Invest in Education, Invest Early (News and Research 260)
How much does Kyrgyzstan actually spend on education? The World Bank’s Public Expenditure Review, especially its findings for the Kyrgyz education sector, prompted intense public discussions, as for each of us our children’s education is closely associated with our hopes for their brighter future, such as opportunities to have a rewarding job and better income. A new analytical piece on education based on the PER presentation to media and civil society by the Bank.
The World Bank’s Public Expenditure Review, especially its findings for the Kyrgyz education sector, prompted intense public discussions, as for each of us our children’s education is closely associated with our hopes for their brighter future, such as opportunities to have a rewarding job and better income. The figures indicate that education is regarded as a priority sector for the Kyrgyz government, and Kyrgyzstan is one of the countries with the highest share of public expenditure for the educational sector – both in terms of total public expenditure and GDP. The country spends 22.5 per cent of its budget, or 7 per cent of the GDP, to cover the costs of this sector compared to 1 per cent allocated for environmental protection and 5 per cent for housing and utility services. However, the per student spending represents quite a small amount in the Kyrgyz Republic. The analysis of expenditure for this sector also demonstrates that the total high share of expenditures on education results in a low amount per student. For instance, in 2017 the country spent on average 28,000 soms per student on preschool, 16,000 soms on general and vocational education.
Improvement of Early Childhood Services Could Help Kosovo Forge a New Economic Future
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In Kosovo, many children, especially those from vulnerable communities, lack foundational education support early in life. For many, low levels of foundational literacy and numeracy can trigger a life-long struggle to catch up or embark on a productive career. The data from PISA performance exams show that high school students in Kosovo, across all income levels, are behind those in most OECD countries, including peers in the Western Balkans. For Kosovo to achieve a well-prepared future workforce, it needs to further invest in education and human capital. Investments in the early years have the potential to positively compound, supporting the development of advanced technical skills required for the future workforce of the country… Also: A Situational Analysis of Early Childhood Development Services in Kosovo | Albanian; SABER Early Childhood Development Kosovo Country Report 2021 | Albanian
El cierre de las aulas puede restar un 2% al PIB y un 3% al salario futuro del estudiante
The EdHeroes Movement is launched | Its aim: to address the most pressing challenges in education. [From the press release:] “Early September saw the launch of the EdHeroes Movement. Its aim is to create a global network of individuals, non-profit organizations, businesses, and government organizations, bringing together their diverse set of resources in order to explore and actualize fundamentally new solutions to the challenges education is facing worldwide. The movement champions new approaches to problems in education with emphasis on two concepts: putting family interests at the forefront of education—offering them, protection, support, and a solid foundation in their journey to success and well-being and creating a community that unites people in the joint endeavour of improving both access to education and its quality.” The Advisory Board include Safeena Husain (Founder and Executive Director of Educate Girls), Wendy Kopp (CEO and Co-founder of Teach For All), Mercedes Mayol Lassalle (World President of OMEP – World Organization for Preschool Education), Conrad Wolfram (Strategic Director and European CEO/Co-founder of Wolfram Research), Osama Obeidat (CEO of Queen Rania Teacher Academy), Steven Duggan (member of the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education), Harry Patrinos… “It is no coincidence that the World Bank has developed a comprehensive framework for the development of effective school autonomy and accountability, which emphasizes the importance of, and the positive impact of parental and community involvement in school management.” … “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that the crisis can only be overcome if we work together. That is, students, their families, teachers, schools, and the community need to come together to find feasible solutions. The same logic applies at the global level. Now, more than ever, educational progress relies on multiple actors working together. The philanthropic sector can contribute to the creation of networks that will support educational progress worldwide.”
Learning Recovery after COVID-19 In Europe and Central Asia: Policy and Practice
The COVID-19 Cost of School Closures in Earnings and Income across the World
HLO (Harmonized Learning Outcomes) | Angrist, N., S. Djankov, P.K. Goldberg and H.A. Patrinos. 2021. Measuring Human Capital using Global Learning Data. Nature 592: 403-408 | Summary in VoxEU | Data
Education, economics and public policy 