MONROVIA – Women from rural Montserrado and Gbarpolu Counties over the weekend praised the Kids’ Educational Engagement Project (KEEP) for enlightening their minds on how to monitor schools their children are attending.
Report by J. H. Webster Clayeh, [email protected]
One after the other, each woman shared their experiences on how monitoring the various public schools that their children are attending are helping to improve the standard of learning in their respective counties.
With support from Open Society Initiative of West Africa (OSIWA), KEEP was able to conduct a one-year pilot project on Gender Strategic Accountability in Education in Montserrado County, Gbarpolu County and Grand Gedeh County.
The project enables women to be used as agents of change in the education service delivery.
During this time, women were able to monitor various public schools that the children are attending.
According the one of the organizers, the women from Grand Gedeh could not be in attendance due to the deplorable conditions of the road.
Speaking at a one-day high level meeting, women from Montserrado and Gbarpolu shared their experiences and also gave results of the pilot project conducted by KEEP.
Evaluating the gains made by the direct inclusion of women in monitoring service delivery in the educational sector, the women in a cheerful move said they were able to get rid of the fear of reaching to schools authority and find out the happening about the learning process.
Mae Kennedy is one of the many women who were part of the Gender Strategic Accountability in Education in Gbarpolu County.
She is regularly monitoring the Momo T. Kamar Public School in Gbarpolu County.
Madam Kennedy said before the monitoring every Friday students used to go work for teachers on their farmland.
“Before, on Friday when you go on the campus you will not find teachers before I talk about students,” Kennedy said.
She added: “Teachers used to demand students to bring money before they can take their tests. But now, everything has changed.”
Kennedy added: “When we started the monitoring, we used to go to the principal and ask for the attendance of the teachers and we also went to the Town Chief to make announcement that every child should be in school from Monday to Friday. When teachers want for the students to work for them let them do it on Saturday.”
According to her, the Momo T. Kamar school authority has listened to them adding that everything is going on smooth at the institution.
Janneh Bondo is another woman, who carries regular inspection at Gobah Town Public School in the Todee District, Montserrado County.
She said the school was lacking of teachers but added that since she and her friends concluded the KEEP pilot project training, they became to monitor the school regularly.
“When our children not learn that torn in our fresh,” she said.
Bondo added: “We started encouraging parents who never wanted to send their children to school.”
Speaking to journalists at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of KEEP, Brenda B. Moore said participants have been taught to take ownership of their children’s education through monitoring of schools authorities and students.
“With today’s conversations from them, we feel that they are empowered enough to monitor the schools within their respective communities and their children to be in school always,” she disclosed.
“They have been trained to move to their children’s school campuses and ask authorities of schools relevant questions,” Mrs. Moore said.
According to Mrs. Moore, KEEP is currently planning to extend the program to other counties, an initiative that will enable parents to monitor their children and schools to ensure better education outcomes.
“They did not know that they have the right to ask questions and demand things from the school, like teachers who have been paid by government to show-up to teach,” Madam Moore said.
She said the women have been educated to monitor and enforce the teacher’s code of conduct, which among others forbid students going on teacher’s farm to work and putting money in homework or paying money for grade.