Education

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Reflexiones de una maestra venezolana a otra maestra y otro maestro de cualquier parte en el Día Internacional de la Educación.

Lourdes Urbaez

Por: Lourdes Velásquez de Urbáez

Venezuela atraviesa desde hace veinte años una enriquecedora etapa de cambios y nuevas posturas que la estremecen en todas las dimensiones de la vida. La educación no es la excepción. En medio de esta guerra feroz, la vida continúa en las aulas pero las heridas de la guerra están en la pizarra que el docente no puede borrar por mayores intentos individuales y colectivos, los niños sin comer, sin bañarse, sin ilusiones ni esperanza continúan en su ida y vuelta a la escuela.

Importante es preguntarse ¿Por qué? ¿Qué los mueve a ir a la escuela? Importante y fácil adivinar que sus padres los llevan para poder irse tranquilos a trabajar, otra razón pudiera ser que los llevan porque en el colegio les aseguran la comida a través del programa PAE, otra puede ser porque no les gusta quedarse solos es mejor ir a jugar con los amiguitos, con ellos se le olvida el hambre y la sed, la desnudes y tantas carencias.

¿Por qué el maestro continúa en el ejercicio de la docencia? El sueldo no alcanza para pagar el transporte que lo llevará a la escuela, ni para la comida de sus hijos, ni para un lapicero, un cuaderno. ¿Por qué? Son muchos porqueses juntos, con los mismos interrogadores y los mismos respondedores. Entonces por qué no nos juntamos a buscar esas respuestas y mientras tanto tratemos de dar solución, desde nuestra carencia, a la carencia del otro más débil pero que es nuestra responsabilidad, el niño, la niña, él y la joven.

Lo que proponemos hoy es buscar en nosotros, no en los otros, alguna alternativa para palear esta situación que no va a cambiar sola, requiere un empujón que tú y yo le demos. Entonces, cómo empujar? no todos tenemos la misma posibilidad y fuerza para emprender la tarea de la misma forma; además es muy compleja y no todos podremos hacer lo mismo. Todos tenemos algo que dar, pues somos maestros y llegamos a nuestra formación inicial en pregrado, cargados de sueños y metas por cumplir; por lo que todos podemos hacer un poquito.

Además del podemos, se requiere el debemos, por cuanto es nuestra obligación profesional, son los deberes laborales y deontológicos los que imponen, en la mayoría de los casos, a buscar dentro de nuestra condición de maestros ese puedo que la guerra, la crisis, el hambre y la necesidad ha sepultado en la profundidad de nuestras vidas. Somos profesionales responsables, dignos del título que ostentamos, de la Ley de Educación que estudiamos y de esos niños que la Patria, la Escuela y los Padres nos han encomendado. Así que con todo esto en nuestro equipaje, nos dedicamos día a día a dar vida en un aula.

Hasta aquí, muy bien, sin embargo además del podemos y el debemos ¿cómo está el queremos? Realmente queremos continuar en esta profesión que ocasiona gastos económicos, de salud, emocionales, familiares, entre otros?

Pues si no queremos, no hay podemos ni debemos que valga. Este es el momento para que lo pienses. Este momento de dura lucha, al momento de servir la comida en la mesa, de vestir a nuestros hijos, de buscar y no encontrar un medicamento; en este momento es cuando todo esto compite con el queremos y la respuesta no puede darse en la inmediatez de todas las cosas de esta sociedad con sus valores emergentes.

Esperen, por favor, aún no he respondido, déjame pensar, conciencia, déjame pensar docencia. Es el momento de buscar allá en el fondo de tu corazón esa respuesta porque si no hay querer en esto que supere los sufrires de la realidad, serás una persona responsable, capacitada pero con una amargura que enfermará tu vida, la de los estudiantes a tu cargo y la de tu familia. Si no hay quereres puedes hacer tres cosas: huir, aprender a amar lo que haces y no amas, luchar para que las herramientas del poder y del deber faciliten la labor de asumir la Docencia con todas las limitaciones de un pueblo devastado y con todo el amor de un maestro enamorado.

Si vas a huir, no sigas leyendo, retírate dignamente con la satisfacción de haber cumplido con tu deber a pesar de tantas carencias y hasta maltrato. De lo contrario, te quedan las otras dos alternativas que, caminando juntas o juntándolas en tu caminar te proporcionarán una ilusión por la que ir a la escuela.

