Côte d'Ivoire

Primary school teachers are trained in several écoles normales and centres d'animation et de formation pédagogiques. They are open to those who have passed the BEPC. After completion of the program, students are awarded the Certificat d'Aptitude Professionelle des Instituteurs. Teachers for the first cycle of secondary schools must hold the baccalauréat degree and follow a three-year program of study at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, leading to the Certificat d'Aptitude au Professorat des Collèges d'Enseignement Secondaires. Those wishing to teach in the second cycle of the secondary school system must study for an additional year and pass the CAPES (the Certificat d'Aptitude au Professorat de l'Enseignement Secondaire). The national teacher training program has been quite successful: whereas in 1985 up to 80 percent of Ivoirian secondary school teachers were not in possession of proper teaching credentials, within 15 years that number fell below 5 percent. In 1999, there were 15 teacher training colleges in Côte d'Ivoire, with 538 professors and 2,821 students.