Primary School Net and Gross Attendance Rates, Ghana Almost three quarters of primary school age children in Ghana attend school and gender parity in attendance has been achieved.

Primary School Net Attendance Rate 100 75 77 76

80

76 77 76

60

%

74% of children ages 6-11 attend primary school.

75 74 74

Female

57 59 58

40

Male

20

Both

0 1993

1998

2003

2008

Primary School Gross Attendance Rate

74% of boys ages 6-11 attend school, compared to 75% of girls.

120 100

98

108 103

79

80

Net attendance rates increased since 2003 but they are still at the same level as they were in 1998.

%

111 112 112

102 106 104

85 82

Female Male

60

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Min Max

Both

40 20 0 1993

1998

2003

2008 Source: Demographic and Health Survey

Many children attending primary school are outside of the official age range. This is reflected in the difference between net and gross attendance rates. This can have tremendous impact on the educational infrastructure, the experience in the classroom, and educational planning. The net attendance ratio (NAR) is the percentage of the official primary school-age population that attends primary school. The gross attendance ratio (GAR) is the total number of students attending primary school - regardless of age - expressed as a percentage of the official primary school-age population.

Over-Age, Under-Age, and On-Time Students in Primary School, Ghana Only about 21% of primary school students are in the appropriate grade for their age; the on-time proportion declines in the higher grades. 70% of the male primary school Over Age On Time Under Age students and 67% of the female 100% students are over-age. 80% The percentage of males who are over60% age ranges from 58% to 78%. The 40% percentage for females ranges from 58% 20% to 78%. 0% F

M

Grade 1

F

M

Grade 2

F

M

Grade 3

F

M

Grade 4

F

M

Grade 5

F

M

Grade 6

Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

6

About 11% of primary school students are younger that the official age for the grade that they are attending.

The Implications of Over-Age/Under-Age Students For the system: Both late entry into primary school and grade repetition can cause children to be over-age for their grade. High repetition rates indicate inefficiency in the education system. In the classroom: Large numbers of over-age students present a challenge for teachers who must teach a more diverse group with differing levels of maturity and school preparedness. Students are considered to be on time if they are at the official age for the grade; over age if they are one or more years older; and under age if they are one or more years younger.

7

Primary School Net Attendance Rate in Urban and Rural Areas, Ghana Primary School Net Attendance Rate 100

Children in urban areas are slightly more likely to attend school than children in rural areas.

81

79

80

80 72

69

70

60

Female

%

Male

40

Both

In urban areas, 80% of children of primary school age attend school, compared to 70% in rural areas.

20

10

0

Urban

Rural Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

No significant gender disparity can be observed in either urban or rural areas.

Primary School Net Attendace Rate by Region, Ghana

There are some regional disparities in primary school attendance in Ghana.

Primary net attendance is highest in the Ashanti region (86%); attendance is lowest in the Northern region (53%).

Gender disparity is lowest in the Ashanti region and highest in the Upper East region. In 1 of the 10 regions, only a half of children of primary school age attends school. 12

Primary School Net Attendance Rate 100 90

86 87

84 78

80

75

77

74

76 76

77

76

76 68

70 60

51

68

64

69

71 73

55

Female

50

40 30

Male

20

10 0 Ashanti

Brong Ahafo

Central

Eastern

Greater Accra

Northern

Upper East

Upper West

Volta

Western

Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

Secondary School Net and Gross Attendance Rates, Ghana

Less than a half of secondary school age youth attends school. No significant gender disparity in attendance can be observed. 13

Secondary School Net Attendance Rate

43% of youth ages 12-17 attend secondary school.

100

14

80

Female 60

43% of males ages 12-17 attend school, compared to 44% of females.

%

40

33 35 34

31 28 25

44 43 43 35 33 34

Male Both

20

Students over or under the official secondary school age range make up 15% of the secondary school age population.

15

0 1993

1998

2003

2008

Secondary School Gross Attendance Rate

Y Y Y Y

100 80

Secondary school gross attendance rates slowly increased in 15 years from 34% in 1993 to 58% in 2008.

55

60 %

40

29

38 34

37

45 41

62 58

42 44 43

Female Male Both

20 0 1993

1998

2003

2008

Source: Demographic and Health Survey

Secondary School Net Attendance Rate in Urban and Rural Areas, Ghana There are significantly more youth attending secondary school in urban than in rural areas.

In urban areas, 53% of children of secondary school age attend school, compared to 35% in rural areas.

Secondary School Net Attendance Rate in Urban and Rural Areas 17

100

80

No significant gender disparity can be observed in either urban or rural areas.

