[News24] Senegal... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
's president says the government will close all Islamic schools that do not meet basic safety standards, after nine children in a Qu'ranic school died in a fire on Sunday.
Senegalese President Macky Sall said the young students, aged 7 to 12, were killed in a fire in the Medina neighbourhood of Senegal's capital, Dakar.
After visiting the scene of the fire, Sall said on Monday night that Qu'ranic schools that do not meet basic standards will be closed to stop the exploitation of children. He said the young boarding students will be returned to their families.
The children who died in the fire were "talibes", which are students under 15 who stay with their master to learn the Qu'ran and to raise funds by begging in the streets.