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7.67 On sector performance in school education, the priorities are to improve (a) the internal efficiency of school education by reducing repetition and dropout rates, especially for boys, and improving transition rates between different cycles; and (b) student learning. This requires
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Using evaluation mechanisms as quality assurance feedback tools to improve student flow and progression, greater school accountability and provision of greater support to poorly performing schools; establishing a system to measure and monitor a well-defined set of student outcomes , and providing feedback and support to teachers to improve outcomes.
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Upgrading curricula, diversifying materials, and improving teacher pedagogy and teacher professional development, all of which require increased allocations for nonsalary inputs.
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Focusing greater attention on strengthening in-school processes and leadership by school principals to monitor and improve school and pupil performance outcomes.
7.68 Regarding the sectoral strategy, the priorities are to further elaborate (a) the implications of the goals for increasing access at each level and (b) specific approaches for quality improvement. This implies
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Undertaking enrollment projections to assess the realism of policy targets and the instruments for realizing them, and calculating the physical requirements for additional schools, teachers, and other resources needed at each level.
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In the case of higher education, reconsidering the pace of university expansion and evaluating alternative strategies to increase access through institutional and programmatic diversification and import of higher education services.
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Clarifying VET objectives in meeting the needs for skilled labor and its relationship with general secondary education, and redesigning programs accordingly. In fact, a Governement council meeting that took place on November 15-16, 2006 indicates the decision to upgrade the sector and realize a study with four objectives: (a) evaluate training needs demand; (b) evaluate training supply and gaps; (c) project supply in the medium term; and (d) design of a “Shema directeur” for 2025. The study will be concluded in 2007.
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Evaluating the cost-benefit of current pedagogical training to develop a framework for sustained teacher professional development.
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Creating a system to monitor and periodically assess student learning in schools.
To improve the quality and relevance of higher education, the strategy needs to identify essential reforms in governance, institutional management, and financing to make universities more responsive to the economy and the labor market.
7.69 Regarding public expenditure levels and composition, and sectoral financing, the priorities are to (a) increase educational resources but rebalance them across subsectors and regions to meet the objectives of the strategy for increased access and quality; (b) reduce the share of social expenditures in higher-education public spending to release resources for improving instruction; (c) increase allocations for nonstaff instructional inputs; and (d) seek greater efficiency in public spending, especially in construction and in support-service provision. In the medium term, the new budgetary classification—economic and per program (see Chapter 4) will not only integrate recurrent and capital spending, but align resources (inputs) with inteneded outputs. In the meantime, this means:
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Increasing education sector allocations over the medium-term to provide for increased access and improved quality.
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Increasing allocations to lower secondary and upper secondary education (over current PCSC allocations) for building new schools and hiring teachers.
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Addressing inequalities in school expenditures across wilayas and communes by improving the allocation of teachers and providing additional funds to poorer communities.
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Targeting free accommodation (or new cost-sharing mechanisms), scholarships, and other social services in higher education to students from poorer families/regions.
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Make targeted use of higher education imports through employment of specialized faculty, foreign study scholarship program, twinning arrangements or other forms of institutional collaboration in specialized/priority areas to ease domestic capacity constraints. The effort should be to seek value for money in the global higher education market. Examples such as Malaysia and China should be studied.
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Setting higher per student expenditure norms for instructional inputs.
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Reviewing technical standards and norms for school construction to reduce unit construction costs and related recurrent expenses for operation and maintenance.
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Assessing the actual usage rates and pupil needs of student boarding and canteen facilities, outsourcing services where possible.
7.70 To improve programming of sectoral expenditures, establish a policy planning unit of education planners and specialists and economists, which could undertake medium-term expenditure planning, analyze the implications of policy choices for both recurrent and investment expenditures, and use findings in preparing the annual budget. Since expenditure programming is for the whole sector spanning all three ministries, the adequate institutional home for such a unit, and how it will interact with the Ministry of Finance, needs careful consideration.
7.71 To encourage wilayas to monitor educational outcomes and improve efficiency, useful measures would include providing some untied funding to improve classroom performance and encourage school systems to operate more efficiently. A list of eligible expenditures would offer guidance in using funds (including, among others, teacher professional development and additional educational tools to meet the needs of specific schools). Monitoring indicators such as entry/transition rates into lower secondary and upper secondary education, repetition rates, pass rates on examinations, as well as student performance assessments in core subjects could be adopted to gauge progress in schools and systemwide. Wilayas could also be required to introduce indicators like utilization rates, unit costs, and service quality to improve efficiency in their operating funds for boarding facilities, canteens, and transport. The process could be started by the Central Ministry defining key indicators and publishing wilaya level outcomes and providing funding to wilayas for measuring indicators to monitor results. Eventually funding formulae for providing “block grants” for non-salary expenditures should be developed to enable wilayas to capture efficiency gains.
7.72 To improve planning and funding of school maintenance in a process that integrates wilayas and municipalities, information for maintenance planning could come from the regular data supplied by schools on the quality of their infrastructure and periodic evaluations by wilaya engineering personnel. While regular maintenance/repair funds should be included in secondary school budgets, budget resources should be allocated to each wilaya for major repairs, and these expenditures should be monitored. Until the communes have reliable alternative revenue streams, itemizations for maintaining primary schools should be maintained in the Ministry’s budget.
7.73 Effectively devolving greater financial autonomy to and demanding greater accountability from educational institutions for the use of public funds requires reforms on a scale new in Algeria. Various university institutions apply it already according to the recommendations of a CREAD study relating to the definition of the distribution keys concerning functioning credits. The design and implementation of this process requires action over many years. Some specific options that can be developed and implemented experimentally to further that process might include the following:
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For upper secondary schools, provide incremental funds (for nonpersonnel expenditure) to improve their instructional practices by developing three-to-four-year plans that focus on better student performance and outcomes, particularly lower repetition and dropout rates, and on better use/redeployment of nonteaching staff. These funds could be administered at the wilaya level under guidelines and procedures developed in consultation with the Central Ministry. Institutions would be permitted to retain savings to reinvest in instruction and maintenance.
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For universities, and as part of governance reforms in higher education, create a financial environment for operational efficiency that is innovation friendly and permits the generation of a private competitive system. Several measures can be considered. First, provide core funding through a block grant for nonpersonnel-related expenses that gives institutions the flexibility to allocate resources across departments or subject areas, depending on their strategic priorities. The core funding should be linked to student numbers and types, with simple and transparent criteria that reflect cost differences between disciplines and the mix of courses. The funding mechanism could incorporate performance indicators based on international benchmarks, such as pass rates or time taken to graduate. Second, for new initiatives, provide multiyear funding covering both recurrent and investment expenditures that conform to institutional plans with performance indicators. Once new programs have met assessments for relevance and quality, a part of their funding could be reserved as incentives to better utilize personnel, facilities, and technology or reduce any imbalances in administrative staff. Third, enable institutions to generate and carry forward surpluses to build up reserves for long-term building maintenance, cover equipment and furniture replacement costs, or invest in major new activities. Over time, greater autonomy in personnel decisions should be considered, especially at the main universities, which need to recruit staff to meet their institutional plans and exercise greater flexibility in salaries to fill vacancies, particularly in disciplines facing faculty shortages.
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Finally, concerning the private competitive financing, some observations given by the ministry seem to be valid. First of all, there is no high demand from the private to invest in this sector yet. Moreover, if it exists, it should be guided by other criteria than that of short term profitability. Finally, in this private competitive system, it is important to introduce actions aimed at avoiding the intensification of social inequalities.
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