Algunos autores expresan que sonreír cambia el mundo, Sonríe cada vez que puedas a tus niños, es la primera tarea para aprender a amar la docencia; pero no sonrías nunca a la injusticia, a la mentira, al atropello y a la vejación; allí comienza la otra alternativa, la lucha, orientada por un fin, la Educación de esos niños que serán los profesionales que muy pronto tendrán la responsabilidad de dirigir la sociedad en todos sus aspectos, uno de ellos, el más importante, la Educación y recordarán a su maestra que luchó por un mundo mejor, que mientras se secó una lágrima con una mano, con la otra empuñó el trabajo, el ejercicio de la Docencia como el arma liberadora de los pueblos que tenemos los Educadores.

Y así enseñaremos para la libertad, como Simón enseñó a Simón, para lo grande y para lo hermoso. Nadie ha dicho que será fácil, las canas de esta maestra encubren muchas lágrimas y sin sabores y mucha indignación y mucho reclamo hecho con la pasión de quien sabe que al final, la que llaman conciencia reclamará por lo que habiendo podido hacer, no hiciste, y cuando un joven te robe pensarás ese pudo ser mi alumno y cuando te seda el puesto en el bus también pensarás lo mismo.

Muchas veces no acertaremos pues no siempre las políticas educativas ayuda al resultado feliz de la lucha y del amor; sin embargo el trabajo que hemos realizado, aunque mal pagado y con limitaciones será un aprendizaje para pensar por qué no lo logré? Posiblemente estuvimos solos en esta lucha, tal vez no tuvimos acceso a una formación continua que nos permitiera utilizar las herramientas que el mundo utiliza para luchar contra la labor del maestro.

Alguien dijo una vez “si no puedes vencer al enemigo, únete a él y lo vencerás en su propio terreno”. Es el caso de las nuevas tecnologías, con los video juegos atractivos para los niños que los dejan embelezados, suprimiendo toda su capacidad para pensar.

Qué tal si nos unimos a ellos, si creamos nuestros propios videos juegos didácticos y aprovechamos que en Venezuela la mayoría de los niños tienen una canaimita!! Y los padres podrán ayudarlos si no tienen ningún conocimiento de esto? Será que podremos enseñarlos? Y qué hacer con los padres que le quitan la canaimita a los niños para hacer negocios, juegos de azar, etc.

Todo esto está en la mesa y sólo el maestro conoce la realidad que vive cada niño, con la complejidad de que cada niño es una situación diferente.

Los niños trabajadores, explotados con trabajos infames, los niños bachaqueros son nuestra responsabilidad. No somos instructores, somos Educadores, vamos un poco más allá de los contenidos conceptuales, exigidos por los programas.

Acá juega un papel fundamental la Subjetividad del Educador que sale al encuentro de la Subjetividad del Niño y ellos se encuentran, hoy, mañana, no sabemos pero ese encuentro ocurre si somos capaces de tender puentes en lugar de paredes entre el niño y nosotros.

Éste es otro llamado, tender puentes entre tú y el niño; entre tú y el conocimiento; entre tú y la familia, o la institución responsable de él, o la calle, o el explotador que lo tiene trabajando.

Luego llevar a casa sus cuadernos, leer sus escritos, mirar sus dibujos. La tarea para el hogar no es para el niño, es para el maestro. El niño pasó toda la mañana y media tarde trabajando contigo. También como todos nos cansamos pero la tarea continúa un día y otro día.

Se acabó el dinero para llegar a la escuela, tienes que ir, hay paro de transporte, tienes que ir, está lloviendo, tienes que ir, un sol muy fuerte, tienes que ir, te sientes mal, tienes que ir porque en la escuela te espera tu vida: la Docencia y esas vocecitas que te dicen ¿Qué tiene maestra? Eso te hace olvidar tu cansancio.

Pero ahí se impone también, con el amor, la lucha. Cerca de tu casa hay una escuela, cerca de todos hay una escuela y ninguno de nosotros trabajamos ahí, nos encontramos en sentido contrario de nuestro caminar, con otros maestros que vienen de muy lejos, de donde yo trabajo, a dictar clases en la escuela que está ubicada cerca de mi casa.

La realidad comunitaria que viven diariamente nuestros niños es diferente a la que vivimos sus maestros. Nuestros alumnos no son nuestros vecinos y a la inversa. Si pudiéramos comenzar con un poco de organización en este sentido, tendríamos más tiempo para dedicarle a esos niños de la Patria; pudiéramos reconocer y vivir en nuestra cotidianidad los horarios de las faenas propias de sus comunidades; así entenderíamos a por qué el hijo del pescador llega más tarde o por qué en época de la cosecha los niños no van a la escuela, por citar algunos ejemplos, en los que aún, fuera del aula estaríamos compartiendo la vida con nuestros niños.

