Are community schools doing that bad?

Based on the official results of School Leaving Certificate that were recently released it seems that community schools that means public schools managed by local communities are performing really poorly. The gap with private institutions is widening by great margin.

Of the 95,456 students from 3,142 private schools 93 per cent have passed while if we look at community schools, only 28 per cent of students have cleared the exams.

I do not find anything so surprising while reading the data and the reason is simple: the value of community schools is not at higher level of secondary education but rather at primary education or better as per School Sector Reform, at basic level.

At basic level where you can find really best practices, committed principles and incredibly motivated members, all volunteers, of the School Management committee.

Here you can find all the tools and instruments in terms of planning and monitoring of the learning process. I am in particularly referring to the School Improvement Plan and the Grading Policy that categorizes the schools based on their performances.

I am well aware of the challenges still faced by many community schools. Unfortunately too often a disproportionate focus has been given to the infrastructures, ensuring that schools have appropriate facilities in place. Oftentimes the construction works are carried out without proper compliance with the construction guidelines prepared by the Department of Education. Indeed communities sometimes do not want to listen and do on their own.

Certainly investing in adequate facilities makes sense but it should not come at the expenses of the quality of education. Here why planning and monitoring tools like the School Improvement Plan are essential. Not all the community schools are actually working very hard on this regards and school district offices should be better equipped to force a change to those schools who are not complying.

Another problem is that many community schools have an unstoppable desire to grow and add new grades: at the end of the day, if you were probably a board member of a local school, you would also do your best to see that the community where you live can boast a secondary school. It is a matter of prestige, pride and human nature.

Only stronger coordination between district Offices and schools, better oversight, including a reform of the resource centers are the keys to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of local schools. This will also ensure that primary schools can be upgraded only if certain standards are met. I am sure policies are already in place in this regard but again compliance might be lacking.

A better introspection and evaluation of public education system should really start at the beginning of the educational cycle where most of the state and donors’ money were directed. In comparison with basic education, secondary education received much less attention from the State. The real return on the investment should be sought there not at LSC level

Despite all the hurdles and challenges, communities managing local schools are doing an awesome job. Sooner or later their efforts will pay off.