Implementation of Free Basic Education Policy. Raja Bentaouet Kattan

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2 Implementaton of Free Basc Educaton Polcy Raja Bentaouet Kattan

3 The Educaton Workng Paper Seres s produced by the Educaton Unt at the World Bank (HDNED). It provdes an avenue for World Bank staff to publsh and dssemnate prelmnary educaton fndngs to encourage dscusson and exchange deas wthn the World Bank and among the broader development communty. Papers n ths seres are not formal World Bank publcatons. The fndngs, nterpretatons, and conclusons expressed n these papers are entrely those of the authors and should not be attrbuted n any manner to the World Bank, ts afflated organzatons or to the members of ts board of executve drectors or the countres they represent. Copes of ths publcaton may be obtaned n hard copy through the Educaton Advsory Servce ([email protected]), and electroncally through the World Bank Educaton webste ( Copyrght The World Bank December 2006 Washngton, D.C. U.S.A. 2

4 Contents Acknowledgements...5 Executve Summary...6 Introducton...12 I. Barrers to Educaton...14 II. Prevalence of User Fees: Results of 2005 Survey...20 III. Provdng Free Educaton: Elmnatng User Fees...28 IV. Lessons Learned: Achevements and Challenges...34 V. Concluson and Recommendatons...45 Bblography...58 Annexes Annex 1: Country Profles: Experences wth User Fee Polces...65 Camboda...65 Cameroon...67 Chna...69 Kenya...71 Lesotho...74 Malaw...76 Mozambque...78 Tanzana...79 Tmor-Leste...82 Uganda...83 Zamba...86 Annex 2: Determnants of Enrollment...89 Annex 3: Summary Fndngs of the 2005 World Bank User Fee Survey...91 Annex 4: Survey Results -- Prmary Level Matrx Annex 5: Survey Results -- Secondary Level Matrx Annex 6: Sample Survey Questonnare Annex 7: Detaled Fee Amounts for Selected Countres Annex 8: School Fees n South Afrca: Creatng Equty or Perpetuatng Dspartes? Annex 9: Offsettng Fees Annex 10: The HIPC Debt Relef Intatve and Educaton Fnancng n Afrca Annex 11. Donor Postons on User Fees Annex 12: Analytcal Framework for thnkng about User Fees

5 Tables Table 1: Results of 2005 World Bank User Fee Survey for Prmary School...7 Table 2: Results of World Bank User Fee Survey for Secondary Educaton...8 Table 3: Increases n the Gross Enrollment Rate of Selected Countres After Fee Elmnaton...8 Table 4: Results of World Bank User Fee Survey for Prmary School...21 Table 5: Regonal Comparsons of Fees at the Prmary Level...23 Table 6: Results of World Bank User Fee Survey for Secondary Educaton...24 Table 7: Regonal Comparsons of Fees at the Lower Secondary Level...25 Table 8: Increases n the Gross Enrollment Rate of Selected Countres After Fee Elmnaton..29 Fgures Fgure 1: Household Expendture on Publc Schoolng per Student (USD) as a percentage of GNI per capta...17 Fgure 2: School Fees as a Percentage of Fnal Household Consumpton...18 Fgure 3: Percentage of Countres wth Prmary School fees, Fgure 4: Evdence of Improved Equty n Uganda...35 Fgure 5: Lesotho Prmary Enrollment 1998 to Fgure 6: Publc Educaton Expendture and School Completon...52 Boxes Box 1: Fnancng Educaton n the Democratc Republc of Congo...16 Box 2: EDUCO-Impact of Parental Partcpaton on Schoolng...32 Box 3: HIV/AIDS Orphans and Educaton...36 Box 4. Unoffcal Fees and Decentralzaton n Ghana...41 Box 5: Household Fnancng n Vetnam Box 6: The Mexcan Experence wth a Condtonal Cash Transfer Program...49 Box 7: The Educaton for All Fast Track Intatve

6 Acknowledgements Data for ths report s based on a World Bank survey of nnety-three countres that was conducted between Aprl and June of An ntal draft of the paper was revewed and dssemnated at several School Fee Abolton Intatve (SFAI) meetngs, ncludng the Partnershp Meetng n New York Cty (January 2006) and n Narob (Aprl 2006). The purpose of ths Workng Paper s to make the survey data and fndngs more wdely avalable to polcymakers and development practtoners. Ths report also draws on other relevant data and reports n order to present a more complete pcture of current achevements and challenges n the mplementaton of free basc educaton polces. Ths work would not have been possble wthout the nput of the World Bank educaton task team leaders and sector managers, and the support of Eduardo Velez Bustllo (LCSHE), Donald Bundy (HDNED), Robn Horn (HDNED), Ruth Kaga (Sector Drector HDNED), Jaml Salm (HDNED), and Jean Lous Sarbb (HDNVP), who allocated staff tme and resources to make ths study possble. Ths study has benefted from the contrbutons provded by Heather Mare Layton, and Carre Hubbard Wllmann, whose relentless pursut of country data provded basc nformaton for the study. Ths study has also benefted from comments and feedback from a wde range of people. Key among them were World Bank staff Robert Prouty (HDNED), who provded overall gudance, Xanon Cao (WBIHD), Mchael Mlls (AFTHD), Kate Nesmth (EASHD), and Jee Peng Tan (AFTHD). Also acknowledged here s the valuable contrbuton of external revewers. Key among them were Dna Crassat and Cream Wrght (UNICEF); Sally Gear and Rose Kanwar (DFID); and Tracy Burnette, Krst Far, and Patrck Collns (USAID). The work was supported by World Bank colleagues n the Educaton Advsory Servce (EAS), Veronca Grgera and Hana Yoshmoto, Sada Mamedova (EDSTATS), and Long Quach (HDNED), who provded nvaluable help wth desk-top edtng. 1 Data was collected from World Bank task team leaders n 2005, and may not reflect the most recent changes n polcy and practce at the country level. 5

7 Executve Summary The 2004 Educaton for All (EFA) workng paper called User Fees n Prmary Educaton (Bentaouet Kattan and Burnett 2004) dentfed user fees as a pervasve obstacle to prmary school enrollment and completon for mllons of chldren worldwde. In partcular, the publcaton examned country specfc experences from Uganda and Malaw. The report cautoned that the elmnaton of school fees can overwhelm countres educatonal systems, and t emphaszed that the successful elmnaton of fees requres consderable plannng. In order to provde a follow-up to that analyss, ths report was commssoned to examne updated data on prmary school fees n 93 countres, new data for lower secondary educaton, and new country profles detalng the experences of countres that have mplemented free basc educaton (FBE). Ths report also examnes the lessons learned from the experences of these countres n order to dentfy successes and challenges. Fnally, ths report makes recommendatons for other countres seekng gudance on elmnatng school fees n the future. As there s lmted data to understand the magntude and mpact of fees, the World Bank surveyed ts country Task Team Leaders n sx regons Afrca, East Asa and Pacfc, Eastern Europe and Central Asa, Mddle East and North Afrca and South Asa. Surveys were conducted n 2001, and agan n The surveys examned the prevalence of fees n prmary educaton n the countres for whch the Task Team Leaders were responsble, as well as about the postons the World Bank has adopted n ts dalogue wth these countres. In 2005, the survey also ncluded questons about prmary and lower secondary educaton. For the prmary school level, data were collected for 79 World Bank clent countres n 2001, and 93 countres n 2005 (out of at total of 144 World Bank clent countres). Data were collected at the lowersecondary level for 76 World Bank clent countres n Fve fee categores are dstngushed n the data: tuton, textbooks charges, compulsory unforms, PTA/communty contrbutons, and other school-based actvty fees (exam fees, etc.). Ths report focuses on the results of the 2005 survey. It s dvded nto fve sectons. Secton 1 brefly dscusses the non-cost barrers to educaton. It then provdes an overvew of user fees the mpact that user fees have on school enrollment, household contrbutons as a percentage of total educaton expendture, household educaton expendtures as a percentage of household consumpton, and the mpact of user fees on poor households. Secton 2 presents the 6

8 results of the 2005 World Bank survey on user fees. Secton 3 draws on the experences of eght Afrcan and three Asan natons that have elmnated user fees, n order to hghlght the successes and challenges of mplementng such polces. Secton 4 provdes observatons on the lessons learned, and secton 5 concludes the report and makes recommendatons. Select Fndngs from the 2005 World Bank Survey on User Fees 1. Prmary educaton Of the 93 countres surveyed, only 16 countres have no user fees. Countres wth no fees are Bangladesh, Camboda, Cape Verde, Chle, Costa Rca, Guatemala, Iraq, Nepal, Peru, Senegal, Sr Lanka, St. Ktts and Nevs, Tanzana, The Gamba, Tunsa, and Zamba. Tuton and textbooks fees are collected n 24 countres, and 33 countres collect fees for mandatory unforms (see Table 1). PTA fees are the most commonly collected type of fee, followed by fees for other school-based actvtes, unforms, tuton, and textbooks. Type of Fee Table 1: Results of 2005 World Bank User Fee Survey for Prmary School Countres wth fees Percentage of Countres n Survey Number of these countres that collect fees unoffcally Tuton fees Textbook charges Unform fees PTA/communty contrbutons Other school-based actvtes fees Source: World Bank Survey Lower secondary educaton Of the 76 countres surveyed, tuton fees are collected n 33 countres and textbook fees are collected n 34 (see Table 2). As n the case of prmary educaton, the two most common fees collected are PTA/communty contrbutons and other school-based actvty fees. These fees are collected nformally. Ten countres have no fees, but do requre a communty/pta contrbuton. Those countres are Argentna, Azerbajan, Iran, Jordan, Maldves, Namba, Panama, Serra Leone, Tmor-Leste, and Ukrane. 7

9 Table 2: Results of World Bank User Fee Survey for Secondary Educaton Type of Fee Countres wth fees Percentage of Countres n Survey Number of these countres that collect fees unoffcally Tuton fees Textbook charges Unform fees PTA/communty contrbutons Other school-based actvtes fees Source: World Bank Survey Countres that removed fees had substantal ncreases n enrollment rates (see Table 3). Uganda ncreased ts enrollment rates by 68 percent and Malaw by 49 percent. When certan countres removed user fees there was a notceable pattern of ncreased fundng for educaton by governments. For example, the governments of Malaw, Uganda, Cameroon, Zamba, Tanzana, and Camboda ncreased ther share of spendng on educaton after elmnatng school fees. Table 3: Increases n the Gross Enrollment Rate of Selected Countres After Fee Elmnaton Country Year Fees Elmnated Gross Enrollment Rate Pror to Fee Elmnaton Gross Enrollment Rate After Fee Elmnaton Percent change n enrollment Malaw (1993) 133 (1994) 49 Uganda (1996) 128 (1997) 68 Cameroon 1999/ (1999) 106 (2000) 17 Lesotho (1999) 122 (2000) 12 Tanzana (2000) 84 (2002) 33 Zamba (2001) 82 (2002) 5 Kenya (2002) 104 (2003) 21 Tmor-Leste (2000) 110 (2001) 23 Camboda (2000) 123 (2001) 10 Source: World Development Indcators 2004 Notes: Lesotho, Tanzana, and Camboda mplemented fee elmnaton polces usng a phased-n approach, whch may be reflected n ther lower changes n enrollment rates compared to other countres. Due to data avalablty, ths table presents only a partal lst of the countres that have elmnated user fees. 8

10 4. Removal of user fees has mproved equtable access to educaton-specfcally the ablty to reach the poor, grls, orphans, and other dsadvantaged groups. Enrollment rates grew quckly among the poor n Camboda, Uganda, Malaw, Zamba, and Tmor-Leste and grls enrollment rates grew more rapdly n Uganda, Kenya, and Tmor-Leste. Challenges n Elmnatng User Fees Elmnatng user fees has resulted n many promsng outcomes, but there have been a few challenges as well. These nclude the followng: 1. Issue of sustanablty How to mantan the gans n enrollment rates and the qualty of the educaton once there are ncreased numbers of new students and possble ncreases n drop-out and repetton rates. 2. Dspartes contnue to exst wth the gender gap, and there are ncreases n the equty gap between urban and rural areas. For example, n Malaw urban students are 20 to 30 percentage ponts more lkely to stay n school than ther rural counterparts. 3. School and related fees contnue to be collected nformally. 4. Tradeoffs n expandng access and mprovng qualty For example, low-effcency low qualty educaton ncreases overall costs by ncreasng the number of years t takes to complete school. 5. Teacher avalablty Recrutment, tranng, and deployment are stll major problems faced by many countres. Conclusons and Recommendatons for Further Research The study found that fee abolton alone cannot acheve unversal basc educaton, and educatonal reform, ssues, and opportuntes vary accordng to country specfc crcumstances. Four concludng fndngs and seven recommendatons for further research are lsted below: 9

11 Fndngs: 1. A phased-n approach reduces the techncal challenges of elmnatng user fees, and can reduce the lkelhood of recdvsm. 2. Other educaton related household expenses and ndrect costs can be greater obstacles than fees and must be addressed n any polcy effort to ncrease access to educaton. 3. Targeted nterventons are requred to offset grls opportunty costs of schoolng and cultural norms regardng the educaton of grls, whch often nhbt ther enrollment rates. 4. Targeted efforts to ensure schoolng for HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable chldren (OVC) should be part of any effort to mprove access to schoolng. Recommendatons for further research: 1. Sgnfcant fee obstacles at the lower-secondary level Fees at the secondary level tend to be sgnfcant and substantally hgher than fees at the prmary level. Further research should be undertaken to understand better the prevalence and mpact of fees at ths level. 2. Evdence of Decreased Parental Partcpaton The mpact of fee elmnaton on parental and communty partcpaton s not wdely known. A more detaled understandng of ths mportant ssue would be a useful addton to the debate on user fees. 3. Overage Chldren Governments contnue to struggle wth the ssue of overage chldren. Whle ths has qualty mplcatons for schoolng, t also ponts to the need for specal programs to ncorporate these chldren nto the educaton system and/or ensure that they have alternatve opportuntes. An evaluaton of these types of programs s needed to assess ther mpact for possble scalng up. 4. Soco-poltcal response to fee removal It would be helpful to have a dscusson about what exactly s happenng when governments announce the abolton of certan educaton fees. 10

12 5. More analyss of mtgaton strateges The mtgaton strateges mentoned n ths report have largely been successful. A dscusson of those strateges that have faled would also be useful. In addton, t would be useful to carry out cost-beneft analyses of targeted vs. free educaton polces. 6. The mpact of fees on learnng Examne ths possble trade-off n specfc country crcumstances. 7. Government effectveness n delverng educaton servces Lttle s actually known systematcally about government effectveness n delverng prmary educaton; an mportant area for future research wll be the relablty of government provson of educaton. 11

13 Introducton At the 1990 Jomten World Conference on Educaton for All (EFA), the development communty establshed the achevement of unversal basc educaton as a top prorty. Ths was reconfrmed n 2000 at the World Educaton Forum n Dakar, Senegal, and at the Unted Natons Mllennum Summt, where 189 natons and the nternatonal development communty promsed to guarantee unversal basc educaton by In the ensung years, only one strategy has shown sgnfcant promse for leap-froggng natons from low enrollment status to hgh enrollment status wthn the narrow tme frame remanng untl Ths strategy s the abolton of school fees. It has been mplemented wth varyng degrees of success by about 15 countres snce 1994, ncludng 13 snce Achevng the Mllennum Development Goals (MDGs) of unversal basc educaton (UBE) requres that all chldren enter prmary school, complete the cycle, and acqure a set of basc sklls. Although access rates have mproved over the last decade, equtable access remans a problem. Access dffers sgnfcantly by famly ncome, urban/rural locaton, and gender. One key obstacle to achevng the MDG for educaton s the hgh cost of educaton to parents, especally for the poorest households. User fees reman common n many countres whose consttutons mandate free educaton. As countres seek ways to ncrease access to educaton, elmnaton or reducton of fees s a natural polcy to consder. There s contnung demand from clent countres for gudance on mplementng free prmary educaton. In 2001, the World Bank conducted a survey to understand the extent that user fees are collected for prmary educaton. The results were reported n User Fees n Prmary Educaton (Bentaouet Kattan and Burnett 2004), whch dentfed user fees as a pervasve obstacle to prmary school enrollment and completon for mllons of chldren around the world. The User Fees n Prmary Educaton publcaton examned the experences of Uganda and Malaw, hghlghted the surges n enrollment that accompaned fee removal, and recognzed fee removal as an mportant strategy towards achevement of the MDGs for educaton n many countres. The report also cautoned that these surges at tmes threatened to overwhelm countres educatonal systems and emphaszed that the successful elmnaton of fees requres consderable plannng. 12

14 Between 2001 and 2005 a number of countres have abolshed fees, and now t has become tmely to update ths analyss. Ths new report draws on the World Bank 2005 survey, as well as other relevant data, to present a more comprehensve pcture of school fees around the world. Ths report ncludes: () updated data on prmary school fees n nnety-four countres, () new data for lower secondary, and () new country profles detalng the experences of countres that have mplemented free basc educaton (FBE) (see Annex 1). The report also attempts to capture the lessons learned from the experences of these countres n order to dentfy successes and challenges and, ultmately, to provde recommendatons for other countres seekng gudance on elmnatng school fees n the future. Ths report s dvded nto fve sectons. Secton 1 brefly dscusses the non-cost barrers to educaton. It then provdes an overvew of user fees the mpact that user fees have on school enrollment, household contrbutons as a percentage of total educaton expendture, household educaton expendtures as a percentage of household consumpton, and the mpact of user fees on poor households. Secton 2 presents the results of the 2005 World Bank survey on user fees. Secton 3 draws on the experences of eght Afrcan and three Asan natons that have elmnated user fees, n order to hghlght the successes and challenges of mplementng such polces. Secton 4 provdes observatons on the lessons learned, and secton 5 presents conclusons and recommendatons. 13

15 I. Barrers to Educaton The poor are faced wth a long lst of obstacles to educaton. Among the major determnants of enrollment dentfed n recent studes are household ncome, schoolng costs, presence or absence of schools, communty nvolvement, transportaton, educaton qualty and relevance, parental educaton, havng a learnng or physcal dsablty, cultural values and norms, and the opportunty costs of attendng school (Boyle et. al. 2002; Dennger 2003; Deolalkar 1997; Holmes 1999; Patrnos and Sddqu 1995; UNICEF 2005a) (see Annex 2 for a more detaled dscusson of the determnants of enrollment). Other reasons that parents may not send ther chldren to school nclude nformaton falures about the lnks between educaton and local job opportuntes, dstance to schools, and dstance to labor markets (Bentaouet Kattan and Burnett 2004; Hllman and Jenker 2002; Mukud 2004). For grls, addtonal factors that contrbute to enrollment rates are the presence of female teachers, the avalablty of proper features such as latrnes, daycare facltes for younger sblngs and water ponts, the flexblty of the school calendar, and cultural norms and values regardng grls educaton (Deolalkar 1997; Holmes 1999; Mukud 2004). Whle t s dffcult to dsaggregate the relatve mpact of each factor on school enrollment among the poor, there s a growng body of nternatonal evdence that the costs of educaton represent a major obstacle to educaton n the developng world, especally for the poor, grls, orphans, and other dsadvantaged chldren. The cost of educaton can be dvded nto two dstnct groups: drect and ndrect costs. User fees are drect costs leved by publcly provded schools and pad by prvate households. General dscusson of user fees s often explctly or mplctly about tuton fees. In practce, however, there are a large number of dfferent fees that prvate households sometmes have to pay for publcly provded basc educaton. These nclude tuton fees, textbook fees and/or rental payments, compulsory unforms, Parent Teacher Assocaton (PTA) dues, and varous specal fees, such as exam fees, and communty contrbutons to dstrct educaton boards. 2 Fees can be smlar to prces n ther effects on ndvdual behavor, and thus, affect enrollment through both a prce and an ncome effect. 2 Ths paper excludes fees that reflect student welfare, such as board and lodgng charges at boardng schools, as well as charges for school meals. 14

16 User fees have a negatve mpact on school enrollment A wde body of evdence shows that the costs of schoolng nhbt school enrollment. Parents n Indonesa, Chna, the Solomon Islands, and many Afrcan countres cte user fees as a major obstacle to enrollng ther chldren n school (Saroso 2005; Yardley 2005; Pacfc News 2005). In 2001, parents and teachers n Tanzana sad that non-payment of fees was the prncpal reason why chldren dd not attend school (Oxfam 2001). Zamba s Central Statstcs Offce estmated that at least 45 percent of chldren who drop out of school dd so because they could not pay school fees (Tembo and Ndhlovu 2005). However, there are few emprcal studes of the ways n whch user fees mpact enrollment. In Kenya, absenteesm and drop-out rates have been shown to rse and fall n lne wth user fees (Mukud 2004). User fees accounted for 31 percent of the tme that chldren dd not attend school. Before user fees were elmnated, chldren who dd not pay school fees were often locked out of school or sent home. An econometrc analyss of the mpacts of Uganda s Unversal Prmary Educaton (UPE) polcy showed that parental ncome became a less mportant determnant of enrollment after school fees were elmnated (Dennger 2003). In 1992, the proporton of chldren n Uganda who were not enrolled n school due to costs related to schoolng was estmated at 71 percent. After drect fees were elmnated ths fgure dropped to 37 percent. The drect mpact of fees on enrollment can be assessed by calculatng the prce elastcty of demand for prmary educaton. Estmates n the 1980s showed elastctes on average to be less than 1 for educaton at all levels (Jmenez 1987). Addtonal studes examnng household schoolng behavors have found a negatve prce elastcty of demand for schoolng n Peru, Mal, Ghana, and Inda (Gertler and Glewwe 1989; Brdsall and Orvel 1996; Lavy 1996; Spahmalan 1999). There s also evdence of varyng prce elastces by ncome and gender. Gertler and Glewwe (1989) found that the prce elastcty of demand for the poorest quartle of the rural populaton n Peru was two to three tmes larger than for the hghest ncome quartle. The expendture elastcty of prmary school enrollment n Kenya s three tmes greater for lowncome households (.18) than for hgh-ncome households (.06) (Deolalkar 1997). Prce elastcty has also been found to be hgher for grls than for boys n several countres n Afrca, Asa, and Latn Amerca (World Bank 2001a). 15

17 Household contrbutons often consttute a large percentage of total educaton expendture. Households n low-ncome countres are frequently called on to provde a sgnfcant share of overall educaton expendtures. Pror to the elmnaton of school fees n Zamba, parents pad 50 to 75 percent of total prmary educaton spendng. User fees consttuted more than half of schools ncome n Uganda before the government elmnated school fees (Dennger 2003). Households n the Congo serve as the man fnancng source for the educaton sector (see Box 1). Box 1: Fnancng Educaton n the Democratc Republc of Congo Households serve as the man fnancng source for the educaton sector n the Democratc Republc of Congo, contrbutng over 80 percent of total resources. Households pay a varety of charges: a porton of teachers salares, and varous school operatng expenses, ncludng expendtures on admnstraton, nspecton and examnatons. The fras de motvaton (a contrbuton to teachers salares) and fras de fonctonnement (contrbutons to fnance school non-personnel operatng expenses) are the two most common school charges, the former accountng for as much as half of total teacher ncome. Based on 2004 data, the average annual per pupl household expendture ranges from US$29 to US$37 at the prmary level. Ths excludes addtonal expendtures on textbooks and materals, examnaton fees, and other mscellaneous charges. An amendment to the Consttuton was adopted by the Natonal Assembly declarng prmary educaton be compulsory and free (Artcle 43). The elmnaton of fees was scheduled to begn n September 2005; however, the process was stalled due to mplementaton challenges, ncludng teachers gong on strke due to salary concerns. The government s currently developng a plan to project how much money s needed to cover the amount that households have been contrbutng to the educaton sector, and to estmate what amount can be fnanced wth lmted domestc resources. Specfcally, the government s usng the Medum Term Expendture Framework (MTEF), a tool used to adapt Poverty Reducton Strategy Papers (PRSPs) nto publc expendture programs wthn a feasble mult-year macroeconomc and fscal framework, to dentfy fundng gaps. Source: World Bank 2004a 16

18 A survey carred out n 2004 found that households n Camboda fnance 56 percent of total spendng on basc educaton, although ths has fallen snce 1997 when households pad for 76.9 percent (Bray and Bunly 2005). Despte the fact that the government abolshed school fees n the 1990s households n Malaw contnue to bear a consderable share of both the recurrent and captal costs of prmary educaton. In Malaw, the average household expendture for publc prmary school was nearly 80 percent (World Bank 2004b). Fgure 1: Household Expendture on Publc Schoolng per Student (USD) as a percentage of GNI per capta Jamaca Zamba Chle Paraguay Peru Phlppnes Japan Mexco Belgum Span Unted States Greece Uruguay France Slovak Rep Germany Inda Argentna Netherlands Czech Republc Indonesa Norway Source: All data s from the OECD Onlne Database (2005), except for Zamba, whch was collected from the DHS EdData Survey (2002). Household educaton expenses often consttute a large percentage of total household spendng The hgh proporton of overall household educaton spendng represents a sgnfcant proporton of household ncome on ther chldren s educaton. Fgure 1 shows that household expendtures as a percentage of natonal ncome per capta can be hgh. Accordng to a study of Bangladesh, Nepal, Sr Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, and Zamba, undertaken by the Unted Kngdom s Department for Internatonal Development (DFID), educaton spendng s second only to food 17

19 expendtures. Pror to elmnaton of fees n Uganda and Zamba, households spent 33 percent of ther dscretonary expendture on educaton (Boyle et. al. 2002). In Bangladesh and Nepal, households pay 32 and 17 percent, respectvely. Households n Camboda spend 21 percent of household spendng on educaton (UNESCO 2004). In 1995, durng the Indonesan Admnstraton n Tmor-Leste, fees accounted for 13 percent of household spendng on publc prmary educaton per capta of the poorest quntle, wth charges for PTA accountng for 9 percent, unforms for 52 percent, textbooks for 16 percent, and other nstructonal materals for 10 percent of fees pad (World Bank 2002a). Monthly per capta spendng n Tmor-Leste at that tme was about US$0.82. Fgure 2 shows the amount of school fees as a percentage of household consumpton for other countres where data s avalable. Fgure 2: School Fees as a Percentage of Fnal Household Consumpton Yemen Egypt Peru Panama Ncargua Honduras Guyana El Salvador Ecuador Bolva Argentna Ukrane Tajkstan Serba & Montenegro Russa Romana Bulgara Vetnam Phlppnes Indonesa Chna Swazland Rwanda Namba Mozambque Maurtana Mal Lesotho DRC Chad (publc schools) Cameroon Burund Burkna Faso Benn Source: World Bank Survey 2005 and WDI User fees represent regressve taxaton on the poor Poor famles spend a larger proporton of household ncome on educaton than do non-poor households. On average, the poorest 40 percent of the populaton n developng countres spends 10 percent of household ncome on costs for prmary school (Oxfam 2001). In 2001, the poorest 20 percent of the populaton n Malaw pad more n absolute terms than the rcher ncome groups, wth the excepton of the wealthest 20 percent (World Bank 2004b). Feld studes 18

