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Education in Asia: A comparative study of cost and financing
B o o k Reviews
Planning and Financing Rural Education in Africa. Edited by JOTHAM O. OLEMBO and
Commonwealth Council f o r Educational Administration, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia, 1992. 111 p p . Price: $25.00 (Australian) ROSS HAROLD.
(paper). "['Ills Is A collection of papers presented at the Sixth C C E A Regional Conference held in Kenya in 1988. Five chapters discuss the problems of providing broad access to high quality, appropriate education for rural people, constrained by inadequate resources and controversy about what kind of education would be relevant and useful, without being inferior to that offered to their urban peers, Two of the chapters deal with Kenya, the others discuss Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. The relatively long time between the conference and the publication of this book does not matter much, as the problems addressed remain, The initial "'overview" chapter (by one of the editors), includes a useful section on the politics of recent allocations to education, explaining why these rose between 1950 and 1t)75, and declined thereafter. It draws heavily on H c y n e m a n ' s list of ways governments have reacted to education's financial crisis, and then gives a rather antagonistic account of "devolution", defined as giving schools control over spending decisions within a limited budget, as a nasty way to [orce schools, rather than central Ministry officials, to make hard choices. This seems unfair - - would not the contrary policy draw criticism as imposing decisions on schools, rather than letting them determine their own priorities? Ms Matua, on Kenya, presents an interesting and prcwocativc set of fundamental principles for education that would facilitate national development, especially for r u r a l people. Ecological conservation, health care, and inventiveness should be keystones, she argues, and rural people themselves must be involved in designing, implemcnting and financing these programmes. O n e wishes that there were some elaboration of these ideas, The chapter on Tanzania gives lucid definitions of educational planning and commentary on the problems inherent in various policy goals (expansion of access, meeting m a n p o w e r needs, etc). It is a pity that Dr Mosha dew~tes so much of this paper to quotes and reviews of the writing of others, rather than to the development and exposition o f his own ideas, which seem far more interesting, The Nigeria case study is also clearly written, and includes a lot of data+ There are some strong conclusions: adw+cating the reestablishment of free universal primary education, rcallocation from defence spending to education (as well as to health and agriculture), and better planning and m a n a g e m e n t of educational resources. Unfortunatcl_~, the data presented have large gaps, and seem to be what was readily at hand. Very few trends arc shown, and there is almost no quantification of community contributions to education financing, although we are told they arc significant. The historical account of financing and
205
the analysis of the implications for education of the "'monolithic oil e c o n o m y " explain Nigeria's particular problems. This is the only chapter which really suffers from the delay in publishing. A "rescue operation package" for primary education that began in 1989 is described, but nothing is said about how it is progressing. The chapter on Zimbabwe argues that government attempts to redress colonial inequities and extend cducational opportunities to the black maiority have rcstdtcd in a massive expansion of the system (which is well documented), but that gross inequities persist, in part because of the provisions of the 1987 Education Act, which provides for different levels of G o v e r n m e n t support for different types of schools. The relative contributions of government, communities, parents and employers, and the financing mechanisms which result in widely differing per capita expenditure levels across the wide spectrum of primary schools arc described. "Ironically", the author concludes, "'government continues to invest more in the education of urban upper and middle class children than in the education of the rural poor", by paying the higher salaries of the better qualified teachers found in urban schools, and fiat per capita grants across all schools irrespective of need, ignoring the supplementary funds that some non-government schools are able to raise. Worsening inequality is predicted for the future, given the diflcrcntial ability of parents to make up the gap between rising educational costs and stagnant or falling government contributions. The final paper on Kenya sets out basic facts and data and five key issues facing G o v e r n m e n t which formed the agenda for a workshop in Kenya. The pervasive problem of how to increase non-salary educational expenditures in the face of rising salaries and enrolments and a falling real education budget as education's share in national cxpenditure is reduced, is pondered. Suggestions are offered for increasing University student loan recovery by requiring employers - - including G o v e r n m e n t - - to make payroll deductions, encouraging private and Harambee Universitics, and improving accotmting and auditing of cducational funds. In sunlmary, this collection o f papers inctudcs some thought-prow)king discussion on the problem of financing rural education. It is refreshing to read the views of these senior African educators, rather than those of first world academics and aid agency staff, who tend to dominate the published literature. ,Io', t)! Bt.',IR 77u" World Bank
Education in Asia: A Comparative Study of C o s t and Financing. By J E E - P E N G T A N and
Washington D.C." The World Bank, 1992. pp. v + 204. Price: U.S.$12.95 (paper).
