Senegal

The several hundred elementary schools channel students into approximately 140 middle schools (college d'enseigement moyen). Those who are able to pass the stringent exams (fewer than half of the middle school students) are eligible to enter the approximately 45 general and specialized high schools (lycées). Most of those who enter lycée are able to complete its seven-year curriculum. However, only about 40 percent of these are able to pass the baccalauréat examinations.

The educational reform plan provided for another type of school, the intermediate practical education school, to provide a four-year course beyond primary school. Those who finish this cycle of courses are expected to enter the work force; there is no provision for entering another level of formal education. Students are expected to work in agriculture, skilled labor, handicrafts, and so on.

Senegalese people consider a traditional lycée education to be the highest form of education. The institutions continue to maintain their prestige, seeking to admit only highly qualified students and maintaining an upper age limit of 13 years. President Senghor, as a classicist, had strong influence on the secondary school curriculum. Senegal is one of the few countries of the world where Latin is a compulsory subject in secondary school. Greek and Arabic are both also offered at the secondary level (Michel 1988).