CRES/UNU-MERIT
2013, International Conference
« Sustainable Growth and Development in Africa»
Impact Evaluation of School Feeding Programs on
Internal Efficiency of schools and Learning Abilities of
Students in Rural Primary Schools in Senegal
DIAGNE Abdoulaye
LÔ Mouhamadou Moustapha
SOKHNA Ousmane
DIALLO Fatoumata Lamarana
Dakar, Monday 25 November, 2013
Outline
I. Context and problems
II. Research questions and objectives
III. Experimental Design
IV. Estimation method of impacts
V. Main Results
VI. Conclusion, Discussions and Prospects
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I. Context and problems
• Education is now considered among the most important factors of
development.
• Access and quality of education form the second priority of the
International Community MDGs.
• Despite these considerations and this international commitment, progress in
education of quality for all has been slow and unequal.
• More than 121 millions children of school age are still out of school. Most of
them live in sub-Saharan Africa particularly in rural areas.
• Children in school face with the education quality issue.
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I. Context and problems (cont’)
• Hunger, nutritional deficiencies and chronic fatigue can be a major
barrier to schooling and a factor of low education quality for poor
households children.
• Feeding children in schools can both impact significantly on these
deficiencies and the children poverty.
• Indeed, many studies attempted to establish relationships between
school feeding and education performances.
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I. Context and problems (cont’)
• Some studies use non experimental evaluation (Patrick J. and al, 2010 ;
Sanchez, 2009; Farzana, 2007; Essama, 2006 ; Flores, 2005 ; Ahmed, 2004 ;
Ahmed and Del Ninno , 2002 ; etc.)
• Other adopt randomized experimentation (Aguiro and Woohard, 2007 ;
Vermeersche and Kremer, 2005 ; Imbens, 2004 ; Vermeersch and Kremer,
2004).
• This second group of studies is characterized by a great diversity both in terms
of treatment, beneficiaries, treatment, sample size, time of exposure to
treatment, type of effects, etc.
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I. Context and problems (end)
Contribution of the study
This research :
• Is among the first experimental evaluations in the field of education in subSaharan Africa.
• Helps to fill the lack of evidence on the actual impact of school feeding programs
on school performance and nutritional status of children in Senegal.
• Providing impact on four learning abilities : reasoning, memory, comprehension
and knowledge.
• Makes a detailed analysis of the heterogeneity of the school feeding impacts.
• Highlighting the influence of school governance in achievement.
• Highlighting interaction between SFP and 5 inputs of education quality.
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II. Objectives and research questions
• Objectives
Evaluate the potential contribution of school feeding programs to access to
quality primary education for boys and girls in rural Senegal.
• Main Research questions
Nutrition
• Does canteen program can improve the nutritional status of beneficiaries
children ?
• Does canteen program have positive externalities ?
Quality
• Does canteens program contribute to improved cognitive learning and
learning abilities of boys and girls ?
• The different cognitive skills are they affected the same way ?
• On what kind of cognitive skills, school canteens have the greatest impact ?
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II. Objectives and research questions (end)
Internal efficiency of schools
• Does school canteens contribute to lower repetition and dropout
rates of beneficiaries schools ?
• Does school canteen program contribute effectively to attract more
students to the school ?
• Does school canteen program promotes the education of girls more
than boys ?
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III. Experimental Design
1. Description of the Intervention
Nature of the Intervention
Implementation of school feeding and provision of meals to all students.
Intervention areas
Four poor regions of Senegal located in rural areas : two provinces in
Centre of the country (Fatick and Diourbel) and two in the South (Kolda
and Sedhiou).
Main characteristics of these regions: (1) low presence of schools canteens
compared to the others parts of the country; (2) very effective delay in
terms of schooling; and (3) high prevalence of poverty and vulnerability.
Main Actors
Ministry of Education (through DCS and DPRE); WFP; INEADE; IDEN;
Communities.
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III. Experimental Design (cont’)
Food allocation
Composition of the food basket : corn, leguminous plants, oil, iodized salt,
proteins and condiments.
WFP provides the food in dry ration and Community brings seasoning.
