Central African Republic (CAR): Education Country Brief

January 2024
Central African Republic flag
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Background

This brief provides data and references to the literature on issues that matter for education in CAR. It is part of a series that provides a brief introduction to the state of education systems in Africa. The work was prepared for country pages on IICBA’s website and a digital repository of resources at the country, sub-regional, and continental level. The brief series also informs work conducted in the context of (i) the European Union’s Africa Regional Teachers’ Initiative and (ii) the KIX (Knowledge and Innovation eXchange) Africa 19 Hub for anglophone countries that promotes the use of evidence for policy making and benefits from funding from the Global Partnership for Education and Canada’s International Development Research Center. This brief and its associated webpage are meant to be updated as new information becomes available, at least on a yearly basis. 

Key resources: This brief provides the following resources: 

  • Educational outcomes: Estimates are provided for learning poverty (the share of 10-year-old children not able to read and understand a simple text), educational attainment and/or enrollment rates at various levels of education, the components of the human capital index, and human capital wealth as a share of national wealth. 
  • Selected literature: Links are provided to selected publications at the global, regional, and country levels with a focus on six themes: (i) learning assessment systems; (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching and learning; (iv) the data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. 
  • Country policies: Links are provided to key institutions (including Ministries) managing the education system, selected policy and planning documents, and websites that aim to provide comparative data on policies across countries.
  • Knowledge repositories and other resources: Links are provided to a dozen digital repositories that collate publications and resources on education issues in Africa. 
  • Data: Links are provided to data sources that can help inform education policy.

This country brief provides a brief introduction to selected issues and research relevant to CAR’s education system and links to resources that may be useful to official of Ministries of Education and other education stakeholders. A special focus is placed on thematic areas from the KIX (Knowledge and Innovation eXchange) initiative for which UNESCO IICBA manages the Secretariat of the Africa KIX 19 Hub. Together with the associated webpages on UNESCO IICBA’s website, the brief is to be updated as new information becomes available, typically every year. The brief starts with a review of basic data on educational outcomes including learning poverty, educational attainment, and the human capital index. The focus then shifts to information related to the thematic areas of focus of the KIX Africa 19 Hub, namely: (i) learning assessment (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching & learning (iv) data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. The brief also includes links to country documents and processes as well as a range of other resources and websites.

Educational Outcomes and Human Capital

CAR, like many other African countries, is facing a learning crisis. In sub-Saharan Africa, learning poverty, defined as the share of children unable to read and understand an age-appropriate text by age 10, is estimated at 89 percent by the World Bank, UNESCO, and other organizations. While specific country estimates are not available for CAR, the World Bank Capital Index suggests concerning developments. According to their data, students in CAR score 369 on a harmonized test score scale where 625 represents advanced attainment and 300 represents minimum attainment. This benchmark corresponds to the advanced achievement standard set by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. It is imperative to improve the quality of the education provided in schools. 

Schooling does not imply learning, but lack of learning increases the likelihood of dropping out of school. Learning poverty is one of the factors contributing to low educational attainment. According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS data), the primary school completion rate was at 40 percent in 2017 for girls and 57 percent for boys. The lower secondary completion rate is much lower, with 8.3 percent for girls and 13.5 for boys. Gross enrollment was at 12 percent for women and 18 percent for men. Low educational attainment especially for girls is due in part tom relatively high levels of child marriage and early childbearing. 

The Human Capital Index for CAR also provides useful statistics based on five other variables: (i) the probability that a child will survive past age five (0.88 percent); (ii) the years of schooling that a child is expected to complete by age 18 (4.6 years); ; (iii) the learning-adjusted years of schooling that a child is expected to complete,a measure combining years of schooling and average harmonized test scores  (2.7 years); (v) the adult survival rate (59 percent of 15-year olds surviving until age 60); and finally (vi) the probability that a child will not be stunted in early childhood (59 percent). Based on these five variables and the harmonized test score, the expected productivity in adulthood of a child is estimated in comparison to full productivity that could be expected with full education and healthh. The estimate is that a child born in CAR today will reach only 29 percent of his/her potential. This is lower than the average for sub-Saharan Africa region and low-income countries.

