Online Presentation: Africa - Politics

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Introduction:

The continent of Africa was forever changed by the colonization from the western powers. Now the continent is a land of political struggles and mass genocides, often lost in the news. However, There remains to be hope and strong culture which keeps Africa alive and having a potential future. while a majority of the news out there today is negative, the states and people of Africa remain rich in culture and passion.

Background

Education

Education in Africa began as a tool to prepare its young to take their place in the African society. The African education experience was strictly set up to prepare the young for society in the African community and not necessarily for life outside of Africa. The schooling system pre- European colonialism consisted of groups of older people teaching aspects and rituals that would help them in adulthood. Education in early African societies included such things as artistic performances, ceremonies, games, festivals, dancing, singing, and drawing. Boys and girls were taught separately to help prepare each sex for their adult roles. Every member of the community had a hand in contributing to the educational upbringing of the child. The high point of the African educational experience was the ritual passage ceremony from childhood to adulthood. There were no academic examinations necessary to graduate in the African educational system.

When European colonialism and imperialism took place it began to change the African educational system. Schooling was no longer just about rituals and rites of passage, school would now mean earning an education that would allow Africans to compete with countries such as the United States and Europe. Africa would begin to try producing their own educated students as other countries had.

However, education in Africa is still less developed than other parts of the world, and many African countries have low rates of participation. Schools often lack many basic facilities, and African universities suffer from overcrowding and staff being lured away to Western countries by higher pay and better conditions.

What is Africa's Future in Education Look Like?

According to UNESCO's Regional overview on sub-Saharan Africa, in 2000 only 58% of children were enrolled in primary schools, the lowest enrollment rate of any region. UNESCO also reported marked gender inequalities: in most parts of Africa there is much higher enrolment by boys, but in some there are actually more girls, due to sons having to stay home and tend to the family farm. Africa has more than 40 million children, almost half the school-age child population, receiving no schooling. Two-thirds of these are girls. The USAID Center reports as of 2005, forty percent of school-aged children in Africa do not attend primary school and there are still 46 million African children have never stepped into a classroom.

The regional report produced by the UNESCO-BREDA education sector analyst team in 2005, show that less than 10% of African children are now excluded from the system. However 4 out 10 children still did not complete primary school in 2002/2003. So, five years after the World Education Forum and the adoption of the Millennium Goals, progress at primary level is far from decisive. The analysis highlights that now principal efforts should be direct to reducing the number of dropouts per level. It appears also that geographical disparities (rural areas/urban areas) or economic disparities (low income households/wealthy households) are more significant and take longer to even out than gender disparities. From the quality point of view, the existing data from school achievement evaluation programmes and of household surveys indicates very significant disparities in country performance, between the differents countries and within each country.

This report shows besides that secondary (lower and higher levels) and higher education enrolments have progressed proportionally more than primary enrolment over the period 1990 – 2002/2003 which questions the reality of policy priority given to primary education. The strong pressure for educational continuity from the majority already benefiting from schooling explains this trend. To this must be added the weakness of mechanisms regulating pupil flow between the different levels of education system.

In 2005, the inventory and trends show a definitive risk of not reaching universal primary enrolment by 2015.

Source:

www.unesco.org

Recent News

October 19
Burundi: CNDD-FDD Blackmails Teachers On Strike The ruling party has started to blackmail teachers on strike in the province of Ngozi. Tracts calling on teachers to resume their activities and proclaiming that those who do not go back to work will suffer punitive actions are being spread in Ngozi province.		Burundi Réalités
Liberia: UN Peacekeepers Open Resource Centre for Schoolchildren About 600 students will benefit from technical and vocational skills training at a new resource centre equipped with computers, sewing machines and a library, courtesy of Pakistani peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).		UN News
Cameroon: 2500 Pupils Cry Out Against Poverty Over 2500 pupils trooped to the premises of Ecole du Centre, a Primary School in Yaounde last October 16 and called on the government to accelerate the execution of reforms that will help Cameroon attain the UN Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, that will eradicate poverty in the country.		Post (Buea)
Cameroon: Training in UB Will Henceforth Emphasise Professionalism - Titanji interview Academia in the University of Buea, UB, will no longer be same beginning the 2007/2008 academic year. The New University Governance Policies, as defined by the government of Cameroon, is taking a new dimension in academia across higher institutions in the country. UB is at the pole position and there is certainly no turning back. UB Vice-Chancellor, VC, Prof. Vincent Pryde Kehtinga Titanji and ...		Post (Buea)
Cameroon: Bangangte Elite Promote Academic Excellence In a solemn ceremony in Bangangte presided over by the Senior Divisional officer for Nde, Hurbert Mathieu Mouafor Mambou, the laureates who were selected from various schools around the area, received prizes ranging from FCFA 20.000 to 100.000 and books. The occasion brought together laureates from schools in Bangangte, Bamena, Tonga, Bazou and other places.		Post (Buea)
South Africa: 'More Than 60 000 Matric Pupils Will Fail' More than 60 000 full-time matrics in KwaZulu-Natal will fail their final examinations this year, the provincial Department of Education has predicted.		Argus
South Africa: Exams to Be Rewritten After Power Cuts Five KwaZulu-Natal schools would rewrite two matric exams next week after last week's power failures forced the exams to be abandoned, the provincial legislature heard on Tuesday.		Argus
South Africa: Matric Exams - Two 'Ghost Writers' Arrested Two "ghost writers" who tried to write Monday's grade 12 mathematics paper for two other candidates have been arrested.		Argus
Kenya: Experts Want HIV/Aids Included in Theological Education Theological education should be revised to include study of HIV/AIDS, as part of the Church's commitment to fighting the pandemic, participants at a conference said.		CISA
Botswana: UB Considers Faculty-Based Graduation The University of Botswana is considering moving from a single graduation ceremony for all to faculty based graduation ceremonies to make the ceremony more personal to the graduates.		Mmegi
Ghana: Taking Stock of the Computerised Selection System editorial It's been about six weeks since the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) results were released, and three weeks since Senior High Schools re-opened, and almost about 300,000 students who passed the examination per the admission requirements of the GES are yet to be placed into various high schools, let alone going to school.		Public Agenda
Ghana: Tico Provides Scholarships for 250 Students Worth $22,000 ABOUT 250 students from the Shama Traditional Area in the Shama Ahanta East Metropolis (SAEMA) have benefited from a scholarship scheme dubbed 'Karmer Scholarship' instituted by the Takoradi International Company (TICO), operators of the Aboadze Thermal Plant, as part of their social responsibility towards the development of the communities in their operation area.		Ghanaian Chronicle
Liberia: Rehabilitation Work On Zorzor Rural Teacher Training Institute Begins Rehabilitation works on the Zorzor Rural Teaching Training Institute (ZRTTI) situated in Zorzor, Lofa County, will get underway shortly.		Analyst
Sierra Leone: Caution for Outgoing SOS Students Guest Speaker at the graduation ceremony of the SOS Hermann Gmeiner International School, Lumley has cautioned all outgoing pupils to be ambassadors who have succeeded in their educational career.		Concord
Sierra Leone: U.S. Commissions Book Shelf At Kissy The United States Embassy in Freetown Thursday commissioned a book shelf at the Sierra Leone Library Board branch, Kissy.		Concord
Ghana: UCC Celebrates World White Cane Day For the first time in the history of the University of Cape Coast, the visually challenged at the university joined hands with the world to celebrate the white cane day.		Public Agenda
Kenya: New Rule to Tame Certificate Cons Certificates for Form Four and Standard Eight school leavers will from next year have the candidate's photograph.		Nation
Zimbabwe: Zim Boy (12) Shines At UN Art Competition Zimbabwe continues scoring high on the international scene following the success of 12-year-old Rufaro Duri of Hartmann House -- a primary school at Harare's St George's College -- who won a prestigious United Nations Children's Art Competition.		The Herald
Nigeria: UNICEF Charges Northern Govs to Tackle Illiteracy United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNI-CEF), has tasked the 19 northern state governors to urgently give priority attention to girl-child education. It said this will not only effectively bridge the gap between north and south, but as part of strategies to stamp out illiteracy.		This Day
Namibia: Augustineum Ex-Pupil Denies Fundraising Irregularities Former Augustineum Secondary School pupil and head of a fundraising campaign, Lehman Sethie, has denied allegations that he misappropriated school funds.		Namibian
Namibia: Mobile School Goes Thirsty The Okarukoro Mobile Unit is in dire need of water to keep children in the mobile school.		New Era
Uganda: Muk's Artistic Trip Down Memory Lane opinion CURIOSITY grips me when I arrive at the Makerere University School of Industrial and Fine Arts gallery. A two-week exhibition depicting artworks from the school's archives opened on Tuesday.		New Vision
Africa: Regional Writers Take the Fight Against HIV/Aids to the Schools The Pan African Writers' Association (PAWA), have taken their avowed war on the HIV/AIDS pandemic to the doorstep of some selected first and second cycle schools in the Greater Accra Region.		Accra Mail
Uganda: Luyiga Remanded to Luzira Makerere University LC5 councillor Bernard Luyiga was yesterday charged with bribery and remanded to Luzira Prison.		New Vision

