EXETAT: Everything you need to know about preliminaries for self-taught candidates

On March 7, the Ministry of National Education and New Citizenship held the preliminary exams for self-taught candidates for the 2025 State Exam. For this school year, more than 13,000 candidates took the preliminary exams. What does this exam entail? The practice of holding preliminary exams for the State Exam for self-taught candidates dates back to 1988. It consists of selecting self-taught candidates enrolled in various training centers recognized by the General Inspectorate of National Education to assess or verify the level of these candidates. The registration of self-taught candidates for the special session and regular session of the State Examination therefore depends on their results (minimum requirement: passing) in this preliminary exam. To be accepted as a self-taught candidate for the preliminary exams, one must receive educational guidance at the center selected by the organizer in order to acquire knowledge of the core curriculum. Who are self-taught candidates? A candidate is eligible as a self-taught candidate if, for example, they were an unsuccessful finalist, a graduate of the short cycle (4 years of post-primary education), or a finalist who never took the EXETAT for any reason related to dropping out of school. Thierry Mbebangu