UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL COUNCIL
Distr.
GENERAL
/. 14/375 =====
E/QT.I4/CAS.5/3
9 December 1966 Originals ENGLISH
.%■
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOE APRICA
THE AFRICAN REGIONAL STATISTICAL TRAINING PROGRAMME, 1961-1966 Report by the EGA secretariat
M66-1735
E/CBT. 14/375"
//
THE AFRICAN REGIONAL. STATISTICAL • ■ ■ • TRAUOTG PROGRAMME, 1961 - 1966
Report by the ECA secretariat'
la This report deals,-with the principal African statistical training projects of an international nature, "which have either formed part of the ECA work programme or have been closely associated with it. These are the projects which have been envisaged as the basis of a co-ordinated regional training programme in statistics. There are, »f courses other statistical training activities within the region, but they are mainly of a national character and, while it is necessary to take them into account when assessing©vsr-all facilities and requirements, they are not .considered here in any detail,
2t The objects of the report are to describe the development *f the various training projects during the' last five years with a view t# ' :
assessing their future status, and t* consider the further action still required in achieving more adequately staffed national statistical services*
3. . Staff shortage was one of the principal problems emphasised by the First .Conference of African Statisticians in 1.9f>9», The Second Conference in 1961 was able to consider the'matter in more detail and to formulate a definite training policy. They reasoned that, although there were some disadvantagess overseas facilities could continue to be used as a temporary measure for the training of professional staff, and that ECA should, therefore concentrate their initial efforts mainly on achieving a better supply *f
■middle1-grade personnel. ■ ■ :
4, Towards the end of 1961, three middle-level centres were established
in AcMmota (Ghana), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Yaounde (Cameroon) as-joint
projects of the host governments and the United Nations. At the same time, two other nationally sponsored projects began t« provide an international
service. A' centre was established in Rabat (Morocco), offering &■. two-year
training course plus practical' work, and a middle-level centre was set up in Abidjan (ivory Coast), ■ ;
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Page 2
5. Although it is not an African project* mention must be made of the
"Centre Europeen de Formation des Statisticians Economistes des Pays en Voie de Developpement", which was established in Paris in 1962 and makes a significant contribution to the training of African statisticians,
6. In 1965, an additional middle-level centre was established as' a joint project of the East African Common Services Organization and the United, Nations in Sar-es-Salaam (Tanzania).
7. The above are the institutions already in existence and it is now necessary to' consider briefly the services which they provide, their past
and future development, and other new efforts which are needed, to; make the
statistical training programme more effective• ■ . -
8. Although earlier work was concentrated on middle-level training, there has been a gradual.extension .of the scope of the programme t* include higher-
1-eve* activities. For this-reason, the report deals separately with "the various' levels of-training, rather^than with the development- of institutions
on an'individual basis. Administrative arrangements, and policy for the operation of the training programme are necessarily a'primary consideration and .the. remarks made here should be regarded as complementary to the Report
■f, t.he Expert Group nn Education and Training of Statisticians in Africa, ta.which reference is made in paragraphs 41 - 44 and which has been
presented to the Commission as document E/CW.1'4/353 • - Middle-level training _
*9. Middle-level courses normally last for1 one academic year and are .
intended to provide a basic practical training in statistics with sufficient
■theoretical background to enable.successful trainees to enter non^professional supervisory pos^s ;in.national, statistical.services, or to proceed to*more advanced ..training if ■ their abilities permit* . - . i§. In the English-speaking centres, trainees undergo a "statistical
"assistant".' course,- 'while "centres for-, the1 French language group offer courses at the two levels of "agent technique" and/'adjoint technique", An exact comparison of the levels achieved in training is difficult because they are to some extent dependent on the educational background of the candidates
siM=a^B6WBitM>3aaMS^^aag^ATa'i^i&^j«»^BBi^
E/CN.14/375
Page 3
available at each centre. However, the general position is that the
"statistical assistant" and "adjoint technique" courses are roughly comparable, while that of "agent technique" is somewhat lower.
11, She numbers of trainees who have so far taken the international middle-level courses and the results achieved are shorn in the following
lumbers of middle-level trainees . . .
Total Enroll1s Total
Course 1961-62 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 1961-66 . enroll's
~E S ES E S E S E - S E S~ 1966.-67 1961-6?
