In many areas of Africa, limited access to education stands as a substantial obstacle to children's growth and development. School facilities are often inadequate and located at great distances from villages, and many families still send only male children to school, while daughters stay home to do housework and agricultural labor.
When adults and adolescents participate in Tostan's nonformal education program, they gain a newfound respect for the human right to education for all, particularly girls, who have historically had limited access to schooling.
As a result, Community Management Committees (CMCs) lead campaigns for school registration, urging parents to enroll their children and often going door to door to register them. Many villages experience an increased school enrollment rate for girls in the years following the program. In areas that lack school facilities, many communities have devised formal petitions to the government to request the construction of one.
