Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The official entrance age to pre-primary education is 4 years old. The number of years of free pre-primary education granted in legal frameworks was 1 year. The number of years of compulsory pre-primary education granted in legal frameworks and the net enrolment rate for pre-primary for both sexes are not available.
Governance
Pre-primary public education is provided in two forms: pre-primary establishments run by the Ministry of Education (MENFOP) and community preschools.
Pre-primary MENFOP's education financing is centralised and managed by the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFOP)’s central administration, which oversees the implementation of education policies and programmes nationwide. The Finance Department within the MENFOP is responsible for preparing and executing the Ministry’s budgets. It monitors and coordinates budget implementation and analyses the costs of Ministry actions. It also conducts financial studies and oversees the budgets, finances, and accounts of public schools.
However, community preschool is overseen by the Department for Women and Families (MFF).
Tuition-free status
UIS reports 1 year of free pre-primary education guaranteed in legal frameworks (2023), reflecting national legislation under the Orientation Law of the Djiboutian Education System (Loi n°96-280), which provides for optional pre-primary from age 4 in public écoles maternelles but guarantees free access for the final grande section year prior to compulsory primary (age 6). Article 20 stipulates that ‘Preschool education shall be provided in specialised facilities for children from the age of four (4)’. Article 21 specifies that it is ‘provided on an optional basis for children whose parents request it and in public or private establishments under the educational supervision of the State school authorities’. The final year of preschool (around 5-6 years of age) can be interpreted as free before compulsory entry into primary school, although the law does not explicitly state that it is free.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Regional Education headquarters report directly to the MENFOP’s Secretary General. They work closely with the Regional Education Directorates (DRE). Their role is to coordinate the administrative and financial management of educational institutions across all levels. This role supports the effective implementation of national policies throughout the regions.
In 2024, the former Regional Education Services (SREs) were replaced by Regional Education Directorates (DREs) to modernise the organisation of the Ministry of National Education, Technical and Vocational Training (MENFOP). While SREs functioned largely as regional inspectorates with limited local autonomy, nearly all resource management remained centralised. DREs are designed to oversee all public education services—from preschool to general secondary—and to implement government education policy in inland regions. DREs operate as deconcentrated ministerial structures rather than subnational governments. Their allocations reflect internal ministerial budgeting, unless a defined transfer mechanism to territorial authorities is documented (Law n° 113/AN/24/9ème L, réorganisation du MENFOP).
According to the Schéma directeur 2021-2035, DREs’ missions and competences are being strengthened with additional human and financial resources. Among the powers devolved to the regions are the management of school transport and accommodation, school maintenance, and all examination boards. DREs now include offices dedicated to these functions as well as to statistics and school mapping, gender and girls’ schooling, school health, and co-curricular education. Unlike the SREs, DREs receive budget allocations to carry out their assigned missions and services.
However, the information provided does not specify allocation criteria that reflect regional disadvantage. This limits the classification of these allocations as equity-oriented.
2. Education resources to institutions
The public preschool provision primarily targets disadvantaged children, aiming for universal enrolment in the final year of preschool and concentrating resources in areas where the most vulnerable children reside.
The development strategy for the pre-school sub-sector aims to enrol all 5-year-old children in public MENFOP and private classes, while developing community provision, supported by the MFF, for 3- and 4-year-olds in the most disadvantaged areas. The 2022-2026 strategic action plan accompanying the new National Policy on Children (PNEf) includes the construction of five new early learning centres and the gradual transformation of 23 existing community daycare centres into early learning centres to implement the PNEf's integrated early childhood development policy.
As for the establishment and operation of private pre-primary educational institutions, they are supported by taxes, customs, and administrative provisions, as well as various subsidies. These institutions are eligible for reductions or exemptions from business licences and other tax obligations, free or reduced-price public land concessions, and loans from public financing institutions for economic and social development.
Since 2022, MENFOP, with UNICEF support, has tested the Integrated Rural Schools (Écoles Rurales Intégrées, ERI), an approach that seeks to expand access and retention in rural and landlocked areas. ERI forms part of the Support for Girls’ Education and Empowerment (SEFA) initiative, which aims to reduce inequalities in access for girls and vulnerable children. It supports school construction and rehabilitation and strengthens teacher capacity. According to the Schéma directeur 2021–2035, an ERI consists of a fundamental school (pre-school to grade 9) at the centre of a village. It includes essential social services and uses participatory community management. This reduces the number of isolated children without access to education. Transportation and accommodation services are provided to reach children in remote areas. The ERI package also includes a school canteen, WASH (EHA) facilities, and teacher housing.
Implementation includes pilot sites such as Dhanan (Ali Sabieh) and Balbala PK14, where expansion and rehabilitation works are underway. The four-year project (2022–2026) targets all regions, with a focus on rural and peri-urban areas where educational challenges are most acute.
3. Education resources to students and families
No financial support mechanisms for pre-primary education have been identified.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Launched in January 2015, the National Programme of Family Solidarity is managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity through the Secretariat for National Solidarity (SESN) and funded by national budget allocations as well as international partners, including the World Bank and UNICEF. The programme seeks to combat extreme poverty by supporting vulnerable households, including those with young or school-aged children, elderly dependents, or disabled members, through unconditional quarterly cash transfers to the female head of household. PNSF employs a dual targeting mechanism: a Proxy Means Test (PMT) in urban areas and community-based targeting in rural zones. All beneficiaries are registered in Djibouti’s national social registry to prevent duplication and improve coordination. Eligible households receive quarterly cash transfers alongside training on child health, education, birth registration, hygiene, nutrition, and women’s empowerment.
Beyond the PNSF, the Integrated Cash Transfer and Human Capital Project (PITCH) finances conditional quarterly cash transfers to eligible households. The programme links cash receipt to participation in community sessions, which acts as programme conditionalities. These sessions explicitly cover school attendance as part of the human-capital package. In addition, the project funds system support that expand and operationalizing the targeting and payment delivery platform used by PNSF.
