An offer on MEG is not a job. Gabon's Labour Code, Act No. 022/2021 of 19 November 2021, enacted by Decree No. 00246/PR, also covers interns placed under an employer's authority. This note summarises public articles. It is not legal advice. Check the version in force in the Journal officiel before you sign anything.

Who a company internship is for

Article 118 describes two situations. One is a pupil from a technical or vocational school, or a specialised higher school, sent into a company by the school's own rules so that practice confirms what was taught. The other is a pupil or student aged at least 16 who wants experience during school holidays, outside diploma validation, for no more than three months, with or without an allowance.

An academic internship tied to your course is closer to the first case. The school decides whether it counts toward the diploma. MEG publishes the offer. It does not classify the placement.

The agreement and your school

Article 119 requires an internship agreement. When the placement is linked to a school, the company and the school and/or the student sign it, depending on the type of internship. A holiday placement is an agreement between the employer and the student.

Without that paper, dates, a supervisor, and insurance are not set. Academic offers on MEG usually say the agreement is required. The school and the company write it and sign it.

The same article says the employer registers the intern with social security for occupational risks, and that health cover is carried by the health-insurance body. Check the practical steps with the CNSS and your school. If an implementing decree is not consolidated, ask the labour inspectorate for the text in force.

Pay, costs, and length

Article 120 states the principle: academic internships and school-holiday internships are in principle unpaid. The employer may pay an internship allowance, treated as professional expenses.

An unpaid MEG offer is therefore common, and in line with that principle. An allowance, transport, or a meal is the company's choice, not an automatic right written into this article. The length of a course internship comes from the school. The three-month ceiling in article 118 is for holiday placements outside diploma validation. It does not replace the length your school sets for a final-year internship.

Do not mix this up with an apprenticeship. Apprenticeship has its own rules and minimum allowances, around articles 110 and following. That is not the academic internship behind most MEG offers.

What MEG does not decide

MEG introduces people. The company remains responsible for hosting, the day-to-day supervisor, and workplace safety. Article 235 extends health and safety rules to interns. The school remains responsible for the teaching frame and for validation. An offer, a message, or a profile is neither an employment contract nor an agreement.

If the placement looks like a job without an agreement, or if you are asked to replace an employee, talk to your school and, if needed, to the labour inspectorate. MEG does not settle that dispute.

Where to check

The text of Act No. 022/2021 is in the Journal officiel of the Gabonese Republic, on journal-officiel.ga. Your school's internship office has the agreement template. For a question about your personal data on MEG, write to privacy@myedugabon.com.