Senegal, with backing from the United Arab Emirates, plans to digitize its daaras, the traditional Quranic schools that educate thousands of children nationwide. A meeting held in Dakar on Monday, April 7, between Senegal’s Minister of National Education, Moustapha Mamba Guirassy, and a delegation from Abu Dhabi-based digital education firm Alef Education, advanced this initiative.

"Fruitful discussions laid the groundwork for a strong partnership, with a pilot phase set to begin in October 2025. The objective is clear: to build a digital education model rooted in our cultural and spiritual values, and capable of equipping daaras with 21st-century teaching tools," the Ministry of National Education said in a press release.

This initiative follows President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s visit to Alef Education’s headquarters in the United Arab Emirates, where he established the foundation for the collaboration. It falls under the government’s "Senegal Daara Digital Transformation" project, which in its initial phase aims to deploy an artificial intelligence-powered personalized learning platform targeting over 10,000 students. The curriculum will include Arabic, mathematics, and Islamic studies.

Daaras are an important component of Senegal’s education system. According to a 2018 survey by the NGO Global Solidarity Initiative (GSI), there are more than 2,000 such schools across the country. This partnership is expected to create new educational opportunities. Alef Education, known for its expertise in educational technologies, is poised to play a central role in this transformation, providing students with modern digital tools while respecting the cultural and spiritual distinctiveness of the daaras.

By Samira Njoya,

Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji