EVALUATION OF THE UNESCO SPONSORED POST GRADUATE COURSES IN
HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES
by
N . B . Ayibotele (Ghana)
with contributions from L.J. Mostertman (the Netherlands) and U . Maniak (Federal Republic of Germany)
IHP-III Project 13.1
Recommended strategies for the development of education and training at various levels
in the field of water resources
F I N A L R E P O R T
Unesco, Paris, 1988
Page
1. BACKGROUND 1 1.1 Appointment of Working Group Members 2
1.2 Activities of the Working Group 2
2. METHODS ADOPTED FOR THE EVALUATION 3 2.1 Evaluation of participants and financial support 5
2.1.1 Participants 5 2.1.2 Financial inputs by Unesco/Governments 6
2.2 Evaluation of the course system 6 2.3 Evaluation of the outputs (Graduates) 7
3. FINDINGS 7 3.1 Brief review of the socio-economic and hydrological
conditions in the developing countries 7
3.1.1 Climate and Hydrology 10
3.1.2 Manpower needs 10
3.2 Course Inputs 12 3.2.1 Participants 12
3.2.2 Financial subventions 18
3.3 Network of courses 19 3.3.1 Statistics about the courses 19
3.3.2 Evaluation of statistics about the courses 20 3.3.2.1 Geographical location of courses 20
3.3.2.2 Language distribution 20 3.3.2.3 Subjects and duration 21 3.3.2.4 Certificates/diplomas/degrees 27
3.3.2.5 Admission requirements 28
•i-ii.
3.3.3.1 Number graduates 29 3.3.3.2 Ability of courses to meet participants'
aspirations 29 3.3.3.3 Evaluation of participants by their
employers six months after returning
from courses 31 3.3.3.4 Evaluation of participants by their
employers 3 years after returning
from courses 32 3.3.3.5 Evaluation of courses by participants
3 years after returning from courses 33 3.3.3.6 Survey of teaching of hydrology in
existing undergraduate courses and
planned postgraduate courses 33 3.3.4 General impact, effectiveness and relevance
of the courses 35 3.3.4.1 Impact of the courses 35
3.3.4.2 Effectiveness with which courses
are offered 36 3.3.4.3" Relevance of the courses to the
socio-economic and hydrological
situation of developing countries 38
4. TWINNING OF INSTITUTES CONCERNED WITH POST-GRADUATE
STUDIES IN THE WATER SCIENCES 41
4.1 Introduction 41 4.2 Training 42 4.3 Research 43 4.4 Management support 44
4.5 Technical support 44 4.6 Common publications 44 4.7 Recruitment of students 44 4.8 Execution of training projects for third parties 45
5. MAJOR TOPICS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SYSTEM OF CONTINUING EDUCATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NETWORK OF POSTGRADUATE COURSES 45
iv
Annex I List of Unesco-sponsored postgraduate courses in hydrology and water resources
Annex II Analysis of background of participants in Unesco- sponsored postgraduate hydrology courses
Annex III Years spent in primary and university education by participants from different countries
Annex IV Years spent in university education and before university (developing countries)
Course: International course for hydrologists 1985/86, Delft
Annex V Cost assessment for the Intrnational postgraduate course on Hydrological methods for developing water resources management (Budapest)
Annex VI Analysis of and statistics on the present 32 Unesco- sponsored postgraduate hydrology courses
Annex VII Annex VIII
Hours spent on various aspects of course
Hours spent on basic science, hydrological and water resources subjects at various courses
Annex IX Number of participants graduated from the courses (1974-1985)
Annex X Questionnaire 1: Survey of aspirations of course participants
Annex XI Questionnaire 2: Evaluation of Employees by Employers 6 months after return of employees from courses
Annex XII Questionnaire 3: Evaluation of Employees by Employers 3 years after course
Annex XIII Questionnaire 4: Evaluation by participants 3 years after attending course
Annex XIV Survey to find which developing countries offer hydrological and water resources courses at under- graduate level and which have or are planning to establish one at postgraduate level
Annex XV Example of an evaluation of a one-year duration postgraduate course
Annex XVI Model curriculum for courses in hydrology and water resources
v
When conceiving the educational programme of the third IHP phase the Intergovernmental Council recalled that hydrology was not always accepted as an independent science, it often being considered a subdiscipline of civil engineering, geography or geology. It was the merit of the IHD to contribute to the recognition of hydrology as a distinct scientific branch which encompasses the above aspects. A few undergraduate programmes were developed. The great breakthrough was the establishment of postgraduate courses under the aegis of IHD/IHP. By the end of the IHD, a system of postgraduate courses existed and a first evaluation was made by Unesco in 1974 in order to permit reasonable expansion of the programme. New courses were introduced to fill gaps in subject treatment. A shift to developing countries could be observed during IHP Phases I and II; at present, new post-graduate programmes are being offered in almost all regions.
