Assessing progress towards universal primary education in the Kassena-Nankana District Cornelius Debpuur George Wak Paul 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 GOALTARGETINDICATORS 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 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, 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  (beginning September 2007: )  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 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 YearMaleFemaleTotal ,60727,43958, ,03426,58256, ,53427,18757, ,88627,59458, ,94428,11659, ,94327,94758,890

School attendance

Exclusion from school

Gross primary attendance

Net primary attendance

Gross JSS attendance

Net JSS attendance

Ratio of girls to boys in basic school

School attainment

Primary school completion - I

Primary school completion - II

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!