Do school facilities increase school enrolment? Evidence from primary school enrolment in India

Measuring Gender Equality in Education: Lessons from Trends in 43 Countries

Abstract. Patriarchal forces have imposed many subjective norms on girls in achieving education mainly in rural India. Initially on the basis of 2011 Census report of India, the rural population dominated districts of 16 major states of India are identified. Next we have tried to identify the possible factors which can influence Gender Parity Index (GPI) during the time of enrolment in primary education in rural India. Due to disparity in socio-cultural factors across india, which can possibly influence girl’s enrolment in primary school, we have divided India into four zones. This paper on the basis of DISE statistics have found that school development grant influences GPI in Eastern, Western and Southern zones and teaching learning material grant influence GPI value in Eastern and Western zone and also encourages overall enrolment of children in Northern zone in rural schools. It is also found that increased female teacher positively influences GPI value in primary school enrolment in Eastern and Southern zone of India. Reduced pupil-teacher ratio has positive impact on girls enrolment in primary school mainly in Eastern, Western and Southern zone of India. Availibility of mid day meal in school has positively influenced GPI value in primary school enrolment in Eastern, Western and Southern zone of India and also have positive impact in increasing overall enrolment in rural primary schools in Northern zone of India. Female literacy and overall literacy have positive influence GPI in Eastern zone of India. Provision for specialised toilet for girl child has also motivated parents to enrol their girl child to primary school mainly in Eastern, Western and Southern zone of India. Keywords. Patriarchal society, Gender discrimination, Gender parity index, DISE statistics, Panel data regression model, Gross enrolment ratio. JEL. C33, I24, I38, J12, J16, R12.

This study examined the impact of human capital development on economic growth in Nigeria from 1981 to 2021using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method. Annual time series data on the dependent variable, real gross domestic product growth rate (RGDPG), alongside the independent variables, including government expenditure on education, government expenditure on health as well as gross fixed capital formation were sourced and collected from Central Bank of Nigeria [1] Statistical Bulletin, while the annual time series data on primary, secondary and tertiary school enrolments were collected from UNESCO [2] Institute for Statistics. The series were tested for stationarity using the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) unit root test. The result showed a mix of variables integrated of order one, I(1) and of order zero, I(0). The Bounds test for cointegration showed the existence of long run relationship amongst the variables as the F-statistic value of approximately 3.43 was found to be higher than the 5% upper bounds value of 3.28. The results of the ARDL method of analysis revealed that in the long run, government expenditure on education and tertiary school enrolment had insignificant negative impact on economic growth while government expenditure on health, gross fixed capital formation, primary and secondary school enrolments had insignificant positive impacts on economic growth. On the other hand, in the short run, while government expenditure on education exhibited significant negative impact on economic growth, government expenditure on health had significant positive impact on economic growth. Gross fixed capital formation impacted positively on economic growth, primary school enrolment had negative impact while secondary and tertiary enrolments had positive impact on economic growth. Consequently, the study recommended among others that the government should set incremental annual targets expenditure on health aimed at achieving the Abuja agreement of 15% of total public expenditure in the health sector. This will create multiplier effect in the long run and serve as a boost to economic growth in the country.

Education is a top priority for the Cameroonian government, as reflected in frequent institutional reforms implemented over time in this strategic sector to improve its performance. In this context, the objective of this study is to investigate the effect of institutions on primary and secondary school enrolment, controlling for other key variables. Data used are from the World Bank, the Center for Global Peace, and the Cameroonian government. A standard education production function is specified and estimated using the SURE method. The adopted methodology led to some interesting results. i) There is some heterogeneity in the effect of institutions on the performance of the education system. Indeed, institutional factors seem to have had a positive and significant effect on primary school enrolment and no effect on secondary school enrolment. ii) The same heterogeneity is observed in the effect of public spending on education as a share of GDP, which appears to be positive and significant on primary school enrolment and not on secondary school enrolment. iii) High level of GDP growth rate would not be a necessary and sufficient condition for improving the Cameroonian education system performance. Therefore, the Government should do more to reduce political instability, corruption and improve good governance to boost the performance of the education system. An effective health policy would also help to achieve the same goal.

