Challenges within Senegal's Public Tertiary Educational

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 000871

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL/AE AND INR/AA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINS KDEM SOCI PHUM SG
SUBJECT: Challenges within Senegal's Public Tertiary Educational
System

DAKAR 00000871 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: Universit Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) is generally
billed as Senegal's premier institution of higher learning.
However, recent student strikes have illustrated some of the glaring
problems evident within the public education system. Overcrowding
and mismanagement have left the University struggling to deal with
unmotivated students and uncommitted teachers. A lack of
accommodation, poor transportation, and rampant corruption perturbs
student life. Additionally, UCAD is falling behind private
institutions which have embraced reform and innovation without any
government intervention or impetus. Reforms towards structuring the
system into a more efficient system are slated for next year. End
Summary.

Strikes on Campus
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2. (SBU) UCAD enjoys the prestige of being one of West Africa's most
highly regarded educational institutions. However, this reputation
is being eroded as the student population has swelled to an
estimated 70,000+. The University's infrastructure was initially
constructed to handle approximately 15,000 students. The current
situation is causing widespread strain as overcrowding and
nonpayment of scholarships has resulted in several student-led
protests and strikes. A third-year pharmacy student observed, "It
has become the de facto policy that in order for us to achieve
anything we must strike. The Government of Senegal (GOS) actually
incites us to strike because this is the only time when they listen
to us and take action." The general consensus among the faculty and
administration is that a "with us or against us" attitude has
developed with the students making it difficult for any dialogue to
take place. The faculty meanwhile remains aloof and does not seem
to be committed to establishing a high level of rapport with
students towards addressing their issues.

Educational Access for all... But at What Cost?
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3. (SBU) The general tuition for all students is approximately 5,000
CFA (around 10 US Dollars) making it affordable for all students to
register. The majority of students also receive a monthly stipend
and eat subsidized meals on campus. These generous concessions have
led many students to extend their education for an indefinite amount
of time. Because actual on campus housing can only accommodate
7,000 students a situation whereby 10-12 students are sharing
accommodations originally meant for two has been created.
Classrooms are not large enough to handle such a large volume of
students and many find themselves outside of the classroom during
lectures. In the English Department alone, 21 professors are
responsible for 7,000 students. Also within this school, students
only have access to most professors during a two-hour timeframe once
a week. Strangely, despite this sparse schedule the professors seem
to think it is quite adequate.

High Rate of Failure and Disillusionment among Students
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4. (SBU) Due to extremely low standards and selectivity for
admission, the University has an astoundingly high failure rate.
Many first-year students from rural areas find the overcrowding,
accommodation, and transportation challenges overwhelming and end up
dropping out. Over numerous conversations with students and faculty
it was reiterated that during the first two years of attendance the
dropout rate has been as high as eighty percent of the incoming
class. After passing the first two years, students can repeat any
classes they failed as many times as necessary to pass. Students
have been known to take an extra year in completing their thesis
work in order to take advantage of the government scholarship they
are guaranteed. Students have even used these funds towards
attending private schools in Dakar. Professors are only required to
work six hours a week at the university and several teach at both
public and private institutions in Dakar.

Private Institutions
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5. (SBU) Private tertiary education is a fairly recent development
within Senegal. Most of these institutions were modestly launched
in the mid 1990s. There are currently four private universities and
several other specialized educational institutions in the country.
Poloff's visit to the private Groupe Institut Africain De Management
(IAD) offered a sharp contrast to the UCAD experience.
Undergraduate tuition is 70,000 CFA a month (adding up to $1,500 USD
a year). Masters Students pay 1-1.2 million CFA respectively in
their first and second years (approximately 2,190-2,628 USD a year).
While not affordable to every Senegalese student there is a clear
difference in the quality of education received. IAD's 1,500
students enjoy a 10:1 student to professor ratio, a maximum of 40
students per classroom and the professor's lectures available for
download on-line. In spite of these innovations, the GOS does not

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recognize private university degrees towards careers within its
civil service. The GOS also does not provide any public funding
towards helping make these institutions more accessible to the
masses.

Comment
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6. (SBU) The tertiary system of education is, in effect, broken.
The university's policy of accepting all students is unsustainable.
The GOS needs to allocate more resources towards vocational
education so that students have more options to pursue. The current
intake at vocational schools remains quite low (Dakar has only 3,000
vocational students). The system is in dire need of reform and
evidence of this is rife throughout the university. In spite of
this, the administration and professors are slow to act in creating
innovative policies that will help staunch the current drain on the
system. While the GOS continues to build an increasing number of
primary and secondary schools it has neglected the tertiary system
which will eventually take these students.


7. (SBU) Scholarship and subsidized food incentives are enticements
for underperforming students to remain in the system forever.
Smaller public universities within the country need to be increased
in size so they can handle the influx of students going to
university. Assistance to private universities also needs to be
considered by the GOS so education can become more affordable. The
future of Senegal's education is a bleak one if these issues are not
properly addressed. Student protest and dissatisfaction will only
become worse if the GOS does not rectify some of the issues and work
to handle a system that is fatally flawed. A new system called LMD,
modeled after the American educational system of credit hours per
semester is scheduled to be introduced next year. This change in
itself can be considered a small step toward reform within the
system.
Bernicat