Uganda Post-primary Education Sector Report

Africa Region Human Development Working Paper Series

Uganda Post-primary Education Sector Report

Africa Region

The World Bank

Xiaoyan Liang

© September 2002

Human Development Sector Africa Region

The World Bank

The views expressed within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the World Bank or any of its affiliated organizations.

Foreword

S ince the mid 1980s, Uganda has become one of Africa’s success stories. Reform measures introduced by the current government have been largely implemented, and the country is on a road toward steady economic recovery.

Progress is particularly prominent in the educa- tion sector, and especially in primary education. The president’s decision in 1996 to eliminate primary school fees for up to four children per family re- moved what had been an important economic im- pediment for families to enroll and maintain their children at school. This decision also sent a strong signal that basic education is a high priority. By 2001, the gross enrollment ratio for primary education stood at more than 120 percent.

Post-primary education, on the other hand, has re- ceived less attention. This is particularly the case for the different types of secondary education, which is the focus of this report. At about 19 percent in 2000, the gross enrollment ratio for the full six-grade cycle of general secondary education is well below the Sub-Saharan average of almost 30 percent. In addition to low coverage, access rates differ consid- erably by gender, parental income, and area of resi- dence. Moreover, internal efficiency and student achievement is low. The quality and coverage of vocational and technical education and training is also low, comparatively costly, and ill adapted to labor market needs.

While Uganda is right in giving top priority to achieving universal primary education, secondary

education now requires urgent attention as well.

The recent rapid enrollment growth in primary edu- cation is causing a sharp increase in the demand for education beyond the primary level. Furthermore, there is a wide international consensus on the criti- cal role played by good quality secondary educa- tion in enabling countries to train the manpower required to benefit from the ICT and knowledge revolution, and to compete successfully in the new globalized, knowledge-based economy. Secondary education also yields considerable private returns, and provides opportunities to acquire attitudes, skills, and competencies that enhance the ability of young people to participate fully in society, take control of their lives, and continue learning at the post-secondary level.

However, similar to other Sub-Saharan African

countries, Uganda faces enormous challenges in

maintaining the drive towards good quality univer-

sal primary education while, at the same time, re-

sponding to the increasing social and economic de-

mand for rapid expansion of secondary education

as well. In considering their options for expanding

access to secondary education, governments have

to decide on difficult trade-offs between the role of

public financing in supporting different levels

(lower and upper secondary education), and types

of secondary education (general, technical, voca-

tional), as well as in ensuring equity in provision

between different population groups (e.g., boys and

girls, urban/rural, poor and more well-off groups).

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This report was prepared by Xiaoyan Liang, task team leader, under the supervision of Paud Murphy, lead education specialist, AFTH1, and Dzingai B. Mutubmuka, sector manager, AFTH1. Teams mem- bers Harriet Nannyonjo and Debbie Peterson, AFTH1, provided support, and background papers were supplied by Paul Bennell, Charles Byaruhanga, Jack Keating,Victor Levine, Keith Lewin,Tony Read, the Uganda National Education Bureau, International Development Consultants Ltd., and Impact Associates in association with Monarch Consulting Company.

In Uganda, the author worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Sports, Uganda, the Department of Secondary Education, the Department of Business, Technical, and Vocational Edu- cation and Training. Peer reviewers Jacob Bregman, David Court, Toby Linden, Peter Moock, and Adriaan M. Verspoor offered valuable comments and feedback. Additional written comments were received from Amit Dar, Bruce N. Jones, Soren Nellemann, and Michael Ward (DFID Uganda).

Final editing and formatting of the report were done by Lawrence Mastri.

This study is designed to help the government clarify these trade-offs. The study represents a com- prehensive review of Uganda’s secondary educa- tion sector. It is based on new data gathered specifi- cally to examine the cost, quality, and demand for such education. The analysis also draws on a wealth of existing data and studies. Findings from all pre- vious studies of post-primary education are synthe- sized to produce a comprehensive picture. For each aspect of access, equity, quality, management and financing, the study discusses the achievements to date, the challenges ahead, and broad options for reform.

This study was developed in consultation with the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports. It also represents a collaborative effort between the World Bank and other development partners in the Education Funding Agency Group in Uganda. The Norwegian Education Trust Fund supported it fi- nancially. We hope the study will contribute to the national consultative process that is currently un- derway and serve as a platform on which to build a sustainable Post-primary Education Strategic Plan for Uganda.

Birger Fredriksen

Senior Education Advisor

Africa Region. The World Bank

Contents

Foreword ... iii

Acronyms ... xiii

Executive Summary ... ix

1. Introduction ... 1

1.1The importance of post-primary education ... 1

1.2 Purposes of the study ... 2

1.3 Sector report development process ... 3

1.4 Data sources ... 5

1.5 Definition of post-primary education ... 5

1.6 Organization of the sector report ... 6

2. Demographic, Social and Economic Context ... 7

3. Education Sector Overview ... 9

3.1 Structure of the education system ... 9

3.2 Size of the education sector ... 9

3.3 Selected basic indicators of the education system in Uganda ... 10

3.4 Government expenditure on education ... 11

4. Uganda Post-Primary Education ... 14

4.1 Policy, objectives, structure, admission, and size ... 14

4.2 System performance ... 18

4.3 System inputs ... 35

4.4 Cost and financing of post-primary education and training ... 44

4.5 Business, technical and vocational education ... 51

4.6. Private provision of post-primary education and training ... 56

4.7. Cost effectiveness of various PPET institutions ... 60

5. PPET Enrollment and Transition Rates Projections ... 63

6. Conclusions... 66

7. Policy Options ... 68

A. Short-term focus on increasing efficiency of the current system: Expanding and improving quality B. Medium-term focus on more equitable distribution of public financing to improve coverage, equity, and quality of PPET (within 5–10 years) ... 69

C. Long-term focus on structure, curriculum, and teacher reform to improve the quality and relevance of PPET education ... 71

References ... 74

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Annex 1.