20 undertaken n 2001 n Tanzana, Ghana, and Zamba show that school fees as a percentage of household ncome and/or expendtures and also as a percentage of total spendng on prmary educaton was very hgh (Oxfam 2001). 3 In Tanzana, famles ntervewed ndcated that they pad between US$8 and US$16 per year (the equvalent of one to two months agrcultural wages) to send one chld to school. Poor famles n Ghana can expect to pay one month s earnngs to send one chld to prmary school. Parents stated that they often had to make choces between buyng medcnes and buyng food or sendng ther chldren to school. Ths problem s not unque to Afrca. In the Kyrgyz Republc, for nstance, extremely poor households spend 17 percent of ther household consumpton on educaton, whle non-poor households spend only 13 percent (World Bank 1999). 3 Snce 2001, all three countres have elmnated school fees. 19

21 schools. 6 As n the orgnal 2001 World Bank user fees survey, fve fee categores are dstngushed II. Prevalence of User Fees: Results of 2005 Survey It has long been dffcult to obtan a complete pcture of fees n prmary educaton, both n terms of general prevalence, as well as magntude and mpact. User fees are only sporadcally reported n offcal school censuses or fnancal returns from educaton systems. Household surveys rarely dstngush among levels of educaton, between types of expendtures (tuton, books, unforms, etc.), or between formal schoolng and supplementary prvate tutorng. Offcal statstcs do not usually record the number of students recevng prvate tutorng or the costs of ths tutorng. Few countres comple data on the contrbuton of fees to the publc sector, even when the fees are commonplace. Ths s often because these fees have no offcal standng. To make up for ths lack of data, surveys of World Bank educaton task team leaders were conducted n 2001 and agan n 2005, enqurng about the prevalence of fees n prmary educaton n the countres for whch they were responsble, as well as about the postons the World Bank has adopted n ts dalogue wth these countres. The 2005 survey ncluded questons about lower secondary educaton, as well as prmary educaton fees. 4 For the prmary school level, data were collected for 79 World Bank clent countres n 2001 and 93 countres n 2005 (out of a total of 144 World Bank clent countres). 5 In 2005, data were collected at the lower secondary level for 76 World Bank clent countres. The 2005 survey data refer to publc n the 2005 data: tuton, textbooks charges, compulsory unforms, PTA/communty contrbutons, and other school-based actvty fees (exam fees, etc.). Annex 3 summarzes the overall results of the 2005 survey. Annexes 4 and 5 present the country-by-country results, and Annex 6 s an example of the questonnare sent to World Bank task team leaders. 4 For the full 2001 survey, see Bentaouet Kattan and Burnett (2004). 5 The followng World Bank regons acheved a 75 percent response rate or above: South Asa (100 percent), and Mddle East and North Afrca (76 percent). The followng regons acheved at least a 50 percent response rate: Afrca (72 percent) and Latn Amerca Carbbean (61 percent). Europe and Central Asa acheved a 34 percent response rate. In all regons, the 2005 response rate was greater than the 2001 response rate. 6 Although the majorty of students n Hat attend prvate schools, the survey does nclude nformaton for that country. 20

22 A. Fees at the Prmary Level Prevalence of Fees at the Prmary Level The 2005 survey results show that user fees are common at the prmary level (see Table 4). Of the 93 countres surveyed only 16 countres have no fees. 7 Fve countres have all fve types of fees: the Domncan Republc, Hat, Honduras, Indonesa, and Vetnam. 8 In 62 percent of the countres surveyed (59 countres), natonal polcy does not address the elmnaton of fees. Table 4: Results of World Bank User Fee Survey for Prmary School Type of Fee Countres wth fees Percentage of Countres n Survey Number of these countres that collect fees unoffcally Tuton fees Textbook charges Unform fees PTA/communty contrbutons Other school-based actvty fees Source: World Bank Survey A total of 93 countres were ncluded n the survey. Countres generally mpose several types of fees. The amounts nvolved can be qute sgnfcant. In some cases, the fees support core educaton servces such as teachers salares. For example, untl 2005 households n the Democratc Republc of Congo pad a varety of charges ncludng the fras de motvaton (a contrbuton to teachers salares), whch accounted for as much as half of teacher ncome (See box 1). Addtonally, fees contnue to be collected unoffcally (sometmes llegally) n over one-thrd of the countres n whch there s an offcal natonal polcy callng for the elmnaton of fees. The collecton of PTA/communty fees s partcularly dffcult to categorze. It has been ncluded for purposes of ths report as a user fee, although n some cases t may reflect the wllngness of households to voluntarly pay for mproved educatonal qualty or as a way to 7 World Bank task team leaders reported that Bangladesh, Camboda, Cape Verde, Chle, Costa Rca, Guatemala, Iraq, Nepal, Peru, Senegal, Sr Lanka, St. Ktts and Nevs, Tanzana, The Gamba, Tunsa, and Zamba have no fees. 8 The elmnaton of tuton charges n prmary and lower secondary has been an explct polcy objectve of the government of Vetnam; however, fees contnued to be collected as of

23 reman nvolved n the school. PTA/communty fees are wdely mposed (n 65 of the 93 countres surveyed, or 69 percent), wth falure to pay often leadng to suspenson or expulson of the student. These fees may also be ncreased when other fees, specfcally tuton, textbook and unform fees, are elmnated. Furthermore, they are generally less well montored and reported than other fees, and are the type of fee most lkely to persst, even where natonal polcy calls for the elmnaton of all fees. In 28 countres (43 percent) they are collected n spte of natonal polcy to the contrary. As ndcated n Table 4, tuton and textbook fees are collected n 24 countres (25 percent). Thrty-three countres collect fees for mandatory unforms. Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 34 countres. Regonal Comparsons of Fees at the Prmary Level Table 5 presents nformaton on prmary school fees across regons. PTA fees are the most commonly collected fee across all regons. In the Afrca Regon (AFR), PTA dues are the most commonly collected type of fee, followed by school-based actvty fees, unforms, tuton, and textbook fees. PTA dues n the East Asa and the Pacfc Regon (EAP) are the most commonly collected type of fees, followed by school-based actvty fees and tuton. Textbook charges and compulsory unforms are the least commonly collected fees n EAP. PTA dues are the most commonly collected fee n Europe and Central Asa (ECA), followed by school-based actvty fees. The most commonly collected fees n Latn Amerca and the Carbbean (LAC) are also PTA dues. Countres n the Mddle East North Afrca Regon (MENA) also commonly collect PTA fees. Textbook and tuton fees were not reported n the South Asa Regon (SAR). PTA dues, followed by school-based actvty fees and unforms were also the most commonly collected fees n ths regon. In addton, accordng to the survey results, fees are stll collected unoffcally n 32 percent of the countres that responded n AFR, 58 percent n EAP, 30 percent n ECA, 36 percent n LAC, and 30 percent n MENA. Survey respondents dd not report any unoffcal collecton of fees for SAR. See Annex 3 for more detaled survey results. 22

24 Table 5: Regonal Comparsons of Fees at the Prmary Level Number of countres ncluded n survey Total = 93 AFR (Afrca) EAP (East Asa & Pacfc) ECA (Europe & Central Asa) LAC (Latn Amerca & Carbbean) MENA (Mddle East North Afrca) SAR (South Asa) Tuton fees 9 (26%) 3 (25%) 2 (20%) 6 (31%) 4 (40%) 0 Textbook charges 6 (17%) 5 (41%) 2 (20%) 6 (31%) 1 (10%) 0 Compulsory unforms 11 (32%) 5 (41%) 1 (10%) 12 (63%) 2 (20%) 2 (25%) PTA/communty fees 23 (67%) 11 (91%) 9 (90%) 14 (73%) 6 (60%) 4 (50%) Other fees 12 (35%) 7 (58%) 4 (40%) 7 (36%) 3 (30%) 3 (37%) Source: World Bank Survey 2005 Average Fee Amount at the Prmary Level The average amount of fees collected at the prmary level ranges wdely, from as lttle as US$1 to as hgh as US$100 for any one fee tem, and sgnfcantly hgher when consderng the combned fnancal burden for famles that send more than one chld to school (see Annex 7 for detaled nformaton on fee amounts). The result of the accumulaton of fees, for example n Honduras, s approxmately US$108 at the prmary level per student per year for the average household. Tuton at the prmary level ranges from an annual cost of US$6 n Honduras to US$28 n Swazland. Textbook charges at the prmary level can also be hgh, rangng from US$20 n Cameroon to US$100 n Bosna Herzegovna. The cost of unforms at ths level ranges from US$14 n Cameroon to US$45 n Ecuador. Fnancal contrbutons n the form of PTA fees at the prmary level can range from approxmately US$10 n Ecuador to US$35 n Serba Montenegro. Other types of school-based actvty fees vary from US$15 n Indonesa to US$64 n El Salvador. 23

25 B. Fees at the Lower Secondary Level Prevalence of Fees at the Lower Secondary Level There are many ssues lnked to the transton from prmary to lower secondary that are ncreasngly relevant and urgent as more students complete prmary educaton and many countres move toward a defnton of basc educaton that ncludes lower secondary educaton. The ssue of school fees s one of the ssues mpactng the transton to secondary school. Fees at the lower secondary level tend to be sgnfcant, and substantally hgher than fees at the prmary level. In general, there are more fees collected at the lower secondary level (n 94 percent of surveyed countres) than at the prmary level (81 percent of countres). In addton, fee levels are generally sgnfcantly hgher n lower secondary than at the prmary level. For example, the 2001 average annual per pupl household expendture n Malaw for a student n Standard 1 was US$7.50, compared to US$35.40 n Standard 6 (World Bank 2004b). Of the 76 countres for whch responses were receved regardng secondary school fees, 94 percent report that at least one type of fee s collected. 9 Most countres generally have several types of fees; however, 10 countres requre only PTA/communty contrbutons. Ffty-one countres have more than one type of fee, and the followng seven countres have all fve types of fees: Bangladesh, Bolva, Honduras, Indonesa, Lesotho, Mozambque and Uganda. As shown n Table 6, tuton fees for lower secondary schoolng are charged n 33 countres (44 percent) for whch responses were receved. Textbook fees are charged n 34 countres (45 percent) of the surveyed countres. The purchase of unforms s mandatory n 31 countres (41 percent) of the surveyed countres. Table 6: Results of World Bank User Fee Survey for Secondary Educaton Type of Fee Countres wth fees Percentage of Countres n Survey Number of these countres that collect fees unoffcally Tuton fees Textbook charges Unform fees PTA/communty contrbutons Other schoolbased actvty fees Source: World Bank Survey A total of 76 countres are ncluded n the lower secondary survey. 9 Costa Rca, Sr Lanka, St. Ktts and Nevs, and Tunsa report no fees at the lower secondary level. 24

26 As n the case of prmary educaton, the two most common types of fees collected are PTA/communty contrbutons and other school-based actvty fees. Furthermore, these two types of fees are more lkely to be collected unoffcally than tuton, unform, or textbook fees. Of the 52 countres n whch PTA/communty contrbutons are collected, 18 of those do so unoffcally. Smlarly, of the 36 countres n whch other school-based actvty fees are collected, 12 do so unoffcally. Regonal Comparsons of Fees at the Lower Secondary Level Whle, overall, PTA/communty contrbutons are the most commonly collected type of fee at the lower secondary level, ths s not true for all regons. Tuton fees are the most commonly collected n AFR, 10 whle textbook charges are the most common n SAR. 11 In EAP, however, PTA dues are the most common type of fee, followed by school-based actvty fees and textbook charges. Unforms and tuton are the two least commonly mplemented fees n EAP. In ECA, PTA dues are most common, followed by textbook charges, school-based actvty fees, unforms, and tuton. Countres n LAC also collect PTA dues more often than other types of fees, wth textbook charges and unforms followng closely. Tuton s the least common type of fee n LAC. PTA dues are the most common fee n MENA, followed n decreasng order by tuton fees, unforms, textbook charges and other school-based actvty fees (see Table 7). Table 7: Regonal Comparsons of Fees at the Lower Secondary Level Number of countres responded Total = 76 AFR (Afrca) EAP (East Asa & Pacfc) ECA (Europe & Central Asa) LAC (Latn Amerca & Carbbean) MENA (Mddle East North Afrca) SAR (South Asa) Tuton fees 18 (69%) 3 (30%) 1 (12%) 4 (26%) 4 (40%) 3 (42%) Textbook charges 10 (38%) 5 (50%) 5 (62%) 8 (53%) 1 (10%) 5 (71%) Compulsory unforms 12 (46%) 3 (30%) 1 (12%) 8 (53%) 3 (30%) 4 (57%) PTA/communty fees 16 (61%) 9 (90%) 6 (75%) 11 (73%) 6 (60%) 4 (57%) Other school-based actvty fees 15 (57%) 7 (70%) 2 (25%) 5 (33%) 1 (10%) 3 (42%) Source: World Bank Survey Followed by PTA dues, school-based actvty fees, unforms, and textbook charges. 11 Followed by unforms and PTA dues, then tuton and school-based actvty fees. 25

27 C. Recent Trends The survey results show a clear trend away from prmary school fees n recent years. Ths trend s most pronounced for tuton fees and for textbook fees (see Fgure 3). Many countres also have ceased to requre compulsory unforms. Wthn ths general trend, perhaps the most strkng development s an acceleraton n the number of countres declarng and mplementng an outrght abolton of fees. Between 1994 and 1999, only three countres took ths poston (Malaw, Uganda, and Cameroon), but between 2001 and 2005, 13 countres abolshed fees, wth several more announcng plans to follow sut n the future. 12 The survey also fnds that fees contnue to be collected unoffcally n many countres where there has been a formal polcy of fee abolton. Accordng to survey results, 18 countres no longer charge tuton fees, yet only 5 of these countres have wdely mplemented fee elmnaton polces: Lesotho, Chna, Solomon Islands, Bhutan, and Pakstan. Even n some of these countres, varous forms of fees reman. Whle 15 countres have announced the removal of textbook fees, only four countres (Cameroon, Lao PDR, Maldves and Ngera) have formally abolshed textbook charges. Unform fees have been removed n 7 countres, yet only Azerbajan and Ngera have actually ceased to requre unforms. And although PTA/communty contrbutons have been removed n 14 countres, only Mozambque, Nepal, and Egypt have formally elmnated them. Other types of fees have been removed n 13 countres, wth specfc polcy changes n the Solomon Islands and Nepal. Snce 2001, 7 respondent countres (Mal, Solomon Islands, Bhutan, Chna, Pakstan, Vetnam, and Lesotho) formally mplemented polces to elmnate tuton fees; however, Mal and Vetnam contnue to collect tuton fees. Seven countres nsttuted a formal polcy to elmnate textbook fees. Vetnam contnues to collect textbook fees. Eght countres ntroduced polces to remove fees for mandatory unforms, but Ethopa, Lao People s Democratc Republc (Lao PDR), Ncaragua, Honduras and Vetnam contnue to collect unform fees. Sx countres mplemented polces to elmnate the collecton of PTA/communty contrbutons. However, 12 Countres that have elmnated fees nclude: Malaw (1994), Uganda (1997), Cameroon (1999), Lesotho (2000) Tanzana (2001), Tmor-Leste ( 2001), Camboda (2001), Zamba (2002), Kenya (2003), Madagascar (2003), Benn (2004), Mozambque (2004),Vetnam (2004) and Burund (2005). In addton South Afrca (2004) outlawed fees for the two (2) poorest quntles. After the research for ths paper was completed, Ghana elmnated fees n all the states n , and the Republc of Yemen elmnated fees n

28 Ngera, and Lao PDR contnue to collect PTA/communty contrbutons. Four countres have establshed polces to elmnate the collecton of other school-based actvty fees, but among these countres such fees contnue to be collected n Lao PDR, and Lesotho. Fgure 3: Percentage of Countres wth Prmary School fees, Tuton fees Textbook charges Compulsory unforms PTA/communty contrbutons Actvty/other Fees Prmary School fees 2001 Prmary School Fees Source: World Bank Survey A total of 93 countres were ncluded n the survey. 27

29 III. Provdng Free Educaton: Elmnatng User Fees Most countres that have elmnated user fees focused on basc educaton because t s the most accessble to the poor and has hgher rates of return than secondary and unversty educaton levels. 13 Government spendng on basc educaton s more lkely to beneft the poor than spendng at other educatonal levels. Ths s because poor students are less lkely to advance to upper secondary and tertary levels of schoolng due to the opportunty costs of more schoolng (Psacharopoulos and Woodhall 1985). Between 1960 and the early 1990s, a handful of developng countres wth moderate or declnng growth rased human development levels, n part, by provdng free educaton. Barbados, Botswana, Costa Rca, the Republc of Korea, Malaysa, Maurtus, Sr Lanka, and Zmbabwe were able to provde prmary educaton wthout chargng households for the cost of tuton, and, wth the excepton of Zmbabwe, covered other types of costs such as nfrastructure and extracurrcular actvtes (Mehrotra and Jolly 1997). As noted above, a handful of Afrcan and South Asan countres have more recently removed fees at the prmary level wth dramatc results. Enrollment rates surged (see Table 8) and, not surprsngly, new enrollments were concentrated among the rural poor n most countres. Ths suggests that the nablty to pay for schoolng s ndeed a major obstacle to educaton for the poor and other dsadvantaged groups such as grls, orphans, and dsabled chldren. In 2004, South Afrca outlawed fees for the two poorest quntles (see Annex 8 for more detaled nformaton on the case of South Afrca). Most countres that elmnated school fees experenced a jump n gross prmary enrollment, rangng from 5 percent n Zamba to 68 percent n Uganda. In 1994, Malaw elmnated school fees. By the next year, gross prmary enrollment ncreased from 89 to 133 percent. In the case of Kenya, the elmnaton of fees resulted n 1.2 mllon addtonal students enterng the school system. 13 The socal rate of return n developng countres for prmary educaton s about 27 percent, whle secondary educaton yelds 16 percent (Psacharopoulos and Woodhall 1985). 28

30 Table 8: Increases n the Gross Enrollment Rate of Selected Countres After Fee Elmnaton Country Year Elmnated Fees Gross Enrollment Rate Pror to Fee Elmnaton Gross Enrollment Rate After Fee Elmnaton Percent change n enrollment Malaw (1993) 133 (1994) 49 Uganda (1996) 128 (1997) 68 Cameroon (2000) 106 (2002) 17 Lesotho* (1999) 122 (2000) 12 Tanzana* (2000) 84 (2002) 33 Zamba (2001) 82 (2002) 5 Kenya (2002) 104 (2003) 21 Tmor-Leste (2000) 110 (2001) 23 Camboda* (2000) 123 (2001) 10 Source: World Development Indcators 2004 Notes: *Lesotho, Tanzana, and Camboda mplemented fee elmnaton polces usng a phased-n approach, whch may be reflected n ther lower changes n enrollment rates compared to other countres. Due avalablty of data, ths table presents only a partal lst of the countres that have elmnated user fees. Notwthstandng such successful ncreases n enrollment through the elmnaton of user fees, there are some arguments n favor of user fees. The arguments, advanced on the supply sde, are the followng: (1) fees are necessary because of government fscal nadequacy and nequtable educaton spendng; (2) fees are justfed to offset government falure to provde servces; and (3) fees ncrease the nvolvement of payng parents n schools and n ther chldren s educaton. Durng the 1980s, proponents of fees n prmary educaton focused on fscal arguments. The man argument states that a developng country s government could not rase suffcent fscal resources to fnance prmary educaton (Brdsall s work n Mal, 1986). Experence has shown, however, that the fscal argument has not held up n practce, and we renforce ths wth the work reported n ths paper. Accordng to proponents, user fees can also help correct mbalances n access to educaton created by poorly targeted or neffcent publc spendng on educaton (Hllman and Jenker 2002). However, publc spendng on educaton n many countres favors secondary and tertary schoolng, largely beneftng the non-poor. Levels of publc expendture on educaton n many developng countres are nsuffcent to create sustanable 29

31 qualty educaton systems. Some countres are already spendng at hgh levels and user fees have been used to augment meager government resources. 14 There s evdence that countres need not have strong economes to provde prmary educaton to all. Rather, they need a comprehensve plan and publc commtment to fundng. Barbados, Costa Rca, Maurtus, and Zmbabwe all acheved hgh prmary enrollment rates durng perods of nterrupted economc growth or declne (Mehrotra and Jolly 1997). A study of these four countres, n addton to Malaysa, Republc of Korea, and Sr Lanka, whch all acheved hgh prmary enrollment rates early on n ther economc growth, ctes the combnaton of polces and nterventons that made t possble to acheve unversal prmary educaton: 1. The state took prmary responsblty for educaton 2. Hgh allocaton of government budget to prmary educaton 3. Adopton of cost-effectveness measures 4. Use of automatc promoton and double-shftng to ncrease nternal effcency and costsavng 5. Elmnaton of drect tuton fees 6. Use of mother tongue for nstructon 7. Implementaton of school feedng programs (Mehrotra and Jolly 1997) Government falure s the second argument n favor of fees. Recent work on user fees for publc servces argues that use depends on crcumstances and that n general there should be no blanket polcy on user fees. The World Development Report 2004: Makng Servces Work for Poor People (World Bank 2004e) provdes an analytcal framework for thnkng about user fees (see Annex 12). It ndcates rather clearly that there s no case for prmary school fees except where government s unrelable. If government cannot provde suffcent resources to schools, then the schools should rase the resources themselves through fees (World Bank 2004e). 14 For example, n 1994, South Afrca was spendng 22.5 percent of ts natonal budget on educaton, or 7 percent of GNP, compared to the world average of 5.1 percent at the tme. Whle natonal and provncal levels of spendng grew by 14 percent between 1997 and 2001, slowed economc growth and nflaton meant that spendng actually declned n real terms. The South Afrcan government thus encouraged publc schools to collect fees from parents n order to supplement government funds. However, t appears that the school fee polcy dd lttle to beneft hstorcally dsadvantaged schools (Fske and Ladd 2003; Lemon 2004) (see Annex 8 for nformaton on school fees n South Afrca). 30

32 On the two extremes of government relablty, the case s easy. User fees can allow poor famles to send ther chldren to schools that they mght not have access to n areas or countres where government supply of educaton s nadequate. For example, due to the severe shortage of publcly funded schools n Hat, 65 percent of chldren are enrolled n prvate schools (Hllman and Jenker 2002). Where there s no actual government, as n Somala, for nstance, fees are essental f there s to be any prmary schoolng. All educaton n such crcumstances s essentally prvate prvately fnanced and prvately provded. On the other extreme, where governments can effectvely delver educatonal servces, the case for fees s not as strong. It s where the government, though present, s not effectve, that the fee dlemma arses. Lttle s actually known systematcally about government effectveness n delverng prmary educaton. An mportant area for future research wll be the relablty of government provson of educaton. If fees fnance qualty, they would need to be replaced. But fees often dsappear through varous leakages, and at best only partly fnance qualty nputs. Fees, especally for such thngs as books, may well result n the provson of essental materals for learnng, and hence mprove educatonal qualty. In practce, the evdence s not strong and, as we have noted, there s an urgent need for research nto ths queston. The thrd argument n favor of fees s that fees ncrease parental nvolvement or ownershp n the schools and n ther chldren s educaton. However, there s lttle evdence to support ths asserton and further research s warranted. Even f ths argument s sound, ts effects can be acheved by gvng parents vouchers that they can use to enroll ther chldren, and by nvolvng parents n school governance, as has been the case wth Inda s Dstrct Prmary Educaton Programme and EDUCO n El Salvador (see Box 2). User fees have been shown to mprove qualty and cost-effectveness, generally due to the fact that parents montor ther chldren s educaton more closely when they have to pay out of ther own pockets (Hllman and Jenker 2002). A study of prmary schools n the Phlppnes found that schools that receved most of ther fundng from local governments and PTAs were more cost effectve (Jmenez and Paqueo 1996). Prmary schools n Uganda, fnanced largely by parents and communtes untl the late 1990s, kept good and transparent records of enrollments and fnancal flows, most lkely due to accountablty requrements mposed on them by PTAs 31

33 (Ablo and Renkka 1998). Ncaragua s Autonomous School Program provdes further nsght. 15 However, f parental contrbutons are used for qualty nputs, then the fndng that parents n poorer areas contrbuted less money to the schools rases serous equty ssues. A closer look at the cases mentoned above shows that t could be the greater parental partcpaton and not the fees themselves that led to greater accountablty. If ths s true, then t may be enough to create ncentves for communty and parental partcpaton through n-knd donatons, such as tme spent on parent-teacher commttees for currculum development, or school nfrastructure projects. Box 2: EDUCO-Impact of Parental Partcpaton on Schoolng Accountablty mechansms that put people at the center of servce provson can go a long way n makng servces work and mprovng outcomes by facltatng partcpaton n servce delvery. There are three key relatonshps n the servce delvery chan that can be used to strengthen accountablty: () between benefcares and provders; () between benefcares and polcymakers; and () between polcymakers and provders. There may be a need to look for strateges to strengthen the short route to accountablty, the drect nfluence of benefcares on servce provders. Increased parental partcpaton s just one example of a mechansm that may ncrease the short route to accountablty. For example, under El Salvador s EDUCO program, school commttees, comprsed largely of parents, were responsble for spendng government funds to hre, montor, and dsmss teachers. In addton, the parents are also traned n school management, as well as how to help ther chldren wth school work. Seventyfve percent of new enrollments between 1992, just after the program was mplemented, and 1995 were EDUCO students. In addton, despte rapd expanson of EDUCO schools, educaton qualty was comparable to tradtonal schools. In fact, parental partcpaton was consdered the prncpal reason for EDUCO s success. Controllng for other factors, each parental vst to a school was assocated wth a 3.8 percent ncrease n math scores and a 5.7 percent ncrease n language scores. Source: World Bank 2004e 15 Under ths school-based management program n Ncaragua, the schools are governed by school-ste councls that decde how 100 percent of school resources are allocated. The councls have a votng majorty of parents, n addton to teachers and students. In addton to testng and textbook fees, parents are asked to voluntarly make monthly fnancal contrbutons, though t s not clear that payment s entrely voluntary. The textbook and testng fees consttute 49 to 58 percent of fees for prmary school students. Thrty-one percent of schools n the system collect at least 5 percent, and up to 15 percent, of ther ncome from school charges and commercal actvtes. These funds helped create performance ncentves for teachers, who earn very lttle. In addton, the school-ste councls have the power to hre and fre school prncpals, a prvlege that few other school councls n Latn Amerca enjoy (Gershberg and Meade 2005). 32

