Scaling up early childhood development A review and analysis of Education Sector Plans in Africa CIES Conference March 22, 2009

Overview of Presentation Boosting ECD in the development agenda in Africa Current status of children and ECD in selected countries Analysis of Education Sector Plans: Trends and issues Lessons for mainstreaming ECD within Education Sector Programs

I. Boosting ECD in the development agenda in Africa

Quality ECD improves education outcomes Better access to primary school Lower retention in primary school Improved gender equity in education Lower repetition rates Better language development Higher achievement in education

Pre-primary participation can help improve primary completion rates

…but Africa lags behind in pre-primary enrolment Regional GER is 14% vs. 40% globally Developed/transition countries Latin America/Caribbean East Asia/Pacific South and West Asia Arab States Sub-Saharan Africa Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2007

Improve quality  Promote school readiness The quality of interaction between carer and child is the single most important determinant of program success Promoting school readiness also means making schools ready for children Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2007

A holistic approach is important Young children have multiple needs for: Nurturing parenting, strong family and community support Early stimulation and developmental activities Preventive and primary health and nutrition Safety/protection Clean water, home and community environment Combining nutrition and early stimulation has larger and longer-lasting impact children’s health and learning than either alone 8

Main research question To what extent do education sector plans and programs include early childhood development (ECD) as a strategy for achieving universal basic education in Africa?

A Focus on Education Sector Plans Key policy document for the country’s entire education system EFA FTI is a partnership between developing countries and donors to accelerate progress towards universal completion of quality primary education by 2015 FTI supports low-income countries with a poverty reduction strategy and a sound ESP endorsed by local partners Limitations of ESPs: Developed with limited cooperation with stakeholders Information becomes out of date quickly Do not tell us how funds are actually being allocated Often disconnected from implementation “on the ground” Partners include more than 30 bilateral and multilateral donor agencies All low-income countries are eligible for technical and financial support from the FTI

Scaling up ECD through EFA-FTI Expanding quality ECD programs  universal primary completion But, ECD under-resourced relative to other levels of education Specific ECD policies are disconnected from strategic documents like ESPs and Poverty Reduction Strategies Thus, strong ECD components in key plans and strategies will help mobilize funding to reach universal primary completion World Bank Africa ECCD Initiative, supported by EPDF Prepare sound and sustainable national education sector programs Strengthen government technical and institutional capacity to develop and implement education policies and programs Improve understanding of conditions for successful policies/programs Strengthen donor partnerships around the education sector plan

II. Current status of children and ECD in selected countries

Eight target countries (2008-2009) Nigeria Senegal Tanzania/Zanzibar Zambia Guinea Liberia Mali Niger

Guinea 9.2 410 n/a 56 29 Liberia 3.6 120 45 Mali 12.0 330 90.6 54 19   Population (millions) GNP ($) per capita Percent under $2/day Life expectancy Adult Lit. rate Guinea 9.2 410 n/a 56 29 Liberia 3.6 120 45 Mali 12.0 330 90.6 54 19 Niger 14.0 210 85.3 Nigeria 145.0 430 90.8 47 Senegal 630 67.8 63 39 Tanzania 39.0 320 59.7 52 69 Zambia 400 87.4 42 68 Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2007, World Bank Data Book, 2008

Children in these countries are vulnerable In most of the 8 countries, about 1 in 10 children die before reaching their 1st birthday. About 2 in 10 die before age five Infant mortality per 1,000 ranges from 66 (Senegal) to 133 (Liberia) Under-5 mortality per 1,000 ranges from 115 (Senegal) to 205 (Liberia), with 4 of the 8 countries clustered between 185 and 205 Between 16% (Senegal) and 50% (Niger, Zambia) of children are stunted Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2009

Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2009

Source: Global Education Digest, 2008 Pre-school Net Enrollment Rates (NER) are 10% or under in all countries except Tanzania (27) and Liberia (35) Niger has the lowest NER at 1 Gross Enrollment Ratios (GER) are 1-4 points higher than the NER, except in Liberia (GER=100) Primary school NER are significantly higher than pre-school NER and range from 43 in Niger to 98 in Tanzania Note: Mali and Zambia figures for pre-school are gross enrollment ratios Source: Global Education Digest, 2008

