Education: Regional Wisdom and Ways

Africa: Zimbabwe

In 2008, Zimbabwe experienced the worst cholera outbreak in its entire history. More than 600 people died in Zimbabwe in the outbreak, and it was declared a national and international emergency by the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. On November 30, 2008, the UN Reported more than 10,000 cholera cases and over 600 cholera deaths in Zimbabwe.The devastating cholera epidemic combined with a severe economic crisis nearly destroyed the education system in Zimbabwe. By the end of 2008, Zimbabwe’s education system nearly collapsed. Only ⅕ of students attended school in the Autumn of 2008.

UNICEF, with the support of the Netherlands and other partners, was able to assist Zimbabwe with the cholera outbreak and their educational crisis by establishing the the Education Transition Fund (ETF), to obtain resources and ensure Zimbabweans could access high quality education. The ETF initiative has supplied textbooks to over 5,575 Zimbabwean schools by launching the distribution of textbooks. The ETF is the first large scale, support for Zimbabwe’s schools and will supply resources and textbooks to the primary schools in Zimbabwe. 13 million textbooks will be printed under the ETF program so that students will get their necessary supplies and a text book in each compulsory subject: Mathematics, English, Environmental Science and the local Zimbabwean language. The ETF plans to extend support of secondary schools by guiding guide teachers providing textbooks for marginalized indigenous languages. The ETF initiatives are the stepping stones by which the Zimbabwean educational system can once again be sustainable and beneficial to Zimbabwean children.

Caribbean – Haiti

62% of adults in Haiti are literate, and 50% of the population of Haiti attend primary school. In the aftermath of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, the educational resources there are worse. In fact, “before the earthquake, Haiti’s education system was, at worst, inaccessible — with half the primary school-age children not in school — and at best “mediocre” (New York Times, 2010). After the earthquake, Haiti’s government and other organizations must work to fix the system and physical buildings so that children can attend classes once again.

During May 2010 – July 2010, a $4.2 billion five-year plan for pre-K to University education was drafted by the Haitian president. This plan would help to build new structures and help jump start educational efforts in Haiti once again. The plan will take some time to get construction projects, recruit teachers, and build a curriculum. However, with the right support and planning, Haiti and its people can benefit from the new educational initiatives to help it become a new Haiti.

Africa – Kenya

The majority of the people living in the Turkana region on Kenya are nomadic herders; 94 per cent of them lives in poverty. Because of their nomadic lifestyle, formal education is difficult to maintain for the Turkanan people. To cater to the Turkanan nomadic ways, Oxfam created Turkana Education For All (TEFA), an organization meant to serve the nomadic people living in Turkana and provide a quality education for them. The efforts of TEFA helped to create mobile schools for Turkanan families and raise child school enrollment in Turkana from 34% to 56% from 2007 to 2009. Oxfam expects more than 93,500 children to be enrolled in school in Turkana by 2011.The TEFA project also sets to raise the school enrollment number to meet the national average and ensure that more girls are attending school in Kenya.

The project is ensuring that local organizations and communities are equipped to manage and fund-raise for the schools without the assistance of Oxfam, which will provide the training and other support for sustenance. When TEFA can thrive on its own and keep the mission of maintaining the mobile schools, the underserved nomadic populations can obtain the necessary educational skills that they deserve.

Asia – Afghanistan

For Afghanistan, the adult female literacy rate in 2007 was 29%; 60% of females were attending primary school and 33% of females were attending secondary school. The paucity in the number of female students that continue on with their education in Afghanistan is staggering. To increase female enrollment in school and help empower women in Afghanistan to obtain higher education, organizations have made an effort to support educational programs for girls. Through the support of a program from UNICEF, girls play sports (including basketball), and participate in discussions about challenges facing women in Afghanistan at Gowarshad High School in Herat. Girls are encouraged to voice their opinions and participate in debates at the school.

The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), an NGO founded aimed at reducing poverty levels in communities, supports over 2,500 community-based schools in Afghanistan. Most of the 84,500 students enrolled at the schools are girls.BRAC’s community-based schools offer basic education skills and allow students to enter the formal school system upon completion; 95% of the students completing the school do so. By investing in girl’s education in Afghanistan, they have a better chance of contributing to the good of the country and lead it in a new positive direction.

Caribbean – Jamaica

Jamaica has a population of 2,847,232 (July 2010 est.). Approximately 127,000 Jamaican youth ages 14-24 do not attend school. To remedy the amount of youth not attending school, the Jamaican government established the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL). This organization supports UNESCO’s goal of Universal Education for All and has an additional goal for universal secondary education. JFLL also offers a number of programs to assist youth and adults in achieving their educational potential. Each program is catered to a specific grade level and offers achievement tests and placements for students to gain the knowledge they need to be successful.

JFLL credits its courses and curriculum to motivating Jamaicans to succeed. Many students have benefited from the program and improved their lives. Often students have dismal grades and have no chance to attend secondary school or university due to lack of motivation. However, once enrolled in JFLL, students are encouraged to succeed and are placed along the right path to learn. Once students gain confidence and excel at one subject, they are more apt to learn more. The JFLL has been beneficial to both citizens and Jamaica as a whole.