Free Primary Education Research Articles

Length of maternal schooling and children’s risk of malaria infection: evidence from a natural experiment in Uganda

IntroductionAn estimated 216 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide every year. Cross-sectional studies have reported negative association between maternal education and child malaria risks; however, no randomised trial or quasi-experimental...

Free Primary Education, Schooling, and Fertility: Evidence from Ethiopia

This paper investigates the causal relationship between women’s education and fertility by exploiting variation generated by the removal of school fees in Ethiopia. The increase in schooling caused by this reform is identified using both geographic variation in the intensity of the reform’s impact and the temporal variation generated by the implementation of the reform. The model finds that the removal of school fees in Ethiopia led to an increase of over 1.5 years of schooling for women affected by the reform. A two-stage least squares approach is used to measure the impact of the exogenous increase in schooling on fertility. Each additional year of schooling led to a reduction in fertility, a delay in sexual activity, marriage, and the timing of at least their first, second, and third births. There is also evidence that the increase in schooling led to improved labor market outcomes, and a reduction in the desired number of children. Additionally, there is evidence of strategic use of hidden forms of contraception, only after family size becomes sufficiently large or after two sons have been born.

Free Primary Education, Fertility, and Women’s Access to the Labor Market: Evidence from Ethiopia

Abstract This article investigates the causal relationship between women’s schooling and fertility by exploiting variation generated by the removal of school fees in Ethiopia. The increase in schooling caused by the reform is identified using both geographic variation in the intensity of its impact and temporal variation generated by the timing of the implementation. The model finds that the removal of school fees led to an increase in schooling for Ethiopian women and that each additional year of schooling led to a reduction in fertility. An investigation of the underlying mechanisms linking schooling and fertility finds that the decline in fertility is associated with an increase in labor market opportunity and a reduction in women’s ideal number of children.

THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM: A CULTURAL HISTORY VIEWPOINT AND THE MODERNIZATION OF THE ARITHMETICS TEACHING IN PARANÁ’S STATE PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN THE EARLY XXTH CENTURY

ABSTRACT From the viewpoint of cultural history, this paper analyzes disputes about purposes and methods for teaching arithmetic’s in Paraná’s state primary schools, as published in the magazine A Escola (The School) in the early XXth century. It highlights behind-the-scenes speeches by intellectuals who advocated a laic and free primary education, in which the main issue, besides of the pedagogical order, was also social and political, an aspect generally absent in the curriculum guidelines.

Education as an Instrument of Poverty Eradication in Kenya: Successes and Challenges

Studies show that increased access to education can contribute to economic growth and poverty eradication, accordingly, acquired basic skills such as reading, writing and numeracy have a positive effect on marginalized populations’ incomes and the rate of return on the economy. The wish to eliminate poverty in Kenya has been articulated since independence through a number of enactments and policy papers. However rampant poverty still abounds. Abject poverty threatens access to essential services by about 38% of Kenyans living below the poverty line. In its effort to combat poverty, the government introduced free primary and free day secondary education with poverty alleviation as one of its objectives. However, the free basic education has so far not eliminated poverty as envisaged due to a number of challenges. This paper thus presents the successes, failures and challenges of the free basic education in Kenya against the need for it to help eliminate poverty by thematically examining and analysing literature. From the analysis, the successes include: increased school enrolment, reduction in illiteracy levels, improved transition rates to secondary school, eradication of child labour, improved assessment and placement of learners with disabilities and abandonment of harmful traditional practices. The challenges include: understaffing, massive unplanned expansions of schools, inability of parents to provide subsistence, the quality issue and delayed funds disbursement amongst others, thereby rendering education unable to efficiently play its role in poverty alleviation. Recommendations are thereafter given

Implementation of the Free and Compulsory Primary Education Policy in Public Schools in Ogun State, Nigeria: Evaluation

Implementation of the Free and Compulsory Primary Education Policy in Public Schools in Ogun State, Nigeria: Evaluation

