This document discusses the current status of decentralization of basic education financing and delivery in Asia. It provides an overview of progress and challenges in basic education across the region. Key points include rapid expansion of primary education but growing disparities, varying levels of priority and funding given to education among countries. The document also defines education decentralization, presents a typology, and reviews experiences in Asia, noting the diverse origins and milestones of decentralization reforms in different countries aimed at improving service delivery. Bottlenecks that remain for effective decentralized service provision are also mentioned.

1. Decentralisation of Basic
Education Financing and
Delivery in Asia
Huong Thu Le
UNESCO Bangkok
3 November 2010
1

2. Contents
• Financing and Delivery of Basic Education in Asia
- Progress
- Challenges
• Education Decentralisation
– Definition
– Typology
– Expected benefits and concerns
• Experiences of Education Decentralisation in Asia
– Origins, scope and milestones of the education decentralisation
reform
– Current status and trends of decentralisation in financing and
delivery of basic education
– Bottlenecks for service delivery
2

3. Financing and Delivery of
Basic Education in Asia
Progress and Challenges
3
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
• Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

4. Progress in Expanding Basic Education
Net Enrollment Ratio in Primary Education in Asia
100
75
50
25
0
Centra
lAsia
EastAsia
&Pacific
EastAsia
Pacific
South&
WestAsia
World
Developed
Countries
4
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
• Fastest progress in South and West Asia
• On the whole, NER in PE in the region is catching up with the world and
even with the developed countries
• Significant progress in PE enrolments has begun creating pressures for SE
expansion Source: EFA GMR

5. Growth of Secondary Education
2000 2006 1999 2007 2007
Central Asia 98 99 85 95 88
East Asia &
Pacific
88 65 78 71
East Asia - 93 64 77 71
Pacific - 111 105 70
South &
West Asia
84 84 45 52 46
World 91 93 60 66 59
Developed
Countries
99 99 100 100 99
Transition Rate *
Enrollment Ratio in Secondary
Education **
Gross Net
* from primary to secondary education; median values
** weighted average
Source: EFA GMR (relevant years)
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
• Lessons Learnt
• Rapid growth in GER between 1999 and 2007
• Except for South and West Asia, expansion of SE in terms of NER in all
sub-regions far exceeded world average in 2007

6. Risk of Increased Inequality
• Growing disparities within countries, particularly
a persistent urban/rural divide
• Regional variations exist in access to and quality
of education
• Gender, poverty, language and culture can
combine to increase the risk of marginalisation
Source: UNESCO (2009) UNESS Regional Synthesis for Asia and the Pacific.
Bangkok: UNESCO (unpublished)
6
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

7. Annual Growth Rates in GDP in Asia (%)
• Asia Average
• East Asia
• Central Asia
•Pacific
•East Asia
• South Asia
•Developing Asia
• South East Asia
• South Asia
•Estimated decrease in real growth rates from around 10% in 2007 to 5-
6% in 2009 (ESCAP 2009), means less revenue for governments
•Education, as a non-revenue generating sector, is likely to be affected
by reduced public funds
Reduced Resource Base for
Public Spending
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Source: Asian Development Outlook 2009 (ADB) and Global Monitoring Report 2009: A
Development Emergency (WB)

8. Unsteady Public Resources Devoted to
Education
8
• No steady progress in public resources devoted to education (either as
% of GNP or % of total government expenditure) in many countries.
• In fact, a decline has occurred in a number of countries between 1990
and 2007.
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Public Expenditure on Education as % of
Total Government Expenditure
Indonesia
LaoPDR
Malaysia
Bangladesh
Philippines
Bhutan
Macau
Pakistan
Samoa
Cambodia
Maldives
Thailand
Tuvalu
India
Japan
Australia
Vanuatu
Armenia
Kyrgyzstan
Iran
Singapore
Azerbaijan
Nepal
SouthKorea
Tajikistan
Georgia
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

9. Source: Visual Economics. “How Countries Spend their Money. October
2010.
Percentage of Budget
Allocated to Education
9
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Wide Variations
in the Priority
Given to
Education

10. Wide Variations in the Priority Given to
Primary Education
10
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Maldives
Nepal
Australia
New Zealand
Iran
Rep of Korea
India
Philippines
Bhutan
Bangladesh
Tajikistan
Singapore
Lao PDR
Azerbaijan
Public Expenditure on Primary Education as % of GNP, 2007
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Source: EFA GMR (relevant years)

11. Ineffective Legal Framework for Free PE
11
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Legal Guarantees
for Free Education
Charges Levied
Source: Tomasevski (2006)

12. Private cost burden of basic education
• Despite legal guarantees for free primary
education, many countries continue to charge fees
as a way to generate additional resources for
education
• The cost burden of education is transferred from
the government to households making basic
education less affordable for poorer families. For
example,
– In Viet Nam, although fees are not authorised at the primary
level, “voluntary” contributions are levied per child and vary
little with ability to pay. For the poorest and near poorest
households, contributions accounted for 32% and 27%
respectively of the total private cost per child (UNDP, 2005)
– In China, due to inequitable distribution of the education
budget, many schools have resorted to charging fees that are
as high as one quarter of their annual income (Yardley, 2002) 12
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

13. Education Decentralisation
13
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

14. Definition
• Decentralisation can refer to a variety of
concepts
• For this review, decentralisation is defined as
“the transfer of decision making authority,
responsibility, and tasks from higher to lower
organizational levels or between organizations”
(Hanson, 1998).
• This definition distinguishes redistribution of
powers within the government machinery from
the redistribution of functions between
government and non-government (non-state)
organisations
14
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

15. Typology of Education
Decentralisation
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Education Decentralisation
Deconcentration Devolution Delegation
Transfer of
administrative
authority &
responsibility from
the central to lower
levels of an
organization (e.g.
ministries to
regional offices)
Transfer of
authority and
responsibility to
semi-autonomous
government
agency or non-
state
organisations
Transfer of
authority &
responsibility to
lower levels of
government

16. Expected Benefits and
Concerns
• Research has produced mixed findings but does suggest
improved service delivery, improved public funding
efficiency, greater resource mobilization and thus relieved
fiscal constraints at the central level
• Concerns exist, however, over the effect on equity,
corruption and sustainable reform
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Source: ADB (2010), Asian Development Bank Support for Decentralization in
Indonesia, Evaluation study, Independent Evaluation Department, ADB, 2010
Indicators Positive Impact Little or No Impact/Unclear Negative
Impact
Improved
services
Sanwal 1987; van Zyl et al.
1995; Manor 1996;
Faguet 2008; Uchimura and
Jutting 2009
Ruffing Mangelsdorf 1988;
Ingham and Kalam 1992; Crook
1994; Khan and Cheema 2007
Public
Sector
Efficiency
Sanwal 1987; van Zyl et al.
1995; Manor 1996;
Wang and Yao 2007
Prud’homme 1995;
Wiens and Guadagni 1996
Asthana
2003
Mobilizing
Local
Resources
Mutizwa-Mangiza 1990;
Parker 1995
Crook 1994; Manor 1996; Bahl
1999
Mutizwa-
Mangiza
1990

17. Experiences of
Education Decentralisation
in Asia
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

18. Origins, Scope and Motivations of
Education Decentralisation Reform
• Political and economic transformation
– Transitional countries: Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Viet Nam
• Response to ethnic or regional conflict
– Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka
• To improve the delivery of basic services
– Thailand, Nepal
• The motivations for education decentralization
have been diverse and manifold
- In East Asia, decentralisation often occurs for political and
fiscal rather than educational motives
• Improving service delivery is an implicit
motivation behind most of these decentralisation
efforts even when it is not explicit
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

19. Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Origins, Scope and Motivations of
Education Decentralisation Reform

20. Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Key Milestones of Education
Decentralisation Reform in Selected
Countries
Country Key milestone of education decentralisation
China Major fiscal reform in 1994 to shift the intergovernmental fiscal system from
ad hoc, negotiated transfers to a rule-based tax assignment.
India 73th constitutional amendment in 1992 to put in place a local government
system called panchayati raj as the country’s third level of governance after
the central and state governments.
Indonesia Two laws were enacted in 1999: law 22/1999 on regional governance and law
25/1999 on the financial balance between central government and the
regions
Pakistan A three-tier federated local government system at the district, subdistrict
(tehsil) and union levels was set up in 2001
Philippines Revised local government code was enacted in 1991 to consolidate all existing
legislation on local government affairs, providing the legal framework for the
decentralisation programme
Thailand The 1997 Constitution of the country embraced decentralization
Cambodia First introduced SBM in 1998
Hong Kong First introduced SBM in 1991

21. Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Key Milestones of Education
Decentralisation Reform in Selected
Countries
Hong Kong
Philippines
India
China
Thailand
Cambodia
Indonesia
Nepal
Pakistan

22. Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Education Decentralisation -
Coverage
• Progressive wave and popularity of education
decentralisation over the last two decades
• 19 out of the following 23 countries and
territories* have legislation and/or carried out
measures toward education decentralisation
reforms:
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, DPR
Korea, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Japan,
Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar,
Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam
* with available data

23. Education Decentralisation –
Typology
Deconcentration Devolution Delegation Hybrid/Others
Bangladesh
Cambodia
Lao PDR
Viet Nam
India
Indonesia
Nepal
Pakistan (fiscal)
Philippines
Thailand
(SBM)
Hong Kong
(delegation –
privatization)
Singapore
(delegation -
privatization
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Source: Compilation from various sources
Typology of Education Decentralisation in Selected Asian
Countries

24. Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Education Decentralisation -
Processes and Approaches
• More advance in implementation:
– China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines
• “Big bang” strategy:
– Indonesia, Pakistan
• Incremental approaches:
– Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam
• Fluctuation between decentralisation and
recentralisation:
– China, Indonesia, Mongolia

25. Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Decentralised Education Financing
• Wide variations in the level of education budget exercised by
the decentralised level, ranging from 13% (Mongolia) to 80%
(Tajikistan) of total public education expenditure
Source: UNESCO (2009,2010) Education financial planning in Asia – Implementing MTEF and WB
(2007) Investing in Indonesia’s education – allocation, equity, and efficiency of public expenditures

26. Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Decentralised Education Financing
• Evidence from many countries including China,
Indonesia, Nepal, the Phillippines suggests that
transferring financial responsibility can
exacerbate inequalities with wealthier regions
better placed to mobilize resources.
Country Study by Main findings
East Asia WB 2009 Greater but not necessarily more equal
spending on education
Nepal UNESCO
2010
Improvement in access with regional disparity
China UNESCO
2010
Exacerbated regional disparities in educational
expenses

27. Inequality in per-student education expenditure in
China following decentralization
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2009, p. 147.
• In the 1990s the central
government gave more
responsibility to local
governments, schools and
communities, reducing its own
share in overall education
financing
• Decentralization contributed to
the rapid expansion of
educational opportunities, but it
also caused the over-
decentralization of financial
responsibility and the
inadequate finance of budget
spending.
• The strategy exacerbated
regional disparities in
educational expenses, and the
parents and local community
members had to bear the heavy
financing burden.
Fiscal Decentralisation and
Equity: the case of China

28. Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery
Bottlenecks for Service Delivery
Challenges in decentralisation of basic education financing and
delivery from selected Asian countries
Country Under-
funding
Limited local
fiscal capacity
Regional
disparity in
funding
Private
financial
burden
Roles and
responsibilities
Accounta
bility
Local
capacity
Cambodia x
China x x x
Indonesia x x
Lao PDR x x x x x
Nepal x x x
Pakistan x x x
Viet Nam x x x
Source: Compiled from various sources

29. Challenges in delivering basic education (I)
• Clarity in roles and responsibilities and the
interplay between actors in delivering services
– Restricted autonomy (e.g. in setting staffing and wage
levels in China and Viet Nam) makes controlling
administrative expenditure difficult for local managers.
– Lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities hinders the
accountability of local service providers
– In Lao PDR, procedures are not communicated to the
lower levels of government thus making roles and
responsibilities unclear
– The fund flow process in Nepal is extremely complicated
consisting of over 33 steps while management is still
mostly centralized and many levels are unsure of their
roles and responsibilities which tend to overlap.
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

30. Challenges in delivering basic education (II)
• Accountability relationships with and within
service providers
– E.g. limits on local authority have led managers in the
Philippines and Indonesia to bypass regulations, risking
reduced accountability and vulnerability to corruption
– The limited autonomy of subnational governments in
Cambodia and Thailand poses important challenges for
local accountability
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

31. Challenges in delivering basic education (III)
• Local capacity to perform decentralized
responsibilities
– Implementation of devolved functions in Indonesia and
the Philippines is running up against the limited staff
capacity in local administrations
– China and Viet Nam have made training for civil servants
a priority, but local administrations continue to lack the
capacity to manage resources
– In Thailand and Cambodia, central governments fear that
local administrations do not have the capacity to take
responsibility for service delivery. Both countries have
therefore set up decentralised structures without
devolving significant authority
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

32. Challenges in delivering basic education (IV)
• Organising financing
– Insufficient public funding for basic. Partly, the problem
in some countries is that basic education is not
adequately prioritised.
– Funding inequality issues particularly in rural and more
disadvantaged areas within the countries where poverty
plays a role and the local governments are often unable
to raise revenue
– Little discretion for resource utilisation at the local level
due to norm based funding (India, Mongolia). This
generates both allocative and technical inefficiencies
within the education sector as the local governments
have very limited decision making power over the funds
that they want to spend.
– User’s affordability (China, Viet Nam)
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery

33. Thank you
Questions?
Comments
Contents:
• Financing and
Delivery of Basic
Education in Asia
•Progress
•Challenges
• Education
Decentralisation
• Definition
• Typology
• Expected Benefits
and Concerns
• Experiences of
Education
Decentralisation in
Asia
•Origins, Scope and
Milestones
•Current Status and
Trends
•Bottlenecks for
Service Delivery