To help improve access for children, adolescents and young people to high-quality, inclusive and protective bi-lingual formal and non-formal education, while laying the foundations for social cohesion. This is the main aim of the “Multilingual Basic Education” project being implemented in several regions of Burkina Faso: Centre-Nord, Centre-Ouest, Hauts-Bassins and Sud-Ouest.
In bilingual schools, to facilitate learning, pupils are taught in national languages alternating with French. In addition, to cultivate a spirit of mutual aid and social cohesion, pupils are given courses in interculturality and non-violent communication. In addition to academic activities, pupils in bilingual schools take part in related activities such as production and cultivation (traditional dance, market gardening, etc.), the products of which help to improve the school canteen meal. With a view to capitalizing on these achievements, we went to meet the pupils and teachers of Notre dame de la miséricorde elementary school in Niégo (in the South-West region). The testimonies gathered show positive results in terms of academic performance.
“My name is HIEN Berenger, I’m in2nd grade at Notre dame de la miséricorde school in Niégo (South-West region). The teacher teaches us to read, write and count in Dagara, my mother tongue, and in French. I understand the lessons well and get good marks in class. In the 2nd term, I came top of my class with an average of 8.07.”
“I’m SOME marthe, I’m in2nd grade at Notre dame de la miséricorde school in Niégo (South-West region). I understand the lessons well because the teacher explains them to us in French and in our mother tongue, Dagara. In the2nd term, I came2nd in my class with a 7.42 average. I’m very happy to be at Notre dame de la miséricorde de Niéogo school because the lessons are in French and Dagara, we grow vegetables in the garden for our canteen and we have a traditional dance troupe”.
“SOME Emmanuel, I understand the lessons well because the teacher explains to us in French and in the Dagara language. I like to take part in lessons because the mistress explains to us in French and in Dagara to enable us to understand well. In the 2nd term, I came 9th with an average of 6.23.”
“PODA Adèle, I like coming to school because the teacher explains the lessons in our mother tongue, Dagara. In the garden, we grow vegetables (lettuce, eggplant, onion, cabbage) and leaves for the canteen kitchen. The presence of the canteen helps us, as we often stay at school at lunchtime to deal with our group exercises and return home in the evening when classes finish at 5pm.”
“My name is Mrs HIEN, née SOME Marie, and I teach 2nd grade at Notre dame de la miséricorde school in Niégo (South-West region). I’ve been in bilingual education for 12 years. I started bilingual teaching in October 2013, following a training course offered by Solidar Suisse on Pedagogy, and every year we receive refresher training on the different modules taught to the pupils (reading, arithmetic, history-geography, early-learning lessons, interculturality/non-violent communication, etc.). Bilingual teaching facilitates student learning: at Niégo school, for example, in the first year, all lessons are taught in Dagara languages in addition to oral French. From Grade 2 onwards, French is gradually introduced, and pupils learn to read, write and count in Dagara and French. This approach helps to improve school results, as pupils are better able to assimilate lessons. For the primary school certificate (CEP) exam, they are given the opportunity to take certain subjects, such as essay writing, in Dagara. In addition, gardening, cultural activities and the module on interculturality help to awaken the pupils, stimulate mutual support among them and improve their knowledge of Dagara cultural values”.
“I am DABIRE Alphonse, Director of the Notre dame de la miséricorde school in Niégo (South-West region). Thanks to our partnership with Solidar Suisse, we offer bilingual education in the national language and French, using the additive bilingualism model. In the first year of our school, the majority of modules are in the Dagara language (causerie débat, reading, arithmetic, civic and moral education, interculturality and non-violent communication, etc.) in addition to oral French. From Grade 2 onwards, we introduce reading-expression-comprehension in French along with the other subjects in the national language. In grade 3, the conceptual content acquired in grade2 in the national language is transferred to French. In Grades4 and5, only writing is taught in the national language. In addition to academic activities, we have a 600m2 market garden where students grow a variety of crops (lettuce, onions, local eggplants, sorrel, beans, etc.). Harvests from the garden are used to vary the school canteen menu, and a portion is sold to prepare the meal for the end of the school year. Garden maintenance is carried out on the basis of a weekly program, with one session (1 hour/day in the afternoon) for each of the 05 classes available, with the support of the teachers. In addition to gardening, we have a cultural session every Wednesday evening to introduce pupils to cultural values and traditional Dagara dance steps. Bilingual teaching is a good approach that helps to awaken pupils and improve academic results. The good results obtained in Grade 5 are conditioned by a good foundation of bilingual teaching in Grades1 and2. Every year, in terms of academic performance, our school comes out on top in our Circonscription d’éducation de base (CEB); in 2024 we had a pass rate of 95.45% in the CEP and this year, 2025, we have a pass rate of 100%”.
The project is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Fédération Genevoise de Coopération.
