Southeast Asian countries seem to be learning a lesson that's taking Americans longer to understand: bureaucracy should not get in the way of needed education improvements and the most important reforms are grounded in new forms of accountability, not larger budgets. As The Economist reported this week, "South-East Asian leaders are terrified that their countries will lose out on foreign investment and economic growth unless they produce more skilled workers. So they want to improve the quality of teaching and keep children in school longer." To do so, policy makers are employing innovative approaches that will allow needed education reform to occur even when they're strapped for cash. Thailand, for example, "is cutting the staff of the Ministry of Education by a third, and handing power over everything from budgets to uniforms to local school districts. Principals, in turn, will now be free to hire and fire teachers. Even parents are to be given a say." Even fiercely centralized countries like Indonesia and Vietnam "are experimenting with similar schemes."
"Banking on education to propel a new spurt of growth," Economist, December 11, 2003 (subscription required)