El Salvador Education Sector Analysis. Executive Summary and Status Report. Part II

摘要

The report reviews analytical findings and their associated recent policy conclusions on the efficiency of basic education in El Salvador. Based on 6 of a projected 15 Analytical Working Documents, the report evaluates the efficiency of basic education in 5 ways: (1) enrollment loss, a significant problem, is concentrated in rural areas and is due to insufficient supply rather than insufficient demand. The problem can be eliminated, at a relatively low cost, by completing incomplete schools. The resulting favorable impact on the urban labor force could be considerable: (2 & 3) eliminating the rural school deficiency could also help stop the growth of illiteracy and notably minimize repetition, the latter, again, at a considerable saving; (4) per student cost can be minimized by more efficient use of facilities and teachers; (5) results of Ministry tests on the official curriculum show that the children are really learning, with rural children doing slightly better than urban and with little significant relation between scores and income bracket. As a result of the analysis to date, the Ministry of Education has radically altered its view of the problem and now plans to complete all incomplete schools and not to build any in the future with less than six grades. This is a major policy breakthrough of great benefit to the rural poor.