Editing Mali (section)

=== Education ===
{{main|Education in Mali}}
[[File:Lycéens kati.jpg|thumb|left|High school students in [[Kati]]]]

Public education in Mali is in principle provided free of charge and is compulsory for nine years between the ages of seven and sixteen.<ref name=p7/> The system encompasses six years of primary education beginning at age 7, followed by six years of secondary education.<ref name=p7/> Mali's actual primary school enrolment rate is low, in large part because families are unable to cover the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, and other fees required to attend.<ref name=p7/>

In 2017, the primary school enrolment rate was 61% (65% of males and 58% of females).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://datatopics.worldbank.org/education/country/mali|title=Education Statistics|website=datatopics.worldbank.org|access-date=19 November 2019|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507101442/https://datatopics.worldbank.org/education/country/mali|url-status=live}}</ref> In the late 1990s, the secondary school enrolment rate was 15% (20% of males and 10% of females).<ref name=p7/> The education system is plagued by a lack of schools in rural areas, as well as shortages of teachers and materials.<ref name=p7/>

Estimates of literacy rates in Mali range from 27–30 to 46.4%, with literacy rates significantly lower among women than men.<ref name=p7/> The [[University of Bamako]], which includes four constituent universities, is the largest university in the country and enrols approximately 60,000 undergraduate and graduate students.<ref>{{cite web|title=Université de Bamako – Bamako, Mali|url=http://globalhealth.northwestern.edu/meded/current-affiliations/Bamako_Mali.html|publisher=Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine|access-date=8 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513192022/http://globalhealth.northwestern.edu/MedEd/current-affiliations/Bamako_Mali.html|archive-date=13 May 2013}}</ref>