Focus Areas

One of the goals of the Education Support Program is to support sustainable reforms in general education and to promote accountability in its governance. ESP has designed survey instruments and research methodology for a study on parental informal payments to education (PIPES).

Seven countries have been selected to participate in the project: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Moldova, Slovakia, and Tajikistan. The project will produce an international policy paper and country-specific policy papers, which will focus on schools as the recipients of various financial donations and whether these resources affect equal access to schooling. In addition, the study will explore the needs and forms of private contributions to schools. This would analyze the share of private funding in state-financed education and observe how it is administrated and accounted for.

A pilot project was conducted in Azerbaijan based on the methodology and instruments ESP developed. In each country, a research group was formed that is responsible for data collection, producing national reports, and advocacy activities. The groups share methodology and research experience in three seminars which help adjust instruments to country needs and allow for agreement on methodology and techniques of data collection.

Study results will be further used for advocacy and awareness-raising in the participating countries. The format of advocacy activities can be chosen by country teams in order to meet country needs.

For more information, please contact Indra Dedze, indra@lanet.lv.