Following efforts during thé last years of the IHD and .the first years of the IHP, aspects relating to water quality and to the application of hydrology to water resources planning and management are now being offered within several courses. A logical step further is to consider the multi-disciplinary aspects of integrated water resources management. IHP-III is, therefore, embarking on the development of appropriate training programmes.
On the basis of a critical evaluation of the existing training programmes and in the light of needs and requirements of trained personnel strategies necessary for the introduction of new programmes need to be developed.
The IHP Committee on Education and Training, at its session in 1986, recalled the programme under IHP project 13.1 "to recommend strategies for the development of education and training at various levels in the field of water resources". It entrusted the IHP Working Group on education with the following tasks:
(i) assess the existing Unesco-sponsored postgraduate courses in terms of their capacity to meet the demands for postgraduate study under the following criteria:
(a) academic qualifications and practical experience demanded as prerequisites;
(b) balance within the course between research and practical applications;
(c) availability of fellowships;
(d) course duration;
wii
encouraged and established. It is foreseen that the development of this type of arrangement will provide opportunities to meet demands by developing countries for the provision of courses in other languages and with structures more attuned to their needs;
indicate major topics which could form the basis for the development of a system of continuing education in association with the establishment of the network for postgraduate courses;
enunciate the principles upon which model curricula might be developed to meet identified needs for postgraduate training in various regions taking account of the level of development in the countries involved and institutional arrangements.
The Working Group held one meeting in Prague, Czechoslovakia (14-18 October 1985); the subgroup on the model curriculum held one meeting in Vallendar, Federal Republic of Germany (25-29 August 1986); the chairman of the Working Group, Mr. N.B. Ayibotele, met several times with the IHP Secretariat. The input of these various meetings as well as the contributions received from directors of Unesco-sponsored postgraduate hydrology courses enabled the compilation of the present report.
This report attempts to respond to item (i) in Chapters 1-3 that were compiled by the Chairman of the Working Group, Mr. N.B.
Ayibotele, in close consultation with the members of the working group. Topics (ii) and (iii) are dealt with in Chapters 4 and 5 that were produced by Professor L.J. Mostertman and reviewed by the working group. Topic (iv) has been treated by Professor U.
Maniak with the help of an ad-hoc panel; the outcome is contained in Annex XVI . after revision by the Working Group and a number of course directors. This model curriculum has been included purposely at the end of the report so as to permit its individual utilization by course organizers.
wiH
(iii)
(iv)
1. BACKGROUND
One of the means by which the IHP has been implemented over the years has been the mechanism of education and training through the Unesco-sponsored courses. Most of them are at the postgraduate or professional level and fewer at the technician or subprofessional level. The. developing countries have been the foremost beneficiaries of these courses. These have been aimed at the immediate objective of providing the specialized manpower required to enable the developing countries to carry out their hydrological and water resources development activities themselves as one of the means for achieving the ultimate goals of socio-economic development in these countries.
Because of increased socio-economic development in the developing countries the need to use and control water for the benefit of development has grown considerably over the past decade.
Correspondingly the demand for trained manpower in hydrology and water resources management has grown. This has led to a demand for more training courses to meet a variety of needs at various levels.
Unfortunately the resources required to support existing courses and establish new ones are limited. Hence it has become necessary to ensure that the system of Unesco-sponsored courses is still relevant and effective and that it has the desired impact in the light of its objectives.
Aware of this situation the Committee on Education and Training of the IHP Council, at its session of March 1984, raised a number of issues about the courses. This includes the relationship between background of students, broadness of subjects offered, level of treatment of course subjects, time given to-practical training in determining the appropriate- duration of the course.
