Decentralizing Education in Transition Societies Case Studies from Central and Eastern Europe

The World Bank Institute was established by the World Bank in 1955 to train officials concerned with development planning, policymaking, investment analysis, and project implementation in member developing countries. At present the substance of WBI's work emphasizes macroeconomic and sectoral policy analysis. Through a variety of courses, seminars, workshops, and other learning activities, most of which are given overseas in cooperation with local institutions, WBI seeks to sharpen analytical skills used in policy analysis and to broaden understanding of the experience of individual countries with economic and social development. Although WBI's publications are designed to support its training activities, many are of interest to a much broader audience. This report has been prepared by the staff of the World Bank. The judgments expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors or of the governments they represent. The material in this publication is copyrighted. The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission promptly. Permission to photocopy items for internal or personal use , for the internal or personal use of specific clients, or for educational classroom use, is granted by the World Bank, provided that the appropriate fee is paid directly to the Decentralizing education in transition societies : case studies from Central and Eastern Europe / edited by Ariel Fiszbein. p. cm.-(WBI learning resources series) Includes bibliographical references. o Foreword This book is about the reform of education systems in Central and Eastern Europe with particular emphasis on decentralization and management. Although the region's highly centralized systems are beginning to adopt more deconcentrated approaches, most key policy and planning decisions are still made at the center. In the past, local authorities served as implementation arms of the central ministry, while finance and decisionmaking were controlled by the central government, leaving local communities with little influence. New education laws in most countries of the region have altered this balance, albeit not as thoroughly as some reformers would like. Because some of these societies are deeply into the process of socioeconomic transition , a moderate approach may well be the least disruptive short-term solution; but ministries of education will clearly need to continue the decentralization process in those areas they deem to be most appropriate. To help address these issues, in 1997 the World Bank Institute participated in a research project to study intergovernmental roles in the delivery of education services. It …