News
VSO appeal for education specialists in new South Sudan programme
V
SO is currently recruiting primary teachers, head teachers, inspectors and education managers to help tackle urgent challenges within education in South Sudan, where only 27% of the adult population is literate and only 37% has ever attended school, falling well below the Millennium Development Goal for education.
Following South Sudan’s independence in July 2011 after years of war, VSO has been working with the new government to identify ways to implement long term, efficient systems to strengthen essential services in health, education and civic society.
Volunteers are urgently required to share their expertise and professional support with South Sudanese teachers and managers, improving the quality of teacher training, education management and developing examination standards and practices.
VSO’s Country Director for South Sudan Alice Castillejo writes: Volunteering in South Sudan will not be easy, the climate is hot, the towns are dusty, and the infrastructure poor, but the country urgently needs support. More than 50 years of conflict has seriously disrupted the nation’s health and education services. Only 27% of over 15 year olds are literate and only 37% has ever attended school, falling well below the Millennium Development Goal for education.
At the moment schools are overcrowded and enrolments are on the increase, with an average of one teacher to 100 students. Most schools do not have toilets, which makes it difficult for girls to go to school once they have reached puberty. VSO volunteers will not be teaching children in South Sudan’s schools but will be addressing existing conditions by working in district councils and ministries to improve schools and education management. If there is a focus on improving school standards and having inspections then these issues will be picked up and improvements can be made, leading to a better environment for children to be educated. South Sudan currently does not have enough teacher training colleges, school inspection is not standardised and there are no exam boards. By the end of 2012 the curriculum will have entirely changed from Arabic to English which has been a significant challenge for teachers. VSO will be working with the government to help improve standards in education by establishing these structures, and ensuring there are the right tools in place to support training for teachers, school inspectors and examiners.
VSO is also looking for people who can work with communities and help them demand the government improve these essential services. The Republic of South Sudan is currently in the process of putting in place strategies to improve the education and health care of the nation, and citizens must be empowered to maintain the pressure on them to deliver. This is an exciting time to be working in South Sudan. The people, who are friendly and proud, are full of hope for the future and joyous about independence. After so many years of war, the government is producing a new constitution and South Sudanese people who left as refugees are now returning from other countries. Despite the huge challenges in establishing long term management structures and training in health and education, volunteers will have an opportunity to contribute to real change in South Sudan.
British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA)
Time for Schools to start spending again
S
ince Tony Blair’s notorious ‘education, education, education’ statement 15 years ago. schools have experienced a budget increase of, on average, 3.5 per cent per annum. So, while BESA’s recent ‘Resources in English Maintained Schools’ research shows that 2011/12 has seen budget cuts of 1.8 per cent in primary education to £676,000 per annum, and that secondary schools have experienced a 2.7 per cent drop to £4,068,000, schools still have significant funds to spend particularly when compared with budgets 10, five or even two years ago. So why are we seeing schools cutting back on spending? One reason is the fact that for the first time in 15 years, schools are being hit with a cut rather than a budget increase and consequently a level of panic set in. Another reason for spending cuts in schools is the delay in the Government’s National Curriculum Review until 2014. While there are certainly cuts in school’s budgets, they are aware that funding is available and therefore their outlook is positive. Taking budgets for technology in particular, in 2010 schools forecast that the following year’s primary school budgets would drop 7.8 per cent when they actually only dropped 4.6 per cent. Similarly in secondary education, in 2010 schools anticipated a budget drop of 8.2 per cent, while the reality was nearer 7.2 per cent.
What we are seeing at BESA is that schools are starting to become astute investors. Taking classroom furniture as an example, our recent research into furniture and storage investment in schools has revealed an estimated £78m investment across 2012/13 and an increasing recognition of ‘hidden’ costs such as maintenance, repair and long-term physical impact.
Both the Government and BESA stress the importance of schools continuing to invest in learning support, but spending wisely, and this is certainly what we are once again starting to see.
British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7537 4997 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7537 4846 Web:
www.besa.org.uk www.besa.org.uk/twitter
Alice centre stands with VSO volunteers and staff. 8
www.education-today.co.uk March 2012
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