TUNISIA COUNTRY REPORT ON OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN

ALL IN SCHOOL MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN INITIATIVE SUMMARY TUNISIA COUNTRY REPORT ON OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN OCTOBER 2014

2015 UNICEF MENA Regiona Office Cover photo: UNICEF/TU-07-Noorani-0466

Summary Introduction Achieving universa education has been a priority for the Tunisian government since gaining independence. As a resut, since 1958, successive education system reforms have aid the foundations for integrated education that is free and compusory from 6 to 16 years od. From the mid-1990s, the aready we-estabished goa of universa access to education was couped with the objective of improving its quaity. With the aim of making the Tunisian education system more effective, incusive and equitabe, specific objectives were set, incuding restoring meaning to education and making students more active in educationa deveopment, as we as equipping teachers to dea with the weakest students. Severa poicy-reated reforms have been impemented, incuding the 2002 aw that made the pre-primary year universa in the pubic sector and introduced support programmes for chidren with difficuties at schoo (PASS, PEP, ISEH, etc.). These decades of deveopment in the Tunisian education sector make up the current educationa map. In 2013, the net rate of enroment of chidren aged 6 was 99.4 per cent (equay spit between girs and boys) and that of chidren aged 6 to 11 was 98.9 per cent. This amost universa coverage has aready existed for a decade. In addition, the student-teacher ratio has decreased to reach today s eve of 17.2. For secondary schoo and coege the situation is ess positive. Over the ast 10 years, the enroment rate of young peope aged 12 to 18 has come to a hat at around 75 per cent. Secondary schoos and coeges bame the high grade repetition rate, which, in 2011-2012 was 10 points higher than that of the primary schoo repetition rate (17.3 per cent at secondary schoo and 16.8 per cent at coege compared with 7.5 per cent at primary schoo). The dropout rate is aso significanty higher: 1 per cent at primary schoo compared to 9.3 per cent at secondary schoo and 11.9 per cent at coege. Athough it is undergoing an unprecedented democratic transition, Tunisia faces severa chaenges (economic, poitica, socia and reigious) that coud be either threats or opportunities for the country s educationa system. The resut depends on whether or not the country makes the most of these changes to improve education for Tunisian chidren. This study is investigating out-of-schoo chidren in order to hep achieve the goa of improved education. It aims to determine the situation of chidren who are out of schoo or who risk becoming so. It aso seeks to identify the socio-poitica and cutura factors that restrict access to education and seeks to propose a number of courses of action. Summary Tunisia country report on out-of-schoo chidren 1

The study examines two aspects of education: the first is quantitative and cacuates the number of chidren who are out of schoo or who risk becoming so at pre-schoo, primary schoo and secondary schoo. The second is quaitative and aims to identify the barriers and bottenecks affecting schoo excusion as we as identifying existing strategies to overcome them, and the imits of these strategies. Key trends of schoo excusion in Tunisia From a methodoogica point of view, it is difficut to obtain reiabe and coherent data from administrative sources, such as the Nationa Institute of Statistics. This ack of accuracy means it is difficut to use administrative data to disaggregate figures by region, governorate, etc. MICS data from househod surveys can hep with this and enabes cross referencing by gender, mother s educationa eve and weath quintie. The tabe beow highights key data from the anaysis of the Five Dimensions of Excusion. The Five Dimensions of Excusion in Tunisia Girs Boys Tota Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Out-of-schoo chidren D1: Chidren 5 years od (pre-primary) 26,351 30.0% 28,258 30.6% 54,609 30.3% D2: Chidren 6 to 10 years od (primary) 6,070 1.2% 8,963 1.7% 15,033 1.5% D3: Chidren 11 to 14 years od (ower secondary) 23,357 9.8% 26,023 10.3% 49,380 10.0% Tota out-of-schoo chidren 55,779 6.8% 63,244 7.2% 119,022 7.0% Chidren at risk of dropping out of schoo D4: Chidren in primary schoo 11,026 2.2% 16,012 2.9% 27,038 2.5% D5: Chidren in ower secondary schoo 17,471 7.4% 37,584 14.9% 55,055 11.3% Tota chidren at risk of dropping out of schoo 28,497 3.8% 53,596 6.7% 82,093 5.3% Source: 5D cacuation from Ministry of Education, INS and author s cacuations. What does this te us? In 2006, one in two chidren was enroed in a pre-primary schoo year. Things are heading in the right direction, as today, ony one in three chidren does not compete a pre-primary year (the non-enroment rate is 30.3 per cent or 54,609 chidren, of which 26,351 are girs), athough some of the chidren not recorded as enroed may foow another form of pre-schoo education. However, access to pre-schoo education is sti a probem for amost one in four chidren. Furthermore, access is not eveny distributed, since a chid enroed in the first year of primary schoo is amost twice as ikey to have competed a pre-schoo year if their mother attended higher education or if they are from a we-off famiy compared to a chid whose mother has itte or no education, or if the chid comes from a poor famiy. Foowing on from this, there are significant differences in terms of access to pre-schoo between urban areas (9 out of 10 chidren) and rura areas (6 out of 10 chidren). At different eves, as much for girs as for boys, there are a number of eary entrants at pre-schoo, primary schoo and secondary schoo. On the other hand, reativey sma numbers of students repeat schoo grades. 2 Midde East and North Africa Out-of-Schoo Chidren Initiative

At primary schoo, enroment is amost universa, regardess of the chid s profie. The number of primary out-of-schoo chidren is 15,033 (6,070 girs), or 1.5 per cent. From this ow proportion of primary age out-of-schoo chidren, the majority re-join schoo ater. In terms of primary schoo retention, figures are encouraging: in 2012 the number of chidren who had dropped out was three times ess than in 2000 (dropping from 9 to 3 per cent). However, this decrease has occurred at the expense of quaity, where students may sti reach the sixth year of basic education without having acquired basic skis. This expains why dropping out occurs more at secondary schoo, and athough figures have decreased over the ast 12 years, the rate is sti two times higher than at primary schoo eve. This raises the question about the transition between the two cyces. There is aso a reativey arge dropout rate among chidren with disabiities over the years of schooing. From primary schoo to secondary schoo, their numbers decrease to amost two thirds and ony one quarter attend coege. The issue of gender is significant among those who eave schoo in coege and has increased over the years to become twice as high for boys than for girs. Socioeconomic variabes aso pay a part. Cohort studies show that difficuties at schoo are inked to socio-economic status, which is aso the subject of significant regiona disparity in Tunisia. The MICS4 study (2012) highighted arge regiona disparities in the centre-west governorates, which have the owest schoo enroment rates. There are more out-of-schoo chidren aged 12 to 14 than at primary schoo age: just over one in ten secondary schoo-aged chidren (or a tota of 49,380, of which 23,357 are girs) does not attend schoo for this second cyce of basic education. This figure is mosty made up of chidren who have previousy dropped out of schoo, which means that chidren who have eft schoo are the biggest probem facing secondary schoos. From 12 to 18 years, the probabiity of being outside the schoo system increases with age. However, MICS4 data show that chidren and young peope who are cassed as being out of schoo can enro in vocationa training (this is not part of the Ministry of Education). The out of schoo category therefore covers a variety of situations incuding chidren enroed in parae education systems, chidren foowing vocationa training, chidren invoved in chid abour, expatriate chidren etc. With regard to the probem of chid abour, MICS4 highights the fact that 2.6 per cent of chidren aged 5 to 14 are invoved in chid abour and these chidren are mainy aged 5 to 11. Out-of-schoo chidren are more ikey to work than chidren who are at schoo, with a significant difference among those aged 12 to 14 (10 per cent against 0.5 per cent). Chidren iving in rura areas are more ikey to work, whether they are at schoo or not, than chidren from urban areas. There are aso differences between the sexes. Among chidren at schoo, boys are twice as ikey to work as girs, whie among out-of-schoo chidren the situation is reversed. How can we expain this situation, what are the key driving forces and if there is a need for action, where shoud we start? The second part of this study highights the different bottenecks in the Tunisian system as we as discussing the different strategies that have been adopted over the years. This anaysis ends with severa findings and recommendations, summarized as foows: I) Massive investment is required at pre-schoo eve for infrastructure, unifying and standardizing programmes and training educators. The Tunisian education system has weak pre-schoo provision which hinders chidren s deveopment and affects the efficacy of primary education. Summary Tunisia country report on out-of-schoo chidren 3

