Small Islands: The Union of the Comoros

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Small Island Systems: A Case Study of the Comoro IslandsAuthor(s): Abdourahim Sad BakarReviewed work(s):Source: Comparative Education, Vol. 24, No. 2, Special Number (11): Education and MinorityGroups (1988), pp. 181-191Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3099074 .

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ComparativeEducation Volume24 No. 2 1988 181

S m a l l I s l a n d Sys tems: c a s e s t u d y o ft h e Como r o I s l a n d sABDOURAHIM SAID BAKAR

I. Introduction(1) Geographicand DemographicSituationSituatedin the south-east of the African continent in the MozambiqueChannel,the ComoroIslands cover a surfaceof 2235 km2.The archipelago'snationalterritoryis smaller than thatof the Reunion islands (2512 km2) and a little biggerthan that of Mauritius(2210 km2), butalmost five times bigger than that of the Seychelles (444 km2). The four islands-Ngazidja(Great Comoro), Ndzuwani (Anjuan), Mawore (Mayotte) and Mwali (Moheli) are clus-tered half-way between the Malagasy Republic (Madagascar) and East Africa.Ngazidja,theisland situated more to the West, is 400 km from the Mozambique Coast and 700 km fromDar-es-Salam (Tanzania), while Mawore, the more easterly of the islands, is also 300 kmfrom the West Coast of Madagascar.According to the 1985 census, the population of the Comoros can be estimated at454,000 inhabitants, with a steady growth of 2.7% per year since 1980. At this rate, thepopulationwill reach 750,000 by the year 2000 and almost one million in 2015. However, itis interesting to note that the Comorian population is not solely confined to the nationalterritory.In common with other small islands, the migratoryspirit has also contributed to aComoriandiasporatowardsEast Africa, Madagascarand Europe.In 1970, about 60,000 Comorians who had chosen to keep their French nationality20years after Madagascar's independence started to return home in 1972 after the re-negotiation of cooperation agreements between Madagascar and France, which deprivedFrench citizens of their special status. In December 1976, a series of anti-Comorianriotsbroke out in Mahajanga,where Comorians made up half the population,leaving 1000 dead.About 18,000 were repatriatedand it is now estimated between 20,000 and 50,000 remain,mostly in the capital Antananarivo,the majority having adopted Malagasy nationality.Similar anti-Comorian riots took place in the Island of Zanzibar n 1966, leaving many dead.It has been estimated that 40,000 Comoriansreside in the 'French' island of La Reunionand also in metropolitanFrance, particularlyin the main city ports of Marseilles, Dunkirkand Le Havre as well as in Paris itself. Most of them, even after 13 years of independence,have adopted French nationality. Finally, while the trend in the past has been towards thesettlement of a certain number of Comorians in other European countries such as WestGermany, the UK and even the USA, today the trend is towardsthe Gulf States,perhapsinsearch of fraternity of the Muslim Umma, but also undoubtedly the land of some of ourancestors.

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182 A. Said Bakar(2) A BriefHistoricalConsiderationThe Comoros were without doubt populatedfor the first time duringthe wave of expansionwhich, near the end of the SecondCenturyof the Hegira (eighth century A.D.) startedfromthe Arabpeninsulaand the Gulf and came to include Africans of the Swahili(East Coast ofAfrica), thus giving birth to a Bantu civilisation with an Islamic ideal. During this period,which saw the creation of ports from Somaliato Madagascar,commercialas well as religiouscontacts remainedwith the mother-cities of SaudiArabia,Shiraz(Persia) and India.When the Portuguese arrivedin the Indian Ocean at the end of the fifteenth century,they came in contact with a Muslim civilisation with a stronghold of 'city states' likeDomoni (Ndzuwani), Shuwani(Muwali), Itsandra and Mbeni in Ngazidja,etc. As a stagingpost for Portuguese merchants and their successors, the islands started tradingwith otherEuropeans. Piracy became common in the eighteenth century, but it was the Malagasyincursions at the beginning of the nineteenth century which were to have disastrousconsequences for the islands. Pillaged,weakened and sold to France, Mawore had to acceptFrench colonial rule from 1841, and in 1866 a protectoratewas signed for the rest of thearchipelagoafter the defeat of the British in trying to defend the Sultan of the Ndzuwaniagainst the French backed Sultan of Ngazidja. Having become administratively dependenton Madagascarunder the same colonial flag from 1912, the Comoros became marginalisedand inevitablytheir economic developmentwas neglected and restraineduntil as late as the1960s.

