"Modernizing" the Qu'ranic school system in Senegal: analyzing actors' configuration in the process of a specific reform

Panel Inequalities and multi-governance levels in education public policies in Africa, mod. Muriel Gomez-Perez, Hélène Charton, Marie-Christine Deleigne, Hamidou Dia http://www.nomadit.co.uk/ecas/ecas2013/panels.php5?PanelID=2367Koranic schools, known as daaras in Senegal, have entered since 2002 in a global process of reform. Indeed, the government initiated new procedures towards Arabic and religious schooling, which mainly concerns: - The religious and Arabic teaching in secular public schools; - The public Franco-Arabic schools; - The "modernization" of the daaras (koranic schools). Even though this reform concerning Arabic and religious education still remains "experimental" within the country, it is interesting to see the power reconfigurations produced by the implementation of this education public policy. This presentation will focus on the "modernization" of daaras in Senegal. Not only will we review the government policies, but we will focus on the various actors involved in this process and their different approaches at a local level (NGOs, International Organization, and bilateral cooperation). What role each actor can play in improving the action of "modernizing" the daaras and what instruments are used to do so? From a local to a global perspective, this presentation aims at reflecting the process of reform in education policies, emphasizing on the identities, the role and the different interactions between the actors engaged specifically in Islamic schooling. The so-called "modernisation" of koranic schools represents a specific public policy, in which the State delegates its responsibility in this sector to a number of private intermediaries and actors such as NGOs, international organizations, local associations, etc