School in Togo

Togo has an established formal school system before tertiary education, but its stages do not correspond one-to-one with German school types such as Hauptschule, Realschule or Gymnasium. Preschool education includes préscolaire and jardin d'enfants or JEP, usually organized in Section 1 and Section 2. Primary education lasts six years from CP1 through CM2 and ends with the Certificat de fin d'études du primaire (CEPD). Secondary 1 lasts four years from 6e through 3e and usually takes place in a CEG. The Brevet d'études du premier cycle (BEPC) gives access to secondary 2, which lasts three years from 2nde through Tle in a lycée. BAC I follows 1re and BAC II follows Tle; higher education may follow, but it belongs outside the school system. Schools may be public, private secular, confessional or community-based. Togo also has specialized schools, including 14 state-subsidized institutions. In 2026-2027, the public system includes 16 scientific collèges and 7 scientific lycées across the country's 7 regional education directorates. During 2025-2026, the country counted 15,868 school institutions, 2,845,990 students and 75,247 teachers. Public institutions represented 63% of institutions and 71% of students, while public schools employed 57% of teachers. Schooling is compulsory for girls and boys until age 15. Togo does not have a reliably documented national system of catchment areas, centralized school choice or universal online enrollment. Admission can therefore depend on the institution or region. The CEPD normally leads to secondary education, and the BEPC normally leads to a lycée. Scientific collèges and lycées use a national entrance competition and select applicants according to examination results or performance; passing does not guarantee a place in every case. The official school calendar applies to public, private secular and confessional schools. For 2026-2027, classes start on 14 September 2026, run across three terms and end on 16 July 2027, followed by approximately eight weeks of major school holidays. Regional, social, gender-related and disability-related barriers still affect attendance and completion, and there is no evidenced nationwide entitlement to school transport. The curriculum follows the competency-based approach introduced through the curriculum reform of 2002. French and mathematics are core subjects. Preschool also includes Languages and Communication, Mathematics, and Science and Technology. Ewe and Kabyè are being used in bilingual national-language pilots alongside French, and an English pilot began in primary education in 2025-2026. New physical education and sports programmes were introduced for 2025-2026. Educational materials covered by Arrêté N°319/2025/MEPS/CAB/SG require official approval before use. Schools combine classroom or school assessment with national examinations. The main national examinations are the CEPD, BEPC, BAC I and BAC II. The CNEA conducts national learning assessments, including EGRA and EGMA work in 2025. Reported 2026 success rates were 77.95% for CEPD, 56.14% for BEPC, 73.05% for BAC I and 81.29% for BAC II. The mention “excellent” was introduced for national examinations in 2026. Public primary school fees were abolished in 2008. Government decisions made public secondary registration and tuition free from the 2021-2022 school year. In 2024, compensation covered 5,321 public primary schools and 1,377 public secondary schools, and 221,042 students received free examination registration. Free tuition does not remove every household cost: families may still need to pay for notebooks, uniforms or clothing, learning materials, meals, transport and other daily needs. Private schools can charge their own fees. Support measures include state subsidies, textbooks, school kits, school canteens and the School-AMU student health insurance scheme. School canteens have had a legal institutional framework since 2020. Other support includes school grants and inclusion measures for girls, children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. Itinerant teachers, Braille, sign language and adapted learning materials support access, although infrastructure remains uneven: in 2024, about one school in three lacked water and three in ten lacked latrines. Education administration involves the Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale, its planning and monitoring services, 7 regional education directorates, local inspections, school heads and directors, and the CNEA. Local authorities and communities also participate through school management committees such as COGEP and COGERES and through parent associations. Regional conditions differ considerably. In 2025-2026, Grand Lomé had 695,180 students in 3,671 institutions with 11,113 teachers, while Savanes had 396,171 students in 1,903 institutions with 2,357 teachers. The other regional totals were Maritime 560,361 students and 3,028 institutions, Plateaux Est 370,993 and 2,074, Plateaux Ouest 196,136 and 1,511, Centrale 281,261 and 1,688, and Kara 345,888 and 1,993. Reported student-to-classroom ratios ranged from 39 to 55, with Savanes recording the highest pressure. Between 2019 and 2024, preschool gross enrollment rose from 37.3% to 45.2%, primary net enrollment from 91.6% to 97.9%, and primary completion from 86.5% to 94.6%. The transition from primary to secondary 1 increased from 69.1% to 91%, while secondary 1 completion rose from 49.8% to 61.4%. Secondary 2 completion changed more modestly, from 27.9% to 29.2%. These figures show progress in access and transition alongside continued differences between school levels and regions.