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EDUCATION AND ITS IMPACT ON

POVERTY: AN INITIAL EXPLORATION OF THE

EVIDENCE

ELLEN CARM ELDRID MAGELI

LINKEN NYMAN BERRYMAN ROBERT SMITH

A SPECIAL STUDY COMMISSIONED BY NORAD, OSLO

LINS, THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CENTRE AT OSLO UNIVERSITY COLLEGE: JANUARY 2003

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EDUCATION AND ITS IMPACT ON POVERTY: AN INITIAL EXPLORATION OF THE EVIDENCE

CONTENTS Introduction to the Study Section 1: The concept of poverty Section 2: Elementary education and poverty reduction Section 3: The Education of women and girls and its impact on their poverty status Section 4: Adult Basic Education and Learning (ABEL): an efficient tool for combating poverty ? Lessons and indications from a case study of Lao P.D.R. Section 5: Summary and conclusions

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FOREWORD This study is one in a series of special themes commissioned from LINS by NORAD, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. Others in the series include:

• HIV/AIDS and its Impacts on Education • Decentralisation of Education in Tanzania and Zambia • Emergency Education • Teachers’ Conditions of Service in Selected African Countries • Child Labour: An Initial Mapping of the Field

This study has been prepared by a team of LINS staff and Associates. The Introduction and Summary were prepared by Robert Smith, Centre Leader of LINS. Sections 2 and 3 were prepared by LINS Associates: Section 2 which deals with Schooling and Poverty was written by Linken Nyman Berryman and Section 3, a case study concerning Women’s and Girls’Education, was written by Eldrid Mageli . Section 4, a case-study of Adult Basic Education and Learning, was prepared by Ellen Carm of LINS core staff.

Although this report has benefited from critical comments by NORAD staff, the views expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of

NORAD

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INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY This study has been designed to explore the question,

‘To what extent does education help individuals, their families and their communities to overcome poverty?'

The approach taken has been to examine the evidence from the literature often put forward to support the view that schooled people have better economic prospects than non-schooled people. These prospects may be either in the formal job market or in self-employment and income generating activities. In addition, the conventional arguments run that schooled parents have fewer children, these children remain healthier and they tend to be enrolled in school and to be retained there longer. However, much of the evidence adduced for these assertions appears to date from the 1980s or even earlier. Such techniques as cost-benefit analysis and rates of return analysis are often used to buttress the ‘schooling reduces poverty’ arguments but remain the subject of much debate as does the whole human capital theory on which organisations like the World Bank base their educational policies and practice.1 The impact of globalization on schools and the economies in which they are embedded is only now receiving much attention and initial findings would suggest that the direct benefits of schooling on economic life-chances are less clear than has previously been supposed. Yet much development literature, especially that from the World Bank, appears to accept the ‘schooling reduces poverty’ argument unproblematically. For example, the influential ‘Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries’ states on its first page:

(Education) helps reduce poverty by mitigating its effects on population, health and nutrition and by increasing the value and efficiency of the labor offered by the poor (Lockheed and Verspoor, 1992:1)

The authors, prominent educationalists with the Bank, go on to indicate that with globalization of economies and the demand for a ‘well-trained and intellectually flexible labour force', schooling becomes even more important. Lockheed and Verspoor published their work more than a decade ago but the assumptions they make about the efficacy of schooling in addressing poverty remain a strong element in much more recent literature (see for example the World Bank’s Education Sector Strategy of 1999). Indeed, so strong are the assumed links between formal education and poverty reduction that all major bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors to education in the developing world have indicated that poverty reduction is their top priority and that education is a major developmental vehicle for achieving this in their partner countries. By education is usually meant formal schooling with particular emphasis on the basic cycle. This emphasis has a long history but received a fresh impetus after the Jomtien and Dakar international conferences of 1990 and 2000 respectively. Provision of ‘education for all’ has generated its own controversies, not just in terms of delivery and how it will be paid for but particularly in terms of the goals and purposes of formal schooling. The World Bank is firmly linked to a view of schooling for economic purposes while others, including UNESCO, focus on its cultural and social benefits as well. This report deals mainly with the formal school as a vehicle for poverty alleviation but, especially in Section 4, takes a wider view to include other aspects of education. Whereas once donors supported education because it was thought to be a good in itself or it reflected a human rights position, the economic arguments for getting children into school

1 See for example International Journal of Educational Development, 22 (2002) articles by Samoff and Hickling-Hudson; also the IJED debate of 1996 (No.16,3) with articles by Bennell and others regarding rates of return analysis and its shortcomings.

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now dominate the stage. Justin Forsyth, Director of Policy for Oxfam argues in 'The Independent' newspaper of December 12th 2000, that 'ensuring the right to education is not just about morality and social justice. It is also about economic common sense.' Yet there is a profound danger in simplistic statements of the 'going to school will increase productivity by a discrete percentage' type. The enabling environment for pupils to take advantage of the benefits of their schooling remains the crucial factor in addressing poverty through schooling, especially in societies where affiliation and kinship remain a more powerful force in economic wellbeing than the conventional Western influences of formal certification and schooling. A passage from a recent report on the Female Education Scholarship Program in Bangladesh carried out by LINS and associated consultants illustrates this well:

The number of educated women capable of participating in economic development of

Bangladesh is increasing. A basis for such capabilities is secondary schooling, but this alone

cannot be sufficient. We found that being ‘capable’ is not necessarily the same as being in a

position of ‘participation’. This, we found, is because of the wider socio-cultural factors

determining who works where and what kinds of responsibility, leadership and financial

wealth are available and not available to women in Bangladesh. The educated women we met

during our conduct of the review (of a Female Education Scholarship Program) in the wider

society outside the schools were educated largely because of differences in social class. For

the rural poor, education for both boys and girls, young women and young men married or

not, remains highly dependent on money and cultural practice. (Rhedding-Jones et al, 2001) At least two problems arise from relating schooling too strictly to perceived economic or even social benefits. The first is that loss of the rights perspective does serious damage to many aspects of educational development. The marginalised and disabled may well be left out of educational provision which is based largely on economic arguments. Watson (2002) suggests that the World Bank for example is ‘so obsessed with the economic aspects of education that it misses the broader importance of education for most people’. The second is that the economic arguments for the value of schooling may not hold true for all countries and in the same ways, especially if the focus is exclusively on the formal school. (Section 4 of this report looks at a specific example of non-formal, post-literacy education designed to help rural women out of poverty). Can access to real economic benefits really be expected from weak school systems with inadequately trained teachers, poor mastery of the curriculum and generally low quality, embedded as they frequently are in poor economies? To illustrate these twin problems of low quality and poor economic environments an example is taken from Zambia. Zambia’s national school assessment program recently revealed that no Standard 5 child in the large sample tested scored full marks in any subject and that the mean mark in mathematics, and English was around the 33% level, slightly higher in local languages. The quality of formal schooling in a system where the government spends less than US$1 per child per year is extremely low. Meanwhile, in rural Zambia, it costs poor families up to 40% of their income to send just one child to school. (source Ministry of Education, 2000) It would be no exaggeration to state that children coming out of Zambian primary schools have been poorly prepared to compete in an increasingly difficult and shrinking labour market. Their schooling may in fact have disqualified them for employment or self-reliance whilst costing their parents considerable sums of money.

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Human Development Indicators produced at Pakistan’s recent (January 2002) Human Development Forum show clearly the correlation between poor school attendance and low HDIs, especially in areas like North-West Frontier Province. But such tables, showing high infant mortality rates, low nutritional status, low school enrolment rates and similar poor indicators simply illustrate that the whole Province is extremely poorly developed in the social sector. Any cause and effect relationship between low enrolments and low health indicators is not clearly shown. We can simply state that where schooling is under-funded and under-provided, other social indicators are also likely to be poor. By the same token where the social sector receives its full share of the national budget, schooling indicators seem to be as positive as in health. It is difficult to find evidence that spending on schools alone brings about benefits to health and other social indicators, including employment and income-generation. But it is not the argument of this study that schooling has no effect upon development, whether individual and health-related or national and economy-related. What the study attempts to do is to examine the evidence for the linkages, and more importantly, to tease out the enabling conditions within which schooling has its most beneficial effects. Turning to the specific questions the study examines, these can be listed as follows:

• What evidence is there that education contributes to poverty reduction ? • Is the best form of education general formal schooling or a more specifically

targeted form of education ? • What evidence is there for the most effective approaches to using schooling for

poverty alleviation ? • What lessons can be learned from specific examples ? • What can be generalized about the impact of schooling on poverty ? • What are fruitful areas for further investigation ?

To pursue these issues the study is divided into four parts. First, there is a discussion of the concept of poverty in general and of its relationship to education. In Section Two of the study, a specific focus on the formal school examines the evidence for its impact on poverty. Section Three presents a case study of the particular poverty needs of girls and women and the role of education in alleviating their conditions. Section Four looks at an example of a post-literacy educational program and its effect on the income-generating activities of rural women illustrating how alternative approaches to education may have a direct impact on poverty status. The study concludes with a summary of the evidence examined and suggests ways forward for further exploration of the important issue of education’s role in alleviating poverty.

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SECTION ONE: THE CONCEPT OF POVERTY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO EDUCATION 1.1. The Concept of Poverty Poverty has become a key area of focus for governments, development agencies and international organisations over the past decade. Where human rights, democratisation and good governance had previously exercised such bodies as priorities, there has been a discernible shift towards pro-poor policies within such political frameworks. The impact of globalisation with its potential for the further exploitation of the world’s poor or for liberating economies and equalising opportunities has also influenced this shift in emphasis. That great inequities still remain between North and South, between industrialised and non-industrialised countries and between the trade-privileged and protected and those outside preferential agreements is not disputed. Greater attention to the problem of poverty has not yet resulted in dramatic changes to the economic status of the world’s poor. In fact some commentators suggest that the poorest are getting poorer and that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Statistics from the World Development Report 2000/2001 (World Bank 2001) indicate that actual numbers of people classified as poor are rising in most areas of the world. Africa and South Asia as well as Europe and Central Asia have seen large rises in absolute numbers while the figures have declined in East Asia and the Middle East. Overall, a percentage decline world-wide from 28% to 24% defined as poor has seen a rise in the absolute numbers. The development goal of halving world poverty by 2015 is unlikely to be met. But what exactly is meant by poverty ? Is it purely a monetary or economic phenomenon ? Are there many forms of poverty and how should schooling be viewed in the light of such definitions? Amartya Sen (1992) has suggested that a number of forms of poverty may be identified as well as the obvious one of economic or financial poverty. Poverty of opportunity is the most widely accepted alternative formulation of the poverty problem. Of course, many economically poor people are also denied opportunities but people who are well above the poverty datum line may suffer various types of comparative poverty. But the most common perception of poverty is that incorporated in the idea of a lack or deficiency which is deep-rooted and debilitating. Prime amongst these lacks or deficiencies is that of material poverty. This may be relative, as in a society where having no car is so unusual that it marks out the family as poor. In another context possession of even a bicycle would be beyond the dreams of all but the most wealthy. Yet Sen (1992)argues:

There is an irreducible core of absolute deprivation in our idea of poverty which translates reports of starvation, malnutrition and visible hardship into a diagnosis of poverty

In its World Development Report 2000/2001 the World Bank notes that

To be poor is to be hungry, to lack shelter and clothing, to be sick and not cared for, to be illiterate and not schooled. But for poor people, living in poverty is more than this. Poor people are particularly vulnerable to adverse events outside their control. They are often treated badly by the institutions of state and society and excluded from voice and power in these institutions. (World Bank, 2001:15)

The type of analysis outlined above has generally led to the development of programs of economic growth as solutions to the poverty problem. Missing from these prescriptions is any consideration of what Rahnema Majid (in Sachs, 1997) has called ‘indigenous solutions’ to the poverty problem. Worse, Rahnema has characterised modern economically based poverty

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reduction programs as serving the interests of the rich, of corrupt governments and international agencies while further debilitating the poor. His more radical approaches to solving poverty problems include ‘signals from the grassroots’ through which authentic strategies arise. Instead of characterising the poor as incapable and unintelligent, Rahnema identifies indigenous responses to poverty which are not couched in terms of job-seeking in the modern sector but which are based on more spiritual values. Rahnema uses the phrase ‘convivial poverty’ to express ideas such as basing one’s livelihood on simplicity, frugality, sufficiency and respect for all forms of life. This stands in stark contrast to the commonly held view that only by creating consumer societies with a strong export orientation and firm government control over what is made, how it is made and where it is to be sold can the masses get out of poverty. Looking at Latin America, Fernando Reimers points out that economic growth does not necessarily benefit the poor. Argentina grew by 4.6% per capita per annum between 1990 and 1997 yet the incidence of poverty declined by only 3% as open unemployment doubled. Brazil, with only half the rate of growth of Argentina, reduced the incidence of poverty by 6% over the same period. In the United States the world’s richest country, some 30 million people are officially below the poverty line. Five million of the 15 million inhabitants of Brazil’s richest city are also below the poverty line (Reimers 2000) Added to the problems of defining poverty in order to address it is the issue of globalization. Many states have been weakened by the process of economic globalization; Castells (1996) suggests that a fundamental restructuring of work, leisure and knowledge production has come about through globalization. The so-called ‘information economy’, though not so wide spread as some would claim, has increased the hegemony of multi-national corporations which in turn influence the educational and social environment. Ngwane (2002) shows that globalization has had a huge impact on social customs and traditional practices in quite remote parts of the world. The globalized economy tends to favour those with higher levels of education, thus exacerbating the gap between rich and poor. Private rates of return to higher education have been steadily rising in poor countries. For example, in Mexico between 1984 and 1994 the private rate of return to higher education doubled from 10% to 20%. As globalization progresses, knowledge-based economies become more dominant and people with education leap far ahead of those without. Within the same country educational inequities may be common; figures from Latin America indicate that 25% of those living in urban areas have twice as much schooling as 25% of those living in rural areas. How then can we summarise this discussion of what is meant by poverty ? Definitions of the term are numerous but there is no clear agreement on what might be meant by poverty, minimal level of well-being or low quality of life. However, as noted above, the concept in use always carries notions of scarcity of the means for survival (Bracho, 2000). Sen (1992) suggests that at least four ways of categorising or analysing poverty are currently in use. First is the concept of the poverty datum line, based on the minimum requirements for survival, a basic nutritional basket and the means to purchase it or living conditions and access to public services, like education. The second approach focuses on inequality, defining the differences between different sectors in society according to income. More sociologically-based analyses emphasise relative deprivation, defining levels of poverty in relation to other groups or individuals. This relativist approach has been extended to definitions of poverty as value judgements or exercises in social philosophy based on notions of basic rights, an approach illustrated by the work of Rahnema quoted above. Sen (1996) gives us a useful aggregation of these different approaches when he suggests that the poverty line should be seen more as a measure of failure to achieve a certain level of functioning, best expressed as the capability to satisfy certain crucial needs and to achieve a certain basic level (Sen, 1996:67)

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If we consider education to be part of this basic capability then the links with poverty become clearer. Yet schooling represents more than just a basic need. It is part of a set of goods available to the individual and the family for use as part of his or her or their social and cultural capital (Bracho, 2000). It also has added value in terms of its power to achieve other goods such as access to employment and other benefits. Bracho’s work in Mexico illustrates the relationship between schooling and income in that country. Put briefly her research indicates that the bottom 20% of Mexico’s population in terms of income are getting poorer. Bracho also goes on to conclude that:

It is evident that without improving educational distribution, we should expect a worsening of the relative conditions of income inequality, even with a process of increased education (Bracho, 2000:257)

Bracho’s research indicates that even some access to education is not sufficient to protect people from poverty. Basic education is not enough; such people are over-represented in the lowest income groups. Those with secondary education are less commonly found there and those with post-secondary who are found among the lowest income groups represent anomalies within the broad patterns. 1.2. How poverty presents itself Pakistan’s Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) published in November of 2001 makes the following points inter alia, about poverty in that country:

• Poverty is considerably more prevalent in rural than urban areas • Poverty is strongly related to lack of basic needs, including education and

cultivable land • The poor have higher dependency ratios; on average the poor have almost five

household members under 18 years while the number for the non-poor is three • The average number of births to a poor woman is almost five compared to four

for a non-poor woman • More than one third of poor households are headed by an aged person who is

dependent on a pension or other form of social support • Education is the most important factor that distinguishes the poor from the

non-poor; the percentage of literate household heads is 27 in poor households while for non-poor households it is 52. (Editor’s emphasis)

• The poor have relatively low access to health-related facilities: 76% of the poor live in households without a flush toilet, 53% of the non-poor have this facility

• Poor communities have less access to immunization and other health provision: 45% of children in poor households aged 1 to 5 years have been fully immunized compared to 58% in non-poor households

• Poverty is relatively higher when heads of households are unskilled workers • On average, the non-poor own 0.84 acres of cultivable land per capita while the

poor own 0.27 acres • The poor are less likely to diversify their crops and are thus more susceptible to

economic shocks

Source: Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan, November 2001

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A World Bank publication from Pakistan enlightens us further on how poverty presents itself (see Poverty in Pakistan in the 1990s: An Interim Assessment). The Bank’s analysis states that the following factors have been identified as closely linked to poverty:

• Disadvantageous consumption patterns: The poor in Pakistan allocate a larger share of their expenditure to food, fuel and lighting, especially in urban areas. Less is therefore spent on health and education which could boost their long-term earning potential. The poor spend 53% of their incomes on food; the non-poor spend 47%. The comparative figures for fuel and education are 8% and 3% for the poor and 7% and 4% for the non-poor.

• Skewed pattern of landownership: More than half the rural population of Pakistan is landless. Rural poverty is higher among those with no land of their own. Over 40% of landless households are classified as poor. Less than 3% of households owning 10 acres or more are poor.

• Large family size: only 5% of Pakistani households with between 1 and 2 children are classified as poor. For households with 11 to 15 members, 46% of them are classified as poor.

• Poor educational attainment: 42% of households headed by an illiterate person are classified as poor, compared to 21% with literate heads.. For the non-poor, the net primary enrolment rate is 59% whereas for the poor it is only 37%

• Poor health and fertility indicators: The poor are less likely to gain access to health facilities: the incidence of medical consultation for diarrhoea is 79% for the poor compared to 84% for the non-poor. (Actually, this is a surprisingly non-discriminating figure and deserves more research: Editor’s comment)

• Lack of access to critical infrastructure: Access to safe water is achieved by 76% of the poor compared to 81% of the non-poor. Only about 52% of the poor have homes connected to electricity compared to 76% of non-poor households.

• Vulnerability to abuses of power, weak rule of law: Compared to other countries with similar levels of income, Pakistan ranks poorly on indices of corruption, government effectiveness and rule of law. The poor are more affected by the costs and penalties this imposes.

What is interesting from the point of view of this study is that the Bank’s document goes on to state that :

Educational attainment is closely related to poverty, with large gaps in literacy and enrolment rates dividing the poor and the non-poor

(para 13, p.7). The World Bank’s World Development Report 2000/2001 makes the point that poverty has many variations even within the same country, that gender is an important issue in analysing poverty and that in some societies caste, ethnicity and indigenous status may all be crucial factors in determining life-chances. Volatility at the household level is also singled out in the Bank’s analysis. Some groups are chronically poor while others face a high risk of falling into poverty some of the time. For example, a recent World Bank document on HIV/AIDS and orphans warns of the poverty threat to such vulnerable groups (World Bank, 2002) 1.3. What makes people poor ? Causes of poverty may be separated out into a number of categories. First is the exogenous set of causes connected with difficult environmental conditions of drought, flood, inaccessible terrain, pestilence and other ‘natural’ or even man-made causes of environmental degradation. The second category of causes, also largely exogenous, relates to the geo-political arena, involving trade relations between rich and poor countries, the burden of debt carried by the poorer countries, instability of currencies and international conflicts. The third category is the

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complex of national issues peculiar to but not unique to a nation state. Often aggregated together under the heading of ‘good governance’ such issues as the rule of law, low levels of corruption, freedom from civil war, equitable land policies, access to employment and social benefits in health and education characterise countries where poverty is less likely to flourish. The fourth category is that of the community causes of poverty where cultural taboos and pressures prevent communities from adapting to change and finding new ways of prospering. Finally there are individual causes of poverty – the inability of individuals to master their own environment and to seek better ways of managing their own lives, a clear call for education. This analysis, though not exhaustive, indicates something of the complexity of the issue of poverty. Simply sending children to school does nothing to change trade policies or the rules of the WTO. A complex of changes at a number of levels will be necessary to address the macro issues of poverty. The less developed countries (LDCs) of the world need to hit extraordinarily high levels of economic growth in order to overcome poverty – something around 7% of GDP. Nearly a third of Africa’s 34 LDCs are or were recently affected by wars. Globalization has marginalized African countries even more, largely through the development of trade barriers of one sort or another. Raoul Marc Jenner of Oxfam, reported in the Tanzania Daily News of May 24th, 2001 states:

On the one side, Europe and the US have the right to support both exportation and domestic production and are authorised to put restrictions on imports and, on the other side, developing countries are forbidden to introduce such measures.

It is arguments like this which have driven the recent demonstrations against the WTO and other global organisations in Europe and the United States. Commenting on intellectual property rights, Jenner notes that 95% of patents are held in the North but the WTO rules are imposed on everybody. In the area of textiles and clothing, common products of the developing world, the US and the EU are protected by fixed quotas and restrictions. The macro-level of causation of poverty gets the least attention in most international agency publications. In DFID’s ‘Halving World Poverty by 2015’ (DFID, 2000) of the ‘eight lessons learned’ regarding public sector interventions by national governments and the international community, five of them are for national governments and two are for the international community; the eighth is a joint responsibility for reducing the impact of shocks, both natural and man-made. This weighting of cause and effect could be interpreted as placing the responsibility for poverty elimination squarely at the door of the nation state. Yet the two international strategies – developing the right global policy framework and coordinating international approaches more closely - are surely the real keys to alleviating poverty. Norway’s recently launched (March 2002) policy statement ‘The Fight Against Poverty’ gives a clear message of the responsibilities of the international community regarding poverty elimination. The paper’s starting point is a demand for increased official development assistance (ODA) which will be targetted to fit the poverty policies of nation states. Changes in international agreements on trade and investment are also emphasised as are more coherent development aid policies among the richer countries. Human rights as a basis for development, strategies for supporting the governments of poor nations and alliances of like-minded donors are all called for in the Norwegian policy document. Assisting poorer countries to gain a more effective voice in international bodies and gatherings and creating an enabling environment for economic growth figure strongly in the paper. Norway also undertakes to focus its efforts for maximum effect and to create international pressure for increased ODA and commitment to the Millenium Development Goals. Of the remaining strategies recommended, a focus on education, health, peace and security are called for. Conditions of good governance within poorer countries are the only area which can fully be described as an indigenous responsibility.

