Expanded access to secondary schooling in Sub-Saharan Africa: key planning and finance issues

Supporting secondary schools in Sub-Saharan Africa By: Lewin KM
Published by: Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity, 2007
Via: Eldis

Providing secondary education for the rapidly increasing number of primary school graduates is becoming a key policy issue throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.This paper offers new insights into necessary reforms to expand secondary enrolment.It outlines the current status and structure of provision, and the demographic issues that will influence access.

The author identifies key issues facing governments and development partners in expanding secondary education which include:

• balancing progress on increasing universal access and completion at the primary level with increasing secondary participation
• recognising the interactions between primary and secondary expansion
• linking enrolment growth and curriculum to labour market needs
• adopting a differentiated approach to reducing gender differences

Proposed policy options to broaden secondary education within a sustainable financial framework include:

• allocation of national resources to education has to be considered
• the salary and non-salary costs per pupil of secondary provision have to fall if higher levels of participation are to be financially sustainable
• better management of the flow of pupils could increase completion rates
• changes in school management that provide some incentives to manage human and physical resources efficiently
• partnerships with non-government providers should be explored

(http://www.create-rpc.org/pdf%20documents/pathwaystoaccess8.pdf)