UNICEF to build and rehabilitate schools

UNICEF has planned for the rehabilitation of 20 schools in the Republic of Congo (ROC) this year, of which 12 are being constructed with funding from the French and US national UNICEF committees as well as the government of Norway. According to UNICEF’s most recent ROC country report, immediate results include a 50 percent increase in the enrolment and attendance of children in schools; a willingness of communities to participate in rehabilitation of schools despite difficult conditions; and vitamin A distribution and de-worming at schools, helping to improve the health of 191,161 children. UNICEF attributes this success to re-equip and rehabilitate schools to the development of a low-cost, participatory community approach, whereby communities provide local materials and labour, while UNICEF contributes technical expertise and construction material not available locally such as cement, steel iron, woods and masonry tools. “The ‘food for work’ scheme contributed by WFP also proves to be one of the major sources of motivation,” the UNICEF report noted. With some 40 percent of 550,000 primary school-age children in the ROC not attending school, UNICEF warned of a pressing need to improve education. The situation has been aggravated by a combination of factors, including school buildings that were heavily damaged during recent years of civil war; very poor learning and teaching environment in schools due to a lack of furniture, textbooks and basic education materials; poor hygiene and sanitation; and a lack of training for teachers. Furthermore, “the administration of the ROC education system is weakened at all levels due to the lack of financial resources, making it very difficult for the ministry of education to rehabilitate primary schools,” according to UNICEF. UNICEF estimated that there are 1,714 schools in the country that need rehabilitation, and warned of high drop-out rates in both urban and rural areas, due to poverty, teacher absenteeism and poor learning environments.