A Voice For the Voiceless
The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. We recruit graduate students to volunteer as Peace Fellows with partners.
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Monitoring and Evaluation
SEPTEMBER 2005
Omid visits the Wardak schools during the month of September. The aims of the field visits are to listen to feedback from the staff and students, assess school curriculum and resource needs, and report on the rates of absenteeism.
Noor Khel School, Wardak
On September 27 a field trip was made to Wardak to visit the Noor Khel girl's school. Personal profiles are distributed to 12 students and the teachers to fill out. Observations are conducted during the teachers’ lessons and the principal reports their work as good.
Girls continue to learn at Noor Khel despite exposure to the elements.
Omid holds a meeting with the principal, who briefs Omid on an arson attack on the school. Earlier in the month, six school tents that were bought by UNICEF for Omid were set on fire ( September 13)- a day before the parliamentary elections. The fire is estimated to have occurred at midnight and destroyed six tents, the school structure and much of the school equipment. So far, the cause of the fire remains unknown. As a result of the fire, the students must attend classes in the open air, exposed to the heat and dust. The principal requested carpets, tents and a teacher-training program to Omid.
Two months of salaries for August and September are given to three teachers, one principal and two guards. Fifteen school files and ten chart papers are given to the teacher and principal at the end of meeting.
| An arson attack on the eve of the Afghan elections destroyed six tents at Noor Khel, forcing students to attend their classes outside. |
Godah school, Wardak
On September 28 a field trip was made to visit the Godah girls’ school. A personal profile exercise was distributed to five students in the third grade. This exercise helps students introduce themselves and write their own opinions about their education. Students are observed and the results are satisfactory.
A one-month salary was given to the teachers and principal. The principal requested that money be given to help build a concrete school structure for the winter. The teachers and principal requested their salaries for winter vacations.
The Trilli and Fatima Zahra Schools were not in session during this time.
October 2005
Specific goal of education project
The final goal of the Education Project is to register schools with the Ministry of Education and to ensure that the Ministry is taking the schools in its care which would benefit from the national education budget. In two or three years, Oruj (formally known as Omid) would like the ministry to take over the technical and financial responsibilities of the schools if the national budget allows. So that when the grant is finished, the schools are sustainable. If the ministry was not able to take over then Oruj would struggle to raise money to work with schools on a long-term basis.
Evaluation
During AP Director Iain Guest’s stay in Kabul, he met with the Project Coordinator( Shabnam Aimal), the Project Manager ( Farzana Amin) and Supervisor ( Janat Gul) at the OLC office.
In the course of conversation the following subjects and information were described:
- About Wardak and Jalalabad’s school in our project.
- Number of teachers and students per school and per class.
- School needs and problems.
- Teachers and student’s difficulties and requests.
- Teachers and principal’s salary per month.
- Our interest in working and continuing of this project more and effectively.
- How can we develop and expend this project successfully.
As Mr. Guest has started corresponding communication between Afghan students and American students, we have received pen pal students from United States. After translation into Persian the letters were delivered for Wardak students to read and reply to them. Read his blog from his visit here.
Wardak valley
Also, three expenses charts of 12 months from 2003-2005 were created, as Mr. Guest asked from the OLC office, about Wardak and Jalalabad schools.
Mr. Guest briefed us that this project and its budget is going to run out and we have to find funding and a donor to keep this project going. There are many opportunities for us to do fund raising locally, and this chance is provided more right now, because OLC is registered in the Ministry of Economic so we try hard and we are seeking for a donor who can support us to continue this project hopefully.
A young student in Noor Khel.
A field trip was made two days after our meeting to Wardak and Jalalabad by Mr. Guest and the supervisor of OLC to visit the schools activities. The teachers and principals were met. The attendance and lesson planners for all teachers were checked and all of the attendances were found to be satisfactory.
November 2005
Omid visits the four schools during the month of November. Omid checks on the registration status of some schools, receives feedback from staff and students, assesses school curriculum and resource needs, and reports on the rates of absenteeism.