To estimate the prevalence of chronic health and nutritional conditions of schoolchildren in Ethiopia. Cross-sectional survey in schools in each region randomly selected in proportion to size, then a random sample of 50-68 children in grades 3 and 4 in each school. Children were examined for signs of micronutrient deficiencies and chronic infections; weighed and measured; provided a faecal sample to diagnose intestinal parasitic infections; and were interviewed about their recent diet and hygiene practices. A total of 7572 children were studied in 142 schools in all 11 regions of Ethiopia. Nearly 17% of children were orphans. The prevalence of stunting was 22.3% and 23.1% of children were thin for age, but these may be underestimates as there was evidence that age may have been estimated based on stature when children enroll in school. Just under 10% of children were anaemic when altitude was accounted for. The overall prevalence of trachoma was 13% and children who washed their face before school were at lower risk of trachoma than children who had not. Children who reported that they had eaten fruits or vegetables the day before also had a lower risk of xerophthalmia than children who had not. Only 30% of children were infected with intestinal worms. Trachoma is a problem but anaemia and intestinal worms are relatively uncommon in Ethiopian schoolchildren. These data provide a basis for developing a school health policy and programmes.

This article examines the relevance of information and communication technology (ICT) in modulating the effect of education on life insurance and non-life insurance consumption in 48 African countries for the period 2004-2014. Education is measured with primary school, secondary school and tertiary school enrollments. ICT is measured with mobile phone, internet and broadband subscriptions. The empirical evidence is based on generalized method of moments. The following main findings are established. First, from the nexuses between education, ICT and life insurance, there are positive conditional effects from the interaction between: (i) broadband subscriptions and primary school enrollment; (ii) broadband subscriptions and secondary school enrollment and (iii) internet penetration and tertiary school enrollment. Second, from the nexuses between education, ICT and non-life insurance: (i) there is a negative net effect from the interactions between mobile phone penetration and primary education while positive net effects are apparent from the interactions between: mobile phone penetration and secondary school enrollment; secondary school enrollment and broadband subscriptions and; tertiary school enrollment and broadband subscriptions.

This paper set out to assess the performance of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS I) in Nigeria in relation to its educational goals. These goals include; increasing enrolment in primary and secondary schools, improving the quality of education, and increasing funding to this critical sector. Several economic reform programmes in Nigeria have been abandoned not because they had no accomplishments, but largely as a result of paucity of studies assessing them. No paper in the Nigerian literature has appraised the NEEDS I vis-Ã -vis its stated educational objectives. This paper therefore fills this void. In realizing the objective of this study, I adopted the before and after approach, which involves comparing educational performance indicators before the initiation of the NEEDSI and during the programme. The findings revealed improved performance of educational indicators such as female enrolment in primary schools, adult literacy rate, primary school completion rate, and Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations during the NEEDS programme, although achievements were modest. Budgetary allocation to the sector as a proportion of total budget was below 10 per cent and less than the 25 per cent UNESCO recommendation. Funding to this sector should be increased and monitored in order to achieve sustainable improvements in educational outcomes. Completion rate in secondary school was also low. This paper therefore suggests the extension of the universal basic education scheme to the senior secondary level to reduce drop-out rates.

Using the 75th round National Sample Survey (NSS) unit-level data on social consumption on education this article identifies the various household and school-related factors which influence the household choice of private schooling for their children at the time of enrolment in primary school in rural India. Parents often choose private schools over government ones due to perceived shortcomings in education quality and infrastructure. This article will also attempt to identify the possible reasons for the gender gap during enrolment in private primary schools in rural India. The contribution of each factor explaining the gender gap in school enrolment is quantified with the help of Fairlie’s Decomposition technique. Economic attributes such as household income, computer ownership in the household, and stable employment decrease gender disparities during the time of enrolment in private primary school in rural India, while social attributes like household religious practices, household size, social group and school-related factors like English medium school, the distance between the household and primary school exacerbate these disparities.

In recognizing education as a fundamental right, Nigeria has striven to eliminate barriers that impede access, ensuring that learners from diverse backgrounds can thrive and contribute meaningfully to society. This endeavor is grounded in the belief that education is not just a privilege but a powerful catalyst for personal growth, social progress, and global harmony. However, despite this, Nigeria has the highest number of children not enrolled in school even globally. This study explores socio economic factors affecting enrollment in primary schools in Katagum Local Government Area in Nigeria. The Human Capital Theory by economists Gary Becker and Theodore Schultz guided this study. A qualitative study, framed within an interpretivism paradigm, drawn on a phenomenology design was used. 29 participants were purposively sampled from the study’s population who are stakeholders of primary education including parents, teachers, head teachers and Education Secretary while the data were generated using interviews and focus group discussions and thematically analysed. Trustworthiness was ensured and ethical principles were adhered to. Findings revealed that the stakeholders perceived socio-economic factors affecting enrollment in primary schools as poverty, child labour, distance norms and location of the school, influx of Internally Displaced Persons, belief system and unemployment. It was envisioned that, strategies like abolishing of school fees, shifting socio-cultural norms, introduction of skills acquisition, school’s improvement projects and offering financial incentives to poor families would improve and sustain enrollment in primary schools.

