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Tivaouane is an old town and also the capital city of this department. Located slightly in the northern part of Thies, Tivaouane is distant from the town by a score of kilometres (22km). Its population is about 45, 000 inhabitants, 90% of whom are Moslems. The town is equally the capital of Tidjanism and hosts the great Sy family, which is the guardian of the community’s legacy in Senegal and whose most conspicuous representative is El Hadji Malick SY (May God welcome him in paradise). Then for a long time many “daraas” (Arabic Schools) have been set up there where the holy Koran is taught. This long tradition of Koran teaching has not prevented the population, including the Sy family, from opening to modern schools and teaching. The town counts 8 to 9 elementary schools, 2 secondary schools and 1 high school.
At Tivaouane High pupils start their Baccalaureate course at 15 which takes 3 years to complete, this follows straight on from there secondary school education. The subjects taught here are French, English, Spanish, Arabic, German, Science, Maths, Physics, P.E and Chemistry. A typical school day begins at 8am through untill 7pm. This long day is split up by a 3 hour break at 12 noon in which students eat there main meal of the day and take an afternoon nap! After school clubs are also available to students on a wednesday after school or on saturdays, these clubs are in English, French, Volleyball and Environment. Below shows a photo of the new Tivaouane High School due to be completed late 2006 and a typical classroom scene at the school.