A review of social protection mechanisms for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the education sector in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) was commissioned by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 2005. This review was conducted by the MTT, and is one of three components of UNICEF's review of social protection mechanisms in the ESAR region, including reviews of the role of public works and cash transfers. The purpose of the education review was to: a) Identify sectoral players and the scope of their social protection programmes; b) Identify lessons learned; c) Provide a representative list of social protection programmes in the education sector; d) Identify a combination of these with the potential to provide a coordinated social protection programme; and e) Identify actions required to scale up social protection within the education sector in ESAR. In summary, the review set out to obtain answers to three questions: What is needed to get children into school (access) and keep children in school (retention) - particularly those who are educationally marginalised in some way? What factors are critical for their learning achievement? And, how can a strategic combination of these social protection mechanisms for education be scaled up and replicated?