When you start to hear about some of the situations that occur around the world, you really do realise how incredibly lucky we are to be born in countries where there is funding for things such as healthcare and education. We all moan about our lot, and I know I will still moan upon my return, but being here is opening my eyes to how hard very simple things can be in other parts of the world. Just as a starter, we could not make toast this morning, as there was a power cut during breakfast and all the power at the guesthouse went out. This also meant no coffee and sitting in the semi-darkness of the dining room. When power did not return after 10mins, the staff put the generator on. A luxury we will be unlikely to have in our placements. Although, VSO do ensure that we all have a kerosene lamp.
Education is a key priority for the Rwandan Government and compared to many other developing countries, giant leaps are being made forward and this should bring success to the country and its people. The Millennium Development Goals are in place and the ideal is that all countries achieve universal primary education by 2015. Rwanda has almost exceeded this target and plans that by 2017, all students will be enrolled in a 12 year Basic Education Programme. Currently all students are entitled to 9 years of Basic Education (Primary 1-6 and Secondary 1-3). This all sounds brilliant, but then you start to see what this means as far as resources. There are so many children that require education – a huge percentage of the population are under 15. Add to this all those that have missed out on an education due to poverty or other disrupting factors, and there are even more who are keen to make a start on their learning. It is not unknown for a mother and daughter to be in the same class at school. The vast number of people who are desperate to learn and take advantage of at least some of the 9yrs offered to them, means that the number of students far out-weighs the number of teachers. To counteract this, the government has introduced a system of “double-shifting”. When I think of how tired I would be after a day teaching in the UK, this concept fills me with such sympathy for the teachers here. They teach from 7:20 until 5pm. They get an hour for lunch in the middle of the day, and in that time the students change. So, one group of students attend in the morning, and the other in the afternoon. This effectively means two school days in one day. And then you have to get to and from work, which could easily add another couple of hours to your day. And then you need to mark and plan work. These teachers must be exhausted. So the fact that so many teachers are still keen to work with us VSO volunteers in order to develop their methodology (some team teaching and partnership work is done in the school day but much of the training will take place at weekends and in holidays) is incredible.
On top of all this, the MINEDUC (Ministry of Education) changed the education system a couple of years ago so that from P4-S6, all lessons are taught in English. The previous language of instruction, and the language that most teachers will have been taught in, was French. Yet another challenge. There are very few incentives. The wage for a primary teacher is 26 000 RWF (about £26) per month. On a recent shopping trip to buy essentials for my new home, a bottom of the range saucepan cost RWF 13 000 (£13). The cost of living is high. We have heard of some incentives that the government have introduced – “cows for teachers” is one such scheme, and there are plans to provide financial benefits to those who stay in education at secondary school – especially if you do teacher training – so that better quality candidates will be attracted.
So – teacher training – how does it work here? If you are one of the lucky few (although the enrolment rate is about 95% in P1, only 40% of females who enrol make it to the end of S3) to complete 9YBE (9 years basic education), you sit exams. If you fail these exams, you leave school and get a job. If you do very well in these exams you continue secondary school from S4-S6. If you pass, but your marks are not very good...you go to TTC (Teacher Training College). You get taught all of your subjects but you are also taught to teach. At the end of the three years TTC, you go and be a teacher in a primary school.
And finally, what about students with special needs? UNICEF state that on average, 10% of any population will have some kind of special needs. In Rwanda, only 3% of the school population are identified as having special needs. It is most likely that the number is far, far higher but there are no means to assess needs. There is still stigma attached to disability in some places, so children may be kept at home and not seen by anyone. We also met a speaker the other day who had a physical disability. He told us about his childhood. He had been badly affected by Polio at the age of one year. He lived about a kilometre from the school. To get there he could crawl. It would take a long time. In the rainy season, it would be almost impossible. He was lucky – his parents saved up to buy him a wheelchair, which he got when he was 11. This made things a little better. His parents made his siblings push him to school. But sometimes they would get bored and abandon him. Or, it would rain and he could not negotiate the dirt roads in his wheelchair. But he was determined and he did finish his education and now works to improve the rights of those who have disabilities. There are 40 schools in Rwanda that cater for special needs. Many of these are not well known and are not registered with the government. They may be willing to cater for those with special needs, but whether or not they have the skills and resources to do this very well is entirely another matter. No special consideration is likely to exist here. You are lucky to have one teacher in a class of 60 students – never mind a learning support teacher for those with additional needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment