By
Hope for the Horn
1. INTRODUCTION
The question of providing education for pastoralists has been debated from various angles by many researchers and educationalists. Do the pastoralists really need education? If so, what type of education? Should the type of education be for the self-development of the pastoralists or their integration with other communities of the country? Should it be Informal or formal? Will the formal system of education force the pastoralists towards sedentarisation? Will education lead to disempowerment rather than empowering them?
Considering all these and other relevant questions in educating the pastoralists, Hope for the Horn (HFH) in consultation with the local community and other stakeholders has come to the conclusion that Education is the key for the success.
The next question that arises is about type of school that would be suitable for them. Again considering all the factors such as the mobility, remoteness, scarcely populated areas, etc, the best choice would be establishing Boarding Schools through the region. (Example: Mongolia). HFH listening to the demand of Gashamo district, came to the conclusion of establishing a boarding school in the district.
2. BEGINNING
The following steps were undertaken to ensure the smooth and effective starting of the boarding school project.
2.1 Site selection
2.2 Technical expertise 2.3 Financial support
2.1 Site selection
Together with the community, HFH has chosen ‘Dubat’ kebele in Gashamo district. The Dubat site has become ideal site because
• There are no secondary schools around 300 km of the site; • it is comparatively greenish,
• It doesn’t belong to any one sub-clan and can attract all the sub-clans in the region:
• Water will be available through the Dubat Haffir dam
• Pastoralism culture can be very easily practiced without the impediments of sedantarisation.
• Plenty of land is available for future development such as Fodder bank and other income generation activities;
2.2 Technical expertise
An Education Consultant, who has served more than 28 years in the field of education and who has previously established schools in the country was contracted to work side by side with HFH in establishing the school. The education consultant has upgraded and completed the Boarding school proposal in 1999
The technical expertise for the construction was sought from AEC (Associated Engineering Consultants)
AEC completed the architectural designs by the end of the 1999(Annex )
2.3 Financial support
Meanwhile NOVIB ( a Dutch NGO) was very much excited about the whole concept of boarding school and agreed to support as much as possible. In addition, Japan Embassy-Addis Ababa also agreed to support the initial expenses of the construction.
Therefore the with the funds of NOVIB and Japan Embassy, the boarding school construction was started in 2001
Meanwhile, a temporary school was erected in Gashamo town and the classes 1-3 commenced in September 1999.
3. Bannano Boarding School
In Somali language the word ‘Bannano’ means ‘plains’. Since the areas around Dubat are plains, the boarding school was named Bannano Boarding School. 1999 September was the beginning of the Bannano Boarding school in temporary shelters at Gashamo town.
While the construction and the fund raising are going on one side, the temporary school activities have started to go on the other side. The following table shows the progress of the school in the last four years.
Year Classes 1999 1-3 2000 1-4 2001 1-5 2002 1-6 3.1 Construction
The Bannano Boarding School construction has been divided into two phases. In the first phase, the following facilities were planned:
4 class rooms
One Girls' and One boys' dormitories Three sets of pit latrines
Principal’s house Temporary kitchen
The first phase construction has been completed and all these facilities are ready for the coming academic year.
The second phase will start early 2003. Haffir Dam construction
With the financial support of International Rescue Committee (IRC)has been completed in March 2002. Dubat Haffir dam. The capacity of the dam is 45000 cubic meter. Due to the current good rains the Haffir dam is full.
3.2 Students
Currently in the temporary school BBS follows open admission policy. But in the new boarding facilities, priorities will be given for girls and the children of mobile pastoralists even from further distances. The following table shows the progress of the increase of students all these years:
Year Students 1999 87 2000 103 2001 133 2002 184 3.3 Curriculum
BBS follows the curriculum of the Ministry of Education. In addition, pastoralism will be major focus at all levels. Towards this pastoralists curriculum, the Environmental Education curriculum prepared for Somali Region is incorporated with other subjects. In addition, other local technologies, cultural stories and traditional activities are also included in the curriculum.
3.4 Teachers
HFH conducts regular Teacher training through its consultant. Currently the following teachers are serving in the school
No Staff Qualification Position 1 Awil Mohamed Yasin University degree Principal 2 Yusuf Awil Farah University degree Teacher 3 Abdi Hassen Wasame Diploma "
4 Osman Mohamed Handula
Dip "
5 Lul Farah Dirie 12+ "
6 Saido Ibrahim Nur 12 Administrator 7 Ibrahim Mohamed Musse 12 Amharic Teacher
3.5 Administration
The school is managed by a temporary Principal and an Administrator. The education consultant has prepared 'School Quality Manual' and these quality standards will be adhered by the school administration.
The success of any school depends on the leadership of the school and therefore still HFH is looking for a better and suitable principal who can administer and lead the school based on the school quality manual.
4. CHALLENGES
BBS faces a lot of challenges typical to remote and underdeveloped areas of the country.
** As the school continues to grow, it needs more and more qualified and committed teachers.
** Though BBS follows the curriculum of the Ministry of Education, there are not any text books in subjects, not even a single copy in some of the subjects in some of the grades.
** Adequate funds have yet to be secured for the operational cost of the boarding;
** The linking of BBS with other schools in the region is yet to be
done.
** The Regional Bureau of Education Bureau should include BBS teachers also in any upgrading training programs.
