The Inexcusable Absence of Girls from School

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The Inexcusable Absence of Girls from School

• Marlaine Lockheed
• Center for Global Development
• November 15, 2007

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(No Transcript)
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What I will discuss today

• Girls are catching up with boys
• Girls from excluded groups still lag
• What keeps excluded girls out of school?
• What is needed?
• What can donors do?

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Gender parity has improved for primary education,
worldwide
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and for secondary education in most regions,
1990-2000
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But problems remain. In 2004

• 77 million children were out of school
• 43 million girls were out of school
• About 70 percent of out-of-school girls come from
  socially excluded groups

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Who are the socially excluded groups?

• Stigmatized groups
• Ethnically different groups
• Groups accorded low status
• Involuntary minority groups

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Excluded groups differ across regions
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Social exclusion of girls is most serious in LAC,
EAP and ECA
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In Latin America Indigenous girls are least
likely to EVER ENROLL in school (Guatemala)
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Rural-Male-Other
Rural female- Other
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In ECA, fewer Roma COMPLETE SECONDARY than
non-Roma (Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania,
Serbia/Montenegro)
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Indigenous girls outperform indigenous boys in
Ecuador
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Majority students outperform Hill Tribes,
with no gender differences (Laos)
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What keeps socially excluded girls out of school?

• Administrative or legal barriers
• Poor quality and limited supply of education
• Low demand for girls education

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Administrative and legal barriers

• Fixed number of schools per community
• Pregnancy and expulsion
• Dominant group language as medium of instruction
  and in textbooks
• Selection examinations and tracking
• Absence of compulsory education laws

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Supply and quality of schooling

• Lack of schools
• Inadequate facilities and physical inputs
• Less knowledgeable teachers
• Less instructional time
• Teacher absenteeism
• Fewer textbooks and instructional materials
• Particularly in local languages

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Weak demand for education

• Cultural considerations
• Cost of schooling
• Safety and security of girls
• Perceived low rates of return for education
• Discrimination in labor markets

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What is needed?

• Administrative and legal reform
• Education reform
• Incentives and information

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Administrative and legal reform to level the
playing field

• Revised administrative rules
• Laws against discrimination in school
• Laws against discrimination in the labor market

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Education reform to diversify and improve school
supply

• Preparing children for school
• Ensuring the school basics
• Involving parents and community
• Compensatory programs (e.g.tutoring)
• Extension courses for secluded girls

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Incentives and knowledge to increase demand

• Incentives for households CCTs and scholarships
• Better linkages of (secondary) school with labor
  markets (English, computer skills)
• Better information about returns to education in
  the labor market

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In summary

• Girls are catching up with boys, but girls from
  excluded groups still lag
• Legal/adminstrative , supply and demand
  constraints keep girls out of school
• Extra efforts are needed
• What can donors do?

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CGD suggests four areas for donor actions

• Disaggregate data by gender and exclusion
• Target resources at excluded girls
• Recognize that extra efforts entail extra costs
• Evaluate what works

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Electronic copies of Inexcusable Absence and
Exclusion, Gender and Education can be downloaded
from

• www.cgdev.org