Report of the Meeting of the Standing Committee of Direction on the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning

Abstract

The Standing Committee noted that the Panel of experts convened in December 1961 by the Executive Secretary had recommended that the principal course of the Institute should be offered to government officials for a period of nine months, while many delegations to the fourth session; of the Commission had suggested that this course should be replaced by a two year course for graduate students. Some participants in the meeting suggested that, if the efficiency of African planning organizations were to be increased it would be advisable to train officials rather than students. In this connexion, it was noted that officials could, as a rule, be trained within a comparatively short period of time since they would understand the practical significance of planning techniques more readily than students who would not have had any experience in dealing with actual economic problems.