Niger/Roundtable to launch the "Zero Classroom Paillote in Niamey" Initiative: Great mobilization in favor of education for the construction of modern and sustainable infrastructure

The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr. Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou proceeded yesterday morning, at the Mahatma Gandhi International Conference Center, to the opening of the round table devoted to the launch of the operation "Zero Class Huts in Niamey". This operation initiated by the City of Niamey, under the impetus of Deputy Mayor Oumarou Dogari Moumouni, aims to mobilize partners to federate and create a synergy of actions in favor of education by building modern and sustainable infrastructure to improve the quality of the Nigerien education system.

The city of Niamey, despite its status as the capital and showcase of the country, is not spared this distressing contrast of straw classrooms in the middle of skyscrapers and reinforced concrete houses. Thus, 1929 classrooms out of the 7,371 in the city of Niamey are in straw huts, a percentage of 26.17%. In order to meet the objectives of the "Zero Classrooms in Niamey" initiative

Niamey'' the initiators wish to mobilize nearly 20,000,000,000 CFA francs for the period from 2022 to 2024.

Obviously, the initiative is welcomed, because the round table organized for the launch has generated a new enthusiasm at several levels. This is evidenced by the presence of all stakeholders in the education sector and technical and financial partners. During this round table, announcements of support and contributions (in cash and in kind) were made by several institutions and partners, starting with the contribution of the city of Niamey to the tune of one billion CFA francs (1,000,000,000 CFA francs). Already, about twenty classrooms in final materials and an important sum of money are acquired during this round table.

In opening the round table, the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr. Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, said Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou recalled that education is clearly one of the most powerful instruments in the fight against poverty and inequality, as well as in laying the foundations for inclusive and sustainable economic growth. This is why, as part of the development of the Program of Rebirth Act III of the President of the Republic, Head of State, an analysis of the Nigerien education system was carried out without complacency. "It emerged that our education system suffers from low intake capacity and low enrolment, completion and examination success rates. It is aware of this situation that the President of the Republic, Head of State, HE. Mohamed Bazoum has raised the challenge of education to the same level as that of security and has made a commitment, in his inaugural speech, toIn his inaugural speech on April 2, 2021, he pledged to give it the same priority," said the Head of Government, Mr. Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou. Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou.

In addition to the poor quality of education, which is associated with it, the Head of Government recalled that the hut classrooms constitute a real danger for children and teachers with the recent fires, some of which are unfortunately dramatic.Unfortunately, some of them are dramatic, like the fire at the "Pays bas" school in Niamey, the fire at the AFN kindergarten in Maradi, etc. "In the context of the various reflections for the gradual replacement of straw hut classrooms by classrooms made of permanent materials, an alternative model of construction that is less costly, meets quality standards and is easy to install is being considered.In the context of the various considerations for the gradual replacement of straw hut classrooms by permanent material classrooms, an alternative construction model that is less costly, meets quality standards and can be easily reproduced was selected by the government following an architectural competition organized by the Ministry of Education. This low-cost scalable model is a good option for the decision taken by the Government to permanently replace the straw classrooms with permanent material classrooms," said the Prime Minister.

Regarding access to education, Mr. Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou admitted that the issue of infrastructure is a real concern. Given the need to pursue the goal of universal schooling, as part of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, defined by the international community for the year 2030, the Prime Minister said that the issue of infrastructure is a real concern.In view of the need to pursue the objective of universal schooling, within the framework of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the international community for the year 2030, the Prime Minister noted that the State of Niger has in the past opted for straw hut classes as a transitional alternative to make up for the lack of school infrastructure. The alternative of the hut classrooms, designed to be temporary, has unfortunately tended to persist and become widespread throughout the country due to the increasing number of children to be educated.

For his part, the Minister of National Education, Pr. Ibrahim Natatou, explained that it is with a view to respond quickly to this problem of hut classes, that his department has proposed an alternative model of classroom structure evolving, less expensive and easily reproducible. "Indeed, to meet a high social demand for education, following a strong demographic pressure, in a context of extreme scarcity of public resources, our country has been led, over the years, to develop a new model of classrooms.Indeed, to meet a high social demand for education, resulting from strong demographic pressure, in a context of extreme scarcity of public resources, our country has been led, over the years, to resort to classrooms in huts to accommodate an average of 500,000 to 600,000 new students each year, just in the primary cycle. This has obviously resulted in an accumulation of about 36,000 classrooms in straw huts throughout the country, despite significant efforts made by the state and its partners in construction and school equipment, "said Professor Ibrahim Natatou.

Previously, the Deputy Mayor, President of the City Council of Niamey Oumarou Dogari Moumouni took the opportunity to pay tribute to HE. Mohamed Bazoum for his strong commitment to the Nigerien school and his constant support to the city of Niamey. Thus, he welcomed the actions taken by the State with the support of partners, in the direction of improving the educational framework of Niger, including the training of trainers.He praised the actions taken by the State with the support of its partners to improve the Nigerian educational framework, in particular the training of trainers and teachers, the upgrading of the teaching profession, the creation of boarding schools for girls and the promotion of their enrolment, the construction and equipping of school infrastructure, etc. "Despite all these efforts of the State and its partners, much remains to be done. The city of Niamey is very happy to organize this round table. It is all the more so because, on the one hand, it is very judiciously aligned behind the philosophy of education that the national authorities have defined and, on the other hand, it is very much in line with the philosophy of education.It is all the more so because, on the one hand, it is very judiciously aligned with the philosophy of education that the national authorities have defined and, on the other hand, it seeks optimal conditions for the safety of our children," said the president of the Niamey City Council.

Note that this round table was the kick-off of an operation to raise funds from technical and financial partners, agencies and institutions of cooperation, economic operators, banking and insurance structures, individuals, etc. To lead by example, the Deputy Mayor, President of the City Council Oumarou Dogari Moumouni conceded his allowances for the year 2022 for the benefit of this initiative called "Zero Class Huts in Niamey". And meeting tenante, several personalities have followed suit.

Source: www.lesahel.org