La Salle University of Africa - a Pathway to Prosperity - De La Salle Onlus
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La Salle University of Africa a Pathway to Prosperity
De La Salle Solidarietà Internazionale Onlus
Br. Amilcare Boccuccia: Executive Director
Br. Raoul Traoré: Associate Director - Solidarity & Development
Angela Matulli: Associate Director - Development
Peter Stemp: Associate Director - Solidarity
Serena Pegorin: Project Manager
Laura Ballerini: Communications Director
Eleonora Munaretto: International Volunteer Coordinator
Via Aurelia 476, 00165 Rome, Italy
foundation@lasalle.org
www.lasallefoundation.org
+39 06 665231 Fax +39 066638821
Iban: IT52 R0569603207000007241X70
CF/PI 11267011002
Our Lasallian Network
La Salle University
of Africa
a Pathway to Prosperity
Fondazione De La Salle Solidarietà Internazionale Fondazione De la Salle Solidarietà Internazionale is the principal development and fundraising department of the De La Salle Christian Brothers and provides capacity building, technical assistance, and financial support to Lasallian educational initiatives. It is a nonprofit organization which coordinates the network of Lasallian development organizations around the world. Our mission is to support Lasallians engaged in the promotion of the rights of children and youth at risk of socio-educational exclusion, in 5 continents, through schools, learning centers, orphanages, youth facilities, social-health services and other programs which respond to specific needs, according to the local environment. De La Salle Schools and initiatives are present in 79 countries, involving nearly 1 million students.
Children and youth at-risk We work every day to provide quality education to empower the population we serve in fragile socio-economic regions, with special attention to the rights and welfare of children and young people in all of our facilities and communities. Beyond Borders We stand with the marginalized and underserved regardless of their faith, gender, race, nationality or sexual orientation by being at the service of vulnerable groups around the world, promoting innovative and creative responses to the ever-evolving needs of their local realities. Sustainability Our initiatives are holistic by design to ensure that we respond to today’s needs while building a long-term, sustainable future for future generations. The personnel involved in our projects is almost entirely composed by local people that we train through life-long learning processes.
Country Context In Burkina Faso, 47% of its 19 million residents are under 15 years of age. Forty- three percent of the population lives under the poverty line. The government plans a strategic shift towards the science and technology sectors in an economy where only 37% of University graduates majored 90% of the population in Science or Technology currently works in subsistence agriculture and generates only 32% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. As the majority of the Burkinabé population comes of age over the next ten years, the education system lacks sufficient infrastructure, trained teachers and responsive curriculum to train young people for the increasing demand for skilled technical professionals. Burkinabé universities have traditionally focused on humanities, with only 37% of university graduates majoring in science or technology. Many other African nations have mandated a 70% focus on sciences to ensure that tertiary education matches the labor market demand. With no local options, talented Burkinabé youth must go abroad to pursue advanced studies, exacerbating the need for skilled local professionals. Unprepared for available opportunities in the labor market and deprived of the prospect of a viable economic future, young people are at high-risk of being co-opted into extreme jihadist groups that have carried out 80 terrorist attacks in the country over the last three years.
Transformative Partnership
The government of Burkina Faso
has developed a new vision of
education focusing on science and
technology as described in the
National Plan of Economic and
Social Development with the aim of
providing quality tertiary education
and leveraging university research
and innovation to promote and
assist the structural transformation
of the economy.
The Burkinabé government
has approached the De La Salle
Christian Brothers to work together
to realize its new vision.
The Brothers have been present in Burkina Faso for 70 years and operate 7
secondary schools, 3 primary schools, and 3 vocational training centers. The
Brothers have a history of preparing students for success in Burkina Faso. Over
the last three years, students in De La Salle secondary schools have out-performed
the average pass rate on the national graduation exams by over 33%. Because of
its history of developing innovative programs that deliver results in response to
community needs, the government of Burkina Faso has invited the De La Salle
Christian Brothers to assist in carrying out this ambitious plan.
The De La Salle Christian Brothers
have leveraged their local expertise
and international network of
Lasallian institutions to develop
and launch the La Salle University
of Africa (LUA) in Ouagadougou to
form future skilled professionals
prepared to assist in the systematic
transformation of the Burkinabé
economy and society.
Lasallian Response and Large-Scale Solution
The leadership of the De La Salle Christian Brothers in the Lasallian Region
of Africa and Madagascar (RELAF) has recognized the huge potential for the
continent through the education and professionalization of its young people.
The Brothers aim to equip youth with the skills to harness technology and
industry to respond to the basic needs of their countries and leverage their
talents, research and innovation to spur larger scale development across
Africa.
The De La Salle Christian Brothers have launched five universities in Africa
to serve as centers of excellence in developing future generations of skilled
personnel and compassionate leaders. Located in Ethiopia, Cameroon, Kenya,
Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso, the universities are strategically located
to maximize De La Salle resources locally in East, Central, and West Africa
districts respectively. The universities will also exchange personnel among
all five institutions to allow students across the continent the very best in
education and provide a richer academic environment infused with students
and professors from across Africa and different institutions throughout the
world.