Determinants of Secondary Enrollment Using Multiple Regression Method ... 75

Annex 2. Analyzing Private Direct and Opportunity Costs of PPET ... 77

Annex 3. Projected Cost of Adopting Short-term Efficiency Measures... 83

Tables Table 1 World Bank lending to Uganda ... 5

Table 2 Poverty and social indicators ... 9

Table 3 Population projections from 2000 (estimated) to 2025, Uganda ... 9

Table 4 Schools, enrollments, and teachers by type ... 11

Table 5 Enrollment (and number of schools) by ownership ... 11

Table 6 Total education expenditure as a % of GNP and as a % of total expenditure ... 13

Table 7 Recurrent budget allocation in billions of Uganda Shilling, 1998–2004 (estimated) ... 13

Table 8 Structure of education system by world region ... 17

Table 9 Overview of the general secondary education system (2000) ... 19

Table 10 Age-specific enrollment ratio for secondary school in 1999/2000 ... 19

Table 11 Secondary gross enrollment ratio ... 19

Table 12 Secondary gross and net enrollment ratios by gender ... 21

Table 13 Secondary enrollment rates by quintile, 1992, 1997, and 2000 ... 21

Table 14 Transition rates from P7 to S1 (in %) ... 25

Table 15 Primary to secondary transition rates (in %) ... 25

Table 16 Transition rates from S4 to S5 for selected years ... 25

Table 17 Dropout rates by type of school and location, 2001 ... 27

Table 18a UCE candidates and pass rates by subject (2000) for main subjects ... 29

Table 18b UCE candidates and fail rates for Math and English ... 29

Table 19 UACE candidates and pass rates by subject (2000) ... 29

Table 20 Quality Study Failure Rates I ... 29

Table 21 Quality Study Failure Rates II ... 31

Table 22 The Ugandan labor force ... 31

Table 23 Probability of being in paid employment by educational attainment (Individuals age 15-69, not in school) ... 31

Table 24 Wage premiums ... 31

Table 25 Growth of outputs 1990–99 ... 35

Table 26 Teacher education by gender and degree ... 39

Table 27 Current ‘O’-level curriculum based on the 1982 subject guidelines ... 43

Table 28 Buildings at secondary schools, 2000 ... 43

Table 29 The Information Age ... 45

Table 30 Secondary education expenditure as a % of all levels ... 47

Table 31 2001/02 Planned budget for secondary recurrent expenditure ... 47

Table 32 Expenditure per secondary student as a percent of per capita GNI ... 47

Table 33 Public expenditure per pupil by district (including both government and private enrollment) .. 49

Table 34 Cumulative percent of public subsidy by population cohorts ... 49

Table 35 Opportunity cost of PPET ... 51

Table 36 Institutional profile of BTVET and enrollment capacity ... 51

Table 37 Average expenditure per student per year ... 53

Table 38 Technical and O-level secondary failure rates ... 53

Table 39 The proposed comprehensive and vocational secondary school curriculum ... 55

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Table 40 Percent of private enrollment in general secondary schools ... 57

Table 41 Percent enrollment in private secondary schools by district, 2000 ... 57

Table 42 Correlation of private provision and NER ... 59

Table 43 Unit costs per pupil in public and private PPET ... 59

Table 44 Math and English failure rates in government and private schools ... 59

Table 45 Breakdown of use-attributable cost per pupil ... 61

Table 46 Failure rates by school type ... 61

Table 47 Regression results: Predicting the probability of secondary enrollment among 13-25 year-olds completing primary school ... 77

Table 48 Education Expenditure UNHS 1999/2000 ... 79

Table 49 Regression analysis of household education expenditure—UNHS ... 79

Table 50 Summary of household expenditure on education by category ... 79

Table 51 Average earnings of P7 completers by age ... 79

Table 52 Household enterprise production function ... 81

Table 53 Estimated “shadow wage” of P7 completers ... 81

Table 54 Opportunity cost of PPET ... 81

Table 55 Consolidated reforms and activities in the baseline model with incremental reforms ... 84

Table 56 Activities for baseline model ... 85

Figures Figure 1 GNP per capita and secondary gross enrollment ratio ... 3

Figure2 Uganda education structure ... 9

Figure 3 Percentage completing primary and three years of secondary education from 1953 to 1993 ... 11

Figure 4 Enrollment by age (from HH survey, all ages) ... 13

Figure 5 Number of Secondary Schools, 1970–2000 ... 17

Figure 6 Secondary Enrollment Trends, 1970–2000 ... 17

Figure 7 Age-specific enrollment ratio ... 19

Figure 8 Comparison of secondary enrollment for males and females by age ... 21

Figure 9 Comparison, by quintile, of secondary enrollment by age ... 21

Figure 10 Reasons for not attending school for children of secondary age group ... 23

Figure 11 Reasons for dropping out of school ... 23

Figure 12 Comparison, among quintiles, of percentage of children working ... 23

Figure 13 Dropouts by grade and gender ... 25

Figure 14 Repeaters by grade and gender ... 27

Figure 15 Yearly return to education ... 33

Figure 16 Pupil-teacher ratio by region ... 37

Figure 17 Accumulated subsidy by population cohorts ... 49

Figure 18 Costs of PPET ... 51

Figure 19 Distribution of expenditure—public and private ... 59

Figure 20 Primary enrollment in P7 and PLE passes ... 65

Figure 21 Total enrollment government and private ... 65

Figure 22 Nominal transition rates P7–S1 ... 65

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Acronyms and Abbreviations

BoG Board of Governors

BTVET Business, Technical, and Vocational Education and Training

CP Community Polytechnic

DBVTET Department of BTVET

EFAG Education Funding Agency Group

EMIS Education Management Information System

ESA Education Standards Agency

ESIP Education Strategic Investment Plan

GER Gross Enrollment Ratio

GoU Government of Uganda

MOES Ministry of Education and Sports

NCDC National Curriculum Development Center

NER Net Enrollment Ratio

PAF Poverty Action Fund

PPET Post-primary Education and Training

PTA Parent-Teacher Association

PTR Pupil:Teacher Ratio

SED Secondary Education Department

UACE Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education

UCE Uganda Certificate of Education

UPE Universal Primary Education

Executive Summary

n recent years, Uganda has made impressive progress in primary education. The president’s de- cision in 1996 to eliminate fees for up to four chil- dren per family removed what had been an impor- tant financial impediment, and also sent a strong signal that education is a high priority. An additional 2.3 million children (1.1 m girls and 1.2 m boys) re- sponded immediately, bringing the total primary enrollment up to 5.7 million in 1997. By 2001, total enrollment had reached 6.9 million, and the gross enrollment ratio stood at more than 120 percent.

However, the post-primary education and training sector (PPET),

has received little attention.

