Ministry of Education Mali

EDUCATION IN MALI

BwBÌs Impact

Building with Books helps to improve the educational situation in Mali by working with local communities to build new primary schools. We build these structures in some of the poorest communities, where educational opportunities are sorely lacking because schoolhouses are either too small, not sturdy enough to house the villages' student populations, overcrowded, too remote or non-existent. Our methodology is designed to empower communities to build their own schoolhouse through the hard work of sweat equity.

BwBÌs proven construction methodology, refined over more than a decade of grass-roots work, is effective because it promotes self-reliance, a necessary ingredient for sustainable development. Keys to BwBÌs success include careful site selection, experienced staff, and village involvement throughout the construction process. BwB methodology requires the local community to contribute land, local building materials and volunteer, unskilled labor; BwB provides construction materials, skilled labor and help with project management. In 2004, residents in local villages contributed more than 55,000 volunteer workdays to build their BwB schools.

Building with Books works closely with local offices (CAP-Centre dÌAnimation Pedagogique) of the Ministry of Education to insure that teachers at BwB schools are properly trained and that schools are appropriately equipped with furniture and learning materials. Through an agreement with Building with Books, the Ministry of Education has agreed to augment each BwB school with additional teachers and furniture once construction has been completed.

The impact of Building with Books in Mali goes beyond educating children. Adults also learn to read, write and do simple math through BwBÌs evening adult literacy courses, held within the walls of the new schools. The program builds the capacity of communities by training locally-based facilitators who then conduct literacy classes in their own communities.

BwB has been working in the region of Sikasso with communities near Bougouni and Kolondieba since 1998.

Recent History

Mali is a landlocked, West African country about the size of California and Texas combined. With a per capita income ranging from $230-$250, Mali is one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Thanks to the fertile banks of the Niger River the country is food sufficient. However, cultivating this food supply requires hard work. Mali has the second highest rate of child labor in the world in part because children are needed to help in agriculture production. According to the International Labor Organization, most children in Mali do not think of this work as oppressive or abusive, although many are anxious for greater education. Ultimately, the economic and material indicators that describe the country do not reflect the value and richness of human life, of MaliÌs culture, and of the countryÌs traditions.

Mali is the cultural heir to the African empires of Ghana, Manding and Songhai, which became one entity under a French occupation that lasted from 1880 until 1960. After a brief involvement with surrounding countries in a French Community following the end of the French occupation, the country proclaimed itself the Republic of Mali on September 22, 1960. Mali existed in turmoil as a one party republic until the relative calm of the 1990s. Dictator Moussa Traore was overthrown on March 26, 1991 by a military coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Amadou Toumani Toure. Toure led the transition until early June 1992 when he voluntarily turned power over to a democratically elected, President Alpha Oumar Konare. With the inauguration of Alpha Oumar Konare on June 8, 1992, Mali became a multi-party democracy. Toure returned to power in June 2002 when he was elected to succeed Konare. President Toure pledged to promote education and jobs for the young as part of his platform.

Despite this pledge and other efforts in Mali to promote education for children, the government lacks the necessary resources to provide education for all. Mali has dealt with this difficulty in part by making it easier for NGOs to participate effectively in the education process. The registration process for NGOs is streamlined and has had relatively good success. For example, Save the Children began a program in Mali that used private funds to create schools in communities that hired local people as teachers, developed curricula to focus on a few key areas of learning, and offered instruction in local languages. The program was set up to provide access to education in remote areas where no schools existed. Government standards for community schools were established as a result of the Save experience and community schools obtained official legal status. The sheer force and number of community schools has changed community expectations and turned even rural community members into powerful advocates for demanding educational services from the government.

Sources:

BBC News. (2004) ÏCountry Profile: Mali.Ó Online.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi.world/africa/country_profiles/1021454.stm. June 8, 2004.

Stubbs, Sue. (2004) ÏFacilitating Education in Mali.Ó Enabling Education Network.

Online. http://www.eenet.org.uk/theory_practice/mali.shtml. June 7, 2004.

U.S. Department of State. (2004) ÏBackground Note: Mali.Ó Bureau of African Affairs,

May. Online. http://wwww.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2828htm. June 14, 2004.

United States Agency for International Development. (2004) ÏPartnerships in Education:

Key Findings on the Role of NGOÌs in Basic Education in Africa.Ó Bureau of

Africa, Office of Sustainable Development. Online. http://www.unesco.org/iau/cd-data/ni.rtf. June 8, 2004.

