1) With the support of IIEP, Niger has carried out a diagnostic study of its educational quality management practices. What findings emerged? How was the national team involved?

A team from our ministry was formed and went out into the field under IIEP’s coordination to observe and analyse Niger’s education system.

Changing practices to improve learning: IIPE-UNESCO is organizing a regional workshop in Dakar from May 13 to 16, 2024, to share experiences on education quality management in Africa.

To understand how IIEP-UNESCO Dakar came into being, we need to go back to April 2000, when Senegal’s capital was hosting the UNESCO World Education Forum. At the dawn of the new millennium, this event brought together hundreds of national policymakers and delegations from 181 member countries. The aim was to define a new framework for action to achieve “Education for all” by 2015. The international community gathered in Dakar felt that the lack of resources should not stand in the way of schooling and access to quality education.

The ambition for every student to complete primary school with the ability to read, write, and count remains unfulfilled in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, 85 per cent of children on the continent are unable to read and understand a simple text by the age of 10. Despite the significant increase in enrolment since the early 2000s, there has unfortunately not been a corresponding improvement in academic levels, despite governmental efforts to provide quality basic education.

EDITO - THERREZINHA FERNANDES KINKIN, HEAD OF OFFICE, IIEP-UNESCO DAKAR