Five minutes with...Simon Marchant, education adviser, Ethiopia
In the 1960s Simon Marchant was a schoolboy in Somerset watching a film about VSO. Some forty years on he could be starring in that film: he’s now a VSO education adviser in Ethiopia, sharing skills and expertise that will transform teaching in classrooms across the country.
Simon, what made you decide to do VSO?
I remember seeing a film about the work of VSO when I was at school in rural Somerset in the late 1960s and the seed was sown. The seed then took forty years to grow! Looking back now, I realise that I’ve always wanted to work as a volunteer in a developing country. There comes a point in your life when the time is right. September 2007 was that time for me.
Can you paint a picture of education in Ethiopia for people back home in the UK?
The growth of the school and Higher Education population in Ethiopia has been staggering over recent years. Across Ethiopia at the beginning and end of the school day, students from kindergarten to high schools pour in and out of classrooms. They proudly wear their school uniforms and they are highly motivated, as education is seen as the best resource in the country.
If there are so many children in school and everyone is so keen to learn, where exactly do the problems lie?
The infrastructure of buildings, resources and teachers lags well behind the enthusiasm to learn. Many of the schools have no electricity, water, desks or text books. Teacher morale is low and students sometimes have to sit on rocks in the classroom. But the greatest gift that developed countries can give the Ethiopian education system is the chance to improve. The challenges are huge both in and out of the classroom, but I can honestly say that some of the Ethiopian teachers I have supported as a volunteer stand shoulder to shoulder with the most talented, dedicated and gifted people I have worked with in the UK over more years than I care to mention!
What kind of support have you been giving to Ethiopian teachers to boost their morale?
I’ve been working with another VSO volunteer and Ethiopian colleagues at the Ministry of Education, producing the new National Framework for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for teachers. We’ve also been writing the CPD ‘Toolkit’ which is a document that gives practical guidance about how the CPD policy can be implemented in schools. I’ve been facilitating national training workshops in CPD that are attended by representatives from the eleven regions of Ethiopia. They then return to their respective regions to train other staff, who then train the head teachers. Sixty-five people attended a recent five-day workshop and left with real enthusiasm to implement CPD in their regions.
So how will that result in a better education for children in Ethiopia?
Once the new style of CPD is implemented at school level, it is hoped that Ethiopian children across the country will benefit from more skilful teachers. Hopefully, the work I have been doing will, in a small way, contribute to improving the quality of teaching and learning in Ethiopian schools and ultimately raise standards of achievement.
It sounds like UK teachers can make an enormous difference to the education system in Ethiopia. Is volunteering really as rewarding as it sounds?
Volunteering has had a profound effect on the way I view education. I have a deeper appreciation of what it really means to say that the greatest gift you can give to someone is the chance to develop. I would say to other education professionals, ‘take the risk’ and ‘go for it’! Take the opportunity to benefit from the long experience of VSO because you will be in safe and supportive hands. You will have opportunities to change the lives of other people and probably change your own life in the process. You will meet other people who share the same values as you do. It will not always be easy or straightforward or comfortable, but the ‘volunteering journey’ is well worth taking.
