In partnership with the Ministry of Education (MOE) GMP implements a values education program in 60 schools and communities (55 rural and 5 urban) with 269 teachers, impacting 9,400 students and involving 300 grandmothers – an indigenous resource for education. Public and Catholic schools are involved, and very soon Islamic-French schools. The unique program, Integrating Positive Cultural Values into Schools (IPCVS), is coordinated by Mamadou Coulibaly, GMP Program Manager in Senegal. He is from Velingara, a teacher by profession who worked as a teacher and then supervisor/manager in the District Education Office (DEO) for 15 years. He has a Master’s degree in Local Development.
GMP initiated the IPCVS program with the DEO in 2010 with development of values education teacher training, materials for teachers and students and teacher-grandmother workshops to create a bridge between tradition and modernity. An external assessment of IPCVS documented various positive outcomes including increased student performance and community-school relationships. Local DEO officials strongly support IPCVS.
Future Developments
IPCVS influenced the national decision to make values education a top priority in the current MOE five-year plan. GMP, DEO and the MOE hope to expand the strategy within Kolda Region and into other regions.