In line with the Paris Declaration, IIEP advocates for education sector strategic plans to be developed under the leadership of ministries of education in a participatory manner in which national stakeholders as well as international partners are included. IIEP support is aimed at creating a critical mass of planners, usually in departments of planning, who become technically autonomous in leading planning processes.
In a number of countries, IIEP has also been involved in supporting ministries of education in the implementation of their national strategic plans. This requires a combination of formal training and on-the-job mentoring for yearly operational planning processes, monitoring and evaluation. Beyond developing capacities for planning, IIEP also advocates for a culture of periodic joint review and rolling of strategic plans with the active participation of stakeholders and partners.
Recently, three ministries finalized and published their national education sector strategic plans with IIEP’s assistance:
Although the three countries' contexts are quite different, the process of plan preparation was quite similar:
- various ministry units formed teams and participated in plan formulation,
- from the onset, consultation meetings were held at various stages with development partners and national stakeholders,
- the endorsement and publication of a plan has already triggered movement towards yearly joint reviews and a Sector-Wide Approach process (SWAp).
Operational Planning
In the three countries, capacity development for plan implementation has already started. In the process, Ministries are learning-by-doing, while producing yearly operational plans at central and decentralized levels (all the way down to school level in Egypt and the Occupied Palestinian Territories).
In the case of Afghanistan, it is the first time that the country has produced a sector plan. In addition to using the plan as a negotiating and fundraising tool nationally and internationally, it has enabled the Ministry of Education to assume a leadership role in its partnership with international donors and other development agencies. Similar use is made of the plans in Egypt (also producing such a modern strategic plan for the first time) and in the Palestinian Territories.
