Assessing progress towards universal primary education in the Kassena-Nankana District

Cornelius DebpuurGeorge WakPaul Welaga

Navrongo Health Research Centre

Introduction Education as a critical factor in human

development Individual level Societal level

International efforts to promote access to education Several international goals for universal education

since 1934; World Education Forum (Dakar 2000) & Millennium Summit (New York 2000)

Education and the MDGs 2 of 8 MDGs on education Education central to achievement of all other MDGs

MDGs on education

GOAL TARGET INDICATORS

MDG 2:Achieve universal primary education

Ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

Net enrolment ratio Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5 Literacy rate of 15-24 year olds

MDG 3:Promote gender equality and empower women

Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education Ratio of literate women to men, 15-24 years old Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

Monitoring MDGs on Education

Data requirements Longitudinal data on schooling Longitudinal population data Ideally both population and schooling data

should be from same source Current practice

Schooling data from official MoE data Population data from UN population estimates

Uniqueness of DSS Schooling and population data from common

source

Objectives Examine trends in primary schooling in

the Kassena-Nankana District (KND) between 2000 and 2005 Focus on school participation and

attainment Emphasis on gender disparity

Assess progress towards universal primary schooling in the district

Establish framework for monitoring MDGs on education

Education in Ghana Formal education dates back to pre-colonial

times Major developments after independence,

marked by various policy changes Current educational system largely a result of

policy reforms of the 1980s 6-3-3-4 (beginning September 2007: 6-3-4-4) Official starting age is 6 years

Free compulsory basic education (9 years) a constitutional requirement

1996 – 2005 as time frame for implementation of FCUBE

NDSS data on education Data on education updated annually since 1997

Targets individuals 6 years or above Updates for members whose status is “PR” or “AB” Compound (household) respondent provides

information Updates usually done at beginning of calendar year

Information collected Ever attended school

Highest level attended Currently attending school

School attending Current level and grade

Methodology Analysis limited to 6-24 year olds Compute indicators used in monitoring

MDGs Net enrolment at Primary and JSS Ratio of girls to boys at Primary and JSS Literacy rate

Period of observation - 2000 to 2005

Profile of Kassena-Nankana District

One of 138 districts in Ghana, and one of the poorest districts

Population – 143,000 Main ethno-linguistic groups – Kassena

and Nankana Educational facilities

102 primary schools; 47 junior secondary schools; 7 senior secondary schools; 3 tertiary institutions

RESULTS SO FAR

Summary of samples analyzed

Year Male Female Total

2000 30,607 27,439 58,046

2001 30,034 26,582 56,616

2002 30,534 27,187 57,721

2003 30,886 27,594 58,480

2004 30,944 28,116 59,060

2005 30,943 27,947 58,890

School attendance

Exclusion from schoolTrends in percentage of 15-24 year olds who have never attended

school, KND 2000-2005

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

Per

cen

t n

ever

att

end

ed s

cho

ol

Boys

Girls

Gross primary attendance

Trends in Gross Primary Attendance in KND, 2000-2005

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

Gro

ss A

tten

dan

ce R

ate

Boys

Girls

Net primary attendance

Trends in Net Primary school attendance in KND, 2000-2005

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

Net

Att

ten

dan

ce R

ate

Boys

Girls

Gross JSS attendance

Trends in Gross JSS attendnance in KND, 2000-2005

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

Gro

ss A

tten

dan

ce R

ate

Boys

Girls

Net JSS attendance

Trends in Net JSS Attendance in KND, 2000-2005

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

Net

Att

end

ance

Rat

e

Boys

Girls

Ratio of girls to boys in basic school

Trends in ratio of girls to boys in basic school

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

Rat

io o

f g

irls

to

bo

ys

Primary

JSS

School attainment

Primary school completion - I

Trends in percentage of 15-24 year olds who completed at least primary six, KND 2000-2005

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

Per

cen

t

Boys

Girls

Primary school completion - II

Trends in primary school completion among 15-24 year olds who ever attended school, KND 2000-2005

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

Per

cen

t co

mp

lete

d p

rim

ary

Boys

Girls

Summary Not all young people in KND attend

school, but many more are likely to attend today than before

More males than females attend school Females tend to attend school at

appropriate ages than males Evidence of late attendance and/or

grade repetition Gender gaps in schooling persist

Challenges to Universal Schooling

Enrolment at appropriate ages Enrolment of females Regular attendance

Retention in school Grade progression

School quality Infrastructure Quality of teaching

Next steps Examine socioeconomic disparities in

school attendance Going beyond attendance to examine

Retention Grade progression

Acknowledgements People of Kassena-Nankana District Staff of Navrongo Health Research

Centre Rockefeller Foundation

Thank you!