The BAC Exam

Assamaou and Hassira study English

The baccalauréat exam, known as the BAC (pronounced “bach”) is the national qualifying exam taken after lycée (high school) in many nations, such as France and Niger. Essentially, the BAC score is required for pursuing a university degree. In the second to last year of lycée, students are placed in to a series: Life Sciences (D); Mathematics/Science (C); or Letters (A). The D series emphasizes biology, while C is for chemistry, physics, and various mathematic fields and the A series is for students who excel in literature, as well as the humanities. Some countries offer other tracks, such as Economics and Social Sciences, but these are the most common, especially in Niger.

A student’s series is determined by her strengths and classes; each series requires a high level of knowledge. Beginning in seconde (the first year of lycée) students will take specialized course work, which intensifies each year. Terminale is by far the hardest year of school and the pressure placed on students is brutal. The difficulty is made worse by shortage of study materials, as well as limited spaces in universities. The BAC is meant to weed out all but the most driven, intelligent students-in part, to compensate for the lack of openings.

To prepare, students will go to school early and stay late, often spending twelve hours a day in a classroom. Many will then study several more hours with tutors and classmates when they return home. For girls, it is especially hard as they may be expected to cook, clean, or take care of siblings. This grueling schedule is the reality during Terminale.

Then, in the Spring, the BAC is taken over the course of three days. With two to three subjects per day, there is no time to review or recuperate between tests. In Niger, if a student does not score high enough to pass, but receives an acceptable score, she will be called back for Les oraux. During this round, the subjects with which the student had the most difficulty will be re-administered in an oral format- a second chance of sorts.

Junior Board member Charlotte took the BAC while she was in Togo; she said that she felt like the exam was “the end of the world,” but after passing realized that there was still so much more to be achieved. In Niger, only 15 to 25% of students will pass the BAC. In contrast, over the past four years, Expanding Lives has had seven of its graduates pass this exam; this translates to nearly 90% passing rates! Nafissa, Salamatou, and Roumanatou all passed series D and are now studying nutrition, medicine, and agronomy respectively at university. This past year, four additional girls also passed: Rahilatou and Aissa took track D, and Rakia and Rahila in Letters (A). These four will now have to apply, take further exams, and submit dossiers to determine what they will be able to study at university

EL is determined to keep this up… This coming year, six more will take the exam, hopefully joining the ranks of the aforementioned. While the success is earned by the girls’ effort, we hope to support them with grants to hire tutors during Terminale. This will not only benefit the girls’ learning, it will also demonstrate our confidence to parents, communities, and the girls themselves. Intellect and preparation may be enough; but, so often in life, it is knowing that someone believes in you which makes all the difference. 

Girls in Senegal study late into the night at their school.