(3) A CommonCivilisation nd the RoleofIslamThe concept of a Comorian nation did not emergesolely from the struggle against 150 yearsof colonisation,but it has been long since founced on a real unity of language, religion andculture.On the linguistic side, the inhabitants of the Comorosspeak Comorian(Shimasiwa), alanguageclose to Pokomo and Swahili,thoughquite distinct from them both. The Comorianlanguage is subdivided into four local varieties, each reflecting the particular linguisticcharacteristics of the island in question, though still commonly understood throughouttheislands.In Mawore, for instance, Malagasy is used in a certain number of villages, but at thesame time everyone speaks the Shimawore dialect, which is very close to Shindzuwani(language of Ndzuwani). Shingazidja,which is spoken by the majorityof the inhabitantsofNgazidja, is clearly understoodby the Shimwali speakersand vice versa. The facility withwhich the Comorian can communicate and can circulateeasily in the network of kinshipandother alliances is one of the characteristics which reflects a common though diversecivilisation. On a Bantu background,Islamic civilisation is superimposed, with a strongArabic element in the Comorianlanguage.Given our Shirazianancestry, the majorityof Comorians, with the exception of thosefamilies who came from Madagascar,are Sunni Moslems. The present constitution declaresIslam to be the State religion,but at the same time stipulatesthat freedomof conscience willbe respected. How all these historical, linguistic, religious and other cultural factors havecome to affect the education system in the Comoros is the theme of this case study.The Comoros are still a countrywhose culture is transmittedthroughoral tradition.Butas early as the nineteenth century, some learned people wrote in Swahili (using Arabicscript) the history of the first populations,the slave trade to the islands and the creation oftowns. They even wrote poems and songs praising events such as the innumerable battles



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SmallIslandSystems 183between the different Sultans who ruled the archipelago,and on political as well as socialupheavals, a traditionwhich had been kept alive to the present day.But the creation of the Koranic schools for more than four hundred years and theomnipresenceof Arabic are still very importantin the Comorianway of life and education.Arabicis, of course,used in all religiousdomains,in some marriageceremonies,for instance,and even in law courts where the Kadhi-a religious judge-continues to applythe Koraniclaw. It is not as literally and ruthlessly used as in some Islamic countries, for the Kadhi isnowadaysreduced to the role of concilliator.II. The Koranic SchoolToday, many Comorians, if not all of us, whether of noble or humble birth, are Arabicscholars, the result of the introduction of Koranic schools as early as the sixteenth century.It was the early Arab and Persian settlers who gave the name 'Djazairil Quamar'-'theIslands of the Moon'-to the country. Since then, the entire Islamicised population wastaught to read and write Arabic. That tradition has continuedup until today and has neverbeen lost.The Koranic school is a tradition of vital importance in all Islamic communitieswhereverthey may be. Its purposeis to initiate the childrenin Islam and the teachingsof theProphet MohammadthroughArabic,his own language. In these schools, the Arabicscript isintroduced at the earlyage of four or five, and the Comorian anguage,in our case, is used asa medium of instruction. Being a traditional school, teachers rely on repetitive methodswhich require the memorisationof learning by heart of 'Surats'-short or long Koranicverses-and prayers. Boys and girls alike attend these schools for a period of three or moreyears before going to primaryschool. Parents insist on their children reading and learningthe Koran before going to the 'French' schools. The role of the Koranic school is more of areligious experience than a linguistic one. It is considered a 'religious shield' against thedevil's influence and teaching of the 'Kafirs'-the infidel Christians. The Koranic schoolshave thereforebeen solidly implantedin the country for more than four centuries, and theyconstitute the first stage of the Comorianbasic educationalsystem.From the 1970s, a slight shift towards a more functional knowledge of Arabic can benoted, and particularlysince the coup d'etat of 1978. The teaching of Arabic as a secularsubject as well as the running of the Koranic school has become an integral part of theComorian educational system. Native Arabic speakers have been recruited to teach at amore advancedlevel and it has come to be regardedas a privilegeto be able to speakArabicin the Comoros. Indeed, the Comorian word for a scholar, interestingly enough, is 'musta-arab'.III. Education During the Colonial Period: the French legacy(1) ThePrimarySchoolThe educationalsystem in the Comoros has basicallybeen reproducedon the French model.The primaryschool requiressix years of study at the end of which the children have to sit'l'examen d'entr9e en sixi me' (the entrance exam to secondary school). These six yearsincorporatethe following course of study even after 13 years of independence.

