UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
Distr.
LIMITED
E/ECA/STPA/DM3/4 8 July 1983
Original : ENGLISH
Third Meeting of Directors of Centres
participating in the Statistical Training Programme for Africa (STPA)
Addis Ababa, 31 October - 4 November 1983
GUIDE SYLLABUS FOP PROFESSIONAL LEVEL TRAINING
CONTENTS
Paragraphs
Introduction 1
Obj ectives 2
Scope , 3 _ 5
Preliminary arrangements for undertaking the work 6 Current arrangement of courses within the professional
training centres 7 - 12
Selected issues 13
Conclusion 14 - 15
Introduction ; .
1. This:p'aj>er is-written to reflect the preliminary views of the secretariat with respect to the proposed Guide Syllabus for professional training in Africa. It • does not take into account the views of the consultants who could not be consulted . prior to' the preparation of the paper. The paper is therefore mainly intended to ■*
seek guidelines from the;directors of statistical training centres, employers of : statisticians and the governmental and inter-governmental agencies interested in , the expansion and improvement of professional training within the African Tegion. ■.
Issues are raised which require clarification. It should however not be assumed^
that the consultants are not going to be given considerable latitude to make, their recommendations to the meeting of Directors of STPA centres. According to present plans, the draft Guide Syllabus together with general recommendations, will be
circulated for comments before they are finalised. ' ■ ■■ ■ •-■
Objectives
2. The main objective of the Guide Syllabus is to provide guidance to STPA centres and other institutions within the African region offering professional training in ■ the field of statistics. Some indication is also expected to be given of the
types and details of service courses in statistics which should be provided an the fields of the social, physical and biological sciences. In addition the Guide Syllabus will also make provision for the content of post-graduate courses-in statistics. These will be of two kinds. The first, post-graduate diploma in statistics, is intended for persons who require statistics in their normal fields of operations 'but do not have a first degree in statistics^ -Such persons will.be assisted to acquire the basic knowledge in statistics needed for their work. A first degree in' any field ant* an '0f level pass in mathematics will be required for such candidates. Itf1is not intended that the training * centres should provide remedial courses in mathematics up to the «0' level. Such remedial action can be taken elsewhere before candidates enroll for such'post-graduate courses. The second type of post-graduate course to be offered will be the masters degree in statistics for which provision will be 'made in the Guide Syllabus. This course will be planned to improve the performance of professionals in specialised fields of statistics.
Provision will be made for both those who require the masters degree solely as a means of performing better and those who require the masters degree as a step to further academic work. It is not, at this stage, intended to make provision for the Ph.n course in statistics in the region. It is the belief of the secretariat
that it is a little premature to start on an appreciable^scale Ph.D courses inthe region because of the scarcity of experienced supervisors and relevant reference material. The- secretariat is aware that at least two institutions within the,
region have candidates who have; registered for the Ph.D degree in statistics. While not attempting to discourage these efforts., the secretariat, considers that the ,t
resources' of the STPA should not be devoted to strengthening these efforts within the region in the near future. Ph.D candidates will be encouraged to undertake
these courses overseas for:the time being. - -
3 Some indications have already bee* given in the preceding section about the scope of the'syllabuses to be developed. In this connexion, it should be noted that in the English-speaking centres, professional training is undertaken in.:.
universities. Although there are different regulations governing professional
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training, the 3:2:2 or 3:2:1 approach seems to be the more popular. It may be recalled that under the 3:2:2 system, a candidate studies three subjects in the first year, say, mathematics, economics and statistics and two of these subjects in the second y^j»r» say, economics and statistics. These two subjects ar§ again studied in the third and final year of the degree programme. The only variation from this system under the 3:2:1 approach is that only one of the two subjects studied in the second year is continued in the third year. It should be noted that possible combinations for the first year in addition to statistics are any two of the following: mathematics, economics, sociology, botany, biology, zoology, psychology,, computer science,
physics and chemistry.
4. However, difficulties of staff and scheduling of courses sometimes make it necessary for institutions to limit the choice of options to statistics plus any two of the following: mathematics, economics and computer science as is Shown in the syllabus for the University of Ghana.
5. Under the French system, the position is more standardized and although there are differences between training institutions, these differences are generally minimal as reflected in the information on syllabuses given in the directory of statistical training centres. The Guide Syllabus to be prepared, therefore, has to examine all these possible options in some-detail and consider whether in the African context changes to the existing situation are necessary.