Uganda’s secondary education (including all grades of S1–S6) gross enrollment ratio of 19 percent and net enrollment ratio of 13 percent in 2000 were low compared to international or regional standards, and well below the average among countries of similar GNP per capita income. Yet, evidence shows that secondary education contributes significantly to economic, social, and cultural development. Even within the education system, secondary education is important for training the teachers and adminis- trators that staff the primary school system. In fact, by training mid-level technicians and preparing fu- ture professionals, post-primary education plays a similar role in other areas that are key to economic development.

The Government of Uganda has become increas- ingly aware of the importance of post-primary edu- cation, especially with the expected increase in post-

I primary demand after the implementation of Uni-

versal Primary Education (UPE). In fact, the gov- ernment is so eager to expand and improve the sys- tem that President Museveni announced during the 2001 election that he would pursue “Free Secondary Education.”

The Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) has since begun to assess the implications of such a policy. And with support from the Education Fund- ing Agency Group, the Ministry of Education com- missioned a series of interrelated studies on post- primary education. It was expected that these stud- ies would fill important knowledge gaps about Ugandan post-primary education.

This report synthesizes findings from the com- missioned studies and presents a frank picture of Ugandan post-primary education—its achieve- ments to date, the challenges ahead, and broad op- tions for reform. The report also presents two costed policy options for the ministry’s immediate consid- eration, based on the work by Professor Keith Lewin of the University of Sussex. The report and the op- tions have been discussed with the government during the April 2002 Education Sector Review, and comments from the review have been incorporated.

Together, the report and the options will provide

the basis for a wide consultation leading to a

Uganda Post-primary Education Strategic Frame-

work to be presented at the next Education Sector

Review. The Government of Uganda is leading this

process.

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System diagnosis

Multifaceted nature

The PPET system in Uganda is by no means mono- lithic. The system is a mixture of a small proportion of elite, high-quality government and religiously founded schools, which are well resourced and af- fordable only to the rich, and a majority of poorly performing private and community schools estab- lished mainly for poorer families.

Low priority

The PPET sub-sector of the education system is not a high priority area. Over the last few years, the average share of recurrent secondary budget out of total education recurrent has been around 15 per- cent, and the share of technical and vocational edu- cation around 3 percent, compared to 65 percent for primary education. The government has now prom- ised to provide at least 65 percent of the education sector budget for primary education and, because of education reforms, increase the budget for ter- tiary education. Given these commitments, the PPET sector can best hope that the currents levels will be maintained for the medium term.

Multiple objectives

As is the case in most countries, post-primary edu- cation in Uganda has multiple objectives, including the transmission of general knowledge, skills, citi- zenship, and other values. It has perhaps the con- tradictory task of providing qualified students to the higher school levels while preparing students for the job world. It is important to ask how the education system should be organized to meet its objectives. This report’s position is that the scarce PPET resources (at least the public sector) must fo- cus on instilling basic literacy, numeracy, and prob- lem-solving skills. A focus on the basics will ulti- mately serve all purposes well.

Unclear policy directions

The long-term national education policies come mainly from documents and policy statements ex- ternal to the Ministry of Education and Sports, some of the recent important ones include:

• Free Secondary Education

• Creating a National Network of Community Poly- technics

• Steady Vocationalization of Secondary Education by Creating Comprehensive Schools and Voca- tional Schools

• Relaxing Current Controls, Restraints, and Qual- ity Assurance Checks on Private education in or- der to Encourage the Rapid Growth of Private sec- ondary schools.

However, the Ministry of Education and Sports has not translated these broad policy directions into policies and guidelines. And, these statements gen- erally do not take into account the resource impli- cations. This lack of a coherent policy framework, the absence of implementation guidelines, and the lack of consideration for resource constraints have become major obstacles to improving the sector.

Poor system performance

• Low coverage and extreme inequity. Coverage at the secondary level is very low: GER for S1–S4 (the main focus of PPET) is 35 percent; overall GER for S1–S6 is only 19 percent. Therefore, at least two thirds of the age group population is without access to PPET, and overall about 80 percent of the population has no access to secondary education. In addition, ineq- uity in the Ugandan secondary system is much more widespread than at the primary level, with the rich- est 20 percent of the households occupying 63 per- cent of total secondary spaces.

• Gender disparity. There is a gender disparity in

secondary coverage. Only 41 percent of secondary

enrollment is females, and female enrollment ratios

fall below those for males, especially after age sev-

enteen. Gender disparity is worst in the Northern

Region, perhaps due to social norms. Nationwide,

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girls do significantly worse in mathematics than do boys, but boys and girls’ performance in English was similar. The gender disparity needs to be ad- dressed as a priority, given the Millennium Devel- opment Goals, to which the Uganda Government has committed itself.

• Low internal efficiency. The PPET system overall has low repetition but significant dropout rates.

Dropout rates tend to be higher in rural and non- government schools. And a bottleneck occurs at the transition from primary to secondary (between 40–

50 percent, including both public and private) and from Ordinary level to A-level (26 percent). How- ever, given the projected increase in primary gradu- ates, the transition rate will fall if no action is taken to expand and improve the PPET system.

• Poor student achievement, especially in math, En- glish, and sciences. A recent School Quality Study found that, nationwide, 40 percent of Form 1 stu- dents and half of Form 3 students failed math tests.

Results of the English tests are only slightly better:

one-quarter of students fail English tests. These ex- ams were designed to test the basic concepts and skills in math and English and can be seen as tests of minimum requirements. Such high failure rates in- dicate that a substantial proportion of secondary students are coming away without the skills and competencies they need.

Labor market analysis

• Returns are high. Despite the average poor perfor- mance, the labor market analysis show that PPET students are not only more likely to be employed by the formal wage sector, but once employed, re- turns to secondary education—and especially to lower secondary—are high. For every additional year of lower secondary education, there is an associ- ated wage increase of more than 20 percent. And there is evidence that PPET graduates are more pro- ductive, even in the informal sector, than those who have not attended secondary schools.

• Differential demand for PPET graduates. The Firm Demand Study shows that, despite the advocacy for vocationalization, it is generic skills and knowl- edge, in addition to positive work attitudes, that

employers value most. In addition, the increasingly diversified and dynamic formal industry sector makes it difficult to predict which practical skills will be in demand. Therefore, schools are better off focusing on basic knowledge and skills so that stu- dents are flexible enough to adapt to various work environments.

