EDUCATION
Ensuring quality education for all
Access to education in Madagascar is marked by inequalities, particularly between urban and rural areas. The lack of infrastructure, especially in rural areas, and the long distances between schools and homes make access to education difficult for some children. Although education is free, additional costs (uniforms, supplies, contributions for non-civil servant teachers) often force the poorest families to withdraw their children from school.
The quality of teaching is also affected by several factors: teacher training and motivation, their working conditions and remuneration. Despite efforts to improve the situation, teacher training remains insufficient, impacting the quality of instruction. Furthermore, many schools, particularly in rural areas, lack textbooks, teaching materials, and qualified teachers.
School dropout is a major problem, often due to family poverty, which pushes children to work to provide financial help. Early pregnancies among girls, in the absence of adapted reproductive health programs, also contribute to this dropout.
What we do
Improve school infrastructure
Construction of schools in rural areas, renovation and equipment of existing facilities with modern classrooms, libraries, playgrounds, and adapted sanitation facilities.
Reduce education costs
Implementation of scholarships for vulnerable families, provision of school supplies, and a school canteen program to improve nutrition and support families.
Enhance teaching quality
Continuous teacher training, provision of teaching resources, and collaboration with local authorities to facilitate access to education.
Our impact in numbers
Schools constructed
new infrastructures
Student beneficiaries
of the education project
Beneficiary schools
institutions supported
Teachers trained
professionals supported
Our field actions
BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
In a country as vast as Madagascar, where the population is scattered across the island, the lack or insufficiency of school infrastructure remains a recurring problem: classrooms, tables, benches, latrines... Where these infrastructures exist, they are often damaged, dilapidated, or in the worst cases, destroyed by cyclones.
This lack of adequate structures is exacerbated by the absence of basic teaching materials, such as blackboards and chalk, as well as the difficulty in accessing essential information resources, like books, magazines, and other educational materials. Under these conditions, quality education unfortunately remains the privilege of a minority.
Since its creation, Ny Tanintsika has strived to address these challenges by collaborating with various partners. Thanks to personal donations, youth workcamps, and support from foundations, over 60 schools and 10 health centers have received assistance for their infrastructure. Approximately 130 new classrooms have been built and more than 20 rehabilitated. We work closely with village leaders. Concerned with integrating hygiene and sanitation infrastructure in all our projects, we build latrines, rainwater harvesting systems, and boreholes. These initiatives aim to reduce the prevalence of diarrheal diseases, improve the health of students and patients, and particularly encourage the schooling of girls. For health centers, we commit to building or rehabilitating centers, providing medical equipment, electrifying the structures, and building housing for patient attendants. Members of the local community actively participate in building construction projects, such as supplying materials and monitoring. This involvement strengthens their responsibility for the preservation and management of the buildings.
130 classrooms constructed
20+ classrooms rehabilitated
60+ institutions supported
SCHOOL CANTEEN PROGRAM
The 'School Canteen' project, funded by Mary's Meals and implemented by Ny Tanintsika since October 2019, currently benefits over 94,000 students spread across more than 532 primary schools in the Haute Matsiatra, Amoron'i Mania, Vatovavy, and Fitovinany regions.
The main objective of this program is to contribute to improving the quality of education by providing a daily meal to children in their schools.
1Promoting Zero Absenteeism
The school canteen program plays a key role in improving the quality of education by providing a daily meal to students, while aiming to increase enrollment, attendance, and success rates at the primary level. Indeed, one of the positive effects observed is a notable increase in student attendance, which translates into better academic results.
2Improving community income sources
Until now, the school canteen program has collaborated with large suppliers to meet its food needs. However, we have recently started working with local suppliers to promote the purchase of local products, particularly vegetables. In this context, Ny Tanintsika launched the SAP (School Agroecology Project), which aims to train the parents of students in schools benefiting from the canteen program. The goal is to help them produce vegetables using modern farming techniques to meet the program's quality requirements and supply schools with local products.