Ethiopian Catholic
La Salle University
University
of Africa
Addis Ababa, Etiopía
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
CELAF
Ecole Superieure CTIE
Centre Lasallien Africain
Technique Christ the Teacher
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Douala, Cameroon Institute for Education
Nairobi, Kenya
De La Salle Brothers presence
La Salle University
of Africa
De La Salle Brothers presence
Building off of Best-Practices
This Pan-African educational model is based on the Catholic University of West
Africa, which shares personnel and students across the region with campuses
and departments located in different countries. The De La Salle Christian
Brothers have also successfully implemented an inter-regional model between
West and Central Africa through the Lasallian Center of Africa (CELAF) in Ivory
Coast, which partners with existing universities to offer degrees in religious
studies and education. CELAF draws personnel and students from the De
La Salle West and Central Africa Districts, as well as from different religious
congregations in these districts.
This new model aims to bring together De La Salle, Catholic, and public
resources, as well as innovative private/public partnerships to respond to
local needs while promoting larger inter-African cooperation. LUA is in the
initial local phase of its larger continental vision, with future campuses and
departments located in different countries across Africa, modeling the Catholic
University of West Africa. It will also connect with De La Salle sister universities
and public institutions throughout the world. In this way, students, teachers,
and institutions will become positive agents for change and catalysts for new
ideas to respond to common issues that require coordinated and innovative
solutions that transcend borders.
Pathway to Prosperity
The initial local phase of LUA will be a two-year Classes Preparatoires (CP)
program that will enable students that have graduated from high school and
come from low-income families, to follow a two-year intensive program to
strengthen their scientific and analytic skills. Upon completion, graduates
of the CP program will be well-prepared to enroll in the final three years
of Engineering-specific instruction at LUA where they will graduate with a
master’s degree in Engineering.
Graduates will leave LUA with the requisite skills in science and technology
to meet the needs of business, educational institutions, and the national
labor market. This pathway to prosperity provides a concrete, viable future
for young people who might otherwise seek negative alternatives which all-
to-often has meant religious extremism. This vision is already underway as
LUA’s first CP cohort launched in the 2017-2018 school year and LUA eagerly
awaits its second CP cohort in September 2018.
Engineering Schools and
Univeristies in Other
Countries
Telecommunications
Mining and Geology
IT Programming
Hydraulic Engineering
Automation
La Salle Classes
Preparatoires Lasallian University Doctorate
2 years of Africa 3 years
+ 1 year license
Science and Technology
Teachers
Skilled Technical
WorkersEmpowering Marginalized Populations
LUA serves all students
regardless of faith, gender,
race, nationality or sexual
orientation. Additionally, LUA
will have a specific focus on
the recruitment of low-income
students from across Burkina
Faso with special attention
on the recruitment of female
students. Few women elect to
pursue careers in science and
technology. To increase female
enrolment in sciences, LUA
will use a similar recruitment
model utilized by De La Salle sister institution Ethiopian Catholic University
which leverages the Brothers’ existing schools with the national network of
Catholic Schools along with all other public and private institutions to identify
promising students. LUA aims to achieve 50% female student enrolment and
plans to endow a scholarship fund to ensure it stays true to its Lasallian mission
of educating the most vulnerable young people in society. This scholarship
model will actively recruit students from rural areas of Burkina Faso, with a
priority for female students, to complete science and technology studies.
While the scholarship model will focus on rural students at its future suburban
campus, LUA’s CP City Campus will host evening courses and continuing
education for urban residents and working professionals to ensure equal
access for those who might not otherwise be able to pursue their studies. Upon
program completion, LUA graduates will be uniquely prepared to assume
leadership roles in business, academia, and government to aid in the national
plan to systematically transform Burkina Faso’s economy. LUA graduates
will also serve as tangible examples of success and positive role models for
vulnerable young people throughout the country, representing a viable career
pathway toward a successful future.Theory into Practice LUA’s pedagogy is predicated on the hands-on practical application of theoretical instruction to uniquely prepare graduates for success. As part of this model, the CP program has developed partnerships with local businesses to provide practical internship experiences for students with the opportunity for regular employment upon graduation. These partnerships will also include a professional development component for existing professionals (modeled after the De La Salle university in Cameroon) to upgrade their skills at the LUA CP City Campus to prepare workers for career advancement and to respond to the evolving needs of businesses.
Long Term Impact Over the next ten years, the LUA CP program will form 800 students (with the eventual goal of at least half of total graduates being female). Through its partnerships with the science and technology sectors, graduates will be uniquely prepared to respond to the country’s acute need for skilled technical personnel. Because of their training and experience, LUA graduates will assume leadership positions throughout society, including education, where they will form the next generation of science and technology leaders. Thanks to LUA’s focused student recruitment strategy, these graduates will have a transformative economic and social impact on their families and local rural communities. As LUA evolves into a regional university, its graduates will bring their skills and leadership to their home countries promoting a spirit of international collaboration to solve pressing concerns across the continent. LUA is also a long-term response in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Next Steps for La Salle University of Africa ⦁ Transition into new, separate temporary site • Full accreditation from the Ministry of Education by December 2018. • Begin construction of permanent LUA CP City Campus site in March 2019 • Graduation of the first LUA CP group in summer 2019 • Welcome third LUA CP cohort in September 2019 • Complete construction of LUA CP City Campus in Summer of 2020 • Fully equip LUA CP City Campus and Science & Technology laboratories in Fall 2020
LUA Timeline LUA Budget
Ground Floor 1st Floor 2nd & 3rd Floor
Via Aurelia 476, oo165 Rome
+39 06665231, foundation@lasalle.org
www.lasallefoundation.org
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