FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Contact:
Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu
Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu
##
Waiting to Enter Primary School May Improve Educational Outcomes in Low-income Countries, with Health Benefits into Adulthood and the Next Generation
A new study found that children who start school at older ages completed more total years of schooling, had greater wealth in adulthood, and had fewer teen pregnancies. Men were less likely to become HIV-infected and women were less likely to experience the death of a child.
Starting school at an older age may result in greater health, educational, and economic well-being among children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to a new study by a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher.
Published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics , the study assessed life trajectories of children in Lesotho, Africa, across a wide range of educational and later-life outcomes. In Lesotho, children enter primary school based on their date of birth, and those born just after the eligibility threshold start school a year later. The study found that children who enrolled in primary school at an older age—despite an initial disadvantage in years of schooling—were more likely to remain in school through adolescence, obtained higher total years of schooling, and developed greater literacy than children who began primary school at younger ages. The older children were also more likely to delay marriage, have fewer children, hold higher-earning jobs, and accumulate greater wealth.
The study addresses a long-standing debate in many countries about the optimal age at which children should begin school to ensure their personal and intellectual growth and success through adulthood. Current data identify advantages and disadvantages to enrolling children earlier versus later: students who begin school at younger ages have more years of education before mandatory schooling begins, as well as greater lifetime earnings—but they are often less mature than students who begin school at older ages, and more likely to be diagnosed with behavioral conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
In high-income countries, these contrasting effects tend to offset each other as students grow older, but there is limited data on how school-entry age affects the health and well-being of children in LMICs. This study is the first to examine these effects among children in Africa, and across their lifespan.
“Many of the reasons why it would be detrimental to start school at a younger age are exacerbated in lower-income countries,” says Dr. Jacob Bor , who coauthored both the study and a related editorial with Dr. Jan-Walter De Neve , professor of global health management & policy at San Diego State University, and Dr. Ramaele Moshoeshoe , executive director of the Global Education Analytics Institute and professor of economics at the University of Lesotho. “Classes are larger and there is more competition for seats in high school and college. As students advance through school, children who are young for their grade are often perceived to be less skilled, even though they are just developmentally less mature. These perceptions become a problem if those younger children receive less attention from teachers and caregivers or are exposed to school curricula that are not age appropriate. Indeed, we found that young-for-grade students fell behind in reading and math and were less likely to read at home.”
Small differences in student ability—real or perceived—can have major lifelong implications in settings where school dropout is common, Dr. Bor says. “As children reached adolescence, those who were young for grade were more likely to drop out of school and herd livestock.”
For the study, the researchers analyzed multiple national household surveys and datasets on educational attainment and a variety of health, economic, demographic, and intergenerational outcomes in Lesotho. Leveraging a natural experiment, they assessed the impact of starting primary school a year older. In Lesotho, children who will turn 6 years old by June 30 are required to enroll in primary school in January of that year, but those born after June 30 have the option to defer enrollment to the following year. Children born on June 30 are expected to start at age 5.5, whereas those born on July 1 are expected to start at age 6.5.
The researchers found that children who were born after the cutoff date started school at older ages and had fewer years of schooling at each age from 6 to 10 years old. However, by adolescence, these children caught up with their peers and by adulthood had completed 0.41 more years of schooling than children born just before the cutoff.
The study also explores a number of factors that might explain this later-life advantage for older children in Lesotho. Children who start school at an older age have more preprimary education and faster year-on-year growth in cognitive skills, which can lead to greater literacy rates. The researchers observed that these older students read more at home and received more concerted educational and skill-building investment from their parents or other caregivers in their household.
Large class sizes and limited training for teachers are also very common in Lesotho, and in other LMICs, which limits teachers’ ability to devote adequate attention to all students. Furthermore, enrollment in middle school and high school is limited, so teachers and households may invest less in lower-performing students, especially those who simply may not be developmentally ready to handle an educational setting. In contrast, children who delay primary schooling have opportunities to gain other skills beforehand that ultimately help build maturity, including working on family farms, providing child and elder care, and performing other household duties.
“Our study shows that lower-income countries should allow some flexibility or assessment of readiness before children begin compulsory education,” Dr. Bor says. “If children are forced to start school before they’re ready, it could harm them in the long term. Providing flexibility around school-entry ages would create greater equity among children, and it would make sure that the kids who would benefit most are getting that opportunity. At the same time, teacher training, smaller class sizes, and expanding secondary schooling would ensure that more children - regardless of their ability – can get the education they deserve.”
Although prior research has linked educational attainment with a reduction in HIV risk, this study is the first to connect school-starting age to HIV infection directly. It is also the first to reveal the intergenerational impact of starting school at an older age on child survival.
“Education and health are connected through the lifecourse, and school-entry age may be a key factor in the trajectory of children’s lifelong health and well-being,” says Dr. Bor.
**
About Boston University School of Public Health
Founded in 1976, Boston University School of Public Health is one of the top ten ranked schools of public health in the world. It offers master's- and doctoral-level education in public health. The faculty in six departments conduct policy-changing public health research around the world, with the mission of improving the health of populations—especially the disadvantaged, underserved, and vulnerable—locally and globally.
American Economic Journal Applied Economics
Observational study
People
Age at School Entry and Human Capital Development: Evidence from Lesotho
25-Mar-2026