Education System in Togo

Primary Education

In Togo primary education, which is free and in theory compulsory too takes 6 years to complete. This is an improvement over previous decades when parents still had to pay teachers in rural areas themselves. Schools are state-owned, Christian or Islamic, yet 10% of children are still deprived of a basic education.

Secondary Education

Secondary schooling takes a further 6 years to complete. Facilities are sparse in far-flung rural places but generous in the Capital City of Lomé, where the better private schools are found. The curriculum is similar to that used in France today.

Vocational Education

What formal vocational training does exist is largely in the hands of religious institutions and foreign donors. On the ground though, people lucky enough to find employment continue to just learn as they go along.

Tertiary Education

Tertiary education institutions are centered in the Capital City of Lomé. These include colleges of administration, architecture and urban planning. The University of Lomé was established as the University of Benin in 1970, and trains engineers and technicians in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering.


Tertiary education in Togo remains the property of the children of the rich, the famous and the influential, and is sadly yet of little benefit to people living in rural areas, where progress stands still.