Conversation Club Report June 26 : Education

Conversation Club June 26, 2009: Education

The Cultural Program at the Living and Learning Center has decided to post the notes from our weekly conversation club differently. We think that a truncated version will be as informative as our usual long write-ups. If you would like more information about the topics discussed, feel free to email us at culturevivreetapprendre@gmail.com. All of the information reported in these write-ups are the opinions of the participants of the conversation club.

Question to start off discussion: If you could reform the Senegalese educational system, what would you do and why?

The answers were related to the way the educational system has been established. The system is based on the French system where European history is put before Senegalese history. In addition, the participants did not feel that the subjects are practical and addressed important issues like writing a resume or cover letter. Another big issue is the language in which instruction is provided, in French in lieu of Wolof. Wolof is understood and spoken by almost everyone in Senegal, and could access a larger portion of the population. It is the language that children first learn and thus use it as a reference point when learning French or other languages. Furthermore, most Senegalese, especially in rural areas learn how to read and write in Wolof (in Arabic letters) in informal or religious schools before learning French.

Strikes pose a big problem to the education system. Both teachers and students go on strike throughout the year, shortening the amount of time spent learning. At the end of the year when national examinations happen, students who have experienced many strikes are at a disadvantage.

There was a discussion about at University Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), the public university in Dakar and how difficult it is for students to get a hold of their professors since the professors generally work in many different schools, even internationally. The medicine program at UCAD is seen as the best program. It is hard to get into and is rigorous. Many students from all over Africa come to UCAD for its reputation; however, the medicine department has the largest population of non-Senegalese. Most of the Conversation Club’s participants are in the English department. The English department has about 7,000 students and about 15 professors. Students rarely have an opportunity to speak and spend most of their time listening to lectures or writing.

The number of girls in school is rising, particularly in urban areas. However, there are still more men at UCAD than women. The participants attributed that to women’s early marriage. There was a discussion about women being forced to marry men, especially those who live abroad and thus are seen as rich and successful. A participant mentioned a study done by USAID in rural areas on the reasons that girls leave school early. USAID found that the following four factors contribute to girls leaving school early: early pregnancy, poverty, schools are not accessible (too far away), and the treatment of girls by their teachers.

The July 10^th topic will be the future of Senegal.