144 Lorraine Pe Symaco
FIGURE 6.2
Primary School Net Intake Rates, 1970–2005Source: UIS (2011).
75808590951001970 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005in primary school. One notes that this rate was already relatively high in
1970 (84.3 per cent) and had increased to 96.2 per cent in 1994. Between
1999 and 2005, although minor fluctuations occurred, the percentage
of primary school-aged children enrolled remained at or above 95 per
cent but did not reach 100 per cent (with the highest net enrolment of
97.8 per cent, recorded in 2000). It is important to note that the figures —
both the numerators and denominators of these percentages — exclude
undocumented children (e.g., those whose parents are refugees or migrant
workers), who face special challenges in gaining access to public schools.
That the NER has remained below 100 per cent points to a relatively
small, but nonetheless important problem of access and retention. That
is, some children do not enter the first grade as well as some children
who enter the first grade drop out before completing six years of primary
schooling. Figure 6.2, which displays the primary school net intake rate
(NIR) for the years 1970 to 2005,^1 addresses the question of access. As can
be seen, the proportion of seven-year-olds who enter the first grade was
already relatively high in 1970 (84.8 per cent). However, it took more than
a decade (in 1982) to increase by 10 per cent and thus more than 95 per
cent of seven-year-olds were enrolled in primary school. Since 1982 the NIR