In a bid to address the issue of schoolgirl dropout, the Ivorian Ministry of National Education, Literacy, and Technical Education has trained 66 school administrators on strategies to retain girls in school. The training, which took place in Yamoussoukro from September 28 to October 2, 2026, was attended by administrators from 26 regional education departments. The program aims to equip the administrators with the skills to implement measures that will encourage girls to stay in school.
The training is part of the Ministry's plan to roll out a national project to support the retention of girls in school. The project, which is being implemented with the support of UNICEF Côte d'Ivoire, aims to provide a package of minimum support to schools to help retain girls. The administrators were trained on five key areas, including identifying difficulties, individualized support, community mobilization, health, and school environment.
The training also focused on the practical implementation of the measures, including the use of tools such as COCAM (Collège, ça m'intéresse) and the Individualized Support Plan (PAI). The administrators worked with experts from various education departments to understand how to use these tools to support girls in school. The training also covered topics such as school councils, discipline, and teaching.
According to Fatou Comoé, Education Administrator at UNICEF, the goal of the training was to enable administrators to understand how to complement different strategies to address the challenges faced by girls in school. The training also provided a platform for administrators to share experiences and best practices in supporting girls in school.
At the end of the training, the administrators made several recommendations, including the need for capacity building for education stakeholders, access to relevant data and texts, and community mobilization in support of school infrastructure. They also called for improved coordination among education stakeholders.
The administrators also developed roadmaps to facilitate the implementation of the measures in their schools. The Ministry of National Education, Literacy, and Technical Education plans to use the training to prepare for the rollout of the project to 403 schools nationwide. The project aims to provide support to schools to retain girls and improve their academic performance.
The training is part of the Ministry's efforts to address the issue of schoolgirl dropout and improve education outcomes in Côte d'Ivoire. The project is being implemented with the support of UNICEF Côte d'Ivoire and the Coordination Unit of the Education Program (UC-PECU). The Ministry plans to continue providing support to schools to ensure that girls stay in school and achieve their academic potential.
Key points
- The Ivorian Ministry of National Education, Literacy, and Technical Education has trained 66 school administrators on strategies to retain girls in school.
- The training is part of a national project to support the retention of girls in school, which aims to provide a package of minimum support to schools.
- The project aims to improve education outcomes in Côte d'Ivoire by reducing schoolgirl dropout and improving academic performance.
