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

2. 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

3. I. Boosting ECD in the development agenda in Africa

4. 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

5. Pre-primary participation can help improve primary completion rates

6. …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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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?

10. 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Information becomes out of date quickly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

11. 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

12. II. Current status of children and ECD in selected countries

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

14. 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

15. 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

16. Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2009

17. 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

18. Note: Mali figures are Gross Enrollment Ratios
Source: UIS

19. III. Analysis of Education Sector Plans: Trends and issues

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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)

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. IV. Lessons for mainstreaming ECD within Education Sector Programs

30. 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

31. For more information… Michelle J. Neuman, Ph.D. mneuman@worldbank.org
Aigly Zafeirakou, Ph.D.
Amy Quinn