50
Equity
Figure 4.1 Primary and Secondary School Net Attendance Rate by Wealth Quintile and Urban-Rural Status, 2011 90 80 70 Percent
60
76% 61%
67%
50 30 20
85%
80% 68%
63% 46%
40
82%
51%
48%
36%
34%
22%
10 0 Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Secondary NAR
Q5
Rural
Urban
Primary NAR
Source: GSS 2011.
(2011) finds that the national primary Net Attendance Rate (NAR) is 73 percent, suggesting that more than a quarter of primary school–aged children are not in primary school.3 The reason for the broad estimate for the number of out-of school children is because many 6–11-year-old children are attending Kindergarten instead of primary school. GSS (2011) suggests that as many as 20 percent of 6–11-year-olds are attending Kindergarten or preschool. MoE EMIS data (NER) and the primary NAR indicator regard these children as “out of school.” However, if we take these children into account, the school attendance rate among 6–11-year-old children could be above 90 percent (GSS 2011),4 Even with significant access gains, pupil attendance at primary and secondary schools varies greatly by household wealth and urban-rural status. Figure 4.1 shows primary and secondary school net attendance rate (NAR) by wealth quintile and urban-rural status (GSS 2011). Primary NAR for pupils from the wealthiest households (Quintile 5) is 85 percent, compared to a primary NAR of 61 percent for students from the poorest households (Quintile 1). Difference in NAR by wealth quintile is more pronounced in SHS where students from wealthiest households are nearly three times as likely to have access to senior high school compared to peers in the lowest wealth quintiles (63 percent vs. 22 percent). Similar disparities are evident when comparing access by urban-rural status. Primary and Secondary NAR also vary by region. Figure 4.2 shows primary net attendance rate by region (2011). Excepting Greater Accra, primary NAR in Ghana is below 80 percent. Primary NAR in Upper West and Northern Regions is 65 percent and 59 percent, respectively. Secondary NAR shows great range as well. Secondary NAR in all three northern regions is below 30 percent while in Greater Accra and Ashanti regions, it comes in at 51 percent and 49 percent, respectively. Notably, female children of secondary school age (44 percent) are more likely than males (40 percent) to attend secondary school. Basic Education beyond the Millennium Development Goals in Ghana http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0098-6