Project description

Title: Promotion of Primary Education in Middle Guinea
Commissioned by: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
Country: Guinea
Lead executing agency: Ministère de l’enseignement pré-universitaire et de l’éducation civique
Overall term: October 1996 to April 2010

Context

Guinea’s population is growing rapidly. More than half of all Guineans are less than 20 years old. Many can neither read nor write, have only a couple of years of schooling, and have not completed any kind of training. Three-quarters of the population are illiterate. The number of unemployed, especially unemployed youth, is continuing to rise, even though industry desperately needs skilled workers to achieve stronger growth.

Education for All is the government’s ambitious goal to provide the leverage needed to reduce poverty and promote Guinea’s economic and social development. The national education programme Education pour tous (EPT) is part of the government’s poverty reduction strategy.

Objective

Children in poverty-stricken rural areas in Guinea, especially girls, are increasingly taking advantage of the better schooling available.

Approach

The project works on national and decentralised levels. It is integrated into the national education programme EPT.

The project focuses on the regions of Labé, Mamou and Faranah. GTZ experts advise the Ministry of Education, the decentralised school authorities, training and educational institutions, and civil society organisations. The project is represented on national and decentralised educational commissions.

Within this framework, strategies for decentralisation of the educational sector, teacher upgrading, the promotion of girls’ interests, and HIV/AIDS prevention are drafted in collaboration with the partners.

More than 1500 young teachers regularly take additional training to improve the quality of instruction. They learn new methods to help school children master the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. Girls from socially weak backgrounds or with a poor school record are given support right up to the primary school certificate in the form of special courses and instruction in practical skills. Cooperation between schools, communities and health and educational structures is particularly promoted in regard to HIV/AIDS prevention.

Results achieved so far

In Labé and Mamou, coordination groups were set up in which the educational authorities, parents, civil society representatives and projects work in concert. They support the planning and implementation of regional educational schemes. Health and school authorities join together to institute AIDS-prevention measures.

Intensive teacher upgrading has resulted in improvements in learning performance in Labé.
General school enrolment, especially of girls, is steadily rising.