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Education sector analysis

An education sector analysis (ESA) is an in-depth, holistic diagnosis of an education system. It assists with understanding how an education system (and its subsectors) works, why it works that way, and how to improve it. An ESA provides the evidence base for decision-making and is the first step in preparing an education sector plan.

An ESA is a nationally driven process, involving collaboration and dialogue among different actors and institutions in a system. Empowering and consulting the different stakeholders throughout the process are essential, as ‘sustainable changes that lead to improved learning outcomes cannot be brought about in the absence of involvement of the individuals and groups who will implement the change’ (Faul and Martinez, 2019: 31).

The ESA process must therefore be participative and aim to create an understanding of the key stakeholders in the education system, their incentives, relationships and accountability, as well as how these dynamics shape education systems (IIEP-UNESCO et al., 2021).

What does an ESA cover?

An ESA includes context analysis, existing policy analysis, cost and finance analysis, education performance analysis, and system capacity analysis, including stakeholder analysis (IIEP-UNESCO and GPE, 2015). Any challenges identified through the ESA should be analysed through the lens of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (UNESCO, 2016). Quality of learning is one factor analysed in the performance of the education system along with issues related to access and coverage, equity and inclusion, and internal and external efficiency of the system. Quality of learning involves analysing the range of inputs and processes including teachers, learning and teaching materials, school facilities, and learning outcomes (IIEP-UNESCO and GPE, 2015; IIEP-UNESCO, World Bank, and UNICEF, 2014).

Teachers play a decisive role in ensuring learning quality. Teacher management features – ranging from recruitment and deployment to pre- and in-service training, career pathways, motivation and job satisfaction, absenteeism and effective teaching time – also need to be analysed. Typical indicators include (IIEP-UNESCO, World Bank, and UNICEF, 2014):

• Pupil/teacher ratio by level for primary education
• Pupil/trained teacher ratio
• Teacher utilization rate
• The consistency in teacher allocation (R2 coefficient)
• Theoretical teaching time in relation to theoretical instruction time for secondary teachers
• The percentage of pre- and in-service teachers trained by level
• The number of teachers disaggregated by status (civil servants, contract, or community teachers)
• Qualifications and teaching experience

Learning and teaching materials

An ESA should analyse the equitable allocation of learning and teaching materials and other inputs among different schools and regions. An ESA should include indicators such as the proportion of teachers with teacher guides, pupil/textbook ratios, and the notion of useful pupil/textbook ratio (IIEP-UNESCO, World Bank, and UNICEF, 2014). Qualitative information gathered through teacher interviews, for example, can also be integrated into the analysis to complement quantitative data. For instance, in crisis-affected areas, quantitative data may be weak regarding the actual distribution and use of textbooks throughout the country (IIEP UNESCO and GPE, 2016).

School facilities

School facilities (school buildings and infrastructure such as electricity or school landscaping) can have a significant impact on students’ learning achievements. Proper water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities in schools can improve access to education and learning outcomes, particularly for girls (UNICEF and WHO, 2018). Relevant indicators include classroom utilization rate and, when applicable, type of classroom (such as temporary, open air, permanent, or home-based classrooms); the percentage of schools with functioning WASH facilities; the percentage of schools with electricity; the percentage of schools with boundary walls for security reasons; and the percentage of classrooms that need to be rehabilitated (IIEP-UNESCO, World Bank, and UNICEF, 2014).

Learning outcomes

Student assessments include national examinations and admission tests, national large-scale learning assessments, regional or international standardized assessments, citizen-led assessments, and household surveys. The analysis of learning assessments enables education planners and decision makers to understand whether the education system is transferring knowledge to students as expected, as well as whether this transfer is equitable or is leaving certain population groups or geographic areas behind. Learning assessments can further help countries track the progress of learning achievements over time, compare results with comparable countries, and identify plausible causes for weak learning outcomes (IIEP UNESCO, World Bank, and UNICEF, 2014).

However, there are several risks when using learning data, such as the accuracy of data and their interpretation; the use of a single test score for decision-making; the use of learning assessment data to legitimize predefined agendas; and narrowing educational measurements to simplified indicators (Raudonyte, 2019).

Changes in learning assessment results over time should be interpreted with caution and cross-checked with other evidence. For instance, a sharp increase in enrolments may affect learning outcomes (IIEP-UNESCO, World Bank, and UNICEF, 2014).