Another aspect was the merits between short and long courses, and also courses to train research personnel. Because of the different socio-economic and water resources problems of the different regions the Committee felt that there was merit in encouraging the establishment of new regional courses while at the same time continuing to support the existing international ones.
With resp the area of technician training the need to train them in their own countries and in regional centres was generally agreed, and international level training was recognized to be less efficient.
Against this background of course requirements in terms of subjects, choice, treatment, changing world economic situation affecting the funds available, the Education and Training Committee recommended an evaluation of the course system. The Council of the IHP accepted the recommendation to carry out an evaluation and decided to set up a Working Group (IHP-III project 13.1) with the following tasks:
(i) evaluation of the present programme of Unesco in the field of water resources training and education with particular reference to the Unesco-sponsored postgraduate courses;
(ii) evaluation and follow-up of the recommendations made by the IHP Working Groups and Rapporteurs, in particular as regards technician training.
This report deals with the evaluation of the postgraduate courses. The evaluation of the technician courses will be the subject of another report.
1.1 Appointment of Working Group Members
The Bureau of the Council at its twelfth session in October 1984 appointed the Working Group comprising the following members:
- Mr. Ayibotele, N.B. (Ghana), Co-ordinator - Mr. Al-Dabbagh, R.H. (Iraq)
- Mr. Efremov, P.V. (USSR) - Mr. Farvolden, R. (Canada) - Mr. Liang Ruiju (China)
- Mr. Maniak, U. (Federal Republic of Germany) - Mr. Morelli-Tucci, C.E. (Brazil)
- Mr. Samad, F.A. (Malaysia) - Mr. Van der Beken, A. (Belgium)
In January 1985, the members of the Working Group were informed of their appointment. They were sent materials relevant to their assignment and were requested to submit their comments to the IHP Secretariat by 15th May 1985.
1.2 Activities of the Working Group
In July 1985, the Co-ordinator prepared in Paris a draft outline paper dealing with the following:
(i) the audience to whom the evaluation should be addressed;
(ii) the methodology for the evaluation and the necessary data and information to be gathered for the exercise;
(iii) the tasks to be performed;
(iv) a timetable for the various tasks and activities.
The paper was based on the comments received from members of the Working Group on the material sent them by the Unesco Secretariat and from discussions with the Secretariat. At the request of the Secretariat the Co-ordinator met the members of IHP-III Project 14.3 - Working Group on Guidance materials for courses (or units of courses) related to the integrated planning and management of water resources for engineers, planners and decision-makers who were also meeting at the same time in Paris.
He briefed the members of that Working Group about the evaluation and exchanged ideas and viewpoints with them.
The draft was sent to members of the Working Group and the accompanying tables and questionnaires to the directorates of the 32 Unesco-sponsored international postgraduate courses. Between 14-18 October 1985 the Group met in Prague to review the draft for submission to the IHP Committee on Education and Training in June 1986, and also prepared guidelines for future action.
After the meeting in Prague the Co-ordinator prepared an Interim Report, in March 1986, for the Seventh session of the IHP Council in June 1986. This report was based on the deliberations of the Prague meeting and further material provided by the courses at the request of the Unesco Secretariat. During the preparation of the Interim Report, various Questionnaires were prepared by the Co-ordinator to gather data to assist in the evaluation. The questionnaires were sent out in May 1986 to the various courses and national committees to complete and return.
The Council debated the report and expressed its views as to the directions along which the evaluation should be finalized. As following the Prague deliberations, and with endorsement by the Council, a small group of specialists under the chairmanship of Professor U. Maniak, a member of the Working Group, met in Vallendar/Koblenz (Federal Republic of Germany) in August 1986 to develop a model curriculum to assist in the evaluation.
Between June and December 1986, completed questionnaires were received at the Secretariat.
In May 1987 the Co-ordinator visited Paris and using the data that had come prepared a final draft report. The report took into consideration the recommendations made by the Council at its 7th session. The Secretariat also requested Professor Mostertman, former director of the Delft courses, to assist the Co-ordinator.
Professor Mostertman contributed the paragraphs on twinning of institutes and on continuing education. The final draft was sent to the members of the Working Group for comments.
2. METHODS ADOPTED FOR THE EVALUATION
In view of the difficult nature of the exercise a scheme was developed to help clarify the various aspects of the evaluation to be carried out. This is shown in Fig.l.
