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On Saturday, August 27, 2022, while the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) was held in Tunis, the Association Faso Japon Solidarité (AFaJapS) organized a public conference in Ouagadougou on the theme, "Japan's contributions in the field of Basic Education in Burkina Faso".

Mr Siaka GOBE President of AFaJapS during his speech

Mr Siaka GOBE, President of AFaJapS stressed that AFaJapS worked to promote mutual understanding between the Japanese and Burkinabe peoples by technology transfer and professional training. It serves as a framework for sharing information on Japanese cooperation in Burkina Faso. That is the reason to hold this event on the opening day of TICAD 8 in Tunisia.

As a reminder, Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) is an open and inclusive forum hosted by Japan that brings together African countries, development partners, private sector and civil society organizations in order to discuss African development.

On behalf of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ms. Kaliguetta OUIBGA, Education and Health Program Officer made a presentation about the topic with a focus on JICA's activities in front of an audience including His Excellency KATO Masaaki, Ambassador of Japan to Burkina Faso, and Mr. OKITSU Keiichi, Chief Representative of JICA Burkina Faso.

According to her, JICA has three priority sectors in Burkina Faso, namely, education, agriculture and regional integration. JICA implements its projects in these areas through modalities such as technical cooperation, financial cooperation in the form of grants and loans for official development assistance.

In education sector, JICA has been implementing projects in the framework of the Basic Education Student and Teacher's (BEST) Support Program, which is a JICA's education sector development strategy in Burkina Faso. BEST program was formulated on the basis of policy documents at national level such as the Education and Training Sector Plan and the Strategic Development Plan for Basic Education and Secondary Education (PSDEBS). The modalities used for the implementation of the BEST Program are grant and technical cooperation.

Kaliguetta OUIBGA, JICA Education/Health Program Officer during her presentation

Ms. OUIBGA stressed that in the form of grant, JICA has made a huge contribution to Burkina Faso such as the equipment of a National School of Primary Teachers (ENEP) in Dori, the construction of 1,043 classrooms for primary education, the construction of 53 schools for post-primary education and other components such as teacher housing, sports fields, etc. JICA financed approximately 50 billion CFA francs in total for these constructions so far.

As ongoing grant project, Ms. OUIBGA pointed out the construction of 26 post-primary schools in two phases in partnership with UNICEF at the total budget of 11 milliards CFA Francs.

According to the Program Officer, technical cooperation has helped greatly to strengthen the capacities of education actors and communities through the training in Japan and projects such as "Strengthening of Mathematics and Science Education (SMASE)", "the Support Project for the School Management Committee (PACOGES)" , "the Project for Strengthening Practical Education in the training Centers for Teachers-Students (PROSPECT)".

In the Question and Answer session, some of the audience asked questions about Japan's support for associations, non-governmental organizations and individuals.

At the end of the conference, Japanese ambassador and JICA resident representative made a tree-planting as a symbol of friendship and cooperation between two countries.

A photo of conference participants

Kaliguetta OUIBGA