Building more schools might not be the solution to improve education in Madagascar. Here is why.

Building more schools might not be the solution to improve education in Madagascar. Here is why.

The education system in Madagascar has not improved for many years. Each government has initiated changes, from updating courses to building more schools, recruiting more teachers, integrating technologies, and so on. One thing the last two presidents, Marc Ravalomanana and Andry Rajoelina, both did was increase access to schools for Malagasy children by building more schools.

When I was a little kid, we received a new concrete building—the first in our village. It was built by Ravalomanana under the FID (Fund Intervention for Development) program. We were so excited to attend school because of the new three-classroom building, which included an office and a library. We were happy because it was something new for the village; we even went to play in the schoolyard on weekends.

Fast forward seven years, and we received another concrete building for a secondary school. I was about 11 years old at that time. This improved Marc Ravalomanana's approval ratings at the time.

So, the next president did the same thing too. Andry Rajoelina built many schools under the name "Manarapenitra." These initiatives reached new places where schools were either poorly built and replaced with new ones, or to places where schools did not exist before.

I find it very important, but that is not what we are talking about here. We are talking about the potential downsides of building schools in every village.

I have seen many villages that have either received funds from the government to build their own school or built it themselves under the "school communautaire" initiative—a school funded 100% by the community.

In the Sava region, they have built primary schools, secondary schools, and, of course, the University of Antalaha. Regarding the primary and secondary schools, the community has to fund the school 100% for some years, and then the government will help.

But here is the problem with those schools. They have not improved education for Malagasy children. Why? Because some of those schools recruit local teachers who have never taught before. They either want the job or are not prepared for it. The community recruits them because it reduces the money they need to run the school. They convince the local teacher to support the school because it is also for their village and the children of the village. Sounds very patriotic, right? The problem with this is that both sides have compromised the terms of the job. The school management does not pay the teacher well, and the teacher, in turn, does not teach well because they are underpaid. Instead, they find other jobs like farming and other activities.

One parent who talked to me about this kind of situation told me that one of their teachers only taught their children one week a month. He always goes somewhere else.

Another problem is motivation. Let me explain. The motivation for learning matters. You need something to push you to do something sometimes. Not everyone is persistent in doing something, and this applies to learning. So, building a school in every village impacts children's motivation to learn, especially for secondary, high school, and let alone university.

Because they were born there. They attend both primary and secondary school there. They feel like they do not go out of the box from birth until growing up.

When I say this negatively impacts their motivation for studies, I may be overstating it, but it also impacts their cultural and general skills. They do not have a chance to see the world outside their hometown or village. They do not see what it is actually like to study at university, for example. They will never talk about university life.

For me, one of the real motivations to study while I was studying in the countryside was to study in Antalaha. I mean, I was going to see cars, buildings, learn to speak the Betsimisaraka dialect, not Tsimihety anymore... hahaha. When I was in fourth grade, I applied for the CEPE exam—my parents had already promised to send me to study in Antalaha. I believed it and studied very hard because two of my older brothers were studying in Antalaha, and I was eager to join them. But when I excelled on the CEPE, it did not happen. I still studied in our village.

They kept promising to buy me a bicycle if I studied hard—and I did, but it did not happen again.

One thing I knew was, our village only had a secondary school, not a lycée. So, if I succeeded on the BEPC exam, I would finally study in Antalaha. My motivation to study in Antalaha had never been so alive since I was in seventh grade. And I studied day and night so that I succeeded.

That was my story about motivation in study. I strongly believe many other children are like me too.

One professor at the University of Antananarivo was shocked when he heard about how many universities have now been built in regions like Sava, Analanjirofo, and so on. He clarified his idea that it is not bad at all and thanked the government for doing so, but it will not address the fact that in education, there is more than a building and infrastructure. There is something like motivation. Leaving to another place, like a big town or another town where you did not spend most of your childhood, is one of them.

This article is not intended to criticize the government and the community who build "community schools." I am, on the contrary, personally thankful for their efforts, but what I want to see next time is tackling the problem of education in Madagascar in different ways.

If you are my early reader, thank you.