34 Despte arguments n favor of user fees, works such as the 2004 World Development Report (World Bank 2004e) fnd lttle support for fees n prmary educaton. Research has demonstrated that varous countres have successfully ncreased access to educaton by elmnatng these economc barrers. The efforts of several countres to abolsh fees are documented n detal n Annex 1. The secton below seeks to hghlght ther achevements, the challenges that reman, and the lessons learned from these countres mplementaton experences. 33

35 IV. Lessons Learned: Achevements and Challenges Achevements: Free prmary educaton polces have been successful n gettng chldren nto school. Countres that elmnate school fees commonly see substantal ncreases n prmary school enrollment. In Lesotho, there was a sgnfcant ncrease n enrollment n Standard 1, from 66,999 n 1998 to 120,000 n the frst year of mplementaton of the Free Prmary Educaton (FPE) program. In Uganda, enrollment jumped 68 percent, from 3.1 mllon chldren n 1996 to 5.3 mllon chldren n 1997 (World Bank 2001b; Avenstrup et. al. 2004). The prmary gross enrollment rate n Cameroon ncreased from nearly 90 percent n 2000 to almost 106 percent n In addton, the number of non-repeatng students n prmary school ncreased by 59 percent n Cameroon n the frst year followng elmnaton of user fees. The gross enrollment rate n Camboda jumped by 10 percent from 2000 to Net prmary enrollment n Tanzana ncreased from 57 percent pror to the elmnaton of fees to 85 percent wthn one year after the removal of fees (Global Campagn for Educaton 2005). Removal of user fees has mproved equtable access to educaton. School fees act as a barrer to educaton for poor chldren, grls, orphans, rural resdents, chldren wth dsabltes, and other dsadvantaged groups. Fees prevent poor chldren from accessng learnng opportuntes. Whle n most cases total ncome from fees consttutes a small part of total educaton resources, enrollment of chldren from poor households s very senstve to even small fees. The evdence from countres that have elmnated school fees shows that free educaton polces have been successful n reachng poor and margnalzed populatons. Enrollment rates grew quckest among the poor n Camboda, Uganda, Malaw, Zamba and Tmor-Leste wth the removal of fees. For example, enrollment rates n Uganda grew qucker among the poor than the non-poor after the government abolshed school fees, thus narrowng the enrollment gap between the two groups from a 36 percentage pont dfference n 1992 to 11 percentage ponts n 1997 (Dennger 2003). New enrollments n Camboda were concentrated among the poorest 20 percent of the populaton. 34

36 Further, grls enrollment rates grew more rapdly than boys followng fee abolton n Uganda, Kenya, and Tmor-Leste, thus narrowng the gender gap n those countres. In Uganda, prmary attendance among grls 6 to 12 years old grew from 59.7 percent n 1992 to 83.2 percent n 1999 whle prmary attendance among boys grew from 64.3 to 84 percent (Dennger 2003). A World Bank study (2002b) found smlar results (see Fgure 4). More than 50 percent of new students n Kenya were grls. Grls represent 49 percent of students enrolled n the frst grade n Tanzana. Fgure 4: Evdence of Improved Equty n Uganda Source: World Bank 2002b Overage students made up a large proporton of new enrollments n Uganda, Kenya, and Camboda. Overage enrollment n Uganda was massve just after fees were abolshed. And though t s now much lower, t s stll szeable wth a gross enrollment rate of about 125 percent n About 11.5 percent of new enrollments n Kenya were older than the average age for grade. In 2001, 76.2 percent of pupls enterng grade 1 n the poorest quntles were overage, compared to 53.4 percent n the rchest quntles n Camboda. 16 Fee abolton also helped students who had dropped out to return to school. A sgnfcant amount of new enrollees n Zamba were actually students who had prevously left school due to the nablty to pay school fees, especally n rural areas (Mwansa et. al. 2004). One study n Kenya found that 7.5 percent of new enrollees were chldren who had prevously dropped out of school (UNESCO 2005). 16 Overall, the ncdence of overage students s extremely hgh n Camboda. In 2001, the Camboda Chld Labour Survey found that 72.2 percent of frst-tme students n prmary school were overage. Smlarly, the average age for lower secondary students was 15.8 years. 35

37 Urban-rural dspartes declned n Uganda and Tmor-Leste as a result of fee removal. Many countres, such as Swazland, have removed fees for orphans and vulnerable chldren (OVC). Enrollments of HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable chldren also ncreased n Kenya and Lesotho followng the removal of fees (see Box 3 for more nformaton on HIV/AIDS orphans and educaton). In Kenya and Zamba, fee removal also mproved access to schoolng for chldren wth specal needs because parents are often reluctant to spend scare resources to send ther specal needs chldren to school. Box 3: HIV/AIDS Orphans and Educaton There are an estmated 12.3 mllon chldren n Sub-Saharan Afrca who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. Accordng to a 2004 jont UNAID, UNICEF, and USAID publcaton, n 11 of the 43 countres n the regon at least 15 percent of chldren are orphans, and n 5 of those 11 countres HIV/AIDS s the cause of parental death more than 50 percent of the tme. The report estmates that by 2010 more than 18 mllon chldren n the regon wll have lost one or both parents to the dsease. These staggerng statstcs hghlght the vulnerablty of chldren who experence reduced parental care and protecton, coupled wth ncreased economc hardshp as a result of HIV/AIDS (UNICEF 2004). Chldren often become the prmary caregver when a parent s nfected wth HIV and unable to work. Chldren are also frequently taken out of school, ether to provde care for the sck parent or to work outsde the home to earn extra ncome. School fees may become unaffordable when one or both parents are too sck to work. School fees may further prevent chldren orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS partcularly double orphans or those lvng n sngle-parent households from accessng educaton (UNICEF 2004). Ths has serous mplcatons for at-rsk populatons, especally grls. Ths ponts to the value of targeted programs for HIV/AIDS orphans. General elmnaton of fees has been successful n gettng orphans nto school (for example n Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzana), and several countres have also mplemented targeted mechansms for rasng enrollment rates for orphans and vulnerable chldren. In cooperaton wth the Afrcan Development Bank, Uganda mplemented the Educaton II project n 2001, one of the goals of whch was to ncrease provson of educaton for AIDS orphans. Tanzana s Natonal Educaton Fund provdes scholarshps to AIDS orphans. Namba, Rwanda, Swazland, Zamba, and Zmbabwe also provde fee wavers or bursary schemes for orphans and vulnerable chldren (Tempest 2005). Burund and the Democratc Republc of Congo have also proposed removng fees for the same populaton (Tempest 2005). Youth are also at rsk for becomng HIV postve. However, studes have shown that educaton can help lower ncdence of HIV/AIDS among young people. For example, young people who do not fnsh prmary school exhbt nfecton rates that are at least double those for young people who have completed prmary school. Chldren (partcularly grls) who complete secondary schoolng are even less lkely to be nfected. For nstance, 15 to 18 year-old grls n Zmbabwe who have dropped out of school are fve tmes more lkely to become nfected than those who are enrolled n school (UNAIDS 2005). It s, therefore, mportant that educaton systems adopt a two-fold strategy: a currculum that promotes HIV preventon, and a system that focuses on helpng all chldren, but partcularly grls, to complete prmary and secondary schoolng... 36

38 These country examples ndcate that mproved equty s generally a clear beneft of removng fees, partcularly for the most vulnerable populatons, ncludng grls, OVC and chldren wth specal needs. Increased equty for chldren from these populatons s mperatve because they represent the hardest to reach populatons, who, t can be argued, wthout focused nterventons, such as the removal of user fees, would not be able to attend school. Increased government fundng for educaton. There s some evdence that governments that have elmnated user fees have attempted to fund such polces through ncreased spendng on educaton. In Malaw, educaton spendng rose from 13 percent of the total government budget n 1994/1995 (3.5 percent of GDP) to 20 percent n 1997/1998 (4.7 percent of GDP). The share of recurrent resources gong to prmary educaton rose from approxmately 50 percent n 1993/1994 to around 60 percent n 1990/2000 (World Bank 2002c). As gross enrollments doubled over the decade, per pupl spendng on prmary educaton n real terms also ncreased. Specfcally, real unt costs at the prmary and secondary level ncreased, mplyng large ncreases n real publc educaton expendtures, and the ncreases appeared to have been captured dsproportonately by the poorer ncome groups n Malaw (World Bank 2002c). The elmnaton of fees for prmary schoolng n Uganda was also accompaned by restructurng of educaton expendtures. Educaton expendtures grew from 16.4 percent of the natonal, dscretonary, recurrent budget n 1996 to about 30 percent n 2000 (Uganda Mnstry of Fnance, Plannng and Economc Development, n. d.). Spendng on prmary educaton ncreased from less than 40 percent of the overall educaton budget throughout the early 1990s to about 70 percent n 1997/98 to present. Funds for constructon and mantenance grew to sx tmes ther prevous levels (Dennger 2003). Per student government expendtures on prmary educaton n Cameroon rose by 114 percent, from CFAF 21,000 n 1995 to CFAF 45,000 n In Tanzana, 29,922 new classrooms were bult between 2002 and 2004, wth the support of communtes usng development grants. Total expendtures for educaton n Tanzana more than doubled between 1998 and 2002 (World Bank 2005a). Zamba s government proposed to ncrease budgetary contrbutons to the educaton sector to at least 20.5 percent n 2000; by 2005, publc educaton 17 In 2001, the exchange rate of CFA francs to USD was

39 expendtures accounted for 24.1 percent of total government spendng. Lastly, n Camboda, between 1996 and 2003, drect government spendng on educaton rose from US$31 mllon to US$75.8 mllon and represented 19.1 percent of the total government recurrent budget by A large proporton of the ncrease was funneled to the non-wage recurrent sector. In partcular, the government used the largest proporton of non-wage funds to fnance the Prorty Acton Program (PAP), whch was desgned to rase enrollment among chldren n grades 1-9 by reducng school costs for the poorest famles (World Bank 2005g). Challenges: Sustanablty. The gans n enrollment observed after fee abolton wll only be sustanable f there s careful plannng of approprate accompanyng measures. In Malaw, Kenya, and Cameroon, enrollment rates fell off after the ntal ncrease. Ths was, at least n part, a response to a perceved declne n educatonal qualty due to a combnaton of ncreased enrollments, nadequate fundng, and overall lack of preparaton. The stuaton n Malaw was partcularly acute. 18 In 2000, the average student to teacher rato for Standard 1 was 100:1, wth many classrooms surpassng ths rato. Hgh student to teacher ratos, nsuffcent numbers of classrooms, unqualfed teachers, lack of supples and textbooks, a declne n teacher-student contact hours, and an nflux of overage students are but some of the many examples of sgns of low school qualty. In addton, drop-out and repetton rates contnue to be hgh n some countres, whle prmary completon rates are often very low. In Malaw, as of 2000, the average prmary repetton rate was gauged to be between 16 and 28 percent. The average prmary drop-out rate was between 5 and 10 percent n the same year. The prmary school completon rate mproved from percent to percent between 1992 and 2000, but Malaw s not currently on track to attan unversal prmary educaton by 2015 (World Bank 2004b). 18 The ncrease n enrollments n Malaw resulted n the followng fgures: students: permanent classroom, 119:1; students:desk, 38:1; students:char, 48:1; students:textbook, 24:1; and students:teacher, 62:1 (World Bank 2004b). 38

40 Some dspartes stll exst. In spte of general mprovements n equty followng the abolton of fees, dspartes persst. In Zamba, a sgnfcant gender gap remans, especally n rural areas. And whle the gender gap appears to have closed wth the removal of fees n many countres, especally wth the targetng of fee removal programs to grls, the equty gap between urban and rural areas has often not closed and n some countres, has deepened. In Malaw, urban students are 20 to 30 percentage ponts more lkely to stay n school than ther rural counterparts. There s generally a hgher degree of poverty n rural areas and teacher deployment to rural areas s not as strong as deployment to urban areas (World Bank 2004b). In Cameroon, wde gender and soco-economc dspartes stll exst. Completon rates for boys are 14 percentage ponts hgher than those for grls. There s a 25 percentage pont gap n enrollment between the poorest 40 percent of the populaton and the rchest 60 percent. There s a 40 percentage pont dfferental n enrollment between urban and rural areas, and a 60 pont dfferental between the northern provnces and the rest of the country (World Bank 2005e). Furthermore, enrollment rates n Camboda are stll lowest among the poor. In 2000, the prmary enrollment rate for the chldren n the poorest quntle was 55.4 percent, compared to 77.5 percent for the rchest 20 percent. Smlarly, the poor had lower net enrollment for lower secondary school (5.6 percent, compared to 31 percent for the rchest quntle) (World Bank 2005g). Ths suggests that whle mportant gans have been made, there s stll much to be done to acheve unversal basc educaton. Fees contnue to be collected nformally. Despte offcal fee elmnaton n Malaw, households contnue to bear a consderable share of both the recurrent and captal costs of prmary educaton. Accordng to data collected by the World Bank, 83 percent of parents of prmary pupls n publc schools n Malaw pad for one or more types of school supply durng the year In addton, the majorty of famles reported payng for textbooks and unforms, and approxmately half reported contrbutng to the school development fund, whch fnances nfrastructure mantenance. The average household expendture for publc prmary school was almost as hgh (at 80 percent) as the per pupl publc expendture (World Bank, 2004b). Offcal government polcy n Uganda states that parents are responsble for payng costs for exercse books and pencls, meals, clothng, transportaton, and assstance wth school 39

41 constructon (World Bank, 2001b). A study undertaken by the Unted Kngdom s Department for Internatonal Development (DFID) found that unoffcal fees nclude end-of-year partes, classroom constructon, telecommuncaton nfrastructure, and even teachers funerals (Boyle et. al. 2002). The same study noted that 48 percent of parents cte nablty to pay the expenses as the reason that ther chldren left prmary school. Despte elmnaton of drect fees, many households cannot pay for unforms, notebooks, and pencls (Internatonal Monetary Fund, 2000a). Parents n Tanzana stll ncur costs to send ther chldren to school, though the costs have decreased sgnfcantly snce Average total costs to send one chld to school n the Klmanjaro area ranges from 2,000 to 8,000 Tanzana shllngs (between US$2 and US$10). 19 Pror to elmnaton of fees, the cost range was from 7,600 to 10,600 shllngs. Whle unforms are no longer compulsory, there s a stgma assocated wth sendng a chld to school wthout a unform. The cost of books stll represents an obstacle to schoolng. Indrect costs reman hgh. It s estmated that, combnng drect and ndrect costs, to send one chld to school for one year, parents are payng about 13,000 Tanzanan shllngs (UNESCO 2003/04). Due to lmted fundng for the free prmary educaton polcy n Kenya, schools often contnue to charge fees to cover costs (Mukud 2004). Unoffcal fees are also charged at the local level n Ghana (see Box 4). In Zamba, households bear sgnfcant expenses related to educaton, even after the formal abolton of fees. Despte the Free Basc Educaton (FBE) mandate to elmnate oblgatory unforms, 46 percent of urban and 14 percent of rural schools stll requre students to wear unforms, though ths could be the result of ambguty n FBE gudelnes that allowed schools to use unforms as long as they dd not make a proft from them. Fees collected by government schools ncreased between 2002 and 2003 (Mwansa et. al. 2004). Some schools have begun to charge PTA fees agan due to nadequate government fundng (Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). The stuaton s smlar n Lesotho where households contnue to make contrbutons n a number of areas ncludng the purchase of unforms and the payment of nonteachng staff. In addton, snce the government does not cover all school costs, schools contnue to need to fnd ways to rase funds (World Bank 2005). 19 In 2001, Tanzanan Shllngs equaled US$1. 40

42 Box 4. Unoffcal Fees and Decentralzaton n Ghana Ghana declared an offcal polcy of Free Compulsory Basc Educaton (FCUBE) n 1996, statng the government s commtment to mandatng free and compulsory basc educaton (grades 1 through 9) for all school-age chldren by the year The government used captaton grants, begnnng wth the poorest muncpaltes, to ensure that the most dsadvantaged students ganed access to educaton. More recently, elmnaton of fees was extended country-wde; however, whle ths legslaton exsts n prncple, n practce fees contnue to be charged at the local level. Snce 1997 educaton actvtes have been largely decentralzed through the ntroducton of School Management Commttees and School Performance Assessment Meetngs, whch serve to ncrease communty management and accountablty. A further effect of decentralzaton, however, s the ablty of school headmasters to charge households fees nformally. A recent op-ed artcle n the Ghanaan Chroncle hghlghts the ssue of rural parents who enroll ther chldren n schools usng credt provded by the school. When the parents are unable to pay off ther debt to the headmaster, the chld s sent home and as s often the case, the chld stays at home to work on the farm. Source: Kwarteng 2005 In Mozambque, households wth chldren n school must meet the costs of unforms, school supples, and school snacks. In many cases, payng these fees s a sgnfcant challenge and may result n famles takng ther chldren out of school. The household survey undertaken for the World Bank s Poverty and Socal Impact Analyss (PSIA) (World Bank 2005b), fnds that the average amount spent on books, unforms and other school supples s sgnfcant and hgh n Mozambque. For example, the average annual amount spent on books s approxmately MZM43, per student, whch s twce the average tuton fee for prmary school (MZM21,410). Unforms are even more expensve, whch on average run MZM73,000 per chld, whch s three tmes the average fee for prmary school. Ths stuaton s not unque to Afrca. For example, n Camboda, cash flow delays have led some schools to unoffcally collect fees from parents n order to cover the fnancng gap. In Chna, chargng tuton for compulsory educaton s forbdden by law, but some urban schools rase funds through a jont constructon fee or educaton donaton. Whle the practce of 20 The exchange rate of Mozambque Metcals was = US$1. MZM43,000 s equvalent to approxmately US$2. 41

43 chargng fees s prohbted by the Chnese government, t s often tolerated or even encouraged by local governments, whch collect a certan percentage from schools as an addtonal source of fundng. Common fees nclude a twce yearly book fee of 80 yuan n urban areas and 65 yuan n rural areas (between US$8 and US$10). In addton, key (or more elte publc) schools often charge a requred donaton to cover varous expenses for unqualfed students (World Bank 2005c). In Vetnam, poor parents stll pay a substantal amount of household ncome on a combnaton of fees as much as US$8 per chld per year (approxmately US$0.66 per month) (see Box 5). Box 5: Household Fnancng n Vetnam. Despte legslaton declarng tuton fees llegal n prmary and lower secondary schools n Vetnam, fnancng of the educaton system contnues to rely on famles. The practce of rasng fees for educaton, for nstance through school constructon fees, appears to be wdespread and n some areas sgnfcant. Except for lmted fee exemptons avalable for approxmately 10 percent of parents, drect costs of educaton reman an obstacle to educaton for dsadvantaged students. Whle exemptons are amed at the bottom quntle, the magntude of exempton s not as large as was expected or needed. Sgnfcant numbers of famles n the bottom quntle contnue to pay full charges. In many cases, the poorer provnces face heghtened resource pressures and are more lkely to be reluctant to remove potental revenue from fees. Source: World Bank 2005d Expandng Access and Improvng Qualty: Possble Tradeoffs. In many countres, nsuffcent publc fundng s lnked to a deteroraton n educaton qualty. Governments are expandng access to educaton wthout provdng the necessary funds and support for mprovng or mantanng qualty. South Afrca, for nstance, has delayed mplementng free basc educaton (see Annex 8) because t does not beleve t has adequate funds to expand access and mantan the current qualty of educaton. Even countres wth consttutonal guarantees to free prmary educaton, such as Inda, fnd t dffcult to enforce those guarantees because many schools that do not receve adequate fundng compensate for the shortfalls by chargng tuton and textbook fees (UNESCO 2004). Many ntervewees n Mozambque suggest that fees are an essental source of funds for prmary schools and that wthout fees prmary schools would be unable to functon due to lack of suffcent government budget (World Bank 2005b). 42

44 Low effcency. Low qualty schoolng ncreases overall costs by ncreasng the number of years t takes to produce a graduate. For example, n Tmor-Leste, despte the ncreases n enrollment, cohort analyss ponts to low levels of nternal effcency. Most new enrollments were at the lower prmary level, regardless of the approprate age-for-grade. In 2000/01, the number of chldren enrolled n Grade 1 was more than double the estmated number of 6 year-olds n the country. A 2002 World Bank study found that gven these levels of nternal effcency, only 67 percent of chldren would reach Grade 4, and 47 percent would eventually complete grade 6, whle 53 percent would drop out (World Bank 2002a, pg. 31). Whle the cost of sendng a student to 6 years of prmary school s about $300, the hgh repetton and drop-out rates cause costs to nearly double (World Bank 2002a). In Cameroon, whle enrollment remans hgh and near unversal, repetton rates are hgh (25.8 percent n prmary and 15.3 percent n lower secondary). In 2003, t was estmated that almost 30 percent of educaton sector resources were wasted due to repetton. In Malaw, approxmately 40 percent of the students wll have dropped out of school by the end of Standard 6 (World Bank 2004b). Wth the current level of repetton and drop out n Malaw s educaton system, the government would pay for as many as 20 years of schoolng (nstead of the normal eght years) n order to get one chld to graduate from prmary school. Malaw s ndex of effcency s 39.7 percent, ndcatng that 60.3 percent of the publc resources are used ether on chldren who drop out before fnshng prmary or on repetton years (both of those who eventually fnsh and those who do not and are also lost to the system) (World Bank 2004b, pg. 56). Avalablty of Teachers. A comprehensve fee removal plan must address several crtcal teacher-related ssues ncludng, but not lmted to, recrutment, tranng, and deployment. Whle many countres have made the adjustment to recrut teachers, they have not put adequate effort nto tranng and effectvely deployng teachers. When free prmary educaton was ntroduced n Malaw, a large number of teachers were recruted to meet the ncreased demand from students. At that tme, 18,000 untraned teachers were recruted and placed n the Malaw Integrated In-Servce Teacher Educaton Program (MIITEP). The recrutment of untraned teachers posed long-term 43

45 challenges to the qualty of teachng and learnng. The sustanablty of teacher tranng should also be consdered. For example, n Malaw t s projected that the hgh volume of teacher educaton programs wll need to contnue for at least another fve to ten years n order to tran the unqualfed teachers currently n the system and ncrease the teacher stock to meet prmary enrollments. In Zamba, the Mnstry of Educaton has estmated that an addtonal 3,000 to 4,000 teachers per year wll need to be hred to cover attrton (Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). In addton to teacher tranng, a second crtcal aspect s the actual deployment of teachers. Ths can be partcularly challengng when consderng the urban-rural dvde. Many rural schools are located n solated settngs. In Cameroon, the dstrbuton of teachers lacks clear gudelnes: 45 percent of prmary school teacher appontments are not related to the number of students n those schools (World Bank 2005e). Data from Malaw ndcates a sgnfcant dscrepancy n the number of teachers avalable to schools that enroll a smlar number of pupls. Accordng to the data, there are between 5 and 40 teachers for every 1,000 pupls, dependng on the school. As mentoned above, the nconsstency and neffcency n teacher deployment can partly be explaned by dfferences n allocatons among the dstrcts, especally between urban and rural dstrcts, and nsuffcent montorng and management tools to ensure effcent, suffcent, and far deployment. The challenge s further heghtened by sgnfcant dfferences n pupl to qualfed teacher ratos between urban and rural dstrcts. In urban dstrcts n Malaw, the pupl to teacher rato can range between 60 and 70, whle n rural dstrcts ths average can be twce as hgh. Malaw s experence hghlghts the need for recrutment, tranng, and deployment of teachers as an ntegral part of any plan to remove user fees (World Bank 2004b). HIV/AIDS s a serous threat to educaton, especally n terms of teacher and admnstrator attrton. Teacher absenteesm due to HIV/AIDS remans a sgnfcant obstacle to educaton n many countres. For example, n Zamba, nfecton rates are 25 to 30 percent n urban areas and 10 to 15 percent n rural areas. About 1,000 teachers de from AIDS every year (AFD 1999; Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). 44

46 V. Concluson and Recommendatons Based on the above, a number of observatons about the abolton of user fees can be made. As always for educatonal reform, ssues and opportuntes vary by country and must be talored to country-specfc crcumstances. Where t s poltcally feasble, a phased-n approach reduces the techncal challenge of elmnatng user fees, and can reduce the lkelhood of recdvsm. Pror to elmnatng fees, the government of Tanzana estmated that 3 mllon chldren aged 7 to 13 were not n school. Recognzng that elmnatng school fees for all chldren at once could overwhelm the resources of the educaton system, Tanzana developed the Prmary Educaton Development Plan (PEDP), a comprehensve strategy for enhancng servce delvery n basc educaton (Hllman and Jenker 2002). The PEDP outlned a phased n approach to reachng the goal of Unversal Prmary Educaton (UPE) (Government of Tanzana 2001). Due to the phased n approach n Tanzana, the educaton system was ready for the ntal ncreases n enrollment. Net prmary enrollment ncreased from 57 percent pror to the elmnaton of fees to 85 percent wthn one year (Global Campagn for Educaton 2005). Although the student to teacher rato ncreased from 45:1 before the PEDP n 2001 to current 59:1, t s stll manageable. And, ths rato s lkely to be reduced because the peak of the enrollment has passed and more teachers are expected to graduate from teacher colleges. The phased-n approach also protected qualty. Over the perod of the PEDP, the Prmary School Leavng Examnaton pass rate ncreased from 25 percent n 2002 to 48 percent n The student to textbook rato, mproved from 8:1 before the launch of PEDP to 4:1 n The percentage of Grade A teachers ncreased from 46 percent n 1999 to 58 percent n 2004, ndcatng that whle gans were made, qualty teachers are stll n demand as 42 percent of prmary teachers have mnmal tranng. Lesotho s Free Prmary Educaton (FPE) program began n January 2000 and s beng mplemented n phases. Fees were elmnated for one addtonal level of school each year, such that Standard 1 fees were elmnated n 2000, fees for Standard 2 n 2001, and so on untl 2006, when the whole prmary cycle was expected to be covered. The phased-n approach has helped the government to more effectvely develop an mplementaton strategy. Durng mplementaton 45

47 of the program, the government commtted to assstng schools that opt to jon the program n the areas of teachers salares, textbook provson, provson of classrooms and equpment, as well as meals. In antcpaton of ncreased enrollments, the Mnstry of Educaton created an addtonal 460 teachng postons through grants dstrbuted to schools. Begnnng n 2000, the government has gradually taken over the cost of textbooks and statonary n prmary schools. The program has had a postve mpact on enrollment rates. The gross prmary enrollment rate ncreased from 109 percent n 1996 to 127 percent n Net prmary enrollment rose by 33 percent n the year followng mplementaton of FPE, from 60 percent n 1999 to 80 percent n Furthermore, the most recent data avalable suggests that the ncreases n enrollment have been sustaned, and that chldren who entered the system n 2001 are gradually advancng to subsequent levels. Fgure 5 shows a sequental ncrease n enrollment, startng wth Standard 1 n 2000 and followed by Standard 2 n 2001, Standard 3 n 2002, Standard 4 n 2003, and Standard 5 n Ths pattern s consstent wth the phased-n approach to elmnatng school fees. Fgure 5: Lesotho Prmary Enrollment 1998 to 2003 Source: World Bank and Lesotho s Mnstry of Educaton and Tranng

