Last month we reported on the test results for the primary aged Lambs at Betikara. They were taking the qualifying exam to enable them to move on to the junior high level. This month we have the test results for the Junior High aged Lambs that were trying to qualify for a place in high school. Four of the Lambs took the entrance exam for high school. Clara, Fetra, Jean Marc, and Tsiry were all trying to pass the qualifying exam for high school this time around. This was not the first time for Tsiry. He had tried, and not passed the test last year. We are saddened to find out that none of the four Lambs were able to pass the exam. All of them except for Fetra will be repeating the year. Fetra will be entering a technical school and does not need to pass the high school entrance exam in order to enroll in this course of study. When we find out what area of study Fetra will be pursuing we will be sure to let you know.

            At first we were very upset and saddened that none of the four Lambs would be moving on to the high school level. We were saddened because we could not be close to them to lend support and encouragement. We were upset that they could not pass the test. We wondered what could have gone so wrong. Usually the Lambs do better in school than other students in the Ambohimarina area.

            It was after hearing that only 5 students out of the 60 students in their class passed the exam that we realized there is a much bigger problem. Some years the exam seems so easy that everyone passes, and some years it seems almost impossible to pass and most exam takers fail. Often it depends on the number of places that are available for students in the next level of school. If there are only enough places in a class for 60 students, then not everyone that is taking the exam can move forward.

            This is one of the major reasons that so many Malagasy people do not finish school. It is only the smartest, and many times the rich, that can move on in the educational system, especially once a student gets to the high school and university levels of study. This seems to be what is happening with the Lambs at this time. Clara, Fetra, Jean Marc, and Tsiry did not pass the exam to move on to high school. Now, if they are to continue in school, they will have to go to a private school. Betikara has been informed that there are no longer any places for these four Lambs in the public school system.

            This is not as bad as it seems. The private schools are know to do better than the public schools in most areas of study. The public school teachers do not get paid many times and therefore do not report for work on a normal basis. Even when they do report for work they only teach for a couple of hours a day because the government cannot afford to pay all of the teachers.

            The private schools, on the other hand, are far better staffed and the teachers report faithfully for their teaching assignments. Also, the private schools teach the children for more hours in a day. In private schools the students study from seven or eight o’clock in the morning until four or five o’clock in the afternoon. More days with teachers and more hours in the classroom can make a big difference in what the students learn.    

            The difference in the quality of education that the children receive in public versus private schools in Madagascar is drastic. This is the main reason we are actively trying to get the school at Betikara up and running. I have not heard a report on the school situation, but I do know that the school is supposed to open this September. Please continue to pray for the Lambs and schooling.