2012年-世界发展银行全球_Burkina_Faso___School_Autonomy_and_Accountability_10页_901kb

Summary of the SABER Country Report on Burkina Faso

Core Content

The SABER Country Report on Burkina Faso provides an analysis of the current state of school autonomy and accountability in the country. It outlines five key policy goals and evaluates their status using a four-tier classification system: Latent, Emerging, Established, and Advanced. The report highlights the progress made in decentralizing the education system since 2004 and identifies areas for further improvement.

Main Policy Goals and Status

1. School Autonomy in the Planning and Management of the School Budget

Status: Latent

• Public primary schools in Burkina Faso have no autonomy over salary and non-salary expenditures.
• Budgetary authority has been transferred to the commune level since 2009, but not to the school level.
• Schools do not have the legal authority to raise additional funds for their operations.
• The budget is transferred from the central government to the CEB and communes, with no involvement of the school in budget planning or execution.

2. School Autonomy in Personnel Management

Status: Established

• Autonomy over human resource management was transferred to the commune level in 2009.
• Communes can now appoint teachers, though the deployment of teachers is managed by the CEB.
• School directors are nominated by the CEB and approved by the commune mayor.
• The firing of school directors is still under the control of the central government.

3. Role of the School Council in School Governance

Status: Latent

• The School Council (defined as the Parents' Association, APE) has no authority to participate in the preparation, approval, or implementation of school budgets.
• The APE can discuss how to use its own funds but is not involved in budgetary decisions.
• There is no legal framework allowing the School Council to engage in financial audits or have a detailed manual for participation in school finances.

4. School and Student Assessment

Status: Emerging

• School assessments are conducted by CEB inspectors and are used internally.
• Student assessments include non-standardized tests at the end of each semester and standardized exit exams such as CEP (grade 6), BEPC (grade 10), and BAC (grade 13).
• Standardized assessment results are analyzed by the Ministry of National Education and Literacy (MENA) and shared with regional, municipal, and local education authorities.
• The results of these assessments are made public, but school assessments are not.
• There is a national assessment of learning achievement using representative samples.

5. Accountability

Status: Latent

• A national and regional system exists for analyzing standardized assessments and sharing results with educational authorities.
• The School Council has no authority to perform financial audits or use assessment results for decision-making.
• There is no manual guiding the School Council's participation in school audits.

Key Findings

• Decentralization Progress: Burkina Faso has made significant strides in decentralizing its education system since 2004, particularly in transferring budgetary and personnel management responsibilities to the commune level.
• School Autonomy: While personnel management has achieved Established status, budgetary autonomy remains Latent.
• School Council Role: The School Council (APE) has a limited role in governance and lacks the authority to engage in budget formulation or financial audits.
• Assessment System: Standardized assessments are in place and used for monitoring and evaluation, but school assessments are not shared with the School Council.
• Accountability Mechanisms: Although standardized assessment results are publicly available, financial accountability and the use of assessment data for school improvement are still limited.

Policy Recommendations

1. Promote the Spread of COGES: Encourage the establishment and expansion of school management committees (COGES) to provide a broader platform for local stakeholders.
2. Enhance Budgetary Autonomy: Transfer more budgetary authority to the school level to improve financial flexibility and local decision-making.
3. Consolidate Personnel Autonomy: Develop detailed administrative guidelines and budget allocations to strengthen the autonomy of local authorities over personnel management.
4. Strengthen COGES Involvement: Grant COGES a greater role in budget planning and school governance to ensure local participation and accountability.
5. Improve Assessment Transparency: Share more assessment data with schools and parents to support accountability and informed decision-making.

Educational System Overview

• The formal education system in Burkina Faso follows a 6-4-3 structure for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education.
• Primary education is managed by the Ministry of National Education and Literacy (MENA), which coordinates through deconcentrated offices and CEB inspectors.
• The gross enrolment rate in primary education increased from 42% in 1999 to 75% in 2009.
• However, the primary completion rate (PCR) remained low, at around 40% in 2006, due to internal inefficiencies such as high repetition and dropout rates.
• In 2007, public education expenditures accounted for 4.8% of GDP and 21.8% of total government expenditure, with 66% allocated to primary education.
• Despite increased funding, student achievement levels declined between 1996 and 2007, particularly in math and French at the second-grade level.

Conclusion

The report emphasizes the importance of school autonomy and accountability in improving educational quality and performance. While Burkina Faso has made progress in decentralizing its education system, several key areas—particularly budgetary autonomy and the role of the School Council in governance—remain underdeveloped. Strengthening these areas through policy reforms and increased stakeholder involvement is crucial for the sustainability and effectiveness of the education system.