School in Madagascar

Madagascar's legal framework under Loi 2022-018 provides one year of préscolaire or pre-initiation, sets the beginning of compulsory attendance at age five and defines six years of primary education. Primary education consists of three years of Niveau I and three years of Niveau II. ESG I, the first cycle of secondary education, is planned for three years, followed by three years of ESG II or Lycée. The law makes ESG I compulsory progressively by Commune, depending on available teachers, buildings and public funding. The legal requirement for préscolaire also depends on implementing regulations and local capacity. The operational structure used by the Ministry of National Education, known as MEN, does not always match these legal categories exactly. Préscolaire commonly serves children around four to five years old. An EPP, meaning Ecole Primaire Publique, may include préscolaire, CP1, CP2, CM1 and CM2 classes. A public CEG, or Collège d'Enseignement Général, normally covers 6ème through 3ème over four years. A public Lycée normally covers Seconde, 1ère and Terminale over three years. Recognized private schools may provide comparable local schooling, while international or foreign-curriculum schools form a separate private pathway rather than a direct public-school equivalent. The MEN sets national policy and supervises public and private institutions. A DREN coordinates education at regional level, while a CISCO covers a school district and a ZAP supports local pedagogical implementation. School leaders manage daily operations. FEFFI committees handle school and support funds and contribute to local school administration. FRAM has historically helped finance community teachers through parent and community contributions, but the recruitment of new FRAM or volunteer teachers was prohibited for the 2025/26 school year. These arrangements mean that responsibility for a school may involve national, regional, district, school and community bodies at the same time. Admission depends on the level and the institution. Access to préscolaire is usually determined locally by the institution and available places. Entry to a CEG commonly requires the CEPE, the national primary certificate, together with the 6ème entrance competition or selection process. Entry to a Lycée commonly requires the BEPC, the lower-secondary certificate, and selection or a competition for Seconde. Capacity is limited in many locations. During the 2025/26 school year, transfers or admission into intermediate classes such as 5ème, 4ème, 3ème, 1ère and Terminale were handled through level tests or transfer procedures. No single nationally documented catchment-area system determines access everywhere. Primary education is legally free and compulsory. The government also stated that registration and passage-exam fees for public schools were free for the 2025/26 year. Private-school fees vary by institution and may include tuition, registration, transport, meals or other charges. In practice, families still carry a substantial share of education costs; UNICEF reporting has estimated that families cover about 40% of recurring system costs. FEFFI-managed school and support funds must have their amounts displayed locally. Requests for unofficial charges are a governance risk and should be distinguished from officially announced school contributions. Attendance is affected by more than the legal rule. Poverty, long travel distances, harvest work, cyclones, teacher absences, childcare responsibilities, child labour, early marriage and teenage pregnancy can interrupt schooling. UNESCO reporting for 2024 estimated that 3.4% of primary-age children, 38.8% of lower-secondary-age children and 69.0% of upper-secondary-age children were out of school. Modeled completion rates for the same year were about 53.5% for primary, 28.8% for lower secondary and 14.1% for upper secondary. These figures show why reaching the end of a school cycle is not automatic even where attendance is legally required. The MEN and its reform framework, including COOCM, set official programmes and minimum teaching time for public and private schools. Malagasy and French are the main languages of instruction. EPP and CEG teaching may use both languages, while Lycée education is more strongly French-oriented. Current programmes include Malagasy, French, mathematics, history and geography, life and earth sciences, physical education and English, with citizenship education included as a reform element. The school year is legally set at 40 weeks divided into five working periods, while the annual calendar is issued by the ministry and may receive local adjustments. Assessment combines school-level evaluation with national examinations. The end of primary Niveau II has a national certifying evaluation that operates as the CEPE. ESG I ends with the BEPC examination, and Lycée ends with the general Baccalauréat. Entry tests and level tests may also determine admission or transfers. The World Bank reported in 2025 that around 95% of children at the end of primary school lacked sufficient reading skills, and public-school repetition was reported at 25.3%. Modeled primary completion was higher for girls than boys in the cited data, at 63.3% compared with 57.6%. Public and partner programmes provide school materials, learning kits, textbooks and early-learning materials. Scholarships may be based on social circumstances or performance, especially at secondary and higher-education levels. The TALIM programme reported about 4.7 million préscolaire and primary learners, 135,000 teachers and 27,000 public primary schools in 2025. It also planned repairs for more than 1,000 schools in 15 cyclone-prone regions. Teacher training includes four pedagogical days per year, but regional shortages and infrastructure gaps remain substantial. Madagascar's law provides for inclusive education, including the education of children with mild or moderate disabilities in ordinary schools where access and support exist. Children with severe disabilities are more often directed to specialized institutions. Practical availability varies greatly by region, building condition, trained staff and transport. The main transitions are CEPE to CEG or ESG I, BEPC to Lycée or ESG II, and the Baccalauréat général to higher education or a technical or vocational pathway. Passing an examination does not by itself guarantee a place in the next institution because selection, capacity and regional provision affect admission. Rural distance, cyclone exposure, changes between Malagasy and French, teacher availability, community financing and household costs can influence whether a child starts school, remains enrolled and completes the next level.