Education Minister Sets Goals for the 2023-2024 School Year in Niger

On the eve of the start of the school year for general, technical and professional establishments, the Minister of National Education, Literacy, Vocational Education and the Promotion of National Languages, Dr Elisabeth Shérif delivered a message in which , she mentioned the particularity of this 2023-2024 school year which is characterized by the firm desire of the Nigerien people to open a new page in history, under the leadership of the National Council for the Protection of the Fatherland. This year, general, technical and vocational education establishments will open their doors, to welcome 4,465,217 students and 116,757 preschool, primary and secondary teachers.

In her message, the Minister of National Education, Literacy, Vocational Education and the Promotion of National Languages, first indicated that this change of direction resulted in a certain number of measures and initiatives which are both essential and beneficial, including the merger of the Ministry of National Education and that of Technical Education and Vocational Training. “Designed with a view to rational use of resources but also to make the Nigerien education system much more efficient, this new Ministry has inherited achievements which deserve to be preserved and valued. But it has also inherited significant constraints and challenges, which must be addressed,” said Dr Elisabeth Sherif. Among these challenges are, according to the Minister, the low reception capacity of establishments, the shortage of qualified teachers, disparities between genders and between urban and rural areas, the use of management methods unfavorable to the development of skills and their optimal use, etc.

“The combination of these factors has led to chronic poverty in learning, a drop in the level and success rate in end-of-year exams as well as many other indicators, which lead public opinion, parents of students, public authorities and education stakeholders themselves, to question the relevance, effectiveness and productivity of the Nigerien education system,” said the Minister of National Education, Literacy, vocational education and the promotion of national languages. All these challenges, continues Dr. Elisabeth Shérif, remind us of the urgent need to recreate a climate of trust, so that we can more peacefully share our hopes and expectations, but also combine our efforts, in order to offer the Nigerien education system the capacity to contribute fully to the promotion of peace, to the physical, moral and material development of the Nigerien people.

Thus, she wished teachers, that this year will be the year which will further dedicate the valorization and recognition, by the entire nation, “of the innumerable efforts that you make, in sometimes painful conditions, to educate your students, stimulate their potential, broaden their horizons of hope and possibilities for social success. “Also, it is convinced of your self-sacrifice, in the execution of your majestic mission, that I will urge you to redouble your efforts to guarantee the effectiveness of school time, by establishing your punctuality and that of your students as well as the effective completion of programs, in exhilarating duties,” said Dr. Elisabeth Sherif. On the part of parents, the Minister in charge of National Education indicated that their choice to enroll their children in school reflects their high sense of parental duty but also their confidence in transformative capacities. of the Nigerian school. “Your role and your place in the education system are essential. You are more essential than ever, to help the Nigerian school to fully assume its vocation to transmit the know-how and good manners that our society cruelly needs to live in harmony and peace, while respecting our cultural values. and religious,” added Dr. Elisabeth Sherif. The Minister of National Education finally stressed that the useful reforms already underway will be continued and many others will be initiated with the aim of adapting Nigerien schools to the requirements of its socio-economic and cultural environment.

Rabiou Dogo Abdoul-Razak (ONEP)