Ivory Coast

Improving the quality of education – meaning that children acquire technical, social and emotional knowledge and transferable skills – is central to a child’s learning. It leads to a better quality of life, particularly regarding income, health and wider economic development.

Though education is now free in Côte d’Ivoire, learning outcomes are very low. The poor quality of education is reflected in learning assessment measures across the region. For example, standardized assessments of student abilities
in mathematics and reading in French-speaking countries have found that only 17 per cent of early primary pupils achieved sufficient competencies in literacy and that only 34 per cent of them had sufficient competencies in mathematics, in late Primary performance. In addition, 1 in 4 children do not complete primary school, and nearly 2 million children aged 6 to15 are out of school. About 8 per cent of primary schools and 40 per cent of secondary schools are affected by conflict.

The Peter Krämer Foundation and UNICEF partner with the Ministry of Education to create child-friendly schools that are equipped with the necessary education tools. These schools also offer continuous support and mentoring of teachers, provide remedial support for at-risk children, facilitate community participation in schools, and establish performance-based accountability standards. We also advocate integrating Islamic Schools into the formal education system that is recognized by the government and promotes accelerated learning programmes for thousands of children who have not gone to formal school.