Consultants report on statistical training needs in Africa

Dist. , *

jBtlTBD I

L4/C^.10/4

May 1977

UNITED NATIONS Original: ENGLISH

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA Working Group to Review Statistical

Training Needs in Africa Munich, 1-5 August 1977

CONSULTANTS REPORT ON STATISTICAL TRAINING NKSDS

. . . IN AFRICA

Paragraphs

I« Background and introduction .. 1- 7

II. Reducing losses of trained statisticians .... 8-13

III. Statistical training needs 14-19

IV. Training facilities available within the region 20-88 V. Training facilities available outside the region 89. -:105

VI. Specialization 106 - 107

VII. Coordination of statistical training activities, 108 - 112 VIII. United Nations and other agencies involved in,

African statistical training 113 - 125

IX. Recommendations 126 r- 3-37

I. Draft project document for an integrated statistical training programme for Africa II• Supporting tables

III. List of oontacts

M77-826.

B/CH.-14/CAS.J0/4

ACPs BUs

BLSs B. So. i B. Stat.:

CDCi CDG*

CBSD:

CIDlAs .:

CSOt DBS:

BACs BASTC:

BCA:

EDF:

BEP:

SBC:

EEJSAE:

BSAs FAC*

PAOs IAHSBAs

XASs

IFORDs

IPS:

ILOt IMF:

INSBAi

!

ABBRB7IATI0HS

(Paragraphs where they are utilized are shown in brackets)

African, Caribbean and Pacific oountries (91, 93, 123)

Bureau of Economic Analysis, United States Department of Commerce

(103, 124) ■- ; -...:.-;-.

Bureau of Labour Statistics, United States Department of Labour (102, 124)

Bachelor of Science (30) :

Bachelor of Statistics (33) 34) " ■ ' :: -

Cairo Demographic Centre (58, 8l, 107, 118)

Carl Duisberg - Gesellschaft, Federal Republic of Germany (93)

Centre auropeen de formation, des.:. statisticians-*-, eoonomistes des pays

an voie de developpement, Paris (4, 17j 20, 38, 59, 69, 91> 95» 9^, 97f

110, 116, 121, 123)

v.Canadian International Development Agency (50, 125) Central Statistical office (supporting tables) Diplome d*etudes Buperieures (136)

Bast African Community (82)

Bast African Statistical' Training Centre Dar-es-Salaam (37, 82, 127) Boonomic Commission for Africa (2, 3, 4, 8, 12, 22, 48, 94, 112, 113*

124, 127., 128., 129,, 130) . . . ,

European Development Fund (42V43> 64) 65, 93).

Electronic data processing (134) ■ -.■■■'■... • Suropean Economic: Community, (9,1, 95» 123, 127.) ■..';-.

Bcole nationale de la statistique et de 1*administration economique,

Paris (20, 95, 96, 97., 12l) ■ - ... . Bcole de statistique d'Abidjan (40, 41, 78, 82, 127) Fonds d'elde et de cooperation, Prance (63, 65) Pood and Agriculture Organization (114)

Institut africain et mauricien de statistique et d1 eoonomie appliquee,

Kigali (59, 70)

Ingenieur dlapplication de la statistique (49, 74» 135,

International Classification of Diseases (115)

Institut de formation et de recherche demographiques, Yaounde (589 8l,

107, 118)

Institut de formation statistique, Yaounde (38)

International Labour Organization (43? 102, 116) International Monetary Fund (105

Institut national de statistique et dteconomie appliquee, Rabat (l7» 48,

78, 79, 82, 127).

- ii -

INSHB: Institut national de la statistique et des etudes economiques, Prance

(121)

IPF: Indicative planning figure (33)

ISAB: Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics, Kampala (33, 78, 79» 127}

ISB: Ingenieur statistioien-economiste (15, 17? 53, 55 j 58, 70, 95j 127, 136)

ISSER: Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Researchs Legon (28, 82) ISI: International Statistical Institute (117)

ISPC: International Statistical Programme Centre, United States Bureau of the

Census (98, 100, 116, 124)

ISPEA: Institut de statistique, de planification et d!econoraie appliquee,

Yaounde (38, 78, 82, 127)

ITPEA: Institut des techniaues de planification et dTeconomie applique, Algiers

(17, 74, 78, 121, 127)

ITS: Ingenieur des travaux statistiques (15, 16, 17, 38, 41, 42, 45j 46, 51»

57, 60, 67, 70, 74, 78, 95, 127; 135, 130

NUL: National University of Lesotho, Roma (31, 78, 82, 127)

OCAM: Organization commune africaine et mauricienne (59, 6l, 65» 72) ODMt Ministry of Overseas Development, United Kingdom (120)

RIPSj Regional Institute for Population Studies, Accra (58. 8l, 107, 118) TCPP: Technical Co-operation Programme Fund, PAO (114)

UBLS: University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (27)

UBS: University of Botswana and Swaziland, Gaborone (27, 78, 82, 127)

UNDP: United Nations Development Programme (3, 4, 28, 30, 31, 33, 37» 38, 39,

66, 102, 114, 117, 119, 127)

UNESCO* United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (27, 31

117, 137)

UNFPAi United Nations Fund for Population Activities (31, 117) 118)

USAID: United States Agency for International Development (98, 99, 102, 103,

124)

WHO: World Health Organization (115)

E/CN.H/CAS.10/4

I. BACKGROUND AND INTRODQCTION

1. The staffing problems that led the second session of the Conference of African Statisticians in 1961 to initiate regional training programmes continue to plague African statistical services to this day. At that time the focus was on training sub professional staff, which was probably the right approach at that time, albeit a shortsighted one. However* the pace of economic ,.d£vsl°PIDen't and the acompanying development of international relationships have given a different complexion and

complexity to the problem. The range and detail of statistics required have increased tremendously, thus tilting the balance of staffing requirements in favour of the

professionals and specialists. Also, the need for subprofession .s grew faster than the supply. Apart from supply being slow, trained personnel were being syphoned into non-statistical activities often after only a very short period of service. Thus the process of building up expertise through experience has been very slow indeed.

2. Professional training centres that have developed in the past few years represent a gallant attempt at responding to the needs of African countries. Unfortunately, most of them were either subject to some inflexible university regulations or they suffered from a hangover of the university type detachment from real life. As a result, the curricula were by and large, mainly theoretical and academic. Africa needed, and still needs, statistical operators not statistical theorists* Many of these centres are now actively reorienting their curricula, an operation that can benefit tremendously from inputs by the Conference of African Statisticians, EGA and the United Nations Statistical Office. The centres also face financial problems.

