Results of audit Implementation of secondary and vocational

Results of audit “Implementation of secondary and vocational education system in compliance with the set objectives” State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia 13 k-5 Skanstes Street, Riga, LV-1013 Telephone: +371 67017500 Fax: +371 67017673 E-mail: lrvk@lrvk. gov. lv Home page: http: //www. lrvk. gov. lv Ieva Braumfelde Director of Audit Department 05. 09. 2008.

Contents § § § Audits in the field of education Objective of audits Organization of education system Scope of audits Key findings Audit recommendations 2

Two audits in the field of education § Implementation of Vocational Education System in Compliance with the Set Objectives completed in March 2008 § Implementation of General Education System completed in December 2007 3

Why? 4

Objective of audits (1) To gain assurance that education system achieves the objectives set in Education Law: to ensure that every resident of Latvia has the opportunity to develop his/her mental and physical potential in order to become an independent and a fully developed individual, a member of the democratic State and society of Latvia 5

Objective of audits (2) To gain assurance that education system achieves the objectives set in General Education Law: to create an environment for the development of a creative and comprehensively educated individual, as well as to create an environment for the uninterrupted continuation of the education of pupils, for the acquisition of a profession, and for an independent orientation in public and State life 6

Organization of general education system § Determines unified State policy and strategy in general education § Sets standards in education § Specifies the minimum costs for the implementation of educational programmes per student § Provides financing for teaching staff § Ensure the opportunity to obtain basic and Local governments secondary education for children within the respective administrative territory § Maintain schools, provide financing and control the utilization of financial resources Central government 7

Organization of vocational education system Central government § Determines unified State policy and strategy in vocational education § Determines standards for the professions § Owns majority of vocational schools in Latvia § Provides financing for State vocational education May establish vocational schools Local governments Private sector May establish vocational schools 8

Scope of audits (1) § Organization and management of education system § Funding of education system § Planning, qualification and work remuneration system of teaching staff § Content and quality of education system 9

Scope of audits (2) Audit on general education system: § Ministry of Education and Science (MES) and 3 subordinated institutions § 9 district local governments and 31 town (parish, region) local governments § 17 education boards § 35 general education schools § Interviews with sector experts § Questionnaire survey involving 329 teachers and 828 students 10

Scope of audits (3) Audit on vocational education system: § MES and 2 subordinated institutions § 15 subordinated vocational education schools § 1 vocational education school, where the MES is capital shareholder § Questionnaire survey sent to the State Employment Service, Employers’ Confederation of Latvia, and 5 industry associations 11

Key findings § Operation of education system in compliance with the requirements of regulatory enactments is not provided § Substantial deficiencies were disclosed regarding operation of education system § As a result – education objectives may not be achieved 12

Organization and management of education system (1) § Organization and operation of education system does not ensure achievement of set objectives to planned extent and quality: – Performance indicators are not aimed at achievement of objectives – Implementation deadlines for the objectives are not established – Specific objectives stipulated by policy documents are not included in the Strategy of MES 13

Organization and management of education system (2) § Several tasks specified within the regulatory enactments were not carried out § Objective and comprehensive assessment of the quality of education has not been ensured: – Lack of quality assessment strategy – Non-quality evaluation and licensing of education programmes § Standards for several types of vocational education programmes are not developed 14

Organization and management of education system (3) § Standards of professions are not developed for all vocational qualifications § Planning of vocational school long term development is not performed § Insufficient control at vocational schools over planning, collecting and utilization of State budget funds and legal use of real estate property 15

Planning, qualification and work remuneration system of teaching staff (1) § Planning of the required number of teaching staff is not carried out § Evaluation of teachers’ professional qualification has not been performed § Register for vocational school teaching staff has not been developed § Information in the Register for general education teaching staff is inaccurate 16

Planning, qualification and work remuneration system of teaching staff (2) § Remuneration does not reflect actual teacher’s work volume § Determination of work remuneration is not transparent § Remuneration for overtime working hours is not defined 17

Planning, qualification and work remuneration system of teaching staff (3) § Information on teachers training needs is not aggregated § Insufficient financing for further education for vocational education teaching staff (1 lat per teacher per year) 18

Content and quality of education system (1) General education: § Assurance was not gained that mandatory content of general education is based on scientifically justified approach § No particular account taken of the age periods of children, particularly those with special needs § General skills and knowledge are included as basic requirements for study subjects, but do not address the social awareness of pupils 19

