African Bureau for Educational
Sciences (ABES) / Bureau Africaine des Sciences
de l’Education (BASE)
HISTORY AND PRESENT STATUS
The idea to establish an African Bureau for Educational
Sciences dates back to 1961 in Addis Ababa and to
1968 in Nairobi, when meetings of African Ministers
of Education and Planning expressed the wish to
establish a permanent organ that could regroup and
co-ordinate the various institutions responsible
for research and training in education in Africa
with a view to promoting education and international
co-operation in education.
The idea was concretised during the 6th session
of the World Association of Educational Sciences
(AMSE) and ABES was formally established in September
1973 in Paris during 6th Congress of the then International
Association for the Advancement of Educational Research
(IAAER), currently World Association for Educational
Research (WAER).
ABES became a Specialised Agency of the Organization
of African Unity (OAU) in March 1986. Its headquarters
were transferred from Kisangani to Kinshasa, Democratic
Republic of Congo in September 1987.
The four main objectives, which form the basis
of the ABES programme, are:
• To initiate and promote national and regional
research in education with a view to help African
countries in their educational reforms;
• To organise, through seminars, symposia
and other conferences at national and regional levels,
the training of researchers and trainers in education;
• To ensure the publication and dissemination
of scientific information in education and training
resulting from studies and researches in educational
sciences in order to help African States in their
common effort to promote and re-adjust their various
educational reforms; and
• To break the isolation of national centres
and institutions for research and training in education
in Africa by developing inter-African and international
co-operation in education and training.
OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND COOPERATING ORGANISATIONS
• Department of Education
RELEVANT TREATIES/PROTOCOLS ETC
•OAU Charter
The OAU Charter was adopted on 23 May 1963. South
Africa was admitted to the OAU on 23 May 1994 and
the OAU Charter became binding on South Africa on
that same date.
• ABES Charter
GENERAL COMMENTS
All OAU member states are de facto members of ABES,
although individual membership of states is required
in order to establish more definite co-operation
relations and to benefit from all its activities.
This membership is acquired by signing or ratifying
its charter. The activities of ABES are currently
being hampered by the ongoing war in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, where it has its headquarters.
