Effectiveness of facilities grants on the equitable access to schooling in Ugandan primary education

Abstract

The study examined the effectiveness of the availability of school facilities to equitable access, sanitation as well as teacher accommodation, using propensity score matching technique on administrative data routinely collected by the Ministry of Education and Sports through the Information Management System. The treatment schools received the grant during the FY2014/15 – FY2016/17, and their outcomes were compared with the control group of schools that have never received the grant. The results from the stratification matching revealed that schools that received the facilities support significantly (at 1%) increased the number of pupils by 10.3 per class, 2.8 per toilet stance and about 2 teachers per house more than the control group of schools. A similar trend of impacts is also observed on estimates from Kernel matching technique. The impact of facilities grant on gender equality in access is rather insignificant, implying that girls are equally likely to attend schooling as do boys. The results imply that a spacious classroom gives the teacher and students a good opportunity for interaction. The availability of toilet stances enhances safe and clean environment as well as positive attitude towards personal hygiene. It is glaring clear that the facilities’ importance can be measured from the uses they provide to learners and instructors even though they have differing degrees of influence on schooling. On the other hand, having a new school facility is good but maintaining them regularly in good condition remains a concern, which can even negate the schooling achievements gained in the medium to long term.