IDIA Releases Model ECOWAS Summit Recommendations
-- Agreement reached at Charles Fowlis Senior Secondary School on 26 July 2010
At the Model ECOWAS Summit sponsored by the Better Africa Youth Initiative and the Institute for Domestic & International Affairs, a group of 60 senior secondary school students from across the Gambia discussed the need for access to quality education in West Africa. After considerable discussion and debate, the group, representing the fifteen member states of the Economic Community of West African States, determined what they considered to be the greatest challenges to access to education, and developed a broad list of solutions.
"The Model ECOWAS conference, held at Charles Fowlis Senior Secondary School, just outside the capital of Banjul, was a tremendous success," said IDIA Executive Director Michael Hinchliffe. "For two days, nearly 60 students from across the Gambia to discuss something very personal to them: their education. For most students, the summit was the first time they were ever part of a conversation about their own educations - indeed most Gambian students are not afforded the opportunity to speak up about issues most important to them."
At the conclusion of the summit, the students had the opportuntiy to reflect on their own personal education stories. These reflections, which were often passionate and emotional, offered unique insight into the lives of average Gambian students as they struggle to succeed in their academic pursuits.
"IDIA's mission is to ensure that people interested in bringing about positive social change are given the necessary tools to succeed," said Hinchliffe. "The Model ECOWAS program in the Gambia, following from a 4-year partnership with BAYI has given a considerable group of students the chance to develop critical life skills. We look forward to a continued relationship with BAYI, and in developing new partnerships to develop students of all ages."
The Model ECOWAS program was the first of its kind in The Gambia, and represents IDIA's continuing commitment to global programming. Plans are already underway to run a leadership development program, and a similar Model ECOWAS conference in Nigeria during the summer of 2011.
Model ECOWAS Recommendations:
At its meeting on 26 July, members of the Better AFrica Youth Initiative's Model ECOWAS Summit released the following recommendations with regard to Access to Education:
ECOWAS member states find that the greatest challenges to providing all students with access to a quality education are as follows:
a) civil wars and other conflicts within a state;
b) teacher shortages;
c) lack of teacher training;
d) lack of parental knowledge or responsibility for their child's education;
e) corruption among school heads and teachers;
f) lack of job opportunities within a state;
g) poverty, which affects a family's ability to pay school fees and send their children to school;
h) lack of resources and equipment in schools, including text books, school lunches, and science/technical equipment; and
i) gender inequality within society and the schools.
To address these issues and to improve access to education for all students, ECOWAS recommends that its member states:
a) provide higher-education scholarships for under-privileged teachers;
b) free education, in the form of no school fees for primary and secondary schools;
c) create job centers and vocational training opportunities;
d) increase teacher salaries to attract better educators;
e) establish standard training qualifications for teachers;
f) sensitize parents on the importance of education;
g) support rebuilding, especially of schools, after civil conflict;
h) provide basic amenities to all students;
i) improve infrastructure and development in rural areas;
j) bring job opportunities to rural areas;
k) launch an anti-corruption campaign with the schools; and
l) mandate that all teachers have proper qualifications.
Signed this 26th of July 2010:
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cabo Verde
Cote d'Ivoire
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea-Conakry
Liberia
Mali
Niger
Nigeria
Sierra Leone
Togo
