Challenging education

Today during my daily scan through the news I came across a very interesting article about education. More specifically about the progress of education in a selection of different African countries, asking teachers what they see as the biggest challenges currently facing African teachers and students. As the article points out, education is central to the millennium development goals with goal #2 seeking "to ensure that all children complete a full course of primary education", with the goal being measured by "enrolment, the proportion who reach the last grade, and literacy rates for those aged 15-24."

Obviously the last part of that sentence, 'literacy rates', is what we're all about! As I read through the article (and it's well worth reading the whole thing), I could identify with many of the stories and situations laid out by the teachers. The situations they face are varied in their challenges but united in their complexity. Education is not a simple equation to 'solve', but a living organism that must be given life, nurtured, grown and sustained. One such challenge is that of language. Whilst teacher training, numbers of students in classrooms and money for books and other resources are important, if the language used to teach the children is one they are unfamiliar with any other improvements will ultimately be ineffective.

One of the teachers, Enoch Abukari from Ghana, identified language as a challenge for his school environment. His words speak for themselves:

"Exams, assessments, the curriculum and teaching are in English. But most students in my class are Dagomba and rarely speak English anywhere else but the classroom. Students receive the first few years of their primary education in Dagomba, but have to transition very quickly to English language instruction by grade 4. That is why I decided to change from teaching grade 6 to grade 3. I wanted to support these young students' transition." [Read the full article here.]

Language is important. Enoch recognises this and is willing to do something about it. What can we do to help ensure that children all over the world, no matter what language they understand best, can get access to an effective education?