Politics of Reform in Education

or

How to Realize Fundamentals

Jo Ritzen

The World Bank Human Development Network

Perspective Analyzing the position of education ministers

Deduction from analysis: how to support education minister in reform process from World Bank side

– What studies/what knowledge?

– What dialogue?

– How to involve stakeholders?

Classical Setting of Education Minister

“With education portfolio you cannot win votes, you only

can lose votes.”

Johannes Rau (Prime Minister Nord-Rhein Westfalia)

“With education portfolio you cannot win votes, you only

can lose votes.”

Johannes Rau (Prime Minister Nord-Rhein Westfalia)

Three Fires Burning:

For political parties education is top vote getter if political party platforms relate to focus group preferences.

– However focus group preferences may not be in line with long-run vision.

Pressure from all other cabinet members to cut costs.

Three Fires Burning:

Vision of experts/minister/World Bank for long-run quality improvement.

Observe– Short duration of ministers of education in

office is endogenous– Often too small steps in educational

reform are endogenous.

Vision of Experts/Education Ministers/World Bank

Generic education problems throughout world– Insufficient developments of pool of talent

Developing Countries- low enrollment

- high dropout

- low quality

-public education catering

insufficiently for poor

Developed Countries- insufficient social mobility- drop out and low quality

Vision of Experts/Education Ministers/World Bank

Redistributive effect of education finance (developing and developed countries)

–Education financed by taxation which overall is only slightly progressive–Benefits from public education heavily accruing to the (children of the) rich

Adaptation of education to changing environment too slow

Generic Solutions/Fundamentals

Unleash forces which engender top education Competition (honest competition/not as a goal

but as a means) Transparency (value added) School Autonomy Compensation Performance pay of teachers Curriculum driven by society

Politics As Pole Vaulting

Education minister:– the canal between vision and present is too wide to

jump over with my short pole– the canal is filled with the deep water of:

• the constant pressure of other colleagues (including the MP) to cut the budget

• the reluctance to change of the education community reinforced by opinion leaders

How to lengthen the pole??(or building bridges)

Lengthening the Pole

Compulsion of information– Assessment– Benchmarking in a compelling way– Comparative studies

Attractive good practice elsewhere– Scenarios of good practice– A road map – not a single direction indicated

Creating awareness on the benchmarking

Lengthening the Pole

Advocacy of committed groups (NGOs/others) Government dialogue with the education

community– teachers/parents/students

Negotiation between MP, education minister and minister of finance on transaction costs– create ownership of reform by whole cabinet

To Get to the Point

Fundamentals can be harvested– Because:

• canal has been drained• pole has been lengthened

But also bridge has been built because the whole society or community wants to harvest the fundamentals.