Source: Press TV
The road leading to the small Iranian village of Kalou is marked out in honor of its primary school, now recognized by UNESCO as the smallest in the world.
Kalou is a small village located 180 kilometers from Bushehr in the south of Iran; its population consists of 34 people – seven families.
The Kalou school has four students; two boys and two girls, taught by their enthusiastic teacher Abdol-Mohammad Sha’raani. He put his continuing education plans on hold to teach in this village.
It was Sha’raani who introduced the school to the world through his web diary. Today, the school is internationally recognized.
When asked how the school was presented to UNESCO, Sha’raani said that an Iranian friend living in Australia created an English version of his blog for him. Shortly afterwards, a reader sent a link to UNESCO which then recognized the school as the smallest in the world.
“There may be smaller schools with fewer students in the world,” Sha’raani says, “but the advantage of my school is that I presented it to the world through my blog.
The arrival of a mysterious package containing chocolates and a map from California shows that the little school has definitely managed to touch hearts around the world. The gift gave Sha’raani the chance to talk about people from other cultures with his students, who quickly wrote a thank-you letter to their fan from afar.
Sha’raani is very proud of his students, Parisa, Mahdi, Hamideh and and Hossein who are studying together at the same time, although they are in different levels. Although difficult, Sha’raani says he manages to keep them all busy at the same time, with various activities that he has devised.
With the opening of adult education centers even in the most remote areas of Iran, village mothers and fathers are also improving their education.
When Hamideh, Mahdi’s older sister, is asked if she helps her brother with his homework, she replies that she doesn’t know whether she should do her own homework, help her brother or give her mother a dictation on the way home. from school.
The students have a computer among them, donated by the head of the region’s Ministry of Education. Mr Abedi sent it to them after seeing photos from their wishlists, including a computer. They have access to the Internet and Sha’raani is trying to incorporate computer studies into the curriculum.
An Iranian director, Daryoush Gharibzadeh, made a short documentary on the primary school in the village of Kalou.
Gharibzadeh’s short film Boomerang is to participate in the 2008 Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival in Canada. Boomerang won a Crystal Simorgh (Phoenix) for Best Short Film at the 26th Fajr International Film Festival.
Reference:
The smallest school in the world
(Blog)
Read the professor’s interview (in Persian,
Deutsche Welle)
