Malian Education Part Fila (2)

    The government in Mali is Democratic and has a system of decentralization, meaning the power is theoretically in the hands of the village members themselves.  Each small town elects a mayor and the mayor and the mayor’s office are in charge of establishing – with the help of the Pedagogic Training Center located in the closest regional or ‘cercle’ capital – the School Management Committee (CGS).  This committee is ideally made up of many respected and committed community members to run the logistical aspects of maintaining the school, teachers, and parent/student association (APE).  My work counterpart in my village is the president of the CGS and just last month I sat in on their last meeting where topics like funding for school repairs, increasing enrollment – especially for the girls, and discussions about problems with instructors were discussed.  People within the village are encouraged to go to the CGS with issues they see and experience surrounding education and they relay them to the other members through monthly meetings.  This is how the decentralized nature of power works within Mali and it is seen especially clearly through the education system.  If a village does not rally itself and get motivated to make changes, the changes will not happen.  They have to be advocates for themselves which in so many ways is great but only if the community works together to instigate the change. 

    Adult literacy is an issue in almost all villages and towns within Mali.  Because the importance of education has only been made a priority relatively recently, many adults in Mali are illiterate.  The Bambara language – the most common local language in Mali – was only recently translated into written form as it has been used primarily at a village level.  Resources for the schools have begun to use the 13 local languages to help with instruction of French which is the language all the national tests are written in.  This creates issues with accessibility and consistency within the curriculum throughout many regions in Mali.  For instance, my town’s first language is Minianka, however instruction varies between Bambara and French.  So not only are these children hearing 3 different languages within their homes, the language they are learning through (Bambara) is not even their first language.  This fact has shown me how much potential there is within this country.  My work counterpart, for example, has a 5th grade level of education yet speaks Minianka, Bambara, and French fluently and is proficient in writing in Bambara and French.  There are also many people in my village who speak Arabic and there is one Madrassa –or Koranic school.  When I finished my needs assessment in my village one of the biggest requests was for help with training for adult literacy in Bambara since without being able to write in Bambara there is nearly no way to learn to read and write in French which is the only avenue for professional work within the country. 

    Okay so this is all a start as I get more acclimated with doing work around education here I will continue to update on what I learn through my experience.  If anyone has specific questions please feel free to leave a comment and I will write back as soon as I can!