During the last thirty years, more than 1,100 specialists from 145 countries have participated in the programme, some of whom have since been called to high office in their countries. This means that educational planning is both an art and a science, but more of an art than a science. There is no doubt that educational planning integrated with the general planning of each country must become an exercise in careful and considered thought, and which should deliver a greater return from investment in education. The choice between the main alternatives in an economic and social plan must be based on considerations immediately relevant to each country and on the image each society has of its future. The assumption is that the educational system will produce the kinds and amounts of human resources required for the economy s growth, and that the economy will in fact make good use of these resources.
Doubts then arise about education s productivity and the efficacy of the investment made in it.
In Beirut, Dakar, New Delhi, and Santiago. The first publications were a bibliography and a directory of training and research institutes. According to a three-tier system of training, the first two, basic training and practice in planning, with individual support being provided by the regional centres. Estimates indicate that more than 5,000 managers have been trained during the last thirty years. What is Educational Planning was published in 1967.