2 . Education sector diagnosis
financing in the system as data on investments from development partners are not centrally managed in the MoE . Additionally , although annual budget objectives and key performance indicators are derived from goals and strategies articulated in existing policy documents , the organization of the Budget Estimates documents , with respect to budgeted line items contained therein , does not facilitate the monitoring of expenditure in relation to budget objectives ; this makes it very difficult to systematically analyse Ministry progress in aligning expenditure with policy priorities ( GoSKN , 2014a ; World Bank , 2015a ).
Efforts to take stock of existing challenges related to access and participation , and quality and relevance in education , and to analyse the effectiveness and efficiency of public spending and development aid in the sector would shed light on barriers to existing resource allocation to meet sector objectives .
2.5 . Governance and management
Based on provisions in The Saint Christopher and Nevis Constitution Order 1983 ( Constitution ), education governance is deconcentrated between the GoSKN and the NIA with respect to education policy . This is to ensure compliance with polices set at the Federal level . Governance is decentralized with respect to administrative and financial responsibilities , as the GoSKN MoE is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the education system in St . Kitts , and the NIA is responsible for the same operations in Nevis . In each jurisdiction , overall governance is centralized within the Ministry of Education .
The legal framework for governance and management in the sector is provided by the 2005 Education Act and its accompanying regulations . Significantly , in terms of distributing governance responsibilities , the Act sanctions the establishment of several entities that could aid in management throughout the sector . However , some of these bodies are not functioning effectively ( e . g . the Education Advisory Board ), while others have not yet been established ( e . g . the Council on Early Childhood Education , the Education Review Committee , the National Student Council and the National PTA Association , School Boards ). Additionally , although education legislation is quite comprehensive , there is a need in some instances for reform to ensure legislation supports policy priorities . For example , corporal punishment is legislated as a mechanism of last resort with respect to student discipline , yet SKN has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ( CRC ) and adopted the UNICEF-supported Effective / Child-Friendly Schools ( CFS ) Framework , which is rooted in the CRC . As corporal punishment erodes children ’ s right to attend school in a safe environment free from harm , existing legislation provides a challenge to effective implementation of the Effective / CFS framework .
Beyond the need to ensure that legislation undergirds policy directives , several other governance constraints have been identified and are presented below :
❚ Policy development and coordination is fragmented , which negatively impacts effective policy implementation , as indicated in the 2016 UNESCO SKN Education Policy Review . For example , since the publication of the White Paper in 2009 , more than a dozen policies covering areas such as , but not limited to , ICT in education , curriculum , school safety and maintenance , student behaviour , and teacher performance appraisals have been developed to support improved education provision ; however , all remain in draft form and are yet to be fully implemented . Additionally , there is a need to develop and implement policies to guide monitoring and evaluation of equity in the system , as well as financial , material , and human resource management . With respect to the latter , policies on succession planning , teacher training , and continuous professional development are key . Notably , to strengthen this strategic function , the GoSKN has appointed an officer in the Education Planning Division with responsibility for supporting the Permanent Secretary ( PS ) in policy development and coordination .
❚ The organizational structure and functions of MoE positions are unclear . For example , over time reporting protocols as depicted in the MoE organigram do not correspond with actual reporting practices and overlapping functions have emerged between MoE Departments , without a clear understanding of how such functions may be complementary ( e . g . curriculum oversight by Curriculum Officers versus Education Officers ) ( World Bank , 2015a ). Further , staff at all levels have noted a lack of clarity with respect to roles and responsibilities , as many job descriptions are out of date , and for some positions none exist . This breakdown in organizational structure and functions contributes to low levels of accountability in the system .
❚ Long-term resource planning ( human , financial , and material ) is not in place , and information and data needed for decision making at the Ministry and school levels are fragmented , insufficient , or unavailable in some cases . This is largely due to limitations in the existing Education Management Information System ( EMIS ) system . While the overall quality of the SKN EMIS , as measured by the World Bank SABER – EMIS Assessment tool ( SEAT ), was better than the OECS average ( the SKN overall score was 0.65 in comparison to the OECS average of 0.59 ) ( World Bank , 2012 ), the system does not capture a sufficiently wide range of information ( e . g . budgetary , teaching force , student performance and enrolment by stream , socioeconomic , tertiary , etc .) to effectively monitor performance and equity in the system . Additionally , there is
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