CÔTE D'IVOIRE: Reform of vocational training exam

Starting this year, students taking the exam for the brevet de techniciens supérieur (BTS), an advanced vocational training certificate, will fail if their score is too low in the professionally specialised subjects, said Coulibaly Doulaye, director in charge of examinations at the Ministry of Higher Education, who also announced decentralisation of the BTS exam centres.

At a press conference in Abidjan this month, he said it had been decided to introduce a minimum pass mark in the vocational papers, reported Fraternité Matin. BTS candidates who failed to achieve 7/20 in these subjects would fail the exam.

The decision had been taken because some candidates passed their BTS thanks to high scores in French or law, while their marks for the vocational courses were below average, the newspaper reported.

"We want to raise candidates' levels of ability so they will become true professionals," said Doulaye. More rigour was needed regarding the qualifying mark, which would lead to students acquiring a training that would give greater credibility to the Ivoirien BTS, he said.

Out of a total 39,120 school-leavers who had passed their baccalauréat this year, 18,959 had been assigned to study for a BTS, reported Fraternité Matin.

Doulaye also explained that the ministry was decentralising the BTS exam centres, which would be totally autonomous "from the written papers to the jury's deliberations".

"The only activities [in which the ministry will play a part] will be the choice of questions and delivering these to the centres," said Doulaye, quoted in Notre Voie.

fr.allafrica.com
fr.allafrica.com