Promotion of Equal Access of Girls to Scientific, Technical and Vocational Education in Mali

CAMARA Maïmouna COULIBALY*

* Professor of Secondary, Technical and Vocational Education - Delegate on the Commissioner's Board for the Advancement of Women, under the Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education - Director of the Aoua KEITA Training Center.

The school attendance rate for girls in Mali, one of the lowest in the world (17 to 20% on the average) is characterized by their extremely limited access to scientific and technological streams. And yet, the mastery of development demands women's participation, which requires a solid foundation in every domain, in this case in science and technology.

Women represent about 51.20 % of Mali's population, 78% of whom live in rural areas¹. In the family, in society, in school and at work, they play a key social and economic role acknowledged by all.

¹ National Directorate of Statistics and Information (DSNI). Perspectives of the Total Urban and Rural Population of Mali, 1987 - 2022. Bamako. August 1992

However, women and girls are confronted with many problems. They are: a low school attendance rate, illiteracy, the multiplicity and harshness of domestic chores, a lack of training, under-information, poverty and a disadvantaged social status, despite the fact that all legislation in Mali recognizes the principle of equality between men and women.

These problems are the result of many factors, including:

- early marriages and pregnancies that are often multiple and very close together;
- harmful socio-cultural practices such as excision;
- the survival in legislation of discriminatory provisions contrary to the principles of equality;
- the lack of decision-making power in the family as well as in societal management.

PERSPECTIVES REGARDING THE ROLE OF GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The general objectives are as follows:

· promote education for girls and women;
· take concrete measures to protect the rights and interests of girls and women;
· ensure that women participate fully in economic development and environmental conservation.

The following activities will be implemented to realize those objectives:

· Sensitizing the population about the importance of getting girls into school;
· Teaching women to read and write in existing centres and in those that must still be constructed;
· Initiation and reinforcement of creative, income-generating activities for the benefit of girls and women.

In the past few years, there has been a reversal in educational trends, where parents are more open and increasingly understand the importance of sending their daughters to school.

Table 1: Trends of School Attendance Levels

YEAR	TOTAL	GIRLS
1990-1991	23.0%	16.9%
1993-1994	36.4%	24.9%
1995-1996	42.0%	33.0%

Sources: DNEF and PRODEC

Table 2: Trends of School Attendance Levels for Girls by Region

REGIONS	1995	1996
Kayes	21	24
Koulikoro	28	31
Sikasso	24	28
Ségou	24	28
Mopti	15	18
Tombouctou	18	19
Gao	20	22
Kidal	12	13
District of Bamako	117	127
TOTAL	32	33%

CURRENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY TRENDS FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN

There are few women employees in Mali's civil Service. Out of a total workforce of 36,716, only 9,203 (or 25.06 %) are women. Moreover, they are concentrated in the community-related services, social services and personnel services.

The majority of these women are found in the lower ranks of hierarchy.

CATEGORY A = 855 Women
CATEGORY B = 3 267 Women
CATEGORY C = 3 493 Women (Source: DSNI, 1993)

Moreover, women are rarely named to positions of high responsibility, not to mention those equal or superior to men's positions. This situation has an impact on the positive image of women and on their capacity to influence decision-making.

The poor representation of women and the problems they face, are chiefly related to the following factors:

· low school attendance rate of girls and the high attrition rate, since one's professional qualifications are still largely conditioned by one's academic education.

· difficulty in reconciling the multiple roles of producer, mother, wife and housekeeper;

· persistence of social prejudices preventing women from being designated for certain responsible positions;

· reticence of employers (especially in the private sector) to hire women, who cite absenteeism as their main reason (whether justified or not);

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TRENDS FOR GIRLS IN GENERAL SECONDARY TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

In 1992-93, for general, technical and vocational secondary education, there was a total enrolment of 25,640 students, including 7,541 girls (29%, or about one-fourth of the total student population). Among these girls, 4,297 are in general secondary education (57%), and 3,214 in Technical and Vocational education, or 43%. For boys, this ratio is 60% for general secondary education and 40% for technical/vocational education. For both sexes, the majority of the students are oriented into general secondary education.

