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Mauritania
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Experts situated in Mauritania
Mauritania in a nutshell
Mauritania (Arabic: موريتانيا Mūrītāniyā), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest.
It is named after the ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania.
Its population is around 3.2 million (CIA July 2011 est.).
The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.
We do not regard Mauritania as part of Northern Africa.
Education in Country
School-level education
Pre-primary level All children attend Koranic aged four to six, gaining basic reading and writing skills in Arabic.
Primary level Primary education covers ages six to twelve classes being delivered in Arabic and French in science and maths from the beginning of the second year.
Secondary level Secondary education is divided into two cycles. The first, 'college', lasts four years. Science subjects are taught in French while literary subjects are delivered in Arabic. The first cycle culminates in the Brevet d'Etudes du Premier Cycle (BEPC) certificate. The second cycle, lycee, lasts three years and is open to those with the BEPC certificate, and leads to the Baccalaureat de l'Enseignement du Second Degre (BAC) with a focus in either mathematics, arts and literature, chemical and physical sciences, natural sciences, or Koran and Arabic.
Vocational and Technical Technical college is open to students with a BAC, a short cycle of technical studies leading to the "Brevet d'Enseignement Professionel" (BEP) after two years. After the BEP, an additional two years at the "Lycée Technique" is required to obtain the "Brevet de Technicien". The student can then join the "Centre Supérieur d'Enseignement Technique" (CSET) after an entrance examination to get the "Brevet de Technicien Supérieur" (BTS) the same level as a university diploma.
Further and Higher education
Universities in Mauritania
- The University of Nouakchott