General view of pupils in the playground during break time at Lycée Moderne de Cocody in Abidjan, on 22 September, 2026. A handful of students puzzled over equations on the blackboard of an Abidjan maths class. Next door, the humanities classes were all packed. This is becoming a familiar sight across west Africa, where fewer and fewer students are choosing to study science. In Ivory Coast, just 0.6 percent of students sitting the baccalaureate in 2022 were on the elite maths-and-physics track, according to education ministry figures. Another 38 percent took the broader sciences stream, down from 45 percent in 2015. But Ivory Coast is not alone. Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal and Niger have all seen interest in science dwindle, despite repeated government promises to produce more engineers, researchers and innovators. (Photo by Sia KAMBOU / AFP via Getty Images)

A Mathematics teacher (R) explains an exercise to a final-year C-series science pupil at the blackboard at Lycée Moderne de Cocody in Abidjan, on September 22, 2027. A handful of students puzzled over equations on the blackboard of an Abidjan maths class. Next door, the humanities classes were all packed. This is becoming a familiar sight across west Africa, where fewer and fewer students are choosing to study science. In Ivory Coast, just 0.6 percent of students sitting the baccalaureate in 2022 were on the elite maths-and-physics track, according to education ministry figures. Another 38 percent took the broader sciences stream, down from 45 percent in 2015. But Ivory Coast is not alone. Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal and Niger have all seen interest in science dwindle, despite repeated government promises to produce more engineers, researchers and innovators. (Photo by Sia KAMBOU / AFP via Getty Images)

General view of pupils revising their lessons in the library at the Lycée Moderne de Cocody in Abidjan, on 22 September, 2027. A handful of students puzzled over equations on the blackboard of an Abidjan maths class. Next door, the humanities classes were all packed. This is becoming a familiar sight across west Africa, where fewer and fewer students are choosing to study science. In Ivory Coast, just 0.6 percent of students sitting the baccalaureate in 2022 were on the elite maths-and-physics track, according to education ministry figures. Another 38 percent took the broader sciences stream, down from 45 percent in 2015. But Ivory Coast is not alone. Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal and Niger have all seen interest in science dwindle, despite repeated government promises to produce more engineers, researchers and innovators. (Photo by Sia KAMBOU / AFP via Getty Images)

A Mathematics teacher (R) explains an exercise to a final-year C-series science pupil at the blackboard at Lycée Moderne de Cocody in Abidjan, on September 22, 2027. A handful of students puzzled over equations on the blackboard of an Abidjan maths class. Next door, the humanities classes were all packed. This is becoming a familiar sight across west Africa, where fewer and fewer students are choosing to study science. In Ivory Coast, just 0.6 percent of students sitting the baccalaureate in 2022 were on the elite maths-and-physics track, according to education ministry figures. Another 38 percent took the broader sciences stream, down from 45 percent in 2015. But Ivory Coast is not alone. Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal and Niger have all seen interest in science dwindle, despite repeated government promises to produce more engineers, researchers and innovators. (Photo by Sia KAMBOU / AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) A forensic analyst conducts DNA testing to help identify missing flash flood victims at the National Forensic Science Laboratory in Lalitpur on September 19, 2026. Nepal was overwhelmed by the sheer scale of destruction from the tsunami-like wall of freezing water and debris triggered by a glacial and rock collapse on the Nepal-China border on August 26. With thousands of DNA profiles to process, fragmented remains and limited technical capacity and manpower, experts warn matching bodies to families could take weeks. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) Forensic analysts conduct DNA testing to help identify missing flash flood victims at the National Forensic Science Laboratory in Lalitpur on September 19, 2026. Nepal was overwhelmed by the sheer scale of destruction from the tsunami-like wall of freezing water and debris triggered by a glacial and rock collapse on the Nepal-China border on August 26. With thousands of DNA profiles to process, fragmented remains and limited technical capacity and manpower, experts warn matching bodies to families could take weeks. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) A forensic analyst conducts DNA testing to help identify missing flash flood victims at the National Forensic Science Laboratory in Lalitpur on September 19, 2026. Nepal was overwhelmed by the sheer scale of destruction from the tsunami-like wall of freezing water and debris triggered by a glacial and rock collapse on the Nepal-China border on August 26. With thousands of DNA profiles to process, fragmented remains and limited technical capacity and manpower, experts warn matching bodies to families could take weeks. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) A forensic analyst conducts DNA testing to help identify missing flash flood victims at the National Forensic Science Laboratory in Lalitpur on September 19, 2026. Nepal was overwhelmed by the sheer scale of destruction from the tsunami-like wall of freezing water and debris triggered by a glacial and rock collapse on the Nepal-China border on August 26. With thousands of DNA profiles to process, fragmented remains and limited technical capacity and manpower, experts warn matching bodies to families could take weeks. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images)