INSIGHTS & IDEAS

More African children have access to secondary schools – but some students are still left behind

November 2, 2022
Over the last five years, access to secondary education in most African countries has improved as physical infrastructure has expanded and costs of education and training reduced. These policies have led to considerable improvement in secondary enrollment. However, these interventions have not fully achieved their intended objectives. Expansions in physical infrastructure have not kept pace with the surge in enrollment triggered by free tuition policies, and free tuition has not benefited all segments of the target population, particularly girls, students with special needs, and those in rural communities.

This is one of the conclusions from the multi-country study ‘Strengthening education and learning systems to deliver a 4IR-ready workforce’. Researchers conducted surveys and interviews with stakeholders in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger, Rwanda, and Uganda to determine how education and training outcomes are aligned with labor market demands.

Three key findings on access to secondary education
  1. Universal education programs have boosted access – especially in urban areas – but educational quality is often impacted.

In 2021, four years into Ghana’s free secondary school policy, 10-14 percent of all placed students failed to enroll. The country’s existing physical infrastructure has been unable to absorb the 69 percent increase in enrollment, and in response, the government has implemented a dual-track system. In Rwanda, where gross enrollment increased from 40 percent in 2018 to 44 percent in 2019, overcrowding is also common. Free secondary schooling has resulted in large class sizes, making it difficult for teachers to monitor and guide students closely.

  1. Transition rates from lower to higher secondary and final completion rates remain low

Transition rates to lower secondary school vary widely among the study countries. Ghana (over 93 percent) and Côte d’Ivoire (over 92 percent) are the best performers, surpassing the SSA average of 76 percent, followed by Rwanda (72 percent) and Uganda (69 percent). Ethiopia and Niger are the poorest performers, with only about half of the students transitioning into secondary school—a rate much below the SSA average. However, even in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the high lower secondary transition rates have not continued to the upper secondary level. In Ghana, only 55.9 percent transition to upper secondary, and only 38 percent of children who enter primary school complete upper secondary. In Ethiopia, survey respondents attribute the low transition rate of 48.5 percent from primary to secondary to the infrastructure deficit and lack of classrooms in most secondary schools. This trend persists from lower to upper secondary, with only 14.8 percent of lower secondary school students transitioning to upper secondary.

  1. Free secondary education has not benefited everyone as planned, particularly vulnerable groups like girls, those with special needs, and those in rural communities.

Gender stereotypes and harmful cultural practices and attitudes remain a critical barrier to access to education for all, despite continuous awareness programs at national and community levels. The risk of neglect of persons with special needs remains an ongoing concern. Special needs students face stigma in the classroom and often have to travel long distances. Few schools, all in urban areas, are adequately equipped to deal with the 10 percent of the student population with special needs, as few investments are made in facilities and infrastructure for learners with special needs.

In Côte d’Ivoire and Niger, girls were virtually absent in the streams with strong STEM subjects. This trend also manifested itself in the gender distribution of teaching staff, with low representation. Rwanda and Uganda provide targeted scholarships that pay for fees, school uniforms, and books for the girl child to address this imbalance. The impact is significant, particularly in increasing the enrollment of girls at both the primary and secondary levels. However, a majority of girls still drop out at the upper secondary level rather than progress to tertiary education. High poverty levels force girls into either early marriage or work, contributing to high drop-out rates.


Ethiopia Case Study: Alternative Basic Education expands access to pastoralist children

Special targeted education is key to increasing access for the most vulnerable learners. In Ethiopia, the number of out-of-school children in rural regions is more than twice the national rate of 9 percent. To address this challenge, the government has initiated a catch-up program for children of pastoralists, called the Alternative Basic Education (ABE) system. ABE offers the first-stage elementary curriculum on flexible class schedules adjusted to traditional ways of living. This tailored program has allowed a community of otherwise excluded students access to education.

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Rwanda case study: Major strides in expanding access to primary and secondary education for girls

Efforts by the Rwandan government and several NGOs to promote gender parity in education and the workplace have paid off at the primary and secondary levels, where parity has almost been achieved. The Girls Educational Policy has successfully addressed the underrepresentation of girls in STEM up to the high school level. There is, however, some pushback, as parents feel that the job opportunities available in the sciences would require girls to be away from the home environment. While 55 percent of female students take STEM subjects, this proportion declines as girls advance to tertiary level, just like at the teaching level, where women constitute only three percent of the academic staff in STEM fields.

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This article is based on the findings of a six-country project on Youth Employment and Skills (YES) and the changing nature of work. The project examines education and training systems and their ability to adjust to meet evolving labor demand in light of rapidly evolving digital technologies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The six countries are Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger, Rwanda, and Uganda. The project evaluates the policies, regulations and institutional arrangements aimed at boosting educational outcomes and employment opportunities, especially job creation using innovative education and training initiatives.

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1 Comment

  1. Johannes Kahuadi

    What about what we are good at doing than learning what we do not want. God gave each human being a divine ability to be some one. As missionary in the field I have learned a lot from people who have never been to school about nature. I do know who taught them.

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