| Education System in Madagascar |
School is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14. The first six years of this are spent at primary schools, which some say are still ramshackle in rural areas. A standard academic curriculum is prescribed for all.
The following 3 years are spent at junior secondary level, following which time a completion certificate is awarded. For many poorer children who managed to make it thus far, this will be the end of school for them though.
The final 3 years of Madagascan school are no longer compulsory, and these schools are mainly the preserve of richer urban kids too. Those who stay the course receive a baccalauréat - the equivalent of a high school diploma, and essential for entry into university.
There are vocational alternatives to academic middle and secondary schoos. These are the collèges professionelle, and collèges technique. The latter ends with an equivalent baccalauréat too
The University in Antananarivo illustrated here is the original core institution established in 1961. It spawned the island nation’s other premier tertiary institutions based in Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Toamasina, Toliara, and Mahajanga.
Upwards of 40,000 students study at its faculties of law & economics, science, and literature & social sciences, as well as at its schools of public administration, management, medicine, social welfare, public works, and agronomy.
