In this study, we take stock of fee-free secondary education (FSE) initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa and review their impact on equitable access and achievement, as well as their cost-effectiveness. We begin by discussing the theoretical arguments for and against the abolition of secondary school fees. Second, we examine aggregate statistics on…

The underlying ambition of fee-free education is to increase school access. This study reflects on decentralisation in the decision-making process and implementation of fee-free policies. We compare two policies at the high school level in Ghana to evaluate the differences and commonalities in how they responded to school access. We used…

Since 2006, universities in England that want to charge higher fees to their domestic undergraduates have been required to agree a plan with an access regulator appointed by the government. This article identifies the objective for the regulation as equalising opportunity, then considers its effect, drawing on policy literature, ministerial…

The last 25 years have seen a dramatic shift in tuition fee policy in England. This paper uses Critical Discourse Analysis to understand the motivations behind policy setting, comparing the pivotal reviews undertaken by Dearing, Browne and Augar. It concludes that four themes may have influenced tuition fee policy making: national politics and…

Financial barriers to education such as the payment of school fees have long been identified as a key driver of the perennially high out-of-school rates in developing countries. Accordingly, Ghana implemented the education capitation grant (CG) policy in 2005 as part of efforts to universalise access to primary education. At its core, the policy…

Following the widespread adoption and implementation of Education for All (EFA) at the World Education Forum held at Dakar as part of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, school enrolment at the basic level of education has increased in Sub-Saharan Africa. With the region having the lowest rate of youth enrolled in upper secondary schools in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ending of fee-free higher education in Australia for overseas students in the 1980s, and the ways in which the government managed the diplomatic relationships that were affected by this policy shift. The introduction of fee-free higher education in Australia in 1974 was incredibly popular,…

In many nations around the globe, including Pakistan, education is losing ground as a public good to become another market-based commodity as the state shrinks its responsibility to schooling. This presents challenges to democratic futures, and particularly for young democratic states such as Pakistan. The government of Pakistan is pouring a…

Undergraduate credit for prior learning (CPL) is an important aspect of today's higher-education landscape. This report presents an in-depth look at the current state of undergraduate CPL in the United States and Canada. The primary objective of the report is to foment dialogue and action toward a more inclusive, effective higher-education system…

The Indian government enacted the Right to Education Act (RTE) to provide free and compulsory elementary education to all economically underprivileged children between ages 6 and 14. All schools, including private schools, are required to reserve 25% of their enrollment slots for such students, with the government shouldering their fees. While…

The school-choice landscape in the United States is undergoing a rapid transformation, as states increasingly enact a new form of vouchers called Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Unlike earlier voucher programs, which generally allowed subsidies only for private school tuition, ESAs represent a radically expansive--and potentially very…

Purpose: Due to the high expense of obtaining and accessing scientific research, readers with diverse financial abilities are not offered equal opportunities. This study investigates the preferences for journal access types among Arab university academics and explores the implications of publishing research articles in open access vs closed access…