ESA data sources

An effective ESA relies on both qualitative and quantitative rigorous data. Relevant data sources include (IIEP-UNESCO and GPE, 2015; IIEP-UNESCO et al., 2021; IIEP-UNESCO, World Bank, and UNICEF, 2014):

• National, regional and international learning assessments: provide information on whether the education system is transferring knowledge as expected; track progress on learning achievements over time; allow comparisons with comparable countries; and identify plausible reasons behind weak learning outcomes.
• School data on students, textbooks, teachers, and subsidies: provide information on resource distribution and learning time, among others.
• Administrative manuals: provide information on teacher management, teaching time, and other resources.
• Teacher training institute data: provide information on whether the capacities of teacher training institutes meet current and projected needs.
• Human resources data: provide information about teacher recruitment, deployment and utilization, among others.
• Sample surveys: can be used to assess teaching and learning time.
• Household surveys: provide information on the relationship between the level of literacy and the number of years of schooling.
• Specific research exercises: provide valuable information on relevant issues faced by education systems.
• Interviews and questionnaires of stakeholders: provide relevant qualitative information, for instance related to institutional capacity.

An ESA should further assess information gaps and whether primary data collection will need to be undertaken to obtain missing information (IIEP-UNESCO and GPE, 2015).  

Plans and policies

• Liberia: Education Sector Analysis
• Somalia:  Education Sector Analysis
• IIEP-UNESCO; Global Partnership for Education. 2015. Guidelines for Education Sector Plan Preparation
• IIEP-UNESCO; Global Partnership for Education; UNICEF; Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. 2021. Education Sector Analysis Methodological Guidelines: Vol. 3: Thematic Analyses
• IIEP-UNESCO; World Bank; UNICEF. 2014. Education Sector Analysis Methodological Guidelines: Vol 1: Sector-wide Analysis, With Emphasis on Primary and Secondary Education
• IIEP-UNESCO; World Bank; UNICEF. 2014. Education Sector Analysis Methodological Guidelines: Vol. 2: Sub-sector Specific Analysis
• UNESCO-UIS. 2009. Education Indicators: Technical Guidelines

Faul, M.; Martinez, R. 2019. Education System Diagnostics. What is an 'Education System Diagnostic', Why Might it be Useful, and What Currently Exists?

IIEP-UNESCO; GPE (Global Partnership for Education). 2015. Guidelines for Education Sector Plan Preparation. Paris: IIEP-UNESCO.

––––. 2016. Guidelines for Transitional Education Plan Preparation. Washington, DC: GPE.

IIEP-UNESCO; GPE (Global Partnership for Education); UNICEF; FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office). 2021. Education Sector Analysis Methodological Guidelines: Vol. 3: Thematic Analyses .  Dakar: IIEP-UNESCO.

IIEP-UNESCO; World Bank; UNICEF. 2014.  Education Sector Analysis Methodological Guidelines: Vol 1: Sector-wide Analysis, with Emphasis on Primary and Secondary Education.  Dakar: IIEP-UNESCO.

Raudonyte, I. 2019. Use of Learning Assessment Data in Education Policy-making. Paris: IIEP UNESCO.

UNESCO. 2016. Mainstreaming SDG4-Education 2030 in Sector-wide Policy and Planning: Technical Guidelines for UNESCO Field Offices. Paris: UNESCO.

UNICEF; WHO (World Health Organization). 2018. Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools: Global Baseline Report 2018. New York, NY: UNICEF and WHO.

Related information

• Supporting education sector analyses [IIEP-UNESCO Dakar]

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• Strengthening education systems and innovation

Getting all children in school and learning takes strong, innovative education systems.

Education systems are complex. Getting all children in school and learning requires alignment across families, educators and decision makers. It requires shared goals, and national policies that put learning at the centre. It also requires data collection and regular monitoring to help policymakers identify what’s working, who’s benefiting, and who’s being left behind.

Strong education systems are inclusive and gender-equitable. They support early learning and multi-lingual education, and foster innovations to extend education opportunities to the hardest-to-reach children and adolescents.

Innovation in education

Innovation in education is about more than new technology. It’s about solving a real problem in a fresh, simple way to promote equity and improve learning.

Innovation in education comes in many forms. Programmes, services, processes, products and partnerships can all enhance education outcomes in innovative ways – like customized games on solar-powered tablets that deliver math lessons to children in remote areas of Sudan. Or digital learning platforms that teach refugees and other marginalized children the language of instruction in Greece, Lebanon and Mauritania.

Innovation in education means solving a real problem in a new, simple way to promote equitable learning.

