Proposal & Grant Writing Proposal Review Senlin Gui
Executive Summary
Education plays a crucial role not only in personal development but also in national development. In fact, given the huge role that education currently plays in the lives of mankind, it should be considered as a basic right. This proposal explains a project that will focus on improving educational standards for the children of Kisangwe Valley in Tanzania. Tanzania is a third world country grappling run away corruption, high poverty rates and poor infrastructure that adversely affects the education sector. Kisangwe Valley makes an ideal location for our project due to a myriad of infrastructural problems that curtail access to a good and quality education for her children. Our project seeks to introduce modern teaching practices, materials and technologies to the area. The proposal also explains how the project will be carried out, its key elements, its planned timetable, and its evaluation plan. The budgeted cost for the effective implementation of the project is USD 12,266. The organization to carry out the project is also briefly described in this proposal.
Statement of Need
This project recognizes that every child has a right to the highest quality of education that is not only relevant, but also adapts to new methods and techniques. The project is also aware of the fact that the developing countries still lag behind in many sectors education being no exception. Education in the third world countries is either very dismal and non-effective or unavailable at all. The education sector is in a desperate and dire need of improvements that may take years to achieve. However, this organization understands that it can play an active role by concentrating its efforts on one aspect. Education in developing countries has been confined to the use of traditional methods where students cannot access new forms of technology and equipment or even newer literature that is necessary for education to be effective and useful. The state of the education sector in these countries is seriously wanting. Those who deem themselves ‘educated’ often find it difficult to adopt to the digital world and secure competitive jobs due to the relatively old fashioned education they have received. This project seeks to collect and share new methods and techniques of educating and define new education sources that can be utilized in the developing countries to improve curriculum and overall education achievement.
Education is a key factor in improving standards of living of the people in the third world countries who currently survive on less than a dollar per day. Run away corruption characterizes many third world countries and as such, leaders often misappropriate money meant for improving sectors such as education. In the absence of or extremely minimal funding from their governments, outside help is needed to ensure accessibility of education through introducing modern teaching practices, materials and technologies (Nsamenang, 2007). Our project focuses on Kisangwe valley, a rural area in a remote part of Tanzania.
Kisangwe Valley has been effectively cut off from the rest of Tanzania due to poor infrastructure. The roads are in a dilapidated state making the area quite inaccessible by road. The telecommunication infrastructure is quite underdeveloped making communication with the outside world almost impossible. The village does not have electricity connection and the promise of one sound like a fiction tale to the locals. The main economic activity that drives the economy of this region is farming. Most of the people in the region are small scale subsistence farmers who grow food crops such as maize, beans and potatoes. Unfortunately, many of the individuals in this region live below the poverty line which they attribute to neglect by the central government.
The region is made of five villages with only three primary public schools and one secondary school. The total numbers of children in the region who have reached school-going age are about 2,500, but the number of children who are currently in school is only 1600. Apart from the incapacity of the three primary schools to enrol more students, there is a general sense of hopelessness that makes parents not to enrol their children into school. Each primary school has resources that can only allow an enrolment capacity of 400 students. The schools are, however, forced to enrol additional 120 students due to the demand of education in the area (Nsamenang, 2007). The overstretched resources often compromise the quality of education that the schools offer to their students. This extra number of students normally forces one-class to accommodate 70 students due to the limited number of teachers, teaching materials and learning spaces. Approximately each school has seven teachers inclusive of the head teacher, who are forced to combine some classes together since they cannot handle all the classes simultaneously.
Teaching more than 70 students in one class is against the global recommended standards of 40 students in one class. In the same class, students share few textbooks that school provides for each class since most parents cannot afford to buy even one textbook due to poverty level in the area. About 70% of the teachers are secondary school leavers and they have not attended teachers training colleges. As at the time of writing this proposal, the government had started supplying electricity which was limited to a few areas. The limited supply means that teachers still continue to use traditional teaching methods. There is no school that has been able to buy even a single computer. Therefore, funding education programs in this area will be of great necessity (Greever, 2012).
Project Description
The primary goal of the project is to revamp the current methods and tools of teaching in Kisangwe Valley in Tanzania. The situation at Kisangwe is like in many rural parts of Africa, where the education techniques that teachers currently use are out-dated and are not of much help in facilitating high education standards. (Sifuna, 2007). This goal will be supported by various objectives.
The first objective of the project is to ensure that all teachers have full access to the latest edition of books and other learning materials that are appropriate for the different to enable them discard old learning materials that are out-dated and contain information irrelevant to the current society.
The second primary objective of this project is to train teachers on the use of computers and the internet. The training will equip teachers with the necessary skills to enable them incorporate computer technology in their classes. Computers are vital in that they can also be used to store and manage school-related data and information (Tröhler & Barbu, 2011).
The other objective of this project is to construct one central community library, fully stocked with books as well as many computers connected to the Internet where students and the community at large can access data and information from across the globe and. The community library will enable the children to keep up with the latest education trends and development and therefore not lag behind (Schofer & Meyer, 2005).
The final objective is to take the teachers in the area through a general training course and program where they will learn on modern means of class instruction, effective communication skills with students as well how to reap the full benefits offered by technology-supported education.
