The Support Project for Strengthening Civil Society Influence for Inclusive Quality Basic Education (PARISC) is a joint initiative of the CBO-EFA and its member organisations focusing on advocacy, social responsibility and influencing educational policies.

The first phase of implementation of this project took place over two years (2021-2022). It contributed to addressing the institutional, socio-economic and cultural dysfunctions that affect school performance, particularly for girls in the Zou department, but also nationally.

The second phase in Benin intends to reinforce the achievements of the first phase and to tackle the normative, institutional and socio-cultural problems that promote massive school dropout, particularly among girls, before reaching basic education in two of the seven departments where the APR for girls is below the national average.

The choice was made for Couffo and Collines. Flagship actions to strengthen the social responsibility of civil society in the monitoring and periodic analysis of progress will be initiated in these two departments with a view to setting up a permanent and participatory citizen watch mechanism including marginalised groups to improve the performance indicators of basic education.

This second phase of the project therefore aims to contribute to ensuring that all children, especially the most vulnerable, receive inclusive, quality basic education. At the end of the project, which will last from 2022 to 2023, the following specific changes are expected:

• CSO members and key education stakeholders at departmental and national levels are engaged in monitoring progress and improving performance in basic education;
• Monitoring measures taken by the main educational actors at the community level (parent organizations,
• Head of the Pedagogical Region and elected officials) have reduced GBV in order to keep girls and boys in basic education in the two targeted departments.

A synergy of actions between the State, the CBO-EPT, CSOs that benefited from the funding of the OC2 component and the KIX initiative of the OC3 component will allow the establishment of an effective dynamic that will lead educational authorities to take normative and administrative measures that will promote a participatory and inclusive citizen commitment in the resolution of problems that affect the retention of children in basic education, especially girls.

The first phase of the project was implemented in 2020-2021 with support from Education Out Loud of 248.056 USD.