Spotlight on Africa

This week we go to Sierra Leone where we look into a spike in the rate of teenage pregnacy which some observers believe was caused by an increase in sexual and gender based violence during the Ebola crisis of 2014-2015.

An innovative new teacher training initiative was launched last week in Ghana using satellite technology to deliver lessons on teaching strategies. Train for Tomorrow aims to coach up to 5,000 teachers over two years by beaming interactive programmes into classrooms at selected hub schools.

An innovative new teacher training initiative was launched last week in Ghana using satellite technology to deliver lessons on teaching strategies. Train for Tomorrow aims to coach up to 5,000 teachers over two years by beaming interactive programmes into classrooms at selected hub schools.

 

"We're training teachers on new strategies of teaching," says Ntiamoh Prince, who's leading a satellite teaching programme at Akroso Salvation Army Junior High School.

Images and sound are transmitted from a studio in Accra into the classroom at the rural school, 60 kilometres north west from the capital. About 25 teachers have gathered from the local area to be part of the Tuesday morning session run by UK-based charity the Varkey Foundation.

"All of them have gone to training college, so they are professional teachers," says Prince, the "instructional leader", who has already undergone the training and is guiding the session on the ground.

The "master trainers" in the Accra studio interact with the class of teachers via a satellite dish on the school roof and projector mounted in the classroom. Short exercises are explained by the two master trainers and Prince helps coordinate on the other side.

Set up in the corner of the classroom, a solar-powered computer is connected to a webcam and microphone to establish a two-way link, so that the teachers can communicate for the interactive segments.

"Currently they are trying to answer questions on the previous sections that we had. So it's just a revision, a reflection on what we did previously," Prince says, speaking in a low voice as the teachers engage with the lesson.

Various different exercises are carried out by the groups of teachers gathered at tables, who are being led by the master trainers via satellite feed. They explore different best practice methods of learning including energizers - to kickstart enthusiasm among the pupils - working in groups and gallery walks, a type of discussion technique. Several schools are connected to the session at the same time.

"We've been given a task, remembering, understanding, analysing," says teacher Lucy Sai, pointing to items they must arrange in ascending order. "It's very useful when you apply them in a classroom."

The course does not intend to change the curriculum or content of lessons, but hopes to encourage teachers to examine the use of different teaching methods, to move away from the traditional chalkboard approach. Some students have already noticed a difference in their way their teacher is leading lessons.

“When he comes in class, as our ways of working, we have to sweep the class before the teacher comes," says 17-year-old student Benjamin, describing the new set of rules, called the Ways of Working, put in place by his teacher. "We must pay attention when he's teaching, so the class is very, very disciplined,” he adds.

"We have six groups in our class - in every group we have eight members", says pupil Abido Suleiman, explaining that his teacher now organises his classroom into groups. "Each group will contribute to each other, the tasks they perform, to bring their minds together."

The Train for Tomorrow programme hopes the 1.79 million euro project will address a lack of training for Ghanaian teachers. Thirty per cent of teachers are untrained at junior high school, while at primary schools this rises to almost 45 per cent, according to figures from Ghana's ministry of education.

Those that have been trained might not undergo any further professional development after obtaining their teaching certificate. Forty satellite-connected school hubs are planned to supplement traditional bricks and mortar teacher training colleges.

"What is happening now is in-service training. The teachers have been trained already, but when they are in the field they need some tuition so that they don't become static," says Fred Kpoor, director of education, Birim Central municipality.

"There are new methods of teaching which are coming, there are new ways of doing things," says Kpoor. "It builds up on what they had already done at the training college so many years ago."

The Varkey Foundation offices in Accra act as the nerve centre of the operation with three studios transmitting live content via satellite. Each studio contains a video and audio mixer linked to a computer in the control room and a sound-proofed live room for the "master trainers" delivering the lessons.

"At the top we have the video of the studio, beneath it we have the video of the schools," says studio technician Frank Asanti, pointing out the two schools currently connected to the session. "On the right side we have the PowerPoint, which contains the training material that we use,” he says, referring to another monitor.

The programme will cost 179 euros per teacher per year, the Varkey Foundation says, and the modular nature is intended to be easily scalable. The goal of training 5,000 teachers over two years is reached by coaching an initial set of 800 headteachers and deputy head teachers, who then pass on their new skills and experience to staff in their own schools. The lessons are transmitted into between two and five of the connected hubs 17 times a fortnight.

"It is different from other teacher training in the sense that we are based in Accra, but then train teachers in four districts in the eastern region through satellite technology," says Love Amponsah, one of the master trainers.

