As the new school year commences, Côte d'Ivoire shows its commitment to promoting education amid the COVID-19 pandemic

The Minister of National Education and Literacy of Côte d'Ivoire, Mariatou Koné, took part in the ceremony marking the start of the 2021-2022 school year in Côte d'Ivoire on September 13, 2021. The ceremony was held at the Biaka Boda school in the city of Bouaflé, Marahoué region, central Côte d'Ivoire, in the presence of local authorities. 

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Mariatou Koné announced the 2021-2022 school year theme, "Let us be responsible citizens for a quality school," and urged the students to be responsible citizens, study diligently, respect their superiors, and stand against violence. Minister Mariatou Koné also pointed out the dangers of dropping out of school to seek work, for instance, in illegal gold panning sites, and reiterated the importance of students staying in school and continuing their education. 

Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister Mariatou Koné asked everyone to respect the measures instilled by the government of Côte d'Ivoire and encouraged all teaching personnel to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus to prevent its spread among the students. 

In addition, Minister Mariatou Koné used the occasion to personally deliver school kits to the students of the Biaka Boda school and revealed the numbers regarding school kits distribution across the country. According to the Minister, the government of Côte d'Ivoire provided more than 5 million school kits to public primary schools for the 2021-2022 school year at a total cost of more than 10 billion West African CFA francs (CFA), an equivalent of around 18 million United States Dollars (USD); approximately 4.2 percent of these school kits were delivered to public schools in the Marahoué region.  

Lastly, Minister Mariatou Koné emphasized the commitment of the government of Côte d'Ivoire to invest in inclusive, equitable, and quality education, and announced the plans to construct more than 60 schools and 16 colleges in the Marahoué region to accommodate the increasing number of incoming students and improve the teachers' working conditions. 

For more information, please see https://www.aip.ci/cote-divoire-aip-la-ministre-mariatou-kone-annonce-la-construction-de-71-ecoles-et-16-colleges-dans-la-marahoue/ and https://ci.opera.news/ci/fr/education/amp/e4f7dbd88c5ef7ea3aea97283a6b3dde

Violence à l’école : La ministre Mariatou Koné interpelle et met en garde - Opera News
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La rentrée scolaire a débuté timidement depuis hier lundi 13 septembre 2021. Et la ministre Mariatou Koné était dans la région de la Marahoué pour son lancement officiel.Pour cette rentrée académique 2021-2022, la ministre de l’éducation nationale et de l’alphabétisation (Mena), Mariatou Koné la veut sans accroc, calme et sans incidence.