Armed Conflict and Schooling : Evidence from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
Civil war, and genocide in particular, are among the most destructive of social phenomena, especially for children of school-going age. In Rwanda school enrollment trends suggest that the school system recovered quickly after 1994, but these numbers do not tell the full story. Two cross-sectional household surveys collected before and after the genocide are used to compare children in the same age group who were and were not exposed to the genocide - and their educational outcomes are substantially different. Children exposed to the genocide experienced a drop in educational achievement of almost one-half year of completed schooling, and are 15 percentage points less likely to complete third or fourth grade. Sustained effort is needed to reinforce educational institutions and offer a "second chance" to those youth most affected by the conflict.
Summary: | Civil war, and genocide in particular,
are among the most destructive of social phenomena,
especially for children of school-going age. In Rwanda
school enrollment trends suggest that the school system
recovered quickly after 1994, but these numbers do not tell
the full story. Two cross-sectional household surveys
collected before and after the genocide are used to compare
children in the same age group who were and were not exposed
to the genocide - and their educational outcomes are
substantially different. Children exposed to the genocide
experienced a drop in educational achievement of almost
one-half year of completed schooling, and are 15 percentage
points less likely to complete third or fourth grade.
Sustained effort is needed to reinforce educational
institutions and offer a "second chance" to those
youth most affected by the conflict. |
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