Estimating the impact of school feeding programs: Evidence from mid day meal scheme of India

The general objective of the study was to analyze the impact of human capital development on economic growth in Ethiopia over the period 1974/5 -2018/9. The econometric models of Johnesan cointegration, VECM and causality tests were applied to analysis short-run and long-run impact of Human capital on Economic growth. The result of the error correction model shows that the model is adjusting at a relatively stable rate of 74.3% towards the long-run equilibrium. Furthermore, the result shows that human capital proxied of (primary and secondary school enrolments) and active labour force have a positive statistical significant long run and short-run effect on economic growth in Ethiopia. Such findings are consistent with the endogenous growth theories which argue that an improvement in human capital (skilled workers) improves productivity. In addition, results reveal that education expenditure and life expectancy at birth have a positive and statistically significant long-run effect on economic growth. However, the expenditure on health, secondary school enrolment and official development assistance are statically significant and have an unexpected negative impact on long-run economic growth. Furthermore, the short-run causality tests results reveal that public expenditure on education, primary school enrolment, secondary school enrolment and RGDP have unidirectional causal effects. Hence policymakers and/or the government give prioritize to create institutional capacity that increase school enrolment and strengthening the infrastructure or investment of educational and health institutions that produce quality of manpower to increase productivity.

The role of enhanced schooling, a fundamental part of most development strategies, has become contentious because spreading out of school achievement has not assured improved economic setting. This paper reviews the role of education in promoting economic interests that spotlight the role of educational eminence. Much evidence from developing countries suggests that education has strapping persuasion on economic expansion. The main purpose of this study was to look at the consequences of some of the key macroeconomic variables on Pakistan’s economic growth during 1980-2009 taking four different education levels including Primary, Middle, High school, and other school enrollment as a ratio to total employed labor force. Other variables include exports, Basic health unit (BHUs), as main macroeconomic variables. Primary education is well thought-out to be an important precondition for accelerating growth. Key words: Primary school enrolment, secondary school enrolment, literacy rate, economic growth.

This study aims to empirically investigate the dynamics of relationship among human capital formation, self-employment (SE), and economic growth in Pakistan. Using quarterly data of primary school enrollment, SE, and GDP per capita, we employed ARDL bound testing approach to cointegration covering the time span of 1995–2010. We found that in the long run, primary school enrollment, high school enrollment and SE have significant impact on economic growth. Enrollment in primary schools (EP) has a strong positive and significant impact on economic growth, whereas enrollment in high school has a relatively small positive and significant impact on economic growth in the long run in Pakistan. Further, SE has a small, positive and significant impact on economic growth in the long run. In short run, enrollments in high schools and SE have weak positive impact on economic growth whereas, EP has a strong positive and significant impact on economic growth in Pakistan. Further it is found that that there is unidirectional long run causality from self employment to economic growth followed by the bidirectional short run causality between economic growth and high school enrollment, GDP per capita and primary school enrollment, high school enrollment and primary school enrollment.

ABSTRACTAccording to the Turkish legal code, a student born in December must enrol in primary school alongside students born 11 months earlier in January. In this study, Turkish college admissions data is used to measure the effect of younger enrolment in primary school. It was found that students who are born in the second half of the year are less likely to be from selective public high schools, and are less likely to be successful in college admissions test. These results are consistent with disadvantages associated with younger enrolment in primary school.

Poor funding of the education sector and low school enrollment in Nigeria has been affecting the manpower development of the citizen. This study is an empirical assessment of public expenditure on education and manpower development in Nigeria for the period of 30 years (1990-2019). Secondary source and time series data were used and the variables such as; human development index, public capital expenditure on education, public recurrent expenditure on education, primary school enrollment, secondary school enrollment and tertiary school enrollment were employed for the study. The data were sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin of 2019 and World Bank Database. Data was analyzed using Ordinary Linear Square (OLS) techniques with the aid of E-views version 09. The various analyses that were used are unit root and regression. The findings revealed that public recurrent expenditure on education (PREE), primary school enrollment (PSE), and tertiary school enrollment (TSE) are statistically significant on the Human development index (HDI) while public capital expenditure on education (PCEE) and secondary school enrollment (SSE) are not statistically significant on the Human development index (HDI). It was concluded that if public expenditure on education if managed will improve manpower development in Nigeria. The study recommended that government should create awareness about school enrollment especially at primary