Submitted by crinadmin on
[23 August 2007] - The educational system of the Central African Republic has been disintegrating for decades. It is now in a state of complete crisis. Humanitarian and development agencies in CAR are working hard to bring teachers and teaching material in towns and villages the state system has not reached for more than a decade. In preparation for CAR's first Donor Round Table in October, the government prepared a two-page brief on state of the country's educational system revealing an almost insurmountable challenge. Some key facts on education in CAR below: - Adult literacy rates in CAR are estimated to be 51% for men, and only 32% for women - Primary enrolment rates have not shown any improvement and any educational level for more than 15 years - The share of public spending devoted to education has more than halved during the last 10 years to now 14% - Only 1.45% of GDP are spent on education, the lowest rate on the African continent - Almost 50% of teachers are unqualified parents trying to make up for the absence of trained staff - The pupils to teacher ratio is 92 to 1 in primary education and 50 to 1 secondary education - Only 32% of all pupils completed their basic primary education in 2005 - Girls suffer the most from CAR's education crisis - Almost all school buildings in the north have been destroyed, burnt or looted Further information