Education, economics and public policy

Early childhood education in Mongolia – who is still excluded?  International Children’s Day is celebrated in Mongolia as an official holiday. I could see that it provided an opportunity to reflect on the country’s commitment to create opportunities for its children to thrive and realize their full potential in school and adult life. Nowhere is thisContinue reading “News and Research 53: Early Years”

Low-cost private schools – an option  The poor quality of schools is a concern in Indonesia. The country has not performed satisfactorily on international ranking scores and this has prompted debate on the issue. The focus of the debate has been on what can be done to address this problem. The Centre for Indonesian PolicyContinue reading “News and Research 51: Low-Cost Private Schools”

What does the evidence tell us in terms of education’s role in catalyzing economic development and growth? Education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality and for laying the basis for sustained economic growth. The importance of an educated population is well established. Recent evidence points to the need toContinue reading “What Works in Education to Get Economies Moving and to Sustain Growth? (Part 1)”

Vietnam succeeds in universal education coverage for 5-year-old children  Vietnam has qualified as successful universal education coverage for 5-year-old children according to Vice Minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Thi Nghia. Speaking at the International Conference on Early Childhood Education (ECE) held on Monday morning in Hanoi, Nghia said that the “Enhancing School Readiness for Pre-schoolContinue reading “News and Research 48: Pre-School Education”

China now produces twice as many graduates a year as the US Brain Drain from Southeast Asia Poses Obstacle to Growth: Highly skilled workers are pursuing better opportunities outside the region Loss of human capital can be a major obstacle to development But remittances from migrants are a vital source of income Singapore’s Institute ofContinue reading “News and Research 47: China now produces more graduates than USA”

Can a Tech Start-Up Successfully Educate Children in the Developing World?  Bridge International Academies — a chain of inexpensive private schools — has ambitious plans to revolutionize education for poor children. But can its for-profit model work in some of the most impoverished places on Earth? Thai students’ strong results boost hopes  Success factors are identified asContinue reading “News and Research 50”

World Bank: Education Is the Key to Reducing Poverty  Khmer Times, Interview with Ulrich Zachau, country director at the World Bank: Cambodia has continued to change. GDP has been growing impressively at an average of 7.6 percent and the poverty rate fell from 47.8 percent in 2007 to 13.5 percent in 2014. Cambodia has come a longContinue reading “News and Research 49: Education: the Key To Reducing Poverty”