Source: Division of the school canteens /DPRE, ME
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III. Experimental Design (cont’)
2. Sampling
Criteria of targeted regions
Poverty and food insecurity
Existence of standard evaluation system
Be in the intervention area for the partners
Criteria of eligibility of schools
No school canteen
Have At least 50 students and maximum 600
Have a management committee operations (for schools of treatment)
Have at least second and fourth grades (CP and CE2 in Senegal)
Selection of the schools in the sample
Sample size: 120 schools
Schools repartition between two groups: random assignment of 60 schools in
treated group and 60 others in control group.
Number of observations: First wave (pre-test) : 2917 students (1472 boys and
1445 girls) and Second wave (post-test) : 2882 students (1445 boys, 1427 girls).
Duration of the experimentation: One academic year.
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III. Experimental Design (end)
3. Data
Primary data collected Strategy
- Survey with two wages (baseline [2009] + follow-up [2010])
4 questionnaires
- Census around the school (radius < 4 km): number of children (7 and 7-12
years old), ...
- Household: age, gender, education level of head, ...
- School and its environment: number of students by grade, repetition,
dropout, ...
- Teacher/grade: age, gender, diploma, experience, class size, …
Standard Evaluation
- Periods: pre-test and post-test; grades: CP and CE2; disciplines: french and
mathematics.
Fact sheets (day and month follow-up)
- quality/quantity of food served at the canteen.
Secondary data
- Data bases of MEN, IA, IDEN.
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IV. Estimation method (cont’)
Protocol validation :
- Tests (Student, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney)
Tests results :
- School level (Homogeneity);
- Student level (No homogeneity).
Method : The unbiased estimator of the Average treatment effect (ATE) is
calculated with the Difference-in-difference method.
T : traitement (1,0)
t : temps (1,0)
Y : mean score
X : explanatory variables
e : error
• Partial adherence corrected by Instrumental Variable (ATT);
• Controlling the equation by the preprogram characteristics ;
• Model of interaction with canteen and school inputs of quality .
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V. Main Results
1. Impact on dietary intake
School feeding improves dietary intake of students who received
treatment.
Beneficiaries
Energie(kcal)
Lipide (g)
Direct
(Student)
329.353
2.672
7.790
25.731
(45.399)***
(1.294)***
(1.890)***
(8.979)***
135.11
8.39
6.331
17.06
(46.321)***
(1.465)***
(2.014)***
(9.037)***
Standard Error
Indirect
(Brothers at home)
Protéine (g) Glucide (g)
External effects on dietary intake
School canteens improve significantly the dietary intake of children living
with treated students.
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V. Main Results (cont’)
2. Impact on cognitive acquisitions
Outcomes
Global Score
OLS Method
ATE
ATE
ATT (IV)
ATT (IV)
ATE
ATE
No control
Control
No control
Control
No control
Control
6.03
5.51
9.11
8.33
6.03
5.51
(1.11)***
(1.592)***
(4.134)**
(2.521)**
(2.735)**
5.59
4.60
(omitted)
(omitted)
5.59
4.605
(1.162)***
(3.05)
-
-
(2.837)*
(3.047)
6.35
6.32
(omitted)
(omitted)
6.35
6.31
(2.69)**
(2.88)**
-
-
(2.69)**
(2.88)**
Standard Error ( 2.522)**
French
Mathematics
Fixed effects
•
School feeding increase global cognitive acquisitions by 5.5 points of
percentage (pp)
•
The impact is higher in mathematics than French. But both are
significativement improved (Gove et Cvelich, 2010 for the importance of this result).
•
Results are significant at 5 %.
V. Main Results (cont’)
A. Heterogeneities of impact
1. Grade
Only global cognitive acquisitions of student in the second year (CP)
are significantly increased by the program (10.56 pp).
2. Age
The program had large significant impact on cognitive acquisitions
scores of over 10 years olds who had delayed school entry. It
increased their score by 10.65 points of percentage
This result confirms Adelman et al. (2008) study in Uganda.
3. Gender
The program has more success in boys (10.72 pp) than in girls (9.6 pp),
especially in second year.
The results are the same in French and Math. Boy are more sensitive.
V. Main Results (cont’)
4. School governance
Schools with a Student Parents Association, a Cooperative or a
Management Committee have better results.