• Evolving structure of Uganda’s economy. Though predominantly an agriculture-based economy, there is every reason to believe that the structure of the economy is becoming increasingly industrialized and service-oriented. Data show that while agri- culture grew on average 3.7 percent in the 1990s, its rate of growth fell far behind that of industry, espe- cially the manufacturing and service sectors, which grew at average rates of 12.7 percent, 14.2 percent, and 8.1 percent respectively. Economists expect that these sectors will continue to grow at similar rates.

This means that the economy needs or will need middle-level skills urgently. A focus on science, tech- nology, and engineering will coincide with the gen- eral trend of the economy and can bring Uganda more in line with successful international examples of PPET.

Insufficient inputs

The poor system performance is mainly because of poor quality inputs or lack of inputs in the follow- ing areas:

• Weak management capacity. Post-primary Educa-

tion and Training (PPET) is the primary responsibil-

ity of two departments in the MOES: the Secondary

Education Department (SED) and the Department

of Business, Technical and Vocational Education and

Training (DBTVET). DBTVET is in charge of institu-

tions ranging from secondary technical and farm

schools to tertiary institutions that are actually gov-

erned by the Higher Education Act. The institutional

arrangement for PPET must be streamlined. And at

the central level inadequate staffing and a lack of

relevant management training are weakening man-

agement capacity. The same is true at the school

level. Schools are rarely inspected, headmasters

have little training in effective management, and

accountability is low.

xii

• Overloaded curriculum. There are at least fourteen subjects for S1 and S2, and nine subjects for S3 and S4 being taught. Because of so many subjects, stu- dents spend an average of fifty periods (each pe- riod is 45–50 minutes) in classes each week, leaving little time for play and extracurricular activities. The tight schedule also severely restricts efficient use of resources.

• Characteristics of teachers

- Teaching load. Secondary teachers in Uganda are not being optimally utilized. The overall pupil:

teacher ratio in secondary is only 17, well below the African average ratio of 25:1 in secondary schools. The average teaching load is about 22.5 periods per week, less than half of the 50 pe- riods provided to students weekly. There is much variation in teacher use by subject and location, and thus considerable room for im- proving efficiency.

- Teacher salary. Compared to the GDP per capita of US$320, secondary teachers in Uganda are fairly well paid. Average salary cost in 2001 was Ush2.86 million (US$1,787), not to mention the shorter hours of work and summer vacation that teachers enjoy. In addition, teachers in many elite government schools have salary supple- ments from the school PTA funds. Teachers in private schools, who are paid entirely out of PTA funds, generally receive much less that those fully paid by the government. Furthermore, the pay disparity between a graduate and Grade V teachers starting salaries (Ush300,000 vs.

Ush135,000) may be too large to be justified.

- But, teacher working conditions are generally poor because of a lack of (a) basic teaching and learn- ing materials, libraries, and labs at the school level; (b) a coherent incentive and career struc- ture for teachers; and (c) professional develop- ment. Apart from the qualification upgrading of the Grade V teachers, teachers generally re- ceive little in-service training. The Teacher Uti- lization Study found that the average teacher had attended only 1.8 refresher courses since 1993!

• Textbooks and other inputs. Clearly, the availabil- ity of textbooks and other learning materials have a positive impact on student learning. In Uganda, text- books and other inputs are mostly financed out of the capitation grants or fees collected from parents, so schools tend to spend very little on textbooks and other inputs. Critical non-wage, non-boarding inputs are lacking, especially in rural schools. Over- all, the student:book ratio stands at about 6:1 in sec- ondary schools, while the student:classroom ratio is 46:1. There is also a shortage of library, lab facili- ties, computers, and Internet access.

Inefficient and inequitable public financing

• High costs of PPET to the government and households - Government subsidies only target government or grant-aided schools in the form of teacher salaries and capitation grants. Public expendi- ture per enrolled student is Ush.236,994 (US$148), which is high compared to per capita GDP (US$320) and compared to expenditure per primary student (about US$22). Since capitation grants are fixed on a per student basis (regard- less of his or her family background), the major source of variation in public expenditure per student stems from the pupil:teacher ratio and the proportion of graduate teachers (more quali- fied and better paid) on the government payroll.

- The cost of going to secondary school is pro- hibitive for many families, especially poor ones.

This is not only because of the direct costs asso-

ciated with secondary enrollment (estimated to

be Ush.238,000, per child enrolled, in both pub-

lic and private schools), but also because the

value of the child’s time in the labor force is

much higher at the secondary level (estimated

to be Ush.265,000). Forty-seven percent of Ugan-

dan households have annual incomes at or be-

low Ush.620,050, and there is little room for in-

creases in private contributions to public second-

ary education or to private secondary education.

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- Average school expenditure per pupil (pooling both public and private expenditures) is high- est in boarding schools, because of the high costs of boarding facilities and the higher proportion of graduate teachers employed. Per-pupil expen- ditures at the technical schools are also high:

almost twice as high as those in O-level sec- ondary schools. Government schools on aver- age have higher costs than private schools.

• PPET public expenditure is highly inequitable. There are two sources of inequity in the financing of PPET.

First, most poor children do not go to secondary schools (only 3.8 percent of the poorest 20 percent of the population are enrolled in secondary schools);

therefore, they do not benefit from government subsidies to secondary schools. Second, most poor children opt for cheaper private or community schools, which do not receive government subsi- dies. Children from wealthier families, however, generally go to schools that are better resourced in terms of teachers (paid by the government) and other inputs. As a result, public expenditure on sec- ondary education is regressive—that is, the wealthier population is benefiting disproportion- ately from public subsidies in secondary education.

The poorest 20 percent of the population are only receiving 13 percent of government subsidy, whereas the richest 20 percent of the population are enjoying 34 percent.

If PPET coverage is to be improved, unit costs must fall by increasing the efficiency of public financing. The gov- ernment has a financial commitment to provide at least 65 percent of its education budget to primary education to ensure that the enrollment gains achieved through UPE are maintained and the qual- ity of primary education is improved. Perhaps the best scenario is that the share of secondary be main- tained at about 15 percent and the share for BTVET at 3 percent, which means that in nominal terms public resources available for PPET will grow at 5 percent (equivalent to projected GDP growth). If population grows at 3 percent, the PPET can only

grow at 2 percent at most without altering signifi- cantly its current production methods. Neither uni- versal secondary education nor the ESIP targets of reaching the gross secondary enrollment of 58 per- cent by 2010, with 68 percent of the enrollment in private schools, are attainable within this resource envelope.

Therefore, to improve access, unit costs must fall by increasing the efficiency of public financing.

