Within the framework of the “Together for Enhancing Our School” project today, February 11, 2018, was the inauguration of Hoda Shaarawi Primary School in El Mattareya upgraded by TakatofAssociation for Development, as part of the Egyptian/ German cooperation, through the Participatory Development Programme in Urban Areas (PDP) and funded by the “European Union and the German Government”.
Attending were H.E. Ms. Ghada Wali, Minister of Social Solidarity, Dr. Reda Hegazi, Head of the Public Education Sector, Dr. Gamal Shiha head of the Education Committee at the Egyptian Parliament, Mr. Sebastian Lech, First Counselor for Development Cooperation – Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Stephan David Programme Manager – Agriculture and Rural Development – European Union Delegation, Ms. Abeer Al Saheb, Head of Fund Management GIZ – Participatory Development Programme in Urban Areas, Dr. Hossam Badrawi, Chairman of Takatof Association for Development. Also present were, Gen. Yousry Abdallah, Head of the Educational Buildings Authority, Mr. Mohamed Attia, Head of Cairo Educational Directorate, Mr. Ahmed Shaaban, General Manager of the Mattareya Educational Directorate and Gen. Khaled El Mohammadi, Head of Mattareya District.
The Project aims at improving the educational environment in the school, through the physical upgrade, and the redistribution of space which guarantees the increase of number of classes and rooms to meet the school’s needs, as well as providing furnishings, supplies and equipment to ensure activation of the activities. This is in addition to implementing capacity building programs for school’s teachers, administrative staff, BoTs, and the staff of the Mattareya Educational Directorate (ED), life skills programs and activities for the students and awareness sessions for the students and their parent, and ophthalmological outreaches for the students and residents of Mattareya.
The needs assessment implemented before planning the project has identified a lot of problems in the school mainly: the high density of the classes, the lack of activities due to the lack of rooms and/or equipment, the bad structural condition of school, the lack of aeration and light in the classrooms, the inadequate and insufficient number of restrooms, the lack of teachers’ rooms, the inadequate playground of the primary section and the lack of a special area for the KG section. This is in addition to the need for capacity building of the teachers especially in teaching strategies and dealing with learning difficulties and behavioral problems of some students.
The project started in August 2017, and is implemented over a period of 14 months, at a total cost of 500,000 Euros. The physical upgrade of the school was implemented within the first 6 months of the project.
The cost of the project includes the physical upgrade, furnishings, supplies and equipment, capacity building programs for school’s teachers, administrative staff, BoTs, and the staff of the
Mattareya Educational Directorate (ED), life skills programs and activities for the students and awareness sessions for the students and their parents.
As the Association believes that real development cannot take place without human development and the provision of different services, the Project met the needs of the targeted groups through capacity building programs and activities,based on focus groups discussions (FGDs) and surveys. The programs were tailor made for each targeted group. Examples of Programs are as follows:
“Teachers’ Capacity Building” programs that were implemented during the 1st six months such as “Principles of Comprehensive Development” to empower them to implement the “Life Skills” program with their students, “Educational Strategies” to empower them to include students of different intelligences and improve their academic performance, provide teachers with the skills to identify learning difficulties and improve the academic performance for students with learning difficulties, “Curriculum Content Analysis” skills in order to specify the best strategies in teaching, and manufacturing educational tools suitable for active learning, teaching strategies for KG teachers and dealing with the behavioral problems of the students. “Management Training”: Training for El Mattareya primary schools’ principals and deputies on “Management and Leadership Skills”. “Students’ Programs and Activities”: (160) sessions are being implemented in the framework of the “Life Skills” program, “My School is Clean” initiative and camps for the students. The project will also implement ophthalmological outreaches.
**This article has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union and the German Government. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Takatof Association for Development and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union or the German Government.”