Those that were established "by national universities have to make do with what is allocated to them in competition with other university departments which are of

"longer standing; those that were established with external assistance as regional projects cannot easily be adopted by host Governments aa national centres at the

same level of operation. Most of the centres have not been operating at maximum capacity because of lack of fellowships for potential participants.

3- It was against this background of the galloping growth of demand and the trickle of supply of inadequately trained Statisticians that the ninth session of the Conference of African.Statisticians met in October 1975- By that time,the cry for some drastic remedial action to be taken without delay was loud and clear. At that session UNDP had proposed that a working group should be-organized by BCA with the close co-operation of the United Nations Statistical Office, for the purpose of reviewing the situation. The proposal was supported by .tiie- Conference and ECA and

the terms of reference of the working group were listed. Consultants were to be engaged to prepare a working paper for the group. The whole exericse was presented as a regional project to UNDP for financing. .

4« The recruitment of consultants started in December 1975 and it was hoped that they would start work at the end of January 1976. As a result of the financial problems experienced by UNDP over the past few years the consultancy mission was postponed to 1977 • This left a very tight schedule for the review exercise to be completed before the tenth session of the Conference of African Statisticians

scheduled for the last quarter of 1977- The consultancy mission started on 2 February and ended on 1 May under considerable time pressure. One of the two consultants, for reasons beyond his control, could not complete the mission and his part £»&d to be taken by a member of the ECA Statistics Division who covered the remainder of the

assignment. The mission visited most of the centres listed in the report. * Statistical offioes of a few selected African countries and all the agencies listed in the report were visited. This report is, therefore, based on interviews by the consultants, responses to the questionnaires that were sent out by ECA to African central statis-

Page 2

tical offices, information supplied "by training centres and a survey of 17 African

countries conducted by CESD» '

5. The'following is a summary of the terms of reference of each consultant:

(i) To carry out consultancy missions and prepare together with the second consultant for the project a report oh statistical training needs in Africa to be considered "by a Working Group. The report should contain proposals on(l) improvement of existing training centres, including

suggestions for the most effective use of present regional and national facilities as well as the practical reorientation of training'courses;

(2). reducing losses in trained staff from national statistical offices*

(3) financial resource requirements; (4) co-ordination of statistical

training activities within and outside the region; and (5) any other

relevant matter relating to statistical training in Africa. , (ii) Participation in the Working Group meeting to be organized in July/August

* 1977 either in Addis Ababa or Munich for eight days. ■ " j -:

The mission covered all that was required under its terms of reference even though

it was not possible to satisfy some of them fully. In particular, most oentres ^ were not in a position- to furnish full information on the financial aspects of their

operations. It is hoped that, by the time the Working Group meets, all this infor

mation will have been made available. Also, an expression that has been frequently used in complaints about statistical training is "practical orientation . Whilst :

those who used the expression probably have a clear understanding of what they mean,

it is not clear whether all of them have the same meaning in mind. So far nobody-,

has attempted to define it. If the consultants' definition differs from that -. , commonly accepted (if it exists) it will be because nobody has so far ventured to

define the concept in clear and lucid terms.

6. It ra appropriate at this point to draw attention to draft resolution I of the

Statistical Commission at its ninteenth session, approved for adoption by the

Economic and Social Councils The heading of this draft resolution is "Financing of training of statisticians, especially through the regional funds of the United Nations

Development Programme". In accordance with the operative paragraph, The Economic and Social Council Requests the United Nations Development Programme to take h.

sympathetic view of the requirements of developing member States for financing of

training of statisticians, especially through its regional funds, and to increase this component in its assistance with a. view to fostering the long-term and lasting •

development of the statistical services of developing countries 1/. It is hoped that the present report will enable the UNDP to meet this request and also that it will form the basis for participation in the African statistical training programme by

other donors.

7. The mission is indebted to all those who assisted with information and advice-

and in any other way.

l/ Economic and Social Council official Records, sixty-second session. Supplement

No. 2 (E/5910; B/CN.3/500).

J3/CN.14/CAS.10/4

Page 3

II. REDUCING LOSSES OF TRAINi-lD STATISTICIANS

8. From a study undertaken by 'iUCA in 1975) it appears that 45 per dent of the trained professional statisticians are working in national statistical services, 23 per cent in various Ministries and 32 per cent in other sectors. In fact, the losses of trained statisticians to public enterprises, the private sector and international organizations include those who were actually engaged in government statistical offices and then left as well as a numbed of would-be statisticians who, on graduation, decided not to join these statistical offices. The first type of

loss seems not to be very important in quantity terms from the questionnaires returned and discussions held with statistical offices by the consultants. In quality terms the picture may be different in that it is usually the experienced officers who move out. In Morocco, for example, 65 per cent of the professional statisticians of the Central Statistical Office have less than three years experience. In a few cases, where the number of professionals is small, even the loss of one can be very signifi- cant. It is, therefore, difficult to generalize and the magnitude'of the problem is determined, by the context within which it is viewed. The second type of loss, of a potential nature, is particularly significant in some countries like the; Ivory Coast, where only 2 out of 29 professionals who graduated- from the Abidjan Sohool' of Statistics joined the Statistical Office. This retards the growth of government statistical services because of the shortage of trained manpower. Posts may be createdbut stand vacant for a long time because there are no applicants. Excluding' Egypt, which had all of its 723 posts filled?o266 out of 562 posts in English-speaking

countries are either vacant or filled by expatriates.

9- The causes for the two types of loss are basically the same and they: seem to revolve around remuneration, and the fact that most statisticians are also qualified in other disciplines. In some services the recognition given to statisticians is lower than that given to other officials holding similar degrees in other disciplines and this is refleoted in the salary scales and advancement opportunities. Even where the starting salaries are the same for all university graduates, advancement ■ opportunities for administrators are sometimes better. People then tend to move into areas of the services with better prospects, especially as the other disciplines in which they are qualified are acceptable in those areas. In some cases the salary scales are the same for officials holding similar degrees, but some Ministries provide housing facilities, car allowances9 etc... and appear more attractive. The pull of the private sector is even stronger because salaries are usually much higher than in the public sector, in some cases the ratio being aa much as 3 to 1. As thia is a fast growing sector in Africa and other developing countries, the demand for high-powered manpower is increasing by the day. Also, African Governments are insisting, rightly so, on localisation in all sectors. So, both the public and the private sectors compete for the same persons, with the latter offering more attractive

service conditions.