Con esta pequeña acción se juntarían en la vida del maestro y la maestra, el poder, el deber y el querer

            Éste sería un buen regalo a la Educación hoy en su Día Internacional!!

Lourdes Velásquez de Urbáez

Coordinadora del Centro Internacional Miranda / Capítulo Monagas

Colaboradora de Otra Voces en Educación

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United States: Smaller Class Sizes Not Proven but Teachers Strike for Them

Noticias

North America/ United States/ 23.01.2019/ Source: www.usnews.com.

Most educators and parents see class size as an indicator of a quality education and have made it a priority in teacher strikes across the United States, but its effectiveness is still up for debate.

Most educators and parents see class size as an indicator of a quality education and have made it a priority in teacher strikes across the United States in the past year, but its effectiveness is still up for debate.

There’s no universal standard for the best class size, though some states and school districts have instituted policies, particularly in lower grades. While many believe smaller is better, studies are mixed on exactly how much it can improve academic outcomes, considering the cost.

The ratio of students to teachers is at the heart of a teacher strike in the nation’s second-largest school district, where tens of thousands of Los Angeles educators walked out Monday. Teachers have complained about having kids sitting on window sills or the floor of overcrowded classrooms that can push past 45 students.

Farther north, some teachers in Oakland called in sick Friday as part of an unofficial rally over their contract negotiations, which also hinge partly on a demand for smaller class sizes.

At the high school level, Los Angeles has routinely had more students per teacher than the national average, said John Rogers, a professor of education at University of California, Los Angeles.

He said there’s no easy way to assess the impact of class size on educational outcomes over the last couple of decades in the Los Angeles Unified School District — in part because classes have been overcrowded despite a state mandate calling for an average class size of 30 students through eighth grade.

Rogers said the question of whether districts should be able to increase class size unilaterally is important because it makes teachers feel they lack control over learning conditions.

«When your class size can be increased dramatically, you lose the ability to ensure that you can do right by the students you are serving,» Rogers said.

United Teachers Los Angeles is demanding the elimination of a longstanding contract clause giving the district authority over class sizes. If the district won’t agree to remove the provision, union leaders say they can’t trust that school officials won’t ignore any deal it cuts on class sizes in the future.

The district has insisted on replacing it with new language that also grants it power to raise class sizes under certain conditions, including a financial emergency. It said its latest contract offer included $100 million to add nearly 1,000 additional teachers, nurses, counselors and librarians in 2019-20 and reduce some class sizes. Schools with the greatest needs would see larger reductions — about four students per class.

But union president Alex Caputo-Pearl said the district’s offers were limited to one year and then class sizes could spike again and new staff could be cut. He has called class size a «fundamental issue» that’s directly «about educator working conditions.»

Superintendent Austin Beutner has said he would like to reduce class sizes even more but the district simply doesn’t have the money. He has suggested the union might consider trading other contract demands for greater reductions in class size.

Brent Smiley, a 23-year district veteran who teaches at Sherman Oaks Center For Enriched Studies, said he’s had as many as 42 students in one class and that his smallest has 39.

«Struggling to keep them focused can be an impossible task,» he said this week.

A 2016 report by the National Education Policy Center suggested class sizes be set as low as 15 students in lower grades and found that all things being equal, the student ratio affected their academic achievement.

William Mathis, who authored the study as an education policy expert at the University of Colorado, pointed to a 1979 study that tracked young students in smaller classes in Tennesseeand saw lasting effects. The children had better grades and test scores, fewer disciplinary issues and an increased likelihood of going to college.

The gains were twice as large for poor and minority students and so convincing that in 1998 President Bill Clinton pushed a $12 billion class size reduction program through Congress, though academic disparities remain.

Mathis contends that smaller class sizes in younger grades work because teacher quality improves and getting more attention helps children develop skills, such as establishing peer groups and positive attitudes, that are needed to progress to more intense learning.

«The bigger the class, the more likely you are to treat kids as a big group, and you don’t read papers as good, you don’t read them as closely, you don’t have as much attention to give to each child,» Mathis said of teacher quality.

But Matthew Chingos, vice president of the Urban Institute’s Center on Education Data and Policy, is skeptical of a one-size-fits-all approach. He’s studied state-regulated class sizes and says that it may not be the «biggest bang for the buck» for every classroom.

