Introduction: Undetected refractive errors constitute a health problem among school children who cannot take advantage of educational opportunities. The authors studied the prevalence of refractive errors in school children aged 5 to 15 at CHU-IOTA. Patients and Method: This is a prospective, descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in the ophthalmic-pediatrics department of CHU-IOTA, from October to November 2023. Results: We received 340 school children aged 5 to 15, among whom 111 presented ametropia, i.e. a prevalence of 32.65%. The average age was 11.42 ± 2.75 years and a sex ratio of 0.59. The average visual acuity was 4/10 (range 1/10 and 10/10). We found refractive defects: astigmatism 73.87%, hyperopia 23.87% of cases and myopia 2.25%. The decline in distance visual acuity was the most common functional sign. Ocular abnormalities associated with ametropia were dominated by allergic conjunctivitis (26.13%) and papillary excavation (6.31%) in astigmatics; allergic conjunctivitis (9.01%) and papillary excavation (7.20%) in hyperopic patients; turbid vitreous (0.90%), myopic choroidosis (0.45%) and allergic conjunctivitis (0.45%) in myopes. Conclusion: Refractive errors constitute a reality and a major public health problem among school children.
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