Primary school enrolment rises to 47.7 percent

Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in Africa, has managed to enrol nearly half its children in primary school thanks to an increase in the number of trained teachers, the construction of special schools for late starters and the extension of a free school meals programme. The proportion of children enroled in primary school increased to 47.7 percent in the 2002/2003 academic year from 38.6 percent two years earlier, the Ministry of Basic Education and Literacy said in a bi-annual report published this week. Academic achievement rates had also gone up over the same period because "for the first time in the history of the country all classes have trained teachers," the report said. It attributed the higher enrolment rate partly to the construction of "satellite schools." These are designed to help older children who missed out on school when they were five or six to catch up with their missed education a few years later, typically when they are nine or 10. The satellite schools are supported by UN Childrens' Fund (UNICEF) and most are situated in remote rural areas. The report said the provision of more books and other school materials and the extension of a free school meals programme to most remote rural schools had also helped to boost the number of children going to school. The increase in enrolment rates was achieved despite the sudden return of between 350,000 and 500,000 migrants from Cote d'Ivoire following the outbreak of civil war in Burkina Faso's southern neighbour in September last year. "The figures are encouraging," UNICEF Representative in Burkina Faso Joan French told IRIN on Wednesday. "Although not all objectives have been met this is a promising step forward," she noted. French added that UNICEF was committed to the accelerated education process - a fast track education initiative supported by the World Bank which aims to provide education for all by 2015 in Burkina Faso and 24 other specifically targetted countries. She said UNICEF would continue to offer special support to increase the number of girls going to school by extending the World Food Programme-supported school feeding programmes, and ensuring the safety of schoolchildren. It is trying to ensure that all schools are within five kilometres of the communities they serve. "We are seeking to strengthen technical support and we have hope that financially we can support so as make the process a success especially this year starting," French told IRIN. The government has waived school fees for girls during the current academic year and has guaranteed that no pupils will be turned away as a result of lack of space in schools. In addition to other sums that are often charged, parents are supposed to pay a small annual levy that varies between US $1.7 and $3.3 per child to help pay for basic teaching materials such as chalk. Herve Kabore, Permanent Secretary of the Basic Education 10-year Development Plan, said the government hoped to have as many girls as boys attending school by 2005. In this predominantly Muslim society a lower priority has traditionally been given to educating the girls in a family. "Through public awareness programmes communities have understood that schools are a development tool and this made them more vigilant on teacher absenteeism," he said. Kabore said the creation of satellite schools in particular had "helped raise awareness and change the attitudes of parents and communities towards education." He also stressed that the introduction of bilingual education - in both French and local African languages - had helped to pull more kids into school. Kabore said that if current trends continued, Burkina Faso would meet its target of putting 70 percent of children into school by 2010 and achieving education for all by 2015. The government's 10-year education plan was launched last year at an estimated cost of US $390 million. It will be partly funded by donors. Under the terms of the plan, the government has pledged to devote 20 percent of its budget to basic education by 2010.