By Safourata Sidibe | Project Manager
Education system in Burundi
Despite the fact that Burundi ratified the UN Convention on the Right of the Child in 1990, the education system is still chaotic. Since 2005, primary school is free but the conditions are still inadequate for the students. Nowadays, only 56% of the children finish primary school and less than 10% finish secondary school (source: UNESCO).
In Burundi the relevant issues in the education system are :
In the province of Ruyigi, the situation is even worse. In the city of Ruyigi, there is only one pre-school with 100 children per class-rooms. Consequently, the success rate is very low in national exams. Moreover, qualified persons are difficult to find in that region, which does not contribute to a better situation for development. Some parents prefer to work for a lower income in urban areas so that their children can access to a better education.
In that bad education and development context, the International School project born.
Project description
In 2005, as part of its commitment to socio-educational development, the Maison Shalom founded a community day care centre for orphans and children of Ruyigi ages 1 to 5. A majority of orphans were reintegrated into their communities of origins, which left the day care centre almost empty.
Inspired by Maggy and the Maison Shalom, and concerned about the quality of education in post-conflict Ruyigi, a group of parents proposed the launch of an international school on the premises of the day care centre to provide more children with the opportunity to attend school. With the support of the Maison Shalom, the school opened its doors in 2009. The International School places social justice at the heart of its teachings.
The School project aims at giving better conditions in terms of pedagogic material, IT, recreations facilities development. The idea is to provide better intellectual and recreations conditions for the students.
The objective of the project is to accept 450 students in 2016.
Project progress
In November 2013, according to our local partner Maison Shalom, 241 students are attending the school which represent 107 students in primary school and 134 students in pre-school. This means that since the beginning of 2013, 53 new students have joined the school.
With regards to the school staff there are now 9 teachers, 2 administrative workers, 1 pedagogical supervisor, 3 lookout men and 1 driver for the school bus. They all work to offer the children a better environment.
So that to allow other 209 children to have a better education (in order to reach the objective of 450 children attending the school by 2016), please feel free to support us through donations!
We thank you for all your contributions for the supported education projects in Burundi and in India with the Alice project (click here to find out more).
Friends of Humanity Team
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