Community Participation in Practice

The following section summarises the involvement of SMCs and PTAs in the life of schools in selected countries, describing their respective participatory processes. It also looks at some of the downsides of SMC/PTA participation. Malawi, Nigeria and Pakistan were selected because of their similar national and developmental characteristics in relation to Ghana. Examples from the USA have also been reviewed to examine how such relationship has been managed at the other side of the globe.

Rose (2003) reports that in Malawi, SMCs constructed schools, maintained them and made governance and policy decisions about them. Community members were encouraged to participate in genuine decision-making, including community identification of locally recruited instructors and the promotion of locally relevant curricula (Rose, 2003 p51).

In many communities in Nigeria, PTA contributions take the form of financial contributions to schools for construction, and supply of equipment and other teaching and learning materials (Ejieh, 2005). Education development in some parts of the country has witnessed the increased involvement of communities.

A study in Oyo and Ondo states of the roles of four communities in the development of schools in their areas revealed that each of them had established at least one secondary school between 1976 and 1981 on its own initiative (Ejieh, 2005). In some cases, the local branches of carpenters‟ and bricklayers‟ unions offered their services free of charge, whilst others provided communal labour for the maintenance of the school and its grounds on a number of occasions.

In instances of subjects for which there were no regular teachers, some parents with the requisite qualifications undertook to teach pupils free of charge, in their spare time. Some parents, and even whole communities, were known to make representations to the local inspector of education, the school board or the Ministry of Education to cancel the transfer of teachers who they felt were doing good jobs in local schools; with some lobbying for the posting of particularly good teachers to their schools (Ibid.).

In Pakistan, members of the SMC are supposed to visit schools on a regular basis to check on the absenteeism of teachers; to monitor the teaching and learning process and pupils‟ level of interest; and to solicit funds from both the government and the private sector. The SMC is also duty bound to secure, receive, accept and manage funds, donations, grants and endowments from legitimate sources (CEF, 2004).

Schorr (1997) highlights some community-based programmes that have linked communities with schools in some states of the USA. For example, the New York Beacon Schools Project targeted selected neighbourhoods and transformed some schools into community centres, which were made available to adults for 356 days a year. Through this, Schorr notes, at one site:

Academic performance at the school has improved dramatically, rising from 580th out of 620 city elementary schools in reading achievement in 1991 to 319th three years later. Attendance has also improved, and police report fewer felony arrests among neighbourhood youth (ibid, p47).

In describing the Missouri Caring Communities Programme – a partnership among local communities and school districts – Schorr states:

Families in crisis are linked with intensive in-home supports and services. Children having difficulty at home or in school can get tutoring and attend after school programmes and summer camps. For older children, the community centre offers fitness classes, homework help, ping-pong and pool, and Saturday night dances. Karate classes instil discipline and allow older students to mentor and demonstrate their mastery to younger ones…Many parents have become active in school parent organisations and volunteer work, and some hold jobs in the school. Others have come to see it (the school) as a refuge and comfortable place to spend time (Schorr, 1999 p96).

While the above instances point to the support SMCs give to schools, such support may not be universally assumed, as other evidence suggests that in most of these countries SMCs do not function as expected. In addition, contrary to policy expectation, there is also widespread limited participation of community members. The following examples represent some of the challenges that confront SMCs and PTAs.

Malawi

Rose (2003, p47) argues that in Malawi, participation is “pseudo” and is based on “a consultative process whereby citizens are kept informed of decisions at a school level, and are expected to accept decisions that have already been made.”

Nigeria

In respect of Nigeria, the United Nations Development Group Report 2006, states that many of the SMCs are not operational. The report indicates further that about 50 percent of primary schools have no effective SMCs and that those with SMCs have only few members who are active. (UNDG RCAR, 2006).

Pakistan (Karachi)

In a survey of about 70 primary schools in Karachi, it was observed that SMCs had been established in the majority of schools but they were not functioning. According to the Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF) Report, 2004, a large number of school participants in a survey stated that SMC members did not visit schools and that they had not seen a single member of the SMC in their schools. They attributed the problems confronting schools in Karachi to a lack of interest in SMC members. The report also indicated that female participation in SMC meetings was often very low. These views were captured in the CEF report with regard to three other districts in Pakistan:

Hyderabad

More than 90% of the SMCs exist only on paper and are not practically working. On the other hand, parents also lack interest in activities of the SMC and their child‟s academic life. Usually, parents do not even bother to collect their children‟s terminal report. Many parents are uneducated and belong to poor families, and therefore do not realise the importance of their children‟s education (p19).

Peshawar

SMCs have been formed at almost every school in the district, but their performance cannot be judged, as they remain non-functional (p.23).

Multan

SMC mostly remained inactive and only seemed to be functioning on paper. The members, especially parents, remain unaware about their specific role in

those committees. Committee members seldom gather to discuss education matters (p27).

There was evidence of fraud and abuse of power by heads of educational institutions under the watch of some SMCs in Karachi. There were also complaints about teachers of two schools who were drawing salaries without reporting for their jobs; misappropriation in the procurement of furniture; and the misuse of school property. This signifies that the watchdog role of the community and its demand for accountability cannot always be assumed.

Ghana

A Ghanaweb report indicates that a school in one of the districts of Ghana had consistently scored zero percent in the BECE over the past eight years (Ghanaweb, 2009). It took a new DCE, who was appointed for the area in 2009, to call a stakeholders‟ meeting of the chiefs, elders, townsfolk and the school, to discuss the consistently dismal performance. It was noted that the initiative came from the DCE, who had been in office for barely four months, and not the SMC or the community leadership. Clearly, if there was an SMC it was not functioning properly, living up to the situation in which many rural communities find themselves.

Appendix 4