Burkina Faso: Gold Rush Hits Education

Ouagadougou — A boom in Burkina Faso's gold mining over the past three years has made the country one of Africa's leading producers, but it is also luring children - some as young as six - out of school.

The exact number of children abandoning schools nationally for the mines is still unclear, but many schoolchildren are known to work mainly in artisanal mines where they crush stones, sieve dust, transport water and cook. Others go to the mines during school off-days on Thursdays and Saturdays, said Moussa Ouedraogo, the Ministry for National Education and Literacy director for the country's northern region.

"This does not mean they have given up school, but it is an indication that they could end up abandoning it altogether under the influence of parents and others who have made money there," Ouedraogo told IRIN. He said 900 children skipped exams in the region this year and 3,300 others work in the mines during school off-days.

Primary school enrolment in the country is 57.8 percent, but only 33.9 percent of pupils complete school nationally, and just 24 percent in the rural areas. Children as young as six and older ones up to 17 can be found working at the mines, the government's National Institute for Statistics and Democracy found in a recent study.

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