Evaluation
Meeting with Principal/Teachers: A meeting is arranged with the principal and the teachers regarding their teaching methods. Attendance rates are checked from the first to ninth grades.
Registration Status: The principal holds a meeting with the Ministry of Education on November 1 to begin the school registration process. The Director promises to send a team to evaluate the school. Following this visit, the school will be able to become registered; however, the Ministry has not yet visited the schools.
Female Teacher Recruitment: Omid has acquired two female teachers, Najiba and Hamida, who are working voluntarily for three months.
School Needs: The principal mentions reports on some needs of the schools. They will need a toilet in their school, stationary, and textbooks, particularly for the eighth and ninth grades.
Purchases Made: Omid has not made any new purchases for the school, but the principal reports that Fatima Zahra was given 15 chairs and 20 desks by UNEMA. The school served as an election center during the Parliamentary Elections.
Salaries Paid: Two teachers and one principal are paid their salaries.
Monthly Absentees: Five students have dropped out of school, and the percentage of absentees is approximately 15-20 percent of the total. The amount of students attending on a regular basis has decreased. This may be happening as a result of a food distribution project (AIL), which delivered rice, beans and oil to the students and the teachers. AIL have stopped paying salaries and as well as giving food rations to the attendees.
Reasons for Absentees: Another possible reason for student absentees is the economic hardship suffered by many families. Many students leave school to gather wood for the harsh winter.
Challenges/Opportunities: Nine teachers are teaching voluntarily. They have promised the principal that will work just two more months without a salary. On his visit, AP Director Iain Guest requests that Omid start to pay teacher salaries starting from January.
Trilli Girls School, Nangrahar: 667 Students
Date(s) of Visit: A field trip was made on November 16 to the Trilli Girls school.
Meeting with Principal/Teachers: Omid has a satisfactory meeting with the teachers and principal to discuss school issues and teaching methods. Classes are observed and the total number of students recorded in attendance is 667.
Registration Status: According to the principal, the school is registered and they have had no problems securing land for the school. The school only needs financial assistance in building the school structure.
The number of students at Trilli Girls School has increased, after female teachers are hired by Omid.
Female Teacher Recruitment: No female teachers have been recruited.
School Needs: All students in the classes from first to fifth grades require textbooks. They have also requested that Omid assist them in finding a water source for the school.
Purchases Made: OLC did not make any major purchases. UNEMA donated 20 chairs and eight desks to the boys’ school, as it served as a hosting site for an elections center for the Parliamentary elections.
Salaries paid: Five teachers, one principal and one guard are paid their October salaries.
Monthly Absentees: The school has nine dropout students, who are in the fourth and fifth grades. The number of their absentees is about five percent monthly. The amount of students attending has increased this month. This may be due to a couple of reasons: new female teachers are now teaching the girl students, and biscuits have been regularly distributed (October and November) by the AWNP to the students.
Reasons for Absentees: Marriage is the main reason why girls leave school.
Fatima Zahra School, Jalalabad
Date(s) of Visit: Field trip is made to Fatima Zahra School in Jalalabad on November 15, 2005.
Godah School
The Godah School is on winter break and is preparing for final exams. Due to the severe cold in Wardak and other provinces, the Ministry of Education has announced an early winter vacation.
The project supervisor travels to Godah on November 14. He pays the salaries to all the teachers and has various community meetings with parents, and teachers. The main agenda of his meetings are:
- How to ensure the security of the schools and girls
- How to encourage parents to send their kids to school regularly
- How to improve the internal system of the school
Most of the parents say that the security of the school depends on Omid and the governor of the province. The people said that it will be much safer once the school has a permanent building. To avoid conflict over the location of the school in the future, the building should be constructed with the community’s consent. Some of the parents recommend that the school house both boys and girls. The girls can use the school in the morning and the boys can use the school in the afternoon. They feel that the school will be safer from vandals with both boys and girls attending.
