Since I am technically an education volunteer, although I feel a title of community development volunteer would be more fitting, I thought I should introduce you all to the structures and ideas behind education here in Mali.
The general structure is similar to that in the United States although the difficulties within are much more extreme. Some communities have a Jardin d’enfants (Kindergarten) but most do not. The basic school in most villages is the primary school which holds grades 1-6. In my specific commune there are 16 villages and 5 primary schools. About the farthest anyone has to travel is 5-7km to get to primary school. However, we only have 1 secondary school (7-9th grade) meaning some students have to travel over 15km twice a day. The high schools are normally only found in larger towns so in order for the children in my town to attend school past grade 9 they have to move to the larger town of either Koutiala or San, which means finding friends or family to agree to house and feed them during the school year.
The school year lasts from October to the end of June. July to September is rainy season meaning the villagers are incredible busy tending to their fields. The rain on the all dirt roads during this time often makes the roads impassible which would create more issues for attending school. The cool season here (October-January) is also harvesting time which also creates attendance issues since many families need the help of their young children in the fields. Then comes the hot season (temps can reach 120 degrees F) where almost no one in village wants to move let alone learn or teach (this is something I still have not witnessed so more to come on this later).
Most classrooms have at least 80 children – so those of you with 30-35 in the States can at least be thankful you aren’t teaching in Mali. I went into an English class last week in Bamako that had 142 children in it. Three students to a desk with maybe 15-20 books to go around. The students range in age pretty drastically within a classroom often because there are not enough teachers so,for example, the 2nd and 3rd graders may get clumped together into the same room. The ‘redoublement’ rate – or those who don’t pass from one grade to the next – is often more than 50 percent. This is caused by many factors including the lack of teacher/student personal attention, low attendance because of work at home or in the fields, and sickness.
In order to move from 6th grade to 7th, 9th to 10th and to attend University each student must pass an exam. The number of students actually making it to University is so low that many villages cannot even name 2 or 3 people who have made it that far. The obstacles are so extreme, especially for young girls, that attending school beyond the 5th grade is a feat in itself. Primary schools tend to have a pretty even ratio of girls and boys (if the village is aware of the importance of this aspect) but the ratio decreases rapidly the higher the grade. Much of this is based on the ingrained idea that once a girl has secured a husband there is no need to continue her education (especially because it is nearly unheard of for a man to marry someone more educated then himself).
This is a start. More to come on teacher training, adult literacy in Mali, and the creation of school management committees, parent teacher associations, and the student mothers association.
Alyssa, Hello, this is Brian in Alaska. I hope this is a good way to reach you. What you explained about the education there is very interesting. Natives in Alaska had similar problems before 1970. Although, there numbers in the classroom were never that high! Most natives had to leave their villages if they wanted to go to high school. Up until the 1950's students had to go to places like Oregon. Then their were a few high schools in the state. Finally, in the 1970's the Alaska Claims Act was passed and the Alaskan Natives received millions. Now, most villages have their own high schools, but perhaps only 3-5% get a college degree. I will be following your blog as best as I can. Is this the best way to reach you? Hope all is well, and we wish you the best in 2011. Best Wishes, Brian and fam.
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