October 18

Liberia: The Children Are Smiling But There's So Much More to Do - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf interview Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told AllAfrica in a 1986 interview, shortly after being arrested and fleeing the country, that her goal in life was to "bring good governance to Liberia before I die." Since her inauguration in January 2006, she has had the chance to try, and she acknowledges the magnitude of the challenge. Twenty months into her presidency, she thinks the ...

Current Situation

What's happening in Africa's News?

*Flooding in northern, western and central Africa from BBC

• Eastern Africa
  • On a Positive note
  • Ebola Virus
  • Ivory Coast Ex-head in rare rally
  • UK targets Nigeria's stolen loot

• Southern Africa
  • Zimbabwe bishop 'victim of state'
  • Zimbabwe diaspora 'may get vote'
  • South Africa
  • Zimbabwe

• Horn-western Africa
  • Somali violence amid sacking row
  • Eritrea rejects Ethiopia warning
  • Twelve shot dead by Kenyan police
  • Somalia
  • Somalia-2

• Central Africa

• Democratic Repubilc of the Congo
• Ninjas in the DR Congo

• Northern Africa
  • Bombing in Algeria
  • Second Bombing in Algeria
  • Al Qauda Says it Targeted Algerian President

• Libya to Sit on Security Council

• Background info on Darfur
• U.N. Condemns Darfur Violence
• Cater in Darfur
• World Leaders on Mission in Sudan
• Revenge attack on Darfur town
• New Attack from Sudan army and allies
• North-South Peace Deal Falling Apart in Sudan

Sudan Backs Darfur cease-fire as main rebel boycots talks

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/10/27/libya.darfur.ap/index.html

Sierra Leone just had an election and many experts are impressed with the transparency of the voting process. There were many incidents of ballot stuffing and voting fruad but they were dealt with in a very fair and effiecent way. The article from BBC explains more

Themes in African Politics-

these are just themes that we could possibly organize our presentation around

• corruption/ overcoming corruption
• combating poverty
• ethinic struggles - due to poorely drawn borders, religious differences ect

Hope for the future

This is a general article from International Herald Tribune. It talks about the new program trhe UN and World Bank are working on to help developing countries recover assets stolen by corrupt leaders. This article does not specifically deal with Africa but I thought it was a good source.

Government Corruption and Recent Democratic Elections:

Power struggles have been the basis of most African conflict since the end of colonialism. Since most nations were left without education or any system of government, deciding who should hold the power has been very difficult. In some cases, leaders agree to a democratic system and abide by the constitutions they have; meaning they step down from power when their term is over. In other countries it is not that simple. For the majority of African countries, they have been in a state of political turmoil since receiving independence from their colonial powers. Every few years, there is a revolt and the leader is ousted, only to be replaced with a more corrupt and power hungry leader. Click below to see more information about the various government situations across Africa.

[http://elon221a.pbwiki.com/Examples-of-Democratic-Systems-in-Africa]

[http://elon221a.pbwiki.com/African-Nations-On-The-Way-To-Democracy]