Chad

The educational system has been essentially held back, and in parts, destroyed, by the incessant civil war that annihilated the country's civil service infrastructure between 1960 and 1985. The challenges facing the rebuilding and the reform of the educational system are all the more daunting because Chad is one of the poorest nations in Central Africa, with almost no paved roads or modern railroads. Burdened with unrest, terrorism, and a chronic lack of necessary funds, since nearly all resources were summarily allocated for the war effort, Chad has had to struggle since the mid-1980s to salvage its educational system. The available services in existence in 1960 did not constitute a solid basis upon which a new structure could be elaborated. After its independence, Chad lagged behind other francophone nations in central Africa. While Chad was one of its colonies, the French had decided not to build secondary schools and only instituted a rudimentary structure that relied heavily on Catholic and Protestant missionary efforts. After 1960, Chad attempted to build a credible educational system, only to see those efforts undermined by civil war, overcrowding, and a lack of qualified teachers and proper funding. Despite such unfavorable circumstances, several attempts at reform were made; one attempt was operation "Mandoul," launched in 1962, which tried to reform primary and secondary curriculum by making it more practical. Farming and basic skills were integrated in the programs of a few experimental schools between 1962 and 1968. The experiment was limited in scope and, ultimately, proved to be a failure. The other reform attempt was in 1973. An effort was made to change the old colonial pedagogical structure left behind by the French. A new, gradually selective system would enable students to enter professional occupations if they proved to be unable to continue along the more academically oriented track of primary and secondary schools. Again, however, these efforts did not result in any lasting or concrete changes.

By 1980, an ever-spreading civil war had stopped most reform attempts and effectively closed down the majority of Chadian schools. When they reopened in 1982, they faced the arduous task of trying to rebuild, once again, on the ruins of inadequate programs and assets. It took 10 years to erect buildings and train a minimum number of teachers. By 1990, Chad was consolidating its primary and secondary school systems, while still facing a shortage of funds and qualified personnel.