Senegal floods keep thousands from school

DAKAR, Monday

In spite of the millions of dollars in foreign aid to combat floods in Senegal, waterlogged classrooms are depriving thousands of pupils a life-time opportunity.

The floods were caused by the heavy rains from April to September that also affected Togo, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone.

Education ministry sources say most of the affected primary schools are in the Dakar suburbs, where an estimated 260,000 Senegalese were dislodged by the floods — the first time in nearly half a century

Remain closed

Many other primary schools in and around the capital will remain closed because they were being inhabited by those displaced by the floods.

Schools in Senegal officially reopened for the 2009/2010 academic year on October 5. However, as has been the case for the past years, it will take between four to eight weeks before lessons could start in several schools, particularly the public ones.

The mostly poorly equipped public schools account for the bulk of the country’s estimated four million learners.

In 2006, an estimated 2,262 classrooms, accounting for over six per cent of the total classrooms in the country, were too dilapidated to be used. Some 3,749 classrooms that accounted for over 10 per cent of the total, were housed in provisional shelters.

But lately, the French Development Agency (AFD), which is the lead donor in the education sector in Senegal, has put in place several activities to support education.

These include a contribution of 9 million euros to help finance the Education Project for the Suburbs of Dakar.
The project aims to make quality primary education available to all children living in Dakar.