Enshrined education rights: a three state comparison

Enshrined Education Rights: A three state comparison This paper will examine enshrined education rights in three countries, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America which share many values and whose legal and education systems are not dissimilar. The comparative analysis will consider what constitutes education rights, what it means for rights to be enshrined and whether and where education rights are enshrined in these countries’ legal systems. It will ask: 1. Given their very different legal frameworks how is the right to education protected in each of these states? 2. Which framework, if any, is more conducive to the development of sustainable education rights? Article 42 of the Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hEireann) guarantees a right to free primary education whereas there is no right to education per se in the United States Constitution. However, all be they argued on other bases, education rights have featured prominently in the jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court. Whilst Irish litigation has been able to flesh out the scope of the right to free primary education contained within Article 42 those who would seek enshrined education rights in the United States would have to do so under the cloak of preventing racial or religious discrimination. The United Kingdom by contrast has no written constitution and until the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998, if even then, arguably had no enshrined education rights. Notwithstanding this it is unlikely anyone with more than a cursory knowledge of the United Kingdom’s legal system would believe it is a country without a right to education. This paper will chart some of the major issues and cases pertaining to education rights that have been fought on both sides of the Atlantic and examine whether the explicit constitutional protection afforded to the right to free primary education by the Irish Constitution has proved to be a superior source of education rights than the United Kingdom’s less formal protection of education rights or the United States Constitution’s indirect protection of education rights. It will also consider whether it may be possible to achieve as much or more through aligning education rights to other rights as is necessitated by the nature of the United States’ Constitution as by upholding a right to education through non-constitutional or at least less formal constitutional means as in the United Kingdom. Finally this paper will consider whether the nature of rapidly changing societies, such as those examined in the paper, with ever evolving technologies is conducive to enshrining rights to education when the very nature of what constitutes education is transforming.

Effect of Learners’ Level of Utilization of Conventional Resources on Classroom Performance in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya

Provision of quality education is a key concern for any nation. In Kenya, with the advent of Free Primary Education and Subsidized Secondary Education, schools are experiencing an upsurge in enrolment of students’ in both primary and secondary schools. This has put a strain on the existing facilities in the schools leading to the need to properly equip the schools to ensure provision of quality education. However with delayed capitation resulting from economic challenges schools face challenges concerning acquisition of instruction resources and this has consequences on students’ performance. There has been need to increase resources to match the rising students’ numbers but due to economic challenges, parity is missing effect of this is being seen in poor performance in examinations. There is need to establish how the utilization of the little available resources facilitate instructions and identification of strategies to enhance this process. The paper therefore sought to determine the effect of learners’ level of utilization of conventional resources on classroom performance in secondary schools in Bungoma County The study was guided by the Cognitive Theory of Instructions as propounded by Jean Piaget that emphasizes the significance of instruction resources in the teaching and learning process. Descriptive survey design was employed. The target population consisted of teachers and students from public secondary schools in Bungoma County. In order to have a representative sample, this study employed stratified random sampling to select schools. Questionnaires, interview and observation schedules and document analysis were used as data collection instruments.Descriptive and inferential data was analyzed using SPSS. The findings of the study showed that majority of the students asserted that their teachers had frequently assigned them with both class and take away assignments which enhanced their utilization of the available conventional resources. The paper concluded that the level of students’ utilization of conventional instruction resources was below the average mean, therefore a unit increase in the utilization of resource persons could improve students’ classroom performance. There was a significant relationship between teacher training and students’ classroom performance which directly influence students’ class performance. It was therefore recommended that principals and officials of the Ministry of Education should ensure regular supervision to enhance effective use of conventional instruction materials and resources in enhancement of classroom performance in public secondary schools in Bungoma County. Keywords: class room performance, conventional resources, Effect, learners’ level of utilization, secondary school DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-33-05 Publication date: November 30 th 2019

Free Primary Education, Timing of Fertility, and Total Fertility

Abstract This study employs a difference-in-differences estimation strategy to study the causal impacts of free primary education (FPE) on women’s schooling and fertility-related outcomes using the 1990s FPE reform of Malawi. The results show that full exposure to FPE at the mean value of the reform’s potential impact led to an 18.5 percentage points increase in the probability of ever enrolling in school and 1.2 years of additional schooling. Furthermore, the reduced form estimates suggest that full exposure to FPE increased age at first marriage and at first childbirth by almost 0.79 and 0.98 years respectively. The study also finds statistically significant reductions at all ages between age 14 and 24 in the total number of children to which women give birth. By age 24, for example, full exposure to FPE at the mean value of the reform’s potential impact led to 0.28 fewer children. In addition, there is evidence showing that exposure to FPE led to increased spacing between the first two births (about six additional months) if the first child is female. The study explores several channels through which FPE may affect fertility-related outcomes. Postponement of marriage and first childbirth, increased contraceptive use, and changes in mate characteristics all play a role.

Why Do Some Children Still Leave Primary School Early? Comparing Reasons in Three Regions of Kenya

While free primary education (FPE) has made significant strides towards schooling for all Kenyan children, and dropout rates have been notably reduced, a regional disparity clearly persists. This means that many children in arid and semi-arid regions and informal settlements in urban areas leave school before completion. The purpose of this article is to report on a study that examined the reasons why some children still leave school early. Targeting the 7–17 year age group, a total of 83 children participated in the study, which was conducted in three counties in which government statistics showed low enrolment, namely, Nairobi, Garissa and Laikipia. It used both questionnaires and semi-structured interviews for data collection, and also collected evidence from government offices, primary schools, and a local non-governmental organisation (NGO). The findings indicated that a regular free meal programme and sensitisation of parents and communities are two intervention policies that are likely to help keep children in school.

Achieving the Promise to Leave No Girl behind in Commonwealth Countries

ABSTRACTThe education Sustainable Development Goal includes a commitment to ensuring that all children – regardless of their gender and circumstances within which they are born – should complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018 re-affirmed the importance of 12 years of quality education for all, particularly marginalised groups including disadvantaged girls. To inform these commitments, this paper aims to situate the current evidence on girls’ education across the 53 countries in the Commonwealth, with a particular focus on low- and lower-middle income countries where the challenges are the greatest. It identifies the current status of access to school and learning, and highlights trends in domestic and aid financing to support the targets. It then presents evidence on interventions aimed at tackling barriers to girls’ access and learning to achieve the commitments. The paper argues a need not only to focus on gender parity in education – i.e. an equal proportion of girls and boys in school and learning – but also to pay greater attention to the more ambitious target of gender equality, which requires an end to discrimination if a truly level playing field is to be achieved.

The Right to Education Act: Trends in Enrollment, Test Scores, and School Quality

The Right to Education (RTE) Act passed in 2009 guarantees access to free primary education to all children ages 6-14 in India. This paper investigates whether national trends in educational outcomes change around the time of this law using household surveys and administrative data. We document four trends: (1) school-going increases after the passage of RTE, (2) test scores decline dramatically after 2010, (3) school infrastructure appears to improve both before and after RTE, and (4) the number of students who have to repeat a grade falls precipitously after RTE is enacted, in line with official provisions of the law.

Measuring the causal effect of women’s schooling on contraceptive use in Nigeria

ABSTRACTThis paper uses the 2008 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey to investigate the effect of women’s schooling on contraceptive use. In order to control for endogeneity of women’s schooling, this paper uses an instrumental variable approach, with the free primary education programme in Nigeria introduced from 1976 to 1981, as an instrument for women’s schooling. The paper finds that the education of women increases the probability of using contraceptives. Disaggregating the results between traditional and modern contraceptive use, the results show a positive and significant impact of women’s education on both modern and traditional contraceptive use. The findings of the study lend credence to the evidence that birth control measures can lead to better timing and spacing of births that allow women to significantly expand their economic opportunities and life prospects. These have implications for women’s economic empowerment and gender equality, which are vital for any sustainable development policy.

The Effect of the Free Primary Education Policy on School Enrolment and Relative Grade Attainment in Lesotho†

Abstract We examine the impact of Lesotho’s Free Primary Education (FPE) programme on enrolment and relative grade attainment. The programme was sequentially implemented by first abolishing school fees in grade one in the year 2000. The timing of the implementation created changes in programme coverage across age groups over time. We employ a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits these variations to identify the effects of the FPE policy. Using data from the 2000 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey and the 2002 Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire survey, we find that the FPE policy increased enrolment of primary school-age children by 19.1 percentage points between 1999 and 2002. We also find that the policy had a negative effect on relative grade attainment: post-FPE, children had 0.15 fewer grades per year of age compared to pre-FPE. We do not find evidence of sibling effects.

Length of Maternal Schooling and Child's Risk of Malaria Infection in Uganda: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Background: An estimated 216 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide every year. Cross sectional studies have reported negative association between maternal education and child malaria risks, but no randomized trial has confirmed a causal relationship between these two factors. I utilized the free primary education reform in Uganda to assess the causal effects of maternal schooling on the child's risk of malaria infection. Methods: Malaria biomarkers of children aged < five years were collected from the 2009 and 2014 Uganda Malaria Indicator Surveys (N = 5,316). In 1997, the government eliminated tuition requirement in primary schools and this increased the educational attainment of the affected cohorts. Using exposure to the reform as an instrumental variable, I used a two-stage least squares approach to estimate the causal effects of maternal year of education on the probability that a child would contract malaria at the time of the survey. I also evaluated the cost-effectiveness of primary schooling as a malaria control intervention. Findings: One extra year of maternal education reduced child's risk of malaria infection by 7·5 percentage points (p=0·057), from a baseline 34·6% among the children of 1980 pre-reform cohort. The length of maternal education was also positively associated with insecticide-treated bednets usage. The results were robust to a variety of sensitivity tests. Primary schooling for women was a cost-effective intervention to reduce child's malaria infection. Interpretation: Improving access to primary education could be a cost-effective measure to reduce malaria prevalence among children aged < five years in malaria-endemic countries. Funding: None. Declaration of Interest: None exist. Ethical Approval: The present study was reviewed by the Hitotsubashi University Institutional Review Board and considered exempt from full ethics review because the analysis was based on a publicly available, anonymized dataset.

