The State of Senegal is about to turn a significant page in its social history by putting an end to a structural inequality that has long penalized decision-making teachers. The latter will finally see their status aligned with that of civil servants, a measure hailed as a major advance by the actors of the education sector. According to the national secretary of the Syndicat des enseignants libres du Sénégal (SELS), Hamidou Diédhiou, this measure is a historic victory. It stresses, however, that it must be accompanied by further reforms, in particular: the raising of the retirement age by five years, to compensate for the damage suffered during their career; and a revalorisation of salaries, to ensure social and economic justice. These demands reflect the desire to redress a deeply rooted inequality inherited from the legal provisions adopted under the regime of President Léopold Sédar Senghor. At the time, the categorisation of teachers as ’employees’ and ‘decision-makers’ had created an unfair differentiation, particularly in terms of remuneration, social benefits and retirement pensions. The SELS recalls that there is no fundamental difference between decision-makers and civil servants in terms of recruitment, training, workload or skills. However, decision-makers were deprived of the rights and benefits related to their profession, which impeded their professional progression and reduced their social benefits.
Senegal: The historical rehabilitation of decision-making teachers
