Education is considered to be the mainstay of the government’s policies. It aims at preparing the students to go into working life by seeking some balance between the demand for training and the job ad. According to the MAP (Madagascar Action Plan), the working-out of the strategy leads the decision-makers to make some choices in order to draw the several priorities about education.

With the Education For All in which the basic education is the priority, Madagascar is qualified as a model among all African countries by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). The percentage of children in full-time education goes from 70.1% in 2001 to 98.2% in 2005. Education For All is very important in the fight against poverty, illiteracy and unemployment.

Moreover, the quality of the trained teachers largely depends on the higher education since they used to attend the Normal Higher School (Ecole Normale Supérieure). The development of higher education and the research is inescapable for one country to be competitive. But the lack of collaboration between higher education and the industrial sector could have serious consequences as regards technology. Concerning competitiveness, Madagascar is in the 106th position out of 117 in the world.

The weakness of the education system The basic education system has a derisory productivity. Considering some variables such as the household income, the expenses allocated for education, the school attendance, success and failures at school, the rate of internal return is evaluated at 4.4%. The rate of return is higher for the more advanced studies like Masters of Art, MBA.

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