page_title: Education in Mali
section_title: Secondary, tertiary, and higher education
hierarchical_section_title: Education in Mali / Educational structure / Secondary, tertiary, and higher education
caption_attribution_description: English: Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu, Mali, 2006.
context_page_description: Education in Mali is considered a fundamental right of Malians. For most of Mali's history, the government split primary education into two cycles which allowed Malian students to take examinations to gain admission to secondary, tertiary, or higher education. Mali has recently seen large increases in school enrollment due to educational reforms.
  Mali has a long history about education, dating back to the years before 1960, when Mali was under the rule of France. After gaining independence, the Malian government made many efforts to incorporate more African and bilingual education into classrooms. Additionally, after the 1990s, when the Malian government shifted from a one party system to a democracy, the government created policies which focused on literacy and educational quality.
  In addition to primary public and private schools, other types of schools in Mali include vocational and technical institutions, religious schools, community schools, and schools for those with disabilities. Especially since Islam is the main religion in Mali, madrassas and medersas are two Islamic institutions which many Malians attend.
context_section_description: After primary education, students can choose to continue upon their academic track and attend a lycée for three years which ends with an exam called the Baccalaureat. Doing well on this examination can help students gain admission to universities for higher and tertiary education. Conversely, Malian students can take a more pre-professional track and opt to attend a two or four year vocational program to obtain a technical degree. These forms of education have generally diversified over the past few years, since many students are now literate in many different languages such as Arabic, French, Latin, and local languages. One famous example of a long lasting secondary school in Mali is the Higher Technical School.
  Increased spending on primary education, especially for children in rural areas and girls, has had the unintended effect of overtaxing the secondary school system.  At the end of their primary schooling, students may take entrance exams for secondary school admissions, called the diplôme d’étude fondamentale (Fundamental Studies Diploma or DEF).  In 2008 more than 80,000 students passed these exams, yet around 17,000—40% of whom were girls—were denied placement in secondary schools.   While the government contends these students should be placed in limited places based on their diploma, their age, and their academic history, some Malians contend that gender discrimination plays a role in denying spots to girls.
  Students in Mali pay no tuition fees, but private secondary and vocational schooling may charge $600 a year (in Bamako, 2008), in a nation where the average yearly salary was $500 in 2007 according to the World Bank.
  
  One of the oldest universities in the world — Sankore in Timbuktu — dates back to the 15th century.
  The University of Bamako, also known as the University of Mali, is a 1990s aggregation of older institutions of higher education in the Bamako area. Its main campus is in the neighborhood of Badalabougou. 
  The University includes five Faculties and two institutes: 
  The Science and Technology faculty (Faculté des sciences et techniques or FAST),
  The Medical faculty (Faculté de Médecine, de Pharmacie et d’Odento-Stamologie or FMPOS),
  The Humanities, Arts, and Social Science faculty (Faculté des Lettres, Langues, Arts et Sciences Humaines or FLASH),
  The Law and Public Service faculty (Faculté des Sciences Juridiques et Politiques FSJP),
  The Science of Economy and Management Faculty ("Faculté des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion" or FSEG,
  The Institute of Management ( "Institut Universitaire de Management" or IUG),
  The Higher Institute for Training and Applied Research ("Institut Supérieur de Formation et de Recherche Appliquée" or ISFRA).
caption: Sankore in Timbuktu, Mali
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