Gender Differences in Educational Performance of Primary School Age Children in Rural Ethiopia

1. 1 Gender Differences in Educational Performance of Primary School Age Children in Rural Ethiopia Degnet Abebaw, Andinet Delelegn Ethiopian Economic Association/Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute

2. 2 Presentation Outline Introduction Background to Ethiopia�s Education System Research Questions and Objective Conceptual Framework and Empirical Model Results Summary and Policy Implications

3. 3 Increasing investment in and creating equal opportunities for all is an important path way to economic progress and social development ? Economic benefits - Investment on education has higher returns than other physical assets (e.g., Pscharopoulos, 1994) - Moreover, women�s education has greater returns than men�s (WB, �96) ? Social benefits - Educating girls as equally as boys decreases infant mortality by up to 10% (Klasen, 1999) - Decreased fertility rates, desired family size - Increased exposure to information and better decision-making power at household, community and societal levels - Women with formal schooling more likely to resist domestic violence (Koenig et al., 2003; EDHS, 2005; Sen, 1999) ? Universal human right (UN, 1948) - Right to be enrolled, persist and perform in school well (UN, 2000)

4. 4 2. Background to Ethiopia�s Education System Education Reform Adopted new Education and Training policy since 1994 Designed Education Sector Development Program Focus on gender equality and universal primary enrollment Received an increasing share of government budget Free Primary Education Social/economic policy Women�s policy 1993 Labor market opportunities for women Poverty reduction policies Ratified international conventions on children�s rights, women�s rights Owing to these and other benefits, investment on education is a critical issue for many countries around the world. In attempting to increase investment on education, the Ethiopian government has reformed the education sector and declared a new education and training policy in 1994 aiming at increasing access, equity, and relevance. Along with this the Ethiopian government has embarked on various social and economic policies related to education. These include National policy on women, revised labour market policies to allow full participation of females, poverty reduction policies and the government also ratified various international conventions on women and children. The government's commitment to enhance education is fully compatible to and in fact aligned with global initiatives on education and gender equality. To mention but a few are MDG 2 (UPE) for all and MDG 3 (promote gender equality and empower women). -The country has also committed to the MDGs, including MDG 1 and MDG 3, which this paper actually has a direct implication. Owing to these and other benefits, investment on education is a critical issue for many countries around the world. In attempting to increase investment on education, the Ethiopian government has reformed the education sector and declared a new education and training policy in 1994 aiming at increasing access, equity, and relevance. Along with this the Ethiopian government has embarked on various social and economic policies related to education. These include National policy on women, revised labour market policies to allow full participation of females, poverty reduction policies and the government also ratified various international conventions on women and children. The government's commitment to enhance education is fully compatible to and in fact aligned with global initiatives on education and gender equality. To mention but a few are MDG 2 (UPE) for all and MDG 3 (promote gender equality and empower women). -The country has also committed to the MDGs, including MDG 1 and MDG 3, which this paper actually has a direct implication.

5. 5 What has been achieved so far? Supply Side ? Number of Schools, class rooms, books have increased substantially at all levels Demand side ? Enrollment rates have increased at the primary and other levels: Net Enrollment 2001/02 2005/06 Primary (1-8): Girls 45.2 73.2 Boys 59.0 77.5 Both 52.2 81.7 Secondary (9-10): Girls 6.2 10.7 Boys 8.6 15.5 Both 7.4 13.2 Tertiary: Girls 15% of total enrolled 24% of total enrolled Both 34,556 173,901 Supply side indicators have changed very rapidly, and investment on education has increased more rapidly relative to other sectors, which the government calls pro-poor sectors. Demand side indicators have also shown quite impressive improvements over a very short period of time. Enrolment rates more than doubled in some seven or eight years time, from a very low base. Supply side indicators have changed very rapidly, and investment on education has increased more rapidly relative to other sectors, which the government calls pro-poor sectors. Demand side indicators have also shown quite impressive improvements over a very short period of time. Enrolment rates more than doubled in some seven or eight years time, from a very low base.

