To give a second chance to out-of-school children who are victims of the political and security events in the Central African Republic, the government in partnership with UNICEF and Radio Ndeke Luka, the media created and supported by Fondation Hirondelle, launched a radio education programme at the end of December 2019.

Curricula have been designed and validated by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education to be delivered through the radio, on Radio Ndeke Luka, the most listened to media in the country. The objective is to fill the learning gap for children who are out of school.

The programme has 288 lessons, 76 of which have already been produced and recorded. Broadcasting by Radio Ndeke Luka started at the end of December. These programmes include reading lessons in French and Sango, the national language, and numeracy lessons. An initiative hailed by Aboubakar Moukadas Noure, Central African Minister of Education: "I am very happy to launch the project which will enable us to make up for the delays our pupils have made in their schooling. Education by radio will reach students in the most remote corners of the country" said the member of the government.

An evaluation approach is being instituted to measure the impact of the project, explains Patricia Bika, head of the education section at Unicef in CAR. "We hope to be able to conduct a quarterly survey to see the regularity, the listening and the impact. It will start in Bambari, because a thorough work has been done by the decentralized administration and the level has been gauged with that of Bangui" she added.  

The launching of this innovative project for education in the Central African Republic comes in a context where the government is committed to fight against illiteracy and the recruitment of child soldiers.