1.
Are school grants leveraging the right to
quality education for all?
Remarks on the political economy of
school grants in Latin America
Marcelo Souto Simão, IIEP/UNESCO Buenos Aires
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2.
This presentation reports on results of research conducted at IIEP UNESCO, Buenos
Aires office, in the framework of IIEP’s research programme Improving equity through
school grants. The programme is developed with funds from the Global Partnership for
Education, Global and Regional Activities programme. Field research in Honduras was
conducted in collaboration with the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco
Morazán and with the supervision, material and logistic support of the national
Secretary of Education. None of those institutions posed any voluntary restriction on
the collection and/or interpretation of data used in this analysis, which reflects the
author’s ideas and opinions.
For any further information, contact: msouto@iipe-buenosaires.org.ar
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3.
Analytical Framework
• School grants:
– De-centralization from central educational
authorities to school actors of decision-making
authority on the allocation of financial resources.
• Hypothesis:
– By increasing school autonomy, school grants
enhance education quality.
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4.
Analytical Framework
• Education quality:
– Accesible
– Free of charge
– Effective learning
– Equitable
– Democratic
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5.
Research Strategy
• Cases:
– Brazil: Programa Dinheiro Direto na Escola (PDDE),
1995-to present
– Chile: Subvención escolar preferencial (SEP), 2008-to
present.
– Guatemala: Programa Nacional de Autogestión para
el Desarrollo Educativo (PRONADE), 1992-2007.
– Honduras: Proyecto Hondureño de Educación
Comunitaria (PROHECO), 1999-to present.
– Nicaragua: Escuelas Autónomas, 1993-2012.
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6.
Research Strategy
• Sources:
– Literature review
– Own field research in
Honduras (2014/2015)
– Experts. Regional Seminar
on School Grant
Programmes in Latin
America: accumulated
experiences and
transformations.
Tegucigalpa, 11-12
November, 2015.
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7.
Grant modalities
Country Assignation Finality Amount
CHILE AUTOMATIC BLOCK GRANT FORMULA-BASED
BRAZIL AUTOMATIC BLOCK GRANT FORMULA-BASED
NICARAGUA DISCRETIONAL BLOCK GRANT FORMULA-BASED
GUATEMALA DISCRETIONAL EARMARKED NEEDS
ASSESSMENT
HONDURAS DISCRETIONAL EARMARKED NEEDS
ASSESSMENT
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8.
Grant Purposes
COUNTRY PAYMENT OF
TEACHERS
SERVICES EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE
CHILE X X X
BRASIL X X X
NICARAGUA X X X X
GUATEMALA X X X
HONDURAS X X
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9.
Intended effects on quality (by design)
COUNTRY ACCESS FEE-FREE EFFECTIVE EQUITABLE DEMOCRATIC
CHILE POOREST
STUDENTS
PUBLIC-
SUBSIDIZED
SCHOOL PLAN
/ LEARNING
ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
PARTIC.
BRAZIL - - SCHOOL PLAN - COMMUNITY
PARTIC.
NICARAGUA - - PROMOTION TERRITORIAL “DE-
POLITICIZED”
GUATEMALA RURAL AREAS RURAL
PUBLIC
SUPPLY
SCHOOL PLAN
/ PED.
INNOVATION.
TERRITORIAL COMMUNITY
/ETHNICAL
PARTIC.
HONDURAS RURAL AREAS RURAL
PUBLIC
SUPPLY
SCHOOL PLAN TERRITORIAL COMMUNITY
PARTIC.
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10.
Observed effects on quality
COUNTRY ACCESS FEE-FREE EFFECTIVE EQUITABLE DEMOCRATIC
CHILE POOREST
STUDENTS
PUBLIC-
SUBSIDIZED
SCHOOL PLAN
AND
LEARNING
ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
PARTIC.
BRAZIL - - SCHOOL PLAN - COMMUNITY
PARTIC.
NICARAGUA (Unintended) (Unintended) PROMOTION TERRITORIAL “DE-
POLITICIZED”
GUATEMALA RURAL AREAS RURAL
PUBLIC
SUPPLY
SCHOOL PLAN
/ PED.
INNOVATION.
TERRITORIAL COMMUNITY
/ETHNICAL
PARTIC.
HONDURAS RURAL AREAS RURAL
PUBLIC
SUPPLY
HIGH DROP
OUT
TERRITORIAL COMMUNITY
PARTIC.
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What went wrong?
• Reliance on market-like mechanisms
• Reliance on community participation
• Sufficiency of resources
– In Central America, lower costs derived from
deregulation of teachers’ work and less and lower-
quality inputs
• Support and oversight capacity of central level
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Why went it wrong?
• Asymmetric power relations at the local level
tended to be strengthened, instead of
transformed, by de-centralization of financial
resources.
• Actors with higher economic and/or political
power were able to control policy
implementation at local level.
• Fragile accountability mechanisms.
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The legacy of school grants in LA
• “Re-centralization”.
• Continued call for community participation,
while holding public actors (including at
school level) accountable.
• Renewed concern to ensure teachers’ working
conditions and professional development.
• Thrive for sustainability.
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