ASSESSMENT OFERITRO-JAPANESE COOPERATION
ON HIGHER EDUCATION

August 22, 2010

OUTLINE
 Background Information
 Japanese Delegation to Eritrea
 Areas of collaboration
 Eritrean Delegation to Japan Objectives of the Mission
 Assessment of the Mission
 Outcomes ConclusionBACKGROUND INFOTokyo Int. Conference on African Dev.
(TICAD) Meetings held every 5 years



TICAD IV Tokyo (May 30, 2008)



H.E. President Isayas attended themeeting & requested the Gov’t ofJapan to assist Eritrea in promoting

its HE system

JAPANESE DELEGATIONAs a follow up to President Isayas’
request a Japanese exploratory
mission came to Eritrea in Dec. 2008



Another delegation (6-9 April, 2009)
The delegation consisted of:•

13 university professors• JICA Representative• MEXT Representative

JAPANESE …


A 2-day seminar was conducted at Asmara
Palace Hotel (6 & 7 April 2009)

Japanese Delegation and PCCHE Members

Presentations were made from both sides

AIM: a) To exchange experiences on HE of thetwo countriesb) To identify possible areas ofcollaboration

AREAS OF COLLABORATION
Possible areas of collaboration:
 Faculty development
 Secondment of Japanese Scholars
 Curriculum development
 Strengthening teaching facilities in IHE
 Strengthening research capacity
 Staff-student exchange
Visits were also arranged to the various colleges

ERITREAN DELEGATIONEritrean Delegation of HE wasinvited by JICA to visit Japan

Visit: 8-22 November 2009

The Eritrean delegation consisted of:• All PCCHE members• DG, Dept. of Treasury (MoF)• The Eritrean Ambass. to Japan

ERITREAN …
The Delegation paid visits to:– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs– MEXT– JICA– 8 Universities– 1 Technical & 1 Elementary
Schools– Historical Sites

ERITREAN …
Historical Sites visited include: Hiroshima Memorial Park Art Park (Park of statues)
 Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima)
 Tokyo Tower
And others

OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION
Objectives of the mission:a) To make preliminary assessment of
IHE in Japanb) To familiarise the Eritrean Delegation
with the HE system of Japanc) To discuss our challenges on HEd) To further explore & consolidate
possible areas of collaboratione) To conclude a cooperation agreement

OBJECTIVES …
The Eritrean Delegation was :Very much pleased by the meticulous
planning of the visitImpressed by the hospitality andkindness of the Japanese people

Amazed by the industriousness & hardworking nature of the Japanese people

impressed by the HE system of Japan &its overall development

ASSESSMENT OF THE MISSION
During the visit, the Eritrean Delegation:

was able to learn a lot from the JapaneseIHEThe respective Deans of the colleges
were able to make one-to-one discussion
with their Japanese counterpartsSome sort of understanding was reachedon the overall cooperation agreement

OUTCOME Deans have, since then, beencommunicating with their Japanesecounterparts to consolidate the areasof cooperation

As part of this cooperation agreement
7 Eritrean scholars went to Japan in
2010/2011 to pursue their masters
education in Japanese IHE

OUTCOME ...


Two laptop computers and acolour printer were supplied to
the ED Office (NBHE) by JICAAll colleges have been asked topresent their immediate bookrequests to JICA – they did a
year ago & purchase is awaiting

OUTCOME ...
 7 GAs from all IHE are making thenecessary preparations togo andstudy in Japan
A plan is underway to conclude
a cooperation agreement withJKUAT through JICA sometime in
the next couple of months

CONCLUSION
Almost three years have elapsed
since the inception of the program,but very little has been achieved sofar

The pace at which the agreement
started is not matching with what
is being implemented at the ground

Thus, much is desired of thiscooperation agreement

CONCLUSION ...
Eritrea is looking forward to the overall
cooperation agreement with Japanese
IHE on the areas identified, so that our
IHE could be promoted to a level muchhigher than their current position andeventually attain comparable standards
to Japanese IHE.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe Eritrean Gov’t, in general, andthe NBHE, in particular, extend theirappreciation and thanks to: The Japanese Gov’t for the overall
assistance given to us so far
 JICA for its overall assistance and forgiving us the opportunity to visit Japanand the IHE in the country

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Members of the MEXT for arranging
visits of the Eritrean Delegation to
the various IHE in Japan

All the university professors who
assisted the Delegation to visit
their premises

ARIGATO!
Thank You Very Much
for Your Attention!