Fee waivers, exemptions, and scholarships

Fee waivers, exemptions, and scholarships

The main objective of fee waivers, exemptions, and scholarships is to provide poor people with the financial resources to use public services such as education and health facilities.^[1] These systems are targeted to a pre-determined group of people that would not have access to these services otherwise. These are relatively recent programs that were implemented in Africa in the latter part of the 1990s, counterbalancing the negative effects on the poor of the introduction of fees in the health and education sectors in the 1980s.

Fee waivers and exemptions for health care enable the poor to obtain free health care even when fees are charged. Exemptions are granted to everyone for defined services and allow people to receive free prenatal care, immunizations, and treatment for tuberculosis. By contrast fee waivers are granted to some individuals, usually for specific health care activities which also account for the bulk of charges even though they may only account for a minority of interactions with the health care system.

Fee waivers and scholarships for schooling include stipends, education vouchers, targeted bursaries, and interventions related to tuition and textbooks. Benefits range from covering the direct costs of uniforms, books, or transport, to compensating for the opportunity costs of students’ time. Programs may be complemented by grants to schools to ensure quality of education.