An Announcement To Redirect a Nation
/The work of education is about people, so the most important changes in education will always be those that happen on a local, human level. Nonetheless, the human element is influenced and driven by larger-scale policy choices, so we are thrilled to share that BIG changes are coming in the nation of Senegal.
Senegalese Minister of Education Mamadou Talla has publicly endorsed Mother Tongue literacy and announced that it will be adopted as national policy.
In his announcement, he stated that:
“The importance of the mother tongue in improving the quality of teaching and learning is no longer in question. This is also the conviction of His Excellency, the President of the Republic, Mr. Macky Sall, who recommends, both in the policy documents of the sector and in the conclusions of the Conference on Education and Training, and I quote, ‘to develop mother tongue literacy and to strengthen the place of national languages in the education system’.”
- translation by SIL LEAD consultant Chris Darby
This is momentous news.
Studies have proven that children learn best in the language they best understand. This may seem like common sense, but there are vast challenges to actually implementing this at the level of national policy.
It’s also one of the reasons that we exist - to help make this possible.
Our consultants and partner organizations have worked tirelessly in Senegal for years to solve the practical and logistical challenges of implementing mother tongue education, and throughout the process have advocated for this as a policy change.
We’ve asked Chris Darby and Béatrice Konfe (the coordinator of our work in Senegal), to weigh in on this momentous announcement:
The news that the Minister of Education of Senegal has publicly endorsed Mother Tongue literacy and announced that it will be adopted as national policy is an enormous victory, and the end result of a lot of work from dedicated specialists like yourself. Can you speak to the role that the All Children Reading (ACR/LPT) project played in bringing about this important milestone?
BEATRICE: That is really good news and an enormous victory as you said. LPT (ACR) played a big role in this achievement. The results of the final evaluation of the pupils have not been released yet but I know that the midline evaluation was satisfactory at a certain level. Observation of classes also showed pupils that were able to read in their mother tongue and I am sure that all of these encouraged the Ministry of Education to continue with the introduction/use of national languages in primary schools. LPT encouraged the Ministry of Education to engage in this and also supported the process (of activities of reflection) both technically and financially.
CHRIS: I always think of the turning point as being in March 2015 when, with the Minister of Education present in a very public and international meeting, the case was clearly made that the system was failing the vast majority of students. There was also a reasonable degree of acceptance that language was an issue associated with this failure. At that point ARED and EMiLe were the main two projects engaged in formal multilingual education, with ARED being by far the bigger of the two. It was around that time that USAID started to talk to both of these projects (and a small number of others) about how to proceed. All agreed that language was the core issue. The question was how far USAID could go in terms of curriculum change, with some NGOs wanting far more radical change than others. Basically, the arrival of ACR/LPT came at a critical time when failure had been recognised, solutions were being sought, and there seemed to be some ‘answers’ already happening in schools. ACR then took this to a whole new level, which the government has publicly recognised in their (MOHEBS) report alongside the contributions of ARED and EMiLe.
What does this announcement mean, practically, for the education system of Senegal?
BEATRICE: This means that all the schools that the phase 2 of LPT will cover will use the national languages for reading from preschool to grade 3. From my point of view, it means that the children will improve their competency in reading and writing. The quality of the education system will also improve.
Chris elaborates that the implications of this announcement extend from reading and writing to all other areas of instruction as well…
CHRIS: Here is the basic layout of when national languages and French are to be used:
• The type of bilingualism proposed in this model is based on the principle of using Senegalese languages, such as Wolof, and French as a medium and object of learning throughout the elementary cycle.
• At the first stage, Grades 1 and 2 (CI-CP), the national language (L1) is the main language for (all) teaching / learning.
• At the second stage, Grades 3 and 4 (CE1 and CE2), both the national language (L1) and French are used as the languages for instruction/learning in a ‘functional’ (pragmatic/dynamic) balance.
• At the third stage, Grades 5 and 6 (CM1 and CM2), French is the principal language for teaching and learning but the L1 is used as well.
What are the next steps for implementation?
BEATRICE: I think that the steps will include language mapping in the identified regions, sensitization and mobilization of the communities, school personnel and the other stakeholders, reading materials development, teacher training and the launching of new classes.
The changes that are coming to Senegal are profound. But we are reminded, as always, that their impact will play out on a personal, individual level.
So lastly, we asked Béatrice what this meant for her personally, as an African raised in Burkina Faso and now a dedicated supporter of Mother Tongue literacy and the former coordinator of SIL LEAD's work in Senegal.
BEATRICE: I am satisfied to see that the efforts of the supporters of Mother Tongue have been rewarded in Senegal. If the Ministry of Education has adopted the Harmonized Model of Bilingual Education, it means that it recognizes the tremendous work that has been done by LPT and other partners. It also means that the results are convincing. For me, there is hope for Africa. Senegal is the first country in Francophone Africa -I believe- to achieve this milestone and it may serve as an example for other countries. I hope that it will raise the political will that is missing currently and push the decision makers to be bold enough and change the education policies in Africa.
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Most of the time, education and development work can feel like endlessly pushing an enormous boulder uphill. Victories are incremental, and the work can be met with resistance from well-meaning people who don’t understand the positive implications of larger-scale change.
We are grateful, then, to celebrate this much larger victory with the people of Senegal, and are hopeful for what it will mean for the future of Senegal in particular, and education in Africa as a whole.