The new academic year is just at the corner. I always recall the month of September with a mixed feeling of challenge and happiness. Getting ready to celebrate the New Year and readying kids for the new academic year was not easy for many families.
My late mother used to tell me that the month of Meskerem was also a challenge to her because she had to prepare all of us for the next academic year and also prepare for the celebration of the New Year.
One of the internationally accepted six quality learning outcomes is interrelated with quality learning environment which includes putting up student friendly classroom arrangements and clean and green school compound with special accessories like open play grounds and washrooms prepared with gender sensitivity. Besides, a number of factors that can easily distract the attention of school students need to either be abolished or minimized so that the students would be able to concentrate on their studies.
International quality education standards clearly indicate the role that is to be played by parents and guardians in helping students to perform well in their studies. There should be a regular meeting of parent, teachers and school administration committees to ensure the smooth running of the education system in all schools across the country.
Primary schools are the first stage of the educational ladder through which students are expected to progress. Specially selected school clubs in schools at this level will help students to identify their future vocations. School clubs related to the subject matter they learn in their classes will help them to effectively understand the values of their lessons. The city adminstration of Addis Ababa decided to promote quality education through a program it launched during this rainy season.
This year, the city government of Addis Ababa provided school uniforms, bags and stationery for students of more than 600 public schools in the city and also renovated more than 400 of them to make them all suitable for the learning-teaching process for education.
The program, which was the first of its kind in the history of Ethiopia’s education system clearly showed how government and private sector partnership, among other areas can contribute to the development of quality education in this country. Over the past years, one can say that less attention was given to the renovation of public schools which ultimately has forced parents to opt for expensive but tidy private schools in the city.
The project launched by the city administration will help students to appreciate the inputs that are provided to them to aspire higher for the better in their life. Through such supports, students would come to realize the focus made by the government and the entire public towards their upbringing.
Reports from the media also indicate that the city administration has already completed preparations to implement its plan of launching school feeding programs in the public primary schools as part of the program to encourage students to continue with their education and not cut classes due to lack of meals they need to get to closely follow their lessons in their classes.
The school feeding program is expected to improve the performance of students on their academic standards and will also help them to be more innovative and creative in their studies.
When the academic year sets in many families with lower level of income and sending a number of their kids to school worry about the provision of uniforms required in all schools in the city.
The city administration and the private sector have also entered into a new venture of partnership by providing basic social services to needy students for the first time. This in my opinion is a new experience particularly for the private sector in the city as the program has enabled them to discharge their social obligations by addressing the basic social needs of families who find it hard to provide all the needs of their children as they go to school.
The program launched by the city administration clearly indicates that providing the necessary education for school children is not something that is left only to families and the government. I think the entire process will help to promote philanthropy in addressing social issues collectively.
I understand that a number of local and international NGOs are already providing hygiene and sanitation materials to school children in the city on regular basis. Apart from further promoting their academic performances, such support programs cultivate healthy psychological make up on each child going to school and will also boost their self-confidence. All the more it will at least narrow the gap in school compounds between students of well-to-do families and of those needy families.
Along with addressing the basic needs of the students, deploying qualified and disciplined instructors in public schools, in my opinion, is the other thing that needs to be given proper attention. Furthermore, students with special needs should be provided with quality education that would meet their special needs. Of greater importance is the support that is to be provided to girl children who are reportedly subjected to all forms of abuses both in schools and their residential areas.
Experiences in and around schools both in the urban and rural areas show the importance of maintaining maximum level of peace and security not only in school compounds but also in the areas close to where the schools are located.
Unnecessary riots and identity-related conflicts among the students need to be fought off to avoid the safety and security of all students and to ensure riot free academic atmosphere. I have the opinion that in each school there should be a committee that serves as an early warning center to avoid any inconvenience in schools that could possibly end up in conflicts in school compounds.
Students need to grow up physically and mentally to appreciate the values of friendship, love and unity among themselves supported through a series of programs related to peer education and projects that will help them to get prepared for multi-faceted challenges they might face in their life time.
Apart from school compounds, the learning environment for students could be supplemented by visits to special museums in the city and also visits to various monuments that were erected to commemorate special events like victory day, martyrs day and the likes.
Special topics like peace and reconciliation education can be incorporated in the regular curriculum and educational syllabuses right from the pre-school level up to secondary schools so that students can clearly understand as they grow to human hood.
Learning is a lifelong process but what we learn in schools sets the basis for this long process of education. In the Ethiopian context, students at all levels are expected to gain all rounded knowledge including ethical and moral education that would help them to get prepared for their future life.
The support to be provided by the city administration or any section of the Ethiopian society should also include extracurricular activities such as tours to historical sites of the country so that the students could have a deeper knowledge of their country.
The Ethiopian Herald September 19, 2019
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
