One month after the publication of the baccalaureate results in Madagascar, more than 120,000 new baccalaureate graduates find themselves at the decisive moment of choosing their orientation. Among those who decide to continue their studies in higher education, more than two thirds opt for public universities, despite the rise of private establishments and the deep crisis shaking the Malagasy university system.
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With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Pauline Le Troquier
In the heights of the capital, in Ankatso, the largest university public sector of the country, high school graduates with still youthful faces are refining their choice of sector. Misaina, 17, hopes to enter the first year of medicine in a few weeks. “ I know you have to get up at four in the morning to hope to get a seat in the amphitheater. Of course, there are also recurring strikes, but when you come out into the public eye, employers value you, because they recognize all the journey you have endured! “, he confides.
The enduring appeal of the public university
Deterioration of infrastructure, unpaid scholarships for many months. Like Misaina, the students are aware of the ills that plague public universities, but rely on the intellectual contribution and the value of such a diploma compared to private establishments. Faratiana Esoavelomandroso, dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Ankatso, shares this opinion. “ Students continue to choose the public university because the teachers here are true professionals. We are here because we have the required diplomas. And then it doesn’t pay [les frais d’inscription coûtent entre 40 000 et 50 000 Ariary, soit entre 9 et 10 euros, NDLR]. In my opinion, the public university continues to be a place of social advancement, despite the difficulties in operating the university “, she explains.
Difficulties which do not spare the teaching world faced with the non-payment of part-time teachers and a shortage of staff.
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