COTE D'IVOIRE: EDUCATION IN THE FN-HELD NORTH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABIDJAN 000012

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2017
TAGS: ECON ELAB IV PGOV KISL USAID
SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: EDUCATION IN THE FN-HELD NORTH

REF: ABIDJAN 1314

Classified By: Economic Officer Erfana Dar for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)


1. (U) Summary: The efforts to administer the New Forces
(NF)-held north by the Ministry of Education are viewed by
the FN and academics in the region with suspicion bordering
on contempt. EconOfficers visited Bouake and Korhogo, and
found that the ongoing public primary school teacher's strike
(reftel) is a secondary issue to the more central concern
over which teachers to employ in the FN-held north. At the
heart of the dispute is the question of how to integrate
1,951 volunteer teachers who have worked in the FN-held north
since 2002 into the government-administered educational
system. In recognition of their service since 2002 and as a
means of compromise, the Minister of Education promised to
hire the volunteers as fully-employed faculty. However, he
then proceeded to send approximately 4000 teachers from the
government-controlled south, most with the minimal
certification required, to instead replace the volunteer
teachers who had been previously promised employment. The
teachers sent from the south were accused of being Young
Patriot spies by both the New Forces (FN) and their allies
among the volunteer teachers in the FN-held north, and were
forced to leave. The current situation has left a vacuum in
a system already weakened by the ongoing primary school
strike. Partially as a result, many parents who are willing
to send their children to school are turning to a flourishing
madrassa system, where payment is flexible and schools
reinforce the Islamic culture which is much more present in
the FN-held north than the government-controlled south. End
Summary.


2. (U) Background: In mid-2006, Minister of National
Education Michel Amani N,Guessan (FPI) had promised to hire
1,951 volunteer teachers who had taught in schools in FN-held
territory and were paid by funds raised by parents of
students, as teachers were not receiving regular salaries due
to the split of the nation in 2002. However, in an
about-face, he then sent teachers from the
government-controlled south exclusively; teachers who had
lesser qualifications (a basic three month training course
offered in Abidjan). Despite a Prime Minister-led Council of
Government held on November 29, the issue was not resolved at
the time of EconOff's visit in mid-December, and as of today
is still at an impasse.


3. (U) In EconOff meetings with the New Forces and Ecole
Pour Tous (and educational group comprised of professors and
teachers and primarily funded by USG Democracy and Human
Rights Funds) in the FN-held north, the issue of employment
for the 1,951 volunteer teachers was stressed even more than
the volatile issue of the teachers being sent from the south.
Both the FN psuedo-Ministry of Education and the Ecole Pour
Tous viewed this move by the Minister of Education as further
proof that the Gbagbo government is not keen on actual
integration, but instead is using the unstable political
times to further their own political agenda. According to
both groups, "the Ministry of Education does not wish to see
schools function in the (FN-held) north." They also said
that during the crisis, the Ministry of Education used its
authority to continue the war against the FN through
administrative means by refusing to pay those teachers who
stayed. These groups said that while the Minister agreed to
hire the volunteer teachers and presented himself as willing
to acknowledge the de-facto system administered since 2002,
they observed that in reality he wanted no such thing.


4. (U) In Korhogo, the situation falls along slightly
different lines. Madame Toure, Director of Education in
Korhogo for the Ministry of Education, told EconOffs that the
conflict with the volunteers does not affect Korhogo as much
as it does Bouake, where the majority of the volunteer
teachers live and work. In Korhogo, the main issue is the
lack of available teachers. In primary schools there is a
deficit of 618 teachers; in secondary schools, 184.
Commenting on the issue of the volunteer teachers, she said
that any qualified teacher should be welcome anywhere in the
country. EconOff asked a teacher introduced by Madame Toure
during a private meeting why the teachers sent from the
government-controlled south instead did not come to Korhogo,
where it was clear they were needed even more than in Bouake,
and where the issue of the volunteer teachers was not so
present. He replied "that makes sense, of course. But that
isn't the point anyone is trying to make." According to the
source, the administration of the educational system is an
extension of political will more than a social necessity, and
demonstrates in reality whether the FN or the Gbagbo
administration has the power to make decisions.