10. The solution to the problem will depend on individual situations. In general, however, African Governments should create appropriate service conditions for their statisticians and give due recognition to their expertise. In some services this has been achieved by creating a statistical cadre with a starting point higher than that

of administrators and/or the same advancement opportunities. For instance in Nigeria

the statistical cadre is exactly parallel to the administrative cadre with eight professional levels and the head of the service on the same level'with permanent secretaries. In other-words a statistician can rise, within the service, to the same level as an administrator. The development of statistical services should also be given due recognition, especially when it comes to budgeting. The private sector is ;

E/CN.14/CASclO/4

Page 4

much more difficult to control, not only for statisticians but for all high-level

and technical manpower. This ia an evil African Governments will have to live with.

Any programmes intended to develop manpower should always take this fact into con

sideration. In other words, estimates of training requirements should take into account the insatiable appetite of the private sector for the commodity to be produced. In particular, those countries where the statistical services have experienced severe losses should train the maximum number of professionals until

saturation point is reached.

11. The problem of losses of middle-level personnel appears to be much less than that of professionals. Again this is a general statement. In some countries the loss of this category of personnel ia particularly important. There are a few cases where the loss of one is a 50 or 100 per cent loss. The reasons for such losses of

middle level personnel are usually related to remuneration levels and future prospects.

The remedy would be to havo this cadre moving parallel with the similar-lovel in the administrative branch but always a notch or so ahead in recognition of the additional specialised training received. For instance, in Lesotho a statistician starts higher

than a graduate in administration.

12. Of course the overriding factor in the solution of this problem, where it is significant, is the political will of the Governments concerned to give due reoogni- tion to their statistical services. Here the responsibility of convincing them lies mainly with the leadership of the national statistical services. One way of achieving

this goal and of convincing the Governments is for the statistical offices to produce timely and useful data through reports and publications. External agencies should come in only to strengthen their cases. It would also be useful for these services to obtain the service structures of other African countries which have solved the salary and advancement differentials problem for comparison and recommendation to their Governments, after due adaptation to the looal situation. This the national statistical services should undertake themselves, while the BCA secretariat should assist in collecting and disseminating such information.

13. It will be noted that the definition of "loss" for professional statisticians covers only the private sector and international organizations. It.is a view that is shared by many that the movement of statisticians to the rest of the public sector does not constitute a real loss, especially when they move into positions of policy making. This movement assists in spreading the influenoe of statisticians within a service and, hopefully, producing better administrators and policy makers. In the end statistical services may stand to gain as a result.

III. STATISTICAL TRAINING NSEDS

14. There are generally three levels of statistical training required by government statistical offices - middle-level, professional and specialised training. This section concerns itself mainly with the first two. Estimating the reeds in these areas for the next few years was not very easy for a variety of reasons. First, not all central statistical offices completed and returned the questionnaires in time for this report. Also, some of the answers in the returned questionnaires reflected a misunderstanding of some of the questions. This meant that such answers could not b6 used in the form in which they were given. Seoond, in some cases the information collected by the mission differed from that given in the questionnaires * Third, there

E/CN.14/CAS.10/4

Page 5

is no uniformity in the definition of middle level and professional cadres. Whilst most countries may have the same definition, a few others may have different ones.

For instance, in some national services all. university graduates with a first degree in statistics are classified as statisticians, whereas in one or two an ordinary

pass degree in statistics is classified as non-professional on entry, only first and second class honours holders being taken in immediately as professionals. The pass degree holders have to serve a prescribed period before being recognized as pro fessionals. For purposes of this exercise all first degree graduated in the

discipline will be considered as professionals. Fourth, African Governments are

increasingly becoming aware of the need for statistics. As a result the demand for statistical data and the need for trained statisticians at all levels are growing.

The figures quoted below are indicative of orders of magnitude. However, for

purposes of this excercise the information should be a good enough basis for

decision making. In most cases, especially where statistical services are decentraliz ed and/or where regional offices exist, the estimates cover national requirements rather than those of central statistical offices. Information for French-speaking

countries south of the Sahara was obtained from a report of the survey undertaken

by CBSD.

15- The needs for professional training listed here refer mainly to basic training - first degree or ITS, This was considered as the first priority, especially if the

courses offered by the centres were practically oriented* There is also a need for specialized training in a variety of fields - national accounts, agricultural

statistics, sampling techniques, demography, etc. Recruitment for this level of

training is usually from professionals already in the field. Training in higher

degrees is necessary for manning the training centres. For the next ten years

Snglish-sepaking countries (excluding Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Malawi and Sudan for which figures are not available) need to train an average of 217 persons per annum Uith Nigeria requiring about 150). This gives about 67 per annum for the other

countries together. As will be seen in page 15, there are currently only 130 fresh intake places available each year for this group. If all centres take a minimum of 50, then there will at least be 210 intake places, which about satisfies the estimated requirements. It should, however, be noted that these needs are not evenly distributed over the ten years. For instance, the average for the first five years is 279 per annum. Therefore, the total intake capacity has to more than double

to meet this need. The universities of Ibadan and Ghana should expand their facilities

much more than the others.

16. The estimates of the statistical training needs of the French-speaking countries at the professional level, excluding North Africa, are based on a study undertaken by. / CESD in May-June 1975. It appears from that study that the needs of the 17 countries^

of the group amount to 600 ITS and 350 ISB for the ten-year period 1976-1985. If we

add our estimates for Guinea and the Comoros, the requirements of the French-speaking countries south of the Sahara will be 650 ITS and 375 ISB; This means training 65 ITS and 38 ISE per year. These figures should be considered as a minimum as the demands

of the private sector usually grow at an unpredictable rate. As will be shown in the section concerning available facilities the total capacity of the three centres

1/ Benin, Burundi, Central African Empire, Chad, the Congo, Gabon, the Ivory Coast,

Madagascar. Mali, Mauritania, the Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, the United

Republic of Cameroon, the Upper Volta and Zaire.

