For the first time in Benin, students took the exam for technician diploma of arts and crafts. That exam took place on the premises of the Hermann Gmeiner Secondary School of Arts and Crafts. The teaching staff of the latter is the basis of the design and validation by the government, of the curriculum whose implementation resulted to the holding of such an exam.

The Hermann Gmeiner Secondary School of Arts and Crafts (ESMA) is one of the seven school facilities of SOS Children’s Villages Benin. It was created six years ago and is located at Abomey-Calavi. However it is accessible to all children from all the SOS children’s villages as well as external children who have at least passed the primary school final exam.

Indeed, as its name implies, ESMA is a technical secondary school of artistic studies; it is aimed at contributing to the taking into account of the cultural dimension in the development of Benin and Africa. It is officially recognized by the Ministry of Secondary Education and Vocational Training of Benin.

At ESMA, there are two options - the fine Arts and Music - and two rounds of 3 years each. The end of the first round is crowned by a professional certificate (CAP) and the second round by a technician diploma of arts and crafts (DT). The first promotion of the school has just completed the 3 rd year of the second round. This is why from Wednesday, June 25th to Saturday, June 28th 2008, the theoretical phase of the first DT exam was organized on the premises of the school.

Twenty-six candidates took part in this first edition; they were split into five categories following their specialty: Guitar, Computer Assisted Music, Piano, Textile Art or Graphics. They were examined in such matters as French Dissertation, English, Physics, Mathematics and Theory of Music.

Very early on Wednesday 25th, the authorities of the Department of Secondary Education and Vocational Training came to launch conduct of the exam, alongside the National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Benin, the Headmistress of ESMA and their collaborators. CANAL 3, one of the private television channels in Benin was to cover this event.

We must point out that the practice phase of the exam is scheduled for the end of July 2008. At this stage, each candidate will be called to make a work of art on which he will be noted.

This first edition of the exam of DT has a double meaning. First, it is the first time that ESMA presents its candidates in this exam. Second, it is for the first time that such an exam is organized in Benin. All the teaching staff of the school has mobilized to make it a success. It remains convinced that the candidates will succeed brilliantly since they have received a quality training.

An emphasis is to be laid on the fact that the success to this DT will open to candidates, the doors of universities in Benin and the sub region. Better still, they can already enter the labour force. The talent of the students of ESMA is more to show since they already got trophies both on the national and sub-regional level. The degree they will soon achieve will be a parchment that will allow them to further upgrade on the job market.

It should be remembered that the students of grade 3, like their elders of grade 6, took the Professional Certificate exam (CAP) for Arts and Crafts from Monday, June 30th to Saturday, July 05th 2008, still on the premises of ESMA.