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Scaling up early childhood developmentA review and analysis of Education Sector Plans in Africa
CIES Conference March 22, 2009
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Overview of Presentation
I. Boosting ECD in the development agenda in Africa
II. Current status of children and ECD in selected countries
III. Analysis of Education Sector Plans: Trends and issues
IV. Lessons for mainstreaming ECD within Education Sector Programs
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I. Boosting ECD in the development agenda in Africa
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Quality ECD improves education outcomes
Better access to primary school
Lower retention in primary school
Improved gender equity in education
Lower repetition rates
Better language development
Higher achievement in education
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Pre-primary participation can help improve primary completion rates
Preprimary GER
1009080706050403020100-10
Pri
ma
ry C
om
ple
tion
Ra
tes
(%)
120
100
80
60
40
20 Rsq = 0.3920
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Uganda
Togo
Tanzania
Sudan
South Africa
Sierra Leone
Seychelles
Senegal
Rwanda
Nigeria
Niger
Namibia
Mauritius
Mauritania
Liberia
Lesotho
Kenya
Ghana
Gabon
Ethiopia
Equatorial Guinea
Djibouti
Central African Repu
Cape Verde
Burundi
Benin
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…but Africa lags behind in pre-primary enrolment
Developed/transition countries
Latin America/Caribbean
East Asia/Pacific
South and West Asia
Arab States
Sub-Saharan Africa
Regional GER is 14% vs. 40% globally
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1999 2004
Gro
ss e
nro
lmen
t ra
tio
in p
re-p
rim
ary
(%
)
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2007
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Improve quality Promote school readiness
o The quality of interaction between carer and child is the single most important determinant of program success
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2007
Promoting school readiness also means making schools ready for children
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A holistic approach is important
Young children have multiple needs for:
Nurturing parenting, strong family and community support Early stimulation and developmental activities Preventive and primary health and nutrition Safety/protection Clean water, home and community environment
o Combining nutrition and early stimulation has larger and longer-lasting impact children’s health and learning than either alone
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Main research question
To what extent do education sector plans and programs include early childhood development (ECD) as a strategy for achieving universal basic education in Africa?
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A Focus on Education Sector Planso Key policy document for the country’s entire education system
o EFA FTI is a partnership between developing countries and donors to accelerate progress towards universal completion of quality primary education by 2015
o FTI supports low-income countries with a poverty reduction strategy and a sound ESP endorsed by local partners
o Limitations of ESPs:o Developed with limited cooperation with stakeholderso Information becomes out of date quicklyo Do not tell us how funds are actually being allocatedo Often disconnected from implementation “on the ground”
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Scaling up ECD through EFA-FTI
o Expanding quality ECD programs universal primary completion
o But, ECD under-resourced relative to other levels of education
o Specific ECD policies are disconnected from strategic documents
like ESPs and Poverty Reduction Strategies
o Thus, strong ECD components in key plans and strategies will
help mobilize funding to reach universal primary completion
o World Bank Africa ECCD Initiative, supported by EPDF
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II. Current status of children and ECD in selected countries
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Eight target countries (2008-2009)
Guinea Liberia Mali Niger
Nigeria Senegal Tanzania/Zanzibar Zambia
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Population (millions)
GNP ($) per
capita
Percent under
$2/day
Life expecta
ncy
Adult Lit.
