“A Better School for Girls” project with UNICEF

Since the 2000s, the government of Côte d’Ivoire has made great efforts to send and keep girls in school. In addition to the very low enrolment rate of young girls, there is a high dropout rate amongst girls enrolled in primary and secondary education. At the primary level, 29% of girls were not enrolled school in 2014 (Save The Children), and out of 100 girls who were enrolled in the first year of primary school, only 58 reached their final year of primary school. The prevalence of discriminatory attitudes as well as violence in the school environment and the insufficient level of training of educational actors are factors contributing to the high dropout rate of girls in primary school.

Partner of the Ministry of National Education, Technical Education and Vocational Training (MENET-FP) since 2012, Graines de Paix is once again working alongside local authorities to conduct a new large-scale project: "A Better school for girls.” This mission is part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #4 and concerns girls as much as boys.

The Education of Girls in the SDGs

This objective is specified as follows (paragraph 4.1): “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys follow, on an equal footing, a full cycle of free and quality primary and secondary education, which leads to truly useful learning. "

And also (Paragraph 4.5): “By 2030, eliminate gender inequalities in education and ensure equal access for vulnerable people, including people with disabilities, indigenous people and children in vulnerable situations, at all levels of education and professional training.”
Source: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, site of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Graines de Paix therefore seeks to support governments in achieving these objectives.

"A better school for girls"

In 2019 and 2020, Graines de Paix is focusing its intervention on improving girls' schooling conditions and preventing violence at school.

The project is carried out in primary schools in the region of Man (North-West) and Odienné (North) and in secondary schools in Abidjan (South). Through continuous training of primary and secondary school teachers, the development of educational resources that support the teachers' class practice and the awareness of parents, Graines de Paix aims to improve the academic success of girls and their safety and well-being at school.

It will use tools already validated by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s research and develop others that will specifically address the issues of differential treatment between girls and boys in the classroom. Specific training tools and teaching resources will be developed for primary and secondary schools. They will be adapted to the age of the children they are addressing and to the specificities and challenges of each learning cycle.

Beneficiaries

The direct beneficiaries of the project are all the educational players directly targeted by the project: 30 educational advisers and around 800 teachers and school directors from the regions mentioned, as well as 4,500 parents.
In addition, there are a total of 38 members of the community, represented by social workers, members of the Mothers and Daughters of Girls Clubs (CMEF) and members of the School Management Committees (COGES). The direct beneficiaries trained will impact an estimated total of 40,500 primary and secondary school students. Each project cycle also provides significant support to the Regional Directorates of Education (DREN), which provides capacity building for the DREN.

Partners

The Ministry of National Education, Technical Education and Vocational Training (MENET-FP), as well as the Ministry of Women, Family and Children in charge of child protection, support the work carried out on the Ivory Coast territory.

Donors