Publication

The objectives of the paper are: to examine patterns of utilization, ownership, and affordability of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia; to discuss applications of ICTs to the poor by the private sector, the Government, and external donors; and to suggest ways in which ICTs can best be used in poverty alleviation strategies. The paper finds that SSA and South Asia have the lowest access to ICTs resources. There are critical access gaps between urban and rural areas, and between the poorest and the richest.

While the educational system of Hungary has been well-established, particularly since the Austro-Hungarian Empire (reflected by the achievements of a number of Nobel Prize personalities in different fields), it was not elitist in its excellence, and, the secondary education legacy left by the communist period, was a system highly concentrated on vocational, and technical education, at the expense of the general education stream.

Despite the many positive impacts of adult basic education, support for ABE programs (including from the World Bank) has been relatively modest over the last two decades. The reasons for this are the concerns about the content and relevance of many past programs and the degree to which the participants retained their new-won literacy skills. There were also questions about the cost-effectiveness of such programs. This study reviews these concerns, and assesses how successful the new generation of ABE programs has been in addressing them.

The study examines the preschool programs - the predominant model found in the two countries - of early childhood care, and development (ECCD), in the comparatively wealthy country (by African standards) of Cape Verde, and the very poor country, Guinea. Its purpose is to build a knowledge base about the status of ECCD in West Africa, to identify the building blocks of affordable, and effective preschool, or ECCD programs within an African context, and, to better understand the role that governments, and donors can play to support ECCD initiatives.

This paper discusses secondary schools which teach two sets of pupils in two shifts--an arrangement used where the supply of schools is inadequate to provide single shift schools for all students. hus, this paper is not concerned with: a) triple- or quadruple-shift schools, which do not permit adequate student learning achievement; or b) arrangements like apprenticeships in which students study during one part of the day (or night) and perform some work during the other portion which is related to their study, as these arrangements are rarely used to increase capacity or reduce costs.

While Africa has some of the world's strongest communities, service delivery tends to take place through functionality, and physically remote government structures. Despite important reforms that have taken place in many African countries in recent years, this remains especially true of education, where communities often continue to be neglected as partners in development.

This study identifies common issues, benefits and constraints regarding local government's education management and institutional change in Colombia. This was accomplished through case studies of four local education systems during two administrations (1995-1997 and 1998-2000): in the Department of Antioquia, the District of Barranquilla, the Municipality of Pasto and the Municipality of Pensilvania (a small rural municipality with less than 100,000 inhabitants).

While China made impressive achievements in economic growth, and poverty reduction over the last quarter century, it now faces daunting, internal challenges, such as ensuring employment to millions over the coming decade, continuing to maintain high growth, increasing its international competitiveness, and reducing income, and regional inequalities. Compounding these challenges is the new knowledge, and information revolution.

While China made impressive achievements in economic growth, and poverty reduction over the last quarter century, it now faces daunting, internal challenges, such as ensuring employment to millions over the coming decade, continuing to maintain high growth, increasing its international competitiveness, and reducing income, and regional inequalities. Compounding these challenges is the new knowledge, and information revolution.

The paper presents an overview of the achievements, issues, and challenges of the primary, and secondary education system in China, with particular emphasis on secondary education, given its complexity, and diversity relative to primary education. For the purposes of this document, the term secondary education will include formal, and vocational education, vocational training, and non-formal equivalency programs.