Schooling in Guinea : findings from the GDHS-II (Guinea Demographic Health Survey) 1999

Overall, the level of education is low. Of those age 6 and over, only 24% of females and 38% of males have ever attended school. School attendance is higher in urban areas (especially Conakry) than in rural areas and for those from wealthier families. School attendance has surpassed the goal of 53% by 2000 set in 1989. The gross attendance ratio is 61% for primary school and 19% for secondary school. The net attendance ratio is substantially lower; 40% at the primary level and 13% at the secondary level. School attendance is highest for wealthy urban males who live in Conakry and who have educated mothers. Gender parity is highest in Conakry, for the wealthiest quintile, and for those with educated mothers. Only 14% of children enter school at the official age of seven, with urban children, children from Conakry, children from the highest wealth quintile, and children with educated mothers again having a substantial advantage. There is no gender difference in net intake ratio, but the gross intake ratio shows that boys enroll in greater proportions than girls (51% to 40%). Only 36% of men and 14% women are literate. The differences in literacy between women and men and between rural and urban areas is substantial. The main reasons for never attending school and for starting overage are that the child"s labor was needed (more in urban than in rural areas), the school was not easily accessible (more in rural than in urban areas), and schooling was too expensive (especially in urban areas). On average, children quit school at 12, boys mainly for lack of interest, girls because of failure. In rural areas, lack of teachers is a significant reason for quitting school. Cost can be a major impediment to schooling, and the vast majority of student"s households spend money on schooling regardless of the student"s gender, residence, region, or type of school. Expenditures for other than school fees are substantially similar by type between students in public and private schools, but on average costs for private schools are nearly 2.5 times what they are for public schools, mostly due to school fees. More is spent on boys than on girls in nearly every expenditure category, especially for school fees. School expenditures are much higher in urban than in rural areas. Access to school is also an important barrier to schooling, with average travel time to primary school in urban areas less than half what it is in rural areas. Similarly, the average estimated distance to the closest primary school in rural areas is more than four times what it is in urban areas. Also in urban areas, access to a complete cycle of primary school is much more likely, and multi-grade classrooms less common. Windows and desks are common school amenities, but electricity is rare. Access to water and sanitation is much higher in urban than in rural areas. Perceptions of school participation of boys and girls reflect the actual state of education in Guinea: the majority of households believe that boys enroll in greater numbers. Suggestions for improving enrollment do not differ by gender, except for public-awareness campaigns, which are cited on behalf of girls more often than for boys. Paradoxically, reducing cost is cited as an incentive more often for rural than for urban areas. Rural households find improving access to schools with all six grades a greater incentive for improving enrollment than do urban households.