ALAIN MINGAT.
q"tH BOOK IS concerned with education in Asian countries,
206
Book Reviews
which is crucial for economic development, because it is the main source of investment in human capital. The book has two main objects. The first is to document the main features of education in this region. The second objective is to try to relate differences in policy choices. To achieve these objectives the authors emphasize education costs and financing because they reveal how resources are allocated efficiently or inefficiently. Also, we can evaluate the equity aspect of education through education costs and financing, One important style of the book is that it does not describe individual country studies of Asian countries but selects several subjects such as costs and financing of education, and efficiency and equity in education, and compares Asian countries for each subject. Therefore, readers can understand the particular subject with a comparative perspective in Asia rather than recognizing the state of education in each individual country in Asia. An Appendix provides us with useful descriptions of country profiles regarding education. This appendix is useful to understand the state of education in a regional perspective, and strengthens the main content of the book. Several main conclusions are proposed. First, countries in Asia differ significantly in educational outcomes. For example, some countries suffer from low literacy rates, while other countries show high rates of primary education and approach universal education. This reflects not only the stage of economic development (i.e., economic power) but also the different choices made by government policies. Second, although it is true that significant progress in educational development has been made in Asia, stt]iking inefficiencies and inequities remain. For example, primary education is very inefficient in some countries, and thus it is detrimental for economic development. Some countries show excessive expenditures on higher education at the expense of primary education. Third, both the provision and the financing of education is largely a function of public spending, although the degree of public undertaking differs significantly by the educational level such as primary, secondary or higher education. This affects both efficiency and equity in educational attainment. The book investigates carefully this subject, by employing several data analyses, and proposes several useful findings. The authors present three policy suggestions based on their studies. First, increased aggregate spending on education in several countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines is recommended. Second, improving access and retention rates in primary education is desirable for many Asian countries because primary education is essential. Third, freeing up resources for primary education is recommended. Reducing public subsidization of higher cducation and shifting it to primary education are the most useful tools, The reviewer finds that the analyses in this book and policy recommendations provided by the authors are competent and reasonable. The analyses in this book are quantitative and suggestive. In particular, the reviewer is impressed by the fact that the authors made a great effort to find statistical sources in the region despite insufficient data availability, and to perform excellent analyses by utilizing wtrious powerful quantitative techniques,
Emphasizing the importance of primary education for many Asian countries is quite relevant because primary education is essential for both economic development and social equity. The reviewer is in full agreement with the authors regarding the importance of primary education. One point which the reviewer disagrees with the authors is their recommendation that private financing of higher education is desirable. There are trade-offs between private financing and public financing even for higher education, as the authors suggest correctly. For most Asian countries, however, private financing in higher education would eliminate opportunities for students who come from relatively disadvantaged social and economic backgrounds. In other words, the rich would become richer and the poor would become poorer, if private financing in higher education were implemented in Asia. This problem may not be serious in advanced countries. Asia has not yet reached this level on average. Finally, it is somewhat regrettable that Japan and Taiwan were excluded from the list of countries in this book. The Japanese experience in education, in particular, would be useful to understand the issue and policy recommendations for education in Asia because it gives us one example of success. Historical evaluation of education in Japan and its relationship with economic development should have been provided as an additional Appendix in this book. TOSHIAKI T A C H I B A N A K I
Kyoto Univer~'itv
The Political Construction of Education: The State, School Expansion and Economic Changes.
B R U C E FULLER and RICHARD RUBISON, eds. New York: Praeger Press, 1992. p p . ix + 261. P r i c e : U . S . $ 4 5 . 0 0 ( c l o t h ) . THAT SCHOOLIN(I EXPANSION has occurred on a worldwide scale largely in the last century is a fact. How and why this has occurred is less obvious and the purpose of this book. Given the global nature of the phenomenon and the impact it has had on development and the quality of life, the book does little to enlighten us as to underlying forces. The impetus toward mass schooling and rapid expansion are part of a much larger system of economic, political, cultural, societal and productive forces - - a part of a system which has changed from period to period and from place to place. Although some of these forces arc discussed, they are generally dealt with in a limited context of time and space and have not been adequately addressed as a nearly universal phenomenon. As such, one is left with tantalizing tidbits but no explanation which addresses the nearly universal trend. As with many edited books, this volume's primary weakness stems from its disjointed approach. It is largely a
Planning and Financing Rural Education in Africa. Edited by JOTHAM O. OLEMBO and
Commonwealth Council f o r Educational Administration, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia, 1992. 111 p p . Price: $25.00 (Australian) ROSS HAROLD.