Page 6

(Abidjan, Kigali and Yaounde) is about 80 ITS in the first year* Taking into aooount the possible" extension of this capacity when the new premises for the three centres will'be completed and the places offered by the Rabtrt Institute, there is no doubt

that the future requirements of the French-speaking countries south of the Sahara, at least for the next 10 years, can be met by the existing centres as far as the ITS level is concerned.

As regards the ISB level, the facilities available are CBSD - Paris and the Rabat Institute, which will be commente-d upon later.

17. With regard to the three Arab countries excluded from.the previous group

(Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia)s their requirements at all levels are growing so quickly that they can be estimated to total 300 ISB and 1,100 ITS, i.e. triple the present establishment for the next ten years* It is expected, that such high demands will be met by the two statistical training ftteiiliies existing in that subregiont '

INSEA. (Rabat) and ITPEA (Algiers) o The lo%& -ca?&Q?-'ty of these two centres is about "

260 ITS in the first year. This will lea*^ -room fe* the additional requirements of African countries outside the subregion aridffbr^unforeseeable demands from inside.

15 ■-'-

As for the ISB level, the total requlT&neir^ of French-speaking African, countries (including North Africa) amount to 673* As- already indicated, the facilities

available are CSSD-Paris and the Rabat InsiJi-fcjite for which the total capacity in the first year is about 60 ISE, It will be necessary by 1981 to open a section in one of

the other existing centres for the training of this type of personnel to meet the requirements of the region.

18. The estimates for middle-leval requirements cover both levels of training. It has been suggested that tba certificate level of training can best be done at the national level as tb.y numbers involved ar<- usually very high. A lot of inservice training is conducted by statistical offices for the clerical and statistical

assistant levels. Because of the shortage of-professionals, even this is not usually done well. Average annual training requirements for English-speaking countries

(excluding Egypt, Ethiopia* Liberia, Libya, Malawi and Sudan) for the next ten years are 275 (Nigeria 133) and 348 (Nigeria l6j) for the noxfr five years. The requirements

of the French-speaking- group of countries (excluding North"Africa) for middle-level

training are difficult to estimate a3 only a few statiatr.oa?. offless completed and returned the relevant questionnaires. By 197bj there had been 315 adjoints techniques and 637 agents techniques trained from these countries* Taking into account the

growing demands of both the public and the private sectors, the needs can be estimated at 600 adjoints.-techniques and 1,000' agents techniques for the next 10 years. For the Arab countries the requirements at the middle level are very high but should be met locally In* each country*

19. As indicated earlier, not all countries supplied the requested information and the figures quoted are certainly on the low side. Another problem is that of the Portuguese speaking Afrioan countries- It was not olear to the consultants whether they should be considered separately or with some otfcer grouping. The statistical organizations of these countries are relatively underdeveloped and there is a great, dearth of both professional and trained middle level statistical personnel with the position with respect to the former being more critical. Three alternatives exist for meeting the immediate training needs of the fivs Portuguese-speaking countries in

Africa (Angola, Caps-Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe).

S/CN.14/CAS.10/4

Page 7

The first is to offer them training in another Portuguese-speaking, developing country like Brazil. A useful institution for having Portuguese-speaking African countries is "Fundacao Instituto Brasileino de Geographa e Estatistica" in Rio de Janerio. The second alternative is to offer nationals of these courtries training in

existing French or English-speaking countries in Africa. The third possibility is to set up a special training centre for Portuguese-speaking African countries. All these alternatives are listed here, on the assumption that Portuguese will continue to "be the functional/official language of these countries.

IV. TRAINING FACILITIES AVAILABLE WITHIN THE REGION

20. A list of facilities available within the region for.training professionals at the "basic level and also for middle-level technicians is given "below,. .Excluded from this list are institutions which offer general degrees with some statistics content.

This group offers statistics courses mainly to service other disciplines. It is clear that the existing centres need to "be expanded and strengthened to meet the requirements for trained personnel. Also, the courses should "be aimed at producing practically oriented statisticians as opposed to the theoretical academic type. The French- speaking centres, fortunately, are modelled after CESD in Paris which.is itself to some extent practically oriented; CESD is modelled after EETSAB (with adaptations to African conditions) which is a centre for training a section of the French civil

service. The Rabat centre in the Arab region has more or less followed the orienta tion, of CBsD. The English-speaking centres are evolving from the traditional .English university type of mainly theoretical training to a practically oriented type. Most

of them have almost achieved this goal. .

21. Considering that most of the centres have a.very short history (they only started within the last 15 years), the progress so far.made is commendable. However, they continue to have a variety of problems, particularly those that have not as yet

developed into national centres (i.e., centres fully funded by national-, governments).

These problems includes ,.-.■;.

(i) development of appropriate curriculum;

(ii) staffing;

(iii) intake of foreign students;

(iv) finance. >v

When analysing the,.,.performance of these centres \L,36O professionals trained \xp to 1977) it should be-noted that their graduates were in most cases qualified not .only

as statisticians but also as economists. Therefore, not all the 1,360 found their way into, national statistical offices. Some of those who did join the national

statistical services have since moved to other positions outside these services. Tl^e demand for professionally trained statisticians continues to outstrip supply. A major effort has to be made to eliminate the backlog and reduce the gap. This will involve taking appropriate measures to solve the problems listed above.

E/CN.14/CAS.10/4 Page 8

22. As stated earlier, most of the centres are well on the way to evolving suitable practically oriented curricula. Involving practising African statisticians, ECA Statistics Division and the United Nations Statistical Office in this exercise would help a great deal- The final product should be comparable for all the^oentres.

23. .Because of the need to staff statistical services, it has been difficui-t *to

staff training centres with locals. The cost of employing expatriates is fairly • . prohibitive. As a result centres either have small establishments or run a high vacancy factor. Either alternative results in inefficiency. Since for some time to come it will be necessary for most centres to engage non-national teaching

personnel, means of making this possible should be found. Also, the centres should consider establishing enough posts to run the programmes efficiently and to cater for non-national students from other parts of the region.

24. Whilst a number of-centres open their doors to students from outside their , national boundaries, participation by such students is minimal. The main reasons

put forward for the non-utilization of these facilities ares

(i) Ignorance of the existence and nature of some of the facilities

(ii) Vague statements on admission requirements ...

(iii) Non-availability of fellowships ; ■ ■ "

(iy) Quotas for foreign students .

