Gorée - Ancienne école normale William Ponty

École William Ponty was a government teachers' college in

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...

, in what is now

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. The school is now in

Kolda Kolda ( ar, كولدا; Wolof: Koldaa) is a city located in southern Senegal. It is the capital city of Kolda Region and Kolda Department, a region known historically and popularly as Haute Casamance. History The name Kolda derives from the nam ...

, where it is currently known as École de formation d’instituteurs William Ponty. It is associated with the French university IUFM at

Livry-Gargan Livry-Gargan () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History On 20 May, 1869, a part of the territory of Livry-Gargan was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Clichy- ...

(France).Les formateurs de l'IUFM de Livry-Gargan
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Notable alumni

Many of the school's graduates would one day lead the struggle for independence from France, including

Félix Houphouët-Boigny Félix Houphouët-Boigny (; 18 October 1905 – 7 December 1993), affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux ("The Old One"), was the first president of Ivory Coast, serving from 1960 until his death in 1993. A tribal chief, he wo ...

and Bernard Binlin Dadié of

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Modibo Keïta Modibo Keïta (4 June 1915 – 16 May 1977) was the first President of Mali (1960–1968) and the Prime Minister of the Mali Federation. He espoused a form of African socialism. Youth Keïta was born in Bamako-Coura, a neighborhood of Bama ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Hamani Diori Hamani Diori (6 June 1916 – 23 April 1989) was the first President of the Republic of Niger. He was appointed to that office in 1960, when Niger gained independence. Although corruption was a common feature of his administration, he gained in ...

and

Boubou Hama Boubou Hama (1906 – 29 January 1982) was a Nigerien writer, historian, and politician. He was President of the National Assembly of Niger under President of Niger, Hamani Diori.

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesGuinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Hubert Maga Coutoucou Hubert Maga (August 10, 1916 – May 8, 2000) was a politician from Dahomey (now known as Benin).Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. Se''New York Times'' obituary He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what regi ...

of Benin (Dahomey),

Mamadou Dia Mamadou Dia (18 July 1910 – 25 January 2009) was a Senegalese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was p ...

and

Maurice Yaméogo Maurice Yaméogo (31 December 1921 – 15 September 1993) was the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso, from 1959 until 1966. "Monsieur Maurice" embodied the Voltaic state at the moment of independence. However ...

and

Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly (1 July 1909 – 7 September 1958) was the president of the governing council of the French colony of Upper Volta, today's Burkina Faso, from 17 May 1957 until his death on 7 September 1958 in Paris. A native of Pouy, to ...

of Burkina Faso (Upper Volta).Abou Abel Thiam
'"Retour à William-Ponty"
in ''Jeune Afrique'', 7 Sept. 2003 André Davesne, author of children's books like ''Mamadou et Bineta apprennent à lire et à écrire'', and André Demaison are Ponty graduates, as are Justin Auriol and Marcel Séguier, authors of books to teach mathematics to elementary and middle school students. Other students included internationally known jurists

Kéba Mbaye Kéba Mbaye (5 August 1924 – 11 January 2007) was a Senegalese judge and member of both the International Olympic Committee and the International Court of Justice. Mbaye was born in Kaolack, French Senegal on 5 August 1924. He was a member of the ...

and

Ousmane Goundiam Ousmane is a given name or surname common in West Africa. It is derived from the Arabic name Uthman through Osman. People named Ousmane include: * Mahamane Ousmane (born 1950), Nigerien political figure * Ousmane Bangoura (born 1979), Guinean foot ...

and

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

n politician

Diallo Telli Boubacar Diallo Telli (1925 – February 1977) was a Guinean diplomat and politician. He helped found the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and was the second secretary-general of the OAU between 1964 and 1972. After serving as Minister of Jus ...

, who was a founder of the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

History

Begun by Governor General

Jean-Baptiste Chaudié Jean-Baptiste Chaudié (1853–1933)C. W. Newbury, « The Formation of the Government General of French West Africa », ''The Journal of African History'', vol. 1, nº 1, 1960, was a French colonial administrator. He was the first governor gener ...

of the French colonial government at

Saint-Louis, Senegal Saint Louis or Saint-Louis ( wo, Ndar), is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 km north of Senegal's capital city Dakar, it has a population officially ...

on 24 November 1903, the school was moved to the Island of Gorée in 1913. In 1915 it was named in honour of the recently deceased

William Merlaud-Ponty Amédée William Merlaud-Ponty (4 February 1866 – 13 June 1915) was a French colonial administrator. He was a Governor General of French West Africa (1908–1915) who particularly interested himself in the economic development and education o ...

, Governor General of

. From 1913 to 1938 the school occupied a building on Gorée originally built before 1800 for the pirate

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

and

Pierre Lafitte Pierre Lafitte (1770–1821) was a pirate in the Gulf of Mexico and smuggler in the early 19th century. He also ran a blacksmith shop in New Orleans, his legitimate business. Pierre was historically less well known than his younger brother, Jean ...

. After 1938 the school occupied a former military garrison in Sébikotane, about 40 kilometres from

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

, and a village called Sébi-Ponty sprang up to house the school's indigenous African personnel. In 1965 the school moved to

Thiès Thiès (; ar, ثيس, Ṯyass; Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-L ...

, 70 kilometres east of Dakar, and a portion of the Sebikotane building was turned into a prison. During the government of Senegalese Prime Minister

Léopold Senghor Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

, repairs to the building at Sébikotane were neglected, and its occupation by

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

s was tolerated. In 1984 the school moved to

. The school has a two-year common core curriculum followed by students intending to become teachers or administrative clerks. Those who intend to study

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...

study a further year of introductory science at William Ponty School before transferring to the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy.

Notes

Bibliography

*Peggy Roark Sabatier, ''Educating a colonial elite: the William Ponty school and its graduates'', University of Chicago, 1977 (thesis) * R. Dumargue, "L'enseignement du français à l'école William-Ponty (AOF)" in ''L'Information d'Outre-Mer'', No. 1, Jan.-Feb. 1939, pp. 27–32 * Christophe Batsch, ''Un rouage du colonialisme: L’École normale d’instituteurs William Ponty'', Paris, Université de Paris VII, 1973, 97 p. (master's thesis) * Yamar Sarr Fall, ''L’École Normale William Ponty de 1912 à 1948'', Université de Dakar, 1986, 115 p. (master's thesis) *Denise Savineau
Reports No. 1-18
to the Governor General of

, 1937 (French with English translation and annotations by Claire Griffiths of the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...

)

External links

Video from the school at Seby Ponty, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecole Normale Superieure William Ponty Universities in Senegal Education in French West Africa Educational institutions established in 1903 1903 establishments in French West Africa Saint-Louis, Senegal Kolda