Dakar - Post Report Question and Answers
Are preschools available? Day care? Are these expensive? What has been your experience with them, if any? Do the schools provide before- and/or after-school care?
Yes, we were happy with the options here. The staff seem to love what they do and it's very affordable. - Oct 2024
They are all available and people have generally been happy with their choices. I'm not sure of the prices. - Apr 2022
Friends put their children in local preschools, and were very pleased with them. Most of my friends were working in the international community and their employers paid for education, so I don’t have any idea about the affordability of the preschools. - Jul 2020
For young children, there are several French maternelles, most of which are exclusively in French. Many people hire nannies to provide child care at home. Several of the schools offer after-school care, for an additional fee. - Dec 2019
Plenty of preschools and creshes. They all vary, just have to do research on what suits you best. School teachers and principals can change often and then you're back at square one! - Dec 2018
I had my youngest in a preschool and to me, it was a terrible experience. It was a local school called Kindergarten Bilingual. I had an issue with the way one of the teachers treated my child. I would stick to having your child go to the ISD for preschool or one thats well recommended by a lot of parents. EAB is pretty good from what I hear. Just stay away from local schools with super cheap prices. - Dec 2018
Plenty available, most are French-speaking. Costs vary from US$200/month to US$450. Most of the 'good' ones have long wait-lists. Most of the creches are M-F, all day, but some of the more structured programs follow the French school calendar. - Apr 2016
Plenty of preschools for around the 4 year age. Younger than that and most families choose to hire a full-time nanny. - Aug 2015
There are several preschool options but I did not have any school-aged children, so I don't know about the costs. - Aug 2014
Yes, they are available; my kids are older, I can't really comment on them. - Apr 2014
There are local preschools, mostly French-speaking and I do not have personal experience, but many people use them. - Mar 2012
We have used Ecole en Couleurs which is a French ecole maternelle. It is ok, though typical of French schools, lacks green grass for children to play on. Green grass in Dakar is hard to find in general. - Aug 2011
household help (nannies) very common here and affordable - Jan 2011
No experience - but heard there is a Montessori school. - Feb 2010
Lots: French, bilingual or English. - Jan 2010
Yes. - May 2009
