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Education |
| There were 2 divided systems of education in Mauritania before 1999 reform. •The Arabic : Arabic was the core language of studies. •The Bilingual : mainly taught in French. In each section only a trivial hour were spent in the other language and the rest of the courses were taught in full Arabic or in full French. This organization of instruction lasted for twenty years from 1979 to 1989. The greater part of Moors, in particular in the countryside, used to follow the Arabic Branch while the Puulars, Sonink¨¦s, and Woloffs registered mainly in the Bilingual Branch. |
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| Description of the Education System
Pre-primary Almost all Mauritanians, regardless of sex or ethnic group, attend Koranic school from the age of 4 to 6 and gain at least rudimentary skills in reading and writing Arabic in addition to memorizing Koranic verses. Primary School Primary school covers 6 years from the age of six to twelve. All classes are taught in Arabic during the first year schooling and French is used to teach arithmetic, natural sciences, and French at the beginning of the second year. Pupils proceed to secondary education with an entrance examination organized throughout the country by the Ministry of Education. They take the examination in 7 subjects ( 4 in Arabic and 3 in French), to be awarded the Certificat d'Etudes Primaires El¨¦mentaires (CEPE). Secondary Education Secondary education is divided into two stages: the First Cycle called "College" (4 years) and the Second Cycle named "Lyc¨¦e" (3 years). Secondary Education covers a total of 7 years. It was 6 years before the 1999 reform. College English is introduced at the first year of College. Physics is taught at the 3rd year and Computer Science at the 4th year. Pupils pursue the scientific subjects like Math, Natural sciences, physics and Computer science in French and the literary ones like History and Geography, Religious Studies, and Civics in Arabic. Pupils who obtain a satisfactory report from the College can enter the Lyc¨¦e without taking the national examination at the completion of the four-year courses. Those who chose to take the examination are awarded the "Brevet d'Etudes du Premier Cycle" (BEPC). The "Lyc¨¦e" is three years long and pupils are directed, according to their capacity, to four specialized sections commonly called "Series": •Serie LO for "Lettres Originelles". A strong grasp in the Arabic language is required to succeed in this section as the main courses (Islamic Studies, Philosophy, Legislation, History and Geography) are taught in this language. Pupils who graduated from this section can pursue their studies at ISERI to become "Qady", legislator in Islamic Laws, or professor in Islamic studies at the "Lyc¨¦e" and "College" •Serie LM for "Lettres Modernes" This is the section for Modern Literature. Pupils should be bilingual (French and Arabic) to be sent to this section. •Serie D for "Science Natural". This is the scientific section of higher school. It puts the emphasis on math, physics and natural sciences that are all taught in French. •Serie C for "Mathematiques". It has the same curriculum as the "Serie D" with more hours spent in the teaching of math. The final year of the Lyc¨¦e is known as the "Classe Terminale" which is the year of preparation for the examination of the Baccalaureat. Technical schools After getting the "Diplome du Baccalaur¨¦at de l'Enseignement du Secondaire" (BAC), pupils wishing to pursue studies in the technical schools can take the entrance examination to join the "College Technique". This is the short cycle of technical studies leading to the "Brevet d'Enseignement Professionel" (BEP) after two years. After the BEP, an additional two years at the "Lyc¨¦e Technique" is required to obtain the "Brevet de Technicien". The holder of this diploma can join the "Centre Sup¨¦rieur d'Enseignement Technique" (CSET) after an entrance examination to get the "Brevet de Technicien Sup¨¦rieur" (BTS) which is considered as a university diploma. Universities and other Institutions of Higher Education The university of Nouakchott is divided into three "facult¨¦s": "Facult¨¦ des Lettres et Sciences Humaines", "Facult¨¦ des Sciences Economiques et Juridiques", "Facult¨¦ des Sciences et Techniques". The BAC is required to register to one of these "Facult¨¦s". Students spend two years to finish the First Cycle of university studies by obtaining the "Diplome du Premier Cycle d'Etudes Universitaires" also called "DEUG". An additional two years at the Second Cycle offers the opportunity to obtain the diploma of "Maitrise" after writing and presenting before a jury a final dissertation called "Memoire". There are other specialized institutions of higher education besides the traditional curriculum at the University of Nouakchott: •Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA) •Ecole Nationale d'Institutueurs (ENI) •Ecole Normale Sup¨¦rieure (ENS) •Institut Scientifique des Etudes et Recherches Islamiques (ISERI) •Ecole Nationale de Sant¨¦ Publique (ENSP) •Institut Sup¨¦rieur de Specialisation M¨¦dicale (ISSM) •Centre Sup¨¦rieur d'Enseignement Technique (CSET) They trained Baccalaureate holders to become teachers at the Primary schools, Professors of "College" or "Lyc¨¦e", administrators in public services, medical doctors or health specialists. These 2 systems of education was the major source of hostility between the different communities of the nation, as they used to grow apart one from the others. In addition, despite the efforts of the government who used to invest a great part of his budget in public schools (one fourth in 1998), the education standards were falling drastically year by year. Reports of 1998 show that only 30% of the students pass the examination of the BAC. Wealthy families were obliged to send their children to private schools where a different system was applied to avoid low education standards. The government of Mauritania On April 1999, determined to remedy this situation by reforming the old educational system. The new reform establishes, for all citizens of Mauritania, one single and efficient system of education. Its main objective is to help them acquire the necessary tools to face the new challenges of the third millennium with due respect to their cultural and religious standards. To achieve this goal, the reformers departed from full Arabization at the primary school and introduced French at the second year of the primary school and English at the first year of the high school. Besides, the scientific subjects like math, natural sciences and computer are all taught in French for all the schooling period. In addition, more efforts are exerted to promote the local languages through the establishment of a research department at the university level. The 1999 reforms have brought the following changes in the education system: • All classes at the first year of the Primary School will be taught in Arabic. French is introduced at the beginning of the second year of the Primary Schools • The establishment of one single system of education for all Mauritanians • Creation of professional training centers in each region according to its economic vocation • Addition of one more year at the first cycle of the secondary schools. Students will now spend 7 years of courses at the Secondary school before passing the Baccalaureat • English is introduced at the first year of the secondary school • Scientific courses like Math, Natural Sciences, Computers will be taught only in French for all • Computer Sciences are taught at the fourth year of the Secondary School. |
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