3All for education
As part of implementing this program, we collaborate with various stakeholders because the program is cross-cutting and involves multiple sectors. This includes monitoring and evaluation, facilitating the resolution of community problems, adherence to principles of good governance and transparency (ensuring traceability of all decisions made), and a gender-sensitive approach (ensuring balanced participation of women and men). Local monitoring structures, such as School Canteen Committees and CRVs, have been established to ensure the sustainability of the management and operation of the school canteen, in accordance with agreed standards.
94,000 student beneficiaries
532 primary schools
4 regions covered
MADAGASCAR EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
The 'Madagascar Educational Opportunities' project specifically targets students graduating from middle school who, due to their financial situation, are forced to interrupt their education before reaching high school.
The objective of this project is to increase the enrollment rate up to the baccalaureate, a rate currently very low due to household poverty, which struggles to meet the educational needs of their children in secondary school, despite their belief in the importance of education.
Scholarships are awarded to high school students from the most vulnerable families in the Ambalavao district. These scholarships cover their enrollment fees as well as necessary school supplies in public high schools, whether in the 10th, 11th, or 12th grade. To improve students' academic performance, remedial classes are organized in subjects deemed most difficult, such as French, mathematics, and physics-chemistry. Dictionaries, books, and other essential materials have also been provided to help them study better. Ny Tanintsika works closely with the CISCO (School District Office) of this district to implement the project, particularly for the selection of beneficiary students. Since 2013, over 75 students have benefited from this support, and we hope to increase this number next year. In addition to financial and material support, students also benefit from awareness sessions on various themes to encourage them not to limit themselves to their current studies but to develop a broader vision of their future and dreams.
1Youth Camp
The Youth Camp is a time for sharing and exchange among beneficiaries. Each year, this event is organized to offer new perspectives to students. For 3 to 4 days, participants share their experiences with their peers, but they also have the opportunity to acquire new knowledge during visits to historical sites or companies. This camp takes place during the holiday period, offering students a time for relaxation and discovery.
75+ students supported
Full scholarships
Annual Youth Camp
SUPPORT FOR VULNERABLE STUDENTS
Thanks to funding from TASC Madagascar and other partners, we have supported 113 vulnerable students in their schooling: 99 in primary school and 13 'special case' students referred by the Lapan'ny Ankizy Center.
This project aims to help children from disadvantaged families integrate into the school system.
1Distribution of school kits for primary school students
As part of the project, students received a complete school kit, including notebooks, pens in four colors, pencils, colored pencils, erasers, rulers, compasses, blackboards, sponges, pencil sharpeners, and protective covers for their notebooks. In parallel, the project contributed to paying the school fees of the students.
2Parental involvement in student education
Parental involvement in student education is essential to guarantee academic success. Thus, parents are regularly informed of their children's progress, difficulties, and behavior, whether in class or during school meals. Systematic meetings are organized with teachers and the school principal to discuss student results and find solutions to improve their situation.
3Support to improve student levels
Every Wednesday, students spend two hours at the Saint-Paul library, a time dedicated to strengthening their reading skills and enriching their general knowledge. During these sessions, they have the opportunity to read books, review lessons, or do exercises. Furthermore, they can watch films on various themes, such as the importance of good behavior (at home, at school, and on the street) and environmental protection. These films are mainly in French, allowing students to improve their understanding of the language.
113 students supported
Complete school kits
Personalized follow-up
SUPPORT PROJECT FOR SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
In the Ifanadiana district, Vatovavy region, the majority of primary school teachers are not civil servants of the Malagasy state. Their salaries are covered by parent associations, known as 'FRAM'.
These teachers, often called substitutes, frequently face a devaluation of their profession, as they lack training, are underpaid, and work in precarious conditions. To support their families, many of them are forced to take on multiple income-generating activities.