Requiring a school to have more teachers is expensive and potentially problematic, he argues, because it limits local control at the campus level, which in turn can dilute teacher quality.

California tried to boost its reading and math scores between 1996 and 2013 with a program that gave extra money to schools if they reduced kindergarten through third-grade classes down to 20 students.

That experiment, Chingos said, didn’t prove its worth because there was no prior data for comparison.

Without more high-quality research, Chingos said parents and teachers both push for smaller class sizes based largely on their intuition that it’s better for children. Teachers also benefit, including adding to the union ranks, he said.

«Class sizes are a political winner. No one thinks it’s bad. If money grew on trees, then sure,» Chingos said.

 

Source of the notice: https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2019-01-20/smaller-class-sizes-not-proven-but-teachers-strike-for-them

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Australian teachers are ‘at the end of their tethers’ and abandoning the profession, sparking a crisis

Noticias

Oceania/ Australia/ 23.01.2019/ Source: www.news.com.au.

Australia is facing an education crisis as hordes of disillusioned and burnt-out teachers flee the profession, with potentially damaging ramifications for the whole country.

Former educators have spoken to news.com.au about the “miserable” conditions driving an estimated 40 per cent of graduates to quit within the first five years of entering the workforce.

And at the other end of the spectrum, a growing number of veterans are walking away from the job in frustration.

“By the time I walked out of that classroom on my very last day as a teacher, I didn’t feel any sadness or regret — just relief,” former teacher Sally Mackinnon, who quit after 13 years, told news.com.au.

“I was at the end of my tether. My time was up. I didn’t want to be a teacher who just didn’t give a crap and was turning up for a job. Kids deserve more than that. They deserve passion and energy. But it’s so hard to maintain that, and I wasn’t alone.”

Research and first-hand accounts of former teachers indicates a potent mix of stress, workload, parental abuse and pay are combining to push many to breaking point.

A decade since leaving, Ms Mackinnon knows of only one or two ex-colleagues who are still employed full-time, with most having left or moved to part-time hours.

“These are really good teachers,” she said. “That makes me really sad.”

Up to 40 per cent of graduate teachers quit the profession within the first five years of work, sparking a national education crisis.Source:News Limited

Adam Voigt became a school principal at just 35 after a long run as a respected teacher, but he also walked away from his dream career due to its crushing reality.

“It’s not just about paying teachers more. It’s not just about improving conditions. We’ve got to get sophisticated about how we tackle the problem to meet the entire workforce’s needs.”

A BROKEN SYSTEM

Since leaving, Mr Voigt has become an education consultant who works with individual schools to improve their culture and conditions, addressing the issues forcing teachers out.

“If you view the education workforce as a bucket and you want high-quality water in it, you can pour better quality in or you can fix the two big holes in the bottom,” Mr Voigt said.

“The first thing most would do is fix the holes, but we’re not.”

Labor this week announced a plan to raise university entrance scores for education degrees, in a bid to lift teacher quality.

While it was an “admirable” idea, Mr Voigt said it would do little on its own to help.

“Nationally, we need to have the uncomfortable conversation around pay and conditions. Tanya Plibersek wants the same level of competition to get into teaching as you find with medicine. You’ve got to pay teachers like doctors then.

“What’s the point of luring them into teaching degrees if they quit after a few years of working? It’s a waste of time and energy.

“We can’t wait until teachers are completely wrung out to deal with why they’re unhappy. We need to figure out how we’ve gotten here in the first place.”

Growing up, Ms Mackinnon loved school and adored her teachers, and always wanted to follow in her mum’s footsteps by becoming an educator.

After graduating, she went to university and then achieved her lifelong dream, which she “absolutely loved”.

“I threw myself in 100 per cent. I was dedicated and did the long hours, my life revolved around the classroom,” she said.

“But at about the 10-year mark something happened. I wasn’t sure I could continue to work as passionately as I had. It was time to move on.”

A combination of factors contributed to tear away at her spirit — the constantly growing and enormous burden of administrative tasks one of the big issues.

“I went from being able to spend most of my time dedicated to my students, planning great lessons and putting my energy into my classroom, to being taken over by meetings, paperwork and checking boxes for the sake of it,” Ms Mackinnon said.

It’s something Mr Voigt can relate to, saying the role of a principal has shifted from school leader and mentor to corporate manager.

Most of the paperwork he had to do was “pointless” box-ticking and red tape that offered little-to-no value to the school environment, he said.

“There was a study about how principals spend their time and less than one per cent was talking to teachers about students. That should be the core business of their role.

