Community-based primary education : lessons learned from the basic education expansion project (BEEP) in Mali

Village schools, those founded and run by communities, are refuting many previously held assumptions about how education can be provided to poor rural communities in Africa. The 62 schools launched under the project were organized, financed, and managed by the communities themselves, and have consistently demonstrated several important lessons. (1) Village schools provide viable alternative mechanisms for delivering formal primary schooling in areas where government is not delivering services. (2) A school can be an integral part of a rural community and, as such, be responsive to the community"s needs. (3) Local administration and management are not only possible, but carry with them tremendous returns in access, equity, and effectiveness at virtually no cost. Changing the school-community relationship to one in which relevance, ownership, and commitment predominate can have significant payoffs in school quality. (4) Effective instruction is achievable with "unqualified" teachers and limited supplies. Schools can accomplish more with less by using more focused educational objectives, and teacher qualification requirements are not as absolute as usually assumed in educational reform efforts. (5) There are benefits to involving multiple actors and partners such as other PVOs, local NGOs, and parents" associations in the education sector. (6) The village schools in Kolondieba show that some aspects of the alternative models for delivering formal primary schooling that have been tried in Asia and Latin America can also be implemented in Africa.