Worldwide, countries that achieve a high gross sec- ondary enrollment ratio tend to have a low cost ra- tio between secondary and primary (about 2:1). In Uganda, the ratio is as high as 7:1. So, if access is to be equitable, the equity of public financing must improve.

Private provision of PPET is already high. If we define private schools as schools not receiving government subsidy, the proportion of private enrollment for PPET was at about 57 percent of total secondary enrollment in 2000. This proportion of private en- rollment is extremely high compared to the same statistics from other countries (South America has 26 percent of enrollment in private schools compared to 22 percent for Africa, 15 percent for Asia, and 12 percent for Europe). There is also evidence that, in most countries, the proportion of secondary enroll- ment in private schools has decreased since 1990.

Hence, there may be little room for increasing the proportion of private provision. Although there are a few elite private schools established by religious bodies, most private secondary schools in Uganda cater mainly to poor families. Expanding the PPET coverage by increasing the proportion of private provision (without government support) will have a negative impact on equity. And, given the resource constraints, government will not likely be able to provide subsidy to private schools in the short term.

Community polytechnics and vocationalization of sec-

ondary education through comprehensive and vocational

schools. The government is seriously considering

adopting community polytechnics as central to its

strategy for secondary expansion. The idea is to erect

new or convert existing structures in every sub-

country that will cater to primary graduates not at-

xiv

tending secondary schools and to secondary school dropouts. The curriculum will have a heavy dose of vocational subjects, and the community is expected to shoulder most, if not all, of the costs of running the schools. Although the last medium-term bud- get framework included development costs for com- munity polytechnics, the government has not yet established any.

The government is also proposing to vocationalize secondary education through compre- hensive and vocational schools. The curriculum for the new comprehensive and vocational schools was proposed during the Fifth Education Sector Review last April. Both comprehensive and vocational schools are a movement to steadily vocationalize the secondary curriculum. The proposed compre- hensive/vocational curriculum increased the num- ber of subjects for S1–S2 from a minimum of four- teen (Table 25) to fifteen; for S3–S4 from a minimum of nine to ten subjects. More importantly, in the new comprehensive schools, the number of vocational subjects will increase from at least three to six for S1–S2, and from at least one to two for S3–S4. In the new vocational schools, the number of vocational subjects for S3–S4 will be further increased to four subjects.

This report is concerned about the government proposal of (a) creating a national network of com- munity polytechnics and (b) steady vocationalization of secondary education by creat- ing comprehensive and vocational schools. The rea- sons are (a) affordability and sustainability—tech- nical education is at least twice as expensive as a regular O-level school; (b) equity—most of the tar- get population, namely the P7 leavers and S1–S4 dropouts, will be from the poorest section of the population and will be unable to fund programs in their communities; and most importantly (c) desir- ability—there is evidence that technical and voca- tional students are not mastering the basic compe- tencies that employers value most in the formal sec- tor (over two-thirds of technical students fail the math and English tests), and a heavier dose of voca- tional subjects will further reduce teaching and

learning in core subjects. Moreover, there does not seem to be much demand for this kind of training from parents and employers. Finally, it is estimated that 400 firms now have in-house training programs and prefer to do their own training.

We argue that the best vocational education (even for those leaving school at the end of secondary education and entering the job world) gives stu- dents strong generic skills in basic literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills, and the abil- ity to work in teams, and that lower secondary edu- cation (at least the public sector) should teach stu- dents how to learn. The recent World Bank study, Vocational Skills Development in Sub-Saharan Africa:

Phase I Synthesis, emphasized this position, conclud- ing that basic education is critical for productivity and economic growth.

Strategic plan and process of working for PPET

The ministry must, through a consultative process, develop a policy framework and strategies for the PPET sector, with clear and realistic goals. There must also be targets and indicators in coverage, quality, and efficiency over the next ten years. The strategic plan should also articulate the means for reaching those goals. These proposed options can be evalu- ated in terms of anticipated cost and incorporated into a strategic plan. To the extent possible, the PPET sub-sector should emulate the primary sector and use the medium-term budget framework to priori- tize activities and adopt the semi-annual Education Sector Review as a major monitoring tool.

At the same time, there has to be a quick decision

on key issues such as community polytechnics and

making the current system more efficient. The gov-

ernment is already committing itself to plans it can-

not afford—for example, the current budget plan

included community polytechnics, and there has

been pressure to hire more secondary teachers. It is

urgent that these key issues be resolved.

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Broad policy options

This report offers nine broad policy recommenda- tions for the ministry to incorporate into a strategic plan. The options are not prescriptive, but rather a menu of possible strategies for meeting the chal- lenges discussed. Policy options are clustered into three areas: (a) short-term focus on making better use of current resources as a means for expansion;

(b) medium-term focus on equitable distribution of public financing, and reducing cost burdens, espe- cially on poor and disadvantaged households; and (c) long- term focus on structural and curriculum reforms.

These options need to correlate with the contin- ued emphasis on improving the quality of educa- tion, reducing the age of first enrollment, and achieving greater internal efficiency at the primary level. However, policy-makers often ignore such critical linkage between primary and secondary education. Quality improvement measures at the primary level are central to improving coverage, equity, and quality of secondary education.

The options also must be linked to improving school-level management. Many of the innovations in teaching, learning, and managing resources hap- pen at the school level. The “Study of the Provision of Instructional Materials” discovered that many headmasters are scheduling classes so that every student has access to a textbook during the class session. Such energy at the school level should be exploited. However, the capacity of school-level management needs to be further strengthened through capacity building and other motivational incentives.

In discussing the proposed policy options, it is important to remember that large differences exist between regions, districts, and even within districts.

The policy options will have to be tailored to the local context.

A. Short-term focus on making the current system more efficient as a means for expansion and quality improvement (within the next 5 years).

The short-term measures are ways to improve the secondary coverage without significant changes in resource allocation patterns. However, if imple- mented successfully, the proposed reform measures may bring gains in efficiency, although it may re- quire extra funding during the transition period. This is where the EFAG may offer assistance, based on sound and agreed upon policy decisions.

Requiring all secondary teachers to teach at least two subjects

About 45 percent of secondary teachers teach only one subject area—even though all teachers have been trained to teach two subjects. Without increas- ing the number of subjects teacher teach, it will be almost impossible to increase the overall pupil:teacher ratio without altering the curriculum.

But revising the curriculum is a medium- to long- term undertaking.

