4. ADULT AND NON-FORMAL EDUCATION

Sebenta is a category "A" public enterprise mandated to administer adult basic education and training on behalf of the Government of Swaziland. Its vision is to promote the culture of life-long training with a view of obtaining appropriate education and skills to improve the well being of its clientele. SNI is in the business of providing adult basic learning skills in a non-formal setting, to inculcate literacy and skills-oriented experiences for application in real life situations. This intervention is extended to those disadvantaged groups who cannot make it to formal education. The broad objectives of the institution include the following:

The budget year 2003/2004 has seen Sebenta successfully designing and completing the NUPE curriculum and piloting this programme at Shewula in Lubombo and SOS at Sidwashini in Mbabane. Within the same period Sebenta continued to prepare and produce final drafts of reader materials, which are now used by 19 classes countrywide. These materials have been revised to fully incorporate HIV/AIDS and life-skills education. Approximately 250 learners are benefiting from the materials. The institution managed to train 29 facilitators on "Life Skills Education and the Integration of HIV/AIDS into the NUPE Curriculum". Further, 13 facilitators received training in "The Emotional Well-being Of The Child"

On another note, Sebenta managed to secure funding from the Global Fund and has already identified areas and sites where four special schools and three skills centres will be constructed. These areas are Mbava, Makhava, Ndzingeni, Gege, Mabhensane, Makhwekhweti and Matsetsa respectively. Already, some of these sites have been leveled and civil works have commenced. The 'Skills Development Programme', which was introduced in 2001, is running Sewing and Building and Construction programmes, though at small scale. A total of 24 and 12 learners have enrolled for the respective programmes and they are offered at Sebenta's main centre in Mbabane. The institution is currently admitting a huge number of orphaned and vulnerable children. These children are impoverished and would definitely require some feeding scheme.

The effects of HIV/AIDS, escalating unemployment rates and poverty have posed serious challenges that seem to test the very mandate of the institution. The situation is so desperate that sound measures need to be scaled up in order mitigate the problems which seem to challenge the capacity of the institution to deal with such problems and the education system as a whole.

The three centers, Manzini Industrial Training Centre (MITC), Nhlangano Agricultural Skills Centre (NASTC) and Siteki Industrial Training Centre (SITC) constitute what is now termed Swaziland Skills Centres and they are located in Manzini, Nhlangano and Siteki respectively. These centers admit people of ages between eighteen and twenty-four years, who wish to pursue training in vocational, technical and agricultural skills. No formal qualifications are required for people to be admitted, but talent and dedication. The centres offer two-courses and upon completion trainees are expected to take the Grade 3 NVTI Trade test except in agriculture where no formal testing is done. The curricula offered in these centers are reviewed periodically in order to meet the needs of the employer and the industry. The centres have the following objectives:

The period under review has seen the centres record the following achievements:

In spite of all the tremendous impact the centres have on the lives of so many talented young Swazi adults, their efforts are fraught by continued water shortage at SITC, inadequacy of transport, storage facilities and equipment and personnel. Even though these centres received a subvention from Government, the need to increase support and assist them where possible cannot be over-emphasized.

The department of Adult and Non-formal Education is responsible for the administration of RECs. Rural Education Centres are an inter-ministerial educational programme for rural development. There are eight RECs established in 1978 with assistance from the World Bank. These provide training in practical skills and income generating activities for adults and youth residing in rural areas. The Ministry continued to support the activities carried out by the department; over and above their annual budget allocation, the department was allocated a vehicle and thus allowing for a more effective implementation of their programmes. The Ministry of Enterprice and Employment also donated 5 industrial sewing machines and 2 over-lockers to the Big Bend REC.

The curriculum offered in REC's is diverse as it includes computer literacy, agriculture, sewing, knitting, carpentry and welding. The broad objectives of these centres include the following:

The department of Adult and Non-formal Education recorded the following achievements during the year under review:

Problems of personnel shortage, inadequate teaching and learning material, equipment and furniture are prone in this department. The shortage of knitting machines resulted in the suspension of the knitting programme in all RECs. In order to extensively explore the talents possessed by the youth and adults in the country, relevant infrastructure, facilities and appropriate staff emoluments need to be put in place. The Ministry will liaise with the relevant ministries and establishments to ensure that all vacant posts in the department are filled up and that the required ones are created.