Innovation in education matches the scale of the solution to the scale of the challenge. It draws on the creativity and experience of communities – like a programme in Ghana that empowers local mothers and grandmothers to facilitate early childhood education – to ensure decisions are made by those most affected by their outcomes.

Many innovators are already at work in classrooms and communities. UNICEF collaborates with partners to identify, incubate and scale promising innovations that help fulfil every child’s right to learn.

UNICEF’s work to strengthen education systems

UNICEF works with communities, schools and Governments to build strong, innovative education systems that enhance learning for all children.

We support data collection and analysis to help Governments assess progress across a range of outcomes and strengthen national Education Management Information Systems. We also develop comprehensive guidelines for education sector analysis that are used in countries around the world to drive equity-focused plans and policies.

Our efforts promote transparency , shedding light on education systems so that students, parents and communities gain the information they need to engage decision makers at all levels and hold them to account.

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Education Sector Analysis Guidelines: Volume 1 ( English , French , Spanish , Portuguese and Russian )

These guidelines support ministries of education and their partners in undergoing sector analysis and developing education sector plans.

Education Sector Analysis Guidelines: Volume 2 ( English , French , Spanish , Portuguese and Russian )

The investment case for education and equity.

This report analyses the learning crisis and its determinants and makes the case for an increase in funding for education and for more equitable and efficient spending.

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Collecting Data on Foundational Learning Skills and Parental Involvement in Education

This methodological paper measures foundational learning skills and parental involvement in education through household surveys.

• Progress towards quality education was already slower than required before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has had devastating impacts on education, causing learning losses in four out of five of the 104 countries studied.

Without additional measures, an estimated 84 million children and young people will stay out of school by 2030 and approximately 300 million students will lack the basic numeracy and literacy skills necessary for success in life.

In addition to free primary and secondary schooling for all boys and girls by 2030, the aim is to provide equal access to affordable vocational training, eliminate gender and wealth disparities, and achieve universal access to quality higher education.

Education is the key that will allow many other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved. When people are able to get quality education they can break from the cycle of poverty.

Education helps to reduce inequalities and to reach gender equality. It also empowers people everywhere to live more healthy and sustainable lives. Education is also crucial to fostering tolerance between people and contributes to more peaceful societies.

• To deliver on Goal 4, education financing must become a national investment priority. Furthermore, measures such as making education free and compulsory, increasing the number of teachers, improving basic school infrastructure and embracing digital transformation are essential.

What progress have we made so far?

While progress has been made towards the 2030 education targets set by the United Nations, continued efforts are required to address persistent challenges and ensure that quality education is accessible to all, leaving no one behind.

Between 2015 and 2021, there was an increase in worldwide primary school completion, lower secondary completion, and upper secondary completion. Nevertheless, the progress made during this period was notably slower compared to the 15 years prior.

What challenges remain?

According to national education targets, the percentage of students attaining basic reading skills by the end of primary school is projected to rise from 51 per cent in 2015 to 67 per cent by 2030. However, an estimated 300 million children and young people will still lack basic numeracy and literacy skills by 2030.

Economic constraints, coupled with issues of learning outcomes and dropout rates, persist in marginalized areas, underscoring the need for continued global commitment to ensuring inclusive and equitable education for all. Low levels of information and communications technology (ICT) skills are also a major barrier to achieving universal and meaningful connectivity.

Where are people struggling the most to have access to education?

Sub-Saharan Africa faces the biggest challenges in providing schools with basic resources. The situation is extreme at the primary and lower secondary levels, where less than one-half of schools in sub-Saharan Africa have access to drinking water, electricity, computers and the Internet.

Inequalities will also worsen unless the digital divide – the gap between under-connected and highly digitalized countries – is not addressed .

Are there groups that have more difficult access to education?

Yes, women and girls are one of these groups. About 40 per cent of countries have not achieved gender parity in primary education. These disadvantages in education also translate into lack of access to skills and limited opportunities in the labour market for young women.

What can we do?  

Ask our governments to place education as a priority in both policy and practice. Lobby our governments to make firm commitments to provide free primary school education to all, including vulnerable or marginalized groups.

Facts and figures

Goal 4 targets.

• Without additional measures, only one in six countries will achieve the universal secondary school completion target by 2030, an estimated 84 million children and young people will still be out of school, and approximately 300 million students will lack the basic numeracy and literacy skills necessary for success in life.
• To achieve national Goal 4 benchmarks, which are reduced in ambition compared with the original Goal 4 targets, 79 low- and lower-middle- income countries still face an average annual financing gap of $97 billion.

Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023

4.1  By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes

4.2  By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education

4.3  By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university

4.4  By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

4.5  By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations

4.6  By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy

4.7  By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development

4.A  Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all

4.B  By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries

4.C  By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing states

UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UN Children’s Fund

UN Development Programme

Global Education First Initiative

UN Population Fund: Comprehensive sexuality education

UN Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth

Fast Facts: Quality Education

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Monitoring and evaluation of education sector plans

To help countries move from vision to reality, the educational planning process is always based on a monitoring and evaluation framework. This defines procedures and indicators that are often critical to ensuring the efficient implementation of education policies and reforms. IIEP-UNESCO goes further by providing technical support to countries to revise current ESPs, in order to assess progress and readjust short-term measures according to changing needs.

Much progress has been made in recent decades in the quality of education sector plans. Many countries around the world now rely on a robust ESP. However, the implementation of these three-, five- or ten-year plans may encounter certain challenges related to the weakness of institutional structures, the need for stronger capacities, the insufficiency of financial resources, or unexpected crisis situations. Countries and donors therefore pay increasing attention to the need for regular monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of education plans. This requires:

• Developing a monitoring and evaluation framework when preparing the ESP;   
• Defining metrics and key indicators;
• Outlining processes and assigning responsibilities;
• Collecting and managing data with a reliable information system;
• Ensuring that action is taken on the findings of the monitoring and evaluation exercises.

"We assist countries in going through the monitoring and evaluation of an education sector plan. We provide both technical advice and training, with a view to strengthening capacity. This learning-by-doing approach is always government-led, in close collaboration with country teams. Mariela Buonomo Zalabeta , Programme Specialist at IIEP

Monitoring and evaluation of ESP: How can IIEP help?

Thanks to the expertise of its team specializing in the evaluation and monitoring of education systems, IIEP is able to meet two key needs of ministries of education:

• Developing a robust and credible education planning system, incorporating a monitoring and evaluation framework with a set of appropriate indicators.
• Facilitating the implementation of an ESP, making adjustments along the way and learning from the process.

According to the needs and requests of the countries, IIEP’s interventions can take different forms:

• Monitoring and evaluation framework

A set of indicators, tools, and processes, defined during the preparation of the ESP or as a stand-alone exercise.

• Joint sector review

A short-term ESP analysis of progress and fine-tuning process, led by the national government and in discussion with donors supporting the ESP implementation.

• Mid-term review of ESP

A review of progress of the ongoing ESP at mid-point of implementation, led by the national government.

• Final review of ESP

A sectoral analysis to assess progress, providing recommendations for the preparation of the next plan.

Evaluation of capacity-building programmes

In addition to the monitoring and evaluation of education sector plans, IIEP seeks to measure the effects of its own action on education policies and planning practices in partner countries. Our teams rely on an innovative approach to assess the impact of the capacity-building programmes. ‘Outcome harvesting’ first collects evidence of change at the institutional level or in professional practices, before analysing and evaluating the processes that led to this change.

This method applies to both IIEP training courses and technical support missions , which are always conducted with a view to strengthening national capacities.

• Looking back on a decade of cooperation with Cambodia
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UNESCO provides global and regional leadership in education, strengthens education systems worldwide and responds to contemporary global challenges through education with gender equality as an underlying principle. Its work encompasses quality educational development from pre-school to higher education and beyond.

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Implementing Project Management in Schools

• First Online: 22 May 2018

Cite this chapter

• Miri Yemini 4 ,
• Izhar Oplatka 4 &
• Netta Sagie 5  

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The first chapter outlines the history and definitions of projects and project management from the managerial approach (Meredith & Mantel, Project management: A managerial approach, Wiley, 2011) in diverse organizations and makes the reader familiar with major concepts used in the discipline of project management. It then goes on to discuss the particular features of schools as a distinguished form of organization that is different from for-profit firms and businesses as well as from other non-profit organizations that therefore make it necessary to propose a different modeling of project management in educational institutions. The chapter concludes with the presentation of the uniqueness of project management in the education sector and particularly in schools, discussing the specificities of schools in relation to initiation and development of projects at pedagogical, organizational, ethical, political, social, and other levels. This book implicitly focuses on public schooling, but most of the implications are suitable for use in private schooling as well.