Increasing pupil:teacher ratio

This is a core strategy for improving the efficiency

of the system. For example, increasing the overall

pupil:teacher ratio from the current level of 17 to 30

will increase the enrollment by more than 150 per-

cent without incurring additional costs. The increase

of PTR does not mean drastic measures, such as fir-

ing teachers; instead, it can be achieved by reducing

the hiring rate and restricting hiring to teachers of

subjects in demand, such as math, English, and sci-

ences. However, the burden of such an increase

should not fall on the crowded schools. And the pro-

cess has to be linked to the rationalization of cur-

riculum, teacher workloads, and deployment.

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Distinguishing the secondary (O-level) versus post- secondary (post-O level) institutions both conceptually and administratively

• Create an integrated secondary school system to in- clude general O-level and secondary technical and farm schools under a single system of administration, gover- nance, finance, and curriculum focus. As discussed ear- lier, technical and vocational education at the O- level is expensive, ineffective in transmitting basic competencies as compared to general secondary, and not generally a preferred option for families. The government should consider converting these schools into regular O-level day secondary schools.

This means that the government will not en- gage in massive construction of community poly- technics. At most, the community polytechnics should only be piloted in selected districts with a cheaper design that can later be easily converted into regular day O-level secondary schools.

• Re-organize post-secondary BTVET institutions into a single system of further education institutions of viable size, and invest in improving quality and efficiency, ei- ther through larger multi-faculty colleges or larger single field of study institutions. A strategic review is needed of post-school provision to re-energize, rationalize, and increase value for money in this sector. There is room to (a) adopt more demand-led approaches to enrollment planning and institutional development, (b) provide incentives and flexibility to allow col- leges to increase participation using cost recovery, and (c) generate a dynamic, post school, occupation- ally and professionally orientated education and training system.

B. Medium-term focus on equitable distribution of public financing as a major strategy for improv- ing the coverage, equity, and quality of PPET (within the next 5–10 years)

Broaden the concept and forms of capitation grants to schools

• Capitation grant for non-wage expenses. To protect expenditures on essential teaching and learning materials and equipment, the existing capitation grant should be revised so that it can only be used

for non-wage and non-boarding expenditures. The current practice uses the capitation grant to subsidize teacher salaries or to hire additional private teachers.

Variations of the formula can be introduced to address the inequity in public financing. For example:

- To improve the equity of public financing, it is possible to formulate the capitation grant to al- low higher allocations on a per capita basis for schools serving predominantly poor students.

- More radically, the government may stop pay- ing capitation grants to elite boarding schools serving predominantly wealthy families.

- Or, the government could still provide capita- tion grants to the elite boarding schools, but based on the enrollment of poor and day stu- dents in those schools.

- The government could support the private sec- tor by approving the same grant for private schools—and there is no reason why such a grant should not be provided to private and community schools. Of course, given resource constraints, the government will not be in a position to provide support immediately. The priority is still to reform public financing to pub- lic schools.

• Formula-based teacher salary grant. Much of the

variation in per student expenditure lies in the pro-

portion of graduate teachers in the school. This

variation is also the major source of inequity of pub-

lic financing because rich students usually attend

schools that have more of these teachers. To correct

this, the ministry might provide a formula-based

capitation grant to schools earmarked only for

teacher salaries. The schools will then be able to

decide how to use this grant and determine the num-

ber of teachers, proportion of graduate teachers to

be hired, and salaries of the teachers. The Ministry

of Education will determine the value of the grant,

sufficient to cover a certain number of teachers. This

option is not as drastic as it sounds, since secondary

schools already have a large degree of freedom in

hiring teachers and in reallocating resources. Such a

grant can eventually be extended to private and

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community schools. However, teacher unions may resist since the strategy implies a change in the terms of teacher contracts. Attention also needs to be paid that the system does not exploit teachers.

Increase average secondary school size to reap economies of scale and gradually reduce the number of schools with enrollments less than 250

This can be accomplished through merging small secondary schools. There is a long-standing concern that enrollments are too low at many secondary schools in Uganda to allow economies of scale to be reaped. This is important because the delivery of secondary curriculum usually requires libraries, workshops, and other expensive equipment. The Unit Cost Study found that, taking into account per student expenditure and manageability, the opti- mal school size is between 500 and 750 students.

Seventy percent of private rural schools have less than 250 students. The corresponding figures for private peri-urban and urban private schools are 53 percent and 44 percent. About 23 percent of the gov- ernment schools in rural areas have enrollments smaller than 250; the corresponding figures for gov- ernment peri-urban and urban schools are 6 percent and 7 percent. Sparsely populated areas deserve spe- cial attention, where secondary schools have small catchment areas. This is especially important if the Uganda Government decides to provide the O-level education or at least two to three years of O-level education for free as part of the basic education movement—in which case, basic education becomes a right.

Expand the existing scholarship scheme to cover needy students, including AIDS-orphans

The PPET system faces the challenges of efficiency, access, quality and equity. But equity cannot be ex- pected to improve without government interven- tion. Bursary schemes remain an effective strategy.

An important policy implication of the analysis is that the bursaries should target the poor and other disadvantaged students. However, it is not clear to what extent the current bursary scheme is benefit- ing students with real needs; therefore, the current

scheme should be carefully studied before expand- ing the bursary scheme. Bursaries could target schools that meet certain performance criteria and that charge fees below certain levels (as the rich perhaps will not be opting for such cheap schools).

Or bursaries could be used for day students attend- ing boarding schools, while special provisions should be made to include orphans.

C. Long-term focus on structure, curriculum, and teacher reform to improve the quality and rel- evance of PPET education

Structure and curriculum reform

In the long term, Uganda needs to examine criti- cally its structure and curriculum focus for PPET, in the context of cultural, social, and economic devel- opment as well as in the context of regional and international integration. It needs to ask what core competencies and skills are expected of a secondary graduate and then determine the structure of the education system, the teaching method, and curricu- lum that will deliver such outputs. The country also needs to decide whether it will adopt a basic educa- tion cycle that covers primary and selected years of lower secondary education—with a curriculum fo- cus on literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills—and an enriched curriculum for higher sec- ondary education, with more focus on science and technology.

Reform teacher education and teacher incentive

Both pre-service and in-service of teachers need to

be reviewed. Very little is known about what hap-

pens at the teacher training colleges; however, there

is evidence that teacher education would benefit

from improved efficiency and relevance at the col-

leges. Teaching and learning at the colleges tend to

be content-driven—with little attention to devel-

oping professional skills and attitudes—and heavily

teacher-centered. Reduce salary differentials be-

tween graduates and non-graduates doing the same

jobs, and link bonuses to workloads to improve pro-

ductivity and performance.