Emlalatini Development Centre is a distance education institution whose mission is to provide continuing education at both secondary and high school levels on a correspondence basis. The institution is also running two other programs namely; the Agriculture Teacher In-service Training Course for primary agriculture teachers and the Vocational Unit, which specializes in providing students with basic skills in furniture and cabinet making.

At the beginning of the year 2003, the distance education programme enrolment figures stood at 765 for the Junior Certificate Level, 1367 for O'level and 14 for Higher International General Certificate in Secondary Education (HIGCSE). About 58 percent of the students who took more than six subjects at J.C. level passed. The institution is still awaiting the release of the O'level results. Students who set for the HIGCSE examination performed poorly with a pass rate below 50 percent. Most students who took this exam could not finish their assignments and review exercises in workbooks before the examinations. Fifteen (15) primary school teachers completed the Agriculture In-service Training Programme in December 2003 and 13 enrolled for the same course in January 2004.

In terms of staff development, the following achievements were recorded during the year under review:

By leaps and bounds, the Institute of Distance Education at the University of Swaziland has grown and with the all the required support, the institution will stop at nothing to expand even much further. This goes on to prove that it is indeed a necessary national facility. The number of students who apply to do courses in IDE increased tremendously over the years since its inception.

Student enrolments in this programme continue to increase from year to year. Between the academic year 1999/2000 and 2003/2004 the department has witnessed a notable increase in the number of students enrolled for the IDE programme from 546 to 1476. Now that the University has successfully completed and launched the first phase of the IDE building, the challenge is to expand the infrastructure and facilities to accommodate even more students, since the demand is still huge. IDE will also expand its courses to include post-graduate training in Business Administration and other stakeholder required courses.

6. CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES

The special education and early intervention services office in the Ministry was established in April, 1998 and the special education project was incepted in September, 1999 to lay a foundation for a fully fledged special education programme. The Special Education Unit has been a component of the Swaziland Education 1 Project funded by ADB since its inception to August 2002.The special education programme is provided at government-supported centres in Mbabane (at Ekwetsembeni), Siteki School for the Deaf and St. Joseph's Mission near Manzini. Its goal has been and still is "The positioning of Special Education as a viable, sustainable enterprise in the Kingdom of Swaziland through the building of a strong foundation."

During the period under review the department recorded amongst others, the following achievements:

The need to improve the staffing requirements for this initiative at inspectorate, college as well as school levels and the integration of special education into the regular school system are, amongst others, serious challenges facing this establishment.

The Examination Council strives to administer an efficient school examination system and assessment of students' performance, using highly qualified and experienced personnel. Amongst other things, the Exams Council has been working relentlessly to develop an examination for the end of Senior Secondary Schooling to replace the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate Examination.

Remarkable strides have been made towards achieving the goal of localization. More and more subjects (about 90 percent) are now marked in Swaziland. Results are also processed and graded locally, and even the certificates now depict the emblems of both the Exams Council of Swaziland, which is more pronounced, and that of Cambridge, which is now smaller. This is further supported by the writing, which states that it is an 'Examination Council of Swaziland Certificate in Collaboration with University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate'. The Council is in the process of replacing the Cambridge system of processing results with one that has been designed locally. This would be cost-effective and would work out more effectively.

Group moderation of examination question papers continue to ensure the production of improved quality examination, hence the Exams Council undertook this exercise as well last year (2003). The question paper bank has improved and last year (2003) it made it possible for the Council to pull out another paper to administer to candidates when the need arose. The website developed in 2001 continues to provide information about the examination Council and its operations. The website is still being developed further as more data is inputted. The acquisition of 14 vehicles donated through the 'Wheels for Africa' programme during the period of focus has brought relief in the delivery of papers and the running of examinations in now quite easy and efficient.