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Although the Norwegian document may be criticised for being stronger on aspirations than on action plans, DFID suggests that the World Bank and the IMF have themselves been stronger on analysis than on workable strategies for poverty elimination and that Structural Adjustment policies have actually worked against the poor. This view of the Bank’s preoccupation with methodologies of measurement is also borne out in the World Development Report 2000/2001 referred to above. However, DFID does place a great deal of faith in the new ideas and instruments developed by the World Bank Group such as the Comprehensive Development Framework, the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility and the HIPC initiative. It is too early to state that the macro-level international issues surrounding poverty have been thoroughly addressed although Norway’s policy paper expresses some determination to operate at this level¨. The issue of debt relief (or as it is emotively termed by the World Bank ‘debt forgiveness’) has received a great deal of publicity in the recent past, particularly through the Jubilee 2000 movement and its successor ‘Drop-the-Debt’. New moves by the creditor organisations and countries offer a better way forward. The Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative is one such strategy. However, the point has frequently been made that debts are a two-way issue. Irresponsible borrowing has usually been accompanied by irresponsible lending. The Bank’s own analysis has indicated that only when a thorough economic analysis has preceded lending has the planned economic growth occurred. The internal Wapenhans Report ( see Jones, 1992) indicated to the Bank at that time that 37.5% of Bank projects were ‘troubled’. Yet the basic criterion for project and program success for the Bank remains the rate of disbursement or capital transfers rather than objective assessment of impact and outcomes. Tanzania and debt According to available figures, Tanzania’s total external debt was around US$6.4 billion in 1999, which shows a slight decrease from US$7.2 billion in 1997 and US$7.1 billion in 1998. Total external debt service amounted to US$160 million annually in 1997/98, of which approximately US$56 million (was paid) to IMF and the World Bank. This represents only around 10% of the government budget*, which had total expenditures in 1997/98 at around US$1,600 million. In earlier years, debt servicing had accounted for almost one third of total expenditures….Since 1998 seven donors have contributed more than US$80 million annually to a Multi-Lateral Debt Relief Fund to assist in servicing debts to the World bank, IMF and African Development Bank Jerve and Ofstad (2000) * N.B. There is some debate about the accuracy of the ‘only 10%’ statement What is staggering about the Tanzania case is the sheer weight of debt relief the government has carried. ‘Only 10%’, even if it is correct, is still a huge amount to take out of the budget, a loss to be sustained for the next 40 or so years. Reducing the impact of shocks, delivering emergency aid and its associated activities are often linked with conflict and post-conflict reconstruction. Note has been made elsewhere of the huge number of civil and external wars which continue to plague Africa. It is interesting to note that the Norwegian Refugee Council is still struggling to get education recognized as the fourth essential need along with food, shelter and health, if refugee populations are to survive and be rehabilitated. Can education make a difference to people’s responses to disaster? It is surely not too much to expect that literate and aware citizens will know what recourse they have, what steps must be taken to preserve life and property and how pandemics such as HIV/AIDS may be faced. This topic falls outside the strict terms of the present study and reference should be made to Janne Lexow’s LINS study on Emergency Education (Lexow, 2001) for further discussion of this aspect of poverty. Suffice it to say that the impact of shocks is a major aspect of the poverty scenario in many countries. Quite often they are beyond national control and global solutions are necessary through, among others,

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the UN organisations. The achieving of poverty reduction targets must take this reality into account. The concept of good governance has become prominent in the conditionalities associated with development assistance. The theory has been that when good governmental practices are in place – such as participatory democracy, the rule of law, low levels of institutionalised corruption – then development assistance will be used most wisely and benefits will be more equitably shared. There have always been ironies in this position, both as regards the governments selected for support and particularly from the well documented evidence that so-called ‘strong governments’ rather than participatory democracies are the ones which get economies moving and do the most to alleviate the problems of the poor. Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea are all examples of these kinds of states (see Morris, 1996). The popularity of blanket positions such as good governance obscures common sense in a number of cases. However, it is probably true to say that where governments are participatory and inclusive, there is more likely to be greater equity in economic opportunities and the poor are likely to get more of government’s attention (see Sen, 2002). Cultural issues are rarely mentioned in the literature on poverty. The work of Rahnema touched upon earlier is an exception to this although his views come perilously close to Rousseauian ideas of the ‘noble savage’. In today’s globalised world there is little opportunity to escape the Macdonaldisation of society. But many countries are anxious to preserve the best of their cultures in the face of the perceived onslaught of global media empires. What is it in their cultures which may hinder the march of the market ? If Western economic values are based on competition and the survival of the fittest, then it is easy to see how a collectivist mind-set which regards the good of the community as more important than individual profit-making would lack congruence with such models as that found in the World Bank’s publication, Can Africa Claim the 21st Century? (World Bank, 2000), the message of which is that ‘Africa needs a business plan’. There may be some truth in this statement but it lacks coherence with African cultural realities and illustrates the mismatch between technicist, modernising views of how to change the reality of the poor and the preservation of deeply embedded and desirable cultural values. These issues do not figure in the policy statements of the major donors. The solution to poverty problems is still encapsulated in the idea of the growth of a market-based economy where greater consumption is the goal. The instrument referred to as Poverty Reduction Strategic Plan is usually a case in point, illustrating clearly a limited, economistic view of what must be put in place to overcome poverty. 1.4. What strategies figure in PRSPs ? The example of Pakistan is again a useful one to pursue. The PRSP was developed at a number of levels, dealing with the macro-economy, the meso-economy and the micro-economy at the individual family level. The development of a PRSP was largely participatory in that country and district level participants produced a number of strategies for dealing with poverty, largely looking to Government to deal with the problem. First, communities expected Government to focus on a few critical areas, mainly poverty reduction through employment generation. The Government should be more than a facilitator, engaging itself in developing the economic and social infrastructure, particularly water, roads, schools, hospitals, training and skill development facilities. Strategic timing of critical inputs, whether of fertilizers, water supplies or seed should support rapid development in the agriculture sector. Communities consulted also expected the Government to protect farmers from price volatility. As a priority, Government should develop farm-to-market roads and should work with NGOs to educate people in the use of micro-credits. Turning to more general strategies, communities felt that information should be disseminated on how the poor can benefit from new Government initiatives and that school and hospital

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staff should be recruited from the locality, involving communities in the selection process. It was also felt that capacity at the district level should be built up for effective implementation of Government policies and programs. It was seen that substantial changes were required in the present system of governance and resource allocation at the local level. Finally, those consulted felt that the process of local consultation should be continued to build ownership and support. Further, Government should institute joint monitoring and evaluation teams with local stakeholders to ensure transparency. It is interesting to note the extent to which communities felt that solutions were actually not in their own hands but someone else, notably ‘the Government’, should bear responsibility for changing the reality of these communities. It was mentioned earlier that most international agency statements on poverty and its reduction look more towards indigenous solutions to the challenge, to the responsibility of the nation state rather than the international community. Once again, ‘the Government’ carries the lion’s share of responsibility. How then do governments respond? Turning again to Pakistan we see that the sub-title of the PRSP is ‘Encouraging and Engendering Growth’ and that the strategies proposed include development of infrastructure, improvements in governance, income generation, human development, especially through education, reducing vulnerability to shocks and addressing environmental issues. More detailed proposals deal with tax reform, better management of expenditure, prudent monetary policy and more effective management of debt. The encouragement of growth is to be carried out through attention to manufacturing, more agricultural development, more emphasis on privatization and creation of an enabling environment for investment. Stabilizing the economy is seen as an overarching condition for success in addressing poverty. The Human Development Forum of February 2002 saw the announcement of various tax reforms and evidence that government revenues were already improving from a number of sources. The kinds of strategies listed in Pakistan’s PRSP are predictable. None of them is new or radical. They represent what any prudent government attempts to do in managing the economy. The question arises as to why such strategies have failed in the past and what are the different conditions under which we may now expect to see them functioning more effectively? It must be asked how Government is going to do what its predecessors have never managed to do in the past. The same question can be generalized out to all the poor countries designing PRSPs – What will make the difference, such that such strategic plans can be turned into action ? The short answer is that the multi-laterals, especially the development banks, are solidly supportive of such PRSPs and are likely to be fully engaged in helping see them through. But our overarching question still remains – Is the current world economic order sufficiently sensitive to the needs of the poor ? Can indigenous solutions to the poverty question really succeed while heavy debt burdens are still being carried and basic trade agreements discriminate against the poorer countries? Until development agencies, especially the like-minded bi-laterals, combine to bring about change in the WTO and similar organisations, internal solutions to the poverty problem are unlikely to succeed. James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, had this to say in 1998:

In East Asia, estimates suggest that over 20 million people fell back into poverty last year (1997). In these countries, at best of cases, growth is likely to be halting and hesitant for several years to come. Today, while we talk about financial crisis, 17 million Indonesians have fallen back into poverty and across the region a million children will not return to school. Today, an estimated 40% of the Russian population now lives in poverty. Today, across the world, 1.3.billion people live on less than one dollar a day; 3 billion live on under 2 dollars a day; 1.3 billion have no access to clean water; 3 billion have no access to sanitation; 2 billion have no access to electricity. We talk of

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financial crises while in Jakarta, in Moscow, in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the slums of India and in the barrios of Latin America, the human pain of poverty is all around us. (World Bank, 1998)

For a President of the World Bank to talk about ‘the human pain of poverty’ is a huge encouragement. There is no doubt that the Wolfensohn years at the Bank will leave a unique legacy. In sharp contrast to so many previous leaders of the institution, James Wolfensohn appears to be able to see beyond a statement of accounts and into a human condition which should shame us all in the 21st century. However, turning the rhetoric into a realizable action plan is likely to prove an immense task. The signs are that it is beginning to happen. But it will not be enough to leave the decision making and action to ‘them’, in a global parallel to the attitude of Pakistan’s PRSP participants. Bi-lateral agencies will need to work imaginatively and creatively with their development partners at both the indigenous and exogenous causes of poverty. It is the ‘principalities and powers’ of global trade and finance which will need to be shifted and 1.5. Summary This introductory section to the study has tried to show that poverty is high on the development assistance agenda for a number of reasons. However, poverty is widely and variously defined although the focus is usually on economic and financial poverty. The literature seems to indicate that comparatively small margins of improvement in economic performance make all the difference to poverty status. Despite improvements in the statistics regarding the numbers of people living on less than US$1 per day, the real number of people in this position has hardly changed. Almost half the residents of Africa remain poor and in Europe and Central Asia the figures have increased dramatically. Poverty presents itself across a wide spectrum – economic poverty, health poverty, poverty of opportunity and lack of choice. Within countries, gaps between rich and poor, urban and rural are increasing Strategies for poverty alleviation or elimination tend to focus on economic change at both the national and regional levels. Little attention is given to indigenous or ‘small and local is beautiful’ arguments. The strategies espoused by bi-lateral and multi-lateral agencies focus on internal, national solutions to economic growth problems whilst giving less attention to the global and structural barriers to economic development for many countries of the South. The issue of the emotionally loaded term ‘debt-forgiveness’, rather than debt relief or debt cancellation, is another aspect of the poverty dilemma. It should be remembered that the allegedly irresponsible borrowing of the past was accompanied by irresponsible lending where international organisations relied upon rates of capital transfer as their main criterion of effectiveness. Too many countries are still paying old debts, using resources which might have brought about the poverty alleviation the donor agencies wish to promote. The HIPC initiative goes some way to addressing this problem as do the new World Bank modalities and credits associated with debt relief. Globally however, the gaps between the rich and the poor countries are growing, not shrinking. Poverty Reduction Strategic Plans (PRSPs) attempt a balance between national and international alleviation strategies and education plays a key role in poverty reduction. The skilled and literate population needed to contribute to development must come through some form of schooling. However, education alone cannot solve the poverty problem. Multi-faceted strategies are required which include greater attention to health, more focus on infrastructure, development of income generating opportunities as well as markets and forms of education which will enable individuals and communities to benefit from development opportunities.

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The link between education and poverty reduction is certainly a strong one. Simply going to school for a minimum period of years is insufficient in itself to get people out of poverty. In fact some commentators, from the radical De-Schoolers and critics like Bowles and Gintis of the 1970s to more modern analysts such as Reimers (2000), go so far as to say that schools can be promoters of inequality and hence barriers to development. Yet education is a necessary precondition for change. The sections which follow examine the impact of formal elementary schooling on poverty, the particular situation of women and girls and the specific strategy of targeting adults as varying approaches to the challenge of addressing poverty through education. No discussion of poverty would be complete without reference to the growing HIV/AIDS pandemic. That HIV/AIDS grows out of poverty and contributes to poverty is well known and extensively researched. That education has a significant role in mitigating the impact of the disease is also well known and has been widely studied. LINS has produced its own report on HIV/AIDS and its Impacts on Education (2000). Within the confines of this report HIV/AIDS is not a specific focus but it is expected that further studies will be undertaken to cover the specific topic of HIV/AIDS, poverty and the role of education. References Bowles, S and Gintis, H (1976) Schooling in Capitalist America, New York, Basic Books Bracho, Teresa, (2000) Poverty and Education in Mexico, in Reimers (ed) (2000) Castells, M (1996) The Rise of the Network Society, Oxford, Blackwell DFID (2000) Halving World Poverty by 2015: Economic growth, Equity and Security, London, Department for International Development International Journal of Educational Development, 22 (2002): Whole edition devoted to the World Bank’s Education Sector Strategy of 1999 Jerve, A.M. and Ofstad, A (2000) Poverty and Development in Tanzania: A Discussion Note, Bergen, Christian Michelsen’s Institute Jones, P (1992) World Bank Financing of Education, London, Routledge Lockheed M. and Verspoor A., (1991) Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries, Washington D.C., World Bank Morris, P (1996) Asia’s Four Little Tigers: A comparison of the role of education in their development, Comparative Education, Vol. 32, No.1, pp 95-109 Ngwane, Z (2002) in Kallaway P (ed) The History of Education under Apartheid, New York, Peter Lang Pakistan, Government of (2001) Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Islamabad, Government Press Rahnema Majid (1997) Poverty in Wolfgang Sachs (ed) The Development Dictionary, Johannesburg, Zed Books

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Reimers, Fernando (ed) (2000) Unequal Schools, Unequal Chances, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press Rhedding-Jones, Jeanette et al (2001) Girls in School, Oslo, NORAD/LINS Royal Norwegian Government (2002) The Fight Against Poverty, Oslo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sachs, Wolfgang (ed) (1998) The Development Dictionary, Johannesburg, Witwatersrand University Press/Zed Books Samoff, J (2002) in International Journal of Educational Development, 22 Sen, Amartya (1992) Inequality Re-examined, Cambridge Mass., Harvard University Press Sen, Amartya, (1996) On Economic Inequality, Oxford, Clarendon Sen, Amartya (2002) Development as Freedom, Paper given at the Launch of the Royal Norwegian Government’s Policy Paper, The Fight Against Poverty, Oslo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Watson, K (2002) Editorial, International Journal of Educational Development, 22 World Bank (1998) The Other Crisis, Washington, D.C., World Bank World Bank (2000) Can Africa Claim the 21st Century?, Washington, D.C., World Bank World Bank (2001) Poverty in Pakistan in the 1990s: An Interim Assessment, Washington, D.C., World Bank World Bank (2001) World Development Report 2000/2001, Washington, D.C., World Bank World Bank (2002) Poverty, AIDS and children’s schooling: a targetting dilemma; Seminar Handout, Ainsworth, M and Filmer, D., Washington D.C., World Bank Zambia, Ministry of Education (2000) Learning Achievement at the Middle Basic Level, Lusaka, Ministry of Education

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SECTION 2: ELEMENTARY EDUCATION AND POVERTY REDUCTION 2.1. Introduction There is a considerable gap between what we believe education can do for social and economic development and poverty reduction versus the evidence of positive change and development documented through research. It is widely accepted that, for education to have a real and lasting impact on poverty reduction its content and presentation has to build on the needs of the poor. As noted in Section 1 above, this requires an understanding of what poverty really is and the frequently changing social, political and economic forces sustaining poverty in a society. It is useful to look at what the purpose of primary education is to understand whether the intentions actually correspond to poverty reduction issues. UNESCO says that primary education is the cornerstone for the fulfilment of basic education and that primary school education caters to the most general, universal learning needs of all. UNESCO defines basic learning needs as follows:

(to) comprise both essential learning tools (such as literacy, oral expression, numeracy, and problem solving) and basic learning content (such as knowledge, skills, values and attitudes) required by human beings to be able to survive, to develop their full capacities, to live and work in dignity, to participate fully in development, to improve the quality of their lives, to make informed decisions, and to continue learning

(UNESCO, 1998:11). This is a wide definition and includes some of the challenges with regard to poverty reduction. From the practical side, education is considered to be a social instrument for developing human resources and forming human capital and increasing national productivity. From a more ethical perspective education is viewed as an “intrinsic good to be cherished for its own sake and as a basic human right” and as a “transforming experience that contributes to enlargement of one’s self and full realisation of one’s potentialities” (UNESCO-APPEAL, 1998:4). The concept of empowerment is important and widely used:

Formal primary education possesses tremendous potential to serve as an instrument for empowerment of the poor

(UNESCO-APPEAL, 1998:63). The same writers say:

Education can be an effective instrument of social change only when it functions as a life empowering force by arming human individuals with essentials skills of literacy, numeracy, communication, problem solving and productive work

(UNESCO-APPEAL, 1998:5,6). Lockheed and Verspoor state that primary education is supposed to produce a literate and numerate population that can deal with problems encountered at home and at work and to serve as a foundation on which further education is built (Lockheed and Verspoor,1991). This definition does not include the tools to be developed as part of primary education, for social transformation and political participation. It is important to keep in mind that most of the worlds’ educational systems were not designed to meet the challenges of poverty that we see today. However, these are the systems

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which are currently in place and which most of the existing research is built on. We will therefore make use of this research that builds on years of schooling when poverty reduction may not have been a specific aim of the school system but still may have an impact in this regard. Additionally, more recent research building on schooling with the specific aim of reducing poverty, is giving us new insights into how education may or may not assist poverty reduction. The question is then how to measure poverty reduction as a result of schooling? There are various methods used by scholars either from the field of economic research or from the educational and social science research fields. Economists usually measure the impact of education by income or increased earnings and productivity as a result of schooling. Much less attention is given to issues that are harder to measure in economic terms. John Vaizey, the distinguished Oxford economist, even went so far as to state that what cannot be measured may not exist (Vaizey, 1962) Social science and educational research focuses more often on issues of empowerment and increased democratic participation and adoption of new values and attitudes. Additionally, social science research makes use of more simple economic measures of poverty reduction of reduced fertility and increased child health and nutrition, issues picked up in Section 3 of this Report. Both of these areas of research covering education and its impact on poverty reduction will be used, but in a broader sense with the aim of providing an overview of the main findings. The economists often define education as having ‘direct effects’ and ‘indirect effects’. The direct effects of education are the imparting of knowledge and skills that are associated with higher wages. This is what the economic measurements mainly cover. The indirect effects, also often referred to as external benefits, include fulfilment of basic needs, higher levels of democratic participation, better utilisation of health facilities, shelter, water and sanitation (Wolf, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994; Tilak, 1999) and the additional effects which occur in women’s behaviour in decisions relating to fertility, family welfare and health. Social science research tends to focus on these issues of “indirect effects”. It is open to debate that the most important effect (or by economists called a direct effect) of schooling is an increase in earnings. Educational and social science research might say that the so-called “indirect effects” are the most important effects of schooling and should therefore be called direct effects. What we might find consensus about, however, is that the effects of fulfilment of basic needs, participation etc. in turn enhance the productivity of people and yield higher wages and that schooling in this way may create a positive cycle of economic development. The relationship between education and development is not linear with a cause and effect relationship but rather an interactive one (UNESCO-APPEAL, 1998). It is important to understand the nature of the relationship between education and development and the conditions that need to be satisfied to realise the full potential of education for affecting development and maximising its beneficial social and economic returns. The issue of quality education has gained importance internationally. Impacts of primary education are dependent on the content and quality of primary education itself and its interaction with other social and economic factors influencing national development. Of the different developing countries of the world with their varied economic, political and social policies and with a fast changing relative economic basis for investment in the various sectors, the experience of education and development is extremely varied. Higher rates of school enrolment or attainment may not translate into high rates of economic growth if the quality of education is poor, or if educated people are not employed to their potential because of distortions in the labour market. Looking at poverty reduction as a benefit of education, some basic observations need to be kept in mind. The first is that people with more education usually differ from those with less education, though it is a matter of debate as to how far this results simply from education. The second observation is that individuals change as they obtain more schooling. But, to what extent are the changes the result of schooling? To what extent are they the effects of maturing

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generally or of other experiences unrelated to schooling? Study of these issues should ideally consider two groups of individuals similar in all respects except for the fact that one experienced a particular type of education and the other did not. If advantages were observed only for those with the educational experience, then it would be possible to attribute those advantages to their education, since no other factors could account for the differences. But, in the real world of educational and social science research, it is impossible to study two identical groups, one with and one without education. The problem is that one can never be certain that all important variables have been taken into account, because many factors may either be unthought of or unmeasurable. One of the problems is that basic intelligence, and more so motivation, are factors that affect income but are very difficult to isolate and measure. (Solmon, Fagnano, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994:510). Additionally, we have the effects of poverty that have various effects on learning. The question then arises: Are people poor because they do not participate in education or are they not educated because they are poor? In many developing countries it is the poor section of the population which is mostly deprived of education. This might be stating the obvious. But, it may be helpful to illustrate the relationship between education and poverty by one example as a reminder of the difficult issue of whether the poor are not educated because they are poor or whether they are poor because they are not educated. Tilak (1999) presents an overview of the positive relationship between education and economic levels in India. Educational levels of the population appear to be closely related to their income levels as Bracho’s work illustrated in Section 1 above. (It will be demonstrated later that India might be in a special position with regard to education and poverty reduction but use may still be made of this example). Table 1 : Mean years of schooling of population (15+), 1995-96 (%)

Household Expenditure quintiles All subjects (rural/urban:male/female)

0-20(lowest) 2.30 20-40 3.29 40-60 3.81 60-80 4.77 80-100 6.42

All 4.26

(Adapted from table in Tilak, 1999:522)

From this table based on statistics from India, it is clearly demonstrated that it is the poorest stratum of the population that participates least in education. For the very poorest 20 percent there is only an average of 2.3 years of schooling per person above 15 years old. 2.2. Education and poverty reduction: Macro-level evidence and statements There is a wide selection of positive statements on the relationship between education and development:

It is widely accepted that investment in human capital is one of the important keys to break the poverty cycle. Education is related to poverty at both the micro and macro levels. At the micro level, illiterate individuals or households are less productive, join less-paying occupations, and remain at very low levels of living, mostly below

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poverty. At the macro level, nations with illiterate or less-educated masses cannot progress well, not increase their outputs substantially, and as a result remain at a low standard of living.

