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Highlights
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Afghanistan: Interim Strategy Note
The Interim Strategy Note (ISN) for Afghanistan details the World Bank Group’s approach to helping the country achieve its development goals. It envisages a grant program of around $600 million, covering the period 2009 – 2011. Country Director for Afghanistan, Nicholas Krafft, talks about the World Bank Group’s approach to helping the country achieve its development goals in a video interview.
World Bank Invests in Reforming Vietnam’s Education System
The World Bank recognized Vietnam’s progress in modernizing governance, financing, quality assurance and public financial management in the higher education sector and approved US$ 177 million to support the further development of the country’s primary and higher education systems. Vietnam has experienced rapid and consistent growth and poverty reduction since launching its transition towards market mechanisms in 1986. The education sector in Vietnam has expanded accordingly, with exponential growth in the upper levels of education.
Pakistan: US$900 Million to Strengthen Education and Improve Rural Livelihoods
The World Bank approved a package of assistance worth US$900 million to help the Government of Pakistan improve education in Punjab and Sindh Provinces and to further scale up a community driven development project that is already active in some 35,000 villages throughout the country. Related feature stories are accessible from the following links:
Feature Story: Pakistan: Reforming Education in Punjab Province
Feature Story: Pakistan: Improving Education in Sindh
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Recent Publications & Reports
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Emerging Evidence on Vouchers and Faith-Based Providers in Education: Case Studies from Africa, Latin America, and Asia
By Felipe Barrera-Osorio, Harry Anthony Patrinos, and Quentin Wodon
While public-private partnerships in education in the United States have received a lot of
attention, research on such partnerships elsewhere has been limited—even though such
partnerships have been steadily gaining prominence, particularly in developing countries.
Aiming to fill this gap, this book presents fresh, technically sound empirical evidence on
the effectiveness and cost of various public-private education partnerships from around
the world, including voucher programs and faith-based schools.
Decentralized Decision-Making in Schools: The Theory and Evidence on School-Based Management
By Felipe Barrera-Osorio, Tazeen Fasih, and Harry Anthony Patrinos with Lucrecia Santibanez
A number of developing countries are introducing school-based management
reforms that are aimed at empowering principals and teachers. Many of these
reforms also strengthen parental involvement in schools. This book develops a theoretical framework of school-based management and reviews more than 20 country experiences. Overall, the authors find that school-based management has a positive impact on some variables---reducing repetition and failure rates, and improving attendance---but has mixed results on others.
Addressing Educational Disparity: Using District Level Education Development Indices for Equitable Resource Allocations in India
By Dhir Jhingran and Deepa Sankar
The challenge of development work in the social sector in India today is one of bridging huge disparities across regions of the country, gender and social groups. Unless national and state policies specifically target resources to address these disparities, achieving higher level outcomes in an inclusive manner, which is the real goal for human development in education and health, will be a distant dream. This paper takes up the case of the Indian government's Elementary Education for All Mission to understand how this flagship program relates investments to spatial and social disparities.
Measuring Inequality of Opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean
By Ricardo Paes de Barros, Francisco H. G. Ferreira, Jose R. Molinas Vega, and Jaime Saavedra Chanduvi
Over the past decade, faster growth and smarter social policy have reversed the trend in Latin America's poverty. Too slowly and insufficiently, but undeniably, the percentage of Latinos who are poor has at long last begun to fall. This book is a breakthrough in the measurement of human opportunity. It builds sophisticated formulas to answer a rather simple question: how much influence do personal circumstances have on the access that children get to the basic services that are necessary for a productive life?
Educational and Health Impacts of Two School Feeding Schemes: Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Rural Burkina Faso
By Harounan Kazianga, Damien de Walque, and Harold Alderman
This paper uses a prospective randomized trial to assess the impact of two school feeding schemes on health and education outcomes for children from low-income households in northern rural Burkina Faso.
The Economics of Teacher Supply in Indonesia
By Dandan Chen
This paper examines the phenomenon of the over-supply of teachers but shortage of qualified teachers in Indonesia. Using a theoretical framework of government-dominated market with government-set wage rate and demand for teachers, the analysis explores how teacher supply, particularly the composition of the teaching force with low or high qualification, would be determined by current and future public policies.
Read more Publications & Reports
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Recent Events
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OECD Conference 2009 on Higher Education at a Time of Crisis
Copenhagen Business School (Frederiksberg), Denmark
Jun 28-30, 2009
This conference was co-organized by the OECD and the Copenhagen Business School. The event presented a broad picture of the crisis and its impact on higher education. Participants debated questions of supply and demand, costs and income in higher education and analyzed the role and responsibility of higher education institutions as well as how to transform these challenges into opportunities. The World Bank participated in this public debate and contributed our expertise in this field. More information on this Conference from here.
