Seydou Nourou Tall High School: a plan B is being considered

The deterioration of the infrastructure at the Thierno Saidou Nourou Tall high school has reached an alarming level, warns Le Soleil in its Tuesday, November 10th edition. According to the observations made on site by the national daily, appearances are deceiving. "Once you pass through the gate, the setting seems almost intact. The large buildings with their brown and white facades are still standing, despite a few scratches on the paint. At first glance, nothing suggests the seriousness of the situation."

"Yet, behind this apparent solidity lies a worrying reality. One only needs to step inside the premises and take a close look at the interior of the buildings to discover cracked walls and seriously deteriorated structures."

Also read: "Dakar: Partial collapse at Thierno Saïdou Nourou Tall high school leads to the closure of building B"

Building B, in particular, shows the most worrying signs of deterioration. "Building B presents the most alarming sight. At the foot of the building, large concrete blocks detached from the upper section still litter the ground." The Headmaster recounts the circumstances of this incident, which occurred on the evening of November 7th: "[...] around 9 p.m., the caretaker was alerted by a deafening noise coming from Building B. Upon arrival, he observed that large blocks of stone had fallen to the ground following the partial collapse of Building B. This is a building whose advanced state of disrepair has always been a cause for concern."

Faced with this situation, academic authorities are considering a student relocation plan. After several temporary solutions, including transferring some classes to the Police Academy and the Grand-Dakar Science High School, the Regional Education Authority is now favoring the consolidation of all students on a single site.

The option chosen at this stage is the Bibi Ndiaye Elementary School, located in the Plateau district. It has 22 classrooms and could accommodate all the high school students. The Regional Education Authority "now favors grouping all classes on a single site. The option under consideration is the Bibi Ndiaye Elementary School (Dakar Plateau), which has 22 classrooms."

According to the regional education inspector, Cheikh Faye, contacted by the newspaper, "this capacity should allow us to accommodate all the students of the high school."

Discussions with municipal authorities are already underway. "We are currently in talks with the mayor of Plateau, and things are progressing well," the academic authority stated. Ultimately, this strategy aims to "completely clear the site of the Seydou Nourou Tall high school to allow for the reconstruction work to begin."