In Benin, education is a fundamental human right enshrined in national legislation and reaffirmed in development policy documents. Over the next three years, the CBO-EPT will have to work to ensure the effective application of the national education policy law currently being revised, with the integration of new provisions to strengthen quality, gender equality and inclusion in education. Likewise, they will be focusing their attention on finalising and adopting the normative framework for the education system.

The project, led by Coalition Béninoise des Orgnisations pour l’Education pour Tous (CBO-EPT) is a continuation of the previous project phase, implemented between April 2022 – December 2023. During this phase CBO-EPT will strive to ensure that all children, especially the most vulnerable, have access to inclusive, quality basic education. 

The main objectives of the current project phases include: 

• Strengthen inclusive political dialogue and accountability to improve access and retention of girls and children with disabilities in basic education in the mono and plateau departments by 2026.
• The main education players (CL, FENAPEB, institutional players) apply, in synergy with local authorities, standards that help to reduce socio-economic and cultural barriers to keeping children in basic education, particularly girls and children with disabilities, by 2026. 

CBO-EPT, which coordinates advocacy initiatives in favour of gender-sensitive, inclusive, quality basic education, intends to draw on its wide range of members and expertise in the field of education, together with engaging other relevant stakeholders, to boost political dialogue, lobbying, co-construction, and co-action in two departments of Benin: Mono and Plateau. This shall lead to improved performance indicators in basic education.

The project interventions will entail activities such as: 

• In collaboration with state actors, the project will organise themed advocacy and citizen watch conferences for primary school Educational Unit Managers (RUP) and secondary school Educational Advisers on "Preparing for the Primary School Certificate (CEP) and the First Cycle Education Certificate (BEPC)". The unit will be responsible for giving feedback to the school headmasters during the educational unit meetings, which take place once a month. 
• The flagship activities that will be carried out will enable the NEC to have an impact on three performance indicators - Gross Enrolment, Primary Completion Rate & Secondary Completion Rate - in the department, with priority given to the disadvantaged communes of the two departments (Kétou for the Plateau and Bopa for the Mono). 
• Targeted communes will be the subject of a baseline study on the socio-economic and cultural obstacles to schooling for different categories of children. This will provide the education system with a database of standards to be taken into account in the Annual Work Plans (AWPs) and Annual Investment Plans (AIPs) of the communes in the departments concerned. This will enable them to make good use of the data from the baseline study and incorporate it into their planning and budgeting. This mechanism will have a positive impact on the environment and the perception of participatory and inclusive local development. Setting up monitoring mechanisms, to reinforce the dynamics of actors, oriented towards gender inequalities and inclusion at communal levels.

The interventions of the project shall ensure the development and transfer of skills in accountability, participatory and inclusive monitoring of progress, evidence-based advocacy, and citizen monitoring. The implementation strategy is based on mobilising institutional players and local stakeholder groups, including women and marginalised groups, to co-construct initiatives and build the organisational and technical capacity to act together and deliver results. This will ensure the sustainability of the results achieved and the gains made at local level. At national level, the diversity of member organisations expertise and their support for the initiatives are a significant asset for the sustainability of the results.

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.