Education
Every child has the right to quality education
Challenges
In Burundi, schooling of children aged 6 to 11 has risen sharply in recent years (Gross Enrollment Rate was 119.6 per cent in 2018). However, school enrollment rates for children 12 to 14 also fell considerably (63.7 per cent in 2018). Household poverty, early pregnancy, coupled with school violence and low-quality education are the main causes of the important drop in school enrollment rates among adolescents.
The lack of a national strategy for in-service teacher training and reduced learning times have a significant impact on the quality of education. Students in fundamental schools study an average of 20 hours per week compared with 30 hours in neighboring countries.
There is a necessity to increase the dedicated budgets to the education sector, particularly regarding access to preschool continuing teachers’ education as well as the construction of new basic schools.
Solutions
To improve the quality of education in Burundi, UNICEF will continue to support the Ministry of Education to reform its education curriculum as well as the development of its teacher training and early learning strategies. UNICEF works closely with the Ministry to support various technical diagnostics measuring the efficiency of the sector, the evaluation of the fundamental reform or the development of the ten-year plan of the sector.
To support the Ministry's effort and to improve the capacity of the sector, UNICEF continues to build and renovate the country's inclusive schools and to distribute school material to vulnerable children through the "Back To School" campaign held every September.
UNICEF continues to support the revision of the curricula through the renewal of textbooks, in-service teacher training and the distribution of teaching materials.
To ensure sustainability of these actions, UNICEF invests heavily in community mobilization and reinforces the skills of local education stakeholders as well as that of School Management Committees.
To accelerate the progress of the education sector, and its sub-sectors, UNICEF and its development partners will continue to work with stakeholders to explore options for increasing investment in this key sector.
Resources
Resources will be added in this section
