Current Status and Projected Development of the Good Shepherd      School, Fort Portal

 

Background

 

The need for a school for children with special needs in Western Uganda was first mooted by Sr Theresa Abigaba some years ago based on her experience as a teacher in mainstream primary education in this part of the country. With the introduction of Universal Primary Education in Uganda she noted that accessing the curriculum remained very difficult for children with disabilities, particularly learning difficulties, within the context of large class sizes and limited expertise. Furthermore, these children remained stigmatised within their families and communities, were seen as a worthless burden upon them, and were prone to abuse (including sexual abuse and infection with HIV) and exploitation.

Although there is little data on childhood disability and special educational need in Africa generally, Sr TheresaÕs perceptions were supported by a Needs Assessment carried out in the Kabarole District in early 2008, when over 400 children were seen, half of whom specifically had a learning difficulty, often the result of cerebral malaria. Even when these children were attending school it was clear that, despite every effort by their teachers, their needs were often not being met.

In 2007/8, supported by a UK Charity: Helping Uganda Schools, Sr Theresa was enabled to purchase land and construct three classrooms, to which she admitted her first 27 pupils in September 2008.

This paper sets out the overall objectives of the Good Shepherd project, the current position of the school , and proposals for further development.

 

Objectives

The overarching aim of the project is to enable children with a learning difficulty, who cannot access school because of physical, behavioural, sensory or economic factors, to benefit from an education that will raise their status and value within their community, foster their long term self-sufficiency, and help to protect them from exploitation.

To this end the objectives of the school are:

     1  To provide high quality  special needs teaching to a selected group of children with learning difficulty, accommodating and meeting any additional health needs or disabilities, particularly physical, sensory, linguistic and behavioural, that the children may  have.

     2  To provide education for children with special needs within an environment that is adapted to their particular needs, and indicates by quality the value in which they are held.

     3  To prepare children where possible to acquire knowledge and skills(ie vocational skills) that will enable them to achieve a measure of independence in adulthood.

     4   To work with parents, individually and in groups, so that they may learn how to develop and manage their own childrenÕs potential at home, and thus themselves provide a model for community attitudes to children with disabilities.

     5  To provide a resource for advice and support to parents, communities, teachers and other schools on working with children with special needs, outreaching into those communities where necessary, and by doing so raising the profile of disabled people.

     6  To reach a position whereby the school is self sufficient and sustainable.

 

Current Position

The school is set within five and a half acres of  land owned by the Banyateresa sisters 4Km from Fort Portal. The head teacher reports regularly to a Management Board composed of nine members of the local community. Three classrooms have been constructed and a further three are due to be completed by February 2009.This will allow four rooms to be used for teaching, one to be allocated as a quiet room for individual tuition , language and behavioural work, and counselling, and one to be designated for vocational training. There is a small allocation of unadapted pit latrines at a distance from the classroom block, and a designated playground area which requires development.Basic classroom furniture, desks, chairs etc are in situ.Staffing is in place as identified below.

The land currently not used for teaching purposes is being farmed, with cultivation of vegetables and other crops to feed children and staff. Four goats are kept to provide milk for the children, but these may also provide some income in due course , and the school has invested in three pigs in order to produce piglets for profit.

27 children have been admitted to the school aged 3 to 17 years, all with a learning difficulty, one with a hearing impairment, at least three with additional physical problems, one with epilepsy and one with visual difficulties. A more formal assessment of their problems and needs is proposed next year.

 

Recurring costs:

     Staff:                                                                                  Cost/month(Ugandan shillings)

          Head Teacher                                                                        500,000

          2 teachers                                                                               400,000

          1 teacher (from 1/2/09)                                                          200,000

          1 classroom assistant(from 1/2/09)                                        100,000

           Nurse                                                                                     200,000

          Cook                                                                                         70,000

          2 gardeners                                                                             200,000

          Watchman                                                                               160,000

          Animal husbandry                                                                   100,000

     Facilities:

           Water                                                                                      30,000                     

           Electricity                                                                               80,000

           Internet, transport, printing                                                    150,000

     Consumables:

           Firewood                                                                                 100,000

           Sugar                                                                                       100,000

           Chalk, pens, exercise books                                                    100,000

           Medicines                                                                                 30,000

           Uniforms                                                                                 175,000

           Animal feed/seed etc                                                       ?         95,000

                                                                         

                                                                           Total                   2,790,000

 

Income:

          HUGS donations

          Other charitable funds

          School fees:                 20,000Ug.sh/child/term                        135,000/month

              (unlikely to be realised as many parents do not see the benefit of investment in the education of a disabled child)

          Capitation fees: in theory UPE should allow any registered school to apply for the capitation fees due it from admitting children eligible for free education. In practice the fact that the school is essentially run by a private organisation may make this difficult/impossible.

