This law was passed right after Mali gained independence in an effort to improve the quality of Malian education and the accessibility of schooling.[1] This was part of a larger effort to decolonize Mali post independence and shift the French-focused curriculum towards incorporating more information about Africa.[2] This law introduced the Functional Literacy Program which provided education for adults who could not read or write in their local languages.[2] Additionally, this reform created the cyclical educational structure and specifically split Malian education into a 5 year cycle followed by a 4 year cycle.[2]