Senegal shows strong educational progress in PASEC 2024 results

Senegal has demonstrated encouraging progress in fundamental learning, according to the 2024 Programme d’analyse des systèmes éducatifs (PASEC) evaluation results. Presented during an international meeting in Dakar, the study, conducted across 16 African countries, measures student achievement to guide public education policy.

In reading, Senegal achieved an average score of 543.8 points, with 62.5% of evaluated primary students reaching the competency threshold, significantly higher than the participant average of 38.5%. In mathematics, the country scored 540.1 points, with 59.6% of students reaching competency levels compared to a 24.8% regional average.

The data highlights the effectiveness of using national languages in early education. Hilaire Hounkpódoté, PASEC coordinator, noted that second-year primary students evaluated in national languages performed better in reading than those evaluated in French. Consequently, Senegal’s Minister of National Education, Moustapha Guirassy, expressed interest in expanding the use of national languages to mathematics instruction to address ongoing challenges in that subject.