(i) An input component consisting of the participants coming from the developing countries, the financial contributions by Unesco and the host Governments supporting the courses.
(ii) A network of courses spread over the world to which belong courses of various durations, in different languages etc.
They are listed in Annex I.
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(iii) An output component consisting of graduates from the courses who return to their countries with new knowledge and skills, expected to create an impact on the capabilities of their countries to deal with their hydrological and water sciences development problems to achieve the goals of their socio-economic development programmes.
The evaluation kept in view the following:
(i) the general situation of the social and economic conditions in the developing countries
(ii) different climatological and hydrological regimes
(iii) hydrological and water resources problems - both surface and ground water
(iv) manpower needs to perform various functions at various levels and the job and career opportunities
2.1 Evaluation of participants and financial support This consisted of:
(i) participants from the various countries having benefitted from the network of courses
(ii) the financial support provided by Unesco and the governments in the countries where these courses have been established.
2.1.1 Participants
For postgraduate training it was assumed that participants will have had a basic training up to the first degree level in the basic natural or applied sciences;
- physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, geography, geology, agriculture, forestry, civil engineering etc.
To assess the background of participants to the courses Annexes II and III were prepared to be filled in by the Unesco-sponsored courses. To assess whether the level of the first degree is sufficient to enable the participants to benefit from the postgraduate training it may be necessary to obtain . insight into the general and university education systems in the various countries in order to have an idea of the formation of the participants. The number of years spent in pre-university and university education is considered as an indicator and Annexes III and IV were prepared to obtain this information. (the information obtained from the Delft course was taken as an example in Annex IV).
In addition an assessment was made of participants' aspirations regarding the fields they wanted to specialize in, the
job description that they expect and whether they want to operate as practising hydrologists, practising engineers, or as academics or researchers. This was achieved with Questionnaire 1 (Annex X ) . 2.1.2 Financial inputs by Unesco/Governmenls
A postgraduate course involves an overall high cost per student.
As regards the financial contributions of Unesco and the governments it is to be noted that in this evaluation report only some cost components can be directly quantified. In addition there are indirect costs which though significant cannot be easily quantified. Some of the direct costs are travel, living expenses and housing of participants, costs and fees of guest lecturers, administration, excursions. The cost of buildings, laboratories, libraries, staff, which are normally provided by universities or institutions in which the courses are organized, are difficult to assess. However, in view of the importance of this type of
information, particularly for those institutions, countries and donors which may wish to organize or support courses in the future, the relative cost units of the expenditure components were compiled in Annex V.
2.2 Evaluation of the course system
As stated earlier this is made up of courses in various regions, in different languages, offering various courses in hydrology and water resources to different levels over various durations.
This task included:
(i) the analysis of the list of present Unesco-sponsored postgraduate hydrology courses;
(ii) the analysis of the course structure in terms of hours spent on each course element and course subject.
The list of courses was analysed by geographical location, language, subjects or orientations, level, duration, research training with Ph.D. type of institution, academic or operational character, admission requirements. This is carried out using Annex VI.
The.analysis of the course structure by hours spent on each subject should be effected using Annexes VII and VIII. Annex VII deals with the hours spent in each course on lectures, tutorials, laboratory work, field work and course work. Annex VIII gives more details about the hours spent on the subjects under some of the courses.
2.3 Evaluation of the outputs (Graduates)
The outputs consist of the graduates turned out by the courses. To evaluate these outputs data was collected and analysed on:
(i) number of participants who pass successfully the various courses over the years. These data were obtained from the courses and assembled as shown in Annex IX.
(ii) evaluation of courses by participants immediately after the course sessions.
(iii) evaluation by employers of the performance of their employees six months after their return. This was obtained by means of Questionnaire 2 (Annex XI).
(iv) evaluation by graduates and employers 3 years after the course of the usefulness of the courses and of the benefits they derive from them. This was obtained by addressing separate questionnaires to past participants/employers as shown in Questionnaires 3 and 4 (Annexes XII and XIII) through the courses.
(v) whether in addition to the Unesco courses the countries in the developing regions are taking steps or have in mind to train their own hydrological and water resources manpower at the national level. The problems they envisaged and the assistance they would want to receive from outside were assessed. The information was obtained by means of Questionnaire 5 (Annex XIV) addressed to the IHP National Committees.
