Education in Guinea-Bissau: School Ages, National Exams, Technical Training and University Routes

Guinea-Bissau’s education system combines a nine-year compulsory basic stage, three secondary years and several vocational and higher-study routes. Understanding the exact school year, award and implementation stage is essential when planning a move, choosing a course or interpreting a certificate.

Reviewed: 17 October 2026. This guide separates the 2011 legal framework from verified 2025–26 delivery and bounded pilot programmes. Dates and admissions examples describe the specified cohort; consult the issuing authority for later changes.

Guinea-Bissau education system at a glance

Question	Quick answer
School-entry age	Six by 1 October; sixth birthdays from 2 October to 31 December may enter on guardian request.
Compulsory stage	Nine basic years: Years 1–4, 5–6 and 7–9.
Fee-free provision	Complete gratuity through Year 6 in law; progressive gratuity from Year 7.
Secondary education	Years 10–12, with general and technical-professional routes.
National examinations	Legal terminal years 4, 6, 9 and 12; actual 2026 implementation must be distinguished from the full legal design.
Higher qualifications	Licenciatura, master’s and doctorate in law; verified new local master’s provision in 2025–26.
Important current distinction	The August 2026 baccalaureate test, Oio early-grade pilot and developing qualifications framework have different scopes.

1. Read the school ladder correctly

Guinea-Bissau’s national structure is a nine-year basic education followed by three years of secondary education. The basic stage, ensino básico, has three cycles: Years 1–4, Years 5–6 and Years 7–9. Secondary education, ensino secundário, covers Years 10–12. Preschool comes before this sequence; vocational and higher study branch from it at different points. The African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF) system mapping is useful for understanding these connections.

“Primary education” in international reports commonly refers to the first six school years. That does not mean Guinea-Bissau’s compulsory basic stage ends at Year 6. Equally, the Years 7–9 stage may resemble lower-secondary education in international comparisons while remaining legally part of basic education locally. Read the numbered years on a certificate alongside the stage name.

For a child entering at six and progressing without interruption, the indicative ages are 6–9 in Years 1–4, 10–11 in Years 5–6, 12–14 in Years 7–9 and 15–17 in Years 10–12. These are planning ages, not a reliable way to place a particular student. Late entry, repetition and interrupted attendance can produce a much wider age range within one class.

2. Starting age, compulsory schooling and the October cutoff

Article 13 of the 2011 Education System Bases Law admits children who turn six by 1 October. Children turning six from 2 October through 31 December may enter if their parent or guardian requests it. This distinction matters for a child with a November birthday: entry is possible under the provision, but should be handled as the specified guardian-request route rather than assumed from a calendar-year rule.

Article 12 makes basic education universal and compulsory. Read together with its nine-year structure, this describes a compulsory educational stage. It does not justify treating a fifteenth birthday as proof that an interrupted learner has completed that stage. Preschool is optional under the law, and the three secondary years are outside the basic-stage obligation.

For enrolment, establish the child’s birth date, previous attendance and last successfully completed year before discussing placement. A family returning from another country should bring the original report cards and an explanation of that country’s year numbering. A similarly named “Grade 6” may represent a different point in the school ladder.

3. What the fee-free guarantee actually covers

The same law makes basic education completely free through Year 6. From Year 7 it describes progressive gratuity according to the state’s economic capacity. Its definition of free basic education includes exemption from enrolment, attendance and certification charges, and free use of books and teaching materials. It is therefore inaccurate to promise that every year of the nine-year compulsory stage already has an identical funding entitlement in practice. Article 12 sets out that distinction.

A household budget still has to account for the actual journey to school, meals, clothing and the consequences of a school lacking a required year group. UNICEF identifies incomplete school provision and long distances as major barriers. A nominally nearby school may cease to be the usable option when a child reaches Year 5. UNICEF’s access overview explains why continuity of provision matters as much as initial enrolment.

