A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Final Exams and Academic Achievement

MAY 2005

Godah School, Wardak province (student population: 118)
Noor Khel school, Wardak province (student population: 300)
Fatima Zahra primary school, Jalalabad (student population: 197)
Trilli School, Nangrahar (student population: 551)

Ms. Sadiqa Basiri, Omid’s director, visits the schools during the month of May. Her aims are to assess school curriculum and resource needs, oversee the hiring of female instructors, and report on the rates of absenteeism.

Fatima Zahra School, Jalalabad

Omid conducts a two-day field visit to the Fatima Zahra School and Trilli Girls School on May 14-15, when school examinations are underway. Initially the examinations were planned for later in the month, but were brought forward due to the summer heat.

Older students from a volunteer tutoring committee are assisting students who have required additional help in their lessons. Students hope this tutoring will enable them to improve their examination scores. The exam results will be released in June.

Omid meets with the principal at Fatima Zahra, who requests chairs, desks, carpets, water containers and fans for the next academic year. Omid recommends to the principal that he contact the Directorate of the Ministry of Education (DME) to officially register the school and seek permission to operate the school as part of the government.

If the DME accepts this, then Omid will provide equipment for this school. Otherwise any purchases without registration could be regarded as private equipment and used for private purposes. This would be in conflict to the policies of the government and Omid.

The principal promises to work on this issue and apply for a legal operational document from the DME. At the closing of the meeting all the teachers are given their monthly salaries.

Trilli Girls School, Nangrahar

On May 15, Ms. Basiri visits the Trilli Girls School and meets with the principal and the teachers. At the meeting, the principal submits a school registration certificate to Omid, which shows that the school is now legally registered. Students at the school are also taking exams.


Oruj's director, Sadiqa Basiri, facilitates dialogue with teachers and students. 
 
Land for the school is discussed with the principal. He reports that there are twelve Kanals (NB: One Kanal is approximately 2500 sq. ft.) of land that have been approved by a community elder. Two plots of land are designated for a girls’ school structure and the remaining ten plots will be used for a boys’ school. The principal is asked by Omid to register two Kanals for the girls’ building with the Ministry of Education.

The principals and teachers are allocated money to purchase school equipment, such as desks for the students and chairs for the teachers’ room. The principal, project supervisor, and project coordinator visit the local market to purchase the items. The school receives four desks and ten chairs on the next day of the visit. According to the principal, it is the first time that an NGO had helped to meet the needs of the school so directly.

Godah School (Wardak province)

Ms. Basiri visits the Godah school over a period of two days. The school is showing a marked improvement in student attendance, and students are very motivated to attend classes.

A two-hour contest is organized between grades 2 and 3 with the aim of helping the teachers assess the academic level of the students. Many girls are found to have a good understanding of their school subjects, but still need further assistance from instructors.

When Students Assess Teachers 

Students at the Godah school report on the performance of their teachers. Sayed Ullah, a teacher with ten years experience, gets the top marks.

At a meeting with Omid, the teachers report that teacher M. Sayed Ullah is a favorite among the students. M. Sayed Ullah is a professional teacher who has been teaching for more than 10 years. The results of the contest, and the students’ reports on their instructors, are shared with the principal.

The principal understands the need for more qualified teachers, and hopes that more can be supplied by the Ministry of Education once the school becomes registered. The principal explained that currently it is not possible to bring any more qualified teachers, since experienced teachers prefer to be working with a government pension scheme. Alternatively, qualified teachers could be found and independently hired by Omid.

The teachers have been paid their salaries and the student contest winners received crayons brought by The Advocacy Project intern, Ginny Barahona, last year.

Noor Khel Wardak School

Omid visits Noor Khel School in the Wardak province. Though the weather is particularly rainy with high winds, students’ spirits are not dampened as they celebrate Teachers’ Day. The project coordinator speaks with the female students about the important role they play in the future of Afghanistan. 

 Students try to stay out of the harsh sun to focus on their studies.

Following this visit, Omid visits another part of Noor Khel School in Mankey village. Students are extremely exposed to heat and dust here, with no shelter except a couple of trees for shade.

The principal has made requests for two tents to hold classes and one tent to serve as a teacher’s office. Omid committed to providing money for desks, chairs, carpets and some stationery, which the principal purchased in Kabul. The Omid program supervisor transferred the equipment to Noor Khel. The principal is satisfied with the purchases.

Pressing the Principal to Monitor Attendance 

Attendance rates at the Godah school were not available because the principal felt he needed a separate tent in which to store the records. Omid told him that this was unacceptable.

New teachers have been identified, but the schools want to enlist Omid’s help with the selection process. Four teachers have now been hired for Noor Khel and one guard to watch over the two school tents in Mankey village. These new employees are starting officially in June.

Absenteeism

Noor Khel attendance rates have remained stable. However, Godah attendance records remain unclear because the principal did not bring the records with him on the day of the visit. His reason for not keeping the records on site is that there is no tent in which to store them, which Omid finds insufficient. He has been asked to keep the records with him at all times.

In Nangrahar, there are no absentees because students are taking their exams. Only two girls could not attend classes from Trilli School because of medical reasons. Omid has asked the principal about his policy of those that miss exams. He reports that if students bring a note from a doctor, they are able to re-take their exams during the summer break.