Teachers are replaced with TVs and hyenas roam near schools, although they are less harmful than the trigger-happy Federal Police.
By Lyn Barton, Western Morning News, UK
(Poltair School, Cornwall UK) — Two teachers from a Cornish secondary school have spoken of the life-changing experience of visiting a school in Ethiopia.
Peter Booth, one of the acting head teachers at Poltair School in St Austell, and Linzi Booth, director of its sports college, spent a week at Yirgalem School in southern Ethiopia.
Yirgalem School, at the heart of the coffee plantation industry, has 6,000 pupils aged between 15 and 20.
During the visit, the two Cornish teachers met staff and students and observed lessons.
They also taught rugby and rounders to staff and pupils, although the classes were a little larger than they were used to.
“One of the biggest differences between Poltair and Yirgalem is the sheer number of pupils who attend the school,” said Mr Booth. “There is no way that all 6,000 pupils can be taught at the same time, so it is usually a question of those children who turn up first being able to take part in the lessons.
“We are used to teaching classes of between 20 and 30 pupils in a sports lesson at Poltair. When we turned up to demonstrate a rugby lesson at Yirgalem, however, Linzi and I were greeted by 150 boys and 150 girls and only a tiny number of rugby balls.”
Mr Booth said the school was sited in a very poor area of the country, and so had very little equipment.
Most lessons are taught via TV screens at the front of the class which broadcast data sent from the Government.
“Unfortunately, although the lessons, which are made in South Africa, are generally of good quality, the pupils find them very difficult to follow as they do not have the text books to accompany them,” said Mr Booth.
Both teachers were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of pupils and said neither the staff nor students allowed limited facilities to stop them.
“Visiting the school was a very humbling experience which has changed my life,” said Mr Booth.
“Pupils in the UK take their right to a high-quality education for granted and it was incredible to see the youngsters having to battle to actually get inside the classroom in the first place and then work so hard to make the most of their chances.”
Both Poltair teachers say their visit to Ethiopia was an experience they will never forget.
“There were a few moments which will certainly stick in my memory,” said Mr Booth.
“One of these was meeting a hyena while walking down the hill away from the school. Having been told not to run away under any circumstances, Linzi and I stood absolutely still.
“We got a little worried when it began growling and started coming towards us and looked round for reassurance, only to see the Yirgalem staff running as fast as they could back to the school.
“Needless to say, we immediately followed their example.”