Athough the coverage rate has increased since 2006, when haf of a chidren did not receive any form of pre-schoo education before the age of 6, one in four chidren sti do not benefit from pre-schoo access and one in three doesn t attend a pre-schoo year before entering the primary schoo cyce. The issue of pre-schoo access becomes more acute in rura areas. This trend must be countered by making pre-schoo compusory and free, as part of a genera poicy, i.e. a poicy which is not imited to the pre-schoo year but which aso covers pre-schoo education for chidren aged 3 and 4. These years preceding primary education are crucia for chidren s deveopment, heping to form chidren s personaities, contributing to their ater schoo successes and aso for eary identification of any physica or menta issues that may imit their chances of educationa success. Athough the ministries in charge of chidhood and education shoud pay a decisive roe in driving pre-primary education forward and creating the necessary frameworks, their impementation shoud invove a reevant regiona and oca stakehoders, associations and private organisations. Loca eves have a key roe to pay, as they are better abe to appy such initiatives to their oca contexts. The roe of oca authorities in managing chidren s nurseries shoud be reactivated. The private sector shoud aso become a strategic partner by receiving financia incentives for investment in the poorest regions. In terms of demand, awareness campaigns shoud be ed among parents who do not see the vaue of sending their chid to a pre-schoo, particuary in rura areas. Based on this information, the foowing specific recommendations are made: Immediatey make pre-schoo compusory and free. It is unacceptabe that in today s Tunisia so many chidren aged 5 are not yet in education. As part of a nationa pre-schoo strategy, renew wiingness to make pre-schoo universa, under the impetus of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Chidhood, with the foowing conditions: pan the universaity of a pre-schoo year as part of a genera pre-schoo poicy that aso incudes chidren aged 3 and 4, and not just one pre-schoo year; consider quantity and quaity together since it is unthinkabe to make pre-schoo universa if it is of ow quaity; and pace more emphasis on rura regions. Utiize a stakehoders at the oca eve, particuary the oca authorities. II) The quaity of the Tunisian education system (incuding the quaity of provision) remains very much a ive issue. Quaity shoud be improved at a eves, starting with pre-schoo and prioritizing the transition between primary and secondary in particuar. II.1) The first barrier to improving quaity of education is that of teacher training. Currenty, Tunisia does not have a comprehensive training centre for the education professions. It is vita that an ambitious teacher training poicy is drawn up which ceary sets out the expected competencies of teachers and educators at each eve. Recruitment criteria for teachers shoud aso be revised. The job of teaching is not something that can be improvised and it requires specific pedagogica skis. The current baance between quaifications (enhancing the teaching profession by requiring a degree) and teaching competencies/skis (carrying out the actua job of teaching) is disproportionate and shoud be rethought to improve the atter. II.2) The second chaenge is creating the resources to provide a chid-centred education. The reform introduced in the midde of the 1990s, which caed for a skisbased approach, indicated a wiingness to improve the education system in terms of increasing efficacy, quaity and equity. This reform was very important but it did not have the resources to reaize its ambitions, particuary for each educationa cyce to focus on remedia sessions and assessment formative then certificationa to hep evauate whether students had acquired the necessary skis. Emphasis shoud not be paced on redepoying a schoo-grade repeating poicy: that woud be missing the point. It woud 4 Midde East and North Africa Out-of-Schoo Chidren Initiative

