BEST OF LUCK FOR CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS!

"Traditional skills are still the best preparation for young people in a fast moving world," the Chief Executive of international assessment experts University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), will tell delegates at the 16th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers next week.

CIE Chief Executive Ann Puntis will speak at the conference taking place next week (from Sunday, December 10 to Thursday, December 14) in Cape Town on the theme of Access to Quality Education: For the Good of All.

She said: "It is not always easy to predict the jobs market for the future but the best gift we can give our young people for future employability is the sound platform of literacy and numeracy. Not a return to basics but a springboard to the future. Research demonstrates time and time again that it is an individual's level of both skills that is the best determinant of future success and wealth."

CIE is the world's largest provider of international qualifications for 14 to 19-year-olds and is a member of the Cambridge Assessment Group, Europe's largest assessment agency and a not-for-profit organisation. Part of the University of Cambridge, CIE has been working at government level with African countries for over 50 years in building national and international school-leaving qualifications.

The latest country on the African continent to benefit is Namibia, following the completion of a localization project with the CIE. It will offer its first nationally developed exams in partnership with CIE, the Namibia Senior Certificate, in 2007. Ann Puntis says this is likely to accelerate the growth in the number of learners in Namibia, ensure they have access to a quality education and that standards and public confidence will be maintained. The development of a Namibian education system is a milestone worthy of celebrating in the on-going development of Namibia as a nation.

Under Secretary of Education, Alfred Ilukena said: 'The localization process, which lasted almost 12 years, entailed the development of new syllabuses which are more relevant to the needs of Namibia, the training of examiners, markers and teachers as well as the establishment of processes and procedures to administer the localised examinations to meet international standards. The above mentioned development work and capacity building would not have been possible without the advice, assistance and expertise of CIE. After localization, Namibia will maintain links with CIE to ensure the maintenance of standards and the international recognition of the new Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate.'

In Botswana, when the country's General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams were first held in 1999, there were 20,587 entries. By last year, the number had grown to 24,728. She says in Zimbabwe, growth was even more dramatic before CIE had to stop operating there. "In 1985 we had about 90 000 subject entries. Just five years later, there were more than a million entries." All across Africa we have been helping develop education systems that allow quality access for all, a key pillar in the development goals in the region. Other African countries with which CIE has been involved in building educational standards at a national level are Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Gambia, and the wider SADC region including Mauritius and the Seychelles.

Curricula are never unilaterally imposed but developed in each country so they are aligned with local cultural practice and the socio-economic environment. "While standards remain internationally consistent for all the countries where CIE is involved, it is obviously critical for sustainability that it is adapted to suit local circumstances. So for example, in countries where computer literacy is low or access to computers is limited, learning modules are adapted to accommodate these constraints."

Key to the success of CIE in developing countries is engagement with the educational authorities not only at senior educational level but throughout the school learning programme. "There has to be a seamless progression from primary to middle to senior school level. That calls for our consultation with the authorities right the way through the schooling system everywhere that we work.

"While Namibia will be offering its localised GCSE from next year, we have also worked closely with Namibia's Ministry of Education in developing assessment of its Junior and Secondary Certificates (grades 8 – 10) and Primary Leaving Examination (Grade 7)."

Ann says CIE's work is underpinned by skills transfer initiatives in each of the countries where it operates and involves training of teachers, examiners, test-development and research officers and administrators. The organisation also works with the Africa branch of Cambridge University Press in developing distance education materials for senior certification.

"In each instance, a self-sufficient national examinations authority is essential so that CIE can eventually transfer responsibility for all aspects of administration. Localization and the capacity to handle national examinations and certification, usually takes between five to 10 years, depending on the scale and complexity of the project. However, some governments that have localised prefer to continue their partnership with CIE, ensuring their national examinations are subjected to rigorous scrutiny through a series of checks on good practice and standards."

Donor agencies that have provided African countries with funds to develop localised assessment system, have appointed CIE as the service provider in many leading projects. The British government's Department for International Development commissioned CIE to assist the governments of Zimbabwe and Namibia in establishing their examination systems.