Abolishing School Fees in Africa : Lessons from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Mozambique

Abstract

This book constitutes one of the main
 outputs of the School Fee Abolition Initiative (SFAI). The
 initiative, launched in 2005 by the United Nations
 Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank, was
 designed to support countries in maintaining and
 accelerating progress toward universal primary education as
 outlined in the Millennium Development Goals and the
 Education for All (EFA) goals. Specifically, SFAI
 strengthens country efforts to eliminate school fees and/or
 implement targeted exemptions, subsidizations, and
 incentives to reduce education costs for the poor. The
 initiative has now grown into a broad partnership through
 the involvement of other key development partners and
 constituencies as well as research and academic
 institutions. SFAI promotes access to quality basic
 education worldwide through three specific and interlinked
 goals. The first is to construct a knowledge base on school
 fee abolition in order to inform sound and sustainable
 policies, strategies, and interventions. SFAI recognizes
 that school fee abolition is a complex process that requires
 both the development of a credible database and the solid
 analysis that builds on lessons learned from experience. The
 second goal is to provide guidance and support to countries
 in planning and implementing school fee abolition policies.
 Engagement by SFAI partners is taking the form of both
 technical and financial assistance within the framework of
 ongoing national planning processes. The third goal is to
 advance the global policy dialogue on the financial barriers
 to education access and to build on existing EFA
 partnerships. The result will ensure a good understanding of
 the complexities involved in school fee abolition,
 facilitate the articulation of complementary roles, and
 create an environment for success.