Niger
In
terms of human development, Niger ranks 174 out of 177 States in the classification
established by UNDP for the year 2008. More
than 60% of its population lives below the threshold of absolute poverty
and the mortality rate for children under 5 is the second highest in the
world. The country is characterized by a difficult geography, where only
12% of the territory can be cultivated, and by an economic situation which
is continually degrading.
Basic
indicators
Population:
GNP
per capita (US$):
Under-5
mortality rate (0/00):
Life
expectancy at birth (years):
Men
literacy rate (%):
Women
literacy rate (%):
Primary school attendance rate boys/girls (%):
Primary school children reaching grade 5 (%):
Access to drinking water (%):
Population annual growth rate (%):
Urban population (%):
source:
The Official Summary of the State of the World's Children 2009,
UNICEF |
14,226,000
280
176
57
53
26
-
44/31
-
53
42
3.5
17
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Enfants
du Monde projects in Niger - Coordinator
for Sahelian Africa: Tougma Téné SANKARA
Education
for all in Tahoua
Context:
Tahoua is a district located at approximately
500 km North-East of Niamey, the capital of Niger. It is situated right
between the farming areas and the Sahel region, which welcomes Fulas
and Tuarergs nomads. Out
of an estimated population of 187,000, more than half are under the age
of 15. This zone is subject to chronic food deficits and is characterized
by a massive exodus of young people (16 to 45 year old) towards neighbouring
countries.
The
formal education system, inherited from colonial times, is not adapted
to the local context. Moreover, the number of schools is insufficient,
so that more than 70% of the children from rural areas do not have access
to primary education.
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Project:
The current
second phase of t his community-oriented
education project involves 380 adolescents from 9 to 13 who never
attended school or who dropped out prematurely. From 2002 to 2006,
200 learners have enjoyed the educational approach implemented by
Enfants du Monde. This must now be made accessible to other adolescents
in 10 villages of the Tahoua disctrict.
These
10 education centres are the result of intensive discussions and
close cooperation with the village communities in charge of their
management through community structures supported by the project.
The
approach is based on the principles of the ‘Pedagogy of the Text'.
Its implementation benefits from the skills acquired by the trainers
who have made up the project team from the very beginning.
Enfants
du Monde supports the conception and development of the educational
programme, the training of trainers and teachers as well as that
of the members of parents' associations. The goal is to enable them
to efficiently manage the centres.
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Partner:
Monde des Enfants, a local NGO, was founded in 2003 in Niamey by people
aware of the situation endured by children in Niger and willing to contribute
to the socioeconomic development of the country. Most of its 13 founding
members have had, at some point, a link or a direct role in the basic
education programme implemented by Enfants du Monde from 2002 in Tahoua
The structure was officially recognised by the Ministry of Interior and
Decentralisation in 2004.
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School
for a second chance
Context:
Still today, the
gross schooling rate of Niger is 36% for boys and 25% for girls. This
means that Niger has one of the five highest illiteracy rates in the world.
This rate goes together with a high drop-out rate and a notorious incapacity
of the students to act within their environment; hence a persisting disinterest,
not to say a serious deficiency, of the parents towards school. The “School
for a second chance” project, launched by ONEN, aims at contributing to
the enhancement of the educational offer in Niger.
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Project:
The “School for a Second
Chance” project is aimed at children from 9 to 13 who never attended
school or who dropped out prematurely. Over 4 years, it gives them
the main skills of the elementary cycle, thus granting them access
to public school at the lower secondary level. It is implemented
in 5 suburban communities in Niamey. The first group of 160 children
will achieve their training in June 2009. The next 280 children
are to start from October 2009 on. It is planned to extend the programme
to at least one more region in Niger. One of the priorities in the
current phase is to obtain a definitive recognition by the state
authorities.
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EdM's
role: Enfants du Monde contributes
to the development of the educational approach of the project and to the
teacher training to enable the “Schools for a second chance” to provide
quality education. EdM also helps capitalising the experiences drawn from
this pilot project.
Partner:
Niger Organisation of Innovative Educators
(ONEN) was founded in 2000 by a group of educators who decided to create
an association in order to propose efficient and sustainable solutions
to the issues facing the Niger education system. ONEN aims at elaborating
new educational schemes and approaches (mainly at the basic education
level), which adapted to the socioeconomic context of Niger and likely
to contribute to the creation of a more satisfactory education system
for the main beneficiaries.
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