28.11.

2012 - UNESCO Office in Dakar

42% of African school children will dro o!" #efore "he end of ri$ar% ed!ca"ion
Sub-Saharan African countries are experiencing steady
progress in education but children leave school, often
without being able to read or write.
The latest edition of the Global Education Digest reveals
that Africa has the worlds highest drop-out rate. !"# of
African school children will leave school early, with about
one in six leaving before Grade ".
This means that more than two in five children who start
school will not reach the last grade of primary education.
&The data in the Digest show that school systems are
reaching more children but losing them due to
inefficiencies, which lead to grade repetition and early
school leaving, says Hendrik van der Pol, Director of UN!"# $nstitute for !tatistics. %$t is
far more difficult and costly to reach children once they leave school than to address the
barriers and bottlenecks in the systems,& he adds.
High repetition rates
ntitled Opportunities Lost: The Impact of Grade Repetition and Early School Leaving, the
Digest presents a wide range of new data from the UN!"# $nstitute for !tatistics 'U$!(.
$t shows that in )*+*, ++., million pupils repeated a primary grade in sub-!aharan .frica,
representing more than one-third of the global total.
The regional repetition rate fell slightly, from ++/ to 0/ between )*** and )*+*, even
though school systems have been straining to provide education to a growing school-age
population.
This progress is clearly seen at the national level1 $n +000, +2 .frican countries had
repetition rates e3ceeding )*/, compared to only si3 countries in )**0.
The following countries have reduced their repetition rates by more than +* percentage
points since +0001 "ameroon, "ongo, thiopia, 4adagascar, 4o5ambi6ue and 7wanda.
7epetition rates are ,/ or lower in thiopia, 8hana, 4auritius, Niger and the United
7epublic of Tan5ania.
However, primary education repetition rates remain very high in 9urundi ':;/(, Togo
'):/(, "had '):/(, "entral .frican 7epublic '):/(, and "ongo '):/(.
Households determine success in education
4any of the children repeating grades leave school before completing primary education.
Dropout rates are highest in "had '<)/(, Uganda ';=/( and .ngola ';=/(, where more
than two out of three children starting primary school are e3pected to leave before
reaching the last grade. $n contrast, dropout rates are lowest in 4auritius ')/( and
9otswana '</(.
$n countries such as 9urundi or Togo, a child starting school today can e3pect to spend
two or three years repeating a primary grade. $n the case of 9urundi, if the resources spent
on repeating a grade were instead invested in enrolling new pupils, the country>s annual
gross domestic product '8DP( could grow by +.:/, according to the Digest.
#verall, it is estimated that each year of real education a child receives 'not repeating a
grade( could increase his?her individual earnings by +*/ and lift annual 8DP globally by
'ore African children s"ar" in school
#!" $an% dro o!" earl% (
UNESCO)Anne '*ller
*.:</. Data show that the most important issues shaping educational opportunities are
household wealth and location.
$n general, poor children living in rural areas are more likely than urban children from rich
households to repeat grades and leave school before completing primary education and
attaining basic foundational skills.