This blog post is a forum for a range of perspectives on issues related to global efforts to improve the quality of education. We are particularly interested in issues and experience related to improving learning outcomes and the contribution that education makes to inclusive economic growth, poverty reduction and better institutions.
A few months ago I featured the World Links Zimbabwe Trust (WLZT) in my Bridging the Digital Divide post. It's an organisation that helps to distribute refurbished computers for use in schools. The cogs had turned slowly, but good to …
An increasingly important factor in development work is the interplay with markets, especially with commodities or goods that are instrumental for personal wellbeing, health and fulfilment. It's been recognised for decades that the mass provision of imported food aid can …
Spending so long in Africa and Asia (around 15 years and counting), it’s easy to lose touch of reforms and changes in education systems in Western countries. So I was very fortunate to support the Zimbabwean delegation at a training …
Over the last decade an increasingly influential independent annual report releases what is in effect the world's 'scorecard on education'. Like a student who awaits their end of year grades with trepidation, those that follow education development await the 1st March …
Requests from visiting colleagues to see our work on the ground is a regular occurrence. These trips are not just useful for the visitors, but they also allow me to investigate the programmes I support and see the impact of broader development …
Working in various developing countries for a long time (I've been overseas now for around 15 years) sometimes gives me first hand evidence of how initiatives can grow and adapt over time – and often for the best. Ten years …
I have just returned from a break at home with my family. I find being away from them one of the hardest challenges of living here. When I do see them it’s often difficult to fully explain life in Afghanistan. …
While world leaders were discussing MDG progress at the UN global summit last month, I got my first opportunity to see reality in Zimbabwean primary schools. As part of a joint monitoring mission with government officials, UNICEF and other partners, I visited schools …
Before I write about my new work at the EU delegation office in Zimbabwe, I must add a sad postscript to my time in Kano, northern Nigeria. Just a week after departing in late July, I was shocked and saddened to …
I managed to combine work and pleasure last weekend when I went to visit Polana Secondary School in Maputo for the promotion of the 1GOAL campaign here in Mozambique. The Polana Secondary School is situated just behind the Dutch Embassy …
Recent Comments