Understanding School Fees in Relation to both Access and Quality

Abstract

Between 1990 and 2007, sixteen different countries in sub-Saharan Africa used national education policy to formally abolish school fees. Implementing its Universal Primary Education Policy in 1997, Uganda was the third country in sub-Saharan Africa to do so. School fee abolition is typically understood along a single dimension: access. Any cost associated with attending school is seen as discouraging access; conversely, efforts to reduce costs are seen as improving access. Little to no research has investigated the connection to quality. In this chapter, analyzing a school savings program presents the opportunity to investigate how an intervention that encouraged the payment of school fees relates to both access and quality. Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial and research questions on mediation and moderation are used to explore this issue.