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Statistics
In Gabon, children's education leaves something to be desired
One schoolday in Gabon
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| Statistics
Population : 1 300 000 inhabitants
Density : 4.6 inhabitants per km2
Birth rate : 6 children per woman
Life expectancy : 52.4 years
Infant mortality rate: 87/1000
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): 5 billion $US in 2002
Expenditure for education : 2.9% of the GDP
Expenditure for defence : 2.2% of the GDP
Illiteracy - men : 26.3%
Illiteracy - women : 46.7%
The population is made up of 2% Muslims, 12% Catholics and Protestants, 50% Animists, the rest being nondenominational.*
* Syfia International press agency, 2002. |
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In Gabon, children's education leaves something to be desired
A few facts:
Schoolchildren do domestic chores every day to help their parents.
Girls have the same opportunities as boys, but they often become pregnant very young (around 14-15) because of the lack of contraceptives and information.
Priority: completing secondary studies. Only 2% of the girls and 6% of the boys will go to university.
Poorer children don't eat before going to school and have to wait until lunch or even dinner.
Teachers are not always educated or competent enough. This problem is increased by the number of pupils in a class (which can be as much as a hundred) and by the lack of school equipment.
There is a lack of benches, tables, blackboards, books and space. For instance, in some places, children go to school in alternating groups or have to sit on the ground during class.
The Gabonese government plans reforms in the matter. Unfortunately, however, Gabon has been under an economic crisis since the drop in oil prices and the end of uranium exploitation. It plans to boost its industry by selling wood, which covers 85% of its territory. Until then, education is not a priority.
Anne-Michèle Fortmann
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One schoolday in Gabon
Éliwa, 6 years old and Moussavou, 8 years old get up at 6:45. They are tired because they went to bed very late the night before. They eat what's left over of the rice and meat of the previous evening before setting out for school with 4 other brothers and sisters. The children walk for about half an hour to get from the village to the school.
They arrive at 8 o'clock for the start of class. There are 80 children in the class of Éliwa. They squeeze on to long wooden benches and some sit on the ground. There are not enough books for everybody so they have to share what they have in order to learn to calculate and write.
All children have a half hour rest period at 10 o'clock and the lucky ones go to fetch a dumpling or a sandwich with the few coins that their mother has given them earlier. There are street salesmen outside every day. The food is often old and greasy. At noon, at the end of the morning class it is already very hot and humid. The children walk home, eat and have a short nap.
They wake up at 2:15 and leave at 2:30 for the return to school. At 3 pm the afternoon class begins.
At 5:30 pm Moussavou and Éliwa return home and help with the daily chores, cooking dinner, washing up, laundry and going to fetch the water. They take care of the little ones of the family and help them with their homework.
Once all these tasks are finished they open their own workbooks to do their homework. It is often already very late by this time.
Sometimes Papa comes home from work around 8 pm and helps the children with their homework before leaving for his own activities.
Éliwa and Moussavou wait for sundown and go to sleep towards midnight. They are able to decide for themselves at what time they go to bed. |
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