15-07-2025 | di COOPI

Chad: non-formal education offers a second chance to more than 2,000 children in the Adé department

As part of its commitment to ensuring access to education for the most vulnerable children, COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale, with the support of European Humanitarian Aid, successfully launched a 300-hour Non-Formal Basic Education program in the Adé department, located in the Sila province.

The program, implemented under the project “Inclusive and Quality Response to the Educational Needs of the Most Vulnerable Children and Youth Affected by the Crisis in Chad”, offered an alternative educational path for children who had dropped out of school or had never been enrolled, giving them a concrete opportunity to reintegrate into the formal education system.

Launched in collaboration with the Directorate of Non-Formal Basic Education in N'Djamena and the Delegation of National Education in Sila, the program began with an intensive 25-day training course for teachers recruited from the eight participating schools. Training sessions were conducted by national pedagogical experts, who developed and delivered curricula tailored to the realities of out-of-school children.

Thanks to extensive community mobilization and awareness efforts led by COOPI, with the support of students’ parents, 1,050 children (616 boys and 434 girls) were identified and enrolled in the program’s first session. The program ran until March 31, 2025. Children participated consistently in the afternoon classes, which recorded strong attendance from both students and teachers.

Before, I used to spend my days helping my mother at the market. Thanks to the program, I’ve learned to read and write. Now I dream of becoming a teacher to help other children like me.”

says Fatimé, 12, a program beneficiary.

The educational path began with a placement test to divide students into homogeneous groups (levels 1, 2, or 3), ensuring more targeted pedagogical support. At the end of the 300 hours of instruction, a final evaluation measured progress, and school report cards were issued—a necessary condition for enrollment in formal schools.

The training I received helped me adapt my teaching methods to the specific needs of out-of-school children. Seeing their progress is a great satisfaction.”

says Mahamat, a teacher trained as part of the program.

The success of this first session led to the launch of two new sessions on April 1, 2025, with the ambitious goal of reintegrating a total of 2,380 children into the formal school system starting from the next academic year. Technical monitoring by the Delegation of National Education confirmed the smooth running of the sessions, the quality of pedagogical support, and the strong motivation of the teachers involved. This project represents a concrete response to the issue of school exclusion in Chad’s most vulnerable areas. Through this initiative, COOPI and ECHO reaffirm their commitment to the fundamental right to education for all, working not only to guarantee access but also to support the sustained retention of children in school.

COOPI has been operating in Chad since 1976, using a multisectoral approach. In the Lac and N'Djamena regions, it provides emergency education to displaced children and local communities, offers psychosocial support to trauma victims, and promotes peacebuilding, with a focus on women’s empowerment, gender-based violence and discrimination, and conflict prevention.