two years of preparatory tudies (cours pr~paratoires & II);two years of elementarystudies (cours C1lmentaires & II);two years of middle studies (cours moyen I & II).



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184 A. Said BakarLookingback to 1939, there were only ten primaryschools in the whole of theArchipelago.Five studentsalone would be selected after sitting an exam to go to theRegionalSchoolof Majungain Madagascar)o obtain raining f some kind.In 1962moreprimarychoolswerebuilt to accommodate,700pupilsandtheMoronifirst secondary choolopened ts doorsin the capital n 1963.Fromthe 1960s,it becamecompulsoryor all parents o sendtheir children o the Frenchschools.The teachingwasprovidedby Comorian eachers rom the late 1950s at least, particularlyn thoseschoolsattendedby Comorianhildren nly.The Frenchchildren ad heirseparatechools uch asthe MissionCatholique CatholicMissionSchool),whichwas runmostlyby Frenchnuns,andthe Ecole Annexe theAnnexSchool),where eachingwasmainly arried utby Frenchteachers.Since we were considered s 'Frencha part-entiere', othingbut Frenchwas taught.The whole curriculumwas based on France and anythingthat was French,whereas

Comorian, urmother-tongue, as neverconsideredo be a suitablemedium f instruction.It was forbidden o speakComorian nd if by hard luck we were caughtwhisperingComorianword to a friend,we were sorely punished.We neverstudiedanythingwhichrelated o the Comorianwayof life, its traditions rhistory.For theColonial ettlers,as theteachingof history Frenchhistory)was to prove, We were Frenchand ourancestors,heGauls, ived in a country alledGaul'.(2) TheSecondary choolThe secondarychoolsfollowed he samepatternas any secondary choolin metropolitanFrance.The Comorian ducationalystemwasplacedunder hesupervisionf the Academicd'Aix-en-Provence. rom6 me (equivalentof first year) to Terminale seventh year) westudiedmoreor less the samesubjectsas anyothersecondarychool n Aix-en-Provence,Marseilles,or Paris, etc.: from geography o history,maths to sciences,geography oliterature, tc. Of course,all the 'appropriate'materialcame from France,and all theteacherswereFrench;and it therefore oeswithout aying hatthe instruction ivenin ourschoolswastotallyunsuitedo the socio-economicndcultural ealitiesof theArchipelago,completedenialof the existenceof a Comorianultureorhistoryof anykind,withdrasticconsequences.This acculturationhenomenon,longwitha processof self-denial,wasso strong hatit led in some casesto split personalities.o greatlywerewe influenced ndbrainwashedyFrenchliterature, ts heroes,poets, singersand so on, that it was difficult to find anysolution,any markerof identity, n orderto resist such an aggressivemperialist ulture.Someof us adoptednicknames uch as 'Lamartine' ecauseof a highesteem for Frenchverse andpoetry;anotherwasnicknamedArchimedes'ecauseof his mathematicalrowess.Others took their 'names' rom film actorssuch as Ferdandel r Frenchsingerssuch asJohnny,Vartan, tc.In additiono these victims' f colonial ducation,he dominantanguageFrench)wasgenerally doptedby thosewhowereclose to thecolonial ulersorits representativesndbythose who dealt with them.Nationally,he use of the dominantanguagewas extendedo alladministrativeevels. It was inevitable hat we shouldcometo question his stateof affairsand its 'justice'which riedpeople n a language nd undera lawtheydid not understand.February 1968 was marked by the first and largest students' strike against colonialeducation in the whole of Comorian history. Classes were boycotted for over a period ofthree to four months. The student strikers took their case to the people even in remotevillages, explaining why we were refusing colonial education and the need for their support.



