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The education level in Chad is generally very low. The school system has been hampered by war as well as lack of money and educated teachers. In some rural areas, there are no schools at all.

Only a third of the country’s adult population can read and write. Among women, the proportion is even lower. In the age group up to 15 years, every other person can read and write.

• COUNTRYAAH: Country facts of Chad, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.

Officially there is ten years of compulsory schooling from the age of six. After the elementary school, which covers six years, two higher stages follow for four and three years respectively.

Slightly more than four out of five children start primary school, but just over a third of students complete the first six years. The connection to the next stage is even lower. Only about a fifth of all children read on. The proportion of girls is significantly lower than the proportion of boys at all levels of the school system.

State schools dominate in the south. In the north, many Muslim parents send their children to Quran schools.

Formally, education is free of charge but in practice the parents pay a fee for tuition. School uniforms, books and school supplies also cost money. In the countryside, it is not uncommon for parents to also stand on premises and pay teachers’ salaries.

There is a university in the capital N’Djamena and some technical colleges.

• Searchforpublicschools: Offers schooling information of Chad in each level – compulsory, technical and higher education programs.

FACTS – EDUCATION

Proportion of children starting primary school

74.2 percent (2016)

Number of pupils per teacher in primary school

57 (2016)

Reading and writing skills

22.3 percent (2016)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP

12.5 percent (2013)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of the state budget

12.5 percent (2013)

2016

November

Ethnic violence and social unrest

November 26th

Five people are killed in N’Djamena in a clash between members of the zagawa and Kreda people groups. The fight is triggered by a football match but will continue later. The insanity is believed to have been fueled by widespread dissatisfaction in society with deteriorating living conditions in the wake of the falling oil price. Public employees have not been paid salaries for several months. Teacher strikes mean that three million school children must stay home. President Déby and most of the military elite belong to zagawa.

August

Déby makes the presidential speech

August 8th

President Déby is installed for his fifth term. The ceremony is preceded by protest demonstrations in which a man is killed. The opposition reiterates that Déby’s election victory is a “political robbery”. Chad was characterized by social unrest during the year, with several strikes among public employees who received their wages late. When a schoolgirl was subjected to a group rape by sons of high-ranking officials, protests erupted around the country, which were defeated by harsh methods.

July

The opposition merges with Déby

July 27

Twenty-seven opposition parties join forces in the Fonac alliance to try to prevent President Déby from being elected to a fifth term in office.

May

Habré is sentenced to life imprisonment

May 31st

Chad’s President Hissène Habré is sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity in a court in Senegal’s capital Dakar. Habré is found guilty of the death of 40,000 people during his reign from 1982 to 1990. The Court acts on behalf of the African Union (AU).

April

President Déby reelected

April 10

President Déby wins the presidential election with 61 percent of the vote. UNDP leader Saleh Kebzab gets 13 percent. Trea becomes Laoukein Médard, mayor of Moundou. UNDP and a number of other opposition parties refuse to approve the election result, claiming that Debby’s victory is based on cheating.

Dismissal of the Election Commission

April 1st

The union central organization UST and three civil rights movements submit their missions in, among other things, the Election Commission in protest of the government’s actions ahead of the impending presidential election. The drop-off is triggered by the arrest of four activists since they called for protests against the government. The UST and the other organizations are also canceling their participation in Chad’s Economic and Social Councils, institutions that monitor how oil revenues are used and a forum for political dialogue.

February

Protests against Debby’s re-election

February 24th

The capital city of N’Djamena and a number of other Chadian cities will be locked in close proximity to demonstrations against President Debby’s attempt to be re-elected in April. A large part of the economic activity is down. The demonstrations are organized by a number of voluntary organizations and other groups that have joined the alliance ça suffit (“it is enough” in French). The anger against the government is fueled by the news of a gang rape on a young woman earlier this month. The perpetrators are said to have been three sons of high-ranking military and the son of the country’s foreign minister. Two young people were shot to death by security forces during student protests that were triggered when the rape became known.

Pahimi Padacké new Prime Minister

President Déby appoints MP and former Minister of Justice Albert Pahimi Padacké as new Prime Minister. No explanation is given for the change of head of government, but it is seen as an attempt by Déby to strengthen his position before the presidential election in April.

President Déby is running for re-election

President Déby announces that he is running for a fifth term in the April 10 election. If he wins, he intends to push through a constitutional change so that the time of future presidents in power is limited “to revitalize democracy”.

January

Presidential elections will be held in April

January 23

The Election Commission announces presidential elections until April 10. Two opposition politicians announce their candidacies.