 The Education Notes Series is intended to summarize lessons learned and key policy findings from the World Bank’s work in education as it relates to Education for All. The series presents positive developments towards reaching the global Education for All challenge. The links below are to selected reports relevant to the East Asia and Pacific region.
 EFA and Beyond: Service Provision and Quality Assurance in China
July, 2005
China is not often thought of in the EFA context but its education sector over the past 20 years provides many lessons for countries that are approaching Universal Primary Education (UPE). The most important lesson may be that the need for educational reform does not diminish as countries approach UPE. The first challenge is to expand education opportunities. As coverage expands, however, new challenges inevitably emerge that require constant attention and frequent updates to education policy and financing mechanisms. More (206kb pdf)
School Fees: A Roadblock to Education For All
August 2004
There is increasing momentum on the road to Education for All, but school fees are still a roadblock for too many children. In East Asia and Pacific (other than the former socialist countries), textbook fees (70 percent of countries), uniforms (80 percent), Parent-Teachers Associations and community contributions (80 percent) and other activity fees (70 percent) are common. Tuition fees are less common but exist in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, in addition to China and Vietnam. More (149kb pdf) Getting an Early Start on Early Child Development (ECD)
June 2004
The children born this year - 2004 - will be eleven years old in 2015 - the age of primary school completion in most countries. This is the MDG* generation - for whom the international community has pledged that by 2015, all children will be able to complete primary schooling. Ensuring good early child development is the first essential step toward achieving these.The ultimate goal of all ECD programs is to improve young children’s capacity to develop and learn. These two programs are presented, among others, as offering a combination of complementary approaches: Indonesia’s Early Child Development Project is presented as an example of service delivery to children; and the Philippines' Early Childhood Development Project as one with training caregivers and educating parents components. More (121kb pdf) Education for All: Building the Schools
August 2003
Putting all children worldwide in school by 2015 will constitute, collectively, the biggest building project the world has ever seen. Some 10 million new classrooms will be spread over 100 countries. At current costs of about $7000 per classroom in Africa, $8000 per classroom in Latin America, and $4000 per classroom in Asia, the total price tag for construction will come to about $72 billion dollars through 2015, or about $6 billion annually. More (235kb pdf) Education for All: Including Children with Disabilities
August 2003
An estimated 40 million of the 115 million children out of school have disabilities. The vast majority of these children have moderate impairments that are often not visible or easily diagnosed. Disabled children include those with learning difficulties, speech difficulties, physical, cognitive, sensory and emotional difficulties. Children with disabilities are likely to have never attended school. A 1991 report by the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights and Disabilities found that at least one in ten persons in the majority of countries has a physical, cognitive, or sensory (deaf/blind) impairment. Fewer than 5 % are believed to reach the EFA goal of primary school completion. This number may be growing due to global conditions of increasing poverty, armed conflict, child labor practices, violence and abuse, and HIV/AIDS. Because these children are part of a family unit, it is estimated that at least 25% of the world population is directly affected by the presence of disability. More (188kb pdf) EFA in Indonesia: Hard Lessons About Quality
May 2003
Indonesia has seen vast improvements in access to education over the past thirty years. It is a good example of a country that has followed a disciplined linear approach to EFA: Indonesia focused first on primary school access, next on lower secondary school access, and is only now attempting to address key policy issues to improve learning outcomes. However, many long-established precedents that have a negative impact on quality are proving very hard to change. Indonesia's struggles to improve quality demonstrate the importance of tackling such issues from the very beginning, as initial efforts are put in place to expand access. More (167kb pdf)
 See also: Indonesia: Improving Education Quality (pdf) (policy brief, January 2005) Achieving Education for All in Post-Conflict Cambodia
July 2002
Cambodia has made good progress in rebuilding its education system after three decades of conflict and isolation. Enrollments are growing, administration is improving, and large numbers of schools have been rehabilitated. A number of innovative and mutually reinforcing programs have energized local administrators and resourced schools, building on early efforts to rebuild capacity. These are, however, not sufficient conditions for improving education outcomes, and significant challenges remain in the financing and management of education in order to realize Cambodia's goal of providing free, universal access to basic education. More (171kb pdf) More information:
Education for All - Education Notes Series (main WB Education website)
Education for All - Fast Track Initiative (main WB Education website)
Vietnam National Education for All Plan (WB country website)
Data and Education for All Financing Simulation Models (EdStats website) |
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