(Tilak, 1999:518). The President of the World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn, is even more clear in his statement on education and poverty reduction:

All agree that the single most important key to development and to poverty alleviation is education.

(World Bank, 1999:3). J.K. Galbraith the famous economist expressed the importance of literacy at the macro level:

There is no well-educated literate population that is poor; there is no illiterate population that is other than poor

(Galbraith, quoted in Tilak, 1999:518). Lockheed and Verspoor refer to a number of studies building on data from the middle of the 1940s until about 1980. These macro studies found that no countries achieved significant economic growth before attaining universal primary education. It should be noted that the United Kingdom is an interesting alternative case. Mass popular education followed industrialisation and economic success. Benavot (quoted in Lockheed and Verspoor, 1991:3) found that primary education had a significant positive effect on the economic growth of 110 developed and developing countries. Several studies also build on data showing that the newly industrialised economies, like Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea had achieved an almost totally literate labour force just before rapid and sustained industrial growth began. A study from 1980 of 88 countries undertaken by Wheeler (Lockheed and Verspoor, 1991) demonstrates that an increase in literacy rates from 20% to 30% is associated with increases in GDP of 8% to 16% with the strongest relationship in African countries. It would be interesting to know what else was going on in these countries at the same time in terms of industrialisation, increases in agricultural exports and so on. Becker says that in addition to growth and efficiency, education is the most effective tool for greater equality and the most effective way for able young people of poor backgrounds to rise in the economic hierarchy. Education is therefore a tool for greater equity and reducing the impact of disadvantaged backgrounds. That is why income inequality is great in a country when inequality in education is also high. (Becker, 1995). The high economic return to education is one of several reasons why the development community is pushing for “Education for All”. Access to basic education is a Human Right and therefore also a part of the international support for the implementation of human rights. The above statements demonstrate high expectations from education and from further investment in this sector. These assumptions may be seen as clear development strategies indicating that investment in education will yield higher returns versus investments in other sectors. The statements build on an understanding that education plays an important part in development and in reducing poverty. This evidence is what we will look at to understand what education is and how it works when it plays an important part in poverty reduction. Perhaps we will also see that some of the evidence for the impact of education on economic development may not always assist in poverty reduction.

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2.3. Education and Earnings 2.3.1. Economic measurement of returns to education. Defining whether primary and secondary schooling is a good social and private investment involves measuring the rate of return to this investment. The costs and benefits of educational investments can be analysed in the same way as these are calculated in other types of projects. In education, a series of expenditures occur during school construction and while students are in school. Benefits are expected to accrue over the lifecycle of the graduates. The economic rate of return of an education project can be estimated from either the private or the social point of view. 2.3.2. Private rate of return

The private rate of return is used to explain the demand for education. It can also be used to assess the equity or poverty alleviation effects of public education expenditures, or the incidence of the benefits of such expenditure. The social rate of return summarises the costs and benefits of the educational investment from the state’s point of view, i.e., it includes the full resource cost of education, rather than only the portion that is paid by the recipient of education

(Psacharopoulos, 1995). For the individual (private rate of return) this is an economic measurement of input (cost of schooling to the person) versus the output (additional income or other benefits gained from schooling). For private rates of return, economists have limited themselves to the earnings benefits of education. They also assume that such a measure underestimates the real rate of return. There are additional private returns to education that, in economic terminology, are called “consumption benefits”, i.e. greater enjoyment of cultural activities or higher social status and the direct consumption derived from taking the education. In practice, the direct consumption effect of attending school could also be negative for those children who are not particularly successful or are members of a lower status minority. (Carnoy, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994:4913). The private costs of education include the income foregone by students while they attend school and the additional expenditures such as uniforms, transportation, books and fees. It is difficult to estimate private costs to education, i.e.: What is the amount of foregone income by children and teenagers in developing countries? Private costs are usually significantly underestimated. In many developing countries families carry a large proportion of the total cost of even public primary school (see the 40% of income figure quoted for Zambia in Section 1 above). Psacharopoulos defines private rates of return to education investment as follows:

“The costs incurred by the individual are his/her foregone earnings while studying, plus any education fees or incidental expenses the individual incurs during schooling. Since education is mostly provided free by the state, in practice the only cost in a private rate of return calculation is the foregone earnings”

(Psacharopoulos, 1995:2). In many developing countries education is not provided free for the pupils. Various recent studies have indicated that there are many “hidden costs” involved for especially primary and secondary schooling. Hidden costs are most often not calculated at the macro level and therefore are not believed to be part of the economic analyses conducted by, for example, Psacharopoulos. Any calculations made on the above assumption that primary and secondary education is provided free for the pupils will therefore show a higher private return than we

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would assume based on the fact of existing additional private costs to this level of education in many developing countries. Psacharopoulos continues

The private benefits amount to what a more educated individual earns (after taxes), above a control group of individuals with less education....there is an important asymmetry between computing the returns to primary education and those to the other levels. Primary school children, mostly aged 6 to 12 years, do not forego earnings during the entire length of their studies. On the assumption that children aged 11 and 12 help in agricultural labour, two or three years of foregone earnings while in primary schooling have been used in the empirical literature.”

(Psacharopoulos, 1995:3). The unpaid work of caring for siblings, or simple cleaning and cooking jobs that are normal occupations for primary and secondary school aged children in developing countries do not seem to be taken into account by Psacharopoulos. One may understand this as lost labour that instead has to be taken care of by parents or grandparents who will then have less time for income generation. The private rate of return to education would also in this case be further limited. The table presented below illustrates the results of economic measurements of investment in education. It is here used merely as an illustration to demonstrate the differences between returns to education for the different levels and differences in the economic returns for the private person versus economic returns to society. (See Psacharopoulos, 1993 and 1995, for details and explanation of this specific methodology of economic measurement). Table 2 Returns to Investment in Education by Level (percent): Full Method, Latest Year, Regional Averages

Social Private

Country Prim. Sec. Higher Prim. Sec. Higher Sub-Saharan Africa 24.3 18.2 11.2 41.3 26.6 27.8 Asia* 19.9 13.3 11.7 39.0 18.9 19.9 Eur./Mid. East/North Afr.* 15.5 11.2 10.6 17.4 15.9 21.7 Lat. America/Caribbean 17.9 12.8 12.3 26.2 16.8 19.7 OECD 14.4 10.2 8.7 21.7 12.4 12.3_________ World 18.4 13.1 10.9 29.1 18.1 20.3 * Non OECD Countries Psacharopoulos argues that “Basic education and literacy could be taken for granted as being a goal that stands on its own merits for a variety of reasons other than economic considerations. However, it is imperative to estimate secondary school costs and benefits and especially so the vocational track of secondary school” (Psacharopoulos, 1995). From Psacharopoulos’ economic calculations from a number of countries he concludes: - Among three levels of education, primary education continues to exhibit the highest

social profitability in all world regions

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- Private returns are considerably higher than social returns because of the public subsidisation of education. The degree of public subsidy increases with the level of education, which is regressive.

- Social and private returns at all levels generally decline by the level of a country’s per capita income. The returns to education obey the same rules as investment in conventional capital – that is, they decline as investment is expanded. Other authors says that earlier conclusions regarding relatively high rates to primary education and low rates to higher education may be relevant only to economies and educational systems at the early stages of development.

- The returns to the academic secondary school track are higher than the vocational track – since unit cost of vocational education is much higher.

- The returns to those who work in the private (competitive) sector of the economy are higher than in the public (non-competitive) sector. And the returns to the self-employment (unregulated) sector of the economy are higher than in the dependent employment sector. (Psacharopoulos, 1993).

Primary education seems to receive attention as being a good investment from the economic calculations based on private economic returns to education. One has to take this tool of measurement for what it is. It has demonstrated itself to be an important tool for defining economic returns to education at the different levels and other valuable findings with regard to investments in education and its timing. But, it has also demonstrated itself to be incomplete in further evaluating how investment in education actually impacts poverty reduction. For example, higher income does not necessarily mean poverty reduction if the income is not spent in a way that helps reduce the risks that the poor most often live under. Reinvestment and savings are new concepts in many developing communities and therefore a higher income may not help the poor family to a sustainable livelihood as may be expected. In other words, one cannot directly derive from these economic measurements that since investment in primary education gives a high private rate of return that it actually has the same impact on poverty reduction. These economic tools of measurement will thus play only a part in the further discussion on whether or how education affects poverty reduction. 2.3.3. Varying returns to education between geographical areas and formal, informal and self-employment – a Zambian example. Skyt Nielsen and Westergård-Nielsen (2001) demonstrate some important and interesting differences in rates of return to education based on research data from Zambia.

The most striking result of our analysis of returns to schooling in Zambia is that the return to primary schooling in urban areas is close to zero, whereas in rural areas it is clearly larger than zero. Although a private rate of return to primary schooling of close to zero for African countries is rarely found, Psacharopoulos reports a comparable result for Lesotho, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, and Glewwe reports a similar result from estimation of a model like our full model for Ghana

(Skyt Nielsen and Westergård-Nielsen, 2001:382). They conclude that the return to primary schooling in urban areas is not statistically significant for women. However, it is 3% for men, whereas the additional returns to secondary education are 11% and 7% for women and men respectively. In rural areas, they continue:

The return to primary school is much higher. Only men receive an additional return to secondary education. This confirms the interesting conclusion from our analysis that education does pay off in rural areas

(Skyt Nielsen and Westergård-Nielsen, 2001:383).

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Returns to primary schooling are higher in rural than in urban areas and in urban areas the return is higher in the informal sector than in the formal sector, and in rural areas it is higher in employment than in self-employment. Additionally, Skyt Nielsen and Westergård-Nielsen remark that the degree of extreme poverty is high in rural parts of Zambia. The individuals from rural areas who succeed in earning an income above the level that defines extreme poverty are those who have a high level of education and those who are occupied outside agriculture. 2.3.4. An example of measuring private rates of return to education A central feature of the literature on the economic returns to education is the so-called “age-earnings profile”. The following is an example as presented in Jacques van der Gaag and Jee-Peng Tan’s paper on “The Benefits of Early Child Development Programs. An Economic Analysis”. We imagine a young child who grows up healthy, well-nourished, and without any damage to her cognitive and emotional development. She stays at home until the age of 12 and then starts helping parents in the field. Or perhaps she helps a family member in the household or does simple work in a local store. She did not go to school and cannot read, write, or do basic calculations. Her productivity in the first year is low, but she learns from experience: during her first years of work, her productivity (and thus her income) increases, but after a while she reaches her maximum level of productivity. At the age of, say, 55 she retires. Let us consider the same girl but have her go to school at age 6. This comes at a cost but when she goes to work at age 12, she can read the instructions on the box of fertiliser or pesticides, or she can work the cash register at the store. Her productivity is higher than in the case without schooling, for the rest of her life. By comparing the increase in lifetime productivity to the cost of education we can calculate the economic returns to education just as we do with any other investment. Such returns are normally high. They usually range between 10 and 30 percent. One year of extra schooling is calculated to increase the persons’ future productivity by 10 to 30 percent (Psacharopoulos, 1993). In the above example we are using a girl who is healthy, well nourished and well developed for her age. She is ready to learn and will probably gain the most from schooling. In this case the benefits are high. Unfortunately this is not the situation in many developing countries. Poor families, for various reasons often have less access to information, health care and other services. Very often the parents or caregivers have to stay involved in income generating activities and there is less time to care for the children. Poor children very often start primary school with a lower level of “readiness” to learn and to socialise and are more often subject to absenteeism, repetition and drop-out. This is a very important point in defining the pay-off for poor children who go to school. These observed differences in children’s readiness to learn and readiness to gain from primary schooling, are an issue not covered by macro level research on economic rates of return to primary schooling. We will come back to the issue of early childhood care and education and its impact on poverty reduction later in the chapter. 2.3.5. Social rates of return The main difference between private and social rates of return is that for a social rate of return calculation, the cost includes society’s spending on education. The social rate of return is usually based on directly observable monetary costs and benefits of education. The social rate of return is measured by the additional productivity of those who have taken more schooling, the collective consumption value of the education, and what is often called “externalities” of education. These “externalities” are described as indirect effects or external benefits which accrue to society in nonmaterial forms, such as more civilised collective behaviour, a more productive environment, and a wiser choice of political leadership. (Education Dictionary, p 4913.). These effects also include the well-documented evidence of educated parents having fewer children. Educated parents also educate their children more extensively. Adults with

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education are healthier and have healthier children as they make better use of health related information and health facilities. This will in turn serve society through higher adult productivity. There are both private and social benefits connected to health and controlled fertility. Better health and lower mortality induce larger investments in education and other human capital since rates of return on these investments are greater when the expected amount of work is greater. Meltzer shows that the large reductions in adult mortality which occurred during the past half century in less developed countries, significantly increased rates of return to schooling. Additionally he shows that the decline in mortality in these nations and the higher rates of return induced a fall in fertility, presumably partly by encouraging parents to invest less in the number of children and more in human capital or education per child. These links between education and mortality help explain why there is an ambiguous relationship between population growth and economic growth. Greater population growth that is mainly due to declining adult mortality tends to raise economic growth by stimulating investments in schooling and other human capital which is what Meltzer finds in analysing growth of less-developed nations since 1960. However, by the same token, more rapid increases in population due to rising fertility may retard growth in per capita incomes by discouraging investment in human capital. (Meltzer in Becker, 1995) 2.3.6. Private versus social returns to primary and secondary education Below is an example of the differences in economic returns to education measured for the private person versus the economic returns for society. Rates of return to schooling heavily depend on the pricing policy and the amount of subsidies the education system and different levels of schooling receives from public resources. The example from Vietnam shows clearly the differences in rates of return: Vietnam: Rate of Return using Complete Method, 1992-1993____________________________ Education Level Private Private Social (no cost) (Private costs included) (all costs included) Primary (vs no education) 18.5 13.5 10.8 Secondary (vs Primary) 5.5 4.5 3.8 University (vs secondary) 7.8 6.2 3.0______ Source: VLSS 1992-93, using rate of return program (Psacharopolous: see Moock, Patrinos and Venkataram, 1998:22) This example from Vietnam shows that private returns are higher for all levels of education compared to the social rates of return. The social rates of return are highest for primary education. On average primary education remains profitable. Secondary schooling has a considerable less rate of return compared to primary education. But, the “option value” of having a complete secondary school education degree is not shown in these calculations. The “option value” is described as having the option to pursue studies at higher schooling levels. (Moock, Patrinos and Venkataram, 1998). What the above figure indicates is a highly subsidised higher education system (seen by the difference between the private and the social rate of return) compared to the primary sector. This is usually a system that benefits the better off at the expense of the poor. The private cost of primary education is a heavy burden on the poor part of the population. Bray (1996) has further found evidence of higher education being highly subsidised in many developing countries and in turn therefore can be said to be subsidising the rich at the expense of the poor.

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One way to serve the poor better, it has been argued, is to place greater proportions of government resources in the basic education sector

(Bray, 1996:3). Bray continues by explaining the challenge of changing the focus and investment from the higher levels to the lower level of schooling. He says that

Political forces might not permit governments to demand substantial cost recovery at the tertiary level, especially if university students are familiar with a long legacy of free provision, come from politically well-connected families, and are prepared to be vocal in their protests.

(Bray, 1996:3). Even when governments recover some of the costs of higher education it is not always easy to allocate the resources to primary and secondary education rather than to other sectors of public expenditure. 2.3.7. Rate of return to primary (and secondary) schooling and time. The level of return to schooling, at the different levels of education, depends on the time and development of the school system in a given country. Psacharopoulos says: “Social and private returns at all levels generally decline by the level of a country’s per capita income” (Psacharopoulos, 1993:1). There is evidence that as the economy grows and the education system expands there occur sequential (primary, then secondary, then university) rates of return to education. Carnoy gives several examples of this (Carnoy, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994:4916). He says that the rates of return to lower levels of schooling fall relative to higher level rates when the school system expands. He gives an example from the United States where the annualised social rate of return to secondary education for males fell from 18 percent to 11 percent between 1939 and 1969 during a period of major expansion in secondary enrolment and graduation. Rates of return measured over time in other countries have shown a similar tendency. In Kenya it has been estimated that private and social rates of return to primary school fell rapidly in the 1960s and rates to secondary education then fell in the 1970s, in the face of bottom-up rapid expansion of education over the two decades. (Carnoy, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994:4916). Where there is rapid industrialisation and simultaneous rapid expansion of schooling toward the universal completion of primary, lower and upper level of secondary school, rates of return to various levels of schooling decline over time. Rates tend to decline first at the primary level, then at the secondary level and finally at the university level. Carnoy builds this conclusion on the rates of return estimates for comparable groups taken as a series of cross sections over time in various countries, e.g. United States, Colombia, Hong Kong, Kenya, and Korea (Carnoy, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994:4917). He continues to give some examples of the implications of this pattern of rate changes revealed by these time comparisons. He says that earlier conclusions regarding relatively high rates to primary education and low rates to higher education may be relevant only to economies and educational systems at the early stages of development (Carnoy, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994:4917). According to these findings one would suggest that primary education and its impact on poverty reduction may also vary according to the developing countries’ different stages of development. Psacharopoulos found that returns to education were higher in the poorer countries, reflecting the greater scarcity of trained workers in these countries. (Hicks, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994:1662). For developing countries, the high social returns found for primary education (27 percent) contrast sharply with the more modest returns for higher education (14 percent). As demonstrated above this suggests that these countries may have over-invested in higher level education and neglected primary education. Hicks continues:

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Primary education in developing countries could make significant contributions to growth if new investments had returns close to the average rate of return of 27 percent and if alternative investments earned only 10 percent.”

(Hicks, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994:1662). From this example, investment in primary education in developing nations may be seen as very profitable. It is also possible to have too much investment in education, just as it is possible to have too much investment in machinery. For developing countries it makes most sense to invest in education where the supply of educated labour is relatively scarce (Hicks, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994:1665). Psacharopoulos and Woodhall suggest that investments in human capital have higher rates of return than those in physical capital in many developing countries, whilst the reverse tends to be true in developed countries (Lewin, 1993). It is interesting in passing to compare this position with the ‘education as a human right’ arguments mentioned in Section 1 above. 2.3.8. Macroeconomic policies and their impact on rates of return to investment in education There is an interaction between investment in the labour market and the functioning and organisation of the economy. Examples of this can be drawn from the experiences of the former Soviet Union. Education was an important area of investment during the communist times but the controlled economy wasted the talents of many educated personnel. Without markets and competition, it appears that education’s contribution to an economy may be blunted. In market economies, education is an important determinant of earnings. The higher a person’s education level, the higher is that person’s starting salary and the steeper is the rise in earnings during the early working life. In centrally planned economies the return to education has been usually low but this tends to increase as market reforms take place. (Moock, Patrinos and Venkataram, 1998). The example of Vietnam is instructive. During the early years of transition, the increase in income for every school year for males was 3 percent while women received a 7 percent increase. Compared to other countries this is a low rate of increase. Worldwide, another year of schooling increases income by about 10 percent (Psacharopoulos, 1994). But the labour markets in economies in transition, like the one in Vietnam and that of China are being partly controlled and therefore education does not always pay off as in a market economy. Jobs are allocated and salaries and benefits in the public system are higher than in the private labour market. People with little or no education might still earn more than those working in the private market who have more education. More important than more schooling might be membership in the communist party for ensuring a better paid job. But, from comparisons of private and public jobs in countries like China, returns to schooling for those allocated their jobs, are small and not statistically significant. But for those who found employment on their own, the returns are significant and large. (Moock, Patrinos and Venkataram, 1998). The same writers find that the highest private rate of return is primary level for private sector while secondary academic and vocational education in this society was consistently a poor investment. In rapid changing economies like this, the younger generation receives a higher return to schooling than do the workers with more experience. In Vietnam the less experienced workers receive a 14 percent return to schooling versus 4 percent for the more experienced workers. (Moock, Patrinos and Venkataram, 1998). The same phenomenon applies to China. As demonstrated above, especially for countries in transition schooling might not pay off as much as expected or as much as experienced from other developing nations. The pay off may

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come at a later point in time for those who have participated in primary and secondary schooling. 2.3.9. Education, Equality and Income Distribution If development and poverty reduction build on the principles of reducing inequality among people in developing countries, education needs further investigation to define whether it is meeting its long-term goals. Critiques of the positivistic view of education indicate that education should be examined more closely in its relationship to development. While not denying the investment value of education in promoting human productivity, critics point out that education serves, at least in capitalist societies, to maintain the status quo and in the long run may be detrimental to the continued economic growth of a society. In effect, the radical critics argue that it creates a docile and adaptive work force that serves the needs of the power structure of the economy. For the radical critics, an education system that does not alter the structure of an inequitable capitalist society, does not contribute to the change and development of that society (Fägerlind and Saha, 1995). In the Philippines and Sri Lanka earnings have been influenced more by government income policies and by organisational features of employment than by educational levels of employees (Carnoy et al, in Lewin, 1993). Contrary to this is evidence found in Kenya where Knight and Sabot (Lewin, 1993) argue that educational expansion has reduced the relative earnings differential associated with secondary graduates by roughly 20% and has thereby reduced income inequality. This they suggest has been a more effective policy than government intervention on wages in the public sector, the favoured strategy in Tanzania. They thus argue the contrary point of view to Carnoy.