(paper). "['Ills Is A collection of papers presented at the Sixth C C E A Regional Conference held in Kenya in 1988. Five chapters discuss the problems of providing broad access to high quality, appropriate education for rural people, constrained by inadequate resources and controversy about what kind of education would be relevant and useful, without being inferior to that offered to their urban peers, Two of the chapters deal with Kenya, the others discuss Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. The relatively long time between the conference and the publication of this book does not matter much, as the problems addressed remain, The initial "'overview" chapter (by one of the editors), includes a useful section on the politics of recent allocations to education, explaining why these rose between 1950 and 1t)75, and declined thereafter. It draws heavily on H c y n e m a n ' s list of ways governments have reacted to education's financial crisis, and then gives a rather antagonistic account of "devolution", defined as giving schools control over spending decisions within a limited budget, as a nasty way to [orce schools, rather than central Ministry officials, to make hard choices. This seems unfair - - would not the contrary policy draw criticism as imposing decisions on schools, rather than letting them determine their own priorities? Ms Matua, on Kenya, presents an interesting and prcwocativc set of fundamental principles for education that would facilitate national development, especially for r u r a l people. Ecological conservation, health care, and inventiveness should be keystones, she argues, and rural people themselves must be involved in designing, implemcnting and financing these programmes. O n e wishes that there were some elaboration of these ideas, The chapter on Tanzania gives lucid definitions of educational planning and commentary on the problems inherent in various policy goals (expansion of access, meeting m a n p o w e r needs, etc). It is a pity that Dr Mosha dew~tes so much of this paper to quotes and reviews of the writing of others, rather than to the development and exposition o f his own ideas, which seem far more interesting, The Nigeria case study is also clearly written, and includes a lot of data+ There are some strong conclusions: adw+cating the reestablishment of free universal primary education, rcallocation from defence spending to education (as well as to health and agriculture), and better planning and m a n a g e m e n t of educational resources. Unfortunatcl_~, the data presented have large gaps, and seem to be what was readily at hand. Very few trends arc shown, and there is almost no quantification of community contributions to education financing, although we are told they arc significant. The historical account of financing and
205
the analysis of the implications for education of the "'monolithic oil e c o n o m y " explain Nigeria's particular problems. This is the only chapter which really suffers from the delay in publishing. A "rescue operation package" for primary education that began in 1989 is described, but nothing is said about how it is progressing. The chapter on Zimbabwe argues that government attempts to redress colonial inequities and extend cducational opportunities to the black maiority have rcstdtcd in a massive expansion of the system (which is well documented), but that gross inequities persist, in part because of the provisions of the 1987 Education Act, which provides for different levels of G o v e r n m e n t support for different types of schools. The relative contributions of government, communities, parents and employers, and the financing mechanisms which result in widely differing per capita expenditure levels across the wide spectrum of primary schools arc described. "Ironically", the author concludes, "'government continues to invest more in the education of urban upper and middle class children than in the education of the rural poor", by paying the higher salaries of the better qualified teachers found in urban schools, and fiat per capita grants across all schools irrespective of need, ignoring the supplementary funds that some non-government schools are able to raise. Worsening inequality is predicted for the future, given the diflcrcntial ability of parents to make up the gap between rising educational costs and stagnant or falling government contributions. The final paper on Kenya sets out basic facts and data and five key issues facing G o v e r n m e n t which formed the agenda for a workshop in Kenya. The pervasive problem of how to increase non-salary educational expenditures in the face of rising salaries and enrolments and a falling real education budget as education's share in national cxpenditure is reduced, is pondered. Suggestions are offered for increasing University student loan recovery by requiring employers - - including G o v e r n m e n t - - to make payroll deductions, encouraging private and Harambee Universitics, and improving accotmting and auditing of cducational funds. In sunlmary, this collection o f papers inctudcs some thought-prow)king discussion on the problem of financing rural education. It is refreshing to read the views of these senior African educators, rather than those of first world academics and aid agency staff, who tend to dominate the published literature. ,Io', t)! Bt.',IR 77u" World Bank
Education in Asia: A Comparative Study of C o s t and Financing. By J E E - P E N G T A N and
Washington D.C." The World Bank, 1992. pp. v + 204. Price: U.S.$12.95 (paper).