The support project has been in place since 2006 in four public primary schools around Ranomafana National Park (Bevoahazo, Torotosy, Ampitavanana, and Menarano) to improve the quality of teaching provided by teachers and to increase student attendance rates. This support consists of subsidizing teachers' salaries, allowing them to fully dedicate themselves to their mission and, consequently, reduce absenteeism. Furthermore, a teaching monitoring system has been established, aiming to make parents accountable for monitoring their children's schooling, thus contributing to the improvement of education quality.
1TFM Approach
To have a more significant impact, we collaborated with Teach for Madagascar, an organization expert in supporting primary school teachers. This collaboration helped teachers identify and adopt facilitation techniques that promote active and adapted participation in their classes. For us, true education is not limited solely to transmitting knowledge, but must also enable children to develop their ability to evolve and manage their environment. In this perspective, we intervene to raise awareness among both teachers and students about the importance of forest conservation. Furthermore, we support them in creating nurseries, thus promoting reforestation and the restoration of forest ecosystems.
4 schools supported
Since 2006
TFM collaboration
SCHOOL AGROECOLOGY PROJECT
With support from the Christies Foundation and Adsum, the project aims to create model schools in Madagascar that are ecologically sustainable, responsible, and productive, in order to promote self-sufficient and environmentally respectful communities in the communes of Ambohimahamasina and Vohitsaoka, located in the Ambalavao district, Haute Matsiatra region.
To achieve our objectives, we intervene in schools already benefiting from our school canteen program. Currently, there are 91 schools benefiting over 11,000 students.
1Community engagement
The school agroecology project aims to strengthen local food production, both to ensure the food security of local households and to supply the school canteen program. This aspires to become a source of inspiration to promote food self-sufficiency and wood production at the household, school, and commune levels. All this while respecting the environment, particularly regarding waste management, ecological farming, and seedling production.
2Strengthen food security and sustainability
Training sessions on farming techniques adapted to growing tomatoes, beans, zucchini, pumpkins, large onions, and yams were organized, followed by practical sessions in school vegetable gardens, in collaboration with parents, students, teachers, and school principals. Each school was equipped with a dedicated garden space and a learning area for agroecology techniques, where everyone can observe and learn.
3Promote self-sufficiency in firewood
Each school now has a nursery where students actively participate in producing seedlings from the seeds provided to them, as well as the necessary equipment, such as shovels, plastic pots, and spades.
4Children committed to nature
To further involve children in environmental protection, 'Kids For Nature' clubs have been created in each school. The mission of 'Kids For Nature' is to promote environmentally respectful behaviors and raise community awareness that protecting nature is not limited to planting trees but also includes correcting daily behaviors harmful to the environment.
91 model schools
11,000+ students
Kids For Nature clubs
SUPPORT FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Thanks to funding from TASC Madagascar and other partners, Ny Tanintsika supports students from vulnerable families, enabling them to pursue their university studies.
The objective is to facilitate access to higher education for young people and promote their autonomy. Indeed, family poverty often hinders the pursuit of studies after the baccalaureate, even though these young people have the potential and skills necessary to achieve their dreams and build a better future. In most cases, these students have already benefited from the MEO project or were supported during their high school years.
To implement this program, we collaborate with institutions such as the University of Fianarantsoa, E.S.P.A (Higher Polytechnic School of Antsiranana), I.S.T.E (Institute of Environmental Science and Technology), and E.F.T.A (School of Agricultural Technical Training), located in Fianarantsoa.
1Youth of the future to overcome poverty
The goal being to help them complete their higher education, they received support to cover their tuition fees as well as study-related costs, in addition to the monthly scholarship granted to them. These students were not only supported in their studies but were also made aware of themes deemed essential for their age and situation, such as research methods, the importance of education, contraception, and messages related to hygiene and sanitation (WASH). Furthermore, to facilitate their research and studies, they were equipped with laptops and smartphones.
Full scholarships
4 partner institutions
Equipment provided