On January 31, a ceremony was held in Djibouti City, the capital of Djibouti, to celebrate the opening of the Inazo Nitobe Basic Education School, which was constructed under the Grant Aid “Construction Plan for Elementary and Secondary Schools in Nassib, Barbara District” (signing of a 2020 gift agreement). The ceremony was attended by President Gere and Minister Mustafa of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training from the Djibouti side, and Ambassador Hara of Japan to Djibouti, Mr. Kanada, Director of JICA Djibouti Office from the Japanese side, to celebrate the completion and opening of the school.
President Gere (front right) and Ambassador Hara (center) shake hands in front of the nameplate.
Japan’s economic cooperation with Djibouti began in 1982, when the then Minister of Education named the “Fukuzawa Junior High School” in Djibouti City, which was built in 1995 with grant aid, after Yukichi Fukuzawa. With the opening of the school named after the Japanese educator Inazo Nitobe, a new symbol of friendship between Japan and Djibouti has been created. The name of the school was chosen after Inazo Nitobe, an educator who introduced Japanese morality to the world, in the hope that the school will develop into a model school in Djibouti and that the friendship between the two countries will continue for a long time.
The Barbara District, where the Inazo Nitobe School of Basic Education is located, is a suburban area adjacent to the southern part of the Old City of Djibouti City, and was one of the areas designated as a new urbanization center in the National Strategy for Urban Development (SNDU) formulated in 2012 to improve the situation of the densely populated and saturated Old City. Nassib, located in the southern part of the Barbara District, is one of the fastest developing areas in the region, with a population that has grown rapidly from 1,800 in 2017 to 6,500 in 2019, and is expected to grow to 19,800 by 2025.
The school, which will have both an elementary school and a junior high school, is planned to have 2,640 students in total, and will provide a consistent, nine-year compulsory education for the growing number of children in the area. The school is expected to serve as a model school with a school environment that will enhance educational technology and provide continuity of instruction from elementary to junior high school.
Observing a class
At the opening ceremony, President Gehle and Ambassador Hara unveiled the monument and celebrated the opening of the school with local students and residents. President Gehle expressed his strong desire to develop the social infrastructure of the region and expressed his happiness at the opening of the school.
On behalf of the Japanese government, Ambassador Hara expressed his hope that the children who study here will become bridges between Djibouti, Japan, and the world in the future, like Inazo Nitobe, an educator and Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations, and that the cooperation of families and local residents is important in achieving quality education.
It is hoped that the newly established basic education school will serve as a base for exchange between Djibouti and Japan, and that friendly relations between the two countries will continue to develop.
© Source JICA