be better to focus on deveoping an evauation and grading system for student achievement, based on tacking compex and concrete situations and which encourages use of resources in the students best interests. Such an evauation system assumes that compex situations wi aready have been worked on with the students in cass. Remedia casses shoud aso be improved to support those students experiencing difficuties. II.3) The third chaenge is that of revising and standardizing schoo programmes. Each different schoo eve must communicate in order to create coherence between the programmes. The reativey fragmented administrative framework must be overcome by a eadership group that wi supervise programme revisions (iterary subjects, humanities and socia sciences etc.) and ensure continuity between the different educationa cyces. II.4) The fourth chaenge exists more ocay and is the quaity of schoo ife within each estabishment. Foowing the 2004 Decree, educationa provision shoud be improved by integrating socio-cutura, sporting and civic activities. The study on educationa support recommends, for exampe, incuding homework, cutura and sporting activities within schoo time, inking them to education and defining them with reference to the target skis-base for each eve. Deveoping cutura and sporting projects is aso one of the actions to improve schoo ife, so that students view it as positive and stimuating. II.5) The fifth chaenge is inked to the quaity of provision. In Tunisia today, infrastructure and faciities vary consideraby in terms of quaity, sometimes even in terms of basic faciities (toiets, drinking water, paved roads etc.), which is unacceptabe. The question of schoo transport is vita in rura regions and shoud be addressed by providing appropriate transport for each area, as in the exampe of the Ministry of Affairs for Women and Famiies (Ministère des Affaires de a Femme et de a Famie [MAFF]) partnership with a oca authority to impement a free bus service for students going to schoo. The issue of schoo canteens shoud aso be expored, as nutrition is vita for students we-being and concentration. II.6) Technica/vocationa education shoud aso be reviewed and programmes shoud be enhanced by introducing an additiona practica dimension to the existing theory. Young peope shoud be given the option of aternating between work/schoo (work being a paid internship) to prepare them for the empoyment market whie aowing them to pursue their education. II.7) Across the board, for a future reforms, the backdrop shoud be that of rigorous and equitabe quaity standards. Equity means that the weakest students wi be given more chances to deveop rather than heping ony the strongest to pass with fying coours. Addressing equity means paying particuar attention to the most disadvantaged areas, in particuar rura areas that have ower enroment rates than urban areas. This is mosty the case for pre-schoo, secondary schoo and coege. In other words, the idea of granting resources based on positive discrimination is acceptabe as ong as it is based on a prior needs anaysis. This needs anaysis is vita if resources are not to be wasted. Addressing equity aso means paying specific attention to the vunerabe group of chidren with disabiities. For the past 10 years, Tunisia has been impementing an ambitious integration strategy that has, however, been shown to have numerous imitations incuding ack of specific training for staff, undeveoped structures that have ed to a significant ack of resources etc. The new schoo incusion pan for chidren with disabiities, currenty under discussion, shoud focus argey on evauating prior practices in integrated schoos in order to avoid repeating previous mistakes. In particuar, it is important to carify what is meant by a chid with (mid) disabiities. Whatever criteria are chosen, integrating chidren with disabiities is not an end in itsef but is a means to heping them deveop and grow. Summary Tunisia country report on out-of-schoo chidren 5

Addressing equity must dispe the myth that a cass or organization shoud be homogeneous. Far from promoting quaity of education for a, grouping students by abiity ony intensifies differences between weak and strong students to the detriment of the former. Conversey, studies have shown that teaching heterogeneous (mixed-abiity) casses is just as effective and is even more beneficia for weaker students. Mixed-abiity casses aso reduce student competition and aid student comprehension. If the schoo s objective is, among others, to strengthen openness to universa civiisation, as stated in Artice 3 of the genera aw of 2002, one might egitimatey wonder if understanding of the sef, of others, of subjects being taught might be being sacrificed in favour of meaningess success. Based on this information, the foowing specific recommendations are made: Initiate a Nationa programme to update educationa infrastructure (PNMANIS from the French). In 2014, Tunisian pubic schoos shoud refect a dignified image of the country s chidren. Athough there is a ot of potentia in the idea of invoving civi society groups, this cannot be a substitute for projects that are the responsibiity of pubic authorities. It is suggested that within five years, a schoos and coeges shoud fufi Tunisian faciities standards. This wi require: i) defining the standards; ii) a comprehensive infrastructure map; iii) eaborating a business pan for PNMANIS. Carry out an in-depth review of the students earning outcomes evauation system based on resoving compex situations and improving remedia casses. Rethink an ambitious teacher training poicy and review recruitment criteria to favour teachers pedagogica skis in order to prepare for (and add vaue to) the compexity of the profession of teaching. Create coherence between different educationa cyces by reforming and standardizing their content. Impement, in accordance with the 2004 Decree reating to schoo ife, integration of homework, cutura and sporting activities within schoo time, inking them to education and defining them with reference to the target skis-base for each eve. This shoud incude consideration of how to amend the schoo day according to socia and oca parameters. Focus on schoo transport in rura areas and schoo canteens in disadvantaged areas. Renew the focus on technica and vocationa education and consider work/study teaching methods. When estabishing the revised Schoo Incusion Pan for chidren with disabiities, this shoud take the form of a rea Integrated Care Pan for such chidren and cear objectives, we distributed responsibiities, performance indicators, foow up and accountabiity mechanisms. Reference shoud be made to evauations of prior practice. A future reforms shoud be made against a backdrop of rigorous but equitabe quaity standards. Equity impies that specia attention wi be paid to certain regions. It aso impies that the myth of homogeneous casses being more effective wi be reviewed and where appropriate a piot scheme of mixed abiity, supported and we-equipped casses wi be initiated. III) Education sector governance shoud be subject to sensitive improvements in three ways: 1) by strengthening the on-going decentraization process, 2) by consoidating horizonta coaboration between stakehoders at a eves; and 3) by improving resources to understand their own education system. III.1) Creating regiona commissions is a step forward in improving governance of the education system, and therefore its efficacy, but this process is not without difficuty. Considerabe imits sti exist with regard to regiona skis deveopment (such as the cuture of strategic panning), budgets etc. These imits must be deat with by strengthening regiona structures so that they become more autonomous and can carry out specific educationa projects within a nationa poicy framework. 6 Midde East and North Africa Out-of-Schoo Chidren Initiative