ALAIN MINGAT.
q"tH BOOK IS concerned with education in Asian countries,
206
Book Reviews
which is crucial for economic development, because it is the main source of investment in human capital. The book has two main objects. The first is to document the main features of education in this region. The second objective is to try to relate differences in policy choices. To achieve these objectives the authors emphasize education costs and financing because they reveal how resources are allocated efficiently or inefficiently. Also, we can evaluate the equity aspect of education through education costs and financing, One important style of the book is that it does not describe individual country studies of Asian countries but selects several subjects such as costs and financing of education, and efficiency and equity in education, and compares Asian countries for each subject. Therefore, readers can understand the particular subject with a comparative perspective in Asia rather than recognizing the state of education in each individual country in Asia. An Appendix provides us with useful descriptions of country profiles regarding education. This appendix is useful to understand the state of education in a regional perspective, and strengthens the main content of the book. Several main conclusions are proposed. First, countries in Asia differ significantly in educational outcomes. For example, some countries suffer from low literacy rates, while other countries show high rates of primary education and approach universal education. This reflects not only the stage of economic development (i.e., economic power) but also the different choices made by government policies. Second, although it is true that significant progress in educational development has been made in Asia, stt]iking inefficiencies and inequities remain. For example, primary education is very inefficient in some countries, and thus it is detrimental for economic development. Some countries show excessive expenditures on higher education at the expense of primary education. Third, both the provision and the financing of education is largely a function of public spending, although the degree of public undertaking differs significantly by the educational level such as primary, secondary or higher education. This affects both efficiency and equity in educational attainment. The book investigates carefully this subject, by employing several data analyses, and proposes several useful findings. The authors present three policy suggestions based on their studies. First, increased aggregate spending on education in several countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines is recommended. Second, improving access and retention rates in primary education is desirable for many Asian countries because primary education is essential. Third, freeing up resources for primary education is recommended. Reducing public subsidization of higher cducation and shifting it to primary education are the most useful tools, The reviewer finds that the analyses in this book and policy recommendations provided by the authors are competent and reasonable. The analyses in this book are quantitative and suggestive. In particular, the reviewer is impressed by the fact that the authors made a great effort to find statistical sources in the region despite insufficient data availability, and to perform excellent analyses by utilizing wtrious powerful quantitative techniques,
Emphasizing the importance of primary education for many Asian countries is quite relevant because primary education is essential for both economic development and social equity. The reviewer is in full agreement with the authors regarding the importance of primary education. One point which the reviewer disagrees with the authors is their recommendation that private financing of higher education is desirable. There are trade-offs between private financing and public financing even for higher education, as the authors suggest correctly. For most Asian countries, however, private financing in higher education would eliminate opportunities for students who come from relatively disadvantaged social and economic backgrounds. In other words, the rich would become richer and the poor would become poorer, if private financing in higher education were implemented in Asia. This problem may not be serious in advanced countries. Asia has not yet reached this level on average. Finally, it is somewhat regrettable that Japan and Taiwan were excluded from the list of countries in this book. The Japanese experience in education, in particular, would be useful to understand the issue and policy recommendations for education in Asia because it gives us one example of success. Historical evaluation of education in Japan and its relationship with economic development should have been provided as an additional Appendix in this book. TOSHIAKI T A C H I B A N A K I
Kyoto Univer~'itv
The Political Construction of Education: The State, School Expansion and Economic Changes.
B R U C E FULLER and RICHARD RUBISON, eds. New York: Praeger Press, 1992. p p . ix + 261. P r i c e : U . S . $ 4 5 . 0 0 ( c l o t h ) . THAT SCHOOLIN(I EXPANSION has occurred on a worldwide scale largely in the last century is a fact. How and why this has occurred is less obvious and the purpose of this book. Given the global nature of the phenomenon and the impact it has had on development and the quality of life, the book does little to enlighten us as to underlying forces. The impetus toward mass schooling and rapid expansion are part of a much larger system of economic, political, cultural, societal and productive forces - - a part of a system which has changed from period to period and from place to place. Although some of these forces arc discussed, they are generally dealt with in a limited context of time and space and have not been adequately addressed as a nearly universal phenomenon. As such, one is left with tantalizing tidbits but no explanation which addresses the nearly universal trend. As with many edited books, this volume's primary weakness stems from its disjointed approach. It is largely a