"'" (v) Applicants not only have to meet the admission requirements of a 7 ' particular university but also those related to United Nations- fellowships.

These problems call for some conscious co-ordination of the statistical training activities within the region. The existence and programmes of the different centres should be widely publicized. Entrance raquirements should be clear. Since the authors of this report ;do not encourage the proliferation of statistical training

centres for obvious reasons, the question of fellowships certainly calls for attention.

Even if African Governments were to give top priority to the training- of statistici ans, their fellowships resources would still not cater fully for' the need. Some- additional measures have to be taken in this regardand they are taken at an inter national level with a global approach,' then the question of foreign students* quota will have to be reviewed.

25. The centres listed can take in at least 130 English and 350 French-speaking students for professional training per annum. It is possible to expand the intake capacity of most of the Anglophone centres to at least 50 each to cater for more students. The total for the English-language group excludes the University of Dar—es-Salaam whose programme is considered to be more of the academic type.

26. The following is a comment on each of the centres listed, based on the responses to the questionnaires and discussions with the consultants'. ■"

UBS (Botswana)

27. This centre was part of the UNESCO regional project set up at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (TJELS). It was intended to provide oertificate™

level training. It would appear the centre has now taken on diploma and professional training at degree level in addition to the certificate level. During 1976/77

enrolment figures w&re as follows:

Page 9

Certificate course — 7

Diploma " - 1

■-Degree: ■".... . - I (l in each of 2nd, 3rd & 4th years)

' 'Total ; 11 ■"".■"

There is a staff of 3 with two more expected which will make a total of 5 to teach 11 students- It is reoommended that the UBS centre concentrate on diploma and

certificate-level;,training within .the overall African region programme as proposed in the recommendations- .... , .-. „

ISSBR and; the-Mathematics Department, both of tne University of Ghana

28. The.Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, absorbed a UNDP- .

sponsored centre, providing middle level training. It is a nationally sponsored centre providing statistical training, at uhder-graduate diploma'tlevels. The Mathe matics Department-* with the. co-operation of ,,ISSER, offers degree and post graduate

diploma programmes in statistics. The programmes are practically oriented, with a compulsory practical attachment during the. long vacation after the second year of the .degree programme. The centre has mainly b.een used "by Ghanaians, even though it

is open to nationals of other* countries. It..would appear that the admission

requirements, are diff^Lcult for foreign applicants to satisfy. It would "be-advisabla,..

for the authorities to review "these requirements in Order to-facilitate utilization of the centre by other African countries. It is -recommendedth^ all^he--"training of profestional statisticians be, conducted by ISSJ3R.

29. The oentre has staffing problems, where four of the seven full-time posts are vacant, A review vas be.iiig conducted to "reduce duplication of effort in various

departments of the university. Hopefully this will release some staff to join tKe centre. It was also expected that three former students doing'higher degrees aborad would return to join the centre.

Ibadan (Nigeria)

30. The Department *6f "Statistics of the University of Ibadan developed from a UHDP

sponsored..middle-level ^training, oentxe offering diploma-courses. Now fully--sponsoxed by the Nigerian* Government, it offers a BSc" in Statistics in addition to the under- \_

graduate diploma. It is in the process of evolving a practically oriented programme.

Facilities are open to all countries of the region. However, the centre needs strengthening on the staff side and it should accelerate.tlie process of developing a suitable carriculuau .... .

KUL (Leaotho) k " 'r '

31. The degree and diploma programmes of the UNESCO Regional Project at UBLS were

based in what is now the National "University of Lesotho (KUL) and this centre was

the administrative headquarters of the project, UWDP support for the programme will terminate in June and UITFPA is considering sponsoring.,tjie ;;pr^pjeCi: manager. The

programme has.suffered continuously from staff shortages. The situation is worse now

that the; centre* has taken-:'-eii-:e^ptifi©ate:^t33aining as well- For an: effective degree

programme tfey'-jnfWPBirt ;'lLe^et^f -QrbiByitoMe-nt.of-. three needs to be increased to at least

five^aUd all^&slis shotti^"b,e fiHed:i - For some time to come most of these posts will have to be filled by expatriates and:ifche Lesotho Government does not aeem to be in. a

position to meet the cosi- The Qxerbise of developing, a practically oriented

ouirribulum continues. Current proposals include a 5 to 6 weeks practical attachment

with a government statistical agency during the long vacation.preceding the final year of the degree programme.

Page 10

32. Inline with the recommendations on the "Botswana centre, it is recommended that this centre concentrate on the degree programme only.

ISAB (Uganda)

33. The Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics was established as a national project offering regional services under U1TIIP sponsorship from regional funds. When IMP applied a more rigid enforcement of the regional funding policy, the project had

to "be financed from the Ugandan IPP arid the. national budget, .This affeoted the- . fellowships component of the programme. All participants have now to be financed by their own Governments, and this is proving a great handicap in attracting students fror.

countries outside the East African Community. Recently ten regional fellowships have been provided for the first batph of the hew B. Stat. programme. The prospeots-of-^tk.GL Bast African Community taking over the centre seem to be on the decline;

34. The curriculum of the centre has been reviewed and revised a number of times

within theshort'life'1 span of ihe~ project. The~curr«nt B. Stat, programme "is-the. jaofrv- for government statistical services* Therefore any consideration1 for"

jtr»ft: ght^iA^^oQtF&ftrrtrpaAft. -on the B • Stat. programme- and relarted. ' -

activities.,; '; /, ." ; ' ' ':~ ' ' ■ ' • " ■ ''■" ■ ' ~' ■ 35. The Ugandan Government is proceeding with plans to erect facilities for the - - centre, separate from the rest of the university. The staff complement of the centra is six United Nations and six local lecturers-, giving a total of 12 posts. At the -

time of the mission three of these ppsts( two United Nations and one l*bal) were '

vapant, but with prospects, of having them filled fairly soon.

University of Dar-es-Salaam (United Republic of Tanzania)

36. The programme in this university is in the faculty of arts. It- is aimed mainly at locals and the intention is to take in future only oandida"tea--already in g*A««uiia&i-~

employment. The course content is mainly academic, even though there is a period of practical attachment before the. final year. It is fully financed ^~tbs-£ov©rnment

of the United Republic of Tanzania.

