Public Expenditure Review Of Education Sector Launched

The Government, on Wednesday (February 23), launched the Public Expenditure Review (PER) for Jamaica’s education sector.

Piloted by the Ministries of Finance and the Public Service, and Education and Youth on behalf of the Government, the PER was jointly undertaken by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank.

The report highlights that while Jamaica’s expenditure on education, averaging five per cent, is relatively high and adequate, when compared to that of other Caribbean states, and consistent with international standards, there are concerns relating to sector-wide resource allocations and underutilised capacity in some areas.

Against this background, the document provides recommendations for the Government’s consideration to address these.

Speaking during the launch at the Finance Ministry, in Kingston, Education Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, welcomed the Review, noting the importance of empirical data guiding policy implementation across the sector.

“The overview and recommendations provide much-needed material for internal discussion within the Ministry of Education and the Government and with the wider public about the possible shifts in policy priorities, areas of focus, and allocation of funding,” she said.

Mrs. Williams maintained that the Ministry “is clear”, the Government’s objectives “are clear” that “we must invest in education to serve as the engine of human capital to drive economic growth”.

“Collectively, our success is dependent on an acceptance and belief in the centrality of education for students and the nation, a focus on building teacher and leadership capacity to deliver reforms at the school level, and a culture of continuous improvement that benchmarks educational practices against the best in the world,” she emphasised.

While acknowledging that “we do have a lot of ground to cover”, Mrs. Williams said she is optimistic that “this report will help us to contextualise the decisions that we have to make”.

Meanwhile, Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, noted the Government’s position that analysis be used to inform policy.

He said it was against this background that the World Bank was approached to assist in analysing data within the sector “from a financial point of view”.

Dr. Clarke noted that the Education Ministry gets the largest budgetary allocation of nearly $120 billion per annum, representing 5.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 19 per cent of the non-debt budget.

The Minister said as a result, the Government wanted to analyse the quality of the expenditure.

“The World Bank and UNICEF were able to look at the entire range of data, make comparisons with other countries and perform the kind of analysis that [provided] some insightful findings,” he pointed out.

Dr. Clarke said these were being made public because “we believe in the transparency of that information”.

The Minister emphasised that “it’s not sufficient for the leaders [alone] to have the information”.

“What you need is for the people to have information so that they can support the policy choices that have to be made,” he pointed out.

Dr. Clarke said the Government is hopeful that “by being completely transparent [and] open about…. the information that has come out of this Review, it can catalyse support in the society for the reforms that are necessary”.

UNICEF Jamaica Country Representative, Mariko Kagoshima, said the organisation was “extremely pleased” to partner with the Government and World Bank to undertake a review of the expenditure in education.

She pointed out that the Review is critical to the policy decisions that will impact the education of Jamaica’s children as the country addresses challenges in the sector resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

World Bank Caribbean Country Director, Lilia Burunciuc, who said the institution was also pleased to collaborate on the Review, expressed the hope that the recommendations will help to guide the education system’s transformation and substantively improve current and future opportunities for Jamaica’s children.

The education PER’s unveiling follows the recent launch of the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission’s report.