Online School & Homeschool in Tunisia

Live online Cambridge IGCSE, A-Level, Pearson Edexcel, IB Diploma, and American AP for offshoring, aeronautics, expat, diaspora, and Tunisian families across Tunis, Sfax, and Sousse and Monastir. International schooling here is dominated by an oversubscribed French network, with British and IB provision thin — and outside the capital, close to absent. Taught live from Nairobi at a fixed two-hour offset that never drifts, with Cambridge French alongside.

From USD 423/month. Small live classes 4-6 students, Cambridge / IB / American AP through to A-Level — supplementary beside your school, with French, German, or Italian kept alongside.

Where our Tunisia families are

Smartious Tunisia families concentrate across Tunis (the offshoring and shared-services sector serving European markets, aeronautics and technology, banking, the diplomatic community, and the oversubscribed French network), Sfax (the second city and economic capital of the south — olive oil, chemicals, a major port, and a large medical faculty, four hours from the capital), and Sousse and Monastir (the Sahel's aeronautics and automotive-components industry, a tourism economy of international scale, a medical school, and a substantial European resident community). One compulsory framework, one supplementary configuration, and a British route the country has never really had.

Homeschool laws and regulation in Tunisia

Tunisian education law is set by a single orientation law and is short to state. Here it is exactly, including the provision families most often misread.

The governing statute

The Loi d'orientation n° 2002-80 of 23 July 2002, relating to education and school teaching, governs the system. Education is compulsory from the age of six to the age of sixteen, running as nine years of enseignement de base from age six followed by secondary education leading to the baccalauréat. Tunisia's system has a long-standing reputation for academic seriousness, particularly in the sciences and in medicine, and that reputation is deserved — the question our families bring is not whether the national system is good, but whether it opens the doors they have in view.

Home education: what we can and cannot say

We are not aware of an established parental-choice home-education route under the Loi d'orientation, and we phrase it in exactly those terms. Asserting a categorical prohibition would be more than we can evidence from the statute text; suggesting the arrangement is freely available would be worse. A family whose plan turns on the point should confirm the current position with the Ministère de l'Éducation rather than rely on any provider's summary, ours included. What is not in doubt is that structured education alongside a school enrolment is unrestricted, which is the configuration we build.

The independent-candidate provision, stated factually

The Tunisian baccalauréat can in defined circumstances be taken by independent candidates. That is real, it is well known, and it is not a homeschooling route — eligibility, procedure, and current arrangements are ministry matters to be confirmed directly. We state it because families encounter it and sometimes read it as an implicit permission to educate outside school, which it is not.

Language, and why it shapes subject choice

Instruction is in Arabic in the early years with French introduced from the early primary grades, and French carries much of the scientific and technical teaching at secondary level and in higher education. English is taught as a further language and is increasingly valued in the offshoring, aeronautics, and technology sectors that employ so many of our Tunisian families. Practically, this means our students almost always keep Cambridge French running alongside the English-medium core — and on the Sahel coast, where the resident community and the industrial employers are French, German, and Italian, families frequently add a second European language rather than dropping the first.

The gap that is specific to Tunisia

The country has a strong national system and a strong French network, and between them they serve most families well. What neither provides is a British or IB route, and the French network's capacity in Tunis is well below demand in any case. Outside the capital the position is starker: Sfax is the second city with a major medical faculty and almost no international provision, and the Sahel hosts European aerospace suppliers, European tour operators, and European residents without a single school built for their children. A family wanting an internationally examined English-medium record has historically had two options — send the child to Europe, or do without.

Where the qualifications lead

Tunisian universities admit on the national baccalauréat, with foreign qualifications going through recognition and equivalence procedures and requirements confirmed per institution — worth confirming specifically for medicine, which is a common destination here. Outward the record travels widely: French universities remain a principal destination for Tunisian students and read Cambridge A-Levels and the IB routinely, as do Italian, German, and Canadian institutions; UCAS reads A-Levels natively; Gulf universities read them directly; the Common Application serves US plans; and A-Levels are accepted in 160+ countries, including the aerospace and engineering programmes the Sahel's industrial families most often have in view.

Why Tunisia families choose Smartious

The British route Tunisia does not really have

International schooling here is the French network, oversubscribed and capital-bound, with British and IB provision scarce. We are filling an absence rather than competing for a share.

Three European languages available alongside

French, German, or Italian can run beside the English-medium core — which matters on a coast whose residents and employers come from all three.

A fixed offset that never drifts

Neither Tunisia nor Kenya observes daylight saving, so the two-hour gap is constant — class times are identical in January and July.

Sfax and the Sahel served identically

The second city and the industrial coast have almost nothing between them. Live delivery closes both gaps the same way.

Careful where the law is not fully evidenced

We say "not established" and name the Ministère rather than asserting a prohibition we cannot document — and we do not dress up the independent-candidate rules as a homeschooling route.

An African school teaching African families

Nairobi-built and Nairobi-taught, serving families in 40+ countries, working to African calendars and examination realities.

Fees and admission

From USD 423/month for Primary, payable termly; varies by curriculum and level. One-to-one tuition: USD 15/hour.

Frequently asked questions

Is homeschooling legal in Tunisia?

Education is compulsory from six to sixteen under the Loi d'orientation n° 2002-80 of 2002, and we are not aware of an established parental-choice home-education route under that law. We put it in those terms rather than asserting a categorical prohibition, and would tell any family whose plan depends on it to confirm with the Ministère de l'Éducation. Structured study alongside a school enrolment is unrestricted.

The baccalauréat can be sat as an independent candidate — does that let us homeschool?

No, and it is a common misreading. The independent-candidate provision is real and its eligibility and procedure are ministry matters, but it is an examination arrangement rather than a permission to educate outside school. We state it factually for exactly that reason.

Is there a British-curriculum school in Tunisia?

Provision is thin. International schooling is dominated by the French network, strong and heavily oversubscribed in Tunis, with a private bilingual sector alongside it. Sfax and the Sahel have almost nothing. The absence of a Cambridge route is the gap we exist to fill.

Can our child keep French while studying in English?

Yes, and most of our Tunisian families do. Cambridge French runs alongside the English-medium core; on the Sahel coast families often add German or Italian rather than dropping French, given who lives and invests there.

We are European residents in Tunisia — whose rules apply to our children?

Your country of residence, which is a legal determination about your household. The French, German, and Italian frameworks differ materially from each other and from Tunisia's, and that question belongs with your own advisers. The teaching itself works identically either way.

How do class times work from Nairobi?

Tunisia runs CET all year with no daylight saving and Kenya observes none either, so the two-hour offset is fixed. Classes land in the Tunisian afternoon at the same time every week of the year.

Will French, Italian, or Canadian universities accept Cambridge A-Levels?

All three read Cambridge A-Levels and the IB routinely and host substantial Tunisian student communities, as do German institutions. UCAS reads A-Levels natively, Gulf universities read them directly, and the Common Application serves US plans.

Which parts of Tunisia does Smartious cover?

Tunis, Sfax and the south, and Sousse and Monastir on the Sahel coast have dedicated pages. Live online delivery works identically anywhere in the country — which outside the capital is precisely the point.

Guides for families in this country

What parents say

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“I have peace of mind as a Smartious Homeschool parent. No more traffic and early morning rush to school. Smartious are the most organized homeschool providers.” — Google reviewer, Google review