60

52

55

53

Female

% 36

40

35

35

Male Both

20

0

Urban

Rural Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

Secondary School Net Attendace Rate by Region, Ghana Secondary School Net Attendance Rate 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

54 54

53 54 41 40

45

44

39

51

43

40

34

27 25

Ashanti

Brong Ahafo

Central

Eastern

Greater Accra

Northern

29 26

27

Upper East

38

42

Female

Male

Upper West

Volta

Western

Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

Secondary net attendance is highest in the Ashanti region (54%); attendance is lowest in the Northern region (26%). Gender disparity is highest in the Western region and lowest in the Greater Accra region.

School Attendance by Age and Sex, Ghana Female

There are as many girls as boys attending school up to age 15, in older age groups the percentage of boys attending school is higher than girls.

Male

100

90 80 70 60 %

50

For females, the highest attendance rate is at age 9 (90%), while for males the highest attendance rate is at age 12 (90%).

40 30 20 10

0 6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Age

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Repetition, Dropout, and Promotion Rates by Grade, Ghana Repetition rate ranges from 0% in grade 6 of secondary school to 5% in grade 1 of secondary school. Dropout rate is highest in grade 3 of secondary school (61%) and lowest in grade 6 of secondary school (0%). Dropout Rate

Repetition Rate

Promotion Rate

100%

80%

21 60% 40% 20%

0% Prim G1 Prim G2 Prim G3 Prim G4 Prim G5 Prim G6 Sec G1

Sec G2

Sec G3

Sec G4

Sec G5

Sec G6

Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

Primary School Completion Rates, Ghana The probability of completing primary school is not different in urban than rural areas, and does not seem to depend on the wealth of the student's household.

Primary school completion rate more than doubled between 1993 and 2008.

Rural

111 108 114

2008

Urban

97 96 99

2003

Both Male Female

58 1998

110

Wealth quintile 5

103

Wealth quintile 4

69 48

122

Wealth quintile 3

52 1993

112

119

Wealth quintile 2

#N/A #N/A

117

Wealth quintile 1

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

94 0

140

20

40

Source: Demographic and Health Survey

60

80

100

120

140

Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

Male 15+

The primary school completion rate is the total number of students attending the last grade of primary school - regardless of age expressed as a percentage of the official last grade of primary school -age population.

Educational Attainment, Ghana Males are better educated than women across older age groups, the gender gap disappears among 1519 year olds. Among the population aged 15 years old and above, 19% of men and 33% of women have no education. 7% of men and 10% of women who are 15-19 year old have never attended school. Only 6% of the population aged 15 years old and above have post-secondary education.

Female

O O

Male

Post-secondary

Secondary completed

Secondary Incomplete

Post-secondary

Secondary completed

Secondary Incomplete

Primary completed

Primary incomplete

No Schooling

Primary completed

Primary incomplete

No Schooling

10

16

9

17

11

59

6

23

12 30

42 5

39

13

33

6 14

36

20

37 5

12

39

12 51

9

35 4

32

10

3

64

26 8

20

80 100

80

60

7 1 40

20

20-24

8

25-29

14

6

3

35-39

9

5

3

40-44

10

6

4

45-49

10

4

5

50-54

14

12

5

55-59

14

13

3 4

60-64

12

11 0

65+

7 0

4

41

18

4

44

14

5

42

11

3

45

13

4

43

33 27 20

2 40

3

7

14

6

16 22

7

23 25 9

20

2 5

22

7

7

10

10

2

45

7 7

2 6

42

8 4

18

43

19

11

10

9

28

30-34

5

1

5

60

4

38 4

15-19 0 6

7

39 5

12

43

13

6 0

37 54

60

80

Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

100

%

Female Literacy Rates, Ghana

Female Literacy Rate, Rural

Female Literacy Rate, Urban

22

Can read

14

Can read

32

Cannot read

Cannot read 68 86 Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

86% of women age 15-24 in urban areas can read, compared to 68% in rural areas.

The percentage of women who can read is 48% among women age 45-49 and 82% among women age 15-19.

Female Literacy Rate by Age

15-49

Literacy Rate of Women 15-24 Years Old by Grade Completed

63 Prim G7

15-19

Prim G6

82

20-24 63

30-34

59

23

Prim G5

71

25-29

#N/A

38

Prim G4

25

53 Prim G3

35-39

12

51

40-44

Prim G2

49

45-49

48 0

20

40

#N/A

No schooling 60

80

% Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

100

1 0

24 20

40

60

80

100

% Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

25% of women who completed grade 4 can read and literacy rate increases with level of education completed.