Solidar Suisse equips SNEC teachers to teach and promote interculturality and non-violent communication
The presidium at the opening of the course
The third training session for bilingual education players from the Centre-Nord, Centre-West, Hauts-Bassins and Sud-Ouest regions of Burkina Faso aims to “strengthen the capacities of teachers of bilingual classes and school principals in the didactics of bilingual education”. The official opening ceremony was held on Monday July 31, 2023 at the Centre de formation pédagogique et pastorale (CFPP) in Saaba. Over a period of 1 month, 35 teachers from bilingual schools run by the Secrétariat national de l’éducation catholique (SNEC) will learn about the pedagogical approaches involved in bilingual education through a variety of modules.
A view of the participants at the training
As a reminder, this training is part of the project ” Strengthening the quality of bi-plurilingual education through interculturality and non-violent communication and ensuring favorable conditions for the education/training of pupils and adolescents in Burkina Faso “. Planned for the period 2021-2024, this project is being implemented by Solidar Suisse in partnership with SNEC.
The project’s areas of intervention include:
- supplying bilingual schools with teaching materials;
- capacity building for teachers on the principles and methodologies of the subjects taught in bilingual schools;
- the monitoring of bilingual teaching and the specific features of bi-plurilingual education in schools by pedagogical advisors.
The major innovation of this 2021-2024 phase is the integration of the module on “interculturality and non-violent communication”, the ultimate aim of which is to inculcate values of peace and social cohesion in schools, and turn cultural differences into elements of richness to strengthen living together. Mr. Yamba Louis NIKIEMA, Technical Advisor for Education at Solidar Suisse Burkina Faso, speaking on behalf of the Solidar Suisse Country Representative, congratulated the bilingual teachers on their self-sacrificing work, which is bearing fruit in many ways:
- the State’s growing interest in promoting bi-lingual education through the adoption of a language policy in December 2021;
- the project to draft a harmonized formula for bilingual education in Burkina Faso;
- improved academic results in bilingual schools (including a 90.27% pass rate in the 2023 CEP exam) and
- the interest shown by a number of players in improving the quality of educational provision through the inclusion of national languages in the formal education system.
In her official opening address to the 2023 training session, Sister Thérèse DAWENDE, in charge of pedagogical supervision in primary schools, representing Father Hyacinthe OUEDRAOGO, National Secretary of Catholic Education in Burkina Faso, expressed her gratitude to Solidar Suisse for its decades-long investment in bi-plurilingual education. According to her, bilingual education remains a promising educational system for a country like Burkina Faso, which boasts some sixty national languages. She also pointed out that the parallel activities integrated into the bilingual education program (culture, dance, gardening, etc.), facilitate interculturality between pupils, helping to develop reflexes for promoting peace in their communities.
Family photo after the opening ceremony
