Increasing Access and Improving Quality: The Experimentation of the Specific Preschool Program in Niger and Its Objectives for Basic Education
Executive Summary
In Niger, preschool education is included in basic education. According to article 18 of the law on the orientation of the education system (LOSEN) pre-school concerns children aged three to five years. It is a pre-school initiation of one to three years. Currently, measures relating to the development of pre-school education emanating from the education and training sector programme (PSEF 2014-2024) have reduced the duration of the cycle from 3 to 2 years since the start of the school year in October 2013. Since 2019, Niger has been implementing an experiment in 95 pilot classes in the section2 of kindergartens for direct transfer to the Preparatory Course2 class. The affected population is made up of children in the large section aged 5 to 6 years. The approach used is participatory experimentation. The objectives of the initiative relating to the experimentation of a specific preschool programme allowing children who have benefited from this type of education to directly access the Preparatory Course2 class are as follows:* Improve the quality of learning,* Reduce the duration of primary schooling,* Reduce the cost of schooling per child
Implementation
The experimental preschool programme is implemented in section 2 of the pilot kindergartens in Niger. This experiment began in February 2019 and is ongoing. The experiment suffered disruptions following COVID19 which slowed down its activities and only really started in 2020. In order to better understand this experiment, several instruments have been developed for the implementation of this initiative, in particular: An experimental programme; A training module for educators; Booklets; A timetable; Tools for monitoring children´s achievements.
Similarly, each year all the actors in charge of the pilot classes (educators, school principals and supervisors) are trained before the start of the school year.
Stakeholders and partners involved
This programme is the result of a collaboration between the Ministry of National Education and UNICEF. The direct beneficiaries of the policy or programme are preschool children (including children from the 95 pilot preschool structures). A total staff of 2850 children who are concerned. The experimental programme covers the eight (8) regions of Niger. Thus, for the implementation of this experiment we note the following actors: UNICEF (funding), the Ministry of National Education (technical support) through the Department of Preschool and Primary Education (DEPP), inspections (inspectors, educational advisers and educators), decentralized management committees of schools for the implementation of the experiment.
Impact
In all the schools visited, the results are significant and the students from the experiment have very good marks in mathematics and French. With regard to the averages of these students compared to those of their pairs from CI who followed the normal course, we found that they have the highest averages. The children resulting from the experiment occupy better ranks in CP classes and even in CI classes for those who were not proposed for the CP class, these children are better. All the children offered in the CP class as part of the experiment move on to the next class (CE1).
Innovations
A New Breakthrough for the Preschool Kindergarten Transition in Niger
This initiative is the first of its kind that takes students from the large section of preschool to the second year preparatory course. Its success is due to several factors including: The political commitment of the State; The commitment of school stakeholders (teachers, supervisors); Parental support; Support for the Decentralized Management Committees of School Establishments; the Association of Parents of Students and Associations of Mother Educators, not forgetting civil society organizations and local elected officials.
Constraints
Challenges have been the startup delay due to COVID 19 and short-term training resources
Building a Strong Collaboration Between Parents and the School Community Is Essential to Promote the Development of Children´s Skills
Experimentation has enabled us to understand that children in the Grande section can develop the ability to follow and assimilate a CP(1) programme.It has also enabled good collaboration between parents and the school community, who have understood the importance of pre-schooling for children.