UNESCO - EFA Global Monitoring Report

Box 3.11. Unequal partnerships on school committees



School committees are a chance for communities to exercise their voice in deciding how the school should function. Despite much literature emphasizing the important role of women in promoting positive educational outcomes for their daughters, the participation of women in school committees reflects more general gender inequalities in decision-making processes and in the exercise of influence over schooling. Attempts have been made to ensure diversity of membership of school committees in a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. However, they generally work within existing community structures and power relations. Malawian legislation stipulates that one-third of places on school committees should be reserved for women. But this tends not to ensure their active participation, even where the quota is met.		At seven of twenty schools visited there were no women on the committee. At one, women absented themselves on account of household responsibilities. Furthermore, it was evident from discussions held with school committees that even if women were present, they often would not speak. Similarly, in Ghana school committees rarely meet national requirements for women representatives, as membership is based on existing positions of leadership in the community and school which are usually held by men (Condy, 1998; Pryor and Ampiah, 2003). Evidence from Uganda also indicates that men mainly dominate discussions in committees, with only a few women speaking. Women feel inhibited from taking part in formal discussions where tradition assigns decision-making roles to men (Suzuki, forthcoming).



Source: Rose (2003a).

BACK