“For principals, it’s the administrative load they’re expected to carry. The sheer volume of paperwork is absolutely enormous. What you’re expected to deal with and the hours you’re expected to work are huge.

“They’re sitting in their offices forced to write reports and do admin when they should be helping teachers to become better teachers.”

Another factor that current and former teachers say is making the job a nightmare is the attitude of parents, which seems to have shifted dramatically in the past decade.

Mr Voigt said the “blame game” was becoming worse, with mums and dads expecting schools to be a single solution for every requirement.

“We wind up crowding schools with nonsense. Instead of teaching kids how to learn and to be good citizens, we teach them how to drive, how to eat, how to have manners … all of those things that take up precious time.”

The biggest losers from the teaching crisis will be Australian students — and that will have long-term ramifications for the whole country.

The biggest losers from the teaching crisis will be Australian students — and that will have long-term ramifications for the whole country.Source:istock

And when a kid gets in trouble, the teacher inevitably does too, he said.

“Thirty years ago, if you got in trouble at school then you were in trouble twice — once there and again at home,” he said.

“Now, the parent goes down to the classroom and thumps desks and complains. We’re no longer on the same page about turning these kids into good citizens. We’re arguing about who’s right.”

An assistant principal in Sydney, who asked not to be named, said educators were now focusing on how to deal with aggressive parents.

“Part of initial meetings with my new colleagues at a new school included plans to support me as I cop abuse from both parents and students.

“We (are meant to) report each incident that occurs … but many don’t because they simply don’t have time.”

Ms Mackinnon also said students and their parents began to change as she was leaving the job — something her teacher friends say only got worse with the rise of social media and smartphones.

“The perception of being a revered position has gone and it’s quite thankless,” she said.

TEACHERS ARE MISERABLE

Ms Mackinnon entered a new career as a personal stylist and started her own business in Melbourne 10 years ago, which has been a huge success.

She’s occasionally asked if she misses her former life and whether she ever considered going back one day.

“I feel sad to say it, but no, absolutely not,” Ms Mackinnon said.

“I caught up with a girlfriend recently who is still teaching and she said her job feels more like being a policewoman. She’s one of the few that still is teaching, by the way. Most of my friends have either left or gone part-time.”

Sally Mackinnon quit teaching and started a new career as a personal stylist and said she hasn’t looked back.Source:Supplied

Another former teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said there was a risk of future educators “becoming so disillusioned that they don’t enter it in the first place”.

“Teaching is the most incredibly rewarding job and I’d hate to see there ever being a time when society runs out of quality teachers,” they said.

Meanwhile, the former assistant principal said he was burning out and “doing damage to myself” but, since leaving, couldn’t be happier.

“It’s mainly about the workload and level of disrespect from parents,” he said.

There was a growing awareness about the issues facing teachers — and the national consequences of the exodus from the workforce, Mr Voigt said.

It’s not just young teachers quitting — veterans at the other end are also burning out and leaving.

It’s not just young teachers quitting — veterans at the other end are also burning out and leaving.Source:Supplied

However, the conversation still has negative undertones that needed to be addressed.

“People seem to have lost trust in schools and teachers over a long period of time,” Mr Voigt said.

“The conversation is about how they should just be happy because they get to knock off at 3.30pm and they get lots of holidays. The teaching workforce isn’t soft. They’re representative of any workforce and they’re landing in awful conditions.”

CHILDREN ARE SUFFERING

The consequences of the worsening issue affect more than just parents, with Australia running the risk of an entire generation of kids receiving a sub-par education.

A report by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership warned the mass exodus of teachers would lead to “the loss of quality teaching graduates, which could in turn impact the development of a strong workforce of experienced, high-calibre teachers”.

For graduates, most enter the profession with “positive motivations to teach … and a desire to be good teachers”, the report said.

But a high workload and a lack of support cause many to become disillusioned and exit early into their careers.

Across the board, a government report in 2014 indicated that 5.7 per cent of the teaching workforce was walking away each year.

“The students will suffer,” Mr Voigt said. “They already are. We have a big problem and we need to do something.”

In a paper for the Australian Journal of Teacher Education, Shannon Mason from Griffith University said teacher attrition is “costly, both for a nation’s budget and for the social and academic outcomes of its citizens”.

And the problem would be worst-felt in non-metropolitan areas, in undesirable schools and in specific discipline areas such as senior mathematics and science, Ms Mason warned.

“The teaching profession is becoming devalued in a context of heightened pressure to perform on standardised testing, intensificration of teachers’ workloads and a broadening of the role that teachers play in the lives of their students,” she said.