16 12 41 27 25 19 '2.1 15 26 18 129" 91 17
Abidjan Agent
t echnique
Achimota ' .:
Statistical - '■'«„.,.,« ",,o - m
asst. ■ 25 18 29 26 29 25 25 22 31 27 139 118 23
Addia Ababa
Statistical. : ■ n_
asst. 19 8 17 10 20 16 23 23 33 28 112 85 25
Sar-es-Salaam Statistical"
asst.
Yaounde Agent
technique ■ Adjoint
technique . . 1st year 2nd year
_ _ - -- ._._.- - 18 14 . 18 14 19
20 18 20 16 31 26 35 ' 26 51 41 157 127 52
20 15 20 15 28
— — "" - — ' ■ 15
146
162
137
37
209
48, 15
Total 80 56 107 79 105 86 104 86 179,143 ■575 450 179 754
fo ■ successful 70 74 82 82 81 78
E - total number enrolled .
S - number sucessful ■ _
12. ■ During, the six-year period 1961-67, 754 trainees have been enrolled in the middle-level courses. In the first five years of this period, the proportion of sucessful trainees steadily increased and is now a little better than 80 per cent.
E/CK.14/3751 'E/GU'.1/
Page 4
13. In the next,table, the numbers of.enrolments and sucessful trainees are shorn according to the nationalities of trainees.
Countries of'origins of middle-level trainees
" 7" * ~ """"" : ; ~ Total Enroll' s Total
1961-62 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 1961-661 - enroll's
BSB-SBSBSBSEB ^6-67 1961-67
1 4
8416 6 29 - 37 20.
3 52
" '4- *7-
7525 . 44 .
"9 2 28
?
■5.11
51 84 .47 19-
■ ' 2 . 8
■3
■ 35
■ ■ ■ T 12.
20
7 27 276 Bechuanaland
Burundi
Cameroon : ■ _ .;.
Central Afr. Rep.
Chad . .
■Con-go-Brazs&ville1 Congo-Kinshasa Dahomey
EACS'O ■ Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Ivory Coast Kenya
Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali
Mauritania Siger Nigeria Rwanda
Senegal
Sierra Leone-1- - - Somalia'
Sudan" ■ ■ - -" ■ •■■ - Swaziland
-Tanzania1 ■ ---•■■■
Uganda UAR
Upper Volta Zambia
-
-
■ -5
3 . 1 .. .4 4 1
7 2
_
15 4 1
4 2
—"
6 1
4
...,.2 . .
.,.,4."
53
-
-
5 ■3
3 4 1
2 1
_
8
_ .
4
1"
4
-
—
3 1.
4
2..
A-'.
2
1 2
- .
■6
-
1 . . 1. .
6 3
' 7
2 1 12 16 10—
6 3
8
- .
3 8
2 .
■ -4-
3 .3
- .
_
6
-.
6 3 4 1 1 11 14
—
—
4 1
- —
5
-
38
2 3
-
11 , 1
-
9 4 7
"7
3
_
13
-
9
—
6
—
—
6
-
1 9
1 2 .8
3 3
-
10 1
—
"6 '
64
6 2
-
■10
5
—
6
5
-
1 8
1 :. 7
2'
3 3
-
13 3
—
2
4'
—
11 2 1
■10 1 8 1
5
—
12
. —
7
2
"2 6.
y
52
—
11 1
—
1 3
11 1
9 1 6 1 3
*•*
„
7
-
7 1
2
6
■" 7
52 3 22 6
—
84 5
12
5
-
12 8 6 6
__
5
—
QO
11 -1 1 136 2 1
6 7 3 3 56 4
3 -20 2
—
46 5 8 3
—
11 4 3 - 5
2
00
9 , 1 1 13 ' 23 1
6 6 3
2 4 53
3 57 13
2 20
/-\ (•"
26
^ /*16 44 14 2 62 2537 6 262 5
Q
43 2
5 418 2
■ Q
O
28 167 3 21
■17.
4 3 52 7
1
14 : 23 15 31 8 2 49 1918 50 c.
19 1
QO
29 2 405 4 2
■ ■ Q O
26 6 16 ■
2
1515.
