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France has one of the oldest systems of public preschool education in Europe. The legal basis of the system, established in 1886, stressed that preschool education should be treated as an integral part of primary schooling. Teachers in the ecoles maternelles are required to complete a full course of elementary school teacher training. Although preschool education is optional, about 95% of all French children in the 5-6 age bracket are enrolled in preschool classes (or, if close to age 6, in the 1st grade of primary school).

After two years of study and research, the Ivory Coast has drawn up a far-reaching, ambitious programme for televised education. The aim is to ensure that all children receive primary schooling, to achieve this in fifteen years, and to use the national network of schools equipped with television to provide education for children and adults alike all over the country.

S-taffing is a major educational problem in all countries where mass primary schooling is being introduced for the first time. Complicating factors include the availability of teaching personnel, their prior schooling, living conditions in remot6 schools, and the ability of new teachers to get along with the communities in which they find themselves. Staffing problems are further complicated when students differ ethnically and linguistically from their teachers.