R4D’s technical study commissioned by the Malala Fund – a non-profit organization focused on empowering girls through secondary education – builds on the analysis by the Education for All Global Monitoring Report (GMR) to shed further light on the cost of providing fee-free access to both upper and lower secondary school by 2030.
The paper identifies the approximate range of the global cost for achieving universal upper secondary school access and delves into lessons learned from country experiences in providing universal fee-free secondary education. Through interviews with expert stakeholders, a literature review, and cost modelling, the study explores the cost of universal upper secondary education, lessons that can be drawn from different countries that embarked on this process, and options for financing fee-free education. The research also investigates strategies to mitigate negative impacts of fee-free upper secondary education on equity and quality at the lower levels.
