Bac Madagascar

Overview

The Baccalauréat (the "Bacc" or "Bac") is Madagascar's national secondary-school-leaving examination, taken at the end of Terminale. The general and technological streams are organised by the Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale (MEN); technical and professional streams fall under the Ministère de l'Enseignement Technique et de la Formation Professionnelle (METFP). As in other French-system countries, the Baccalauréat is formally the first university grade in Madagascar, which is why registration for it is handled through the baccalauréat service of a public university rather than a central exam board.

Madagascar has been phasing out its older general series (A1, A2, C, D) in favour of three new series — Littéraire (L), Scientifique (S) and Organisation, Société et Économie (OSE) — alongside a revised coefficient structure. The 2026 session still included candidates in both the old and new series; the Ministry has said the older series will no longer be used from the baccalauréat registrations that follow the 2026-2027 Terminale cohort. Holding the Baccalauréat is the standard qualification used to seek a place at a public university or higher-education institution, through a separate admission process run by the Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique (MESUPRES).

Who can apply

• School-enrolled candidates: students completing Terminale at a general, technological, technical or professional lycée, registered as part of their normal school year.

• Candidats libres (independent candidates): people not enrolled at a school for the exam year, including repeat candidates. For the general and technological Baccalauréat, they register directly with a public university's baccalauréat service.

• Foreign candidates schooled in Madagascar: candidates of foreign nationality who followed their secondary schooling in the country, registered in a separate fee category from Malagasy nationals.

Candidats libres for the technological, technical or professional Baccalauréat must additionally hold a Brevet d'Études Professionnelles (BEP) or an equivalent diploma, and provide continuous-assessment records from a technical secondary school in the subjects evaluated there.

Exam pattern

For the 2026-2027 Terminale cohort sitting under the new series, subjects are weighted by coefficient, with reported coefficients of 5 for core subjects, 2 to 4 for complementary subjects and 1 for modern languages, bringing the total of coefficients to 30 (down from 32 under the older series structure). In the Scientifique (S) series, mathematics, physics-chemistry and life/earth sciences are reported to carry the highest coefficients among the subjects sat.

The general Baccalauréat session and the first part of the Technological, Technical and Professional Baccalauréat are held together over about a week; the second part of the Technological, Technical and Professional Baccalauréat follows about a week later.

Marking and results

Each subject is marked out of 20, and the weighted average across coefficients also gives a result out of 20.

• The usual deliberation (admission) threshold is 10/20. For the 2026 session specifically, Malagasy press reported the threshold was lowered to 9.75/20.

• Candidates whose average falls between roughly 8/20 and the deliberation threshold are generally called to a second-group catch-up session ("rattrapage"); below that, the candidate is not admitted that session.

• Diplomas carry a mention based on the final average: Passable (below 12/20), Assez-Bien (12 to below 14/20), Bien (14 to below 16/20), Très-Bien (16/20 and above). Candidates admitted through the rattrapage round do not receive a mention, even if their average would otherwise qualify for one.

For the 2026 session, about 233,538 candidates registered nationwide. Results are compiled and published by Madagascar's public universities, each responsible for a set of provinces, so results are proclaimed progressively region by region rather than all on a single national date.

Important dates

Exact dates move every year, and the 2026 calendar was revised more than once (reports pointed to disruption linked to public protests). Treat the figures below as the most recent reporting at review time, not a fixed yearly pattern, and check the current year's calendar directly with your school or a public university's baccalauréat service.

• Registration for the 2026 session: reported to run from 12 January 2026 to 10 April 2026, at the baccalauréat service of each public university, with no late submissions accepted.

• Exam session: Malagasy press reported differing windows at different points in the revision process, generally placing the general Baccalauréat and the first part of the Technological/Technical/Professional Baccalauréat in the second half of 2026 (July or August, depending on the report), with the second part of the Technological/Technical/Professional Baccalauréat about a week later.

• Results: published progressively from early August 2026 onward, university by university and province by province, rather than on one fixed national date.

Fees

For the 2026 session, reported registration fees were:

• 15,000 MGA (Malagasy ariary) for candidates presented by a school.

• 50,000 MGA for candidats libres (independent candidates).

• 100,000 MGA for foreign-national candidates schooled in Madagascar.

How to apply

School-enrolled candidates are registered by their own lycée as part of normal Terminale enrolment.

Candidats libres and foreign candidates register directly at the baccalauréat service of a public university during the registration window, paying the applicable fee. Candidats libres for the technological, technical or professional Baccalauréat also submit their BEP (or equivalent) and their continuous-assessment records from their technical secondary school.

After the exam

Holding the Baccalauréat is the entry qualification for Madagascar's public universities and other higher-education institutions. New bacheliers apply separately through MESUPRES's higher-education orientation process: creating an application file, choosing ranked fields of study and institutions, following the resulting placement (affectation), and then enrolling at the assigned institution.

Preparation tips

• Confirm the current year's registration window and exam dates directly with your school or your region's public university baccalauréat service, since both have shifted within the same year before.

• Focus revision on your series' core subjects, since they carry the highest coefficients toward your weighted average.

• Candidats libres should gather supporting documents (prior school records, or BEP and continuous-assessment records for technical streams) well before the registration deadline, since late submissions are not accepted.

• Results are published progressively by province, not all at once, so check your own province's or university's announcement rather than assuming a single national results day.

FAQs