This paper estimates the enrollment
impact of a nation-wide scholarship
program for female secondary students
in The Gambia implemented to reduce
gender disparity in education. In the
regions where the scholarship program
was implemented, all girls attending
public middle and high schools were
exempted from paying school fees,
which used to be mandatory. The
gradual implementation of the project
provided a unique opportunity to
rigorously assess the enrollment impact
of the scholarship program. We use two
nationally representative household
surveys carried out in 1998 and 2002/03.
By 2002/03, about half of the districts in
the country had benefited from the
project. We found that the program
increased enrollment for middle and
high school female students by 9
percentage points, and increased the
years of schooling attained by 0.3 to 0.4.
The program had no significant impact
on enrollment or years of schooling
attained for male students at any level.