Reaching the marginalized: EFA global monitoring report, 2010; 2010

PROGRESS TOWARDS THE EFA GOALSUniversal primary educationThe transition from primary school to lowersecondary school is hazardous for many children.Problems that may be evident at the primary levelare often magnified at the secondary level. Cost,distance to school, labour market demand and –especially for girls – deeply engrained social,cultural and economic barriers figure prominently(Otieno and K’Oliech, 2007). Because secondaryschools are often further from home, theimportance of distance as a barrier to entryincreases. This is especially true for poorhouseholds facing labour shortages and forchildren in rural areas (Mingat and Ndem, 2008).In Mauritania and Senegal, the average journeytime to the closest secondary school is eightyminutes in rural areas. The average distance tothe closest lower secondary school in Senegalis twenty-five times farther than to the nearestprimary school (Glick and Sahn, 2009). Distancecan compound the effects of poverty, with poorhouseholds often unable to cover the cost eitherof transport or of boarding school places. Girlsface a distinctive set of barriers: longer distancesmay reinforce security concerns and, in somecontexts, early marriage prevents them fromprogressing beyond primary school.The transition to lower secondary school is nowat the centre of the Education for All agenda inmany countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, universalbasic education is an increasingly prominent policygoal. For example, Ghana has adopted a basiceducation cycle embracing six years of primaryand three years of lower secondary; in Zambiathe cycle is seven years of primary and two yearsof lower secondary.There are good reasons for the shift in emphasistowards a longer basic education cycle. As morechildren get into and progress through primaryschool, demand for secondary school places isgrowing. There is also evidence of high social andprivate returns to education beyond the primarylevel. Yet governments also face tough choices.In countries that have been unable to deliveraffordable, good-quality basic education to largesections of the population, the shift in emphasisraises important questions for equity in publicfinance. Aid partnerships can help relieve thefinancing constraints. However, it is important forgovernments and donors to avoid a premature shiftin policy priorities. With millions of children stillexcluded from primary education and the worldoff track for the 2015 goals, there is a great dealof unfinished business awaiting urgent attention.Figure 2.23: Many adolescents are out of school,or still in primary schoolDistribution of lower secondary school age children by education leveland % out of school% of lower secondary school age population100806040200233938Sub-SaharanAfricaConclusion601228South/West AsiaIn secondary educationor higherSource: Bruneforth and Wallet (2009).ArabStatesEast Asia/PacificIn primaryeducation5LatinAmerica/CaribbeanOut of schoolAs in previous years, the progress report onuniversal primary education is a story of ‘glasshalf empty, glass half full’. Much has beenachieved – but the international community hasa long way to go if it is to deliver on the promisesmade in Dakar and in the Millennium DevelopmentGoals. The slow-down in getting children intoschool since 2004 is a particular concern. Anotheris the evidence of a large mismatch betweenadministrative data on school enrolment andhousehold survey data on school attendance.The out-of-school problem may be far biggerthan has previously been assumed, pointingto a need for an urgent policy response at boththe national and international levels.6418187515107223602021DevelopingcountriesThe transitionfrom primaryschool to lowersecondary schoolis hazardous formany children75