The situation in Catholic schools/Prime Minister Joaquín Maga: It must be remembered that the future of children must take precedence over everything else, and this is the concern of the transitional president

The restricted Cabinet Committee met on Monday, August 19, 2024, and the meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maga. The meeting brought together the Minister of State, the Minister of Territorial Administration, and colleagues in charge of the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Finance.

The aim is to scrutinize the situation of Catholic schools, recognized as public utilities since 1960, for which the state has decided to suspend from January 2025 a subsidy equivalent to 80% of teachers’ salaries, based on an agreement with the Catholic Church signed in 1972 and revised in 1978.
Above all, the question is to find appropriate solutions to the crisis in these schools, which have decided to stop educational activities from the beginning of the next academic year in September 2024, thus risking the loss of jobs for teachers and the interruption of students’ academic careers.

The government’s decision was taken after discussions to respect the principles of equality of citizens and secularism enshrined in the Constitution. It should be remembered that other schools, namely private schools, are not subsidized by the state.
For the Prime Minister, it is important to remember that the future of children must come first. The Transitional President is concerned about ensuring that children do not drop out of school.

But he said that first of all, in the context of the current crisis in which Mali is at war and the country’s resources are dwindling, it is necessary to understand where the subsidies are going. Especially in the absence of donor funding and the exponential growth of educational institutions of all kinds, some of which were created with false documents or even by civil servants. Therefore, he believes that today people are concerned about the rationalization of resources.

Jogur Maga went on to add: Second, the new constitution requires strict application of the law. It is difficult to subsidize some schools at the expense of others. Third, the public welfare nature of these schools has been recognized since Mali’s independence in 1960, and the convention was signed in 1972 and revised in 1978.

As parents of students, the members of the Limited Cabinet all believe that this is a very sensitive issue that requires keen scrutiny. We will address this issue by reviewing and finding appropriate solutions in the form of strong recommendations to the Transitional President, the Head of Government concluded.

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