Attitudes towards the Use of Songhay as a Language of Education in Gao (Mali)

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The choice of a language of education and people’s support of that language have always been a great concern for most Sub-Saharan African countries. Mali makes no exception to that rule. At independence, and for the preservation of national unity, the Malian government opted for the colonial French language as its sole language of education, administration, politics, etc. The limitations to that language policy later on drove successive governments to gradually introduce the native languages into the educational system. However, after the experimentation, introduction, and generalisation of those languages into the educational system, very few (if any) studies have been carried out to determine the attitudes of the people whose children use those media of formal education. This research has been undertaken to determine how people of Gao feel about Songhay as the language of education of their children at school. The researcher administered questionnaires to headmasters and teachers and carried out interviews with key school stakeholders in Gao.