Atlantic: Call Center and Hygiene Competition Launched for School Monitoring

Secondary Education Minister Adéyèmi Clément Kouchadé presided over the official launch of two projects led by the Atlantic Departmental Directorate of Education on 14 October 2026 in Godomey, Abomey-Calavi Municipality. The event was held at the Bénin Excellence Library, attended by school heads and administrative authorities of the department.

These public initiatives aim to manage classroom attendance and maintain cleanliness in the department’s junior high schools.

A Telephone System to Reach Families

The call center, designed and implemented under the authority of the Atlantic Departmental Director of Secondary Education, Dr. Mathias Ahomadegbé, establishes a direct communication channel with households. Agents from this structure are tasked with contacting parents whenever students repeatedly miss classes. The initiative seeks to identify the exact reasons for these absences to reduce dropouts during the school year.

Beyond monitoring attendance, the platform also serves to promptly alert parents about any urgent situations affecting children during school hours.

A Competition for Sanitation Infrastructure Hygiene

The second measure introduced during the Godomey gathering focuses on the condition of sanitation facilities in general junior high schools and private institutions in the Atlantic Department. Named « The Cleanest School in the Atlantic, » this competition pits public and private junior high schools against each other in maintaining daily cleanliness of their toilets and latrines.

This emulation mechanism provides material or institutional rewards to schools achieving the best results in terms of sanitation in their restroom blocks. In his speech, Minister Adéyèmi Clément Kouchadé urged heads of other departmental secondary education directorates to adopt similar projects in their respective territories, with the goal of fostering sustainable sanitation habits in junior high schools.

Field Monitoring Announced by the Prefecture

The implementation of these two initiatives will be subject to direct administrative oversight in the Atlantic Department’s junior high schools. The department’s prefect, Raphaël Akotégnon, outlined the supervision modalities for this dual educational and sanitation program. The prefectural authority will conduct regular inspection tours in the schools to ensure the effective operation of the call center and compliance with latrine cleanliness rules.

These scheduled control visits to the department’s schools will be carried out in coordination with the mayors of the Atlantic municipalities.