School in Senegal
Schooling is compulsory in Senegal, a country located in Africa according to thefreegeography. So actually every child should go to school, up to the age of 16. But only 75 out of 100 children go to school. Only 64 out of 100 children finish primary school. As a result, there are many people who cannot read and write, especially among girls and women.
Why don’t these kids go to school? There are several reasons for this. Some children work. In the country, they work in the fields or help with fishing and thus provide for their families. Your parents may not be able to read or write themselves and may not feel it necessary for their children to learn. In the cities there are also children who live on the streets. They don’t go to school either. They are trying to make some money in order to survive. Sometimes the parents have no money for school books, exercise books, pens or school bags and therefore do not send their children to school.
The children who go to school attend elementary school for six years. You start school at the age of seven. Anyone attending a preschool can go to first grade at the age of six. School fees do not have to be paid. After taking a test after the 6th grade, you can switch to secondary school. She is visited for four years. Then compulsory schooling ends. After another three years you can do the Abitur.
The school goes every day from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., also on Saturday mornings! Classes are held in French.
Children in Senegal and their problems
Many children in Senegal are not doing as well as you are. They are poor, have to starve, get sick or have to work. Many marry very young, others live on the streets.
Poor
More than a third of the population (38 percent) in Senegal lives below the poverty line and has less than $ 1.90 a day to live on. That is not as much as in some other West African countries, but of course still too much. Many people don’t have enough to eat.
Ill
In Senegal, two in 100 newborns die, three in 100 one-year-olds and more than four in 100 five-year-olds! There are many reasons for this: not all of them have clean drinking water and then get sick. A particularly large number of children die from diarrhea. There are also diseases like malaria that kill children. There are few doctors in the country. They are often still far away, as are the hospitals. And there are no drugs either.
Child labor
23 percent of the children in Senegal work. These girls (19 percent) and boys (27 percent) do not go to school. They work as shoeshines or maids, beg or sell something.
Street children
Many children live on the streets. They too beg or steal or collect rubbish.
Marry young
Another problem is that many girls are married before they are 15 years old. In Senegal, this affects eight out of 100 girls. For those who were married at the age of 18, the proportion is then 29 percent. These numbers are not as high as in neighboring countries, but still too high.