One last statistic may help make the case for the importance of investing in education for the country’s development. A country’s wealth mainly consists of three types of capital: (1) Produced capital comes from investments in assets such as factories, equipment, or infrastructure; (2) Natural capital consists of assets such as agricultural land and both renewable and nonrenewable natural resources; (3) Human capital is measured as the present value of the future earnings of the labor force, which in turn depends on the level of educational attainment of the labor force. The latest estimates from the World Bank suggest that human capital wealth in CAR accounts for 11 percent of national wealth. 

Table 1 CAR
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Selected Literature

Supporting countries in using evidence for policymaking is an objective shared by many organizations and initiatives. Under the KIX initiative for which UNESCO IICBA manages the KIX Africa 19 Hub and collaborates with KIX Africa 21, the focus is on six themes: (i) learning assessment systems (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching and learning (iv) the data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. For each topic, a link is provided to the GPE-KIX Discussion paper written at the start of the initiative in 2019 and additional publications that could be useful for policy. By necessity, to keep this brief short, only a few resources can be mentioned, but additional resources can be accessed through digital repositories listed below. A brief note on UNESCO IICBA research is also provided.

Learning Assessment Systems [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. Learning assessment tools and systems are essential to gauge and improve learning outcomes for students. A primer on large scale assessments from the World Bank provides guidance on such assessments, as does a review of learning assessments in Africa from UNESCO IIEP. Among regional assessments, PASEC (Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems) for francophone countries in West and Central Arica and SEACMEQ (Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality) for anglophone countries in East and Southern Africa are the best known. These instruments target primary schools. Also interesting is PISA for development which is being piloted in secondary schools in a few African countries. CAR faces significant challenges in assessing and improving learning outcomes for its students. According to the Education sector plan 2020-2029 CAR has limited data on the learning levels of its students. In previous years, CAR did not participate in international assessments. However, it recently participated in the PASEC assessment in 2020. National exams are conducted at the end of each cycle, but the variation in pass rates from year to year suggests that the exam system may not be very effective.

Improving Teaching and Learning [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. How teachers and students interact and engage is key to improve learning outcomes. Cost-effective approaches pr ‘smart buys’ to improve learning in low-income countries are discussed in a World Bank report. Teaching is paramount, and therefore so are teacher policies to ensure that successful teachers make for successful students. Standards for the teaching profession were proposed by Education International and UNESCO with regional standards available from the Africa Union Commission, including a framework for standards and competencies. CAR's education system has been impacted by a security crisis, which has resulted in limited access to education and the departure of qualified teachers. To address this crisis, an operational strategic framework has been developed to establish sustainable mechanisms for responding to emergency issues in the education sector. Various initiatives have been implemented to ensure educational continuity despite the challenges.

Strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. Experiences children undergo in early childhood can affect their entire life. Nurturing care is essential. Essential interventions in early childhood include pre-primary education.  Yet less than half of young children in Africa benefit from pre-primary education according to the Global Education Monitoring report 2021.  The Office of Research at UNICEF maintains a webpage with useful links to organizations working on child-related themes organized by subject, including early childhood.  In CAR, learning through play is a core priority within the Education Can't Wait (ECW) Multi-Year Resilience Programme. The UNICEF Multiple indicator cluster survey 2018-2019 provides information on the state of early childhood education and development in CAR. Data on early childhood development in CAR can also be found on nurturing care profile. The Ministry of Education and UNICEF have recently launched a preschool curriculum in the country, focusing on the holistic development of young children.

Achieving Gender Equality In and Through Education [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. The cost of gender inequality is massive, as is the cost of not educating girls, including in Africa. When girls lack education, this affects their earnings in adulthood, the number of children they will have and their health, as well as their agency, among others. When girls are not in school, they are also at higher risk of child marriage, with again high costs for them, their children, and society. In Africa, the African Union’s International Centre for the Education of Girls and Women in Africa supports member states on girls’ education. CAR faces numerous barriers to achieving gender equality in education, including issues such as child marriage and sexual violence. Data indicates that 61% of women aged 20-24 years were married or in a union before the age of 18. CAR has received support through GPE programs to improve girls' education and address these challenges.

