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signing ceremony

On February 25, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a grant agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to provide grant aid of up to 1.35 billion yen for the Project for the Construction of Lower-Secondary Schools in the Centre and Centre-Sud Regions.

The objective of the project is to improve access to lower-secondary schools and the learning environment by constructing new lower-secondary schools and preparing the necessary equipment for the Centre and Centre-Sud regions of Burkina Faso, contributing to SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) Goal 4.

Burkina Faso aims to improve its industrial structure that is much dependent on primary industry, and it is promoting economic structural reform, education, vocational training, and youth employment measures, and above all, basic education development is positioned as a priority sector in the country. Under this policy, the Ministry of National Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages of Burkina Faso is promoting the Program of Basic Education Development Strategy. However, there is still a shortage of lower-secondary school facilities, and only 50.6% (2019) of students attend lower-secondary school. In addition, the large number of students per classroom forces students to take classes and study in overcrowded conditions.

Through this project, 18 lower-secondary schools and 104 classrooms will be constructed in an area where the number of schools is small compared to the population, and 5,200 new students will be able to attend lower-secondary schools. In addition, by taking classes and learning in a comfortable environment, it is expected that students will be nurtured in Burkina Faso who will gain inclusive, fair, and high-quality education, and contribute to its future economic development .

Details for the project are provided below.

[Basic project information]

Country	Burkina Faso
Project title	The Project for the Construction of Lower-Secondary Schools in the Centre and Centre-Sud Regions
Planned implementation period	19 months
Executing agency	Ministry of National Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages and UNICEF
Target region, facilities	Centre and Centre-Sud Regions
Specific project details (provisional)	(1) Construction of lower secondary schools in Centre and Centre-Sud regions (2) Soft component: Training and equipment necessary for realizing protective and hygienic school environment