Characteristics of Households - Childinfo.org

Primary and Secondary SchoolParticipationUniversal access to basic education and the achievementof primary education by the world’s children is oneof the most important Millennium Development andA World Fit for Children Goals. Education is a vitalprerequisite for combating poverty, empowering women,protecting children from hazardous and exploitativelabour and sexual exploitation, promoting humanrights and democracy, protecting the environment, andinfluencing population growth.The indicators for primary and secondary schoolattendance include:• Net intake rate in primary education• Primary school net attendance ratio (adjusted)• Secondary school net attendance ratio (adjusted)• Female to male education ratio (or gender parityindex — GPI) in primary and secondary schoolsThe indicators of school progression include:• The number of children reaching the last gradeof primary school• Primary completion rate• Transition rate to secondary schoolNet intake in primary education measures the numberof children of school entry age who entered first grade ofprimary school in relation to the total number of childrenof school entry age. In Serbia, children who are 6 and ahalf years or older in September of the current schoolyear, are obliged to enter first grade.Of those children who are of primary school entryage, 95 percent are attending the first grade ofprimary school (Table ED.3). Sex differentials doexist, however, as 98 percent of girls enter first gradecompared to 91 percent of boys. Children’s entry toprimary school is timelier in urban areas (97 percent)than in rural areas (93 percent). The net intake rateof 84 percent among children living in householdswithin the poorest quintile should be treated withcaution due to the small number of cases.Table ED.3: Primary school entry, Serbia, 2010Percentage of children of primary school entry age enteringgrade 1 (net intake rate)Percentage ofchildren of primaryschool entry ageentering grade 1 1Number of childrenof primary schoolentry ageSexMale 91.2 99Female 97.9 121RegionBelgrade 90.7 34Vojvodina 98.5 54Sumadija and Western Serbia 95.5 67Southern and Eastern Serbia 93.5 65AreaUrban 96.5 111Rural 93.2 109Mother’s educationPrimary 96.1 31Secondary 93.5 133Higher 100.0 53Wealth index quintilePoorest 83.6 30Second 99.3 54Middle 93.8 46Fourth 100.0 46Richest 92.9 44Total 94.9 2201MICS indicator 7.3MONITORING THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN 157