Chad

Designed largely after the French system, secondary education in Chad lasts seven years, and its curriculum is divided into two parts. The first one is a four-year curriculum leading to a national exam called the Brevet
d'Etudes du Premier Cycle, (Junior High School Diploma) or BEPC. Only the students who pass this exam are allowed to continue to the next level. The second part lasts three years, during which students can choose among four different sections that already define their future professional orientations: humanities, economics, math, or natural sciences. These three years are usually spent in a lycée (an academic-track high school), and they end with another national exam, the selective Baccalauréat, which is a prerequisite for admission to the university. At the secondary level, students are offered instruction in either French or Arabic, the emphasis depending on the geographical location of the school. The state-run Lycée National d'Abéché, in the Ouaddai prefecture, offers a completely bilingual program. Its graduates are often employed by state and governmental agencies. In 2000, there were 112,904 students in secondary education, taught by 3,238 teachers in 533 public schools and 809 private institutions. There were 83,980 students in the first part of the curriculum, and 26,565 in the second cycle (post BEPC).

Vocational Education: Chad has a two-tier system of vocational and technical education. Students who have completed the first year of the first cycle of the secondary school system (one year after the CEP), can enter a three-year curriculum in a collège technique leading to a Certificat d'Aptitude Professionelle. Those who have successfully passed the BEPC can enroll in a three-year program taught in a lycée technique, leading to the degree of Baccalauréat de Technicien. In 2000, there were 1,268 students enrolled in technical and vocational schools.