NON-STATE ACTORS IN EDUCATION
2.2 Non-state education provision
3.1 Regulations by distinct levels of education
- Early childhood care and education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
- Primary and secondary education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
- Tertiary education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
3.3 Supplementary private tutoring
The Basic Education Law of Guinea-Bissau (2010) which governs the education system of Guinea-Bissau from early childhood to higher education refers to ensino particular e cooperativo or private and cooperative education, which, as an externalization of the freedom of education plays an important role in the architecture of the education system. According to this law, private and cooperative education is administered by institutions created by individuals or collectives of a private or cooperative nature.
2.1 State education provision
State schools
Enrolment in state schools is higher at the primary level or the first two cycles of basic education where education is compulsory and free. Free education means exemption from tuition fees, attendance, and certification, as well as free use of textbooks and teaching materials. However, according to the preliminary findings of the MICS survey for 2018-19, the recurrent strikes of teachers in the public sector in recent years has led many parents to enrol their children in private schools. In 2021 for instance, classes have been paralysed for 5 months in public schools due to a strike by the National Union of Guinean Workers which has been joined by the Democratic Teachers’ Union (SINDERPROF) and the National Front of Teachers and Educators (FRENAPROFE).
Significant progress in school enrolment has been achieved since 2000 but the education sector continues to face several challenges such as the rapid population growth, the lack of infrastructure in rural areas and the prolonged teacher strikes motivated by low salaries which impede the normal functioning of public schools. Late entry and repetition rates, which are above 10% in almost all grades, are other challenges that the education system faces since an enormous amount of resources wasted when children are spending six or more years in school but completing three or less grades.
Non-state managed, state schools
Some schools in Guinea-Bissau are state-owned and funded but operated by non-state actors. This is the case of the CEASP, a public school with shared management between the community and the government of Guinea-Bissau, where formal education is the responsibility of the State and non-formal education activities are managed and carried out by the Association of Parents, Friends and Carers (APAE).
Non-state funded, state schools
State schools may collect fees from parents or guardians due to the difficulties of management and financial support from the Guinean government. The model of non-state funded, state schools has been adopted by many public schools in the country, which, faced with constant teacher strikes, were authorized by the Ministry of Education to collect a contribution fee from parents and guardians. Fee paying in the autogestão sector has a different organizational structure where parents pay some additional fees for teachers in order to avoid strike
2.2 Non-state education provision
Independent, non-state schools
Independent non-state schools are located mainly in urban areas and they tend to attract children who want to transition into secondary education or who want to complete grades 5-6 of primary education. The lack of public schools offering grades 5 and 6 of primary education leads to children moving to private schools when their parents or caregivers can afford the costs. The lack of infrastructure of public education and the high costs of private education, together with economic and socio-cultural barriers lead to many children being out of school in the country. Almost all children that are classified as excluded in household survey data according to a study on out-of-school children conducted by UNICEF in 2018 are from Muslim households. The inability to pay school fees is one of the main reasons that explain school dropouts.
Some NGOs like Plan International or Ceu e Terras have provided financial support to poor families to allow their children to go to private schools. Additional support is provided by these organisations for the payment of school fees in community schools, distribution of school kits, bicycles for children living in tabancas or rural areas and school manuals.
Private schools operated by religious groups exist across the country. In 2020 the government started converting Koranic schools into madrassas with the purpose of ensuring that children acquire other skills besides religion. However, many children attend both koranic centres and formal schools. Koranic centres and Madrassa schools are both recognized by the government.
According to UNICEF’s Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Guinea-Bissau (2015), families make a strong contribution of the financing of education in Guinea-Bissau. Estimates for 2010 indicate that around half of all expenditure on education is paid by parents and caregivers of children. Most of the financial contributions from families go to pre-school and secondary education. Private schools in Guinea-Bissau have been expanding over the last decades, in response to state failure and disenchantment with the public system. The fact that private schools can avoid teacher strikes is one of the main incentives for parents to send their children to private schools if they can afford the costs.
State-funded (government-aided), non-state schools
No information was found.
Contracted, non-state schools
No information was found.
2.3 Other types of schools
Homeschooling
No information was found.
Market contracted (Voucher schools)
No information was found.
Unregistered/Unrecognised schools
There is no information available on the number of unregistered and unrecognized schools across the country. However, a UNICEF report highlighted that some communities have koranic centres and Madrassas offering a more restricted curriculum that are not officially recognized as schools by the government. They are both considered as part of the non-formal education offer.
