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Enrolment and Grade Attainment following the Introduction of Free Primary Education in Tanzania

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  • Johannes Hoogeveen
  • Mariacristina Rossi

Abstract

The elimination of all primary school fees in January 2002 in Tanzania marked the start of the ambitious Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP). This programme aimed to enhance not only access to primary education but also the quality of teaching. This paper examines the effects of the introduction of free primary education on school enrolment and grade achievement. Data from the 2001 Household Budget Survey (HBS), collected just before the reform, and the 2007 HBS, collected 5 years into the programme, are employed to examine these effects. This is done by running a difference-in-difference comparison using a before-and-after comparison for age cohorts that did and did not benefit from the reform. School fee elimination is found to have enhanced enrolment rates significantly with girls, children from poorer families benefiting most. The impact of the reform on grade achievement, however, is found to have been negative, particularly for those living in rural areas and children from poor households. PEDP, thus, created a dilemma as increased opportunities for one set of deserving children went at the expense of opportunities for other, equally deserving children. Copyright 2013 , Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Johannes Hoogeveen & Mariacristina Rossi, 2013. "Enrolment and Grade Attainment following the Introduction of Free Primary Education in Tanzania," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 22(3), pages 375-393, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jafrec:v:22:y:2013:i:3:p:375-393
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jae/ejt003
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    Cited by:

    1. Buhl-Wiggers, Julie & Jones, Sam & Thornton, Rebecca, 2021. "Boys lagging behind: Unpacking gender differences in academic achievement across East Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Sabarwal,Shwetlena & Sununtnasuk,Celeste & Ramachandran,Deepika, 2020. "Low-Cost Private Schools in Tanzania : A Descriptive Analysis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9360, The World Bank.
    3. Valente, Christine, 2019. "Primary education expansion and quality of schooling," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    4. Kasper Brandt & Beatrice K. Mkenda, 2020. "The Impact of Eliminating Secondary School Fees: Evidence from Tanzania," DERG working paper series 20-06, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Development Economics Research Group (DERG).
    5. Atuhurra, Julius F., 2016. "Does community involvement affect teacher effort? Assessing learning impacts of Free Primary Education in Kenya," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 234-246.
    6. Valente, Christine, 2015. "Primary Education Expansion and Quality of Schooling: Evidence from Tanzania," IZA Discussion Papers 9208, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Margaret Mungai & Damiannah Kieti & Isabella Mapelu, 2021. "Tourism education enrolment among Kenyan public universities: Socioeconomic aspects," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 10(6), pages 340-348, September.
    8. Roxana Elena Manea; Pedro Naso, 2020. "School Fee Elimination and Educational Inequality in Tanzania," CIES Research Paper series 64-2020, Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute.
    9. Emmanuel Maliti, 2016. "Horizontal inequality in education and wealth in Tanzania: A 20-year perspective," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-114, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Emmanuel Maliti, 2016. "Horizontal inequality in education and wealth in Tanzania: A 20-year perspective," WIDER Working Paper Series 114, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Moshoeshoe,Ramaele Elias, 2020. "Long-Term Effects of Free Primary Education on Educational Achievement : Evidence from Lesotho," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9404, The World Bank.
    12. Filmer, Deon, 2023. "Long-lived consequences of rapid scale-up? The case of free primary education in six Sub-Saharan African countries," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    13. Brudevold-Newman, Andrew, 2021. "Expanding access to secondary education: Evidence from a fee reduction and capacity expansion policy in kenya," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    14. Frederik Wild & David Stadelmann, 2024. "Heterogeneous Effects of Women's Schooling on Fertility, Literacy and Work: Evidence from Burundi's Free Primary Education Policy," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 33(1), pages 67-91.
    15. Masuda, Kazuya & Yamauchi, Chikako, 2018. "The Effects of Universal Secondary Education Program Accompanying Public-Private Partnership on Students' Access, Sorting and Achievement: Evidence from Uganda," CEI Working Paper Series 2018-4, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    16. Delesalle, Esther, 2021. "The effect of the Universal Primary Education program on consumption and on the employment sector: Evidence from Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    17. Mafie, Gabriel K. & Hahn, Youjin & Yang, Hee-Seung, 2021. "Does Education Play a Role in Explaining the Rural‒Urban Wealth Gap? Evidence from Tanzania," Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 62(2), pages 162-177, December.
    18. Roxana Elena Manea; Pedro Naso, 2021. "Heterogeneous Impacts of School Fee Elimination in Tanzania: Gender and Colonial Infrastructure," CIES Research Paper series 64-2020, Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute.

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