48 Fee abolton alone wll not acheve unversal basc educaton. The abolton of fees must be part of a broad government commtment to achevng unversal basc educaton, wth many complementary measures and strong poltcal leadershp from the hghest levels. Low enrollment may also reflect a lack of supply (no schools n the area), perceved low returns from schoolng n the labor market, or other standard factors that lmt access, such as the dstance to school and, for grls, the exstence of female teachers and separate tolets. Other educaton-related household expenses and ndrect costs can be greater obstacles than fees, and must be addressed n any polcy effort to ncrease access to educaton. In addton to the drect costs leved by schools, households can often be faced wth other economc costs of basc educaton. In Camboda, for nstance, transportaton costs account for 9 to 15 percent of household spendng on educaton n urban areas and 9 to 21 percent n rural areas (Bray and Bunly 2005). In many countres, especally, but not only, n Asa, t s customary to send chldren to prvate tutors, often the very publc school teachers n the schools that they attend durng the day, outsde school hours (Bray 1996; Bray 1999; Bray 2001). Though not strctly compulsory, such fees ncrease household costs of basc educaton, ether because parents feel that they must provde such tutorng to supplement formal schoolng or because there s an element of blackmal nvolved because at least some teachers provde only the bare mnmum durng school hours and reserve the real teachng for ther prvate classes (Bray 1996, p. 17). Ths ponts to the need for publc programs that provde ncentves to poor households so that ther chldren can attend school. Some countres provde targeted subsdes to help offset some of the non-fee costs of attendng school, such as transport costs. For example, Thaland and Ghana provde bcycles to poor students n rural areas (see Annex 9 for nformaton on strateges that countres have used to offset fees). Poorer households often ncur ndrect economc costs by sendng chldren to school who would otherwse contrbute to the household economy. Deolalkar (1997) found that the amount of tme spent collectng water, a proxy of opportunty costs, has a negatve mpact on prmary school enrollment n Kenya. Most chldren who work n developng countres are major contrbutors to famly ncome. For example, n Paraguay chld labor consttutes 24 percent of famly ncome (Patrnos and Sddqu 1995). Therefore, even n the absence of school fees, very 47

49 poor households may stll be unlkely, or unable, to send ther chldren to school (Hllman and Jenker 2002). These ndrect costs are often more crtcal than drect fees n keepng chldren out of school, and must be addressed n any polcy efforts to ncrease enrollments. Experence from Latn Amerca provdes examples of successful targeted programs for the poor. Brazl s Bolsa Escola program and Mexco s Oportundades are condtonal cash transfer programs (CCTs) that have had a postve mpact on enrollment rates and schoolng outcomes n addton to other ndcators of well-beng, such as health and chld labor. CCTs, a relatvely new type of socal program, provde cash grants to poor famles condtonal on certan types of behavors, such as sendng chldren to school and attendng regular preventatve health care vsts. The prncple objectve of most CCTs s the long-term accumulaton of human captal, whch s consdered crucal to breakng the nter-generatonal transmsson of poverty (Rawlngs 2004). CCTs have been wdely mplemented across Latn Amerca 21, where the concept was orgnally developed, and a handful of other countres, 22 based mostly on the success of Oportundades (see Box 6). Targeted nterventons may be needed to offset grls opportunty costs of schoolng and cultural norms regardng the educaton of grls, whch often nhbt enrollment rates. Across the developng world, grls have sgnfcantly less educaton than boys, representng the largest out-of-school populaton. In over half of developng countres, grls prmary school enrollment rates are at least 10 percentage ponts lower than those of boys. In Afghanstan, females have 86 percent less schoolng than men. Women n Bangladesh and Ngera have roughly 70 percent less schoolng than men n those countres. Overall, the women of developng countres have 45 percent less schoolng than do men and are 30 percent less lterate than men (Todoro and Smth 2003). Ths gap n educaton nhbts women from takng advantage of economc opportuntes and contrbutng to the development process. In addton, t hnders them from rasng the lvng standards of ther famles (Deere and Leon 2003). Women are among the most vulnerable groups n the developng world and ther ntegraton nto socety and the economy n culturally and gender-specfc ways s crucal to allevatng poverty. 21 Condtonal cash transfer programs have been mplemented n Colomba, Costa Rca, Honduras, Ncaragua, Bolva, Ecuador, Chle, and Brazl. 22 Jamaca and Turkey are among a few non-latn Amercan countres that have mplemented condtonal cash transfer programs. 48

50 Box 6: The Mexcan Experence wth a Condtonal Cash Transfer Program Mexco s Oportundades program (formerly Progresa) was desgned to promote nvestment n chldren s human captal (future earnngs) va ncreased schoolng and mproved health and nutrton status. Oportundades provdes cash transfers to poor rural famles condtonal on keepng chldren n school and provdng them wth basc preventve healthcare and nutrton. The beneft levels are ntended to offset the opportunty costs of not sendng chldren to school, and ncrease wth grade level, recognzng that the opportunty cost of chldren s tme ncreases as they grow older. In 2004 the program reached 5 mllon famles. Oportundades has been very successful n targetng the poorest groups; program benefts are hghly concentrated among the very poor. Ths program has been rgorously evaluated and the program has been shown to: () ncrease overall health, () ncrease preventatve health and nutrton montorng vsts, () decrease the probablty of stuntng, (v) ncrease school enrollment rates, (v) ncrease school contnuaton rates, (v) slow the growth of poverty, (v) decrease ncome nequalty, (v) decrease chld labor rates, and (x) ncrease consumpton of more nutrtous foods. It has a sgnfcant mpact on educaton; prmary school attendance ncreased by 2.2 percent gven a hgh enrollment rate of 92 percent but secondary school attendance ncreased by 8.4 percent from a base of 65 percent. Based on ths success, the program s about to be extended to urban areas. In addton, there s evdence that the program helped reduce the educaton gap between ndgenous and non-ndgenous chldren, as well as reducng the lkelhood that an ndgenous chld would work. Sources: Bando et. al. 2005; Behrman and Hoddnott 2000; Gertler 2000; Hall et. al. 2002; Hoddnott et. al. 2000; Schultz 2000a; Schultz 2000b; SEDESOL 1999; Skoufas et. al Rasng the human captal of women s a key element to breakng the nter-generatonal transmsson of poverty. Internatonal experence has shown that ntegratng gender themes nto development strateges and projects not only yelds postve results, but s also one of the most cost-effectve nterventons avalable to polcy-makers. Revews of development projects across the globe consstently show that expanson of basc educaton for grls earns among the hghest rates of return of any nvestment - much larger, for example, than most publc nfrastructure projects and s also a cost-effectve way to mprove overall health standards n communtes (Todoro and Smth 2003, p. 377). Whle elmnatng fees has been shown to promote grls school partcpaton, many countres use other targeted mechansms to encourage famles to send ther daughters to school. For example, Burkna Faso has proposed to remove fees for grls n the frst and second grades. 49

51 Chad s Educaton for All (EFA) strategy ncludes reduced fees for grls. Djbout targets grls n underprvleged areas. Ghana provdes bcycles to grls (Tempest 2005). In Zamba, some nterventons have worked n tandem wth the FBE polcy to ncrease enrollments. The Programme for the Advancement of Grls Educaton (PAGE) and a re-entry polcy for pregnant grls have mproved access to educaton for grls, whle the bursary schemes and the School Health and Nutrton Programme have mproved access for the poor. Due to the lower enrollment rates of grls n secondary school n Mexco, Oportundades grants receved n those years are hgher for females than for males to offset the opportunty costs of sendng them to school, thus actng as an ncentve to keep grls n school and close the gender gap n schoolng. Bangladesh s Female Secondary School Assstance Program (FSSAP) has ntroduced mtgatng measures to offset school fees by provdng monetary ncentves for grls to reduce the drect costs of schoolng 23 and to encourage partcpaton, contngent on regular school attendance and successful grade completon. One of the key objectves of The Gamba s Thrd Educaton Sector Program (TESP) s to ncrease the enrollment, retenton and performance of grls attendng Grades 1 to 12. To help overcome barrers to grls educaton, such as poverty, the TESP ntroduced a scholarshp scheme for grls at the upper basc and secondary levels. Guatemala s Eduque a la Nña program represents another program that targets grls who are generally underserved n the Guatemalan prmary school system. A scholarshp equvalent to US$4 a year s gven to each enrolled grl n a few poor vllages to cover school-related costs (see Annex 9 for more nformaton on targeted schemes for grls). Rgorous revews of these programs demonstrate ther success. Evaluatons of Brazl s Bolsa Escola, whch guarantees a mnmum wage to every low-ncome famly condtonal on keepng ts chldren aged 7 to 14 years n school, ndcate that the program has led to hgher enrollment rates, as well as reducton n both school drop-out and repetton rates. Evaluatons of Mexco s Oportundades program ndcate that the program has sgnfcantly ncreased enrollment rates, partcularly for grls and for both boys and grls at the secondary level. Evaluatons of Guatemala s Eduque a la Nña have found a postve mpact on grls partcpaton and performance. Accordng to evaluatons of Bangladesh s FSSAP, the 23 Drect costs nclude tuton, examnaton costs, and an ncreasng proporton of school fees, textbooks, school supples, unforms, shoes, transport and kerosene (for lamps). 50

52 partcpatng schools wtnessed a sharp ncrease n female enrollment and there was a general reducton n the drop-out rates of grls n partcpatng schools. Targeted efforts to ensure schoolng for HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable chldren (OVC) should be part of any effort to mprove access to schoolng. As noted above, there s a serous rsk that HIV/AIDS orphans wll not have access to schoolng. Ths ponts to the need for targeted programs for HIV/AIDS orphans. In addton to beng at rsk of becomng an orphan, youth are at rsk for becomng HIV postve. It s therefore mportant that, n addton to reducng barrers to educaton for HIV/AIDS orphans, educaton systems address HIV preventon. Lost fee revenues must be offset. A thoughtful plan to replace fee revenues s a necessary part of any fee abolton ntatve. Elmnatng fees wthout commensurate government transfers to schools reduces the schools resource base (Oxfam 2001). Adequate tmely fnancng wll consder all costs so that schools do not have to charge fees. In Kenya, the falure to provde such fnancng led to a standoff n some rural communtes, wth schools demandng fees and parents refusng to pay them. Such stuatons can be avoded by careful attenton to fnancng and flow of funds ssues from the begnnng (Boyle et. al. 2002). There are four prncpal sources of such replacement revenues: shftng spendng from other sectors, shftng cost recovery to hgher educatonal levels, mprovng effcency of educaton spendng, and donor support. Countres may ncrease expendture on educaton by swtchng spendng from other sectors or by ncreasng revenues. Shftng cost recovery to hgher educatonal levels would also ncrease fnancng for prmary educaton. Government spendng on prmary educaton s more lkely to beneft the poor than at other educatonal levels because poor students are less lkely to advance to secondary and tertary levels of educaton. For example, as dscussed above, n Indonesa n 1989, prmary educaton subsdes for the poorest 20 percent of the populaton were almost twce as hgh as those for the rchest 20 percent of the populaton. In contrast, tertary educaton subsdes for the poorest 10 percent of the populaton were less than 1/18 th of those for the rchest 10 percent of populaton (van de Walle 1998). Most countres have hghly subsdzed hgher educaton systems, whch only beneft the rcher 51

53 quntles. The per student costs of tertary educaton are hgher than prmary educaton n most countres. In Malaw, for example, the dscrepances n spendng per pupl are so sgnfcant that they rase serous concerns regardng the equtable dstrbuton of resources. The unt cost at the tertary level s between US$2,500 and US$3,000, compared to approxmately US$10 at the prmary level. In addton, spendng on teachng and learnng materals and other expenses per pupl s between 50 and 540 tmes hgher at the tertary level than at the prmary level. The unbalanced spendng on tertary educaton compared to prmary educaton rases serous equty concerns; students from the wealthest quntle consume more than half of the publc expendture at the tertary level, whle students from the poorest quntle enjoy very lmted, f any, access to hgher educaton (World Bank 2004b). Improvng the effcency of educaton spendng, partcularly the balance between dfferent educatonal levels, as well as between salares and other expendtures s another way to offset lost fee revenue. Publc spendng on educaton s generally very neffcent, as Fgure 6 demonstrates. Expendture shfts do take tme, however, and must be well prepared poltcally, as they are sometmes as dffcult to mplement as the ntroducton or augmentaton of fees. Fgure 6: Publc Educaton Expendture and School Completon Source: World Bank

54 Donor support s crtcal. Whle addtonal domestc resources wll be requred for sustanablty n the long run, ad has a supportng role. Potental ad sources for achevng unversal prmary educaton nclude Hghly-Indebted Poor Countres (HIPC) debt relef funds and other external support ncludng blateral, multlateral, and prvate foundaton fundng. When the removal of user fees s explctly stated n a country s educaton plan, the Educaton for All Fast Track Intatve (FTI) Catalytc Fund presents another potental source of support (see Box 7). For example, the FTI Memorandum of Understandng for Uganda (World Bank 2002b) states that trgger ponts for the use of FTI funds wll be used for qualty enhancement n addton to fnancal commtment of government and publc expendture management. Box 7: The Educaton for All Fast Track Intatve In 2002, the World Bank and thrty other regonal, blateral, and nternatonal development agences created the Fast Track Intatve (FTI) to work towards ensurng that the Mllennum Development Goal of unversal prmary educaton be met by Elgblty and complance crtera are flexble: countres need only establsh natonal educaton plans that prortze unversal prmary educaton and have a poverty reducton strategy paper (PRSP) or equvalent document. In return, the FTI provdes coordnated donor support n the forms of fnancal and techncal assstance. Countres that do not have comprehensve educaton plans receve techncal and capacty-buldng support through the FTI Educaton Program Development Fund to enable them to wrte ther own educaton plans. An mportant component of the natonal educaton plans s an agreement and strategy for montorng educaton outcomes and settng targets based on benchmarks that were developed through emprcal analyss of successful Educaton for All (EFA) countres. It s expected that 40 countres wll be recevng FTI support by the end of 2007 (World Bank 2004c; UNESCO 2004). Usng HIPC debt relef funds on a temporary bass may be one way to close the fnancng gap n many heavly ndebted countres over the next few years. In practce, because HIPC funds are short-term funds, ther use should be accompaned by measures to replace revenues on a longer term bass. The HIPC Intatve, wth ts focus on mproved budgetary management and trackng of debt servce relef has gven Internatonal Development Assocaton (IDA) borrowers the ablty to ncrease educaton expendtures and moblze addtonal support, whch can be allocated to the educaton sector. A combnaton of HIPC funds and a start on mprovng effcency s the most lkely route, and ndeed has already been adopted through the Poverty 53

55 Reducton Strategy Paper (PRSP) process n several countres. Indeed, there s already some evdence that the HIPC Intatve has played a pvotal role n the development and mplementaton of educaton strateges, amed at mprovng access to, and qualty of, educaton n many Afrcan countres (see Annex 10). Careful advance plannng of polcy mplementaton s therefore essental, wth estmaton of total costs and ther calbraton wth macroeconomc prospects, government fnancng capacty, and external assstance perspectves, to ensure sustanablty. The overall mpact to the budget may be so large that free educaton may have to be phased n gradually, grade by grade. Plannng wll have to address the medum-term and the long-term mpact of free basc educaton, takng nto account the knock on effect of full partcpaton n prmary educaton (chefly the transton of future cohorts to lower secondary school where hgh fees wll agan restrct access by the poor unless elmnated or mtgated). A comprehensve fee abolton plan must address several crtcal teacher-related ssues, ncludng, but not lmted to, recrutment, tranng, and deployment, especally n rural areas. Whle many countres have made the adjustment to recrut teachers, countres should also put adequate efforts nto tranng and effectvely deployng teachers n an effectve way. The sustanablty of teacher tranng should also be consdered. In addton to teacher tranng, a second crtcal aspect s the actual deployment of teachers wth an eye for provdng schools of smlar enrollments wth comparable numbers of teachers. In addton to fee elmnaton, other targeted programs or ncentves must be put n place to offset educaton-related fees, opportunty costs, and cultural norms regardng grls educaton. Such ncentves have great potental to mprove educatonal opportuntes for the dsadvantaged f complemented wth strateges to address supply sde constrants. Targeted efforts to ensure schoolng for HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable chldren (OVC) should be part of any effort to mprove access to schoolng. Recommendatons for Further Research Sgnfcant fee obstacles at the lower-secondary level As prmary completon rates ncrease, transton to secondary and the cost of educaton at the secondary level appears to be ncreasng n relevance. Fees at the secondary level tend to be 54

56 sgnfcant and substantally hgher than fees at the prmary level. In many countres, slow growng and rural-based economes do not generate tax revenues to both acheve unversal basc educaton and provde publcly fnanced secondary educaton. Further research should be undertaken to understand better the prevalence and mpact of fees at ths level. Evdence of Decreased Parental Partcpaton The mpact of fee elmnaton on parental and communty partcpaton s not well understood. In some countres, such as Kenya, parental partcpaton and transparency ncreased, whle n others, such as Zamba, communtes stopped contrbutng to nfrastructure mprovements because they nterpreted the polcy as meanng that the government would pay for all educaton costs. In Malaw, teacher performance deterorated as a result of reduced accountablty accordng to parents, who felt less compelled to montor teachers, gven the parents reduced personal fnancal nvolvement (Hllman and Jekner 2002). A more detaled understandng of ths mportant ssue would be a useful addton to the debate on user fees. Overage Chldren Governments contnue to struggle wth the ssue of overage chldren. Whle ths has qualty mplcatons for schoolng, t also ponts to the need for specal programs to ncorporate these chldren nto the educaton system and/or ensure that they have alternatve opportuntes. A unque feature of the Tanzanan experence was expanson of non-formal educaton opportuntes for overage chldren who would be too old to beneft from the elmnaton of school fees due to the phased-n approach. An evaluaton of these types of programs s needed to assess ther mpact for possble scalng up. Socopoltcal response to fee removal It would be helpful to have a dscusson about what exactly s happenng when governments announce the abolton of certan fees. In general, there has been a massve publc response even though many fees reman. Is the government announcement a socal sgnal to whch parents respond? Is the sgnal sometmes as mportant as the substance? Is the reason for recdvsm that parents come over tme to realze the gap between the sgnal and the realty? Why do we see 55

57 the massve response n some countres and a collectve shruggng of the shoulders n others? What does all ths mean for sustanablty? More analyss of mtgaton strateges The mtgaton strateges mentoned n ths report have largely been successful. A dscusson of those strateges that have faled would also be useful. What s the tppng pont? Are they more lkely to fal n the absence of some strong communal ownershp of the strateges, when left to the ntatve of the school personnel, or when parents have lttle voce n the lfe of the school? What s the mpact when fees are drectly lnked to a chld's attendance, as opposed to when they are of a more voluntary nature? Do we stll beleve there s a smlar excluson effect, even f t s only due to socal dsapprobaton, or self-censure? In addton, t would be useful to carry out cost-beneft analyses of targeted versus free educaton polces. A recent study n Kenya suggested that t would be cheaper to ntroduce targeted mechansms and reach the poorest of the poor than t would be to elmnate school fees entrely (Vos et. al. 2004). However, well-targeted programs requre good household-level data, whch may not be avalable n many low-ncome countres. The mpact of fees on learnng The connecton between fees and learnng s dffcult to dsentangle; t s both a demand and a supply queston. Here we consder the mpact on demand. Demand for schoolng tends to be more senstve to qualty for poorer households and for grls (World Bank 2001a). Gven certan elastcty ranges, some argue that there s scope to ncrease fees wthout lowerng enrollment f the ncreased revenue was used to cross subsdze the poor (Brdsall 1987). Agan, however, such an argument fals to dstngush the dfferent groups of actual and potental students, especally by ncome group and by sex. Ths presents a complex analytcal dlemma. Does the evdence that demand for educaton by the poor and by grls s relatvely more senstve to both prce and qualty mean that there s a trade-off between prce and qualty? There s no clear emprcal answer, but t s mportant to note that the exstence of fees does not, n and of tself, assure qualty, though t may sometmes contrbute to t when the fees are used to provde books and other learnng materals. However, the presence of fees almost certanly deters enrollments by the poor and by 56

58 grls. As the world moves toward unversal basc educaton, t s partcularly mportant to examne ths possble trade-off n specfc country crcumstances. 24 Government effectveness n delverng educaton servces Lttle s actually known systematcally about government effectveness n delverng prmary educaton; an mportant area for future research wll be the relablty of government provson of educaton. If fees fnance qualty, they would need to be replaced. But fees often dsappear through varous leakages and, at best, only partly fnance qualty nputs. Fees, especally for such thngs as books, may well result n the provson of essental materals for learnng and hence mprove educatonal qualty. In practce, the evdence s not strong. One area where a systematc revew has been conducted s textbook charges sales and rentals, whch are common. None of the textbook sales schemes n Afrca supported by the World Bank seem to have been successful n reachng the poor (Dop 2001). Even wth prce subsdes, for nstance, most rural prmary students n Togo could not afford books, a full set of whch represented more than twce the average annual famly spendng on educaton. Fees for materals may, therefore, mprove learnng among more affluent famles, but they do not appear to help poor chldren. 24 An analytcal study of what has happened n Malaw followng the abolton of fees could be useful n ths regard. 57

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65 World Bank (2005e). Project Apprasal Document for An Educaton Development Capacty Buldng Project (Cameroon). World Bank. Washngton, DC. World Bank (2005f). Camboda Basc Educaton for All Study. World Bank. Washngton, DC. World Bank (2005g). Project Apprasal Document: Educaton Sector Support Project, Kngdom of Camboda. World Bank. Washngton, DC. World Bank (2005h). Project Apprasal Document on a Proposed IDA Credt to the Government of Kenya for an Educaton Sector Support Project. World Bank. Washngton, DC. World Bank and Lesotho s Mnstry of Educaton and Tranng (2005). Prmary and Secondary Educaton n Lesotho: A World Bank Country Status Report for Educaton. Yardley, Jm (2005). Chna Plans to Cut School Fees for ts Poorest Rural Students. The New York Tmes. March 13,

66 Annex 1: Country Profles: Experences wth User Fee Polces These profles are based largely on data from the 2005 World Bank survey, as well as other relevant data on user fees. They are ntended to present a snapshot of the experences of ndvdual countres n developng and mplementng user fee polces, and provde polcymakers and development professonals wth an hstorcal and comparatve perspectve on user fees. Ths annex ncludes profles for the followng eleven countres: Camboda, Cameroon, Chna, Kenya, Lesotho, Malaw, Mozambque, Tanzana, Tmor-Leste, Uganda, and Zamba. 1. Camboda Between 1996 and 2004, drect government spendng on educaton rose from US$31 mllon to US$75.8 mllon. By 2004, educaton spendng represented 19.1 percent of the total government recurrent budget. A large proporton of the ncrease was funneled to the non-wage recurrent sector. The Prorty Acton Program (PAP) (2000) was desgned to rase enrollment n Grades 1 to 9 by reducng school costs for the poorest famles. It ncluded ncentves for teachers n dffcult areas, schools servng ethnc mnortes, and those coverng mult-grade and double-shft classrooms. Remedal classes were developed to foster grade progresson and reduce repetton and drop-out rates. Operatonal gudelnes were created to guarantee that school supples would be avalable and that mnor repars to school nfrastructure would be undertaken. The second PAP program expanded to secondary educaton by provdng budgets to 550 lower secondary schools condtonal on abolshng regstraton fees. The PAP program also provded scholarshps to poor lower secondary school age chldren. As of 2002, prmary schools receved 500,000 rels wth an addtonal 6,000 rels per pupl. Lower secondary schools receved 100,000 rels each, plus 13,600 per pupl (Bray and Bunly 2005). Although program mplementaton was constraned by cash flow problems, there s evdence of substantal mpact. Promoton rates for Grade 1 rose from 54 percent n 1999 to 82 percent n Smlar gans were made for promoton rates for Grade 2, whch rose to 83 percent. Prmary enrollment rose by 43 percent between 1996 and Lower secondary enrollment ncreased by 73 percent, whle upper secondary grew by almost 150 percent. In 2001, 76.2 percent of pupls enterng Grade 1 n the poorest quntles were overage, compared to 53.4 percent n the rchest quntles (Bray and Bunly 2005, World Bank 2005f). 25 Government estmates of net prmary enrollment and net lower secondary enrollment n 2002 were 88.9 and 19.1 percent, respectvely. Furthermore, enrollment rates are stll lowest among the poor. In 2000, the prmary enrollment rate for the chldren n the poorest quntle was 55.4 percent, compared to 77.5 percent for the rchest 20 percent. Smlarly, the poor had lower net enrollment for lower secondary school (5.6 percent, compared to 31 percent for the rchest quntle). Ths suggests that whle mportant gans have been made, there s stll much to be done to acheve unversal basc educaton (Bray and Bunly 2005). 25 Overall, the ncdence of overage students s extremely hgh n Camboda. In 2001, the Camboda Chld Labour Survey found that 72.2 percent of frst-tme students n prmary school were overage. Smlarly, the average age for lower secondary students was

67 A recent study found that the household costs of educaton decreased between 1997 and 2004 due to the program (Bray and Bunly 2005). 26 In the late 1990s, 59 percent of the total costs of prmary educaton n Camboda were covered by households and communtes, wth the government only provdng 12.5 percent, and the remanng amount comng from other sources. In real terms, costs were 33.4 and 41.8 percent of 1997 levels for Grades 1 and 6, respectvely. Household fnancng as a share of total prmary educaton expendtures fell from an estmated 76.9 percent n 1997 to 55.6 percent n 2004 (Bray and Bunly 2005). Donor Response The World Bank s Educaton Sector Support Project strves to mprove equtable access to schoolng, prncpally by reducng household costs of schoolng and through developng school nfrastructure, as well as mprovng educaton qualty and effcency. Project components nclude expandng educatonal facltes n poor and underserved areas, reducng access barrers for dsadvantaged chldren, strengthenng decentralzed qualty educaton servce delvery, establshng a natonal assessment montorng system, and gvng assstance to the government s Educaton Sector Support Program (ESSP). Sxty-seven (67) percent of the grant-loan combnaton (a US$8 mllon loan and a US$20 mllon grant) wll be used to fnance the access and qualty components (World Bank 2005g). 26 The 2004 study followed up on Bray s 1997 (Bray 1999) study of household costs, whch had collected data from 77 prmary schools. The 2004 study returned to those same schools and added 39 lower secondary schools. 66