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Small Island Systems 185When a 'truce' was reached,and the students decidedto returnto the classroomsin May, thestrike culminated in a bitter conflict between the 'traitors',i.e. those who stayed at schoolduringthe boycott, and the strikers(grevistes). A fight broke out, resulting in chairs,desks,books and windows being destroyed.Calm was only restoredwhen the armyandthe FrenchForeign Legion intervened and thus, under siege, the Lyc6e Said Mohammed Cheick wastransformed nto a battle zone for the rest of the term. This upheavalled to a political crisisand the creation of radical political parties such as P.A.S.O.C.O. (Parti Socialiste desComores), M.O.L.I.N.A.C.O. (Movement de Liberation National des Comores), P.E.C.(Parti pour l'Evolution des Comores) etc. Althoughthe Comorianeducationsystem was toremainbasicallyunchangeduntil 1975, the colonial administrationwas constantlychallengedand questioned throughthe various students' strikes of the late sixties and early seventies.While the traditional Koranic schools educated almost all children,the French schoolswere more selective. The intake in the primaryschool, for example, was below 33% andbetween 8 and 10% in the secondary schools. With the absence of higher educationinstitutions or universities in the Islands, only a very small number of students (3 to 5%)attended French universities after they obtained their baccalaur6at.Against such a backcloth of educationalinjustics, the impact of independencein 1975,not only on the political future of the Comorosbut also on its educationalsystem, obviouslycannot be overemphasised.IV. Independence and After: political change and education(1) TheAli Soilih period:1975-1978(a) A briefoutline of thepolitical situation. After the referendumof 22 December 1974 inwhich at least 96% of the population of the Comoros voted in favour of independence,France, under Giscard d'Estaing, refused to accept this act of sovereignty. The Frenchgovernmentfinally conceded but with a condition attached: hat the three islands-Ngazidja,Ndzuwani, and Mwali, where the majority had voted overwhelmingly for indepencence,would gain their independencebut the fourth island of Mawore (Mayotte) where most ofthe power was and still is in the hands of French Creoles, would remain French. It wasironic for a so-called democratic country like France to refuse to accept a democraticdecision. But divide and rule is still the old colonial game and, whenever possible, that'Mastercard' is pulled from under the carpet and played, or rather imposed, on thenegotiationtable. Thus, the process of balkanisationof the Comoros was started.This political quagmire ed the ComorianParliament,under PresidentAhmedAbdallah,to declare unilateral independence on 6 July 1975 within the colonial frontiers. Theopposition political parties in coalition, led by Ali Soilih and supported by the FrenchArmyand mercenaries overthrew the Amhed Abdallah government on 3 August 1975. Theambivalent Abdallahwent into exile in Paris and the so-called revolutionarygovernmentresumeddiplomaticrelations with France.(b) On the educational system. Much later, a drastic change in the political and socio-ecomomic scene led to a new development in the superstructurein general and in theeducationalsystem in particular.Ali Soilih was a man in a hurry,who wantedto change everythingas quicklyas possible.In his policy of 'table rase' or cutting ties with the traditional and colonial past, he bannedthe veil and the very expensive 'grandmarriage'andbegan to establishcontactwith socialistcountries.



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186 A. Safd BakarSoilih's regime moved towards a Chinese-style cultural revolution with the rich,religious or landed as its targets and it climaxed in the abolition of the entire civilservice and the burningof all archivesand files. [1]Given the fact that nearlyhalf of the Comorianpopulationwere under 15 years of age,Ali Soilih's revolutionarygovernmentdecidedto abandonthe selective colonial school modeland to embarkupon democratisingeducation. Reforms concerningbasic education and theprofessionalisationof education were set up in 1977. With the increasingneed for education,more primaryschools were built, along with ruralcolleges (lower secondaryschools) for thefirst time. These rural colleges, which providedthe first four years of secondaryeducation,were this time set up in remoteareas instead of being concentrated n the main towns. In thisprocess of democratisation and localisationof education, the governmentalso reshapedtheupper secondary or lyc6e. Instead of an overall literary and classical education, theyintroduced new branches of practical training for the immediate needs of an agricultural