3. F I N D I N G S
3.1 Brief review of the socio-economic and hydrological conditions in the developing countries
Before giving the findings of the evaluation the socio-economic and hydrological conditions in the developing countries are briefly described in the following paragraphs.
The education and training programmes of the Unesco-sponsored postgraduate courses are expected to produce people with the requisite knowledge and skills to use water resources development in support of the process of socio-economic development and thereby create a better standard of living for the people. The sectors through which water resources development may have an impact on socio-economic development are:
(i) the productive sector (food and agriculture, industry including manufacturing);
(ii) the service sector (water supply and sanitation, energy, navigation, recreation, etc.;
(iii) the control and mitigation of natural hazards (floods and droughts );
(iv) environmental protection and enhancement (pollution and land degradation).
In order to appreciate the social and economic conditions which the trained manpower are expected to improve by their functions in the water sector it is appropriate to have an idea about some of the socio-economic indicators in the developing countries.
The striking point about the developing countries (made up of the low and middle income countries) is the size of populations that the economies have to support. With a total global population of about 5.0 billion, the developing countries make up about 75% of the total. The annual rate of population growth is very high among them. The child death rate (ages 1-4) ranged between 2 to 71 per thousand of population in 1960 and fell to 1 to 50 per thousand of population in 1982. The population is also predominantly rural with 60% of the total.
For the majority (65% of developing world population) the GNP per capita is less than US$300. Since 1970 the annual rate of growth of GNP has been falling. It dropped from'5.8% per annum in 1970 to 0.3% per annum in 1983. However, it rose to 3.9% in 1984.
In some of the developing countries (eg. Africa south of the -Sahara) the per capita growth rate has been negative since 1981.
It was -2.1% in 1981, -5.7% in 1983 and -3.8% in 1984.
The annual rate of agricultural production has shown positive but fluctuating trends for all the developing countries. However, in some of the developing regions, particularly Africa south of the Sahara, it has been negative . since 1983. In the developing countries food import occupies between 4% and 39% of all imports.
Irrigation is needed to increase and stabilize the food production in the developing countries and also to cut down the use of scarce foreign exchange on food imports. Of the 22.2 million hectares projected to be brought under new irrigation between 1975 and 2000 4.3% is expected to be in Africa, 14% in Latin America, 19.3% in the Near East and 62.3% in Asia. Similarly of 45 million hectares of improvement that will be made to existing irrigation areas, 1.7%
is expected in Africa, 10.4% in Latin America, 21.8% in the Near East and 66.1% in Asia.
The health situation which in the developing countries is very much related to water-borne, water related and water associated diseases like cholera, diarrhoea, schistosomiasis and bilharzia, and can be assessed from the status of water supply and sanitation.
According to ECOSOC (1983 ) with regard to the service coverage of community water supply and sanitation in the developing countries in 1980 and 1983, only 29% had acceptable sanitation facilities.
The figures for the rural areas are 41% and 12% for water supply and sanitation respectively. In view of the millions of population that are yet to be supplied with potable water and adequate sanitation and in view of the limited financial resources available both internally and externally to accomplish this, it has become absolutely imperative to lower cost and appropriate solutions to the drinking water and sanitation problem.
In the field of energy consumption (World Bank, 1984) it is shown that while the per capita consumption varies on the average from 250,000 to 720,000 kg of oil equivalent in 1981, that of the industrialized countries is around 5,000,000 kg of oil equivalent.
These energy consumption figures somewhat relate to the extent of development of the hydro-power resources of the developing and developed countries. In the developing countries only about 20% of the hydro- power potential has been developed, while in the developed countries the available potential is being largely utilized.
The need to protect water resources from pollution is a matter of some concern in the developing world. With the large number of population the loads of household and municipal wastes to be discharged are high. The attempt to produce enough food to feed the population has also meant the increased use of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Hence the waste waters from agriculture have been increasing. Again with industrial development taking off in the countries of Latin America, and East Asia and the Pacific, industrial pollution is on the increase.
Another problem of concern to the functioning of a viable environment in the developing countries is the loss of vegetation.
