‘Now I am free’—education and human resource development in Eritrea: contradictions in the lives of Eritrean women in higher education

Human resource development as an objective of education policy in developing countries is increasingly narrowed down to its human capital component. In Eritrea, the objective of a highly centralized human resource development strategy is to produce human capital for the advancement of the nation. This instrumentalist view ignores the fact that education is not only related to one's position in a given society, but equally to the development of personal identity and new forms of agency on an individual level—thus potentially encompassing contradictions between the individual and the common good. This paper—based on the personal histories of a sample of female students at Asmara University—discusses these contradictions in terms of these women's acceptance of and resistance to the government's plan for them. It further argues that an education system geared predominantly towards the creation of human capital is bound to do so at the expense of social solidarity.     

Assisting with Information Technology in East Africa

Summary

There are opportunities for Law Librarians, no matter what their position, to assist with the development of information technology in many interesting locations throughout the world. This article describes two such opportunities experienced by the author in East Africa. The article also provides a starting place for those who wish to become involved as well as listing some issues one should take into consideration when considering such an opportunity.     

Developing Law Library Resources in Eritrea

Summary

This article discusses the author's experiences in helping to develop and revitalize the law school and law library collections in the East African nation of Eritrea. This project was part of a rebuilding effort following a thirty year struggle for independence from Ethiopia in which much of Eritrea's infrastructure and public institutions were destroyed. Among the pressing issues presented to the author were funding, collection development, space-planning, staffing and services needs.     

Reflecting on the EFA Global Monitoring Report's framework for understanding quality education: A teacher's perspective in Eritrea

This paper considers issues concerning the quality of education in Eritrea using the Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report's (GMR) framework for quality education. Drawing on 2 years school-based professional experience in the country, the multiple factors affecting quality in schooling are discussed. The applicability of the GMR framework is then assessed. Given the recent militarisation of the Eritrean school system, it finds the framework seriously lacking, by failing to enable a critique of some of the issues that arguably go to the heart of the quality of education in the country.