developing country. Secondaryeducation became more diversified,more functional and in acertain way more vocationallyorientated.Henceforth,new courses were to be implementedsuch as rural planning, economics and management, building, basic civil engineering,mechanical and electrical studies, and last but not least, health and sanitation.What was particularly innovatoryand interestingin these new fields was, among otherthings, the flexibility of the system which could be easily adaptedto the quantitativeas wellas the qualitativeneeds of the countryandthe labour market. This improvisedbut somewhatappropriateeducationalmeasure was to be takenon board as quickly as possible, particularlysince most of the French personnel who controlled the educationalsystem and administra-tion in general had left the country right after the declaration of independence. Thiswithdrawal of French teaching and administrative staff led to a tragic shortage of teachersand managers,since local people had never been properlytrained to assume these responsi-bilities.

Aid, by way of teachers and other technical assistance, was provided by a certainnumber of countries such as Algeria, Tunisia, Tanzania, Senegal, Canada, Belgium, theSoviet Union, China, etc. And with the non-existence of highereducation institutions in theComoros, instead of sending all secondary graduate students to France, a policy ofencouragingstudents to train in these friendly countries was adopted.Even today, as part ofthe Chinese cooperation agreement, the Chinese government provides grants for nineComorianstudents to study in China;similarly,ten Comorianstudents are being trained astechnologistsin Soviet universities.This period of experimentand innovation in the Comorianeducationalsystem was alsoto see the adoption of Comorian as the official language. Linguists promoted the Comorianalphabet and prepared relevant educational material;the constitution was also written inComorian.In January1978, a new reformwas introduced in the primaryschools. From thistime forward,the primaryschools had to cater for religious educationin Arabicand nurseryeducationin Comorian.Recently, the present Minister of Educationdeclared thatMeasures have been taken to integrate Islamic studies in the educational sys-tem... Pre-school education is still limited to Koranic school. In principle, theComorian child must go throughthis stage before going to primaryschool. But inthe present circumstances, the system is not well structured yet for variousreasons. [2]Under the 1978 reform, French was to be gradually introduced in the latter part ofprimaryeducation and continued throughoutthe whole of secondary. With the increase in



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SmallIslandSystems 187numbers of primaryand lower secondarystudents, a severe shortage of qualified teacherswas particularlynoticeable in these sectors. With a view of redressingthis shortcoming,adisastrousplan was adopted. A form of national service was introducedwhereby'terminal-istes'-students who were in Terminale (7th Form) and those who has obtained theirbaccalaureat-were requestedto stay in the country and teach for several yearsbefore beingallowed to go abroad and further their education. Without any propertrainingwhatsoever,most of them were posted to the ruralcolleges to teach any subjectrequired.Failure to do sowould result in losing the possibility of obtaininga scholarshipto go and study abroad.Thedramatic consequences of this policy are felt to this day with an appalling low standardgenerally,and a fall in success rate in exams at all levels.The present Minister of Education stipulated in 1986 that they were confronted withhuge numbers of children with no means to offer them a properand adequateeducation. Ashe rightlypointed out, the rise in numbersrequiresa substantial increase of didacticmeans,qualifiedteachers and classrooms. He remarked hat the destruction of all files andarchivesof the Civil Service by the Soilih regime made it easier now for people to forge their birthcertificate and school records.This three-yearperiod was culturally and linguistically a very interestingand excitingtime, particularlyat the beginningof Ali Soilih's regime,but educationallyunsound. On thepolitical front, the governmentbecame more and more repressivein the latter part of 1977.For instance,cultural and youth groupswhich hadbecome increasinglyradical andcriticalofthe regimewere banned or dismantled and even forced to go underground.