Project Activities
This project will comprise several activities that are aimed at achieving the final goal that is to improve the education in the area by introducing new tools, instruction methods, and other related aspects
1. The first project activity will be the construction of a community library that will be fully stocked with materials including books, computers and a host of other education-related materials. This project will require great collaboration with the immediate community since it is this community that will provide an appropriate and prime location for the construction of the library. In this particular project activity, local labor will be utilized albeit with a little help from volunteers from the United States
2. The second Project Activity will be the planning and organization of teaching educative forums, workshops and seminars that will last for duration of about three months. These will be carefully planned to ensure that they are fully effective. In this activity, teachers from the areas will be taken through intensive trading and education on modern educations means, tools, resources and instructional methods. They will, for example, be taught on some of the best instructional methods that have been scientifically proven. The teachers will also receive training on how to use modern technology. For example, since most of them will be accessing the computer for the first time, the program caters for this by taking all of them through basic introduction to computer lessons and will also be taught to use other technological gadgets’ and devices (Tröhler, 2011).
3. The third and final project activity will comprise the providing students with modern as well as the most up-to-date education technology and materials. These will include the latest editions of books, modern laboratory equipment, computers among many other materials that are aimed at improving the status and quality of education in the region. Schools will not just be provided with these materials and products but will actually train school officials on how to use them.
II. Beneficiaries
Although this program is targeted at students, they are however not the only ones who will benefit from this initiative. Rather, the beneficiaries of this project will be wide and varied.
The first of these beneficiaries will obviously be the students. The project will ensure that students have learning materials and resources that are up to date. This will ensure that the kind of education that the children are receiving is relevant and, therefore, even when they are through with school, this education will be of great value to their lives and they will be able to apply what they have learnt. Through things such as the internet, students will be able to expand their scope of knowledge and understanding, and they will also be constantly updated on world current events.
The other key party that will massively benefit from this project is the general community of the Kisangwe Valley. This community lives in a remote and totally isolated area that does not interact much with the outside world. In fact, not much of the outside world is known by the community. This project hopes to change this aspect through the different initiatives. The program will expose the public to the world and hence, the public will be able to appreciate the world more. In addition, the construction of a community library will be very beneficial since it is not only the students who will be allowed entry. Even community members will also be able to make their way into the library and hopefully look for books or other relevant resources that may help them with whatever problem that they have.
III. Expected Results
The major expected result is the overall improvement of not only the student’s performance but also their overall education achievement. The project hopes that the performances of the schools, especially during the national certificate exams will have improved significantly. In addition, the project hopes to increase the amount of students from Kisangwe Valley who manage to make it to college.
3. Project Duration/Timetable
The initial phase of setting up the project is expected to take a total of 24 months. After the organization has secured enough funds, it will hit the ground running in the following 13 months because any second the organization wastes will imply denying a child quality education.
The first one month will be spent going round the schools in Kisangwe valley doing a feasibility study to establish the needs and requirements of the school. We will further visit and consult with the local government authority to give us the necessary permits before construction begins. The results will then be assembled and analysed so as to determine what exactly each school will get.
Construction of the community library and a few more classrooms is expected to start from the second month all will go on for about nine months. During this time, the organization will also be in the process of buying books, computers, lab equipment and other important resources, which will eventually be sent to schools and others stocked in the library. The eighth month will then be spent arranging and filling the library.
In the following three months, workshops and seminars that will teach educators on how to use these new resources and that will also teach them on modern education methods and modes of instruction will be put in place and by the eleventh month, everything will have been completed. It will henceforth be a matter of waiting to see the outcome and impact over the following months.
4. Logic Model of the project
5. Strategies and Plan for the Sustainability of the Project
The sustainability of any project will be ensured by having constant checks on the progress of the new system (Greever, 2012). For example, some of the developers of the program will still make visits to schools and evaluate whether the teachers are using the new education and instruction techniques and whether the new and updated books as well as resources such as computers are still being used. Simply put, their will constant evaluation even in the months following the project. In addition, the project will continue sending new resources and education tools to schools in instances where they need to be replaced or increased as way of showing its commitment to the sustainability of the project. This means that the organization will require to source for extra funds from other sources once the ones from the initial grant expire. This will most likely entail seeking for funds from other grant makers. Nevertheless, the developers and overseers of this project and imitative are determined to ensure the sustainability of the project through any means possible even if it will mean approaching several grant makes at a time or even seeking the help of the local government.
Budget
In order to come up with the budget, I employed participatory budget approach where I engaged different stakeholders who will be affected by this project either directly or indirectly. I also sought information from different experts who assisted in estimating the values of each item in the budget. Those people who were key in making the budget include headmasters, teachers, laboratory technicians, construction managers, IT experts, educators, local administrators and a few students. They played a crucial role in the itemization process. After this exercise I came up with the following budget, which shows the cost of the entire project.
Organizational Information
Outcome Goal: Ensure that schools in Kisangwe Valley have a community library center with the latest edition of books and offer the latest brand of technology
Outcome Evaluation
Process Goal: Measure the impact of access to the latest edition of books and latest technology on student performance
Process Evaluation
The qualitative aspect of the current program will be measured in terms of the students’ perception of their level of performance since the implementation of the current program. The quantitative aspect of the program will arise when the instructors will quantify the academic performances of the students since the implementation of the current program (Gudda, 2011).
EVALUATION METHODS
Questionnaires
Researchers will conduct questionnaires in person and record the responses of the participants.
Participant Observation
Researchers will collect data by watching, listening and documenting the actions of participants. The researchers will ask questions and take notes on the comments and reactions of the students (Geever, 2012).
EVALUATION MEASURES
Academic Performance
Researchers will heavily rely on the students’ academic performance to assess the effectiveness of the new program.
Conclusion
As mentioned, this project recognizes the key role of education in both personal and nationwide development and the fact that education in developing countries in seriously limited in terms of teaching methods, materials and technology. This project seeks to collect and share new methods and techniques of educating and defining new education sources that can be utilized in the developing countries (with a special focus to Tanzania in this case) to improve curriculum. The planned time for the completion of this project is eight months. The organization carrying out the program is named “Education for the World’.
References
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