EU-SWAP FOR EDUCATION - EU EDUCATION SWAp Project

EuropeAid/127858/D/SER/KOS Support to the implementation of the education sector-wide approach in Kosovoof technical assistance. It would be appropriate for the Permanent Secretary (PS) to chair, as he willhave the necessary authority, delegated by the Minister, to direct the process. It will report to theMinister of education and the SWAp Steering Committee (see Activity 1.1.3 below).The Task Force will:• Identify a set of clear priorities for education and develop a draft strategic plan for the sectorderived from the relevant Laws and government policies, including the Law on Pre‐Universityeducation, the Law on Higher Education and The Law on Public Administration. Policies andLaws relating to such matters as minority group and inclusions will also inform the planningprocess• organise itself into sub‐groups for some of this work and co‐opt other participants in order toconduct the necessary detailed work on sub‐sectoral elements, which in turn will feed intothe overall plan• commission a costing exercise which will establish the cost of the overall package ofmeasures identified in the plan, comparing the overall cost with the known budget envelop,taking into consideration government, donor and other funding as far as is possible‐this maywell indicate a financing gap between what is available and what is required to fund the plan• revisit and adjust the draft plan to prioritise the sub‐sectoral elements to narrow or close thefinancing gap‐some of this may be achieved by modifying the targets in the plan either inscale or/and in timescale; this process may go through several iterations to achieve thenecessary balanced relationship between plan and budget• once the draft overall plan has been agreed by government, develop a draft annual workplan and budget• present the draft plans to the SWAP Steering Committee and through it to MEST and aconference of representatives of government, donor partners and other key stakeholders atthe first annual joint Annual Review.Much of this process has been clearly described and explained in the Kosovo Roadmap for ImprovedEducation Sector Performance and Aid Effectiveness (July 2008)’.Membership of the SWAp Task Force should include the heads of key departments within MEST. Theactual membership will be the subject of deliberation and decision in the implementation phase, butthese could be, for example, officials directing cross‐cutting and oversight departments, especiallystrategic planning, financial management, human resource and teacher management, teachertraining and curriculum development functions. There should also be representation of key subsectors,such as primary and secondary, tertiary, technical and vocational, and higher education. Itwill also be necessary to secure the involvement at a high level of the Ministry of Economy andFinance, as it is essential for that Ministry both to understand fully the financial implications of theSWAp and also to inform the Task Force on all the necessary financial dimensions to be considered,and participate significantly in the decisions made by the Task Force. In recognition of the key roleundertaken by Municipalities, the latter should be represented by at least two members, one ofwhich should be from a large urban municipality and the other from a small rural one. In order tocomply with GoK’s commitment to engage non‐majority groups, it is proposed that a representativeof non‐majority groups, to be identified in consultation with MEST and ICO, should be a member ofthe Task Force. Donor Partners will also be represented by one of their number, as agreed by thedonor group. It is suggested that this be the agency currently elected to be the focal point, Sida.1.1.1 Sub‐activities 1.1. Write ToR for the departmental working group for Component 11.2. Work with MEST on task force membership1.3. Organise and participate in regular monthly meetings of the task force19