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Policy Briefs

Learner flows through schools: Using high quality administrative data to understand education system performance

The report analyses school flows, repetition, and dropout using a novel analysis of school-based assessments, and how well these predict future performance and learner flows. An important finding is that the high repetition and dropout rates in high schools imply an internal efficiency rate of only 49% (measured in terms of the years of enrolment in high school for every matric pass).

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September 17, 2021 By: Servaas van der Berg, Chris van Wyk, Rebecca Selkirk, and Heleen Hofmeyr PDF

The gendered effects of the ongoing lockdown and school closures in South Africa: Evidence from NIDS-CRAM Waves 1 and 2

The data from Wave 1 of NIDS-CRAM showed that women were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis and the first month of the lockdown period in South Africa. Not only were they much more likely than men to lose their jobs between February and April or to work fewer hours compared to the pre-crisis period, they also took on a greater share of the additional childcare as a result of school closures and the suspension of all childcare services.

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October 11, 2020 By: Debra Shepherd, Daniela Casale PDF

Household resource flows and food poverty during South Africa’s lockdown: Short-term policy implications for three channels of social protection.

A report stemming from NIDS-CRAM wave 1, a project consisting of work by a national consortium of 30 social science researchers from five South African universities. The consortium will conduct the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM) over the course of May – December 2020. The NIDS-CRAM project exists to collect, analyze and disseminate data on a broadly representative sample of South African individuals, and to report on their employment and welfare in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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October 5, 2020 By: Gabrielle Wills, Servaas van der Berg, Leila Patel, Bokang Mpeta PDF

The impact of the Coronavirus and lockdown on children’s welfare in South Africa

A report stemming from NIDS-CRAM wave 1, a project consisting of work by a national consortium of 30 social science researchers from five South African universities. The consortium will conduct the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM) over the course of May – December 2020. The NIDS-CRAM project exists to collect, analyze and disseminate data on a broadly representative sample of South African individuals, and to report on their employment and welfare in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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September 30, 2020 By: Servaas van der Berg, Tia Linda Zuze, Grace Bridgman PDF

NIDS-CRAM Wave 1 Synthesis Report: Overview and Findings.

The overview and findings of NIDS-CRAM wave 1, consisting of work by a national consortium of 30 social science researchers from five South African universities. The consortium will conduct the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM) over the course of May – December 2020. The NIDS-CRAM project exists to collect, analyze and disseminate data on a broadly representative sample of South African individuals, and to report on their employment and welfare in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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September 29, 2020 By: Nic Spaull, Cally Ardington, Ihsaan Bassier, et al. PDF