ANTRIEP

Asian Network of Training and Research Institutions in Educational Planning 

Created in 1995, this network has grown from 13 original members to 20 institutions from 12 countries. Its overall objective is to create synergy to enable participating institutions to address the needs for skill development in educational management in the region. 

Strengthening Asian Institutions

There has been an impressive acceleration in the demand for training education planners and managers at different levels of decision making in recent years for two reasons: the gradual expansion of educational management structures, and the trend towards decentralization and school autonomy. Both have broadened the range of actors requiring new management skills. 

Building a critical mass of skilled managers at all levels is increasingly seen as a prerequisite for improving the functioning of existing education systems, implementing the ambitious goals of education for all and developing human resource targets set by national governments. This in turn implies the development of a strong institutional framework for training different categories of personnel level. 

In Asia, several institutions are involved in training and research in educational planning and management. Yet despite their long-standing experience in assisting their respective governments to strengthen planning and management capacities, they had no established mechanism for exchanging experiences amongst themselves for a long time. As a result, the level of communication between these institutions was generally poor and many were eager to increase interaction and engage in co-operative activities. 

In order to achieve this goal, a network of national and regional Asia institutions was created in December 1995, with the support of IIEP. It was considered that such a network would effectively harness the capacity building potential available within the region by strengthening individual member institutions and placing them in a better position to respond to the training needs of their respective countries.