substandard buildings. The addition of new classrooms has proceeded at an accelerated pace. From 1946 to the end of 1958, 383 new classrooms were added, 111 between 1946 and 1953, 118 from 1951 to 1956 and 154 in the period 1956-58. It was planned in 1959 to begin construction of facilities for an additional 145 classrooms. Despite this progress, it was estimated by an official source in 1958 that one-third of the existing classrooms could be considered as meeting modern standards, one-third as fairly good though deficient in certain respects, and one-third as poor.

In the matter of attendance it is recognized that there are irregularities and that at times the absentee rate runs from 5 percent to 10 percent of enrollment. Factors preventing regular attendance have been deficiencies in the road system in rural areas, which makes a number of village schools difficult to reach; a lack of school canteen, or lunch, facilities for those coming appreciable distances; and authorization for students 12 years of age and over to be excused from school for agricultural work for periods not to exceed 6 weeks each year. The number of those availing themselves of this right has shrunk in recent years, though attendance tends to be irregular during the sugar cane harvest period beginning in January. Under the rural code, penalties are provided for any person employing a child subject to compulsory school attendance.11

The program of studies and the curriculums in the elementary schools and the complementary course are basically the same as in metropolitan France. In some of the complementary courses, there is some instruction in vocational and "practical" subjects, in addition to the academic subjects. No distinction is made between urban and rural education, except for introducing into the curriculum in some schools rural subjects such as gardening. It was noted in the aforementioned report on educational developments in Martinique prepared for the West Indian Conference in 1957 that "the curriculum is not yet sufficiently geared to the study and utilisation of the local environment." 12 Some attention has been given to local history and geography, by teaching them as part of French history and geography. The same situation prevails generally in Guadeloupe. For French Guiana it has been noted that "the 1924 curricula assigned an important place to local history and geography, but the 1946 curricula neglect them almost entirely or include a few lessons on them in the French history and geography courses." 13

French is the language of instruction from the beginning of the school program in all the Caribbean Departments. This poses cer

11 UNESCO, op. cit., p. 407-408.

12 "Education in Martinique," op. cit., p. 127. 13 UNESCO, op. cit., p. 401.

tain problems in Martinique and Guadeloupe where the common language is Creole, basically similar to that heard in Haiti and the bayou country of Louisiana. Its use is prohibited in the classroom, as the objective of educational policy is to have the local populace learn "to think, speak, and write in French." 14 It appears probable that language difficulty is a factor in the matter of retardation in the elementary schools, where it was estimated in 1957 that twothirds of the elementary enrollment in Martinique were in the three lowest grades. For previous years it had been reported that a sizeable proportion of students spent several years in the first grade and that perhaps up to half of the total did not get beyond the first 4 years of elementary school before reaching the legally permissible school-leaving age. Other factors contributing to this situation would appear to be irregular attendance and unstable home conditions.

The language difficulty would also seem to be a factor in the matter of illiteracy, or lapses from literacy, which was noted as a serious problem in Martinique in 1955.15 In view of the relatively favorable enrollment ratio of school-age population that had existed for some years prior to that date, it is assumed that one factor in this situation is the tendency to revert, on leaving school, to the almost exclusive use of Creole, which is not taught as a written language, and to lose facility in reading and writing French. The same situation appears to prevail in Guadeloupe, where about half the population was recorded as illiterate by the census of 1946, though it is recognized that there has been a lower enrollment ratio of school-age children on that island.

Secondary Education

Secondary education (enseignement sécondaire) is regarded as academic education in Martinique. Vocational education at the upper elementary and secondary level is usually called "technical” education (enseignement technique). As previously noted, secondary education is imparted on a highly selective basis. In 1958-59 there were two public secondary schools, or lycées, one for boys (Lycée Schoelcher) and one for girls (Lycée des Jeunes Filles), both in Fort-de-France, the capital. In addition, there were three Catholic secondary schools, one for boys (the Seminaire-Collège), and two for girls (the Couvent de St. Joseph de Cluny and the institution known as Notre Dame de la Delivrande). The first two of these Catholic institutions are also located as Fort-de-France, and the last named, which enrolls a small number of secondary stu

14 Ibid., p. 406.

15 Howes, op. cit., p. 27.

dents, is at Gros Morne. The secondary schools, public and private, also have elementary sections covering the work of the first five classes, or grades, the 11th (onzième) through the 7th (septième).

There has been a marked percentage increase in the numbers of those receiving secondary education in Martinique, although the total number remains small in comparison with those in the elementary schools. The following figures show the trend since 1953–54 (separate figures for boys and girls in private schools not readily available to author).