Income inequality reductions as a result of wage compression may therefore have been accompanied by increases in the intergenerational transmission of social status

(in Lewin, 1993:24). Set free from the economists’ jargon this means that the level of wages earned by primary and secondary leavers are much closer and have thus reduced the social status normally associated with higher levels of schooling. Related to this are findings from the World Bank. The Bank ‘s abstract paper concludes the study on “Does Schooling Expansion Equalize Income?” with the statement that policies affecting the skill structure of the demand for labour are potentially as important as the expansion of education in changing the distribution of individual earnings and household incomes (World Bank, 1998). It is difficult to find consensus on the relationship between education and income distribution.

Expanded access does appear to reduce income inequality, at least where a substantial modern sector exists in Kenya. The relative impact of government policy on progressive taxation, incomes and subsidies will depend on how draconian these are and how effectively they are implemented. Educational expansion is frequently more attractive politically than direct interventions to transfer wealth and income earning opportunities away from the relatively privileged

(Lewin, 1993:24,25). 2.3.10. An example of cost-benefit ratio

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A cost-benefit ratio calculation was made on a Bolivian Early Childhood Development (ECD) Program (known as the PIDI program). Here both private and social benefits and costs were calculated together. The findings demonstrated high benefits to this intervention targeted on very poor households in peri-urban areas in Bolivia. The program involves a non-formal home-based day-care centre where children receive nutrition, health and cognitive development services. Children receive basic health care, immunisation, healthy meals, physical growth monitoring and participate in daily programs and in age-specific exercises to stimulate their cognitive development. The target group consists of very poor households. The various benefits to this program include increased child survival rates, higher primary school enrolment rates and achievement. The cost-benefit ratios for this early childhood education program has been estimated to lie between 2.38 and 3.06 (the highest cost-benefit ratio includes the monetary value of reduced future fertility of the girls from the target group involved in the program. The lowest value only estimates the benefits from increased productivity). The highest benefits occur when the program targets the most deprived segments of society. The cost-benefit value of the PIDI program can be compared to cost-benefit ratios of other kinds of development projects in so called hard-sector programs, like “Hill Forest Development Project, Nepal” which had a cost-benefit ratio of 1.18, and a “Livestock Development Project, Uruguay” that had a cost-benefit ratio of 1.59, etc (van der Gaag and Tan). Compared to cost-benefit ratios of the so-called “hard” sectors the PIDI program compared favourably. This example is used as an argument for more investment in early childhood education versus investment in other harder sectors that are often thought of as having higher economic returns than the former. From a program like this there are both private and social returns. The beneficiaries include the child, the mother and other family members, the neighbourhood and society as a whole. It is harder to quantify the social benefits to the program than it is to quantify the private benefits. One can see that there are benefits to society derived from having a healthier, longer-living, better-nourished, literate, and higher-educated population.

Marris uses data from 66 countries to argue that the cost benefit ratio of educational investment in human resources (based on primary enrolment ratios) ranges between 3.4 and 4 :7 compared to ratios of 0.4 to 1.0 for investments in other types of capital (Lewin, 1993:23). From these two examples above it is demonstrated that investment in education yields high returns to the private person and to society and compares favourably to investment in other sectors.

2.4. Contrasting views of primary education and impact on poverty reduction. Tilak states that “primary education has a very small and rather insignificant effect” on influencing poverty compared to secondary schooling and adult literacy and its effect on schooling (Tilak, 1999:520). He uses examples from India only. Most researchers in the field challenge this view. Becker (1995) demonstrates from his findings on education in some Asian countries that the highest rates-of-return to schooling are in fact found at the primary level. Becker refers to studies of the Asian examples of fast growing economies (Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea) as “obvious examples” of the importance of human capital to growth. These are countries that lack natural resources (that are typically greatly overstated as a determinant of economic performance) and face discrimination against their exports in the West. The human capital concept is expressed as: well-trained, educated, hard- working labour-force with dedicated parents and this has been a key to their economic growth. Becker continues by referring to many studies of similar measures in other parts of the world. Although poorer nations grew a little less rapidly than richer ones, poorer nations with more

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educated and healthier populations managed to grow faster than the average. He ends this analysis by adding that: “Especially important are elementary and secondary education” (Becker, 1995;2). Tilak (1999) provides examples from India and Sri Lanka. Today’s decline in poverty, reductions in inequalities and increases in the quality of living in Sri Lanka, he says are largely attributable to welfare state policies. Sri Lanka has invested in education and health with extensive public subsidies. Even under severe economic conditions, the investment in these two sectors has remained intact (Tilak, 1999:519). This has paid rich dividends, making the country distinct in terms of physical quality-of-life indicators, including poverty and income distribution. In comparison, India has made less investment in human capital for the poor and has had a stronger bias against labour in industry. Despite India’s rural employment programs and land reforms ensuring relatively equal distribution of land, as a result no pronounced decline can be noted in poverty and inequalities during the last four decades. (Tilak, 1999:591). A lack of adequate support to education and other welfare state policies, (like those Sri Lanka has developed) is here cited as one of many reasons for slower economic growth in India. Other research also suggests that India (and China) might not be examples of countries where primary or basic education have proved effective in reducing poverty. Ordonez, Kasaju and Seshadri (UNESCO-APPEAL, 1998) talk about progress in basic education and aspects of national development in China and India which show that there is no evidence of a direct and linear relationship between basic education and indicators of social and economic development such as productivity of farmers, rate of youth unemployment, population growth rates or infant and child mortality and life expectancy at birth. Why these countries seem to be different in this regard is a study by itself. What is significant is that where specific countries are concerned, James Wolfensohn’s assertion quoted above that ‘All agree that the single most important key to development and to poverty alleviation is education’, may not be entirely true. 2. 5. Increased productivity Studies show that education pays off for people self-employed in agriculture. Four years of primary education increased the productivity of farmers 8.7 percent overall and 10 percent in countries undergoing modernisation (Lockheed, Jamison and Lau in Lockheed and Verspoor, 1991). Education increased the ability of the farmers to allocate resources efficiently and enabled them to improve their choice of inputs and to estimate more accurately the effect of those inputs on their overall productivity. The same study also indicates that agricultural productivity was more influenced by education in modernising environments than in traditional environments. Traditional environments were defined in terms of primitive technology, traditional farming practices and crops with a minimal reported level of innovation. Modernising environments include access to new varieties of seeds, innovative farming practices, the control of erosion, availability of pesticides, fertilisers and machinery, access to extension services and the existence of market orientated production. When the studies were classified into traditional and modernising environments the result was to suggest that four years of primary education increased productivity by a mean value of 1.3 percent in traditional environments and 9.5 percent in modernising ones. Evidence from Nepal suggests that education does have an effect independent of family background and that increased productivity is related to improvements in farmers numerical skills (Lewin, 1993:22). To put these findings in context they actually mean that educated, modernised farmers produced 109.5 bags of grain compared to their normal 100 bags. Traditional but schooled farmers produced 101.3 bags instead of 100. Unless the scale of their farming is very large, these are very marginal increases anyway and the key factor seems to be the facilitating power of the modernised environment within which schooling may have an impact.

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2.5.1. Cognitive Competencies and Productivity Cognitive skills like literacy, numeracy, problem solving and modernity (modern attitudes and values) affect an individual’s productive behaviour and ability to use the products of technological change and development correctly, i.e. such as pesticides and medicines. When schools are not able to teach the children efficiently with a good quality curriculum in a safe environment the development of cognitive skills will happen more slowly and development will therefore lag behind. Empirical studies that have examined how the cognitive consequences of education affect the earnings of individuals have found important effects. Literate and numerate individuals are more likely to earn higher wages than less literate and less numerate workers with equal years of schooling. Cotlear (in Lockheed and Verspoor, 1991) stresses the relationship between education and technological innovation by emphasising the importance of non-cognitive aspects of education, such as receptivity to new ideas that put the educated farmer more easily in contact with new technologies.(Compare with the findings outlined in Section 3 below which appear to show that simply going to school makes a difference for girls, regardless of what is learned). Education also affects production by developing analytic modes of problem solving. Cotlear says “education increases the ability of farmers to think abstractly, which enables them to recognise the causal relation between technology and input” (Lockheed and Verspoor, 1991:6). Lockheed and Verspoor use an example from Kenya. Farmers who had been participating in primary education were able to construct causal models of events in the natural world and demonstrated how humans could control these events. They were able to observe, diagnose, and correct common agricultural problems better than farmers with fewer years of education. They actively sought to solve problems, while unschooled farmers did not. 2.5.2. Early Childhood Care and Education and its impact on future productivity. Evidence is accumulating that mental and physical development in children’s earliest years affect learning readiness, drop-out-rates, academic achievement and even labour force productivity. Problems faced by poor children in the earliest years such as stunted mental and physical development also set the stage for delinquency and dependency on society. (World Bank, 1999). With the cross-sectoral mix of pre-primary education, nutrition and basic health care, involving children and their parents and other caregivers has a critical role in breaking intergenerational poverty cycles. The international development discourse has acknowledged the importance of supporting Early Childhood Development programs to ensure access to quality Education for All. Early Childhood Development and Education is one of the six objectives internationally agreed on under the Education for All Framework for Action. “We hereby collectively commit ourselves to the attainment of the following goals: (1) expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.” (The Dakar Framework for Action, 2000,p3) The large quantity of new documents and literature in this field show the importance of good nutrition, a stimulating environment, and loving care in the early years of life for the physical, mental, and social development of a child. It has been documented that better school performance, lower criminal behaviour, the right combination of health care, adequate food, a prolearning environment and good parenting instill qualities that result in children and adults being more productive and being more socially adapted than the ones who have missed one of these factors (van der Gaag and Tang, Undated). It is necessary to take a closer look at this research to try to understand the importance of investment in Early Childhood Development and Education(ECD) programs with regard to economic benefits for the individual, the individual’s family and for society as a whole. Does this kind of investment pay off? And, does this kind of investment help reduce poverty?

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Van der Gaag and Tan argue very strongly that pre-school programs are particularly beneficial for disadvantaged children. “Pre-school programs have erased the disadvantages that young children experience when they grow up in marginalised neighbourhoods characterised by poverty, hunger and malnutrition, broken families, and crime” (p. 1) “The links between good nutrition and brain development, even in utero, are well known” (Martorell in van der Gaag and Tan). Del Rosso and Marek (in van der Gaag and Tan) document the importance of good health and nutrition for cognitive development. De-worming has had significant effects on school performance (Bundy, in van der Gaag and Tan). School feeding programs have not only increased enrolment, but also achievement (Pollitt and others in Van der Gaag and Tan). One of the main objectives of ECD programs is to prepare young children for enrolment in primary school. Many of the benefits of ECD therefore are realised through improved enrolment and schooling achievements of ECD graduates. In more economic terms ECD is assumed to increase the children’s chances to become productive citizens. Productivity in this regard includes productivity in the market place as well as home production (this later manifests itself in the relationship, for example, between the mother’s education and children’s health and nutrition status.). To evaluate the benefits versus the costs of an Early Childhood Development program one may once more use a cost-benefit analysis. This kind of analysis is very situation specific and does not easily carry over to other geographical areas, or other target groups nor to other countries. But, that said, it might be useful to have a look at some examples of where these kinds of analysis have been carried out. There is one example from the USA concerning a pre-school program, aimed at disadvantaged students, called the Perry Pre-school program. This program has been running since the 1960s in Michigan and evaluation has found the benefits to be very high compared to the costs of the program. The study followed 123 children who were divided randomly into a program group and a control group. Information was collected annually from ages 3 to 11, at ages 14-15, at age 19, and at age 27. It included IQ scores, school performance, employment and earnings, home ownership, criminal behaviour, dependency on welfare programs, and other aspects of well-being and social behaviour (Van der Gaag and Tan). Among other results, the findings of the study include the following for the program group as compared to the control group: higher scores on literacy tests at age 19, higher monthly earnings at age 27, higher percentage of home ownership, higher level of schooling completed, lower percentage receiving social services, fewer arrests, and fewer out-of-wedlock births (Van der Gaag and Tan). Based on these results it was calculated that “over the lifetime of the participants, the pre-school program returns to the public an estimated 7.16 USD per dollar invested” (p.4, Van der Gaag and Tan). Again, this example is very country specific. For example, in developing countries where social services normally are very scarce, the benefits of saved cost in the social services sector will be less and therefore also the benefits might be calculated as lower. But, the high rate of return to this investment cannot be overlooked. Van der Gaag and Tan go on to say that “ECD programs are a powerful tool for breaking the intergenerational poverty cycle” (Van der Gaag and Tan, p 32). Under the right conditions ECD programs also have significant economic benefits, especially for the children of the poor. But, the poor are unable to pay for the considerable costs of ECD programs. Can society justify providing or subsidising ECD programs for those segments of society that are likely to benefit the most? A just society might consider supporting the poor families especially in this area so that all children will at least be given somewhat more equal opportunities for a productive life and not be further deprived because he/she was born in

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poverty. The research of Van der Gaag and Tan (and others) has provided evidence that poverty is being reduced by the support of ECD programs for the poorer sections of the population. Who is to pay for it will still be a question in line with the same issue of primary education costs. Similar results of high rates of return to pre-school programs aimed at children at risk (children thought to have developmental problems because of biological conditions and/or home environment) have been found (Barnett, in Husèn and Postlethwaite, 1994:4664). 2.6. Quality of education and poverty reduction. It is impossible not to look at the quality of primary and secondary schooling when defining the impact of schooling on poverty reduction. These are issues that the economic measurements do not cover or take into account and are therefore not reflected upon in terms of rates of return to schooling as these rates are based on average numbers and calculations. Compulsory schooling has a very wide range of quality where in some developing countries children are graduating with high level of skills and knowledge whereas in other countries (or geographical areas within a country) children graduate without even sufficient knowledge in the basic fields of literacy and numeracy. In areas where quality primary and secondary schooling is offered it has been demonstrated that the impact on economic development is positive. The reasons for poor quality compulsory/primary and secondary schooling are many. Poverty itself is one that makes schooling alone insufficient. Teachers may be absent at times from the classrooms due to having to look after their second source of income. School buildings are insufficient to ensure a healthy and culturally correct learning environment. The stigmatisation that the children from poor households are often subject to at school decreases the chances for them to learn and to gain from schooling. It might even have a reverse effect on many children, especially from poor households, where bullying from peers and teachers add to the feeling of being a ‘loser’ and further reduce self-confidence and interest in learning. The environment for learning has to be further analysed in order to understand the real effects of schooling on poverty reduction. Economic measurements of returns to educational investment might be ‘hiding’ the fact that there are segments of society that may never (under the present circumstances) gain much from schooling. In the area of education and economic development and poverty reduction this is an area where much less research is available

Education can be a life-empowering experience for all. What the poor might need the most is empowerment. Education empowers the poor by attacking ignorance, building skills and changing outdated attitudes and values (UNESCO-PROAP, 1997). Tilak goes on to argue that “despite awareness of education’s contribution to empowering the poor, education has been neglected in South Asia for the last several decades. This neglect has been conspicuous. This could be due to the conservative, upper-class notion that education is not important for the poor and/or due to the belief that it would indeed be against the interests of the rich and powerful to empower the poor through education (Tilak, 1999:529. See also Sen, 2002).

Additionally, Lockheed and Verspoor (1991) argue that modern public education developed from two distinct educational traditions, one concerned with educating the elite and the other with educating the masses. They refer to an elitist system of education teaching “higher order thinking” in contrast to the mass education systems teaching the masses only “the basic skills of reading and computation, with health and citizenship training and the like” (Lockheed and Verspoor, 1991:7). Routine performance was stressed rather than creative and independent thought. They further argue that higher order thinking skills for primary schooling of the masses is a relatively new idea. It is not new to include thinking, problem solving and reasoning in someone’s curriculum but it is new to include it in everyone’s education. As these “higher order thinking skills” are now present in many countries’ official curriculum

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documents the systems as such are not ready to implement them to the degree necessary. Therefore it often takes longer for primary and secondary school children in developing countries to reach the required level of higher order numeracy for the ability to use basic operations to solve simple problems. Poor early childhood care and education very often limits the chances of children to stay in school and/or to do well in school. Many poor children will often start with a disadvantage for performing well in school. Even the chances of poor children staying in school are often limited for various reasons including the frequent lack of proper development and care in early life. Non-enrolment, absenteeism and dropout are very common problems among children from poor households. The lost opportunity of early childhood development for a high number of children from poor households in developing countries is an area which cannot be overlooked in trying to estimate the connection between education and poverty reduction. By investing in these children in their first years of life we improve their chances to develop fully into productive adults. Additionally, a safe (physically and mentally safe) learning environment when children are participating in school is very important. A primary school that teaches or shows poor children that they are of less worth than their economically better off peers, will not give the children a better chance to increase their income or increase their self-esteem more than they would have achieved through working instead of going to school. The damaging effects of bullying in school may have much more of a negative effect on a child’s life and future productivity than any primary and secondary schooling would add to his potential future productivity. The additional negative effects of schooling or the reasons for children not going to school are often overlooked in research. This might be a grey area not covered by sufficient research. It is often a very sensitive area because it involves a better understanding of what is going on in the lives of those who have economic opportunity and those who do not and their perceptions of each other. It also involves those who are the most important within the education system, the teachers. In a study undertaken in Mongolia, a former communist society, adolescents see bullying as the largest obstacle to schooling. The students see this as much more of a problem than the lack of books, heated classrooms, distance to school, poverty and fees etc. It is interesting to note that the teachers in this environment see the main problem of access to quality education as an issue of family unemployment and poverty (65.7%) while the adolescents themselves point at bullying in school among peers and bullying from the teachers towards the students as the main obstacle to learning (UN/Government of Mongolia, 2000). This is not only an example of major differences in perception of what are the main obstacles to learning but also demonstrates that poverty has many faces depending on the angle from which it is looked at. However, quality of schooling should be taken into account in order to measure the effect of education and poverty reduction. It will have to remain a part of the further discussion. 2.7. Initial findings and conclusions What evidence is there that education contributes to poverty reduction? Primary (and secondary) education have been demonstrated to have an impact on economic and social development from a macro perspective. The connection between economic development and individual poverty reduction has been more difficult to determine. Through various smaller-scale researches on primary education and early childhood care and education there is evidence that participation for vulnerable groups at these educational levels increases their chances of a better future livelihood. There is also much evidence from the field of economics that primary education is the most important level for educational investment for increased private earnings and for social returns in a country going through the first stages of development. In some ways this conclusion helps address the question of where educational investment should be targetted, especially in poor countries. The labour markets of

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developing countries are going through rapid changes. Therefore what might pay off today for the individual might not, in comparison to other investments, pay off next year. This provides a signal for researchers who might focus too strictly on education for poverty alleviation without considering the wider, economic environment. For society there is enough evidence that primary education is a good investment and that it has a valuable impact on long term poverty reduction. For the private person there is evidence that primary education pays off but there are also questions about whether it is always a good investment for every family member living in a situation where they struggle for everyday survival. If everyday survival is the main concern rather than increased quality of living in the future it can be argued that private investment in primary education does not pay off in the short run. These assumptions are made on the available or less available evidence of primary schooling in many developing countries which often represents “hidden costs” for the family, low quality of teaching etc. From a macro economic perspective it has been demonstrated that investment in both pre-primary and primary education is an investment resulting in high economic returns. Also, we have discovered that there is a lack of research to shed light on the connection between these macro level economic studies and micro level research from the perspective of poor families and whether it is considered a good investment to send their children to primary school. This chapter has demonstrated that the range of primary education offered for the children of poor families is varied and that this needs to be further examined in order to find individual answers to whether primary education helps reduce poverty for the individual and her or his family. __________________________________________________________________________

Bibliography Becker, Gary S. (1995) Human Capital and Poverty Alleviation, HRO Working Papers, Washington DC, World Bank. Betts, Julian R. (1999) Returns to Quality of Education. Economics of Education Series, Washington D.C., World Bank. Blunch, Niels-Hugo and Verner, Dorte (1999) Is Functional Literacy a Prerequisite for Entering the Labor Market? An analysis of the Determinants of Adult Literacy and Earnings in Ghana, Washington D.C., World Bank. Bray, Mark (1996) Counting the Full Cost. Parental and Community Financing of Education in East Asia., Washington D.C.,World Bank. Buchert, Lene (1997) Education policy formulation in Tanzania: coordination between the Government and International Aid Agencies Paris, UNESCO/International Institute for Educational Planning. Dessus, Sebastien. (Undated) Human Capital and Growth: the Recovered Role of Educational Systems, Washington D.C.,World Bank. Husèn, Torsten, T. Neville Postlethwaite, (1994). The International Encyclopedia of Education, Second Edition Lewin, Keith M. (1993) Education and Development. The Issues and the Evidence., London, Overseas Development Administration

