Basic Education: Ministry Presents FCFA 226.6 Billion Budget

An estimated FCFA 226.6 billion will be used next year in efforts to upgrade the quality of primary education in the country. The Minister of Basic Education, Youssouf Hadidja Alim presented the draft budget to the Committee on Finance and Budget of the National Assembly, Monday November 26, 2018. The 2019 draft budget of the Ministry of Basic Education is up by FCFA 12.563 billion in absolute terms and 6.69 per cent in relative terms as compared to that of 2018. While FCFA 218.936 billion of the resources next year will be from internal sources, FCFA 7.070 billion is expected to come from the French Debt Reduction-Development Contract (C2D). According to the Minster, more powers will be devolved to local councils in order to enable them choose investment projects which best match their needs. The minimum package to councils will also be increased from FCFA 3,938,184,000 to FCFA 5,938,184,000. Besides increasing running credits for public primary schools, the government also intends to raise subvention to lay...