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Using a large-scale household survey, we investigate how disparities in learning change over the primary school cycle. Even controlling for other factors, household wealth and parental schooling drive sizeable gaps in learning, increasing in magnitude over the school grades. Gender gaps also widen, although only among the poorest. In contrast to other countries, overage status is positively associated with learning early on, but its importance dissipates by later grades. While the importance of factors varies across states, household wealth predominates. The analysis highlights the importance of tackling disadvantage associated with poverty early, to avoid its effects on learning becoming entrenched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many low- and lower-middle-income countries, private schools are often considered to offer better quality of education than government schools. Yet, there is a lack of evidence to date on their role in reducing inequalities: namely, the extent to which private schooling improves learning among the most disadvantaged children. Our paper uses household survey data from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to identify whether any observed impact of private schooling on core literacy and numeracy skills differs according to children’s household wealth. We demonstrate wealth gaps in access to private schooling, and use inferential models to account for observable differences between those who do and do not enrol in private schools. In Kenya and Uganda, we find that private schooling appears to improve the chances of children learning relative to their peers in government schools, but the chances of the poorest children learning in private schools remains low and is at best equivalent to the richest learning in government schools. In Tanzania, private schooling does not seem to improve poorer children’s learning, whereas it does for richer children. These findings raise a caution about the extent to which private provision can help narrow learning inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on approaches by non-government organisations (NGOs) to reach primary school-aged children excluded from access to the conventional state education system. It highlights recent shifts in international literature and agency priorities from the portrayal of NGO provision as a (non-formal) 'alternative' to (formal) state schooling, towards developing approaches for 'complementary' provision. This shift is occurring as a means of making progress towards achieving Education for All (EFA) goals. The paper then compares these international trends with attention paid to NGO provision in national education plans across four countries (Bangladesh, India, Ethiopia and Ghana). Based on the analysis of international and national approaches, the paper argues that NGO provision continues to be seen as 'second-best' to state schooling, with state schooling remaining the focus of attention for EFA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Education for All Fast Track Initiative (FTI) has evolved since the 2000 World Forum on Education for All at Dakar in recognition that, without support, some countries would not achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of Universal Primary Completion by 2015. A key question that emerges is whether the FTI can help the achievement of the goal. While it is evident that some progress has been made, the analysis suggests that problems remain. These include the omission from the FTI process of those countries most off-track; inappropriate choice of benchmarks used to allocate resources; and inadequate analysis of key demand-side issues. Importantly, despite considerable momentum surrounding the FTI, it is not yet evident that donors have met their side of the bargain of coordinating their activities and providing additional funds to ensure that no country will not be thwarted in the achievement of the MDG due to insufficient resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This special issue is the third collection of papers Compare has published from the 2003 UKFIET/Oxford conference on The State of Education: Quantity, Quality and Outcomes . The papers presented here were originally given in the Education and Decentralisation symposium organised by Caroline Dyer, Mark Poston and David Theobald, and in the Michael Crossley and Keith Holmes symposium on Culture, Context and the Quality of Education . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores progress in designing and implementing privatisation and decentralisation reforms in the education sector, which have become increasingly advocated by international agencies over the past two decades. Privatisation can be considered one of the organisational forms of decentralisation – indicating a transfer of authority and responsibility from government to private hands. However, in national policy, the reforms are often considered independently of each other. Importantly, evidence from Malawi indicates that there are differences in implementation of the reforms. Decentralisation is taking place by design, but progressing slowly as the central government seeks to maintain control over the education sector. By contrast, private schools have been rapidly expanding by default in some areas of Malawi, paradoxically resulting in a shift in control away from the central government, with potential adverse consequences for educational quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the extent to which publicly-stated policy commitments towards community participation in education are realized in Malawi. Motivation for participation; Need to encourage local ownership and accountability; Marketization or entrenchment of individual responsibility for meeting social needs.

Education is receiving ever-increasing priority in the post-Washington consensus era, which views education as both a means to and end of development. However, justification for the attention given to education continues to be centrally focused on the notion of human capital. By consequence, marketisation and privatisation of education are becoming increasingly significant. With the World Bank and WTO joining forces to create a vision for a 'global education industry', emphasis is placed on free trade in educational goods and services. The paper examines critically the implications of this international education agenda for developing countries, focusing on the experience of Malawi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article talks about the provision of education services in fragile states. It reports that the Fragile State Group brings experts on governance, conflict prevention and reconstruction from development agencies to enhance development effectiveness in fragile states. Fragile states, as characterized by the Development Assistance Committee, are countries where there is a lack of political commitment or weak capacity to develop and implement pro-poor policies.

• A novel approach to comparing ECE financing systems across Ethiopia, Liberia, and Mainland Tanzania. • While ECE is a policy priority in these three countries, this commitment is not aligned with the allocation of funding. • Moreover, government, schools, and households are not aligned on which children should be prioritised for ECE. • This has led to more children being enrolled than planned for by government, further exacerbated underfunding. • Systems based approach can help to anticipate outcomes of ECE underfunding. This article assesses the financing of early childhood education (ECE) in three resource-constrained contexts: Ethiopia, Liberia, and Mainland Tanzania. Based on an analysis of policy documents and education administrative data, as well as surveys with key policymakers, school principals, and parents, it identifies that ECE is seen as a national priority in government policies across the three countries. However, this commitment is not aligned with the allocation of sufficient financial resources by each of the governments, which are extremely low in all three countries. This misalignment is associated with inequitable resource allocation, further reinforcing gaps in access to quality ECE between more advantaged and disadvantaged populations within the countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]