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Reform the secondary examination and assessment system

Secondary teaching and learning in Uganda are heavily influenced by two examinations—the Uganda Certificate of Education at the end of O- level, and the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Edu- cation at the end of A-level. Both examinations are designed mainly to select students for the next level, and, inevitably, teachers and students will teach and learn to the examinations if spaces in PPET are lim- ited. With the gradual expansion in coverage, it may be possible to introduce other forms of assessment, such as continuous assessment or national assess- ment of student aptitudes. These will provide more valuable insights into the teaching and learning pro- cess in the classrooms and help inform the curriculum review.

Increase the resource allocation for PPET

• Intra-sectoral shifts. At present, 65 percent of the education budget is earmarked for primary educa- tion. In fact, the government is committed to guar- anteeing 65 percent of its education budget to pri- mary education over the next few years. It is pos- sible that after a few years, when the primary situa- tion is more stabilized and most of the overage stu- dents will have been absorbed into the system, pri- mary budget may not need to consume 65 percent.

In addition, while reforms in higher education may bring higher public finance in the short term, if implemented well, they may result in autonomous higher education institutions and hence will not re- quire a large share of the ministry’s long-term bud- get. This will be a national decision.

• Inter-sectoral shifts. If PPET were to become a high priority area, there may be a further commitment of funds from some other sectors to the education sec- tor. This decision must be made at the national level, with consultation and concurrence by the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet. The share of Uganda’s budget now going to education is already extremely high by international standards.

The projected cost of adopting short-term efficiency measures

The proposed policy options center on the increase of pupil:teacher ratio by creating core subject clus- ters and by having teachers teach at least two sub- jects. The cost projections assume that the initial costs of curriculum adaptation are minimum or can be shouldered by the EFAG, and that the ministry is only concerned with development costs (for pilot- ing community polytechnics and building regular day secondary schools) and the recurrent costs of wages and capitation grants.

Two scenarios have been costed. Both scenarios center on increasing system efficiency by increas- ing the pupil:teacher ratio, although at a different rate. The baseline model includes a modest agenda of reform that anticipates a gentle rise in the pupil teacher ratio. It would allow about 200 new schools to be built by 2006 and 470 by 2011. The latter is sufficient to ensure all sub-counties have a second- ary school by 2011. It would also allow the second- ary GER to climb towards 50 percent, the level at which gender parity is likely to become real. And finally, it only requires about 20–22 percent of over- all MOE budget to be devoted to secondary and BTVET. The report regards the baseline model to be more politically feasible as compared to the radical model, which will require a much faster increase of PTR. Therefore, the report recommends that the baseline model be adopted for implementation. A process of further national and regional consulta- tion on these options was agreed to during the April 2002 Education Sector Review. And the final action plan will be presented to the October 2002 Review and incorporated into the medium-term budget framework.

1 We define post-primary education as lower secondary educa- tion (grades S1, S2, S3, and S4), upper secondary (grades S5 and S6), which immediately follows the seven years of pri- mary education, and a parallel technical and vocational education system that consists of technical and farm schools immediately following the primary cycle. Emphasis is given to grades S1–S4, the O-level segment of secondary educa- tion as opposed to grades S5–S6, the A-level.

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Short term (within the next 2–3 years)

Medium term (within the next 3–5 years)

Long term (beyond the next 5 years)

Efficiency

(Focus on curriculum and teacher rationalization)

Require all secondary teachers to teach at least two subjects. Forty- five percent of teachers now teach only one subject.

Increase the pupil:teacher ratio gradually from 20 to 30

Continue to increase PTR so that it reaches a sustainable national average desired by the country

Maintain the average national PTR taking into consideration reasonable deviations due to certain geographic and demographic conditions Increase the average secondary school

size to reap economies of scale where feasible

Maintain a sustainable average school size, recognizing the special needs of certain remote areas Coverage and equity

Focus on financing reform and targeted assistance to needy students

Revise the current capitation grant scheme so that only the non-wage expenses are covered; in addition, introduce variations of the formula to address the inequity in public financing:

- A higher capitation grant to schools serving predominantly poor or other disadvantaged children

- Stop capitation grant to elite boarding schools, or only pay capitation grant based on the number of poor students enrolled in those schools - Consider providing such grant

to private schools

Continue, revise, and implement the capitation grants to maximize equity and quality

Pilot formula-based salary grant in order that schools can decide the number and qualifications of teachers hired

Implement formula-based salary grants

Expand and revise the existing bursary scheme so that more poor and other disadvantaged children can benefit from the bursaries

Institutionalize the bursary scheme

Quality and relevance Focus on structure, curriculum, teaching reform

Review the structure and curriculum focus according to national needs and international benchmarks;

establish a basic education cycle with a core curriculum focusing on basic literacy, numeracy, and problem- solving skills

Reform teacher education and teacher incentive structure

Reform secondary examination and assessment

Increase the share of budget allocated to secondary (subject to national debate) Management and

governance

Create an integrated secondary school system: convert the existing secondary-level technical schools to regular O level day secondary;

Re-organize and re-energize the post secondary BTVET*

Capacity building at district and school levels

Continue strengthening school-level management

* It is not clear administratively which department is responsible for the management of the post-secondary BTVET institutions as these institutions currently cut across both secondary and tertiary education.

Broad policy options for

improving the efficiency, coverage and equity, and quality and relevance of post-primary education

1

Introduction

P

1

1.1 The importance of post-primary education

ost-primary education—the transitional edu- cation sub-sector between the primary and tertiary education sub-sectors—is less well studied and understood than the primary education sub-sector, particularly in developing countries. Tra- ditionally in the developing world, higher rates of return to primary than to higher levels of education have justified expanding and improving primary education. The emphasis on primary education was simply because literacy is fundamental to a mini- mally educated labor force and an informed elector- ate. Meanwhile, equity-based arguments justified broader primary rather than post-primary and ter- tiary coverage.

But the past two decades have shown that, de- spite the justifications for the primacy of primary education in development strategies, secondary and tertiary education cannot be ignored. Recent em- pirical work has demonstrated that post-primary enrollment has a positive relationship with real per capita GDP and a negative relationship with fertil- ity (Brist & Caplan, 2000). Figure 1 illustrates cross- sectional data from the 2000 World Education Re- port that show a positive trend line between GNP per capita and gross secondary enrollment (GER) ratio among African countries, indicating that GNP per capita increases in the GER.

