The Education System in Madagascar

The Ministry of Education (MENRS) is the primary governing body that oversees the education system of Madagascar. Based on a 2000-2002 statistics, 33% of all Malagasy children had no access to primary education. That same period, the government spending on education is only between 2.6% and 2.9% of the country’s GDP, lower than the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 5.1%.

Education is divided into Primary (age 6 to 11), and Secondary (Junior is age 12 to 15 and Senior is age 16 to 18). Vocational secondary school system is also available for Malagasy students. The professional college is the equivalent of junior secondary level while the technical college is the equivalent of senior secondary level and grants technical diploma.

The Malagasy government has begun various education reforms including the Madagascar Action Plan (MAP) and Education for All (EFA) Plan. The EFA Plan is to achieve general primary school enrolment and advance the quality and efficiency of the Malagasy educational system. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Norway and Madagascar was signed in 2005 in accordance with UNICEF’s programme “Ensuring the right to Quality Primary Education for all Children in Madagascar”. Its main obligation is to for Norway’s support to strengthen the basic education in Madagascar.