Cameroon: UNESCO transfers $ 44.5 million for education – Cameroon

On an official visit to Yaoundé, Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO, announced that $44.5 million would be transferred for education in Cameroon. They primarily fund the renewal of school programs and the training of over 28,000 education professionals.

With this funding, UNESCO and Cameroon will work together to update school programs with priority given to multilingual education. The organization provides more than 4 million textbooks and teaching guides. It will also support the training of 15,000 teachers, 13,000 school principals, trainers and educational leaders. Finally, this priority reform provides for the distribution of school meals to children from the poorest families to support their schooling.

This initiative in Cameroon joins those already carried out by UNESCO in many other African countries. In the past few years, the organization has in particular invested $15.7 million for education in Burundi, $39.5 million in Ivory Coast, $10.7 million in Congo and $48.2 million in Chad , again within the framework of the Global Partnership for Education. While the African Union has dedicated the year 2024 to education, UNESCO thus confirms its role as a major partner of African States in this area.

20 African countries will have access to UNESCO’s educational TV channel

As part of her visit, Audrey Azoulay also visited the Yaoundé Distance Education Center, which was created in 2020 to ensure the continuity of learning in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the crisis is over, this center has found a new vocation by broadcasting educational content that benefits students living in the remotest areas of the country. There are now more than 300 teachers who have already completed more than 1,800 multilingual courses covering all subjects of general and technical secondary education and which are being distributed online.

The Yaoundé Center will receive a new move this year, welcoming the first recording studio of EDUCA-TV, UNESCO’s new educational channel. Broadcast 24/7, this television channel offers two main types of programs: school content for exam preparation and non-formal educational content on issues such as public health and environmental protection or media education and information. It will be accessible for free in twenty countries in the region.

Cameroon praised for its multilingual education

The Director General of UNESCO also participated in the celebration of the International Literacy Dayhosted this year by Cameroon at the initiative of President Paul Biya. The event was an opportunity for Audrey Azoulay to welcome Cameroon’s action for multilingual education, remembering that 40% of citizens around the world still do not have access to education in their native language.

These celebrations were marked by the presentation of the UNESCO International Literacy Awards which recognize model projects around the world every year. AN six winners – from Austria, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria and Panama – received grants of between $20,000 and $30,000 to support the continuation of their project.

Literacy remains a major global challenge: 754 million adults today (over the age of 15) cannot read or write, including nearly two-thirds of women. And three-quarters of 10-year-olds in developing countries cannot read and understand simple text. Therefore, UNESCO wants all States to be mobilized to make education a reality for all.

About UNESCO

With 194 Member States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization contributes to peace and security by promoting multilateral cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture, communication and information. UNESCO coordinates a network of over 2,000 World Heritage sites, biosphere reserves and global geoparks; hundreds of creative, learning, inclusive and sustainable cities; and more than 13,000 affiliated schools, university chairs, training and research institutions. Based in Paris, the Group has offices in 54 countries and employs over 2,300 people. Its General Director is Audrey Azoulay.

“Wars originated from the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defense of peace must be built.” – UNESCO Constitution Act, 1945.

In addition to the information: www.unesco.org

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Romain Parlier
Senior Press Officer
[email protected] Tel: +33 1 45 68 15 24