為了讓孩子不輟學

Across the developing world， millions of children’s lives are forever 1）blighted because they lack a basic human right， the right to a quality education. The right to an education begins before children go to primary school， because， if children don’t know what to expect when they get to school， they’re much more likely to either not enroll on time or to drop out.

2）UNICEF and its partners are addressing this challenge with an innovative pilot program that shows pre-schoolers what to expect when they get to school. Called “Getting Ready for School： A child-to-child approach，” it was launched in 2007. It starts with teaching youngsters the very basics of school life so they’ll be socially and academically prepared.

What makes this program different is that the tutors or facilitators are not much older than the children， so it builds on the natural phenomenon of children learning from their older friends.

Maekelech Gidey （UNICEF Education Specialist， Ethiopia）： （via translator） The main reason for this is that the program was designed to work within our culture. It is our culture that neighbours work， eat and play together.

The child-to-child pilot program has been introduced in 3）six countries. Pre-school education is rare in much of rural Ethiopia. Ba-ati Akor School is one of seven schools in Ethiopia’s Tigray region， where the child-to-child program is using effective and innovative techniques to stimulate a child’s natural desire to learn. In Tigray， nearly a quarter of children drop out before completing a full year in the first grade. With strong community support， the child-tochild program is reversing that trend.

Since the program began in Ethiopia in 2008， it has grown rapidly. Children who are in the program perform better in school and drop out in fewer numbers than those who do not. And the benefits are not restricted to the pre-schoolers. Facilitators also find their lives improve [sic]. They earn respect amongst their peers and elders， and learn leadership and responsibility.

在眾多發展中國家里，有數百萬兒童因為無法享受有水準的教育這項最基本的人權，他們的一生被徹底地毀了。孩子們受教育的權利從他們上小學之前就開始了，因為如果他們不知道上學后會遇到些什么事情，他們就很可能不會適時報名上學或者會輟學。

為了解決這一難題，聯合國兒童基金會及其合作伙伴啟動了一個創新的試點項目，讓學齡前兒童了解他們上學后會面對什么。這個項目始于2007年，名叫“為上學作準備：一對一幫扶”，它會讓小孩子知道學生生活最基本的內容，那樣他們在上學前不管是在與人交往方面，還是在學業上都可做好充分準備。

這個項目的不同尋常之處在于其中的導師或者是輔導員，他們自身并不比小孩子大多少，因此它的實施是建立在大孩子教小孩子這種自然現象的基礎上的。

麥基利奇·吉地（聯合國兒童基金會在埃塞俄比亞的教育專家）：（通過翻譯）這么做的目的是確保該項目在我們的文化體系內發揮作用。在我們的文化傳統里，鄰居們本來就會在一起干活、吃飯、玩耍。

目前已經有六個國家引入了這個一對一的試點項目。在埃塞俄比亞的農村里，學前教育是非常罕見的。埃塞俄比亞的提格里地區共有七所學校推行這個一對一項目，而巴阿提阿哥就是其中的一所。在學校里，該項目采用有效的創新辦法激發孩子的學習天性。在提格里州，幾乎有四分之一的孩子還沒有讀完一年級就輟學了，而這個項目利用當地社區的有力支持，正在扭轉這個趨勢。……