Project of community Participation in Education :

Tanweer Foundation Participated in community participation Network in Education with Association for the Advancement of Education with other 3 NGOs in Minia Governorate:

1-Future Hawaa Association
2-Social Services Association for Development
3-Egyptian Association for children's care

Project period ( 8/2003-3/2005)

(Development Issue of Project)
-Activating Role of parents and teachers councils in developing Education through the following:
1- Activating Ministerial decision number (5) for 1993 and Amended decisions in (464) in (9/8/1998) and (515) in (10/8/1998) by Minister of Education for developing Education through parent's positive participation
2- Activating Ministerial decision No.613 in 6/12/1998 by Minister of Education regarding representing NGos and parents council in their local communities to support the Education process

Main steps for Networking Activity:

-Establishing network consisting of 5 NGOs called community participation network in Education-Minia Governorate
-Forming Board of Trustees to Administrate the Network includes representative of every NGOs
-Publishing irregular report about Network activities ,once every 4 months during the project period
-Building capacities of 5 NGOs through program includes technical support, developing human resources and equipments

Important Results of Networking:
1- Establishing network from (5) NGOs interested in Education in Minia Governorate and have strategy ,clear objectives using and mission for the civil work
2- Publishing irregular report to publicate about net work activities and it's social participation in Education
3- Preparing local and national informative campaign to present net work objectives ,activities and results also increasing the case adopted by the Network as parents and NGOs participation in Education
4- Coordinating NGOs efforts in Education field and making strategies, Educational needs map and facing Educational problems in Minia Governorate
5- Exchange information among Network members
6- Exchange experience through visits among net work members

Reasons and Justifications for choosing issue

1- Although of developing Educational system in primary schools which represented in community participation through NGOs and parents council but this developing not joined by preparing and mobilizing parents to understand it.
2- family and school are two Education foundation and complete each other but now they become against each other and destroy one another which leads to bad Educational level of pupils
3- Educational system based on entities organized in schools parents and teachers councils to seek pupils parents participation in Educational process and support school's openness on local communities but there is a decline in parents roles and this obvious in the following :-
-Parents feel that schools exhaustion their money through grants for school activities
-Parents participation limited to attend general school's festivals
-Parents do not know ministerial decisions and law about their participation and developing Educational process which issued by ministry of Education ,and Educational directorates
-Parents representing in parents councils just formal without participation in making decision for developing Education process
4-NGOs don't participate in membership of parents and teachers councils although ministerial decisions publication which confirm their active participation in this Educational entity which make schools and NGOs separate Foundation
5- By returning back to the Education research center ,we found comparison study about parents and teachers councils in Egypt and other countries without Activation their participation Role but the study did not present how to activate role and participation of parents and teachers councils and NGOs

Stalkholders of making decisions:
First Target group :
-Minister of Education
-Minia Governor
-Undersecretary of Education Ministry in Minia
-Chief of General council for parents and teachers on Egypt level
-Directors of Educational directorates (9 Education directorates) in Minia Governorate
-Chief of parents and teachers council in Minia Governorate
-Education committee in Governorate's local council

Second Target group :
1-Modern Education Alliance
2- NGOs working in Education field in Minia Governorate
3-Reading, visulal audioal, local and national media
4-National council for Motherhood and childhood
5-Notional council for Woman
6-Businessman in Minia Governorate

Target groups affected by the Issue:
1- parents and teachers councils in 35 governmental primary schools in MInia,Abu Qurqas and samalut's Directorates in Minia Governorate because partner NGOs in these societies and co-operation Head of Educational directorates with NGOs and some of them made successful experiments in participation With Education Directorates in Minya
2- parents and teachers councils of 3 Educational Directorates in Minia,Abu Abu qurqas and samalot
3- Parents and teachers council on Minia level
4- NGOs which are in local societies especially which have Educational interests its number (20) NGOs in the 5 proposed schools

Advocacy Results and gaining support:
1- Reorganizing parents and teachers councils for (35) governmental primary school in 3 Educational directorate through participation of parents and NGOs representatives in these councils this as a first stage them it will on Minia level
2- Results of field study about obstacles of parents and teachers council participation and obstacles modernization in (35) governmental primary school
3- Implementing of parents and teachers councils and representatives NGOs in (35) governmental primary school their role included in ministerial decision for no/5 in 93 and 463 in 1998 for evaluation and following up Educational process (Article 18 decision No 5/93) which representing in the following :
-Evaluating basic building
-Evaluating maintenance of buildings and equipments
-Evaluating the Relation between family and school
-Evaluating teaching in class
-Violence phenomenon in school
-Educational activities includes (Social –culture-sport-entertainment an update) suitable activities to local environment

This is study groups to raise the Education levels of pupils through regular report about school represent to parents and teachers councils of Educational directorate to study it
4- Activating decision regarding forming parents and teachers councils on Egypt level which includes in its member ship representatives of NGOs and parents
5- Projects of school opening to its local community
6- Preparing Awareness campaigns to increase students recording in schools and determination their drop out rate by NGOs
7- Supporting local resources in schools through abilities of NGOs representing in parents and teachers councils
8- Signature a decision of forming general parents and teachers councils which including one of representative of NGOs

