The University of Mayotte has launched its first Bachelor Universitaire de Technologie (BUT) program, opening a new administrative and business management track known as BUT GACO—short for “Gestion Administrative et Commerciale des Organisations.” The move marks the first program of its kind on the French Indian Ocean island and signals a broader push to build out local, career-focused higher education.
Until now, high school students in Mayotte who wanted to enroll in a BUT program generally had to leave the island. By creating the track locally, the university is directly reshaping post-high school options for future graduates in a French department where keeping students on the island has long been a challenge.
BUT GACO is positioned as the first building block of an IUT in Mayotte
The new BUT GACO program is not a standalone addition. According to the Journal de Mayotte, it represents the first concrete step in a larger plan to expand technological university programs in Mayotte, with the creation of an IUT—an Institut Universitaire de Technologie—as the long-term goal. [1]
An IUT in Mayotte would be a structural shift for the island’s higher-education landscape. In France, IUTs are known for shorter, job-oriented pathways that are in demand among local employers. They remain relatively rare in overseas territories, placing Mayotte in a trajectory similar to other French overseas regions that built out higher education from comparable starting points.
An open house aimed at high schoolers serves as an early real-world test
To introduce the new program, the University of Mayotte held an open house primarily geared toward high school students. [2] The goal was to inform and guide students—especially seniors—while making the new track visible to those weighing their next steps.
The event also matters for practical reasons: early recruitment will help determine whether the first cohorts fill up, a key factor in whether the program can be sustained over time.
The BUT GACO track is designed for a range of student profiles, including those pursuing general or technology-focused high school diplomas who are interested in management and commerce. The BUT, which replaced the older DUT credential in 2021, is a three-year program that awards a national diploma classified at level 6.
A young university expands amid growing pains
Mayotte’s higher-education system is still under construction, and the island’s university has been gradually expanding its offerings. The Journal de Mayotte recently reported on an administrative breakdown in which a student in a master’s MEEF program was denied a diploma because of a grade-average calculation error—an episode that highlighted the fragility of an institution still being built. [5]
The launch of BUT GACO reflects a different approach: not patching gaps, but widening the academic pipeline. If the IUT project moves forward, Mayotte would gain a structure capable of hosting multiple technological specialties—potentially reducing the outflow of students to mainland France or to Réunion, another French island department in the region.
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