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Decentralization of Educational Management

The Lao People's Democratic Republic has been dealing with the problem of low enrollment rate and retention rate, especially among girls from the ethnic minority groups in the country for the longest time. The Asian Development Bank financed a project, called the Basic Education (Girls) project intended to bring about better access to quality education for girls in ethnic groups.

Among the project's activities was a training program for senior officials of the Lao Ministry of Education in decentralization of educational management. Ten officials were nominated and selected to join the training program designed and facilitated by SEAMEO INNOTECH from February 28 to March 11, 2005.

The program afforded the participants the chance to interact with school officials and teachers from the Schools Division of Ifugao Province, tapped by the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) because of its efficient adoption of school-based management under the Third Elementary Education Project. The structured visit, which included interaction with DepEd officials at the central, division and district levels, gave them insights in successful cases of implementation of decentralization in the country from which the Lao officials were expected to identify practices and strategies applicable to their country.

Resource persons who handled the sessions were themselves directly involved in the implementation of decentralization in the country. Some sessions delved into concepts and practices of decentralization and school-based management, the organization and management of a decentralized basic education system in the Philippines, and experiences in decentralizing educational management that included problems encountered, solutions introduced and good practices in school-based management.

The Lao senior education officials were also asked to share their own concepts of decentralization, and the context in which it was being implemented in Lao PDR. At the end of the program, the education officials produced re-entry plans for echoing strategies and practices which they felt were relevant to the needs of Lao PDR.

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