A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch

About half of all schools do not have latrines—a practical problem that deters girls from
school attendance—and lack a canteen, sports facilities, or a room for teachers. 296
Some mines have community schools, private schools, or madrasas (Islamic schools).
However, the demand for community-based schools is fairly low in mining areas; this means
that the government has an even greater obligation to ensure public schools are available. 297
School Fees
School fees are unlawful in Mali, yet parents usually pay school fees for children who
attend. Community schools charge fees, and even public schools sometimes require
parents to pay in money or in kind, for example, food for the teacher.
School fees discourage parents from sending their children to school rather than to the mine.
Teachers, parents, and child laborers told us that school fees were one of the reasons why
children do not attend school. A group of seven women in Sensoko, Kéniéba area, explained
that they could not pay school fees for all of the children in a family, and therefore sent some
children to work full-time in the gold mine instead. Every month, they pay to the local school
800 CFA francs (about US$ 1.75) per child. This group of women had a total of 29 school-age
children working in the mine; of these, 18 were also attending school. 298
Karim S., a child laborer at Worognan mine, talked about his desire to attend school:
I have never been to school. My father enrolled my two older siblings [in
school], but it did not work for me. I would like to go to school, but my
father refused. 299
Another child laborer, Oumar K., explained that he had been in school but dropped out
because his parents could not pay the school fees any longer. He was in school until fourth
grade, but was not allowed back after an illness because his parents had not paid the
school fees. His three sisters were also not attending school. 300
296 ILO, “Etude transfrontalière sur le travail des enfants dans l’orpaillage,” pp. 45-46; Human Rights Watch interview with
representative of RAC, Kéniéba, April 2, 2011; Human Rights Watch visits to schools in Baroya, Sensoko, and Worognan. For
latrines, see UNICEF, “’Girl friendly/ child-friendly’ schools provide a brighter future for Mali”, August 18, 2011,
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/mali_59595.html (accessed September 7, 2011).
297 ILO, “Etude transfrontalière sur le travail des enfants dans l’orpaillage,” pp. 45-46.
298 Human Rights Watch interview with seven women gold miners, Sensoko, April 4, 2011.
299 Human Rights Watch interview with Karim S., estimated age 14, Worognan, April 8, 2011.
300 Human Rights Watch interview with Oumar K., estimated age 14, Sensoko, April 4, 2011.
65 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | DECEMBER 2011