Education Digital Resource Centre

The Centre de Ressources Numeriques pour l'Enseignement Secondaire (CERNES) is a 5-year project of the DGIFPE (Direction Generale des Inspections et de la Formation des Personnels de l’Education) of the Ministry of Secondary Education (MESSRS) in Burkina Faso. The idea for the project came forth from the Round Table on Education which took place in Lumbila in July 2006, and the subsequent policy formulation process.

The main objective of CERNES is to digitize existing and new teaching materials for Secondary Education and to provide these materials online to teachers. On the longer term, CERNES should provide other educational structures in Burkina Faso, such as the inspections and the regional directions the means and the capacity to produce and distribute digital content too.

During the first year of the project, a small team of the DGIFPE will start digitizing materials and developing an online resource sharing platform. Two teachers from two secondary schools will assist the team and provide feedback on the usability of the materials and the sharing platform.

IICD provides funding for 1 year, the Ministry should take over in the following 4 years.

In Burkina Faso, one of the problems the Ministry of Education and schools are facing is the avalability of teaching materials.

Many materials are outdated, and distribution of books across the country is problematic.  Inspectors and pedagogical trainers face severe difficulties when it comes to duplication and distribution of adapted and new teaching materials.

In 2007, after the Round Table on Education in July 2006 in Loumbila, a policy document was established  on ICT for Secondary Education. Four main programmes for ICT in Education were distinguished in this document:

- Content and pedagogical material development

- Education administration and management

- Teacher training and continuous education

- ICT integration in schools

The actual CERNES project is part of the Content and pedagogical material development programme.

The project's specific objectives are:

Ø      Facilitate access to pedagogical materials and resources

Ø     Share pedagogical materials and resources (shared links, documents, etc.) ;

Ø     Validate and promote  good practices and experiences in education;

Ø      Raise awareness of teachers and pedagogical  trainers on the integration of ICT in post-primary and secondary education;

Ø      Enhance the equipment of the existing Cyber Centre of the DGIFPE;

Ø     Enhance the capacity of teachers and pedagogical trainers to digitize pedagogical materials and to create new digital materials. ;

Ø      Create new digital education materials.

The target group of this project is the educational community (post-primary and secondary) in Burkina Faso.

The expected impact is that the project will enhance the availability of pedagogical materials and resources to all layers of the educational community, that it will stimulate regular updating and improvement of existing materials, that it will facilitate knowledge sharing amongst practicioners, and that it will inspire to the creation of new digital materials.