Note: Mali figures are Gross Enrollment Ratios Source: UIS 2000-2008

III. Analysis of Education Sector Plans: Trends and issues

Dimensions reviewed Target age for ECD Strategies to expand access Strategies to address equity Strategies to improve quality Linking with other sectors Local governance & community involvement

1. Target age for ECD Trends Issues Main focus is 3- 6 years old Some attention to broader age group: younger children, 0 to 3 (Senegal, Zanzibar, Zambia) older children out of school (Niger) Issues ESPs rarely prioritize coverage of older children first Many overage children in ECD in some countries (Tanzania, Liberia, Niger, Tanzania) Need coordination with agencies responsible for under 3s

2. Strategies to expand access Trends Construction, consolidation, diversification of ECD services Delegating to communities Relying on NGOs, and faith organizations Opting for parental education Ad hoc expansion: Public, including in primary schools, mostly in cities Private, mostly in the cities Community-based, in rural areas and villages Faith-based, in both urban and villages NGO initiatives, mostly in targeted communities Parental ECD interventions, country wide

2. Strategies to expand access (continued) Issues Unclear how states recognize and support community-based and private providers (Senegal) Implications of developing preschool classes in schools (Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zanzibar) No realistic objectives to increase access of each type of service (exception Mali) Poor evidence and financial arguments to support various options

3. Strategies to address equity: vulnerable children/special groups Trends Whole strategy to increase access is considered to improve equity because of very low enrollment rates Children in rural areas are identified as underserved in all countries Groups identified: children affected by HIV/AIDS (Zanzibar), girls (Nigeria, Zanzibar), children with special needs (Senegal, Zanzibar) Issues “Vulnerable” often left un-defined No information or vague references to how to address needs of specific groups (Zanzibar is exception)

4. Strategies to improve quality Trends Improve facilities, including sanitary and health conditions (Guinea, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania) Prepare curricula (Zambia, Senegal) or guidelines (Tanzania) Promote new ECD models (Senegal) Producing and diffusing pedagogic materials (Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania) Support parent education (Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Zanzibar) Establish initial training programs (Mali, Niger, Zanzibar) Improve capacity of educators (all) Mention Nigeria – mainstreaming ECD within colleges of education

4. Strategies to improve quality (continued) Issues Strategies to improve quality not prioritized or costed Limited learning from successful pilots in the country Proposed activities to improve quality are often planned to reach only the existing ECD services and educators without considering scale up strategy Use of contextually appropriate methods and materials is rarely mentioned (except Mali, Nigeria) How to develop capacity of educators in rural poor areas

5. Linkages with other sectors Trends Some ESPs encourage cooperation with health, child protection, nutrition (Guinea, Senegal, Niger, Zanzibar) Increase children’s enrolment and retention in primary school. Explicit focus on transition only in Senegal Six countries have developed freestanding national integrated ECD policies, with support from UNICEF Issues MOE often focus traditional pre-primary education At the local level, integration of services is a pragmatic response to the critical needs of young children Six countries with ECD policies = Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia Under development in Liberia and Tanzania

6. Local governance & community involvement Trends Local governments and communities key actors to expand provision, especially in rural areas Often focus is on awareness campaigns rather than direct technical or financial support Issues If communities already mobilized – need other forms of support (capacity building, pay, materials) Decentralization may be a way for the state to avoid taking financial responsibility for ECD provision Need to build capacity to provide services and monitor quality

IV. Lessons for mainstreaming ECD within Education Sector Programs

Lessons for mainstreaming ECD Build institutional capacity for ECD strategic planning Ensure local voices, needs, experiences, and innovations inform ESP  build ownership for implementation Focus on results for access, equity and quality Identify specific milestones, realistic targets, indicators, outcomes and a framework for monitoring/evaluation Improve cost analysis and financing plan Prioritize implementation (phasing) Strengthen linkages across strategic documents and processes (PRSPs, EFA FTI plans, ECD Policies) Mention Nigeria UBEC Law – 5% of education budget should go to ECD

For more information… Michelle J. Neuman, Ph.D. mneuman@worldbank.org Aigly Zafeirakou, Ph.D. azafeirakou@worldbank.org Amy Quinn quinn.amy@gmail.com