Publication: Skills, Not Just Diplomas : The Path for Education Reforms in ECA
Date
2010-05
ISSN
Published
2010-05
Author(s)
Abstract
Europe and Central Asia (ECA) countries
are currently emerging from the deepest recession among all
developing regions. In the post economic-crisis world,
financial resources are more limited and more expensive and
export growth is restrained by potentially slower growth in
the destination countries. Restoring and sustaining growth
in this context require reforms to boost competitiveness and
increase labor productivity. ECA had a well-regarded
education system prior to the end of central planning. While
the intervening years have taken some of the shine off this
reputation, the countries continue to have some strong
achievements in the field of education. Notably, enrollments
are high at all levels of education. The socialist legacy is
particularly visible in the low income countries in the
region which show the highest secondary enrollments in the
world for their income level. Whatever measures countries
take, it would be important to continue to build learning
assessment systems and monitor and evaluate the impact of
the reforms on desired outcomes. This is the only way of
telling whether the adopted measures had the intended effect
and whether course correction is needed. The education
reform agenda ahead of the countries in the region is an
extremely important one as it lies at the heart of their
competitiveness. The reform will take time, suggesting that
there is no time to lose to make a start.
Citation
“Murthi, Mamta; Sondergaard, Lars. 2010. Skills, Not Just Diplomas : The Path for Education Reforms in ECA. Europe and Central Asia Knowledge Brief; Volume No. 20. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/d1c52b38-25cd-5f17-a390-514b30eeb16d License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”