Back to school 2023/2024 in Burundi: UNICEF calls for increase in education budget

Today is 18 September 2023. A day like no other for more than 3 million children in Burundi who are returning to school after a two-month break.  For many, it's an earlier-than-usual wake-up call. It's time to go back to school. Across the country, thousands of students in school uniforms fill the streets. A new chapter of learning has begun.  

The official opening of the new school year took place in Bukinanyana commune, Cibitoke province, under the patronage of the Prime Minister, H.E. Gervais Ndirakobuca, in the presence of the Minister of National Education and Scientific Research, Prof. François Havyarimana, the Chinese Ambassador and the UNICEF Representative in Burundi, Mme France Bégin.

The event was well attended by members of parliament, government authorities, United Nations agencies, various players in the education sector, educators, parents, and pupils. A good opportunity for the Prime Minister to call on everyone to play their part in ensuring quality education for all Burundi's children.

"Dear educators, you are called upon to serve as role models for your students. We need well-trained young people capable of making their mark on the regional and even global stage," said the Prime Minister. He called on parents to ensure that all their children go to school, including girls and those with disabilities.

The Prime Minister then urged the Ministry of Education to work hard this year to mobilise development partners to build more classrooms, provide schools with teaching aids such as computers and equipment for physics, chemistry, and biology laboratories. He also urged the Ministry to make every effort to electrify schools with solar energy, reform certain curricula, increase the number of technical training courses and establish pre-school sections in all primary schools.

Among the major achievements of the Ministry of Education for the 2022-2023 school year, Professor François Havyarimana will mention the construction of 905 classrooms and the rehabilitation of 1,098 others; the recruitment of 2,912 teachers, more than 2,000 of whom will replace those who have retired; the creation of 49 centers for the teaching of new information and communication technologies; and the creation of 19 biology and chemistry laboratories.

The opening of the new school year was also marked by the distribution of 520 desks, thanks to financial support from the People's Republic of China. The UNICEF Representative in Burundi, Mrs. France Bégin, also took advantage of the ceremony to officially hand over to the Ministry of Education the keys to a vehicle that will be used to monitor a project to promote health and well-being education for teenagers and young people (ESBEAJ 'BURUNDI BW'EJO'), financed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Ahead of the new school year, UNICEF has already delivered 7,000 desks to 234 new classrooms built with its own funds and those of sector partners such as French Development Agency and the Global Partnership for Education. UNICEF has also donated 600,000 notebooks to the Ministry of Education and supplied over 2,000 metal sheets and related accessories. "We are proud to contribute to the national effort to strengthen the capacity of the education system and improve the learning environment for our children," said Mrs. France Bégin, UNICEF Representative in Burundi.

Taking advantage of the presence of the Head of Government, the UNICEF Representative in Burundi called for an increase in the budget allocated to the education sector, insisting that at least the 20% rate should be maintained in line with international standards as defined by UNESCO. "Our world today is increasingly based on the so-called knowledge economy, which requires substantial investment in the training of human capital - the driving force, but also the ultimate goal, of all socio-economic development," she explained.

Fortunately, the request received a favorable response from the Prime Minister, who promised that the government would consider it in the 2024-2025 financial year.