4. Class size
Negative effect have been found on scores in classes exceeding 60
students. This result is frequent in the literature (GranthamMcGregor, 2005; Papamandjaris, 2000; Chang 1996).
B. Interactions : Complementarities and Substitutability
There are interaction between the school feeding and the traditional
factors of education quality. The impact of school feeding on
cognitive acquisitions is higher when the class size is small and
when children come from poor households.
V. Main Results (cont’)
3. Impact on Learning Competences
2nd year
Comprehension
Standard Error
Reasoning
Knowledge
Memory
4th year (CE2)
(CP)
No control
Control
No control
Control
10.04
7.61
4.58
1.91
(4.055)**
(4.519)*
(3.308)
(3.569)
12.09
15.46
5.76
2.28
(4.569)***
(5.128)***
(3.915)
(4.119)
10.24
9.432
10.54
10.61
(4.57)**
(4.67)**
(4.271)**
(4.42)**
23.38
19.92
-
-
(3.80)***
(8.37)**
-
-
• The cognitive competences of student in 2nd year increased more than
those in fourth year.
• The highest impacts are obtained in Reasoning and Memory abilities.
V. Main Results (cont’)
Hetorogenity on cognitive competences
• Comprehension : results are significant only on student in grade 2
(CP) who are not delayed in entry in school.
• Reasoning : significant results on 6-7 years old (23.92 pp) and 8-9
years old (15.59 pp ) in grade 2 (CP)
• Memory : significant results on 6-7 years old (33.23 pp) and 8-9
years old in grade 2 (17.20 pp)
• Knowledge : best results on student who are delayed in entry
(13.35 pp)
V. Main Results (cont’)
4. Impact on internal efficiency
Grade Repetition
Standard Error
Drop out
Standard Error
ATE
ATT
-0.179
-0,267
(2.288)
3,408
-1.168
-1,738
(2.186)
3,256
• The program reduces both grade repetion and drop out rates. But
the results are not significant, even at 10 % level.
• Then program has not significantly impact on internal efficiency.
V. Main Results (cont’)
5. Cost effectiveness analysis of School feeding program
The average cost of School Feeding Program, is $ 0.19 per student per day
(= $ 34 for a school year of 180 days) (WFP, 2001).
Due to strikes hourly quantum is 733/900 hours in 2009 (DRSP II, 2010).
On this basis, the annual cost per student in the school canteen is 27.69
U.S. dollars (or 13,854 FCFA on $ 1 = 500 FCFA).
Facteurs positifs
Estimated
Annual cost per Cost-effectiveness
Share in
coefficient (in%)
student
report (in%)
Sch. Feed. Cost
Proportion of teachers between
5 -10 years experience
25,341
2867
0,884%
13,4
Number of books per student
6,171
2305
0,268%
4,1
Teachers’ Evaluation system
0,783
110
0,712%
10,8
School feeding
9,11
13854
0,066%
1,0
Sources : Faye, S (2010) and authors’calculation.
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VI. Conclusion, Discussions and Prospects
Our results suggest that school feeding can be an effective way to
accelerate progress towards quality of education for all.
It can also reduce gender discrimination in education.
In order to fully enhance education performance, a strong school
governance is essential.
Through the school canteen, it is possible to reduce child malnutrition.
VI. Conclusion, Discussions and Prospects (Cont’)
School canteens are a way to fight against malnutrition, and hence
children poverty.
However, one should check if the effect of feeding would be greater if
they were coupled with a school deworming program.
Finally, it should be noted that school feeding programs are criticized
because of the cost of their implementation.
Is it very efficient to support school feeding programs? Only costeffectiveness analysis would address these concerns.
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VI. Conclusion, discussions and Prospects (END)
I.
How to make school feeding less expensive (sustainability of SFP)?
II.
How to make more effective canteens by incorporating more local
agriculture (Increase the effectiveness of SFP)?
III. how sustainably integrate deworming in the School feeding program
(making the SFP most healty)?
IV. How to take into account the inequality between student from poor
households ?
V.
how to involve more governments in the funding of these programs.
VI. Best results by correcting the attrition bias (more robust and relevant
results).
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Thank you for your attention
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