Discrimination exacerbated by the privatization of the education system in Côte d'Ivoire: The case of secondary school students

Abstract

The international community has witnessed unprecedented growth of the private sector in education in recent years, particularly in low-income countries. In Côte d’Ivoire, this privatization, accentuated from 1990, reinforced discrimination against students in private secondary schools. The objective of this article is to show the discrimination caused by the privatization of secondary education. Thus, the question is to know to what extent this process has contributed to increasing discrimination among students in secondary education. This article is mainly based on a study conducted in 2021: data collected from a field survey in five localities in Côte d’Ivoire, depending on the number of students and private schools, have been enriched by analysis of laws, decrees, conventions, press articles, websites, and official documents. We have focused here on two main axes: on the one hand, discrimination linked to social status and on the other hand, additional costs, a reason for discrimination between those affected by the State in public and private secondary establishments.