Our placements as VSO volunteers are for 2 years as Biology (Jenny) and Physics (Neal) Instructors in Debub University in Awassa.
Educational provision and standards in Ethiopia are quite inadequate and educational structures badly run down, with acute shortage of materials. A high proportion of teachers are either completely untrained or poorly trained. In addition to this classes are large and teaching methodologies are old fashioned. The education system is trying to develop different and appropriate methodologies. The education bureau is providing a lot of training but it still requires a lot of effort and new skill input to bring significant change. Qualified and skillful people in this field are not adequately available. Therefore, it is very difficult for the bureau to hire qualified and skillful person with its resources. A volunteer in this field would have a significant contribution towards changing the education system.
The aims of the placement are to improve both the quantity and the quality of teachers in Ethiopia, and to improve the standards and capability of the department in teaching and research.
Essentially our placements are the same - just in different departments within the Faculty of Natural Sciences (FNS). We are required to become active members of our respective departments and in particular carry out the following:
The FNS is a new faculty in Debub - only two years old. Currently only first and second year students are being taught although the degree programme takes four years. The faculty is in the process of moving to a new campus just outside Awassa on the main road to Addis. This is interesting as the staff and second year students are all based at the old campus whilst the first years all live and are taught at the new campus. Also as the new campus was not ready in for the new students, they had to start a semester later than the rest of the University. So this means the freshman students are being taught their first semester course whilst the second year students complete their second semester. This begs the question of when will the first year students get their second semester course? In the case of the Physics department - they are not getting the second semester course. The Biology department has decided to teach the second semester course while the rest of the University is on the summer break! Over the summer break we are also expected to assist in the development of the 3rd year courses to be taught next year.
The volunteer living allowance is currently 940 birr/month in the Regions, and 1040 birr/month in Addis Ababa, but is reviewed annually with any increase operating from July (The allowance is a little above the starting salary of a new graduate teacher in Ethiopia). Existing volunteers have found this is adequate to live on modestly. (£1 = 14 birr; US$1 = 8.5 birr)
Awassa, the capital of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), is about 280 kilometres south of Addis Ababa. It has approximately 100,000 inhabitants and sits beside one of the Rift Valley lakes at about 1700m above sea level. The climate is normally very pleasant, with daytime temperatures range between 22 and 30 degree centigrade. In the summer time, it can become uncomfortable at times, particularly when the temperature rises to around 35 degree centigrade. Fortunately, there is usually a breeze blowing from the lake. The rainy season extends from about July to October, but it does not rain all day as in some other parts of the country.
Awassa lies on the main road joining Ethiopia to Kenya. It is one of the growing urban business centres that have good communication with Addis Ababa. In relative terms, Awassa has been growing fast over the last ten years and it has a great potential to grow as a big city. Most of the essential things for life are available in Awassa. It also receives regular provisions for the bi-weekly market, small groceries and other general stores. There are a good number of catering facilities (hotels, eating houses and bars for various income levels).
SNNPR is one of the regions with diversified culture and ethnic background. In this region about 45 languages are spoken. It is located in the southernmost part of Ethiopia, and most of it has been traditionally neglected by the central governments. As a result, infrastructures are not that developed in most parts of the region. The major source of income for most of the households is employment by government and non-government offices. A number of people are also raising their income by selling different agricultural produce (coffee, fruits, and vegetables) as well as other industrial products.
A number of different religions coexist in the region. The main one is the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. There are also several Islamic mosques, Roman Catholic Churches, Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Mekane Yesus (Protestant Church), and missions.
A number of expatriates live in the town and many others visit it on a temporary basis for project-related work. Catholic Missionaries run a school and a hospital in the town. Currently five other VSO volunteers are working in Awassa. Two of them are working in Awassa College of teachers Education as a Physics Department Instructor (Fred) and as a Cluster Teacher Trainer (Lori). There is a Volunteers working as a Bridge Engineer at the Southern Rural Roads Authority (Keith). There are two volunteers working in the SNNPR Secretariat for Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS (Neil and Ilske).
In Awassa, the University is currently split over two campuses. A large new campus is under construction about 2-3km from the town centre just off the main road to Addis. The freshman students for the Faculty of Natural Sciences are living and being taught in the new campus. The rest of the students and staff are still living and working in the old campus. This is the site of the old Awassa College for Agriculture (ACA) and is at the other end of the town, near the lake.
The ACA campus is very pleasant with lots of trees to provide shade and many flowers. Presently the new campus is quite hot and dusty, with no vegetation. But as the construction progresses and trees etc are planted, this will also become a very pleasant environment. It will become the main campus for the Faculty of Natural Sciences and later the Faculties of Agriculture and Engineering will also move there.
The government of Ethiopia has invested considerable funds in the University's construction and facilities, laboratories and workshops. Several pieces of lab equipment, textbooks and other resources have been ordered for each department. When these arrive, both the teaching and practical labs will be relatively well equipped.
Classrooms are adequate if basic, using chairs with writing arms, blackboards and chalk. There are new lecture theatres in the technology faculty. However, as the University expands in terms of Faculties and the courses it offers, classroom space is becoming limited. There are some OHP facilities, and the recent acquisition of a large generator means that the university has electricity even when the town hasn’t – but this is only used when necessary for example during exam times etc.
At present there are no facilities within the university campus for sports or social activities. There are plans to include such facilities in the new campus sometime in the future.