Content and quality of education system (2) § Large amount of study content included in a single study subject § Insufficient time for strengthening and revision of knowledge § Lack of modern learning aids and creative teaching methods § Lack of specified and uniform procedure for evaluating study achievements 20

Content and quality of education system (3) § Learning aids necessary for implementation of education standards are not specified § Lack of uniform procedure for learning aids approbation § Rights to free of charge education are not ensured: – State financing is sufficient for 1 textbook per student per year – Students buy or rent textbooks from schools 21

Content and quality of education system (4) Vocational education: § Development and publication of learning aids in accordance with vocational educational programmes is not organised § Development and approval of model educational programmes is not provided 22

Content and quality of education system (5) § Vocational education programmes do not provide their students and students of general education programmes with equal possibilities to continue education at a higher level § Within the framework of licensed vocational education programmes, equalification level may be achieved by attending 6 fold fewer the number of course hours 23

Content and quality of education system (6) § Equal opportunities for obtaining vocational education are not provided: – Financing for purchase of books and periodicals differs 7 fold – Funding regulations (minimum costs) are not being met by all schools – Learning aids’ purchase costs per student differ 26 fold – Outdated learning aids are used for obtaining profession skills 24

Funding of education system (1) § Financing is not transparent: – Impossible to trace the amount of the allocated financing in accordance with specified objectives – Unified principles by which local governments provide funding for schools and control rational utilisation of funds are not established – Information on education programmes’ implementation costs is not aggregated 25

Funding of education system (2) § Lack of procedure for allocation of funding for vocational schools § Lack of updated information regarding necessary financing for implementation of particular education programmes in accordance with the existing situation § Funding for specific objectives is not being allocated 26

Funding of education system (3) § Non-certified vocational education programmes are financed § Minimum costs for implementation of vocational education programmes is not being ensured § All study aids necessary for implementation of education programmes are not provided § Written-off and not recorded learning aids are used in teaching process 27

Audit recommendations § Towards improving the education system and respective internal and external regulatory enactments, in order to prevent fragmented implementation of education system and facilitate improvement of education quality § 39 recommendations for general education § 49 recommendations for vocational education 28

To improve organization and management of education system (1) § To develop implementation plan for the objectives set in policy documents § To harmonize the policy documents with the Strategy of MES § To establish overall uniform performance indicators aimed at achieving objectives § To improve Registers so that their data can be used in development and implementation of education policy 29

To improve organization and management of education system (2) § To establish planning mechanisms for longterm development of vocational schools and the number of State funded students in certified vocational education programmes 30

To improve planning, qualification and work remuneration system of teaching staff (1) § To improve the work remuneration system of teaching staff: – Establish single procedure for accounting of working hours – Ensure accounting and remuneration of overtime working hours – Review working hours and duties to be handled by the teachers 31

To improve planning, qualification and work remuneration system of teaching staff (2) § To assess necessity for planning the number of teaching staff required in the country § To develop guidelines for planning of the improvement of professional skills of vocational education teachers and organization of further education courses 32

To improve content and quality of education system (1) § To improve education standards and their development process, anticipating their development based on the scientific research through involvement of sector experts and practitioners § To specify in regulatory enactments target groups that require teaching according to their specific needs 33

To improve content and quality of education system (2) § To determine skills and knowledge to be acquired at each grade, specifying clear borderlines § To determine learning aids necessary for implementation of education standards § To ensure development, approval and provision of learning aids for vocational schools 34

To improve funding of education system (1) § To restructure MES budget programmes in order to provide clear distribution of funding among respective types of education § In cooperation with local governments: – To establish unified principles by which local governments provide funding for schools and control rational utilisation of funds – To agree on sufficient local governments’ contribution to ensure learning process – Review minimum cost of general education implementation per student per year 35

To improve funding of education system (2) § To ensure students’ rights to receive education free of charge by providing learning aids for quality learning of study subjects § To establish single approach to utilization of own resources of schools § To determine unified and traceable procedure for planning of financing for vocational education 36

To improve funding of education system (3) § To estimate the necessary financing for implementation of particular vocational education programmes in accordance with the existing situation § To ensure that vocational schools are provided with all the learning aids necessary for implementation of respective vocational education programmes § To ensure equality in awarding increased scholarships at vocational schools 37

Further activities of SAO § Monitoring of implementation of recommendations, inter alia in cooperation with Parliament Committees: – Public Expenditure and Audit Committee – Education, Culture and Science Committee § Follow-up audit planned in 2010 38

Thank you for attention! The State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia Phone: +371 7017500 Fax: +371 7017673 E-mail: lrvk@lrvk. gov. lv 39