Needs – Slum School Solutions

Teacher Training

Slum schools do not qualify for government funding unless their teachers have a Teaching Certificate. But most slum school primary teachers have only completed secondary/high school. Some have not even done that. One recent small survey showed only one of 50 primary teachers had any training beyond high school.

To obtain a Teacher’s Certificate takes two years of school beyond high school and $1,200 USD. That’s their entire salary for 2 years for most teachers – impossible for a teacher to pay on their own. But with this training, not only does it help enable their school to qualify for government funding, it also enables the teacher to begin receiving their salary from the government. This triples teachers’ salaries, increases quality instruction, reduces student tuition, and increases the number of children who can attend school.

Slum School Solutions is finding ways for teachers to get this training. We are negotiating with the government about delaying the requirements, negotiating with teacher training colleges about reducing their fees, and seeking donations to allow the teachers get the training they need.

Give the Gift of Teacher Training

Textbooks

Imagine trying to learn without books. In most slum schools, one or two children in a class of 25-30 may have a textbook. The teacher reads the text out loud, or writes parts of it on a blackboard. Students copy it down in their notebooks, and then try to memorize it. They develop great memory skills, but reading skills remain low and even a basic education is severely limited. Older students become bored easily which contributes to the very high drop out rate. It’s hard to learn much without books to learn from.

To begin receiving permanent government funding, the textbook to student ratio must move from current average of 1:10 to 1:2.

Toilets

Slums are typically places where kids are sick – a lot – due to malnutrition and inadequate human waste management. For kids to attend school regularly, they need a healthy environment – one with adequate toilets. Pit toilets (latrines) or portable toilets are commonly used to provide some level of sanitation. But slum schools can’t afford to have enough of these to meet government regulations. Providing toilets may not sound like education, but without them, kids get sick and government help for other things like tuition support, teacher training, and textbooks, is not given.