Around the World
Education is not just a priority for GE in the UK. The company supports education initiatives around the globe that improve the quality and availability of education for all. GE’s hope is that children and young people are equipped with the knowledge and skills to succeed in school and then make the transition to a productive career.
In Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, children’s access to school and their academic achievements are a major concern. Vulnerable children – especially girls – receive minimal support or encouragement to attend school, and a significant percentage of students drop out after only a few years of formal primary schooling.
GE has partnered with Save the Children in Malawi to deliver the “Building a Brighter Future for Malawi Girls” project.
Initiated in 2006 by a GE Foundation grant, this 12-month programme focuses on girls’ primary school education in rural parts of Malawi’s Zomba district.
The programme addresses this crisis by creating girl-centred programmes, enhancing the quality of teaching, improving school administration and sites and engaging parents and the wider community.
Teaching training and parental coaching also combine to strengthen literacy and numeracy, encourage re-enrollment and increase grade-on-grade completion among primary school-aged girls. In addition, student clubs, mentoring activities and community advocacy posts stress the importance of education and teach life skills such as confidence, independent thinking and personal responsibility.
GE volunteers work with their local communities to develop young people’s interest in science and engineering by engaging with them at an early age.
The popular programme has grown to more than 40 GE volunteers who regularly teach and lecture at the schools, supplementing the school staff who really need quality teachers. Volunteers also run after-school events like chemical magic shows and GE has donated computers.
The Chinese students’ grasp of the English language has shown a marked improvement. With additional lectures on geography, Western culture and sports, the programme has broadened the students’ interests and knowledge and enhanced their curiosity and desire to learn. Students and volunteers develop their respect for each other’s cultures, sharing information through team activities and interaction/discussion sessions.
Bangalore and Hyderabad, India
Despite recent progress, significant work is still needed to improve education standards in India, especially for children from impoverished communities.
By committing nearly $2 million in recent grants to Pratham, an organisation set up to advance quality education initiatives in India, the GE Foundation has created a primary school pilot programme in Bangalore and Hyderabad which is reaching 140,000 students in 1,600 schools.
The programme supports teacher training, curricula development, better technology and assessment. The goal is to enhance teaching and learning, improve proficiency and strengthen school management.
The early results are very favourable: literacy rates have jumped dramatically and overall community engagement has significantly increased. For example, approximately 70,000 children from Bangalore schools took part in an intensive literacy programme and now nearly all can read.
