1. Global Financial Crisis and the Financing of Education in Asia : National & International Trends and Strategies Jandhyala Tilak National University of Educational Planning & Administration, New Delhi, India E-mail: jtilak@nuepa.org

2. Asia is heterogeneous Asia: 2, 3 or 4 Asias Central Asia East Asia & Pacific East Asia South-East Asia Pacific South & West Asia South Asia West Asia Inter-regional and inter-country variations are very high

3. Agreed Premises Education is a public good – pure public good, a global public good A basic need An economic investment Human development A Human right/fundamental right

4. Agreed Premises … Education is equitable and efficient Quantity, quality, and equity in education are inseparable dimensions Primary, secondary and higher education are inter-linked Need to go beyond the basics

5. Macro Context in Asia Post-Jomtien period Rapid growth in primary education Enrolments, Gross/net enrolment ratios, gender parity Dropout rates, out of school children, illiterates Transition rates to secondary education Growth in Secondary Education

6. Net Enrolment Ratios in Primary Education in Asia (%)

7. Growth in Secondary Education Transition Rate Enrolment Ratio in Secondary Education 20002006 GrossNet 19992007 Central Asia 9899859588 East Asia & Pacific 88 657871 East Asia..93647771 Pacific.. 11110570 South & West Asia 84 455246 World 9193606659 Advanced Countries 99 100 90

8. Macro Context in Asia Despite improvements problems persist High dropout rates Low levels of learning Asia accounts for 65% of Worlds illiterates 38% of out of school children

9. Macro Context in Asia Growth in Primary education demand for secondary/higher education Building knowledge societies Governments are making plans for Reaching EFA goals Expansion of secondary education Development of higher education Some shifts in emphasis are already noted

10. Macro Context in Asia Global Financial crisis: Adverse effects on fiscal capacity of the governments Trade, FDI, remittances, aid to Employment levels, economic capacity of households Projected growth rates are much below the recently experienced growth rates; yet they are reasonably high above 5%

11. Global Financial Crisis: Predicted Fall in Growth rates

12. Macro Context in Asia The adverse impact of the crisis on education is widely feared; but no hard data are available so far…. Likely effects quite uneven Some countries are less affected by the crisis than others

13. Global Financial Crisis Public expenditure on education % of GNP, % of Budget Expenditure Intra-sectoral allocations Investments in quality and equity in education Household expenditure External Aid Questions on education as a public good Question on the importance of free education

14. National Priority for Education In a larger number of countries the priority accorded to education declined % of GNP % of Budget Expenditure May be due to declining fiscal capacity Lack of political will

15. Public Expenditure on Education (% of GNP)

16. Public Expenditure on Education (% of Total Budget

17. National Priority for Education No relationship between education priority and economic conditions during normal period But a +ve relationship during the periods of financial crisis

18. Relative Priorities Total spending on education as % of GNP and spending on primary education as % of GNP are not related. EdnPrimary Lao3.60.5 Philippines2.31.2 Bhutan5.81.0

19. Shifts in Priority within education Decline in share of expenditure on primary education Marginal increase in the share of secondary education

20. Changing Priorities: Allocation to Primary Education Base Year% Latest Year% Lao200055.5200745.9 Malaysia199034.3200729.0 Korea199044.3200735.1 Philippines200060.4200753.6 Thailand199056.0200133.6 Bhutan200056.9200726.9 Bangladesh199045.6200743.4 India 199038.9 200735.8 Nepal 199048.2 200762.9

21. Priority Shift towards Secondary Education (% of total Edn Expr )

22. Growth in private schools Private not for profit /state supported Private for profit Enrolments in private schools No disaggregated data

24. Other Developments Increase in efforts to mobilise more resources Education cess in India surcharges in China Decentralisation Rising household expenditure on education Not willingness to spend But compulsion to spend Questions on Free Education Legal Status of Free Education vs Practice Legislations on Free Primary Education (e.g., India, China, Thailand..)

25. External Aid Asia accounted for 32% of total aid for education Unsteady flow of external aid (1999/2000- 2006/7) Flow of aid has not been steady (government funding is relatively steady) Share of Education in total ODA has declined in Asia except in South & West Asia

26. Change in the Share of Education in ODA (1999/2000-2006/7)

27. Trends in Aid for Education Declined India Philippines PNG Malaysia Lao Increased China Pakistan Afghanistan Indonesia Bangladesh Vietnam Nepal Mongolia Sri Lanka Cambodia Education Aid (absolute amounts) declined in 12 countries; Increased in 19 countries

28. Uneven Distribution of Education Aid in Asia, 2007

29. Largest Aid Recipient Countries 9 countries received more than US$ 100 million in 2007 25 countries received below US$ 50 million each.

30. External Aid Aid forms a small proportion of total expenditure on education in developing countries: domestic funding accounts for the most. India: aid 2-3% of total expenditure on education Exception: Nepal 53% FTI is not attractive to many in Asia (except Vietnam)

31. Basic education still forms a large part of the total education aid in many countries, though some are marginally shifting towards secondary education Aid organisations may have to adhere to their commitments, and Go beyond and offer more aid to take care of the effects of the crisis

32. % Share of Basic Education in Total Education Aid

33. Funding Issues in Post- Primary Education Low Levels of Government Funding Increasing reliance on cost recovery measures Student fees Student Loans Private Education – growing PPP Aid – unclear trends and priorities Questions: Equity, Quality ??? Search for innovative methods of financing….

34. Thank you