Does abolishing fees reduce school quality? Evidence from Kenya

Abstract

In2003Kenyaabolisheduserfeesinallgovernmentprimaryschools. We find that this Free Primary Education (FPE) policy resulted in a decline in public school quality and increased demand for private schooling. However,the former did not reflect a decline in value added by public schools - as anticipated if fees contribute to local accountability - but rather the selection of weaker pupils into free education. In contrast, affluent children who exited to the private sector in response to FPE benefited from a strong, causal effect on their exam