Abstract
The paper examines the extent to which sub-national public officials are efficient in delivering basic education services and argues that technical inefficiencies, especially in the management of public funds for education, could potentially contribute to poor education service delivery in South Africa. A conceptual framework is proposed to show the underlying mechanisms by which these technical inefficiencies can adversely affect education outcomes. The analysis is based on two micro-level surveys that were applied at 175 public primary schools and 13 district education offices (DEOs) in two provinces in South Africa: the North-West Province and Gauteng. The analysis reveals that South Africa has a well-planned decentralised structure to administer education. However, districts have significant human resource constraints. Capacity is often lacking and record-keeping, particularly of financial information, is very poor. Lack of technical efficiency has resulted in misappropriation of funds (leakage) and extensive delays in remitting funds to schools. The paper concludes that these inefficiencies potentially affect education outcomes and therefore should be given due consideration when designing and implementing education policy reforms.
Highlights
In many emerging economies in Africa and worldwide, sizable investments have been made in primary education with the expectation of a skilled and healthy labour force, increased productivity, higher wages and high employment rates
The study relied on data obtained from the schools by asking the principals how much they expected to receive from the government and how much they received
21 schools from the 175 schools surveyed reported incidents of leakage. Thirteen of these were in Gauteng province and eight were in North-West Province
Summary
In many emerging economies in Africa and worldwide, sizable investments have been made in primary education with the expectation of a skilled and healthy labour force, increased productivity, higher wages and high employment rates. Despite these investments, the global south continues to trail behind in terms of these desired outcomes. This study essentially cautions against the temptation to respond to education deficiencies by increasing expenditure as is done in many developing and emerging countries It argues that some focus on the technical capacity of governments to manage resources and deliver quality services. Are the current, decentralised education structures optimally designed to promote sound education outcomes? Is there adequate financial management capacity at the local government level? Are district offices properly equipped to enable officials to fully perform their functions? Are local education authorities provided with an enabling environment that incentivises optimal delivery of social services? Are government officials efficient in delivering good quality education services?
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