Paper short abstract:

In Guinea-Bissau: every child is now enrolled in primary school. However, this overview is misleading as a large group of children are still not engaged in the system: children with disabilities, early school dropout, high failure rate and the acquired skills are limited

Paper long abstract:

Official documents attest that Guinea Bissau is a successful example of the universal enrolment in primary school, as a result of public policies supported by international donors. A detailed exam shows up the omission of different problems that are threating the system: integrating children with disabilities in school; girls' engagement is failing; early dropout; teachers' absenteeism. Disabled children are mainly being taken public care by the CSO that are starting to identify the main needs of this group. Girls engagement is threatened by early marriage and teenage pregnancy. Teachers are unmotivated, and the absenteeism rate is high. The school system is chaotic. Both at a macrolevel as in the class the pedagogical material and methodology are inadequate, based in other countries experiences that are not context sensitives, lacking the knowledge of the African history and culture, as an extension of the colonial school bias. This communication is based in extensive fieldwork in Guinea-Bissau and intends to discuss the main drivers of the failure of the educational system in relation with the international educational policies.