Existence of a student management committee (correlated with existence of a stu- dent parents’ association) might have a positive impact on enrolment and atten- dance. When schools offer multi-grade classes consisting of two levels of classes in the same room, this has a strong positive impact on enrolment (p=0.01). This option gives the possibility that schools will accept more students with fewer classrooms. Also, when schools offer catch-up courses, this may have a posi- tive impact on enrolment. Poor physical state of schools has a negative impact on enrolment such that rehabilitation of schools is an important condition of increasing enrolment. If a school closed during the conflict, it is likely that par- ents were not prompted to enrol their children leading to strong negative impact (p=0.01) on enrolment ratio. When a school receives assistance such as furniture or kits for students and teachers, the impact on enrolment is significantly positive (p=0.06). Likewise, when a school has a canteen, the impact is strongly positive on enrolment (p=0.00) (Table 4.3) and attendance (p=0.01) (Table 4.4).
When a school exists in the village, this has a positive impact on enrol- ment. The proximity of school reduces the distance for children to travel and has a positive impact in a context of insecurity. Absence of teachers negatively affects attendance (p=0.01). Likewise, the student–table ratio has a negative and significant impact on attendance (p=0.08) (Table 4.4). That is, when this ratio increases, students are less keen to come to school. In some schools, which opened amid high insecurity in Kidal, teachers were told not to teach in French. This language constraint forced some students to leave school and adopting French as the teaching language has a strong positive impact on attendance (p=0.09).
Finally, living in an urban area, in Gao, or Timbuktu, strongly increases the likelihood of enrolment compared with living in a rural area and Kidal. However, students in an urban area are less likely to attend school, attracted by economic activities. In Gao, it is more likely that students will attend classes. The coefficient for Timbuktu is not significant but is positive. The intercept in that model is negative and significant (p=0.00). Thus, several other variables probably have negative impact on enrolment in the north of Mali.
Conclusion
This chapter shows that in the aftermath of conflicts, increasing education supply through rehabilitation and reconstruction of schools and assignment of more teachers are necessary to increase enrolment and attendance, but not enough to bring back all children who want to go to school. Safety net proj- ects which reinforce the resilience of households are more likely to increase demand for education and bring children back to school.
We illustrate that result using data collected in the north of Mali in 2016 amid insecurity from the conflict that broke out in the country in 2012. Impacts of the conflict were that schools were destroyed and some occu- pied, teachers fled outside the regions, material was looted, access to markets blocked, and commodity prices increased, among others. However, activities of reconstruction and rehabilitation of schools and other facilities resumed in 2014 thanks to financing from development agencies, non-governmental organizations, and communities. These projects for school rehabilitation were designed during the emergency in conflict-affected localities to help children return to school. In the meantime, humanitarian agencies, gov- ernment, the World Bank, and others such as the World Food Programme are supporting safety net programmes comprising free distribution of food, food stamps, cash transfers, and so on, in localities affected by the conflict and those sheltering displaced children. A combination of those measures significantly increased enrolment and attendance in basic education in northern Mali in 2016.
Regardless of rehabilitation and other assistance to schools, the enrolment rate increases more in households which receive at the same time free food distribution and cash transfers. In fact, households allocate the largest share of their cash transfer to food consumption. Therefore, if they receive cash trans- fers with food, it is likely that they will use part of the money to enrol their children in school. In addition, the presence of school feeding has a positive effect on children’s enrolment and attendance.
Notes
1. The baseline survey carried out in September 2015.
2. This rate includes Medersa that spans communities and religious schools.
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