How to improve the quality of education in refugee camps? Qualify the teachers. In Ethiopia, refugee incentive teachers are on their way to obtaining professional teaching diplomas.

1. UNICEF Ethiopia – Human Interest Story
August 2018
Ethiopia
SudaneserefugeesAnur,Sami,JamesandAbdalaziz©UNICEFEthiopia/2018/AmandaWestfall
Abdalaziz Ramada, Sami Balla, and James
Jawalla have been refugees for seven years.
Anur Ismael has been a refugee for 20
years. Poch Jackson Petov has been a
refugee for 25 years, his entire life.
All five fled the conflict in Sudan and South
Sudan. All five lost loved ones, families and
friends. Some, like Poch and James, have
survived as refugees with no family at all –
either lost or killed in the conflict.
All are known as ‘refugees’ to their friends,
to Ethiopian host communities, the
Ethiopian government, and to the world.
With this status they cannot legally work in
Ethiopia and have had limited opportunities
for college or university to enhance their
skills and become professionals… Until now.
In July this year, 42 refugee incentive
teachers in Benishangul-Gumuz region were
given an opportunity of a life time.
Abdalaziz, James, Amur, Sami, Poch, and 37
others were enrolled in the region’s
teachers’ college. The refugees rode a bus
for eight hours, moved onto the GilGel-
Beles College of Teachers Education
campus, and are currently studying for their
teaching diplomas.
For refugee teachers, long-term
opportunities for skills development have
been nearly non-existent, since trainings are
typically offered as short courses, giving
them the minimum skills to educate refugee
children. Therefore, and not surprisingly,
only 33 per cent of those who teach in
refugee primary schools in the region are
qualified professional teachers who hold
teaching diplomas. This means that the
majority of refugee children are receiving
their primary education from unqualified
personnel, many of whom have not even
completed secondary school (23 per cent).
However, the Ethiopian Government has
made a commitment to improve the
situation for refugees and give them
opportunities to integrate within Ethiopian
society, as demonstrated by the
Government’s nine pledges to support
refugees and the Comprehensive Refugee
Response Framework process in Ethiopia.
They understand that it is crucial to provide
opportunities to refugees for career growth,
especially in the teaching sector, so that the
quality of education in the camps can
improve and that children have better
education, better opportunities, and better
skills to make positive contributions to their
communities – whether in Ethiopia, South
Sudan, Sudan, or where ever they end up in
the future.
How to improve the quality of education in refugee camps?
Qualify the teachers. In Ethiopia, refugee incentive teachers
are on their way to obtaining professional teaching diplomas.
By Amanda Westfall
On 17 August, South Sudanese and Sudanese refugees Anur, Sami, James,
Abdalaziz, and Poch are attending college for the first time. They are part of the
first group of refugees on their way to becoming professional teachers. As agents
of change for their communities, they will use their new skills to improve the
quality of education for refugee children.
SouthSudaneserefugeePochJoacksonPetovat
Gilgel-BelesCollegeofTeacherEducation
©UNICEFEthiopia/2018/AmandaWestfall

2. South Sudanese refugees and current college students, Poch Jackson Petov and Hamid Abdallah Hamad in front of
Gilgel-Beles College of Teacher Education. © UNICEF Ethiopia/2018/Amanda Westfall
A Desire for More Opportunities
The opportunity arose because of an
ambition to expand knowledge. In 2017,
Poch, along with his colleagues demanded
more opportunities. In the camps, all they
earn is 700 Ethiopian Birr per month (about
US$25) to ‘volunteer’ full time as teachers
in primary schools. With no chances to go
to college, become professionals, and earn
a decent wage, something had to change.
“We had a meeting with school
principals. We asked them, ‘Why can’t we
get training to improve our skills?’ We are
stuck in one position. Then we waited.
Finally, [the opportunity] came and we
have a partner to help us continue
education.” (Poch)
Because of his ambition to expand his
knowledge, as well as his understanding of
the Ethiopian language, Amharic, Poch is
the group’s student representative at the
college. And he fought a hard life to reach
this status. After his father was killed in the
conflict in South Sudan, his mother fled to a
refugee camp in Ethiopia while he was still
in the womb. When he was in Grade 2, a
conflict broke out in the camp and he was
separated from his mother, never to see
her again. With incredible determination,
he managed to learn Amharic, gain a full
primary and secondary education, and
become an incentive teacher (in addition to
being the best football goal keeper in
Sherkole Camp). But just being a ‘volunteer
teacher’ with no relevant qualifications was
not enough.
Dreams for College Become Reality
In early 2018, UNICEF, UNHCR, and the
Ethiopian Government, along with financial
support from Education Cannot Wait, made
dreams become reality. Posh, Anur, Sami,
James, Abdalaziz, the 37 others from the
Benishangul-Gumuz Region, and 301 others
from Gambella Region were going to
college.
In total, the programme brings 343
refugees to study and learn with their
fellow ‘host’ Ethiopian students. The
courses are taught in English, and they can
choose which track to study, from
Generalist, to Physical Education,
Integrated Sciences, Math, Social Science,
or English. They are provided with a full
scholarship, which includes education,
room and board, health care, and transport
services to/from the college or camps. The
regional government and colleges support
with training, learning and integration at
the school, while UNICEF, the
Administration for Refugee and Returnee
Affairs and UNHCR coordinate, finance, and
manage the project.
For more information contact: Human Interest Story
August 2018
UNICEF Ethiopia– Human Interest Story
A Chance for Generational Change
These refugee student-teachers are part of
a new movement of change for the refugee
communities. With new skills in teaching
methodology, classroom management, and
course-specific instruction, their knowledge
will be passed on to the children in the
camps. As James and Sami explain,
“I am proud of this programme. It will
enable me to improve the knowledge of
my community.” (James)
“Now, we can go back with the diploma
and say we are teachers and we are
professionals! I now have pride to work at
the school.” (Sami)
With their new diplomas, Posh, Anur, Sami,
James and Abdalaziz explained that they
want to go back to the camps and use their
new skills to improve the quality of
education for their communities.
As the first group to enjoy this opportunity,
they now set an example for future refugee
student-teachers, so that each year the
quality of education for refugee children
continues to improve with an increase in
more qualified teachers.
Abdalaziz sits amongst his Ethiopian classmates (with
Sami, Anur, and James in the back seats) at an English
class at GilGel-Beles College of Teacher Education
©UNICEF Ethiopia/August 2018/ Amanda Westfall