Africa Programmes: Schools

LCD works with over 1000 schools in Africa. Click on the links below to read more about some of these schools.

• Ethiopia: click here to see a list of target schools for the Woreda School Improvement Programme
• Ghana:
• Mpatasie Primary School, Ashanti Region, Ghana
• Father Morin School, Upper East Region, Ghana
• Bukere Primary School, Upper East Region, Ghana
• Malawi:
• Mwenje Primary School, Dedza district, Malawi
• Dzenza Primary School, Dedza district, Malawi
• South Africa:
• Vuvu Junior Secondary School, Eastern Cape, South Africa
• Maphindela Senior Secondary School, Eastern Cape, South Africa
• Barkly West High School, Northern Cape, South Africa
• Uganda:
• Karuma Primary School, Masindi district, Uganda
• Kamurasi Demonstration School, Masindi district, Uganda

Mpatasie Primary School, Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma (BAK) district, Ashanti Region, Ghana

Mpatasie Primary School is in the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma (BAK) district of the Ashanti region in central Ghana. Mpatasie is a village with a population of approximately 2,000 people, 12 km away from the edge of Kumasi. Here the Asante people are the main ethnic group, and Asante-Twi is the most widely-spoken language.

The school is led by the head-teacher, Mr. Kobina Nyame, who has been at the school since 1994. He is working hard to maintain the school's good academic standards, and is supported by a committed staff team.

There are 228 pupils at the school, with the boys outnumbering the girls, and with six classes at the school there are around 33 children for each member of teaching staff. However, at present there are only five classrooms in the school, meaning that the P6 class has been using a nearby building belonging to the Catholic Church for their lessons. The community has agreed to try and build a classroom in the near future to try and overcome these difficulties.

Outside the classroom, the school has an active extra-curricular programme. The pupils take part in sports such as football, netball and athletics and also a range of cultural activities such as drama, dance and poetry recital. Whilst the shortage of equipment limits their success, the children regularly compete in matches and competitions against local schools.

The school benefits from both an active SMC and PTA who meet regularly to address the needs of the school. Both have recently attended a four-day workshop by the District Education Office, explaining their roles and encouraging them in their work. This has inspired them to redouble their efforts, and has generated new ideas and given more direction to their work.

The headteacher feels well supported by the community and recognises that they are the key to the school's future: "If the community continues to help the teachers and pupils, the school will do well we depend on the community for a bright future."

Father Morin School, Kassena-Nankana district, Upper East Region, Ghana

There are over 200 pupils and six teachers at Father Morin Primary School in the Kassena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region. They have no electricity, water or telephone and very little furniture, books or stationery. The classrooms are a collection of mud buildings.

The youngest class are taught underneath the tree or on the floor of a spare classroom. The class has 104 pupils. Since the school is not far from the road the passing people and vehicles always disturb learning.

Nevertheless, the school has a good relationship with the local community - the parents have recently rebuilt the kitchen which was washed away during the rainy season. The school sells produce from its garden to raise funds.

Bukere Primary School, Bolgatanga Muncipality, Upper East Region, Ghana

In July 2005, Bukere Primary School had 564 pupils and 12 trained teachers. This meant that there were 47 pupils to every trained teacher.

The school has good classrooms, with aluminum roofs, plastered walls and cement floors. There is also running water and well maintained toilets for the pupils to use.

Unfortunately, there is no library and there were limited books for pupils to use. In 2004, Bukere Primary School used their LCD School Improvement Grant to purchase English and Mathematics text books for the Primary 3 class.

The teachers at Bukere are motivated and work well together. Following Performance Monitoring Testing the school came 17th out of 53 in the district.

Mwenje Primary School, Dedza district, Malawi

There are 1,326 pupils at Mwenje with just eight teachers. The headteacher, Mr Chifaka is very open about the issues faced by the school and agrees that 444 children in the Standard 1 class is a huge problem. With only 261 making it to the next year, drop out rates are also a major concern. Mwenje's statistics are, unfortunately, not out of the ordinary for the area.

There is no furniture for the younger classes and in the absence of sufficient classrooms, each has a baobab tree allocated for them to learn under. During the rainy season, learning becomes almost impossible and the classes are moved to the local church.

Despite these problems, the staff at Mwenje are not fazed or daunted by their task. Mr Chifaka is ambitious and has great plans for the school. Pupils are excited in their lessons and teachers are looking forward to the prospect of developing a partnership with a school in Scotland through LCD, as well as hosting a Global Teacher.

In addition to this, the school is fortunate to have a local community that is extremely supportive. They help mould bricks to build more classrooms and also assist with maintaining the teachers accommodation on site. This support is invaluable both for the school and its pupils, allowing parents to really get involved with school life.

This school is one of many in Dedza facing extreme difficulties in providing a quality education for its children. However, the way in which these difficulties are accepted and challenged by all members of this community is inspiring.

Dzenza Primary School, Dedza District, Malawi

Dzenza Primary School is 5km from the main road and the nearest village is Kasina. In 2006, there were 14 teachers and 1301 pupils.

There is basic teacher accommodation on the school site, which means teachers can easily get to the school and their attendance is very good. There are 14 classrooms, however with such large classes children are often taught under trees outside. Within the classrooms there are not enough desks or books for all pupils. The school does not have electricity but it does have toilets and a water supply.

Annual drop out rates are extremely high in the school. This can be seen by the high enrolment in the Standard 1 class (497 pupils) with only 53 in Standard 8. At the time of year when the food becomes scarce, children begin not attending lessons; there is also the problem of parent disinterest in education and early marriages for girls.

