Expanded Access To Secondary Schooling In Sub Saharan Africa

Investment in secondary schooling in Sub-Saharan Africa has been neglected since the World Conference on Education for All at Jomtien. The World Education Forum at Dakar began to recognize the growing importance of post-primary schooling for development. Only 25 percent of school-age children attend secondary school in the region--and fewer complete successfully, having consequences for gender equity, poverty reduction, and economic growth. As universal primary schooling becomes a reality, demand for secondary schools is increasing rapidly. Gaps between the educational levels of the labor force in Sub-Saharan Africa and other regions remain large. Girls are more often excluded from secondary schools than boys. Secondary schooling costs are high to both governments and households. This study explores how access to secondary education can be increased. Radical reforms are needed in low-enrollment countries to make secondary schooling more affordable and to provide more access to the majority currently excluded. The report identifies the rationale for increasing access, reviews the status of secondary education in Sub-Saharan Africa, charts the growth needed in different countries to reach different levels of participation, identifies the financial constraints on growth, and discusses the reforms needed to make access affordable. It concludes with a road map of ways to increase the probability that more of Africa's children will experience secondary schooling.

Expanded access to and improved quality of secondary education in Sub-Saharan Africa are key ingredients for economic growth in the region This Secondary Education in Africa (SEIA) synthesis report makes this point by bringing together a significant volume of analytical work sponsored by the World Bank and by many African and international partners. 'At the Crossroads: Choices for Secondary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa' argues the case for broad and equitable access for a basic education cycle of 8 to 10 years, as well as for expanded education and training opportunities. This book provides a timely resource on good practices and potential solutions for developing and sustaining high quality secondary education systems in Africa. It includes the main elements of a roadmap to improve Africa's secondary education systems' response to the demands of growing economies and rapidly changing societies.

This thematic study consists of case studies of Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda, as well as, a review of studies undertaken over the past ten years on education in Africa with particular attention to girls' and secondary education. Gender equity at the primary level has been the focus of considerable attention within the Education for All Framework of Action, but much less so at the secondary level. Evidence of gender inequity and inequality in terms of access, retention and performance in secondary education in SSA raises many questions. While transition rates from primary to secondary are higher for girls than boys, and the repetition rates are lower, girls still significantly trail behind boys in graduation and enrollment rates. The purpose of this study is to document and analyze the extent and nature of gender disadvantage in junior and senior secondary education, to analyze the causes of this disadvantage, and to identify strategies that may be effective in reducing or eliminating it. This study was prepared as part of the Secondary Education and Training in Africa (SEIA) initiative which aims to assist countries to develop sustainable strategies for expansion and quality improvements in secondary education and training. All SEIA products are available on its website: www.worldbank.org/afr/seia.

As in most countries worldwide, Sub-Saharan African countries are striving to build their human capital so they can compete for jobs and investments in an increasingly globalized world. In this region, which includes the largest number of countries that have not yet attained universal primary schooling, the ambitions and aspirations of Sub-Saharan African countries and their youth far exceed this basic goal. Over the past 20 years, educational levels have risen sharply across Sub-Saharan Africa. Already hard at work to provide places in primary schools for all children, most countries of the region are also rapidly expanding access to secondary and tertiary levels of education. Alongside this quantitative push is a growing awareness of the need to make sure that students are learning and acquiring the skills needed for life and work. Achieving education of acceptable quality is perhaps an even greater challenge than providing enough school places for all. Thus, Sub-Saharan African countries are simultaneously confronting many difficult challenges in the education sector, and much is at stake. This book gives those concerned with education in Sub-Saharan Africa an analysis of the sector from a cross-country perspective, aimed at drawing lessons that individual country studies alone cannot provide. A comparative perspective is useful not only to show the range of possibilities in key education policy variables but also to learn from the best performers in the region. (Although the report covers 47 Sub- Saharan African countries whenever possible, some parts of the analysis center on the region's low-income countries, in particular, a sample of 33 low-income countries). Although countries ultimately must make their own policy choices and decide what works best in their particular circumstances, Sub-Saharan African countries can benefit from learning about the experiences of other countries that are faced with, or have gone through, similar development paths. Given the large number of countries included in the analysis, the book finds that Sub-Saharan African countries have more choices and more room for maneuver than will appear if attention were focused on only one or a few country experiences. Countries can make better choices when understanding the breadth of policy choices available to them. They are well advised, however, to evaluate the applicability of policy options to their contexts and to pilot and evaluate the results for performance and subsequent improvement.

Economic and social changes, fast evolution of technology, and the growing importance of Internet services and international communications--all these require secondary education providers to adapt what is taught and learned in schools. However, in Africa the content of secondary curricula is in most cases ill-adapted to 21st century challenges, where young people are mobile, have access to 'more and instant information,' and face health threats such as HIV/AIDS. In addition, implementation problems exist, and the time for instruction is often much less then what is required by the prescribed secondary curriculum. In Africa there is a need to develop a secondary education curriculum adapted to the local economic and social environment, but with international-comparable performance indicators. This study analyzes that challenge: the quality of curricula and assessment, and their development processes in secondary education in Africa against the background of existing contexts, conditions, and ambitions on the one hand and current pedagogical thinking on the other. This World Bank Working Paper was prepared as part of the Secondary Education and Training in Africa (SEIA) initiative which aims to assist countries to develop sustainable strategies for expansion and quality improvements in secondary education and training.

Educational practices vary widely in sub-Saharan Africa, due to political instability, economic pressures, and availability of resources. This volume examines the history, educational philosophies, and current practices of schools in the region, including a special Day in the Life feature that shows readers what an average student's school day is like for that country. All educational levels are covered, from primary through secondary school, and both public and private systems are examined. ; Angola ; Cameroon ; Democratic Republic of Congo ; Ghana ; Ivory Coast ; Kenya ; Nigeria ; South Africa ; Tanzania ; Uganda