Three African schools that surprised former teachers, including English education that is more advanced than Japan
When you think of schools in Africa, what image comes to mind? Wooden school buildings standing in the middle of the grass...? Not at all. In some cases, it could be said that Japan is lagging behind.
Hello! I'm
Before I left, I was a science teacher at a junior high and high school. Therefore, one of the themes of my trip is to 'visit junior high and high schools overseas.' The goals are to 'acquire new teaching methods,' 'learn the characteristics of schools overseas,' 'understand the realities of students in each country,' and 'compare club activities with those in Japan.'
All three schools featured in this article have given us permission to take photos, and we have also included interviews with students. We have previously published two articles on schools in Asia and schools in India, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
Six Asian junior high and high schools that surprised former teachers - GIGAZINE
Four overseas schools where former teachers were surprised, including a mammoth school with 50,000 students - GIGAZINE
Chalk flies in Ethiopia's 65-person class
In Ethiopia, I visited Jiren Secondary School, a public school in Jimma . Although it is called a secondary school, it is equivalent to a high school in Japan, with students aged 15 to 18 (grades 9, 10, 11, and 12). Tuition is free.
There was no large school building, but rather about 10 huts like the one in the photo were set up on the grounds and served as classrooms.
This is the timetable. If you look closely, you'll see that the sixth period ends before noon. The reason for this is the large number of students. With a massive number of students, about 1,300 per grade, the school operates in two shifts, morning and afternoon. Siblings took turns attending school. Incidentally, the top right corner reads '2007,' but this is not a mistake, as it is based on the unique Ethiopian calendar.
This is what a classroom looks like. Ethiopians are embarrassed to have their pictures taken. The male to female ratio is 4:6, with more girls than girls. I was a little surprised because in Africa there is still a prejudice that girls have to help around the house and therefore find it difficult to attend school.
This is a chemistry class for 9th graders (3rd graders in Japanese junior high school). The class was taught in English. Apparently, all subjects are taught in English. I could really feel the disparity in English education in Africa compared to Japan. Also, there were a whopping 65 students in this class, which is twice the number in Japan.
Because of this, three students sat at a desk meant for two, making it difficult for them to take notes. The teacher in charge also said that it was difficult to grasp the understanding of 65 students. However, he managed to keep the class together by throwing chalk at any student who made even the slightest noise.
The classroom was cleaner than I expected, but when I looked closely, I saw that the floor was full of holes.
The students were very serious. They all answered the teacher's questions enthusiastically. They continued to ask questions even after the lesson was over.
Brookabara (15 years old, right) is a ninth grader who is good at math and wants to be an engineer in the future. He also helps out around the house after school.
The vice principal told me that until 1996, Ethiopia's education system adopted methods from the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom. However, because they wanted to shift their main industry from primary to secondary education, they began to model their education on China and India. Specifically, they established educational institutions to promote technology, such as training schools. Then, in grades 11 and 12, only the top 20% of students with excellent grades advanced to higher education, while the rest went to training schools.
I was shocked to learn that there are only 65 students in a class. The fatigue of the teachers who manage that number is immeasurable. Furthermore, due to a shortage of science teachers, they apparently have to teach classes in the morning and afternoon. And yet, their monthly salary is apparently less than 200 dollars (about 23,500 yen).
◆ Malawi schools with a wide range of special classes
In
The students here live in dormitories. The school building is similar to that in Ethiopia, with several huts set up on the grounds. The sky in Malawi was a picture-perfect blue.
The day I visited was during exams before the winter break. I wasn't able to see inside the classrooms, but according to someone from the school, there were as many as 90 students in each class. That's more than in Ethiopia.
This is the exam schedule. There are noticeable breaks here and there. Perhaps there aren't enough classrooms or staff? 'LIFE SKILLS' also seems to be a subject that teaches students how to protect themselves from infectious diseases such as HIV. According to the Wikipedia
The time allowed to answer the test questions varied depending on the subject. This is the 'Agriculture' test. The time is written in the upper right corner. It is 1 hour and 30 minutes.
This is an English test. It lasts 1 hour and 10 minutes. I was shown other subjects as well, and the questions were written in English, except for the student's native language.
This is a photo of the chemical storage room in the chemistry lab. At first glance, it looks like there are plenty of chemicals, but they are all too old to be used, and they said that the government might buy more in four or five years. Chemistry and physics used to be taught together as one subject, but starting next year, they will be taught separately, following the example of developed countries.
I saw a
This school also had a special class. 18 children with visual and hearing impairments were taking the test. As you can see in the photo, the school was well equipped for them, including a Braille printer. It appears to be supported by a Nordic country.
This is a notebook written in Braille. The Braille is written underneath the letters.
The girl on the left is Win, a 15-year-old first-grader. She's good at English, and jokes that she always eats sima (a paste made from corn flour), the staple food in Malawi, after school. It seems she hasn't decided on her dream yet.
It's embarrassing to admit that I hadn't anticipated that there would be an environment for students with disabilities in Africa. Three of the students in the special classes were albinos. Albinism is
All-you-can-eat mangoes, science-loving school in Zambia
In Zambia , I visited David Livingstone Secondary School, a public school in Livingstone, a city that is home to Victoria Falls, one of the world's three largest waterfalls. The school is for students aged 14 to 18 (grades 8 to 12), and is a combination of what would be considered a junior high school and a high school in Japan.
The campus was filled with greenery and had many long, single-story buildings, just like in other countries. It seems that there is no concept of school buildings like in Japan in Africa.
Then I came across a sign warning about AIDS. This is one of the countries where AIDS is prevalent.
Although it was winter vacation when we visited, the students were studying independently for their early-year exams.
There was also a winter course. This is the classroom.
In Livingstone, you can see mango trees all over town. Of course, the school grounds were also full of mango trees. The trees were saturated with mangoes. The students were dropping the fruit and munching on it inside the school.
I also got two (lol)
The student on the right is Keito, 17 years old (11th grade). He is good at physics and chemistry and wants to be an engineer in the future. He studies after school.
I interviewed four students here, and when asked what they do after school, they all answered, 'Study.' What's more, they excelled in science because they wanted to work in science-related jobs such as nurses or engineers. Would this be the case if I were to interview them in Japan?
Summary
A windowless wooden school building standing in the bush - this was the image I had of an African school. However, in reality, even in lesser-known cities, the educational curriculum and facilities were more solid than I had expected.
I was particularly surprised by the 'extensive English education' and 'many students who like science.' At first, I was worried because of the strong image of French, but as all lessons and tests were conducted in English, I hardly had any trouble with English in East Africa. Looking back at my school visits so far, there are only a handful of countries like Japan where English classes are conducted in the student's native language.
Also, when I tell people that there are many students who dislike science in a science-based country like Japan, they always say, 'You've got to be kidding me.' This is probably because science-related jobs pay well, but when I see students who confidently say, 'I like physics and chemistry,' I feel confident that they will be responsible for the future.
I have two months left of my journey, and I would like to finish by sharing some images of schools in Central and South America.
Text and interview: Hiroharu Zoshiki http://zoshiki.com/wp/
Supervised by: Sekai Shinbun sekaishinbun.net
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