Barriers to Qur’anic education reform: findings from Senegal and Niger – register here!

Dr Shona Macleod, Nottingham University

1 April, 11-12:30

GSRC, Arts C / Zoom Webinar

Bio:

Dr Shona Macleod is a postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, where she is part of a collaborative project exploring the practice of begging by young boys studying in traditional Qur’anic schools in Niger. This work builds on her doctoral studies, which focused on three interventions targeting Qur’anic schools in Senegal, demonstrating the power of discourse to shape interventions and how NGOs and state actors engage Qur’anic teachers. Shona has also spent several years working in child rights and international development NGOs in Senegal and in the UK, and she has previously taught at King’s College London and at SOAS, where she completed her PhD.

Abstract:

In many parts of West Africa with significant Muslim populations, numerous young boys (known as talibés) are required to beg alongside studying in residential traditional Qur’anic schools. These schools are excluded from the national education systems in most of the region. Yet in recent decades, several countries have attracted international funding for the development of hybrid forms of education uniting Qur’anic and secular education – an approach framed as ‘modernisation’ in Senegal, and ‘renovation’ in Niger. Drawing insights from qualitative data collected in 2017/18 in Senegal and in 2024 from Niger, the presentation will examine how these projects have unfolded in the two countries. It will draw attention to the differences between the variations of the hybrid education approach and obstacles to implementation in each context. Ultimately it will demonstrate that hybrid education approaches are unlikely to provide a solution to the problem of widespread begging by talibés.

We look forward to having you join us for this event! If you have any queries, please email cie@sussex.ac.uk. You can also visit our website: Centre for International Education, University of Sussex.

By: Eve Wilcox
Last updated: Wednesday, 26 February 2025