<P> The establishment of Protestant mission schools in southern Chad in the 1920s marked the beginning of Western education in the country . From the outset, the colonial administration required that all instruction be in French, with the exception of religion classes . A standard curriculum was imposed on all institutions desiring official recognition and government subsidies . </P> <P> Education in Chad is chiefly focused on primary instruction . Until 1942, students who desired a secular secondary education had to go to schools in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, severely limiting the number of secondary - school students . State secondary schools were opened in Chad in 1942, but recognized certificate programs did not begin until the mid-1950s . </P> <P> At independence in 1960, the government established a goal of universal primary education, and school attendance was made compulsory until age twelve . Nevertheless, the development of standard curricula was hampered by the limited number of schools, the existence of two - and three - year establishments alongside the standard five - and seven - year collèges and lycées, and the Muslim preference for Quranic education . Even so, by the mid-1960s 17 percent of students between the ages of six and eight were in school . Quranic schools throughout the Saharan and Sahelian zones teach students to read Arabic and recite Quranic verse . In Chad, modern Islamic secondary schools have included the Ecole Mohamed Illech, founded in 1918 . </P> <P> Despite the government's efforts, overall educational levels remained low at the end of the first decade of independence . In 1971 about 88 percent of men and 99 percent of women over the age of fifteen could not read, write, or speak French, which at the time was the only official national language; literacy in Arabic stood at 7.8 percent . In 1982 the overall literacy rate stood at about 15 percent . Major problems have hindered the development of Chadian education since independence . Financing has been very limited . Limited facilities and personnel also have made it difficult for the education system to provide adequate instruction . Overcrowding is a major problem; some classes have up 100 students, many of whom are repeaters . In the years just after independence, many primary - school teachers had only marginal qualifications . On the secondary level, the situation was even worse . </P>

Why does chad have a low literacy rate