The humid tropical forests are being cleared for timber at such an alarming rate that this has now attracted world-wide concern. The same applies to the vegetation in semi-arid areas which is disappearing through over-grazing, fuelwood collection, bush fires and inappropriate cultivation practices. All these conditions are affecting the water balances in various places and the consequences are not easy to predict. The land degradation is worsened by a
fragile climate in the semi-arid areas, where periodic droughts are common. The current African drought is a typical example.
3.1.1 Climate and Hydrology
The Education and Training sysmtem must not only enable to appreciate the hydrological and water-resources situation, but it should also impart a sensitivity with regard to the socio-economic conditions of the developing countries. Only then the knowledge and the techniques transferred will have relevance and will make it possible to meet the needs of water resources assessment, planning and management.
It is to be noted that geographically most of the developing countries are within the tropics with a few in the sub-tropics. As such, they are mainly under the influence of the north-south migration of the low pressure belt around the equator, the north-east and south-east trade winds from the sub-tropical high pressure belts of the northern and southern hemispheres, the monsoon winds of the south Atlantic and the Pacific and the moderating effects of warm and cold ocean currents along their coastal areas. They are either large continental land masses as in Africa and South America or small clusters of islands as in the Caribbean, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. They are drained by some of the largest rivers in the world (e.g. Amazon, Nile, Congo, Ganges, Yangtse).
The developing countries are covered with vegetation ranging from thick tropical rain forests, through savannah woodlands and grasses to desert shrubs. Geologically, they are underlain extensively by hard crystalline rocks of the basement complex, and the sedimentary formations as found in the Nubian sandstones in North Africa. Morphologically they exhibit all the major forms viz mountain areas, sloping areas and flatlands. They include some of the largest deserts like the Sahara and Arabian deserts. Because of their tropical locations temperatures are generally high, except where influenced by altitude and ocean currents. There are many types of rainfall, namely monsoon, convectional, orographic, energetic or cyclonic. Run-off is mainly from rainfall but a few places such as Nepal can have a single maximum or a double maximum in the year due to the additional snow run-off. They contain both the wettest.and driest areas of the world such as Cherrapanji, India and the Sahara in Africa respectively. Hence, they exhibit humid conditions as in equatorial Africa and South America, semi-arid conditions as in the Sahel countries of Africa and arid conditions as in the Sahara, Arabian and Chilean deserts.
Water resources assessment and management techniques must take into consideration differences in climate and hydrology.
3.1.2 Manpower needs
The education and training system must have an awareness of the manpower needs required to carry out water resources management to aid the process of socio-economic development in the various countries. The system must take into consideration therefore the various specialized fields in water resources and the jobs that are required to be performed within each field. Fig. 2 shows a matrix of the fields and the job description.
FIGURE 2
Various categories of manpower with various specialities in different functions
In addition to these, professional, subprofessional, technician and observer levels should be taken into consideration.
Since this evaluation is basically concerned with postgraduate training it is important to be aware that the education and training system must cater for the training needs of practising water scientists and engineers, and also of academic/research water scientists and engineers. In this regard it is necessary also to have an appreciation of the institutional frameworks in which water resources assessment planning and management is carried out in the developing countries.
On the institutional framework it should be recognized that generally there are two types. The first is where there are several independent organizations and agencies each with responsibility for an aspect of water resources planning and management. They may or may not have their work co-ordinated. The second is where there is a centralized assessment, planning and management organization.
The next important information which the education and training system should be aware of is the number of people that must be educated and trained. This is normally obtained through manpower surveys carried out at national, sub- regional, regional and global levels. The validity of the results of these surveys have often been questioned because experience over the years has shown that the results are overestimated. In spite of this they form useful guides for planning training needs.
In this connection some guidance can be obtained for the Unesco-sponsored courses from Tables 2 and 3 which show estimates of manpower requirements for water resources assessment by the year 2000 prepared by WMO and for operation, maintenance and management of water activities for irrigation projects from 1975 to 1990 prepared by FAO.
From the tables, it is seen that for the African region alone, some 550 and 960 professionals are needed for surface and groundwater resources assessment. In the field of irrigation, Table 3 shows that some 240 professionals will be needed in the African region by the year 1990. The estimates for water supply and sanitation, hydropower, navigation and flood control are not included.
3.2 Course Inputs
As stated the course inputs are the course participants, the teachers, and the financial subventions made by governments and Unesco.