Third South-South Study Visit to Singapore on Skills Development for Sustained Growth in Africa
Kuala Lumpur, Singapore
Jun 21-27, 2009
Following the successful completion of two Study Visits to Singapore in 2006 and 2008, the Singapore government agreed to host a third study visit during June 21-27, 2009 for African policy makers and private sector representatives from six countries (Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania). The study visit complemented related efforts by the Human Development Africa Region to help advance skills development through multiple avenues. Noteworthy in this regard are recently-completed analytic work, in particular, “At the Crossroads: Choices for Secondary Education in Africa” and “Cultivating Knowledge and Skills to Grow African Agriculture,” both published in 2007; and “Accelerating Catch Up: Tertiary Education for Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa” published in 2008. All three flagship studies have provided a basis for the Bank’s policy dialogue with African policy makers. Related press release from here.
Find more Recent Events
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Recent Projects
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Uzbekistan: Second Basic Education
Approval Date: June 23, 2009
IDA Credit: US$36 million
This project aims to continue supporting the Government of Uzbekistan's (GoU) efforts to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning through: 1) targeted interventions in selected general secondary education schools and preschools in poor, rural areas; 2) development of institutional capacity to assess student learning; and 3) adoption of predictable and transparent school budgets in selected oblasts.
Vietnam: School Education Quality Assurance
Approval Date: June 23, 2009
IDA Credit: US$127 million
This project aims to improve learning outcomes and education completion for primary education students, particularly disadvantaged primary education students, through supporting the Government's full-day schooling (FDS) reform program. The four components of this project are: 1) to improve policy framework for the implementation of the FDS program; 2) to improve human resources for the implementation of the FDS program; 3) to improve school facilities and resources for the implementation of the FDS program; and 4) to ensure smooth implementation and results on the ground under an effective program management.
Vietnam: Higher Education Development Policy Program - First Operation
Approval Date: June 23, 2009
IDA Credit: US$50 million
This project aims to strengthen governance, rationalize financing, improve the quality of teaching and research, improve accountability for performance, and enhance transparency in financial management within the higher education sector. This project will be the first in a programmatic series of three single-tranche Development Policy Credits (DPCs) to support the sustained implementation of selected elements of the Government's reform agenda.
Nigeria: Lagos Eko Secondary Education Project
Approval Date: June 16, 2009
IDA Credit: US$95 million
This project aims to improve the quality of public junior and senior secondary education in Lagos State. The four components of this project are: 1) to promote secondary school effectiveness through school development grants; 2) to enhance quality assurance for junior and senior secondary schools; 3) to provide resources for effective coordination and monitoring and evaluation, and the implementation of an information and communications strategy; and 4) to strengthening the federal post-basic education strategy. The project supports over half a million public school students in 637 secondary schools, and over 7,000 teachers and school administrators.
Republic of Congo: Support to Basic Education Project
Approval Date: June 9, 2009
IDA Grant: US$15 million
The objective of the additional financing for this project is to improve the efficiency, quality, and equity in the provision of basic education in the Republic of Congo with a view to achieving universal quality primary education by 2015. The additional grant will help to finance the four-fold agenda of action: 1) support the Government of Congo to prepare and implement a sustainable, long-term Education For All Fast Track Initiative (EFA FTI) education sector plan for all educational levels; 2) build the capacity of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, in particular to improve planning, human resources and budget management, and strengthen the capacity of the Regional Departments of Education (DDEPSA) to provide support to the school system; 3) provide support to increase equity in the provision of services, by providing free textbooks and focusing on infrastructure expansion efforts in underserved areas; and 4) provide support to out of school youth and excluded populations, such as pygmies.
China: Guangdong Technical & Vocational Education Project
Approval Date: June 2, 2009
IBRD Loan: US$20 million
This project aims to expand capacity and improve the quality and relevance of technical and vocational education and training in secondary and tertiary institutions and the efficiency of its delivery with enhanced policy development. The two components of this project are: 1) school-based reforms and innovation that focuses on (i) strengthening the linkage between schools and industry; (ii) improving school management; (iii) introducing an updated modular, Competency-Based Training (CBT) curriculum; (iv) training instructors to use the new curriculum; (v) improving student assessment and quality assurance at the school level; and (vi) expanding and upgrading facilities and equipment, and 2) policy development and capacity building that focuses on (i) supporting policy research and knowledge sharing at the national level; (ii) improving monitoring and evaluation; and (iii) enhancing project management and coordination.
Jordan: Secondary Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy Project
Approval Date: May 19, 2009
IBRD Loan: US$60 million
This project aims to provide students enrolled in pre-tertiary education institutions in Jordan with increased levels of skills to participate in the knowledge economy. The project will establish a national school-based development system with a focus on monitoring and evaluation and the development of teaching and learning. The five components of this project are: 1) establishing national school-based development system; 2) monitoring and evaluation and organizational development; 3) development of teaching and learning; 4) developing special focus programs including early childhood education, special education, and vocational education, and 5) improving physical learning environments
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Education - Did you know?
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The World Bank blog on ICT use in education "EduTech" is using Twitter - World Bank edutech. This Twitter brings you updates and news on ICT and education from the World Bank. World Bank edutech is also a great way to connect you with Michael Trucano, our Senior ICT & Education Specialist, as well as other people around the world in the field of ICT and Education.Visit World Bank edutech to join EduTech Twitter.
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Education Advisory Service
Human Development Network / The World Bank
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