           Locally generated:

                        Estimated pig sales                                           ???     100,000/month

 

 

Projected capital costs for 2009:

       Essential work:                                                                                      Estimated cost:

          Upgrading and adaptation of pit latrines

          and washing facilities for disabled use                                                 15,000,000Ug sh

           (Build six latrines: 2male,2female,1staff,

                    1adapted for disabled access)

 

           Provision of kitchen facilities                                                              13,500,000

                         

           Complete and equip playground                                      ???               2,500,000

 

           Equip classrooms and office with appropriate teaching and support materials

                                  Toys, particularly aids to literacy and numeracy

                                  TV/DVD/CD player

                                   Computers and educational software

                                   Books, pencils and markers

                                   Wall coverings   (pin boards,magnetic boards,maps etc)

                                   (Soft play materials for quiet room)

                                   Storage

Interim Conclusions:

The school has got off to a flying start. It is a good way toward meeting its first two objectives, presuming that the staffing costs can be maintained and the essential capital costs outlined above can be met. By Ugandan standards the project is expensive if measured as an investment in education per child, but the longer term outcomes for the  children and their families cannot yet be estimated although they are likely to be very significant,  and the wider societal benefits are unknown but potentially enormous.

The project has taken its first few hesitant steps on the road to changing attitudes toward disability and setting itself up to educate or act as role model for the wider community . However it is a very long way from achieving sustainability.

 

 

 

 

 

                            Future Development

 

The Good Shepherd School has the potential to develop any or all of the following projects for the benefit of its catchment child population, and possible options to take them forward will be outlined below;

         Expansion of the core school facility

         The development of secondary  provision and vocational training

         Outreach work with parents and community groups

         Shared placements with local schools

         Work with the most severely disabled children either within their own community or  

                                      transported to school for special sessions.                                        

          The development of parent to parent support systems

          Work with preschool children

          Clinical support:

                        Medical,eg epilepsy management ?links with Virika Hospital

                        Ophthalmology

                         PhysiotherapyÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ.

                         Speech and language therapyÉÉÉpossibly through link with VSO

           Income generation

                          Precedent exists in Fort Portal for cost effective owning and renting out

                                                                 of a tipper truck.

 

 

To pursue some or all of these developments capital investment would be required in

 some or all of:

          Staff accommodation

           A school hall

           Transport

           A guest house

          The infrastructure for income generation.

 

 

To continue the development of the project the following options are presented. They are

not mutually exclusive or comprehensive:

 

Option 1

á          Consolidate the existing position.

This allows teachers to bed in and parents and children to accommodate to the new system.

However, it risks loss of impetus/momentum, and ignores the continuing unmet need in the community.

Option 2

á          Consolidate

á          Develop outreach

á          Start vocational training

This would allow, for relatively small cost and little disruption to the existing pupils, a further move toward meeting identified goals. Four young people now on role would be transferred to the vocational class using the sixth classroom . A further 8 children could then be accommodated in the existing four classes bringing these class sizes up to eight per qualified member of staff. A start could be made on work within the local community.

Costings:

         Capital

Classroom equipment:

                      2-3 sewing machines                                           6-900,000Ug.sh

                      Computers                                                           4-500,000

                      Classroom furniture, desks etc                  ??

Vehicle for transporting staff and equipment to rural areas      45,000,000Ug.sh

Staff housing                                                                     ??   

           Recurring

1 vocationally trained teacher                                                   200,000Ug sh/month

Fuel and driver for vehicle                                                        200,000

 

Option 3

á          Consolidate

á          Develop sustainability

A proposal has been put forward that the school obtain a tipper truck to hire out for profit.

Existing experience in Fort Portal indicates that:

                 Initial outlay would be                    30,000,000Ug sh for the truck

                 Expected running costs                      200,000 /month+petrol

                 Expected income                                3-400,000 /week

which would be in keeping with the relatively high cost of vehicular transport in Uganda , and  the

high level of need for transport of building materials.

Alternative and/or additional income generating projects may need consideration.

 

Option 4

á          Increase the focus on the additional needs of the pupils and other children in the community

Capital investment:

                School hall for therapy sessions and group work                   cost???

                Guest house for accommodating visiting professionals/VSO input

                Transport for bringing children in to the centre for advice and input.

 

 

Recurring costs:

                 ???

                  Medicines

                  Professional fees and expenses

                  Specialist equipment

 

Option 5

á          Provide a resource for other schools, teachers, teacher training etc

This would require the staff to be able to provide training experiences on site for visitors ie in suitable buildings, and to be able to visit other schools on an outreach basis. In the very long term this might provide the foundation upon which children might benefit from split placements and inclusion.

 

Option 6

á          Extend classroom accommodation and admit more pupils

á          Develop secondary provision and more vocational training

The costs would include those of further building on site plus the acquisition of more land, and the recruitment of more trained teachers, maintaining a pupil : teacher ratio of not more than 10;1.

 

Recommendations

A formal option appraisal relating cost to potential outcome might be profitable, but a rolling program introducing the main elements of all 6 options in an appropriate time frame is no doubt the best way forward for the school. This , of course, carries with it significant financial implications. Nevertheless, it is right that the school has high ambitions and expects to meet its objectives in the fullness of time. Further costings and a clearer time line should be attempted in collaboration with HUGS, the schools main benefactor, but bearing in mind that other sources of income must also be pursued and that the ultimate aim should be for the school to be self- sufficient and self-governing.

 

T. Abigaba

P. Scampion

24/11/08