The local staff and trained teachers on the ground are one of the key factors in making the whole thing work, especially given the distance between the schools and studio. "We train some head teachers and one support staff member for them to be faciliators in the district, so they are familiar with our resources and strategies," says presenter Amponsah.

The overall aim of the programme is to help contribute to Ghana's commitment to the UN-agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of providing every child with 12 years of quality education by the year 2030.

The UN’s education agency, UNESCO, predicts that Ghana needs another 180,000 trained teachers to achieve this goal. And this requires the necessary resources and capacity to increase the number of well-trained teachers.

Ghana has recorded a more than 60 per cent increase in the number of primary school teachers over the last decade, according to UNESCO, but the percentage of trained teachers has actually dropped.

The Varkey Foundation hopes that the new Train for Tomorrow programme could help scale-up the quality of teacher training using technological innovation. The nonprofit believes that providing professional development in schools, where a lack of resources is challenging, could act as a model to be replicated in other settings.

The programme is funded by Dubai Care, a Gulf charity, and follows other satellite learning programmes in Ghana and Uganda backed by DFID, the UK’s Department for International Development. The Varkey Foundation was founded by Indian-born billionaire Sunny Varkey, one of the most successful education entrepreneurs in the world.

Report produced with support from the Varkey Foundation.

Burkina Faso has paid tribute to the victims of a recent terror attack on the capital that killed more than 30 people and injured many more. The attack on the luxury Splendid Hotel and Cappucino café on Friday 15th of January, was claimed by Al-Mourabitoun, an affiliate of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb based in the Sahel region of northern Mali. It is run by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an Islamic extremist commander in Africa. Until recently, Burkina Faso had been spared the Islamist violence afflicting nearby countries like Mali and Niger. RFI's Christina Okello explores the reasons behind the attack and investigates more broadly why Africa is becoming the 'new frontier' in islamist militancy.

RFI’s Nancy Fleming takes a look back at some of 2015’s biggest stories on the African continent.

How do you keep a gorilla out of your garden? The age-old question of living harmoniously with wild animals, especially if you are a farmer, is one that does not always have a happy answer. But for Mugabe Gregory, the chairman of Kayonza Growers Tea Factory in southwestern Uganda, the solution is simple.

Africa has attracted much global attention at Paris Climate talks, as world leaders race to pin down a deal that would limit global temperatures to 2C above pre-industrial levels. With its enormous potential for renewable energy, the continent has a lot to give to the rest of the world to combat climate change. But in return, it’s hoping that there’ll be room to tackle its energy crisis that leaves more than 600 million Africans in the dark. In this report, RFI’s Christina Okello looks at how climate change and development are two sides of the same coin.

Nigeria is facing a new wave of protests for a separate Biafran state almost 50 years after the Biafran war started. The past few weeks have seen protests across the southeast where ethnic Igbos are in the majority, following the arrest of the Radio Biafra director last month. Nnamdi Kanu has championed the cause of independence for the southeast, reviving memories of the Biafran war, also referred to as the Nigerian Civil War.

Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu was in Paris to meet with French business leaders to discuss investments in Africa and France. The head of United Bank for Africa, Heirs Holdings and Transcorp sees lots of potential in developing French-Nigerian business partnerships. He is also keen to promote the work of his foundation to help create the next generation of African entrepreneurs.

Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu was in Paris to meet with French business leaders to discuss investments in Africa and France. The head of United Bank for Africa, Heirs Holdings and Transcorp sees lots of potential in developing French-Nigerian business partnerships. He is also keen to promote the work of his foundation to help create the next generation of African entrepreneurs.

You’ve been meeting with Medef, the French employers federation. What did you discuss?

I met with the president and we discussed a partnership to support French business leaders that want to invest in Africa, what sectors do African business leaders have interest in, and how can French investors navigate the terrain in Africa to be able to succeed. Also, if African business leaders would like to invest in France.

 

What cooperation or deals did you specifically discuss with French companies?

