Improving the quality of education is the basis for improving the living conditions and it is also one of the biggest concern for the State of Côte d'Ivoire and its partners.
To meet this challenge, AVSI has renewed a five-year programme named Support to the Integrated School Canteen Sustainability Program (MGD2 2021-2026), through the World Food Programme and funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the McGovern-Dole programme.
The programme has two main focuses:
- the management of school feeding directly by WFP
- the improvement of teaching and learning methods of reading and writing managed by AVSI in 613 schools located in different rural and remote areas of the north, east and west of the country (Poro, Tshologo, Bagoué, Bafing, Cavally, Bounkani and Gontougo).
AVSI's approach on education emphasizes the child-teacher relationship and the inclusion of community, cultural and recreational activities that contribute to the establishment of a healthy environment and facilitate the development of the full capacities of children and adolescents.
AVSI places the entire educational community at the center of its concern. This includes parents of students, teachers, students’ civil society organizations, decentralized state structures, leaders, local elected representatives, and traditional representatives.
The results obtained in the first five years of the programme (MGD1 2016-2021) include an improved level of reading skills required by students from 10% in 2016 to 45% in 2018.
This progress is due to AVSI's efforts in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to train teachers and head teachers in the implementation of the teaching method aimed to improve the reading skills of primary school children.
These combined efforts created strong motivation among teachers and community members and increased the commitment of the beneficiaries to the project.
Moreover, AVSI Côte d’Ivoire was asked to give its expertise with the setting up of the Etats Généraux du Ministère de l'Education Nationale et de l'Alphabétisation (EGENA) which is reflecting on the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning in Côte d'Ivoire.
In the new programme Support for the integrated programme for the sustainability of school canteens (2021-2026) AVSI included also the WASH component.
Although education remains one of the main sectors of concern for the Ivorian government, most of the 613 schools targeted by the project lack sanitation facilities and effective hygiene education programmes.
The situation of hygiene, sanitation, and access to drinking water in some of the rural schools is still catastrophic.
Some villages have poor access to potable water and deplorable hygiene conditions that require humanitarian intervention.
With this in mind, the second component of the project will promote clean water, hygiene and sanitation, which are three key elements in order to contribute to the improvement of health conditions and prevent waterborne diseases in schools, thus ensuring an increase in the rate of enrolment and performance of students.
This will make schools safe and reliable places of learning where good sanitary and hygienic conditions are respected.