The Support Project for Capacity Building of Teacher Training Institutes and Girls’ Education in Mali, initiated in 2008 with the financial support of the Japanese government, intends to contribute to the achievement of Education for All (EFA) in Mali. It specifically aims to improve girls’ access to Teacher Training Institutes in order to increase their level of education. Indeed, results of multiple research studies in the field of girls’ education have indicated that parents are more favorable to their daughters’ education when they’re being supervised by women.
Coordinated by the UNESCO office in Bamako, the project intends to stimulate the interest and garner the support of local communities within the programme’s intervention areas, for the themes of girls’ education and Teacher Training Institutes (TTI) trainers’ awareness to the issue of gender. Since its launch, the project has reached the following goals:
TTIs teachers have received training in the topics of gender and disciplinary didactics. They master various teaching techniques and provide quality lessons that promote gender.
TTIs directors were trained in school management as well as leadership. They are now better equipped to manage the facilities and are comfortable in their roles.
In Kati, the Teacher Training Institute has benefited from the installation of a high-speed internet connection, which "improves the quality of teacher course preparation and provides the opportunity for student teachers to do research in different fields" as noted by the management of the establishment.
According to Mr. Mamary Traoré, Director General of the IFM in Kati, “the establishment opened in 2011 and has 12 classrooms today, all built thanks to the support of Japan. It has 632 student teachers supervised by 32 professors, including 2 women”. Today, the greatest wish of the Director of the Institute is to increase the number of women professors in the structure.
