Education for Some More than Others ?

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Education for Some More than Others ?

• A Regional Study
• on Education
• in CEE/CIS
• 2007

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Why the title

• Education for Some More than Others?

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BACKGROUND

• Follow-up to UNICEF IRC report (1998) -
  Education for All ? - which found marked
  increase in disparities in quantity quality of
  education in CEE/CIS

• How far has this trend towards Education for
  Some More than Others continued?

• How far have the 12 steps towards Education for
  All recommended in 1998 been taken, what
  additional steps are needed now?

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A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
The report examines

• 1. The regional context

2. Education reforms where are we now ?
3. Access and equity issues
4. Learning and Labour Outcomes
5. Costs, financing and governance
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FOCUS ON EQUITY

• The report analyses equity and disparity issues
  in basic education from 3 different angles

• From a Human Rights point of view

• From a Social Cohesion point of view

• From a longer-term Economic point of view

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Geographic Coverage

• 29 countries 6 Sub-Regions

• Caucasus

• Central Asia

• South and Eastern Europe

• Western CIS

• Central and Eastern Europe

• Baltic States

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CEE/CIS Region
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THE CEE/CIS CONTEXT
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CONTEXT

• Economic recovery throughout the region but
  fiscal difficulties in weaker economies

• Increased average standard of living but
  increased income inequality and rising
  unemployment rates

• Decline in absolute poverty but persisting
  pockets of poverty particularly child poverty

• Prevalence of child labour (Moldova, Central
  Asia, SEE) to the detriment of schooling

• Steep downward trend in the population aged 0-17

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KEY FINDINGS
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KEY FINDINGS (1)
Almost two decades after the onset of transition
Reversal and Deterioration of Education in CEE/CIS

• Provision and quality of education in CEE/CIS has
  not improved instead, it has deteriorated in
  many ways

• Trends observed in 1998 towards increased
  disparities in education have continued.

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KEY FINDINGS (2)

• 2.4 million children of primary-school age (9)
  out of school in the region in 2004

• 12 million children of secondary-school age (22)
  out of school in the region in 2004

• More than 14 million children entering adult life
  without either any kind of formal education or a
  school diploma

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KEY FINDINGS (3)

• 3 countries Georgia, Moldova and Tajikistan -
  unlikely to achieve MDG 2 (universal primary
  education completion by 2015)

• 2 countries Turkey and Tajikistan - not on
  track to achieve MDG 3 (elimination of gender
  disparities at all levels of education by 2015)

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KEY FINDINGS (4)
Children out of school

• Family background (family income, parental
  education) is increasingly a determinant of
  inequality in enrolment and attendance mainly
  at pre-school level

• Ethnic groups particularly Roma - are at great
  educational disadvantage with enrolment and
  completion rates well below those of the
  majority-group children (see graphs on next
  slides)

• Children with Special Needs number of children
  in institutions or receiving benefits tripled
  between 1990 and 2000 from 500,000 to 1.5
  million

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Roma children Net Enrolment Primary Education ()
Source OSI TRANSMONEEE
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Budget Deprivation in Tajikistan
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LEARNING OUTCOMES
Between-country disparities

• More public expenditure on education produces
  better results up to a certain level CEE and
  Baltic States (see graph on next slide)

Within-country disparities

• Socio-economic background is one of the most
  important factors influencing learning outcomes

Relevance of Education

• Countries in the region do better in TIMSS and
  PIRLS than in PISA ? source of concern

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LABOUR MARKET OUTCOMES

• High youth unemployment rates 35.6 in SEE
  (2001) and 30.4 in CEE (2005)

• Statistics show that young workers of both sexes
  do benefit from staying in education system as
  long as possible

• But focus-group discussions show that people in
  poorer countries are skeptical about reaping
  benefits of education - particularly in case of
  girls in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkey

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COSTS, FINANCING GOVERNANCE (1)

• Public expenditure on education increased but
  remains insufficient in most countries and tends
  to benefit the richest families

• Reforms have been initiated but have not
  penetrated the classrooms particularly in
  poorer and rural areas

• Out-dated teaching methods, lack of relevance of
  curricula, poorly paid and demotivated teachers,
  low transition to upper-secondary education ?
  decreasing quality falling demand for education

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COSTS, FINANCING GOVERNANCE (2)

• Decentralization funding burden passed to local
  communities and families to the detriment of
  equity

• Student/ teacher ratios Demographic dividend ?
  scope for efficiency gains

• Private tutoring becoming more widespread (69 of
  secondary school students in some countries) ?
  Danger of unethical practices, low-income
  families lose out

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POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
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POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS (1)

• Need to re-define the basic package of
  educational services that a state should provide
  free to its citizens

• Need to improve governance of education systems
  decentralization, community participation

• Need to increase efficiency take better
  advantage of demographic dividend - make greater
  use of Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks

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POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS (2)

• Other measures promote early childhood
  approaches, child-friendly school principles,
  child-centered teaching methods, school fee
  abolition, cash transfers etc

• Make use of existing frameworks Fast Track
  Initiative, EU accession and affiliation
  processes (Stability Pact, European Neighborhood
  Policy) to push reforms forward

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IMPLICATIONS FOR UNICEF
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IMPLICATIONS FOR UNICEF

• Need to make better use of field
  presence/experience to contribute to education
  reforms through evidence-based advocacy and
  policy dialogue

• Need to expand/refine sector analysis to explore
  further such areas as governance, costing,
  financing, political economy, accountability,
  efficiency using a human rights lens

• Need to build capacity within UNICEF Offices and
  among partners to play such a new role

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UNICEFs WORK IN CEE/CIS
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UNICEFs WORK IN CEE/CIS
Less project work Greater involvement at policy
level

• Lead donor agency for FTI in 4 countries

• Lead role in ECCE reform and expansion 12
  countries initiated the development of Early
  Learning and Development Standards (ELDS)

• Girls Education Campaign in Turkey

• Child-Friendly School approach gaining momentum
  6/15 countries involved in the development of
  Child Friendly School Indicators or Standards for
  Quality Education

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Thank You