Source of the notice: https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/australian-teachers-are-at-the-end-of-their-tethers-and-abandoning-the-profession-sparking-a-crisis/news-story/43c1948d6def66e0351433463d76fcda

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The impossible is in the mind of the sluggard by Pablo Fernández (Video)

Reseñas

Por: TEDxMarDelPlata.

«My capacities and abilities did not change. When someone has an accident, initially all is chaos; I had to adapt some things, but others did not change. However, it was quite hard, but not impossible. It is a choice to put yourself in this place or another. This entire journey was done to have better quality of life, to achieve small independences and to know that things gradually settle in. It is true that there were and there are many barriers in life, but from my experience I can only tell you that no one show make you believe that something is impossible: The impossible is in the mind of the sluggard.» Pablo Fernández holds a degree in Graphic Design and Visual Communications.

In 2004, he suffered a post-traumatic injury that left a sequel that today affects the overall mobility of the body. Two years later he resumed his studies and received a BA in Graphic Design and Audiovisual Communications from CAECE University. He currently works as a designer in the area of ​​Marketing and Communication of the tourism entity of Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Fuente del vídeo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DgpIDlV_CY

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Impact of education financing on Nigeria’s economic growth

Racheal Ishaya

By: Racheal Ishaya.

There are currently increasing complaints about poor standard of education at a period when globalisation demands much from the educational system in terms of preparation of skillful labour force.

The major challenge of public education still remains the commitment by the government to focus on funding public education to enhance qualitative learning.

Education funding comes from different sources. The major one for all levels of government is public revenue from taxation and proceeds from crude oil.

These funds are reported to be distributed among primary, secondary and tertiary educational levels in the proportion of 30 per cent, 30 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.

To create more awareness on the issue of education financing, with the hope of getting policy change, Action  Aid and its partners in December, 2018, held a two day  meeting tagged “Breaking Barriers to Education’’ in Sokoto and Lagos.

In both cities, the meetings had in attendance representatives of the state Ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Education, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Civil Society Organisations and the Association of Persons with Disabilities.

The Education Programme Cordinator, Action Aid Nigeria, Mr Laban Onisimus said in spite of  the general consensus on the importance of education, many governments were spending less on education.

“People pay taxes for basic services and in most countries around the world one of the first expectations of tax payers is that their government will invest in providing basic education.

“Indeed it is part of the fundamental unwritten contract between citizens and the state that tax money will be spent on providing public schools accessible to all children,’’ he said.

Onisimus said that most of the working population in the country were reluctant to pay their taxes because of the poor quality of public schools and other services in the country.

Onisimus revealed that the Action Aid through the Breaking Barriers Project was working with stakeholders in Lagos and Sokoto to advocate for increase in budgetary allocation to the education sector.

Similarly, Mr Chinedu Bassey from CISLAC said that poor funding of the education sector has led to under performance in the Nigerian economy.

He noted that sufficient budgetary allocation to the education sector was a problem in the country, especially during election years.

#10YrsChallenge Federal Government’s Budgetary Allocation to Education from 2009-2019

Year Budget Education Allocation
2009 N3.049 trillion N221.19 billion
2010 N4.608 trillion N249.09 billion
2011 N4.972 trillion N306.3 billion
2012 N4.877 trillion N400.15 billion
2013 N4.987 trillion N426.53 billion
2014 N4.962 trillion N493 billion
2015 N4.493 trillion N392.2 billion
2016 N6.06 trillion N369.6 billion
2017 N7.444 trillion N550 billion
2018 N8.612 trillion N605.8 billion
2019 (proposed) N8.83 trillion N462.24 billion

 

Bassey said that the government would be in a position to increase funding to education and provide better public services when it improves its revenue generation.

He said that the guaranteed way to improve revenue was for government to block illicit financial flows and other avenues for revenue leakages, eliminate multiple taxation and improve accountability for tax revenue.

Observers believe that educational expenditure has a significant effect on the Nigerian economic growth.

They say that the gains include increase in productivity, worker’s income, poverty reduction, acts as a vehicle for promoting equity, fairness and social justice.

They agreed that enhanced investment on education in the country would help supply the essential human capital which is a necessary condition for sustained economic growth.

Source of the article: https://www.nan.ng/news/impact-of-education-financing-on-nigerias-economic-growth/

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Three years on: Girls returning from conflict in DR Congo find acceptance through education

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Africa/ Republic of Congo/ 21.01.2019/ Source: reliefweb.int.