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Yemini, M., Oplatka, I., Sagie, N. (2018). Implementing Project Management in Schools. In: Project Management in Schools. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78608-7_1

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India Organic Biofach 2022

Gulfood dubai 2023, indian e-commerce industry analysis, the education market in india is expected to reach us$ 225 billion by fy25., advantage india, robust demand.

* India has the largest population in the world in the age bracket of 5-24 years with 580 million people, presenting a huge opportunity in the education sector.

* India has over 250 million school going students, more than any other country.

* The Study In India (SII) program aims to target more than half a million foreign students for higher education in India by 2047

Competitive Advantage

* Large English-speaking population allows easy delivery of educational products. India was ranked 52nd out of 111 countries in the English Proficiency Index 2022.

* Nine Indian institutes - the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) - were among the top 500 universities in the QS World University Rankings 2023.

Policy support

* 100% FDI (automatic route) is allowed in the education sector in India.

* The Government of India has taken initiatives like National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill for Higher Educational and the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill.

Increasing Investments

* The education market in India is expected to amount to US$ 225 billion by FY25.

* From April 2000-December 2023, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow in the education sector stood at US$ 9.49 billion.

* Indian edtech startups have received total investment of US$ 3.94 billion across 155 deals in FY22.

* In June 2022, edtech platform PhysicsWallah became India’s 101st unicorn by raising US$ 100 million in a Series-A funding round from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures, valuing the company at US$ 1.1 billion.

Education Industry Report

India occupies a significant position in the global education sector. One of the world's largest networks of institutions of higher learning is found in India. With almost 27% of India’s population in the age group of 0-14 years, India’s education sector provides numerous opportunities for growth.

The Number of colleges in India reached 49,385 in FY24 (as of September 13, 2023) and 43,796 in FY21, up from 42,343 in FY20. The number of universities in India reached 1,196 in FY24 (as of September 13, 2023), up from 760 in FY15.

India had 41.38 million students enrolled in higher education in 2020-21 with 21.2 million male and 20.1 million female students, as against 38.5 million students enrolled in higher education in 2019-20, with 19.6 million male and 18.9 million female students. In FY21, Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Indian higher education was 27.3%.

The education sector in India was estimated to be worth US$ 117 billion in FY20 and is expected to reach US$ 225 billion by FY25. The Indian edtech market size is expected to reach US$ 30 billion by 2031, from US$ 700-800 million in 2021.

The online education sector in India is growing rapidly, with growth of US$ 2.28 billion expected during 2021-2025, at a CAGR of almost 20%. Higher education institutes in India are focusing on creating online programmes due to the increasing demand from consumers.

From April 2000-September 2023, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow in the education sector stood at US$ 9.44 billion, according to the data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

India’s large English-speaking population allows easy delivery of educational products. India was ranked 48th out of 112 countries in the English Proficiency Index 2021. Nine Indian institutes - the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) - were among the top 500 universities in the QS World University Rankings 2023. A total of 100 Indian institutions have been qualified for the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, with the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru being the highest-ranked.

Edtech startups in India raised US$ 296 million across 5 deals in October 2022.

Amazon launched its global computer science education initiative in India. The aim of this initiative was to offer one lakh students the opportunity to study computer science. Amazon India also launched the second edition of Machine Learning (ML) Summer School, with the aim to provide students the opportunity to learn important ML technologies from Amazon scientists, making them ready for careers in science.

To liberalise the sector, the Government has taken initiatives such as the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill for Higher Educational and the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill. The government schemes of Revitalising Infrastructure and System in Education (RISE) and Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP) are helping the government tackle the prominent challenges faced by the education sector.

The National Education Policy (NEP), which will be fully implemented over the course of this decade starting from 2021-22, will have a strong focus on high-quality vocational education. Under the National Education Policy 2021, the government will set up regional and national institutes for virology, >15,000 schools, 100 new Sainik schools, and 750 Eklavya model residential schools in tribal areas.

In August 2023, Union Minister of Education Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan unveiled the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF), which has been developed based on the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 vision. As per that, in order to guarantee that students have adequate time and opportunity to perform successfully, board exams will be offered at least twice a year.

The Central Government approved the “New India Literacy Programme” for the period FY22-27 to cover all the aspects of adult education to align with the National Education Policy 2020 and Budget Announcements 2022-23.

The National Commission for Women started a country-wide capacity-building and personality development programme for women undergraduate and postgraduate students in an effort to make them more independent and job-ready. The commission will partner with central and state institutions to prepare women students for the job market by providing sessions on personal capacity building, professional career skills, digital literacy and effective use of social media.

