Eager to learn
USAID provides thousands of textbooks for Senegalese schools

Pupils at Khar Yalla Elementary School in the Grand Yoff district of Senegal’s capital, Dakar, answer questions from science books donated by USAID to 6,000 school across the West African country. Photo: R. Nyberg, USAID

Eager young students at Khar Yalla Elementary School in Dakar couldn’t wait to get their hands on the new science and language textbooks.  A few minutes after cracking open the texts and reading a passage, enthusiastic students thrust their hands into the air.  “Madame, Madame,” they shouted, snapping their fingers rapidly to draw in their teacher’s attention.  They had an answer to her question, and more than anything on this day in Senegal, they wanted to give it.

The books prompting excitement in this classroom were just a few of the 225,000 copies donated by USAID to Senegal’s 6,000 primary schools as part of the U.S. President’s Africa Education Initiative.  At a ceremony, Education Minister Moustapha Sourang said the textbooks were “very strategic,” as they arrived just as authorities were encouraging many more students to pursue studies in science and technology. “These books will help young Senegalese discover the world of science and develop a passion for it,” he said.  

In June 2004, Senegal received 270,000 reading textbooks under the same initiative.  Portable boxed libraries – closed boxes with books that can be easily taken from one classroom to another – were delivered to primary and middle schools in all regions.  Each portable boxed library contains at least 15 books that teachers and students can check out for a few days.  A total of 600,000 books will be delivered to Senegal by the end of the program in 2008.

The textbook initiative is part of broader efforts to support Senegal’s education system.  Since 2003, USAID and its partners, working with the Ministry of Education, have built or rehabilitated 30 middle schools in rural areas and helped improve the quality of the teaching and learning environment by carrying out nationwide training programs for teachers and principals in public and private middle schools. 

USAID is also helping girls complete secondary education through a partnership between USAID/Senegal and the Sonatel Foundation to provide scholarships to 300 girls over five years.  In addition, USAID works with Microsoft to equip schools with Internet-ready computers and train staff and students how to use them.