The Yaoundé Center will take on a new momentum this year by hosting the first recording studios of EDUCA-TV, UNESCO’s new educational channel. Broadcast 24/7, this television channel will offer two main types of programs: school content to prepare for exams and non-formal education content on issues such as public health, environmental protection, and media and information literacy.
“Cameroon has made education a priority, and it was essential for UNESCO to provide its support. Thanks to the Global Partnership for Education, we are now mobilizing an amount of $44.5M to give a real boost to improving the country’s school system” said Audrey Azoulay on Monday, during the International Literacy Day celebrations in Yaoundé. “This is another example of UNESCO’s firm commitment to supporting all its Member States towards universal access to education” she added.
With these funds, UNESCO and Cameroon will work together to modernize school curricula, with a focus on multilingual education. The organization will provide more than 4 million textbooks and teaching guides. It will also support the training of 15,000 teachers, 13,000 school principals, trainers, and education officials. Finally, this priority reform includes the distribution of school meals to children from the most disadvantaged families to support their education.
This initiative in Cameroon adds to those already undertaken by UNESCO in many other African countries. In recent years, the organization has notably mobilized $15.7M for education in Burundi, $39.5M in Côte d’Ivoire, $10.7M in Congo, and $48.2M in Chad, again as part of the Global Partnership for Education. As the African Union has dedicated the year 2024 to education, UNESCO thus confirms its role as a key partner for African states in this field.
