Madar (Nouakchott) - The head of the Higher Council of Education's mission to Mauritania's Assaba region, council member Moussa Toumani Sidibé, said he hoped the pupils' boarding facility model in Kiffa would be extended across the country, after the mission visited the boarding house and its canteen on Thursday 5 November 2026, according to the Mauritanian News Agency (AMI).
He said pupils had expressed satisfaction with their accommodation and meals, which he described as good, the agency reported. He added that the council sends field missions at the start, middle and end of each school year to check that classes have actually begun and to follow the progress of the year.
The governor of Assaba, Ahmedou Addahi Ekhtaira, chaired a meeting with the mission on the state of education in the region and the challenges facing the school system. The mission handed the administrative authorities a copy of the council's annual report on the 2025-2026 school year, addressed to the President of the Republic, and a copy of a magazine the council is publishing for the first time.
In Kiffa, the mission visited the regional directorate of the Education Ministry, school No. 1, the girls' lower secondary school, the Boubacar Ben Amer institute, the teacher training school, the public kindergarten and Kiffa's secondary and lower secondary schools, looking at lessons, attendance by pupils and teachers and the state of school buildings.
In the Gorgol region, another council mission led by member El Meimoun Ould Sweid visited schools in Kaedi on Thursday, after earlier visits in the M'Bout and Lexeiba districts. Its head reported "notable progress" in some areas, particularly school infrastructure and the supply of teaching staff, along with shortcomings in supervision, equipment and maintenance, AMI said.
The missions are part of a field tour of all of Mauritania's regions to follow up on education reform and the "republican school" project. The Higher Council of Education is an advisory body covering the whole education system, from pre-school to vocational training.
