“Crowds of Pupils But Little Else in African Schools”

A 12/30/06 NY Times article “Crowds of Pupils But Little Else in African Schools” by Sharon LeFraniere – in spite of the article’s title – offers hope about the state of schools in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though she’s reporting from Mali, the piece closely describes what we see in the neighborhood public school. Enrollments are way up and kids who had to leave school are coming back. Families place importance on their children’s education. Governments and international agencies have returned to recognizing the need for greater attention to primary schools, after a decade-plus of neglecting them. At the same time, there are few if any teaching resources; what seems like a miniscule amount ($1 per month or term) remains an out of reach fee for many families (in countries like the Gambia and many others, there is a small school fee, even for a government school); teachers are paid next to nothing; the school no longer has funds to offer meals or transportation, so children are left hungry and tired while in class; and many kids in advanced grades still cannot read. With the fastest growing segment of the population under-15 (and the fastest population growth rate in the world), the challenges of providing adequate primary education will only grow.