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Moock, Peter R., Patrinos, Harry Anthony and Venkataraman, Meera (1998) Education and Earnings in a Transition Economy. The Case of Vietnam, Washington D.C., World Bank. Psacharopoulos, George (1995) The Profitability of Investment in Education: Concepts and Methods. Working paper, Washington D.C., World Bank. Psacharopoulos, George (1993) Returns to Investment in Education: A Global Update. Policy Research Papers, Washington, World Bank. Sen, Amartya (2002) Development as Freedom, Paper delivered at the Launch of the Royal Norwegian Government’s Policy Paper, The Fight Against Poverty, Oslo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Skyt Nielsen, Helena and Niels Westergård-Nielsen. (2001) Returns to Schooling in Less Developed Countries: New Evidence from Zambia. Economic Development and Cultural Change, Chicago,The University Press of Chicago Tilak, Jandhyala B.G. (1999) Education and Poverty in South Asia.,Prospects, vol XX1X, no 4, December 1999. UN/Government of Mongolia (2000) Mongolian Adolescents Needs Assessment. Survey Report, Ulan Batar, Government of Mongolia van der Gaag, Jaques and Tan, Jee-Peng. (Undated). The Benefits of Early Childhood Development Programs. An Economic Analysis, Washington D.C.,The World Bank. van ´t Rood, Rogier A. (1997) Empowerment through basic education: A foundation for development. The Hague, CESO Paperback NO. 26 World Bank (1999)Education Sector Strategy, Washington D.C., World Bank. World Bank (1999) Knowledge for Development. World Development Report. 1998/99, Washington D.C., World Bank

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SECTION 3: THE EDUCATION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS AND ITS IMPACT ON THEIR POVERTY STATUS: EVIDENCE FROM ASIA

Introduction

From the foregoing discussion it can be seen that both primary and secondary schooling offer individuals and societies great economic and social returns. Findings provide strong incentives for the provision of a solid foundation of education for everyone (World Bank 1997: 51). However, although society in general gains from educating both men and women, there appear to be particularly forceful arguments in favour of concentrating educational efforts on women (Tilak 1994: 164). As an introduction to this section the following table shows a number of educational statistics for men and women from a variety of countries. In general the figures indicate that females have less access to educational opportunity than do males: Selected Educational Statistics for males and females Country Adult Literacy Rate

(2000) Gross Primary Enrolment Ratio (1999)

Gross Secondary Enrolment Ratio (1999)

Bangladesh M 52 F 29 M 109 F 108 M 52 F 56 Cambodia M 79 F 58 M 109 F 95 M 22 F 12 India M 69 F 52 M 99 F 82 M 59 F 32 Indonesia M 92 F 82 M 110 F 106 M 56 F 54 Lao P.D.R. M 74 F 50 M 124 F 106 M 42 F 29 Malaysia M 91 F 84 M 102 F 100 M 94 F 104 Mali M 48 F 33 M 65 F 45 M 20 F 10 Mozambique M 60 F 28 M 98 F 73 M 17 F 11 Myanmar M 89 F 81 M 91 F 91 M 35 F 35 Nepal M 59 F 24 M 140 F 104 M 62 F 45 Pakistan M 58 F 28 M 99 F 69 M 46 F 32 Saudi Arabia M 84 F 67 M 70 F 67 M 72 F 65 (Source: State of the World’s Children, UNICEF, 2003) Most of the literature on the developmental effects of education tends to emphasise the large number of benefits associated with educating women. In the following, some of the main arguments in favour of emphasising women's education will be reviewed. The main message according to most of these studies is that education has a substantial impact on women's health behaviour, an important factor in poverty. In other words there is a significant correlation between female schooling and health. The longer a girl goes to school, the more informed and knowledgeable she becomes. The knowledge she acquires, in areas such as hygiene, nutrition and family planning, she will make use of to the benefit of her immediate family and surroundings. Smaller families, well-fed children and higher sanitary standards mean improvement in poor people's general life situation. In addition, schooled women tend to ensure that their own children attend and remain in school. Thus, informed and educated women will change their behaviour in a way that substantially contributes to poverty reduction. Following a presentation of the general arguments and the current situation regarding women's education evidence from a number of studies will be reviewed. The last part of the paper will refer to some more recent findings which question conventional views on the benefits of schooling for women. The significance of female schooling appears to be a universal feature. However, in order to attempt to contextualise the material within a wider framework of culture and traditions, in

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most of the studies reviewed, references are made to South Asia in general and to India in particular. Evidence suggests that South Asian women encounter particularly strong resistance against female education, and that this is one reason why there continues to be a large gender gap in male and female enrolment. Thus, in spite of public rhetoric regarding the significance of primary education for all, both men and women, a number of factors prevent girls from achieving – in many cases – even primary education. Some reasons for the gender gap will be discussed in section 3.4.7, while some concluding remarks will complete this part of the report in section 3.4.8. 3.1 The argument According to numerous studies, investment in women's education leads to lower fertility and hence population growth, lower child and infant mortality rates, increased life expectancy and better nutritional status as well as improved health conditions both for the woman and for her family. Even limited years of mothers' schooling are found to have a dramatic effect on child survival, immunization, nutrition and nourishment (World Bank,1997: 40-54). The Partnership on Sustainable Strategies for Girls' Education, which is an international, inter-agency group, with its secretariat located at the World Bank, emphasises the following points: • Education reduces women's fertility rates. Women with as little as two or three years of

formal schooling are more likely to practice family planning than are women with no formal schooling.

• Education lowers infant and child mortality rates. Children of educated mothers have

higher survival rates than children of uneducated mothers. Educated women are more likely to seek medical care and vaccinate their children, seek pre-and post-natal care, and live in more hygienic conditions, than are uneducated mothers.

• Education improves the health of both children and mothers. Education lowers

maternal mortality rates. Children of educated mothers are healthier and better nourished than children of uneducated mothers. Educated mothers tend to make use of public health services, and to be informed about nutritional requirements. Educated women tend to have better knowledge about health care practices, are less likely to become pregnant at an early age, and tend to space their pregnancies.

• Educated mothers tend to send their own children to school; these children are retained

longer in school and generally perform better The Partnership concludes that "girls' education is one of the most effective development investments a country can make." 3.2 The situation In spite of the near-universal consensus on the wide-ranging positive effects associated with women's schooling, there is a gender gap between women's and men's literacy rates in most developing countries. Female education is lowest in the poorest countries. In fourteen out of fifty-one developing countries examined in one study, female literacy was less than twenty percent and in none of them was the male literacy rate as low. Some countries – Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Somalia and Sudan – had literacy rates of less than ten percent for women, while that for males was three to four times higher. Enrolment rates for girls continue to be considerably lower than for boys. In South Asia this gap has actually widened because expansion of educational systems favours boys more than girls (King and Hill 1993: 3-5). In India, around half of all females in the 15-19 age group are illiterate, compared to less than ten percent in China (Drèze and Sen 1999c: 133).

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To assess the effects of the gender gap in education in several developing countries, enrolment rates in primary and secondary education have been examined. King and Hill found that higher enrolment rates for women were associated with longer life expectancy, lower infant and maternal mortality, and decreasing fertility. The study concluded that an increase in female primary enrolment rate by ten percentage points could be expected to reduce the infant mortality rate by 4.1 deaths per 1000 live births (King and Hill 1993: 20). Thus, gender disparities clearly reduce social well-being:

[B]oth the level of female education and the gender gap in education are important determinants of (aggregate) family well-being and economic growth. The benefits of improving female education go beyond increasing individual productivity and income. When fertility decreases, population pressure eases; when a family's health improves, life expectancy increases and the quality of life rises, not only for the family, but also for the community.

(King and Hill 1993: 21) South Asia is a region where the gender gap in education is dramatic. All South Asian countries except Sri Lanka have significantly lower enrolment rates for girls than for boys (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan). In Bangladesh in 1986, fewer than one-half of girls between seven and twelve were in school, while more than two-thirds of the boys in the same age group attended school. In Pakistan less than a third of the girls were in school, while around half the boys were. Sri Lanka achieved universal education for both boys and girls by 1980 (Khan 1993: 218-219). In spite of a sharp increase in primary school enrolments between 1960 and 1987, and in spite of economic growth, educational expenditures in the region have been low; 3.3 percent of GNP for India in 1985, and 2.1 percent for Pakistan in 1987 (Khan 1993: 218). Sri Lanka with its high rates of literacy is somewhat of an exception, and has more favourable infant mortality rates and life expectancy rates than do the other countries (Khan 1993: 213). There is also a great gap between educational levels in rural and urban areas. In 1981 the literacy rate for urban women was double the rate for rural women in Bangladesh, and triple the rate for rural women in India (Khan 1993: 221). There is some indication that there are low rates of return to primary schooling in India compared with other countries. This may be because of the absence of a universal primary educational system. In several states in India, for instance Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, there is no universal level of schooling. Even if educational access is not universal, other members of society may gain when the general educational level increases because the benefits of education extend beyond those individuals who receive schooling directly (World Bank 1997). However, in the absence of a minimum level the general benefits may be low. Researchers explain this in terms of the need for a threshold level. This implies that a minimum level of schooling across the community or labour force is needed before rates of return to education can be considerable. Probably, broader distribution – for instance four years of education for everyone – is better than say six for some and two for others. An educated worker must have other educated workers to interact with (World Bank 1997: 38-39). India lags behind other developing countries in average educational attainment, particularly among the poor, in spite of the fact that the country experienced a significant rise in literacy rates in the 1990s. In 1997 the average literacy rate was 64 percent, compared to 52 percent in 1991. Also Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, among the poorest states in the country, registered significant improvements. However, the gender disparity continued. Although the gender gap in primary gross enrolment has narrowed and was down to seventeen percentage points in the early 1990s, there is wide diversity among the states (World Bank 1997: 120-1). While the average all-India rate for males went up from 64 to 73 percent, it increased from 39 to 50 percent for females (World Bank 2000: 22). Although the actual number of illiterates declined

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in the 1990s, 33 million children in the six to eleven age group were still out of school around the turn of the century, and 7.8% of girls and 6.9% of boys in the six to eleven age group were in the work force, mainly in rural areas. Also, there are indications that primary-level learning achievement in India is generally low (World Bank 2000: 23). Kerala is often regarded as a model state in India, not least for its progress in education and health distribution. Literacy, and in particular female literacy, is seen as perhaps the single most significant factor in Kerala's development achievements (Drèze and Sen 1997: 255). In Malayalam culture, education has traditionally been regarded as desirable. In nineteenth century Kerala, even lower-caste Hindus sent their children to school. In post-colonial society, education became an important political issue. There was considerable public involvement in state politics and social affairs. Voters wanted schools and politicians responded. From the 1950s onward, there was a widespread demand for education in Kerala, also for girls, and it is estimated that by the late 1950s, 87 per cent of primary-aged girls attended school (Jeffrey 1992: 55). In 1991, the literacy rate in Kerala was 89.81 per cent, compared to the all-India average of 52.21 per cent. The female literacy rate was only slightly lower; 86.1 per cent (Suryanarayana 2000: 165). 3.3 Education and fertility. In developing countries with rapid population growth, a slowdown of population increase is frequently associated with alleviation of poverty (Dyson 1992). Or, in other words, reduced fertility for women is regarded as an indicator of social and economic development. There appears to be overwhelming evidence regarding the close relationship between education and demographic change (see Dreze and Sen, 1997:361). Access to education, especially for women, is found to have important demographic implications: educated women have fewer children. Several studies point to the correlation between schooling and reduced fertility (Cochrane 1979 and 1986, Caldwell 1979, Ware 1984, Schultz 1993, Drèze and Sen 1997, Murthi, Guio and Drèze 1997, Drèze and Murthi 2001). In general, fertility is found to decrease in correlation with increased education. Women's desired as well as actual family size falls in correlation with education. Evidence indicates that it makes more sense to educate women than men if the objective is to reduce family size (Tilak 1994: 161, Jain and Nag 1986: 1602-1608, Drèze and Sen 1997: 362, Drèze and Murthi 2001: 37). Thus, women's education may appear to substitute for family planning (Schultz 1993: 76). Also in India, following patterns elsewhere, the total fertility rate appears to fall with increasing education. According to the 1980 census, total fertility was 5.1 for women with no education, 4.5 for those with some primary education, 4.0 for those with upper primary education, 3.1 for those with secondary education, and 2.1 for those with higher education. A study from Gujarat showed that mothers with no education had 3.6 children, while those with secondary education had 2.4 (World Bank 1997: 40). However, primary education has also been found to impact on fertility reduction. Findings from Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh support the striking relationship between educational level and fertility rates (World Bank 1997: 40-43). Education may decrease fertility for a number of reasons. The effects can be direct, indirect and joint. Education appears to affect women's attitudes to population growth and knowledge of contraception. Female education reduces the number of unplanned pregnancies, because educated mothers are more likely to practice birth control than are uneducated mothers. Education in urban areas is more likely to be inversely related to fertility than is the case in rural areas, and education in countries with literacy rates above 40 percent is more likely to be inversely related than in less literate countries. However, the effect is not uniformly inverse. Cochrane points out that a model which seeks to explain why education affects fertility must include a number of variables, such as age of marriage, husband-wife power and communication, husband-wife demands for children, natural fertility as well as access to

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fertility regulation (Cochrane, 1979). Women who have been to school also tend to marry later. One study found that African women with seven or more years of schooling married five years later than women with no schooling, while in Latin America and in Asia the difference was less but still considerable, around three years (Schultz 1993b: 74). Although a number of factors may lead to lower fertility – income, reduced child mortality, deferred age of marriage, access to health facilities, urbanisation and cultural factors (Drèze and Murthi 2000) – most researchers emphasise the particular importance of female schooling in reducing fertility rates. The link with poverty reduction is obvious. 3.4 Education and infant/ child mortality rates. Mortality and fertility tend to be positively related, i.e. low mortality is likely to have a positive effect on fertility and vice versa: high fertility rates are associated with short birth spacing, which is often detrimental to child health. And, high child mortality rates tend to raise the number of births required to achieve desired family size, while low mortality rates bring down fertility: less children are needed to replace those that are likely to die. The infant mortality rate in India went down from 240/1000 in the 1920s to 130/1000 in the 1960s. Between 1960 and 1990 child mortality rates showed definite signs of improving, and dropped from 127 per thousand in 1978 to 96 per thousand in 1986 (Dyson 1992: 201). The reduction in infant mortality rates in India appears to have slowed during the 1990s, and was slightly more than 70 per thousand in 1997. However, there were great regional variations, with 96 per 1000 live births in Orissa, 94 in Madhya Pradesh, 85 in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. In Kerala it was 12, while the figures for Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were 47, 51, and 53 respectively (World Bank 2000: 23-24). Thus, in the late 1990s there were great variations also within states, and between rural and urban areas. Urban rates tended to be more favourable than rural rates. Most researchers see female education as a highly significant factor in reducing infant and child deaths. Several studies show a strong correlation between female education and infant mortality in India (Jain 1985, Bourne and Walker 1991, Schultz 1993b, King and Hill 1993, Tilak 1994, World Bank 1997 and 2000). The general approach is that the chances of infants surviving increase with the more education the mother has. Mothers' schooling has not only a direct effect on children's mortality rates, it can be more significant than either family income or access to medical facilities (King and Hill 1993: 13, Tilak 1994: 157-158). Mothers' schooling of as little as one to three years is associated with a 20% fall in the risk of childhood death (World Bank 1997: 45). The effect of the father's education on reducing mortality is smaller (Schultz 1993b: 69). Why does female education bring down infant and child mortality rates? Why does the mother's education appear to account for more than either income or access to and cost of health? Studies tend to emphasise that educated mothers are informed mothers. Education generates knowledge about nutrition, hygiene and health care. Possession of this knowledge has consequences for power allocation in the family. Education gives women confidence and power and enables them to emerge as decision-makers. More than uneducated mothers, educated mothers will demand adequate attention to children's needs from others within the household, and make use of health-care services. Not only will the better-educated mother use a different combination of observable health inputs, she will also use them more effectively than an uneducated mother (Schultz 1993b: 70). Women's education saves children's lives, possibly because of the mothers' exposure to new ideas (Bourne and Walker 1991: 203 - 219). Helen Ware has pointed out that it is difficult to isolate education as a single determinant regarding child mortality. Although recognising the association between mother's schooling and lower mortality rates, she is sceptical regarding the pinpointing of education as the most important single determinant in reducing child deaths. Location of health facilities, general

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income, father's education and general educational level in a country are related and significant factors. It may not be possible to separate education and income. Educated women tend to marry men with higher incomes, and may therefore be able to afford to live in healthier households. This will affect children's situation. Likewise, is education without access to health services significant in terms of child survival? Do poor but educated women with limited access to medical facilities experience reductions in child mortality? The methodological traps in tracing the relationship between maternal education and child survival are numerous: "Children do not die because their mothers did not go to school but because they receive insufficient or inappropriate food or are taken to medical services too late when they are ill" (Ware 1984: 199). Literacy, or the ability to read health messages, may have unwanted consequences. Experts generally agree that breastfeeding is superior to bottle-feeding during the first months of an infant's life. However, neo-literate mothers who want to appear "modern" and "enlightened" may prefer bottle-feeding. We know that polluted water used to dissolve milk powder and inadequate cleaning of bottles have produced milk which has proved a poor – and unhealthy –substitute for mother's milk in several poor countries (Huffman and Lamphere 1984). Dyson and More are concerned with regional variations in traditions and culture and the implications of these for women's development. They argue that in India, differences in kinship systems between north and south India have an impact on women's status, and may be an explanatory factor in variations in child mortality rates. Cultural status, in other words, may count for more than formal educational level. There is a connection between women's autonomy – regardless of education – and infant mortality. In general, the more favourable mortality rates in the south compared to the north may be explained with reference to differences in culture and kinship systems. In the north, spouses are as a rule unrelated, also by residence, while in the south cross-cousin marriages are common, and affinity is as important as descent. This gives southern women greater freedom and increases their autonomy. Contrary to the general pattern in the south, north Indian cultures practice group exogamy (marriage outside the clan), which puts the woman in an insecure position in her husband's home. Higher son preference in the north re-enforces this. Lower female status puts women in a poor situation to care for children, and especially for daughters (Dyson and More 1983: 35-60). Also Drèze and Sen (1999c) are concerned with regional variations in women's autonomy. They argue that "the extraordinary levels of high gender inequality and female deprivation" in India and Pakistan, and especially the whole northern region of India, lead to particularly severe female disadvantages and deprivations. North Indian and Pakistani women are particularly discriminated against because of patriarchal kinship systems, male-dominated property rights and absence of women in economic, social and political activities. The authors point out that "[f]ew other regions in the world have done so little in promoting gender justice" (Drèze and Sen 1999c: 177-178). 3.5 Education and health Several studies point to the connection between education and improved health (Caldwell 1979, Behrman and Wolfe 1987, Cornia 1984, Ware 1984, Jain 1985, Tilak 1994, Drèze and Sen 1999b). Literacy provides access to knowledge about good nutrition. Improved health practices influence demographic patterns (Tilak 1994: 150). Women's education appears to be of particular significance for the family's health. Schooling improves a mother's basic child-care skills, domestic management, efforts at preventive care, and use of modern medical services (Das Gupta 1990, Schultz 1993a). A better-educated woman has healthier children and is more inclined to adopt improved hygiene and nutritional practices. As Schultz puts it:

Education of women influences their health, longevity, and welfare and that of their children, and perhaps other members of their family plus family size

(Schultz 1993a: 710-711).

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One study in the Phillipines showed that mothers' schooling was an important factor in explaining incidence of chronic malnutrition of children in an area (King and Hill 1993: 12). Also Drèze and Sen (1999b) point out that basic education, and in particular female education, has a significant role in reducing endemic undernourishment. Children of educated mothers live healthier and longer lives because educated mothers have access to information about the value of health care and personal hygiene. Correlations have been found between mother's years of schooling and child's weight. Malnourished children in Punjab had a smaller percentage of literate mothers than did well nourished children (Tilak 1994: 155-157). Schultz has pointed put that the mother's education may affect child health in a number of ways: Education increases the productivity or effectiveness of available health services as well as articulating a demand for health services and information on the best allocation of health inputs. Also, educated women tend to marry wealthier men, something which will enlarge family resources. Above all, education appears to affect preferences for child health (Schultz 1984: 215-235) 3.6 Does female education equate with improved health behaviour? LeVine, LeVine and Schnell (2001) acknowledge that female education can be associated with improved health behaviour, but argue that the exact links between school experience and its assumed reproductive and health effects are still unknown. In an effort to explore this "black box", they emphasise what they call the "bureaucratisation of the life course" as one possible pathway from schooling to reproduction. Through schooling, perhaps regardless of content and quality, girls learn how to learn. Deliberately or not,

School attendance introduces girls to the communicative activities characteristic of bureaucratic institutions, thus facilitating their later responsiveness as mothers to authoritative guidance from clinics and public health

(Levine, Levine and Schnell, 2001:9) Knowledge of formal literacy is important – for instance the ability to read a medicine label – but that is only part of the story. The main issue is the institutional setting that the school provides, which communicates an instructional schema that benefits women's engagement with their surroundings. This socialising implies that women who have been to school are familiar with an academic register that is similar to the official language of all bureaucracies including health and family planning clinics. Thus, educated women, even if their education is of low quality, know much of the language used in public health and clinical settings, and can relate to this language. They learn how to learn in the sense that they attain academic language proficiency and other communication skills that greatly facilitate their relations with health authorities; they learn how to behave as pupils vis-á-vis health experts. In addition, and equally important, women also learn how to teach and to act as experts towards their own children. In other words, the communicative socialisation that the school represents teaches women to act as experts in child care, for instance with regard to verbal responsiveness to their own children. The authors conclude that education is important and has reproductive consequences, not primarily because women gain higher status and become empowered, liberated and autonomous actors in a patriarchal and discriminating environment, but because schooling imparts knowledge of an academic language that is advantageous in oral communication with the health bureaucracy. This knowledge constitutes an educational pathway to better health care. Although there are a number of quantitative studies which appear to prove the correlation between women's literacy and improved health behaviour, there is a lack of qualitative methods which may be applied to assess exactly how women's literacy may be linked with health. More recently however, and in accordance with the employment of Street's 'ideological' model of literacy, anthropologists and others have attempted to study the meaning and uses of literacy as part of specific local contexts, and have questioned common assumptions in quantitative studies of using simple dichotomies or divides between literates and non-literates in a society. The underlying approach of these researchers is that

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questionnaire-based studies have limitations, and that there are few in-depth studies on literacy programs (Robinson-Pant 2001). Anna Robinson-Pant attempted to explore the links between women's literacy and health in two areas of Nepal, as part of an evaluation commissioned by an American aid agency. Her study revealed not only considerable uncertainty as to the fruitfulness of assessing women's formal literacy in relation to health improvement; it also came to question aid agencies' conventional approaches to evaluation of projects. Although the agency wanted a qualitative study, it had an explicit desire for measurable results and findings which could be used to "sell" its approach to other countries. The agency was, it turned out, mainly interested in proving the equation between acquiring literacy and improved health:

Working from a deficit model that women needed a certain package of literacy and health skills to improve their health, the Agency believed it was just a question of evaluating whether the women had been sold the right package.

