In Burkina Faso, many girls who have dropped out of school or are not in school are forced to do domestic chores or work. To address this problem, Action Education, in partnership with the L'Occitane Foundation, has set up the Scolarisation des filles dans la région du centre ouest (SCOLFILLE) project. This project focuses on In addition, the government is working to improve the enrolment and retention of girls in the school system, through the Accelerated School Entry Strategy (ASES) centres.
In Bozo, a locality in the rural commune of Boura, an SSAP centre has been opened, with priority given to girls. For the 2022-2023 school year, 19 learners (11 girls and 9 boys) are registered. The objective of the SCOLFILLE project consists of accelerated upgrading and reintegration into the mainstream education system in the students' mother tongue.
Inclusive and progressive learning for more results
In Burkina Faso, the official language of instruction in the regular school system is French. In addition, there are about 60 national languages. As a result, not all students speak French, which is a barrier to their education. To compensate for this, the learning of French is done progressively, starting from the pupils' mother tongues, as Wahab A. Napon, the centre's facilitator, points out: "We have to learn the French language gradually, starting from the mother tongue. Napon, the centre's facilitator:
"In the SSAP centre in Bozo, we teach French, Sissala and Dagara for the first two months. For the transition to the French teaching phase, we proceed in stages. First, we present the letters to the students in local languages and then in French so that they can identify the common elements and the differences between the two alphabets.
Once these basics have been mastered, subjects such as mathematics, reading and writing are taught progressively and entirely in French, orally. Pupils in the SSPA centres are assessed on a termly basis (the first term in the local language and the last two in French). At the end of the school year, learners are assessed on their achievements and, depending on their results, they join classes adapted to their level. The best performers enter the CE2 class (fourth year of primary school), the average performers the CE1 class (third year) and the worst performers the CP2 class (second year).
The importance of mother-tongue-based education
Action Education recalls that it is through mastery of one's first language, or mother tongue, that basic literacy and numeracy skills can be acquired.
"When learners are able to discover, identify and memorise concepts in their own language, it facilitates their understanding and learning of a second language or the subjects taught in class". notes Wahab A. Napon.
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