Not so long ago, at Barlcays Eagle Labs/TusPark in Newcastle I met a wonderful lady named Alison at a Founder’s Friday Event. After speaking about my idea she mentioned that her dad regularly makes educational visits to Zambia and has a good relationship with the schools and teachers there.
A couple of weeks later I was introduced to Alison’s father, John Reynolds. John kindly offered to take a list of questions with him to Chisyabulungu Primary School, Zambia. There he interviewed Mr Accent Mahonko, the headteacher of Chisyabulungu – this is what he said…
1. What resources do you currently use to teach?
We use books, paper, chalk and mobile phones for IT and research.
2. Do you have any access to technology?
We get good Wi-Fi coverage and have access to emails and the internet.
3. What type of resources do you need to improve learning?
We would really benefit from using laptops, projectors, tablets and printers.
4. What is your class size?
40 students per class, per teacher.
5. What educational documents from the UK be beneficial to your teaching?
Policies, schemes of work, lesson plans, PowerPoint Presentations.
6. What are the biggest barriers to education in your experience?
Lack of electronic resources. We have got to teach IT but there is no resources of equipment to do so.
7. What would improve education in your school/Zambia?
Internet access would be best for the whole of Zambia and also projectors teaching and staff training.
8. What equipment do you need?
Ideally, computers, projectors and tablets.
9. Does your classroom have electricity? WiFi? Mobile network (3G)?Electricity -yes, WiFi – yes, mobile network – yes. What’s lacking is the ability to access it.
10. What are your plans for your future in education?
Continue developing the school’s strategy plan up to 2021.