(Robinson-Pant 2001: 155). According to Robinson-Pant, however, it turned out to be meaningless merely to ask people directly about 'literacy', and what difference 'literacy' made to their lives, and more meaningful to observe the general interaction and conversations that took place in and outside class, especially on health topics, how women used literacy in their everyday lives, for instance how health workers interacted with women who made use of health facilities. She found that women did not see literacy as a functional need, but associated it with identity and confidence, for instance the ability to sign a piece of paper. Informal observations of people's behaviour revealed great differences between answers given in questionnaires and what they actually did. Robinson-Pant concluded that literacy classes on health did not change or challenge women's attitudes to family planning or other health related issues: attitudes towards new health practices were mainly affected by information from family and friends and their own position in the community and household. Those who had their children vaccinated did it regardless of class participation (Robinson-Pant 2001: 161-163). Arguing along similar lines as Street and Robinson-Pant, Archana Patkar questions the conventional wisdom of regarding female literacy as a major panacea, a kind of miracle drug for liberation from superstition and oppression, something that will effect health, hygiene and sound family planning. In India, the government has over the past decades initiated Total Literacy Campaigns (TLCs) on a nation-wide scale. These campaigns, which focus on basic literacy in the course of eighteen months rather than literacy as a by-product of schooling, have special schemes for girls' schooling as well as programs for the recruitment of female teachers. As a result of the campaigns, some areas have been declared as literate while others have been termed non-TLC districts and regarded as backward and underdeveloped. Patkar sees several problems with this approach to literacy, and in particular the attitudes it conveys to Indian women:

The literate woman is seen to be the one who has shaken off her socio-cultural myopia... She is congratulated for having discarded the dark mantle of illiteracy and stupidity to join the productive force, earn an adequate income and obtain freedom from the drudgery that was her lot before she became literate. The entire package suggests that the mere act of becoming 'literate' will enable women to break free from the cycle of poverty, dependence and misery. This is a myth.

(Patkar 1995:405) As Patkar sees it, the issue is not yes or no to literacy, because basic literacy skills cannot be divorced from age-old power structures and politico-economic as well as legal contexts which continue to subordinate and oppress women:

Able to sign on the dotted line of labour contracts but not to challenge and question the terms of the contract itself, the female 'neo-literate' soon discovers that literacy and justice are two disparate, incompatible issues

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(Patkar 1995: 406-407). Although literacy and basic primary education for girls have been largely accepted in most of the country, it appears to be mainly because of the attitude that educated females make better daughters, wives and mothers, with fewer children. Primary-educated girls constitute no threat to prevailing power-structures. Too much education for women has traditionally been regarded as harmful, a challenge to the patriarchal social order, as well as a waste of time and money. Patkar puts it this way:

How much education will result in that perfect mix of increased productivity while maintaining those sacrosanct Indian virtues of obedience, submission and stoicism?

(Patkar 1995: 407). In a situation where in particular low-caste women continue to be severely oppressed in most spheres of society, it is doubtful that newly acquired literacy skills will automatically translate into an improved and liberated status. Education benefits some more than others. The time may have come to ask what kind of skills literacy imparts, for whom, rather than simply embracing the concept of literacy for all. A study from rural Maharasthra in India found that increased educational opportunities for girls from 1975 to 1987 did not mean increased female independence and did little to alter attitudes to dowry, single women or remarriage. Whereas males saw education as an opening to more opportunities, females still saw themselves in traditional domestic roles. The major difference since 1975 appeared to be that in 1987 education for women had become a necessary qualification for securing a desirable husband (Vlassoff 1994). In spite of the apparently overwhelming evidence that education, particularly for women, is associated with improved health practices, detailed studies like the ones represented by LeVine et.al., Street, Robinson-Pant and Patkar reveal that the realities are more complex than perhaps previously assumed. Actual literacy skills may not be the key or the overall solution to better health and consequently improved poverty status. Equally significant appear to be the impact of socialisation in an institutional setting and the imparting of communicative skills. It may not make sense to distinguish between literates and non-literates according to a functional model of literacy; instead we may interpret literacy practices within a social and cultural context, through detailed observations of actual behaviour. Quantitative studies based on questionnaires may have severe shortcomings, mainly because of the disparity between informants' answers and their actual behaviour. Merely enrolling low-caste women in literacy programs in the hope that the ability to read and write will result in improved health behaviour is probably unrealistic. Schooling can impart skills; health effects of basic literacy programs are probably overstated. 3.7 Why gender disparities in education? If we assume that education, and especially female education, generates a number of developmental benefits, why do parents fail to send their children, and particularly their daughters, to school? To understand this, it is necessary to distinguish between social and private returns to education (See Section 2 above for a discussion of this concept). While much of the payoff in educating women is social, and will benefit society on a larger scale, parents tend to consider the private returns of allocating resources to their daughters (King and Hill 1993: 21-24). For a number of reasons, it makes more sense for parents to favour sons' rather than daughters' enrolment. Poverty is one factor often cited – school costs money – but poverty alone is probably not the main reason for keeping girls out of school. In India, the female literacy rate varies considerably from state to state and not according to levels of poverty. The incidence of poverty is, for instance, three times higher in West Bengal than in Punjab, while literacy rates for rural women are similar (Patkar 1995). Cultural norms may be equally significant in maintaining the male preference in education. Children, and especially girls, must work at home. Gender inequalities exist at early ages. There is a great demand for

47

girls' unpaid labour. Girls are more needed in the home than are boys: they cook, clean, fetch water and help out with younger siblings. In South Asia, Islam and Hinduism appear to have provided particularly restrictive environments for girls' and women's schooling, although cultural variations are large. The Hindu caste system is a severe constraint on educational opportunities both for girls and boys, although low-caste women encounter particular obstacles when it comes to school enrolment (Patkar 1995). There are a number of entry barriers against women's education, for instance that girls' education, if desired, must take place in surroundings with no exposure to males. The restriction placed on girls in Hindu and Muslim cultures – which may include segregation of the sexes such as the seclusion of women (purdah) – discourages female education. In societies where women are secluded, girls may only be allowed to attend schools with all-female staff. Co-educational institutions may not be accepted, and may cause parents to withdraw girls. Long distance to school can be another significant factor, as can lack of basic amenities such as latrines, and concern regarding a lack of privacy for girls. Non-tuition costs such as school materials, transportation and boarding tend to be higher for girls than for boys. Girls, more than boys, need to be properly dressed and may not be allowed to travel on their own. Traditions in favour of early marriage, the ideology of hypergamous marriage (that a woman should marry 'up' in the social scale), dowry, norms of patrilocal residence, and concern for girls' moral and physical welfare, are all factors that discourage girl's schooling. In India, it is well to remember the recognition of female education as a social issue is recent. In a situation where the dominant Brahminical tradition through the centuries reserved the study of the scriptures to high-caste males, female and lower-caste education was long regarded as a threat. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the female literacy rate in both British and Indian provinces was still below one per cent (Drèze and Sen 1999c: 132-133). Even today, parents may regard the school’s formal curriculum as useless for their daughters, unless it includes childcare, cooking and handicrafts. There are a number of economic considerations which make parents prefer schooling for their sons. Parents value a son's education for the effect it has on his earning potential. They value a daughter's education for its effect on her marriage prospects. Sons' education is needed because sons are expected to support parents financially in old age, while daughters will move in with their in-laws' family and will have no financial obligations to their parents after marriage. Returns to investment in a son's education will remain in the family, while the returns to investment in a daughter's education will typically go to her husband's family. On the basis of this, female education is seen as a less attractive investment (World Bank 1997: 124-5). Poor rural families usually require their sons' wives to work at home. Educated girls may be regarded as less desirable housewives and daughters-in-law. Parents may choose to educate their daughters only if the expected lower returns are accepted. Hill and King propose that

Gender differentials in education endure because those persons who bear the private costs of investing in schooling for girls and women fail to receive the full benefits of their investment.

(King and Hill 1993: 23) Opposition to secondary education for girls appears to be greater than opposition to primary education. In India and other parts of South Asia, middle class parents may welcome some education because it can promote a good marriage match, while lower middle class parents may regard further education for their daughters as too costly. Educated parents are in general more in favour of sending their daughters to school than are uneducated parents. In other words, education has an intergenerational effect: education generates more education. Also age of marriage tends to be associated with parental attitudes to education. The earlier daughters marry and move in with their in-laws, the less parents can enjoy the benefits of their education. Educated girls who live with their parents tend to take on paid work and

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contribute to family income. Acceptance of a higher marriage age may be positively correlated with female education (King and Hill 1993: 27). 3.8 Concluding remarks Most of the evidence of the benefits of women's schooling comes from national censuses and demographic surveys in Latin America, Asia and Africa in the second part of the twentieth century. Between 1960 and 1995 there was a great expansion in female education. In the same time period, mortality among children under the age of five declined from 216 per thousand live births in 1960 to 96 in 1997, while total fertility went down from 6.0 in 1960 to 3.1 in 1997 (UNICEF 1998). Although there were a number of other developmental trends in the same period – economic growth, improved infrastructure, urbanisation, improved transportation networks and spread of health facilities – most researchers argue that female education has had an independent effect on fertility and mortality decline. The World Bank, in one of its policy documents, states that "[e]ducation is a major instrument for economic and social development" (World Bank 1995: 19). Parental education, and in particular mother's education, is "significantly associated" with the health status of children (World Bank 1995: 28). Because of the assumed relationship between education, nutrition, health, fertility and mortality, the World Bank urges governments in developing countries to pay more attention to education, and in particular to female education (World Bank 1995: 92-93). A review of studies on the benefits of female education shows a general consensus that schooling for girls represents a major developmental pathway that should be recognised both by governments and individuals in poorer countries. The major reason for sending girls to school appears to be an acknowledgement of women as future nurturers and family caretakers; it is women's responsibility to raise children and schooling tells them how. Informed, health-conscious mothers who have been to school have fewer and better nourished children. They also improve their own health, and that of other family members. Because educated women desire fewer children, and because educated women tend to marry later, the level of education for women has an impact on demographic trends. Interestingly, female schooling reduces poverty mainly – according to the literature – because it favours improved health behaviour, not because it gives women better employment opportunities and higher income. Significantly, the correlation between male education and fertility is much weaker; according to studies educated men continue to want several children. Thus, if the issue at stake is to reduce poverty by reducing population growth, girls rather than boys (if there has to be a choice) should be sent to school. Taking this argument to its logical conclusion, educated women can indeed effect a demographic transition. However, there are a number of uncertainties regarding the benefits of women's education as regards poverty reduction. Most of the studies have been conducted on a macro basis, i.e. using a large number of statistical analyses to assess the connection between, for instance, education and fertility. These methods have been found to have severe shortcomings. One problem is the difficulty in isolating female education from other developmental factors, such as improved access to health clinics, general increase in the educational level both for men and women in an area, and influence from mass media such as TV and radio. The gap between respondents' answers to questionnaires and their actual health behaviour can be an additional problem, as pointed out by Robinson-Pant (2001). In spite of some degree of uncertainty, there does seem to be an association between women's education and health behaviour. The challenge is to uncover what exactly this link constitutes. What makes education influence health? Does the nature of the education matter? Is basic literacy enough to make women informed and conscious, or is the effect of literacy, embedded as it is in cultural practices (Street 2001), simply impossible to measure in terms of conventional development goals? Accepting that a woman's overall role is to take care of her

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family – which, one could argue, is the underlying message that the studies communicate – should the curriculum be mainly limited to health information? Or is the content of education irrelevant? The latter approach appears to be supported by LeVine et.al. (2001), who argue that the issue at stake is the institutional setting that the school represents, because this setting imparts a bureaucratic and academic language that benefits women in their health practices and in coping with modern life generally. One may ask whether education for females has a purpose beyond creating health conscious and informed women who desire fewer but better nourished children. Does education, in accordance with enlightenment notions of human improvement, function as a path to liberation for women and enable them to counter oppressive gender structures? As Vlassoff (1994) pointed out, female schooling does not necessarily provide new career opportunities, but may reinforce already existing cultural practices, such as dowry. Education in this case does little to challenge domestic roles for women. This observation would seem to be in accordance with the general attitude to female education in South Asia: women should receive education as long as male cultural norms are not challenged. The children of schooled mothers, whether boys or girls, tend to enrol in school, to be retained longer and to do better at school work than those of unschooled mothers. The largely beneficial effects of women's schooling appear to have been accepted by most governments in developing countries; however, the gender gap in enrolment is still alarmingly high. Although one explanation for this can be found at the family level – for a number of reasons families still consider it more worthwhile to favour sons' education – lack of political will can probably also be detected. In the case of India, and to understand why girls continue to receive much less schooling than boys, it may make sense to apply the general arguments of Myron Weiner(1991). Weiner, whose main concern is the widespread practice of child labour in India, has pointed out that although compulsory, universal education for all children up to the age of fourteen has been an overall goal since independence, this goal is still far from being fulfilled. He forcefully argues that education for all will remain unrealistic as long as government officials, political leaders, trade union leaders, intellectuals and even voluntary activists, as well as middle class representatives in general, continue to adhere to a specific set of belief systems which counter official rhetoric: At the core of these beliefs are the Indian view of the social order, notions concerning the respective roles of upper and lower social strata, the role of education as a means of maintaining differentiations among social classes, and concerns that 'excessive' and 'inappropriate' education for the poor would disrupt existing social arrangements

(Weiner 1991: 5). These arguments resonate with those in Britain in the 19th Century concerning the education of the working classes. Compulsory education has, in effect, been rejected. One may suggest that similar attitudes have prevented large-scale enrolment of female students, and have contributed to maintaining the gender gap in education. A starting point for this study was a set of questions, including ‘What lessons can be learned from specific examples (of schooling and its impact on poverty)? On the basis of a number of studies, it seems safe to conclude that female education matters as a path to development, even if relatively short in duration and poor in quality. If nothing else, girls learn how to learn, and this in itself can be significant. On the other hand, the mere imparting of literacy skills probably has a limited effect when it comes to improved health behaviour, a significant aspect of poverty. However, the evidence for the link between education and health does not

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come across as conclusive: there is still considerable doubt as to why and how there is a link. Studies at the micro-level have cast some doubt on previous assumptions – based on massive data-sets – of the straightforward beneficial effects of female education on health. Focus on cultural variations has revealed that the effects of girls' schooling is dependent on a number of factors, for instance women's autonomy in kinship systems, attitudes to women's independence and mobility, general community endowment and overall level (threshold) of development in an area. As for the direct effects of their education on the poverty status of women, several "black boxes" remain unopened and unexplored – fruitful areas for further investigation. References Beenstock, M. and P. Sturdy (1990) The Determinants of Infant Mortality in Regional India, in World Development, Vol. 18, No. 3, 443-453. Bourne, Katherine L. and George M. Walker (1990) The Differential Effect of Mother's Education on Mortality of Boys and Girls in India, in Population Studies 45, 203-219. Behrman, J.R. and B.L. Wolfe (1987) How Does Mother's Schooling Affect Family Health, Nutrition, Medical Care Usage, and Household Sanitation? in Journal of Econometrics 36, 185-204. Caldwell, J. (1979) Education as a Factor in Mortality Decline, in Population Studies 33, No. 3, 395-413. Cochrane S.H. (1979) Fertility and Education. What do We Really Know? World Bank paper No.26,Washington, D.C.,World Bank Cochrane, S.H. (1986) The Effects of Education on Fertility and Mortality.Washington, D.C., World Bank Cornia, G. (1984) A Survey of Cross-Sectional and time-Series Literature on Factors Affecting Child Welfare, in Jolly, R., and G. Cornia (eds), The Impact of World Recession on Children. Oxford, Pergamon. Das Gupta, M. (1990). Death Clustering, Mothers' Education and the Determinants of Child Mortality in Rural Punjab, India, in Population Studies – A Journal of Demography, Vol. 44, No. 3, 489-505. Drèze, Jean and Haris Gazdar (1997) Uttar Pradesh: The Burden of Inertia, in Drèze and Sen (eds) 1997, 33-128. Drèze, Jean and Amartya Sen (eds) (1997) Indian Development – Selected Regional Perspectives. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Drèze, Jean and Amartya Sen (1999) Omnibus: Poverty and Famines (a); Hunger and Public Action (b); and India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity (c). New Delhi, Oxford University Press. Drèze, Jean and M. Murthi (2001) Fertility, Education, and Development: Evidence from India, in Population and Development Review, Vol. 27, No. 1, March, 33-63. Dyson, Tim and Mick More (1983) On Kinship Structure, Female Autonomy nad demographic Behaviour in India, in Population and Development Review, Vol. 9, No. 1, March, 35-60.

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Dyson, Tim (1992) An Assessment of Recent Demographic Trends in India, in Harris et.al., Poverty in India, pp. 185-206. Halvorson-Quevedo, Raundi and Hartmut Schneider (eds) (2000) Waging the Global War on Poverty. Strategies and Case Studies, Paris, OECD. Harriss, Barbara, S. Guhan and R.H. Cassen, (1992) Poverty in India. Research and Policy. Bombay, Oxford University Press. Huffman, Sandra L. and Barbara B. Lamphere (1984) Breastfeeding Performance and Child Survival, in Mosley and Chen (eds), 93-116. Jain, A.K. and M. Nag (1986) Importance of Female Primary Education for Fertility Reduction in India, in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XXI, No. 36, September 6, 1602-1608. Jain, A.K. (1985) Determinants of Regional Variations in Infant Mortality in Rural India, in Population Studies 39, 407-424. Jeffrey, Robin (1992) Politics, Women and Well-Being. How Kerala became a 'Model'. Basingstoke, Macmillan. Khan, Shahrukh R. (1993) South Asia, in King and Hill (eds), 211-246. King, E. and M.A Hill (eds) (1993) Women's Education in Developing Countries. Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press. Le Vine, Sarah, Le Vine and Beatrice Schnell (2001) Improve the women: Mass Schooling, Female Literacy, and Worldwide Social Change, in Harvard Educational Review, Vol 71, No. 1 (Spring), 1-49. Mosley, Henry W. and Lincoln C. Chen (eds), (1984) Child Survival. Strategies for Research. London:,Cambridge University Press. Murthi, Mamta, Anna-Catherine Guio and Jean Drèze (1997) Mortality, Fertility and Gender Bias in India: A District-Level Analysis, in Drèze and Sen (eds), 357-406. Patkar, Archana (1995) Socio-economic status and female literacy in India, International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 15, No. 4, October, 401-409. Robinson-Pant, Anna, (2001) Women's Literacy and health. Can an ethnographic researcher find the links? in Street (ed.) 2001, 152-170. Schultz, T.P. (1984) Studying the Impact of Household Economic and Community variables on Child Mortality, in Mosley and Chen (eds), 215-236. Schultz, T.P. (1993a) Investments in the schooling and health of women and men - quantities and returns, in Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 28, No. 4, Autumn, 694-734. Schultz, T.P. (1993b) Returns to Women's Education, in King and Hill (eds), pp. 51-99. Suryanayana, M.H. (2000) Public Policies, Social Development and Poverty Reduction: The Kerala Model, in Halvorson-Quevedo, 157-185.

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Street, Brian (ed.) (2001) Literacy and Development. Ethnographic Experiences, London, Routledge. Tilak, J.B. (1994) Education for Development in Asia. New Delhi, Sage. UNICEF (1998) The State of the World's Children, New York., UNICEF Vlassoff, Carol (1994) Hope or despair? Rising Education and the Status of Adolescent Females in Rural India, in International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 14, No. 1, Feb, 2-12. Ware, Helen (1984) Effects of Maternal Education, Women's roles, and Child Care on Child Mortality, in Mosley and Chen (eds), pp. 191-214. Weiner, Myron (1991) The Child and the State in India. Child Labour and Education Policy in Comparative Perspective, New Jersey, Princeton. World Bank (1995) Priorities and Strategies for Education, Washington D.C., World Bank

World Bank (1997) Primary Education in India, Washington D.C., World Bank World Bank(2000) India: Reducing Poverty, Accelerating Development, Country Study Oxford, Oxford University Press.

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4. ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND LEARNING, (ABEL) - AN EFFICIENT TOOL FOR COMBATING POVERTY? LESSONS AND INDICATIONS

FROM A CASE STUDY FROM LAO P.D.R. 4.1. Introduction. The initial questions raised by this study (see page 6 above) included the issue of the best forms of education for reducing poverty, implying that formal schooling, though a popular policy choice for transforming the life of the poor, might not be the most effective vehicle. The previous section, with its focus on women and girls in South Asia and India in particular, took the study from the macro-sphere of cost-benefit and rates of return analysis to the homes and schools of the poor. In the same spirit this chapter will focus on Adult Basic Education and Learning, (ABEL), and its impact on poverty-reduction and rural development. The findings and conclusions will basically build upon a literature review of recent studies and research, discussed and reflected through analyses of findings and experiences from a case-study in Lao People’s Democratic Republic, hereafter referred to as Laos. In the process of studying a case from Laos it is expected that questions regarding more effective ways of educating the poor, of the lessons to be learned from experience and how such lessons may be replicated or generalized will be addressed. First, the paper will discuss the concepts and definitions normally used when describing this non-formal branch of education and learning, tendencies and recent global strategies and concerns. Secondly, there will be a descriptive presentation of the basic distance education project in Laos, an overview of the planning process, the management, monitoring and impacts of the case–study in Laos. These findings will be discussed in the light of recent research and studies from the literature review, before the paper concludes with lessons learned and future recommendations in the design and implementation of ABEL projects and programs. 4.2. Contextual background and global trends. The dominant objective of any development co-operation to day is poverty alleviation. Today more than a billion people are living on less than US$1 a day (Ouane, 2002). Researches have documented the correlation between investment in basic education and economic productivity in developing countries.