68 2. Cameroon In 1999, after more than 10 years of economc crss, ncreased teacher and admnstraton corrupton, and declnng school enrollments, the government of Cameroon decded to elmnate school fees for prmary educaton. Shortly thereafter t mplemented an acton plan, the Stratége du Secteur de 1 Educaton, 2000, to mprove the educaton sector at all levels (World Bank 2005e). The prmary gross enrollment rate (GER) ncreased from 87.7 percent n 2000 to percent n The number of non-repeatng students n prmary school ncreased by 59 percent n the frst year followng the elmnaton of user fees. To meet ths ncreased demand for educaton the government undertook a vast program to recrut part-tme teachers (4836 for the year 2003 alone), as well as constructon and rehabltaton of classrooms (4278 n prmary educaton and 385 n general secondary educaton). Prmary per student government expendtures rose from CFAF 21,000 n 1995 to CFAF 45,000 n 2001 (World Bank 2005e). In order to be elgble for debt relef under the HIPC ntatve, the government educaton strategy focused on achevng greater and more equtable access to educaton, especally at the prmary level, for grls and other dsadvantaged populatons. Other goals ncluded mproved educaton qualty and effcency, and greater capacty for management and governance of the educaton system. The strategy was expected to cost US$155 mllon n ts frst three years (Internatonal Monetary Fund 2000b). The government ntended to mprove qualty by revsng currcula, provdng textbooks and teacher materals, mprovng school nfrastructure, and mprovng career opportuntes for teachers, ncludng tranng of exstng teachers and hrng new teachers. The strategy also amed to overhaul the school system s management and governance actvtes by creatng school councls that have supervsory responsbltes, ncludng montorng and evaluaton. In lne wth ths strategy, the government abolshed the monopoly of producton and dstrbuton of text books n May 2000, and elmnated schools fees startng n September 2000 (Internatonal Monetary Fund 2000b). In addton, t also dstrbuted free textbooks to prorty areas (World Bank 2005e). Whle enrollment remans hgh and near unversal, repetton rates are hgh (25.8 percent n prmary and 15.3 percent n lower secondary) and only 63 percent of students complete sx years of prmary schoolng. In 2003, t was estmated that almost 30 percent of educaton sector resources were wasted due to repetton. Wde gender and soco-economc dspartes stll exst. Completon rates for boys are 14 percentage ponts hgher than for grls. There s a 25 percentage pont gap n enrollment between the poorest 40 percent of the populaton and the rchest 60 percent. There s a 40 percentage pont dfferental n enrollment between urban and rural areas and a 60 pont dfferental between the northern provnces and the rest of the country. The dstrbuton of teachers lacks clear gudelnes: 45 percent of prmary school teacher appontments are not related to the number of students n those schools (World Bank 2005e). 67

69 Donor Response Debt savngs through the HIPC debt relef ntatve are expected to partally fnance ncreased expendture n the educaton sector, ncludng school rehabltaton and constructon, budgetary transfers to schools n poor areas, and assstance to poor famles through grants and booklendng programs. Between 2000 and 2003, educaton spendng accounted for 42 to 44 percent of total HIPC assstance. Durng those same years, HIPC debt servce relef was projected to amount to an average of about US$100 mllon, or 6 percent of government revenue, per year (Internatonal Monetary Fund 2000b). In May 2005, the World Bank approved a US$18.1 mllon loan to Cameroon for achevng unversal prmary educaton by The Educaton Development Capacty Buldng Project ams to renforce admnstratve management, ncludng reducng the randomness of teacher allocaton from 45 to 25 percent; renforcng pedagogc management; reducng repetton rates, mprovng the health of school chldren; ncreasng HIV/AIDS awareness among teachers and students; and ncreasng the demand for prmary educaton by reducng gender nequtes. An addtonal component ncludes buldng capacty of hgher educaton nsttutons and makng educaton more relevant to labor market needs (World Bank 2005e) France, Japan, and the Afrcan Development Bank are also major donors to the educaton sector n Cameroon. 68

70 3. Chna Despte notable achevements n Chna, specfcally the central government s declaraton that the frst nne years of compulsory educaton should be provded to all students, there s ncreasng debate regardng the equty and farness of compulsory educaton. In urban areas, publc schools are ncreasngly a focus of crtcsm because of ther market orentaton, snce some publc schools at compulsory level charge hgh fees and some teachers devote tme on prvate tutorng for extra ncome. In rural areas, the concern s the lack of fnancal and human resources to support schools, snce rural schools face severe shortage of teachers and ncreasng dropout rates (World Bank 2005c). The above ssues are closely assocated wth the current fundng system for basc educaton. All publc schools are under-funded by the government. Some prncpals argue that 25 to 50 percent of the operatonal expense of school has to be rased at the school level. A crtcal part of the funds go to the payment for teachers salary and school constructon. Accordng to current government polcy, a teacher s salary conssts of two parts: basc salary and bonus. The government only pays the basc salary, and the amount of bonus s dependent on the prncpals capacty to rase addtonal funds for teachers. The latter s a condton for mantanng good teachers. However, prncpals have no pror tranng or experence n fundrasng. Ths stuaton s more common n urban areas, whle n rural areas the man concern s whether teachers can receve basc salares on tme (World Bank 2005c). Chargng tuton at the compulsory level s forbdden by law, but mscellaneous fees and textbook fee collecton are allowed durng ths stage. However n some urban schools, extra fees are often collected n the form of a jont constructon fee or educaton donaton and assstance for some students. The donatons range from 30,000 to 100,000 yuan 28 for each student for the duraton of mddle school years. The practce of chargng fees s prohbted by the natonal and local governments. The local governments often defne the fee scale for mscellaneous fees and textbook fees, collectng a certan percentage from schools as an addtonal source of fundng. The dstrct or muncpal governments draw 25 to 50 percent of the amount of money collected by schools, whch s then used for the purpose of helpng other schools to repar ther school buldngs and mprove ther facltes. The remanng may be spent at the prncpals dscreton. Common fees nclude a two tme per year book fee of 80 yuan n urban areas and 65 yuan n rural areas. In addton, more elte publc schools often charge a requred donaton from non-qualfed students to cover varous expenses (World Bank 2005c). Publc schools n rural areas have nether the resources nor the student populatons requred to generate the necessary funds. Under decentralzed management, whch places fnancal responsbltes at the county level, there s a huge dsparty n the student expendture between urban and rural areas, and between provnces. Accordng to offcal statstcs n 2001, per student expendture n Guzhou, an economcally dsadvantaged provnce, ranges from 887 yuan for urban areas to 485 yuan n rural areas. In comparson, n Shangha per student expendture ranges from 5,886 yuan n urban areas to 3,605 yuan n rural areas (World Bank 2005c). 28 The exchange rate s approxmately 8.27 Chnese yuan to US$1. 69

71 The natonal government has made an effort to compensate the loss of revenue n poor areas by drectng funds to western poor provnces. Accordng a speech gven by the Mnster of Educaton, tll 2002, the natonal government has pad 60 percent of the educaton fnances n the western areas, ncludng 78 percent of local teachers salares. The fund of rural transferable payments reached 10 bllon yuan per year. No data are avalable to show f the funds have reached the desgnated recpents and are effectvely used (World Bank 2005c). Snce 2004, government support has been ncreased through many natonal and provncal programs. A one-fee polcy, whch combned all fees, has been conducted natonwde to lower the burden for poor famles. However, school fees stll account for up to a quarter or more of rural famles annual ncome. And these school fees are leadng to growng nequtes between rural and urban resdents because urban resdents earn as much as three tmes the amount that farmers earn. In response to growng nequty, Prme Mnster Wen Jabao announced that fees wll begn to be fully removed for 14 mllon students n the country s poorest communtes, and wll contnue to be removed untl 2007, at whch tme all rural students wll receve free prmary educaton (Yardley 2005). 70

72 4. Kenya Throughout the 1990s, gross prmary school enrollment declned from 105 percent n 1989 to 86 percent n 2002, due to a founderng economy and rsng poverty rates. Immedately followng the 2002 electons, the new Government announced ts commtment to Free Prmary Educaton (FPE) as ts top prorty, abolshng prmary school fees n Free Prmary Educaton (FPE) resulted n a major jump n enrollment for the frst school term of 2003 (1.2 mllon new students) ndcatng that the prevous costs were the bggest constrant on many chldren attendng school. By 2003, gross prmary enrollment was 104 percent. The net prmary enrollment rate rose from 80 percent n 2003 to about 82 percent n 2005 (World Bank 2003a, World Bank 2005h). Most of the new enrollees were chldren who had never attended school or who had prevously dropped out. And whle the prmary completon rate s stll low at 57 percent, the drop-out rate has mproved. Kenya s on track to meet the Unversal Prmary Educaton (UPE) MDG, but the country can only do so f ts new polces contnue to be mplemented effectvely and the government s commtment s sustaned. Many challenges reman and the gans under FPE could be lost wthout further nvestment, especally n the areas of educaton qualty. Dspartes stll exst between boys and grls, wth a net enrollment rate for grls of 81 percent. In addton, about 1 mllon school-age chldren, stll do not have access to schoolng. Most of these chldren lve n urban slums, n the Ard and Sem-Ard Lands (ASAL) areas, and n other parts of the country where poverty s pervasve. The large nflux of students has meant that schools wth already meager resources are overflowng. In most cases, the school nfrastructure s nsuffcent to meet ncreased demand for schoolng, buldngs are n dsrepar and there are not enough classrooms and latrnes. There s also evdence that the specfc needs of grls and orphans are not beng met. Improvng the qualty of educaton s also a major challenge. The results from the Southern and Eastern Afrca Consortum for Montorng of Educatonal Qualty (SACMEQ) study show that whle Kenya performs better than most other SACMEQ countres, performance vares wthn the country. For example, students n large urban areas have the hghest scores, followed by students n small towns. Students n solated, rural areas exhbt the lowest scores. Student to teacher ratos have rsen, from an average of 31:1 to 40:1. And whle ths s not vewed as a major constrant, there s some evdence that class szes are extremely large n some schools, ndcatng that the allocaton of teachers can be mproved. 29 In general, the school system presents a problem of neffcent use of resources, where hgh costs do not yet translate nto hgh qualty. The Government s well aware of the educaton challenges and t has begun to take steps to mprove the stuaton. Free Prmary Educaton was accompaned by sgnfcant currculum changes, ncludng a reducton n the number of prmary subjects taught. Furthermore, the number of prmary subjects has already been reduced and further currculum changes wll be ntroduced n all of the prmary school standards (1-8) over next four years. The Government has agreed to use mult-grade teachers n some schools. As part of a move towards ncreased decentralzaton, the selecton of teachers for prmary schools has been moved down to the dstrct level, and to the school level for teachers n secondary schools. In addton, the Government has developed an educaton sector plan, spannng the perod The plan 29 The Government recently undertook a teacher balancng exercse (World Bank 2005h). 71

73 was developed n consultaton wth a wde range of stakeholders. Furthermore, extensve cost and budget analyss has been carred out for the Kenya Educaton Sector Support Project (KESSP) (World Bank 2005h). One of the most successful components of the FPE s a system of block grants gven drectly to schools. The grants are used to fnance materals and textbooks, as well as for other spendng such as mnor mantenance and salares for non-teachng staff. The funds are allocated to schools on a per student bass and are updated every term. School management commttees and PTAs manage the funds and post the amount of funds receved and expendtures for publc vewng. The experence so far has been qute successful. There s a postve equty effect because expendtures of ths type were formerly largely covered by households through the payment of school fees. The textbook to student rato has mproved to 3:1 for standards 1-4 and 2:1 for standards 5-8. In addton, ths process of decentralzaton of funds and responsbltes has mproved transparency and accountablty (World Bank 2005h). The total allocaton for such captaton grants amounted to KSh 9 bllon n the 2003/04 budget, representng 12.5 percent of the recurrent educaton budget. The amount that needs to be spent on captaton grants n the long term s not entrely clear. Although there s a need for sustaned, relatvely hgh levels of spendng n the medum-term to catch up wth current defcts n textbooks and to accommodate the costs of shftng to a new currculum, the Mnsteral Publc Expendture Revew (MPER) does not suggest that the current level of the captaton grant s nadequate, and the equlbrum level mght be about KSh 6-7 bllon per year. However, n the ntal years, a large part of the captaton grants had been funded by the Department for Internatonal Development (DFID) and the World Bank. These captaton grants clearly need to be worked nto regular recurrent budgets to ensure sustaned fundng predctablty. There s also some concern regardng the need for montorng and reportng on the use of these funds. Government spendng on educaton represents about 7 percent of GDP and has ranged between 25 and 30 percent of total government spendng over the last fve years. The government budget for educaton ncludes funds earmarked for core poverty reducton actvtes, representng about 16 percent of the total educaton budget (US$170 mllon). Prmary educaton spendng accounts for 54 percent of the total educaton budget, of whch 86 percent s used to pay teachers salares. The enormous resources consumed by teachers salares are a cause for concern as shrnkng funds for non-salary expendtures wll lkely lead to further qualty deteroraton and, thus, an ncrease n the drop-out rate. The World Bank (2005h) suggests that nnovatve polces and strateges are needed to reduce the unt costs, address the heavy cost burdens on households, and mprove the nternal effcency of the schoolng system by reducng repetton and drop-out rates, and by makng better use of teachers. In addton, due to hgher prmary school enrollment, the demand for secondary educaton s ncreasng. The secondary school system s marked by neffcent allocaton of teachers, hgh per student costs, weak mathematcs and scence teachng, and nadequate preparaton of students for labor market entry and further educaton. The government s currently developng a strategy for secondary educaton reform, whch should be complete by

74 Donor Response Government and donor support for FPE reached more than US$130 mllon between 2003 and 2005 (Afrcan Development Fund 2003). The prncpal external partners for the FPE were the World Bank, DFID, the Canadan Internatonal Development Agency (CIDA), and the Swedsh Internatonal Development Cooperaton Agency (SIDA). The World Bank s Free Prmary Educaton Support Project, begun n 2003 and mplemented over three years, seeks to support the government s efforts to provde free prmary educaton and attan the MDG of unversal prmary educaton by The project components nclude ncreased fundng for nstructonal materals; capacty buldng efforts such as school-based teacher development and support; mprovng school accountng systems; development of an educaton management nformaton system; fnancng educaton system desgn and program preparaton; and montorng and evaluaton. Nnety-three (93) percent of the US$50 mllon grant wll be spent on the nstructonal materals component (World Bank 2003a). The World Bank s Educaton Sector Support Project (ESSP) provdes support to the government to mplement the Kenya Educaton Sector Support Project (KESSP), whch ams to provde basc educaton to all chldren, as well as mprove qualty, by The program objectves are: () ensure equtable access to basc educaton, () mprove qualty and learnng outcomes, () provde opportuntes for educaton and tranng beyond the basc level, and (v) strengthen the educaton sector management. The World Bank US$50 mllon loan wll complement substantal government (US$ mllon) and other external agency spendng (US$239.1 mllon) on the KESSP from 2005 to 2009 (World Bank 2005h). Other development agences nvolved n related actvtes nclude DFID (textbook provson), OPEC (rehabltaton of school nfrastructure and capacty buldng), the World Food Program (prmary school feedng program n ASAL areas), and the Aga Khan Foundaton (school-based teacher development and support at the prmary level) (World Bank 2003a). 73

75 5. Lesotho Lesotho s Free Prmary Educaton (FPE) program began n January The program s man goal s to provde the mnmum and basc resources to enable chldren to enter and complete the prmary educaton cycle. The program s beng mplemented n phases, begnnng wth Standard 1 n 2000, Standard 2 n 2001, and so on untl 2006, when the whole prmary cycle wll be covered. 30 In mplementng the program, the government commtted to assstng schools that opt to jon the program wth teachers salares and provson of textbooks, classrooms and equpment, and meals. In antcpaton of ncreased enrollments, the Mnstry of Educaton created an addtonal 460 teachng postons, wth grants dstrbuted to schools. Begnnng n 2000, the government has gradually taken over the cost of textbooks and statonary n prmary schools, and has mplemented a centralzed procurement process. In addton, food servces are provded by exstng programs, such as the World Food Program, or through local caterng contracts, pad drectly by the mnstry. School mantenance s also managed at the central level (World Bank and Lesotho s Mnstry of Educaton and Tranng 2005). The program seems to have had a postve mpact on enrollment rates. The gross prmary enrollment rate ncreased from 109 percent n 1996 to 127 percent n Net prmary enrollment rose by 33 percent alone n the year followng mplementaton of FPE, from 60 percent n 1999 to 80 percent n Furthermore, the most recent data avalable suggests that the ncreases n enrollment have been sustaned and that chldren who entered the system n 2001 are gradually advancng to subsequent levels. Fgure A1 shows a sequental ncrease n enrollment, startng wth Standard 1 n 2000 and followed by Standard 2 n 2001, Standard 3 n 2002, Standard 4 n 2003, and Standard 5 n Ths pattern s consstent wth the phased n approach to elmnatng school fees. FPE has also been credted by head teachers wth ensurng access to educaton for thousands of AIDS orphans. A polcy of free and compulsory educaton also helps to entrench popular demand for schoolng as a rght, and puts postve pressure on both local and natonal governments to delver (Lerothol 2001). However, there s evdence that some households contnue to bear certan educaton costs, ncludng unforms and non-teachng staff salares. Also, snce most transactons are handled by the central government and some schools fnancal needs exceed the government allocatons, schools contnue to struggle to rase funds (Lerothol 2001). In addton, the school management component of FPE has met wth lttle success. It has been plagued by budget constrants, the burden of vouchers, and ndvdual schools' nablty to account for funds receved. Furthermore, the mantenance expendture gudelnes are not flexble enough to account for ndvdual school needs. 30 Preparatons for ts mplementaton began soon after the program was announced. Government offcals vsted Malaw and Uganda to learn from ther experences n ntroducng smlar programs, and based on those experences, Lesotho s government decded to phase n elmnaton of fees (World Bank 2005). 74

76 Fgure A1. Lesotho Prmary Enrollment 1998 to 2003 Source: World Bank and Lesotho s Mnstry of Educaton and Tranng

77 6. Malaw In 1994, the newly elected government n Malaw took a step n mprovng access to schoolng for the poor by elmnatng prmary school fees. 31 Mandatory unforms were also abolshed, although parents were stll expected to pay the costs of school supples, as well as contrbute labor and materals for school nfrastructure mprovements. The elmnaton of school fees led to a sgnfcant ncrease n prmary school enrollment. The gross prmary enrollment rate jumped by 49 percent, from 89 percent n 1993 to 133 percent n 1994 (WDI 2004). Educaton expendtures rose from 13 percent of total government spendng (3.5 percent of GDP) n 1994/95 to 20 percent (4.7 percent of GDP) n 1997/98. The percentage of recurrent resources allocated to prmary educaton ncreased from nearly 50 percent n 1993/94 to approxmately 60 percent n 1999/2000 (World Bank 2002c). Whle enrollment rates ncreased dramatcally overall, the poor appear to have benefted the most from fee elmnaton, and ths has led to a narrowng of the gap n gross prmary enrollment between the rch and the poor. Gross prmary enrollment for the poorest 20 percent of the populaton rose by 101 percent between 1990 and 1997, from 58 to 117 percent. In comparson, gross prmary school enrollment for the rchest 20 percent only rose by 48 percent durng the same years, from 81 to 120 percent (World Bank 2002c). Specfcally, real unt costs at the prmary and secondary level ncreased, mplyng large ncreases n real publc educaton expendture and the ncreases appeared to have been captured dsproportonately by the poorer ncome groups n Malaw. Whle the gender gap has perssted, t has narrowed over tme and across quntles. For example, between 1990 and 1997, gross prmary enrollment for grls n the poorest quntle rose by 113 percent (from 51 to 109 percent), whle gross prmary enrollment for boys n the same quntle rose by 92 percent (from 65 to 125 percent). Gross prmary enrollment for grls and boys n the top quntle rose by 48 and 50 percent, respectvely (World Bank 2002c). Despte gans n enrollment, many challenges reman and there s much evdence that qualty of educaton has declned. The ncrease n enrollment was not accompaned by a commensurate rse n traned teachers or teachng and learnng materals, and thus caused mportant qualty ndcators to reach unsustanable levels. The student to permanent classroom rato was 119:1 whle the student to desk rato was 38:1 and the student to textbook rato was 24:1. At the same tme, the student to teacher rato soared to 62:1 (World Bank 2004b; Kattan and Burnett 2004). By 1997 the government hred about 18,000 untraned prmary school teachers, resultng n a student to unqualfed teacher rato of 120:1 (World Bank 2002c). Accordng to parents, teacher performance deterorated as a result of reduced parent accountablty mechansms. Parents felt less compelled to montor teachers due to reduced personal fnancal nvolvement n the educaton system (Hllman and Jenkner 2002). As of 2000, the average prmary repetton rate was between 15.5 and 28.4 percent, dependng on the source used (Bentaouet Kattan and Burnett 2004; Hllman and Jenkner 2002; World Bank 2002c; World Bank 2004b). The average prmary drop-out rate was between 4.8 and 10.4 n the same year. The prmary school completon rate mproved from 20 to 25 percent to 34 to 40 percent between 1992 and 2000, but wthout a sharp 31 Pror to 1994, school fees were partally elmnated, begnnng wth Standard 1 n 1991/92, movng to elmnaton of fees for Standards 1 to 3 by 1993/94. Also, fees were waved for non-repeatng grls n Standards 2 through 8 n 1992/93 (World Bank 2002). 76

78 acceleraton of ths trend lne, Malaw wll not attan unversal prmary educaton by 2015 (World Bank 2004b). The hgh levels of repetton and drop-out are costly. Accordng to a 2004 World Bank study, f these rates reman at the same level, the government wll pay for up to 20 school years n order to send one chld through 8 years of the prmary school system. Malaw s ndex of effcency s 39.7 percent, ndcatng that 60.3 percent of the publc resources are used ether on chldren who drop out before fnshng prmary or on repetton years (both those who eventually fnsh and those who do not and are also lost to the system) (World Bank 2004b, pg. 56). Despte offcal elmnaton of fees, households contnue to pay a consderable share of the costs of educaton, and ths could be one possble explanaton for the prmary drop-out rates. Accordng to data collected by the World Bank, up to 83 percent of households that send ther chldren to prmary school pad for one or more school supples n The majorty of households reported payng for textbooks and unforms, and about 50 percent contrbuted to school mantenance funds. These costs also rse as chldren progress to hgher levels: expenses for Standard 3 are 50 percent hgher than those for Standard 1, and by Standard 6 costs rse to 4.7 tmes more than Standard 1. On average, household expendture for publc prmary schoolng was 80 percent, almost on par wth per pupl publc expendture. And, except for the rchest 20 percent of the populaton, household expendtures for prmary educaton are hghly regressve. In 2001, the poorest 20 percent of the populaton pad US$9.60 per pupl, whle the second, thrd, and fourth quntles pad US$7.90, US$5.90, and US$9.30, respectvely. The poorest quntle allocates about 5 to 6 percent of ts ncome to educaton, whereas the same group n neghborng countres (such as Uganda, Zamba, and Kenya) pays about 2.5 to 3 percent. In addton, poor households also make n-knd contrbutons to schools. For example, 72 percent of rural households and 25 percent of urban households contrbuted labor to prmary schools (World Bank 2004b). The government has begun to address the many challenges that t faces. For example, t has undertaken an evaluaton of ts tranng and hrng of untraned teachers and has also created a remuneraton package and career development for prmary school teachers (World Bank 2004b). However, there s stll much that needs to be done to mprove access to and the qualty of educaton n Malaw. Informal fees and contrbutons should be dscontnued, secondary school fundng should be mproved, better fnancng of teachng and learnng materals are needed, parental and communty partcpaton n school management should be encouraged, currculum should be strengthened, assessment exams should be restructured, and teacher tranng should be greatly mproved (World Bank 2002c). 77

79 7. Mozambque In 2004, the government of Mozambque declared the elmnaton of prmary school fees and leves, to begn n January Due to lmted budget resources, households are stll expected to bear the costs of school supples, unforms, and boardng costs, as well as textbooks n some grades. Households are also expected to contrbute to the Socal Acton Fund (ASE), whch was desgned to provde school materals and clothng to dsadvantaged students. In addton, households and communtes are allowed to make voluntary cash or n-knd donatons (World Bank 2005b). At ths tme t s not possble to measure the mpacts of the fee polcy. Thus, the dscusson below wll focus on the fndngs of a recent study on the mpact of the costs of educaton on educatonal outcomes. Pror to fee abolton, a poverty and socal mpact analyss (PSIA) was carred out by the World Bank (2005b) n order to assess the mpact of school fees and other educaton related expenses, as well as opportunty costs on mportant educatonal outcomes, such as prmary school enrollment and student retenton. The analyss revealed gaps n enrollment rates between poor and rch students. For example, for lower prmary school (grades 1 through 5), the net enrollment rate was 59.4 percent for the poorest 20 percent of the populaton and 72.2 percent for the rchest 20 percent of the populaton. Rural-urban gaps also exst; n urban areas, 75.5 percent of chldren ages 6-10 were attendng school, whle only 55.1 percent of chldren n the same group n rural areas were attendng school. The study also found that grls were less lkely to attend lower prmary school (59.2 percent) than boys (63 percent). Wth the excepton of urban areas n the Mozambque s central regon, the study dd not fnd evdence of a statstcally sgnfcant mpact of fees on enrollment or drop-out rates. However, the authors note that ths could be due to the fact that the monetary value of school fees s small (World Bank 2005b). The PSIA found that some schools turn away chldren who cannot pay school fees. In addton, many parents dd not know about the ASE and most provncal and dstrct offcals reported that famles that were unable to pay fees dd not enroll ther chldren n school. Furthermore, as noted above, even under the new polcy, households are stll expected to pay other varous nonfee educaton expenses and these costs can present a sgnfcant barrer to educaton. On average, households spend twce the amount of the average school fee on textbooks, and more than three tmes the average school fee on unforms. In addton, total household spendng per chld on schoolng rses wth each level of schoolng; costs for lower secondary school are three tmes those of prmary school (World Bank 2005b). 78