Preliminary arrangements for undertaking the work ,
6. As is obvious from the preceding two sections the work involved in preparing the Guide Syllabus for professional training is immense and diverse. It is almost
impossible to find only one consultant who will be capable of dealing with all the subjects to be included in the syllabus and who, at the same time, has the necessary in-depth practical experience of the African region, It has, therefore, been
proposed that two teams should be set-up to undertake this assignment. The first
team for English-speaking countries will comprise Professor R.M. Loynes of Sheffield university, Professor B. Afonja, of the University of Ibadan, and K.T. de Graft-Johnson, Deputy Chief, Statistics Division, ECA. The team to cover French-speaking countries will comprise an» experienced trainer, probably from France with some experience of the African region, L. Diop. Director of CESD and R.M. Andrianasolo, Chief of the
Demographic and Social Statistics Section, Statistics Division, ECA, and Project Officer of STPA. The rationale behind the composition of the two teams is that each team
should have an experienced trainer from the developed world with experience of the African region,asenior professional from an STPA centre and one representative of ECA with the necessary experience of STPA centres. It is intended that at the preliminary stage of the assignment, both teams should meet to map out a common strategy. How ever, the frequency of such contacts between the two teams will depend on the avail ability of resources. Constant contacts between the two groups will be maintained, however, through the two CCA representatives.
Current arrangement of courses within the professional training centres
7. A full list of courses currently undertaken at STPA centres is given in the Directory of STPA centres. For the English-speaking centres the following courses
are commonly undertaken: elementary statistical tmethods, introduction to probabilitytheory and introduction to statistical inference. The subject titles do not
necessarily serve as a good indication of course content. For example, the elementary
statistical methods course taught at the University of Ghana includes introduction to statistical inference which is listed separately by the Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics, University of Makerere. For the French-speaking centres, the courses seem to be modelled generally on the lines of 'IAMSEA1 which covers the following in all the years: economics, mathematics, statistics, theory and practice of surveys and miscellaneous courses. However, the course content for each subject varies from year to year. For example, in the first year, statistics is mainly descriptive statistics and computer science. In the second year, the
course is devoted to probability and mathematical statistics,:descriptive statistics, demographic analysis and computer sciences„ wlUle in the third year the statistics course is made up of data analysis, econometrics, computer science, socio-economic household surveys, case study, transport statistics, agricultural statistics, health statistics, educational statistics, employment statistics, foreign trade statistics, industrial, construction and public works statistics, demographic surveys, organiza tion of a statistical service and administrative management.
8. For post-graduate courses, various options exist in the English-speaking centres. Some of the centres have M.Sc. courses while others have or had this
in addition to the post-graduate diploma in statistics. For example, ISAE (Makerere University) offers the diploma in statistics course and requires candidates for
this qualification to Spend one academic year in residence and to pass examinations
in three compulsory papers: statistical methods., design of sample surveys and computer Methods for statistical analysis. In addition to these three subjects, candidates are>expected to pass in one of the following: national accounts,
demography and social statistics, agricultural statistics, sampling technology and advanced computer'techniques. Each candidate for the diploma course in statistics is also expected to pass in one practical paper each in one of the compulsory subjects and in the optional subject.
9. Candidates who have obtained a good overall pass in the diploma examination are eligible to write a thesis after 12 months of research for the M.Stat. degree.
10. Similar arrangements exist in the University of Ibadan but there the post graduate diploma is more in line with what the secretariat has in mind as outlined in section 2 of this paper, excerst that eligibility is based on a knowledge of mathematics not below fAf level instead of the °0' level. This post-graduate diploma is to be distinguished from the professional diploma in statistics offered by the same institution where the entry requirements are the West African School Certificate with credits in English language, Mathematics and three or four other subjects, depending on whether the pass in English language was at the credit
level or not. '0' level passes at the General Certificate of Education in the same subjects are considered as equivalent. In addition, candidates should possess the certificate of statistics of the Federal Office of Statistics Training School or its equivalent.
11. For the French-speaking centres, only the Centre europeen de formation des statisticians economistes des pays en developpement (CESD) and the Institut national de statistique et d'economie appliquee (IMSEA) provide an equivalent post-graduate course: Ingenieur statisticien economist (ISE), For the Rabat centre, the ISE is open to candidates who have either an ingenieur d:application de la statistique or a degree in economics or mathematics or a recognised equivalent diploma with at least three years' professional experience.
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12. In this section, the post-graduate courses run at the Regional Institute,for Population Studies (RIPS) and the Institut d.e formation et de recherche dgmographiques
(IFORD) have not been discussed because these centres provide specialised training in the'field of demography and it is not the intention to cover this in the assignment given to the Consultants, unless the meeting decides otherwise.