rate
Guinea 9.2 410 n/a 56 29
Liberia 3.6 120 n/a 45 n/a
Mali 12.0 330 90.6 54 19
Niger 14.0 210 85.3 56 29
Nigeria 145.0 430 90.8 47 n/a
Senegal 12.0 630 67.8 63 39
Tanzania 39.0 320 59.7 52 69
Zambia 12.0 400 87.4 42 68
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2007, World Bank Data Book, 2008
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Children in these countries are vulnerable
In most of the 8 countries, about 1 in 10 children die before reaching their 1st birthday. About 2 in 10 die before age five
Infant mortality per 1,000 ranges from 66 (Senegal) to 133 (Liberia)
Under-5 mortality per 1,000 ranges from 115 (Senegal) to 205 (Liberia), with 4 of the 8 countries clustered between 185 and 205
Between 16% (Senegal) and 50% (Niger, Zambia) of children are stunted
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2009
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Infant and Under-Five MortalityPer 1,000
0
50
100
150
200
250Infant Under-Five
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2009
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Pre-primary and primary NER and PCR
0102030405060708090
100 Pre-School
Primary
Primary Completion Rate
Note: Mali and Zambia figures for pre-school are gross enrollment ratiosSource: Global Education Digest, 2008
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Trends in Pre-School Net Enrollment Rates
0
10
20
30
40
50
20002002200420062008
Note: Mali figures are Gross Enrollment RatiosSource: UIS 2000-2008
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III. Analysis of Education Sector Plans: Trends and issues
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Dimensions reviewed
1. Target age for ECD2. Strategies to expand access3. Strategies to address equity4. Strategies to improve quality5. Linking with other sectors6. Local governance & community involvement
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1. Target age for ECD
Trends Main focus is 3- 6 years old Some attention to broader age group:
younger children, 0 to 3 (Senegal, Zanzibar, Zambia) older children out of school (Niger)
Issues ESPs rarely prioritize coverage of older children first Many overage children in ECD in some countries
(Tanzania, Liberia, Niger, Tanzania) Need coordination with agencies responsible for under 3s
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2. Strategies to expand access
Trends Construction, consolidation, diversification of ECD services Delegating to communities Relying on NGOs, and faith organizations Opting for parental education Ad hoc expansion:
Public, including in primary schools, mostly in cities Private, mostly in the cities Community-based, in rural areas and villages Faith-based, in both urban and villages NGO initiatives, mostly in targeted communities Parental ECD interventions, country wide
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2. Strategies to expand access (continued)
Issues Unclear how states recognize and support community-
based and private providers (Senegal)
Implications of developing preschool classes in schools (Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zanzibar)
No realistic objectives to increase access of each type of service (exception Mali)
Poor evidence and financial arguments to support various options
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3. Strategies to address equity: vulnerable children/special groups
Trends Whole strategy to increase access is considered to improve
equity because of very low enrollment rates Children in rural areas are identified as underserved in all
countries Groups identified: children affected by HIV/AIDS (Zanzibar),
girls (Nigeria, Zanzibar), children with special needs (Senegal, Zanzibar)
Issues “Vulnerable” often left un-defined No information or vague references to how to address
needs of specific groups (Zanzibar is exception)
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4. Strategies to improve quality
Trends Improve facilities, including sanitary and health
conditions (Guinea, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania) Prepare curricula (Zambia, Senegal) or guidelines
(Tanzania) Promote new ECD models (Senegal) Producing and diffusing pedagogic materials (Guinea,
Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania) Support parent education (Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Zanzibar) Establish initial training programs (Mali, Niger, Zanzibar) Improve capacity of educators (all)
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4. Strategies to improve quality (continued)
Issues Strategies to improve quality not prioritized or costed
Limited learning from successful pilots in the country
Proposed activities to improve quality are often planned to reach only the existing ECD services and educators without considering scale up strategy
Use of contextually appropriate methods and materials is rarely mentioned (except Mali, Nigeria)
How to develop capacity of educators in rural poor areas
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5. Linkages with other sectors
Trends Some ESPs encourage cooperation with health, child
protection, nutrition (Guinea, Senegal, Niger, Zanzibar)
Increase children’s enrolment and retention in primary school. Explicit focus on transition only in Senegal
Six countries have developed freestanding national integrated ECD policies, with support from UNICEF
Issues MOE often focus traditional pre-primary education
At the local level, integration of services is a pragmatic response to the critical needs of young children
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6. Local governance & community involvement
Trends Local governments and communities key actors to expand
provision, especially in rural areas
Often focus is on awareness campaigns rather than direct technical or financial support
Issues If communities already mobilized – need other forms of
support (capacity building, pay, materials)
Decentralization may be a way for the state to avoid taking financial responsibility for ECD provision
Need to build capacity to provide services and monitor quality
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IV. Lessons for mainstreaming ECD within Education Sector Programs
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Lessons for mainstreaming ECD 1. Build institutional capacity for ECD strategic planning
2. Ensure local voices, needs, experiences, and innovations inform ESP build ownership for implementation
3. Focus on results for access, equity and quality
4. Identify specific milestones, realistic targets, indicators, outcomes and a framework for monitoring/evaluation
5. Improve cost analysis and financing plan
6. Prioritize implementation (phasing)
7. Strengthen linkages across strategic documents and processes (PRSPs, EFA FTI plans, ECD Policies)
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For more information…
Michelle J. Neuman, [email protected]
Aigly Zafeirakou, [email protected]
Amy Quinn
