1. Jennifer Williamson, Kathe Pocker Education Research Project

2. Primary Schools in the Tarime Region Roche Primary School Migeko Primary School Ratia Primary School Osiri Primary School Typically excluded from Village Life projects and supply drives Ng’ope Primary School Typically excluded from Village Life projects and supply drives

3. Student to Teacher Ratios Roche—438 students, 10 teachers 44:1 Ratia—457 students, 8 teachers 58:1 Migeko—300 students, 7 teachers 43:1 Osiri—499 students, 10 teachers 50:1 Ng’ope—580 students, 9 teachers 65:1 Classes typically range from 45 to 100 children per class *Ideal ratio is 45:1

4. School Primary school is mandatory; but a small minority of students do not go There are no school fees There are 2 terms per year 1 st —2 nd grade has 6 subjects: Math, English, Swahili, Science, Sports, and Art 3 rd —7 th has 3 additional (longer day): History, Social Studies, and Geography Subjects are decided by the government Classes are 40 minutes long Teacher rotates rooms, children stay Homework is written on blackboard, copied, and completed at home

5. Examinations Children take a midterm and a final for each term, plus a terminal exam each year Monthly exams are also conducted by teachers There are two national, government-sanctioned exams: one in 4 th grade, and one in 7 th grade If the exam in 4 th grade is failed, the year and the exam may be repeated The 7th grade exam must be passed in order to continue on to secondary school; if failed, student may attend a training/vocational school ¾ of students in the Tarime region pass the 7 th grade exam *A copy of the exam may be obtained

6. Teachers Teachers attend a teacher’s college after 12 th grade and get certified by the government in chosen subject Teachers are specialized, but due to shortage, many often teach other subjects The government assigns workplace, but teachers may apply for a transfer after 5 years if discontented with location Teachers stay in specified housing built specially for them Pay is not enough—most teachers have a second job Average teacher works until retirement at age 60

7. Government Involvement Government hires and pays all public school teachers Government is supposed to provide the housing, but many times they do not have funding so the villagers must build the houses The teacher shortage is caused by the government’s inability to hire and pay extra teachers There are not enough teacher’s colleges to support the number of teachers needed to be trained and employed The government supplies the books, but not enough

8. What They Need What they lack: Textbooks Math supplies (rulers, calculators, etc.) Science kits Chalk Pens/Pencils/Paper Classrooms Teacher housing Latrines What they want: English teachers/English instruction help

9. What can Village Life do? They request that more English teachers come and stay an extended time to teach the students, and ideally show them how best to teach English better Direct interaction with students as well as provide the materials and instructions to help them teach better They ask that the teachers come when school is still in session (October Brigade)