Increased enrollment
Projectupdate van 5 juli 2017 door Sanday Kamara
Update of the Barmoi Lol school project
Results up to June 2017
The proposed 3 classroom block is almost complete with minor outstanding work to be accomplished. The school building has been plastered, ceiled and painted. The foundation of the building is yet to be painted due to the construction work on the steps and ramp that was in progress. However, this will be accomplished as final work on the project is in progress.
In addition, the school administration and management have started using the new structure in January 2017 after the collapse of the mud structure. The school is using its former benches and a cross section of new ones. The outstanding benches are supposed to be completed in July according to the legal arrangements.
The provision of the new classroom block has resulted to increased enrolment from 170 to 214 pupils in 2014 to 2016 respectively.
The participation of the community throughout the project period was satisfactory. The community was able to provide the needed local materials, labour and assisted in safe keeping of building materials throughout the project. See below current status of the construction work.
The toilet work is in progress. The work will be completed before school resumes in September.
Challenges in project implementation
The initial implementation of the project was faced with some constraints. The school construction work began during the Ebola outbreak in the country which hindered the consistent participation of CTF staff in monitoring and supervision of the project.
In addition, the low commitment of the contractor to his contractual obligation and his inconsistency to comply with the monitoring and supervision regulations of the community resulted to work stoppages and delay. In response to such inimical behavior by the contractor, CTF took a legal action against the contractor that has helped to reverse the situation. Currently work has resumed and fixing of glasses and preparation of the final set of benches is in progress.
The death of the Managing Director of Cotton Tree Foundation, Mr. Michael Kamara, was a challenge to work progress. Adding, is the recent death of the head teacher (Mr. Bangura) who was very instrumental in school administration and management and a boost to the construction work.
The most outstanding challenge in the school is the increase number of untrained and unqualified teachers in the school. Only the school head teacher is trained and qualified. This is a cause of concern to the teaching and learning process and quality of the school. Already, Mr. B.M Kamara has been appointed as acting head teacher since the death of the late Bangura.
Benefits realised and progress made towards the goals of the project:
- Increase enrolment: enrolment has increased over time since the construction of the school is almost complete. The school building has been in use over six months ago
- Conducive teaching and learning environment: children have conducive learning and atmosphere that is contributing to effective learning and free movement of teacher and pupils
- School land property and documents are legally owned: the project identification process and its implementation have helped the school to secure legal documents for the land property.
- Active community involvement in the education: the community people are actively involved in the construction work and management of the school.
- Teacher in-service training: Opportunities through the Edu4change Alliance (Woord en Daad, Driestar Educatief Teacher Training University, and Cotton Tree Foundation) resulted in a training of 2 teachers by the Cotton Tree Foundation in 2015 on edu4change courses: Educational Leadership and the Art of Teaching. Further training would be implemented for the school in the coming years.
Work to be done:
- Construction of school toilets
- Preparation of outstanding benches
- Glazing of one window (small size)
- Painting of foundation part of the building
