The jury members and examiners for the baccalaureate examination in Antananarivo deliberated on Thursday regarding the admission threshold. Candidates will learn their results this weekend.

The jury has lowered the admission threshold for the baccalaureate in Antananarivo. The deliberation score has been set at 9.75 out of 20 for this 2026 session, compared to 10 out of 20 in 2025. "The score of 9.75 was retained after lengthy and heated debates," report examiners.

University of Antananarivo faculty and examiners, primarily secondary school teachers, who make up the jury, struggled to reach agreement. University academics advocated maintaining the threshold at 10 out of 20. For "nearly an hour," they attempted to convince the assembly of the importance of preserving this average, arguing it would help maintain student standards at the university.

Teacher-examiners, meanwhile, defended a success threshold slightly below the 10 out of 20 average. "Many parameters were considered. For example, future baccalaureate holders will not necessarily pursue university studies. Furthermore, Antananarivo baccalaureate holders will not be the only ones choosing the University of Antananarivo: those from other provinces, where the deliberation score was 9.75, will also compete there," teachers explained. A show of hands vote ultimately decided the matter.

The success rate resulting from this threshold would be 51 percent, according to several examiners, an estimate also advanced by a source at the University of Antananarivo. The Baccalaureate Office has not confirmed this figure, noting that official data will only be published Saturday.

Weak Qualifications

If confirmed, this result would represent an increase from last year, when the success rate was 47 percent with a threshold set at 10 out of 20. It would remain, however, below rates recorded in 2023 and 2024, years when the deliberation score was also 9.75 out of 20. The success rate reached 57 percent in 2023 and 56 percent in 2024. Examiners judge the general level of candidates weak. "Many obtained poor grades, particularly in scientific subjects," indicates one of our sources.

Several factors are cited to explain this trend. In recent years, the school calendar has been regularly disrupted, sometimes for several weeks or even months, due to epidemics, cyclones, bad weather, or more recently, political crises.

Teacher qualifications also constitute one of the education system's difficulties. According to the World Bank's 2022 economic outlook report, teachers, particularly those working at community level, generally have weak academic qualifications. Nearly 80 percent reportedly lack adequate diplomas. "Without qualified teachers, there will be no quality education," declared Christine Jaulmes, Unicef resident representative.

These difficulties are compounded by lack of teaching materials, overcrowded classrooms, insufficient numbers of teachers, and shortage of textbooks and laboratories allowing students to apply their knowledge. Teachers are also concerned about increasing student reliance on artificial intelligence. "This deprives them of critical thinking, as they often simply copy and paste," they believe. The evolution of baccalaureate results thus fuels questions about persistent weaknesses in the education system.