BA.STC ijJnited Republic of Tanzania)

37. The East African Statistical Training Centre was another U1H3P regional project offering training at the certificate and diploma levels* When UKDP assistance was phased out, it was taken over by the Bast African Community. In line with the main recommendations at the end of this report, it is recommended that the centre con

centrate on the diploma course and increase its intake.

ISPSA. (EJni.ted Republic of Cameroon)

38. . The Institut de statistique, ds planifioatjon.et dfeconomic appliquee (iSPEA) developed in 1976 on the foundations of ^Institut de formation statistjque (iFS)

which was a U2PP regional project offering training at the agent technique and adjoint- technique levels for French-speaking African countries. UNEP provided an expert

towards the.end of 1975 "to assist in the establishment of this higher centre. In addition to thetwo middle level programmes, ISPEA. provides training for the I

des travaux statistiq.ues level. The centre is used by most «f the'Frahoophone Afric couniiries at both the professional and middle levels of training. Even though Camer-

has the largest number of students, in 1976/77* they constituted about half of the

total student population. The curriculum of the ITS course is based on the CBSD Division II programme and is practically eriented*

Page 11

39. Of the six members of staff, three are lccals two are provided by the French Government and one "by OTDP. Support for the project by UFDP will terminate in August.

The centre certainly deserves international support. The quality of national staff needs upgrading for the upgraded centre, although may have been adequate for the

adjoints and agents techniques levelso

BSA (the Ivory Coast).

40o The jjoole dg _stati_stiq.uQ A* AMMap (ESA) was set up in 1961 by tho Government of the Ivory Coast ttTmeest the requirements of 'the host country and the other French-

«■ speaking African countries in qualified ^staff at the agent technique, (certificate), adjoint technique (diploma) and the Ingenieur des travaux statistiques (first degree)

levels.

41. The total capacity of the school is about 150 students comprising 25 students in

each of the years of agent technique (one year), the adjoint technique (2 years) and

the ITS (3 years)* A preparatory year for the ITS course can accommodate 10 students.

There-are only 80 to 85 students currently at the school which is, therefore, function ing at 57 per cent of its capacity. The maximum number of students that the school has had was 112o This situation is due to a number of factors: lack of potential candidates, withdrawal of successful candidates in favour of other disciplines, lack of fellowships, service eonditions of statisticians in the Administration unattractive, etc... By the end of 1976, the BSA had trained 242 agents techniques, 83 adjoints techniques and 92 ingenieurs des travaux statistiques from 18 French-speaking African countries including the Comoros and the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas.

The shares of the host country were respectively 31^9 per oent3 46 per cent and 31-5

per cent of these totals.

42. Owing to the growing demands for specialists in the field of statistics, not only in the Ivory Coast but in the African region in general, a request has been sent to the European Development Fund (SDF) to finance the nsw premises which will enable the centre to accommodate 40 students in each of the first years of the adjoint technique and the ITS courses and also 40 students for tho agent technique course.

The capacity of the Institute will therefore be about 250 students.

43. The full time teaching staff is composed of five French technical assistance personnel. There are also 39 part-time teachers paid by the Government of the Ivory

• Coast, In addition, the school has received the visits of a guest lecturer from ILO and the assistance of two teachers provided \y Kl'i1 in the fields of mathematics and-economics« The latter assistance was phased out«

44. The Director of the school is from the Ivory Coast and it is expected to recruit another national to the teaching staff. Howevers there is no plan to train Africans to replace the existing expatriate teaching st^ff.

45. United Nations assistance is required for the provision of a teacher in demography, one of the options in the ITS course which includes also applied statistics, data

processing and management of enterprises.

46. The Directorate of the school wishes also to have a full-time teacher of data

processing and a full-time teacher responsible for the "stages" (practical part of

the teaching programmes). The "stages" constitute an important part of the teaching programmes. They take place during the final year of each course and last one month in the case of agent technique course, two months for the adjoint technique course and

B/CN-.14/CAS.10/4

12

,sxx months for the ITS course. For the latter, the students are expected to report

at .the .school every fortnight and disouss with the Director of studies and the teacher responsible for the "stages" about the problems they encountered.

47- It is recommended that a plan "be drawn up as soon as possible for the recruit

ment and training of African teaching staff who will take over from the bilateral and multilateral technical assistance personnelo

INSEA (Morocco)

48« Xnstitut national de statistique et d'eoonomie appliquee (INSEA), Rabat was set

up in 1961 by the Government of Morocco in collaboration with ECA and the United

Nations Development Programme, The United Nations assistance was phased out in 1972

and the Institute was completely taken over by the host Government.

49- The Institute expanded its capacity considerably in 1973 and it was indicated that it can now receive in the first year 100 students for the adjoint teohnique course (2 years), more than 200 students for the ingenieur dfapplication de la

statistique (IAS, course - ingenieur de3 travaux statjstiques level (3 years) and 30

students for the ingenieur statisticien eoonomiste course (T'years). This means a total capacity of about. 900 students in the field of statistics. It should be noted that, the Institute is also offering an ingsnieur analyste course and an adjoint teohnique programmeur course in the field of data processing. In the total the Institute can accommodate 152OO to 1,300 students. There are now some 350 to 400 students only. Boarding facilities for 600 students are being completed and a further extension of their capacity is already planned.

50. The full-time teaching staff is composed of 20 Moroccans, two teachers provided

by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and one teacher provided by Prance. In addition eight Moroccans are under training• ^he Institute receives also short missions of guest lecturers equivalent to 24 man/months.

51. By 1976, the Institute had trained 314 Africans at ITS level from the following

countries: Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, the United Republic of Cameroon, Mali and Zaire. The first three countries, from North Africa, had about 88 per cent of this total and 55 per cent were from Morocco alone.

52. By the sane year 295 students graduated from the adjoint technique course.

They were, in order of importance, from Morocco, Mali, Mauritania, Chad and Zaire.

The following countries also have one graduate each: Angola, the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea and Tunisia. Eighty-six per cent of the graduates in this course were

from the host country.

53. The ingenieur statisticien economiste (iSB) course was opened only in

October 1974. "~"

54. As in other similar training centres, the "stage pratique" is an important part

of the teaching programmes. It takes place for each course at the end of each year

and lasts about 30 days*

55« The main concern at present is to maximise the utilization of the Institute following the extension operation. Emphasis is being put on the development of research activities. An "aotnariat" option was introduced in 1973 in the third year

E/CH.14/CAS.10/4

Page 13

of the ITS course* It is expected to open such an option at the ISB level in addition to the existing statistics and applied economics options. The Department of

Statistics hair also suggested the opening of a demography option at this level.

