Mauritania - Education



Projected adult illiteracy rates for the year 2000 stand at 60.1% (males, 49.4%; females, 70.5%). Education is not compulsory. In 1997, there were 312,671 students in 2,392 primary schools, with 6,225 teachers and a student-to-teacher ratio of 50 to 1. In 1996, 51,765 students were enrolled in secondary schools, with 2,067 secondary teachers. As of 1999, 61% of primary-schoolage children were enrolled in school. The National Institute of Higher Islamic Studies was established in Boutilimit in 1961, and the National School of Administration was founded in 1966 at Nouakchott. The University of Nouakchott, founded in 1981, has a faculty of letters and human sciences and a faculty of law and economics. All higher-level institutions had a total of 270 teachers and 8,496 pupils in 1996. Only 17% of these post-secondary students were female. As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at 4.3% of GDP.

Also read article about Mauritania from Wikipedia

User Contributions:

It's been some time that we, Mauritainans do not pay much attention or interest to the field of study due to the misunderstanding of the post-colonial attitud toward the being educated. Therefore people depended in deciding their future education mainly on the opinion of some schoolars who considered attending foreiner schools as a sin and unforgiveable act at that time.In addition, there were another reason which decreased the rate of educated people during the post-colonial era. There was the idea of preventing women from doing any action outside home. She, acording to the Islamic point of view, only from her home to her grieve.
But now alhamdoulillahli alot of people, if not the mejarity have understood the value of education therefore many of they sent and are sending their children to schools.

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: