The Global Partnership for Education
Investing in quality, inclusive education systems to ensure refugee children receive an education.
Location: Chad
Refugees in Chad often live in impoverished and underdeveloped areas that are not able to provide the basic services needed. Strengthening systems in host countries benefits both refugee and host community populations and is the most sustainable way to improve outcomes for all children. © The Global Partnership for Education
One of the world’s poorest countries, Chad, hosts more than 400,000 refugees, mostly from Sudan, Central African Republic and Nigeria. Chad’s education system is already under resourced: 62% of children are out of school, the average class size for those in primary school is 75, and the rate of adult illiteracy is 95.8%.
GPE, which allocates about half of its grant funding to support education in countries affected by fragility and conflict, has supported Chad’s efforts to improve a school system that was weak even before large numbers of refugees arrived.
GPE embraces inclusion, improvement and investment for refugee education: the partnership’s approach centres on improving and strengthening education systems, with a particular focus on helping countries plan education systems that put inclusivity and learning at their core.
Through its funding model, GPE incentivises more and better domestic financing for education in the long term, as well as providing the rapid disbursement needed in crisis situations to restore critical education activities quickly through the accelerated funding mechanism.
With GPE’s support, Chad is not only addressing the immediate humanitarian needs of its refugees but also creating a stronger and more enduring education infrastructure that benefits Chadian and refugee children alike.
GPE support in 2016-2017 helped the government to build 86 classrooms, provide food and nutrition, disseminate 60,000 new culturally appropriate school books and provide training to expand the pool of teachers qualified to ensure children in school learn. Overall, 8,500 children in the region benefitted from this support.
The country’s new transitional education plan takes a holistic approach. It includes targeted support for refugees and interventions to extend the school system in remote areas where refugees, returnees and displaced populations often live.