Sher provides education to over 6,500 children at three locations. Kindergarten, elementary school and secondary school are free of charge for the children of employees and for other community members. Approximately 400 children – starting at the age of 4 – are admitted to Sher schools every year. Admission takes place on a 50-50 basis, with an equal split between the children of employees and children from the local community. Students admitted to the school are selected by a committee which has been established by local municipalities.
All 1,200 kindergarten students receive a free hot meal every morning. We employ 215 teachers and a further 155 people as support staff (management, cleaning, cooking, maintenance, and security). The schools in Ziway and Adami Tulu are largely funded with Fairtrade money and money from Sher. In Adami Tulu we build two more classrooms every year.
The Ethiopian government determines what the children must learn. Sher schools comply with the government curriculum. We teach in accordance with English standards and in two local languages: Amharic & Oromo. This approach helps to ensure a high level of quality and has more than proven itself in recent years. Independent government auditors assess our schools based on criteria like education quality, facilities and number of pupils per class. For many years our schools are rated amongst the top schools in Ethiopia.
In Koka Sher Ethiopia has helped to construct and manage a local public school. This involved working with sponsors to build three classrooms and supply proper desks and playground equipment. For security reasons the compound was fenced.