When a charge is requested, separate the written school fee schedule, learning-material costs and optional contributions. Keep receipts and ask the school or responsible education authority to identify the basis of the charge. Do not assume that a private provider’s published price demonstrates the charges permitted in a public basic school.

4. Preschool: ages three to school entry

Preschool, educação pré-escolar, is the optional stage from age three until basic-school entry. Its legal purposes include social development, hygiene, balanced development and helping children cross the language barrier into schooling. It can be provided through public, private, cooperative or community arrangements. Articles 9–11 describe this stage. A preschool certificate is not presented there as a universal prerequisite for Year 1.

Recent delivery has expanded through projects rather than an already universal place guarantee. UNICEF’s 2025 reporting describes support for preschool enrolment and educator development. Its current programme overview also describes play-based methods and a new preschool curriculum. Those activities should not be mistaken for proof that every community has an accessible staffed centre. The annual report and programme overview provide the implementation context.

For an early-years visit, observe whether children can understand the adult’s instructions, handle objects, talk, move and participate. For example, sorting seeds by size and explaining the groups can develop vocabulary and early mathematics together. A child who can repeat a written alphabet but cannot follow a simple classroom instruction may still need substantial language support.

5. Portuguese, Kriol and learning across languages

Portuguese is central to formal schooling, textbooks and academic progression, while many children arrive with Kriol, the widely used creole, or another home language. Treating language comprehension as separate from reasoning is essential. A learner can understand a quantity or a story orally yet struggle to demonstrate it through unfamiliar Portuguese vocabulary.

A June 2026 World Bank classroom account from Morés describes a teacher moving from Kriol into Portuguese in a supported early-grade model. The programme covers 25 schools in Oio, uses structured teaching and begins with preschool before adding a grade annually. It is expected to reach Grade 2 in 2028. This is a documented pilot, not evidence of a nationwide bilingual-medium entitlement.

A useful home activity is to ask a child to describe a familiar journey in the language they understand best, then connect a few important words to the Portuguese used at school. Keep the intellectual task intact while building the language needed to express it. For an older learner, ask whether difficulty lies in the scientific idea, the question’s wording or the written explanation; those call for different kinds of support.

6. What changes across the three basic cycles

Years 1–4 establish reading, writing, number work and expressive activities. Years 5–6 broaden the foundation. Years 7–9 bring a subject-based structure and prepare students for secondary study, vocational learning and informed choices about work. The law describes a class-teacher model in the first two cycles, with support for specialist areas, and separate subject teachers in the third. Articles 15–17 give the intended organisation. Staffing and local delivery must still be checked.

The move from Year 4 to Year 5 can be a geographic transition as well as an academic one. UNICEF’s current overview says only about one quarter of schools offer the complete six-year primary sequence. A family should establish the receiving school, transport and record-transfer arrangements before the final term at a school that ends at Year 4.

Completion of Year 6 should likewise lead to a concrete plan for Years 7–9. It is not the end of the legal basic stage. A strong transition file contains the completed-year record, subject results and any outstanding assessment requirements, so that a move does not become an avoidable interruption.

7. Curriculum reform: national work and bounded pilots

Several reforms are happening at different scales. The University of Minho’s March 2026 account says the new first-cycle curriculum and associated pupil and teacher materials had been tried, revised and generalised nationally. Related work for the second cycle, accelerated education and the end of preschool was still in progress. The university’s implementation account distinguishes those stages.

The 25-school Oio early-grade model is a separate intervention. Its structured lessons, coaching, frequent checks for understanding and provision of materials aim to make classroom teaching more dependable. Neither a new curriculum nor a successful project classroom proves that every pupil receives the same materials, instructional time or support.

There is also evidence of monitoring beyond policy announcements. The World Bank reported in June 2026 that 78 inspectors had been trained and that more than 568 schools across five regions were covered by digital monitoring. Visits recorded classroom functioning, lesson observations and material needs. That report shows a practical accountability mechanism, while its geographic scope should remain explicit.

