178 • Abolishing School Fees in Africa
Table 5.5 Trends in Net Enrollment Rates by Household Expenditure Quintile and Gender, 1990/91–2004 (percent) Household expenditure quintile
1990/91 Girls
Boys
1997
2002
2004
Both
Girls
Boys
Both
Girls
Boys
Both
Girls
Boys
Both
1 (poorest)
31
34
33
74
77
76
74
72
73
75
72
73
2
45
50
48
77
76
76
73
76
74
79
74
77
3
57
52
55
77
74
75
83
79
81
84
81
82
4
61
66
62
81
76
79
83
87
85
88
83
86
5 (richest)
75
76
75
81
80
80
91
92
91
94
92
93
All quintiles
50
52
51
78
76
77
81
81
81
84
80
82
Source: Data for 1990/91 and 1997 are from Al-Samarrai and Zaman 2002; for 2002, from the National Statistical Office and ORC Macro 2003; and for 2004, from NSO and ORC Macro 2005.
poorest quintile increased significantly after the introduction of FPE, more than doubling (from 33 percent in 1990/91 to over 70 percent), suggesting that the 1994 reforms benefited the poorest groups. However, subsequent national surveys indicate that the gap in NER between the richest and the poorest groups has widened again, probably because of economic shocks during the period.4 The disparity in enrollment rates of school-age children between the richest and poorest groups narrowed significantly as a consequence of the educational reforms. Gender parity in NER has been achieved, indicating that there is an almost equal proportion of primary school–age boys and girls attending school. The gender gap in the net enrollment rate favors girls, but the poorest girls are still more likely to be out of school. After the introduction of FPE, significant improvements for all subgroups were evident; however, disparities remain between income groups (see tables 5.4 and 5.5). This suggests that, despite some relaxation of financial constraints on primary schooling, there are other, mostly poverty-related factors that constrain the poorest households from sending all their children to school. Despite the massive increase in primary enrollment after 1994, the poorest are still most likely to be out of school and more likely to drop out before completing primary education. School-level stakeholders also felt that FPE had increased disparities between socioeconomic groups. During discussions with the school management committee (SMC) and the parent-teacher association from the two schools visited, it was argued that “it is only the poor who enrolled for FPE, but the rich preferred to send their children to private schools because they feel FPE is not valuable.”