In the 10th grade, a balance is reached between the literary and scientific options - 51% (906) of girls are oriented towards science and 49% (866) towards the liberal arts. The following table reviews the situation in the 11th and 12th grades.

Table 3: Distribution of Girls in High School by Section

SERIES	ENROLMENT	PERCENTAGE
11th LL	297	18
11th HS	476	2
11th BS	729	44
11th ES	175	10
TOTAL	1677	100
13th LLT	125	16
12th SHT	156	20
12th SBT	403	51
12th SET	104	13
TOTAL	788	100

Source: E.S.G.T.P. Statistics Yearbook (GB)

This table indicates that approximately one-half of the girls take biology, one-fourth opt for the humanities, and one-sixth for languages, while only one-tenth go into the exact sciences² These data show that at the general secondary education level, girls have a real inclination for the biological sciences and a strong distaste for the exact sciences.

² This tendency to reject the sciences is less pronounced among boys, 1/6 of whom opted into this stream.

In technical high school, the enrolment by gender is as follows:

Table 4: Student Distribution by Gender and by Section/Branch

Options
Sex	Tertiary	Industry	Total
Boys	N	4530	7294
	%	62	100
Girls	N	2955	3211
	%	92	100

** In this table, the tertiary sector consists of the economic sections.
Source: The E.S.G.T.P, Statistics Yearbook

Table 4 reveals that an overwhelming majority of girls are found in the tertiary sections (less than 1/10 of girls are in industry). This ratio is more balanced among boys, where 2/5 of those enrolled are in the industrial branches.

These data for technical high schools are similar to those for technical and vocational education, as shown in the following table. Here too, less than one-tenth of the girls opt for the industrial streams leading to a C.A.P. (Certificate of Professional Skills) or a B.T. (Technician's Diploma).

Table 5: Student Distribution in Technical and Vocational Education by Gender and by Training Section

		Nbr%	LEVEL	LEVEL	AVER.
			CAP.	B.T.		TOTAL
BRANCHES	BOYS	N	1920	2171		4091
		%	62	66	Av=	64
TERTIARY	GIRLS	N	1011	1857		2868
		%	95	91	Av=	92
		N	1176	1097		2273
INDUSTRY	BOYS	%	38	34	Av=	36
		N	52	192		244
	GIRLS	%	5	9		8

It is interesting to note that among the girls who opt for the tertiary sector, a very large proportion goes into the literary and sectorial streams, perceived as “purely feminine” professions. The situation at the Ecole Centrale pour l'Industrialisation, le Commerce et l'Administration (Central School for Industry, Trade and Administration) perfectly illustrates this: 47% of female students going into the tertiary stream take up secretarial courses in the first year, 27% in the second year, 44% in the third year, and 39% in the 4th year.

These statistics all reveal that in secondary education, girls are primarily interested in the biological sciences and economics. In contrast, they show a distinct lack of interest in the exact science and industrial streams. No scientific explanation can be given for girls' negative attitude towards these areas (See page 8 for IPN test results).

PERFORMANCE OF GIRLS IN TESTS AND EXAMINATIONS FOR THE C.E.E.P.C.E.E. AND THE D.E.F. (BASIC STUDIES DIPLOMA)

Studies conducted by the National Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the National Institute of Pedagogy (IPN) on school yields for 1992-93 and 1993-94 in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th years of basic education, first cycle, show that there is no significant difference between boys' and girls' math test results. This study, which covered the regions of Koulikoro, Ségou, Mopti, Kayes, Sikasso and the District of Bamako, proves that girls have the same aptitudes as boys to understand math and to pursue scientific studies if the proper conditions are in place.

PERFORMANCES IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION

Statistics on the achievements of girls in health education revealed the following percentages at the Secondary School of Health and Environment and at the School of Training and Community Development:

For the 1992-1993 academic year, out of 278 students (both sexes), 57% of the girls were distributed among the following specialties: Midwifery - Registered Nurse - Laboratory - Pharmacy.

For 1993-1994, there were 224 students in all the specialties, of whom 48% were girls.

For 1995-1996, a total of 160 students were enrolled in all specialties, of whom 48% were girls.