STEM-based edtech companies have been partnering with Niti Aayog and the government to build a STEM ecosystem by establishing Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) to spread knowledge about STEM, STEAM, AI, ML, and robotics for K-12 students.

In December 2023, UNICEF and its global partnerships platform Generation Unlimited (also known as YuWaah in India) partnered with key organisations committed to working towards a green future for children and young people as a part of the Green Rising India Alliance.

In September 2023, the government launched the Skill India Digital (SID) platform to make skill development more innovative, accessible and personalised with a focus on digital technology and Industry 4.0 skills.

In September 2023, a three-year partnership called "Education to Entrepreneurship: Empowering a Generation of Students, Educators, and Entrepreneurs" was launched by the Ministry of Education the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Meta in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, in July 2023, laid the foundation stone for three new buildings at Delhi University — the faculty of technology, a computer centre, and an academic block.

The education sector has seen a host of reforms and improved financial outlays in recent years that could possibly transform the country into a knowledge haven. With human resources increasingly gaining significance in the overall development of the country, the development of the country’s education infrastructure is expected to remain the key focus in the current decade. In this scenario, infrastructure investment in the education sector is likely to see a considerable increase.

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More Indian students than Americans took the GRE in 2022-23, reflecting changing educational trends.

Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi reaffirms commitment to internationalize Indian education through NEP goals, citing IIT global campuses as key initiatives.

Over 60% of educators embrace AI tools, citing crucial roles in student preparation and upskilling, according to a TeamLease EdTech study.

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World Bank Signs Project to Improve Quality of India’s Education System

NEW DELHI, January 28, 2021 – The Government of India and the World Bank today signed a $500 million Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS) to improve the quality and governance of school education in six Indian states - Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan. Some 250 million students (between the age of 6 and 17) in 1.5 million schools, and over 10 million teachers will benefit from the program.

The STARS program builds on the long partnership between India and the World Bank (since 1994), for strengthening public school education and to support the country’s goal of providing ‘Education for All’.  Prior to STARS, the Bank had provided a total assistance of more than $3 billion towards this goal.

“India’s National Education Policy 2020 envisages equitable and inclusive education for all.  The STARS project will help carry this vision forward,” said C S Mohapatra , Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.  “It will strengthen early childhood education and foundational learning; facilitate school to work transition through vocational education; improve learning assessment mechanisms; and support teacher development. This will help in the economic and social progress of the country,” he added.

The agreement was signed by  C S Mohapatra , Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of India and Junaid Ahmad , Country Director, India on behalf of the World Bank.

India has, over the years, made significant strides in improving access to education across the country. Between 2004-05 and 2018-19, the number of children going to school increased from 219 million to 248 million. However, the learning outcomes of students across all age groups continues to remain below par.

“India recognizes the need to significantly improve its learning outcomes to fuel future growth and meet the demands of the labor market. STARS will support India’s response to this challenge by strengthening implementation at the local level, investing in teacher capacity and ensuring that no child of any background is left behind from the right to education,” said Junaid Ahmad , World Bank Country Director in India. “Investing more in the early years of education will equip children with the skills required to compete for the jobs of the future.”

STARS will support India’s renewed focus on addressing the ‘learning outcome’ challenge and help students better prepare for the jobs of the future – through a series of reform initiatives. These include:

• Focusing more directly on the delivery of education services at the state, district and sub district levels by providing customized local-level solutions towards school improvement.
• Addressing demands from stakeholders, especially parents, for greater accountability and inclusion by producing better data to assess the quality of learning; giving special attention to students from vulnerable sections – with over 52 percent (as a weighted average) of children in the government-run schools in the six project states belonging to vulnerable sections, such as Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and minority communities; and delivering a curriculum that keeps pace with the rapidly evolving needs of the job market.
• Equipping teachers to manage this transformation by recognizing that teachers are central to achieving better learning outcomes. The program will support individualized, needs-based training for teachers that will give them an opportunity to have a say in shaping training programs and making them relevant to their teaching needs.
• Investing more in developing India’s human capital needs by strengthening foundational learning for children in classes 1 to 3 and preparing them with the cognitive, socio-behavioral and language skills to meet future labor market needs.

At the national level, through the Samagra Shiksha, and in partnership with the states of Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan, STARS will also help improve learning assessment systems; strengthen classroom instruction and remediation; facilitate school-to-work transition; and strengthen governance and decentralized management.

