A Discussion with Mamadou Sibalo, Student, University of Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
With: Mamadou Sibalo Berkley Center Profile
July 25, 2014
Background: In July 2014, undergraduate student Hopey
Fink interviewed Mamadou Sibalo, a third year student at the University of
Ouagadougou, as part of the Education and Social Justice Project. In this
interview, Sibalo discusses his experience at the Jesuit-run Center of Studies and Reflection for Students (le Centre d’Etude et de Réflexion pour Collégiens, Lycéens et Etudiants, CERCLE) and the state of education in Burkina Faso, focusing on student
activism, teaching approaches, and classroom conditions.
Could you begin by
explaining your background, your education, your interests?
I am Sibalo Mamadou. I am in my third year of Anglophone studies. I am getting a master’s degree…I began my studies in the village. I did six years there. I then began my first year at the university here. My family is in Bobo-Dioulasso, but I have a house here.
When did you begin to come to CERCLE?
When I moved here to come to the university. By my house, there is always music—it is not a calm place. My friend told me, also that there were a lot of documents at CERCLE. The connection caused me to come check it out. There are also trainings here like conflict resolution.
Have you utilized all of these options and services?
Yes, I did a training program called "Environmental Management," and also one called "Conflict Resolution." They are courses that last for about a month.
Do you use all of the spaces here?
Personally, I do not really use the chalkboards. When I come here, it is usually to do some reading. I use the library, and it is really the computer room that interests me.
Why did you choose to study English?
I had an uncle in the village who taught English. He is very good. I felt that if I could study English, there would be a lot of good opportunities. I began in sixth grade, in 2004.
What is the curriculum like at the university to study English? Are there seminars, or big lectures?
The classes are normally large. If they are too big, we normally divide the room into three or four sections. Each works with an assistant, but these groups are still quite big. My chosen domain is English literature.
Often we have debates. When I was in my third year, we talked a lot to help us learn.
When you are at CERCLE, do you work in groups or individually?
Me, I mostly work individually. I come nearly every day. I come even on the weekends, if I do not have courses, to look for information and read the news.
Do you do other activities at the university, other groups or clubs?
Yes, there are lots of student interest groups. I am part of a club called the General Students’ Union that has debates every day to talk about the issues of Burkina Faso.
What do you think about the state of the system of education?
The system of education in Burkina Faso is chaotic. We cannot know what is really going on. There are some who benefit from scholarships, scholarships to study abroad in France or the United States. But these are very limited, and practically, the government is in the process of privatizing the system of education. There are more private schools in Ouagadougou than public schools. The population does not believe in the system of education.
On the campus of the University of Ouagadougou, one school year can take more than thirteen months. Because of this academic mess, there are a lot of challenges for those seeking master’s or doctoral degrees. There is a lack of professors. And the social condition of students is not secure.
Could you talk a bit about the conditions in the classrooms?
It is complicated. I started my first year in 2011, and there were more than a thousand students in one classroom. There are not enough spaces for all those who are interested, and oftentimes the instruction is not consistent. These are all problems.
If we organize strikes at the university, nobody listens to us. They say we are being manipulated by political forces. That is why the conditions are still not good.
Have you participated in student strikes?
Yes, I am a delegate for the General Students’ Union. So if a problem comes up, we are the ones who attempt to negotiate. It is not affiliated with a political party, though. There is not a good political party! They are all liars.
What would you like to do as a career?
My vocation is to be a professor. I would like to get a doctoral degree, because there is a lack of professors. If you have a doctorate, you can come teach at the university.
What pedagogy would you use as a professor? Would you change anything about the normal ways of teaching here?
Yes, I would change a lot of things. First of all, the state funds the education. There are hundreds of students who fail every year. That means we have a problem. We must adapt to this situation. It is the French system that accounts for the current educational landscape in Burkina Faso. This system prepares people to become bureaucrats or office workers. In Burkina we have 16 million people, and they cannot all be bureaucrats. We must be enterprising and develop other partnerships for young people. Unemployment is very high. We must train technicians as well.
A sick person cannot develop. An illiterate person cannot develop. We must first reorganize our priorities. There is a lot of inequality in Burkina Faso, and we need to harness the power of social institutions to fight this poverty. I think it would be good to have conversations with countries like the United States on education. We need to be fully independent of France, and we are not now, especially with the French system of education. We need a revolution among the Burkinabe people. Each Burkinabe has a right to education and health, and we must demand that from our government.
How do you see the role of faith at CERCLE? What is interreligious dialogue like?
