PSIREN

The ADB approved its Education Policy in August 2002 to complement the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) prepared by the international community. MDGs include issues of reducing poverty and hunger, many health related issues, and coordination efforts to improve social sector delivery. In education, universal primary enrollment and equitable access for girls and boys were highlighted along with the priority to help unemployed youth. According to ADB, its lending benefits Education for All (EFA) through goals of teacher education, secondary school expansion, skills development for unemployed youth, nonformal education, early childhood, and higher education. ADB also supports certain private sector projects that strengthen the social infrastructure of developing countries. Access to better health and education facilities has a direct impact on the earning power of the poor. According to ADB: “Often, involvement by the private sector can deliver social services more cheaply or efficiently.” The role of the private sector in education, however, is controversial; a review of experience can be found in a 2002 Bank-funded study on the costs and financing of education”.

FROM: ADB & Education, by Violeta Perez-Corral, Public Services International Research Unit-Asia (www.psiru.org), June 2005