By: Richard Nsamba

SUMMER schools are little known in Africa, so much because of the season, which is a ’constant’- occurrence in most of the continent. But, these learning programmes are increasingly becoming popular for improving education in the world.

Their benefits range from remedial instruction for school failures to enrichment of course content. Summer schools or camps also afford a student a more relaxed environment and great time to engage concentration on a given course.

In the Sino-Germany-Africa PhD Candidate Summer School, participants from the respective regions converged to discuss ecological curricula. It was intended to encourage and enhance communication of young scientists from China, Germany and Africa, in order to establish a sound base for future international cooperation.

Held over a period of three years, the summer school started in 2005, at the Tongji University and Jülich Center, Germany, targeting thirty candidates for doctorates.

One, at the Jülich Centre in Germany, was between August 14 and 27, 2006 for eight German students of environmental engineering.

There were also twelve students from the college of environmental science and engineering at Tongji University, China, and one candidate from Africa. They had field trips and lectures in topics on water, soil, sludge, vegetation, atmosphere and climate change.

At another that ran from August 19 to 29, 2007, there were twelve Chinese candidates from the Universities of Nanjing, Chongqing, Zhejiang and Tongji; with eleven from Germany’sUniversities of Jülich, Mainz, Cologne, Kalsruhe and Bayreuth. There were also six PhD candidates from the African Universities of Abidjan Cocody, Nairobi and Kenyatta.

These had participants visit a number of waterworks, sewage treating projects in Shanghai; the Mengqingyuan wetland park; Lake Tianmu and some rivers in China. The third, held again at Tongji University, was mainly responding to Africa’s need, which culminated in the initiation of the Central Africa Disaster Risk Reduction Centre (CADRRC) in Brazzaville, Congo.

Assessment of the summer school programmes shows they were largely successful. They managed to foster closer cooperation among China, Germany, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquartered in Nairobi and African countries like Nigeria and Kenya. They are also said to have increased capacity of African countries to manage or mitigate disaster, including early warning, preparedness and response planning.

Research has shown that summer school can boost learning in specific areas. In Uganda, for instance, the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and BOKU, the University of Natural Resources and Applied Sciences in Austria, started a ‘summer school’ for organic agriculture, with fifteen participants from the Vienna based university and Makerere University.

This year, with the number of participants expected to reach forty, there will be more partners in the school, including students also from Kenya and Tanzania. Organizers say benefits of the ‘summer school’, which is now being referred to as the International Training Course for Organic Agriculture [to make the name more appropriate to Africa], include exposure to organic farming and other field experiences.

It is usually held at both Makerere University and in Hoima, where CIAT funds agricultural programmes implemented by the Africa 2000 Network. The programme offers something more than one could get during conventional class work. And it involves, as well, vacation entertainment encounters like games and parties.

For children, summer camp is for mainly practical education like computer lessons and games. The Buganda Queen, Sylvia Nagginda, a couple of years or so ago initiated the kingdom’s ‘Ekisaakaatte’ (traditional enclosure) – a camp of sorts – for children to learn, among other aptitudes, etiquette and tradition.

There are now plans for the kingdom to hold a kisaakaatte for youth, at their level. Involving eminent instructors and speakers, this initiative is intended to bolster culture and individual trades and ethics.

At the Kampala International School Uganda (KISU), owned by business mogul Sudhir Ruparelia of the Ruparelia Group, students between the ages of two and sixteen are expected to converge for a nonresidential summer camp for swimming competitions, biking, other sports and computer use in the coming holidays. The programme is open for KISU pupils and students, as well as those from other schools.

With its intention of exposure, summer school can address the ‘achievement gap’ in education. For some, who need more time to meet learning goals, one course advisor says, “whether because of class time lost due to illness or family mobility, or issues related to mastering the language of instruction, summer school offers benefits.”

In the US, summer school is a ‘second chance’ for the student to learn something in depth. It is not
coaching, but a ‘short-term gain’ in standardizing one’s score.

Educationists, in fact recommend targeting children as early as when they have just begun school. The opportunity, however, should be to learn some things ahead of schedule, rather than just for the remedy of failure.

An American, Lisa Pastrana in ‘Benefits of Summer Camps’ reveals a US Youth Soccer Resource Library – a camp that assists to shape athletes at a young age. Lisa writes that a summer camp is beneficial for everyone.

“And each individual has their own reasons. But, the first reason camps are good at a young age is helping develop well-rounded athletes. Going away to camp, away from home, to a university, is so important on getting the message across about collegiate athletics at an early age.”

According to Lisa, most camps in the US are held at universities that are sports powers, with established facilities. “When athletes are exposed to the best facilities early, they begin to dream and set goals. In sports, camps provide a different environment for the athlete to train in and many times this new scenery can spark interest and motivation.”

Some summer school classes are used to have associate degrees completed on time. “Others take advantage of special-topic or interesting classes that schools offer only during summer time,” says the advisor.

A summer school is usually for a minimum of four weeks. It is often a time of thorough hands-on learning. Classes are usually smaller than the main ones, allowing greater interaction between students and instructors, in a more relaxed setting.

However, very little information is available about summer school or the performance of the participants, except for those at advanced level, where credit units may matter. Even in Europe or America, states have provided few standards, regulations or funds for summer programmes, says another instructor.

But, with the interest of summer school and camps catching on in different parts of the world, the concept in the education systems of countries is likely to further develop. Despite the name (summer) being synonymous with the West, it has potential to enhance one’s education, even elsewhere.