(2) Thepresent egime: oliticalupheavaland educationalmarasme'On 13 May 1978, the former President Ahmed Abdallah,who was in exile in Paris, cameback to power after a military coup prepared and executed by French and Belgianmercenaries(some of whom had participated n his own overthrow)with the blessing of theFrench and South African governments.With Abdallah who controls one of the largest import-export companies in theislands, came a surge of Islamic traditionalism,the return of French support, aone-party state, and a 300 man presidential guard, commended by a permanentgarrisonof mercenaries .. SouthAfricaalso has powerful (economic andpolitical)reasons for maintainingthe status quo in the Comoros. Their national airline isbanned from every country in Africa except for Malawi and desparatelyneedsstop-over rights en route to Europe and the East. The Comoroscurrently providerefuelling facilities to South Africanjets and,until recently,were a stagingpost forillegal arms shipments to the MNR-Mozambique National Resistance-banditsin Mozambique.[3]South African penetration is not limited to the economy, tourism and the military.White South African teachers hold posts in the capital's secondary school (Lycee SaidMohammed Cheikh) and their teaching materials are imported from South Africa, thusperpetuating their racist ideology. Since this new Conservative government established aFederal and Islamic Republic, everything has had to be reshuffled. There is more emphasison the teaching of French and Arabic and the Comorianlanguageis once againrelegatedtothe background,to the position of a dialect as under any dominant culture; French andArabic are the official languages. The Comorian educational system did not remainuntouched by this political upheaval.For instance, most of the ruralcolleges which were setup duringthe revolutionary period have been abandoned,some of them left unfinished,and



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188 A. Said Bakarthe adult literacycampaigndropped.With moreemphasison formaleducation, 1980 saw theenrolmentof 72,000 pupils in the primarysector, 12,600 in the lower secondaryand 2000 inthe lyc&esor upper secondaryschools. The Comoriangovernmentpresentlyallocates 30%ofits nationalbudget to education,but the adult populationis more or less excluded from thelearning process, due to the lack of alternative policy in education. Although a dramaticimprovementis noticeable, they do not seem to have any clearly defined educationalpolicy.It is a patchworkof the old colonial system and some aspects of the revolutionaryone, withIslamic educationaddedon.Above all, education in the Comoros has become more and more selective at all levels ascan be seen from Table I.

TABLE . The Comoro Islands:secondaryschool exam resultsSchool Number of Number %years applicants admitted of admissions(a) secondaryentrance examination1979-80 4,897 2,380 491981-82 6,450 2,550 391984-85 7,917 2,479 31.2(b) BEPC1978-79 948 558 58.861984-85 4,031 283 7.021985-86 4,227 187 4.42(c) Baccalaureat1978-79 379 179 52.011984-85 1,241 330 26.59

For instance, between 1979 and 1985, the number of students who successfully passedthe entrance exam to secondaryschool (examen d'entreeen 6 me (Table Ia) fell from 49% to31.2%, even though the number of students had almost doubled from 4,897 (in 1979) to7,917 (in 1985). It is rather more dramatic for those sitting the baccalaureat Table Ib): thesuccess rate has fallen from 52.01% to 26.59% althoughstudent intake has almost quadru-pled, from 397 in 1978-79 to 1,241 in 1984-85. Furthermore,a new element has been addedin the selection procedure.The Brevet d'Etudesdu PremierCycle (B.E.P.C.), which used tobe a non-compulsory certificate during the colonial period, has become a stumbling blockbetween 3 me and 2nde (fourth year to fifth year). Its results are now taken into considerationin determiningwhether a student will be allowed to go into fifth year or not.Continuous assessment counts for 75% of the total pass mark into fifth year and theremaining25% must be obtained at all costs in the B.E.P.C. even if the student gains a highpercentagein the total pass mark. As one student pointed out:Continual assessment has lost its significance since one can be a good studentduring the year, with a 60% overall average, and repeat a second or third timehis/her 4th year if he/she fails the B.E.P.C. [4]The rate of exclusion and repeat years is quite incredible, almost a caricature. Theexclusion rate stands at 40%,and almost at 49%for those repeating.As Table Ib indicates,between 1978 and 1985-86, the success rate has dropped from 58.86% to 4.42% with anintake which increasedfourfold-from 948 in 1978-79 to 4,227 in 1985-86. According to