56. It should "be noted that the teaching system in Morocco is using more and more Arabic, the national language. It is foreseeable that the Institute may also use

that language at some future date.

57 • It was indicated that the capacity in the first year of the ITS course was more than 200 students. The organization of the programmes for such a large number of students needs to be looked into very carefully in order to ensure that the teaching does not become more academic rather than practically oriented.

58. Finally, the question of opening a specialization in Demography at the ISE level

should be examined in the light of the national requirements, bearing in mind the

existence of relevant facilities at Yaounde (IPORD), Accra (RIPS) and Cairo (CDC).

IAMSSA (Rwanda)

59* Institut africain et mauricien de statistique et d!economie appliquee (iAMSEA),

Kigali, was set up in November 1976 in implementation of resolution No* ll/Kigali/75

of the OCAM Council of Ministers relating to the transfer of CESD to Kigali and the establishment of an "Institut africain et mauricien de statistique et d'economie appliquee".

60. There are 22 students in the first year of the ingenieur des travaux statistiques

(ITS) course out of 32 admitted after the competitive entrance examination. Thus 10.

potential students were lost, presumably attracted by other disciplines for which they had also applied.

61. The students of the Institute come from the following countries: Benin,

Mauritius, Rwanda, Togo, the Upper Volta, the Comoros and Chad. It should be noted that the latter two are not OCAM member countries.

62. The Government of Rwanda has temporarily put the Official College of Kigali at the disposal of the Institute until the building of its own premises has been

completed,

63. The French Government, through the Fonds d'ajde et de Cooperation (FAC), has provided 20 fellowships (a block allocation) and three full-time teachers,

64. Two other teachers are expected for this first year from the European Develop

ment Fund (BDF) which Has also provided two fellowships

65. For supporting the development of the activities of the Institute, OCAM has

submitted the following requests to FAC and iiiDF:

FAC: - provision of five full-time qualified teachers, - provision of teaching aids

BDF: - provision of five full-time, qualified teachers;

- financing of the new premises.

E/CNol4/CAS.I0/4

Page 14

66. A project request for UHDP financing would include the following: library,

teaching aids, data processing unit and laboratory.

67. The existing facilities can accommodate 30 to 35 students in the first year of the ingenieur des travaux statistiques (ITS) course which lasts three years, 30

students in the first year of the adjoint technique course (2 years) and 40 students for the agent technique course (1 year).

68. The adjoint technique and agent technique courses do not yet exist but the

principle of their creation seems to have "been approved.

69. The Director of the Institute thinks that the transfer of the second division

of CESD to Kigali has been duly completed. He also indicated that the Institute will be in a position to open the ingenieur statisticien economists course after running

the present course for at least three years.

70. The Institute should have long experience in running the present ITS course before consideration is given to opening the ISE course. It should be recalled that

the Rabat Institute did so only after running the ITS course for 12 years. The ISB course requires very high-powered teaching staff and it is always advisable not to rush the development of new training centres like IAMSEA.

71- It should not be difficult to use, on a part-time basis, the teachers of the University of Butare and the High Schools of Kigali to fill the gap until the supply

of the teachers from external assistance is realised. Meantime, the programme for the development of the Institute should include the training of Africans who will take over the teaching activities.

72. Finally it has been indicated that a system for the division of the budget of the Institute among the OCAM member countries has not yet been designed. Therefore the Government of Rwanda has advanced the necessary funds to the Institute.

73* It is recommended that such a system for the division of the budget be decided on as soon as possible to enable the Institute to perform its activities under favourable conditions.

ITPBA (Algeria)

74« Institut des techniques de planificatjon et d'economie appliquee (iTPBA.)', Algiers, was set up in October 197Q along with various other Institutes of technology intended

to fill the gap in qualifiped-~staff in Algeria. The Institute is placed under the trusteeship of the Secretariat of State responsible for Planning. Its purpose is to train, in four years, economic analysts and "ingenieurs d* application de la

statistique" (IAS) - ITS level. The specialization takes place in the third year

where the students have to choose between the two options. The fourth year is devoted to practical work at the end of which the students have to present a thesis and a

report on their activities.

75* The Institute admits about 120 students in the first year on the basis of a competitive examination. Some students can be admitted directly in the third year after examination of their academic qualifications. A number of places are available every year for foreign students. During the academic year 1976/77 26 students out of a total of 417 were foreigners. They were from Mauritania, Guinea, the Niger, Benin and Madagascar*

3/CN.14/CAS.10/4

Page 15

76. The Institute was established on a temporary basis but it has now become a highly specialized teaching institute. The present concerns are the creation of a research centre and the "Algerianization" of the teaching staff *

77. This Institute is mainly national. It is hoped that the limited number of places offered to foreigners will be increased as required for the purpose of

diversifying the sources of training available within the African region.

DAKAR (Senegal)

78. The government of Senegal has established the college statistique within the Ecole nationale d'economie appliquee of the university.. The college provides training

at middle and ITS levels. The intake for the ITS programme is 15 once every three years. It is fully financed by the Senegalese government and has a staff of one.

This is an obvious response to an urgent need, but it is not the most efficient way of going about training-. It is recommended that the college concentrate on training middle level personnel and leave ITS training to already existing centres under the proposed regional programme.

Available facilities within Region

Country Botswana4

Ghana

Lesotho Nigeria

Uganda United Rep.

of Tanzania

United Rep.

of Cameroon Ivory Coast Morocco Rwanda

Senegal Algeri

Centre UBS

Professional (Basic)

English-speaking

Intake

\J Ci \J » O X Uay P • Or •

• * O

Univ. of

Ghana (Legon) 60

NUL Ibadan

ISAB

15 23

30

Univ. of 35

Dar—e s—S alaam

ISPSA

ESA INSEA Kigali

Dakar ITPEA

Utilization

National

Mainly national open to region Regi onal

Mainly national open to region Regional

Nati onal

French-speaking

25 Regional

25

200 30

5**

60

Regional Regional Regional

National

Mainly national

Sponsorship

National + United

Nations + United Kingdom National

National + United Natkns' National

National + United Nations National

National + United Hations + French

National + French Natioral

OCAM countries + French + EEC National National

it So far there has only been one student in each year cf study•

Ak 15 once every three years.

icfctz Previously sponsored by the United Nations.

