Senegal

by Paul Bacsich for Re.ViCa

For entities in Senegal see Category:Senegal

Partners situated in Senegal

None.

Senegal in a nutshell

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal)

Senegal (French: le Sénégal), officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south.

Source : http://www.cia.gov

Gambia lies almost entirely within Senegal, surrounded by it on the north, east and south; from its western coast, Gambia's territory follows the Gambia River more than 300 kilometres (186 miles) inland.

The population of Senegal is nearly 12 million - its size is almost 197,000 km²

Dakar is the capital city of Senegal, located on the Cape Verde Peninsula on the country's Atlantic coast.

Another key centre is Saint-Louis, or Ndar as it is called in Wolof. This is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 km north of Dakar, it has a population officially estimated at 176,000 in 2005. Saint-Louis was the capital of the French colony of Senegal from 1673 until independence in 1960. From 1920 to 1957 it also served as capital of the neighboring colony of Mauritania.

About a third of the population of Senegal live below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 a day.

Senegal is subdivided into 14 regions, each administered by a Conseil Régional (Regional Council) elected by population weight at the Arrondissement level. The country is further subdivided by 34 Départements, 103 Arrondissements (neither of which have administrative function) and by Collectivités Locales, which elect administrative officers.

Its official language is French.

Senegal education policy

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Senegal)

Articles 21 and 22 of the Senegal Constitution adopted in January 2001 guarantee access to education for all children. Education is compulsory and free up to the age of 16.

However, due to limited resources and low demand for secular education in areas where Islamic education is more prevalent, the law is not fully enforced.

In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 80 percent,WOOF and the net primary enrollment rate was 69 percent. Gross and net enrolment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. In 2000, 41.2 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years were attending school. Primary school attendance statistics are not available for Senegal. As of 2001, 80 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.

The Ministry of Labor has indicated that the public school system is unable to cope with the number of children that must enroll each year. As a result, many school-aged children seek to obtain education and training through more informal means. A large number apprentice themselves to a shop, where they receive no wages. One government official estimated there are 100,000 children apprenticed in Dakar.

The ANSD reports that as of 2001, 32.5 percent of children aged 10-14 had begun their professional lives.

Higher education

Universities in Senegal

Senegal's main Universities are the public universities:

1. Université Cheikh Anta Diop (Cheikh Anta Diop University, formerly Dakar University) in the capital of Dakar - http://www.ucad.sn
2. Université Gaston Berger (Gaston Berger University) in Saint-Louis - http://www.ugb.sn/

University level instruction is mainly in French.

The page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Senegal lists one more, a private university - presumably teaching in English:

1. Suffolk University Dakar Campus, Dakar - this is the Dakar campus of Suffolk University, a private university based in Boston, US

Suffok University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in more than 70 areas of study through its College of Arts and Sciences, Sawyer Business School, and Law School. It now has campuses on three continents — in Boston; Madrid, Spain; and Dakar, Senegal — as well as satellite locations in Eastern Massachusetts.

Polytechnics in Senegal

No information.

Higher education reform

The Bologna Process

For some background see http://globalhighered.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/the-bologna-process-a-case-of-aspiration-and-inspiration-in-africa/

Senegal's HEIs in the information society

Towards the information society

Senegal realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a mini-boom in information technology-based services. this relatively early start for an African country may ahve helped to create a suitable climate for later e-learning developments.

Internet

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_Senegal)

Sonatel, Senegal’s telecommunications operator, continues to dominate the market. Sonatel was privatized in 1997 with France Telecom, as the strategic partner. Liberalization of some services accompanied privatization.

Two companies now provide cellular telephone services, and there is a competitive Internet services market. As a result, there has been a boom of Internet-related activities and services and in cell phone usage. Cellular service has grown significantly since its introduction in the late 1990s. These last few years have witnessed the spectacular growth of mobile telephony with 3,434,000 subscribers in 2007 and 1,537,000 respectively in 2005.

There are currently two cellular companies. In November 2007 a third mobile license was awarded to Sudan's Sudatel. The license also permits Sudatel to offer fixed line telephony and internet service (for which Sonatel currently has a monopoly).

The long-awaited telecommunications sector deregulation became effective in July 2004, with the release of a sectoral letter that outlines the IT policy for the coming years. Telecommunications entrepreneurs who had hoped for a sweeping deregulation will be facing a regime of guided deregulation instead. Internet service is widely available in Dakar and other towns either for private subscription or through Senegal’s extensive network of “telecentres” and Internet cafes.

The ADSL broadband subscriber base is growing rapidly, though the penetration rate is less than 1 percent.

In 2007, sales generated by the telecommunications sector accounted for more than 7 percent of the GDP. Senegal has an excellent telecommunications infrastructure, which is digitized. The country has around 278,000 landlines for 11.9 million inhabitants.

The Government wants Senegal to be a haven for teleprocessing services, with its advantageous geographic position, relatively good telecommunications infrastructure and relatively low wages. A number of joint ventures call centers and the telemarketing businesses have sprung up, most of them servicing the French market.

International calls to most countries can be dialed directly. The country code for Senegal is 221. Since October 2007, Senegal has changed its numbering system. The numbers 33, 76 and 77 have to be added when dialing a fixed line (33) or a cellular line - 76 for Orange and 77 for Tigo.

A number of cyber cafés are located in Dakar and other cities.

Virtual Campuses in HE

Interesting Virtual Campus Initiatives

Senegal is the headquarters of the Campus Numérique Francophone de Dakar. It is not clear whether this is still active.

Interesting Programmes

Both the public universities show signs of e-learning activity.

Université Cheikh Anta Diop (Cheikh Anta Diop University)

See the pages at http://www.ucad.sn/communaute/offre_fad.htm,

Université Gaston Berger (Gaston Berger University)

See the Radio Campus page at http://www.ugb.sn/radio_campus.htm

Re.ViCa Case-study

None.

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Senegal
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_Senegal

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For OER policies and projects in Senegal see Senegal/OER

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