1. ThailandThailand
Darunee JumpatongDarunee Jumpatong
Linkage of FundingLinkage of Funding
and Decentralization:and Decentralization:
Still a ChallengeStill a Challenge
Regional Policy Seminar on Education Finance and Decentralization in Asia:
Implications for Service Delivery, 3-5 November 2010, Bangkok
1

2. Areas of DiscussionAreas of Discussion
 Basic sector data
Current practices: the linkage of
funding and decentralization
 Weaknesses
Current educational priorities and
concerns
 Crucial projects
 Changes
2

3. Basic DataBasic Data
• Basic education = primary and
secondary education
• Gross Enrolment Ratio : (2009)
- Kindergarten 73.8%
- Primary 99 %
- Lower Secondary 94.5%
- Upper Secondary 67 %
• Pupil-Teacher Ratio:
- Primary schools 19:1
- Secondary schools 25:1
3

4. Basic DataBasic Data
• 12 mil. of students
- Public schools 66 %
- Private schools 34 %
•Public Expenditure on Basic Education
2007 22.7%
2008 22.0%
2009 21.7%
2010 23.7%
4

5. • Budget categories
- Salaries 70.4 %
- Subsidies 17.3 %
per head, additional budget for the disadvantaged
students (30% of all students) allocated directly to
schools
- Capital 4.9 %
school constructions / renovations
- Operation 6.6%
training, material
- Others 0.6%
• Line item, incremental budgeting
5
Basic DataBasic Data

6. Current Practices
• Subsidies - Per Head Budget (17.3%)
The budget allocated directly to schools is
on the basis of per head of students and
levels of education:
- Kindergarten
- Primary
- Lower secondary
- Upper secondary / Vocational Ed
(from 57 – 400 USD/head/yr)
6

7. Weaknesses in Current System
• Little practice of decentralization and
accountability
• Salaries are quite high share of the
budget
• 44 % of all schools are small schools
(less than 120 students); STR 12:1
• Low learning achievement
7

8. Achievements: Yr 8Achievements: Yr 8
Math & ScienceMath & Science ((TIMSS, 2007TIMSS, 2007))
๕๗๒
๔๒๗
๓๙๗
๔๗๑๔๗๔
๕๗๐
๕๙๗๕๙๓๕๙๘
๔๔๑
๕๖๑ ๕๖๗
๕๓๐
๕๕๔๕๕๓
๔๗๔
๓๕๐
๔๐๐
๔๕๐
๕๐๐
๕๕๐
๖๐๐
๖๕๐
จีน(ไทเป) สิงคโปร์ เกาหลีใต้ ญี่ปุ่น ฮ่องกง มาเลเซีย ไทย อินโดนีเซีย
MATH
SCIENCE
Thailand
China (Taiwan) Singapore S. Korea Japan HK Malaysia Indonesia
450
600
8

9. Achievements: 15 yrs of ageAchievements: 15 yrs of age
Math, Science, ReadingMath, Science, Reading ((PISA, 2006PISA, 2006))
๔๙๘
๕๓๒
๕๒๒
๕๓๑
๕๔๒
๕๑๑
๕๔๙ ๕๔๗
๕๒๙
๕๔๗
๕๒๕
๔๑๗
๕๓๖
๔๙๒
๔๑๗
๓๙๓
๕๕๖
๔๙๖
๓๙๓
๔๒๑
๓๙๑
๓๕๐
๔๐๐
๔๕๐
๕๐๐
๕๕๐
๖๐๐
จีน(ไทเป) เกาหลีใต้ ญี่ปุ่น ฮ่องกง มาเก๊า ไทย อินโดนีเซีย
MATH
SCIENCE
READING
Thailand
400
550
9
China (Taiwan) S. Korea Japan HK Malaysia Indonesia

10. Current Priorities and ConcernsCurrent Priorities and Concerns
• Achievements
- the quality of learning for critical
thinking/ project based learning
• New Generation of Teachers
- quality and quantity
• Schools
- well equipped with instructional
materials and facilities
• Educational Management
- decentralized system
- accountability
- community involvement 10

11.  Small School Project
 15 - Year Free Education Project
11
Crucial ProjectsCrucial Projects

12. Small School Project
12
Crucial ProjectCrucial Project

13. Crucial ProjectsCrucial Projects
• Small schools:
- Schools with less than 120 students.
- Student-Teacher ratio: 12:1
- There are 13,915 small schools (44 %)
- There are 12 % of students attending
in those small schools.
13

14. Quality:
Low achievement is critical: two reasons
1) smaller amount of budget they receive
(per head and top up)
2) students from affluent families likely
to go to schools in cities
14
Crucial Project:Crucial Project:
Small schoolsSmall schools

15. Efficiency:
• Low rate of student-teacher ratio
• ‘There are too many, and they are
too small’. Furthermore, the number
has been increasing over time.
• There are only 12% of all students
attending in those small schools
of 44 %.
15
Crucial Project:Crucial Project:
Small schoolsSmall schools

16. Goals:
• Raise the bar of learning achievement
• Raise the student-teacher ratio
16
Crucial ProjectsCrucial Projects
Small schools:Small schools:

17. • Multi-grade Teaching: besides intimate and
personalized learning environment, it
raises the student-teacher ratio.
• School Network: work, help and learn
together
• Instructional Media: educational TV and
ICT
• Closing down and bussing
17
Crucial Project:Crucial Project:
Small schoolsSmall schools

18. Results
• Higher learning achievement than the
medium - sized schools (National Test,
2010)
• No significant difference in student
-teacher ratio
18

19. 19
Crucial Project:Crucial Project:
15 Years Free Education15 Years Free Education

20. • Every child could access to basic
education:
- Higher enrolment
- Less drop-out
- Ready to learn
20
Crucial Project:Crucial Project:
15 Years Free Education15 Years Free Education

21. • Budget allocation directly to schools and
students for:
- tuition fee
- textbooks 7-26 USD/head/year
- stationary 7-12 USD/head/year
- uniform 10-35 USD/head/year
- school excursions 7-13 USD/head/year
21
Crucial Project:Crucial Project:
15 Years Free Education15 Years Free Education

22. Results
• 98 % of Thai people were satisfied and
encourage the government to continue
the project.
• There is no report on the assessment that
the project could promote enrollment or
lessen drop-out rate.
22

23. Changing to…
• Change the way the budget is made:
- Move away from line item budgeting
- Give more predictability and stability to
schools and LEA’s
• Change the way the budget is distributed:
- Make allocation in bigger ‘blocks’
• Change the way performance is judged:
- More focus on results
• Change the way manager manage:
- Accountable for results
23

24. Thank you…
24