development report 2012 - UMAR

138 Development Report 2012
Indicators of Slovenia’s development
Public expenditure on
education
Total public expenditure 1 on education as a share
of GDP 2 is high and increased further in 2009. In
2009, it amounted to 5.7% of GDP, 0.5 p.p. more than
a year earlier. Amid the 3% real increase in public
expenditure on education, the substantial expansion
of the share was largely related to the steep decline in
GDP. In 2008 (the latest international data available),
the share exceeded the EU average, which can be
explained by a high participation in education in
Slovenia.
In 2009, public expenditure on education increased
most notably in real terms at the pre-school
and tertiary levels of education. In 2009, public
expenditure on education grew at all education levels,
except primary education. The largest increase was
recorded for the pre-school level (by 8.2%), due to a
higher number of children in kindergartens (a higher
number of kindergartens, additional class units and
new hiring). Amid a further increase in the number
of births in 2010, and in view of the implementation
of the national targets for pre-school education set
in the White Paper on Education and Training from
2011 (increasing the participation of children in
kindergartens, lowering the standards 3 ) and the EU
objectives (increasing enrolment in kindergartens),
we can also expect public expenditure for this
level to increase in the future. In 2009, significant
growth was also recorded for public expenditure
on tertiary education (by 7.2%). Direct expenditure
on educational institutions rose in particular, which
is linked to additional jobs, the provision of funds
to eliminate wage disparities and the funding of
development tasks and equipment. Expenditure
1
Total public expenditure on education comprises the total
budgetary expenditure on formal education of youth and adults
at central and local levels. It includes direct public expenditure
on educational institutions and transfers to households
(scholarships, subsidies for meals, transport, accommodation,
textbooks, etc.). Financial data for Slovenia are gathered using
internationally comparable methodology based on the UOE
questionnaire (a joint questionnaire of UNESCO, OECD and
Eurostat).
2
The share of total public expenditure on education in GDP
is calculated with regard to the GDP revision, SORS release,
August 2011.
3
The White Paper on Education and Training in the RS from 2011
anticipates a lowering of preschool standards to no more than
12 children per class unit in the first age period and the ratio of
children to adults in a class unit to 6:1 for nine hours per day. In
the second age period, the class unit should have no more than
20 children and the ratio of children to adults should be 10:1
six hours per day. The standard for advisers should be reduced
from 30 class units to 20.
on transfers for students/households grew as well,
yet much less. During SDS implementation, public
expenditure increased most notably at the pre-school
and tertiary levels of education, which also recorded
higher enrolment, in contrast to public expenditure
on upper secondary education, which declined due
to a lower number of students.
Slovenia allocates the bulk of public expenditure
on education for primary education. In 2009, public
expenditure on pre-school education totalled 0.56%
of GDP in Slovenia; according to data for 2008 (the
most recent available international data), it was
somewhat below the EU average. The increase in
these expenses is related to EU policies and national
policies for improving the participation of children
in this level of education. Accounting for the largest
share in total public expenditure, expenditure on
primary education totalled 2.49% of GDP in 2009.
For upper secondary education, 1.26% of GDP was
allocated in Slovenia in 2009, 0.12 p.p. less than at
the beginning of SDS implementation in 2005. Public
expenditure on tertiary education totalled 1.38% of
GDP in 2009, 0.13 p.p. more than in 2005. In 2008, its
share in GDP was somewhat higher than in the EU as
a whole (1.14% of GDP).
The share of public expenditure on transfers to
students/households 4 at the tertiary level declined
in 2009, but is still relatively substantial. Having
totalled 7.8% for all levels of education in 2009, the
share has been declining for several years, but it
nevertheless exceeded the EU average (6.4%) in 2008.
The share of public expenditure on transfers at the
tertiary level also dropped in 2009 (to 22.1%), but it is
much higher on average than in the EU (2008: 16.7%).
In the period of the implementation of SDS, the
shares of public expenditure on transfers for all levels
of education and at the tertiary level of education
declined.
4
Public transfers on education comprise scholarships,
child benefits in the part where an additional condition for
payment is participation in education, subsidies for transport,
meals, accommodation, textbooks, learning technology and
professional literature, etc.