In 1960, Mali gained independence from France.[1] Immediately following independence, only about a tenth of Malians were literate and attending school.[3] During this time period, many West African politicians were a part of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain, which was a political group that partially focused on developing educational and literacy opportunities in West African communities.[2] In fact, Modibo Keïta, the first President of Mali, used this ideology along with his socialist philosophy to develop a new educational system in 1962.[17] This system focused on tooling Malians with skills to contribute to the nation's economy.[17] Additionally, it split up the educational structure into two ministries.[17] Specifically, the Ministry of Basic Education, Youth and Sports oversaw primary education whereas the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Education and Scientific Research was put in charge of education higher than the primary level.[17]