Community schools
Communities play a key role in the provision of education at the pre-primary and basic education levels. According to the UNICEF’s SITEAN report published in 2015, communities have responded to the lack of nearby schools by establishing community schools. In 2013 these made up 20 per cent of all schools offering Grades 1-6, and 32 per cent of all pre-primary schools.
The Minister of National Education and Higher Education is responsible for the development and implementation of education policies in Guinea-Bissau. Administrative responsibilities are also held by 11 Regional Education Directorates. The Education Directorate of Inspection is in charge of administrative and financial inspection, pedagogical inspection, and technical assistance to private and public schools. The Inspectorate has both a central‐level structure and a regional structure through the regional coordinating inspectors and sector inspectors. Community schools and madrassas often operate outside of the government control.
Vision: The Education Sectoral Plan of Guinea Bissau for 2017-25 sought to reduce the financial burden on families by gradually setting up operating endowments for schools and promoting access for the poorest households. The intervention of non-state actors at all education levels is foreseen in the education sectoral plan particularly at the higher education level where the plan foresees the development of a series of regulations to regulate the establishment and operation of new higher education institutions.
3.1 Regulations by distinct levels of education
Early Childhood Education is regulated under article 11 of the Basic Education Law of Guinea-Bissau (2010) (see section on multilevel regulations for further details). The law highlights that pre-school education can be integrated in a network composed of state institutions and other individuals or collectives, including public entities, private entities, or cooperatives. According to this law, the State is responsible for creating and maintaining early childhood education and for providing support to private actors and communities providing early childhood services. Preschool is not compulsory and is available for children from age 3 to 5 mainly through private or community activities that are sometimes linked to a religious organization.
According to UNICEF’s Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Guinea-Bissau (2015) there has been a sharp increase in the number of children enrolled in early childhood education programmes, particularly from the poorest quintile of the population since communities are filling the gaps in social service provision in rural and marginalized areas. In Bissau the percentage of children attending early childhood programmes is three times higher than in other regions. Educated mothers are nine times more likely to send their children to a pre-school programme than mothers with no education.
There are three times of early childhood education programmes in the country:
- Community or NGO-led early learning programmes which are more likely to be found in rural areas.
- Public pre-school programmes who cater for children living in urban or peri-urban areas
- Private childhood education programmes who cater for children from the richest quintiles of the population.
The significant increase in children attending pre-schools is mainly a result of private, community and religious initiatives. However, access to some of these services remains constrained for some families due to relatively high costs.
The preliminary findings of the MICS Survey for 2018-19 provide information on the number of children enrolled in early childhood education programmes by gender, region, and ethnicity. Percentages vary widely, in particular in enrolment between urban and rural areas and between the richest and poorest quintiles of the population. There is no disaggregated information of enrolment in private, community or public early childhood education programmes.
Early Childhood Education Programmes fall under the authority of the Ministry of Education. The Education Sectoral Plan of Guinea Bissau for 2017-2025 highlights that the private sector accounts for almost half of the total enrolment in early childhood education programmes in the country.
Registration and approval: See Multi-level regulations.
Licence: No information was found.
Profit-making: No information was found.
Taxes and subsidies: No information was found.
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: See Multi-level regulations.
Teaching profession: See Multi-level regulations.
Fee-setting: No information was found.
Admission selection and processes: No information was found.
Policies for vulnerable groups: No information was found.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Reporting requirements: No information was found.
Inspection: See Multi-level regulations.
Child assessment: No information was found.
Sanctions: See Multi-level regulations.
While significant progress has been in enrolment in primary education, completion and transition rates into secondary education remain very low. This is largely because only 25% of primary schools offer grade 5 and grade 6 classes, with these schools being located mainly in peri-urban and urban areas. This leads to children from rural areas disengaging from school at a very young age. With almost half of the students not being able to transition into the second cycle of basic education due to a lack of public schools offering other education levels, many families are compelled to send their children to private schools or to look for public schools in other vicinities. At the primary level, families finance about 35% of all expenditures. According to the Education Sectoral Plan of Guinea Bissau for 2017-2025, the low quality of public schools also drives many families to opt for private education for their children. Children from private schools perform better in Portuguese and Mathematics than children from public and community schools. One of the objectives of the ESP is to improve the access to the first two cycles of basic education which will result in a reduction in the number of students enrolled in private schools.
