Educational Finance in Thailand - UNESCO Bangkok

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Final Report, Volume II/3 Anthony. Cresswell: Educational Finance UNESCO-PROAP TA 2996-THA Education Management and Finance Study July 1999 The existing loan and scholarship programs are functional and could be increased to maintain educational opportunity for lower income students. 3.3.3 Administration of financial autonomy The current systems for budgeting and accounting in higher education institutions are not designed for autonomous management. If the individual campuses are to make best use of their financial authority, they will need a financial information system to support decision-making. Such systems should be based on the same sort of uniform accounting structure and generally accepted accounting practices as are developed for the local education authorities. However, the systems should also be adaptable to the needs of the various sized and types of higher education institutions in Thailand. This is in part a relatively straightforward technical problem that could be solved through use of existing computer systems and software designed for higher education and government agencies, and adapted to the Thai context. However, it is also in greater part a human resource and organization problem. The institutions will need to develop the organizational structures and human resources to engage in effective financial management in the new environment. This will require training of administrators and faculty, and the development of new internal organizational structures and procedures for financial decision making and planning. These concerns should be part of the overall implementation plans for financial reforms. 3.4. Implementation issues 3.4.1 Transparency and allocation policy deliberations There are advantages in terms of transparency to be found in a budget allocation system that relies on clear and simple formulas and standards as the bases for distribution. The system described here uses formulas and standard amounts as that basis. Therefore the policy dialog on educational resource allocation can focus on these formulas and standards as the main content of policy. The basis for decisions is open to review and encourages the participation of relevant stakeholders in the deliberative processes. This improves transparency and can solidify support for policies so derived. Similarly, allocation policies can be adjusted readily to achieve the desired policy objectives, in terms of equity, access to resources, etc. 3.4.2. Alternative finance system structure: charter school service areas a. The finance scheme described above is based on an assumption of relatively low levels of local administrative autonomy and readiness to assume fiscal responsibility for schools. Therefore the general finance policy mechanisms described above provide a means of financing basic education throughout the country, and as such are the default policy for all areas. However, a finance system can also allow for alternative financial and governance arrangements for areas that do not fit the assumptions for the country as a whole. There may be areas of Thailand where there is both readiness and desire for alternative systems with greater local control. Therefore the overall finance system should contain provisions that allow for such variation. 106
Final Report, Volume II/3 Anthony. Cresswell: Educational Finance UNESCO-PROAP TA 2996-THA Education Management and Finance Study July 1999 b. The system proposed here, based on the concept of Charter School Service Areas, is such a provision. This new policy would provide a mechanism through which local governments could create alternative finance and administrative mechanisms that better fit local conditions. That mechanism would require new legislation allowing for the creation of a new kind of government unit for providing basic education: a charter school service area. This would be accomplished by allowing the local residents to develop a charter as a legal document, defining a new special government unit to provide school services. The charter would describe the means for finance and governance of the area, including taxation and decision making processes. This charter, if ratified by the provincial and central government, would then supersede the standard finance and administrative arrangements for that area. For example, if a collection of, say, three sub-district administrative units wanted to combine their resources to provide a new secondary school, they might develop a charter to define a charter school service area composed of the three sub-districts. The new unit would then have the authority to raise tax revenues, construct new facilities, and operate its own schools. Thus such a policy mechanism could encourage local initiative, creativity, and adaptation to local needs and circumstances. Since the concept of school charters is already established and encouraged in many schools, the foundation for success of such an approach has already been established. 3.4.3 Province as fiscal agent a. The proper administration of block grants and local school budgets will require changes in the financial management arrangements at the provincial and local levels. The financial management responsibilities will increase significantly at the level of the local educational authorities, since they will have full budget discretion over their block grant allocations. It is not reasonable to assume that all these local schools and administrators will initially have the necessary tools or skills for these added responsibilities. Therefore a two-part approach is recommended. The first should be a program of training and management support for local school administrators. The second recommendation is to make the provincial education office (or in large districts the district education office) the fiscal agent of the local education authority (LEA). The block grant would represent a fixed amount of spending authority for each LEA, but the funds would actually reside in an account at the provincial level. The LEA would then prepare a budget and send it to the provincial financial office, not for approval, but for recording without modification as the basis for expenditures. Actual disbursements would then be made from the block grant account according to purchase orders or other authorization (such as for salaries) from the LEA. The provincial finance office would provide regular (e.g., monthly) reports to each LEA for their management uses. LEA's could shift funds within their spending authority as necessary. They could also maintain small cash accounts for petty expenditures at the local level. Through such a system, a relatively modest investment in accounting systems and management staff at the provincial (or district) level would support full budget discretion for LEA's, while maintaining good accounting and financial management practices. 107
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- Volume II/3 - Educational Finance
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Table of Contents A. Executive Summ
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Table of Tables Table 1 Adjustments
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Page 137 and 138: Description of flows of financial i
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8. Please place an X in a box below
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enrollment as a whole growing at an
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Figure 1: Thailand’s Development
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Table 5: Crude transition rates of
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and level of education, 1993 and 19
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2.31 Questionable quality of educat
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income inequality between agricultu
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4.1.4. The percentages calculated f
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Table 11: Public and Private sector
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4.3.8. As would be expected, unempl
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5.7 The dilemma is to balance the s
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Table 14: Unemployment and Underemp
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there any activities that would be
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References Chalongphob Sussangkarn
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Appendix 6 BMA Voucher Policy A. Lo
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Appendix 7 Finance Allocation Metho
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Appendix 8 Program Structure of the
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Not all possible flows are show, si
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Appendix 11 Results of Regression A
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Educational Finance in Thailand - UNESCO Bangkok

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