Page 28 - ELG1802 Feb Issue 454

FEATURE . teaching in the camps. The first was that 65 refugees about other aspects of their lives,
FEATURES & COMMENT

EU / ECHO and Save the Children per cent of teachers are refugees themselves very different such as the conflicts back home, their
‘They had
(notably from Sudan and South Sudan, with
journeys to Ethiopia and their hopes and
some from the Great Lakes). They are often
aspirations. It is about creating trust,
under-qualified or with no qualifications,
priorities:
between ourselves and the refugees,
lacking both basic teaching skills and English
and the Ethiopian hosts who also have
high protein
language skills.
political balances to strike. Too many
Secondly, there are limited English
for everyone.
education system.
Pete Lewis/ Dep.Intl Development language resources within the refugee biscuits’ personal questions can upset this balance
But the teachers, both the refugees and
South Sudanese refugees in Another big issue is that there is a large On my first visit to a refugee camp in Ethiopians, tell us they have benefited
Gambella, Ethiopia number of over-age students in primary from our programme.
classes, largely due to the demand for Ethiopia in February 2016, I spoke to six There is a buzz of interest and
refugees who had recently arrived from
SIM USA education or a school certificate. English Sudan and South Sudan. motivation at our workshops that trainers
is the language that, according to many
refugees, can contribute to their education We were visiting along with the long to see.
We see teachers moving away from
and employment aspirations. UNHCR and Ethiopian ARRA officials, lecturing and some lively pair or group
Following discussions with the UNHCR and I was more nervous than at a job work that appears to momentarily take
and ARRA, a pilot programme was launched interview. everyone’s minds off being a refugee.
focusing on developing both English I asked the refugees about their The prolonged and direct experience
proficiency and teaching skills. The British educational needs but the translated reply we’ve built up over the months has
Council’s English for Teaching (EfT) course showed very different priorities: high- helped us to appreciate the context of
was introduced as part of the continuing protein biscuits. these classrooms and their importance to
professional development programme for Today, seven visits later, I feel a little the lives of people here.
school teachers in the Beni-Shangul camps. more confident about education in these
It is a 120-hour course designed to improve refugee schools. I have now experienced n Peter Hare is British
both a teacher’s English proficiency and classes, met teachers, students, Council head of
pedagogical skills. administrators and some parents, and English for education
Throughout the pilot, British Council planned, delivered and monitored our systems in Ethiopia.
trainers worked closely with twenty selected pilot.
teacher-educators and the four school But I am still hesitant to talk to the
Somali children in the principals. The aim was to strengthen their
Heleweyn camp, Dollo Ado, Ethiopia Camp Langano, Ethiopia English proficiency and confidence and Where do refugees in Ethiopia come from?
improve their knowledge of learner-centred
Taking refuge in English classroom implementation.
teaching methodology and its practical
We also wanted to develop skills to build
the capacity of teachers to deliver EfT to
others and provide support during and after
courses. The project has grown and now 210
A British Council project in the refugee camps of Ethiopia aims to improve teachers, from both Ethiopia and refugee
communities, have taken the EfT course and
English teaching and give inhabitants a voice are working in the Beni-Shangul camps.
English language proficiency and teaching
has improved significantly, according to
etting a good education while 65 per cent are unqualified – and there is a host communities. Providing individuals with proficiency test scores, compared to the base
attending a school in a refugee tendency for girls to be excluded. There is the skills they need to access work, services, line after a period of just four months. Fewer
camp can be a struggle. Crowded also a dearth of appropriate teaching and education and information is also key. teachers performed at A1 level (beginner)
G classrooms, a babble of different learning materials. The development and success of the and there was an increase in the number of
languages being spoken and a shortage of The British Council’s Language for scheme saw it transfer to Ethiopia in 2016. teachers testing at B1 (intermediate) and
qualified teachers can all create a perfect Resilience (L4R) programme began five years December marked the start of the second B2 (upper-intermediate). During this period
recipe for underachievement. ago in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan, the phase of the project. teachers were also observed to be using more
None more so than in Ethiopia, which has Kurdistan region of Iraq, Turkey and Greece. Here, in the Beni-Shangul region of learner-centred and interactive methodology.
become one of the largest host countries for western Ethiopia, near the Sudanese border, Phase II of the pilot project aims to further
refugees in Africa. English is the language primary classrooms can hold 50–100 students, improve English and teaching skills and
Some 855,000 refugees are registered in the speaking 35 different languages. expand the number of teacher-educators
East African nation, with incomers largely that many refugees While the Ethiopian government stipulates and increase the mentor network in Beni-
from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan that, nationally, education should be taught Shangul. It will also include a recently
and Yemen. Almost a third of registered recognise can contribute in first language up to at least primary Grade established fifth camp. The British Council
refugees are between the ages of five and to their education and 4, this presents a challenge for the refugee Ethiopia is also actively seeking co-funding to
seventeen, with an estimated 50 per cent of schools. The sheer diversity of languages embed a long-term and sustainable system of
school-age children still out of school. employment and lack of teachers and resources to match relevant development for refugee and host-
More than 60 per cent of refugee schools those languages mean that in the camps the community school leaders, teacher educators
do not meet minimum standards. They are aspirations national curriculum is taught through the and teachers in Beni-Shangul.
overcrowded, with large numbers of over- medium of English from Grade 1.
age students in primary schools. Sometimes The programme aims to provide evidence Working with UN refugee agency the n Tanya Cotter is senior
around half a class can be made up of people about how language learning can give a UNHCR and the Ethiopian Administration adviser for English in education
over the age of eleven, with a significant voice to refugees. It also aims to build social for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), systems at the British Council,
number in their twenties and thirties. cohesion, not only within multi-ethnic, multi- we observed a number of challenges this based in the Ethiopian capital, n The British Council’s Languages for Resilience exhibition will launch in March at their offices at Spring
There is a lack of qualified teachers – some lingual camps but also improve relations with presented in terms of the quality of English Addis Ababa. Gardens and run until June 22.
28 February 2018 editorial@elgazette.com 29