Primary and secondary schools can be public, private or community schools. Religious schools include catholic schools or madrassas. Primary and secondary education are governed under the Basic Education Law of Guinea-Bissau (2010). For more information, see Multi-level regulations.
Registration and approval: See Multi-level regulations.
Licence: No information was found.
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH): No information was found.
Profit-making: No information was found.
Taxes and subsidies: No information was found.
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: See Multi-level regulations.
Textbooks and learning materials: No information was found.
Teaching profession: See Multi-level regulations.
Corporal punishment: There is no information on the prohibition of corporal punishment on the Basic Education Law of Guinea-Bissau (2010). The Global Partnership to End Corporal Punishment country report for Guinea-Bissau establishes that prohibition is still to be achieved in the home, alternative care settings, day care and possibly schools. Legislation does not explicitly prohibits corporal punishment in all education settings, public and private.
Other safety measures and Covid-19: No information was found
Fee-setting: No information was found.
Admission selection and processes: No information was found.
Policies for vulnerable groups: No information was found.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
School board: No information was found.
Reporting requirements: No information was found.
School inspection: See Multi-level regulations.
Student assessment: No information was found.
Diplomas and degrees: No information was found.
Sanctions: See Multi-level regulations.
According to the Education Sectoral Plan of Guinea Bissau for 2017-25, enrolment in tertiary education more than doubled between 2005 and 2013. The Plan sought to create new norms for the creation of tertiary education institutions and to evaluate existing institutions based on minimum quality standards defined by the Ministry of Education.
The State Secretariat for Higher Education and Scientific Research is responsible for the provision and development of higher education in the country. There are four public tertiary institutions in Guinea-Bissau and four private ones All eight universities are located in the capital Bissau. Private universities in Guinea Bissau include the Universidade Lusófona da Guiné (ULG) Founded in 1999 as the Universidade Amilcar Cabral (public) and placed under the administration of the Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias (Portugal) and changed into a private institution, the Universidade Colinas de Boé, the Universidade Jean Piaget da Guiné-Bissau and the Universidade Católica da Guiné-Bissau established in 2014.
There is no specific governing tertiary education in Guinea-Bissau. Higher education institutions are governed by the Basic Education Law of Guinea-Bissau (2010). For more information about entry, establishment, quality and equity, see Multi-level regulations.
Registration and approval: See Multi-level regulations.
Licence: No information was found.
Profit-making: No information was found.
Taxes and subsidies: No information was found.
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: No information was found.
Teaching profession: No information was found.
Fee-setting: No information was found.
Admission selection and processes: No information was found.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Board: No information was found.
Reporting requirements: No information was found.
Inspection: See Multi-level regulations.
Assessment: No information was found.
Diplomas and degrees: No information was found.
Sanctions: See Multi-level regulations.
3.2 Multi-level regulations
Education in Guinea-Bissau is governed by the Basic Education Law of Guinea-Bissau (2010) which governs six-subsectors: preschool, basic education, secondary education, vocational and technical education, higher education and non-formal education.
The Basic Education Law of Guinea-Bissau (2010) states that the ensino particular e cooperativo should be subject to a specific legislation. Private and cooperative education is administered by natural or legal persons and that private and cooperative education establishments that are compatible with the general principles, structures and objectives of the education system shall form part of the school network. Article 1 of the law outlines that the initiative and the responsibility for the development of the education system lies with public and private entities. Private and public education providers are prevalent across all education levels.
Chapter VII of the Basic Education Law of Guinea-Bissau (2010) regulates the ensino particular e cooperativo without any distinction of the education level.
Registration and approval: The establishment and operation of private and cooperative schools depend on the recognition by the Ministry of Education.
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: Private and cooperative educational establishments may adopt curricular plans and programme contents of public education or adopt their own plans and programmes as long as they comply with the general principles, structures, and objectives of the education system.
Teaching profession: According to the law, the teaching staff of private and cooperative schools integrated in the school network shall be required to have the same cooperative schools integrated in the school network shall have the same academic and professional qualifications. The State will support the continuous training of teachers of private and cooperative education.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Inspection: The Ministry of Education, through its competent structures, is responsible for supervising the functioning and quality of the education provided in private education establishments.
Sanctions: According to the Basic Law of the Education System (2010), the Minister of Education, through the competent services, may order the closure of private or cooperative schools that do not fulfill the conditions stipulated by the Ministry for their operation.
3.3 Supplementary private tutoring
No information was found.
Financial operation and quality
No information was found.
No information was found.
