International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) is a global association of individuals and organizations that promotes equal access to appropriate education for all children and youth with visual impairment so that they may achieve their full potential. This website includes information that is relevant not only to ICEVI in general, but, most importantly, to the activities that take place in the seven regions of ICEVI.
Towards promoting partnership between the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) and the Centre for Mathematics Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) in promoting the Education for All Visually Impaired (EFA VI) in Africa
2013 – 2016
Prepared jointly by:
1. Martin Osang’iri Okiyo - ICEVI, EFA VI Africa Region Coordinator,
2. Odhiambo John – Chairman of Disability Mainstreaming Committee, CEMASTEA
1. OVERVIEW OF THE PARTNERS
ICEVI
ICEVI which was formerly known as ICEVH, is a professional non-governmental organization that welcomes any group or person who wishes to support its aims. It was formed in 1952 and has met as an international group once in every five years. Since 2002, the general body of ICEVI meets once in four years. ICEVI has consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. ICEVI is a founding member of the UNICEF NGO Committee on Children with Disabilities and we also work closely with UNESCO, The World Bank and the World Health Organization. The International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) is a global association of individuals and organizations that promotes equal access to appropriate education for all visually impaired children and youth so that they may achieve their full potential. CEMASTEA
The Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA), was established under Section 15(2) of Education ACT CAP 211 of the Laws of Kenya, in 2004. The inaugural Board of Governors for the Centre was established under Legal Notice No. 96 of 2006. This establishment is an effort by the Government of Kenya (GoK) to institutionalize the activities of the Strengthening of Mathematics and Science Education (SMASE) project, a bilateral technical cooperation intervention between Japan, through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the GoK through the Ministry of Education (MoE), whose implementation in the country was initiated in 1998. Since its establishment, CEMASTEA is fast emerging as the reference Centre for the development and implementation of In-Service Education and Training (INSET), for teachers in Kenya and other Africa countries. (The establishment of CEMASTEA as stated in CEMASTEA Strategic Plan 2009-2013, is a two-pronged strategy by the Kenya Government to consolidate the gains made under the SMASSE project and to institutionalize INSET. Through JICA’s support, the scope of coverage of its programme has spread to other African countries. As a result, a regional association for mathematics and science education has been established in Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (SMASE-WECSA) and SMASSE-type programme activities are being replicated in these regions. During the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) held in Yokohama, Japan in 2008, the government of Japan made a commitment to develop the capacity of over 100,000 teachers of mathematics and science in sub-Saharan Africa, through the SMASE-WECSA network. The mandate of CEMASTEA is to develop capacity for teachers and education managers in mathematics, science and technology education, not just in Kenya, but for other countries in Africa, for effective and efficient curricula delivery. This requires continuous research in Innovative Pedagogy and Institutionalization of INSET for the Effective Delivery of Curricula of Mathematics and Science. To support this initiative the Board has undertaken to ensure that the institution has necessary legal and regulatory framework to operate optimally by lobbying the government for necessary legislation and policies. CEMASTEA’s Disability Mainstreaming Committee
The purpose of Disability Mainstreaming for CEMASTEA is guided by the Performance Contacting guidelines of 2009/2010 where all public institutions are required to work with the National Council for Persons with Disability (NCPWD) to ensure that disability mainstreaming strategies / programmes are implemented at the institution and the same is influenced among its partners. One of the Committee’s mainstreaming objectives is to ensure that their core mandate includes needs and concerns of their clientele (teachers and learners) including those with disabilities. This explains the reason why CEMASTEA is keen to partner with institutions like ICEVI to promote the right of access to education among learners with visual impairment.
2. OVERVIEW OF EFA – VI CAMPAIGN IN AFRICA; The partnership pillar between ICEVI and CEMASTEA
Introduction
The EFA-VI Africa regional secretariat was opened in January 2009 with a full time Regional Coordinator. The secretariat has been established at the premises of the African Union of the Blind (AFUB), Nairobi, Kenya. The establishment of this office is purposely to coordinate the EFA-VI campaign in the region, following the launch in 2006 by World Blind Union and ICEVI. Priority areas of the Campaign
The key priority areas for the region addressed by the campaign include but are not limited to:
I. Support of activities of NTFs including meetings National,
II. Needs assessment of learners,
III. Needs assessment of teachers,
IV. Capacity building programme for teachers, parents and community,
V. Orientation of MOE officials,
VI. Awareness raising through the media. In the 2013 – 2016 quadranium the Campaign intends to accomplish the following objectives:
i. Facilitate early identification of children with visual impairment by working closely with teachers and ophthalmologists; Needs Assessment for learners, (to increase enrolment rates, to provide necessary educational support materials and for improved academic achievement),
ii. Participate and offer technical support to find out and understand technical capacity needs for teachers for effective teaching and learning of learners with visual impairment; Needs Assessment for teachers,
iii. Influence capacity building and awareness raising activities for parents, teachers, education officials and communities on education of children with visual impairment,
iv. Influence advocacy activities on design and development as well as implementation of existing policies/ strategies on education of children with visual impairment,
v. Strengthen linkages, networking and partnership between the Ministry of Education, the national association of the blind, NGOs and Development agencies at the grass root, national and regional level through taskforces and the regional steering committee to promote the right to educational achievement for learners with visual impairment.”
