Centres for Education and Remedial Courses (CERES)

		Sector : Education Location : Fianarantsoa region, Madagascar Local Partner : Association PROMES (Promotion Economique et Sociale) Start of Partnership : 2006

Context and Considerations

Madagascar’s education system is affected by a lack of teachers and by the rapid growth of the number of students, in particular in the rural regions. These children, in many cases undernourished, often have to travel great distances in order to reach their school and subsequently often find themselves forced to drop out. Besides, students encounter another difficulty: school is taught in French when most of them don’t speak French at home.

Solution Proposed

The Malagasy association PROMES (Promotion économique et sociale) and IECD partnered in 2006 in order to fight school failure and dropout.

The programme creates centres for education and remedial courses (Centre de Renforcement Educatif et Scolaire -CERES) in partnership with local colleges in the bush in order to improve the Malagasy schooling environment. This will contribute to train the local young people so that they can become responsible actors contributing to the development of their country.

The CERES programme selects gifted and hardworking students. These young people are followed up throughout their education. The programme offers special educational support, remedial courses, entertainment activities, a boarding school, a multimedia room etc.

Furthermore, for the programme to reach out to the whole partner colleges, it strengthens the pedagogical capacities of all the teachers by providing pedagogical equipment and continuing education.

Lastly, school canteens provide food to all the partner college students during the harvest gap period (60 days of class).

Impact and Results

A local team of 30 persons has slowly taken shape and works actively in order to implement the project and to define and improve the necessary pedagogical supports. 3 CERES are already active in partnership with 3 schools.

In 2010, 25 teachers have been trained (4 three-day trainings) and 240 students have benefitted directly from the remedial courses. Among them, 180 teenagers who live far away from school are accommodated by the CERES.

The CERES Campus, which was opened in September 2009 in Fianarantsoa to provide preparatory courses for admission into the town secondary schools (preparing students aged 15-18 for the baccalaureate), has been very successful so far: all the 1st 20 students were successful candidates to Fianarantsoa’s best secondary schools. In September 2010, 38 new students were accommodated and the CERES Campus goes on supporting the 20 former students.

In 2010, the school canteen provided food to 2.000 students.