This photo is a reminder of why I am here!

Ethiopia is ranked 170 out of 177 countries on the UN Development index. Frankly, I see no sign of improvement. In a recent article in the Guardian weekly there was a focus on aid and development. It seems that the amount of money spent on aid is no indicator of progress. Several countries with huge aid budgets have actually gone backwards in recent years – Ethiopia among them. The key factor is governance. Let me give an example of how poor government affects Ethiopia.

My first placement in Ethiopia was in a teacher training college, establishing and delivering a programme of professional development for teacher educators. The college was only the second private college in the country to run such a course. All colleges, including private ones, had been told that they had to run the Higher Diploma Programme (HDP) and that the qualification would be a requirement for those training teachers. Unlike in the government colleges, where VSO volunteers and DFID funding was provided for the courses, private colleges had to pay 10,000 birr a month (about £700) for the volunteer costs and find any money for resources itself.

The course was very successful with candidates working enthusiastically to complete it. I left after eight months with the programme established and running under the leadership of two Ethiopian staff. This might not seem unusual until you hear that many government colleges are struggling to motivate their staff to do the course and finding it impossible to get Ethiopians to take over as leaders. In several cases, VSO have continued to place new volunteers as leaders, despite there being trained local staff.

I have now moved to a government college where life is very different. An example that epitomises the differences between the two is the system for photocopying. In the private college, there was a photocopying room in the administration building which was open all day and staffed by two very friendly and helpful women. There were two working photocopy machines and copying was usually done instantly. Bigger jobs would be done and delivered to my office. In the government college I dread having to photocopy. There is a photocopy room in the admin building, but it is mostly locked. On the odd occasion it is open one of two things happens. Either there is a woman there who speaks no English, the photocopier is covered with a cloth and you are sent away, or there is a man there who says the photocopier is not working. If you want more than 300 copies they will do it on the Riso, if not, well, tough. So, if you really need to photocopy (which you do otherwise you wouldn’t have embarked on this painful journey) you go up to the Dean’s secretary and beg to use the copier. Sometimes she allows you to, other times you are told to get a letter from the Vice Dean. Yes, there is another option – just outside the college there is a shop where you can pay for photocopying.

Anyway, back to the story. This year more private colleges have been investing in their staff and offering the Higher Diploma. Last week there was a workshop for Deans and HDP Moderators in Addis. The Minister for Education was due to open the meeting and I was impressed when he turned up early and spoke briefly (very un-Ethiopian). However, he then made the mistake of asking for questions and a very articulate Vice Dean from a private college asked him an awkward question. It seems that the government has decided that private colleges should not train teachers any more and that any teachers trained in private colleges will not be employed in government schools. There is, therefore, no point in private colleges running the HDP and the universities will no longer support them (currently the universities moderate the work of their local colleges). The minister seemed unable to defend his position; merely saying it was a political decision. The logic of it defies me. He seemed to be saying that there were quality issues in private colleges and although the obvious answer to me would be to develop quality assurance systems that is not what they are going to do. Instead they will contribute to further demoralisation and attrition in the teaching force. Note that this is a country where the primary enrolment rate in 2004 was 46%, with the secondary rate much lower at 25% (UNDP, 2006).

So, despite the need for more teachers and for better training, one whole sector of teacher supply has been effectively closed down. Private colleges, working for the benefit of the country, have been slapped in the face. How must individuals working or studying in those institutions feel? We often bemoan the fact that many of the most educated Ethiopians leave to make lives abroad, but with this sort of system in operation, who can blame them?

I’ve been working with an Ethiopian colleague in the private college planning training for the next national HDP conference. I was told yesterday that private colleges have not been invited. Here we have a really good Ethiopian leader basically being denied his right to contribute by his government. As a volunteer, I have effectively spent most of a year establishing something that the system has now torn apart.

All this makes me feel like packing up and going home. What difference can I make in a system like this?

I have to remember that I am not working for the government but for the people - (sounds trite but it is true), after all, it is often those countries most lacking in terms of government where the people are the most in need of help. Any institutional change is hard won and could be undone by higher powers; what you have to hope for is that you help bring change at an individual level and that those individuals will one day be a strong enough force to make a difference here.

Anyhow, enough of that. We have just over two weeks till we come back to the UK for a break and boy, are we ready for it! Things at college have picked up slightly – work is continuing to establish some sort of line management system in the college. I was not surprised to hear though, that the Regional Education Bureau lays down the management structure of the college and the Dean is unable to change it. We will have to be quite creative I think! I am tackling the issue of time management and have been asked to do some training on how to use a diary. Haha.

I’ve been reprimanded for too much medical info in my blog but I gather Michael has been keeping interested parties informed about my amoebas! I have a season ticket at the clinic now.