Education and Orphanhood in Sub-Saharan Africa: An analysis of the effects of abolished school fee policies on orphan school enrollment

Abstract

I examine the impact of abolished school fee policies on the enrollment gap between orphans and non-orphans in 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Contradicting past research, I find that the policy significantly reduced the orphan enrollment gap, thus making policies directed at the poor largely capable of improving enrollment of orphans. However, I find that orphans are still less likely to enroll in school than non-orphans, and thus may require further specifically targeted policies to fully close the enrollment gap between orphans and non-orphans.