UNESCO supports capacity building in research for Ministry of Education Officers in Zimbabwe

Research findings and recommendations can provide policy makers and leaders in the education sector to craft informed policies and circulars to schools and stakeholders. This was said by the Acting Deputy Director Projects, Ushe Nyika, in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) in Zimbabwe at the start of an orientation meeting for Planning and Research Officers in the Ministry.

The UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa has started a series of trainings on research capacity development to boost the skills and competences of research officers in the Ministry to ensure policy effectiveness and efficiency in the sector. The training will include defining the research problem, developing the research question(s), data collection tools, data analysis, report writing and producing policy briefs. The research officers will engage in conducting a research on issues in Early Childhood Development practices in the country with the support of experienced researchers.

Ten officers in the Department of Strategic Planning, Policy, Research, and Statistics (SPPRS) who are based in the MoPSE Head Office attended the first training. More planning and research officers based in the provinces are expected to participate in the training in the coming two to three months.
The training is being offered courtesy of the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) Education Development Fund (EDF) grant for Zimbabwe under the Teacher Effectiveness and Equitable Access for All Children (TEACH) project.

UNESCO has partnered Open Development & Education Ltd to collaborate on the research skills training.