Scholarships and Student Funding in Madagascar

The national student allocation is your main funding route

Madagascar's Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESupReS) pays a monthly allocation, known locally as a bourse, to eligible students at public universities. For the 2024/25 academic year, the ministry confirmed it kept the allocation budget at its existing level rather than cutting it, according to Newsmada's coverage of the ministry's statement .

Payments scale with your study level. Licence 1 and 2 (L1, L2) students receive around 26,400 Ariary a month, Licence 3 (L3) students receive around 43,600 Ariary a month, and Master's and doctoral students (M1, M2, doctorate) receive around 58,100 Ariary a month, according to reporting on the increased allocation rates . A separate equipment allowance of 100,000 Ariary pays out once, at the start of each academic year.

How payment works

The ministry now pays these allocations through the Public Treasury using a digital platform called Wallet Tresor, replacing older, slower disbursement methods. This shift aims to cut the delays that used to leave students waiting months for money that was meant to arrive at the start of term.

Register for your allocation through your faculty's student affairs office or your university's CROU (Centre Regional des Oeuvres Universitaires) alongside your annual academic registration. Exact eligibility rules and paperwork differ by faculty and can change between academic years, so confirm the current process with your own institution and with the ministry's own bourses page before each registration cycle.

CROU housing is a second form of support

Beyond cash allocations, CROU runs subsidized university residences. A dorm room at the Ankatso residence in Antananarivo costs around 10,000 Ariary a month, a fraction of private market rent, according to student reporting on residence conditions . Treat a subsidized room as part of your overall funding picture, since it frees up a large share of your monthly allocation for food and study materials. Spots are limited, covering only 15 to 20% of Antananarivo's university students in a given year, so apply for a room as early as your faculty allows.

Why the allocation matters so much

Malagasy press coverage frames the national allocation as central to whether many students can stay enrolled at all, not just a nice-to-have top-up. L'Express de Madagascar's April 2026 reporting describes the allocation as what keeps many students afloat month to month, particularly those without family income nearby to fall back on.

Because the amounts are modest against real living costs, treat the national allocation and CROU housing as your funding base, not your full budget. Build in family support, part-time work, or savings for the gap between what the allocation covers and what rent, food and course materials actually cost in your city.

Other funding to look into

Some private institutes and employers in Madagascar offer their own scholarships or sponsorship arrangements tied to specific fields, most commonly health sciences, engineering, and teacher training. These vary by institute and year, so ask your target institution's admissions office directly about any internal funding it offers rather than relying on a fixed national list.