Educational Governance at Local Level: Policy Paper and Evaluation Guidelines

This paper examines the relationship between education sector and decentralization, with a view to understanding the lessons attendant on policy and practice in developing countries. It questions the actions of ministries of education and their partners, in particular their efforts to develop responsive, participatory and accountable systems; it also looks at the way these ministries engage civil society (Dakar Framework for Action, 2000). The paper provides a plan for reform with respect to decentral- ization, suggesting ways for planners to meet the challenges posed by calls for change. More, it brings together a record of experience from countries across the globe, providing a snapshot of new manage- ment practices and approaches to governance. In general, it serves the purpose of strengthening a national capacity to develop, implement, and evaluate policies related to the governance of local edu- cation; it also encourages a dialogue among member states with a view to generating more South- South cooperation.