Established in 1990, the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) is a national public institution under the authority of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Its mission is to coordinate the global network of French educational institutions, commonly known as “French schools.” This network comprises over 580 schools accredited by the French Ministry of National Education.
France operates the world’s largest overseas educational network. It supports the growing international mobility of French families while welcoming students of foreign nationalities. The network fulfills a dual mandate: educating French children abroad and providing quality education to youth from over 140 countries.
Through this dual mission, the French school network promotes universal humanist values worldwide—values that underpin the French republican educational model.
School accreditation: A Guarantee of Quality
Accreditation by the French Ministry of National Education certifies that the teaching provided by the school complies with the requirements curricula, pedagogical objectives and organizational standards of the French education system.
This accreditation allows any student from an accredited institution to continue their studies in any other French school (subject to availability) without entrance examinations.
Accredited schools must periodically demonstrate compliance with the following criteria: acceptance of both French and international students, preparation of students for French national exams and diplomas, employment of qualified French teaching staff.
An attractive school network with controlled growth
Over the past 30 years, the school network has seen an increase in enrolment of more than 50%. While this growth is a sign of the quality of the education on offer, it must also meet the challenge of financial equilibrium.
France is the only country to have chosen to set up an education system abroad on this scale, financed to a large extent by public funds, with the other part coming from the payment of tuition fees.
For more information: http://www.aefe.fr/
