The Power of Persistence: Education System ... - EQUIP123.net

• The continuing commitment to the
use of information, evaluation, and
communications. Both the 10-Year Plan
and Plan 2021 were strongly branded with
coherent communications strategies.
Whether relatively swift or gradual,
when viewing the cumulative
experience of the past decades,
significant change has occurred.
With increasing maturity and
steady progress, the current
education system includes many
elements that will help it to move
towards the next stage of reform.
In retrospect, the reform process
has been more iterative than linear.
It is difficult to identify one actor,
project, policy, or event that made
the biggest difference—although
there have been a number of
notable individuals and programs
throughout the reform. Rather,
it is the interrelation of factors
that created the momentum to
make such dramatic change
possible. The persistent challenge
remains “one of ensuring effective
implementation of what are
often difficult institutional and
behavioral changes”
• The effective technical and financial
partnerships with donors such as USAID
enabled many of the key processes and
structures of the period. To an unusual
degree, the USAID programs in El
Salvador “accompanied” the Ministry of
Education’s reforms rather than dictating
them. The benefits of the collaboration
were exceptionally close relations and
trust between USAID, implementing
partners, and MINED officials. The
technical support contributed to
successful activities, which in turn
enhanced the credibility of each Minister
of Education. Through projects with
—From Secondary Education in El Salvador:
institutional contractors and local NGOs,
Education Reform in Progress by C. Winter
USAID played a facilitative role between
MINED and civil society. By balancing its
roles as an inside and outside actor, USAID was able to introduce new ideas
and perspectives from world experts, support and encourage local leadership,
enable productive interaction with civil society, and finance innovations and
activities that would have otherwise been difficult to achieve.
The March 2009 national elections resulted in the first FMLN president and
administration in history, breaking ARENA’s 20-year hold on political leadership.
This assumption of power by a left-wing party will introduce new and different
philosophies, priorities, and personalities. The continuity of MINED leadership
and technical expertise will be broken. In this transition, ARENA will need
to learn how to function as a minority partner, and FMLN will learn how to
manage from the leadership position. Over the coming years, the success of
previous strategies of consensus building will be tested, including the work of
the Presidential Commission in 2008. The results will only become clear over a
period of years, as investments in civil participation, capacity, and knowledge
mature throughout the system.
SECTION 2: lESSONS fROM COUNTRY CASE STUdIES
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