Schools in Togo are a bit different from schools in the US. It is based off of the French education system. In some areas there is Jardin d’Enfants, which is like kindergarten. I know they have this in the country’s capital, Lomé, and in a few other big cities in Togo. Not everyone starts off in jardin d’enfants, because it isn’t available all over. Typically, many kids will start school in École Primaire, which is like elementary school. Unlike in the US where elementary school is first through fifth grade, students here spend six years in école primaire.
After that, the kids will then move on to Togo’s equivalent of middle school, which is Collège d’Enseignement Général (or CEG). For students here, CEG is four years. At the end of the fourth year there is a test called the BEPC. If you pass it, you get to graduate CEG and move on to the next part of schooling. But if you don’t pass, you have to actually be held back, repeat that year, and take the test again at the end of that next year.
For all the students that make it, they get to go on to Lycée, which is like high school. In Togo it is only three years, but there are two major exams. One exam is at the end of the second year of Lycée, and this is called the BAC I. Again, students have to pass this to move on or they’ll be held back. The other exam is at the end of the last year in Lycée, and is called the BAC II. When students pass this, they are now eligible to go on to University. Here, there are two universities: one in Lomé and the other is in the city of Kara. The universities are similar to how many are in the US. They offer bachelors, masters, and even doctoral degrees.
