Banking on key reforms for educational development : a critique of the World Bank Review

Abstract

In the autumn of 1995 the World Bank produced an Education Review of the state of the world's educational development called 'Priorities and Strategies for Education.' In it the progress made since 1980, together with the ongoing problems are analysed and a number of key recommendations, or strategies for improvement are made. While claiming not to be a policy paper the Review is quite clearly aimed at policy makers in developing countries as well as Bank officials. It is couched in general terms, though there are specific references to developments in key regions of the World. The Mediterranean Region falls between two stools - Europe and the Middle East and North African Regions. It also suffers because there is little mention of small states and the Mediterranean has a number of these. Nevertheless, given the influence of the World Bank on helping to shape ideas and policies, this is an important paper for every region of the World. This paper, therefore, seeks to look at the rationale for the review, the main arguments and recommendations put forward and the concerns that are thrown up by these. It is probably more what is not in the review than what is that raises anxieties, but at the end of the day, because the Review is a banker's and an economist's document, those issues that concern social scientists and educationists are often the issues most frequently overlooked. Time alone will tell which approach is the right one.