Other notable achievements attained during the year under review include:

It is within the Council's future plans to conduct extensive training of invigilators, it is hoped this would make them more vigilant and highly professional. Realising the importance of disseminating information about rules and regulations of examinations, the Council also plans to undertake awareness campaigns through workshops, the local radio, newspapers and television. The Council hopes that, by doing this, examination malpractices, which are on the rise, will be curbed.

The subvention allocated to the department continues to be a serious limitation to the scope and magnitude of work that could otherwise be covered. Office space and inadequate personnel are also major challenges faced by the Council. Adherence to deadlines in terms of payment of examination fees continues to be a grave concern; it makes it difficult and expensive for the Council to know the exact number of candidates so as to be able to prepare the required examination materials.

The greatest challenge is the number of growing cases of examination malpractices, whereat teachers assist candidates during the administration of examinations. In 2001 there were only two such cases reported at primary level. The number of cases rose to six in 2002. During the year 2003 teachers were discovered to have leaked English Language and Mathematics examination papers. The Ministry, in collaboration with the Headteachers' Association, SNAT, parents and the students themselves, will be taking desperate measures to out weed this kind of behavour for good.

This department has three main sections, namely: Guidance and Counseling, Measurement and Testing and Health Education. All three sections work hand in hand to ensure the holistic development of each child. Guidance and Counseling emphasizes on issues of career development and provision of career information to in and out-of-school going population to be able to make informed decisions. Measurement and Testing involves the administration of those instruments that assist people to understand themselves and to be able to make decisions wisely. Health Education on the other hand, helps children to lead healthy lives by avoiding unhealthy behaviours. It is the responsibility of the ETGPS department to ensure that all the specialized functions outlined above are carried out by putting in place all the necessary structures and facilities.

During the budget year 2003/2004 the department was successful in accomplishing the following achievements:

A workshop was held for fifty new secondary and high school teachers to help them start or strengthen their school's guidance and counseling programmes. Issues dealt with were Guidance, Counseling, HIV and AIDS, Life Skills Education and Children's rights.

A Life Skills manual was printed with assistance from NERCHA and disseminated to many schools. This was done after orientation during workshops conducted by the ETGPS department and those organized by SHAPE.

A School Leavers' Fair was held in Manzini whose purpose was to assist out of school youth to be exposed to variety of institutions of higher learning and the world of work. Many local and South African institutions participated in this fair.

As a result of the successful schools leavers' fair, a relationship was established between the department and SEDCO to help students who wish to take self-employment as an option. A workshop was held to train students on thinking about business, preparing a business plan, costing and marketing among other things. Boston City Campus, one of the exhibitors who took part in the school leavers' fair, sponsored this workshop.

A research on Child Abuse was held to determine the extent of child abuse among school-going children in Swaziland, Findings from this research revealed that there is a lot of sexual abuse and incest in the country.

A toll-free line was established as a response to findings of the research referred to above. This line was established within the Ministry to encourage children to report any kind of abuse. It is supported by NERCHA and arrangements are being made for the Ministry to take over its funding when donor funds phase out.

Career Fairs for Form 3s were successfully carried out in all regions. This gave the students an opportunity to think about occupational choices as well as subject choices they can pursue. Invited guests came from local training institutions who talked about entry requirements and how to choose courses at institutions of higher learning.

Aptitude tests were administered to all form 3 students. The results of these tests help students make informed decisions about their subjects and future occupations.

About 6000 police recruits were tested to assist selection within the Royal Swaziland Police force. This exercise was efficiently carried out and results were processed within target dates.

The department continued to serve as a center for administering International Tests for Educational Testing Services (ETS). These are normally administered to students who wish to pursue courses overseas. These tests are, The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).

The department continued to provide information and education about HIV and AIDS whenever the opportunity availed itself with teachers or students such as in career's fairs, workshops or during school visits. Some schools though invited individuals from the office to give talks on health issues.

