The Impact of the Abolition of Fees in Government Primary Schools: The Case of Southern Amhara Region
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Date
2000-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The measure of school fee-abolition which took effect in some regions like the
Amhara region had its own impact on different aspects of the teaching learning
process. Investigation of this impact was the main purpose of this study.
The data for the study which covered the southern part of the Amhara region was
mainly obtained by means of document analysis with supplementary information
gathered using a questionnaire and interview schemes. The data so gathered from
21 schools from North Shoa, South Wollo and Oromia zones by the direct
intervention of the researcher wert later subjected to a x2-test of independence; the
analysis revealed that the fee abolition measure has affected enrollment positively,
albeit weakly, while its impact on school revenue and school expenditure was
significantly adverse. A number of other factors may have contributed to the stated
results.
Moreover, the study found out that the regional government was entirely unable to
live up to its promises in filling the revenue gap created due to the abolition . That
may not be expected given the current unprecedented budget pressure and fiscal
constraint, but one may not stop wondering why the fee-abolition measure was
taken) to begin with} in such a state of bud get starvation.
In the final analysis, the study recommended that registration fees be reinstated so
that the staggering teaching learning process straightens up and that money-starved
schools become able to make ends meet with as little further "sacrifices" as
possible.
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Keywords
The Impact of the Abolition, of Fees in Government