The Quality Quandry

44. The Quality Quandary

Long ago, Confucius warned: ‘Seek not every quality in one individual’. Wise advice. None of us is perfect. Quality is a real issue for us here in Southern Sudan. A couple of days ago as I drove around Malakal with Peter Stemp, from our Solidarity with Southern Sudan Rome office, he listed several economically poor countries he had visited and remarked of the muddy Malakal roads: ‘These are the worst roads I have seen anywhere’.

It is not just the quality of the roads, but also of goods, that is a problem here. The tap on our kitchen sink has already been replaced three times this year. The poorly made fittings simply break or fall apart. Toilet seats disintegrate, The electrical cables, far from being systematically tested, as in developed countries, are often just two lengths of wire loosely joined together. Fortunately, we have a Syrian builder who is focussed on quality. He is bringing most electrical fittings from Europe. The switchboard for our new Teachers’ College was made in France.

With clothing I find myself opting for lower quality because it is thinner, lighter, cooler and washable – never mind if the appearance is not so smart. It is a matter of survival for me. Ironically, many of the Sudanese dress very smartly in suits with collars and tie while I appear quite casual by comparison. When I think it is pleasantly cooler than usual, they say it is cold!

These things, of course, are only incidentals. The real issue is the quality one finds in the people. Many Sudanese speak at least three languages fluently – Arabic, English and their local language, such as Shilluk or Nuer. One of our Riimenze workers, Justin, speaks sixteen languages. Compared with these people I am educationally deprived. Yet in delivering the educational curriculum, there are still very real problems relating to quality. The quandary is that some of the qualities one would like to find - such as basic literacy in English and numeracy - simply are not possessed by many of the presenting teachers. We certainly heed the advice of Confucius and are grateful to have even a few teachers in each class bringing to it some of the qualities we seek.

It would be desirable to have clearly implemented levels of expectation in such areas as comprehension, knowledge, attendance and punctuality. The reality is that the Government of Southern Sudan curriculum, on which we base our programmes, is set well above the current levels of attainment of the presenting teachers. It will be a long process raising standards in the teaching profession in Southern Sudan. When the first secondary school students who have been educated in English-medium classes begin to graduate at the end of 2011 - and we commence full-time pre-service education in 2012 - it may be possible to generate a leap in quality. But our current clientele will be teaching whether we give them more skills or not. So we have resolved the quandary by taking in many who certainly have ‘not every quality’ we would wish they had.

In our Health Training Institute in Wau, however, the decision has been made not to compromise quality. The aim is to train registered nurses to international standards. Entry is restricted to those who have completed secondary school successfully and have adequate English. We begin by providing a three-month, ‘Foundation Programme’ in English, Maths, Biology, Computer Education and Ethics - before the actual nursing curriculum is commenced. The students have seven hours of tuition each weekday day plus Saturday morning classes and supervised evening study. The stress is certainly on meeting agreed standards. As a consequence of the dearth of qualified applicants, the nurse education programme is presently under-subscribed but as more graduates are produced from English-medium secondary schools, there will be strong competition for places in this four-year residential programme.

Both our tutors and the Sudanese students need to take heart from the words of St Francis De Sales: "Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them –every day begins the task anew.' This is certainly a place for patiently, each day, beginning the task anew. - Br Bill