The Minister of National Education, Mr. Ibrahim Natatou made a five-day working visit to the Zinder region last week, the main objective of which is to assess the regular functioning of the services, in particular the execution of certain projects. flagships of the Ministry of National Education. This visit took place in a particularly favorable context, marked according to the Minister Ibrahim Natatou, by a firm political will at the highest level of the State and a strong commitment of the technical and financial partners.
After five days of visit, the observations made on the ground as well as the frank and constructive exchanges that he had with the various actors sufficiently illustrate the commitment of each one, but also and especially the dynamism which characterizes the partnership and the dialogue between actors in the education system. During this mission, the Minister of National Education visited construction sites of classrooms, multiple achievements made by partners (TFP, NGOs, individuals) for the benefit of Nigerien schools, decentralized structures of National Education (EN, IPR, DREN), Kellé and Maguirami girls’ boarding schools, the Gagawa girls’ boarding school site, the Zinder Scientific High School site.
For all the sites visited, the level of execution of room construction work is between 35% and 87%. The girls’ boarding school in Tesker is nearing completion, while work on that of Maguirami has just started with the manufacture of bricks. The work to extend the boarding school for young girls in Kellé has been completed. As for the Centers for grouping schools due to low numbers, the ministerial delegation visited that of Dourwanga in the department of Tesker. At the level of all the primary and secondary establishments visited, the rate of execution of teaching programs is higher than 70%. With regard to bridging classes and literacy centres, lessons are taking place normally for those financed by partners but those financed from the national budget are slow to open, noted Minister Ibrahim Natatou who gave firm instructions to the services concerned so that they take the appropriate measures so that these centers open on time from now on.
Teaching at the normal school is proceeding well with program execution rates varying from 40 to 85%. The current school situation in the Zinder region is characterized, according to the Minister of National Education, by ‘pedagogical continuity at all levels (preschool, primary, secondary, literacy and non-formal education) but with very low in some localities. All 4,231 schools and AENF centers (3,656 primary schools; 178 CEGs; 96 CES/CSPs; 6 high schools; 217 Alpha centres; 78 ENF centres) are functional.
At the level of schools with low numbers, four school consolidation centers have been created in the department of Tesker with a total number of 1,427 students, including 566 girls. These centers are all functional with the support of the State and partners (TFP, NGOs and individuals). The situation of the teaching staff chalk in hand is characterized by a high proportion of contract teachers and a shortage of teachers at all levels of education (Primary: 272, CEG: 325, Lycée 20). “Excessive contracting is not specific to the Zinder region and the Ministry of National Education has drawn up a plan to reduce these contract teachers,” noted Mr. Natatou Ibrahim, who also indicates that at primary level, despite this cumulative deficit, there is a plethora of teachers in certain localities (a surplus of 283 teachers for the city of Zinder. He took the opportunity to urge the regional authorities to redeploy the surplus teachers and the posting of some office staff teachers. The academic results of students in the region have improved over the past three years but remain among the lowest in the country. For example, the Zinder region has completed the school year 2021-2022 with a success rate of 24.18% in the baccalaureate and occupies the 6th place at the level of the BEPC.
The situation in terms of school infrastructure highlights a need for classrooms with permanent materials. Indeed, according to regional statistics, of the 13,593 classrooms, 7,262 are in thatched huts. Minister Ibrahim Natatou announced that a replacement plan for around 40,000 classrooms in straw huts is being implemented at the national level and all regions are concerned. The governor of the Zinder region and the Central Mayor of Zinder took turns to take the floor to welcome the significant progress made in the education sector over the past three years in the Zinder region. After this summary meeting, Pr Natatou Ibrahim awarded testimonials of satisfaction to several local personalities who bring their valuable contribution to the success of the school in the Zinder region.
Sido Yacouba ANP-ONEP/Zinder