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Small IslandSystems 189the Minister of Education,this failure is due to a general falling standardwhich is the mostfundamental educational problem in the Comoros. Talking to the Press last January, hereiteratedthat several factors have contributedto these appallingresults. He mentioned:

(i) the disturbances which followed the departure of the French teachers after thedeclaration of Independence, coupled with the absence of a serious policy of adaptation;(ii) the development of a vicious circle which injected baccalaureat holders and Termi-nalists into the teachingprofessionas part of their National Service;(iii) the low standardof primary teachers, who often do not receive any pre-servicetrainingwhatsoever;(iv) the lack of seriousness in the various services within the Ministry of Education,thelack of control and inspection and, above all, the negligence of the secondaryteachersthemselves, who tend to lose their professionalconscience.This is clearly a recipe for disaster,for which the teachers alone cannot be blamed. Thelack of enthusiasm and neglect from the teachers stems from the low morale within theprofession, where teachers have to work for three to four months or even more beforereceiving one month's salary.Those who dare go on strike, as happeneda few yearsso, losetheir jobs.The bulk of the teachers who were dismissed pooled their resources and in October1986 opened a school of their own. Thus, the first Comorianprivate school was born: theFundi AbdoulhamidSchool. This school provides primary and secondary education. Theprimarysector has the means to provide qualified teachers who respondto the educationalneeds of the children with art, music and physical education being catered for in primary

one, amongother activities. As an innovatoryschool, it has concentratedon modernteachingmethods and audio-visualdevices as well as the introduction of information technology atthe lower secondary stage. Civic as well as religious education are both integratedin thegeneral structure of educationprovided by the school.According to their think-tank (cellule de reflexion) the educational needs of theComorian child are of various orders, methodologicalas well as linguistic. The curricularaspect aside, a school uniform has been introduced for the first time in the history ofComorian education. In the secondaryschool, French, maths, history and geography, civicinstruction, Arabic, English, drawing,music, P.E., R.E. are taught from the first year. Feesare 40,000 ComorianFrancs (?80) per term for the primarysector and 50,000 C.F. ($100)per term in the secondary sector. These figures can only be fully understood when weconsider that the average monthly salaryis ?70 (35,000 C.F.). Clearly,we are still movingtowards a very polarised and elitist education. The Minister has declared that privateeducation in the Comoros is a good thing,but there is as yet no legislationcoveringthis kindof schooling. With the lack of an overall educationalpolicy for the country, it is impossibleeven for the governmentto control the education providedin this school;but the Ministerdoes not doubt its validity. He has declared that as soon as a control mechanism isdeveloped, every educational institution will be subjected to the same conditions as in thepublic sector. This is a very interestingdevelopmentto be followed closely.1986 has been a very productive year in the Comorianeducational scene. Besides theprivate school, a network of Islamic colleges was set up 'to safeguard and develop theIslamic values which arethe basis of our civilisation'.Accordingto the Comoriannewspaper,in these new institutions, religious instruction will protect the Comorian youth from'subversive'ideologies which were against Islam. Six Arabo-Islamiccolleges andan Institutefor the Arabic language have been built, thanks to financial help provided by the WorldIslamic League and the State of Kuwait. As far as the education content of these colleges is



