Children Out of School and Population Censuses Analysis of School Attendance Through Census Data ADEA's Working Group on Education Statistics (WGES) is working on a project that uses education statistics from different sources to count children who are out of school and to statistically compare the characteristics of children in school with those out of school. This project is carried out jointly by WGES, UNICEF, and a few pilot countries in sub-Saharan Africa. There are four main sources for education statistics: The annual school census (sometimes supplemented with school surveys on specific items) Household surveys Population censuses Administrative registers. These four channels of education statistics should be regarded as different parts of the data collecting system, which complement each other. The objective of this article is to highlight the untapped potential of population censuses for education statistics and to suggest how questions on education should be asked and how the data provided can be used. In particular, we want to encourage countries whose population census includes a question on school attendance to use this information to enrich the analysis of primary school attendance in their countries. Education in the population census The UN recommendations for the 2000 round of censuses of population and housing include five education items: Educational attainment Educational qualifications Field of education School attendance Literacy skills. The most important item is educational attainment. Almost all countries include a question on educational attainment in their population censuses. The second most important item, we believe, is school attendance. Literacy is, of course, a vital issue but may be better measured in sample surveys than in the population census. For purposes of international comparisons, countries should compile their data in accordance with the International Standard Classification of Education, 1997 (ISCED 97). Countries coding "educational attainment" or "fields of education" according to a national standard classification can establish correspondence with ISCED either through double-coding or through mapping from detailed groups of the national classification to ISCED. School attendance in the population census In population censuses, school attendance is defined as attendance at any accredited educational institution or program, public or private, for organized learning at any level of education. The term "education" is understood to comprise all deliberate, systematic, and organized communication designed to bring about learning. Instruction that is not part of the recognized educational structure of the country, such as in-service training or staff training in factories, is not considered "school attendance" for census purposes. Data on school attendance refer to that at the actual time of the census; if the census is taken during the school vacation period, school attendance during the period just before the vacation is taken into account. The concept of school attendance in the census is different from but complementary to the concept of enrolment used in statistics collected by ministries of education. A person may be enrolled but not attending school; and a person attending a training program may not be formally enrolled in an educational institution. A child may be enrolled, but for any one of a number of reasons not attending, for example because he or she helps with the family farm or business. Sometimes schools want to boost enrolment numbers to trigger more funds. The opposite is also possible; a child may be attending school but not be enrolled, due to incomplete school records, for example. In the census, information on school attendance should be collected for persons of all ages included in the school system, generally 5 to 29 years of age. In countries where data are to cover attendance in pre-primary education and/ or adult education, the age range should be adjusted appropriately. Also, it cannot be assumed that all those attending school are unemployed. The census should include separate items on employment and on school attendance. Use of population census data on school attendance The strength of population census data is that they include both children attending school and children not attending school. That means we can compare children in and out of school with other variables included in the census questionnaire, including the following: Age (single years of age) Gender Region (farm or non-farm residence; urban or rural areas) Citizenship/country or place of birth/ ethnic group/language/religion Number of children in the household or household size Educational attainment of the head of household Main activity of the head of house-hold Parents' occupation, industry branch/ sector and status in employment Mother's age Household income Housing conditions. In many countries the data tables on school attendance that have been generated from the population censuses are scarce. Much more could be done. We recommended that, in the year 2000 round of population censuses, African countries analyze and compare children in and out of primary school by the relevant population census items, especially those that distinguish the characteristics of the target groups. For policy target setting, governments need to identify geographic areas where primary school attendance is particularly poor. With this kind of census information, it would be possible to survey these areas and systematically investigate and document causes for nonattendance. Also population sub-groups with low primary school attendance could be identified. Using population census data makes it possible to give results also for small areas or small population sub-groups. The National Education Statistical Information System (NESIS) Program of the Working Group on Education Statis tics encourages countries to look at primary school attendance data in connection with the 2000 round of population censuses. The program has constructed a set of dummy tables on school attendance from the population census as examples to inspire and help to carry out such analyses. These dummy tables and more information on how to use population census data for education statistics may be obtained from the author. Ronnie Andersson Project Manager Tel: + 263-4-33 22 22, ext. 113 E-mail: r.andersson@unesco.co.zw Fax: +263-4-33 23 44 Previous Article: The Sahel Countries Mobilize for Education | Contents Page | Next Article: New Books on HIV/AIDS

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