Decline of French among university students

By Jane Marshall. The proficiency of many Senegalese students in French, the colonial language, is declining and the use of local languages – especially Wolof – is becoming more common on campus and in lectures. But there is disagreement over whether the decline is due to poor teaching, the fault of students, government reforms, or overcrowding and poor facilities.
These are findings of a newspaper inquiry by Gaustin Diatta in Le Soleil of Dakar, following interviews with students and lecturers at the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, or UCAD, the country’s leading university. More...