Managing an overcrowded class: spreading, splitting, registers and assessment

When a class goes beyond a hundred students, the room, the register, assessment and individual follow-up all deteriorate together. No single step solves the problem: first reduce the numbers where possible, then organise what remains. This guide offers practical measures, valid with a notebook as with software, starting from the official limit.

The limit and the reality

The joint MINEDUB/MINESEC order of 14 August 2026 sets at most 50 students per class in secondary school, 60 in primary school and 30 in nursery. In primary school, the order provides that beyond the limit the class is split into half-day shifts or a new division is opened within two weeks; in secondary school, shifts are allowed only if premises are lacking. The real numbers are declared to the competent authority by the second week at the latest.

In practice, many schools exceed these figures. The head cannot ignore it: the first decision is to declare the real number, and the second is to show the authority what is being done to reduce it.

Spreading and splitting

Reducing a class means spreading students between several divisions, and, when rooms are lacking, staggering the hours. These decisions are made before the start of the year, not in November.

• Open one more division as soon as enrolments exceed the limit, if a room and a teacher exist.
• Spread students between divisions in a balanced way: level, age, girls and boys, repeaters.
• If premises are lacking, organise two groups that take turns, morning and afternoon, as far as the rules allow.
• Refuse enrolments beyond the real capacity of the rooms, and tell families from the start.
• Move a student to another class only with a written reason, to keep a record.

Taking the register in a large class

Calling a hundred names aloud takes a quarter of an hour. The method must change, without giving up the register: it is what allows absences to be excused and students at risk to be spotted.

• Use an alphabetical list, the same for all the teachers of the class.
• Seat students in the same places every time, with a seating plan, to spot empty seats.
• Appoint row leaders who report absentees to the teacher, who checks.
• Take the register at the start of the session, then let latecomers report themselves at the end.
• Copy absentees the same day onto the school life office’s central register.

Organising assessment

Marking a hundred scripts for every assignment is a heavy task, and it must not lead to rushing the assessments. The principle is to assess often enough, in different forms, with written criteria.

Read also: Organising Mock Exams: Rooms, Anonymity, Results

• Alternate short assessments that are quick to mark and longer assignments spaced further apart.
• Write a marking scheme and follow it for every script, and share it with the results.
• Share scripts between several teachers of the subject when possible.
• Plan several rooms for tests, with invigilators and numbered seats.
• For mock exams, use anonymous numbers and lift anonymity only after marking.

Keeping in touch with each student

In a large class, struggling students go unnoticed. Make up for it with regular checkpoints rather than general promises.

• Reserve one interview per term for each student absent several times, or whose marks fall.
• Form work groups of six to eight students with a leader who changes every month.
• Keep an alert board for each class, reread every week with the form teacher.
• Warn the family at the first difficulty rather than at the report card.

With Sahel EDU

In Sahel EDU, the spread of students takes the capacities of classes into account and offers three commented versions, which the head applies; lists are in alphabetical order, Arabic included. A student changes class with a reason and a history, and each class’s door sheet can be printed. The timetable generator never places a room or a teacher twice at the same time.

The teacher takes the register of each session on a phone; students at risk appear with the log of calls to families. Mock exams have desk numbers and anonymous numbers, a spread across rooms, invigilators and anonymous marking. Sahel EDU does not enlarge rooms: it helps to spread, follow and document.

Read also: Automatic timetable and student distribution · Attendance and absences, online or offline — Sahel EDU

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum number in a class?

According to the joint order of 14 August 2026, 50 students in secondary school, 60 in primary school and 30 in nursery.

What should be done when enrolments exceed the limit?

Open one more division if the school can, otherwise organise two half-day groups as far as the regulations allow, and declare the real number to the authority.

How can the register be taken in a class of over a hundred students?

With an alphabetical list, a seating plan and row leaders, then copying the same day onto the central register.

How can so many students be assessed fairly?

With a written marking scheme applied to every script, assessments in varied forms and, for mock exams, anonymous scripts.

Does Sahel EDU limit the number of students per class?

The spread takes the capacity of classes into account. It is for the school to decide what number it accepts.

See also

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