Burundi tops UN list of countries having made the greatest strides in education

According to the UN Children's Fund, the proportion of children in
 school increased from 59 percent in 2005 to 96 percent in 2011.

Offering free education, making it compulsory and supporting it politically has been the winning strategy behind Burundi's successful bid to ensure that virtually all children get a primary school education. In a recent report by the UN Secretary-General, Burundi topped the list of countries having made the greatest strides in education, although it remains among the poorest countries in the world.

According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the proportion of children in school increased from 59 per cent in 2005 to 96 per cent in 2011. The fact that Burundi is just emerging from war and that its schools were then often targeted makes the progress even more remarkable. "It is clearly an example of a government taking in charge the question of education, and especially of the universality of education," UNICEF's representative in Burundi, Johannes Wedenig, told Africa Renewal.


He explains that in Burundi there was clear political will, translated into action, with the backing of the country's international partners. Among those partners, UNICEF has joined with the government in a Back to School campaign that offers teaching materials, desks, sanitation facilities and text books.

There have been some major drawbacks to such an avalanche of new students, Mr. Wedenig admits. Not enough of qualified teachers, classrooms, desks and books has created real bottlenecks. So one of the "side effects" to the surge in school attendance, notes Mr. Wedenig, has been overcrowding and an increase in the pupil-to-teacher ratio (see African schools keep an eye on the prize).