For a family, the useful questions are concrete: which curriculum is this class following, which books have actually arrived, and what has the teacher checked that the child can do independently?

8. School assessment and the legal national-exam framework

Article 8 links progression to a positive assessment of the learner’s capacities and performance. It provides for national examinations at the end of each basic cycle and in the final secondary year. Applied to the stage structure, those terminal years are 4, 6, 9 and 12. Other school years are not national-exam years under that provision. A successful result in the specified examinations gives entitlement to a diploma and the corresponding ministry-issued certificates. Read Article 8 alongside Articles 13 and 20.

This is the statutory design. A family still needs the current implementation notice for its actual cohort: examined subjects, participating schools, registration, the relationship with classroom assessment and any resit arrangements. A legal provision dating from 2011 cannot by itself establish that every terminal-year student sat the same examination in 2026.

Keep ordinary school assessment and an external examination result separate in the student’s records. If a report uses a numerical scale, retain its maximum, passing threshold and any subject-specific conditions. Do not convert a local mark into a foreign percentage or letter grade merely because the numbers look familiar.

9. What is verified about the 2026 examinations

There is current evidence of actual examination delivery. In its account of an August 2026 meeting with the education minister, the West African Economic and Monetary Union, UEMOA, explicitly refers to a baccalaureate test held from 10 to 14 August 2026. Its wording identifies a test exercise within the improvement of national assessment. It does not establish a universal, fully settled baccalaureate system covering every school. See the UEMOA meeting report.

On 8 September 2026, the state news agency Agência de Notícias da Guiné, ANG, published a report based on the ministry press adviser’s note. It describes the ministry’s review of recently held 2025/26 national examinations and concern about high failure. The minister called for an institutional response considering teaching, curricula, school conditions and assessment instruments, rather than placing responsibility only on students. The ministry-attributed report supplies no complete grade-coverage table or exact national pass rate.

These two sources support a careful conclusion: examinations were being implemented and reviewed in 2026, with a documented baccalaureate test. They do not support a promise that the entire statutory examination framework already operates uniformly. Use the learner’s official cohort notice for a high-stakes registration or progression decision.

10. Secondary Years 10–12: general and technical routes

Successful completion of basic education or an equivalent qualification opens access to secondary education. The general route is principally oriented towards further study; the technical-professional route combines general, technological and workshop learning with a stronger employment orientation. Both sit within the Years 10–12 secondary structure. Articles 18–23 explain the distinction.

A technical-professional secondary diploma can lead towards higher education in the courses and fields defined by the relevant rules. That wording should not be expanded into automatic admission to every university subject. Similarly, a student changing from their secondary study area into a different higher-education field may face an aptitude requirement.

Compare the proposed route with a real next step. A student considering a laboratory-based degree should establish which secondary subjects the receiving programme expects. Someone seeking practical installation work should inspect the actual workshop content, supervised practice and award, rather than choose a course only because its title contains “technical.”

School completion, vocational competence and admission to a particular university are distinct achievements. A sound plan identifies the evidence needed for each, rather than assuming one certificate settles all three.

11. Vocational education has more than one entry point

The legal vocational framework includes initial occupational preparation, qualification, upgrading and retraining. It allows routes for basic-school completers, over-age learners who have not completed the third basic cycle, and workers seeking further skills, subject to the applicable arrangements. The law also describes training of no more than one year after basic completion leading to qualified-worker certification, and a higher technical-professional route after secondary completion. The ACQF mapping explains these pathways. These provisions are not a promise that every centre currently offers every route.

Actual courses can be much shorter and more targeted. ADPP, Ajuda de Desenvolvimento de Povo para Povo, operates a vocational school in Bissorã. Its programme description includes agriculture and livestock, masonry, electricity, solar-system installation and maintenance, water pumps and plumbing, alongside entrepreneurship. The provider’s current description emphasises theory and practice.

When comparing offers, identify the exact course, entry requirement, practical hours, assessment and certificate issuer. A short occupational certificate may be valuable for work while leaving school-completion requirements outstanding. Ask specifically about any progression agreement; an institution’s general reputation is not evidence that another provider will award credit.

