Cameroon’s Rural Energy Expansion Offers an Opportunity to Improve Learning Conditions for Primary School Pupils

Primary school pupils in rural Cameroon face poorer learning outcomes than their urban peers. Using nationally representative 2019 PASEC data for 4,723 Grade 6 pupils in 272 schools, PEP researcher Manuella Ndjakwa examined how household energy access and parental homework support relate to reading and numeracy. She found that energy access is associated with stronger reading performance, but not improved average numeracy. The benefits are greatest among higher-performing pupils, suggesting that energy expansion alone may leave struggling learners behind. However, parental support may make gains more inclusive: maternal support is linked to better numeracy among initially low-performing pupils, while paternal support is associated with modest reading gains. The study recommends piloting coordinated energy-access and parental-support interventions in underserved rural communities before national scale-up.