80 8. Tanzana The government of Tanzana elmnated school fees and other leves for prmary educaton n July of Unlke other countres that elmnated user fees n Afrca before and durng the same perod, Tanzana developed the Prmary Educaton Development Plan (PEDP), a comprehensve strategy for enhancng servce delvery n basc educaton (Hllman and Jenkner 2002). Pror to elmnatng fees, the government estmated that 3 mllon chldren, aged 7 to 13, were not n school. Recognzng that elmnatng school fees for all chldren at once would overwhelm the resources of the educaton system, the PEDP outlned a gradual approach for reachng ts goal of unversal prmary educaton (Government of Tanzana 2001). The PEDP outlned three areas for reform: expanson of access to educaton, enhancement of educaton qualty, and mprovements to the management system. Actvtes for expandng access ncluded recrutng and decentralzng the appontment of new teachers, gvng ncentves (such as teacher housng) to teachers deployed to rural areas, mplementng double-shfts n 80 percent of schools, provdng teachers who double-shft wth extra pay, and meetng targets for new classroom constructon. Qualty mprovement actvtes ncluded ten days of n-servce teacher tranng per teacher per year and establshment of schoolbased teacher resource centers. Procurement of textbook and learnng materals was decentralzed, wth targets for student to book ratos mprovng from 3:1 n 2002 to 1:1 by In addton, a captaton grant of US$10 per student was mplemented n 2002, US$4 of whch would be sent to the school dstrcts for textbook and learnng materals procurement. The remanng money s sent to school commttees, whch decde how best to use the funds, ncludng payng admnstratve costs and teacher development. The last component focuses on strengthenng nsttutonal and local capacty for educaton management, ncludng governance, fnancal management, nformaton systems, and system admnstraton. A key feature of ths component s strengthenng partcpaton and accountablty at all levels (Government of Tanzana 2001). A strategy for ncludng dsadvantaged chldren was wrtten nto the PEDP. The government set up the Natonal Educaton Fund, whch provdes scholarshps to poor chldren and AIDS orphans. A unque feature of the Tanzanan experence was expanson of non-formal educaton opportuntes for overage chldren, who would be too old to beneft from the elmnaton of school fees due to the phased-n approach (Government of Tanzana 2001). As a result of the phased-n approach, the educaton system was ready for the ntal ncreases n enrollment. Net prmary enrollment ncreased from 57 percent pror to the elmnaton of fees to 85 percent wthn one year (Global Campagn for Educaton 2005). Although the student to teacher rato ncreased from 45:1 before the PEDP n 2001 to the current 59:1, t s stll manageable. And, the rato s lkely to be reduced because the peak of the enrollment trend has passed and more teachers are expected to graduate from teacher colleges. The phased-n approach also protected qualty. Over the perod of the PEDP, the Prmary School Leavng Examnaton pass rate ncreased from 25 percent n 2002 to 48 percent n The student to textbook rato, mproved from 8:1 before the launch of PEDP to 4:1 n The percentage of Grade A teachers ncreased from 46 percent n 1999 to 58 percent n 2004, ndcatng that whle gans have been made, qualty teachers are stll n demand as 42 percent of prmary teachers have 79

81 mnmal tranng. Grls represent 49 percent of students enrolled n the frst grade. Furthermore, 29,922 new classrooms were bult between 2002 and 2004, wth the support of communtes usng development grants (World Bank 2005a). Total expendtures n educaton more than doubled between 1998 and A recent report on the progress of the PEDP notes that although there have been many achevements, many challenges reman. There has been ncreased space for the partcpaton of non-governmental organzatons (NGOs), whch play a role n dssemnatng nformaton to communtes. Another achevement has been the development of gudelnes for mproved democratc and transparent decson-makng, as well as publc access to fnancal nformaton. However, there have also been delays n dstrbutng gudelnes regardng the use of funds, school commttee reform and constructon to many dstrcts and schools. And, whle the transfer of the captaton grant drectly to schools has ncreased motvaton and parental partcpaton, t s felt that school commttees have not been gven the opportunty to outlne ther own schoollevel prortes due to the fact that the breakdown of the captaton grant was determned by the central government. There s also evdence that the full captaton grant s not reachng all of the schools and that the transfer schedules are erratc (Makongo 2003). Whle double-shftng has contrbuted to mproved use of teachers, teachers effectveness durng afternoon sessons tends to dmnsh. Addtonally, parents n urban areas are concerned wth the safety of chldren who attend the afternoon sessons and do not return home untl after dark. Also, due to the lack of meal programs, many chldren are unable to concentrate on ther studes (World Bank 2005a). Furthermore, despte elmnaton of fees, some parents stll ncur costs to send ther chldren to school, though the costs have decreased sgnfcantly snce For example, average total costs to send one chld to school n the Klmanjaro area ranges from 2,000 to 8,000 Tanzana shllngs (US$9 to US$12). Pror to elmnaton of fees, t cost 7,600 to 10,600 shllngs (US$12 to US$15). Indrect costs stll reman hgh. Whle unforms are no longer compulsory, there s a stgma assocated wth sendng a chld to school wthout one. The cost of books stll represents an obstacle to schoolng. It s estmated that, combnng drect and ndrect costs, parents are payng about 13,000 Tanzanan shllngs to send one chld to school for one year (UNESCO 2003/04). Donor Response Pror to mplementng the PEDP, the government estmated that there was a fnancng gap of US$129 mllon n 2001, though ths would gradually decrease, elmnatng the gap by 2012, dependent on a projected economc growth rate of 6 percent (Government of Tanzana 2001). Tanzana s advances n mplementng free prmary educaton have played a key role n ts actvtes under the HIPC debt relef ntatve. As outlned above, the man goals of ts Educaton Sector Development Program (ESDP) s to mprove educaton qualty and nternal effcency, ncrease access to prmary educaton, especally for the poor and other dsadvantaged groups, and to reduce the household costs of educaton. Under ESDP, Tanzana has ncreased expendtures on prmary educaton, as well as elmnated user fees at the prmary level. It also carred out a school-mappng exercse n over 50 percent of ts school dstrcts, whch allowed educaton authortes to dentfy the man problems n delverng qualty prmary educaton. Due 80

82 to debt relef, the government was able to double per capta spendng on educaton and elmnate school fees (Internatonal Monetary Fund 2000a, Global Campagn for Educaton 2005). In 2001, the World Bank approved a package supportng the mplementaton of the PEDP, ncludng a loan of US$150 mllon and a grant provded by the Netherlands of US$50 mllon. The project closed n 2005 and whle some of the challenges outlned above reman, overall the project was rated satsfactory, and sustanablty s hghly lkely (World Bank 2005a) Canada dedcated US$10 mllon per year from to pooled fundng for the natonal educaton plan (Global Campagn for Educaton 2005). 81

83 9. Tmor-Leste In 1999, a majorty of the populaton n Tmor-Leste voted for the restoraton of ndependence from Indonesa. Ths would have an mpact on many aspects of Tmor-Leste s poltcal and socal fabrc, not least of whch was the state of educaton n the regon. Pror to 1999 and under Indonesan rule, Tmor-Leste experenced prmary educaton attanment levels well below the natonal average, 80 percent compared to nearly 100 percent for Indonesa as a whole. Addtonally, t also exhbted larger enrollment gaps between the rch and the poor, urban and rural areas, and males and females. Under the Indonesan admnstraton, school fees comprsed 13 percent of household expendture on publc prmary educaton per capta for the poorest 20 percent of the populaton, followed by 9 percent for PTA charges. Other types of fees were substantally more: 52 percent for unforms, 16 percent for textbooks, and 10 percent for other nstructonal materals (World Bank 2002a). In 1999, the Tmor-Leste Transtonal Admnstraton elmnated many educaton charges and fees. In addton, t also abolshed mandatory unforms. By 2001, prmary school enrollment had grown by 9.5 percent, no small feat consderng that the retreatng pro-indonesan mlta destroyed 95 percent of the schools after the referendum, and 20 percent of prmary school teachers returned to ther homes n other regons of Indonesa. Donor fnancng of school nfrastructure constructon, teacher salares, and textbook provson was prmarly responsble for the reducton n school fees. By 2001, the poorest 20 percent of the populaton pad only 1.6 percent of household expendtures per capta on school fees, 0.6 percent on PTA charges, 0.4 percent for textbooks, and 3.1 percent for other nstructonal materals. Monthly per capta spendng on educaton among the poorest quntle dropped from US$0.82 n 1995 to US$0.33 n 2001 (World Bank 2002a). The elmnaton of fees mproved equtable access to educaton. Prmary school enrollment gaps between the rch and the poor, grls and boys, and rural and urban areas have narrowed sgnfcantly. New enrollment was concentrated among chldren ages 5 to 15 (World Bank 2002a). Despte the ncreases n enrollment, cohort analyss ponts to low levels of nternal effcency. Most new enrollments were at the lower prmary level, regardless of the approprate age-forgrade. In 2000/01, the number of enrolled n Grade 1 was double the estmated number of sxyear-olds n the country. Thus, there s a wde gap between gross and net enrollments: 102 and 73 percent, respectvely. A 2002 World Bank study estmated that gven these levels of nternal effcency, only 67 percent of chldren would reach Grade 4, and 47 percent would eventually complete grade 6, whle 53 percent would drop out (World Bank 2002a, pg. 31). Whle the cost of sendng a student to 6 years of prmary school s about $300, the hgh repetton and drop-out rates cause costs to nearly double (World Bank 2002a). 82

84 10. Uganda On January 1, 1997 Uganda mplemented the Unversal Prmary Educaton (UPE) polcy, promsng to elmnate user fees for prmary educaton, ncludng ndrect fees through PTAs and unforms, for as many as four chldren per household, two of whom should be grls. Untl 1995, drect and ndrect fees consttuted more than 50 percent of school ncome. The elmnaton of fees was combned wth a strong dssemnaton campagn of UPE and a hghly decentralzed mode of mplementaton. In addton, mplementaton ncluded a publc campagn amed at keepng grls n school by focusng on grls educaton and the negatve mpact of early marrages. Enrollment jumped 68 percent, from 3.1 mllon n 1996 to 5.3 mllon n 1997 (World Bank 2001b; Avenstrup et. al. 2004). Smaller annual ncreases followed untl, n 2004, total enrollment n government schools stablzed at about 6.7 mllon (Uganda Bureau of Statstcs 2004a). Enrollment rates grew qucker among the poor than the non-poor after the ntroducton of UPE, thus narrowng the enrollment gap between the two groups. In 1992, there was a 36 percentage pont dfference between the poor and non-poor n terms of enrollment fgures, but by 2004 the dfference n enrollments was only 5 percentage ponts (Uganda Bureau of Statstcs 2004b). Enrollment rates for grls also ncreased sgnfcantly. Prmary attendance among grls 6 to 12 years old grew from 59.7 percent n 1992 to an estmated 83.2 and 91 percent n 1999 and 2004 respectvely, whle prmary attendance among boys grew from 64.3 to an estmated 84 and 91 percent for the same years. Urban-rural dspartes n access to prmary educaton also declned. In addton, drop-outs due to cost-related ssues decreased sgnfcantly. Overage enrollment was massve at the begnnng of the UPE cycle. Now t s much lower but stll szeable, wth a Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) of about 125 percent n 2004 (Uganda Mnstry of Educaton n.d.). Furthermore, the percentage of chldren who dropped out of school due to cost decreased from an estmated 71 to 42 percent between 1992 and 2003, though urban-rural dspartes reman, wth 57 percent of households n urban areas ctng cost as a reason for droppng out, compared to 36 percent n rural areas (Uganda Bureau of Statstcs 2002/03). UPE was also accompaned by spendng restructurng wthn the educaton sector. Educaton expendtures grew from 16.4 percent of the natonal, dscretonary, recurrent budget n 1996 to about 30 percent n 2000 to 2005 (Uganda Mnstry of Fnance, Plannng and Economc Development n.d.). Spendng on prmary educaton ncreased from less than 40 percent of the overall educaton budget throughout the early 1990s to about 70 percent n to present. Funds for constructon and mantenance grew to sx tmes ther prevous levels (Dennger 2003). Despte ncreases n educaton expendtures, the qualty (measured by nput per pupl) declned n government schools wth the ntroducton of UPE. Though there has been consderable mprovement n recent years, the ratos are not yet back to the pre-upe levels. The pupl:teacher rato ncreased from 38:1 n 1996 to 80:1 n 1997, and was down to 53:1 n 2004 (Uganda Mnstry of Educaton n.d.). In rural areas the pupl to teacher rato was 70:1 (Dennger 2003). The pupl:classroom rato rose from 68:1 n 1996 to 105:1 n 1997, and was down to 84:1 n 2004 (Educaton Management Informaton System Reports). 33 Exam scores pont to possble 33 Dennger (2003) suggests that much of the mprovement can be credted to n-knd communty contrbutons, ndcatng that the polcy created local ncentves for communty partcpaton. 83

85 problems wth school qualty. Nearly 25 percent of students who took the fnal exams for prmary school n 1999 dd not pass. Furthermore, 27 percent of students n rural areas faled the exam, compared to only 17 percent n urban areas (Dennger 2003). 34 Despte elmnaton of school fees, parents stll pay both offcal and unoffcal fees. Offcal government polcy holds parents responsble for payng costs for exercse books, pencls, meals, clothng, transportaton, and assstance wth school constructon (Uganda Bureau of Statstcs 2002/03; Uganda Bureau of Statstcs 2004b). A study undertaken by the Unted Kngdom s Department for Internatonal Development (DIFD) found that unoffcal fees nclude end-of-year partes, classroom constructon, telecommuncaton nfrastructure, and even teachers funerals (Boyle et. al. 2002). The fgures on mpact of cost on drop-out rates are already gven above. Donor Response Ted to ts bd for elgblty under the HIPC debt relef ntatve, the Government of Uganda adopted a Poverty Eradcaton Acton Plan (PEAP) n 1997, whch placed a heavy emphass on ncreasng expendtures n the socal sectors, ncludng ncreasng access to schoolng, mproved plannng, fundng, and montorng of prmary educaton. Government fundng for the UPE polcy ncreased by 37 percent n 1997/98 and HIPC assstance was earmarked for ncreased socal spendng. Educaton spendng grew from 3 percent of GDP, or 17 percent of total publc expendtures, n 1997 to 4 percent of GDP, or 20 percent of total publc expendtures, n 2001 (Internatonal Monetary Fund 1998). In md-1998, two World Bank projects supportng prmary educaton were mplemented. The Prmary Educaton and Teacher Development Project (PETDP) focused on mprovng teachng and learnng, provdng textbooks and teachers gudes to prmary schools, and buld capacty for strategc management, plannng and polcy analyss, and currculum reform wthn the Mnstry of Educaton. It was fnanced by an IDA credt of US$52.6 mllon as well as addtonal fnancng from the US Agency for Internatonal Development (USAID) (World Bank 2001b). The Educaton Sector Adjustment Credt (ESAC) was desgned to assst the government wth the challenges caused by ncreasng enrollments after t elmnated school fees. The goals of the project were to mprove resource allocaton and use n the educaton sector, to mprove the quantty and qualty of schoolng nputs, and to strengthen sector management n order to keep pace wth the growth of enrollment. ESAC was fnanced wth a US$75 mllon HIPC grant and a US$80 mllon IDA loan (World Bank 2004d). In 2001, the government and the Afrcan Development Bank mplemented the Educaton II Project. 35 The goal of the project was to acheve equtable access to qualty UPE by A second goal focused on mprovng access to secondary school for grls. It s also hoped that t wll acheve development of nsttutonal capacty for effectve decentralzaton and provson of educaton for all, ncludng AIDS orphans. Expected outputs nclude: 29,000 new schools n the 27 needest dstrcts, preparaton of cost-effectve, sustanable currculum (ncludng agrcultural educaton and other productve sklls), and nstructonal materals. 36 Ffty-seven percent of the 34 Examnaton pass rates for 1992 were not reported. 35 Formally known as the Support to the Educaton Strategc Investment Plan. 36 Instructonal materals nclude teachers gudes and syllab, teacher tranng, and currculum specalst tranng. 84

86 US$26.75 mllon loan and US$3.18 mllon grant wll be spent on a prmary school nfrastructure component, 14 percent on currculum development, and 23 percent on achevng gender equty n secondary schools. The remanng funds wll be used to coordnate and manage the project, scheduled to end n 2006 (Afrcan Development Fund 2000). Other development partners, such as DFID (UK), EC, CIDA (Canada), DANIDA (Denmark), DCI (Ireland), GTZ, Dutch, USAID, UNICEF, and WFP, ntensfed ther support to the educaton program. What emerged was an educaton sector-wde approach (SWAP) n Uganda, n whch the donors pooled ther resources for educaton. 85

87 11. Zamba Free basc educaton (FBE) was announced and mmedately ntroduced n Zamba n February of FBE was supported by Zamba s 2002 Poverty Reducton Strategy Paper (PRSP), whch outlned the elmnaton of user fees for basc educaton as a way to reduce poverty. The Strategc Plan for educaton also called for the abolton of schools fees. Although FBE was a poltcal decson made outsde of the Mnstry of Educaton, the Mnstry was expected to mplement the polcy mmedately, and therefore had lttle tme to adequately plan for the transformaton. Gudelnes mandatng the elmnaton of fees for grades 1 to 7 were prepared and crculated to schools. In addton, the government developed bursary schemes for clothng, nstructonal materals, and boardng costs for vulnerable groups (Mwansa et. al. 2004). Pror to FBE, the educaton system was characterzed by low teacher motvaton, nadequate tranng, shortage of textbooks and nstructonal materals, nadequate school nfrastructure, and nequtable access to educaton, both between urban and rural areas and for grls. Zamba experenced declnng enrollments, wth the prmary school gross enrollment decreasng from 95 percent n 1985 to 89 percent n Access to educaton was lowest for chldren n remote and rural areas. The prmary school drop-out rate was about 31 percent. Parents pad a varety of fees ncludng tuton, exam fees, Parent Teacher Assocaton (PTA) dues, unforms, and boardng fees. In 1993, government funds consttuted 56 percent of educaton fnancng, whle parents pad 44 percent. Publc expendture was 3 percent of GDP and 16.8 percent of the total recurrent budget. Most of the funds were used to pay salares (Afrcan Development Fund 1999). The mpact of FBE was somewhat lmted, wth enrollment only rsng by 8.5 percent between 2002 and Ths suggests that factors other than costs stll consttuted a sgnfcant barrer to educaton. Drop-out rates declned slghtly from 3.88 to 2.42 percent but largely perssted due to early marrages, pregnancy, the rsng ncdence of AIDS orphans, and lack of parental support. Teacher and student absenteesm due to HIV/AIDS remans a sgnfcant obstacle to educaton. 37 About 1,000 teachers de from AIDS every year (Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). In addton, one study found that due to lack of specfc gudelnes on applcatons, one-thrd of applcants to government schools were turned away, possbly due to nadequate school nfrastructure and the New Breakthrough to Lteracy Polcy (NBLP), whch lmts class sze to 40 students FBE dd seem to have an mpact on enrollment of dsadvantaged groups. Mwansa et. al. (2004) found that a sgnfcant number of new enrollments, especally n rural areas, were students who had prevously left school due to the nablty to pay school fees. Enrollment among orphans and chldren wth specal needs also rose. However, they also found evdence of a persstent gender gap, partcularly n rural areas. Whle some nterventons, such as the NBLP offset the mpact of FBE, a few nterventons worked to ncrease enrollments. The Programme for the Advancement of Grls Educaton 37 AIDS s a serous threat to educaton, especally n the form of teacher and admnstrator attrton. Infecton rates are 25 to 30 percent n urban areas, and 10 to 15 percent n rural areas (AFD 1999). 86

88 (PAGE) and a re-entry polcy for pregnant grls mproved access to educaton for grls, whle the bursary schemes and the School Health and Nutrton Programme mproved access for the poor (Mwansa et. al. 2004). At the tme that FBE was ntroduced there was a cost-sharng framework already n place under the Basc Educaton Sub-Sector Investment Program (BESSIP). Communtes were requred to support the constructon and rehabltaton of schools. Under FBE communtes stopped contrbutng to nfrastructure mprovements because they nterpreted the polcy as meanng that the government would pay for all educaton costs (Mwansa et. al. 2004). In order to replace the loss of school fees, the government ncreased the amount of grants pad to schools. However, due to rushed mplementaton of the polcy, the government was not able to carry out a school census, or needs-assessments, and gave each school, bg or large, urban or rural, the same amount of grant money. There s some evdence that the grants proved to be nadequate and that qualty of educaton s sufferng. Increased enrollments and teacher shortages have forced most schools to mplement multple shfts. Whle offcal data show that the student to classroom rato mproved slghtly, one study of 352 basc schools 38 found that 31.5 percent of schools conducted class under trees, 14.2 percent held multple sessons, and some schools used tents (3.9 percent) (Mwansa et al. 2004). Ths suggests that offcal aggregate data obscures large nequtes between schools and regons. The same study found that the student to teacher rato ncreased from 46:1 to 52:1 between 2001 and 2003, partally due to a teacher strke, as well as hrng freezes that have left about 9,000 traned teachers out of work. In some rural areas, student teacher ratos are as much as 100:1 (Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). Teacher shortage has serous mplcatons for the success of FBE. Some students receve only two hours of educaton a day, learnng only a mnmal amount of currculum. And although mean scores have ncreased by 2 percentage ponts, almost two-thrds of 5 th grade students do not acheve mnmum competence levels n Englsh and mathematcs (Internatonal Monetary Fund 2004; Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). The government responded to the problem of nadequate learnng materals by decentralzng the procurement process, whch s expected to reduce the cost of transportng materals, as well as free up funds for more materals. One hundred and sx (106) new prmary schools were constructed n 2002 (Internatonal Monetary Fund 2004). The Mnstry of Educaton has estmated that an addtonal 3,000 to 4,000 teachers a year wll need to be hred to cover attrton, based on a 64:1 target for student to teacher rato (Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). However, wage freezes n 2003 and 2004 meant that the real value of teacher salares s declnng. There s some evdence that households are stll bearng a sgnfcant amount of educaton related expenses. Despte the mandate that school unforms should not be requred, 46 percent of urban and 14.4 percent of rural schools stll requred students to wear unforms (although ths could be the result of ambguty n FBE gudelnes that allowed schools to use unforms as long as they dd not make a proft from them). Also, fees collected by government schools actually ncreased 38 Basc schools n Zamba cover grades 1 through 7. Seventy three (73) percent of the surveyed schools were n rural areas, and whle not perfectly representatve, comes close to the offcal statstc of 84 percent of schools n Zamba beng located n rural areas. 87

89 between 2002 and 2003 (Mwansa et. al. 2004). As well, some schools have begun to charge PTA fees agan due to nadequate government fundng (Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). Donor Response It s expected that 30 percent of the government s educaton budget for 2003 to 2007 wll be fnanced by external donors (Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). In order to be elgble for debt relef under the HIPC Intatve, the government of Zamba outlned educaton as a major area of reform (Internatonal Monetary Fund 2000c). Specfcally, t proposed to ncrease budgetary contrbutons to the educaton sector to at least 20.5 percent, rase teacher salares n rural areas to above the poverty lne, and ncrease enrollment n rural areas. By 2005, publc educaton expendtures accounted for 24.1 percent of total government spendng, teacher salares were ncreased so that they fell above the household poverty lne, and user fees for grades 1 to 7 were elmnated. In addton, the government mandated that 100 percent of new teachers be posted to rural areas. However, one report holds the vew that n order to meet the HIPC trgger ponts the Zamban government underestmates ts spendng needs (Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). For example, US$50 mllon s requred to meet wage ncreases for current teachers and to hre new teachers. The EFA-FTI estmates that there s a fnancng gap of $US40 to 50 mllon a year n order to acheve unversal prmary educaton by Blateral fundng for educaton s more common n Zamba. For example, the Dutch government recently gave Zamba a grant of US$11.3 mllon to pay arrears owed to almost 8,000 retred and retrenched teachers, enablng the hrng of the same number of teachers (Global Campagn for Educaton 2004). 88

90 Annex 2: Determnants of Enrollment Among major determnants of enrollment dentfed n recent studes are household ncome, schoolng costs, presence or absence of schools, communty nvolvement, transportaton, educaton qualty, and relevance. For grls, addtonal factors that contrbute to enrollment are the presence of female teachers; the avalablty of proper features such as latrnes, daycare facltes for younger sblngs, and water sources; and the flexblty of the school calendar. Not all studes use the same lst of possble determnants and methodologes dffer. Whle user fees mpede access to educaton, they are not the only determnants of household demand for educaton. Households often reduce other household costs so that ther chldren may go to school. For example, parents n Kenya stated that they would skp meals and parents n Sr Lanka noted that they defer or forgo seekng medcal attenton n order to pay school fees (Boyle et. al. 2002). In Uganda, the percentage of chldren not enrolled n school due to a calamty n the famly, pregnancy, or dsabled grew from 1.9 n 1992 to 16 percent n 1999, two years after user fees were elmnated (Dennger 2003, p. 297). The author surmses that ths may be due to the rapd spread of HIV/AIDS. It may also be a result of the ncreased attenton to mprovng school-level data followng fee abolton. Qualty of schoolng can also be a determnant of enrollment. Ths hghlghts the mportance of mantanng school qualty at the same tme as elmnatng school fees. Dennger (2003) outlnes the trade-offs between expandng access to educaton and mprovng qualty: Increasng access to schoolng wll favor the poor (who were prevously excluded) whle mprovements n qualty that are not accompaned by smultaneous mprovements n access wll work n favor of the rch (who are already enrolled) (p. 293). A study of prmary school enrollment n Kenya offers emprcal evdence of ths trade-off. Deolalkar (1997) found that the elastcty of prmary school enrollment relatve to school avalablty s.37 for low-ncome famles and almost 0 for hgh-ncome famles, whle the elastcty relatve to student to teacher ratos s -.53 for the poor and.13 for the wealthy. Ths means that buldng schools (quantty) s more pro-poor, whle mprovng the student-teacher rato largely benefts the rch, and has a negatve mpact on prmary school enrollments for the poor. 39 The true prvate costs of prmary schoolng also nclude the opportunty cost of chldren s tme, such as forgone ncome or the value of a chld s tme spent on household dutes. Deolalkar (1997) found that the amount of tme spent collectng water, a proxy of opportunty costs, has a negatve mpact on prmary school enrollment n Kenya. Most chldren who work n developng countres are major contrbutors to famly ncome. For example, n Paraguay, chld labor consttutes 24 percent of famly ncome (Patrnos and Sddqu 1995). Therefore, even n the absence of school fees, very poor households may stll be unlkely, or unable, to send ther chldren to school (Hllman and Jenker 2002). Ths ponts to the need for publc programs that provde ncentves or ad to poor households so that ther chldren attend school. 39 The author notes that ths s probably due to the fact that mprovements n student to teacher ratos are often fnanced wth user fees and/or from shftng of resources away from bursares and scholarshps to new teacher salares. 89

