"A technical committee comprising managers from the ministries that together deliver education – namely, national education, decentralization, finance, professional development – along with civil society, and technical and financial partners was set up, which enabled us to identify the priority reform. Several consultations took place between the stakeholders and within the local group, the education partners. The dialogue between education stakeholders was frank, and the priorities that emerged from the discussions at one local workshop focused on pre-service teacher training, in-service teacher training, and teacher management."

"The process enabled us to reach conclusions and recommendations that shift us away from the classic financial system we knew. All because civil society was part of the process [alongside] teachers’ unions and technical and financial partners, whose help we will enlist to finance the new partnership. This way of ensuring effectiveness and reaching our overall goal was new to us."

"The process proposed by the GPE has a predetermined lifespan. It does impose some constraints on the national team implementing the process, but the advantage is it keeps everyone on track. Previously, it wasn’t a phased process, the diagnosis alone could take a year, and the strategy another year or two. This time, we know exactly how much time we have. With the new GPE process, we can be sure it will be inclusive. All education partners have a hand in the process. And that’s where it becomes quite different: financing is to some degree contingent on whether or not it is inclusive—in fact, on whether or not the whole sector is involved. And lastly, GPE’s focused approach really helps us be goal oriented and effective."

"We have a sectoral plan with a much longer timeline, and implementation has been problematic and we have failed to reach our goals in terms of expected outcomes. With the new GPE funding model, we are identifying a change, a priority reform that we will work on to radically transform the education system in our country."

"This process has really helped us identify a priority reform, but at the beginning it wasn’t easy at all. When we began to work on this priority reform, we immediately said that our priority reform, for example, could be universal education and assuring quality education for all students. Right away, we saw that it would be a huge reform, one that would take the education sector several decades to implement. But it was through the process that we were actually able to narrow our focus.
As we drilled down, it became clear that the problem was a lack of quality in teaching and learning at all levels. As a result, we’re now seeing our children leaving school without any qualifications. We realized that we needed to focus on our teachers as a priority. That is how the priority reform we settled on was professionalizing our teachers while raising awareness around gender and vulnerabilities (disabilities); in short, awareness around inclusion."

"In the first phase, we analyzed what was working for us, which was also a form of self-assessment, an organizational diagnosis for the different education stakeholders. Then we engaged in a dialogue. Our analysis focused on four main themes: data-based evidence, policies, gender-responsive monitoring and planning, and sectoral coordination. And finally, we assessed everything related to government expenditure on education. It was through these discussions and exchanges that we are now able to define the priority reform that will transform education in Guinea. I should also point out that everyone had a chance to speak—everyone was heard."

"In our system, the state spends a lot of money on the national education budget: 85% goes to staff costs. It is the funds and contributions from partners —with GPE being the largest contributor—that really help transform the system. That is why GPE is a huge value-added to our education system. We’re trying to see how we can make the collaboration an ongoing one, by ensuring that all incoming funding goes directly to the beneficiaries so we can see more results, which will in turn attract other partners and motivate GPE to scale up its funding. That’s what GPE does for us, and it’s absolutely crucial."

"GPE stimulated dialogue among stakeholders who wouldn’t necessarily talk to each other all the time. I mean, all the stakeholders and education policy makers had an opportunity to exchange views. We saw three ministers of education mobilized and speaking on behalf of their prime ministers. GPE coaching is also available. They didn’t just send us the documents and say do this or that. At every step there was a conversation."

"The work we’re doing with GPE will enable us to transform the education system in the Central African Republic, with particular emphasis on boosting girls’ enrollment."