Senegal

Senegal considers its human capital to be the driving force in its emergence trajectory (focus 2 of the Emerging Senegal Plan) for the diversification of its economy and development of social harmony and political stability in order to achieve “an emerging Senegal by 2035 with a civic-minded society governed by the rule of law”.

The education sector policy is set out in the Education and Training Quality, Equity and Transparency Improvement Program (PAQUET-EF) established for the period 2013-2025 and revised to be aligned with the international agenda (SDG 4, Strategy 2030).

The Senegalese education sector is divided into four levels, of which two are mandatory:

• pre-primary: at least 1 year between the ages of 5 and 6
• elementary: 6 years between the ages of 6 and 11
• lower secondary: 4 years between the ages of 12 and 15
• upper secondary: 3 years between the ages of 16 and 18.

From 2000 to 2016, access to technical and vocational and education and training (TVET) improved, as did the pursuit of higher education.

The gross enrollment ratio (GER) in higher education remains low—7% in 2017—which prevents Senegal from training sufficient professionals or senior technicians (“short degrees”) needed by the various sectors to increase productivity, attractiveness and innovation capacity.

The PAQUET-EF focuses on three objectives:

• Objective 1: substantially improve learning outcomes at all levels;
• Objective 2: promote coverage, diversification and integration of the education and training system at all levels;
• Objective 3: introduce results-based transparent and effective sector governance.

The general approach of the sector plan is to focus on the initial objectives of quality, equity and good governance while strengthening the focus on equity of access by reducing vulnerabilities, developing the pre-primary level and consolidating the basic cycle (basic education curriculum for 10 years + 1 year of pre-primary school).

The plan also calls for incorporating all forms of teaching (including non-formal teaching) and creating transfer points, particularly through the development of vocational counselling mechanisms to guide students toward the vocational and technical streams.

As part of its investment in civil society advocacy and social accountability efforts, GPE’s Education Out Loud fund is supporting:

• The Coalition des Organisations en Synergie pour la Défense de l’Éducation Publique (COSYDEP) for the 2020-2023 period. This builds on previous support from the Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF).
• The Tax Education Alliance (TaxEd) led by ActionAid International for the 2021-2023 period.

Learn more

• Senegal is part of the KIX Africa 21 hub.
• KIX research projects:
  • A new model of bridging classes to improve learning of out-of-school children and youth
  • Common-scale assessment of early and foundational math learning across the Global South
  • Observatory on COVID-19 Responses in Educational Systems in Africa
  • Strengthening Bilingual and Multilingual Learning Systems in Francophone Africa