By Sarah Kabay | Project Associate
As part of its Behavioral Savings Initiative, IPA is currently working on a micro-savings scheme for primary schools in Uganda. Like many developing countries, Uganda has directed significant resources and effort towards achieving Universal Primary Education. Though the country’s UPE policy has been remarkably successful in increasing enrollment rates, more than 50% of children drop out before completing primary school. The central research question for IPA Uganda’s micro-savings scheme is can a primary school savings program decrease student drop-out rates by incentivizing and financially enabling children to stay in school?
In collaboration with the Private Education Development Network and FINCA Uganda, IPA is in the process of creating the Super Savers Program. Currently in its pilot phase, the program offers government primary schools a system through which pupils and their families can save money throughout the school term. At the beginning of the following term, the savings are paid out to pupils and their families to be used to pay for school requirements and scholastic materials. Working with eight primary schools in Jinja district, the Super Savers Program is being defined by the feedback and opinions of school administrators, students and their families. Having learned from the experience of the pilot, IPA Uganda expects to scale the program to a full study with 120 schools in September
As one mother expressed, the program will, “Discourage drop-out, a child feels she cannot leave her savings behind when she drops-out, it is a skill that can be developed, they will learn the spirit of savings.” The Super Savers Program has been driven by the ideas and suggestions of participants like this mother. Even though the program is only in its pilot phase, we’ve received wonderfully positive feedback from all stakeholders, school administrators, teachers, parents and children alike. We’d all like to thank you for your support! If you have any questions about the research design, Ugandan context or our experiences thus far with the pilot, we’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to provide feedback in our comments section!
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