Google & Search Engine Optimization ! Youtube Diary! Even Twitter! We are going to get in early and make a strong presence on the internet. If you search “Teacher Training in Africa” in Youtube our video is #1. If you google the same, we are already on the first page. As we reach out to general public for small donations, this strategy will be critical.
The $40 million program will be implemented in 10 of 14 regions in Senegal. Working closely with the Ministry of Education, USAID will:
* target more than 50,000 vulnerable children and street children, many of whom participate in the Koranic (Islamic) school system in Senegal and, in collaboration with local religious leaders and elected officials, ensure that they get increased educational support;
* develop a new curriculum that includes a focus on existing needs in the job market;
* promote issues of good governance with students and help implement them within the middle school curriculum;
* improve management and governance of the education system in Senegal through collaboration with Parent-Teacher Associations;
* increase WiFi access in more than 400 schools and provide training on new technologies that will support learning in the schools; and
* implement a national campaign to raise awareness of public-private partnerships in the education sector and encourage their formation.
Again, ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Senegal), a constitutional amendment guarantees access. The need is great but there is a higher enrollment rate of 80%, partly due to the fact that so many children attend only Koranic schools. My sensing is that the majority of Senegalese speak French. On my last trip to Senegal, I noticed a significant uptick in economic activity but it probably hasn’t trickled down yet. More later on Senegal.
I refer to the wiki file on “Education in Burkina Faso” as a starting point ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Burkina_Faso ) because it clarifies that the Education Act of 97′ makes school from 6 to 16 compulsory but there are simply not enough schools and not enough qualified teachers. Access, especially for girls, is still a financial dilemma because school fees and supplies. Only 15% of the citizens speak French which is the language of instruction. The adult literacy rate is 23%.
I thought the note on the school session is interesting, “A week runs from Monday to Saturday, with the schools being closed on Thursday. Burkina Faso has a national curriculum. The subjects taught include Production, where children may learn to plant maize and trees or keep chickens, on school land. They have a break between noon and 3pm.”
Also, take a look at the primary curriculum review http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/key-stages-1-and-2/Values-aims-and-purposes/primary-curriculum-review/index.aspx. It’s a tall order!
Common sense and research keep confirming the notion that a consistent stream of support however humble is more effective than dollops of cash.
http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=11706190
UNESCO Teacher Training Initiative. There is very little activity out there around improving the qualitative
side of children´s education in West Africa. Unesco started a small
project in 2008, but there are no updates since then.
I´ve attached the brochure. Notice, how difficult it is
for them to measure and find language to discuss “Quality Assurance.”
Dr. Sue Wortham has toiled to address this issue for WCR over the years.
We have picked a difficult mission at WCR. NGO´s are always under pressure
to produce tangible statistics which is challenging but this is one more reason it is such important work.
State of the Worlds Children 2009
This is the definitive annual report on the crisis which is the state of the world´s heritage, our children.
Grassroots movements of any form are derived from the local community (bottom-up) versus the government or a large organization (top-down). An increasing number of development professionals agree that in the context of rural West Africa this is a sustainable approach, especially when the effort is organized and managed by local talent.
Salim Vally, senior researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Education Policy Unit, says the education and health systems are in dire need of a bailout from the continents’ governments.
“Bailing out private business is rewarding precisely those who are putting us in the present predicament. Early childhood development and good quality public education are essential for society to make any kind of development, and that is where any resources should be put,” he says.
This is a model blog with excellent content. I would envision that this blog could become focus more on education.
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on Benjamin Reid Lodmell, “Teacher Training is the answer to changing the qualitative face of education in rural African schools.”
30th Jun 10
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