 

Business partnerships are not a one-meeting event, it takes a series of meetings. I think we’ve started with the right building blocks - the president of Nigeria creating the France-Nigeria business council, coming to Paris to woo French investors, French investors coming to Nigeria to visit and explore the terrain, United Bank for Africa hosting investors who came to Nigeria. And now I’m back here, I’m being hosted again by Medef. So this kind of interaction, partnership, platforms and events help because you want to do business with your friend. People do business with those they know and there’s a trust. So I think starting in this manner is a good prelude to actually consummating business transactions. Beyond exploring how United Bank for Africa - our presence in 19 African countries, especially in French-speaking African countries - can help French businesses in Africa, by way of funding their business, providing working capital for them, loans, issuing corporate bonds for them and also facilitating payments and having to remit dividends to France for them. The other areas we’re exploring are in the areas of ports, construction, transport, rail opportunities. We’re exploring power, both solar and thermal power opportunities and even hospitality and tourism. We’re exploring the possibility of hosting another French-Nigerian forum next year. I think these areas will begin to see some fruition from all of these ongoing efforts in the next one year and beyond. It takes time to forge a partnership and it takes time to see the impact, the fruit of the partnership. But the good thing is that we’re on the right track.

 

Going back to banking, do you see deals with French banks? For example, do you see the United Bank for Africa taking a chunk of a French bank?

 

Just to say that I wear many hats, I go beyond banking, banking is one of my investments. We are significant investor in the power sector, we own the biggest power plant in Nigeria. We’re in hospitality and real estate, where again we hold large land banks and also the biggest hotel chain in the country. In addition to other areas like healthcare and agriculture. Speaking about banking, I see opportunities and partnerships between African banks and French banks starting with United Bank for Africa. We have a representative office here in Paris and the purpose is to be able to facilitate transactions, trade transactions, payment systems and collection services for French companies that are operating in Africa. Helping to point them in the right direction and giving them financial advice and services. Beyond this I see corresponding banking relationships, I see agency banking relationships and I see advisory relationships. Lazard they’ve been talking to me about how we can partner across Africa in seeking advice on supporting African governments to drive their infrastructure development projects. So I see a lot happening, but the first step for the time being is on the bilateral national level and on the business level so that the right tone is being set. France and Nigeria are cooperating in many ways. The French government helping Nigeria with security issues and the Nigerian leader reciprocating coming here and also the private sector now taking the lead. I think a lot will come out of all of this.

 

Interesting that you’re cooperating with French companies because you coined this idea of Africapitalism - involving African businesses developing Africa - but you’re talking about involving French companies.

 

You can’t remove commerce, I’ve always said we need to complement, we need to support government because government wants to create a better society for mankind. Government alone can't do it, we’ve seen through our private sector involvement and activities, that government has limited capacity and the private sector can do a lot more if we work together. So we can’t set government aside, we want to engage government to work together, government has to create the right environment so that the private sector will do well. And private sector has to do well to support government to realise its promise to the people, so we need each other. However, we also need foreign investors, that is why we would like French investors to continue to explore the investment opportunities that exist in Africa. But as French investors come to Africa they also must find worthy, reliable and capable African partners that they can work with. That is what we’re trying to do working with Medef and trying to make sure that all of us embrace African capitalism as an investment philosophy. Because there’s no point investing and exploiting the continent if investing in an exploitative fashion or in an extractive fashion, we need to invest in a manner that creates local value for the community and creates value for the investors. It becomes a win-win investment, it becomes an all inclusive investment.

 

This principle is also very interesting given that we’re in France and given the large public sector here.

 

There is a large public sector in France, but I speak as an African private sector person who has lived in Africa and invested in Africa, and who has seen the power of the private sector. I think French society, you must have seen justification for the model, growth model or development model, that you’ve adopted. But for us in Africa, we’ve seen government for a long time, not able to fulfil all our aspirations and we think the private sector should support the government now to do this.

 

Tell us about your entrepreneurship programme and how it’s advancing.

 

We launched the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme last year. Basically it’s a 100 million dollar programme which we set aside to help identify, train and provide seed capital for 10,000 African entrepreneurs in 10 years - 1,000 every year. For Africans who have entrepreneurial ideas across Africa. The first year is over, we chose 1,000 Africans, male and female from across Africa, 52 African countries, 30 per women, 70 per cent men. We want to create more awareness this year so that next year’s cohort or batch, we want to see more women, we want to see 50:50. Going back to the programme, its been quite increasing, we’re sector agnostic, we don’t discriminate, any sector can be chosen, what’s important is the ideas you have and how good and viable those ideas are. Because we want people to succeed, we don’t just want to give out grants, just say 10,000 dollars to people who are not serious. We’ve been quite impressed, we worked with Accenture with working with them to help identify these entrepreneurs and so far, so good. The excitement we have seen, we trained them for 12 weeks, online training for 12 weeks, we assembled a boot camp and we have 400 mentors, to mentor these 1,000 people. My intent, I hope that out of the 10,000 Africans we have many who create jobs, so that we can create the employment that we need so much in Africa.

 

Interview conducted 12 November 2015.