Role of Tanweer Foundation in project

•  Tanweer has complete functional system consist of (8) members
•  Tanweer has technical experiences in Education because some of it's members worked in Education field more than (19) year
•  Tanweer made Awareness campaigns to solve Drop-out and low registration problem in Der Mawas

Education Directorate in Minia Results in short time and returning 20% of drop-outs increasing in pupils registration 23%

1- Executing of field study about work obstacles in parents and teachers councils
2- Organizing two workshop for (10) primary schools ( 5 in Minia directorate + 5 in Abo Qurqas directorate) to Activate ministerial decision no/5 –93 regarding parents participation in their councils
3- Organizing awareness campaigns in 10 primary schools to encourage people to active participation in parents and teachers councils
4 -Providings training workshops to establish future work plans for parents and teachers councils attended by the new councils including NGOs representatives
5- Preparing comparison study between parents and teachers councils with successful councils
6- Organizing listening meeting to present study results

Tanweer has distinguished relations with ministry of Education and Education Directorate it charged it with awareness campaigns for dropout and low restriction in Education in improving program of Education which Financed by world bank and European union

-Tanweer implementing project of “ Civil Education in 20 primary school in Minia and Abo Qurqas directorates ” to fight discrimination against girls in Education system
-Tanweer participated as umbrella for (10) NGOs in Minia working in the field kindergarten to activate subject No/57 of child law no/12 in 1996
-Tanweer participated in designing a plan of girls Education with local team work of National council for Mother hood and childhood for (5) years in Minia
-Tanweer has direct relation with parents and NGOs that it works with (30) primary school and (10 ) NGOs

Recommendations of the field study about the obstacles facing parents and teachers councils which was prepared by Tanweer Foundation

Finally: We think that there must be an important dialogue among teachers, parents, legislatives, executors, experts and Educational researchers to discuss the importance of parent's participation and their councils in developing the Education process and how to form the relation between school and its local communities and this formation will move the school from a closed school to open school on society together with discussing policies and legislation which can achieve this formation

 

Summary of Recommendations:-

1- Majority of sample answers were yes on the question about the importance of relation between school and parents which confirmed that a big part of the problem will be solved, so the question becomes how to raise awareness of teachers and parents on the importance of relation between school and community and how to activate this relation and removing obstacles facing it
2- No doubt that final decision of parents council which gave big validity to this council although it is considered right step to activate relation between school and community but its following up mechanisms are limited and this obvious in teachers responses so there is a need to complete this decision by showing council's work mechanisms on the level of on school, education directorate, and Ministry of Education So, teachers, school directors and parents don't look to parent's council without interest and formally form. As long as it's following up will be through the school
3- if we think in the importance of parents and teachers intervention in developing the Education process, so it is important that the Ministry of Education provide parents with training courses to help them under standing the Education process .so their intervention will deponed on realizing this process and its mechanisms not only paying attention to form or solving individual problems of students No doubt that NGOs can play a big role in this field
4- It is important to open the field for NGOS and local society institutions to implement activities in schools and improving Education process, so we can consider these institutions organic intermediate between school as governmental institution and citizens as persons. especially individuals , if these institutions include among its members parents also if it was from developing associations in local society and don't interest with Education only but addressing development issues in general
5- Also it is important to open the way for school's directors, headmasters and teachers for working on strengthing the relation between school and local society also leave them to take action to search about fields of cooperation and participant work through their opinions about abilities and priorities instead of their formally role in these councils or prevent them to take action with bureaucratic spare and directorate penalty.
6- School has materialism abilities like buildings ,yards ,class room ,desks and some modern equipments as computer also it has human as teachers in different specialization so schools can become culturally , developing and socially center that it can be source and field for work in limitation illiteracy in its local society , it can become place for practicing a lot of culturally ,politically ,healthy and developing activities . it can plays the role of youth centers , social and cultural clubs for students in summer holidays .but all of this depend on persuading school's leaders and teachers with this role also removing bureaucratic obstructions and encouraging teachers with moral rewards to exert this effort.
7- It is necessary that Ministry of Education encourages distinguished parents and teachers councils on level of administration and education directorates, which leads them to increase time and effort for developing education process in schools.
8- It is important that ministry of education should settle question and transparency principles which considers from democratic principles to parents councils, without feeling parents that they are just empty forms from content or symbols meaningless in process without understand its principles especially in schools and council budget.
9- It is important that Ministry of Education works with parents and teachers councils as real partners in education process not only aim to improve ministry picture without oblige it on change some practice to response on these real partner . Finally , although we welcome with relation between school and local society that it is considered one of five criteria for education quality but it is not enough , that it leads to establish formal idea for parents and teachers councils and bureaucratic

So we can exist from it through establishing real responsibilities for teachers and parents councils in developing curriculum, exams, choosing and training teachers, planning education year and day, giving real authorities to reward good teachers and punish who wrong
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