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PRESS RELEASE

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

 

Back to school for all children - Bouaké 2007

Abidjan, 8 November 2007 – After the national launching in Yopougon-Gesco at the end of September, in the district of Abidjan, Bouaké took over by launching, on 8 November, the third edition of the “Back-to-School for All Children” Campaign. The event was prepared with the greatest care by the regional actors of the Ministry of Education with the support of UNICEF.
Funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by UNICEF, this national campaign targets ten regions in the Centre, North and West (CNW), where the educational system has been particularly affected by the five years of crisis.

In Bouaké, the launching will take place at the Ecole Primaire Publique (EPP) Dares Salam 2, in the Primary Education Office of Koko district.
“This choice is not fortuitous, for it is a high density district, where you find many children with a lot of schooling problems”, observes Mrs. Ahoua Koné, Inspector, Head of the Primary Education Unit to which belongs the educational establishment selected. Many classrooms are in an advanced state of degradation receiving “over abundant″ numbers of pupils studying under “uncomfortable” conditions, where too often three children share the same bench”, she adds.

Like in Bouaké, the actors of the educational system in the other target regions, namely Korhogo, Bouna, Odienné in the North, Vavoua further South and San Pedro on the coast, are sharpening their arguments to make a pressing appeal to the authorities and all donors to get them to participate in the rehabilitation of damaged school establishments.

The regional campaign plans to target the populations, especially those from rural areas, where many people have not fully understood the interest of education, especially that of girls.
“A mother gave birth to twins last year. The father came to the school to take away his daughter in Class 3 (CM2) to go and help her mother”, notes Mr. Yéo of the Gonfreville School Complex, in Bouaké. To these practices and attitudes are added the argument of “lack of money”, which cannot weaken the determination of Mr. Djeke Koffi, Regional Director of Education and Chairman of the Campaign Committee, targeting villages in particular.

The “Back-to-School for all Children” campaign is an operation implemented by UNICEF with financial contribution from the EU. It will cost nearly CFAF 1.5 billion (about 2 million euros), granted to the Ivorian Government on the resources of the fourth Emergency and Rehabilitation Programme (ERP IV) established by the EU to accompany the crisis recovery efforts.

The two previous editions of the campaign, organized in 2005 and 2006, helped to practically triple the number of schools opened (nearly 2,300 schools are currently opened, as against only about 800 before the 2005 campaign), thus making it possible for nearly 700,000 primary school children, including about 300,000 girls, to go back to school.

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For further information, please contact:
Awa Sylla, Communication Consultant, Education Programme, UNICEF Côte d’Ivoire,
+225 2121 8216 / +225 05963705, asylla@unicef.org; Internet site www.unicef.org

Lucien Houédanou, Information Officer, European Commission Delegation
+225 20 31 83 50, lucien.houedanou@ec.europa.eu; Internet site www.delciv.ec.europa.eu