Artificial intelligence is already transforming the world of work at breakneck speed. Yet, in Senegal, the education system is evolving slowly. This inaction raises a troubling question: are we preparing our children to become the excluded of tomorrow?

We must dare to say it.

If we continue like this, our education system will not only produce graduates with difficulties.

It will massively produce young people who are out of step with their times.

The world has changed. Radically.

Artificial intelligence is already redefining the rules of the economic game. According to several international projections, nearly 40% of current skills will be transformed by 2030, while more than one in two children will work in a job that does not yet exist today.

This is not progress.

It's a breakup.

And faced with this breakdown, what do we do?

We continue, to a large extent, to teach as we did yesterday.

To be evaluated as yesterday.

To organize the school as it was yesterday.

Fixed programs.

The primacy of memorization.

Weak connection with economic reality.

This model is no longer just outdated.

It becomes dangerous.

Because while we hesitate, others are moving forward.

In several countries, artificial intelligence is already integrated into learning. Students learn to use it, understand it, and grasp its limitations. School becomes a space for experimentation, adaptation, and anticipation.

In our society, too often, it remains a space for repetition.

The result is predictable.

We produce serious, committed, and qualified young people — but they are insufficiently prepared for the ongoing transformations. Not because they lack talent, but because the system does not provide them with the appropriate tools.

And this reality must be named for what it is:

a collective responsibility.

The problem is not teaching history or general knowledge.

The problem is teaching as if the world hasn't changed.

Because today, knowledge is no longer enough.

You need to know how to use, analyze, create, and adapt.

Artificial intelligence does not just replace tasks.

It redefines the value of knowledge itself.

In this context, continuing to delay reforms amounts to gradually organizing a decline.

An economic downturn.

A technological lag.

But above all, a human disconnect.

Because it is the young people who will pay the price.

So let's ask the question directly:

How many generations are we prepared to sacrifice before we act?

Reforming education is no longer a technical debate.

It's a political choice.

This implies clear decisions:

Introduce artificial intelligence from school onwards, as a basic skill.

To train teachers, massively, seriously, sustainably.

Rethinking programs to make them scalable.

Finally linking school to the real world, to the economy, to innovation.

But beyond the measures, it is a change of mentality that must be embraced.

Accept that the world has changed.

Accept that our models must evolve.

Accepting that inaction has a cost.

Senegal has considerable assets: a large youth population, entrepreneurial energy, and a real capacity for adaptation. But these assets will not be enough if the education system remains underdeveloped.

In the world to come, inequalities will not only be economic.

They will be cognitive.

Among those who understand the tools of the future

and those who suffer from them.

And this divide begins at school.

The danger is not that artificial intelligence will replace our children.

The danger is that we let them into this world unprepared.

By constantly delaying reforms, we are failing to protect our education system.

We are putting our youth at risk.

There is still time to act.

But you need to understand one thing:

In this transformation, not deciding is already a decision.

And that's probably the worst one.

Moustapha BA

President, International Aid

Honorary President, NGO-OCD International Federalitude (Switzerland)

📧 contact@aide.international