For 1996-1997, 137 students were enrolled in the various specialties combined, of whom 50% were girls.

N.B.: 100% of the students enrolled in the midwifery section are girls and women. These figures corroborate girls' fascination for midwifery. They believe that this stream will earn them more money, and that by exercising this profession, they can render service to their sisters on the humanitarian plan.

For the Laboratory/Pharmacy section, 10% of girls discover that the highest coefficients are attributed to the main subjects, such as physics and chemistry, and that it is hard for them to advance in those subjects.

Out of 12 permanent professors, 7 are women.

At the School of Training and Community Development, which specifically handles Extension and Community Guidance in the rural communities, only 26 girls compared to 99 boys attend this establishment, or 12.5% of all girls. This is explained by the fact that the amount of time reserved for practical field work is greater than that spent on theoretical courses. Girls often drop out because working conditions are very hard in rural zones.

There are three women professors out of ten teaching in this area. They teach nutrition, social work and IEC (Information-Education-Communication).

NEGATIVE FACTORS DETERMINING GIRLS' ORIENTATION TOWARD SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

Trends related to national economic development

An analysis of women's status in the different socioeconomic sectors revealed that women who represent 51% of the population, and who are active at every level, are disadvantaged and benefit little from development actions. Women participate less than men in every area of development.

Greater recognition and higher value must be therefore given to women's participation as actors and beneficiaries in the scientific development process.

a) Socio-cultural reasons

Literary and tertiary education has been favored to the detriment of certain scientific streams, particularly science and technology.

Moreover, the industrial streams are perceived as unsuitable for girls. Since women are viewed as the “weaker sex” compared to men, any activity requiring physical strength is reserved for the latter. This engenders a lack of self-confidence in girls, who underestimate their capabilities in the scientific discipline.

The study load of scientific and vocational programmes is too heavy and not explicit enough; moreover, the teaching staff is inadequately trained to apply them properly.

Didactic material and scientific equipment are sorely lacking, and sometimes there is none at all. The abstract manner in which these subjects are taught, unrelated to female students' everyday realities, does little to encourage them to take up science subjects. A girl would therefore take greater interest in mathematics if this knowledge would help her to understand activities related to her life. Consequently, there is good reason to try to awaken girls' interests in the sciences by having them study how they are applied to their daily living.

The poor representation of women in science education is another block against girls gaining access to the sciences and technology. Their male science teachers tend to surround their subjects in mystery, and consider them to be very hard and not accessible to girls.

Moreover, certain attitudes which consist of discriminating against girls by ridiculing them when they make mistakes in class instead of coming to their aid, only discourage the girls from developing a positive attitude about the sciences.

b) Positive Factors Determining-Girls' Orientation Towards Scientific, Technical and Vocational Education

In light of the observations above, the following proposals can be made:

· Sensitize all classes of society (civilians, actors in training and education, female students, etc.) in order to eliminate all prejudices and stereotypes of which women are victims;

· Conduct a campaign showing that knowledge about science and technology is an indispensable condition for girls to guarantee their participation in the country's development;

· Get parents to understand that their contribution is a determining factor in boosting girls' self-confidence by making them realize they are just as capable as boys in learning the sciences;

· Revise programmes with a view to lightening the study load and adapting them to students' lifestyles and to teachers' training levels;

· Provide schools with basic scientific teaching material and equipment to enable them to make their courses more practical;

· Reorganize continuous training for teachers in order to improve their pedagogical level and their capacity to meet girl students' needs;

· Help all actors to think about the best means to incite more girls to take up a career teaching the sciences and technology in particular;

· Seek every possible way of encouraging girls by instituting incentives such as prizes, awards and study scholarships for the sciences.

c) Factors bearing on employment (employment eligibility, structure of labour market, salaries, etc.);

The role of wage-earning women in the economy must be strengthened to improve their working conditions.

It is also important:

· to intensify training and recycling of women workers in order to improve their performance;

· to take the informal sectors into account when determining technical and vocational education policy in general, and in the integration of girls in this area in particular.

