Youth in Burkina Faso demand quality technical education
If young people are not represented in decision-making processes, their key priorities are often forgotten by those in power. This has been the case in Burkina Faso where young people, despite making up most of the population, largely lack educational opportunities and often are under-educated. With the project in case, we have seen the incredible possibilities when young people use their own voice to advocate and participate in official decision-making processes, calling for change that benefit all young people. Through sustained youth-led advocacy efforts, youth organizations have achieved great results in terms of increased access to relevant Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) and the inclusion of TVET infrastructures in the national action plans and budgets.
The project, Youth, Education for Active Citizenship and Gender Equality (YEG) is a sub-regional initiative implemented in the period from January 2018 – December 202. In Burkina Faso, the project is implemented in the municipalities of Bogandé, Manni, and Thion, and at the national level by National Coalition for Education for All (CN-EPT/BF) in collaboration with youth organizations.
Young people in Burkina Faso trained and committed to defending their rights to education and technical and vocational training. Photo: CN-EPT/BF
Members of the youth groups in the project participated in two training sessions concerning gender analysis, advocacy, and leadership. The training enabled them to advocate with local and national authorities for the inclusion of their concerns in the development policies, action plans, and budgets at local and national levels. The National Youth Council and the youth organizations of the three municipalities, in collaboration with the National Coalition for Education of Burkina Faso (CN-EPT/BF), held hearings with the Minister of Youth and the Promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship and the Minister of National Education, Literacy and the Promotion of National Languages.
These hearings and advocacy meetings, supported by civil society analysis, reports and calls for action, contributed to the adoption of a National Strategy for the Promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship in May 2021 by the Ministry of Youth and the Promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship. The implementation of this strategy should provide a response to the factors that hinder youth entrepreneurship in Burkina Faso. Furthermore, the ministry has adopted the National Employment Strategy in Burkina Faso and its 2021-2025 operational action plan. The document makes a general diagnosis of the employment problem in Burkina Faso and a proposal for strategies to find work for young people.
On a regional level, the project has contributed to pushing the agenda forward in ECOWAS. Here, Oxfam and partners were invited to participate on its Inter-Agency Expert Discussion on the re-vitalization of TVET in the sub-region. This opportunity led to the adoption of 5 policy asks into the final report waiting for the sign-off by the ECOWAS Ministers of Education to become a working document for member countries.
“The capacity building has played a major role in building self-confidence and the emergence of young female leaders who now have a high level of confidence to speak in public and to engage as change agents”.
Last but not least, there is now a well-structured youth movement motivated and committed to the defense of their rights. The capacity building has played a major role in building self-confidence and the emergence of young female leaders who now have a high level of confidence to speak in public and to engage as change agents. The project shows us the will amongst marginalized women and young people to be drivers of change when provided with the right tools to make their voices heard in decision-making processes, and the importance hereof in terms of making the governance systems responsive to marginalized people’s lives, which otherwise risk being forgotten.
The project has thus contributed to including TVET infrastructures in the national actional plans and budgets. Currently, numerous concrete actions are being taken. This includes the construction of several TVET high schools and colleges, development of 27 new training standards, and the recruitment of 12 TVET supervisors at the Ministry of National Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages.
To learn about the national TVET forum, click below for our concept note on promoting sustainable TVET financing in Ghana for youth employment and national development.