If people are not open to having a dialogue, we cannot have conversation. Sometimes people are close-minded, but generally we can have friendships.
What I like most about CERCLE is that it is laic. It is only 7000 CFA, so it is affordable, and it is open to everyone: Muslim, Christian, all. The Jesuits really value education, and I really love that they want to educate everyone.
I am Sibalo Mamadou. I am in my third year of Anglophone studies. I am getting a master’s degree…I began my studies in the village. I did six years there. I then began my first year at the university here. My family is in Bobo-Dioulasso, but I have a house here.
When did you begin to come to CERCLE?
When I moved here to come to the university. By my house, there is always music—it is not a calm place. My friend told me, also that there were a lot of documents at CERCLE. The connection caused me to come check it out. There are also trainings here like conflict resolution.
Have you utilized all of these options and services?
Yes, I did a training program called "Environmental Management," and also one called "Conflict Resolution." They are courses that last for about a month.
Do you use all of the spaces here?
Personally, I do not really use the chalkboards. When I come here, it is usually to do some reading. I use the library, and it is really the computer room that interests me.
Why did you choose to study English?
I had an uncle in the village who taught English. He is very good. I felt that if I could study English, there would be a lot of good opportunities. I began in sixth grade, in 2004.
What is the curriculum like at the university to study English? Are there seminars, or big lectures?
The classes are normally large. If they are too big, we normally divide the room into three or four sections. Each works with an assistant, but these groups are still quite big. My chosen domain is English literature.
Often we have debates. When I was in my third year, we talked a lot to help us learn.
When you are at CERCLE, do you work in groups or individually?
Me, I mostly work individually. I come nearly every day. I come even on the weekends, if I do not have courses, to look for information and read the news.
Do you do other activities at the university, other groups or clubs?
Yes, there are lots of student interest groups. I am part of a club called the General Students’ Union that has debates every day to talk about the issues of Burkina Faso.
What do you think about the state of the system of education?
The system of education in Burkina Faso is chaotic. We cannot know what is really going on. There are some who benefit from scholarships, scholarships to study abroad in France or the United States. But these are very limited, and practically, the government is in the process of privatizing the system of education. There are more private schools in Ouagadougou than public schools. The population does not believe in the system of education.
On the campus of the University of Ouagadougou, one school year can take more than thirteen months. Because of this academic mess, there are a lot of challenges for those seeking master’s or doctoral degrees. There is a lack of professors. And the social condition of students is not secure.
Could you talk a bit about the conditions in the classrooms?
It is complicated. I started my first year in 2011, and there were more than a thousand students in one classroom. There are not enough spaces for all those who are interested, and oftentimes the instruction is not consistent. These are all problems.
If we organize strikes at the university, nobody listens to us. They say we are being manipulated by political forces. That is why the conditions are still not good.
Have you participated in student strikes?
Yes, I am a delegate for the General Students’ Union. So if a problem comes up, we are the ones who attempt to negotiate. It is not affiliated with a political party, though. There is not a good political party! They are all liars.
What would you like to do as a career?
My vocation is to be a professor. I would like to get a doctoral degree, because there is a lack of professors. If you have a doctorate, you can come teach at the university.
What pedagogy would you use as a professor? Would you change anything about the normal ways of teaching here?
Yes, I would change a lot of things. First of all, the state funds the education. There are hundreds of students who fail every year. That means we have a problem. We must adapt to this situation. It is the French system that accounts for the current educational landscape in Burkina Faso. This system prepares people to become bureaucrats or office workers. In Burkina we have 16 million people, and they cannot all be bureaucrats. We must be enterprising and develop other partnerships for young people. Unemployment is very high. We must train technicians as well.
A sick person cannot develop. An illiterate person cannot develop. We must first reorganize our priorities. There is a lot of inequality in Burkina Faso, and we need to harness the power of social institutions to fight this poverty. I think it would be good to have conversations with countries like the United States on education. We need to be fully independent of France, and we are not now, especially with the French system of education. We need a revolution among the Burkinabe people. Each Burkinabe has a right to education and health, and we must demand that from our government.
How do you see the role of faith at CERCLE? What is interreligious dialogue like?
If people are not open to having a dialogue, we cannot have conversation. Sometimes people are close-minded, but generally we can have friendships.
What I like most about CERCLE is that it is laic. It is only 7000 CFA, so it is affordable, and it is open to everyone: Muslim, Christian, all. The Jesuits really value education, and I really love that they want to educate everyone.
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