2.18 **Except** for the budget constraint, there is little discussion of external threats to proposed policies ex ante. Other threats addressed in only a few cases are population growth and the demand for education. In many countries, the social demand for higher e^ducation exceeds the requirements of the labor market and jeopardizes both the intrasectoral balance of resource allocation and the ability to provide quality education. A similar problem is the conflict between the demands of the labor market for vocationally skilled workers and the low social demand for vocational training relative to academic training in many countries.

2.19 The Turkey Education and Training Sector Survey is one of the few reports that addresses the implications for education of a changing economy. It clearly states that the outward-oriented economic development program and attendant need for skilled labor has major implications for human resources policies. Most reports, however, do not specifically discuss the effect of noneducation policies on education.

# E. Sector Issues and Priorities

2.20 Exansion. access. and equity. The reports cover numerous sector issues at various educational levels. For the purpose of this review, the issues are divided into the following broad categories for primary and postprimary education: access, quality, equity, and internal and external efficiency. Many developing countries have greatly expanded their educational system, particularly primary education, but this does not necessarily reflect an improvement in the above-mentioned areas of concern. Equality of access to education by sex, region, religious, ethnic or other group; equity among income levels; the quality of education; the internal efficiency of the system (drop-out and repeater rates, unit costs per graduate); and external efficiency (the relationship of the skills taught to the demand for them in the labor market) are all priority sector issues that shed light on the costs and benefits of expansion of the school system.

2.21 Figures II.3 to II.5 categorize reports that not only mention these sector issues but explicitly treat them as priorities. Figure ID.3 divides the treatment of the issues by primary and postprimary education; figures II.4 and 11.5 graphically present the difference in coverage of these priorities according t- the typology. The discussion that follows includes reports that mention the issues without necessarily prioritizing them. The percentages given may, therefore, differ slightly from those in the graphs, which measure explicit priorities.

2.22 Stated sector priorities in the reports reviewed (figure II.3) appear to be largely focused on the primary level, particularly in the case of access, quality, and equity issues. This focus is in line with current chinking inside and outside the Bank, which emphasizes primary education as the key to universal basic literacy. From an overall sector management perspective, however, there is no rationale for access, quality, and equity issues commanding a lower priority at the postprimary level than at the primary level.

2.23 Expansion of the education system is most frequently mentioned as a sector prioiity at the primary level, and, as one might expect, particularly in low PE countries in the low-income range. Postprimary expansion is more often an objective in high PE 12