ACEI Resources
In relation to my international “friend”, I find the Global
Resources section of the ACEI website particularly interesting.
Today as I was browsing through the articles and highlights,
I found a blurb from Senegal, a small country just West of Mali. Granted, the
notation was several years ago but it attempted to share encouraging news
regarding efforts to increase early learning opportunities for children in that
region.
The thing I found so interesting, though, was that the
articles that followed were much more recent and much more detailed. One report
created last year identified that in the last 5 years the total enrollment
primary school has not significantly changed. The average school size is around
375 students, but the data only included information of the number of teachers
from 2005/06, which was approximately 100 teachers per school. The big
difference is that the countries mentioned are all in Southeastern Africa
(Mozambique, Botswana, and Ethiopia.
This information seems to further support my friend’s
statement that there is a large disparity between nations who have the
financial means to support their children’s education and those who do
not.
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteGood information about Senegal. I live in Nigeria, another country in West Africa. You are correct when you said there is a big difference between countries who have funds and appreciate early child care and countries who don't have the funds. Early care to be meaningful is expensive in terms of funding and quality programs. West African countries have a long way to go in this regard. UNICEF and WHO are in the fore front of this initiative.
Mercy,
ReplyDeleteIs it really as bad as I have heard that there are some rural schools who have a teacher to student ratio of 1:100 or more. What are things like in Nigeria?
Laura,
DeleteIt is bad but not as bad as ratio 1:100. Nigeria has improved greatly due to a number of private initiatives and business ventures investing in education. There are many standard schools with ration 1:15 and things are still getting better. The facilities in the rural communities are over stretched and are inadequate, so may have like 1:40.