In line with the Sustainable Development Goal for education (SDG 4), the program will help produce better data on learning levels by improving the National Achievement Survey (NAS). India’s participation in PISA is a historic strategic decision by the Government of India to obtain data on how India’s learning levels compare globally. STARS will assist India in this major step forward.

India has successfully achieved gender parity in enrolment in primary education. However, for many children, secondary education is the stage when they leave school and enter the workforce. Under STARS, each state is expected to not only stabilize this downward trend but also improve the completion rate for secondary education.

“STARS will support the Government of India’s vision to provide greater flexibility to states for school education planning and budgeting. This will help states’ implement evidence-based planning to factor in the needs of the most deprived, strengthen accountability at all levels, and thereby adopt a holistic approach to improve education outcomes,” said Shabnam Sinha , Lead Education Specialist, and World Bank’s Task Team Leader for the project.

The $500 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) , has a final maturity of 17.5 years including a grace period of five years.

In Washington DC:

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In Haiti, a bold project for education is delivering results

Haiti's learners face a variety of challenges in accessing education — but this bold new project seeks to remedy that. Image:  REUTERS/Adrees Latif

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.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;color:#2846F8;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{font-size:1.125rem;}} Get involved .chakra .wef-9dduvl{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-9dduvl{font-size:1.125rem;}} with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:, dominican republic.

• Haiti's learners face a variety of challenges and obstacles to accessing the education that is their right.
• But this bold project, which employs blended learning, technology and hyper-local community involvement, is promising to change that.
• This is a model that could be employed in other challenging educational contexts the world over.

I was born in Haiti and came to the United States when I was 11 years old. Haiti is a beautiful country, and my childhood, in many ways, was terrific. However, I have also seen first-hand the challenges facing the Haitian education system, including low enrollment, poor literacy rates and a shortage of trained teachers.

While the right to education is enshrined in Haiti’s constitution and highly valued by Haitians, schools still reflect Haiti’s colonial past. Traditional, lecture-based instruction, lessons delivered in French rather than students’ native Creole and a deficit-based rather than culturally-affirming curriculum are all the norm.

Moreover, faced with numerous disruptions due to COVID-19, natural disasters and ongoing political unrest, the majority of Haitians lack devices and internet access that would allow them to transition to remote or hybrid learning. Given these challenges and volatility, many funders have been hesitant to invest in Haiti’s largely non-public education system.

But, amidst these harsh realities facing Haiti, what would happen if we equipped Haitian students, educators and communities with the necessary tools to ensure continuous, high-quality education?

Have you read?

This is how community leaders are busting coronavirus myths in haiti, lessons from haiti: applying innovative, affordable, and replicable solutions using drones and spatial data, 5 questions to help you understand the situation in haiti, partnering for education in haiti.

Digital Promise joined forces with a consortium of partners, including Anseye Pou Ayiti (APA) , Blue Butterfly , Model School Network (MSN) and Summits Education , to answer this question.

The result? Introducing a pilot project around blended learning, which combines digital and face-to-face instruction, to 12 rural primary schools.

“Haiti is one of the few countries in the world where teaching and learning still take place in the traditional way. We have always experienced natural disasters and political unrest that hinder the smooth running of schools. So, it’s important to bring this new project, which combines technological tools and active pedagogy, to make learning more meaningful for students, because the world is changing.”

Here's how the project works.

Since September 2022, these organizations have taken a three-pronged approach that trains Haitian educators to deliver high-quality learning using technology and tools, makes culturally relevant digital content more accessible and improves schools’ access to electricity and connectivity. This has included introducing solar power, devices and classroom speakers to help teachers deliver active science learning in students’ mother tongue of Haitian Creole.

"We are thrilled that our Eksploratoryòm science series is reaching even more children through the blended learning pilot. Project partners share our commitment to elevating teaching and learning in Haiti by delivering high-quality, culturally relevant educational resources."

Lessons from delivering blended learning in Haiti

Over the course of the project, we have learned some important lessons — many of which have broad applications for digital learning in other remote contexts:

1. Focus on cost-effective, sustainable solutions

Because infrastructure and technology can be prohibitively expensive, avoid starting work that cannot be sustained. For example, we are testing Learning Equality’s open-source, offline-first Kolibri platform as a cost-effective and scalable tool that can be used by administrators, teachers and students across Haiti, including at schools without internet access.

2. Emphasize local capacity building

Take a hyper-local approach that taps into community wisdom and local talent pools. In Haiti, that has looked like recruiting staff in the rural zones where schools are located and developing educators’ capacity around the technologies we have put in place.