5. (U) Fragility in the North: The educational system in
the FN-held north is more fragile than it is in the
government-controlled south, primarily due to lack of

ABIDJAN 00000012 002 OF 003


resources among the population and in the educational system
itself. While the FN have tried to create an infrastructure
in the last four years, it was not until January 2006 that
the first exams for secondary school students were held, and
the higher failure rate indicates that the quality of
available education for the average student has suffered. It
was clear to EconOff that the schools are barely functioning
with minimal supplies, higher student drop-out rates and
fewer working teachers. The strike of the primary public
school teachers taken together with the demoralizing blow to
the 1,951 volunteer teachers and the educational system in
the north at large has taken its toll. The lack of available
banks makes being a salaried government employee in the
FN-held north exceptionally difficult and even dangerous;
without operating financial institutions, teachers must
travel several hours south to Yamoussoukro to cash their
salary checks (septel). One teacher affiliated with Ecole
Pour Tous said, "we haven't had a budget in five years. We
don't have a treasury. DDR must happen." He added after a
moment, "universities are closed. Primary schools are
closed. If the volunteers quit, everything is lost." The
Ecole Pour Tous largely sides with the NF and their judgment
that sending the teachers from the south was at best an
attempt to pawn off sub-standard teachers and at worst, an
attempt to smuggle spies from the government-controlled south
into the FN-held north.


6. (U) Effects in the Fight against Poverty: As a result of
the primary school strike and the ongoing volunteer teachers
issue and the lack of educational opportunity, many parents
cannot afford to continue their children's education. In an
area where it can be difficult to persuade villagers to let
their kids attend school instead of helping on the family
farm, the fight against poverty becomes even more difficult
when the schools the families reluctantly sent their children
to are now closed for days on end. Since 2002, nearly 50
public primary schools have closed completely. As one ONUCI
official succinctly stated "When kids are in school, the
situation is easier to stabilize."


7. (C) Madrassas: In both Korhogo and Bouake, the draining
effects of a badly-administered educational bureaucracy have
encouraged many parents to send their children to private
schools, mainly Muslim madrassas that have flourished since
the 2002 split of the country. According to the Imam of one
of the larger madrassas in Korhogo, prior to 2002 there were
an estimated 17 madrassas. Now there are over 50 operating
at primary school level. Even though these madrassas are not
recognized by either the FN scholastic system or the Ministry
of Education (note: some madrassas in the
government-controlled south are accredited by the Ministry of
Education),families are increasingly willing to send their
children to madrassas over public schools. Some madrassas
charge each family based on what they can pay depending on
that family's income. Payment can be in the form of public
service as well. For example, the caretaker of the mosque in
one madrassa sends his three sons to the madrassa of that
mosque without cash payment. Since labor is much more
available than cash, many families prefer the flexibility
afforded to them by a madrassa as opposed to a public school.
The teachers in these madrassas are from the FN-held north
themselves and the madrassas operate in a largely Islamic
environment. Madrassa teachers are Ivorian and go on to
receive further education elsewhere in Africa. EconOff had
the opportunity to explore several madrassas and found the
Islamic curriculum to be Sunni of the Al-Eh-Hadith school.


8. (C) According to a variety of sources and the lifestyle
of the population (for example, classrooms are mixed even
past the age of seven, the hijab when worn does not cover the
face),there seemed to be little presence of Wahaabi teaching
and doctrine. According a teacher in Korhogo, students leave
at the secondary school level to pursue Islamic studies
elsewhere, such as Mali or Mauritania, and return to become
part of the agrarian or merchant community. The biggest
controversy surrounding the growth of the madrassas is the
criticism that the schools do not teach life-skills. As
such, few graduates from these primary schools go on to
pursue mainstream professions, and increasingly come back
either as madrassa teachers or merchants. When asked, imams
in many mosques visited by EconOff claimed not to be financed
by foreign governments and are run on independent donations.
The apparent condition of mosques and schools seemed to
corroborate this. While the mosques may have been built with
foreign assistance at one time, by their appearance and
condition it is obvious the Imams and communities do not have
the money to maintain them as they would like.


9. (C) Comment: The unfortunate combination of the strike
of primary public school teachers and the Minister of
Education's move that infuriated the volunteer teachers and
the NF has dealt a hard blow to an already weakened
educational system. School attendance rates have suffered

ABIDJAN 00000012 003 OF 003


and educational achievement has slid. The lack of banking
institutions in the rebel-held north exacerbates the problem
as it does all efforts to reintegrate the national
administration. The rapid growth of private madrasas is due
in large measure to the loss of confidence in the educational
system and lack of resources many Muslim families in the
north experience on a daily basis. This issue, which is a
central concern in the FN-held north but escapes most press
attention in the government-controlled south, simultaneously
illustrates the difficulties in reuniting the country and
presses the need to do exactly that. End Comment.
Hooks