Studies have estimated that one quarter to one half of the agricultural labour productivity differences between countries can be explained by differences in education levels… The research shows that, as a rule, the economic payoffs of investment in basic education are highest in low income agricultural economies and those still in the early stages of industrial development. The return in investment is largest at the primary level of schooling, but still significant at the secondary level. The economic returns apply equally to the education of boys and girls.

(UNESCO 1997:33) The case for investment in primary schooling for children is compelling, but there is surprisingly little information on the economic payoffs of investment in adult basic education, and evaluative research has been scarce (UNESCO, 1997; Lauglo, 2001). Wagner even states that

there is no evidence from developing countries that adult literacy programs lead to actual economic improvements in the lives of program participants

(Wagner, 1997 :34)

But human development is about more than the rise or fall of national incomes and economy.

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It is about creating an environment where people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests…Development is thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value. And it is thus much more than economic growth, which is only a means – if a very important one – of enlarging peoples choices

(UNDP 2001:9) The Dakar Framework of Action, World Education Forum (Dakar, April 2000) reaffirmed the World Declaration on Education for All (Jomtien 1990), supported by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, that every child, youth and adult has the human right to benefit from an education that will meet their basic learning needs in the best and fullest sense of the term,

an education that includes learning to know , to do, to live together and to be. It is an education geared to tapping each person s̀ talents and potential, and developing learner personalities, so that they can improve their lives and transform their societies.

(Torres, 2001:1) Numerous adult basic education programs have been geared towards numeracy and literacy. Even today there are still nearly one billion illiterate adults in the world.(UNESCO 1997, p36). A large number of research studies have established a strong correlation between literacy and social development indicators, such as health and nutrition, life expectancy and fertility in developing countries. (Lauglo, 2001;Torres 2001;UNESCO,1997,). Life expectancy at birth rises as adult literacy rates increase. Adult education promotes social capital as well as human capital. Citizens need to trust each other in order to be able to work and live together. Social capital is becoming eroded in many countries due to various factors including ethnic conflicts, cultural traditions and gender disparities. Reversing social marginalisation and polarisation therefore requires among others provision of opportunities for adults to acquire at least a basic education. Others would argue that the ultimate justification of adult education is sustaining and strengthening civil society by supporting pluralism, and enhancing democracy through dispersing power.

To-day’s adults must make democratic institutions work now, and equipping them to do so will require substantial investment in adult basic education.

(UNESCO, 1997:37).

As with the economic returns to investment in basic education, studies of the social impact of basic education have relied primarily on data relating to years of schooling rather than on analyses of the outcome of basic education programs for youth and adults.

One reason for that is that adult learning beyond basic literacy has for the most part been a privilege reserved for a fortunate few,

(UNESCO 1997, p37). Oxenham and Aoki ( see Lauglo, 2001:26) have recently compared cost data available for eight ABE programs and concluded that the unit costs of a program of adult basic education can be expected to range from a high of about half those of a country s̀ primary school annual unit costs, to a low of about one seventh. Findings in Nepal show that the development effects of five or six years of schooling can be attained through less than one year of adult basic education at between one twelfths and one fortieth cost, (Commings et al, 1997, in Lauglo, 2001). Adults enrolled in ABE can acquire basic skills faster than children do in primary school, and therefore ABE can be a cheap way to minimum literacy for those who enrol. But even if ABE

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can serve as a cheap path to minimise literacy it should not be seen as a policy alternative to primary education. 4.3. Concepts and definitions. Adult Basic Education (ABE), will in this paper refer to a non formal educational approach, that is flexible in its nature, organised outside the formal basic education system, i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary education, and aimed at people who have had very little or no formal schooling, but have mainly enjoyed an informal form of learning, (Lauglo, 2001; Van t̀ Rood,1997). Post Literacy (PL) focuses on a specific stage in adult literacy programs that might be viewed as a bridging stage between literacy and functional literacy. PL programs are seen as programs for further learning.

Some PL programs concentrate on developing literacy skills further; others concentrate on skill training, group formation, or further education using a non-formal curriculum

(DFID, 1999). The World Education Forum, Dakar 2000, tied PL to income generation, not just in the policy-makers’ minds, but also in the minds of the learners.

Why should they take valuable time away from other activities for a literacy program if it is not going to lead to some tangible benefit?

(World Education Forum, 2000:21). Planners and instructors therefore have to see how the program in terms of content and methodology can lead to concrete benefits for the learners. Adult Basic Education and Learning (ABEL) derives from ABE but has an even broader definition, enhancing the importance of meeting people’s “Basic Learning Needs” (BLN) where learning is emphasised rather than education, to stress the distinction between education and learning and the fact that learning goes beyond education, within a lifelong learning framework (Torres, 2001).

Meeting such BLN is not enough; part of the mission of education is to expand and generate new learning needs along the process. This is particularly important today in the framework of the emerging “knowledge society”, the revitalisation of lifelong education and learning, and the work with the poor and the excluded or in the process of being excluded. The horizon is Human and social development, which goes far beyond “alleviation of poverty

(Torres, 2001:6.) The target group, “adults” is usually referred to as the adult population that is 15-35 years of age, coinciding with the usual statistical estimations of adult literacy, as for the case study in Laos. Although notions of adulthood and youth are not universal, ABEL, through an open distance learning approach, has a wider and flexible range of beneficiaries by utilising radio broadcasts, cassette-players and a wide range of written material. The term Learning Community (LC) is a notion that has been extended in recent years with different interpretations. As it is defined by Torres it refers to a “community based and solidarity education , whose area of intervention is the local society”. It - adopts a broad vision of education, embracing all learning environments…. - articulates school and out of school education, formal, non-formal and in-formal…

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- takes learning, rather than education as the main objective....the LC aims at meeting the basic learning needs of the population,…at identifying such needs and the most suitable means and modalities to meet them….

- involves children, young people and adults, placing great value on inter-generational and peer learning……

- seeks to demonstrate the importance and potential of developing learning systems generated and developed at local level, … and

- Proposes a bottom-up, inside out model of educational development and change (Torres, 2001:31-32)

A flexible learning approach has to be put in place in order to meet the needs of the learners, and which relates to the content and the means of delivery of the program. The case study which follows illustrates many of the principles which Torres and others have enunciated. 4.4. Case study:Lao P.D.R. Since 1997 UNESCO, together with the Government of Laos, has implemented a project entitled, Distance Basic Education; In Support of Sustainable Rural Development in the Central Region of the Lao P.D.R. (504/LAO/12). The project is financially supported by the Government of Laos and through NORAD under the Funds-In-Trust Division of UNESCO. The development objectives of this project were stated to be: • To improve the basic education level, particularly for women and ethnic groups. This

project improvement will contribute to sustained rural development in the central region of Laos

• The present project participates in the struggle against poverty engaged in by the Government of the Lao P.D.R. It will provide basic education to disadvantaged groups and contribute to the development of Lao society (Project Document, p13).

The three immediate objectives were defined as follows:

1. To build and/or improve capacities of provincial staff to develop and manage distance basic education media.

2. To develop high quality learning materials and programs and to test them in a limited geographical area.

3. To deliver full-scale non-formal basic education at a distance in three provinces. The target group will be young women in the 15-35 year age range with some literacy skills, other interested family members, and ethnic minorities.

The remainder of this paper deals with the lessons to be learned from the Lao experience, lessons gained from a formal evaluation of the project carried out by a joint UNESCO, LINS and national team.

4.5. Evaluation Methodology The evaluation team wanted to emphasise a holistic approach as the project had to be evaluated based upon the context in which the beneficiaries were living. The team therefore tried to adopt and follow a methodology where the overall aim was to assess the impact of the projects related to the needs of the beneficiaries. This approach was also the overall guiding direction for the project itself. We therefore considered the CIPP, (Stuffelbeam, 1971) evaluation model as an analytic tool when preparing the general comments. This model is an acronym for the four dimensions of educational evaluation: � Context in which the projects were implemented

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� Input from the projects itself � Processes of implementing, managing, monitoring and executing the activities � Product, or the outcome related to the main objectives The goal of the project is to improve the livelihood of rural people in Laos by providing them with non-formal basic education to include life-skills and income generating skills through a multi-channel learning system. The main objectives for the evaluation were therefore the following: • To analyze the impact of the multi-channel learning system that the project has employed • To analyze the impact and effectiveness of the strategy (of non-formal distance education

combined with life and income generating skills utilizing multimedia tools) to address the needs of marginalized populations

• To identify lessons learned and transfer them to other development projects • To present and discuss some important development issues that the project has presented

over the course of its history.

4.6. National and regional context The Lao People s̀ Democratic Republic, consists of 18 provinces, 141 districts and 11698 villages. The population is approximately 4,6 million, with a population growth rate of about 2,6% per year. Recently the population was projected to be 5,3 million in the year 2000. Lao PDR is a uniquely multi-ethnic state, where the Lao ethnic group accounts for only 52.5% of the nation s̀ population and is the largest ethnic group in only 8 out of the 18 provinces, including Savannakhet, (57,5%) and Khammouane, (59,4%). In Bolikhamxay, the Phutai is the largest ethnic group, with 41% of the population. Lao PDR is officially recognised as a least developed country, and relies heavily on external aid. According to a 1995 World Bank Study, 22% of the population falls below “the food poverty line”(defined as the level of income sufficient to buy 2100 calories per person a day). An estimated 50% of the population falls below the higher poverty line (defined as an allowance for non-food expenditures sufficient to buy basic goods (World Bank 1999; MOE, Education for All: The year 2000 Assessment). The economy is predominantly agrarian, which represents about 50% of Lao PDR’s GDP. Production in the sector, except for forestry, is largely for subsistence. In order to combat poverty, one objective for the Laotian government is to achieve "graduate" status from the rank of the least developed countries by the year 2020, which will require an annual growth of about 9%; the estimated growth rate for 97-00 is 8-8,5%. The literacy rate among the overall population above 15 years, is 60,2%. But there is a great deal of difference in terms of literacy both by gender, (the male literacy rate is 73,5%, and for females 47,9%), as well as by district and ethnic group. The following table shows the number and percentages of non-enrolled children within the Primary School Age Population, 1997-98(6-10years):

National Savannakhet Khammouane Bolikhamxay Numbers % Numbers % Numbers % Numbers %

Female 97737 23,8 17632 34,5 4919 23,7 2190 17,0 Male 73587 20,2 14127 26,8 3434 16,2 1394 10,5 Total 171324 23,5 31759 30,6 8353 19,9 3584 13,7

(MOE: Education for All, 2000:65)

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There are significant disparities between boys and girls in primary school enrolment. In provinces with large ethnic populations, the gap is wider, and women and girls appear to be at a particular disadvantage. 4.7. EFA goals and targets Education for All, The Year 2000 Assessment, regarding non-formal education or adult education, indicates the governmental targets to be - To provide opportunities for people of all ethnic groups aged 15-40 years who are

illiterates or have relapsed into illiteracy to become literate, increase the rate of literacy among this population age group from 60% in 1990 to 80% by year 2000.

- To allow up to 50% of the newly literate to continue in complementary education to acquire basic education and vocational skills that would enable them to contribute to the development of their communities.

Accordingly, the Project is designed to meet the national needs of the government, by targeting women and ethnic minorities in remote areas through a flexible multi-channel learning approach. The overall aim is to help the beneficiaries develop themselves through information and practical knowledge, based upon a participatory and needs-based pedagogy. This project will support the government in its efforts to provide basic education to adults, from 15-35 years, while emphasising local rural development. Secondly, by introducing distance education, the Technical Assistance component provides capacity building for national, provincial and local staff, helping them to develop, plan, implement, manage and evaluate such an integrated approach. This will have a long-term impact also on national capacity in utilising new distance learning methodologies. 4.8. Management and monitoring issues The administration of LAO 12 is a part of the government's responsibility. At national level, the Deputy Minister of Education was designated as the supervisor of NFE from January 1999. The director of Distance Non Formal Education, (DNFE) was appointed as the National Project Director, NPD, from October 1998. Lastly, the deputy-head of the literacy section of Distance Non Formal Education, was appointed as the National Project Co-ordinator from January 1997 on a part-time basis. At the provincial level the Director of Provincial Services of Education is the National Deputy Director of LAO12. His main responsibility is to supervise and co-ordinate the project at provincial level, including supervision and encouraging district and local project staff. He also approves all project activities, finances and staffing issues, and sends them for final approval to government. This way he ensures the link between the national and provincial levels, co-ordinating all educational activities within his province. Each provincial centre has its own responsibility for the production and delivery of various project components, based upon the approved annual work-plan. The annual work-plan is developed jointly, with the participation of each staff member plus provincial and national stakeholders. Two travelling facilitators have been appointed at district level. They were recruited basically from the teaching profession, were previously head teachers or skilled staff with experience of educational administration at district level, according to interviews conducted. Each village has selected a volunteer. In one village visited they had two, one replacing the other when her personal situation demanded it. The village volunteer reported to the facilitator every second week. The village committee, through the chief, the representative for the elders, the Women's Union or youth group, all supported the learning activities through motivation, sensitisation and awareness raising in order to attract as many learners to the

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learning sessions as possible. They also helped the volunteers to ensure learners' participation in the learning sessions twice a month. Their efforts seemed to have had an impact on attendance in general. Figures from the surveys conducted in Khammuane province show that the number of direct beneficiaries had increased during the project period. The learning groups gathered either in the house of the chief, the volunteer, a temple or in a community centre. Some staff members emphasised the need for external funding of community learning centres. This was also heard from some local stakeholders during interviews or plenary sessions. Each village had arranged for the evaluation team to meet in the place where the learning sessions used to be conducted, but the issue of a community-centre did not seem to be of great importance either for the learners, nor for the volunteers.

4.9. Capacity-building of national staff

The project staff decided to make the most efficient use of funds for scholarships and staff

development by following a distance model while they themselves were developing this Laos-

based distance learning project. This approach would also enable more staff members to be

admitted as students for a formal degree and would give an individual incentive to project

staff at the same time. This strategy also allowed the staff to be trained and to work for the

project at the same time. They would practice according to their teaching approach. The

scholarships were divided into three categories, professional technicians for radio and press,

masters' students and PhD students. This would lead to the creation of a strong team for

Distance Basic Education for the future, that will help sustain the program. The scholarships

were shared equally among staff at the project sites and stakeholders within MOE. The short term training activities were planned, developed and organised based upon the needs identified in the annual meetings. The trainers were partly staff prom the project itself, such as the co-ordinator, the liaison officer, and UNVs, but they also utilised external competence from the Non-formal Education Development Centre, engaging its staff to conduct courses in various functional skills training at provincial level. A few training sessions targeted the volunteers and their needs, a situation known from quite a number of projects that has proved to be of crucial importance for the quality of the project on a long term basis.

4.10. Multi-channel learning methodology The distance education program is flexible and designed to allow the learner to study at a time and place suitable to his or her own daily schedule. The main learning materials are designed for self-study within the limited time available for face-to-face meetings with a tutor. Each targeted learner receives a monthly newspaper which she/he studies on her/his own. The monthly newspaper and the two radio programs of the month are inter-linked, containing the same topics but presented from different angles. The learners also have access to the mobile library (one library per village) with a selection of different kinds of books (approximately 150-250 different titles per library). Flexibility and Timing of the distance education learning programs In a culture of close dependency on the yearly crops for survival with little or no savings or surplus, the right information on production, income and market opportunities has to be provided at a suitable time according to the local production, planting and harvesting seasons. Planning of the learning program is set up to fit the seasonal information needs of the target

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group, e.g. information on how to grow rice in the dry season should be provided at the right time suitable for planting the rice. The busy rainy season also leaves the target population with less opportunities to meet and discuss and therefore the learning meetings are more frequently conducted during the dry season. The outreach of the multi-channel learning program. The project document and various reports distinguish between direct beneficiaries and indirect beneficiaries. The total number of learners for phase 2 of the project is approximately 11 106 where 6232 are women. The overall objective of targeting primarily women, at least at a rate above 50%, was achieved. The project counts indirect beneficiaries as covering the whole family of each learner with an average 7 members per family: 11 106 x 7 = 77 742 indirect beneficiaries (Progress Report 2000). The overall target of reaching 110 000, especially women and ethnic minorities had not yet been reached by the time of the final evaluation, but still quite a satisfactory number of beneficiaries had gained from the project, and even by the time of the evaluation the numbers of participants were increasing. The printed learning materials were used by several family members and the mobile library is visited and used by all age groups in the village. Many children are using the mobile libraries in addition to the learners. Many informants responded that they shared their learning materials with other family members. Learning groups One of the most important elements in this learning program is the participation in learning groups. The learners meet in learning groups twice per month (and in some villages more often). Meetings last from 2 – 6 hours. The village volunteer organises these meetings which take place either at the house of the village head, the village volunteer's house or if available, at the village temple or community centres. If the group of learners is large they are divided into two or three different sub groups. The volunteers follow-up the learners in their homes by helping them to apply their newly applied knowledge. Some volunteers spend much time visiting learners’ homes while other volunteers do not seem to practice this methodology. The participation in learning groups is good (approximately 60 – 80 % in villages where the question was asked) from what could be expected in an environment where a majority of learners are struggling to keep their families with sufficient supplies of food. Sometimes people would come and go during the group meeting time. In only a few villages did they not have enough support (from either husbands or other family members) for watching the children while the women participated in the group meetings. It was mentioned that participation in learning groups was higher in the post literacy phase compared with a previous literacy phase for various reasons, i.e. more interest in knowledge which has a direct effect on life than reading and writing skills which might seem less important in the short run according to the project staff. More than 80% of the learners interviewed individually or in groups of two said they were helped by their family or fellow villagers in their learning program participation and learning in the learning groups. Learning through the provision and organisation of learning groups is a very important channel for learning and a channel that works very well in this project.

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4.11. Impact of the project. The impact of the project will here be evaluated against the set development objective and the three immediate objectives as given in the original project document. Overall, the evaluators kept in mind Stufflebeam’s CIPP model. Impact on beneficiaries. Impact of the learning program on the village beneficiaries was mainly evaluated against:

• What knowledge has the participant been able to apply in practical life? • What changes have the learning made in the participants’ life and her/ his

family situation ?

• What has the participant learned? • Has the learning helped the participant in her/his income generation or income

saving? • Participants’ own assessment of learning through the multi-channel approach.

