Axium Education is excited to be the official “School Operating Partner” for eight schools in the AmaJingqi area of the Eastern Cape, through a new ‘Public School Partnerships’ pilot project. This model of school support and intervension consists of private sector funders supporting public (government) schools through non-profit organisations that have become accountable for improving learning outcomes in these schools. The model shares a few similarities with the Charter school movement in the United States and Academy schools in the UK, however with some very notable differences*.
Possibly the strongest feature of the project is its location in a group of villages that fall under Chief Dumalisile, a man with vision and a heart for his people. We know from our experiences in Zithulele just how important it is to have community support for education, and with the chief driving this project, at least one of the key supports for school improvement is already in place.
The project has big implications for our organisation: it will more than double our annual budget; it will be our first opportunity to impact learning outside of the Zithulele area; and we’ll have the opportunity to incorporate several of our current initiatives into a single cohesive unit. As with any new venture there are costs and risks, but we’re going into this four year pilot project excited about the opportunity to strengthen these eight schools.
*In these examples, outside partners take direct control of the running of schools – hiring, firing, etc. In our case, Axium Education will play a supportive and direction-setting role on the Education Council for AmaJingqi, but will not be directly involved in the hiring and firing decisions that remain the responsibility of school governing bodies.
Stay informed. Stay inspired.