Photo: Adobe Stock generated image
By Manuella Ndjakwa, a second-cohort AFEP Research Fellow
Nearly two-thirds of pupils in Cameroon do not reach the minimum proficiency level in numeracy, while almost half do not reach the expected level in reading, according to a 2019 national report. The challenge is even greater in rural areas, where pupils consistently perform worse than their urban peers.
These figures show that improving learning requires attention to more than what happens inside the classroom. Teachers, textbooks and school programmes matter, but learning also continues beyond school hours, and access to energy can shape when and how children study, making the household another important learning environment. One home condition that receives relatively little attention is access to energy.
Learning does not stop at the school gate
The Government of Cameroon committed to improve the quality and relevance of education in its Education and Training Sector Strategy 2013-2020. Yet major learning gaps remain. Understanding those gaps requires policymakers to look at the conditions that support - or restrict - learning beyond school hours.
In a PEP-supported study of Grade 6 pupils in Cameroon, I examined whether access to electricity and the type of cooking fuel used at home were associated with reading and numeracy outcomes. Electricity can extend the hours available for reading or completing homework by enabling children to study for longer during the day and after sunset. Having modern (electrical) cooking appliances may also reduce the time spent collecting fuel, allow more time for children to study, and provide a more comfortable, environment for learning.
The study also considered the greater energy disadvantages faced by rural households.
What the PEP-supported study examined
Conducting the study as part of the Africa Fellows in Education Program, I analysed nationally representative data from the 2019 Programme d'Analyse des Systemes Educatifs de la CONFEMEN (PASEC) assessmentcovering 4,723 Grade 6 pupils attending 272 schools. I examined how household energy conditions were associated with pupils’ reading and mathematics outcomes.
Rather than looking only at electricity, I considered several aspects of household energy, including access to electricity and the type of cooking fuel used. I also examined whether parental homework support changed the relationship between energy access and learning.
My analysis distinguished between rural and urban pupils and considered maternal and paternal support separately. This made it possible to ask a useful policy question: which children benefit, and what additional support may help them translate improved home study conditions into better learning outcomes?
Energy access is linked to learning improvements
The results show a positive association between access to energy at home and pupils’ reading ability. The relationship with mathematics is weaker and varies across the different analyses and levels of pupil performance.
The benefits are also uneven. Higher-performing pupils appear to be better able to use improved energy access to strengthen their learning. Pupils who begin with very low levels of foundational knowledge benefit less from energy access on their own.
This finding is important for equity. Expanding energy access can improve the conditions in which children learn, but it may also widen existing learning gaps when children who are already performing well gain the most.
Parental support changes the picture
The study finds that household energy and parental homework support can work as complementary inputs. In other words, energy appears to be more useful for learning when an adult also helps the child engage with schoolwork.
This interaction is particularly important in rural areas. When mothers provide homework support, household energy access is positively associated with better numeracy outcomes among pupils who initially perform at lower levels. This suggests that combined support may help narrow performance gaps.
When fathers provide homework support at the same time as improved household energy access, additional reading gains are modest. These patterns differ, but they point to the same broader lesson: better household conditions are more likely to support learning when children also receive active guidance.
Energy creates an opportunity; support turns it into learning
The results suggest that energy and education policies should be considered together.
Expanding electricity and improving household cooking conditions are important, particularly in underserved rural communities. However, infrastructure can only create an opportunity. Pupils need skills and support to use that opportunity effectively and produce learning gains.
A more inclusive approach would:
- Connect household energy initiatives with programmes that help parents and caregivers support homework and reading at home;
- Provide additional learning support for pupils who have weak foundational skills and are least able to benefit from improved study conditions on their own;
- Prioritise rural households and schools, where both energy and learning disadvantages are more pronounced;
- Monitor how benefits are distributed across different levels of pupil performance, rather than relying only on average effects; and
- Encourage coordination between the education and energy sectors when designing programmes that affect children’s home learning environments.
Parental engagement initiatives should also recognise the roles of all caregivers. The findings distinguish between maternal and paternal support, but the policy objective should be to make practical learning support possible across different household structures without placing responsibility on one parent alone.
Increased energy access and better household conditions only translate into learning when caregivers turn access into practice. Getting more households connected is the easier half of this policy problem.
