Strengthening of Mathematics and Science Education - Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (SMASE-WECSA)
JICA started its first project in Africa to assist in establishing institutionalized in-service training for mathematics and science teachers in Kenya in 1998, under the "Strengthening of Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education (SMASSE)." Since many African countries face common problems in mathematics and science education, namely, the poor performance of students in those subjects and the necessity of transforming lessons from teachers-centered to learner-centered, it was recognized that the Kenyan experiences should be shared with other African countries to strengthen the capacity of teachers to teach mathematics and science more effectively. In view of the situation above, the SMASE - WECSA Association was established in 2001 with 11 countries in Africa as a network to share experiences among member countries. The association consists of 27 members countries (region) with 8 observer countries now (*). Based on Kenya's experience, other African countries also launched similar projects to deal with their challenges in mathematics and science education.
Students enjoy “Active Participation” in a Chemistry lesson
As JICA attaches considerable importance to developing the capacity of partner countries to deal with their problems on their own, JICA has been supporting African initiatives to share among partner countries a variety of experiences and know-how accumulated through the projects and to learn from each other. JICA believes that this kind of support will enable African countries to develop the capacity to learn from peers in Africa and to develop new ways of solving their own problems.
(*) Member countries / region: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Zanzibar (region)
Observer countries: Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan.
(*)"Case 1 Network-Type Cooperation: Strengthening of Mathematics and Science Education in Western, Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa (SMASE-WECSA) Network", Scaling Up South-South and Triangular Cooperation, JICA Research Institute.
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