École William Ponty was a government teachers' college in

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

, in what is now

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. The school is now in

Kolda Kolda (; Wolof: Koldaa) is a city and urban commune 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 th ...

, 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 During the Middle Ages, the lordship of Livry () was held by members of the House of Garlande before passing to Pierr ...

(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 an Ivorian politician and physician who served as the first List of heads of state of Ivory Coast, pr ...

and Bernard Binlin Dadié of

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

Modibo Keïta Modibo Keïta (4 June 1915 – 16 May 1977) was a Malian politician who served as the first President of Mali from 1960 to 1968. He espoused a form of African socialism. He was deposed in a coup d'état in 1968 by Moussa Traoré. Born and ra ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

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 from France. Although corruption was a common feature of his administration, ...

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 former President of Niger, Hamani Diori.

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

, Yacine Diallo of

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Hubert Maga Hubert Coutoucou Maga (August 10, 1916 – May 8, 2000) was a politician from Dahomey (now known as Benin). Born a peasant in 1916, Maga served as a schoolmaster from 1936 to 1945, during which time he gradually gained considerable influence among ...

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 Nawalagmba Yaméogo (31 December 1921 – 15 September 1993) was the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso, from 1960 until 1966. "Monsieur Maurice" embodied the Voltaic state at the moment of independen ...

and Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly 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 t ...

and

Ousmane Goundiam Ousmane is a French-Arabic surname and male given name 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 Ba (born 2002 ...

and

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 Just ...

, who was a founder of the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; , OUA) was an African intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and ec ...

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 (), is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and north of Senegal's capital city Dakar. It had a population of 254,171 in 2023. Saint-L ...

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 ...

, Governor General of

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

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

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 * J ...

and

Pierre Lafitte Pierre Lafitte (c. 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, J ...

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

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

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

Thiès Thiès (; ; Noon language, Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road (Senegal), N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and Saint-Louis, ...

, 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), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold ...

, 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 Land ownership and tenure, own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estima ...

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 Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

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 medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

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 Hu ...

)

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