CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Samba Demba Barry, Mauritania, August 1999
THEME = EDUCATION
In October, Mauritanian students will begin a new school year.
They'll find there's been changes. Twenty years of having separate systems of education
- Arab schools for the Moorish population and French schools for the Negro- Mauritanians,
have now given way to a combined system of education.
As the world progresses towards the Third Millennium, citizens of Mauritania are experiencing a noteworthy reform in the way in which their young people are to be educated - the Education Reform Bill was passed by Parliament in April 1999.
This reform unifies the national education system which for a long time has been a victim of inter-community friction. Article One of the new Law states: "Teaching given in the different levels of basic education, is now unified". i.e. there's no longer an Arabic system for the Moors (both white and black) and a bi-lingual system, French, for the Negro-Mauritanians. Consequently, the separate education system which existed for twenty years, is now suppressed.
Article Two states: "Regarding primary education; in Class One in both state and private schools, teaching is done in Arabic". This means that French, which used to be a possible choice as a lingua franca in the former education system, is now only used from Class Two onwards for all pupils. In the same way, Mathematics which was taught in Arabic for the Moors and in French for the Negro-Mauritanians, is henceforth taught in French from the third year of primary education onwards to all pupils. The natural sciences which were taught in both Arabic and French depending in which system a pupil found him/herself, are now to be taught in French to all the pupils from the fifth year of primary school onwards.
There are changes in Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary education, as well. Junior Secondary education is now extended by a year, increasing from three to four years and English is now taught from the first year of Junior Secondary education, whereas previously it had only been taught from the first year of Senior Secondary education. The physical sciences and computer technology are both taught in French from the third and fourth year of Junior Secondary education, respectively. This means that from now onwards, all scientific subjects will be taught in French, and all literary subjects (philosophy, history, geography, civics, moral ethics) in Arabic.
Regarding Tertiary Education: The University of Nouakchott will now include a Department of Mauritania's National Languages (Pulaar, Soninké and Wolof). Previously such studies were conducted in the Institute of National Languages established in 1979.
Everyone is touched by these reforms in the national education system. Why? Because Mauritania is a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society. Is it to do with an arabization policy? Is it is a new approach to the thorny question of national unity - a major need for Mauritania if the country is to succeed in developing itself. Or is it because Mauritania is now becoming aware of the challenges of globalisation where only competence and competition can exist.
Political parties, ethnic groups, ideological groups all have varied opinions on the country's education reforms. Each citizen has reacted in her/her way. Since the Bill passed through Parliament in April, this has been a major talking-point. Some say it's all to do with an opening-up to the outside world and an effort to come to terms with the challenges of globalisation. Others see it as an "attack on Mauritanian traditional values" affecting all of Mauritania's peoples - especially because of the importance given to French in the teaching of scientific subjects.
The Opposition grouping to President Ould Taye describes the reforms as: "Hasty and a unilateral decision by the party in power". Nationalist Arabs and Negro-Mauritanians go even further. Nationalist Arabs who spearheaded the policy of Arabization in 1970, condemned the reforms as "cultural neo- colonialism". The Negro-Mauritanians spoke about: "a direct attempt to enslave the Black population of Mauritania by forcing the Arab language onto them". Moreover, the day following parliamentary approval of the Bill, a pamphlet signed by a secret organisation called "Black Conscience", was circulated throughout the capital. The authors condemned a "policy of an all-out Arabization of our country's political and cultural life", and called on the black population to "defend their national identity".
On the other hand, the presidential political party, the Republican Democratic and Social Party (PRDS) plus the party's allies, hailed the reform as "clear proof that the Head of State wants to encourage culture and education for all". Once the law was passed, President Ould Taya went off to Hodh El Gharbi in south- west Mauritania, an area with a strong reputation as a bastion of arab nationalism, to explain to the people why the reforms are so necessary. The "President's men" are also conducting an awareness campaign called "Knowledge For All". The campaign underlines the importance of science, technology and culture.
Mauritania can be well-described as "bridging the gap" between Black Africa and White Africa. It is a multi-ethnic and multi-tribal country in which the language issue is of capital importance. Mauritania has four ethnic groups. The Moors - subdivided into the White Moors (or Bidans) and the Black Moors (or Haratins) who are descendants of the captives, former freed slaves). The Black Moors speak Hassaniya. The three Negro- Mauritanian groups: the Haalpulaaren who speak Pulaar; the Soninke who speak Soninke; the Wolofs who speak Wolof are the Black people of Mauritania and these don't have Hassaniya as their mother-tongue.
Since achieving independence in 1960, Mauritania has been trying to find a solution to problems caused by this diversity of languages. A number of measures have been taken, including five reforms of the national education system in which Arabic (the national language) and French (the language of the colonising power) battled it out for first place in educating Mauritania's future elite. In the early 1960s, Arabic was a national language but only French was the official language. Arabic was considered to be a "language of culture" in so far as it is the language of the Koran to which all Mauritanians have a close rapport. At that time, French was the language used by the colonial administrators, in the civil service, and more or less the only language used in state-run education. This pre-eminence of French over Arabic was a fact difficult to accept by the Arabic-speaking Moorish community. Because of this, they began to show their discontent with the situation.
Action taken by the nationalist Arabs, forced the authorities to take a number of measures in favour of advancing the use of the Arabic language - a move opposed by the Negro-Mauritanians.
In 1996, the use of Arabic was made obligatory for everyone in secondary education; at the same time keeping Arabic and French with a bias in favour of French which remained the language used in teaching scientific subjects.
Increasing pressure by Arab nationalists forced through a new reform of the education system in 1967, adding a further year to primary education - a year in which subjects were taught only in Arabic.
By 1973, primary education was almost completely in Arabic with French being taught as a foreign language in secondary schools. The Negro-Mauritanians have always condemned this as "forced arabization".
By 1979, Mauritania was close to inter-ethnic war. In order to defuse the tension, President Ould Haidalla took urgent measures: improving the ratio of moral ethics, civics and religious knowledge to be taught in Arabic; making the national languages (i.e. Pulaar, Soninke and Wolof) written languages as well as spoken; establishing an Institute of National Languages; setting up the dual system of education - Arabic and French. With this system, the authorities opted to separate the Moors and the Negro-Mauritanians. Thus came about two different kinds of schools in Mauritania - Arab schools in which teaching was done in Arabic (obligatory for young Moors and by choice for Negro-Mauritanians); French schools which adopted a closed-door policy to Moors (they could only go there by special dispensation). Negro-Mauritanians, on the other hand, could either choose to go to French schools or to Arabic schools - for political reasons most of them chose the French schools.
The 1999 Education Reform Act has thus ended twenty years of this dual school system. Mauritanians now hope that standards will improve so that an elite will emerge who will prove useful to the nation - an elite able to build a united and powerful country - an elite who are not afraid to talk about their country, both at home and abroad.
However, there are people who are vehemently opposed to the reforms in education and the calls which will be made upon the country's human and financial resources. Mauritanians are asking one another: can it succeed when the four previous reforms have failed?
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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