Some shocking stats

            Part of my work for my CENA (Community and Education Needs Analysis) involves getting some statistics on the schools in Butajria. After 3 weeks of trying to figure out where I’d have to go for the stats (because it’s not as simple as going online and getting them), who I needed to talk to and from whom I would get them, and when I could get them, I finally got the data in my hands this week. (This job is definitely teaching me and forcing me to be patient). It may not seem like a lot, but I felt some sense of accomplishment for getting part of my CENA completed and out of the way.

            During our training over the summer we had several discussions on the enrollment of students in schools, the differences in those numbers based on gender, dropout rates, student performance in class, and gender roles in general. So going into my Peace Corps service I was well aware that the dropout rates were pretty high and that many students don’t pass their 10^th grade exams and therefore do not move on to preparatory school (11^th and 12^th grade). The preparatory school in turn prepares students for university, if they pass their 12^th grade exams. Yet knowing all of this, I was not ready for the statistics that I was handed yesterday.

            The statistics I received are for this school year. Looking over those gives us a pretty good idea of what the trend has been like over the last few years. The Butajira area has 16 primary schools. The majority of those are private schools that don’t exceed 400 students. My public school has the largest number of students. For grades 1 through 8, there are 3,911 students. (You understand why I feel overwhelmed now?) In all these primary schools, both private and public, there are almost an equal number of girls and boys enrolled. Things start to change when you get to the high school (9^th and 10^th grade). At the high school level, there are about 600 more boys attending than girls. In the preparatory school (grades 11^th and 12^th), there are only 367 females to 784 males. Even the number of boys has dropped significantly moving from the high school to the preparatory school. Not only is that shocking, but the fact that primary schools start out with about the same number of males and females and once you get to the highest grades, 11^th and 12^th, the difference in males and females is cut in half is alarming.

            I asked one of my English teachers what he thought about this. His response was that many females have a lot of responsibilities, more so the ones who come from the rural areas. Many girls have a lot of housework to do and have to help their families. They do all of the cleaning, washing, and cooking in their homes. This gives them very little time to study and/or attend all of their classes. When the time comes for them to take their 10^th grade exams they don’t pass and cannot move on to the preparatory school. I knew these issues were real problems in Butajira when I became a volunteer, however it did not stop me from being completely surprised when I had the figures in front of my eyes. The government has taken initiative in helping to promote gender equality and empowering females. Many schools around the country have begun programs to help their female students. The task is challenging when you look at how many students are enrolled in schools. The student to teacher ratio in my school is 1:75! I am hoping to get involved in the current programs at my school and also think of new ways to inspire female students.