According to the Global Partnership for Education, the government of Comoros considers education a vital aspect of the nation’s political, economic and social development. That said, in recent years the country has come across several difficulties in the realm of education. Here are several facts about the challenges being faced as well as what is being done to address them.

1. Education in Comoros has strengthened significantly over the last few years to thanks to the government’s efforts to improve the system and provide equal access to all children in the nation.
2. Despite its progress, the nation still exhibits high rates of repetition and dropouts at the primary and secondary levels. Poor learning outcomes have been recorded, including high rates of illiteracy, poor management of human resources as well as an increased dependency on foreign aid.
3. This year marks the end of the Interim Education Sector Plan, which was established by the Global Partnership for Education in 2013 to address these challenges.
4. Early childhood and primary school education were a major part of the sector plan. Specifically, this included raising parental awareness, diversifying preschools, increasing teacher quality and providing better access to children with disabilities.
5. Literacy in the sector plan was meant to increase through an improved curricula, textbooks and resources for teachers.
6. Secondary school was addressed in the same way as literacy, including better resources and textbooks. There is also a plan to construct more schools and classrooms with better facilities and infrastructure.
7. In terms of higher education, it is planned to increase the monitoring of graduates and facilitating the connections between them and professionals, so as to meet market needs and create more career opportunities.

Comoros has had a history of political violence since its independence in 1973. Since then, it has been highly dependent on foreign aid. The country continues to work with the GPE and UNICEF to increase access to primary education in Comoros so that students can take advantage of this resource.

– Melanie Snyder

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