African Schools

Synopsis

The complete series of 8 programmes about life in a primary and secondary school in Uganda. AFRICAN SCHOOL captures the daily lives, concerns and personalities of young Africans and their teachers in the Ugandan town of Masindi. The familiar themes of teenage romance, exam pressure, football tournaments, special needs teaching, prefect elections, religion and sex education will rekindle memories of school years. But in this school life is played out against the challenging issues faced by Uganda: HIV; conflict in northern Uganda; poverty; yet the appetite for life is undiminished. The programmes give an up-lifting insight into understanding what life is really like in Africa today.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of release

2005

Year of production

2005

Notes

Series broadcast on BBC4, beginning 21/6/05

Subjects

Anthropology; Development studies; Education

Keywords

evangelism; HIV; migrants; poverty; primary education; schools; secondary education; sex education; social anthropology; Uganda

Online availability

URI

http://www.ouw.co.uk/info/bespokedvd.shtm

Price

£34.99

Delivery

Download

Distribution Formats

Type

DVD

Format

Region 2 PAL

Price

£17.00

Availability

Sale

Duration/Size

240 minutes

Year

2011

Sections

Title

Show Me the Money

Synopsis

Mrs Mukasa, the new headmistress at Masindi Secondary State School, finds herself in dire financial straits; three quarters of the students have failed to pay their school fees and the teachers have gone without full pay for three months. She is determined that all children should be forced to pay and instigates a tough new gate policy that is supposed to catch the defaulters. But her students are desperate to get into school; Eddie, an orphan, tries to scrape the school fees money together through odd jobs and support from his brother. And Justice, a skilled dodger, crawls under the fence and tricks his teachers with a borrowed payment card to get into class.

Duration

30 mins

Title

Candidate, The

Synopsis

Each year Masindi Secondary School runs Prefect Elections but this year is going to be different: a change in the rules allows girls to run for Head Prefect for the first time ever. Susan, a remarkable and strong-willed girl, takes up the challenge and competes to be Head Prefect, a job that all the boys in the school think can only be done by one of their number. Nelson, meanwhile, stands against her. Twenty-first century feminism takes centre stage and male pride, female emancipation and girl power are all at stake as Susan and Nelson take to the hustings to fight for the top spot.

Duration

30 mins

Title

Football Fever

Synopsis

It’s not just the reputation of Masindi Secondary School’s coaching staff at stake - the pride of the whole school is hanging on the progress of its soccer team. This is the fast moving story of the school’s progress in the highly competitive Coca-Cola Cup. It’s a chance to experience the dreams of the players. Shem and the others dream of the potential riches on offer if their skills impress the talent scouts - enough to support their whole families. But football fever can be contagious, and as it grips the school a pitch invasion and a full scale riot unfold.

Duration

30 mins

Title

Sex Education

Synopsis

Early pregnancy forces 6,000 girls out of schooling in Uganda every year. When he took up the post of headmaster at Kamurasi Primary School, Mr Ntairaho introduced a system of surprise pregnancy testing believing that it protects the girls from prostitution and ‘defilement’, and reduces the drop-out rate. The programme follows Christine, a final year student who fears she is pregnant, as she is put in for the test.

Duration

30 mins

Title

Womaniser and the Evangalist, The

Synopsis

16-year-old Dickson is a schoolboy womaniser in a puritanical country. He risks seven years imprisonment for having sex under the age of 18 and the evangelical Christians ram home the message that sex before marriage is wrong. He has already seen his father, 6 uncles, 3 aunts and his sister die of ‘that disease,' as he calls AIDS. This remarkable film gives insight into why God is so big in Africa. The local evangelical church, The Miracle Centre promises Dickson spiritual salvation and possibly a cure from AIDS, if he’ll become born again. He is spurred on by the outspoken schoolgirl evangelist Prossy and a touching friendship emerges. It’s a personal journey in which he confronts himself and God whilst facing the consequences of an HIV test.

Duration

30 mins

Title

Running for your Life

Synopsis

Primary School Head, Mr Ntairaho is taking part in a survey of displaced children in the Masindi district. The area is full of people who have fled the gruesome fighting further north where the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) is taking on the Ugandan government and terrorising the local population. But ordinary life goes on too. This moving film is also the story of Opio, an orphan who came to Masindi after his parents were killed by the LRA fighting. Opio is a skilled athlete whose father ran at national level - Opio is striving to run in his footsteps.

Duration

30 mins

Title

Boy Meets Girl

Synopsis

Having a love life in Uganda is not easy. Teenagers face being expelled from school if they admit to having a boyfriend or a girlfriend; teachers struggle to afford to get married and those that have managed to tie the knot can find themselves posted to schools at opposite ends of the county. But this revealing programme shows how love can flourish despite the challenges.

Duration

30 mins

Title

Fred gets to Z

Synopsis

This touching and revealing film follows Fred, the first ever boarding student at Kamurasi Primary school, where staff are determined to create the best Special Needs Integrated school in their district. Fred is blind and spends his first term learning the Braille alphabet from A to Z with his friend Miungo. As well as Fred’s determined progress, we get to know his remarkable teacher, Harriet and the headmaster Mr Ntairaho who is determined to support Special Needs despite the constant demands on the school’s limited resources.

Duration

30 mins

Production Company

Name

Lion Television

Contact

Francesca Rich and Bill Locke (PA to MD and BL - Executive Producer)

Email

Francesca.rich@liontv.co.uk

Web

http://liontv.co.uk External site opens in new window

Phone

020 8846 2000

Fax

020 8846 2001

Address

26 Paddenswick Road
London
W6 0UB

Name

Open University Production Centre

Sponsor

Name

BBC Television

Distributor

Name

Open University Worldwide

Web

http://www.ouw.co.uk External site opens in new window

Phone

+44 (0) 1908 274066

Address

Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA

Notes

NB. As of May 2016 Open University Worldwide are no longer distributing DVDs. They have posted this message on their website: ‘Unfortunately Open University Worldwide Limited has decided that product sales are no longer viable given the reduced funding to Higher Education institutions and diminishing demand for the products we have traditionally stocked. At present the Open University Students Association (OUSA) will continue to sell the "Good Study Guide", and we are in discussion with other possible distributors to continue to make The Open University’s products available for purchase. As soon as we have any information on other channels of distribution we will update this notice’. Some products are still available via second hand dealers on Amazon.co.uk