91 Gender can often be a powerful determnant of enrollment. In Kenya, features such as the presence of female teachers, the avalablty of proper features such as latrnes, daycare facltes for younger sblngs and water sources, and the flexblty of the school calendar contrbute to hgher enrollments for grls, who often are responsble for a large percentage of household actvtes (Mukud 2004). Culture often ntersects wth gender n ts mpact on enrollment. For example, women n Pakstan are often dscouraged from jonng the labor market and there are few job opportuntes for them, thus reducng the prvate returns to female educaton. In addton, snce women jon ther husbands households after marrage, parents may be more wllng to nvest resources n ther sons educatons because they are lkely to get a better return on ther nvestment n the form of support n ther old age (Holmes 1999). The opportunty cost of sendng grls to school s often greater snce they are generally responsble for the bulk of household dutes. Levels of parental educaton are often sgnfcantly related to demand for schoolng. The head of household s educaton has a strong mpact on enrollment among hgh-ncome famles, whle the effect of the spouse s level of educaton s more sgnfcant n low-ncome famles (Deolalkar 1997). Globally, a mother s educaton can make a bg dfference n whether or not a chld attends prmary school. Chldren of women who have no educaton are more than twce as lkely to be out of school than chldren of women who have at least some educaton (UNICEF 2005). Parental educaton can also dsplay a gender dmenson. In Pakstan, mothers schoolng has a larger mpact on grls enrollment, whle fathers schoolng largely nfluences boys enrollment (Holmes 1999). Mothers schoolng has a larger mpact on grls from poor households than grls from more well-off households n Kenya (Deolalkar 1997). Other reasons that parents may not send ther chldren to school nclude nformaton falures about the lnks between educaton and local job opportuntes; hgh ncdence of nepotsm and mperfect job markets; dstances to schools; dstances to closest labor market; and communty nvolvement (Bentaouet Kattan and Burnett 2004; Hllman and Jenker 2002). For example, as unemployment grows n Kenya, t s unlkely that parents wll send ther chldren to school f they do not beleve that there wll be a sgnfcant return to ther drect or ndrect nvestment n educaton (Mukud 2004). Low enrollment may also reflect a lack of supply (no schools n the area). There s a serous absence of current lterature examnng these dfferent possble causes of low enrollment among the countres that have not acheved unversal basc educaton. In part, ths lterature gap reflects the consderable progress made n ncreasng prmary enrollments around the world, whch makes t a less pressng global ssue, even f t remans of hgh prorty for Sub-Saharan Afrca and South Asa. It also reflects the lack of usable data n many of the poorest countres that have low prmary enrollment rates. On the other hand, the fact that a country has reached unversal basc educaton, even though schools charge fees, does not mean that fees cease to be a cause of concern. In such cases fees may not be lmtng access or attendance, but they may stll be an equty concern. 90

92 Annex 3: Summary Fndngs of the 2005 World Bank User Fee Survey A survey n a matrx form was sent to all World Bank task team leaders of actve basc and lower secondary educaton projects n Aprl PRIMARY EDUCATION -- OVERALL SURVEY RESULTS: Data coverage: Data was obtaned for 93 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDAsupported basc educaton projects. Out of the 93 countres, almost all (81%) 77 countres have some type of fee. Sxteen (16) countres have no type of fees at all: Bangladesh, Camboda, Cape Verde, Chle, Costa Rca, Guatemala, Iraq, Nepal, Peru, Senegal, Sr Lanka, St. Ktts and Nevs, Tanzana, The Gamba, Tunsa, and Zamba. In these countres educaton s completely provded by the government. Countres generally have several types of fees, wth the excepton of the followng 19 countres: Brazl, Ghana, Namba, Panama, Ukrane, Argentna, Azerbajan, Chad, Cote d'ivore, Inda, Iran, Jordan, Malaw, Maldves, Phlppnes, Romana, Serra Leone, Solomon Islands, and Tmor-Leste, whch have only PTA/communty fees and no other types of fees. 5 countres have all 5 types of fees, ncludng Domncan Republc, Hat, Honduras, Indonesa, and Vetnam. 59 countres have some type of legal fees: Argentna, Azerbajan, Benn, Bhutan, Bosna- Herzegovna, Bulgara, Burkna Faso, Burund, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Chna, Costa Rca, Cote d'ivore, Democratc Republc of Congo, Djbout, Domncan Republc, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ertrea, Georga, Gunea, Gunea Bssau, Guyana, Hat, Inda, Indonesa, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republc, Lebanon, Madagascar, Maldves, Mal, Maurtana, Mongola, Morocco, Ncaragua, Nger, Paraguay, Peru, the Phlppnes, Romana, Russan Federaton, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, South Afrca, Swazland, Tajkstan, Tanzana, Thaland, Tmor-Leste, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, West Bank and Gaza, and Republc of Yemen. Of these 59 countres, only Domncan Republc and Hat have all fve types of fees mplemented legally. 33 countres have some type of fee mplemented unoffcally, ncludng: Honduras, Vetnam, Lbera, Ethopa, Lao PDR, Bolva, Mexco, Tonga, Ngera, Vanuatu, Indonesa, Brazl, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambque, Namba, Panama, Ukrane, Djbout, Kenya, Ncaragua, Mal, Burkna Faso, Chna, Mongola, Uganda, Venezuela, Georga, West Bank and Gaza, Republc of Yemen Congo, Ecuador, and Kyrgyz Republc. 40 Data was collected nformally from World Bank task team leaders and may not reflect the most recent changes n polcy and practce at the country level. 91

93 Honduras and Vetnam have all fve fees mplemented unoffcally, and are the only 2 countres that have unoffcal textbook fees. In the followng 22 countres (of the 33 countres n whch unoffcal fees are collected) the fees are PTA/communty contrbutons: Honduras, Vetnam, Lbera, Ethopa, Lao PDR, Bolva, Mexco, Tonga, Ngera, Vanuatu, Indonesa, Brazl, Ghana, Namba, Panama, Ukrane, Kenya, Mongola, Venezuela, Georga, West Bank and Gaza, and Ecuador. Tuton Fees: Of the 93 countres surveyed, tuton fees are mplemented n 24 countres (25%); of whch 17 countres (18%) collect legal tuton fees. These 17 countres nclude: Burund, Democratc Republc of Congo, Domncan Republc, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ertrea, Georga, Hat, Indonesa, Kyrgyz Republc, Lebanon, South Afrca, Swazland, Vanuatu, West Bank and Gaza, and Republc of Yemen. In 7 countres, tuton fees are mplemented unoffcally: Mal, Ngera, Republc of Congo, Honduras, Lbera, Vetnam, and Bolva. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mplemented n 24 countres (25%): Bosna-Herzegovna, Bulgara, Chna, Democratc Republc of Congo, Republc of Congo, Domncan Republc, El Salvador, Ertrea, Georga, Guyana, Hat, Honduras, Indonesa, Kyrgyz Republc, Maurtana, Mongola, Russan Federaton, Rwanda, Tajkstan, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vetnam, and West Bank and Gaza. Only n Honduras and Vetnam are these fees unoffcal. Unform Fees: The purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n 33 (35%) of the countres surveyed: Bhutan, Bolva, Burkna Faso, Burund, Cameroon, Chna, Republc of Congo, Domncan Republc, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ertrea, Ethopa, Guyana, Hat, Honduras, Indonesa, Lao PDR, Lbera, Madagascar, Mexco, Mongola, Morocco, Ncaragua, Pakstan, Paraguay, Rwanda, Swazland, Tajkstan, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vetnam, and Republc of Yemen. In only 9 countres are unform fees unoffcally mplemented, ncludng Bolva, Chna, Ethopa, Honduras, Lao PDR, Lbera, Mexco, Ncaragua, and Vetnam. PTA/Communty Contrbutons: PTA/ Communty contrbutons are common n 65 (69%) of the countres surveyed. In 37(39%) of these countres, the collecton of these fees are legally allowed and encouraged. 92

94 Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 34 (36%) of the countres surveyed. In 15 (15%) of these countres, these fees are unoffcal, ncludng Burkna Faso, Djbout, Ethopa, Honduras, Indonesa, Kyrgyz Republc, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Lbera, Mozambque, Paraguay, Tonga, Uganda, Vanuatu, Vetnam, and Republc of Yemen. AFRICA (AFR) PRIMARY EDUCATION Data Coverage: 34 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects Tuton Fees: For these 34 countres, tuton fees are mplemented n 9 countres: Ngera, Mal, Democratc Republc of Congo, Swazland, Republc of Congo, Ertrea, Lbera, Burund, and South Afrca. Wth the excepton of Democratc Republc of Congo, Swazland, Ertrea, Burund, and South Afrca all fees are collected unoffcally. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mplemented n 6 countres, and n all countres these fees are legally allowed: Maurtana, Democratc Republc of Congo, Ertrea, Rwanda, Republc of Congo, and Uganda. Unform Fees: Purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n 11 of these countres: Burkna Faso, Burund, Republc of Congo, Ertrea, Ethopa, Lbera, Madagascar, Rwanda, Swazland, Uganda, and Cameroon. PTA/Communty Contrbutons: PTA/Communty contrbutons are common n 23 countres: Malaw, Ngera, Mal, Democratc Republc of Congo, Swazland, Rwanda, Serra Leone, Namba, Ethopa, Kenya, Lbera, Burkna Faso, Chad, Ertrea, Cameroon, Republc of Congo, Ghana, Uganda, Cote d'ivore, Benn, Gunea Bssau, Gunea, and Nger. In 6 of these countres fees are collected unoffcally: Ngera, Namba, Ethopa, Kenya, Lbera, and Ghana. 93

95 Other School-Based Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 12 countres: Ethopa, Democratc Republc of Congo, Swazland, Burkna Faso, Kenya, Lbera, Lesotho, Gunea, Uganda, Benn, Nger, and Mozambque. In 5 of these countres t s unoffcal: Ethopa, Burkna Faso, Lbera, Lesotho, and Mozambque. EAST ASIA & PACIFIC (EAP) PRIMARY EDUCATION Data Coverage: 12 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. Tuton Fees: Of these 12 countres, tuton fees are mplemented n 3 countres: Indonesa, Vanuatu, and Vetnam. Of these 3 countres, fees are collected unoffcally n Vetnam. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mposed n 5 countres: Vanuatu, Chna, Mongola, Vetnam, and Indonesa. Of these 5 countres, fees are collected unoffcally n Vetnam. Unform Fees: Purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n 5 of these cases: Chna, Indonesa, Lao PDR, Vetnam, and Mongola. In 3 of these countres, fees for unforms are unoffcally collected: Chna, Lao PDR, and Vetnam. PTA/Communty Contrbutons: PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 11 of the countres surveyed: Solomon Islands, Indonesa, Chna, Tmor-Leste, Vanuatu, Tonga, the Phlppnes, Thaland, Lao PDR, Vetnam, and Mongola. In 6 of these countres these fees are unoffcally collected: Indonesa, Vanuatu, Tonga, Lao PDR, Vetnam, and Mongola. 94

96 Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 7 countres: Chna, Indonesa, Vanuatu, Tonga, Lao PDR, Vetnam, and Thaland. It s legally allowed n only 2 countres, Chna and Thaland. EASTERN EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA (ECA) PRIMARY EDUCATION Data Coverage: 10 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. Tuton Fees: For these 10 countres, tuton fees are mplemented n 2 countres, Kyrgyz Republc and Georga. Tuton fees are legal n both countres. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mposed n 2 countres: Serba and Montenegro, and Bosna Herzegovna. Textbook fees are legal n both countres. Unform Fees: Purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n only one country, Tajkstan. PTA/Communty Contrbutons: PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 9 of the countres surveyed: Tajkstan, Kyrgyz Republc, Russan Federaton, Georga, Azerbajan, Bulgara, Serba and Montenegro, Romana, and the Ukrane. These fees are collected unoffcally n Georga and the Ukrane. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 4 countres: Tajkstan, Kyrgyz Republc, Russan Federaton, and Serba and Montenegro. These fees are unoffcal n the Kyrgyz Republc. LATIN AMERICA & CARRIBEAN (LAC) PRIMARY EDUCATION Data Coverage: 19 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. 95

97 Tuton Fees: Of these 19 countres, 6 countres have tuton fees. In 2 countres fees are collected unoffcally: Honduras and Bolva. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mplemented n 6 countres: Honduras, El Salvador, Hat, Domncan Republc, Guyana, and Venezuela. These fees are unoffcal n Honduras. Unform Fees: The purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n 12 countres: Bolva, Domncan Republc, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Hat, Honduras, Mexco, Ncaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In 4 cases these fees are unoffcal: Bolva, Honduras, Mexco, and Ncaragua. PTA/Communty Contrbutons: PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 14 of the countres surveyed: Argentna, Bolva, Brazl, Domncan Republc, Ecuador, Guyana, Hat, Honduras, Mexco, Ncaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In 7 of these countres, these fees are unoffcal: Bolva, Brazl, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexco, Panama, and Venezuela. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 7 countres: Honduras, Domncan Republc, Hat, Ecuador, Guyana, El Salvador and Paraguay. These fees are unoffcal n Honduras. MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA (MENA) PRIMARY EDUCATION Data Coverage: 10 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. All countres n MENA, wth the excepton of Tunsa and Lebanon, have consttutonal and legal provsons for Educaton. Tuton Fees: For these 10 countres, tuton fees are mplemented n 4 countres: Republc of Yemen, West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon, and Egypt. Tuton fees are collected legally n all four countres. 96

98 Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mposed n one country, West Bank and Gaza, and these fees are legally allowed. Fees for Unforms: Mandatory purchase of unforms s mplemented n 2 countres: Republc of Yemen and Morocco. In both of these countres, fees for unforms are legal. PTA/ Communty Contrbutons: PTA/ communty contrbutons are common n 6 of these countres: West Bank and Gaza, Djbout, Morocco, Lebanon, Iran, and Jordan. These fees are unoffcal n four countres: Republc of Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, and West Bank and Gaza. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 3 countres: Djbout, Republc of Yemen, and Egypt. In Egypt these fees are legally allowed. SOUTH ASIA (SAR) PRIMARY EDUCATION Data Coverage: 8 (all) World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. Tuton Fees: Tuton fees are not mplemented n any of these 8 countres. World Bank projects have ntroduced mtgatng measures (ether generalzed or targeted) n Pakstan. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mposed n none of these countres, although textbook fees are legally allowed n Bhutan. Fees for Unforms: Mandatory purchase of unforms s mplemented n 2 countres: Pakstan and Bhutan. These fees are unoffcal n both cases. PTA/Communty Contrbutons: 97

99 PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 4 countres: Inda, Maldves, Afghanstan, and Bhutan. These fees are legally allowed n all cases. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 3 countres: Pakstan, Afghanstan, and Bhutan. These fees are legally allowed n Bhutan. 98

100 LOWER SECONDARY EDUCATION -- OVERALL SURVEY RESULTS Data Coverage: 76 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects Out of the 76 countres, almost all (94%) 71 countres have some type of fee wth the excepton of 4 countres: Costa Rca, Sr Lanka, St. Ktts and Nevs, and Tunsa. Countres generally have several fees. Ten (10) out of the 76 (13%) requre PTA/communty contrbutons, but no other fees: Argentna, Azerbajan, Iran, Jordan, Maldves, Namba, Panama, Serra Leone, Tmor-Leste, and Ukrane. 51 out of 76 have more than one fee. The followng 7 countres have all fve types of fees (tuton, textbook, unforms, fnancal contrbutons, and other school-based actvty fees): Bangladesh, Bolva, Honduras, Indonesa, Lesotho, Mozambque, and Uganda. The followng 5 countres have all fees except tuton fees: Bhutan, Chna, Guyana, Mongola, and Tajkstan. The remander of the countres, 31 out of 76 (41%), have between two and three types of fees. Tuton Fees: For these 76 countres, tuton fees are mplemented n only 33 countres (44%), although only 30 countres (40%) have legal tuton fees. In 2 countres fees are mplemented unoffcally: Bolva and Honduras. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mplemented n 34 countres (45%), though these fees are legally allowed n only 28 countres (82%). Four countres have unoffcal textbook fees: Guatemala, Honduras, Russan Federaton, and Bolva. Unform Fees: Purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n 31 (41%) of these cases. In 21 (28%) of these countres fees for unforms are legally allowed. Seven countres have unoffcal unforms fees: Honduras, Mozambque, Iraq, Bolva, Ethopa, Mexco and Ncaragua. PTA/Communty Contrbutons: PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 52 (69%) of the countres surveyed. In 31 (41%) of these countres, t s legally allowed. 99

101 18 countres have unoffcal PTA fees: Bolva, Brazl, Ethopa, Georga, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesa, Kenya, Lao PDR, Mexco, Mongola, Mozambque, Namba, Panama, Tonga, Ukrane, Vanuatu, West Bank and Gaza. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 36 (48%) of the countres. In 22 (29%) of these countres t s legally allowed. It s unoffcal n 12 countres: Bolva, Brazl, Burkna Faso, Camboda, Djbout, Ethopa, Honduras, Indonesa, Mozambque, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Republc of Yemen. AFRICA (AFR) - LOWER SECONDARY Data Coverage: 26 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. Tuton Fees: For these 26 countres, tuton fees are mplemented n 18 countres: Burund, Cameroon, Democratc Republc of Congo, Ertrea, Ghana, Lesotho, Lbera, Madagascar, Malaw, Mozambque, Ngera, Rwanda, Senegal, South Afrca, Swazland, The Gamba, Uganda, and Zamba. Tuton fees are collected legally n all countres. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mplemented n 10 countres: Democratc Republc of Congo, Ertrea, Lesotho, Malaw, Maurtana, Mozambque, Rwanda, The Gamba, Uganda, and Zamba. These fees are legally allowed n all of these countres. Unform Fees: The purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n 12 countres: Burkna Faso, Burund, Cameroon, Chad, Ertrea, Ethopa, Lesotho, Lbera, Madagascar, Mozambque, Senegal, and Uganda. In two of these countres fees for unforms are unoffcal: Ethopa and Mozambque. PTA/Communty Contrbutons: PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 16 of the countres: Burkna Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratc Republc of Congo, Ethopa, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Lbera, Madagascar, Mozambque, Namba, Ngera, Rwanda, Serra Leone, and Uganda. 100

102 In three of these countres the collecton of ths type of fee s unoffcal: Burkna Faso, Ethopa and Mozambque. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 15 countres: Burkna Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratc Republc of Congo, Ethopa, Kenya, Lesotho, Lbera, Madagascar, Malaw, Mal, Mozambque, Senegal, The Gamba, and Uganda. In 4 of these countres the collecton of these fees s unoffcal: Burkna Faso, Ethopa, Ghana, and Mozambque. EAST ASIA & PACIFIC (EAP) LOWER SECONDARY Data Coverage: 10 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. Tuton Fees: For these 10 countres, tuton fees are mplemented n 3 countres: Indonesa, Tonga, and Vanuatu. Tuton fees are collected legally n all countres. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mplemented n 5 countres: Chna, Indonesa, Mongola, Tonga, and Vanuatu. These fees are legally allowed and n all countres. Unform Fees: Purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n 3 cases: Chna, Indonesa and Mongola. Unform fees are legal n all cases. PTA/ Communty Contrbutons: PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 9 countres: Chna, Indonesa, Lao PDR, Mongola, the Phlppnes, Thaland, Tmor-Leste, and Tonga. In 5 of these countres the collecton of ths type of fee s unoffcal: Indonesa, Lao PDR, Mongola, Tonga, and Vanuatu. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 7 countres: Camboda, Chna, Indonesa, Mongola, Thaland, Tonga, and Vanuatu. In 5 of these countres the collecton of these fees s unoffcal: Indonesa, Lao PDR, Mongola, Tonga, and Vanuatu. 101

103 EASTERN EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA (ECA) LOWER SECONDARY Data Coverage: 8 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. Tuton Fees: For these 8 countres, tuton fees are mplemented only n Georga; tuton fees are legal n Georga. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mplemented n 5 countres: Bosna and Herzegovna, Bulgara, Georga, Russan Federaton, and Tajkstan. Textbook fees are unoffcal n the Russan Federaton. Unform Fees: Purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n Tajkstan. Fees for unforms are legal n Tajkstan. PTA/Communty Contrbutons: PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 6 countres: Azerbajan, Bulgara, Georga, Russan Federaton, Tajkstan, and the Ukrane. PTA contrbutons are unoffcal n Georga and the Ukrane. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 2 countres: Russan Federaton and Tajkstan. These fees are legal n both countres. LATIN AMERICA & CARRIBEAN (LAC) - LOWER SECONDARY Data Coverage: 15 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. Tuton Fees: For these 15 countres, tuton fees are mplemented n 4 countres: Bolva, El Salvador, Honduras, and St. Vncent and Grenadnes. Tuton fees are collected unoffcally n Bolva and Honduras. 102

104 Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mplemented n 8 countres: Bolva, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Ncaragua, St. Vncent and Grenadnes, and Venezuela. In 3 of these countres textbooks are unoffcal: Bolva, Guatemala, and Honduras. Unform Fees: Purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n 8 of these cases: Bolva, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Mexco, Ncaragua, St. Vncent and Grenadnes, and Venezuela. In 4 of these countres fees for unforms are unoffcal: Bolva, Honduras, Mexco and Ncaragua. PTA/Communty Contrbutons: PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 11 of the countres: Argentna, Bolva, Brazl, Chle, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexco, Ncaragua, Panama, and St. Vncent and Grenadnes. In 5 of these countres the collecton of ths type of fee s unoffcal: Bolva, Brazl, Honduras, Mexco, and Panama. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 5 countres: Bolva, Brazl, El Salvador, Guyana and Honduras. These fees are unoffcal n 3 countres: Bolva, Brazl and Honduras. MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA (MENA) - LOWER SECONDARY Data Coverage: 10 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. Tuton Fees: For these 10 countres, tuton fees are mplemented n 4 countres: Egypt, Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza, and Republc of Yemen. Tuton fees are legal n all of these countres. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mplemented n the West Bank and Gaza and these fees are legal n the West Bank and Gaza. 103

105 Unform Fees: Purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n 3 of these cases: Iraq, Morocco, and Republc of Yemen. Fees for unforms are unoffcal n Iraq. PTA/ Communty Contrbutons: PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 6 of the countres: Djbout, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and West Bank and Gaza. Collecton of these fees s unoffcal n the West Bank and Gaza. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n Lebanon, where they are legal. SOUTH ASIA (SAR) - LOWER SECONDARY Data Coverage: 7 World Bank clent countres wth IBRD/IDA-supported basc educaton projects. Tuton Fees: For these 7 countres, tuton fees are mplemented n 3 countres: Bangladesh, Inda, and Nepal. Tuton fees are legal n all of these countres. Textbook Fees: Textbook fees are mplemented n 5 countres: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Inda, Nepal, and Pakstan. Textbook fees are legal n all countres. Unform Fees: Purchase of mandatory unforms s mplemented n 4 of these cases: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakstan; they are legal n all four countres. 104

106 PTA/ Communty Contrbutons: PTA/communty contrbutons are common n 4 of the countres: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Inda, and the Maldves; they are legal n all four countres. Other School-Based Actvty Fees: Other school-based actvty fees are collected n 3 countres: Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Pakstan. These fees are legal n all countres. 105

107 Annex 4: Survey Results -- Prmary Level Matrx 106

108 Annex 4: Survey Results -- Prmary Level Matrx

109 Annex 4: Survey Results -- Prmary Level Matrx

110 Annex 4: Survey Results -- Prmary Level Matrx

111 Annex 5: Survey Results -- Secondary Level Matrx

112 Annex 5: Survey Results -- Secondary Level Matrx

113 Annex 5: Survey Results -- Secondary Level Matrx

114 Annex 5: Survey Results -- Secondary Level Matrx

115 Annex 5: Survey Results -- Secondary Level Matrx

116 Annex 6: Sample Survey Questonnare COUNTRY NAME EXT. User Fees Implemented at the Prmary Educaton Level TYPE OF FEE 1. Are these fees mplemented? Y = Yes; N = No 2 Are these fees legal (that s, n accordance wth natonal laws or consttuton) Y = Yes; N = No. 3. At what level are the fees collected and by whom? S= School; O= Other (please specfy) 4. What s the average amount of fees collected per student? 5. What s the estmated revenue from fees collected and what share of publc spendng on educaton does the revenue contrbute? 6. How does the World Bank treat these fees n ts dalogue and/or projects? P = Promotes or supports fee. E = works wth government to Elmnate fees. MA = ntroduces strateges to Mtgate effects of fees on All students. MS = ntroduces strateges to Mtgate effects of fees on Some students (e.g. grls, the poor). 1.School tuton fees (frst-tme regstraton fees and annual fees) 2. Charges for textbook (purchase or rental) 3. Purchase of mandatory unforms or materal for mandatory unforms 4. Fnancal contrbutons to schools (often called "voluntary") requred by Communty or Parent-Teacher Assocatons, ncludng payment of teacher salares for communty schools, etc. (Please specfy) 5. Other payments, ncludng requred monetary contrbutons, unoffcal examnaton fees, supplementary payments for teachers, etc.) (Please specfy) Please provde examples. 7. We are tryng to get a comprehensve pcture of the prmary educaton fee stuaton and the Bank s role. It would be greatly apprecated f you could provde us wth any nformaton that mght be of use and nterest and s not covered by any of the questons so far. Please send us or refer us to any studes conducted n the country on User Fees whether by the World Bank or other partners, ncludng NGOs. Thank you very much for your assstance and tme. 115

117 Annex 7: Detaled Fee Amounts for Selected Countres School Tuton Fees (USD) Unform fees (USD) Type not specfed (USD) Textbook PTA dues Other fees As % of publc spendng Country Fees (USD) (USD) (USD) on educaton Benn Burkna Faso Burund Cameroon Chad (publc schools) Democratc Republc of Congo Kenya see country status report 3 to 15 monthly 5 to 7 n urban areas and 2 to 4 n rural areas 1 to 2 4 (exam fee) Lesotho 22 to 70 Lbera Mal 9.2 Maurtana 0.87 Mozambque 2 for school materals other than textbooks 10 although not mandatory 0.5 to 4 60 percent of teacher salares at prmary level and 30 to 40 percent of teacher salares overall 50 percent of school operatng costs 14 percent of total publc spendng on prmary school and 5 percent of total gov. recurrent expendture on educaton 20 percent of publc spendng on prmary educaton 116

118 Country School Tuton Fees (USD) Textbook Fees (USD) Unform fees (USD) PTA dues (USD) Other fees (USD) Type not specfed (USD) Namba (exam Nger fee) Ngera Rwanda 6 Swazland 30 to 225 Chna 7 to 12 9 to 14 2 to 8 Indonesa Lao PDR 0.50 to 50 Mongola 0.13 to Phlppnes 1.8 Tmor-Leste 1 Vetnam Bosna and Herzegovna per pupl Bulgara 10 to 20 per month Romana 20 Russa 10 to 100 <100 Serba and Montenegro Tajkstan 3 2 to 3 per month Ukrane 30 Argentna 1 to 3 Bolva /mo 1 As % of publc spendng on educaton 8.5 percent of government per capta expendture on students 18, 14, 19, 3, and 5 percent, respectvely, per publc prmary school 117