12. Two concrete training examples from 2026

In January 2026, ADPP’s Bissorã school held a graduation for 34 finalists from a three-month Short-Cycle Animal Production course. Its February report describes a combination of theory and practice, financed through the APICA GNB project. This is evidence of a completed, defined training cohort. It is not evidence that the course grants Year 9, Year 12 or a university-equivalent qualification. Read the provider’s graduation report.

In June 2026, Ação para o Desenvolvimento announced a 150-hour landscape-gardening course for approximately 25 young people at the Escola de Artes e Ofícios, the arts-and-trades school in Quelelé. Planned content included ornamental plants, maintaining green spaces and income-generating work adapted to the local climate. This is an example of course commencement, not a verified completion result. The provider’s announcement gives the scope.

For a learner choosing between these kinds of offers, the right comparison is occupational. Could they demonstrate safe practice, explain their decisions and maintain a record of completed tasks? For an animal-production learner, an original practice task might compare feed quantities and costs for two flock sizes. For gardening, it might calculate planting distances and maintenance costs. Those examples illustrate useful learning evidence, not official examination tasks.

13. The qualifications framework is still being built

Guinea-Bissau is developing a Quadro Nacional de Qualificações, or QNQ, to make qualifications and learning pathways more coherent. The African Continental Qualifications Framework project’s February 2025 account describes a ten-level design using knowledge, skills, autonomy and responsibility, and a qualifications office authorised by an October 2024 ministerial order. It explicitly identifies 2025–27 as a period requiring technical capacity-building. The ACQF account is evidence of that institutional development.

UNESCO’s current 2026 documentation describes the EU-funded DIRECT project for 2025–29, including TVET governance, qualifications-system support and work in Bissau, Bafatá and Gabú. Its goals include stronger employment-oriented provision and opportunities for vulnerable groups. UNESCO’s project terms of reference confirm continuing implementation work.

A numbered framework level should therefore be checked against the exact registered qualification and awarding arrangements. Do not assume that every short course has already been assigned a national level, that prior experience automatically produces a certificate, or that credits transfer without an agreement. Framework development can improve those processes, but a learner needs the actual decision applicable to their award.

14. Entering higher education and checking the institution

The ordinary route is a completed secondary qualification or legally accepted equivalent, followed by the relevant admission process. The Education System Bases Law provides for admission testing; the Higher Education and Scientific Research Law allows institutions to specify additional entrance tests and limited places. A school-leaving diploma therefore establishes an educational starting point rather than a guaranteed seat. Law 4 Article 25 and Law 3 Article 9 should be read with the institution’s current notice.

The two 2011 laws also contain different mature-entry provisions. Law 4 refers to applicants over 25 without the usual qualification taking a special knowledge assessment. Law 3 permits institutions to provide a route at age 35 involving Year 9 completion or relevant professional experience plus an extraordinary capacity assessment. Because these texts differ, a mature applicant should obtain the institution’s current written legal basis and eligibility decision instead of relying on a single age quoted online.

For recognition, the relevant national starting point is the Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior, DGES, within the education administration. Verify both the institution and the specific programme’s authority to operate and award the qualification. An international partnership, a directory entry or an impressive name alone does not establish that authority.

15. Licenciatura and the university study ladder

The principal named academic degrees in the 2011 framework are licenciado, mestre and doutor: first degree, master’s and doctorate. Law 3 Article 10 gives the licenciatura a normal duration of four years, with an additional one or two years in specified cases. It also distinguishes degree awards from diplomas for non-degree courses. The higher-education law is more reliable than importing another country’s standard three-year bachelor’s model.

A concrete example is the Law and Public Administration licenciatura at the Faculdade de Direito de Bissau. Its partner, the University of Lisbon Faculty of Law, reports 276 enrolled students in 2024/25 and scientific and pedagogical supervision of the course. The intake description includes students in Year 0 and first year. The partner’s 2024 activity report illustrates why a preparatory stage can matter when calculating the full route.

