| Introduction
From the 1960’s, the belief that more investment in
formal education would lead to development has always been the guide to the educational
planning process of newly independent countries. In search for national growth,
developing countries have of late invested substantial amounts of scarce
resources in the expansion of formal education at all levels. Governments have gone to the extent of
entering into partnership with well wishers in sponsoring students to study in
universities locally and abroad. Although these governments have invested
heavily in education, they can hardly meet the rising costs of supporting the system
and the increased demand resulting from the growing population and economic
changes.
General View
The first few months of
arriving in a foreign country are usually of high hopes and expectations. But
as the clock ticks, one finds him/herself with a different view of life from
the one before.
In countries like Russia, I
have found that the first impression is always racist in nature – it is most
visible at airports, which are an integral part of the first impression. The first year is
always the most enjoyable because the teachers are ever friendly and understand
foreign students better than anybody else. Five years down the line, the
situation completely and drastically changes. You have encounters with
skinheads, racists, hooligans and etc. Then,
at this moment, you begin to realise that no everyone who smiles at you is a
friend. And that, you are actually judged based on your skin colour and not
actually what you do. Hatred and anger becomes part of your daily life. Stress,
pressure and frustrations engulf you so fast that there is no breathing space
to think straight.
In short, living and
studying in Russia, especially for dark skinned people, has proved to be an
everyday survival of the fittest.
Education
The educational sector has not
been left behind in the development process. The Russian educational system is
quite different from the Zambian one. It’s based on a teacher to student
learning process as opposed to the teacher to class approach. The system allows
the teacher to directly assess the student depending on their relationship
during the semester. Thus, poor results in cases of disagreement! Zambians, I
believe, are known around the region to be hard working - thanks to the Bursaries
Committee’s system of selecting students. But along the way, something just
goes wrong. Stress, pressure, restrictions and racism, all coupled in one leads
lots of frustrations.
I had always wondered why
graduates from Russia are known for heavy drinking. Now, I understand why. Only
one who has lived and passed through what they have experienced would fully
understand.
Post Graduation
Life
This part I leave to all the graduates to add their say!
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