Youngsters in Côte d’Ivoire return to school this week with a sword of Damocles above their heads: those with average grades of less than 8.5 out of 10 will be excluded at the end of the year, IgbereTV reports
The measure is an old one brought back by authorities in the hope of raising the general standard of education in the country — prohibiting any pupil with an unacceptable grade from pursuing their studies.
In the working-class district of Adjame, at the heart of the commercial capital Abidjan, the rule stirs comment at small stalls selling school supplies, where people also exchange secondhand textbooks.
“What are we going to do with the students who will be excluded? It’s too drastic!” exclaims Mariam Eid, a mother of three.
“We’re going to turn them into bandits. We want the teaching to be up to par, but one step at a time,” she adds, while making sure a worn mathematics book has no missing pages before she buys it.
But at the Pierre Amondji college in Adjame — where the motto “Who seeks perfection obtains excellence” is displayed in capital letters on the walls of the courtyard — the measure is generally well received among the students