3
1 1 27 3 4 9
11 4,1
8 3 2 13 73
2
5 8 2 36 11
■ ■ 7
7 54 46 10 2
Total
80- 56 .107 79 105 86. 104 86 179 143 575 450 179 754
E - total number enrolled S - number
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14» The sources of fellowships for the various training courses during the period 196.I-67 were as follows.
Sources of fellowships
Course
Abidjan Agent
technique Achimota ': ..
Statistical asst.
Addis Ababa • ' Statistical asst»
Dar~es-Salaara Statistical - asstu
Yaounde.
Agent technique Adjoint
technique 1st year 2nd year
US specialized agencies
*> "3
<tf*f
87
74
37
: 84 11
■ 6 9
2 —
. - . Trainee*s • Sot EEC FAC USAID . own yet govTt. knom
Total
4. 12
107
26 13
75
11 . 52
246
162
137
37
209
48 15
Total' 323 20 231 4 146 7 754
15- The English-speaking courses at Achimota, Addis Ababa and Dar-es~Salaam are now capable of handling about 80 trainees a year, while those for-the French language group at Abidjan and Yaounde can produce about 95 trained personnel each year, 'According to a survey carried out in 1965? these facilities? together with a number of existing national training schemes, should largely satisfy government requirements for middle-grade statistical personnel during the next five years- African countries have expressed the wish that the courses should continue for at least this period and efforts have been made to .complete satisfactory arrangements« ■ .
16« However, |t should be borne in mind that the policy with respect to the jointly sponsored, training Centres hass from the outset3 envisaged a gradual
.14/375 .14/GA
Page 6
withdrawal of United Nations assistance in a process "by which there will eventually "become the responsibility of the host countries.
17. The formal agreements between the host countries and the United Kations controlling the operation of the Aohimota and Yaounde Centres have expired and that in respect'of the Addis Ababa Centre will come to an end in 196.7?: but this.does not mean any sudden discontinuation of UK...
assistance. Budgetary provision has been made for the personal services of the U2T Directors or Directors of Studies of these Centres and for 1 visiting lecturers and the intra-African travel of the Directors for the
purpose of selecting students, up to the end of the 1968 calendar year, 18. United Nations fellowships are also "being provided from the regional programme during the 1966-67 academic year at the same level as before.
From 1967-68 onwards, however, fellowships will become the responsibility of the countries utilizing the services of the Centres. They can possibly be included in the IBF country technical assistance programmes, or can be financed from bilateral assistance or local resources,
19. The above arrangements do not, of course, apply to the Dar-es-Salaam Centre, which is a relatively new project operating under an agreement continuing until 1970. Assistance in the form of staff, fellowships, etc.
will continue during the agreed period,, Equally, the remarks do not apply to the Abidjan Centre, which has always been a project of the Ivory Coast
Government. ■ . -. .
20. The host Governments co-sponsoring the Achimota, Addis Ababa and Yaounde Centres have given considerable thought to the future of these projects and have been able to make adequate preparation for the transla tion stage discusse.d above,
21.'- The Achimota Centre was merged with'the Institute of Statistics in the University of Ghana in October 1966. The middle-level oourse will continue unchanged and it is expected that additional training facilities at junior professional level will be introduced in the near future.
22. The Addis Ababa Centre is already located in the Haile Selassie I University. With the assistance of a UNESCO professor of statistics, the University have introduced three-year diploma and four-year degree courses
in statistics. It seems likely that the existing middle-level Centre will
Page 7
eventually be absorbed by the new project and there is already close working co-operation, since its syllabus is the same as that of the first year of
the diploma courseo
23. It -will be noted that, in "both Achimota and Addis Ababa, the long-term solution to the problem of achieving the full national status of the Centre involves its transfer to the national university in conjunction with the introduction of higher level training in statistics. This is being done in such a way"that the middle-level courses not only make a significant contribu tion to the development of more advanced training, but can also be maintained as a service in their own right while the demand for special training,
arrangements for middle-grade .personnel continues-. The question of junior professional training is discussed more fully in a separate section "below.
