The programme developed Local Authority (LA) links to support partner finding and to enable the future sustainability of school partnerships. The partnerships are a two way process, whereby schools with partnerships engage with their LAs and LAs include schools in their community links. The objective was to engage and support 100 of the UK’s 468 LAs in areas which had been hard to reach.
Ruchira Ghosh, GSP Country Manager, India
India has benefitted from these LA partnerships with three established in 2010 and six in 2011.
The Southern countries, and India is no exception, do not have LAs and the main challenge was to find similar bodies that could initiate, co-ordinate, support and sustain partnerships between the groups of ten schools.
Our nine cluster partnerships have not only boosted the number of India’s partnerships, an all time high of 450 (set to reach more than 500 by 31 March), but more importantly they have established new ways of learning, sharing and creating new ‘families’ of schools that will keep the partnership relationships going for the foreseeable future. It is heartening to add 40% of these partnerships have already qualified for the Reciprocal Visit grants.
Anju Mehta, School Programmes Manager, North India, rightly says, “Having facilitated six LA clusters so far, I have come to believe that the sharing of learning and the group involvement which LA cluster partnerships generate, help to enhance learning outcomes. The combined effort from both participating groups is tremendous and manifold, that often translates into an enthusiasm that is both infectious and energizing.”
The LA partnership between schools in Madurai and Wiltshire has focused on creating effective teaching methods in a suitable learning environment. Caroline Harmer, one of the visiting teachers, was lost in the midst of Mahatma School students enacting the story of Christmas, “Never for a moment did I feel I was far away in India. All along I felt I was listening to Christmas carols sung by children in my country, the UK.”
It is the bonding, the togetherness and the oneness that makes these partnerships click. The real learning is not in the visits, cultural shows, the overwhelming hospitality and the ultra modern gadgets of teaching, but in the exchange of knowledge, in developing new ways of learning and teaching, in developing a real knowledge of other cultures, in what stays with you long after the visits are over and the new learning the students themselves take home.
Dr Akib Lawal, Country Manager, GSP, Nigeria
Partner finding conferences
The impressive growth in Nigerian partnerships is no small part due to the hard work of UK One World Linking Association (UKOWLA), who organised partner finding conferences in the UK in 2010 and 2011 to fast track partnerships for countries like Nigeria and Rwanda.
Lynn Cutler and Sarah Hamlet, an indefatigable woman, did a fantastic job of ensuring the success of the conferences. As a result, Nigeria has 112 partnerships, which is set to increase by the end of March. Over 1000 teachers and 20,000 students are involved in GSP in Nigeria.
Local Authority Grant
The Local Authority Grant (LAG) has also boosted partnership numbers. The grant aims to:
LAG has not only increased the number of partnerships, but it has also improved understanding and fostered positive cultural relations between the people of the UK and Nigeria.
Four LAGs have got underway in Nigeria:
Visits have begun, which have given UK visitors the opportunity to see what Nigerian communities are really like. The delegates from Somerset visited eleven primary and secondary schools. The enthusiastic welcome in every Nassarwa school was impressive. The visitors were welcomed, greeted and appreciated, not only by the pupils who flocked around them almost making movement impossible, but also by the teachers, members of the Parents Teachers Association, School–based Management Committees and Community Heads.
The UK visitors also visited Administrators of Education in the State at various levels. Every visit stressed the need to use education to eradicate poverty and ignorance, but perhaps the most important aspect was how perceptions of the UK visitors of Nigeria have changed as a result of the visit.
‘Nigeria has surpassed all my expectations. Before this visit I knew very little of Nigeria, apart from very negative impressions given by other people. I have found the people of Kano to be warm, welcoming and generous. The teachers, Head teachers, Leaders of education have shown great foresight and aspiration to improve the education of the children of Nigeria – the willingness is evident in all those I have met. Together the issues can be overcome. There are many challenges, large classes, lack of resources. Each small step will lead to improvements for our children. The benefits of Global Awareness are huge.’
Theresa Hobbs,Head Teacher, Chilthorne Domer Church School, Somerset
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