Press
Release No.2002-20
Education inaccessible
for millions of African children
Paris, April 10
- Four out of every ten primary-age children in sub-Saharan Africa
do not go to school according to a new report from UNESCO’s
Institute for Statistics. Of those who do go to school, the report
finds that only a small proportion reach a basic level of skills.
Education Statistics 2001 - Regional Report on sub-Saharan Africa,
is a comprehensive regional study of education in Africa. It examines
the state of education in 49 countries of the region and covers
the 1998-1999 academic year, providing a snapshot of all levels
of education from pre-primary to tertiary.
The data for the report were provided by national authorities
responding to the annual education questionnaire from the Institute,
supplemented by data from other international bodies including
the United Nations Statistics and Population Divisions, and the
World Bank.
It finds that pre-primary education is extremely limited in the
region, involving only one child in ten, or some four million
children. The situation varies greatly from one country to another,
with Eastern and Southern Africa accounting for 62 percent of
these children. The pre-primary institutions are largely private,
catering for more than eight children out of every ten enrolled.
Primary education is clearly the priority for most of the countries
of sub-Saharan Africa, yet access remains a major problem. According
to the report, only 60 percent of primary-age children were actually
enrolled throughout the region in the survey years, although the
situation differed greatly between countries. In Niger, for example,
only 26 percent of primary-age children were in school, compared
to 93 percent in Mauritius.
Based on these figures, the report estimates that some 38-million
primary-age children were out-of-school in sub-Saharan Africa
in 1998, about 60 percent of them in the countries of Central
and Western Africa.
The data also indicate a “relatively high” level of
repetition in the region, with an average of 17 percent of pupils
repeating a year.
Secondary education, says the report, “is still not widespread
in sub-Saharan Africa,” and complete data are not available
for all countries in the region. Late entry and high repetition
rates also mean that, in many countries, the majority of secondary-age
children are still attending primary classes. In the 21 countries
for which data were available, an average of only 19 percent of
young people of secondary-school-age were enrolled at that level.
In five countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mozambique and
Niger) it was less than ten percent.
The data also show that many more
boys than girls are enrolled in secondary schools across the region.
In countries such as Benin, Chad, Guinea-Bissau and Togo, more
than twice as many boys as girls attend secondary classes. There
are however exceptions to this pattern with girls outnumbering
boys in secondary schools in Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia.
All of the countries in the region, Sao Tome and Principe and
the Seychelles, have at least one university. However, tertiary
education remains “marginal” with only about one and
a half million students enrolled in these institutions (excluding
Nigeria, for which data were not provided). The report signals
that many students - particularly those in advanced research -
have to study abroad because programmes are not available in their
home countries. Within the region, a majority of tertiary students
choose to study education and social sciences (including humanities).
Overall, there is an average of 40 pupils per teacher across the
region, but again the situation varies considerably from country
to country. In Mozambique, Uganda, Chad, Mali and Congo it is
more than 60 to one. “It should be stressed,” says the
report, “that national mean figures of 60 pupils or more
per teacher in fact mean these countries may have some teachers
in charge of 100 pupils or more.”
Teachers throughout the region are generally poorly trained with
considerable variation between countries. For the 16 countries,
which provided figures on pre-primary education, an average of
only 30 percent of teachers received any training. The situation
is somewhat better in primary education, but again extremely variable.
In Equatorial Guinea, 100 percent of primary teachers have received
some training, whilst in Guinea Bissau only 28 percent have. In
half of the 26 countries for which data were available, 20 percent
of primary teachers had not received any training at all. Women
make up 90 percent of the teachers at pre-primary level, but only
37 percent at primary, 31 percent at secondary and 28 percent
at tertiary level.
Total spending on education ranges from one percent of GDP in
Sierra Leone to over ten percent in Zimbabwe (10.1) and Lesotho
(13.2). Most of the money goes towards current expenditure, including
teachers’ salaries and the purchase of materials, and the
lion’s share is devoted to primary education.
The educational challenges facing the countries of sub-Saharan
Africa are considerable. Poverty, HIV-AIDS, war, civil conflicts
and high population growth are major hurdles for all governments
and populations throughout the region. One person in three is
of primary or secondary school age compared to only one in five
in Latin America and Asia and one in six in OECD countries. “A
sustained and substantial increase in GDP growth rates would seem
to be an important precondition for improving access to education,”
concludes the report.
The report also identifies common
“priority areas” where determined action could make
a difference: governments need to recognize the crucial role of
education in development; enhance the capacities of institutions
and education personnel; and extend access and increase equity
while improving the quality and relevance of education.
.
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Print and PDF versions of the regional report are available in
English and French from the
UNESCO Institute of Statistics.
Email: uis.resource-centre@UNESCO.org
http://www.unesco.org/statistics
Contact Sue Williams,
Bureau of Public Information, Editorial Section
Tel: 33 1 45 68 17 06
Email: s.williams@unesco.org
