BY MENGESHA AMARE
There is a golden saying goes, “Investing in posterity is building a nation on unwavering foundation,” and it exhibits the significance of capitalizing on children who are future fruits of the given nation that can take over the nation with its future.
The way people nurture children purely determines the future of the nation as ‘if they are raised in such a way that they could develop sense of patriotism, the country will be built on a dependable basis. However, if they are grown in a hostile and hatred-oriented atmosphere, they will always run to destruct their motherland.
The Ethiopian government has so far attached due emphasis to the education sector and harvested a great deal of success out of the sector especially with regard to primary education coverage. This means the foundation is being focused well.
However, the primary level of education has not received quality reward equivalent with the coverage that avails up to the lowest structure of the government organization.
Primary education centers especially in places where citizens have been displaced have to be well focused on to help children acquire what they have to gain.
For instance, in some places of the Tigray State primary level students are given due emphasis to pursue their education.
This writer talked to Tsehay Kiros, who lives around Ayat to listen to her heart beat about children’s education around her birth place, Wuqro.
Her cousin, nephew and grandchildren are attending their education there and were under stress following the conflict occurred for known reason. “Words become scarce for me to express the significance of the effort the government has exerted so far with regard to law enforcement in the State as the TPLF junta has never had any attention to promote various sectors mainly education. Surprisingly, there are students attainting their education in tents and open air surrounded by wooden chaff in various rural areas as the state government was busy digging fortress as the expense of their future,” Tsehay added.
As to her, the government has to consolidate efforts and work in collaboration with all concerned bodies to rehabilitate the State centering the education sector cognizant of the fact that education needs more attention, resources, and better ideas.
Attaching due emphasis to the education sector particularly the primary level is of paramount importance in pushing the country to the next level of success since educating children help ultimately build a better nation, continent and world at a larger scale.
“Capitalizing on education peculiarly on the primary level has called for the brightest and most determined minds of educators, who are always coming to the forefront when better education quality is centered.
Hence, teachers at all levels especially that of the primary level have to be provided with all the requirements as they can shape the generation for the first time,” she added.
The interim administration needs also to give them the space to explore the biggest issues in education from different perspectives, share what they have learned, and influence the future of education as they are role models for primary students more than anyone else.
“To the surprise of everyone, if a teacher at primary school or a baby-sitter at the kindergarten level tells children about one thing, what she/he said is taken for granted and the real thing to be stamped in the minds of the kids,” she stated.
According to Tsehay, the interim government of the Tigray State has now commenced very important steps to rebuild the state and buttress the efforts geared towards promoting education. It is a promising move, indeed.
She also pointed out that “Education is a right. It’s not a favor. Hence, educating children has to be given special emphasis focusing on hitting two principal targets: building a nation with educated citizens and brining about ethical, civic-minded and productive generation at the end of the day.”
Though it takes a bit longer time, maintaining social connection in all parts of the State is a crucial part of the education puzzle she said adding that in ideal circumstances, the interim is working hand in hand with the federal concerned bodies and functional school systems to take the State to the next level.
“What we have seen through the law enforcement journey is how much jealousy and self-centered local leaders were. They did not allow the people of Tigray to enjoy leading a stress free life and being productive via establishing a better rapport with neighboring states people like the Amhara and Afar,” she recommended.
No matter how challenging the scenario in the State was, now it has turned to be a stable place to learn. What is the interim government along with the federal one doing now can make the new generation ready for further development and change.
The status of quality of primary education in the state in particular and in Ethiopia in general needs to be measured by the proper parameter providing students and educators with what is demanded.
Given that early grade is the foundation for human and knowledge development, the government has to pay due attention to the sector at all levels. Students who start with learning problems at the lower level are likely to have limited capacity to succeed in upper grades.
According to Tsehay, the need for deepening our knowledge of quality dimensions in the Ethiopian policy context, reforming curriculum, conducting further and comprehensive research on critical achievement and inequality variables, and designing timely and appropriate intervention schemes to redress the problem is an appropriate measure.
“Children dropped out of school so as to assist their families in the household and agricultural activities. It also reveals that the dropout rate of girls is more than that of the boys due to the gender disparity in the country,” she added.
Progress in education is critical for human development in its own right and because of the links to health, equity, and empowerment. As there has been a widespread belief that educational development would lead to an accelerated economic growth, more wealth and income distribution, greater equality of opportunity, availability of skilled human power, a decline in population growth, national unity, and political stability, the foundation-the primary level of education-must be well eyed at.
She further stated that “a country which is unable to develop the skills and knowledge of its people and to utilize them effectively in the national economy will be unable to develop anything else.”
In order to address issue of local language, there is a need to have the use of the vernacular language during the transition from elementary to secondary.
Tsehay further elucidated that increasing the enrolment rate of children in primary school is about more than just increasing student numbers. Teachers need to be trained, curricula designed, and classrooms and resources sourced and maintained.
“Many children, especially in poor, rural areas, never enroll, because their families cannot afford the school fees, which can equal more than half percent of some families’ earnings.”
In sum, the interim government of the Tigray State is expected to work hard to promote education as it is a universal fact that the quality of education is primarily depending upon the curricula, text books, and infrastructure in any country, she opined.
To improve the quality of education in primary levels, the government and other stakeholders should focus on the areas as it is the very foundation for a prosperous nation.
The Ethiopian herald December 30/2020