According to the “State of Employment - Study of the Modem Sector, 1995” published by the Employment and Training Observatory of the National Manpower and Employment Office, the following information can be drawn:

1. Permanent Employment: A total of 32 219 workers, including 3 677 women (2 535 in Bamako), outside the civil service.

2. Employment Breakdown According to Type of Enterprise:

- · Public Sector:	1 374 women out of 9 659
- · Private Sector:	1 087 women out of 10 021
- Mixed Sector:	844 women out of 10 633
- NGO/Cooperation:	372 women out of 1 906

3. Branches Providing Employment

Transport - Warehouse - Communication:	18.7 %
Manufacturing Industry:	18.2 %
Trade - Restaurant - Hotel:	13.8 %
Banking - Insurance - Business Enterprise:	11.7%

4. Type of Training

Skilled Women Workers:	36.0 %
Foremen:	19.7%
Middle Management:	17.2%
Upper Management:	7.6%
Specialized Workers:	7.1 %
Skilled Female Laborers:	4.7%
Specialized Laborers:	3.2%
Directorate:	2.1

* Women make up 11% of the total work force, but they represent 13.6% of supervisory personnel.

5. Jobs and Educational Levels

- · Basic:	12.4 %
- · General Secondary + Teaching:	19.9 %
- · Secondary Technical and Vocational:	18.8 %
- · Advanced 1:	14.0 %
- · Advanced 2:	10.4 %
- · Advanced 3:	12.8 %

A differential analysis based on gender shows that men have attained the basic educational level (21.9%) and the secondary technical and vocational level (19.6%). Most women have attained the technical and vocational level (34.9%) and a basic education (23.9%).

Average Salaries

The average monthly salary is higher among women (105 864 CFA F) than among men (81 535 CFA F). This situation is explained by the fact that women are generally employed as skilled employees (See points 4 and 5).

CURRENT MEASURES TO PROMOTE EQUAL ACCESS OF GIRLS TO SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION AND TO TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION:

Such measures will involve:

· Conducting research on the diversity of socio-cultural attitudes and behaviour in the different national communities;

· Creation of an environment favouring girls' access to school;

· Creation at the basic education and other educational levels of a technologically environment that can arouse girls' interests;

· Diversification of the various streams and creation of vocational training centers for girls;

· Mobilization and information of all target groups in order to wipe out socio-cultural prejudices about women's participation in scientific, technical and professional education;

· Implementation of a decentralization policy for training centers to ensure better geographic distribution and avoid penalizing girls in poor, isolated regions;

· Provision of didactic material for establishments and adaptation of training to specific regional needs in terms of social and economic development;

· Intervention of the different actors, educational deciders, financial partners and NGOS to coordinate their actions to improve girls' access to scientific and technical education;

· Training of orientation counselors who will be assigned to guide students and to offer advice about future career choices.

DIFFICULTIES AND CONSTRAINTS ENCOUNTERED IN IMPLEMENTING THE ABOVE-MENTIONED MEASURES

Any act limiting efforts to get girls into school can be considered as blocks against women's emancipation as producers of consumer goods and quality service. The attitudes found within the traditional community and on-the-site training are included among such obstacles.

The basic problem about school as we know it, and which still prevails today, is probably that it has failed to motivate most girls in the rural and urban zones, to learn things that are concrete, useful and directly consumable. This is seen when girls are taught the sciences and technology, in their lack of interest in how academic curricula are prepared (such curricula do not have enough interesting pedagogical objectives considering the girls' specific needs.) Social factors are thus compounded by academic factors to hinder school attendance for girls.

The lack of awareness-raising campaigns showing the advantages of scientific education is another concern that can be easily addressed with the contribution of partners in education.

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

DNSI:	Direction Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Information (National Directorate of Statistics and Information)
HS:	Humanities
BS:	Biological Sciences
ES:	Exact Sciences
BT:	Brevet de Technicien (Technician's Diploma)
CAP:	Certificat d'Aptitudes Professionnelles (Professional Skills Certificate)
DEF:	Diplôme d'Etudes Fondamentales (Basic Studies Diploma)
IPN:	Institut Pédagogique National (National Institute of Pedagogy)
ESGTP:	Enseignement Secondaire, Général, Technique et Professionnel (General, Technical and Vocational Secondary Education)