Pape is a really keen learner. He used to cry when his friends would go to school at the time when he was not enrolled yet.
Pape is one of four children we will be following over the next three years to learn about their education journey; their challenges and hopes.
They are #BornToLearn, like all children. Their stories will demonstrate their commitment to learning and what we have to lose if we don’t invest in their education.
He lives with his siblings and his mother, a single mum who works as a house keeper and does her very best to allow all her children to go to school. Human potential is universal but opportunity is not.
Penda, Pape's mother, started primary school very late, like many other children in the country. In Senegal today, one in six children who are 16 years of age are still in primary school.
Late entry into school can lead to children dropping out early. "I dropped out when I was in my last year of primary school," she told us. "When it was time to pass the exams, our teacher found that my age had exceeded the normal age allowed. So, he asked me to look for a new birth certificate. However, because I didn’t want to go through the process of getting a new birth certificate, I simply decided to drop out and started to learn some work skills till I got married."
Teachers need to be prepared and supported, so they can do their job well. And that includes the need to have textbooks in home languages too, as children learn best when they are taught in a language they can understand.
The report shows that at most one in five children are taught in their mother tongue in Africa, the continent with the highest linguistic diversity. This is detrimental to learning outcomes on the continent, where only one in five pupils master the basics of reading, writing and mathematics even after completing primary school.
In Senegal, for example, half of children have minimum proficiency in reading at the end of primary if they speak the language of instruction at home compared to only a quarter of children who do not.
Our recent Spotlight report on primary education completion and foundational learning in Africa, Born to Learn, shows that at most one in five children are taught in their mother tongue in Africa, the continent with the highest linguistic diversity. The consensus is that children need to be taught in their home language for a minimum of six years to yield long-term benefits or up to eight years in under-resourced environments
And for children like Pape, you can see why this is so important. Evidence from the WIDE database shows that children being taught in a language they speak at home are 30% more likely to read with understanding by the end of primary school than those who do not speak the language of instruction
Madame Top, Pape’s teacher: “In my class I teach French and Wolof, but French remains the main language. We started teaching Wolof for years now because we noticed it helps students in their studies
“My dream is to see my students make it to life. I dream of walking past a student who has succeeded and who will look at me and say “Mrs, it is all because of you!” and I have many examples like that.
In some countries, many children cannot read even a single word after several years of schooling
"Sometime my students from university call me to update me on what they are doing and the courses they are following, and it really makes me feel proud. That’s the pride we have as teachers. The money we get paid is good but what’s even better is to see the success of our students.“
The Born To Learn report recommends to governments that:
- All children should be given the opportunity to first learn to read in a language they understand.
- Teachers should receive the preparation, material and support they need to be able to do their work well.
