2013年-世界发展银行全球_Independent_State_of_Samoa_School_Autonomy_and_Accountability___SABER_Country_Report_2013_20页_999kb

Summary of the SABER Country Report on School Autonomy and Accountability in Samoa

Core Content

The SABER Country Report on School Autonomy and Accountability in Samoa, published in 2013, evaluates the current state of school autonomy and accountability in the country. It is part of the broader Pacific Benchmarking for Education Results (PaBER) initiative, which aims to improve education systems across the Pacific region through policy benchmarking and implementation support. The report outlines five key policy goals that define the framework for school autonomy and accountability.

Main Policy Goals and Key Findings

1. Autonomy in Budget Planning and Management

• Status: Established
• Key Points:
  • The Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture (MESC) administers the Samoa School Fees Grant Scheme (SSFGS), which is the largest source of school funding.
  • Schools have the authority to execute operational expenditures and manage non-salary budgets.
  • The SSFGS provides a fixed formula for annual funding, with additional resources raised by schools through community, private sector, or NGO support.
  • Schools must develop and implement a School Improvement Plan (SIP) and an Annual Management Plan (SAMP) to guide budget planning and resource allocation.
  • The MESC provides guidelines and training on budget preparation and expenditure management.
  • Schools are required to submit monthly and quarterly financial reports to the MESC and Ministry of Finance.
  • The SSFGS Manual of Operations sets clear limits on allowable expenditures, such as repairs and maintenance (≤10%) and water use (≤10%).

2. Autonomy in Personnel Management

• Status: Latent
• Key Points:
  • The MESC retains sole responsibility for appointing, deploying, and managing the salaries of all teaching and non-teaching staff.
  • There is no school-level autonomy in personnel management, including hiring and firing decisions.
  • The MESC recommends teacher salaries to the Public Service Commission (PSC), which then forwards the recommendations to Cabinet for approval.
  • The PSC provides a detailed pay scale based on experience, qualifications, and performance.
  • Non-teaching staff salaries are managed by the MESC, with limited flexibility at the school level.

3. Participation of the School Council in School Governance

• Status: Established
• Key Points:
  • School Councils, composed of the school principal and community members, are actively involved in school governance.
  • They play a role in setting the school’s vision, preparing and executing operational expenditures, and engaging with the community.
  • The MESC supports School Councils by providing training and resources to ensure effective participation.

4. Assessment of School and Student Performance

• Status: Established
• Key Points:
  • Schools use assessments to inform pedagogical changes and operational adjustments.
  • Standardized tests are used as diagnostic tools and to determine student progression.
  • The MESC provides guidelines and tools for school-level assessment.
  • There is no centralized standardized assessment system at the national level.

5. Accountability to Stakeholders

• Status: Emerging
• Key Points:
  • There are regulations in place to ensure compliance with financial and operational rules.
  • However, there is limited policy development for linking rewards and sanctions to performance.
  • Parents and stakeholders lack the mechanisms to demand accountability for learning outcomes.
  • The MESC has the ability to withhold future SSFGS funds if expenditures do not comply with guidelines.

Key Information and Context

• Education System Overview:

  • Samoa has a two-tier education system with central and school-level governance.
  • The education system includes early childhood education (ECE), primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.
  • ECE is relatively new and largely private.
  • The primary level is compulsory and covers grades 1–8 for children aged 5–12.

• Funding and Expenditure:

  • Public expenditure on education accounts for 5.7% of GDP and 17.4% of total government expenditure.
  • Primary education receives 54% of education funding.
  • The pupil-teacher ratio is 30:1 at the primary level.

• School-Based Management (SBM):

  • SBM is a form of decentralization that empowers schools to make managerial decisions with community involvement.
  • SBM is not a fixed set of policies but a continuum of activities aimed at improving school performance.
  • The report emphasizes the importance of system closure, where autonomy, assessment, and accountability are interrelated to drive improved learning outcomes.

• SABER Tool:

  • The SABER tool is used to evaluate the status of policies in terms of their development and implementation.
  • Policies are classified as Latent, Emerging, Established, or Advanced based on their level of development and alignment with best practices.

Conclusion

The report concludes that while Samoa has established policies for budget planning and school council participation, it still has significant gaps in personnel management and accountability mechanisms. The SSFGS has been effective in promoting school-level resource management and collaborative planning, but the lack of school autonomy in personnel matters and limited stakeholder mechanisms for demanding accountability remain key challenges. The SABER framework provides a useful tool for benchmarking and improving these policies to enhance the quality and effectiveness of education in Samoa.