6. 6 So, What are the Problem(s) for Child Education, particularly for Girls? Increasing gender gap with age and level of schooling Low survival or completion rates: - grade 5 (55%) - grade 8 (34%) - More than 40% of pupil did not continue on to 5-8 grade High rate of school drop out e.g. about 21 at grade 1 Late school entry and delayed grade completion - 47% of girls & 43% of boys aged 7 years by 2005/06 did not enroll Low education quality (high PTR, high class size, low proportion of qualified teachers, etc.) Poor internal efficiency On the merit side I mentioned some good performance indicators. To get the whole context, better also to reflect some of the problems that we are facing in Ethiopia. One of the major issues which in fact relates to the major focus of this conference is the rising gender gap in education with age and level of schooling in Ethiopia. On the merit side I mentioned some good performance indicators. To get the whole context, better also to reflect some of the problems that we are facing in Ethiopia. One of the major issues which in fact relates to the major focus of this conference is the rising gender gap in education with age and level of schooling in Ethiopia.

7. 7 Other Problems particularly to Girls� Education in Rural Ethiopia Forced and early marriage (Alemu & Asnake, 2007; Colclough et., 2000) E.g., Nearly 50% of women in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia are married before the age of 15, the highest early marriage rate in the country (Alemu & Asnake, 2007). Rape and abduction E.g., About 8% of currently married women were abducted and forced into marriage (EDHS, 2005) Teen age pregnancy and child bearing Child labor (Admassie, 2002; Cockburn & Dostie, 2007) - Domestic activities (e.g., fetching water, firewood, caring for young siblings), particularly girls - Farm production, particularly for boys Parental sex preferences and inadequate treatment of girls in school - Differences in cultural values placed on boys and girls -One study (Colclough et al., 2000) indicated that in rural area of Ethiopia, pregnancy of unmarried daughters is shameful, so parents give their daughters in marriage as soon as they reach the age of puberty, and some times earlier. - Families use their children as source of labour for domestic activities and farm production. -One study (Colclough et al., 2000) indicated that in rural area of Ethiopia, pregnancy of unmarried daughters is shameful, so parents give their daughters in marriage as soon as they reach the age of puberty, and some times earlier. - Families use their children as source of labour for domestic activities and farm production.

8. 8 3. Research Questions and Objective of the study Major Research Questions Why do children lag in schooling? Do girls lag behind that of boys in schooling What are the key factors explaining low level of child schooling and gender differences in educational performance in rural Ethiopia? Objective To identify factors influencing children�s desired educational performance and gender discrepancy in schooling, and To draw some policy implications for enhancing child education performance and also for closing the gender education gap in rural Ethiopia.

9. 9 4. Conceptual Framework and Empirical Model Human Capital theory (Schulz, 1960; Becker, 1964; Mencer (1974) Investment in child schooling depends on costs and returns of schooling. Costs include the direct financial outlays plus the �opportunity costs� In the presence of imperfect credit and/or insurance markets it is expected that parental, household, and location characteristics matter for child enrollment, persistence and performance in school Apart from these, we also distance and safety also matters, particularly for girls, as it may increase cost of girls� schooling more than boys�.

10. 10 A non-separable agricultural household model A reduced form schooling demand function can be specified as:

11. 11 Contd. (Empirical Model) Measurement of dependent variable Child schooling progress is measured (Patrinos and Psacharopoulos, 1997 ) Where Ei = desired level of grades to be completed Ai = actual level of grades to be completed

12. 12 is the count of grades delayed by a child If a child enrolls at official entry age and keeps up normal progress the education system, then will be zero. However, due to cumulative effect of late entry, drop outs and grade failures, and so on, We applied a Poisson model (Cameron and Trivedi, 1998) to explain variation in

13. 13 Sampling and Data Sources The data used in this study came from fourth (1997) and sixth (2004) rounds of the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey Four Administrative Regions (Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and SNNPR) and 15 rural villages Our sample includes 1290 primary school age (7 to 14 years old ) children residing in 622 rural households Data extracted included Child characteristics, Household characteristics, Community factors, Regional variables

14. 14 Results

15. 15 This graph indicates current enrolment rates for primary school age children in our sample. Male and female gender are seen to have differing rates, and the differences seem to grow with age. Note worthy here is enrolment rates at lower ages are very low. Enrolment rate at age 7 is 11% for girls, 15% for boys and 13% for both girls and boys. This means that girls start school later than boys. The gender gap between boys and girls enrolment rates is the highest at the age of 14, in which while 79% of boys are in school it only 54% of girls who are in school. This graph indicates current enrolment rates for primary school age children in our sample. Male and female gender are seen to have differing rates, and the differences seem to grow with age. Note worthy here is enrolment rates at lower ages are very low. Enrolment rate at age 7 is 11% for girls, 15% for boys and 13% for both girls and boys. This means that girls start school later than boys. The gender gap between boys and girls enrolment rates is the highest at the age of 14, in which while 79% of boys are in school it only 54% of girls who are in school.

