Angola : Onjila program for the rehabilitation of the education system

Context :

This project has been made in collaboration with ADRA, ADPP (Ajuda de Desenvolvimento de Povo Para Povo - Development Aid from People to People) and the Ministry of Education and Culture in Angola

The 27 year civil war had a serious impact on the education system of Angola, both at the pedagogical and material levels. Many problems stem from, and have been exacerbated by, the conflict: low numbers of attendance, high levels of drop outs and failures, continuous deterioration of existing schools, lack of didactic and physical school materials, a deepening rift between school activities and community needs, and low levels of motivation and preparation of professors. These problems continued to stifle the possibility of human development, social dialogue, and the reinforcement of Angolan democratic institutions.

Objectives :

The Onjila program, initiated by Alternatives and ADRA, had as its mandate to improve the educational conditions of 18 000 students in the province of Benguela, and another 24 035 in the rest of the country. The objectives of the program were to:

• Use education programs that are adapted to the realities of Angolans.
• Reinforce relations between schools and communities through integrating school activities into the community and vice versa;
• Improve the physical and material conditions of the schools in order to facilitate learning for students.
• Reinforce the partnership between schools, the Ministry of Education, and other institutions.

Achievements :

The success of the project can be viewed through accomplishments of the objective:

• A success rate of 65% was noted out of about 200 professors in the zone of intervention who followed a pedagogical training program called CAT;
• the National Department of Education integrated the CAT program into their global pedagogical training plan for public elementary school professors; 
• seven out of the targeted 26 schools were renovated and school books and other materials were distributed to all the schools depending on their specific needs;
• the reinforcement of the partnerships between schools, the Ministry of Education and other institutions was seen in the active participation of the Provincial Director of Education in varying exchanges and debate of the program’s activities;
• the joint supervision organized by schools, teachers, parent committees and the ministry’s delegates to ensure the best integration the CAT, as well as construction and rehabilitation activities conducted by schools testifies to the solidification of the partnership between these separate institutions.