“My community now accepts me without question and sometimes girls in my community come to visit me. This makes me happy.”

Since we began research in Eastern DR Congo three years ago this month, life for this 16-year-old girl and hundreds like her formerly associated with armed groups has changed immeasurably.

In January 2016 we set out to understand what happens when girls return home from armed conflict and assess the support they receive once free from armed groups.

After weeks of interviews – we spoke with more than 150 returned girls, community members, local NGOs and others across Congo’s eastern provinces – it was abundantly clear that many girls were suffering immensely because of their experiences. The source of their greatest misery was often not memories from the bush as one might think, but how they were treated once home.

Rejected by family and friends, girls coming home were being ostracised by their communities because of their association with an armed group.

“Every girl from the bush, the community points to her and says: ‘Watch out: HIV.”

Alongside our local partners we wanted to reverse this shocking reality. To tangibly improve the reintegration support given to returning girls in the region we knew we had to ask them directly what specific assistance they required.

The overwhelming wish for many was to feel accepted again by their communities. One very efficient way of achieving this was by returning to education.

“If we could go to school, the community would be nicer to us, we would get some consideration.”

Over the proceeding months and after dialogue with schools, religious leaders and senior community members, we began to implement projects to improve reintegration support for girls.

The findings from our research led to the creation of a research report and a Practical Guide in 2017. Focusing on low-cost community initiatives to eradicate stigma and improve community acceptance, the guide has since been shared in 46 local communities, leading to more girls being welcomed and accepted.

Initiatives include religious leaders involving girls in church activities, engaging local women to run listening sessions so girls can share their thoughts without judgement and organising ‘Welcome Ceremonies’ to offer a welcoming gesture on behalf of the family and the community, emphasizing their responsibility to care for their child.

“I have friends at school and in my neighbourhood. I love to get involved in church activities like singing in the choir. I’m accepted by my community and I’m happier now.”

As of January 2019, our education projects have helped 245 girls formerly associated with armed groups and other vulnerable girls return to school or attend numeracy and literacy classes and five have started university. Some of them, having graduated the numeracy and literacy classes, proceeded to agricultural training and are now growing peanuts and maize together as a cooperative.

“I just finished primary school and soon I will begin secondary school. I’m so proud to be going to school.”

In February 2018 we also launched our National Action Groups. Comprised of local NGOs, community figures and government representatives, the groups are using the Practical Guide to raise awareness among communities about how they can better welcome and support returning girls.

Source of the notice: https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/three-years-girls-returning-conflict-dr-congo-find-acceptance

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Where’s the aid money gone? Afghan girls’ struggle for education (Vídeo)

Noticias

Asia/ Afganistan/ By: Melissa Fung/ Source: www.aljazeera.com.

Despite billions of dollars being poured into girls’ education in Afghanistan, conditions at schools remain rudimentary

Kabul, Afghanistan – «See, this is our school. You can see where the girls are.»

Sixteen-year-old Mahnoz Aliyar is one of the 14,000 students of Kabul’s Sayedul Shohada school. The road leading up to the school gate is not paved and potholes full of muddy water make it difficult to navigate. Conditions are little better inside the gates.

Mahnoz points to a big open field.

«You see? We don’t have any classrooms, we don’t have any buildings, and we don’t have enough facilities for the girls.»

Some classes are held under makeshift tents; others are held out in the open, with nothing to buffer the girls from the elements of Afghanistan‘s punishing summers and bitter winters.

While the girls persevere through rain, hail or shine, boys attend classes inside several buildings on the school grounds.

Still, the fact that girls are attending school is a huge improvement from the days of Taliban rule, when girls and women were banned from getting an education.

Thanks largely to the efforts of international donors who have spent billions of dollars rebuilding the Afghan education system, millions of girls have returned to school since the Taliban fell in 2001.

However, their exact numbers are unknown.

‘He was saying that school is not good for girls’

A 2017 World Bank report suggests that as many as 66 percent of Afghanistan’s girls are not in school. And those who are enrolled still struggle to get an education. They have to fight against a society that has long discouraged them, a corrupt system and a lack of proper facilities that disadvantages them.

Mahnoz has been a student at Sayedul Shohada since the first grade. She’s now in grade 11 and hopes to attend the American University in Kabul after she graduates next year.

«I want to learn there. After that, I want to get a job. After that, I plan to go into politics. I want to go into politics and I want to supply everything for the girls. That’s my wish.»

But it will take more than her own fierce determination if Mahnoz is to achieve her goals.