Achievements of the Campaign so far
In Mozambique the campaign was launched in September 2009 after a needs assessment was conducted. National Task Force comprising of the Director of Education, four Provincial Directors for Nampula, Manica, Sofala and Maputo, Sight Savers International, Light for the World, POWER International and ACAMO (National Association of the Blind) among other stakeholders put in place. The current enrolment as of October, 2012 is 472 and according to the MOE this is less than two percent of potential VI children who should be in school. A National Task Force was constituted after the launch of the campaign in Ethiopia in July 2009. It comprises of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, CBM, Light for the World, CBR Network Ethiopia, National Association of the Blind and Ethiopia Federation of Persons with Disabilities. The enrolment of visually impaired learners stands at 7524 (as of October, 2012) (to be confirmed), representing only 2% of the total number of children with visual impairment who should be in school. A national plan has been developed in line with the special needs education strategy of the Ministry of Education. There is ongoing preparatory work to have Burkina Faso and Mali as focus Countries (FCs) with the support of the President of the French Blind Union (Francoise Madray-Lesigne).The two countries are also beneficiaries of the inclusive education project funded by CIDA through the WBF and implemented jointly by the African Union of the Blind and ICEVI. With support from partners and other initiatives ICEVI also intends to launch the Campaign in the following FCs in 2013: Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya in the Eastern Africa region, Malawi in the Southern Africa region and Ghana in the Western Africa Region.
3. THE CEMASTEA/ ICEVI EFA-VI AFRICA PARTNERSHIP
The driving force of the EFA-VI Campaign in this quadranium which is also its new approach towards fostering and strengthening partnerships and networks is ‘Working with general initiatives in the continent with multi country and multi objectives approaches with larger initiatives.’ CEMASTEA in this case is one of ICEVI’s key strategic partners in achieving the paradigm shift. Objective five (5) of the EFA-VI Campaign in Africa 2013 – 2016 Strategy is to “Strengthen linkages, networking and partnership between the Ministry of Education, the national association of the blind, NGOs and Development agencies at the grass root, national and regional level through taskforces and the regional steering committee to promote the right to educational achievement for learners with visual impairment.” On the other hand objective 1 is aimed at “Influencing capacity building and awareness raising activities for parents, teachers, education officials and communities on education of children with visual impairment,
Bearing in mind that CEMASTEA has been able to influence the establishment of a regional network for mathematics in Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (SMASE-WECSA), and that CEMASTEA CEMASTEA’s mission is to develop capacity for teachers and education managers in mathematics, science and technology education, not just in Kenya, but for other countries in Africa, for effective and efficient curricula delivery, the two institutions; ICEVI and CEMASTEA would like to affirm through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) their desire to collaborate on matters related to the promotion of education for children and youth with disabilities and in particular those with visual impairment in Africa through the EFA-VI Campaign and the Strengthening of Mathematics and Science Education (SMASE) project under the following mutual conditions to be agreed upon;
CEMASTEA to share with ICEVI all information regarding its educational programmes in Africa. EFA-VI in Africa to share with CEMASTEA its 2013 – 2016 draft strategy for input. In its strategy CEMASTEA to acknowledge ICEVI as one of its educational partners especially under the strategy on education, and a memorandum of understanding for the upcoming quadranium between ICEVI and CEMASTEA to be drafted to that end. Subsequently and within the quadranium the Regional Coordinator to offer support to CEMASTEA projects/ programmes on education in Africa. CEMASTEA to declare and adopt the EFA-VI Campaign as one of its official programmes in the Africa region. ICEVI and CEMASTEA to encourage its regional and national networks to take active role in the Campaign and work for its implementation. CEMASTEA to provide linkage with all relevant organizations and partners in the Africa region that will provide impetus and support the EFA-VI Campaign. ICEVI and CEMASTEA to provide reciprocal links on their respective websites. ICEVI and CEMASTEA to jointly influence inter-governmental organizations and governments wherever possible in augmenting effective educational services for persons with visual impairment. ICEVI and CEMASTEA to facilitate interaction between the ICEVI’s Africa Regional Chairperson and Coordinator and CEMASTEA Regional and Country Directors and other responsible officers to follow up on the implementation of a possible MoU between the two parties and the 2013-2016 quadranium strategy as well. CEMASTEA and ICEVI to work together in designing capacity building programmes on teaching and learning of Science, Mathematics and IT among learners with visual impairment (VI) in Africa.
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