Free education benefits the poor

At a time when Africa's education crisis is increasingly coming under the spotlight, Malawi has demonstrated that abolishing primary school fees and increasing government spending can have a significant impact on access to education for the poor. A new report published by the World Bank has shown that the Malawi government's decision in 1994 led to dramatically increased enrolment rates for both primary and secondary school pupils. In 1990/91, primary school enrolment among the richest 20 percent of the population was almost double that of the poorest households. By 1997/98 the gap had been all but eliminated. Secondary school enrolment also saw "remarkable" increases over the period, and again poorer families benefited. The report, 'The Changing Distribution of Public Education Expenditure in Malawi', a Working Paper Series issued by the World Bank, concluded that "the education reforms undertaken in 1994 have clearly been pro-poor". However, the primary school enrolment rate for girls in both 1990/91 and 1997/98 lagged behind boys regardless of economic class. Girls from poorer households were "very unlikely" to be in secondary education. Regional variations also persisted, with education access continuing to favour the north of the country, and a striking urban/rural divide disadvantaged children living in the countryside. School drop-out rates also remained high throughout the 1990s, with around 50 percent of pupils failing to continue with their studies in the second half of primary school. Research suggested that "indirect" costs of schooling, illness of family members and a lack of interest were commonly cited reasons for quitting. Insufficient teachers and teaching materials, poor teaching, lack of sanitation and inadequate classrooms were also given as grounds for dropping out. Increases in access to secondary schooling in Malawi were largely as a result of the expansion of Distance Education Centres (DECs). Government funding of DECs was limited to paying teachers salaries which results in fees being substantially higher in DECs compared to conventional secondary schools. But while places in secondary schools doubled in the 1990s, they quadrupled in DECs, the report noted. Selection for secondary schools was based on the primary school leaving exam. As performance is correlated with socio-economic status, secondary school pupils from wealthier homes were more likely to be in conventional secondary schools rather than the DECs, said the report. Based on examination results, education standards in DECs were markedly inferior. In 1997/98 the poorest 20 percent of the population received 17 percent of the secondary education expenditure compared to seven percent in 1990/91. "However, despite these gains, secondary spending remains skewed towards the rich," the survey said. African countries, weighed down with unsustainable debt burdens, have almost ritually cut back on social spending such as education. However, lack of access to education deepens poverty and inequality, impacting not just on the individual but society as a whole, the aid agency Oxfam warned in a 2000 report, 'Education Now: Break the Cycle of Poverty'. The Malawi government of President Bakili Muluzi has attempted to reverse that trend. Education's share of the budget rose from 13 percent in 1994/95 (3.5 percent of GDP) to 20 percent in 1997/98 (4.7 percent of GDP). The World Bank survey pointed out that the "first-generation" reforms of abolishing fees at primary and expanding the provision of secondary education was a first step. In Malawi, the initiative could be strengthened further. But a more complex issue than just expanding enrolment are "second-generation" reforms aimed at the quality of primary and secondary school education. "Key measures would be greater financing of teaching and learning materials, greater community involvement in school management, strengthening the curriculum, restructuring the examination system and improving teacher training," the report said. These are "clearly essential if the early gains in pro-poor access are to be sustained". The report can be found under the Africa Region Working Paper Series: http://www.worldbank.org/afr/wps/index.htm