Financing Primary Education within a Decentralized System: The Case of Ethiopia • 83
ANNEX 2B: THE EDUCATION SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM The second Education Sector Development Program (ESDP II) spans the three years from 2002/03 to 2004/05 and gives priority to the quality of education. The targets set for 2004/05 and the achievements (status) for the same year are presented in table 2B.1.
ANNEX 2C: THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR FINANCING The following are some systemic characteristics of the education sector that have direct or indirect bearing on the financing of the system in general and school fees in particular.
STRUCTURE AND CURRICULUM The 1994 policy replaced the old structure of general education from 6-24 to 8-2-2 by making the following changes: • •
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Kindergarten for children, ages 4–6 years Primary education (ages 7–14 years) of grades 1 to 8 subdivided into two cycles: the first cycle of basic education from grade 1 to grade 4 and the second cycle of basic education from grade 5 to grade 8 General secondary education for grades 9 and 10 Preparatory senior secondary education for grades 11 and 12 and parallel certificate program of 10 1 and 10 2 TVET system Higher education diploma program of 10 3 (or equivalent) and first degree program of 3 to 5 years after grade 12 Postgraduate studies toward master’s and doctoral degrees.
In addition to the formal system, integrated and parallel subsystems of nonformal programs of education and training, special education, and different delivery mechanisms such as distance education complement the entire structure of the system. The curriculum at all levels should incorporate the general knowledge of basic and transferable cognition as well as specialized skills to fit the manpower requirement of the country and promote the right mix of values to build a harmonious democratic “nation of nations” (Nahum 1997). The design of the curriculum is aimed at the following: •
Preparing productive and problem-solving citizens who stand for equality, justice, and democracy