Scientific streams are struggling to attract future high school graduates. The C series, in particular, is on the verge of disappearing.
The C series is facing growing disinterest among baccalaureate candidates. For the 2026 session, they represent only 0.67% of all registered students, compared to 1.05% four years ago and 1.87% ten years ago. A teacher at a public high school explains this downward trend by noting that the series no longer exists in public institutions, where the old A, C, and D series have been replaced by Literary (L), Scientific (S), and Organization-Society-Economy (OSE) streams.
Even in private high schools that maintain the old system, the number of C series candidates remains very low. “Students are reluctant to delve into scientific subjects, so they prefer to go into the A or D series. In the C series, the coefficients are so high that it is very difficult to pass the baccalaureate without very good grades, above 15/20, in mathematics,” says Andovola Rabetsimba, director of the Diadema private high school in Ampatsakana. This school, for example, has about thirty candidates this year, with only two in the C series.
The Antananarivo province records the highest number of candidates in this series, with 886 registered. Conversely, Antsiranana has only ten, Analanjirofo six, and Sava only three.
Scientists regret this situation. Holders of a C series baccalaureate are considered the ideal profile for entering the Higher Polytechnic School, even though the institution accepts candidates from all scientific, technical, and technological series.
“As an engineering school, the Higher Polytechnic School trains professionals for whom mathematical modeling is essential. It is an exercise in which C series graduates are particularly comfortable,” says Professor Mamy Alain Rakotomalala, director of the Higher Polytechnic School of Antananarivo.
The C series is primarily devoted to mathematics. Teachers of this discipline believe that the curricula of the new series are less comprehensive than that of the C series. A mathematician recommends that the ideal would be to restore the C series, or at least enrich the content of the current system.
Captured & Published at: 2026-07-18 05:57:03 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/07/examen-national-les-candidats-en-serie.html