Ecole Eclairée Centre de Ressources pour une Education de Qualité (EECREQ) is being implemented in Benin and Burkina Faso with co-funding from Agence Française de Développement (AFD). Three communes in each country are benefiting from the project. In Benin, these are the municipalities of Ouinhi, Zagnanado and Zogbodomey, and in Burkina Faso, the beneficiary municipalities are Coalla, Manni and Cassou. The project began in January 2020 and will run for three years, ending in March 2023 after a three-month extension.
Thanks to the EECREQ project, 120 schools - 60 schools per country - have benefited from projects designed to improve the quality of education. Solar electrification of the 120 schools covered was a flagship action. This has brought light to schools in rural areas where there is no electricity. This has had an impact on school time, allowing pupils to study at night and teachers to prepare lessons and corrections. Light at school has also made it possible to organise literacy sessions for adults. To ensure service after installation, the 120 schools received maintenance kits and members of the community were trained. In addition to solar electrification, the schools were provided with solar chargeable lamps, 8 per school, giving a total of 960 lamps. These were given as a priority to pupils in exam classes who were away from school to study at home at night. Pupils work on their homework in groups around the lamps.
To open up schools to ICTs, computer equipment was provided to each school (a computer and accessories). To facilitate access to documentary resources, the project has set up 20 resource centres/libraries equipped with computers and teaching and learning materials.
To stimulate pupil performance, the EECREQ project has supported the organisation of Olympiads with prizes for the best pupils and teachers. But the poorest performers are not left out in the cold. Remedial/support courses have been introduced as part of the project for pupils experiencing difficulties, with a view to raising their level and improving their performance.
As the school is part of a community that has a role to play, the project has organised capacity-building sessions for community structures (APE, AME, COGES) and teachers so that they can play their part more effectively.
The EECREQ project also provides amenities to improve learning and teaching conditions. Ten positive boreholes in ten schools and 30 school latrines have been built.
The direct beneficiaries are the pupils. In Benin, 18,111 pupils, including 7,724 girls, and in Burkina Faso 1,3443 pupils, including 6,946 girls, are the direct beneficiaries of the project. In Benin, there are 3147 teachers and community members, including 1051 female beneficiaries. In Burkina Faso, there are 6066 beneficiaries, including 2653 women.
The players speak out
Fortuné AHOUANDJINOU, Teacher at EPP Bamè- Agnanagon in Benin
"Thanks to the presence of the NGO Aide et Action, which has become Action Education, and the training we have received, the parents of the pupils have become aware of their role as primary carers for the pupils and the importance of taking part in actions to develop the school.
Edmond SEWANOU, Chief of the village of Dolivi (Ouinhi), Benin
" "I would like to thank Aide et Action, which has now become Action Education, for the training we have just received. It opened the door to the need to work together to bring about major changes in schools. The training has taught us that we don't necessarily have to wait for government aid to develop the school. For example, our dishevelled school has remained in this state for a whole school year, waiting for the Town Hall to repair it. This training is teaching us how to organise ourselves to deal with the school's problems and needs.
Pupils from EPP Zagnanado
"The EECREQ project is a great opportunity for education in our commune of Zagnanado. It is making innovative contributions to the process of improving the quality of education. I'm really touched these days that my school is receiving school kits to reinforce the support classes, especially for pupils taking the CEP exam. These are very welcome items, as the need is pressing. We promise to make good use of them.. "
