• Government backs plan to officially recognize Daara schools

• Reform aims to integrate hundreds of thousands of students

• Authorities link move to jobs, skills, and long-term development

Senegal seeks to formally recognize Daara—traditional Quranic schools—as part of its official education system, following conclusions from nationwide consultations finalized on March 30.

In Dakar, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko received the outcomes of a broad national dialogue led by the Prime Minister’s office. Education Minister Moustapha Mamba Guirassy described the process as a decisive step toward modernizing the education sector and laying the groundwork for a structural reform with major economic and social implications.

An inclusive process rooted across the country

Launched on September 25, 2025, under presidential instruction, the consultations were carried out in several stages. Discussions began at the municipal level, expanded across the country’s 46 departments, and were later consolidated at the national level.

At the launch of the process, Guirassy stressed the central role of Daara in Senegalese society, describing them as part of the country’s identity, faith, and history. He noted that they have educated generations, often under difficult conditions but with resilience.

In a televised address, the minister said more than 30,000 stakeholders took part in the consultations. These included Quranic teachers, imams, religious families, local authorities, education actors, civil society groups, and technical partners.

The discussions covered governance, financing, curricula, the status of Quranic teachers, learning conditions, and child protection. The departmental phase concluded in Tivaouane in January, in the presence of religious and administrative leaders.

At that stage, Serigne Khalifa Kounta, spokesperson for the khalife general of Ndiassane, welcomed what he described as unprecedented engagement, noting that no education minister had involved Daara to this extent in efforts to reshape Senegal’s education system since independence.

A reform with broader economic stakes

Beyond its religious and cultural dimension, the reform is also tied to economic goals. It seeks to place human capital at the center of development, in line with Senegal’s Agenda 2050. According to Guirassy, the objective is to rebuild the education system around a model rooted in national realities.

The scale of the challenge is significant. According to Secours Islamique France, Senegal has at least 22,000 Daara serving hundreds of thousands of children. Yet these schools largely operate outside the formal system, with limited recognition of the skills acquired and weak links to the labor market. Quranic teachers often lack formal status, stable income, or social protection.

In a country where the median age is about 19.8 years, according to the World Bank, demographic pressures are adding strain to the labor market and making youth integration more urgent. Data from the national statistics agency (ANSD) show that in the first quarter of 2025, 33.5% of people aged 15 to 24 were neither employed nor in education or training.

Against this backdrop, authorities are now looking to establish sustainable financing for Daara and transform them into pathways for socio-economic integration.

“These national consultations aim to rebuild Senegal’s education system based on the Daara model, with a view to achieving educational sovereignty,” Guirassy said at the close of the process. The conclusions submitted to the government will shape the scope and direction of the reform.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou