Report - Bernard van Leer Foundation

Babati Agricultural and Environment Education Project (BAEEP) - Lessons Learned:One very local example of linking informal and formal education exists in Babati a fewhours from Monduli town. The Babati Agricultural and Environment Education Project(BAEEP) supported by District in collaboration with FARM AFRICA, aims to linkcommunity and school knowledge, through participation of students, teachers, andparents in the development & management of school gardens and nurseries.Planned outputs of BAEEP include the development of practical and relevant learningcontexts through increased participation of parents in the education system.Coming up to the end of its second year, identified lessons learnt to date, include: -‣ Consultations with parents and communities have been slow to happen, relying onexisting structures such as school committees and parents/general meetings, andrallying by village officials,‣ Community awareness-raising initiatives are yet to truly mobilise;‣ The Life-skills subject Agriculture/Livestock husbandry and Environment, is onlyvery small section within the existing curriculum, and is not examinable, thereforeteachers do not invest time and effort in it despite it’s importance to the livelihood ofrural communities and national economy;‣ School committees and parents have little understanding of LGRP, and what itcan/does mean to them, especially in increased participation and management inschool matters. This situation is not helped with Head Teachers resistance to ‘handover’ and be appropriately transparent in decision-making including resourceallocation.Alternative Basic Education for Karamajong (ABEK), Uganda, - Lessons Learned:ABEK - Alternative Basic Education for Karamajong, Uganda, has grown out of what isdescribed as ‘positive resistance’, to a formal education (of the past) that had no practicalbenefit or value in helping their children to adapt and make better use of theirenvironment. The programme is a non-formal alternative to basic education, and aims toprovide relevant education for pastoralist Karamajong children, 6 – 18 year olds, whowould grow up and continue the Karamajong lifestyle, whilst creating a path to formalschool for those who want to go on, (Nagel 2002). Some key lessons to draw from theABEK experiences to date, include: -‣ Links school schedules & hours to community lifestyles & children’s family workroles& thereby ensure their ongoing informal education - ‘ ...ABEK adapts schoolingto the “framework” of Karamajong’s agro-pastoralist lifestyle, recognising the central roleof the child in the household economy , (Indigenous Information Network, 2003:25).‣ Develops the capacity of community nominated teachers facilitating theprogrammes in the vicinity of the community (or Manyattas);17