An overall picture of these main issues is addressed under the following headings: Health and nutrition: It was clear from the plenary and individual interviews that the learners felt they had learned a lot. It was more difficult to assess what exactly was new knowledge to them and what was additional knowledge provided by other sources and channels. In some instances the multi-channel learning program reinforced knowledge which already existed in the village. But through this project knowledge was available to a greater number of villagers, discussions were created and stimulated on issues taught and the reinforcement of messages had led to more regular use of mosquito nets, drinking boiled water, preparation of well cooked food, use of birth control and awareness of birth spacing etc. Most villages reported that there were less instances of malaria, diarrhoea and other sicknesses now as a result of the prevention knowledge they had obtained. They also reported that their village was cleaner now, that children were cleaner and that they had removed livestock away from their houses. Family planning: All the married women interviewed were well aware of the different kinds of contraceptives available and the majority of the women were using some form of family planning method. For the women who did not use family planning methods some reported they were unable to have more children. One had five boys but would not stop until she had a girl. Some were getting sick from the injections. Many of the women reported in the plenary sessions that families were having fewer children and that this had a positive impact on their family life. In one of the ethnic minority group villages the women responded that they knew very well how to practice family planning but the villagers had still not stopped producing children. This was not the common impression from most of the other villages but it demonstrates that the messages given by the learning program may naturally be applied or not applied and that there are several reasons, outside the scope of the learning program, which affect these kinds of situations. The family planning program appeared to have had a real impact although this is an area where it was reported that other organisations were also working. Agriculture/livestock: The villagers reported that agriculture and livestock information has been very useful for them. New techniques of planting and growing vegetables and fruits have increased their production and new kinds of plants have been introduced to the villages (e.g. cassava, watermelon). A majority of the villagers said they had learned how to use natural fertilizers and that this had had a very positive impact on their agricultural production. Most villages also reported they had increased the numbers and quality of their livestock through the introduction of livestock vaccines (especially for chicken and pig raising) as a result of the

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learning program. Some of the villages had started fish farming as a result of the learning program. Individual families and the villagers together had dug fishponds and were now raising fish for their own use and for sale. Much of the knowledge transferred through this learning program seems to have been applied in the villages. However, the main obstacles to the application of the new knowledge appeared to be connected to the lack of sufficient sources of water and a lack of cash to invest in new animals, fish and seed. Motivation, self-esteem and empowerment Many learners asked for more detailed knowledge to be included in the learning materials. Learners underscored the need for continuing the development of post-literacy materials directed to skills training. There was a common request from learners for additional material. Due to the different levels of education among the learners some find the existing material sufficient in detail while others would like further detailed information as part of the learning material. Income generating issues The learners reported that the learning program had had a positive impact on their agriculture and/or livestock production. This had helped them save funds as they did not have to buy as much as before and that more food was available for their families. Many of the learners also reported they were now able to sell more produce as a result. The money they made from selling their produce was, in more than 90% of cases reported, used for school supplies and clothes for the children if the village did not lack a basic supply of food. In the villages where food was in short supply (especially in villages with ethnic minority groups) any extra income was mainly used for buying rice for the family. In all villages, people appeared to have learned and applied new skills in regard to food processing. This was an interesting subject to many of the younger women. Gender roles: In response to questions concerning the shared workload among women and men some villages seem to have made a few changes where the men now appeared to be more aware of the need to “help” their wives. Only a few men said their workload had increased as they were responsible for fencing the vegetable/fruit gardens/livestock areas and now had to help feed the animals and water the gardens. For most of the women their workload had been increased. Education of children. For the children the changes reported by the villagers included vaccinations, less sickness, and parental knowledge gained on how to treat certain diseases. The majority of the individual interviewees said that schooling was the most important thing for their children’s future. It was difficult for the evaluators to assess whether schooling had improved as a result of the learning program directly. But many of informants reported that their increased income was used for school supplies (and in one village the parents bought their children bicycles so that they could get to school in spite of the rather long distance). Quite a few villages also reported (despite any indications/questions from the evaluators on this issue) that one of the changes as a result of this project was their newly acquired writing and reading skills and/or the upgrading of their skills in this field. Target Group. It is difficult to say whether there is any difference in how men and women apply new knowledge from the learning program. However, it has been demonstrated through the individual interviews that the secondary beneficiaries (mainly family members of the direct beneficiary) have benefited from the learning program. Whether it is the woman or the man who participates as a direct learner in the program, their spouse also benefits. The direct learner brings home the learning material and much of the knowledge gained is very relevant to both sexes. The men often reported that they would talk to their wives about what they had

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learned and vice-versa. Other secondary beneficiaries of the project (families who did not have a direct learner registered) were not directly interviewed and therefore any further impact cannot be evaluated. Traditional beliefs One village also reported (through a plenary session) that the villagers now did not believe in the spirits of nature the way they did before and did not make sacrifices to the spirits as knowledge from the learning material answered some of these questions now. Effectiveness of the multi-channel learning approach The effectiveness of the multi-channel approach appears quite high in regard to learners’ ability to acquire new knowledge provided by the learning program. By the development and use of this multi-channel approach learners are reached with new information and knowledge and have a chance to participate in the ongoing development of new learning material. Through the provision of needs-based printed material and audio learning material the learners have been provided with reasons to meet and discuss issues of everyday life. Meetings are arranged and a person is appointed to take care of the co-ordination of the learning program in the village. Its effectiveness, which this project clearly demonstrates, relies on the appropriate learning materials being provided and their wide use and reach. Dedicated village volunteers are also important as is the participatory approach to development in general and in learning program development specifically. Through this multi-channel learning approach it has been demonstrated that the less advanced literates benefit from learners with more schooling as they use the meetings to share knowledge and experiences. This project has been able to demonstrate a non-formal distance education learning approach with a structure that could be transferred to other areas in Laos or to other countries. Lessons learned from this project could be made use of, particularly the focus on learning program development based on the specific local learning needs of the target population 4.12. General findings and conclusions According to the findings of the team, the project has successfully reached the main development objectives by improving the basic education level and has contributed to sustained rural development in the central region of Laos. It plays an important role in the struggle against poverty in the villages where it has been implemented. Distance education, especially by utilising the flexible multi-channel approach, has proved to be very suitable in meeting the needs of rural populations in Laos. The team found that the project has very successfully contributed to the development of a large capacity base of staff for the development of needs-based distance education materials. It has also developed capacities in the field of management of distance education activities at provincial and district levels. Three distance education centres have been involved in the development and testing of learning materials and learning programs and are now fully operational in materials development and the implementation of the third immediate objective of the project of delivering non-formal distance education in the three designated provinces. The project had from its initiation already heavily prioritised capacity building of national staff in all aspects of the project phases, from planning, developing, implementing and monitoring. At this stage, the project staff, as well as governmental officials say they are able to run the project themselves in the future. They have also included this approach in their long term educational strategy, and will apply distance education also into their formal educational system. The project activities have been well co-ordinated with the national policy for rural development of the Laos Government, and seemed to be adapted into a holistic and systemic national approach in the fight against poverty. Distance education is now included in the

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overall educational strategies and policies, and will also be further developed in the formal basic education system. The sustainability of the project and its activities rely on the further development of a well co-ordinated plan for distance education within non-formal and formal education in Laos. The governmental staff has been closely involved in the project through their responsibility in managing and monitoring. In addition their participation and involvement in various training activities have also played an important role in creating ownership and commitment among project staff at all levels. The learning needs of the village beneficiaries informed the basic distance education learning programs and the multi-channel learning approach developed. The program was based upon a flexible approach to delivery, utilising a broadcast and/or a cassette, followed up through written information in regular newsletters, leaflets and booklets. The project has had a significant impact on the lives of the learners through the needs-based and locally adapted curriculum and hence has contributed to rural development. The beneficiaries of the learning programs have increased their knowledge in many of the subjects taught and have been able to apply various new skills as a result. Many of the beneficiaries appear to have increased their income and/or to reduce their expenses through the use of new skills and knowledge. The village beneficiaries have not only gained new knowledge and skills but they have also been encouraged to participate more fully in decision-making regarding their own lives. Hence empowerment and democratisation of the beneficiaries are seen as contributing added value to the overall project development goal. The project has also created awareness regarding the workload between men and women, now turned into a more shared responsibility, including child-care, and it has created a general motivation for learning, also when it comes to schooling of their children. The project implementation in the three provinces of Laos could very well be extended to other areas of the country in the future. The human capacities and experiences from implementation and evaluation of the learning programs should be further used to expand distance education throughout the country, when feasible and cost-effective, in the non-formal and the formal education system.

4.13. Lessons to be learned? For policy makers, and particularly those concerned with the role of education in poverty alleviation, the ABEL approach illustrated from Laos poses a fascinating question. Would it be a wiser use of resources to invest in this kind of education, rather than in conventional child-based elementary education as discussed in section 2 above? Interestingly enough, a very definite benefit from the Laos program has been the positive impact on enrolment and retention in school of the children of the communities engaged in ABEL. Another striking aspect of ABEL has been its impact on income generation and the patterns developed which help people help themselves out of poverty. Of course, policy makers should avoid an ‘either-or’ mentality, seeking more holistic approaches to the challenge of educating communities out of poverty. What the Laos case study shows is that well designed inputs and activities produce multiple outcomes which affect prime beneficiaries plus numerous secondary beneficiaries. If we are to use education to combat poverty then creative approaches to empowerment and self-development produce the best outcomes, if the Laotian example is to be followed.

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The overall objectives of ABEL are to enhance development from various perspectives: political, social, economical, cultural, national, and individual. Through participatory and need based approaches the voices of the poor are being asked for and listened to. Such mechanisms further imply respect, emphasise equality, develop trust and finally empower people to take responsibility for their own development. The motivation of the adult learners is a key dimension in ABEL that can promote participation and retention. The challenge of motivation lies in finding ways to provide ‘customer service’ Thus in order to reach the unreached and the most excluded populations (e.g. the unschooled, women, ethnic and linguistic minorities, rural people, migrants) programs need to be tailored to address diverse needs, and have direct, discernible outcomes and incentive-rich experiences (World Education Forum, 2000:24). The professional development and capacity-building of the project staff itself, including facilitators, volunteers and also politicians at national level, contributed greatly to the success of the project. Capacity building relied upon a needs-based approach, where those involved in the professional daily work regularly identified their short-term training needs in response to the progress of the program itself. In addition, selected project-staff and MOE employees responsible for the monitoring and management of the program, even senior MOE staff, were attached to a distance-based masters’ or Ph.D. program, utilising their own project experience as the basis for their research. In order to multiply the effect of the learning, ODL methodology was included in their own training process as the mode of study. The professional development of administrators, directors, teachers and tutors is an on-going and critical process for program improvement in literacy and adult education, according to Dakar (World Education Forum Report, 2000:26). In the Lao study the responses by the various shareholders clearly indicated that the capacity building really gave the actors professional and social recognition that also had a positive and strong impact on their motivation and individual interest in positive outcomes for the project. In the Lao case study, the full involvement of politicians in management and monitoring, as well as their engagement in capacity building on management and distance based projects, created ownership and commitment within the governmental structure itself. The monitoring and management structure of the project made it an integral part of the responsibilities of the MOE’s Department of Non Formal Education. Through close collaboration and information sharing, a close relationship between politicians and professionals was established. Through the dialogue between donor representatives, project staff and politicians, the project seemed to have established a structure in which policy decisions and future strategies for achieving EFA goals, seemed to be based upon experiences from Lao 12. This demonstrates the importance of a close dialogue and involvement of politicians and administrators in establishing educational priorities and strategies as a part of national planning (Adams, Kee, Lin, 2001). It is of course important to make a distinction between rhetorical policy, enacted policy and implemented policies, which are “the enacted policies, modified or unmodified, as they are being translated into actions through systemic, programmatic and project level changes”, (Adams, Kee, Lin, 2000:222). The responsiveness needed to attract and motivate adults does not only relate to the content of ABEL projects, but also to the annual timing of the delivery of the various functional skills, needs and knowledge issues being taught. As the activities reflected seasonal variations, the beneficiaries actually got immediate responses to their daily struggle with health issues, production and conservation of food. The flexibility and responsiveness to the users were again reflected in the methodology and the time and place for delivery of the program components. Broadcast sand loudspeakers were replaced by the cassette-player if that was found to be more convenient for the users.

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The cassette-player could be brought out in the field, and therefore be used while the learners were busy with agricultural work. The newsletters, the leaflets and booklets were shared between direct and indirect beneficiaries, the contents were discussed and reflected over among community-members, and concrete application of new knowledge and skills became the final output. This created a common understanding, a common ground for community-development. In some cases the villagers had organised themselves and managed to dig fishponds serving several families in areas where this had never been tried out before. This is recognised as a "community-learning process" (Torres, 2001), characterised by the way community members organise themselves to reach common developmental goals. A common community - organised and driven activity has proved to be an important criterion for sustained rural development Van t̀ Rood, 1997 conducted a comparative study of several different ABE programs in Africa. The characteristics identifying and reflecting the dimension of empowerment of the beneficiaries were as follows: the project receptivity (1) should “reflect the needs of the participants”, where the “Motivation of al concerned appears to be an important factor…..,”(van t̀ Rood, 1997:176). Project staff seemed to be motivated by three main factors, economic, social and ideological whereas the participants focused on better economic and living conditions through improved productivity. In order to achieve these goals, the programs had to adopt an infrastructure which (2) emphasised a democratic decision-making procedure, was participatory and included recruitment of women. It also ensured collaboration and meetings between teachers, (facilitators, volunteers), and finally adjusted the teaching hours according to the participants’ daily routines. (3)Building the methodology and didactics upon the participants own perceived reality, a bottom up strategy, preferably using the mother tongue of the learners. Post-literacy projects, however had proven not to be sustainable unless they had a practical concern with generating income (4). In the Lao study, we found some few weaknesses when comparing our findings with the criteria listed above: - the motivation of the volunteers was mainly built upon ideological reasons, being selected

by the community, serving the community in its development. Motivation was however lacking as they now felt they needed more training to enable them to do a proper job.

- the language used in most cases, except for some few notes in the newsletter, was mainly Laotian, and did not reflect the mother tongue of the minorities

- lack of a micro-finance scheme. This was requested by a number of beneficiaries, and would have helped them in building up sustained small businesses to further develop their production for the market.

The ecology of ABEL, may briefly be described as flexible in structure, content, purpose and delivery. It is needs-based and participatory, cross-sectoral, multi-levelled in its structure, multi-purposed and multi-channeled in its delivery, and multigenerational. These qualities or criteria are rarely to be found in formal school systems. ABEL-type programs have the potential to address poverty problems through flexible approaches to a form of education which is functional, context-specific and which brings about measurable changes in the economic status of those participating.

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UNESCO, (1996) Asia –Pacific Regional Consultation on Adult Education, Final Report, APPEAL, Bangkok UNESCO, (1997) Adult Education, The Hamburg Declaration: The Agenda for the Future, Fifth International Conference on Adult Education, Paris, UNESCO. UNESCO, (1999), Adult Education in a Polarising World. Education For All, Status and Trends, Paris, UNESCO UNESCO, (1999) Second International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education. Lifelong learning and training: a bridge to the future. Recommendations, Paris, UNESCO UNESCO, (2000) World Education Forum Report, Paris, UNESCO Wagner, Daniel A (1997) Literacy and Development; Rationales, Myths, Innovations and Future Directions, Educational Development, vol 5, no 4, 1997, Paris, UNESCO Wagner, Daniel A. (2000) Thematic Studies: Literacy and Adult Education, World Education Forum, Education For All, Dakar, Senegal World Bank, (2001) World Development Report, 2000/2001, Attacking Poverty Washington D.C., World Bank

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SECTION 5: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS What is Poverty ? The modern concept of poverty is dominated by economic models although other aspects of the phenomenon are also important. Poverty itself has an impact on health, mortality rates, family size, economic productivity and many other aspects of human life. Poverty is however normally thought of in economic terms – it is measured in relation to income per day, GNP and other economic indicators. Poverty may be summarized as meaning a condition which leaves people hungry, shelterless, sick, without clothing, uncared for, illiterate, unschooled and oppressed by their circumstances. Economic solutions to these problems have not always proved effective; economic growth does not necessarily reduce poverty. Rich countries also have poor sections of their population. Economic globalization also carries certain threats, inducing poverty in many countries. Education has proved to be an important factor in poverty; the poor are less educated, more likely to be landless, with high dependency ratios, low access to health, with larger families, lacking access to infrastructure and vulnerable to abuses of power. World trade imbalances and unfair practices, burdens of debt, natural disasters, poor standards of governance, negative community values and individual disabilities may all contribute to poverty. International agencies are waking up to the needs of the poor; internal and external changes are necessary to reduce inequities, especially in terms of debt relief, reducing vulnerability to shocks and encouraging good governance. Little attention is given to cultural issues in the debate; technicist, modernising strategies tend to dominate the discourse. Poverty Reduction Strategic Plans focus on economic growth, stabilizing the economy and tax reforms. Communities want governments to provide jobs and infrastructure. Few authentically indigenous solutions to poverty present themselves. Evidence suggests that poverty is on the increase; it is the top priority in development assistance. What evidence is there that education contributes to poverty reduction? There is much evidence for the facilitating role of schools in addressing poverty but it is harder to find support for the direct impact of schooling on poverty. Basic education is usually seen as a tool for addressing poverty concerns. However, the education systems of today were not designed for this task and new research to meet the new reality is needed. In attempting to measure the impact of schooling on poverty reduction, econometric methods are normally applied. Direct effects of schooling such as knowledge and skills for employment are assessed as well as the indirect effects such as health, participation in communal life and so on. It appears that there is less a linear relationship than an interactive one between schooling and poverty. The content and quality of primary education are important as is their interaction with other social and economic factors. Poor schooling accompanied by poorly developed labour markets cannot help in poverty reduction. The presence of so many variables makes it hard to measure the precise impact of schooling in regard to poverty. The poor have low participation rates and cause and effect are hard to separate out. Evidence tends to indicate that successful economies build on mass basic

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educational provision. There are no successful modern economies which do not show this and there is much evidence to suggest that education has a positive impact on the income levels of nations.. More detailed analysis through rates of return studies remains controversial. Private rates of return to schooling in rural areas are much lower than in urban areas; gender differences are significant too. More sophisticated analyses show clearly that a schooled girl demonstrates higher economic productivity throughout the rest of her life. Returns to society are harder to measure but include greater participation in civic life, smaller families, better health and other indicators. The level of returns to education is dependent on time and the level of development of the school system. As systems become more complex and sophisticated, so the returns from lower levels of schooling decline. In poorer countries, returns from primary education are the highest. The political and economic system of the country also affects the impact of schooling. In market economies, higher levels of earnings result from higher levels of education. In countries like China, differentials are likely to be less marked. Critics also suggest that in capitalist economies, schools may serve to reinforce the status quo and to act as a barrier to change and development. In some countries earnings have been more influenced by government income policies, the welfare state and by organisational features of employment than by level of education. India and China may be examples of countries where basic education has not proved effective in reducing poverty. What types of education are likely to have the greatest effects on poverty status? Studies indicate that subsistence farmers may increase their productivity by up to 10% as a result of their schooling, provided they are operating in a ‘modernising’ environment. Numerical skills are particularly important in this regard. Direct influences seem hard to measure but cognitive skills, modern attitudes and values appear to be definite outcomes of schooling which affect poverty. Early childhood care also seems to have a positive effect on functioning in later life, whether in school or beyond, hence its emphasis in EFA programs. However, it is a cluster of related inputs – good nutrition, a stimulating environment and loving home care – which bring the best benefits from early childhood education. Early childhood development programs are a powerful tool for breaking the poverty cycle. Does the quality of schooling make a difference? Much less research is available on such qualitative aspects as the content of what is provided, the social environment in which schooling goes on, the inability of the poor to take advantage of what is offered anyway and the tendency of schools to reinforce negative self-images for the poor. Are there special arguments regarding the education of women and girls? It is largely agreed that schooling provides great economic and social returns both individually and collectively. It is argued here that this is especially true for women and girls. The main message from the literature is that by going to schoolgirls become more knowledgeable, better informed, healthier and better able to influence the next generation. Evidence for lower fertility rates, lower child and infant mortality rates, increased life expectancy and better all-round health and nutrition now strongly supports the education of women and girls. However, there are considerable gender gaps between men’s and women’s literacy rates and enrolment rates, especially in South Asian countries.

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India seems to show that there are low rates of return to education; this may be due to variations among the different States and the requirement for a ‘threshold level’ to be met in enrolments before returns can be measured effectively. Education has a profound effect upon fertility levels, both at the individual level and in terms of its impact on general demographic trends. The effect on individuals may be direct and indirect, producing better information and modernised attitudes. The link between fertility rates and poverty is obvious. Low mortality among children also affects fertility levels. Educated mothers have fewer babies and they tend to survive childhood better. The greater the maternal level of education, the better the survival rates of children; the informed mother has power within the family and can influence nutrition, health and hygiene accordingly. Fatalism is reduced in the face of children’s ill-health, knowledge of available facilities is increased and power relationships shift within the family towards the mother. Some commentators argue that a cluster of facilitating forces have as much influence over mortality rates as maternal schooling. Proximity to health facilities, family income, father’s level of education and the general level of schooling in the country are equally as important. Women’s health may be as much affected by information from peers as from education. Education of women influences their longevity, their health and welfare and that of their children who tend to enrol at higher rates and to remain in school longer.. By the same token, healthier girls do better at school, being empowered by what they learn. However, it has been suggested that the very fact of going to school (almost regardless of content) equips girls better for the modern world because they learn the set of activities characteristic of a bureuacratic institution – its language, its customs, its procedures. Henceforth they know how to behave in government offices, the hospital consultation rooms and a range of similar ‘modern’ institutional settings. Why are gender differences in schooling perpetuated if the benefits of girls’education are so clear? A number of factors need to be considered. Girls are needed to work at home; religious and cultural practices may work against the attendance of girls. In India the remnants of the caste system provide a severe constraint on girls’ education. Early marriage is another barrier and the school curriculum may be seen as irrelevant to girls by many parents. Despite some arguments to the contrary it can be stated that female education is important as a path to development. There is no clear linear relationship between education of women and girls and poverty reduction. A number of related and facilitating factors have to be in place before maximum benefits can be expected. What is the specific value of adult learning in poverty alleviation? Adult basic education and learning is growing in importance but there is as yet little hard evidence regarding its impact on poverty. Adults are included in the definition and goals of Education for All. Adult education is intended to provide social as well as economic benefits and should complement primary/basic education in developing countries. Adult basic education is defined by its flexibility and its targeting of people outside the mainstream of educational provision. This group of people is particularly interested in the economic benefits of such basic education, especially where it leads to the type of learning which is related to their needs. The particular case-study examined deals with ABEL, adult basic education and learning in the Lao P.D.R., where the concept of the learning community is strongly emphasised. To support this, a three-fold objective was developed to include development of management

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skills, production of high quality materials and delivery of a fully fledged non-formal education to young women, their family members and ethnic minorities. Laos has a high ratio of people falling below the food poverty line and even more below the higher poverty line which includes access to basic goods. Literacy rates for women and girls are low at 47.9% The program itself is designed around a multi-channel learning system which promotes knowledge in health and nutrition, family planning, agriculture and livestock management and income generating activities. In addition to the direct benefits, motivation and self-esteem have been enhanced and women have been empowered to make more of their own decisions. Men have generally responded well to the new demands placed upon them in caring for children while the women are attending classes. Outcomes from the program have included improvements in the basic education level, improvements to rural development, enhanced capacity of management staff and better integration of national with local level management in the implementation of national policies for adult education. Most importantly, the program has built upon the learning needs of the beneficiaries and has had a significant impact on their skills and knowledge, leading to improved income and reduced living costs. The personal and social development of participants have been enhanced as they have been empowered to make more of their own decisions. The Laos case study indicates that where investment in adult basic education and learning is soundly planned and implemented, it can complement more formal ways of educating rural populations. A Final Word Does schooling have a role to play in alleviating poverty? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’ but it would be misleading and disappointing to expect a direct, linear relationship between years spent in school and enhanced lifetime earnings to be ‘proved’. The relationship between organised learning, whether in school or out of school, and poverty status is complex, gender-related and contextually determined. Advice to policy makers regarding the use of schooling to address poverty issues should be cautious and based on broad cross-sectoral analysis. We know in many cases what may work; we have evidence of what certainly does not work. The design of learning programs which will benefit the poorest is complex and demanding. It has to be participatory and innovative. It has to take cognisance of culture and context, especially in terms of parallel developments in the creation of economic opportunities. But it is an urgent task; as this study has indicated, the poor are increasing in number and their survival and empowerment is the top priority in development assistance today. HIV/AIDS and its impact on poverty presents a special challenge for education. Already there is a body of evidence which suggests effective ways of using education to mitigate the impact of the disease and thus affect poverty induced by pandemic. Further work is needed to draw together the most valuable lessons from experience in this field.