3.2.1 Participants
Participants in the courses come from all over the world, including the developed countries. The majority comes from developing countries. Typical examples of the proportion of foreign participants is shown as with examples from the Table 1.
T A B L E 1
Course
Budapest Delft Galway Madras Lahore
Per iod
1974-1986 1974-1984 1979-1984 1983-1985 1979-1984
•
No. from host country
28 1 7 3 70
No. of foreigners
168 295 108 23 3
TOTAL
196 296 115 26 73
In its initial phase the Lahore course catered for more participants from the home country than from outside.
The information on the background of the participants is summarized in Annex II. There were responses from 18 courses.
According to this information participants with a background in civil engineering make more use of the postgraduate training opportunities offered by IHP than persons with another background.
Geologists, agriculturalists, geographers, physicists and meteorologists, in that order, follow after this. It can be expected that participants with a civil engineering background will continue to form the largest category, as this reflects their relative importance of the development of water resources in the developing countries.
The Delft Course for Hydrologists has supplied detailed tata on the relation between the backgrounds of its participants and the results of their study. They reveal that for an eleven-year period the numbers of participants not receiving a diploma is as follows:
BACKGROUND Percentage Absolute number Civil engineering
Agriculture Geology Hydrogeology Geography Meteorology Hydrology
Physics-Mathematics Others
14 30 65 62 14 38 18 28 44
26 6 15 5
M
5 7 7 4
Average/Total 23 76
In a course requiring a solid background in mathematics most participants trained to be geologists perform relatively poorly.
In general civil engineers, geologists, agriculturalists and geographers seem to be better prepared for the courses, where their undergraduate curricula did already contain hydrological subjects.
It seems in this respect recommendable that physicists, chemists or mathematicians who wish to take a hydrology course, first undertake some work with hydrological or water resources organization in order to be better qualified for admission.
It can be assumed that subjects taught in the various undergraduate courses were helpful. For instance civil engineers are taught fluid mechanics, . hydraulics, hydrology, groundwater, water resources management. Geologists were found to have been given courses in hydrogeology, geomorphology, geophysics, etc.
Those ,,/ith agriculture background have also been taught courses in hydr iogy and soil and water management.
However, in view of the growing importance of environmental issues in water resources development some consideration may be given by the courses to increase the annual intakes of applicants with chemistry and biology backgrounds. In a similar way, in view of the expected impact of the impending climate change that is foreseen for the next 30 to 50 years consideration should also be given to increasing the number of applicants with a background in meteorology. However, environmental and meteorological aspects are not emphasized by admitting participants with a background in biology, chemistry and meteorology, who do not have the required level to follow the postgraduate hydrology course. Instead, the curriculum of the hydrology course must be adapted for this purpose.
It has been known that the courses have been encountering difficulties with the initial ability of some of the participants.
For this reason considerable time is spent in upgrading their background in basic science subjects so that they can cope with core subjects of the courses. These difficulties may have something to do with years spent in pre-university and also on first degree university education. This was investigated with data obtained from the participants of the Delft, Lausanne, Kensington and Lahore courses. Those who responded came from a total of 37 different countries. 76% came from Africa and Asia. The results indicate that the time spent on pre-university education varies between 9 and 16 years. In the case of first degree university education the time varies between 3 to 7 years after the pre-university education. For the first degree university education it was found that the highest number of years is generally spent in civil engineering courses although this varies from country to country.
It is obvious that courses attended"-by participants from all over the world have difficulties with the selection of- the candidates. A solution to this problem is. very difficult and was not investigated within the framework of this evaluation project.
The institutes organizing international courses respond in a different way to this problem. Some courses take an entrance examination in the country of origin, others organize a pre-course programme followed by an entrance examination, or basic subjects are included in the curriculum to upgrade the level of participants falling short. There is no evidence of a relationship between the number of years of any kind of education and the performance in a postgraduate hydrology course.
The results are difficult to compare because of the different educational systems around the world. However, it can be generally expected that in countries where more years are spent in pre-university education less years will be spent for the first degree university education and vice versa. The adequacy of the preparation of participants for post-graduate training cannot be assumed nor can the selection of the candidates be made dependent on the number of years spent by applicants on pre-university and university first degree education.
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