Greater equity in participation in basic education remains elusive but is essential to realizing rights to education. Access to
education remains strongly associated with household wealth despite commitments to pro-poor policies and investment of resources. Evidence from 13 sub-Saharan African countries using national data from the 1990s and 2000s shows that although overall participation has increased, the chances of the poorest being enrolled, relative to those of the richest, have generally not improved substantially, and in some cases have deteriorated. Reductions in the number of children out of school have in many cases been accompanied by an increase in the proportion of children over-age for the grade in which they are enrolled. Poorer children are more likely to be over-age and unlikely
Educational access, equity, and development: Planning to make rights realities
to complete schooling, especially if they are girls. Girls are more likely to be out of school than boys in most of the Francophone countries but not in most of the Anglophone countries. In all the Francophone countries in the sample, rural children were more likely to be out of school, but this was only true in one Anglophone case. Rural children remain more likely to be over-age (Lewin and Sabates, 2011).
Inequalities have persisted in access to education, with the poorest being excluded in greater proportions. Data from
Bangladesh show that in all the zones of exclusion (Hossain and Zeitlyn, 2010) inequality results in much greater exclusion of the poorest. While urban dwellers are regarded as better off, the lack of schools to service urban slums and the inability of the urban poor to afford private schools means that they may be completely excluded (Cameron, 2011). In India, indicators of access are low for Muslims, low castes, and tribal groups (Sedwal and Kamat, 2008), as well as for girls (Bandyopadhyay and Subrahmanian, 2008). This shows the powerful effects of social exclusion. Regional disparities in India also mean that some states are doing well while other lag behind (Lewin,
2011b), and even within states, remote areas or regions inhabited by
minority groups may be poorly served by the education infrastructure. The message is clear. Though there has been progress, it falls far short of the gains that were anticipated. Much more progress is needed to achieve universal access with equity and to close the gap between the poorest and other households.
Political will is crucial to efforts to provide more access to excluded communities. It has to be reflected in sustained commitment,
resource allocation, and the advocacy of key stakeholders. An example of how a marginalized community successfully acted to close the gap in participation in education between its children and those of a majority community is provided by the case of plantation Tamils in Sri Lanka (Box 3.8).
Research findings and planning for access, transitions, and equity
Box 3.8 Planning, progress, and political will
From the 1980s on, the previously disadvantaged plantation Tamil community of Sri Lanka began to enjoy increased access to primary and secondary education. How and why did this happen? The explanation involves economic, political, and socio-cultural changes, the actions of powerful agents for change – politicians, planners, and teachers – and the formulation and development of a long-term education plan, supported by foreign aid, over more than 12 years.
• From the 1970s, the government took over more than 800 schools from the owners of tea and rubber plantations in a phased manner following the nationalization of the plantations.
• The granting of citizenship to stateless Indian Tamils created new demands for education.
• The decline in the profitability of tea production, the growth of a labour surplus, and the rise of youth unemployment in the plantations reduced the opportunity costs of child and young people’s labour. • A growth of foreign aid for social sector development in the
plantations supplemented limited government resources.
• A small but growing critical mass of ambitious young teachers of plantation origin provided powerful role models for the next generation of primary and secondary school students.
• The determination of a small group of education planners, officials, and senior teachers in the regions, and in the Ministry of Education, created plans and a determination to implement them.
• The political will of politicians in the context of civil war provided a positive environment for change.
By the mid-1980s, a small but growing number of low- and mid-level planners and education officers were working in national and regional education administrations to implement every programme that could be of benefit to plantation teachers and plantation schools. Building on experience from the implementation of an education plan for 42 schools in one district, they developed a 12-year plan for plantation sector education in all plantation districts. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) granted funding to three phases of work.
How, during a period of civil war between Sinhalese and Tamils and the economic decline of the plantations, could a group of hitherto disadvantaged Indian Tamils enjoy increased access to education? The leaders of the two main political parties in Sri Lanka have long understood
Educational access, equity, and development: Planning to make rights realities
the importance of votes from minority parties to deliver them to power. The Ceylon Worker’s Congress, which has traditionally represented Tamils working in the plantation sector, chose not to support calls for an independent Tamil state and chose instead to promote the interests of the plantation community from within government. Seizing every opportunity to wring concessions from the state, the party promoted increases to the minimum wage, improved housing, resolved the issue of Tamil citizenship, and improved education. The political will exerted in government indirectly supported the efforts of education planners and teachers to expand access to primary and secondary education.
Sources: PSEDP, 1996; Little, 1999, 2010c; McGillivray, Pankhurst, and Carpenter, 2012.