The project announced today, valued at $20 million over two fiscal years (2015–2017), will help improve young Burkinans’ access to quality basic education. Canada’s contribution will also build the management capacities of Burkina Faso’s Ministry of National Education and Literacy (MENA).
The MENA and its partners, including Canada, are jointly financing activities to achieve the results of the National Basic Education Program. To provide better-quality basic education services that ensure equality between girls and boys and increase the transition rate to post-primary education, the following activities are planned under the 2014–2016 three-year action plan:
- construction of school infrastructures under the responsibility of the Government of Burkina Faso (4,275 new primary classrooms each year and 1,620 post-primary classrooms);
- initial training, recruitment and assignment of teachers in time for the return to school (6,000 new teachers for the duration of the initiative);
- development of new primary and post-primary curriculums;
- provision of textbooks so that all students have at least one French and one mathematics book; and
- continuing education activities for teachers.
To make education management practices more efficient, these are some of the activities planned: implementing school management committees (6,000 new committees), developing management and monitoring tools, improving the administrative and financial management systems, and revising agreements between construction agencies and the MENA to include environmental clauses.
In 2014, Burkina Faso was confirmed as a country of focus for the Government of Canada’s international development efforts. Canada is Burkina Faso’s long-standing partner in improving access to quality education for all children, both girls and boys.
