Education in Burundi

Education in Burundi is compulsory for six years, between the ages of 7 and 13. [http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2001/burundi.htm "Burundi"] . "Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor (2001)". Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor (2002). "This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.] In 1998, the gross primary enrollment rate was 62 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 37 percent. Primary school attendance rates are unavailable for Burundi. While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children’s participation in school. The government attempts to provide for most of the costs of education through grade six. An inequitable distribution of educational resources favors children in the south and central regions of the nation. Discrimination against females has resulted in differential access of girls to education. More than a quarter of the country’s primary schools were destroyed in the war, and many teachers have been killed. Teacher training has been interrupted and it is difficult to recruit teachers to provincial areas affected by fighting.

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