Committed teachers, motivated pupils
With around two months to go before the official CEPE (Certificate of Primary and Elementary Studies) exams, catch-up classes are stepping up to maintain standards.
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“Despite the numerous disruptions to classes, we are doubling our efforts this year. We are ramping up catch-up classes and closely monitoring each pupil,” explains Yvette Baozandry, the director of the Canada public primary school. This is how she describes the measures put in place to maintain the strong results her school achieved last year.
In 2025, their CEPE pass rate was 96%. This year, however, she remains cautious as to whether this level of performance will be maintained.
Following Cyclone Gezani, the pupils had to be moved to another school, as their own building remains under repair. Among them is Aurélie, aged 11, a Year 6 pupil, who is preparing to take her first national exam. Passionate about mathematics, she achieved a perfect score of 20/20 in her last assessment.
I need to improve my problem-solving skills in calculus if I’m going to pass this exam.
Her mother, Misy, explains that the family is facing many difficulties. Their house was completely destroyed by the cyclone and is currently being rebuilt. Together with her husband, she looks after four children, while also caring for six other children from the wider family.
“I try to keep up with their studies as much as possible, but with everything else on my mind, it’s not always easy. I’m doing my best. Fortunately, the school supplies had been protected in plastic bags,” she says.
Working together to pass the exams
Aurélie’s teacher, Harisson Cynthia, highlights the efforts of the teachers:
“We’re trying to keep the pupils focused, despite the difficulties of rebuilding our lives. It’s not easy. ”
The repair work on the school should be completed in about two months. In the meantime, the pupils are attending lessons in makeshift conditions: two classrooms, with tarpaulins for roofs, and a tent set up with support from UNICEF. School kits have also been distributed, particularly to pupils sitting exams.
At home, Aurélie continues reviewing her lessons, often by the light of a small solar lamp. “I’m staying motivated because I really hope to start secondary school at the beginning of the next academic year,” explains the young girl.
Teachers, parents and pupils are all doing their best to stay the course and remain hopeful that they can maintain last year’s strong results, despite a situation that remains fragile.
Note: these UNICEF interventions were made possible thanks to financial contributions from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), as well as the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the Today and Tomorrow initiative.
