1. Innovative Financing for Out-of-school Children Varakorn Samakoses, PhD Emeritus President, DPU Former Deputy Minister of Education
Asia Education Summit on Flexible Learning Strategies for
OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN
24 February 2016

2. Presentation Outline Jomtien 1st Declaration on Education for All
Out of School Children
Limitations of Traditional Budgeting
Consequences of inaction
Innovative Financing for OOSC
The Role of Information System in Innovative Financing: Mae Hong Son Model
Way forward

3. From Jomtien to Incheon 25 Years of Global Effort on Education for All
Jomtien 1st Declaration on EFA

4. Goal 4 Quality Education
1) All girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education
2) All girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education
3) Increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

5. Unfinished Business Global Situation on OOSC

6. Defining Out of School Children
Source: UNESCO UIS

7. Invisible OOSC
Source: UNESCO UIS

8. Thailand OOSC

9. 18 Millions OOSC in Asia-Pacific
Source: UNESCO UIS

10. Lessons from Thai National Education Account (NEA)
Limitation of Traditional Education Expenditure
Lessons from Thai National Education Account (NEA)

11. Thailand Education Budget Has Risen 96% in the past 12 Years Thailand Education Budget and Total Government Expenditure (Million Baht)

12. Thailand’s National Education Account
Thailand’s first National Education Account
In 2010 NESDB has commissioned the QLF’s board to initiate the first National Education Account in Thailand in collaboration with Thammasat University and UNESCO
to provide intelligent data and policy recommendations for education reform in Thailand
Key Results
In the past decade, education Expenditure in Thailand has rapidly increased by 7% annually from both state and household spending and reached 800 billion baht (6.5% GDP) in Education budget accounts to nearly 25% of government budget which
Quality
Learning
Activities
2 million
Potential
OOSC 6%
GDP 8%
Trend
24%
Government
Budget 5%
Education
0.5%
Poverty
Subsidy
Rising Cost, lowering quality The recent international rankings show a decline of Thailand education system in spite of rising costs. 90% of education budget spent on personnel and admin costs while less than 10% spent on quality learning activities
Education inequality Although there are million poor students who are at-risk of dropping out from schools, only 0.5% of education budget has been spent on poverty students’ subsidy with self-report and inefficient poverty screening process

13. Education Expenditure Per Students By Quintile (2013)
Students in the 5th Quintile provinces were allocated, on average, Education Budget per student 50% more than the 1st Quintile
1st Quintile provinces are border and remote provinces where most marginalized students go to school
Quintile
Expenditure Per Student/Year 1
36,263 2
42,803 3
45,998 4
49,251 5
54,552
Average
45,653

14. Limitation from traditional budgeting process
Education expenditure were de facto distributed unequally despite equal-per-head formula
Marginalized provinces/schools were more likely to be underfinanced
Only 0.5% of education budget were allocated for poor students with school quota system (No school can received subsidies more than 30-40% of total number of students)
Key indicators indicate persistent inequality with unclear OOSC figures

15. Consequences of Inaction
Economic Costs of OOSC
Deteriorating social and economic inequality
Low educated population tends to have lower life expectancy and prone to addiction to drugs and alcohol
Limited Social Mobility
Thailand weakening its competitiveness in the 4th industrial revolution

16. Economic costs of OOSC
Even in countries like Thailand, with relatively high Net Enrollment Rates, significant losses (1-3% of GDP) will be incurred if large out-of-school populations remain.
Non-participation in education results in significant economic wastage, preventing developing countries like Thailand from reaching their full economic potential.
Source: Nicholas Burnett (2014) 14

17. OOSC Hurts Thai Economic Potentials
GDP
Per capita
Thailand with no OOSC
Thai Workforce
With Full Potential
Thailand with current OOSC
Middle Income Trap
1-3% Missing Growth
2016
2020
2030
2050
Year

18. Why we need Innovative Financing for OOSC
Education Budget needs to be more targeting to at-risk OOSC
Poor and marginalized areas/children should be progressively prioritized
More efficient policy instrument to help identify at-risk students and OOSC to reduce inequality and the number of OOSC
New sources of education financing at the national and local levels are key
Consequence of inaction is too high to avoid

19. A Global experience for policy consideration
Innovative Financing
for Out-of-School Children & Youth
A Global experience for policy consideration

23. $39 Billion Annual Financing Gap to achieve quality pre-primary, primary and secondary education for all in low and lower middle income countries by 2030
Strategy
Goals
Access for All All children have access to a safe, adequately equipped space to receive an education with a skilled teacher.
Learning for All All children master basic literacy and numeracy skills by the early grades.
Building for the FutureNational systems have the capacity and integrity to deliver, support and assess quality education for all.
Reaching Every ChildResources are focused on the most marginalized children and those in fragile and conflict-affected states.

24. The Quality Learning Foundation
Established in 2010, through the Prime Minister's Office, QLF develops effective programs to promote learning society and equal opportunity to quality learning for all
QLF uses Innovative Financing model to support the New and Innovative Approach to develop educational strategies that involve a network of agencies from both the public and private sectors to create positive changes at the key leverage points of our learning society

25. The Quality Learning Foundation (QLF)
A Multi-Stakeholder
Collaboration Model
Toward Universal Education
Opportunity for All
Mae Hong Son Model
The Quality Learning Foundation (QLF)

26. Mae Hong Son Model 3 Main System Components
Access to Universal Education Opportunity
3. Information System
Unit Cost 2.
Scalable Pilot Project 1.
Benefit Package

27. Thailand Child-Welfare Information System
Benefit Packages
Unit Cost
Local Admin
Social Development
Ministry
Health Ministry
Education Ministry

28. Bring All Related Agencies, Media and Communities to the Problem and Opportunity

29. 19 Elected Mayors Committed to the Sustainable Universal Education Opportunity for All Children in Mae Hong Son

30. MOU Signing Ceremony chaired by MHS Governor
19 Local Administrative and 4 Governmental Agencies

31. With Donation from within and outside Mae Hong Son
The 2nd District Learning Centre was opened in 2013

32. PHYSICAL development

33. BEHAVIORAL AND LEARNING DEVELOPMENT

34. 120 1,000 500 372 290 Targeted Serving Disabled Children In 5 yrs
Quantitative Outcomes from the Program
(After 18 months of Implementation)
Estimated Number of Disable Children
In Mae Hong Son
1,000
Targeted Serving Disabled Children
In 5 yrs
500
Identified Disable Children by MOE Special Education Centre
372
Increased Children in 2 additional Centres
290
Regularly Visiting Children
120
Pre-program
Post-program

35. Qualitative and Sustainable Outcomes of the Research Program
Local Admin Agencies Signs MOU to Finance 1 Million Baht Every Year
3,000,000
Baht
Average Distant to School for All Disable Children is reduced by 3-4 times
30-50
KM.
Average Distant to School for All Disable Children
KM.
MOE Budget for Disable Children in Mae Hong Son
2,000,000
Baht
Pre-program
Post-program

36. Way forward for Innovative Financing for OOSC
Data System
Politics in Education for the Sake of Politics
Bureaucracy
Earmarked Tax
Decentralization and Empowerment
Monoculture
High turnover of Education Minister (10 months/minister)

37. Food for Thought
- Albert Einstein