SCHOOLS REOPEN IN NIGER AFTER PANDEMIC CLOSINGS

Education Cannot Wait and UNICEF expand water and sanitation facilities to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and get children back to the safety of learning

By Education Cannot Wait

November 12^th, 2020

Thanks to the support of Education Cannot Wait and The Global Partnership for Education, UNICEF is working in Niger to get girls and boys back in school, ensure inclusive quality education, and create equitable, safe, protective, and gender-sensitive learning environments.

Special contribution by Juan Haro, UNICEF Niger (Original Story).

With funding from Education Cannot Wait, UNICEF is supporting the Government of Niger and partners in getting children and youth back to school, improving teaching levels, and implementing a holistic education approach for every child - especially those most vulnerable. This coordinated support is also protecting public budgets for the education sector.

This year in Niger, normal back-to-school activities are taking place in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The return to school also coincides with International Handwashing Day. This provides an opportunity for all actors involved in the campaign to combine efforts to ensure a successful new school year by expanding support for handwashing and, in turn, slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

"The suspension of academic programs due to COVID-19 represented a challenge for the entire educational system. In this context, we must put all our efforts together to ensure that Nigerien students and teachers can return to school safely and with quality teaching," says Ilaria Carnevali, Acting UNICEF Representative.

UNICEF called on all national actors to continue to prioritize education in their COVID-19 recovery plans to reduce the negative impact of the crisis on children and the national economy.

In Niger, children go to school in some of the most challenging contexts. In the midst of COVID-19, washing hands with soap remains one of the most effective barriers against the pandemic. Through the ECW-supported programme, UNICEF ensured the provision of handwashing devices and soap in primary schools across the country.

UNICEF, the sector lead, has been working alongside education authorities, national artists, and communities to support the school reopenings. They are providing tools and training for teachers, improving access to water, hygiene and sanitation in schools, and promoting innovations in school health, digital learning and foundational skills in cooperation with technical and financial partners.

"Our aim is to ensure every child in Niger has access to good quality education, without leaving behind the most vulnerable children. Although more children are enrolled in school, far too many are not learning. We need to do more to support teachers. A key factor that affects the quality of education is the availability of quality teaching. UNICEF will support the upgraded programme for all teachers and propose innovative approaches for them," says Carnevali.

UNICEF is celebrating the first steps taken so far in reopening schools and called on the government to:

Improve Teaching

COVID-19 could mean that many children and youth may never get back to school again and never acquire the skills they need to succeed. We must promote new and innovative approaches to learning.

Meet the holistic needs of children and youth

Schools provide a package of integrated services such as nutrition, health, hygiene services, psychosocial support, and protection. As schools reopen, we need to ensure these essential services are provided.

Reach the most vulnerable

The pandemic should be seized as an opportunity to reinvent education systems. We should aim to empower once excluded adolescents by equipping them with economic and psychosocial skills. UNICEF advocates for efforts to increase the efficiency of government budgets in the area of education.

COVID-19 Update

ECW is funding a dozens of partners globally in its COVID-19 education in emergencies response. This funding supports a range of educational activities, including scaling up existing ECW investments, providing hybrid learning platforms with internet connectivity solutions, supporting radio access for non-formal and formal education, and providing children the opportunity to sit for exams. It also supports life-saving risk-mitigation measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including support for handwashing facilities as well as school feeding programmes.

In Niger, a total of $1.5 million has been allocated to date. Grantees include: Plan International ($225,000), Save the Children ($225,000), UNICEF ($450,000), WFP ($375,000), World Vision International ($225,000).

2019 Update

In Niger, nearly 1,000 out-of-school learners enrolled in Alternative Education Centres, which prepared them to re-join the formal education system or access professional or technical training centres, according to ECW's 2019 Annual Report.

Learn more about the impact of ECW funded programming in Niger and the Sahel Region in our 2019 Annual Report.

SCHOOLS REOPEN IN NIGER AFTER PANDEMIC CLOSINGS

Education Cannot Wait’s ‘Stories from the Field’ series features the voices of our implementing partners, children, youth, and the communities we support. These stories have only been lightly edited to reflect the authentic voice of these frontlines partners on the ground. The views expressed in the Stories from the Field series do not necessarily reflect those of Education Cannot Wait, our Secretariat, donors, or UN Member States.

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