Schoolbookprogram

In Cameroon the schoolbags of most children generally contain something to eat, but almost never any schoolbooks. In the Netherlands children have, on average, 12 schoolbooks each. In Cameroon, in a class of 60 children, 2 children will actually have schoolbooks.

 

The quality of education in Cameroon evidently has a lot of room for improvement. The fact that parents are unable to purchase books for their children puts a great amount of pressure on teachers, who only have the classroom blackboard to teach the children what they need to know. Many children leave primary education without being able to read or write. Knowledge for Children recognises this problem and contributes to an increased quality of education by donating schoolbooks to primary schools. Acquiring the skills of arithmetic and reading through good education gives children the means to create a better future for themselves, a chance that their parents never had. The book norm of Knowledge for Children is three schoolbooks per child in every school. This means that two children who share a desk have a total of six books for the following subjects: English, Mathematics, French, Environmental Studies, History and Geography. According to the book plan this goal will be achieved for each school after five years of assistance by Knowledge for Children. After five years each school will receive a further three years of assistance while working towards full autonomy. As soon as the program starts at a new school, the school sets up its own book foundation with which they can purchase extra books and replace old ones. This book foundation continually expands through the years as the school remains in the schoolbook programme.

 

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