Bizarre Schools of the Third World

Published on 3/12/2008

Afghan girls go back to school

An Afghan girl learns the letters of the Dari alphabet on a blackboard in an outdoor classroom, during a lesson on the first day of the official school year in Kabul March 23, 2002. For the first time in six years schoolgirls, who were banned by the Taliban from getting an education are attending classes. (Photo by Natalie Behring)

China: a school in a cave

Children attend class at the Dongzhong (literally meaning "in cave") primary school at a Miao village on China's Guizhou province. The school is built in a huge, aircraft hangar-sized natural cave, carved out of a mountain over thousands of years by wind, water and seismic shifts.

School in Swaziland

"Neighborhood Care Points" are community-based feeding centres serving local orphans and vulnerable children. Hot meals and sometimes informal schooling are offered by volunteers from the community. UNICEF and the World Food Programme are frequent sponsors in set-up and material/food aid.

World's smallest school: 1 teacher, 1 pupil

An elementary school in China has just one teacher and one pupil. Li Yongchun, 61, has been teaching at the school in Dasu village, Longjing region for over 25 years. He explained: "At first, the school had more than 400 students, but in the '90s, more and more families migrated from the mountain village to make a living outside, and there were just over 10 students left. "In 2000, the city education bureau decided to shut down the school after the graduation of the last student. New kids can register and board at another school in nearby Sanhe town, which is a two-hour drive away." But the family of a third grader named Han Hongyang can't afford the boarding fee, so she became the last remaining student. "We have been like this for more than half a year. She is my only student, and I'm her only teacher," says teacher Li.

Senegal school