The GEM Report - South Asia Regional Report on Education: Main Research Contributions and Findings

• In Event: Highlighted Session: The Role of Non-State Actors in Education in South Asia: A panel discussion on the GEM South Asia Regional Report

Proposal

The objective of the GEM regional report on South Asia is to shed light on the breadth of non-state actor involved in education systems in South Asia to develop regionally specific messages and recommendations, and advance regional cooperation to help achieve SDG 4.

There is a wealth of existing research evidence on certain countries in South Asia. The methodology for the South Asia Report advances the knowledge base in two ways. First, building on the 2021 GEM Report conceptualization, it centers equity and public good perspectives. It captures the diversity of roles played by non-state actors in provision, financing, regulations, promoting certain innovations in teaching, learning and management, and broader policy influence. Second, it draws extensively on data collection and expert analysis from collaborations with several institutional and individual partners from the region. For the 8 countries excluding India, country studies were developed. All country studies included research reviews, analysis of policy and legislative documents, descriptive analysis of secondary datasets or reports; and state and non-state stakeholder perspectives. Additionally, five thematic studies were developed: three focused on India: (1) budget private schools, (2) the state of regulations for school education and supplementary provision, (3) public-private partnerships in skills development; one on Pakistan: (4) scoping of ancillary service markets; and one regional study on (5) teacher education.

The Report finds that the non-state actors are significantly involved in every aspect of education systems in South Asia – providing at all levels of education, and influencing and shaping policies. The lack of adequate public schooling supply, combined with parental aspirations, has driven private education expansion - and private tutoring - from early childhood to tertiary education levels. The expansion of access led by non-state activity has not been equitable, especially at early childhood or higher education levels. When it comes to discussions of quality, after controlling for socioeconomic status, private advantage in learning is reduced substantially. With respect to regulating private schools, existing regulations focus on entry and input requirements over equity and quality. However, the lack of adequate government capacity and mistrust from providers hampers the enforcement of regulations and the development of successful public-private partnerships. Households throughout the region are burdened by expenditures due to inadequate government financing. Finally, improving teacher preparation and professionalization, and including teachers in decision-making, will help ensure teachers are the pivot for transformative change in the education system.

While there is increased research on non-state actors in education, there has yet to be a major study that meaningfully captures the breadth of non-state activity in the region. By contributing to the breadth of the knowledge base, working with partners from the region, and acknowledging differing perspectives on what should be the role of the non-state sector in education – this Regional Report is likely to help break through the clutter in heated debates around the non-state role.

Author

• Priyadarshani Joshi, UNESCO