The Health Team comprising of representatives from the Ministry and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare participated in a global survey that was trying to establish the main areas of health intervention that required urgent attention from students. The results of this will be available this year as many countries participated in it. Findings of the study will serve as a base for countries to prepare a relevant health education curriculum.

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare provided vehicles in each region to enhance school visits. These visits will educate school children about health issues in general especially on HIV and AIDS.

The SNLS consists of two main libraries, namely, Head Quarters and Mbabane Public Library, Manzini Public Library and thirteen branch libraries in the four districts of the country. The core business of SNLS is centred on information, education, literacy and culture. The Swaziland National Library Services department provides access to cultural expression, creates and strengthens reading habits in children from an early stage, promotes awareness of cultural heritage, appreciation of the arts, scientific achievements and innovation, supports the oral tradition, supports and participates in literacy activities and programmes for all age groups, facilitates the development of information and computer literacy skills and initiates such activities as necessitated by changing events.

Achievements made during the period under focus include, amongst others, the following:

Provision of data and information for the complete diagnosis of the state of the system: student enrolment, learning conditions, infrastructure, teaching staff, costs and performance of the education system to ensure that available resources are used effectively is indeed the core function of the EMIS. In addition, monitoring of the education system by the Ministry allows the it to influence the evolution of the system by using means at its disposal, regulations, and modalities to distribute national resources in an equitable manner.

During the period under review, the EMIS unit had a number of activities to carry out, to report about a few:

The EMIS unit is currently updating its databases so as to capture all changes in the system particularly with regards the normalisation of teaching posts. The unit is also working with the Government Computer Services department in an effort to re-launch the EMIS/TSC database on a standard database for big systems which are more appropriate to government databases. This will be networked to ensure that all relevant/key officers access it.

In carrying out this worthwhile activity, the unit encountered some setbacks, to name but a few:

The period of focus has seen the unit develop a new set of questionnaires that will capture data on all levels and areas of interest in the education system. Data collected through this instrument will also be launched onto the proposed database systems mention above and will be made readily available to all key departments. The questionnaires will include capturing data on:

The EMIS is working with the Central Statistical Office (CSO) in the collection and analysis of annual school census data, to ensure that data is ready for planning and monitoring in appropriate time. This involves sharing of work on data collection and punching. As from this academic year, the EMIS data keypunchers will be keying in data for the CSO to speed up the process of compiling educational statistics.

In collaboration with the OVCs fund, the EMIS is currently in the initial stages of developing a database that will capture all OVCs in the country including those that will be benefiting under the His Majesty's fund (i.e. the E16 million fund). The EMIS is negotiating with the Government Computer Services department on developing a good interface that will be user friendly. The MOE is fully supported by NERCHA on this activity.

The EMIS managed to finalise research on "The Conditions of Schooling and the Quality of Education in Swaziland". A report on this research was done under the auspices of the Southern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) and the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and it is still awaiting publication by the SACMEQ working group and IIEP UNESCO. Even though the full report is awaiting publication, a rich database on the conditions of schooling in Swaziland has already been made available for people who wish to use it.

UNESCO's mandate is to further intellectual cooperation in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are affirmed by the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations

However, unlike other UN agencies, UNESCO is not always represented in each country. UNESCO is unique in that by Article VII of its constitution, it stipulates that each Member State should form a National Commission. Thus, the Swaziland National Commission for UNESCO is an essential partner of UNESCO in the country with its functions/objectives being to act:

• in an advisory capacity to the government in all matters related to UNESCO.
• as liaison between the country and UNESCO
• as disseminator of information on UNESCO
• as executor and evaluator of UNESCO's programmes.

The operations of the National Commission at any given time are determined by the approved programme and budget for each biennium in the fields of education, science, culture and communication. Activities and achievements attained by the department during the period under review are outlined each field as follows:

The budget year 2003/2004 has seen an intensification of the Education for All (EFA) movement, which continues to be the driving force of UNESCO's education programme. Though a little behind other countries, the EFA National Plan is due to be launched shortly. UNICEF and the World Bank have remained close collaborators as major co-sponsors of EFA worldwide. The major objective is for countries to achieve the six goals agreed upon in DAKAR by 2015.

