For the past few days, private schools have resumed! Whenever my schedule allows me, I try to pick up the children from school. I admit that the happiness of seeing them come running towards me is immense! Are the children, these poor innocents, aware of how lucky they are to be able – at this moment in our history – to follow the lessons? Certainly not!

On Friday, September 11 – thanks to an agreement between education unions and the CNSP – the call for a strike was lifted. Today, Monday, September 14, 2020, public schools reopened to the delight of thousands of parents. What happiness!
However, my joy is mixed! Because for other reasons (including insecurity) some schools (private and public combined) will remain closed and some children will continue to be deprived of their right to education. What did they do to deserve this fate? Who is responsible for this state of affairs? What will become of them if nothing is done? What can we do to remedy this failure?
So many questions that torment my mind!
One thing is sure, the children who will not go to the school of the Republic will go to the school of delinquency, banditry and terrorism!
The adults of tomorrow who are the children of today all risk being armed. Some from knowledge and skills acquired in school, others from anger and despair drawn from the violation of their fundamental rights by today’s adults.

If it is true that a man’s behavior depends on his education, do we need to be experts to guess the future of Mali? The conclusion is bitter. The children of Mali do not go to school and when they leave the quality of the education they are given remains to be desired!
I have a few proposals which seem simple to me to put in place and which would not cost the decision makers much.

1. Implement a national distance education policy. This in order to allow those who are in areas of insecurity to be able to access, download and follow courses via the channel of the Internet and the telephone. If some terrorists manage to connect it is possible that populations who live in the same places can do so
2. Put in place a national solidarity policy for education which would allow, on a voluntary basis, families who are in « secure » areas to receive children who are in unsecured areas at the request of the parents of these so that they can continue their schooling.
3. Create camps of excellence in the image of the prytanée. Real houses of public instruction in different localities of the country.

Let’s be good artists to model the clay (the child of today) in the image of the sculpture (the adult of tomorrow) that we want in the future!