African economies are undergoing a transformative period. The energy sector, in particular, holds great potential to revitalize African economies and empower the growth and development. This, is a subject NJ Ayuk dives into in great detail in his sophomore book, Billions at Play: The Future of African Energy and Doing Deals.

Now available for pre-order on Amazon, Billions at Play tells us how energy can work better for Africans.

With a foreword by OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Billions at Playsets out to answer the questions: How did Africa get here and what comes next? How do African countries and societies get the most value from their resources? What exactly can African leaders do to put their countries on a sustainable, profitable path? And how can all parties win in Africa’s energy deals of the coming decades?

In a straightforward approach, the Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber outlines the fortunes and misfortunes in Africa’s petroleum industry and presents to us that Africa can learn from itself to build competitive economies. In particular, he proposes that:

“If African governments, businesses, and organizations manage Africa’s oil and gas revenues wisely, we can make meaningful changes across the continent.”

Using his experience and knowledge of the global energy sector, Ayuk challenges key players to be more active in developing their resources and local content skills, and encourages decision-makers to put Africa’s people at the center of economic growth plans.

Making the case for the petroleum industry having the power to support and transform emerging economies, he unpacks key issues including what and how Africa can learn from itself, the role of natural gas in Africa’s energy future, effective and sustainable investment strategies, strategic oil and gas revenue management and, the role of women in the African petroleum sector.

The latter he insists is vital in the success of Africa’s oil and gas sector.

He asserts that the low number of women represented in the global energy sector is an opportunity missed. “I believe this is unacceptable, short-sighted, and, frankly a real stumbling block to African countries that want to realize the full socio-economic benefits that a thriving oil and gas industry can provide.”

Ayuk says that, “Africans are more than capable of making our continent successful.” However, global participation in the African energy landscape can produce greater benefits. Speaking on U.S.-Africa relations specifically, he stresses that Africa needs companies that are willing to share knowledge, technology and best practices, and businesses that are willing to form positive relationships in areas where they work.

In his foreword, H.E. Barkindo describes Ayuk as a dreamer who has “taken the time to develop a detailed roadmap for realizing that dream” and prompts people all over the world to take the time to read Billions at Play in order to “play a part in making his dream of petroleum-fueled economic growth, stability and improved quality of life happen for Africa.”

Billions at Play: The Future of African Energy and Doing Deals is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Order your copy today.

In districts with historically low learning outcomes, a Twaweza study has identified schools that are performing well despite having no extra access to resources or other privileges. These schools stand out as strong performers in difficult contexts. The schools and their strategies were identified through a rigorous research process called positive deviance.

These findings were released by Twaweza in a research brief titled, ‘How are some children learning when most are not? Positive deviance in Uganda’s primary schools’. The brief is based on a qualitative investigation of 17 schools in 10 selected districts. These observations were collected during one week per school in the second half of 2017 and early 2018. The resulting findings were validated in community sessions involving the study schools and others in the area.

The inquiry unearthed six critical school and teacher driven strategies to promote learning:

 Promoting community involvement in schools

Ensuring the wider community and parents are engaged in what is going on at school can help children to learn better by inspiring community members to take action directly to enhance learning as well as providing a supportive environment for the school. Schools can encourage the community to get involved through outreach activities and showing thy understand parents’ circumstances.

For example, in one school, storage boxes were introduced for P1 and P2 children to safely keep their scholastic items at school thereby reducing the financial burden on parents by preventing repeated loss and other damage.

Encouraging a culture of effort, openness and achievement in schools

All school actors have to focus on achievement, ensuring children learn. Teachers and learners are encouraged to exert effort, the head teacher and the management committee are transparent in managing school resources, the head teacher leads by example and everyone’s actions are driven by the desire to create a friendly environment that positively nurtures learning for all children.

For example, all head teachers in these successful schools taught classes, generally the candidate classes, even though they have many other school responsibilities. This leading by example encouraged greater effort from teachers as well.

Ensuring children achieve mastery in schools

In these schools that perform well, there is a strong effort placed on ensuring children really understand what they are being taught. The schools have introduced practices with this in mind and this increased effort and energy in turn inspires more creativity and hard work.

For example, in many of the schools studied, subject teachers move grades with their cohort of students. This means that teachers understand their pupils better, can support them more effectively and that they cannot blame anyone else for skills gaps.

Teacher support and motivation in schools

All key players in these school communities appreciate the need for teachers to be supported and motivated to perform. Most schools in the study offer teachers public praise or certificates as a way of recognising and rewarding achievement. The schools also had peer-led professional development sessions to enable teachers to learn from their more experienced peers.

For example in one school, the head teacher has performance contracts with all of the teachers to show what they need to achieve. And at the end of the year, the head teacher has a celebration for the teachers whose pupils perform well in the exams.

Engaging school bodies

Although every school in Uganda has a School Management Committee and a Parent Teacher Association, these can be inactive. These bodies can provide important support to the head teacher for the day to day running of the school and can ensure strong links between school and community. For example, in some of the schools, these bodies play a direct role in assessing the performance of teachers.

Teachers caring for and prioritising learner needs

At the subject level, there is lots of potential for creative strategies to promote learning. The effort and creativity of individual teachers can go a long way in helping children to learn. For example, in one school, the English teacher asks children to talk about the stories of films they have watched and encourages them to participate in debates in order to master the language.

Julius Atuhura, Regional Research Coordinator on What Works in Education at Twaweza, said “The schools in this study are beacons of hope for all of us interested in education. Against all odds, and with no additional resources or special circumstances, these 17 schools are making a real positive difference to children’s learning. Through the actions of committed individuals, children are learning more and better. Let us use the types of strategies unearthed by this research to amplify the voices and experiences of teachers, to influence policy and support more and more children to learn.”

Dr. Jane Egau, Commissioner, Teacher Instructor Education and Training (TIET) department, Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) on behalf of the minister of state for Primary Education, Rosemary Seninde appreciated the findings of the report.

He quoted part of Minister Seninde’s speech as: “As policy makers, we are keen on solutions that are implementable therefore understanding in very precise terms about; which strategy or practice costs lowest … in delivering better learning in schools so that as government we encourage such strategy being promoted for adoption as we work to plan to implement the other strategies. Answering these questions is helps us to bridge the gap between research, policy and practice.”

Commenting Twaweza’s efforts the minister further said in a speech read for her that: “It is such efforts and readiness to seek workable solutions that advance the spirit of collaboration and partnership. I encourage all stakeholders to emulate initiatives that not only highlight problems or challenges, but also are a part of problem solving.”

Commenting on the findings of the report, Filbert Baguma, the General Secretary of Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) urged stakeholders in the education sector to be practical in delivering service.

“We know what has been going wrong but we need to move from lamentations to actions,” said Baguma.

Other officials at the launch of the report findings called for the recognition of teachers who perform better in their work.

“Our teachers need to be recognized for their work. We encourage the DEOs to write letters of appraisal to best performing teachers, as well as supporting their work. This works as motivation to them,” said, Moses Wambi, the Deputy Principal, Bishop Willis Core PTC.

“We need to create mentorship programs for teachers to help them lead schools better, ” added Dr. C.T. Mukasa Lusambu, the Commissioner Basic Education, MoES.

While Paul  Kiirya  Bidhampola, Head Teacher, Bigunho Primary School  said that the role of the school management committees and Parents Teachers Associations is to mobilise communities to support school activities.