In keeping with the high priority given to HIV/AIDS, UNESCO has supported and continues to support a number of activities in preventive education strategies. Programmes in Guidance and Counseling, Curriculum review, Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) and in the promotion of non-formal and life-long education are among the many from which we benefit as a country.

The annual training of trainers of guidance counselors continued within the context of the Guidance and Counseling Centre for Africa in Malawi. Swaziland offers substantial technical support in this ongoing programme while at the same time expanding its cadre of trainers.

Within the context of Capacity Building for Teacher training in Africa, Swaziland benefited from extensive technical support, and now, substantial financial support, aimed at strengthening the Teacher Training Colleges, especially in the area of ICT.

Swaziland was able to successfully apply for emergency assistance for schools in those areas most affected by drought and food insecurity. Several schools are soon to receive desks/chairs, chalkboards, water tanks and garden tools or home economics equipment.

Sebenta received support for their training of trainers programme in 'Upper Primary Certificate in Education and (UPE) in Sebenta's Intervention to combat the effects of HIV/AIDS on the Non-formal Sector.

Substantial equipment was supplied to the Institute of Distance Education at the University, which is aimed at enhancing its capacity.

The special training programme for the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVCs), which ran for a year, is being extended for another year. It gives special training to caregivers to be better able to cater for the educational needs of the children. NGOs, such as the Lighthouse, Sebenta, SACRO and the Lighthouse Teen Challenge have been the key partners in the programme, which has achieved great success.

A needs assessment mission was undertaken late last year of the television and radio stations. Follow-up action is expected as the requirements of both houses become clearer.

Still outstanding, is the joint UNDP/UNESCO project in communication for capacity building in the Shiselweni region. UNESCO is yet to undertake a more thorough study of the project.

6.7. Teaching Service Commission (TSC)

• The issue of Science/Maths and French teachers. The teaching profession is facing a serious brain drain in terms of science, Maths and French teachers. Due to unattractive remuneration, most science and Maths graduates leave education for more attractive jobs. This has resulted in the TSC having to engage expatriate teachers, for these subjects
• The engagement of O'Level graduates who are not qualified to teach. This has been a common feature especially in those rural, isolated and poor schools. Although this does has a negative effect on the education system of the country, the TSC is at times compelled to engage such persons because qualified teachers do not take up posts in such schools. In most cases their reasons are justified as some of these schools are in very difficult conditions, and TSC is forced to engage local students who have graduated from high school.
• Lack of up to date teachers database that includes both permanent and temporary teachers. The EMIS and the GOS Human Resources System have tried to address this anomaly. It is hoped that from a personnel management perspective the situation would be improved with new HR system. The database for teachers for planning, monitoring and evaluation purposes will be improved in the EMIS to strengthen the planning and monitoring capacity of the Research and Planning Unit of the MOE.

• SiSwati grade 5
• English grade 2
• Religious Education grade 5
• Social Studies grade 7
• Science grade4
• Mathematics grade 3

6.9. Scholarship Administration

The scholarship secretariat is responsible for the administration of post-secondary education and the implementation of government policy regarding government scholarship awards. This involves processing of students' applications, payment and recovery of scholarship awards and monitoring of students progress.

To select and approve suitable candidates for the award of scholarships granted through the government for pre-service training.

To advise the Minister on matters relating to scholarship, and

To perform such other functions relating to the scholarship as may be determined by the Minister.

• The increase in the annual budget allocation for students' grants which is not commensurate with the intake rate at local higher education institutions. Pupils' pass rates at O'level continue to undermine Government's capacity to finance their tertiary education. More and more students qualify to be admitted into such institutions with good performances.
• The fees charged by these tertiary institutions continue to escalate and in some South African universities they came up to almost double what they were the previous year, while the budget has remained static over the years.
• Many critical positions still remain unfilled and this has been the case for many years. Two of these posts are of the level of Senior Personnel Officer and very critical in the carrying out the objectives of the department.