COVID-19 response
Allocation: US$7 million
Years: 2021-2022
Grant agent: AFD
Key documents:
The US$7 million COVID-19 grant supports:
- learning continuity through educational programs on radio
- dissemination of information on hygiene practices to protect against COVID-19
- creating of a toll-free call center for guidance and information to children and parents
- school reopening through school disinfection, hand-washing stations, local production of masks and other sanitary measures
- the return of girls to school by identifying girls at risk, training local communities of risks affecting girls and providing hygiene kits
- remedial programs to allow students to catch up on learning.
In late March 2020, the UNICEF office in Burkina Faso received a GPE grant of US$70,000 to support the Ministry of Education in planning its response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Education in Burkina Faso
Following a diagnostic work carried out in 2016, the government of Burkina Faso decided to review its education sector plan (Programme sectoriel de l’education et de la formation - PSEF) and has developed a new one for the period of 2017-2030.
The new education sector plan aims to (i) ensure a harmonious, equitable, and inclusive early childhood development, (ii) ensure a universal completion of primary cycle and establish equitable and quality basic education for all, (iii) deal with lack of trainers in technical and vocational high schools, (iv) extend technical and vocational training and education and adjust it to the needs of the economy, (v) adjust higher education to the needs of the economy, (vi) foster governance in the management of the sector for an efficient conversion of resources into results.
The country envisions a democratic, performing, and inclusive education system, which is also open to the world and develops the required competences and expertise that meet the needs of the socioeconomic development of Burkina Faso.
To achieve this vision, the PSEF is built around three strategic programs, which seek to:
- Increase access to education and training by investing in infrastructure, hiring teachers and trainers and by reducing inequalities in access to education and training at all levels,
- Improve the quality of learning by enhancing teaching and learning at school and university levels and also in technical and vocational trainings,
- Foster governance in the management of the education and training sector.
Latest blogs and news
Latest grant
In December 2017, the GPE Board approved a grant to Burkina Faso of US$33.8 million to be channeled through a pooled fund in support of the implementation of the country’s education sector plan.
The grant was to be implemented from 2018 to 2022 with some funds dedicated to capacity development. However, the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel region in 2018 and resultant closure of schools made it impossible to achieve some of the original indicators.
In August 2018, the country was awarded US$21.2 million in additional funding for the costed restructuring of the previous grant. This additional allocation brings GPE current funding to US$55 million.
The additional funding is conditional on the transfer of funds linked to the variable part of the first grant and the country therefore revised some of its indicators.
The variable part of the additional financing focuses on reducing geographical disparities, strengthening system efficiency through better domestic financing resource allocation, and ensuring improved in-services teacher training and pedagogical support in the early grades to improve learning outcomes.
These indicators are directly aligned with the objectives of the national sector plan. The country has committed to achieving the following results:
- Efficiency:
- Increase the share of budget allocated to deconcentrated services
- Increase the share of operating costs (non-salary recurrent) of the central administration within the national budget
- Increase the share of in-service teacher training expenditure (including pedagogical support) implemented within the national budget.
- Equity:
- Increase annual rate of growth in number of primary school children in 6 lagging regions (indicators differentiated for regions most heavily affected by insecurity and school closures)
- Increase the number of additional functional classrooms in 4 regions affected by insecurity and school closure.
- Learning outcomes:
- Increase the ratio of essential textbooks per student in grades 1 and 2
- Increase the share of primary 1 and 2 teachers
- who received at least 8 days of in-service training per year as part of the new in-service teacher training strategy
- who received at least 4 support visits each school year from a pedagogical supervisor trained in new approaches to strengthen practices and 8 support visits from the school director
- who apply in their class at least 75% of the recommendations from the new in-service teacher training received.
The grant runs through 2023 with French Development Agency (AFD) serving as grant agent, while UNICEF serves as the coordinating agency.
Grants
All amounts are in US dollars.
| Grant type | Years | Allocations | Utilization | Grant agent | |
| Accelerated funding | 2020-2022 | 11,000,000 | 2,806,347 | UNICEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 | 2021-2022 | 7,000,000 | 6,758,793 | AFD | |
| Program implementation | 2018-2023 | 55,000,000 | 47,743,736 | AFD | |
| 2013-2017 | 78,200,000 | 78,200,000 | AFD | Completion report | |
| 2009-2012 | 102,000,000 | 102,000,000 | WB | Completion report | |
| Sector plan development | 2016-2017 | 208,041 | 208,041 | UNICEF | |
| System capacity | 2022 | 95,360 | 0 | UNICEF | |
| Program development | 2012-2013 | 44,885 | 44,885 | AFD | |
| Total | 253,548,286 | 237,761,802 |
As part of its investment in civil society advocacy and social accountability efforts, GPE’s Education Out Loud fund is supporting:
- The coalition nationale pour l’éducation pour tous du Burkina Faso for the 2019-2021 period. This builds on 11 years of Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF) support to national education coalitions for their engagement in education sector policy dialogue.
- Girls Not Brides to mobilize an advocacy alliance across multiple partner countries, including Burkina Faso, for the 2021-2023/24 period.
GPE had provided the coalition nationale pour l’éducation pour tous du Burkina Faso with a grant from the CSEF to support its engagement in education sector policy dialogue and citizens’ voice in education quality, equity, and financing and sector reform.