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Title AN ASSESSMENT OF ALTERNATIVE PRIMARY EDUCAITON PROGRAMS IN TWO NATIONAL REGIONAL STATES OF RURAL ETHIOPIA
Full text http://etd.aau.edu.et/dspace/handle/123456789/3866
Date 2000
Author(s) BERHANU, SEBOKA
Contributor(s) Ayalew Shibeshi (Assoc. Prof).
Abstract It is now about a century since modem education began in Ethiopia. However, the desire to universalize primary education and equitable access remained a matter of great concern. Problems of access, equity, relevance, quality and financial constraints are challenges that characterized the Ethiopian education system and the hope for UPE in Ethiopia still seems a distant. In spite of the pledge to ensure the rights of all children to primary education; a great majority of children (about 60 percent) are out of the primary school system. Against this background and recognizing the limitations of the formal schooling some NGOs have initiated an alternative primary education programs in recent years. The purpose of this study was thus, to explore the main features and feasibility of these programs and see whether they can help to speed up UPE in the Ethiopian context. The study has made a brief review of the literature and concepts behind alternative paths to UPE. Then methods of investigation was developed, administered and analyzed up on which findings were drawn. Results of the study showed the potential benefits of the alternative approaches and the untapped areas of partnerships and exploitable resources at the grass-roots. The main features of the alternative, programs and the non-governmental approaches to primary education were found to be acceptable and attractive at the grass-root level if cultivated and maintained properly. Low cost small schools nearer to the home of children, flexible learning schedule, use of local instructors/paraprofessionals and greater community involvement have been found to increase girl's enrollment, minimize drop-out rates and was responsive to the opportunity costs of the student's time. Results of student achievement in grade two on the three core subject areas were found to be positive in relative terms. Though the number of students who satisfied the agreed acceptable level of learning (75% score) were 46 percent almost about 90 percent of them have scored a pass-mark (50%). The obtained estimation results of the upper and lower confidence interval of the mean revealed that out of 100 similar samples taken from a similar population, about 95% will have a mean value of 61 to 70 percent in language, 63 t073 percent in basic arithmetic and 72 to 76 percent in environmental science. The obtained result was significant at the confidence interval of 95% at p-value 0.05. Environmental science was the best subject performed by the majority of the students while language was the least performed subject area. viii The existing external environment (political, socio-cultural and the technical soundness of the programs were found to be more of opportunities for NGO operation, while the economic environment was perceived as a threat by the majority of the respondents. The aggregated mean value was rated low (2.3 out of possible scores of5). Furthermore, quality issues related to learning materials, teacher's competence and the classroom atmosphere were found to be a matter of concern for parents and educators and was assumed to threaten the sustainability of the programs. Financial constraints and certain aspects (time, material and leadership) of institutional feasibility associated with the providing agencies were also perceived a potential threat, particularly by the decision makers. Thus, it was suggested that in addition to making school places accessible to the needy child, the actual learning environment also requires certain quality improvements and it is concluded that before this happens, it is not recommendable to expand the programs in a wider scale. Prior to that, providing agencies also need to develop their capacity in all aspects (human, financial and technical).They should link the programs to technical experts and need to sharpen their managerial and leadership skills. To do these, the adoption of a strategic approach in planning and management was suggested as a means to an end. If the programs are to bear fruits the government has to formulate a specific policy for such programs and need to assume a lead role by integrating the system into the national education plan (ESDP) with out neglecting the necessary conditions and resources (human, material and financial) required for effective alternative approaches in basic primary education.
Subject(s) ALTERNATIVE PRIMARY; REGIONAL STATES
Language en
Publisher AAU
Type of publication Thesis
Repository Addis Ababa - University of Addis Ababa
Added to C-A: 2014-01-13;19:28:21