Even in countries where basic education is officially free of charge, households may be meeting between a quarter and two thirds of the actual cost. Supplementary tutoring is a huge family expense in some countries. The book examines potential problems, including socioeconomic and regional imbalances in access to education. This booklet takes a broad international perspective, with particular examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the South Pacific. It focuses on ways in which community financing can support primary and secondary education in the wake of decentralization.
Discussion focuses on contributions of labour and materials as well as in cash.
The book includes recommendations for policy and practice. The research for this book was undertaken in the framework of an IIEP four-country project. The other three countries were Guinea, India and Mexico. Reporting empirical data from Zhejiang province, the book identifies critical factors that explain variations in quality. The research combined quantitative and qualitative methods to study five clusters of schools in Zhejiang.