Selected issues
13.^ As already explained, this nar>er is intended to obtain the preliminary re^
actions of directors of statistical training centres, user offices or organizations, UN specialized agencies and povernmental arid inter-governmental agencies interested in the develoOTent of professional statistical training in the African region. It ...
is not intended to convey any final views of the secretariat or of the consultants : who will undertake the assignment. However, there are a number of issues on which
guidance from the meeting will be reouired.(a) ■ It has been stressed at previous meetings of directors of STPA. centres . and the Joint Conference of African Planners, Statisticians and Demographers that . professional training in statistics should have a practical orientation. Some ,...
suggestions on how this should be done, such as practical work/project, illustrations, of the statistical methods and theory from the real world or a combination of both have been made. In one or two countries students have been encouraged to work in statistical organizations during the long vacation. There is need for an evaluation of all these approaches to the practical orientation of courses by training centres themselves and by user agencies so that an improvement in the approach can be
effected. In at least one country where the vacation employment approach was used, almost all the university undergraduates who were attached to the national statistical office ended up being disillusioned and having a great aversion for work in that
office mainly because the assignments given to them were routine and unchallenging, and no proper guidance was provided by their supervisors. A related issue is the ...
background of the teaching staff at the STPA's centres. A practical orientation of courses pre-supposes that the trainers should have considerable practical experience. A review of the practical experience of teaching staff, however, has revealed that at most of the centres, this is not the case. How can this defect
be remedied?(b) Another question which needs to be considered is what happens to the output of training centres who desire to follow an academic career. Will the theoretical background that they have acquired during the professional training at STPA centres be adequate to enable them to proceed further? It is true that only a small percentage of those trained at training centres would opt for a purely academic career but provision should be made even for this small group. An ex
amination of the existing syllabuses of the STPA centres does not give an indication,
that the pursuit of an academic career is inconsistent with the training received
at the STPA centres. However, if the theoretical content of the training is sub
stantially reduced, the assumption would no longer be valid. In this connexion,
it may be noted that at least one of the candidates from an STPA centre given a
fellowship to do a graduate, course 1>y FCA under the training of trainers programme
was asked to repeat part of the undergraduate course because the institution felt
that the necessary theoretical background required for the graduate programme was
not generally available in developing countries.(c) A related problem is how to obtain the teaching material which would
reflect this practical bias in the training programme. The obvious question is whether.there is,need"for re-orientation of existing text.books "to.reflect the
STPA approach and if so how is this to be accomplished. Are the two consultancyteams who are expected :to prepare the Guide Syllabus also expected to'make re commendations on this issue, or should it be considered as a separate assignment?
(d) The next question to be discussed is the number of hours which should be allocated to the different subjects to be listed in the Guide Syllabus. In this connexion, it would assist the teams if sone indication of the number of contact hours which can reasonably be assumed per term and per year can be given by the directors of centres.
(e} A related issue is the concept of credit hours. It seems that at least one institution within the region has introduced the credit hours system which seems to be more prevalent in the United States than elsewhere. Should the team attempt to incorporate this concept of credit hours in its presentation of the Guide
Syllabus or should this be left to individual institutions? If the team is to include credit hours, this could presumably be done by indicating against each subject the total number of hours which should be allocated and the number of credits which that corresponds to.
(f) It may be recalled that economics and accounting are included in the Guide
Syllabuses for in-service and middle-level training. This is also normally thecase for the French-speaking professional training centres. However, the English- speaking professional training centres do not generally follow this practice. A notable exception being the B.Stat. course in Maherere. In the case of Makerere, economics is taught in all the years and commerce in the second year. Should the Guide Syllabus make a general recommendation en this issue- and include these two
topics? It is not possible and probably not desirable to attempt to prepare syllabuses for courses which are peculiar to individual centres, e.£., socialist political
economy. However, since planning is ap important part of the syllabuses for French- speaking centres, it should probably be covered in the Guide Syllabus. The meeting of directors is invited to make recommendations on this issue.
(g) An indication has already been given in section 4 about the scope of the Guide Syllabus, namely that it should include not only unler-graduate or ITS
training but also post-graduate training to masters degree level or ISE. Does the meeting of directors support this view?
Conclusion
14. In the preceding sections a number of issues have been raised which require thorough discussion before the consultants start their assignments in preparing the Guide Syllabus for professional training. As implied in section 3, the work of the two teams would be co-ordinated so that as far as possible the end product would te roughly equivalent. It has not been possible to attempt at this stage to design only one guide syllabus for professional training irrespective of the language of the centre as was done for the in-service training courses. This is mainly due to the fact that for English-speaking centres, these courses are run within the
universities and are generally required to satisfy certain conditions while there appears to be greater freedom in the French-speaking centres to teach exactly what they want. It does not, of course, follow that the products of either type of training are superior to the other. This merely reflects differences in approach and outlook which could be narrowed down in the future.
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15, For the work of preparing the Guide Syllabus to be successful, the co operation of all statistical training centres in Africa, national statistical offices and other users of statisticians is necessary. In particular, all
statistical training centres in Africa should forward to ECA as soon as possible details of their present syllabuses. The secretariat is aware that the current list of courses may reflect the specialities of available teaching staff and not merely what the centres ideally would like to teach. In such cases, it would help the consultants if the centres in addition to the current listings would also indicate courses which they would like to be taught if resources were r available. This will assist the consultants to prepare a more comprehensive guide syllabus.
