Negotiating the interface between Upper Secondary and Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: the gender dimensions

In sub-Saharan Africa, several interventions aimed at ameliorating the gender inequities in transition to and effective participation in higher education have been implemented Affirmative action policiesand programs have been implemented at the upper secondary and highereducation interface while interventions such as policies and programs to combat sexual harassment and gender-based violence, and gender mainstreaming have been implemented in a number of higher education institutions.However, many of the interventions are in the form of small, usually pilot projects with little enduring impact. Recommendationsfor improvement include increasing access strengtheningthe teaching and learning of SMT subjects in schools with a special focus ongirls; developing and effectively implementing gender in education policies;changing the masculine culture of higher education institutions; enhancingarticulation of higher education curricula with the needs of the labor market;and institutionalizing the practice of collecting, analyzing and using genderdisaggregated data for policy and planning purposes