UEMOA’s August 2026 meeting report discusses support for Universidade Amílcar Cabral and implementation of the Licence-Master-Doctorat approach. That is evidence of continuing reform cooperation, not proof that every existing degree has already switched to a uniform three-plus-two-plus-three structure. Read the approved curriculum for the student’s actual entry cohort.

16. New local master’s provision in 2025–26

Older descriptions stating that Guinea-Bissau has no master’s programmes are now incomplete. The University of Minho reports that a Portuguese-language master’s began at the Tchico Té training unit in November 2025. A first master’s in Mathematics Teaching then began there on 2 March 2026. The latter is intended particularly to strengthen teacher educators within the Escola Superior de Educação, the higher school of education. The university’s account supplies the dates and context.

The Mathematics Teaching cohort admitted 30 participants. Its published model lasts two years, with intensive face-to-face teaching followed by a dissertation in mathematics, statistics or mathematics education. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation funds the programme, and University of Minho academics provide scientific coordination and supervision. The funder’s report confirms its study-and-research structure.

This is a specific programme serving an identified professional need. It does not establish an open-admission national master’s system or a single entry rule for every subject. A prospective applicant needs the next actual call, its required prior degree, selection criteria, award arrangements and expected attendance. Completion involves the assessed research component, not simply attending the taught blocks.

17. Doctoral study and an overseas progression example

The national legislation recognises the doctorate as an academic award, but the sources checked for this guide do not establish a currently available domestic doctoral programme with a verified intake, entry standard and duration. Legal recognition of a degree category is different from having an operational course in a particular field.

For a concrete overseas example relevant to Bissau’s legal-education partnership, the University of Lisbon Faculty of Law publishes a normal four-year doctorate: one year of advanced study followed by three years for an original thesis, culminating in public examination by a jury. The programme totals 240 credits under the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, ECTS. Its study plan explains the award process.

One published entry route is a Law master’s with a final mark of at least 14 out of 20; there are separately assessed exceptional routes. Applicants with foreign qualifications must provide academic records and an explanation of the grading scale, with the required authentication. The faculty’s current access page gives those requirements. These are Portuguese institutional conditions, not Guinea-Bissau’s national doctoral rules or a guarantee of admission for Bissau graduates.

18. Scholarships: admission and finance are separate

Funding opportunities can make a postgraduate route possible, but their eligibility is narrower than a general right to study. Gulbenkian’s 2026 master’s competition for the Portuguese-speaking African countries (Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa, PALOP) included Guinea-Bissau and covered specified science fields in Portugal. It required a completed licenciatura, a minimum academic result and a separate application or enrolment record for the intended master’s. Its application period ended on 8 June 2026. The closed 2026 call is a planning example, not an invitation that remains open.

The important sequence is to verify academic eligibility, apply to the programme, and separately establish how tuition and living costs will be funded. A scholarship application cannot substitute for the institution’s admission decision. Equally, an offer of admission is not proof that a grant will cover every expense.

Keep the proposed programme length, research period, travel, accommodation and any funding renewal conditions in the same plan. For a teacher joining an intensive local master’s, release from work and attendance during teaching blocks can be as important as tuition. For overseas study, authenticated records and enough time for the receiving institution’s checks should be planned before a deadline approaches.

19. Second chances, radio learning and returning to school

Over-age learners need a route that recognises what they already know while repairing gaps. UNICEF’s earlier design account describes an accelerated model condensing the six-year primary curriculum into three years for adolescents who entered late or did not finish primary school on time. Later reporting confirms a pilot enrolling about 500 out-of-school and over-age children. The design account and current implementation overview should be read together: a developed model and a pilot are not universal nationwide availability.

UNICEF’s 2025 report also records interactive radio learning in remote communities. These sessions combine broadcast material with local facilitation. They can improve access where ordinary provision is difficult, but listening to a programme alone should not be assumed to produce a formal school-completion certificate. The annual report describes the supported activity.

