Evidence-based Education in Africa

I wonder what our current debates in Australia would or could contribute to the need to measure impact?

The recent Evidence-Based Education:Policy-Making and Reform in Africa Conference raises numerous challenges, for not only an education system [Ghana], but policy makers across all sectors of Health, Education and Treasury throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in collaboration with the Ghana Educational Service (GES) and support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) staged the two day event to review a large-scale evaluation of the Ghana Government’s Teacher Community Assistant Initiative (TCAI), aimed at improving literacy and numeracy levels in basic schools.

The context of the work is data that shows within Sub-Saharan Africa that:

• Net enrolment in primary school was 75% in 2009
• Primary completion rates were 67% in 2009
• In 2004, only 60% of students were able to progress to secondary school
• Net enrolment in secondary school was 27% in 2008
• Gross enrolment in tertiary institutions was 6% in 2008

Natalie Colatosti and Laurence Dessein have an article here

Links:

– First, Find out what works

– Evidence-based Policy ” Build on or Spray on” David Halpern – Does Evidence Matter? [PDF]

– Random Trials for Service Provision