Case Studies

Here are some examples of the work Link is doing in Ethiopia


1. Ade Cherake School, Damot Gale Woreda
2. Weybo Elementary School, Bolosso Sore Woreda


1. Case Study: Ade Cherake School, Damot Gale Woreda, Wolaita Zone

The Situation:
Ade Cherake School is vastly lacking in resources and facilities.  The majority of Damot Gale's 188,000 population are living below the poverty line - people here are extremely poor.  In Ade Cherake School there are 32 teachers and 2,898 pupils, a pupil teacher ratio of 91:1.

In 2007, the Ministry of Education introduced the School Improvement Programme (SIP) which aims to improve student performance via a cycle of data gathering, self-assessment, planning, implementation and review by all schools, with support from woreda offices.  However, Link's needs analysis showed that woreda staff, schools and communities were lacking the confidence and knowledge to apply the new policy and had limited SIP budgets.

The Intervention:
Having identified the gaps in knowledge, confidence and budget among those responsible for applying the government's School Improvement Programme, Link were able to create a strategy of training, technical support and funding to support their needs. 

Ade Cherake School has been supported via the following:Learner tests at Ade Cherake Primary School
  • Five days training for five School Improvement Committee members in school self-assessment and planning
  • Two days of detailed data collection against the SIP Domains (Teaching and Learning, Management and Leadership, Student Environment, Community Participation)
  • Testing for all grade 4 and 7 students in Maths, Science, English
  • SIP Report detailing findings from data collection and learner tests

The Impact:
Ato Gegera Henke is Chairman of the school’s Education and Training Board. He says Link's training has had a big impact: 

  • Ade Cherake now has a 3 year strategic and 1 year action plan
  • Enrolment has increased (especially girls) and drop-outs reduced
  • Parents attend meetings to participate in identifying school problems
  • There is better attendance and discipline in the school
  • The community was mobilised to fence and clean the school compound
  • School income increased from 6,000 to 24,000 birr due to community contributions

 

 2. Case Study: Weybo Elementary School, Bolosso Sore Woreda

Pupils at Weybo Elementary SchoolThe Situation:
Weybo Elementary School is in the Bolosso Sore Woreda of Wolaita Zone. The 2009 enrolment was 4,430 pupils, of whom 42% are girls. Link’s needs analysis showed that a major factor limiting the quality of teaching and learning in Weybo’s classrooms was the inability of woreda education officials to provide guidance to teachers and school managers on-site. 

Ato Weldeselase Angelo is the director of Weybo School.  He has been working in the education sector for 22 years.  His vision for the school is to develop pupils as citizens who have basic skills and knowledge and who are able to analyse and change their environment, work hard and be productive members of the community.

The Intervention:
We therefore designed a ‘supervision support strategy’ as part of our Woreda School Improvement Project. Link has been supporting the supervisors with the following activities:

  • Improve supervisor mobility through provision of motorbikes and fuel and maintenance budget
  • Workshops to share best practice / develop skills
  • Support supervisors’ planning and reporting
  • Build supervisors’ capacity to mentor school stakeholders and collect relevant data
  • Co-facilitate and fund in-service training at cluster level

The Impact:
School Director, Ato Weldeselase feels that the cluster supervisor has helped him to realise his vision through creating awareness among the community about the importance of education, developing awareness among parents to send their children regularly to school, and building a sense of community ownership of the school.

We are already seeing the impact of increased visits. Now the supervisor is on hand to help us identify and prioritise problems; set goals and develop strategies; encourage parents to support school activities and strengthen the PTA. Our school has already seen improved learner outcomes. The 2007 grade 8 pass rate was 89%, but in 2008 after Link’s support it was 92%”
 
Ato Weldeselase Angelo, Director of Weybo Elementary School





Supporting Schools Directly
Chocha Elementary School in Damot Gale is participating in a special project with Link, funded by two sponsors and Bellbird School in the UK. The project provides for a classroom, toilets and school furniture. The project will be completed during 2011.