24- The position regarding the Yaounde Centre is a Iitt3e different because present indications suggest that there will be a continuing heavy demand for the training of middle-grade personnel in Central Africa- Under these
circumstances, it would appear desirable that the nature of the project
should not change too rapidly* As already indicated, facilities were extended to include an "Adjoint technique" course in the 1965-66 academic year and the total number of trainees has now reached 95 • Ii; has been Proposed that the W Special Fund should be approached for assistance to ensure the .
continued development of the project and this may involve the future introduc
tion of facilities at the level of "Ingenieur des travaus statistiques".
These arrangements are being pursued in the light of resolution I46 (VII)
of the Commissions which requested that the possibility be investigated of converting the Centre into an international institute*
25. Little-need be said about the future of the Dar-es-Salaam Centre, as arrangements under the existing agreement will continue for some time to come. Progress has been fairly rapid and it has been possible to introduce an intermediate-level course after only one year of operation. The Centre is located at the University College, Dar-es-Salaam, and it is hoped that suitable arrangements .can be made for it to be taken .over eventually as
part of the university,, .
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26. The Abidjan Centre is continuing its course at "Agent technique" level9 but its principal feature is the development of higher level training, which is described latsr in this report.
Junior professional training
27. A number of references have already been made above to junior profess ional training. Like middle-level training, this is an activity which results from an acute staff shortage and it has the same basic objective of satisfying immediate requirements, but is also a further contribution to the long-term development of full university training in statistics.
28. The first junior professional project was the Centre established in Rabat in 1961 by the Moroccan Government with Utt assistance. It provided a tWo-year course and students were expected to undergo a period of in-service training folio-wing the formal teaching. The project Has now been further developed into a statistical institute with UN Special Fund assistance and its activities are therefore considered in the professional training section.
29. A two-year statistical diploma course has been introduced at Ibadan University (Nigeria). At the moment, it caters for a small number of Nigerians and obtains its trainees from among persons who have completed
the nine-month middle-level course in the Federal Office of Statistics,
Lagos, It may therefore be considered an extension of the Lagos projects which is of a purely national nature. However, it is expected that'the diploma
course will in future, accomodate English-speaking trainees from other African countries.
30. A somewhat similar course has been proposed for the Institute of Statistics in the University of Ghana, but arrangements have not yet been implemented. The course will have approximately the same content as the
one at Ibadan University, but involves only one year of additional trainings the first year syllabus being covered by the existing Aahimota middle-level course. It will be open to English-speaking foreign students.
31. In July 1966, an intermediate-level course was introduced at the Dar-es-Salaam training Centre and is basically the same arrangements as that proposed for Ghana. The countries of origin of the seven trainees
iiJBss-isisite^MiSHi&iSjjjj^^
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Page 9
Attending the current-course ares . . ;■--_■ ■ ■
Kenya (EACSO) ' 2 ' '"
. ■ ■ ■;■■:. ■-.■.-■ ■ Kenya - ■ 1
■ ■■■ . ' ■" "Tanzania ■.. 3 ■-..'. ." ; '
Uganda 1 .
All these trainees have been awarded United JTarfcions fellowships.
32» The institutions which are now developing junior professional training , as an extension of middle-level training should eventually be in a pewition to offer.full degree courses in statistics* The process is therefore one of gradual development, which enables considerable numbers of persons to be trained at the lower levels in the earlier stages and provides the experience necessary for the later establishment of good quality professional training . which is properly adapted to African conditions.
Professional training
33- This section briefly reviews existing facilities for training up to first-degree level in statistics and covers much the. same ground as the corresponding comments in document E/Cff ..14/353 •
34» As indicated in paragraph 28S the Rabat .Centre has now become all Special Fund, project and has been developed as an Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics, It provides a three—year course with possibilities of specialization in the third year and produces about 25 graduates a year at the "Ingenieur des travaux statistiques" levels
35* The School of Statistics in Abidjan has .ex-tended its activities to include a three-year undergraduate course, plus a preparatory course of one year. The diploma is the same as that of the Rabat Institute and the
School will be able to produce about 15 graduates a year.
