Goree Island: For many girls in Senegal, going to school can open the door to a very different future. But staying in school long enough to complete secondary education remains a major challenge. On Gorée Island, a special boarding school is showing what can happen when girls are given the education, support and confidence they need to succeed.
The Mariama Ba School of Excellence has become a symbol of opportunity for some of Senegal’s brightest girls. Founded in 1985, the state funded boarding school admits only a small number of students each year. The girls receive free education and accommodation while studying through middle and high school.
Among its students is Ndeye Awa Diop, who grew up in a rural area of Senegal. When she first arrived at the school at the age of 12, she was extremely shy and struggled to speak in class. She was also homesick and found it difficult to adjust to life away from her family.
Years later, her confidence had changed completely. At 19, Diop became president of the student council and prepared to graduate. She says the school taught her how to become a leader and encouraged her to believe in her own abilities.
Her experience reflects one of the most important lessons from the school. Education can do more than provide academic knowledge. It can help girls develop confidence, independence and the ability to make decisions about their own lives.
Senegal has made important progress in girls' education over the past several decades. Most girls now enter primary school, and in some measures girls have higher enrolment rates than boys. However, the progress becomes less certain as students move into secondary education.
Many girls leave school before completing high school. Poverty remains one of the major reasons. When families face financial difficulties, they may choose to keep boys in school while girls are expected to take on household responsibilities. Early marriage and teenage pregnancy can also interrupt a girl's education.
Menstruation is another challenge, particularly for girls who do not have adequate sanitary products or access to suitable facilities at school. In rural areas, long distances to secondary schools can create another barrier. For some families, sending a teenage daughter to a distant school may not be considered safe or practical.
Recent education data also shows that Senegal still faces a significant gap between primary and higher levels of education. While girls have made progress in entering school, many do not complete the full education cycle. UNESCO data indicates that the primary school completion rate for girls was about 60 percent in 2022, showing that access to education does not always result in completion.
The challenge is therefore changing. Senegal is no longer dealing only with the question of whether girls can enter school. The bigger question is whether they can remain there, finish their education and use their qualifications to build independent lives.
The Mariama Ba School provides an example of how this can be achieved. Students follow a demanding daily routine that combines classroom education with sports, arts and opportunities to meet successful women. Former students also return as mentors and show younger girls what can be achieved after graduation.
The school carries the name of Mariama Ba, one of Senegal's best known writers. Her work examined the difficulties women faced between traditional expectations and modern ambitions. Although she did not describe herself as a feminist, she strongly supported equality and challenged practices that limited women's freedom.
Yet the success of the school also highlights the scale of the wider problem. Only a small number of girls can attend each year, meaning that most Senegalese girls do not have access to the same environment. The school itself acknowledges that many of its students come from Dakar, while girls in poorer and more remote communities can face much greater obstacles.
The need for wider change is becoming increasingly clear. Senegal's education authorities and international partners are working to understand the weaknesses in the education system and improve access, quality and completion. The focus is gradually moving toward helping disadvantaged children, particularly girls, stay in education through the secondary level.
Education is also closely connected to women's economic independence. Even when girls succeed academically, they can still encounter social expectations that limit their choices. Women continue to face disadvantages in areas such as employment, property ownership and household decision making.
For students at Mariama Ba, however, the message is clear. A girl's future should not be decided by where she was born, how much money her family has or whether society expects her to remain silent.
For Diop, the first girl from her village to attend the school, the goal is to become an international business lawyer. Her ambition reflects the wider change that education can create.
The Mariama Ba School cannot solve Senegal's education challenges on its own. But its students demonstrate what becomes possible when girls are given opportunity, encouragement and the freedom to imagine a bigger future.
The challenge for Senegal now is to make that opportunity available to far more girls, especially those living in poor and rural communities.