Survey of ICT and education in Africa : Madagascar country report

46380 SURVEY OF ICT AND EDUCATION IN AFRICA: Madagascar Country Report ICT in Education in Madagascar by Shafika Isaacs April 2007 Please note: This short Country Report, a result of a larger infoDev-supported Survey of ICT in Education in Africa, provides a general overview of current activities and issues related to ICT use in education in the country. The data presented here should be regarded as illustrative rather than exhaustive. ICT use in education is at a particularly dynamic stage in Africa; new developments and announcements happening on a daily basis somewhere on the continent. Therefore, these reports should be seen as "snapshots" that were current at the time they were taken; it is expected that certain facts and figures presented may become dated very quickly. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are entirely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of infoDev, the Donors of infoDev, the World Bank and its affiliated organizations, the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply on the part of the World Bank any judgment of the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. It is expected that individual Country Reports from the Survey of Source: World Fact Book1 ICT and Education in Africa will be updated in an iterative process over time based on additional research and feedback received through the infoDev web site. For more information, and to suggest modifications to individual Country Reports, please see www.infodev.org/ict4edu-Africa. Madagascar - 1 www.infodev.org  SURVEY OF ICT AND EDUCATION IN AFRICA: Madagascar Country Report Overview Madagascar has begun to take steps towards promoting ICTs for development with the adoption of two policies: 1) the national ICT policy in 2004 and 2) the economic and social development policy, the Madagascar Action Plan for 2007-2012, which promotes the expansion of ICT infrastructure and access in the country including the establishment of ICT centres in schools. The country does not have a national ICT policy for education, and the level of access to ICTs including connectivity is relatively low. There are a few initiatives in the country that attempt to promote the access and use of ICTs to support learning and teaching, but these largely assume the form of extracurricular projects. Country Profile Since the mid-1990s Madagascar has followed a World Bank and IMF-led policy of privatisation and liberalisation which has placed the country on a slow and steady growth path. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for more than one-quarter of the GDP and employing 80% of the population. Exports of apparel have boomed in recent years primarily due to duty-free access to the US. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel, are serious concerns. Madagascar is plagued by periodic cyclones, floods, drought, and locust infestation. Poverty reduction and combating corruption will be the centrepieces of economic policy for the next few years. Madagascar is a classified as a highly indebted poor country by the World Bank. Children make up more than half of the population, and half of them live on less than USD$1 a day.2 Table 1 provides some selected socio-economic indicators for Madagascar.3,4 Table 1: Socio-economic Indicators: Madagascar Indicator Population 18.6 million (2005) Languages Official languages: French and Malagasy. National languages: Comorian, Antankarana, Southern Malagasy and Tsimehety. 2005 Economic activity Agriculture: 28.1% (% of GDP) Industry: 15.9% Services: 56.0% Human Development 143 (out of 177 countries) (2004) Index Per capita gross national $240 (2000); $290 (2004); $290 (2005) income (US dollars) Madagascar - 2 www.infodev.org  SURVEY OF ICT AND EDUCATION IN AFRICA: Madagascar Country Report The Education System Education in Madagascar is compulsory for children between the ages of six and 14. Primary schooling runs for five years. Secondary education for seven years and is divided into two parts: a junior secondary level of four years and a senior secondary level of three years. A vocational secondary school system, the coll