119 Country School Tuton Fees (USD) Textbook Fees (USD) Unform fees (USD) Hat Ecuador 25 PTA dues (USD) Other fees (USD) 35 (for materals) 45 1 to El Salvador Guyana 25 to to 45 5 to Honduras /mo n autonomous Ncaragua 15 to 25 schools Type not specfed (USD) As % of publc spendng on educaton 5.3, 3, 5 and 13 percent, respectvely 5.25, 5.67, 1.05 and 8.40, respectvely 1, 10, 7, 3 and 4 percent, respectvely Panama 5 to 10 Peru Djbout Egypt Palestne percent Yemen to 5 Bhutan , 1.6 and 11.3, respectvely 118

120 Annex 8: School Fees n South Afrca: Creatng Equty or Perpetuatng Dspartes? In November of 1996, the post-aparthed South Afrcan government passed the South Afrcan Schools Act. The am of the act was to create a new educaton system based on redressng njustces created durng aparthed, 41 mprovng equty, elmnatng all forms of dscrmnaton n educaton, and fosterng partcpaton and accountablty at the local level. A key mandate of the act was the creaton of governng bodes for publc schools. Members of the governng bodes nclude parents, educators, non-educator staff, and students n the eghth grade or hgher. Among other thngs, the governng body s responsble for admnsterng the school funds, ncludng publc mones, school fees, and voluntary contrbutons. The act gves permsson to the governng bodes to set and collect school fees, though the fees must be approved by a majorty of parents. Whle parents are legally oblgated to pay fees, any famly unable to pay can seek exempton. In 1998, the act was amended to provde better gudelnes on fee exemptons. The governng bodes were requred to exempt famles whose ncome was below certan thresholds, whch are determned by the fee amount (Fske and Ladd 2003). Famles wth household ncomes fallng below 30 tmes the set school fee are elgble for a partal exempton, whle complete exempton s gven to famles whose household ncome falls below 10 tmes the desgnated fee (Lemon 2004). However, only 2.5 percent of students n the tradtonally black schools and 4.1 percent n the former whte schools n the Western Cape Provnce are exempt from payng fees. It s not clear, though, why there s such low ncdence of fee exemptons. In 1995, prmary school enrollment was near unversal, between 95 and 99 percent accordng to varyng estmates, and there s lttle to ndcate that enrollment rates declned subsequent to the fee polcy (Fske and Ladd 2003). Fees may not mpact enrollment because they are, n general, relatvely low for the majorty of the populaton but rse wth ncome. Fske and Ladd (2003) found that 63 percent of prmary school students n the Eastern Cape, a very poor provnce, pad less than 25 rands per school year, whle 5 percent pad fees of over 1000 rands. In contrast, n the more well-off Western Cape, 14 percent of students pad over 1000 rands to attend school. The school fee polcy was also ntended to create equal educaton opportuntes, by releasng state funds for use by poor schools. And whle the poorest 20 percent of schools receve 35 percent of government spendng on educaton, compared to 5 percent for the rchest 20 percent of schools, low school fees n poor schools do not compensate for the dfference n fees receved by rch schools. In fact, wde dspartes exst between dfferent types of schools (Bush and Heystek 2003; Fske and Ladd 2003; Lemon 2004). Fske and Ladd (2003) show that school fees, and thus funds for mprovng access to and qualty of educaton, are lowest n tradtonally black schools (45 rands) and hghest n tradtonally whte schools n the Western Cape (2,077 rands). The black schools derve 1 percent of ther ncome from fees, whle former whte schools collect enough fees to ncrease fundng by 54 percent. In addton, publc funds per student n the tradtonally black schools are 3,002 rands, compared to 3,857 rands n the former whte 41 Lemon (2003) notes that The average whte pupl, n 1994 benefted from educatonal expendture that was nearly four tmes as great as that for the average Afrcan pupl (p. 270). 119

121 schools. Ths fundng gap manfests tself most n terms of qualty ndcators. Fees allow former whte schools to hre four more teachers, n addton to those provded by publc fundng. In contrast, tradtonally black schools can only hre an addtonal 1/5 th of a teacher. Student to state-pad-teacher ratos are hgher at black schools (38.4:1) than at whte schools (35.9:1). Almost 7 percent of teachers at black schools are unqualfed, compared to only 0.8 percent at whte schools. These dspartes are even greater at the secondary school level and translate to lower educatonal outcomes. For example, controllng for ncome and the level of fees, Fske and Ladd (2003) found that hgher qualfed teachers and a larger proporton of teachers pad by school fees lead to hgher pass rates on the natonal matrculaton exams for students n the 12 th grade. There are also dspartes between provnces (Lemon 2004). In the Eastern Cape, where unemployment s hgher than the natonal average, 26 percent of teachers were unqualfed n 2002, compared to the natonal average of 22 percent. Addtonally, the student:teacher ratos and matrculaton exam pass rates were 35.7:1 and 46 percent, compared to the natonal averages of 32.7:1 and 62 percent, respectvely (Glmour 2001). School fees appear to perpetuate exstng dspartes between former whte schools and hstorcally black schools. Ths suggests that addtonal publc funds should be provded for poor schools to compensate for the hstorcal nequaltes n resources between schools, as well as low levels of current fundng to brng dsadvantaged schools up to speed. The government has taken steps to address the stuaton. In 2004, proposed amendments to the Schools Act sought to mprove the mechansms for allocatng resources to schools based on need, and to mprove allocaton of resources wthn schools (Government of South Afrca 2004). The government has announced plans to turn schools servng the poorest communtes nto non-fee schools startng n

122 Annex 9: Offsettng Fees Many countres recognze that the cost of educaton fees can be a burden on the poor and may deter enrollments and learnng. As a result there s a wde varety of measures n place around the world to mtgate the effects of fees. These can nclude reducng or elmnatng tuton fees for the poor, offerng scholarshps to attend school, provdng free textbooks and other learnng materals, and provdng free unforms (Table A1). In addton, some countres provde targeted subsdes to help offset some of the other costs of attendng school, such as transport costs and bursares and stpends to enable poor famles to overcome the ndrect opportunty costs, n terms of lost contrbutons to the household economy, of attendng school. Table A1. Offsettng Fees Types of Mtgatng Measures Tuton-Related Interventons: Reduce or elmnate tuton fees for the poor, grls, and other dsadvantaged groups. Scholarshps and Stpends. These are often accompaned by performance related measures such as grls n deprved regons who excel n scence and math, or scholarshps that are contngent on regular school attendance and successful grade completon. Targeted bursares Textbook-Related Interventons: Elmnate textbook rental fee and replace wth a loan scheme. Provde free textbooks to grades 1 to 7 Provde free textbooks to targeted groups (poor, grls etc.) Learnng Materals: Provde learnng materals other than textbooks (statonary etc.) Provson of Free Unforms Country Examples: Burkna Faso, Chna, Djbout, Ethopa, Jordan, Lesotho Bangladesh, Brazl, Ethopa, Ghana, The Gamba, Guatemala, Inda, Indonesa, Malaw, Maurtana, Morocco, Mozambque, Nepal, Ncaragua, Panama, Pakstan, Senegal, Mal, Zamba, Chad Chna, Colomba, Inda, Indonesa, Méxco, Ncaragua Tanzana, Zamba The Gamba, Vetnam Mal, Ngera, Rwanda, Senegal, Armena, Chna, Chle, Ethopa, Gunea, Inda, Malaysa, Morocco, Nepal, Tajkstan, Turkey Bangladesh, Inda, Mozambque Inda Transport-related nterventons: Provde bcycles for poor students to get to school n Thaland, Ghana rural areas Source: User Fee Surveys 2001 and 2005; World Bank Project Apprasal Documents 121

123 Whle not completely elmnatng fees, some countres have taken steps to wave fees for the poorest households. Chna recently announced that t would fully remove fees for 14 mllon students n the country s poorest rural communtes, and wll contnue to remove fees untl 2006, at whch tme all rural students wll receve free prmary educaton (Yardley 2005). Experence from Latn Amerca also provdes examples of successful targeted programs for the poor. Brazl s Bolsa Escola program and Mexco s Oportundades are condtonal cash transfer programs (CCTs) that have had a postve mpact on enrollment rates and schoolng outcomes n addton to other ndcators of well-beng, such as health and chld labor. CCTs, a relatvely new type of socal program, provde cash grants to poor famles condtonal on certan types of behavors, such as sendng chldren to school and attendng regular preventatve health care vsts. The prncple objectve of most CCTs s the long-term accumulaton of human captal, whch s consdered crucal to breakng the nter-generatonal transmsson of poverty (Rawlngs 2004). CCTs have been wdely mplemented across Latn Amerca 42, where the concept was orgnally developed, and a handful of other countres, 43 based mostly on the success of Oportundades (see Box A1). Grls Whle elmnatng fees has been shown to promote grls school partcpaton, many countres use other targeted mechansms to encourage famles to send ther daughters to school. For example, Burkna Faso has proposed to remove fees for grls n the frst and second grades. Chad s EFA strategy ncludes reduced fees for grls. Djbout targets grls n underprvleged areas. Ghana provdes bcycles to grls. Mal and Zamba also target grls (Tempest 2005). Due to the lower enrollment rates of grls n secondary school n Mexco, Oportundades grants receved n those years are hgher for females than for males to offset the opportunty costs of sendng them to school, thus actng as an ncentve to keep grls n school and close the gender gap n schoolng. Bangladesh s Female Secondary School Assstance Program (FSSAP) has ntroduced measures to offset school fees by provdng monetary ncentves for grls to reduce the drect costs of schoolng 44 and to encourage partcpaton, contngent on regular school attendance and successful grade completon. Enrollment doubled n project areas between 1994 and 2001, from 462,000 to more than 1 mllon grls. Benefts from second phase of the project, FSSAP II, are expected to reach 1.45 mllon grls (Nuffc 2002). 42 Condtonal cash transfer programs have been mplemented n Colomba, Costa Rca, Honduras, Ncaragua, Bolva, Ecuador, Chle, and Brazl. 43 Jamaca and Turkey are among a few non-latn Amercan countres that have mplemented condtonal cash transfer programs. 44 Drect costs nclude tuton, examnaton costs, and the ncreasng cost of school fees, textbooks, school supples, unforms, shoes, transport, and kerosene (for lamps). 122

124 Box A1. The Mexcan Experence wth a Condtonal Cash Transfer Program In 1997 the Mexcan government sngle-handedly desgned and, n 1998, successfully mplemented the Educaton, Health, and Nutrton Program (Programa para Educacon, Salud, y Nutrcon-Progresa), now called Oportundades, a program that provdes mmedate fnancal transfers to the rural poor 45 that at the same tme promotes nvestment n chldren s human captal (future earnngs) va ncreased schoolng and mproved health and nutrton status. Oportundades gves cash transfers (grants) to poor rural famles condtonal on keepng chldren n school and provdng them wth basc preventve healthcare and nutrton. The beneft levels are ntended to offset the opportunty costs of not sendng chldren to school and ncrease wth grade level, recognzng that the opportunty cost of chldren s tme ncreases as they grow older. By the end of the expermental phase n 2000, almost 2.5 mllon famles n over 2,000 muncpaltes were recevng Oportundades benefts. In 2004 the program reached 5 mllon famles n 2,429 muncpaltes. Snce ts mplementaton n 1996, Oportundades has delvered over US$5 bllon n cash grants to benefcares. In addton, benefcares of the program are hghly concentrated n the poorest quntle of the populaton (World Bank 2003b), suggestng that Oportundades has, overall, been hghly successful n targetng the poorest groups. Intervews wth benefcares and program admnstrators substantate ths fndng -- the program was consstently commended as the frst to successfully send resources drectly to households n remote rural communtes. In fact, Oportundades s the frst program n Mexcan hstory to explctly target the rural poor. Prelmnary analyss of the expermental phase showed that Oportundades yelded mpressve results natonwde n the frst couple of years followng mplementaton. Prmary school enrollment rates ncreased by about 1 percent, and secondary school enrollment rates ncreased by 8 percent for grls and 5 percent for boys. Furthermore, t was estmated that chldren s educatonal achevement ncreased by about 10 percent, whch would represent an ncrease n ther future earnngs of more than 8 percent. Prenatal care n the frst trmester of pregnancy ncreased by 8 percent. Fnally, ncdence of dsease among chldren under age 5 decreased by 12 percent among program partcpants, as had the probablty of malnutrton among chldren between 12 and 36 months. More recent results have shown that Oportundades s sgnfcantly assocated wth Increased overall health Increased preventatve health and nutrton montorng vsts Decreased probablty of stuntng Increased school enrollment rates Increased school contnuaton rates Evdence of slowed growth of poverty rates Decreased ncome nequalty Decreased chld labor rates Increased consumpton of more nutrtous foods Sources: Bando et. al. 2005; Behrman and Hoddnott 2000; Gertler 2000; Hall et. al. 2002; Hoddnott et. al. 2000; Schultz 2000a; Schultz 2000b; SEDESOL 1999; Skoufas et. al In subsequent stages, Oportundades was expanded to urban areas. 123

125 One of the key objectves of The Gamba s Thrd Educaton Sector Program (TESP) s to ncrease the enrollment, retenton and performance of grls attendng Grades 1 to 12. To help overcome barrers to grls educaton, such as poverty, the TESP ntroduced a scholarshp scheme for grls at the upper basc and secondary levels. There are two key elements of the scheme. Frst, full scholarshps for tuton, books and examnaton fees are awarded to one-thrd of grls n upper basc and secondary schools wth low enrollment n the most deprved regons of The Gamba. Second, full scholarshps for tuton and examnaton fees are awarded to ten percent of grls n upper basc and secondary schools n less deprved regons who are excellng n scence, mathematcs and technology. A trust fund to fnance the scholarshp scheme s admnstered by the Socal Welfare Department. The scheme wll be evaluated at varous stages and could be extended to needy and mertorous students n less deprved regons. Guatemala s Eduque a la Nña program represents another program that targets grls who are generally underserved n the Guatemalan prmary school system. A scholarshp equvalent to US$4 a year s gven to each enrolled grl n a few poor vllages to cover school-related costs. Results of rgorous revews of these programs have ndcated that they have been reasonably successful. Evaluatons of Brazl s Bolsa Escola, whch guarantees a mnmum wage to every low-ncome famly condtonal on keepng ts chldren aged 7 to 14 years n school, ndcate that the program has led to hgher enrollment rates and reductons n school drop-out and repetton rates. Evaluatons of Mexco s Oportundades program ndcate that the program has sgnfcantly ncreased enrollment, partcularly grls enrollment at the secondary level. Evaluatons of Guatemala s Eduque a la Nña have found a postve mpact on grls partcpaton and performance. Accordng to evaluatons of Bangladesh s FSSAP, the partcpatng schools wtnessed a sharp ncrease n female enrollment. There was a general reducton n drop-out rates among partcpatng schools. HIV/AIDS Orphans and Vulnerable Chldren There are an estmated 12.3 mllon chldren who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS n Sub-Saharan Afrca. Accordng to a 2004 jont UNAIDS, UNICEF, and USAID publcaton, n 11 of the 43 countres n the regon, at least 15 percent of chldren are orphans, and n 5 of those 11 countres, HIV/AIDS s the cause of parental death more than 50 percent of the tme. The report estmates that by 2010, more than 18 mllon chldren n the regon wll have lost one or both parents to the dsease. These staggerng statstcs hghlght the vulnerablty of chldren who experence reduced parental care and protecton, coupled wth ncreased economc hardshp as a result of HIV/AIDS (UNICEF 2004). Chldren often become the prmary caregver when a parent s nfected wth HIV and s unable to work. Chldren are also frequently taken out of school, ether to provde care for the sck parent or to work outsde the home to earn extra ncome. School fees may become unaffordable when one or both parents are too sck to work. School fees may further prevent chldren orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS partcularly double orphans or those lvng n sngle-parent households from accessng educaton (UNICEF 2004). Ths has serous mplcatons for atrsk populatons, especally grls. 124

126 General elmnaton of fees has been successful n gettng orphans nto school (for example n Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzana), and several countres have also mplemented targeted mechansms for rasng enrollment rates for orphans and vulnerable chldren. In cooperaton wth the Afrcan Development Bank, Uganda mplemented the Educaton II project n One of the goals of the project was to ncrease provson of educaton for AIDS orphans. Tanzana s Natonal Educaton Fund provdes scholarshps to AIDS orphans. Namba, Rwanda, Swazland, Zamba, and Zmbabwe also provde fee wavers or bursary schemes for orphans and vulnerable chldren (Tempest 2005). Burund and the Democratc Republc of Congo have also proposed removng fees for the same populaton (Tempest 2005). In addton to beng at rsk of becomng an orphan, youth are at rsk for becomng HIV postve. However, studes have shown that educaton can help lower HIV/AIDS nfecton rates among young people. For example, young people who do not complete prmary school exhbt nfecton rates that are at least double those of young people who have completed prmary school. In addton, 15 to 18 year old grls n Zmbabwe who have dropped out of school are fve tmes more lkely to become nfected than those who are enrolled n school (UNAIDS 2005). That s why t s mportant that, n addton to reducng barrers to educaton for HIV/AIDs orphans, the educaton system ncorporate HIV health educaton. 125

127 Annex 10: The HIPC Debt Relef Intatve and Educaton Fnancng n Afrca In 1996, the HIPC (hghly ndebted poor countres) Intatve was ntroduced to reduce the debt burden of poor countres, and allow them to channel ther resources to prorty sectors n order to reduce poverty and encourage greater economc growth. After a 1999 revew, the ntatve was reformed to nclude hgher levels of debt relef, shorter mplementaton perods, and addtonal resources for socal expendtures and poverty reducton polces. HIPC reduces government expendtures on debt servcng, thereby enablng governments to reallocate the savngs to prorty poverty-reducng areas, ncludng educaton. Almost a decade later, there s some evdence that the HIPC ntatve has played a pvotal role n the development and mplementaton of educaton strateges amed at mprovng access to and qualty of educaton n many Afrcan countres. Usng HIPC fnancng, fve countres, ncludng Benn and Cameroon, have drected povertyreducton resources largely to the health and educaton sectors, whle other countres nclude educaton as a prorty sector among other prorty sectors. Table A2 shows educaton expendture as a share of total government spendng n sx HIPC countres. Data from eleven countres show that educaton has been emphaszed n the poverty reducton efforts of most countres. In 2000, expendtures on educaton were, on average, 57 percent of poverty-focused expendtures. Ths number fell slghtly by 2002 to 46 percent due to an ncrease n health-related expendtures. Spendng on educaton has largely grown faster than GDP and has outpaced spendng n other sectors n over 60 percent of the HIPC countres. Durng HIPC negotatons, governments promsed to spend about 40 percent of the assstance to fnance educaton, though t s dffcult to track whether or not ths has occurred. Ghana and Uganda earmark educaton expendtures, about 42 percent of total poverty-reducton expendtures n 2003, for basc educaton. Malaw spent 88 percent of ts pro-poor educaton expendtures on prmary educaton, manly on teachers salares, n 2001/02. Smlarly, Mozambque allocated 86 percent of educaton expendtures to prmary educaton (Hnchclffe 2004). Table A2. Educaton Expendture as Share of Total Government Expendture n selected HIPC countres Cameroon Malaw Mozambque Tanzana NA Uganda Zamba Sources: Hnchclffe 2004; IMF 1998; IMF 2000a; IMF 2000b; IMF 2000c; IMF 2000d 126

128 It s not clear to what extent HIPC has funded greater educaton spendng n general, and school fee elmnaton polces specfcally, manly due to the fact that budgetary procedures are complex and often not transparent. HIPC countres are not requred to report dsaggregated nformaton on expendtures, though they must meet trgger ponts for debt relef measures to be mplemented. These trgger ponts nclude elmnatng fees for prmary educaton (Benn and Gunea-Bssau), meetng targets for teacher ntake and tranng (Malaw), undertakng a school mappng exercse (Tanzana), and rasng teacher salares n rural areas above the household poverty lne (Zamba). Nevertheless, gven that educaton s dentfed as a prorty sector wthn the ntatve framework for most countres, HIPC could be a powerful tool for mprovng access to, and qualty of, educaton. 127

129 Annex 11. Donor Postons on User Fees Several multlateral and blateral development ad organzatons have adopted postons on user fees for educaton. UNICEF, UNESCO, and the Asan Development Bank all beleve that countres should work towards elmnatng school fees. The World Bank does not support user fees, but recognzes that n some cases local charges are nevtable. USAID and DFID appear to encourage countres to abolsh school fees, though both recognze that resource constrants and neffcent resource use may constran such efforts. The Inter-Amercan Development Bank and the Afrcan Development Bank do not seem to have offcal postons on school fees. World Bank The World Bank does not support user fees for prmary educaton. Where governments do levy user fees, the Bank helps governments to reduce the burden on poor people by recommendng and provdng fnance for targeted subsdes. The World Bank has worked wth governments to expand access to basc educaton, ncludng the removal of fnancal and other barrers, especally for the poor. The World Bank s also workng to document and help elmnate unauthorzed or unoffcal charges for basc educaton servces. Whle the World Bank strongly beleves that governments should not charge user fees for educaton, the Bank recognzes that local communtes sometmes do levy such charges that are often pad n-knd through labor servces. These addtonal charges can buld communty support for local schools and subsequently mprove the qualty of, and expand the access to, educaton. Gven that such local charges can help sustan educaton servces, the Bank beleves they must be carefully desgned to ensure that poor parents keep ther chldren n school. Unted States Agency for Internatonal Development (USAID) USAID takes an expansve defnton of basc educaton, ncludng early chldhood development, prmary educaton, nformal and formal secondary educaton, and teacher tranng at each level. In order to provde equtable access to qualty educaton, especally for the poor and other dsadvantaged populatons, USAID encourages host countres to replace school fees wth adequate publc fundng for prmary educaton wherever possble, so as to encourage poor famles to keep ther chldren n school (USAID 2005, pp 7-8). USAID also works wth host natons on ssues of educatonal fnance and resource scarcty n order to mprove effcency and reduce the use of school fees. USAID s educaton strategy outlnes two broad objectves: promotng equtable access to qualty basc educaton, and nvestng n post-basc educaton to mprove productvty-orented knowledge and sklls. Unted Natons Chldren s Fund (UNICEF) UNICEF seeks to abolsh school fees to encourage poor famles to enroll ther chldren n school and ncrease access to basc prmary educaton. In pursut of ths objectve, UNICEF and the World Bank launched the School Fee Abolton Intatve (SFAI) n 2005, whch ams at makng a breakthrough n access to basc educaton and sgnfcantly scalng up efforts to meet the MDGs and the Educaton for All targets n the next decade. SFAI ams to organze and provde gudance to countres n plannng and mplementng a polcy on school fee abolton, n securng 128

130 rapd ntensfed external assstance n the short and medum term, and n ensurng long term sustanablty n terms of more equtable allocaton and effectve management of educaton and other resources (UNICEF 2006). Unted Kngdom, Department for Internatonal Development (DFID) DFID has recently strengthened ts poston on the removal of fees and other compulsory charges for prmary educaton and mantans that Tuton fees and compulsory charges are a sgnfcant barrer to poor chldren s access to prmary schools [and that] removng these fees and charges wll boost access In addton, DFID states that To be successful, and to protect standards, the abolton of fees must be part of a comprehensve, long-term plan for unversal prmary enrollment. Ths has to nclude complementary measures such as teacher recrutment and tranng, and the provson of teachng and learnng materals." (DFID 2005). The abolton of school fees has also been forcefully advocated n recent months by the UK s Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who stated, I want to partcularly draw attenton to the need for free prmary educaton. It must be unversal, but t must be free. I was n Kenya more than a year ago and I found that n the week that Kenya had made prmary educaton free for ts chldren, 1 mllon chldren who had not had schoolng turned up to be regstered for school, just one sgnal of the demand for educaton when t s avalable free of charge. And from Kenya, Tanzana, Uganda, Malaw, Zamba, we know that more than 1 mllon chldren n each of these countres were added to the educaton roles when educaton was made free. So part of our commtment to fundng s to make t possble for prmary educaton to be both unversal and free. And I hope that we can move ths forward quckly n the next few months. (Gordon Brown, Sngapore 2006) Unted Natons Educatonal, Scentfc and Cultural Organzaton (UNESCO) UNESCO made unversal educaton a top prorty as far back as 1946, when Educaton for All (EFA) was wrtten nto ts consttuton. The Conventon aganst Dscrmnaton n Educaton (UNESCO 1960) establshed an oblgaton to states partes to make prmary educaton free and compulsory (Artcle 4) takng all domestc legslatve and regulatory measures necessary to abrogate any texts that are contrary to the provsons contaned n the Conventon, and adoptng those that wll brng legslaton and natonal polces n lne wth t. As stated n ts Medum- Term Strategy ( ), UNESCO promotes educaton as a fundamental rght n accordance wth the Unversal Declaraton of Human Rghts. Free, compulsory, and unversal prmary educaton for all s consdered as the most clearly defned of these rghts, whch governments have a duty and responsblty to make a realty. UNESCO asssts countres n adaptng legslaton, polces and plans and provdes capacty development n support of free, compulsory, and unversal prmary educaton an essental buldng block for ts work wth other partners to fulfll the EFA and MDG agendas. 129

131 Asan Development Bank (ADB) The Asan Development Bank beleves that basc educaton should be provded by the government for free (ADB 2003). It defnes basc educaton as the frst nne years of schoolng, prmary and lower secondary school. In addton to basc educaton, the sub-sector also focuses on non-formal educaton, early chldhood development, and women and grls educaton. The ADB s top prortes for basc educaton, as outlned n ts educaton polcy, are guaranteeng equtable access to educaton, equtable allocaton of resources, mprovng qualty, fosterng communty nvolvement, and enhancng local management. The ADB sees equtable access to basc educaton of paramount mportance to achevng poverty reducton. Between 1991 and 2001, nvestment n basc educaton rose from 11 to 41 percent of ts total educaton lendng portfolo, whch remaned at 6 percent of overall lendng durng the same tme perod. As noted above, the ADB endorses free basc educaton but also works wth governments to develop mechansms to help poor households pay for other costs of schoolng, such as unforms, transportaton, shoes, transportaton, and opportunty costs. Mechansms nclude targeted subsdes, scholarshps, and specal ncentves. Afrcan Development Bank (AFDB) In ts Strategc Plan , the AFDB ndcated that t would sgnfcantly ncrease funds allocated to the basc educaton sector. Prortes wll be expandng access to educaton and makng educaton more affordable for households. Partcular emphass wll be on grls enrollment and retenton rates. The plan dd not specfy whether the AFDB has an offcal stance on user fees. Inter-Amercan Development Bank (IDB) The IDB s currently workng to mprove qualty and equty at the prmary and secondary educaton levels (IDB 2000). In addton, t wll also work towards ncreasng access to schoolng where necessary, partcularly at the secondary level. It does not appear to have a specfc poston on user fees. 130

132 Annex 12: Analytcal Framework for thnkng about User Fees Source: World Bank 2004e 131

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