07.10.2012 - Aminata Boly, a former English teacher, has been training teachers in Burkina Faso for two years. Every month, she visits schools in remote villages.

“I am responsible for eight schools, ten teachers and three supervisors. I observe the lessons throughout the day. At the end of the lessons, I answer the teachers’ questions and show them how to improve their teaching methods, how to introduce new subjects and how to present them in a way that inspires the pupils’ interest.”

In order to work in teacher training, Aminata did a master’s degree in Pedagogy of the Text at the University of Ouagadougou. The purpose of this master’s, proposed by Enfants du Monde and financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, is to improve the quality of basic education. Teachers are often poorly trained and their teaching is ineffective as a result.

Aminata also asks questions about the academic success of the children and exchanges a few words with their parents. “It is very important that the school is integrated into the community, otherwise the parents won’t send their children there.”

The schools, supported by Enfants du Monde, welcome shepherd children and offer them an education tailored to their lifestyle. “I have noticed that the children from our schools are ahead of the pupils from state-run schools. After four years of basic education, they can fend for themselves, they are self-confident, they put their own plans into effect and are ready to face life because they have learned a lot about caring for livestock and other useful things.”