Niger mandate school - Enfants du Monde Niger mandate school - Enfants du Monde
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Niger

Mandate for the Education of Young People who Have Dropped out of School

© Swisscontact

In 2024

8,000

young people aged 9 to 14 were given an education tailored to their needs

361

teachers were trained

315

alternative education centres for adolescents have been opened in the Dosso and Maradi regions

The Country’s Challenges

In Niger, a large number of young people have never attended school or had to drop out at an early age. This is due to population displacement linked to various armed conflicts, as well as public education programmes that are ill-suited to the needs of students and the concerns of communities.

For most children, starting or returning to school is impossible.

In public schools, lessons are taught in French, the official language, which is not understood by the majority of children whose mother tongue is one of Niger’s eleven local languages. Young people thus fail at school and have to drop out without acquiring basic knowledge.

Download the project summary.

© Swisscontact

Enabling Young People who Have Dropped out of School to Return to Education or Employment

The Nigerien government has worked with local authorities to develop Community Centres for Alternative Education for Young People (CCEAJ) to improve the situation of young people who have dropped out of school. Enfants du Monde works in these centres in the Dosso and Maradi regions on behalf of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, in collaboration with the NGO Swisscontact.

The aim is, on the one hand, to adapt teaching to the linguistic and local context in order to facilitate the reintegration of pupils into school or work and, on the other hand, to strengthen the capacities of teaching staff to improve the quality of education in the long term.

© Swisscontact
© Swisscontact

Abdoul Aziz, 23 years old,

I trained at the CCEAJ in Tibiri, then was referred to the Vocational Training Centre. After two years of training in metal construction, I now earn a living. Discovering different trades at the CCEAJ made me want to do vocational training. I found it difficult to understand the relevance of what I was learning at primary school.

© Swisscontact

Learning to Read, Write and do Maths Through Topics Related to Different Professions

Reading and writing exercises, vocabulary learning, maths problems and natural science activities focus on discovering different professions in key sectors of the local economy, such as agriculture, blacksmithing and jewellery making. The content is drawn directly from the experiences of local professionals, thereby mobilising the support of the community and parents.

© Swisscontact

Bilingual Education in Local Languages and French

The curriculum is designed to enable students to learn to express themselves in two languages, their mother tongue and French. Thus, the national languages (Fulfulde, Zarma and Hausa) and French are both subjects studied and vehicles of knowledge.

After failing at public school, young girls at the CCEAJ in Guidan Atchali have rediscovered a love of learning thanks to bilingual education.

‘Here, we are learning to read and write in French because we use both languages in class, which helps us understand.’

© Swisscontact

Teaching Materials and Training Developed by Nigeriens for Nigeriens

Textbooks and teacher guides are created by staff from Niger’s Ministry of Education, supervised by Enfants du Monde education specialists. These staff then train teachers directly, ensuring that the teaching approaches promoted by Enfants du Monde are firmly established and sustainable.

Encouraging Critical Thinking by Projecting Oneself into the World of Work

Our Swiss NGO emphasises student participation, particularly through the creation of a ‘career notebook’. The knowledge acquired about different careers is also linked to broader issues. When studying market gardening, for example, water and soil conservation and land issues are addressed.

‘Awareness of different professions is important because it brings young people back to school and raises the profile of our professions in their eyes.’ Soumana Boureima, blacksmith in Niamey

Contact our Team

In Switzerland
Enfants du Monde
Rue de Varembé 1
1202 Geneva
Tel: +41 22 798 88 81
Email: info@edm.ch

Sébastien Blat, Sahel Program Manager

Financial Partners

Operational Partners

©Tagaza Djibo/Enfants du Monde

My Donation Makes a Difference

For example:

With 70 francs:

I provide bilingual school manuals in French and Mooré (the local language) for 10 children in Burkina Faso, enabling them to make better progress at school.

With 140 francs:

I fund a continuing education training in bilingual education for 17 teachers in Guatemala, to improve the quality of their lessons.

With 200 francs:

I am funding in-service training in bilingual education for 10 teachers in Guatemala to improve the quality of their lessons.

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