In 2005, 45 out of 47 pupils in the Standard 8 class passed their Primary Leaving Exams results. These results are testament to the determination of the teachers and pupils, who with limited resources and limited space are keen to do well.

Vuvu Junior Secondary School, Mt Fletcher, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Vuvu JSS was founded in 1910 on the premises of Morivian Church and was moved from that site after the church was blown away by a storm. The school is now situated on the Chief's mielie field. The Chief gave the school the land in 2002, where permanent structures were built by the Government. In 2005 there were 391 pupils, 10 teachers and 13 classrooms.

The main language spoken is Xhosa however English is the main language used during lessons. Some children walk up to 7km to get to school and several teachers travel 45km each day to attend school. Vuvu JSS has a water supply but no flushing toilets, electricity or gas supply.

The headteacher, Mrs Thabile Cynthia Kibi has been with the school since 1991 and has been very successful in encouraging more children to come to school. The school has a Fundraising Committee which is made up of parents, teachers and pupils. They meet twice a month and have organised school concerts, beauty contests and sell fruit and snacks.

Maphindela Senior Primary School, Libode, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Maphindela SPS was established as a community school in 1979 by Reverend E. Maphindela. It was a junior primary school from 1979 to 1980. In 1980 the Department of Education took over the ownership of the school. The current principal, Miss Tsewu was appointed in 1984 as a third educator. Miss Tsewu has achieved a lot during her time at the school including motivating the community to build more classrooms.

In 2005 Maphindela SPS had 264 pupils, eight teachers and six classrooms. 90% of pupils progressed in to the next year, following end of year exams. Lessons are taught in both English and IsiXhosa. Unfortunately the school does not have a water, gas or electricity supply and while there is there is classroom furniture, there is not enough for all the pupils.

The school has good policy documents, including an HIV/AIDS policy, Health and Safety document and a School Development Plan. There is also a Fundraising Committee which has organised a mini concert to raise money for the school.

Barkly West High School, Francis Baard district, Northern Cape, South Africa

Barkly West High School was established in 1965 and is situated in the De Beershoogte. It is a brick building with limited grounds, and enough space for soccer and netball fields. There is a small garden that needs attention. The school runs a feeding scheme using volunteers from the local community. The majority of the educators travel over 45 km to school every day, and are dedicated to providing a good education for the learners.

In 2004, Barkley West HS had 700 pupils aged between 12 and 19 years old. There were 23 classrooms, 23 teachers and on average around two pupils for every textbook. The main language spoken is Afrikaans and children can walk up to 5km each day to get to school.

The principal of the school is Mr. Bartholomew (Barto) Jammer, who has been at the school for the past 14 years. Mr Jammer recognises the importance of his staff and highlights that the school needs a library for pupils and teachers, a hall and more trained subject teachers.

Barkly West HS has a School Governing Body (SGB) which meets twice monthly. The SGB is made up of the principal, teacher representatives, admin representatives and parents. The School Governing Body has a very important role in the decision making of the school on all issues involving learners and educators. The school also has a Fundraising Committee, which comprises of teachers and parents, who meet monthly to discuss and plan. Recent fundraising successes were dances, a concert, donations, raffles and fun days.

Karuma Primary School, Masindi district, Uganda

Karuma Primary School lies about 15 minutes drive from the Victoria Nile in the east of Masindi District; the nearest main town is Mutunde. The school was started by parents as it was felt there was a lack of schools in the area.

In 2005, the school had 1,488 pupils, one of the largest in the district. There were 277 pupils in the Primary 1 and this dropped to 67 pupils in Primary 7. Many pupils drop out in order to generate an income and girls often have early marriages. Many of the children come from families that have been internally displaced by the war in the north of the country.

The school has nine classrooms, a well and latrines but no electricity. Pupils have been doing well in their exams despite the large class sizes and limited resources.

Mr. Patrick Obara heads Karuma Primary School and has 33 teachers working under him. The staff of Karuma PS are endeavouring to develop a good relationship with parents and members of the local community. For example, the communities make use of classrooms to hold community workshops. In return the local community especially parents have made contributions towards school infrastructure development.

Staff have participated in a number of training courses including the LCD Financial Management course, and guidance and counselling on HIV/AIDS prevention.

Karuma PS is linked to St Rochs Secondary School in the UK. The two schools have exchanged letters and photos and cards.

Kamurasi Demonstration School, Masindi district, Uganda

Kamurasi Primary School is found a kilometre or so from the centre of Masindi town. Despite its proximity to an urban centre, the area feels predominantly rural. The school's four main buildings enjoy views out over the rolling hills. Lush, green vegetation spreads out to the horizon.

From humble beginnings, the school has grown considerably. In recent years, the local community have worked to help provide three new classrooms and a block of girls' latrines. A borehole has also been sunk to provide water on site. However, the school is hugely under resourced. Teaching materials (such as textbooks, pens and pencils) are in short supply. The classrooms are in a very poor state of repair, with broken and uneven floors. There is also little furniture.

Eriachim Ntairaho Byoona heads Kamurasi Demonstration Primary School. In 2004, the school had 20 teachers and 1,091 pupils. There were 152 pupils in P1 and 65 in P7. Kamurasi has a considerable number of children with special needs.

In 2005, the School Development Plan focused on improving the teaching of mathematics, promoting health education and inclusive education in the school and the renovation of classrooms. In 2005, the school was also featured on a BBC docu-soap series, African School. You may have seen the school competing in the Masindi district music and athletics competitions!

Ethiopia Target Schools (2007-2008)