The FIERES Project: An Alternative to School Dropout in Mali

The Ministry of National Education of Mali supports this strategy, which addresses recurring problems in Mali:

• School dropout among girls and adolescents
• The presence of out-of-school and dropout children in the communities targeted by the project
• Parents' determination to open the centers
• Irregular attendance of children in traditional schools leading to massive dropout

In recent months, the FIERES project has opened 20 Accelerated Schooling Strategy/Bridge centers in three regions. These centers have recruited and trained 25 facilitators, including 12 women. Additionally, 104 members (including 58 women) have been elected or appointed to serve on the Center Management Committees.

The first cohort welcomed 588 learners, including 341 girls, representing 57.99% of the enrolled students.

This approach was chosen due to its proven results in the field of education. Implementation began with raising awareness among communities and local authorities about the importance of schooling, thus obtaining their commitment and support for the project to ensure the sustainability of the achievements. Subsequently, girls and boys aged 8 to 12 were identified, and Center Management Committees were set up. Financial and material support enabled the establishment of temporary educational infrastructures, provision of educational content (curriculum, textbooks, supplies), technical support for center management, and recruitment and training of facilitators.

Community Involvement

The Accelerated Schooling Strategy is based on fundamental principles such as community involvement, learner motivation, the commitment of decentralized education services and other stakeholders, and the support of technical and financial partners. Community involvement has facilitated the implementation of activities, the selection of villages, the recruitment of learners, and the provision of temporary educational infrastructures, a community contribution to this approach. Since the start, the committees have been continuously mobilized for the smooth execution of the project.

Supervision and Capacity Building

Supervision and capacity-building activities have been intensive and multifaceted, notably through the supervision of the Centers. Additionally, various visits by partner NGOs have taken place, including:

• Three monthly visits by coordinators and education officers in each center, strengthening facilitators' practices, ensuring center attendance, and monitoring learners' progress in reading, writing, arithmetic, and French comprehension.
• Pedagogical advisor interventions: Quarterly follow-ups identified and resolved specific learner difficulties, such as problems in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
• Joint monitoring: SSA/P center monitoring and supervision were carried out with a central structure (DNEF) and two decentralized structures (AE and CAP) of the Ministry of National Education. This allowed for an in-depth evaluation of activity implementation in the San and Mopti regions. The results obtained will serve as a basis for reinforcing interventions and ensuring access to quality education for all, in line with the FIERES project's goals and national and international education commitments.
• Committee work evaluation: Committees played a crucial role in implementing the strategy, informing and raising community awareness to increase center attendance, ensuring the hygiene and well-being of facilitators, and regularly monitoring centers.
• Pedagogical meetings: Three meetings per partner were organized to improve facilitators' skills, including group preparation of lesson plans and plenary discussions.
• Committee training: Committee members participated in meetings to clarify their roles, discuss the regularity and cleanliness of the centers, raise parental awareness, and facilitate learners' transfer to host schools.

Learner Evaluation

Learner evaluation was conducted in three phases:

• National language evaluation: After two months of implementation, facilitators collaborated with partner coordination teams to assess learners' skills.
• Mid-term evaluation: In early March, an evaluation analyzed learners' progress. Of the 554 children assessed, 496 scored above average, representing 86.53%.
• Final evaluation: This was conducted in two phases: an oral phase and a practical phase (writing, dictation, numeracy, conjugation, grammar).

The deliberation and transfer proposal will be made by an ad hoc commission composed of host school directors, a committee member, and each center's facilitator, based on the averages obtained (4.60 to 9.99/10 for 4th grade and 3 to 4.59/10 for 3rd grade).

In total, 552 children, including 335 girls, were evaluated. Among them, 480 children, including 293 girls, are proposed for transfer to 4th grade, 51 children, including 34 girls, to 3rd grade, and 21 children, including 9 girls, to 2nd grade.

Testimony of Paly

Paly, one of the young female students, is 12 years old. The daughter of a farmer, she lives in a family of seven children. Paly is disabled and has never attended school. "My lack of schooling is related to my physical disability and the growing insecurity in my village. My parents and I were displaced from our village while waiting for security to return."

Paly started school in 2023 with the arrival of the FIERES project, a step forward due to the awareness-raising on education by the NGO AFAR (Action for Training and Rural Self-Promotion) and its Canadian partners, CECI, and the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation.

Paly is very brave and determined to succeed in school. After nine months of classes, she can read, write, and do arithmetic in "Bamanankan" and French. She is the top student in the center, with a general average of 9.33/10 in the final evaluation.

"I feel comfortable and especially integrated with my peers despite my disability. I want to become a nurse after my studies and thank the FIERES project!" she says. For Paly, going back to school is a real relief as she can hope for a better future.

Testimony of a Village Chief on the Accelerated Schooling Strategy

"I realized that the dropout rate among children is significant in the recruitment area of the commune's schools. Many children, especially girls, are withdrawn from school or drop out for various reasons, including poverty, early marriages, lack of qualified teachers, and domestic work.

The opening of the center has improved the situation. The center offers free and accelerated education to out-of-school and dropout children aged 8 to 12. After four months, the children learn the necessary skills to integrate into the formal education system. Many families did not see the importance of educating girls and preferred to marry them off young. The center has raised family awareness about the importance of girls' education. Furthermore, the center provides a safe and protective environment for girls, encouraging parents to send them to school.

Given the center's positive impact, I request the program's renewal for a second year in our village. This will allow us to recover the children of reluctant parents who did not see the importance of the center."

Project Overview

The Girls and Resilient Education Project (FIERES), funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC), is implemented by a consortium comprising the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation and CECI. The project, scheduled for five years (2022-2027), is being carried out in the San, Mopti, and Timbuktu regions of Mali. FIERES aims to strengthen the empowerment of girls, adolescents, and women through education, increasing their resilience and their role as agents of change in their communities. The project is committed to ensuring equitable and inclusive access to quality education for all.

More about this project

Article published on the Paul Gérin Lajoie Foundation's website.