Statistical training programme for Africa (STPA)

Abstract

The Statistical Training Program for Africa (STPA) represents the latest development in African efforts to provide opportunities for the training of adequate numbers of staff required to procedure the statistics needed for economic and social development. The essential objective of the STPA is to ensure that the region has a permanent supply of trained staff for the statistical and other services of governments as well as for the private sectors. To meet this objective STPA is conceived as a ten-year program aiming to make Africa self-sufficient by increasing the number of statistical personnel and, improving and maintaining the quality of statistical personnel in service. For this purpose, it is necessary to establish a basis for existing training institutions to operate in a coordinated manner with a view to improving their efficiency and developing their courses along more practical lines, and ensuring that the centers participating in the program become self-supporting.