3. Build on existing assets and community partnerships

Look to existing networks and assets in local communities versus building something entirely new. We have learned the value of engaging the pilot communities deeply throughout the process of planning, implementation and improvement in order to set realistic expectations and put community members in the decision-making seat.

4. Scale deeply before scaling broadly.

Growth is not a numbers game; it’s about scaling impact through community partnership. Anseye Pou Ayiti defines scaling impact as looking inward and “going deep” — harnessing the power and wisdom of communities, connecting strongly in the classrooms and across history and culture and systematically developing a diverse network of allies.

“We’re not in a rush to prove ourselves, because we know we’re facing a mountain and need to pace ourselves with a marathon mindset. We’ll leave no stones unturned and have no students treated as experiments.”

The first year of the pilot shows that this blended learning approach holds promise. We have found improvements in educators’ blended learning knowledge and skills, broad satisfaction with the digital learning tools and a positive impact on students’ engagement and learning. Use of the Eksploratoryòm curriculum has also led to statistically significant learning gains, especially for those students whose baseline knowledge was lowest.

“The project’s main contribution to learning lies in its ability to personalize teaching and extend the learning time available. It also encourages interaction and collaboration between learners. The use of digital technology enables the teacher to play a coaching role, offering a less restrictive learning approach that can extend beyond the classroom.”

Applying the Haiti experience abroad

While scaling deeply within communities has been a top priority, we also know that this work has the potential to create a broader impact. Networks like the EDISON Alliance play a key role in helping us to communicate and codify our work. We’ve also had opportunities to learn from similar initiatives in other countries, build supportive partnerships and ensure that others can build on our work. Ultimately, our hope is that this pilot will inform the work moving forward for education in Haiti and provide lessons for similar contexts around the world.

Through decades of working in education, I’ve learned that technology, when used strategically, has the power to “leapfrog” inequities and dismantle opportunity gaps. Our work in Haiti is a testament to this vision. Amidst what some may see as insurmountable challenges, we have seen how blended learning might help us to solve longstanding educational challenges.

In Haiti and around the world, this approach is moving us closer to a future where digital transformation is delivering equitable opportunities and outcomes for this generation — and those that follow.

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PPP Projects in the Education Sector

Title: PPP Projects in the Education Sector

Language: English

Type: Other Publications

Nature: Website

Published: January 1, 2011

Region: Global

Country: Global / Non-Specific

Keywords: About PPP , Education

• PPP Projects in the Education Sector Key Principles

This report from an experienced law firm in the delivery of PPPs in education reviews the key principles, risk analysis, bankability, typical concession terms/topics and other issues in education PPPs. 

Key Principles, Hogan Lovells Publications 

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Updated: June 16, 2022

Advancing social justice, promoting decent work ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations

Education, skills and lifelong learning are the paths to social and economic development and employability. Teachers and education workers are at the heart of education and training systems. Secure employment and decent working conditions for teachers are essential strategies to ensure quality education personnel and to address global teacher shortages. The ILO promotes quality teaching through two related Recommendations concerning teaching personnel, as well as the  Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel  . It also promotes follow-up to the Recommendations of  the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession .

United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession

Standards and tools

• Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (1966 and 1997)
• ILO Policy Guidelines on the promotion of decent work for early childhood education personnel (2014)
• Handbook of good human resource practices in the teaching profession (2012)

National labour legislation (NATLEX database)

• National legislation dealing with teachers

Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART)

ILO/GIZ Projects

• Teaching and the teaching profession in a digital world: COVID-19 and beyond
• Digitalization, the future of work and the teaching profession

15 November 2023

10 Years of the ILO Policy Guidelines on ECE personnel

Geneva, 17-21 May 2021

Technical meeting on the future of work in the education sector

Geneva, 18-20 September 2018

Global Dialogue Forum on Employment Terms and Conditions in Tertiary Education

All publications

Transforming the teaching profession

Recommendations and summary of deliberations of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession (2024)

10 Years of the ILO Policy Guidelines on Early Childhood Education Personnel

Teaching and the teaching profession in a digital world – Bosnia and Herzegovina

Quick links

• Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (STED)
• School-to-work transition survey
• Skills and Employability Branch
• Skills for Employment Global Public-Private Knowledge Sharing Platform
• International Programme on the Elimanation of Child Labour (IPEC)
• Occupational safety and health in the education and research sector

Contact information

The Sectoral Policies Department (SECTOR)

• [email protected]