Comprehensive Sexuality Education Is Coming to Madagascar's Private Middle Schools!

Did you know that 35% to 40% of middle schoolers in Madagascar attend private school? (That's according to the Ministry of National Education's numbers from last year). We saw this firsthand as we expanded the reach of our program into Madagascar's rural areas. Private schools, often small and nimble, sometimes even operate in communities with no public school. Given they serve such a huge share of students in Madagascar, if we're serious about reaching every young adolescent across the country, private schools are a big piece of the puzzle.

Taking the First Step Into Private Schools

Back in 2024, we started thinking about how to bring our model beyond the public school system. We developed a social franchise model with NGOs and civil society organizations. Given the encouraging progress we saw there, we started asking ourselves whether — and how — our model could work in private schools too, since they share a lot in common with public schools (though there are some big differences as well!).

In February 2025, we conducted some research and data collection to better understand the demand and what this expansion could look like.

In June 2025, we held a symposium with nine private middle school principals from the Vakinankaratra region. The goal was to introduce them to our CSE program and, more specifically, to build a partnership between Projet Jeune Leader and these private schools to get a pilot off the ground.

From there, we had our first nine private school partners! Each one checked all the boxes: a teacher ready to become a CSE Educator, available class time for the course, and a space to run them in. It mattered to us that every school had the capacity to implement the program with their existing resources, and to keep it going on their own down the road.

And that's how our first year delivering CSE in private schools came together for the 2025-2026 school year! As with our public school model, we trained these teachers and supported them throughout the year as they rolled out the program.

The first cohort of private school teachers celebrate completion of training!

Rolling Out the Pilot: A First for Us!

All nine private schools made it through the full school year running the program. Every single one delivered CSE classes using our curriculum and set up one-on-one counseling services for students — the two pillars of our program. That alone is a big milestone! Some schools even organized extracurricular activities, and five of them ran our "parents' program" with students' families. We saw that our program could be implemented just as effectively in these private schools as in public schools.

Nasolo, our technical coordinator who led this pilot phase, shared his excitement:

"This pilot phase was a real success. Working with these private schools was a real pleasure. The program, and the way it's delivered in private schools, ended up looking almost identical to how it runs in public middle schools."

We also gathered feedback throughout the year from various stakeholders on how well the pilot worked. Those conversations left us hopeful about what's next.

Principals from all nine private schools showed so much enthusiasm for the program. In particular, they noticed improvements in both students' academic performance and behavior since it was introduced. That kind of enthusiasm is essential if we want to keep growing the program in these schools.

One private school principal in Manandona, in the Vakinankaratra region, told us:

"Our school was founded 10 years ago. It's only been about 3 months since the Jeune Leader program arrived, and I'm already seeing positive changes. Our students have really come into their own. I noticed that some students used to be too shy to ask questions. After talking with a few teachers, they told me students are speaking up much more now. The Jeune Leader program is making a real difference in student performance."

The CSE teachers — the true driving force behind this expansion! — also shared their experience from this first year. One CSE teacher at a private school in Ibity told us:

"The change I noticed started with myself, first. I picked up several new teaching techniques that I now use in my other classes too. Before, students didn't feel comfortable coming up to talk to me. But since becoming a CSE teacher, they come to me naturally. I don't regret becoming a CSE teacher at all."

Seeing our program make a real difference for students in private schools, just like it does in public schools, makes us proud. A student at a private school in Ihazolava shared:

"I really enjoy the CSE classes. Before, I wasn't on great terms with my parents. The class changed that a lot. My dad told me he's happy because I've really changed for the better."

All of this inspiring feedback tells us that expanding our program to private schools is doable, and has enormous potential still ahead.

Looking Ahead to the Next Step

We're currently deep in preparations for the next school year, since with every step forward comes plenty of learning, too. We want to keep making the program as simple and effective to implement as possible for schools — for instance, by finding ways to reduce the cost and time needed to train teachers, without sacrificing rigor. We're also exploring how to expand more efficiently across private schools, since, unlike the public system, there isn't the same institutional backbone that makes faster replication at scale possible.

As this year wraps up, we're organizing a meeting with the CSE teachers and the principals of our partner private schools. The goal is to look back on this first pilot year together. It's also the perfect time to put together our roadmap for expanding this private school model with their input.

We're learning as we go, and we can't wait to share the next chapter of this journey with you — challenges, learnings, and all!