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Seminar on the completion of the Norwegian Education Trust Fund (NETF)

Seminar on the completion of the Norwegian Education Trust Fund (NETF). Why was the NETF established? Strategy and achievements Oslo, October 4, 2007 Birger Fredriksen. 1. Why NETF?. 1. Serious deterioration in the education sector in SSA in the mid-1990s :

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Seminar on the completion of the Norwegian Education Trust Fund (NETF)

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  1. Seminar on the completion of the Norwegian Education Trust Fund (NETF) Why was the NETF established? Strategy and achievements Oslo, October 4, 2007 Birger Fredriksen

  2. 1. Why NETF? 1. Serious deterioration in the education sector in SSA in the mid-1990s: • Following spectacular growth 1960-1980, stagnation and decline 1980- early 1990s. Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) for primary education increased from 45% in 1960 to 80% in 1980, declined to 72% in 1992. Many countries less than 35% GER in 1995. Adult literacy 50%; 40% for women. Share of SSA’s school-age population in countries with GER above 100% down from 50% around 1980 (16 countries) to 7% mid-1990s (7 countries) • Main reasons: Stagnating budgets (economic decline, lower priority for education); poor policies (difficulty moving from elite to mass system); increasing private costs; rapid pop. growth; emergence of HIV/AIDS; wars • To turn around trend needed: Stronger political priority for education; better quality policies and programs; broader national consensus and ownership • Also more aid: But domestic resources more than 80% of total education budgets. Therefore, priority to developing programs that could mobilize more both domestic and external sources AND using ALL more effectively 4. NETF created to help countries and their partners address these issues

  3. 2. Strategy • Analytical work to prepare better technical programs addressing key policy issues (e.g., budget priority; teachers training, recruitments, deployment, support, salaries; textbooks; repetition, girls’ education; adult literacy; HIV/AIDS; orphans; school health; post-primary education; quality). Focused first on 16 low enrollment countries • Governments to develop national consensus with key stakeholders on policy options to ensure programs owned and implementable. Often, too little consultation with teachers; parents; communities; private sector • Promote regional knowledge creation, dissemination, dialogue: All policies must be rooted in national context, but must also learn from others successes and failures. Ed. policy-making NOT exact science 4.Strengthen WB’s capacity to (i) promote effective policy dialogue, (ii) enhance partnerships with other agencies; (iii) address neglected areas: girls’ education, adult literacy, school health, HIV/AIDS and education

  4. 3. Main achievements • Most important: Support for sector programs in 41 countries. Greater understanding of need for evidenced-based policies • Major support forregional activities: • Analytical work, including contributing to underpinning of many regional initiatives: UNSIA (before Dakar 2000); ed./health part of HIPC/ PRSPs; FTI; girls education; literacy; school health; HIV/AIDS and education; orphans; TVET; secondary education; teachers; textbooks • Policy dialogues workshops/conf. largely conducted by others: ADEA, UNESCO, UNICEF, EI, CONFEMEN, FAWE, or African Governments • Synergy between work of different organizations • Bringing in key stakeholders: Teachers, parents, African NGOs, parliamentarians, journalists • Publications: About 120 country-specific (CSRs) or regional • Capacity development: Countries:Preparation of sector programs; “new” approach to TA; enhanced national consultations. WB: Technical capacity; ability to conduct sector dialogue; deal with neglected areas • Annual seminars in Norway

  5. 4. NETF = Effective Norwegian aid • MFA has long supported very strategically analytical work and policy dialogue in WB to develop “better” policies/build common ground on contentious issues: environment; gender; education; health; HIPC; private sector; governance; African development issues • This approach, coupled with excellent partnership behavior and credibility, has helped Norway impact international development policies to bring them closer to Norway’s positions and to “punch above its weight” on the internationally aid scene • NETF fits this pattern. It has also opened new avenues for supporting cooperation and synergy among agencies, capacity-building in Africa (including outside government) and development of new instruments to further advance this work (EPDF). This type of instruments even more important now as agencies increasingly rely on budget support

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