Robert (2015)
Robert
Visit NOTDEC Uganda, and you'll likely hear Robert referred to as "teacher Robert"; but these days he spends virtually none of his time in-front of a class.
Far from the remote authority figures of our school days, Robert is a sensitive, slightly diffident character. His job is to see how each child is progressing, and to do what he can to help them do better and get what they want out of education — and life.
This starts on-site in NOTDEC Uganda's own nursery, where there are three classes. "Baby nursery" is a toddlers' group with toys, "middle nursery" rather more structured, and "upper nursery" firmly targeted on the entrance examinations for external primary schools. Robert manages this in-house education and, to judge from the pass rates, it is working very well.
After nursery, children mostly go to the local Kagando Primary School. Robert monitors their progress carefully. At the end of P1 (Primary level 1), those who pass are promoted to P2. Those who fail, repeat the year. That is the system to P7, where Primary ends, and throughout Secondary Education too. With NOTDEC UK paying the school fees, it's better all round if children pass their year-end exams and don't have to repeat. No surprise then that Robert watches the progress of each child carefully.
NOTDEC Uganda now has almost 30 children who have moved on into Secondary level (indeed five have reached University). Good quality secondary education generally means boarding, increasing still further the need to keep a monitor how children are doing and whether they have any problems — practical or emotional. It is good to know that Robert is there.