Djibouti: Education Country Brief

January 2024
Djibouti flag
-

Background

This brief provides data and references to the literature on issues that matter for education in Djibouti. 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 Djibouti’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

Djibouti, 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. Specific country estimates are not available for Djibouti.. However, in 2018, UNICEF reported high out-of-school children in Djibouti. This was mostly because of various factors, including poverty, low quality of education and facilities, social attitudes giving limited value in education, non-compulsory preschool education, lack of services for disabled children, and lack of birth certificates. 

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 53 percent in 2022 for girls and 60 percent for boys. However, the completion rates for lower secondary education reveal a considerable drop-off, with only 38.8 percent of girls and 43.8 percent of boys. Gross enrollment rates for secondary education are relatively low with 42 percent of females enrolling compared to 48 percent of males. Low educational attainment especially for girls is due in part tom relatively high levels of child marriage and early childbearing. Enrollment rates drops down even lower when transitioning to tertiary education, although recent data are not available from UIS (the latest data are for 2011). 

No data is found about the Human Capital Index for Djibouti. 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 Djibouti accounts for 70 percent of national wealth. 

Table 1 Djibouti
-

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. Djibouti does not participate in international or regional assessments. Instead, students in Djibouti transition from the 5th year (the last year of primary school) to the 6th year (the 1st year of middle school) based on their performance in the Terminal Integration Objectives (OTI).The OTI is a test that assesses students' knowledge in three subjects: French, Arabic, and mathematics, covering the content of the teaching programs.

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. In Djibouti, the Ministry of Education has established an Observatory for teaching-learning Biannual Reviews, which provides reflections on how to enhance teaching and learning practices in the country. This initiative aims to continuously improve the quality of education. Djibouti has also established the Training Center for Basic Education Teachers (CFEEF) which plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. The CFEEF focuses on the professional development of teachers, ensuring they have the necessary skills and knowledge to provide effective education.

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. Investing in preschool education has become a political priority in Djibouti. The country has adopted a National Child Policy titled "Integrated early childhood development and child protection (2022-2032)." This policy underscores the importance of early childhood care and education. Data on early childhood development in Djibouti are available through a nurturing care profile.

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. Djibouti faces gender disparities in education. Several factorscontribute to these disparities, including the reluctance of families to send their girls to school, especially in rural areas where schools may be distant from villages. Social norms that do not favor girls' enrollment and certain perceptions of girls' roles in society also contribute to gender inequality in education. Addressing these issues, According to a 2019 report published by UNICEF on the Education Action Programme 2017-19, UNICEF works with the government for the development of a girls’ education strategy. The country has also adopted a National Gender Policy 2011–2021. 

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. Djibouti maintains data management systems to support evidence-based policymaking in education. The Planning and Statistics Department at the Ministry of Education produces an education Statistical Yearbook based on EMIS data. Additionally, the National Education Research, Information, and Production Center (CRIPEN) publishes the bimonthly Education journal "Educ-Info," which serves as a valuable resource for education-related data and information.

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. Efforts to promote equity and inclusion in education are vital in Djibouti. The UNESCO GEM Report provides information on strategies, policies, and projects aimed at improving the provision of inclusive education in Djibouti. With a high number of refugees, Djibouti has been supported by the Word Bank to provide more education opportunities for its refugee population.

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 Djibouti. All publications are available on IICBA’s website.

Country Policies 

Information on Djibouti’s’s education system and policies is available on the website of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training which covers all levels of education. The education system is managed by the 10-year Education Sector Plan and supported by the three-year Education Action Plan (PAE). The most recent PAE cover the period from 2017 to 2020 and has been revised and extended to improve Djibouti’s current education system.While some African countries have an independent Teacher Service Commission, Djibouti does not. 

A few organizations aim to capture education policies on specific themes across countries, including Djibouti. 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). PEER also covers additional topics on key SDG 4 issues, including financing for equity, climate change communication and education, and comprehensive sexuality education. 

Knowledge Repositories

Only a few links to the literature on education by theme for Djibouti, 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 Djibouti Country Page; UNICEF Djibouti Country Page; World Bank Djibouti 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 National Education, it is often useful to download data for Djibouti 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 Djibouti. 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.