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A multi-partner collaboration is helping students and staff access online learning resources in three schools in the West African country.

In the framework of UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition, several partners are supporting a pilot project by the Ministry of National Education and Literacy (MENA) of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. In Boundiali, Kebi and Yamoussoukro, the project is facilitating access to digital learning resources for more than 5,500 students, aged 11 to 24, as well as staff. 

As part of the collaboration, Spacecom and its local partner Data Connect installed information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure at the three school sites to facilitate broadband satellite connectivity. This allows for both online and offline learning, meaning staff and students can continue classes even without internet. At the school in Kébi – the smallest and most rural of the three schools – solar panels were also installed to provide more reliable electricity service.

Yenataban Kone, Director of the Directorate of Technology and Information Systems for the Ministry of Côte D'Ivoire, said: "This project has revived one of the pilot schools which was without electricity before … [and] also connected [it] to the internet, which shows the inclusive aspect of this project."

Desktop devices, procured through a partnership with UNESCO, were installed in a new multi-media room in the school at Kebi, while devices purchased through a project with Huawei were distributed to the high schools in Boundiali and Yamoussoukro. Meanwhile, access was provided to 600 educational videos from the e-learning platform, Imaginecole – another Global Education Coalition project that is facilitating online learning in West Africa.

"The transformation of education must use technology and its potential, but it also has to address the digital divide,” said Omar Diop, UNESCO’s Head of Office and Representative. “This project is a great initiative and a great practice on how it can be done."

Teachers at the three schools are now being aided in their work by fast internet connection and the Digital Community Platform (DCP), installed by Spacecom, which allows them to easily monitor student learning progress, administer national exams, and work on professional development and teacher training online. Experts from the Imaginecole program have already organized three online training sessions for school leaders and teachers to learn how to use the platform, including how to select materials to fit their curriculum.

Eran Shapiro, Senior Director for Technology and Product at Spacecom, said “This project demonstrates how Public-Private Partnerships can make a real impact for the benefit of large-scale population, by providing meaningful, affordable and sustainable digital services to underserved and rural communities.”

The pilot will continue for the current school year during which MENA and UNESCO will continue to evaluate its impact and plan for its eventual scaling up.

• More on the Global Education Coalition