First, she needs her country to be stable. According to a recent Human Rights Watchreport, instability is one of the main reasons why so many girls are out of school. Families are less likely to send girls to school in insecure conditions than boys.

Even in the relative security of their neighbourhood, the Dascht-e-Barchi district of west Kabul, Mahnoz’s father, Allahdad, says he worries about Mahnoz and her younger sister every day when they make the half-hour walk to school. He has reason to be worried – a recent bomb blast just two kilometres from their school killed 60 people.

I want to learn there. After that, I want to get a job. After that, I plan to go into politics. I want to go into politics and I want to supply everything for the girls.

MAHNOZ ALIYAR, STUDENT

In addition to safety concerns, cultural norms still dictate many girls’ lives.

Allahdad was at first reluctant to allow Mahnoz to go to school. But she’s managed to convince him otherwise.

«Before he was saying … that school is not good for girls,» she recalls. «And the girls should work in the home, cleaning, washing, these things. But right now, he is OK. I am always saying to him the world has changed. And we should learn knowledge, we should go to school.»

Mahnoz’s father, Allahdad, at his shop in West Kabul. First reluctant, he now wants Mahnoz to study medicine at university, but she is more interested in politics [Max Walker/Al Jazeera]

If the struggle to get to school is one hurdle, girls face even more obstacles once they are enrolled.

An independent review of corruption in the education system revealed that the poor quality of education leads many parents to pull their daughters out of school.

WATCH

Muzaffar Shah, the former director of Afghanistan’s anti-corruption agency, says that’s because teaching jobs often go to those who can afford to bribe their way into jobs rather than those who are most qualified.

«Our findings show that there was more discrimination against women,» he says. «Whereas males had more access to get those jobs – either through recommendations, through knowing people, through knowing influential people. And this was not the case for females.»

An estimated 75 percent of teaching graduates are unemployed, with most of them being women who do not have those connections or cannot afford to pay a bribe.

Getting more female teachers into classrooms could mean more families would be willing to send their daughters to school – many families will not accept men teaching their girls.

There was more discrimination against women. Males had more access to get those [teaching] jobs – either through recommendations, through knowing people, through knowing influential people. And this was not the case for females.

MUZAFFAR SHAH, THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF AFGHANISTAN’S ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCY

‘If there are ghost schools, who gets the money?’

The anti-corruption report also found that most schools still lack basic infrastructure, despite the billions of dollars international donors have invested in construction and rehabilitation of school buildings. Most, according to the report, are still incomplete.

«Our findings show that literally money was taken in cash to remote parts of Afghanistan by the trustees, and we had information that the money did not make it to the right people,» Shah explains.

Money was taken in cash to remote parts of Afghanistan by the trustees, and we had information that the money did not make it to the right people.

MUZAFFAR SHAH, THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF AFGHANISTAN\’S ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCY

Back at Sayedul Shohada, Aqeela Tavakoli, the principal of the girls’ school, explains that Japanese donors built two new buildings for the girls five years ago. But the school shura, or local council, decided to give those buildings to the boys.

Aqeela points to a large patch of ground near one of the new buildings and says: «That is for the girls, but no one has come to build a school.»

Because of the deteriorating security climate in Afghanistan, most donors can’t get out of their embassy compounds to monitor the projects they support. That lack of oversight, Muzaffar Shah says, can often drive corruption.

«The schools are located in areas which are insecure. It’s hard to know if those schools are there or not – if there are ghost teachers, if there are ghost schools, if there are ghost principals, who gets the money?»

Girls at Sayedul Shahada school carry their makeshift blackboard to a tent. With most buildings given to the boys, the girls’ classes are often interrupted by rain [Max Walker/Al Jazeera]

‘We’ve learned hard lessons’

Jeff Cohen, the deputy mission director for the largest donor, USAID, acknowledges that his government could have done better.

«Just because as a donor, you want to build a school in this place, doesn’t mean it’s the right school to build,» he says. «I think we’ve learned lessons – hard lessons. We’ve tried to do a lot very quickly. It’s still a process. Self-reliance is a long-term goal,» says Cohen.

Self-reliance is something Mahnoz has learned in her 16 years. Asked whether sometimes it all just seems too hard, a fiery determination flashes in her big brown eyes.

«If I face a problem … I am saying to myself, that ‘Mahnoz, this situation is not good. You have to change this situation.’ And just by starting you can change first your family, then your neighbourhood, and after that … you can serve your people.»

Source of the notice: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/aid-money-afghan-girls-struggle-education-180606134316480.html

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