ADEQUACY OF SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE AND QUALITY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION – THE CASE OF NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Early childhood development and education forms a strong foundation for children as they get ready to go through formal education. Many early childhood education centres in Kenya face challenges in regard to necessities that enhance quality education. The study sought to establish the situation that could have led to lack of quality education in ECDE centres in Naivasha. The purpose of the study was to determine the adequacy of infrastructure associated with quality Early Childhood Education in Naivasha central zone, Nakuru County. The study employed the descriptive survey design. The target population of this study was all the 40 public pre-primary schools in Naivasha central zone, the 40 head teachers/managers and all the 120 ECDE teachers. A sample of (20) 50% of the centres were selected using purposive and simple random sampling methods. The research tools used to elicit data were two questionnaires administered to head teachers and ECDE teachers. Observation schedule was used to elicit information on the adequacy of infrastructure and their conditions. Before the main study, a pilot study was carried out in two ECDE centres in order to test the validity and reliability of the instruments that were to be used. The data obtained was analyzed using frequencies and percentages and presented using tables. The researcher found out that financial challenges inhibited the acquisition of materials, equipment and development of standard and adequate facilities. This was accounted for by the fact that free primary education funding does not incorporate ECDE funding. Most parents with children in the ECDE Centers felt that free primary education funds should also cater for ECDE and were therefore reluctant to pay fees. The study, therefore, recommended that the National government through Ministry of Education should allocate or develop a kitty to support early childhood education centres in developing and maintain reliable infrastructural systems. Article visualizations:

Teachers and Students Attitudes on Free Primary Education Utilization of Learning Resources in Bungoma County, Kenya

Teachers and Students Attitudes on Free Primary Education Utilization of Learning Resources in Bungoma County, Kenya

Free and Compulsory Primary Education in Tanzania: Challenges to A girl Child in Rural Areas

This paper aimed to assess the challenges that are faced by a girl child in rural Tanzania, for the government’s attention of both access and quality primary education to be achieved. The study dealt with the assessment of all kinds of challenges that hinder girl children from participating in primary education, dropping out from school and those challenges that make them perform lower than boys in academics. The study adopted qualitative multiple case-study approach with multiple instruments of data collection ( interview, non-participatory observation, and document analysis) for the study to deeply collect data on the participation of girl child in primary education for rural areas in Tanzania. The study found that intimidations of some parents to girl children are intentionally used so that they cannot pass their final primary education examination in rural areas so that they can get married and be source of money. Maid business from rural to town was also shown as the factor affecting most of the girls in rural areas, Girl children being overworked and inadequate number of female teachers were revealed as source of low attendance of girls to school Key words : Education, Free Education, Compulsory education, Girl child, rural areas DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/9-6-07 Publication date :March 31 st 2019

Teachers’ Preparedness Towards Implementation of Free Primary Education in Bungoma County, Kenya

The launch of the Free Primary Education (FPE) in 2003 by the Kenyan government lead to an increase in enrolment of learners in primary schools which posed a challenge to the teacher preparation of handling large number of learners. This paper therefore discusses teacher preparedness with reference to FPE in Bungoma East District in Kenya. A descriptive survey design was used in this study. The target population was head teachers, teachers and the school management committee chair persons. Since there are rural and urban schools, stratified sampling was done to get a more representative sample. Instruments for data collection were questionnaires, interview schedule, and document analysis and observation schedules. Most teachers feel inadequate in handling challenges of FPE on resource utilization due to inadequate in-service programmes. The findings will inform the policy makers in making informed decisions towards proper teacher preparation for FPE implementation.

Perspectives of dropped-out children on their dropping out from public secondary schools in rural Pakistan

The world can only meet prescribed educational targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if all boys and girls complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education by 2030. However, the problem of dropping out from school is a barrier to such goals in poor and developing countries. In Pakistan, in total, 73% of children aged 5–16 (classes 1 to 10) drop out before reaching the final grade of secondary school. It is important to listen to the personal stories of dropped out children in order to design better and more effective policy responses. In this study, 18 secondary school dropped-out boys were interviewed in order to explore the social and cultural contexts around their dropping out and the competing economic, social and family demands placed on them. The findings show that a range of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors, that operate at individual, family and structural levels – and that at times intersect or combine – influence children’s willingness and ability to attend school.