One of the strengths of the decentraization process is aocating resources to entities that operate more on a sma scae (rather than a nationa scae). Therefore we recommend that newy created commissions expore possibe partnerships with oca associations for framework contracts reated to specific objectives such as schoo transport and support for homework and cutura or sporting activities. Associations have expertise and oca knowedge that can be expoited on a case-by-case basis as part of partnerships buit around cear, panned and budgeted objectives. Locay impemented projects especiay integrated projects wi aso maximize the chances of having an impact. III.2) Coordination between stakehoders shoud be consoidated at a eves. At a centraized eve, the diversity of ministeria eadership in severa domains pre-schoo, disabiity, rights of the chid etc. causes governance probems that have concrete repercussions on chidren s progress. Locay, coordination between different stakehoders from different sectors (doctors, teachers, socia workers, speciaist teachers etc.) generay seems to fai within the existing structures for supporting chidren with difficuties. This is particuary reevant in the case of caring for chidren with disabiities, characterized by the sheer numbers of peope invoved. This mutipicity of stakehoders raises the question of how such chid care can function, but aso that of understanding it: parents don t have a cear picture and often don t know which organization to turn to, whie stakehoders often don t have a cear vision of their roe or of the resources at their disposa. As a resut, everyone s responsibiities are diuted and ines are burred, with no stakehoder reay knowing where their roe begins or ends. III.3) Tunisia has a very advanced information coection and data production system. However this study has highighted the fact that the country sti has certain inadequacies in terms of resources for understanding its own education system at the eve of studies, evauation, data coection etc., and on subjects such as the quaity of pre-schoo, transition between primary and secondary schoos, chid abour (see beow), integrating chidren with disabiities etc. Therefore it may be recommended that, from now on, a statistica systems be made more coherent, within an integrated information system using a range of reevant indicators to make the education system eadership more effective (in particuar for indicators on quaity of teaching and student performance). A cuture of strategic panning aso needs to be deveoped, with resources dedicated to it, particuary in terms of impementing foow-up and evauation mechanisms both ocay and regionay. From among these inadequacies, the specific probem of chid abour has not been studied much in Tunisia. However this issue does exist and differs depending on area/region, gender and socio-economic status of the chid s famiy. The responses shoud therefore aso be different depending on each case. We recommend that a more documented and precise anaysis be carried out to fuy understand the ins and outs of the issue. This is a pre-requisite for controing this phenomenon, which Tunisia has committed to eradicate. Based on this information, the foowing specific recommendations are made: Continue decentraization by granting necessary resources to regiona education committees. Expore opportunities offered by coaborating with oca stakehoders with a view to maximizing impact: oca authorities, associations, private operators etc., and across different sectors, in particuar for pre-schoo and care for chidren with disabiities and at-risk chidren. Increase information sharing and coordination at a eves so that the network set out on paper is effective in the fied, used by practitioners and provides responses which are suitabe for the chidren with difficuties. Where appropriate, review existing chidhood care structures (education, socia, justice etc.) with a view to streamining them. Summary Tunisia country report on out-of-schoo chidren 7

Organize oca and regiona information sessions for teachers and famiies on the different structures that exist for students with disabiities (particuary for primary aged chidren). Increase coherence of a avaiabe statistics within an integrated information system that uses a range of reevant indicators in order to make the education system eadership more effective. Make this statistica system transparent. To this end, it is important to improve the EMIS (education management information system) and other data coection systems, and to periodicay pubish data on OOSC (out-of-schoo chidren). Deveop a cuture of strategic panning and dedicate resources to it, particuary in terms of impementing oca and regiona foow-up and evauation mechanisms. As part of future research, (possiby in coaboration with the CNIPRE and universities) carry out a more documented and precise anaysis of chid abour in order to fuy understand the ins and outs of the issue. This is a pre-requisite for controing this phenomenon, which Tunisia has committed, nationay, to eradicate. 8 Midde East and North Africa Out-of-Schoo Chidren Initiative

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