B/CN.14/CAS,10/4

Page 16

79* The following also offer graduate and post-graduate facilities:

University of Ghana, University of Xbadan, ISAB, INSEA (intake of 30 ISE p.a«).

80o Specialized courses are offered by the Institute of Social Science, the Hague,

the Munich Centre for Advanced Training for Statisticians in Developing Countries, the Bureau of the Census., Washington D.C, A number of English-speaking countries have also used facilities in the United Kingdom, United States of America, India

and Canada*

81»' Demographic training is provided at the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS-Accra), the Cairo Demographic Centre (CDC - Cairo) and the institut

de formation et de recherche demographiques (iPORD - Yaounde).

82. A number of universities offer courses in statistics within the departments of

mathematics, economics, etc. These tend to be academic and are not geared to

produce practising statisticians. TJven though the graduates they produce may, with some reorientation, "be turned into practising statisticians, they are usually the type of material that would be looking for further academio pursuits, probably not

even connected with statistics.

Country

Botswana

Ghana

Centre

UBS

ISCBR

Lesotho

Nigeria United Rep.

of Tanzania

HUL

Ibadan EASTC

Middle Level

English-speaking Intake

Capacity p.a.

20

40

40

30 36

Utilization

Regional

Mainly national but open

Facilities for rogional Nati onal Regional

Sponsorship

National + United Nations + United Kingdom

Nati onal

Nation?.? + United Nations

National

BAC*

166

Previously sponsored by the United Nations.

French-speaking United Rep»

of Cameroon Ivory Coast Morocco

Senegal

ISPBA

ESA INSEA Dakar

80

60 100 20 260

Regional

M

tl

National

National + United Nations ?

National

n ti

E/CN.14/CAS.1O/4

Page 17

83. The University of Liberia, through its Demographic Unit, conducts a three- month certificate course for middle-level personnel on a part-time release basis every year. In this way it is hoped to train a great number of such personnel

within a few years to meet 1;he acutely felt need for trained middle-level personnel.

84. There seems to be a strong feeling that middle-level training should, as

much as possible, be undertaken at national level as it involves large numbers of

officers. It is considered that this is a cheaper and more effective method as more people can be trained at less cost. This is mainly the case for those countries that still require most or all of their subprofessional staff trained at this level. Whilst the need for this level of training is acutely felt, many statistical offices have found it difficult to release staff for training in

reasonably large numbers because their programmes would be seriously disrupted and there have been no funds for such massive training at distant centres. It has been suggested that one trainer could, for instance, be provided for a group of neighbour ing countries and he could visit each country in turn. What is clear is that the regional centres approach is very slow and it has lost its appeal as a solution to

immediate needs. Nevertheless, the programme has fulfilled the originally planned

objectives which, as indicated earlier, were fairly shortsighted. The situation

under consideration is dynamic, not static.

85- Before concluding this section, it may be useful to put forward some understand-

ing of the concept of "practical orientation" of statistical training. Simply it is understood to mean such organization of statistical training as will produce a

practical statistician, mainly from the point of -view of government statistical

services. The programme should teach the student how to identify sources of data,

to measure correctly, to tabulate, analyze and infer, to evaluate measurements and

assess sources and to present his findings in a manner that will be clearly under stood even by the laymen. It should, therefore, instil precision and obaectivity

in thinking, a practical approach and thinking in relative terms. In other words,

the product of tie system should automatically:

(a) seek precision in all data he handles?

(b) question his own and other people's measurements and deductions;

(o) establish whether or not an exercise should be undertaken and the most

realistic method of doing so, and;

(d) view measures and situations in relation to the whole of which they are a part and in relation to the other parts.

The foregoing imply the knowledge and, therefore, the teaching of the following

basics, inter alia, as a central theme:

(a) techniques of data collection, description and analysis;

b) evaluation of source and assessment of reliability;

c) determination of significance of data;

(d) inference ~ from part to whole;

(e) identification of causal relationships.

v

The programme will thus cover topics like:

(a) measures of central tendency and dispersion;

(b) index numbers;

(c) time series analysis;

(d) analysis of variance;

B/ON.J.4/CAS.IO/4

Page 18

(e) regression analysis;

(f) probability theory and inference;

(g) simple foreuasliiig.

All the while it should be understood that the programme is expected to produce a practical statistician rather than a theoretical mathematical statistician.

Therefore, the treatment of topics like time series analysis, and regression

analysis should "be as simple as possible, eliminating much of the mathematics and

econometrics.

86. The expression "central theme11 has been deliberately used to indicate a "core subject" around which all others revolve. This is at variance with some views that ,

have been expressed that each of the fields of.application should be treated as a subject incorporating the relevant items from those listed above. It is here

suggested that these so-called applied statistics should individually and collective-;

ly benefit from the "core subject". However, they should not be lumped together into an amorphous and hoterogenous subject called "applied statistics", but each should be separately listed and be given full treatment. About 50 per cent of the teaching time should be devoted to these subjects which include, inter alia;

(1) demography and social statistics

(2) agricultural statistics (3) financial statistics (4) economic statistics

(5) national accounts and balance of payments (6) sampling techniques and surveys

(7) data processing

87. The teaching technique should be to consolidate all the different bits and pieces into a co-ordinated whole- Practical exercises, wherever possible on real life situations, will help a lot. Attachment to statistical offices will also

assist the ctud-:r.J: tc -ele,t<3 theory to?

88. However, in designing the programme, it should be remembered that some of the

graduates will have to proceed to higher studies either to train as lecturers or to specialize. Therefore, the theoretical content of the course should be sufficient, to enable them to pursue such further studies without undue handicap.

V. TRAINING FACILITIES AVAILABLE OUTSIDE

THE REGION

89. Africans have for a long tims been using universities and other centres in

Europe, India and the United States of America for training their statistics

personnel. With the establishment of centres within the region, dependence on centres outside the region has been greatly reduced. However, there are still some

specialized courses that are not given in any of the centres of the region but which

are available outside, Henoe a number of African statisticians still go to outside

centres for specialised training. Some countries, because of the difficulties they encounter in attempting to utilize centres within the region, send students to

outside centres e^en for basic professional training. The centres described m the

following paragraphs axe those most commonly used by Africa.