perspective on issues, as well as problem definition and
development of solutions. The initial template was applied to the WCFEA (1990) starting
with a subset of the policy document. Chapter six of the WCEFA (1990), which
discusses the essence of education for all, was selected as the foundational subset of the
education sector policies. This chapter was then analyzed using the initial template codes
for the purpose of generating a more extensive and rigorous template code that would be

used to analyze all the policy flameworks selected for the study.

The process is very rigorous and demanding of intellectual creativity in order to
generate adequately interpretive and meaningful codes. The interpretive process is the
key to generating codes. The researcher found out that there were more than one possible

interpretations of any given set of text. At times the researcher was torn between the

198

possible interpretations. However it helped that the process is very iterative making it
possible to revisit earlier interpretations as meaning of text becomes progressively clearer
with further reading. As one proceeds with reading and interpreting a given text, a more
composite meaning develops progressively as you approach a complete reading of the
firll text, and earlier interpretations are challenged and clarified. The detailed process is

described below.

Step one: Condensing sample text

Once the researcher selected a sample text (chapter six of WECEFA, 1990) to
apply the initial template code, the next step was to condense the text. In condensing text,
the researcher is shortening text while retaining the core meaning of the text (Graneheim
and Lundman, 2003). This process of condensing text was conducted in two steps. The
first step was to summarize each sentence of the sample text followed by generalizing the

summaries as described in detail below.

Summarizing text

Given the large size of text, the first step was to reduce it to its core meaning that
could then be manipulated as data. The process involved reading the full text more than
once to get an overall meaning of the text. Once the researcher had acquired an overall
meaning of the full text, each sentence was then summarized. Summarizing of each
sentence was done to gain access to the core meaning of the text. The researcher
summarized each sentence within the context of the initial template code, that is to say
each sentence was thought about within the context of ANT or the policy prOcess

approach. The researcher made decisions on whether a particular sentence presented

199

information about the policy actors or about the content of the policy. Each particular
sentence was therefore summarized within the context and language of the pertinent
strand of literature. The summaries of each sentence that came out of the sample text are
presented in appendix 4.]. Once the full sample text was summarized the next step was to
begin the process of creating roots for the categories that would eventually emerge flom
the sample text. This process involved the generation of general statements that capture
the meaning concept embedded in the summaries. This process of generalization is the

subject of the next section.

Generalization

The summaries of sentences generated above do not Show patterns in the data that
can be systematically studied. Generalization is the process that begins to develop the
concepts that capture the patterns in the data that can be manipulated as qualitative data.
The process of generalization creates concepts that represent the srunmaries. These
generalizations were generated by using the lens of the selected chapter flom the
WCEFA (1990) document and the policy process to create relevant concepts flom the
summaries. At this point the researcher began the process of interpreting text to create

concepts that would then be progressively broadened to form the codes.

The researcher then created a second row against the list of summaries. The
researcher then went down the list of summaries generating generalizations. The process
involved taking each summary phrase and generating general statements that drew out the
concept expressed by the summary. In formulating these concepts the researcher was

beginning to develop classifications of the data that were internally consistent and will

200

lead to the formation of categories and themes as the concepts are merged. The outcome
of the process was a list of general statements which brought out concepts that
represented patterns in the data. The next step was to draw out categories flom the

general statements.

Step two: Creating categories

The process discussed above generated a list of general statements that captured
the patterns in the data. The researcher then carefully went over the list of general
statements combining general statements with similar or related meaning, into broad
higher level categories. Each category encompassed a broad unified concept that was
internally homogenous and externally heterogeneous. As Graneheim and Lundman
(2003) observed, human experiences are so intertwined that there are limitations to the

extent that categories can be mutually exclusive.

Once all the summaries had been converted into generalizations, similar concepts
are merged to higher order categories. In essence categorization is about generating some
general phenomena that represents a given concepts. Some border line cases had to be
revisited after other categories were created and a better sense of the meaning had
emerged flom the full sample text. As pointed out earlier the iterative process proved to
be strength of the process in that earlier interpretations could be revisited and refined

accordingly as clearer meaning emerged flom deeper and complete analysis.

The categories that emerged included:

0 Participation of multiple groups in the formulation of education sector issues that

showed differences in conceptualization of education sector issues

201

o Claiming expertise over global education sector issues by constituting roundtables
that presented evidence about education sector issues flom around the world
0 Labeling or defining what would constitute the issues of education policy.
0 Legitimizing problems and solutions declared as the issues that would receive
attention as education sector problems and solutions
0 Mobilizing resources to support the various programs
0 Setting new boundaries for basic education to include issues that had hitherto not
been considered as such
The categories left out the interests and motivation of the policy actors. Any
development Of a social artifact cannot be separated flom the interests and motivation of
the actors who put it together. The analysis of the sample text did not bring out the
interests of the social actors prompting the researcher to expand the literature search
beyond the sample text in order to access data about the interest of the policy actors. The
researcher accessed literature that discussed the events leading to the hosting of the

WCEFA (1990), which was not included in the WCEFA (1990) policy document.

