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 The political economy of development |
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| Volume 1, Issue 3, 1995/1996 The Newsmagazine of the Association of Canadian Community College International News Canadian cooperation in Africa has traditionally focused on providing support to nations training its elite to ensure its future. However, this has meant that technological training needs have never been adequately addressed in many of the countries of Francophone Africa and that these nations can no longer meet the training needs of their labour force. These countries are now confronting serious gaps in a number of areas, including the management of technical institutions, teaching management, teacher qualifications, efficient use of workshop resources, equipment maintenance and linkages with the businesses that recruit graduates. In 1989, based on its Official Development Assistance (ODA) cooperation strategy, Canada announced to the Francophone Summit held in Dakar that it would be paying priority attention to human resource development and, more particularly, to technical, professional and management training. The interest generated by this commitment led to the "Programme de renforcement institutionnel en matière technologique en Afrique francophone," more commonly known as PRIMTAF, which is helping to strengthen the technological capabilities of the participating institutions in 13 La Francophonie nations. Developing the PRIMTAF Framework Faced with this formidable challenge, and with limited resources, PRIMTAF chose to work with existing and functional institutions or organizations - whether they exist as technical institutes, governmental or non-governmental organizations. The eligible countries then submitted project proposals, of which 14 were accepted. Following this step, Canadian colleges and institutes offering French-language programs in areas to be addressed by PRIMTAF were invited to respond with their own proposals for involvement. To obtain additional support to reach project goals, the Canadian participants were encouraged to enlist the services of other Canadian organizations or, in support of the regionalization objectives of the program, the services of African partner institutions. PRIMTAF achievements Since its commencement, PRIMTAF projects have achieved a number of concrete
results which, in many cases, have been achieved before actual project completion: eight projects addressed institutional and pedagogical management needs;
Two of the Program's goals have been to ensure that the institutional linkages being formulated are sustainable and therefore will last beyond the PRIMTAF financing period as well as to incorporate the empowerment of women at every stage of the development process. At the current stage in their development, nine projects have undertaken or are in the process of undertaking a process of self-financing. Presently, 21 institutions are involved – alone or as part of a consortium – in the following projects: Benin : Training in agricultural micro-enterprise management and skills upgrading for school administrators (Cégep François-Xavier-Garneau, as part of a consortium including Cégep d’Alma and Benin’s Ministry of National Education); Central African Republic : Improving the country's educational radio and television systems (Cégep de Jonquière and the Central African Republic’s National Institute for Pedagogical Research and Support); Comoros : Improving the sanitary living conditions of rural women (Collège Édouard-Montpetit, as part of a consortium with the Canadian Red Cross - Quebec Division, and the Women in Development Network); Congo : Conserving and processing local agricultural production (Institut de technologie agro-alimentaire de Saint-Hyacinthe and Amilcar Cabral Agricultural School); Djibouti : Improving the teaching process (Cégep de Chicoutimi, as part of a consortium with the Chicoutimi School Board and Djibouti’s Adult Professional Training Centre); Guinea-Bissau : Upgrading administration skills (Cégep de Jonquière, as part of a consortium with Quebec’s Specialized Centre for Fisheries and Guinea-Bissau’s Ministry of Fisheries); Madagascar : Training in small business management (Cégep Joliette - De Lanaudière and Madagascar’s Directorate for Women, Children and Family Welfare); Mauritius : Computerization and training at IVTB (Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup and the Industrial and Vocational Training Board (IVTB) of Mauritius); Mauritania : Training in computer maintenance and technical upgrading in printing (New Brunswick Community College - Bathurst, as part of a consortium with New Brunswick Community College - Dieppe and Mauritania’s National Ministry of Education); Seychelles : Developing a multi-purpose laboratory at TSSD (Collège de Maisonneuve and the Technical Support Services Division (TSSD) of the Seychelles’s Ministry of Industry); Chad : Strengthening a project follow-up and evaluation unit (Institut de technologie agro-alimentaire de La Pocatière, as part of a consortium including Collège Édouard-Montpetit, the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the follow-up and evaluation unit of Chad’s Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment); Togo : Upgrading for institutional administrators (Collège de Bois-de-Boulogne and Togo’s Ministry of National Education). |