A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch

VII. “I Have Never Been to School” – Access to
Education for Child Laborers in Mines
Lack of access to education is one of the causes of child labor in artisanal mining.
Access to education is generally very poor in Mali and in the artisanal mining areas in
particular. In 2009-2010, the net enrolment rate was 60.6 per cent, and only 56.3 per
cent of children completed primary school. 290 Education policies have largely failed to
benefit vulnerable groups, such as child laborers in mining areas and in other sectors. In
the mining areas, school buildings and infrastructure are lacking, and school fees create
barriers in impoverished mining communities. Furthermore, education authorities and
schools themselves have largely failed to reach out to families of migrant children to
ensure their education.
Difficult Access to Education in Artisanal Mining Areas
Lack of School Infrastructure in Mining Communities
Since many artisanal mines are located in remote areas, physical access to schools is
often a problem. Many long-time mining villages in the Kéniéba region do not have schools.
For example, one of the large mines south of Kéniéba, Hamdallaye, did not have a school
when a local NGO visited in May 2010. 291 When new artisanal mining communities spring
up in some areas, they are even more likely to have insufficient schools. 292
The public schools that do exist in mining areas are often in a very poor state. The large
majority of schools are too small, lacking separate classrooms for each year group. 293 For
example, the school in Worognan has only two rooms for six grades, and therefore only
runs two grades at any time; during our visit, it was running a first and a sixth grade
class. 294 Other schools group several grades together and teach them in the same room. 295
290 The net enrolment rate is the share of children of primary school age that are currently enrolled in school. Ministère de
l’Education, de l’Alphabétisation et de Langues nationales, “Annuaire National des Statistiques Scolaires de l’Enseignement
Fondamental (ANSSEF) 2009-2010,” 2010, p. 91.
291 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with representative of RAC, June 28, 2011.
292 Ministère du Travail, de la Fonction Publique et de la Réforme de l’Etat, “Rapport de la mission de prospection pour
l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre d’un programme d’action de lutte contre les pires formes de travail des enfants dans
l’orpaillage traditionnel dans la région de Sikasso du 5 au 8 septembre 2010,” September 2010, pp. 5-6.
293 Oxfam, “Delivering Education for All in Mali,” June 2009, http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/deliveringeducation-for-all-mali-report-07-06-09.pdf
(accessed on June 24, 2011), p.18.
294 Human Rights Watch interview with teacher, Worognan, June 8, 2011.
295 Human Rights Watch interview with school director and teacher from Sensoko, Kéniéba, April 2, 2011; Human Rights
Watch interview with school director and teachers, Baroya, April 3, 2011.
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