A great deal of literature testifying to the impor- tance of secondary education already exists; there- fore, this paper will focus on the contribution of secondary education within the context of Uganda’s economic, social, and cultural development. We will also argue that, even within the education system, higher levels of education are important for train- ing the teachers and administrators that staff the primary school system. In fact, by training mid-level technicians and preparing future professionals, post- primary education plays a similar role in other areas that are key to economic development. In short, post- primary education is the fundamental link between primary and higher education, as well as a determi- nant of the future path of tertiary students, and thus of much of the potential for economic development in a country.

Finally, because children of this age are generally sexually active, secondary education can be an ef- fective vehicle for intensive school-based HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs.

Millennium Development Goals

PPET’s importance is further underlined by the Mil-

lennium Development Goals, to which the Uganda

government has signed on. Specifically, the MDG

goals for Uganda education are (a) ensure that, by

2015, all children will be able to complete a full

course of primary schooling; and (b) eliminate gen-

der disparity in primary and secondary education,

2

Figure 1

GNP per capita and secondary gross enrollment ratio

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000

GNP Per Capita 1997

GER Secondary

Uganda

Trend Line

preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015. The goal of eliminating gender dis- parity is especially relevant to secondary education.

1.2 Purposes of the study

This study focuses on post-primary education in Uganda, discussing issues of access, equity, effi- ciency, management and financing, and makes broad recommendations for moving ahead. As of 1997 the Ugandan overall secondary gross enroll- ment ratio of 12 percent was well below the aver- age (22 percent) among countries of similar GNP per capita income (as indicated by the trend line in Figure 1) even at that time. Many countries that have a per capita income similar or lower than that of Uganda have a much higher secondary GER. For example, Nigeria in 1997 had a GER of more than 30 percent, whereas its income per capita was only US$280. Egypt, on the other hand, achieved a sec- ondary GER of 70 percent with a per capita income of US$1200.

The system is not operating at the optimal level—

that is, it could achieve higher GER based on its in-

come level. Although policy- making should not be based on such crude comparative statis- tics, we can still say that, given current economic conditions, Uganda should theoretically expect the overall secondary GER to reach a minimum of 22 percent of the secondary age group and adjust this expecta- tion upwards as the economy continues to grow.

In Uganda, the introduction of the Universal Primary Edu- cation (UPE) in 1996 has had a huge impact on primary educa- tion. At the beginning of the 1990s, the gross primary enroll- ment ratio was only 87 percent, basic inputs were lacking, and households were paying too much for primary education. The president’s decision in 1996 to remove fees for four children per family sent a signal to people that edu- cation is important. An additional 2.2 million chil- dren (1.1 m girls and 1.1 m boys) responded imme- diately, bringing the total primary enrollment to 5.3 million in 1997. By 2001, total enrollment had reached 6.9 million. The increased primary enroll- ment will inevitably have an effect on PPET. In fact, the first cohort of UPE students is entering the PPET next year. In anticipation of the increase in post- primary enrollment that should result in the after- math of Universal Primary Education (UPE), the Government of Uganda is becoming more aware of post-primary education’s importance, and is con- sidering expanding and improving the system. In fact, President Museveni announced during the last election in 2001 that he intends to pursue “Free Sec- ondary Education.”

While this intention is a step in the right direc-

tion, the final implications of this policy have not

yet been considered. Still, the ministry felt moti-

vated by the government’s political will and, with

3

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support from donors, started a process of policy- making for the PPET sector.

However, critical information on coverage, equity, efficiency, management, and financing of the cur- rent system is needed to help the policy-making process. Despite recent reforms, especially in pri- mary education, little is known about post-primary education in Uganda, and this shortage of informa- tion has, in turn, affected the amount and quality of research available. Apart from the ministry’s annual school survey, there is very little data on post-pri- mary education in Uganda, and even the ministry’s data cannot be relied upon because of the variation in the response rate from year to year. In addition, Uganda’s post-primary education needs to be ex- amined in a larger international context to deter- mine where it now stands and what might be viable options for improving the efficiency and sustainably expanding the system.

Adding to these challenges, the post-primary subsector differs from the primary subsector in a number of ways that are significant for policy de- sign. First, whereas in primary schools parents are the sole decision-makers, children of post-primary school age participate in the decision-making about school attendance. Second, because of the interface with the labor market, the opportunity cost of post- primary education, and that of upper secondary edu- cation in particular, is significantly higher than in primary education. In developing countries, most children qualifying to attend post-primary school are also able to obtain remunerated employment outside the home. In addition, older daughters be- come valuable substitutes for maternal chores, and teenaged boys can be entrusted with the family herd as experienced and productive agricultural work- ers. From the parental point of view, the immedi- ately visible returns from child labor in the family may outweigh the potential future benefits of post- primary schooling.

In addition, there is a great deal of controversy about the purpose of post-primary education—as opposed to the purpose of primary or tertiary edu-

cation—and, therefore, disagreement about the form it should take. Should post-primary education be a general preparatory stepping-stone to the aca- demic rigors of tertiary education? Or should it fo- cus more on practical vocational skills that are di- rectly applicable in the workplace upon graduation?

These, and other issues—such as resources use, cur- riculum design, teacher training, physical infrastruc- ture, as well as who should finance secondary edu- cation—are primary points of contention and, as such, have made developing the post-primary education sys- tem in Uganda a difficult but important task.

1.3 Sector report development process

Despite a lack of any explicit policy framework for PPET, the MOES policy to cope with the projected enrollment growth, as reflected in forward budgets and described by senior policy makers, seems to be the following:

• Creating a national network of community poly- technics

• Steady vocationalization of secondary education by creating comprehensive schools

• Creating “seed” secondary schools in districts and locations where there are no or few secondary schools

• Relaxing current controls, restraints, and quality assurance checks on private education in order to encourage the rapid growth of private secondary schools.

These policy proposals from the ministry, though

not explicit, have prompted a dialogue between the

Education Funding Agency Group (EFAG) and the

ministry on PPET. EFAG members were concerned

that the proposed options are not coherent, may be

financially unsustainable, and may not serve the

long-term purposes of PPET. This dialogue impelled

the ministry to begin carrying out these studies,

with technical and financial support from EFAG.