This paper presents the results of a field experiment in rural Sindh, Pakistan, where half of the school-age children (ages 6-10 years) are out of school. The study tests simple and low-intensity approaches to strengthen engagement of communities with schools: face-to-face dialogue at externally...

This policy note is an attempt to systematically analyze and document emerging trends in the evolution of students' learning outcomes in Tanzania's primary schools. The note is based on two rounds of the Service Delivery Indicators Survey in Tanzania, 2014 and 2016, and provides guidance to the...

Tanzania became one of the first low-income countries to abolish fees for lower secondary education (grades 8-12) in 2015. One of the pledges of a new, reformist government, the policy built on the country's previous experience of abolishing primary fees in 2002. The new Fee-Free Basic Education...

There have been many initiatives to improve education outcomes in South Asia. Still, outcomes remain stubbornly resistant to improvements, at least when considered across the region. To collect and synthesize the insights about what actually works to improve learning and other education...

There are severe geographical disparities in pupil-teacher ratios (PTR) across Malawi, with most teachers concentrated near commercial centers and in rural schools with better amenities. Most of the variation in PTR is concentrated in small sub-district areas, suggesting a central role for...

The overall objective was to elicit and sustain meaningful participation by the community in the management of schools. This could only be possible if the interface was integrated with local institutions. For this reason, School Management Committees in approximately half of the sample villages...