Primary Education

Of MaliÌs 11,904,000 citizens, 74.4% are illiterate; 64.2% of males are illiterate and 84% of females are illiterate. Only 39% of school-age children are enrolled in school. To improve the rate of literacy, Mali hopes to increase enrollment to 95 percent in 2010 while improving learning levels. From 2000-2004, the countryÌs goal was to help improve the quality of education, expand access to education services, and improve decentralized management. GirlsÌ education issues were integrated across the range of program interventions. This period was meant to test and reach consensus on reforms dealing with community schools, decentralization, teacher financing, use of national languages, curriculum reform, the teaching of reading, and school health.

Sources:

Yabrudy Grace and Richard Uku. (2004) ÏWorld Bank Supports MaliÌs Education

Reform Project.Ó Online. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS. June 7, 2004

Youth at the United Nations. (2004) ÏCountry Profiles on the Situation of Youth: Mali.Ó

Online. http://esa.un.org/socdev/unyin/countrya.asp?countrycode=ml. June 7, 2004.

Detailed Review of the Education System

Pre-Higher Education:

Academic Year: Classes from October to June

Duration of compulsory education:

Age of entry: 7

Age of exit: 13

Structure of school system:

* Basic First Stage
o Type of school providing this education: Fundamental Instruction (Premier Cycle)
o Length of program: 6 years
o Age level: 7-13
o Certificate/Diploma Awarded: Certificate of Completed Studies in the First Cycle of Fundamental Instruction.
* Basic Second Stage
o Type of school providing this education: Fundamental Instruction (Second Cycle).
o Length of Program: 3 years
o Age Level: 13-15
o Certificate/Diploma Awarded: Diploma of Fundamental Studies
* General Secondary
o Type of school providing this education: High School
o Length of Program: 3 years
o Age Level: 16-19
o Certificate/Diploma Awarded: Baccalaureat General
* Technical Secondary
o Type of school providing this education: Technical High School
o Length of Program: 3 years
o Age Level: 16-19
o Certificate/Diploma Awarded: Baccalaureat Technique
* Vocational 1 Secondary
o Length of Program: 2 years
o Age Level: 16-18
o Certificate/Diploma Awarded: Certificate of Professional Aptitude
* Vocational 2 Secondary
o Length of Program: 4 years
o Age Level: 16-20
o Certificate/Diploma Awarded: Brevet de Technician
* Higher Education
o Length of Program: 3 to 7 years
o Age Level: 20-27
o Certificate/Diploma Awarded: Licence, Maitrise, DEA & Doctorate

School Education

In Mali, basic education lasts for nine years, which are divided into cycles: the first is six years and the second is three years. Secondary education lasts for two to four years and is divided into two streams: one general leading to the Baccalaureat in 3 years, one vocational (two years) leading to Certificate of Professional Aptitude and another vocational (four years) leading to the Brevet de Technicien.

Higher Education:

Higher education is provided by the University of Mali which was recently created by incorporating some existing higher education centers and the creation of five faculties: Medicine, Pharmacy, and Denistry lasts seven years & is awarded by Doctorate en Medecine; Technical Sciences; Juridical and Economic Sciences and Schools of Administration lasts four years & is awarded by MAITRISE; Languages, Arts, and Humanities and Teacher Training lasts four years & is awarded by MAITRISE; Engineering school lasts five years & is awarded by the DEA (Diplome dÌEtudes Approfondies). The Institut Superieur de Formation et de Recherche Appliqu»s offers post-graduate training.

Teacher Education:

Teacher training for the first cycles in fundamental instruction is held at the regional Institute Pedagogiques dÌEnseignement General (IPEG). Education lasts four years after completion of the Diploma of Fundamental Studies and includes courses in General Education, Pedagogy, Child Psychology, and Teaching Practice. Teachers of the second cycle of Fundamental Instruction are trained in Ecoles Normales Secondaires, which also offer four-year courses for those with Diplomas of Fundamental Studies or two-year courses for those with Baccalaureat Diplomas. Higher secondary school teachers are trained for four years after the Baccalaureat and an entrance examination in the Ecole Normale Superieure.

Administration and Co-ordination:

Responsible Authorities:

Ministry of Education

Head: Mohamed Lamine Traore, Minister

Administrative Officer: Kenekouou dit Barthelemy Togo, Secretary General

Internal Relations: Bonaventure Maiga, Conseiller Technique/MEN

BP 71

Bamako

Mali

Tel: +221 21-26

Fax: +222 77-67

Source:

http://www.unesco.org/iau

Rev. 10.04