Educational Finance in Thailand - UNESCO Bangkok

Final Report, Volume II/3 Anthony. Cresswell: Educational Finance UNESCO-PROAP TA 2996-THA
Education Management and Finance Study July 1999
3.5.2. Development and implementation strategies
a. The success of the reforms recommended here will depend in large part on the
efforts and abilities of educators and other officials at the provincial, district, and
LEA levels. They will be called upon to work in new ways, solve new problems,
and apply new skills and techniques. They will need training and support to
succeed. This need suggests three strategies for training and human resource
issues. For the financial recommendations, the primary actors will be
administrators so they are the main focus of attention here. One strategy is to
assess the existing skills and abilities of these administrators. Our field visits
revealed a number of school principals with high levels of skill and welldeveloped
systems for budget management and decision making. A training
strategy should build in these strengths, and include identification of those areas
and issues in need of greatest investment. A survey of administrators and focus
group sessions in various regions could reveal the high priority areas in need of
attention. Administrator organizations should be involved in these assessment
activities to make best use of their expertise, and to ensure that the effort is not
seen as an evaluation of individuals.
b. A second strategy would include gradual introduction of the new budget
processes and administrative procedures in pilot projects for testing and
adjustment. The pilot projects should be located in mix of provinces, some of
which with relatively well developed central and local capacities and others with
less. This would allow for an exploration of the full range of problems likely to be
encountered as implementation is expanded throughout the country. Experience in
these pilot projects would provide useful experience in identifying the training and
support needs of administrators at each level.
3.5.3. Decentralization and budget control: the need for flexibility and quality
control
Schools cannot be responsive to reform initiatives from the central Government,
or to consumer preferences if they are tightly constrained by rules and budget
regulations. Existing line-item control of budgets from the central level of
Government seems far too restrictive. The main reasons for this kind of control,
quality assurance and avoidance of corruption, can be achieved by other, less
intrusive means. The mechanisms are in place already for effective reporting of
school budgets and auditing of school expenditures. Review of these information
sources by local and higher-level government officials can assure that resources
are being properly used. School officials can be more responsible for budget
decisions as long as the mechanisms for accountability are in place as well. The
central level is concerned as well with total expenditure and controlling
obligations for subsidies to the provinces and school levels. However, these
controls can be exercised at the aggregate level, and maintain overall national
spending policies without intruding in the local level resource allocation
mechanisms. Therefore the budget system at the national level should be
concerned primarily with the aggregate levels of support for education. The
existing mechanisms for reporting and auditing of schools budgets should be
improved and made subject to assessment and monitoring by the Central
Government.
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