The Impact of Secondary School Scholarships on Girls' Skill Development and Female Empowerment in Niger

In partnership with the Government of Niger, the National Institute of Statistics, and the World Bank, researchers are evaluating the impact of scholarships on girls’ educational attainment, female empowerment, and economic opportunities. The scholarship seeks to improve girls’ hard skills, including vocational training, to put them on a more equal track with men. The Toutes les Filles à l’École program (TFE) provides scholarships to girls without a secondary school in their village. As secondary school is free, the scholarship covers housing and food costs during all three years of school. To be eligible girls must meet a minimum grade average and come from a vulnerable family. The scholarship provides FCFA 180,000 (US$335) over nine monthly transfers during the school year for living expenses. Host families for female students receive 15,000 FCFA (US$28) each month for hosting. Girls’ families receive the additional 5.000 FCFA (US$9) per month. Of 352 eligible villages (villages without a secondary school) identified by the Government of Niger, researchers randomly selected 285 to participate. Researchers then randomly assigned each village to offer varying shares of scholarships to eligible girls. All scholarships provided: In 95 villages, every girl eligible for a scholarship received support. Mixed group: In 95 villages, a randomly selected half of all eligible girls received a scholarship while the other half did not receive one. Comparison group: In 95 villages, no girls received scholarships. After one and two years, researchers will survey girls on several indicators of skill development, female empowerment, and labor market outcomes, including future aspirations, educational achievements, sexual health, and gender-related opinions including equality and female autonomy.