16. 16 Without any delay in enrolment, dropout, and grade repetition problems, children are expected to be enrolled in grades that exactly matches to their age. That means, by age 7 at grade 1, by age 8, at grade 2, and by age 14 grade 8. However, in practice these problems are in common place and children 94% of the children in our sample are behind in school. On average, children in our sample experience 3 grade deficits, 2.9 for boys and 3.14 for girls. In other words, as the graph shows the divergence between the ideal curve(blue line) and the lower lines indicate the educational gap or grade deficit experienced by each gender group. While there is a gender gap grade deficit for all ages, the difference between boys� and girls� educational gap is so stark and statistically significant for age 12 and up. Without any delay in enrolment, dropout, and grade repetition problems, children are expected to be enrolled in grades that exactly matches to their age. That means, by age 7 at grade 1, by age 8, at grade 2, and by age 14 grade 8. However, in practice these problems are in common place and children 94% of the children in our sample are behind in school. On average, children in our sample experience 3 grade deficits, 2.9 for boys and 3.14 for girls. In other words, as the graph shows the divergence between the ideal curve(blue line) and the lower lines indicate the educational gap or grade deficit experienced by each gender group. While there is a gender gap grade deficit for all ages, the difference between boys� and girls� educational gap is so stark and statistically significant for age 12 and up.

17. 17 The kernel density here depicts the distribution of education gap. The kernel density here depicts the distribution of education gap.

18. 18 Table 3: Poisson Analysis of Number of Child Education Gap, 2004 The poisson estimates confirm significant gender differences in educational performance. Boys are more likely to be enrolled at higher grades and also to progress more rapidly relative to girls. As children grow older gender differences in educational performance becomes statistically significant. This is expected because as they grow older, apart from economic factors girls schooling faces stringent social and cultural impediments relative to boys. In other words, the negative impact of age on is much stronger on girls than on boys. Gender composition of school age children in the household lowers a child�s likelihood of having grade deficit. -Sex composition of primary school age children are found to be statistically significant factor for schooling performance. Particularly, the expected number of grade deficit significantly decrease as the number of children in same cohort with opposite gender increases. The poisson estimates confirm significant gender differences in educational performance. Boys are more likely to be enrolled at higher grades and also to progress more rapidly relative to girls. As children grow older gender differences in educational performance becomes statistically significant. This is expected because as they grow older, apart from economic factors girls schooling faces stringent social and cultural impediments relative to boys. In other words, the negative impact of age on is much stronger on girls than on boys. Gender composition of school age children in the household lowers a child�s likelihood of having grade deficit. -Sex composition of primary school age children are found to be statistically significant factor for schooling performance. Particularly, the expected number of grade deficit significantly decrease as the number of children in same cohort with opposite gender increases.

19. 19 Contd. (Estimation Results)

20. 20 7. Summary of Main Findings Primary education in rural Ethiopia are characterized by a significant number of children enrolled in lower grades compared to their age Moreover, compared to boys, girls progress in the primary education system at a lower pace and are enrolled in lower grades Retarded child schooling progress in the primary education is significantly influenced by household, location, village and child�s own demographic characteristics. However, the effects of these characteristics depend to a large extent on the gender of a child.

21. 21 Contd. (Summary) Education gap is lower where primary school is in the village. The presence of a primary school in the village has more impact on girls� educational performance than boys�. Availability of junior school is more important for accelerating girls schooling. HH wealth increased child education progress, and more so particularly for girls. HH poverty has impacted boys� education performance more than girls�.

22. 22 Contd. (Summary) Sex composition of primary school age children in the HH are important determinants of child education performance. Child educational performance is also significantly influenced by the farming system in which the child�s village belongs to.

23. 23 Policy Implications To increase enrollment, retention in and completion of primary schooling in rural Ethiopia the following policies are suggested: Increasing construction of junior schools or reduce cost of sending girls to distant junior schools. Household wealth creation and poverty reduction Incentives for increased incentives for early enrolment Reduce opportunity costs of child schooling - labour market, labour saving technologies - land market

24. 24 THANK YOU!