Meguet: The gold rush in the Meguet Basic Education District (CEB), Ganzourgou province, has resulted in 1,210 students leaving school between 2022 and 2025, lured by the prospects of artisanal gold mining.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the head of the Meguet Basic Education District, Nongaouagre Koalaga, reports that the majority of these dropouts are boys, drawn by the promise of quick earnings from mining. Of the total dropouts, 902 were boys and 308 were girls, resulting in an overall dropout rate of 4.77%. The numbers break down as follows: 427 dropouts in 2022-2023, 429 in 2023-2024, and 354 in 2024-2025, marking a slight decrease in the last year but indicating a persistent issue.
The appeal of gold mining is strong in several villages, where material success stories involving the acquisition of houses, motorcycles, and cars fuel the belief that schooling is unnecessary for success. The Chairman of the Pinre school board, Noaga Dominique Bougma, notes that even children are able to earn money quickly at the mining sites, enhancing the lure of gold panning further. Contributing to the problem are family poverty and social media portrayals of success, which often omit the associated risks and accidents.
At Fatimenga school, near a mining site, headmaster Hamidou Ouedraogo reports more than 30 dropouts over three years, mostly during the months of March and April or over the summer holidays, involving students generally over 10 years old. Similarly, at Bolle school, Director MW Emmanuel Ouedraogo notes over a dozen dropouts since 2023, with affected students aged between 9 and 16, sometimes encouraged by their parents. Even at Yama school, not located near a mining site, headmaster Pascal Nana recorded seven dropouts in 2025, involving students from disadvantaged backgrounds aged 11 to 15.
The phenomenon affects children from both nearby and distant villages, who leave for mining sites in Burkina Faso and neighboring countries such as Ivory Coast, Mali, and Guinea.
In response, the Meguet Community Education Center (CEB) is conducting awareness sessions for students and parents, with support from partners like the NGO Terre des Hommes. The head of the CEB stresses the importance of education, pointing out that certain mining-related activities require skills acquired at school and that a BEPC qualification is a minimum requirement for some opportunities.
However, he insists that awareness alone is insufficient and calls for robust measures to protect children and retain them in education. "Without strong actions, we risk compromising the future of an entire generation," warns Mr. Nongaouagre Koalaga.