Based on this literature more categories emerged that were added to the categories
generated flom the sample text. According to King (1994) the addition (insertion) of
more categories “is the commonest type of modification made to the initial template,” (p.
125). An analysis of the literature about the events leading to the hosting of the WCEFA

(1990) generated the following categories:

a consensus building in which the sponsoring organizations define and agree on the
policy issues that they will advocate

o Narning of the policy agency in which a public image and message is portrayed

202

0 Building momentum in which more members are recruited to support the issues
generated by the sponsoring organization
Once the categories had been generated the final step was to bring together similar

categories into themes through a process of abstraction.

Abstraction

Abstraction is an extension of the categorization process. According to Spiggle (1994),
abstraction “surpasses categorization in that it collapses more empirically grounded
categories into higher order constructs,” (p. 493). Abstraction incorporates more concrete
categories into few, more general conceptual classes known as themes. These themes are
the highest order conceptual classes that formulate the codes. Abstraction is the final step
in the process of creating codes. The complete process described above is shown in

figure 9.1 below.

 

Foundational text—.8 Sentence summaries ——> Generalization ——> Category

———>Theme

 

 

 

Figure 9.1: Steps in interpretive content analysis

Three themes emerged flom the abstraction process. The themes that emerged
included the participation of the WCEF A sponsors in ‘Establishing a policy agency,”
which is followed by a process of “Framing problems”, and “F raming solutions”.

These three themes formed the three-stage analytic flamework which consists of stages

203

that begin with establishing a policy agency, followed by flaming policy problems and
then flaming policy solutions. The sequential structure of the analytic flamework is only

for ease of presentation, the actual process is iterative.

The theme on Establishing Policy Agency emerged flom the three categories of
building consensus, naming the forum and building momentum as shown below in figure

9.3.

The second theme of Framing Problems emerged flom three themes of labeling
problems, legitimizing problems and competing interpretation of problems as shown in

figure 9.2 below.

 

Framing policy problem

 

Framing

policy
problem

 

 

. v5 F _r.‘ . . 73:31:.“
A. ' ' n . ‘ - " ' « t _
I , .. '4 4
‘ (flint

Labefin

 

 

g Legitimizing Contesting
policy policy policy
problem problem _- problem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 9.2 Framing Policy Problems

204

The third theme is that of Framing Solutions which emerged flom the categories
of labeling solutions, competing solutions and mobilizing resources shown in Figure 9.4

below.

 

Framing policy solutions

 

 

Framing
policy
solutions

I
l l

 

 

 

 

Labehng
policy
solution

Legitimizing
policy
solutions

Contesting
policy
solutions

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 9.3 Framing Policy Solutions

Data Analysis

A time line of the policies that were selected for study in the current research is shown in

figure 9.4 below.

205

 

o Harare Declaration (1982)

. WCEFA (1990)

o Tanzanian Education and Training Policy (1995)

 

 

 

Figure 9.4 Education sector policy framework timeline

There were a number of ways for analyzing the data once the codes had been developed.
The researcher chose to analyze each policy flamework first and then follow the
individual policy analysis with a comparison of the policy flameworks. Each policy
flamework was analyzed using the three codes discussed above. The analysis of each

policy will be structured as follows:

0 Establishing the policy agency: This code analyzes the way in which policy
actors came together to form an agency that became the driver of a particular
policy perspective. It uses three categories to examine the establishment of the
policy agents. The first category is that of building consensus in which the
analysis examines the coming together of the core members of the policy agency.
The consensus building analyzes the triggers for the coming together and the
process involved in building the agency. The second category is that of naming
the agency. The category of naming the agency examines the significance

symbolized by the name that is created for the agency. The third category is the

206

building momentum in which the core agency enrolls wider support and publicizes
its policy perspective.

Framing policy problems: This code analyzes the definition of the policy
problems, in other words it studies what becomes accepted policy problems. It
uses three categories to examine the flaming of problems. The first category is the
labeling of policy problems which examines the tagging of issues with a policy
name or identity that conveys the existence of a problem of public concern. The
second category is that of legitimizing problems which analyzes how those
labeled problems are endorsed as worth to the publicly supported. The third
category of competing problem interpretations analyzes how different groups
may come up with dissimilar problem labels for similar social issues.

Framing solutions: This code analyzes the definition of the policy solutions, in
other words it studies what becomes accepted policy solutions. It uses four
categories to examine the flaming of problems. The first category is the labeling
of policy solutions which examines the tagging of issues with a policy name or
identity that conveys the perception of addressing a problem of public concern.
The second category is that of legitimizing solutions which analyzes how those
labeled solutions are endorsed as the choice solution that will be supported with
public resources. The third category of competing solution interpretations
analyzes how different groups may come up with dissimilar solutions for similar
social issues. The forth category is that of resource mobilization which analyzes

how and what resources are sought to support a particular policy solution label.

207

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