Data Management Systems Strengthening [GPEKIX Discussion Paper]. Education management information systems (EMIS) are key for management. They can also support evidence-based policymaking. In Africa, the African Union’s Institute of Education for Development supports member states on EMIS. In addition to EMIS data, other data sources including household surveys, school surveys, student assessments, and impact evaluations of pilot interventions are essential to inform policy. CAR produces Education yearbooks, and the Ministry of National Education and Higher Education plays a role in collecting and disseminating educational data. The Education Policy Data Center provides a CAR National Education Profile, which helps in strengthening data management systems for evidence-based policymaking.

Equity and Inclusion/Leaving No One Behind [GPEKIX Discussion Paper]. Equity and inclusion are major challenges for education systems. Gender, disability, ethnicity, indigenous status, poverty, displacement, and many other factors may all lead some children to lack access to education. In Africa especially, gaps in educational outcomes between groups may be large, as illustrated in the case of disability. Equity must be at the center of education policy on the continent. CAR recognizes the importance of inclusivity, particularly due to a prolonged humanitarian crisis that has left many vulnerable children. The UNESCO GEM Report provides information on strategies, policies, and projects aimed at improving inclusive education in CAR. The country has also launched the Radio for Children's Education (RCE), which targets hard-to-reach children in remote areas, displaced and returnee children, and those with limited learning opportunities, promoting inclusivity and ensuring that no one is left behind in access to education. 

Note on UNESCO IICBA Research. IICBA recently launched a new program of applied research on teacher and education issues in Africa. This includes studies, discussion papers, training guides, reports, knowledge briefs, data briefs, event summaries, and interviews. Several of those publications focus on CAR. All publications are available on IICBA’s website.

Country Policies 

Information on CAR’s education system and policies is available on the website of the Ministry of Education which covers all levels of education. The country’s Education sector plan covers the period from 2020 to 2029. While some African countries have an independent Teacher Service Commission, CAR does not. Nor does it have a well-defined central authority responsible for the regulation and management of teachers in the country.

A few organizations aim to capture education policies on specific themes across countries, including CAR. UNESCO’s Profiles Enhancing Education Reviews (PEER) covering the themes of the Global Education Monitoring reports, including: inclusion in education (2020 Report), non-state actors in education (2021/22 Report), technology in education (2023 Report) and leadership in education (2024/25 Report, forthcoming). Another example is the World Bank’s Education Policy Dashboard. 

Knowledge Repositories

Only a few links to the literature on education by theme for CAR, Africa, and globally were provided earlier to keep the brief short, but repositories of digital resources facilitate access to the literature. A few of those repositories are listed below by alphabetical order:

Many organizations maintain websites that include country pages with useful information. Examples include the GPE CAR Country Page; UNICEF CAR Country Page; World Bank CAR Country Page; UNESCO IIEP Country Page. Many organizations also maintain blogs on education issues, often with stories on Africa. Examples include Education for All (Global Partnership for Education), Education for Global Development (World Bank), Education Plus Development (Brookings Institutions), and World Education Blog (UNESCO). Beyond blogs focusing on education, blogs on Africa more generally may also provide useful resources. This includes Africa Can End Poverty and Nasikiliza (the World Bank’s two blogs for sub-Saharan Africa ) and  Arab Voices (the Bank’s blog for the Middle East and North Africa).

Data

While education data are available on the website of the Ministry of Education, it is often useful to download data for CAR and other countries from multi-country databases. The largest database on development, including education data, is the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI). The World Bank also maintain the Education Statistics (EdStats) database. Both World Bank databases rely in part for education on data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. UNESCO also maintains the Global Education Observatory and the World Inequality Database in Education (WIDE), as well as a wide range of other databases. Specific estimates are occasionally maintained by other agencies. For example, UNICEF provides data on out-of-school rates, adjusted net attendance rates, completion rates, foundational learning skills, information communication technology skills, youth and adult literacy rates, and school-age digital connectivity. Another useful reference is StatCompiler which provides data at various levels of aggregation from Demographic and Health Surveys across countries and over time, including CAR. For comparison purposes, data from the OECD for member and partner countries (including South Africa) can be useful.

References

References are available through the links provided in this brief.