The law also provides for recurrent adult education, including literacy, basic, secondary and vocational learning, with the same diplomas and certificates as regular schooling when the recognised route is completed. For a returning learner, establish placement, the authorised programme, assessment and final award together. An adult literacy course and a certified secondary-completion course serve different purposes.

20. Continuity, disability and the school’s actual capacity

The legal framework provides for special education in regular or specialist settings and for adapting curricula, programmes and assessment to the learner’s needs and pace. Delivery depends on the support that can actually be arranged. Discuss communication, mobility, accessible materials and assessment needs before a transition, and record the agreed arrangements rather than relying on a general assurance of inclusion. Articles 33–34 set out the framework.

Geography also shapes continuity. Rural and island travel, seasonal conditions, missing year groups and limited school facilities can interrupt an otherwise suitable pathway. UNICEF’s 2025 reporting links education support with safer environments and water and sanitation. Its May 2026 outlook prioritises keeping children enrolled, including girls, children with disabilities and those in remote areas. The report explains these connected needs.

A practical continuity plan names the next school, identifies who will hold the records, and provides a way to recover missed work. If attendance becomes irregular, investigate the barrier promptly. A change in transport, care responsibilities or access to materials may require a different response from a difficulty with reading or mathematics.

21. Three worked family decisions

A six-year-old with a November birthday. The family uses the guardian-request provision instead of assuming entry is automatic. They also tell the teacher which languages the child understands. At home they practise describing and sorting familiar objects, then connect that understanding with school vocabulary. The aim is a workable entry plan, not premature testing against an older child’s written work.

A Year 9 completer interested in solar installation. The learner compares technical secondary study with a particular practical training course. They request the course’s entry requirements, supervised installation tasks, assessment and certificate. They also check whether future higher study would still require a secondary diploma. A short course can be worthwhile without being treated as a replacement for all remaining school education.

A graduate planning further study. The learner first identifies whether the intended offer is a degree, a non-degree postgraduate course or a research-training grant. They obtain their full transcript and grading explanation, then compare the actual admission conditions. A new local master’s may reduce the need to travel, but its subject, target cohort and attendance model still have to fit. An overseas doctorate requires a separate research and admissions decision; a partnership between universities does not remove that step.

22. Frequently asked questions

Is school compulsory for only six years?

No. The legal basic stage has nine years. Six years is the boundary for the law’s complete gratuity provision and the primary stage commonly used in international reporting. The two numbers describe different things.

Can a child start before turning six in October?

The statutory rule covers children who turn six by 1 October. A child whose sixth birthday falls between 2 October and 31 December can enter on a guardian’s request. Confirm the school’s procedure for that request.

Does Guinea-Bissau have a national school-leaving examination?

The law provides national examinations at basic-cycle ends and the final secondary year. UEMOA documents an August 2026 baccalaureate test, and the ministry’s September review confirms examination delivery. Those sources do not establish uniform coverage of every statutory terminal grade; the current cohort instructions remain necessary.

Is Kriol the official teaching language everywhere?

No nationwide change of that kind is established by the sources used here. A documented Oio pilot uses Kriol to support movement into Portuguese. Its scale and phased expansion should not be confused with a universal medium-of-instruction rule.

Does every technical course give access to university?

No. Technical-professional secondary education and a short occupational course are different routes. Higher admission depends on the recognised qualification, subject preparation and institution’s requirements.

Are there now master’s programmes in Guinea-Bissau?

Yes. Primary university evidence records the Portuguese-language programme beginning in November 2025 and Mathematics Teaching in March 2026 at Tchico Té. Availability in those subjects does not establish a nationwide catalogue across all disciplines.

Does a four-year licenciatura automatically equal a foreign degree?

No automatic equivalence should be assumed. The receiving institution or competent authority needs the exact award, institution, curriculum and transcript. Recognition for further study and permission to practise a regulated occupation may require separate decisions.