The parents believe the school would improve for the girls if female teachers teach the classes. The project supervisor asks the community if they can help to recruit a female teacher for the school.
Once Godah is registered with the government, school procedures can be more formalized. This will allow Omid to replace the current teachers with more qualified teachers.
Noor Khel School
Girls at Noor Khel participate in a pen-pal
exchange with US students.
The Noor Khel School is closed for one week during the winter break. Following a week-long evaluation trip to Godah, the Omid project supervisor visits the Noor Khel School for two days. With the help of the principal and teachers, he conducts a half-day workshop with the people in the community. He talks about the security of the schools and the response to the burnt tents.
The people show their commitment to ensure the security of the school, and request that a more permanent school structure is built, with guidance from the government. People feel the government should select the school land to avoid any disputes within the community. At the moment, there is a dispute over a piece of land that has been chosen as the school site.
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The community in Noor Khel feels the schools would benefit from a more permanent school structure to prevent vandalism. |
During the next day, a meeting is held at the principal’s home. This aim of the meeting is to discuss the new pen pal project. The project has been well-received and appreciated by the students in the school; however, there are some community members that are unclear about the aim of the project.
Some local residents are not comfortable with female students (14 years old and over) using cameras. For many people, using cameras and taking photos is still a new concept. There are many families who still do not own a camera or have never taken a photo. Some other people suspect that the pen pal photos are being used for advertising purposes. Others think that photos of older girls may be prohibited in the religion. As a result, it was decided to keep the pen pal project between the students who are below 14.
After a clear explanation by Omid, everyone realized and understood that the pen pal project is not only about making connections, but is about learning from each other. Some have made requests for the US students to write about the historical impact of technology in their letters to Afghan students.
December 2005
Evaluation
Omid visits the two schools during the month of December. Omid checks on the registration status of the Fatima Zahra School in Jalalabad, receives feedback from staff and students, assesses school curriculum and resource needs, and reports on the rates of absenteeism. The Godah and Noor Khel Schools are currently on their winter break. The schools will resume their classes in the last week of March 2006.
Fatima Zahra School, Jalalabad
Date(s) of Visit: Field trip is made to Fatima Zahra School in Jalalabad on December 29.
Meeting with Principal/Teachers: Meeting is arranged with the teachers and the principal. They explain that the academic year began on December 28, and will run for six months.
Registration Status: The Directorate of Ministry of Education visited the Fatima Zahra School and promised to help with the registration process, but has said that two state registered schools cannot be within 10 km of each other.
Female Teachers Recruitment: No female teachers have been recruited as of yet.
School needs: The school requires stationary and textbooks. First through ninth grades are without textbooks for studying.
Salaries Paid: Six teachers and one principal are paid for their December salaries.
Monthly Absentees: No noticeable absentees, but the sixth and ninth grades are currently without a teacher.
Challenges/Opportunities: Parents of students ask that schools are registered as soon as possible. This is because many parents have little money and they cannot send their children to a school far from their homes.
Many students must work at home as well as attend school.
Trilli Girls School, Nangrahar: 613 female students
Date(s) of Visit: Field trip is made to the Trilli School in Jalalabad on December 29.
Meeting with Principal/Teachers: During a meeting with the teachers and the principal, students are observed. The principal explains that there are 2,263 students in Trilli school: 613 students are female and the remaining 1,650 are male. Omid only works with the girls’ school.
Registration Status: Registered
Female Teachers Recruitment: Seven female teachers have been hired this month. Omid asks that all untrained teachers be replaced with professionally trained ones. Currently seven staff members at the Trilli school are being paid by Omid.
School needs: The school is in great need of a classroom. At the moment, there are 65 female students who are all in one class.
Salaries Paid: Six teachers and one principal are paid for the month of December.
Monthly Absentees: Prior to hiring female teachers, monthly absentees were high. Since taking on female teachers, girls are attending school more regularly.
Reasons for Absentees: Girls do not attend mainly because they wish to be taught by female teachers.
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