East, Southern and West Africa

This policy brief explores the economic and social costs of out of school children in Nigeria, considering the demand and supply barriers to accessing education. The brief further explores the social and political cost of out of school children and provides recommendations for the government.

This policy brief compares the school enrolment and retention before and after the Free Quality School Education Policy in Sierra Leone, using a variety of data sources and reports. The brief discusses the economic and human development context and country context of girls’ education. The paper extensively examines the out of school situation and the major education interventions by the government and non-governmental organisations in addressing it.

This policy brief explores best practices for improving retention, reducing dropout and enhancing learning outcomes in extreme poverty and rural areas of Ghana. The evidence shows that there are several best practices, within the context of student- and teacher-level interventions, that the government can adopt to address the out of school children situation leading to enhanced levels of participation, retention, and learning outcomes.