Tracking Development - Rio Tinto - Qit Madagascar Minerals

The Production Phase
The programmes follow the national educational curriculum
and instructors are trained through UNDP in Antananarivo
and Fort Dauphin. Once students complete the tenmonth
ASAMA programme, they take the nationwide CPE
(Certificate of Primary Education) exam to enter into
secondary school. There are five ASAMA programmes
currently operating in the communities surrounding the project
area. Previous ASAMA graduates from the programmes first
class are presently in their fourth year of secondary school.
This outcome demonstrates the programme’s success
and confirms children who once might not have had the
opportunity to learn are succeeding in their studies.
QMM is involved in literacy programmes, providing
educational opportunities to those who formerly did
not have the chance. The programmes, developed in
collaboration with the University of Fianarantsoa, the United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), UNDP, and implemented by the NGO Cielo
Terra, have been operating since 2006.
Five years of primary school are taught across 13 months
through the Planète des Alpha and ASAMA (Asa Sekoly
Avotra Malagasy) programmes. Youth ages 11 to 17, who for
various reasons did not previously attend or complete primary
school, first participate in the Planète des Alpha programme.
After a three-month intensive reading and writing course,
students who successfully pass a final exam continue onto
the ASAMA programme. Currently 50 students are enrolled
in the programme.
Acknowledging the importance of proper nutrition, QMM
subsidises a school lunch programme for Planète des Alpha
and ASAMA. Students are served meat and seafood dishes,
as well as fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables. Snacks are also
provided twice per day. QMM constructed the school buildings
and provides pens, notebooks, books, desks and chairs. The
Planète des Alpha and ASAMA programmes operate in close
cooperation with the public school in Fort Dauphin, to ensure
a strong partnership and the students smooth transition into
secondary school. The Regional Directorate of National
Education officially validates the certificates issued to the
students. QMM is further assisting students participating in
the literacy programmes to attend secondary school through
scholarships and by subsidising school fees.
The AFID (Alphabetisation Fonctionelle Intensive pour le
Développement) programme is an adult literacy programme
operating at two sites, the Soaniavy Centre specifically targeting
artisans and women involved in the programme for handicraft
production and in Ampasy Nahampona commune. Each session
runs for six months, with literacy and math courses offered.
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