Evaluation of fifteen years of the Statistical Training Programme for Africa (STPA)

Abstract

It should be recalled that for the majority of African countries, problems of shortage of staff and high turnover of qualified staff were experienced soon after they attained political independence. These problems were extensively discussed for the first time at the second session of the Conference of African Statisticians in June/July 1961. As a result the conference initiated an intensive training programme to overcome the above problems. Initially emphasis was placed on middle level training with more gradual development of professional facilities. The present evaluation of 15 years of the Statistical Training Programme for Africa (STPA) was requested at the seventh session of the Joint Conference of African Planners, Statisticians and Demographers, held in Addis Ababa 2-7 March 1992. There is need to compare result achieved during the fifteen years of the existence of the programme against the initial objectives and to look into the future. This evaluation covers the following topics: Objectives of the STPA; Institutional arrangements of the STPA; Implementation of the STPA; Evaluation of the STPA achievements; and Conclusions and recommendations.