In Chad, GPE’s support brings renewed hope for thousands of children

The GPE Focal Point at the Ministry of Education in Chad, writes about how accelerated funding and support for refugee and displaced populations in the Lake Chad region has made a difference

May 16, 2017 by Youssouf Tahir Ahmat, Ministry of Education Chad
|
4 minutes read
Three girls listen attentively in class, October 2012.
Three girls listen attentively in class, October 2012.
Chad has been working with GPE to strengthen its education system since 2012. However, the influx of refugees fleeing Boko Haram and violence in North-Western Nigeria has put additional strain on the Ministry, which is committed to educating all children in the country.

My country, Chad, joined the Global Partnership for Education (​GPE) in 2012. Following our education sector plan endorsement, the country received a US$ 47.2 million GPE grant for 2013-2015.

With the implementation of education development activities, Chad has improved its schooling capacity, as well as children’s learning conditions and learning outcomes.

More textbooks and classrooms

The students of Koussiri village in Lake Chad region

The students of Koussiri village

Photo Credit: Min. of Education/Chad

For example, before the GPE grant, there was one reading book for ten students in Grade 1. Today, each student has his/her own reading book.

This has had a positive impact on children’s education quality with improved and more equitable learning outcomes recorded by my assessment services.  

It should also be noted that in terms of access, many classrooms have been built, which has significantly reduced geographic disparities between rural and suburban zones to promote an increase in enrollments.

Applying for a GPE grant to respond to the Lake Chad humanitarian crisis

Chad is the first developing partner country to have included an “emergency education” component in its interim education plan to target refugee integration. 

During the GPE Board retreat in October 2015 in Washington, Chad had expressed its concern regarding the violent crimes committed by Boko Haram causing a massive influx of refugees in the Lake Chad region, as well as returning populations fleeing violence in the North-West of Nigeria. 

The humanitarian crisis has been aggravated by a drop in oil prices, thereby jeopardizing the government capacity to achieve its investment objectives in education.

In early January, 2016, the Ministry of National Education and Civic Promotion formulated an emergency grant application and submitted it to GPE. 

Fast disbursement to help thousands of children

Within three weeks, the GPE disbursed a US$6.95 million grant to support our country in satisfying the education needs of children in the Lake Chad region.

The newly built school in Koussiri village welcomes 192 students, most of whom are displaced children.

The newly built school in Koussiri village welcomes 192 students, most of whom are displaced children.

Photo Credit: Min. of Education/Chad

We are very pleased with the fact that our application was processed quickly. Such support made it possible to respond quickly and efficiently to the immediate education needs of thousands of refugee and displaced children who had lost all hope in this insular zone affected by violent conflicts.   

Today, they are back in school and learning in a classroom, just as any other children in the world.   

Related blogs

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required.

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Plain text

  • Global and entity tokens are replaced with their values. Browse available tokens.
  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.