The total of 3,411 receiving academic secondary education in public and private institutions in 1958-59 represented an increase of 32.6 percent since 1953. This compared with a 35.7 percent increase in elementary and complementary course enrollments for the same period. Girls have made up more than half the total enrolled in secondary institutions in recent years. Many upper-income group families prefer to send their children and particularly their girls to the private Church schools. With respect to those attending the public lycées, official information for the school year 1958-59 indicated that they come largely from government, business, and professional families. Relatively few come from the agricultural and labor groups. There are also a number of secondary school students from Martinique receiving education in France and other countries. It was stated in 1957, for example, that more than 400 young Martiniquans were studying in metropolitan France.16

Additional and improved secondary education facilities were recognized as necessary in Martinique in 1958-59. While the quarters of the Lycée Schoelcher were regarded as satisfactory, plans for new quarters for the Lycée des Jeunes Filles had been formulated and a site selected adjacent to the new buildings of the Collège Technique. The new facilities were to include living quarters for those from outside the Fort-de-France area, which the existing girls' lycée had 16 "Education in Martinique," op. cit., p. 128.

not had. Such quarters form part of the facilities of the boys' lycée.

In addition to the planned replacement of the girls' lycée, the expansion of public secondary education generally and its extension to centers outside Fort-de-France have been stated to be an urgent need. It was officially noted in 1957 that 6,000 students should be receiving secondary education in Martinique and that secondary schools should be extended to other parts of the island.1 The demand for expansion of secondary education exists despite the fact that it has been criticized as being too classical and theoretical for the needs of the Martiniquan economy and that those receiving it are said to have difficulty finding employment commensurate with their aspirations.

Entrance to the secondary section of the two public lycées usually occurs by admission to the sixth year of elementary-secondary schooling, on the basis of a high elementary school record up to that point or an entrance examination. Those completing the 4-year complementary course, which they entered at the same point and usually in the same manner, may also have an opportunity to enter the lycée in the tenth year of schooling.

The program of study in the lycée is divided, as in metropolitan France, into a first cycle of 4 years and a second cycle of 3 years. Both public lycées in Martinique provide a classical program stressing classical languages, literature, and history, and a modern course including science, mathematics, and modern languages. In addition, there is, as discussed below, a teacher preparation section in the second cycle of secondary education in the lycées. At the end of the first cycle, or the "third class" (the troisième), the examination for the certificate of completion of the first stage of secondary education (brevet d'études du premier cycle du second degré) may be taken, as it may also at the completion of the complementary course. Two years later, at the end of the "first class" (the première), or 11th year of elementary-secondary education, the examination for the first part of the baccalauréat, or what is sometimes called in Martinique the final certificate of secondary education, is taken. This may be followed a year later, after a "terminal" year, by the examination for the second part of the baccalauréat, or simply the baccalauréat as it is sometimes referred to in Martinique.18 The results on the latter examination are stated to be practically identical with those obtained in France, i.e., a minority of those taking the examination at any given time are successful. The average age at which students take and pass the examination appears to be higher than in metropolitan France, and a great many repeat

17 Ibid., p. 127.

18 Ibid., p. 128.

grades along the way and do not obtain their baccalauréat if they achieve it at all, until they are 19 or 20.

Secondary education in Guadeloupe and French Guiana exhibit the same basic characteristics as in Martinique. Public institutions enroll a substantial majority of secondary students, and they impart an academic education for a minority of those of secondary school age.

Vocational Training

Vocational education is a modern development in Martinique. In 1938 several public trade and vocational schools were merged into a Practical School of Industry (Ecole Practique d'Industrie). The name of this institution has been changed and its orientation modified several times since then. In 1948 it received the name of the Collège Technique, which is a combination of a vocational secondary school and a center for the training of apprentices.

From 1941 to 1953 vocational education for girls was also given in the girls' lycée, but this was abandoned with the expansion of the programs of the Collège Technique. In addition to the public program of vocational education, commercial education was given in 1958-59 in the commercial section of the principal Catholic Girls Secondary School, the Convent of St. Joseph de Cluny, and in the orphanage Orphelinat de l'Espérance, as well as at 5 approved private commercial schools. The total number enrolled in vocational programs of the Collège Technique increased from 212 in 1938-39 to 741 in 1957-58 and 787 in 1958-59. In the latter year there was also an enrollment of 531 in the vocational programs of the Catholic and commercial schools, an increase of 158 over the 373 of the year before.

In 1958-59 the Collège Technique, long housed in older quarters in the downtown section of Fort-de-France, had recently been completed and was occupying new modern buildings on the outskirts of the city adjacent to the site selected for the new quarters of the girls' lycée. New dormitories remained to be built, as did several other buildings. For 1957-58 and 1958-59, the student body was divided as follows:

The earliest opportunity for entry was to the preparatory classes after completion of 5 years of elementary education, under the same conditions as those entering the lycée or the complementary course at the same stage of education. Passing the examination for entry