Enforcing the right to quality education for all African children

Photo credit: Vincent Reynaud-Lacroze

On the occasion of the World Day of the African Child, celebrated on June 16, Aide et Action reminds us that the issue of access to quality education for all children in Africa is still relevant. This is why we are currently developing 15 projects on the continent to improve the educational situation of thousands of children.

The World Day of the African Child is celebrated each year in remembrance of 16 June 1976, when hundreds of black students were killed or injured by the apartheid regime in South Africa for demonstrating to demand their rights, including the right to a quality education. The issue of access to quality education for all children in Africa is still ongoing and the security, socio-political and health crises further complicate the situation.

Ensuring the same rights for all children

To fight against this injustice and ensure that all children, including the most vulnerable, can see their right to quality education respected, Aide et Action intervenes in several countries in Africa. In 2020, our association was implementing 15 projects to improve access and quality of education. The construction of school infrastructures and their equipment, electrification of classrooms, teacher training, provision of pedagogical and monitoring tools, provision of computer equipment and school kits, support to distance education in the context of COVID 19, and the organization of remedial education courses are some of the actions deployed by our teams.

Improving learning conditions in Benin and Burkina Faso

 The Enlightened School Resource Centre for Quality Education (EECREQ) project is implemented in Benin and Burkina Faso with the financial support of the French Development Agency (AFD).  120 schools, 60 in each country, are benefiting from this project of solar electrification and access to online educational resources. Thanks to solar electrification, visibility in classrooms is improved. Working conditions are much better for both teachers and pupils, who have light to learn lessons and do homework. The teachers use the light to prepare their lessons. They also organise remedial classes to raise the level of pupils who are having difficulties. In addition, the provision of schools with computer equipment and the introduction of teachers to the use of computers will enable the use of online teaching resources to improve the quality of teaching content. 18,000 pupils are the beneficiaries of this project in the two countries.

Electrifying schools in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo

The A Light For Africa (ALFA) project is financially supported by Club Med, Aide et Action Isère and private donors. It has enabled the solar electrification and computer equipment of some twenty schools in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo. Access to solar electrification in rural areas improves teaching and learning conditions for teachers and pupils. This helps to improve school results. More than 3,000 pupils and their teachers benefit from this project.

Education and health in Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso

The Support Project for Schooling and Health Development (PASS) benefits from the financial support of the Orange, Bel and Suez Foundations. It enables the construction and equipment of school and health infrastructures. The PASS projects contribute to increasing the number of places available in the schools concerned by building and equipping classrooms. By combining the health and education components, this gives pupils better access to health care and thus increases their attendance, especially in rural areas.

Addressing the security crisis in Mali 

In a context of security crisis, the Project for Improving Access, Quality and Governance of Basic and Secondary Education in the Gao and Ménaka regions (PAQAMA) is being developed by Aide et Action and its technical and financial partners (Agence Française de Développement, Humanité et Inclusion, International Rescue Committee, Norwegian Refugee Council). Its objective is to improve access to quality education. To achieve this, the following actions are implemented:

  • material support for pupils and teachers affected by the crisis (school kits and furniture for pupils and teaching materials for teachers)
  • training of teachers affected by the crisis (large group pedagogy and remedial courses, subject didactics, management of multigrade classes, curative classes)
  • support for school feeding (school canteens or snacks for children)
  • capacity building (construction of classrooms or temporary shelters)
  • administrative capacity building (training of administrative authorities in emergency coordination, preparedness, planning and response)
  • the equipment of deconcentrated structures (office equipment, means of travel to facilitate follow-up).

These different projects developed by Aide et Action all have the common objective of ensuring that every African child has the right to a quality education. Their ability to improve their living conditions and freely choose their future depends on this right.

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