Main Barriers to Education
- Lack of Schools & Sanitation Facilities
- Lack of Inclusive Educational Settings
Interventions to barriers
- Teacher Training
- MOE Capacity Building
- Policy Advocacy
- Community Engagement
In light of the challenges facing primary education in Guinea-Bissau, the Ministry of National Education, Culture, Science, Youth and Sports elaborated the Three-Year Plan for the Development of Education: 2011 – 2013, an interim plan that supported universal six-year primary education cycle for all the country’s children by 2020. Specifically, the education sector plan prioritised increasing access to primary education, utilising life-skills curriculum, promoting equality across gender, socio-economic status, and improving the sector’s management capacity.
In addition, the Government of Guinea-Bissau has also signalled its support for universal primary education through budgetary allocations. Between 2011 and 2013 public expenditure on primary education and education overall markedly increased by 13 and 5.6 per cent respectively. However, progress in Guinea-Bissau’s education sector is not unfettered and without its share of challenges. For example, in 2010 it was estimated that at the primary level the teacher/student ratio was 1:52 and just 39 per cent of teachers is trained. Furthermore, in the same year, the primary-completion rate was only 62 per cent, with girls lagging behind boys by 14 percentage points. To date, there is scant evidence that this dynamic has altered dramatically.
In support of some of the country’s most marginalised OOSC, EAC has partnered with Handicap International (HI) to increase access to quality primary education. This partner project seeks to cultivate inclusive education settings that respond to the needs of all children, particularly those with disabilities, by establishing multi-sector care and bridge mechanisms within mainstream schools. In addition, HI will train relevant MOE staff on the design/implementation of inclusive education for systemic impact.
Geographic Location: West Africa
Languages: Portuguese (official), Crioulo, English, French