Mali: Students left behind in race for education MDG

As Mali’s government makes strides toward the Millennium Development Goal of primary education for all by 2015, increased school enrolment and the resulting shortage of teachers and classroom space have blocked a growing number of students from secondary education. In 2008, some 17,000 students out of more than 80,000 who passed their secondary school exams, known as the diplôme d’étude fondamentale (DEF), were not admitted to secondary schools, according to the Ministry of Education.