The start of the 2022 school year in Cankuzo: UNICEF's "Back to school" initiative boosts education
In 2022, Cankuzo Province experienced an exceptional start to the school year, thanks to the World Bank-funded "Back to School" Early Learning Support Programme, implemented by UNICEF.
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Thanks to the Back to School 2022 campaign, hundreds of thousands of students from low-income families were able to return to school. This campaign was officially launched in September 2022 in Cankuzo Province, grappling with educational challenges amidst a growing number of returnees and vulnerable families. Beneficiaries attest to the positive impact of this program, which has become a critical response in this region.
Christa Alvella Hezagira, a student at Ecofo Cankuzo I and one of the 971,828 beneficiaries of the Early Learning Support Programme, shares her testimony: "They gave us notebooks when I was in grade 5, and I was the first in school because I had notebooks at the beginning of the year. Every class had its own notebook." In the past, obtaining school supplies was a struggle for her. "I used to write four courses in one notebook, which made it difficult for me to revise. It was very sad," she recalls. Her story underscores the daily challenges faced by many vulnerable children who were forced to share a single notebook for several classes, leading to school dropouts due to lack of supplies.
Jeanine Hakizimana, the Provincial Director of Education (DPE) for Cankuzo, remarked, "During the 2022-2023 school year, many children in Cankuzo attended school thanks to UNICEF's support, which included providing students with school kits."
She lauded UNICEF's initiative through the "Programme d'appui aux apprentissages en début de Scolarité" (PAADESCO) project. "Students in grades one to nine received notebooks at the beginning of the school year. In our province, where many returnees and Batwa children with limited resources reside, this aid was crucial as their children often couldn’t attend school due to a lack of materials." She also reports a significant decrease in school dropouts due to the unavailability of materials.
Anaclet Matituye, headmaster of Ecole Fondamentale (Ecofo Cankuzo I), noted that the distributed school supplies significantly improved student grades in the first trimester, in contrast to previous years without such support. He also mentioned that teaching aids like registers and colored chalk, donated by UNICEF, greatly assisted the teachers. "Before, teachers would prepare material in a hundred-sheet notebook, which is insufficient for the content they teach. But these registers allow them to prepare multiple lessons, reducing the need for repeated lesson planning in subsequent years due to the registers' durability and capacity."
Henri Ntawanka, a parent representative at Ecofo Cankuzo I, also commended UNICEF's contribution to children's education. "The UNICEF school kits, arriving early in the school year, alleviated parents' concerns about procuring school supplies. The PAADESCO programme, by providing these essential kits, has not only curbed the dropout rate but also significantly enhanced the quality of education," he expressed enthusiastically.
This programme represents an ongoing partnership between the Government of Burundi and UNICEF, financed by the World Bank, to deliver educational services through PAADESCO. It marks the fourth campaign to assist Burundian students in returning to, remaining in, and succeeding in school.
The Back to School 2022 campaign catered to the needs of vulnerable children in areas marked by significant vulnerability indicators and relatively high dropout rates. It covered six priority provinces of the project: Cankuzo, Kirundo, Makamba, Muyinga, Rumonge, and Ruyigi.
As a result, 971,828 girls and boys in grades 1 to 9 across primary schools in these six provinces, including 490,296 girls and 481,532 boys, and approximately 32,000 children with disabilities, received school kits.
The DPE of Cankuzo, the headmaster of Ecofo Cankuzo I, and the school's parent representative have advocated for the continuation of this initiative to ensure inclusive, quality education for all school-age children and to completely eradicate school dropout rates caused by a lack of school supplies.
