Slide1: By Ilhan DULGER Chief Adviser to the Undersecretary of the State Planning Organization TURKEY : RAPID COVERAGE for COMPULSORY EDUCATION


TARGETING POVERTY ALEVIATION - 1: TARGETING POVERTY ALEVIATION - 1 GOAL: Permanent Poverty Alleviation for the Largest and Poorest Segment of the Population STRATEGY: Social Inclusion through Equality of Opportunity OBJECTIVE: Elevate the Level of Educational Attainment to Generate Rapid Social Mobility with Long- Lasting Results INSTRUMENT: Raise Compulsory Education to eight Years (from five years)


TARGETING POVERTY ALEVIATION - 2: TARGETING POVERTY ALEVIATION - 2 Largest Segments of the Poor : Periphery of Large Cities Formed by Recent Migration Small Settlements in Scattered Rural Areas Target Groups for Long-Lasting Results : 11-13 year old boys and girls in large city suburbs 11-13 year old boys in scattered rural areas 9-13 year old girls in scattered rural areas


TARGETING POVERTY ALEVIATION - 3: TARGETING POVERTY ALEVIATION - 3 Hardest to Reach: the last 35 % of the 9-13 age group Total Number: 1,500,000 children (approximately 1,000,000 child labor)


IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY - 1: IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY - 1 Government Action: An Anti-Truancy Fine Enacted in a New Law (Law 4603 in l997) “Big Bang” Approach Government Funding: Extrabudgetary Funds Through Earmarked Taxes


IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY - 2: IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY - 2 Constraints of the Ministry Action: Economic crises led to short term availability of funds. Short lived coalition governments and Ministers of Education necessitated fast action to take advantage of a window of opportunity. The public expects to see some short term and concrete results.  


IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY - 3 : IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY - 3 Ministry of National Education (MONE) Action: Consolidate 1st - 8th Grade Children in Same School Building, Standardize the Curriculum, Abolish 5-Year Primary School Diploma, Introduce 8-Year Primary Education Cycle.


SCALING UP - 1: SCALING UP - 1 Go to Scale Immediately with: The Primary Education School (PES) Boarding Schools for Rural Children (YIBOs) Pension Schools for Small Town Children (PIOs) Bussing Schools for Rural Children Less Distant ICT Classrooms


SCALING UP - 2 : SCALING UP - 2 Primary Education School (PES) It was a 1st-8th grade school model designed central villages in rural zones to serve children of scattered small settlements PES was scaled up as originally designed for the whole country Characteristics of the PES: Has full educational, physical, social facilities Expected to become a resource and social learning center Numbers Capacity of PES schools in 1997: 9,100,000 Capacity of PES schools in 2003: 10,112,000


SCALING UP - 3: SCALING UP - 3 YIBOs: Regional Boarding Schools for Rural Children It was a successful model for 1st-5th grades that was then extended to 1st-8th grades It was scaled up for the whole of rural areas Schools for boys, or girls, or both Model: PES + Boarding facilities Free education + Free boarding Boarding teachers for supervision, guidence and counselling Numbers: in l996 -------------------- 141 in 2003---------------------285


SCALING UP - 4: SCALING UP - 4 PIOs: Pupil Pension Housing in Larger Towns This was a successful private sector model, nationalized, scaled up for larger towns, became popular very fast Girls or Boys pension houses in central larger towns For pupils going to different PES in town Free Lodging, Free Boarding Number : in 1996 ---------- 21 in 2003 ---------- 253


SCALING UP - 5 : SCALING UP - 5 Bussing Education For pupils living at least 2.5km away from school Daily bussing service from home to PES and back Free bussing Free noon meals Free text books Free uniforms 650,000 pupils bussed every day 47% of PES have pupils bussed to them


RESULTS - 1: RESULTS - 1 Positive Intermediary Results of Scaling up The Big Bang Approach Helped Create Quick Results, The combined schooling rate of 1-8 grades increased, From 85.63 % in 1997 to 96.30 % in 2003, 81,500 new classrooms, Pupil/Classroom ratio fell from 48 in 1996 to 36 in 2003, 103,000 new teachers recruited, Pupil/teacher ratio fell from 33 in 1996 to 26 in 2003, The number of girls increased by 20 % in 6-8 grades, The number of girls increased by 160 % in 6-9 grades in the 9 provinces with lowest enrollment rates.


RESULTS - 2: RESULTS - 2 Expected Long-term, Positive Outcomes of Scaling up Higher productive employment prospects, Higher income and family welfare, Further levels of education pursued, Vocational career opportunities increased.


RESULTS - 3: RESULTS - 3 How Were Quick Results Achieved? Some existing useful models scaled up right away, There was no wait for adaptation, no time for modifications, Almost no institutional innovation, Capitalized on MONE experience in expanding program, Political commitment was and is strong, Extra-budgetary resources, donor support, Partial approach.


RESULTS - 4 : RESULTS - 4 LIMITATIONS OF THE PARTIAL APPROACH TO EDUCATION Some aspects of quality ignored, (curricula improvement, textbook development, teacher development) Introduction of new and varied models ignored, Testing and development time is seen as a loss, Management and governance issues overlooked, New skills development for management postponed, Synchronized development of the overall system neglected.


RESULTS - 5: RESULTS - 5 Implementation Mistakes To consolidate all 1-8 grades in the same building: Reduces alternatives and variety, Creates additional pedagogical challenges, Abandoning exiting infrastructure of small schools led to higher investment costs, These additional construction costs reduced funds for quality, The contribution of the village school to community life lost, Teacher guest housing strategy alienates teachers from the community of their students, More than necessary bussing education and bussing cost, Uniformization of the curricula, no electives.


LESSONS LEARNED - 1 : LESSONS LEARNED - 1 Positive Lessons Learned by the MONE included the following: Government commitment to this program was the key factor in its success, The initial and rapid success of the program helped the Government market the reform to the public, By building on the public’s strong interest in education, the Program gained additional contribution of resources, The willingness of the private sector to contribute to education (even before financial incentives) was one of the principal supporting reasons for its success, Stakeholders and beneficiaries are capable of quickly expressing their needs, even without being asked.


LESSONS LEARNED - 2 : LESSONS LEARNED - 2 Lack of clear Negative Lessons Learned as a Society and by the MONE included the following: Information and lack of time for enough public debate interfered with improvement and sustainable expansion of the program. Reorganization was necessary at all levels of the system. Attaining quantitative goals does not guarantee quality results. The Big Bang approach, that is, starting the program without scaling-up, meant higher costs, mistakes, loss of confidence, and increased expenses associated with trial and error implementation. Less democratic, more authoritarian education systems lead to fewer pathways to successful lives and careers and cause public dissatisfaction.


TURKEY’S MESSAGE : TURKEY’S MESSAGE The “big bang” approach to implementing reform can be effective even without consultation and consensus building, but sustainable improvement in implementation and outcomes requires subsequent efforts to work with the stakeholders, to share responsibility and authority at the school level, and to engage the public.