Photo credits: Action Education Afrique
In Benin, Action Education contributes to the improvement of school performance and sustainability in the areas of intervention of its AGIR project. For the first time, a day of excellence was instituted to reward the best students in French and mathematics.
The AGIR project was initiated by Action Education and Plan International Benin, with financial support from the Swiss Cooperation. Its main objective is to improve access to and retention in primary education for girls and boys aged 5 to 11.
The project has instituted a day of excellence, this year for the first time, which pits learners against each other through an Olympiad competition in French and mathematics, with the best candidates from each commune being selected.
This process is conducted in collaboration with the Departmental Directorate of Nursery and Primary Education, which is responsible for steering the process, under the same conditions as the organisation of a national competition.
The 48 best students from the 80 schools covered by the project in the Atlantic department were rewarded. The award ceremony took place on Friday 6 May 2022 in the premises of the Abomey Calavi town hall, in the presence of the department's educational and communal authorities.
The ceremony was marked by the presentation of various prizes to the winners, including tablets, dictionaries, puzzles and Scrabble games. The project also rewarded the best pupils of the 80 classes participating in the project in the Atlantic department with school kits.
Rewarding the best students
" I am very happy to receive this award for my work. The members of the school government and I are going to sensitize our friends to work harder and especially to work well in order to succeed. Our parents count on us, that's why we have to work hard for ourselves and to make them proud " says Blanchard, a CM2 student at Toffo Houèglé school.
Georges Bocovou, the Headmaster of Toffo Houèglé School, added: "It is important to promote excellence in our schools and to reward the merit of the best students in order to encourage others to work hard. I would also like to say a big thank you to the NGO Action Education (formerly Aide et Action) for these awards and this day that we are celebrating for the first time in our school. We will take this into account in our budget for the coming years in order to continue this action, even after the end of the AGIR Benin project ".
