Burkina Faso School System

Since I’ll be working at a school, I figured it would be good to give a little bit of information about the school system here in Burkina.

Schooling begins at ages 3-4 for some people, in Enseignment pre-scolaire (equivalent to our kindergarten). However kindergarten here is very expensive, so few students can afford to go to school. Manditory schooling begins at ages 6-8 in Enseignment Primaire (Primary School), which goes CP1 (cours preparatoire), CP2, CE1 (cours elementairs), CE2, CM1 (cours moyen), and CM2. After CM2 students are required to take the Certificat d’etudes primaries (CEP exam). If a student does not pass the exam, they cannot continue onto middle school. Students are allowed to repeat classes two times, but if fail after the second time, the student needs to go a different school, because they cannot continue at the original school. Once a student passes the CEP exam, they continue onto Enseignment Secondaire (Secondary School). Middle School (Premier Cycle) is 6e, 5e, 4e, and 3e (they count in the opposite direction as in the U.S.). After 3e, students take the Brevet d’Etudes du Premier Cycle (BEPC exam). After passing the BEPC, students enter lycee, or high school, which is 2ere, 1ere, and Terminale grades. After Terminale (similar to senior in U.S. high school), students have to take the BAC exam in order to continue onto the university. However, generally only 20-30% of students pass the BAC and are able to continue their education