13 Aug 2013
Innovative Financing: the Need for More than Finance
By Susan Durston, former UNICEF Chief of Education. What Nick Burnett has outlined in his piece on Innovative Financing is indeed food for thought. As someone, who, during my time in UNICEF, (I am now retired from there so am writing as an independent professional) was also in the Education Task Force of the... Read More
08 Aug 2013
Innovative Financing in Education: Is it Over Before it Began? No, We just need to Pivot our thinking
By Nicholas Burnett, Results for Development Institute. Starting in 2010, it seemed as if innovative financing was about to make its mark on education, following at least some success in health. The Open Society Foundation commissioned Desmond Bermingham and me to survey the field. The Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development set up... Read More
05 Aug 2013
Much Ado about Low-Fee Private Schools
By Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, Education Partnership Center, Nigeria. I recently visited an educational establishment in Lagos to conduct some research. For ease of comprehension, I shall refer to this establishment as a school. I wanted to understand why parents were choosing to send their children to private schools of questionable quality when tuition-free public schools... Read More
29 Jul 2013
Chalkboards and Cheeseboards – Resisting the Workplace’s Colonisation of the Schoolroom
By Mike Douse, freelance education advisor. Many contributors to the post-MDG debate appear to take it as a glorious given that education is predominantly about economic growth and poverty alleviation and that it should be supported, planned and evaluated from that perspective. Just as a rich cultural heritage should not be perceived merely as... Read More
23 Jul 2013
More Effective Education Aid: The Challenge of Achieving More Evidence-based Aid Allocation
By Birger Fredriksen, Results for Development. From efficient to effective aid allocation The post-Dakar Education for All (EFA) decade saw much focus on enhancing aid recipient countries’ ability to develop more evidence-based education policies. Commendable progress has been made, more so than during the post-Jomtien decade. However, less attention has been paid to enhancing the... Read More
18 Jul 2013
Whither Post-2015? A Critique of the Post-2015 High Level Panel’s Education and Economic Goals
By Steven Klees, University of Maryland. The High Level Panel (HLP), appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, released its highly awaited report at the end of May this year: “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies Through Sustainable Development – The Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015... Read More
15 Jul 2013
The Red Threads of China’s Education and Training Cooperation with Africa
By Kenneth King, University of Edinburgh and NORRAG. China has an increasing role as an education collaborator with Africa, and this may be significant both economically and politically. First some questions: · Why does China run one of the world’s largest short-term training programmes, with plans to bring 30,000 Africans to China... Read More
09 Jul 2013
Acronym Stew: Why Some New Ingredients in International Development are Best Left Uncombined
By Ruth Naylor, CfBT Education Trust. Popular ingredients and methods in international development come in and out of fashion, just as they do in gastronomy. As new ingredients and methods are developed and discovered, they can add richness, versatility, and efficiency savings to the work of the development professional… or to the professional cook.... Read More
05 Jul 2013
Education Post-2015: Where are we going? How are we getting there?
By Kenneth King and Robert Palmer. Twenty two years ago NORRAG attempted (see NN7 and NN8) a policy history of how we got the Education for All Declaration and Framework for Action in the World Conference in Jomtien (UNESCO, 1990). As now, there were regional meetings and then a global meeting. But one of... Read More
24 Jun 2013
What's Wrong With Low-Cost Private Schools for the Poor?
By Steven Klees, University of Maryland. Right now, there is considerable attention being focused on a growing phenomenon in a number of developing countries — private primary schools that charge relatively low fees. They are described in miraculous terms, as private schools, once the bastion of the well-to-do, are now reaching disadvantaged families and thus... Read More