The Samba Diéry Diallo Barracks in Colobane is opening its new elementary school. The inauguration ceremony for this school facility took place this Friday, October 3, 2025, under the chairmanship of the Minister of the Armed Forces, Air Force General Birame Diop, along with his colleague Moustapha Mamba Guirassy, Minister of National Education, and the High Commander of the National Gendarmerie.

An investment from the High Commander of the National Gendarmerie

Aware that education is the fundamental pillar of a nation's development, the lever of economic growth, the foundation of social stability and the engine of individual transformation, the High Command of the National Gendarmerie has embarked on a dynamic of supporting schools, with a social strategy that places them at the heart of its action. It is within this framework that it has built a new elementary school within the Samba Diéry Diallo Barracks in Colobane. This is a high-profile initiative that demonstrates, once again, a National Gendarmerie at the service of the Nation, attentive, beyond its sovereign security missions, to the needs, particularly those of young people.

A two-story building that offers modernity and comfort to learners

Located in the heart of the Samba Diéry Diallo district, a key place in the history of the national gendarmerie, this R+2 building can accommodate all elementary school classes and has all modern amenities for teachers and students. With a capacity of 920 students in the 24 classes, 17 of which will be operational from the start of the 2025-2026 school year, this gem remains below its maximum capacity due to the still limited number of teachers available. It has 17 teaching classes divided into three rooms for the introductory course, two for the preparatory course, three for the first-year elementary course, three for the second-year elementary course, three for the first-year middle course, and three others for the second-year middle course.

In this regard, the Minister of the Armed Forces requested the support of his colleague from the Ministry of National Education to strengthen the material and human resources of the establishment in order to be able to accommodate up to 1,200 students in excellent conditions, thanks to modern and adapted equipment.

This new elementary school also houses a library, a computer room and a large courtyard which provides a friendly living environment for learners.

Before proceeding with the ribbon cutting, the Minister of the Armed Forces returned to the motivations behind the initiative. "By opening this school today, the Armed Forces, the National Gendarmerie in particular, are making a symbolic, yet significant, contribution to achieving our ambition to guarantee every child, wherever they are in the country, the same opportunities to access a quality education and to flourish in our society," General Birame Diop emphasized.

For him, the opening of this school infrastructure allows, on the one hand, to bring the school closer to families, by offering the children of soldiers and the surrounding communities a modern, secure and stimulating learning environment. On the other hand, it contributes to anchoring the Samba Diéry Diallo Barracks in its social environment by strengthening the Army-Nation bond around a promising project: education.

Finally, the Minister of the Armed Forces urged the administrative staff and teachers to take responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of the infrastructure in order to ensure its sustainability.

“The children who will be attending this school have an extraordinary opportunity.”

The Minister of National Education, for his part, maintained that the students who will be attending this school have an additional opportunity compared to their peers. "It is a great honor for the Ministry of National Education to take part in the inauguration of this beautiful elementary school within the National Gendarmerie. It is highly symbolic for the partnership we are forming," Moustapha Mamba Guirassy rejoiced.

According to him, the children who will be attending this new school have an extraordinary opportunity. "Of course, the educational program is for all our children across the country, but the special touch of the army, of the gendarmerie, is something that is missing in many schools, in many establishments," he maintained.

It should be remembered that the inauguration of this school is in addition to numerous structuring initiatives that the two ministries are carrying out together, and in which the national gendarmerie is a major stakeholder, whether it is the promotion of citizenship and civic spirit or logistical support.