A former boarder at the bilingual Fulfulde-French school in Nomgana, Koumbo Diallo has returned with chalk in hand. Since 2012, she has been teaching at this bilingual primary school, which has 42 pupils in grades 1-4.
On this Wednesday morning, Koumbo Diallo’s 3rd grade class has two main subjects on its syllabus: anndalHiisa and anndaldiidi. “When we say andall, we mean knowledge. Andalldiidi means knowing how to draw. Andallhiisa means knowing numbers, knowing how to calculate”, explains the teacher. In short, it’s arithmetic and geometry in the Fulfulde language. It’s the use of this national language in teaching that makes this school so special.
In the 5-year curriculum leading up to the primary school certificate (CEP) exam, Fulfulde plays a major role in the teaching programs. “The level decreases from the first to the fifth year. In the first year, 90% of teaching is in Fulfulde. Only one subject is taught in French. In grade 5, the proportion drops to 10%,” explains school director Leihabibe Dicko.
From student to teacher, a passionate story
Koumbo Diallo and the bilingual school have an 18-year history. Indeed, she is a pure product of this educational system. “In 1998 I was enrolled at the school. We were told we’d been enrolled, but we didn’t know it was a bilingual school,” she recalls. For all that, she praises the heavens for her good fortune. After passing her primary school certificate (CEP) exam with flying colors in 2003, she joined the special multilingual college in Loumbila. This college is the logical continuation of bilingual education at middle-school level. “There, specific subjects are always taught. There’s Fulfulde, production, i.e. breeding and market gardening, culture…”.
After 4 years of study, she obtained her “brevet d’études du premier cycle” (BEPC). This opened the way to the second cycle of secondary education. But Koumbo Diallo chose to try her luck at the entrance exam for the National School for Primary Teachers after the second year of secondary school. “The conditions weren’t right for me to continue. I had to work to be able to help parents,” she explains. After 2 years’ training, she was qualified to teach.
She’s always dreamed of being a teacher. “It’s a profession I’ve loved since elementary school, perhaps inspired by my teacher. I saw him as the one who knew everything. As a child, I dreamed of being just like him.
Her first post took her to a classical school in the commune of Ourgou Manéga. A year later, she was asked to teach at the school where she had cut her teeth. “She was trained in bilingual education. She can read and write in Fulfulde. What’s more, there’s a real need for teachers with this profile. That’s why she was approached,” confides her director.
