'Getting a second chance' school belongs to the community
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| Children in class |
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The special feature of community schools are in the first steps. Community members are involved in the school's management, taking part in the construction of the building and the recruitment and training of the teacher.
“We want, through this experiment, the population to understand that the school belongs to them”, says Djibou, a learning advisor.
In Tidirka, a village located at approximately 7 km from the town of Dosso, a community school of two classes has been built. The school's 250 pupils include 124 girls and four of the six teachers are women.
The community school is an alternative for children who have exceed the normal age of schooling, and enables them to follow a four-year program. The school program is very flexible and completely different from the national one. The parents have the opportunity to add new subjects, which enhances the interest for the community.
“During my years of studies in the community school I learned how to improve our system of production and especially to vary it: we have started to add to our production of millet, fruit trees and very soon the village will be able to eat and sell fruits!”, said a 17 year old student.
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