Previously, the Beninese educational system has undergone periods of celebri- ties i.e. “Latin Quarter of Africa49”. Periods that have lost sight on that, educa-
tion must always be given special attention, especially on school infrastructure, teaching materials, and improving quality of teaching staff. Meanwhile, there is a deep reflexionon the future of educational system in Benin since 200550. A
new program is establshed with the cooperation of US Aid.
46 http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=MDG&f=seriesRowID%3A581, from, “Enquête Modulaire Intégrée sur les Conditions de Vie des Ménages (EMICoV)”.
47 CIA World Factbook (This is an exception) – Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of January 1, 2012 under http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?v=69. 48 See “Education sector analysis methodological guidelines: Sector-wide analysis, with em-
phasis on primary and secondary education”, UNESCO, UNICEF, Pole de Dakar, World Bank, With the financial support of: Global Partnership for Education, September, 2014,
At 6:15 PM, 15th November 2016, under
https://www.unicef.org/education/files/vol1eng.pdf 49 Quartier latin de l’Afrique.
50 “Assessment of the USAID assistance program to the reform of the Benin primary educa- tion system”, paper prepared by Michael J. Midling, Ph.D., Francine Ahouanmènou- Agueh, Emmanuel M. David Gnahoui, Ph.D., Jennifer L. Mandel, Ph.D., Prudencia Zinsou, for DevTech Systems, Inc., 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1720, Arlington, VA 22209 USA, AUGUST 2005, under http://www.devtechsys.com.
In 198951, the quality of Benin education was so far eroded near by collapsed.
In 1990, a national Conference on Education (Etats Généraux de l’Education- EGE) was held and has adopted a national policy and strategy to improve edu- cation system with significant changes. Most important advances were in ac- cess and teaching/learning conditions.
Basic Education in Benin is compulsory for children between ages six and eleven. After voluntarily spending two or three years in kindergarten (Jardin d’enfant), it takes six years for them to complete and take the primary school certificate (CEPE). The gross enrolment rate has increased from a base of 49.7 % in 1990 to 96 % in 2004.
Primary52 enrolment has changed over the years as followed: 2010: 94.12 %;
2012: 95.01 %; 2014: 95.87 % so then the progression in lower secondary 2013: 63.48 %. Over the past several years, Benin has taken significant steps towards improving primary education. In 199653, the gross primary enrolment
rate was 72.5 %, and the net primary enrolment rate was 59.3 % with a net primary enrolment rate for boys at 71.6 % and for girls 46.2 %. On the other hand, the student/teacher ratio rose from 36:1 in 1990 to 53:1 in 1997, what in turn means a clear degradation of teaching quality. The overall adult illiteracy54
rate is nearly 70 %, whereby only 25 % of women in Benin are literate.
Since 199855, net enrolment rates for boys increased from 65 % to 81 %, while
girls’ enrolment rose from 32 % to 58 %.In 1999, an overhaul of the education system has meant that, within the same public services of education, there are dissensions on the introduction of new reforms of the educational system. USAID’s56 education strategy emphasizes high-quality primary education in
Benin so that all children develop early reading skills whereas the established system is still having a colonial taste.
51 http://cotonou.usembassy.gov/facts_about_benin.html.
52 See UNESCO Data Bank, Education: Gross enrolment ratio by level of education, under http://data.uis.unesco.org/?queryid=142.
53 “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour” by Bureau of International Labours Af- fairs, US Department of Labour (2001).
54 http://www.usaid.gov/gsearch/Education%2Bin%2BBenin%2B and http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/benin_statistics.html.
55 http://www.usaid.gov/benin/education. 56 Ibid.
Since 2007, Benin has abolished school fees (matriculation fees). In addition, a national strategy to fight57 against illiteracy with the aim of gradually reducing
it but consequently literacy is bearing fruit (see the table 1 below from 2007- 2012). Furthermore, since the free basic education, the enrolment rate in prima- ry education has increased gradually.
Nevertheless, the whole school system still operates on a 6-4-3-3-4 year’s French system. This means attendance exactly: 6 years for primary school, 4 years for junior high school, 3 years for senior high school, and 3 years for Bachelor’s degree, 4 years for Master’s degree.
Table 1: UNICEF Basic Indicators on Education
Youth (15-24 years) literacy rate (%) 2008-2012*, male 54.9
Youth (15-24 years) literacy rate (%) 2008-2012*, female 30.8
Number per 100 population 2012, mobile phones 89.9
Number per 100 population 2012, Internet users 3.8
Pre-primary school participation, Gross enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012*, male 19.7 Pre-primary school participation, Gross enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012*, female 20.2 Primary school participation, Gross enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012*, male 137.3 Primary school participation, Gross enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012*, female 120.1 Primary school participation, Net enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012*, male – Primary school participation, Net enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012*, female – Primary school participation, Net attendance ratio (%) 2008-2012*, male 72.1 Primary school participation, Net attendance ratio (%) 2008-2012*, female 68.1 Primary school participation, Survival rate to last primary grade (%), 2008-2012*,
admin. data 55.8
Primary school participation, Survival rate to last primary grade (%), 2008-2012*,
survey data 89.3
Secondary school participation, Net enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012*, male – Secondary school participation, Net enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012*, female – Secondary school participation, Net attendance ratio (%) 2008-2012*, male 49.3 Secondary school participation, Net attendance ratio (%) 2008-2012*, female 40
Source: UNICEF Country Information at August 1th 2016 6 PM
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/benin_statistics.html
The literacy rate 54.9 % (Male) 30.8 % (Female) of youth (15-24 years) is a great indicator that already shows that there is a lot to do in education in Benin. The education policy improvement has led to a primary school attendance ratio
of 72.1 % (Male) and 68.1 % (Female). The about 4 points percentage at the basis deteriorate seriously by the entry in secondary by 9.3 percentage points and increase up to 24.1 percentage points by the youth.