In Niger, more than half of the children between 7 to 16 years are out of school. The situation is exacerbated by the low level of funding allocated to education, due to the education budgets dependence on foreign aid and low funding allocated to the education sector from the national budget. Further, Niger has been facing insecurity for several years, which has led to instability in the education system, massive population displacements, and the closure of several health centres and schools.

Niger's context of insecurity calls for particular attention to be paid to supporting the state and local authorities in developing alternative provisions to guarantee education for children affected by insecurity.
The project, led by Coalition Nigérienne des Associations, Syndicats et ONG de Campagne EPT (ASO EPT Niger) is building on the overall objectives of the past project phase, implemented between April 2022 – December 2023. The strategies and interventions of the current phase is designed to consolidate the results already achieved, particularly the expertise that has been developed by the coalition in different areas of education, as well as in the inclusion of people with disabilities, women, and girls.

The project will thus strengthen civil society's collective commitment to mobilise domestic resources in line with the public authorities' commitment to invest 22% of the national budget in education, to improve the quality of teaching and learning, and to providing the material resources and infrastructure needed to ensure the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)4, i.e. inclusive and free quality education throughout life.

The project also aims to strengthen the participation of the coalition and its members within learning spaces for its institutional anchoring and the improvement of internal democracy and accountability.  The coalition will sustain collaboration with the media and other civil society groups to enhance the coalition's capacity to mobilise and influence policy.

By the end of the implementation period ASO EPT is expecting to have contributed to:

• Member organisations and marginalised groups have acquired the skills needed to advocate for the inclusion and consideration of the needs of vulnerable groups in education policies.
• Relevant alternative contributions are made within the dialogue forums by strengthening collaboration with the organisations of marginalised groups.
• Civil society action has helped improve the mobilisation of domestic resources, the gender sensitivity of education policies and programmes, as well as the inclusion of education in emergencies.
• The influence of the coalition and its allies in education policy analysis has increased thanks to advocacy and learning frameworks.
• The coalition's democracy, accountability, and leadership are enhanced, in addition to the organisational dynamism and transfer of skills to member organisations.
• The coalition has increased its participation in frameworks for learning and sharing good practice.

A previous phase of the project was carried out between April 2022 – December 2023. The current project is part of the EOL extension phase of 2024-2026. Read more about the previous phase of the project here.