Burkina Faso has introduced revised history, geography and civic education programs, with new lessons reaching schools at the start of the 2026–27 academic year.

The government says the changes are intended to give more space to national and African history and to remove language it considers demeaning or shaped by colonial-era perspectives.

Teachers have received a 190-page guide outlining the new approach, according to local media reports.

In history lessons, teachers are being encouraged to describe Europeans who came to Africa as invaders or spies, rather than colonizers or explorers.

The curriculum also adds material on the Confederation of Sahel States, formed by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, and on the extraction of Burkina Faso’s natural resources by Western countries.

Geography lessons are also adopting different language, while the guide reportedly recommends replacing words such as problems and weaknesses with opportunities and challenges.

Officials say the revisions are intended to give greater weight to Burkina Faso’s national history and African perspectives.

The reform forms part of a wider government push to make education more closely reflect the country’s identity and local realities.

Its effects will depend on how the material is taught and how schools put the new guidance into practice.