What should a family retain after a move or school closure?

Keep reports, completed-year certificates, examination results, subject and grading information, and contact details for the issuing school. The most useful record proves what was completed, rather than simply how long the learner attended.

Official sources and scope

The principal legal source is the official Gazette published on 29 March 2011. Recent ministry-attributed reporting, intergovernmental project evidence and providers’ own records establish the dated implementation examples. Institutional examples do not imply universal entry rules, automatic recognition or guaranteed places. The practical scenarios in this guide are original illustrations, not official examination questions.

• Official Gazette, Supplement No. 13, 29 March 2011 — Law 3/2011 on higher education and research; Law 4/2011 on the education system. Printed pages 17–18 and 31–36 support the principal admission, stage and qualification provisions.
• African Continental Qualifications Framework: Guinea-Bissau mapping report, 2022 — System structure and qualification pathways; historical mapping, not evidence that every planned implementing regulation or service is operational in 2026.
• UNICEF Guinea-Bissau: Access to Learning — School-completion and geographic barriers; preschool, assessment support and accelerated-learning implementation.
• UNICEF Guinea-Bissau Annual Report 2025, published May 2026 — Recent education delivery, community radio and inclusion; figures refer to the reporting period and specified interventions.
• World Bank: Guinea-Bissau pilots a new model for early-grade teaching, 30 June 2026 — The 25-school Oio pilot, Kriol-to-Portuguese classroom example and staged expansion to Grade 2 in 2028.
• World Bank: school monitoring in Guinea-Bissau, 12 June 2026 — Digital inspection of curriculum implementation, teaching and school conditions.
• University of Minho: first Mathematics Teaching master’s programme, March 2026 — Current local postgraduate provision, two-year structure and dissertation; Portuguese-language master’s start in November 2025; basic-curriculum reform scope.
• Agência de Notícias da Guiné: ministry review of national examinations, 8 September 2026 — Report explicitly based on the ministry press adviser’s note; confirms examinations were held in 2025/26 but does not establish every grade or school covered.
• UEMOA: meeting with Guinea-Bissau’s education minister, August 2026 — Documents the 10–14 August baccalaureate test, higher-education cooperation and continuing LMD implementation discussions.
• ADPP Vocational School Bissorã: programmes — Provider’s current description of practical training, trades and entrepreneurship.
• ADPP: January 2026 animal-production course graduation — Programme-specific example: 34 finalists and three-month training; no inference of school-leaving equivalence.
• Ação para o Desenvolvimento: Quelelé landscape-gardening course, 2 June 2026 — Provider announcement of a 150-hour practical course for approximately 25 young people.
• ACQF: Guinea-Bissau qualifications office, 20 February 2025 — Ten-level framework design, October 2024 office-creation order and 2025–27 capacity-building phase.
• UNESCO: 2026 DIRECT project and qualifications-office terms of reference — Primary institutional description of 2025–29 TVET-system development; used for project scope, not as an education-admissions notice.
• University of Lisbon Faculty of Law: 2024 activity report — Printed page 125: Bissau Law and Public Administration licenciatura, 2024/25 enrolment and scientific/pedagogical cooperation.
• Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation: Mathematics Teaching master’s, 13 March 2026 — Funder’s account of the new two-year course and dissertation.
• Gulbenkian: 2026 master’s scholarships for PALOP students — Closed 2026 competition, eligible science fields, prior degree and separate university application.
• University of Lisbon Faculty of Law: doctoral access, 2026/27 — Bounded overseas example, including master’s entry threshold and documentation for qualifications earned outside Portugal.
• University of Lisbon Faculty of Law: doctoral study plan — Four-year, 240-ECTS programme with advanced study, original thesis and public defence. These are Portuguese institutional requirements.
• UNICEF: design of accelerated learning for adolescents, 2023 — Explains the three-year condensed primary model; later UNICEF reporting provides separate evidence of pilot delivery.

Continue exploring education

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