Project profile — Credit for School Fees

This project aims to increase access and quality of schooling for children by addressing two obstacles: families' inability to pay tuition fees and the poor quality of classroom instruction. The project supports the delivery of tuition fee loans by credit unions and schools. It also supports a community of practice in order to improve the quality of classroom instruction.

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Results achieved as of the end of the project (June 2017) include: (1) the tuition fee loan program is offered at 37 credit unions and 18,261 loans were granted; (2) 84.7 percent of students receiving loans passed their year and 98.6 percent of them continue to attend school (58 percent are girls); (3) 416 schools take part in the program; (4) teachers’ communities of practice (COPs) have been implemented in 29 schools in the Department du Sud (including 47 principals and 380 teachers). In addition, 53 counsellors have been trained to provide COP members with training. COP teachers take part in four meetings a year to develop new teaching practices and pedagogical skills in order to take gender equality into consideration. The teachers found that academic results had improved and that students’ motivation to stay in school had increased. These results have helped to reduce the school dropout rate.