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190 A. SafdBakarconcerned, the Director of Islamic Affairs has emphasised that, unlike the other collegeswhere teaching is in French, the medium of instruction in the Islamic Colleges is Arabic,with the advantageof more hours allocated to religious education. French and English areoptional subjects. He went on to say that in these colleges they will prepareall the 'experts'the country needs and that a reform bill on Arabic education was to be introduced to theFederal Assembly in April 1986. Finally,Arabicteaching,which was underthe responsibilityof the President of the Republic, is now placed under the supervisionof the Ministry ofEducation. Furthermore, an Advisory Committee for Arabic and Islamic Studies in theComoros was established and it is composed of the Minister of Education, the GrandMufti-a religious leader of the highest order in the country-a representative from thePresidentialOffice, and two representativesfrom the World Islamic League.During these past six or seven years, other new educational institutions have beenestablished to find some ways of improving the deterioratingcondition within the educa-tional system-a National Institute of Education(Institut National de l'Education)has beenset up, accordingto the Minister, this Institute has not yet produced the expected results,such as the developmentof appropriate eaching methodologies.As far as teacher trainingis concerned,the National School of Higher Education(EcoleNationale d'EnseignementSuperieur) created in 1980 and run mostly by Belgians and oneComorianteacherof economics who has not been paid for the past year, has been given thetask to train future teachers. As part of the bilateralrelationshipbetween the Comoros andthe United States, the Director of this Institute visited eight American cities in differentStates in November 1986 under the auspices of the US Department of State with thecollaborationof US aid. On his return,the Director seemed to have been impressedby whathe called "the pragmaticcharacterof the American educationsystem". He seemed seducedby the fundamental role played by the parentsin the education of their children,but also bythe wide variety of choice in the decentralisedAmericansystem.Just how far and how mucha small developing country with poor educationalorganisationand financial resources canlearn from one of the most technologicaladvanced countries of the world remains to be seen.I do not mean that we cannot learn anything from the USA, but can we compare theeducational needs of the Comorian child to that of the American child?ConclusionSince independence, the Comorian Educationalsystem seems to have been going throughatransitionalphase. This is indeed the domain where the young nation through coups andcounter-coups, encounters some of the most serious difficulties and challenges. From thisbrief expose, I have tried to give an overview of the educational crisis in the Archipelago,which raises controversialquestions needing needing longer and deeper reflection.The educational debate in the Comoros is still in the hands of a few interestededucationalists or minister and religious factions, and many people such as parents whocould make some valuable contribution towards it are still excluded. After 13 years ofindependence we have not yet created an independent education system which could beintegrated in our socio-cultural environment. Still today, to succeed at school is seen bysome as a question of luck or sometimes of bribery (mkarakara)and by others hard workand a bit of luck-in a word an adventure. Rarearethose who have a clear idea of what thisinstrument of knowledge and power is all about. As one maths teacher pointed out inexplaining the educational crisis, the massive scholarisation without any real resources ispartly to blame for the low standard in education today. But should we destroy theenthusiasm and hopes of those who are willing and eager to learn by harsh selective



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Small IslandSystems 191measures?Furthermore,the introduction of the rural colleges between 1975 and 1976 didnot benefit from any necessary logistical means, either in teachers of in teaching materialsand resources.Despite all the efforts and sacrifices madeby the baccalaureatholders and theterminalistsduringtheir nationalservices, they could not become overnightteacherscapableof controllingand teachingclasses of 40 to 45 students. As a resultof this chaos, the qualityof education provided leaves a lot to be desired. In most cases, the question of shortageofteaching material or even adequatebuildings needs to be addressed before the educationalauthoritiescan concentrateon the improvementof the educational standard and the qualityof education output.The need for a long term policy is even more pressing than ever. A radical change isneeded in developing an appropriateand relevant educationalsystem which would not takeinto account the limited resources of the countrybut at the same time give the children andthe communityas a whole the sort of educationthey need so that they can play their part inthe educational, political and economic development of the country. If education and forthat matter learning,were taken away from its formal and elitist legacy and come to be seenas the concern for all of us, the community would be involved and would be a part of alearning process which they would deem suitable to their short term and long termaspirations. The liberation of knowledge from the straight jacket of narrow educationalpolicy is an importanttool which would give the community,the people, the young as wellas the old, the power to be involved in shapingtheir own future, the power of change.But will the French and South African governmentsand their mercenariesallow it tohappen? Only then can we start to think and talk about education for liberation.NOTES AND REFERENCES[1] The GeographicalMagazine, 1.527, October 1986.[2] Al-Watwany-Comorian Monthly Newspaper, August 1987.[3] The GeographicalMagazine, op. cit.[4] Al-Watwany-Comorian Monthly Newspaper, January1987.[5] Other references and sources: (a) COVELL,M. (1987) Madagascar,Politics, Economics and Society (London,Frances Pinter); (b) MOCKLER,. The New Mercenaries, he ModernMercenary: he true acts about the menand theirwars, book three: The Indian Ocean.

Small Islands: The Union of the Comoros

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