Education

The school system is based on the French model. Levels of school enrolment and literacy are very low, only 32% of children go to primary school and of these two thirds are boys and only one third girls, in rural areas even fewer girls go to school. Primary education is free, the government pays for the construction of the school buildings and the teachers' salaries but everything else has to be provided by the teachers or parents. Class sizes are very large with 60 being normal throughout primary school and there are very few resources, most lessons are learned by rote. Only 60% of primary teachers are trained, recruiting teachers for rural areas is very difficult but the government aims to have one trained teacher in each school by 2005.

Children can start primary school at 7 and can retake years if necessary, many start much older than this in rural areas and should be starting secondary school at 13 although this is also flexible. At the end of their primary education children take their primary school certificate and this allows them to go on to secondary school but less than 10% of all secondary age children do as few pass the exam and few can afford the cost of secondary education for five years: £35 pa in 2002. As a result the literacy levels are very low, 20% for men in rural areas and 27% nationally and lower for women, only 6%in rural areas and 9% nationally.

ASAP has funded the establishment of tree nurseries
in primary schools in the Piela area.

The government has set a target of 60% primary enrolment by 2005 and literacy levels of 50%.

There are three higher education institutions in Burkina: The University of Ougadougou, founded in 1974, with 7,900 students; Bobo-Dioulasso Polytechnic, opened in 1995, with 362 students and Koudougou Ecole Normal Superior, opened in 1997, with 680 students.