36. The numbers of trainees, sources of fellowships and countries of origin of trainees handled by the institutions in Rabat and Abidjan are shown in the following three tables*
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Page 10
Numbers of professional-level trainees
(Abidjan and Rabat)
Total Enroll's Total 1961-62 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 . 1961-66 enroll's
- 1966-67 1961-67 Course
B S E S E S . E S E S E
Abidjan Chefs des Statistiques Preparatory
years
1st year 2nd year
year
Rabat
Ingenieur des Travaux, Statistiques
1st year 2nd year 3rd year
Total
- 13 19
6 16
3 18 11 3
«»■■■ ■
10
5 3
50 17 3
.■ _
32 8 3
—
16 15-
5 3
66 32
• 8
■"■3
41 ... 34 ... 39 ... 28 ... 43... 185 <♦• 46 231 - - 34 ... 27 ... 23 ... 18... 102... 24 126
- ..- - - 15' 14 19 19 17 17. 51 50. ; 15 ^
41 ... ... 94 ... 95 ...llO.o. 408 ... 124 532 E - total .number enrolled
S - number sucessful
^
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Countries .of origin, of professional-^level trainees
(Abidjan and Rabat)
Country 19-61-62 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 1966-61 Total
Algeria Cameroon Congo Dahomey France Guinea Ivory Coast Madagascar Mali
Mauritania Morocco Somalia Togo Tunisia Upper Volta
22
14 3
26 7
1 4 6
1 1 36
30 6
2 3 4 6 3 4 2 28 1 1 3 2
27 4
1 2 11 6 1 10 2 39
3 2 2
23 2
5
11 16
10 2 52
1 2
120 22
■ 5 4 10 37 36 4 2iT '7
202 1
"5 49 4
Totat 41 ■68 94 110 124 532
Note? Tile above figures of enrolments in each academic year do '' distinguish between years of training.
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Page 12
Sources of professional-level fellowships
(Abidjan and flabat)
Course EEC USAID Private Trainees'
own govt •■
Total
Abidjan
Chefs des Travaux Statistiques Preparatory years
1st year 2nd year 3rd year
7 5 3 2
Rabat
Ingenieur des Travaux Statistiques
1st year 2nd year 3rd year
118 64 29
50 21
5 a
-
7 6
-
-
66 32
4 4 2
109 58 35
231 126 66
Total 228 77 13 10 204 532
37. In addition to the above facilities in Africa, the "Centre
de.Formation des.-Statistxciens Ectnomistes -cles Pays.en Voie de.DeVeloppement".
has been created in Paris specifically for the training «f statisticians of African countries associated with the European. Ectnomic .Community. It must therefore be considered as part of the African statistical training programme.
It gives a three year course leading to the diploma of "Ingenieur statisticien- 6conomiste" and a tw* year course leading to that of "Ingenieur des travaux statistiques". Facilities exist f#r 10 - 15 graduates a year for the higher
course and 20 - 30 for the lower course.
38, For the English language group, African facilities exist for training up to full professional level only in cases where there is the possibility
Bfe^^
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Page 13
of statistical specialization in economics or mathematics courses. The
Universities of Ghana and Iba,dan are two examples, but, in general, facilities
of this type are limited*
39. A large amount of statistical training is undertaken in the United Arab Bepublio, tout is not considered here, since most of the courses are given in A^aMc* r£he principal concern of this repeat ia the development of training arrangements for the English and French language groups.
Improvement of training facilities
40. The foregoing notes summarf^-a the development and current status of the principal African statistical training projects. It is clear that the training programme still has deficiencies, particularly with respect to higher level facilities^ and the W SHatistical Office and ECA Secretariat have "been examining ways of improving the situation.
41. In January 1966, an Expert Group appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations met in Addis Ababa to advise on steps to be taken for the improvement of facilities for the education and training of statisticians in Africa, Their report? which has been submitted to the Commission as
document E/CST.14/353? has' been approved 'by UN Headquarters and steps are being
taken to implement their recommendations <,
42. The basic recommendations of the Group were, firstly, that an Institute
of feconomio and social statistics should be established at a universitys preferably in East Africa, to cater for English-speaking trainees ands secondly., that other statistical training projects in the region should be
maintained and developed ■=
43. The position with respect- to existing projects has already been described, in the earlier sections of this report.
44. The Institute for English-speaking trainees was proposed "because there are already three instil':.: -•:■ > in Abidjan, Rabat and Paris for the
professional training of French-speaking African statisticians and these facilities are considerably more adequate than those available to the Eteglish. language group1 • It was recommended that the project should be
located in Hast Africa "because the gap between requirements and facilities
