Afterschool Program has been established and delivered across the nation since its ambitious launching in 2005. The program mainly aims at reducing the burden from the high-rising cost of private sector education and also enhancing educational welfare. Afterschool Program which has been carried out by the Ministry of Education consists of 3 key sub-programs: Afterschool Child Care Service, Afterschool Voucher Program, and Afterschool Programs for Rural Schools.
Since primary and secondary education is under the governance of Provincial Office of Education, Afterschool Program has been designed and conducted under the direction of Provincial Offices of Education. However, ultimate accountability for the overall policy performance and effectiveness rests with the Ministry of Education and Science which provides the annual budget and policy visions of Afterschool Program.
Afterschool Program has significantly been expanded since 2005. According to the Ministry of Education and Science(2008), 99.9% of primary and secondary schools and 52.8% of students participated in Afterschool Program nationwide. Despite of such a success, however, issues have arisen regarding the performance and quality of the program.
This report reviewed overall Afterschool Program and its 3 sub-programs, focusing on budget operation, development process and performance management. This report methodologically employed literature reviews, discussion groups, and interviews with experts from related research organizations.
Main findings and recommendations of the report are as follows.
First, a performance management system needs to be developed to measure the achievement of performance goals such as reducing private education expenses and enhancing educational welfare. Also, a performance indicator should be designed to represent not only the short-term output but also the long-term outcome of the program.
Second, a more target-oriented approach should be taken for the implementation of Afterschool Program especially to school in rural regions where students have little access to educational resources. In order to carry out the program successfully in rural areas, additional support such as school buses is needed. It is also necessary to provide a variety of afterschool programs to choose from.
Third, some afterschool activity programs for primary and secondary students are currently redundant. The ministries in charge of the programs should incorporate them based on their policy target and purpose. This will help maximize budget efficiency.
Since primary and secondary education is under the governance of Provincial Office of Education, Afterschool Program has been designed and conducted under the direction of Provincial Offices of Education. However, ultimate accountability for the overall policy performance and effectiveness rests with the Ministry of Education and Science which provides the annual budget and policy visions of Afterschool Program.
Afterschool Program has significantly been expanded since 2005. According to the Ministry of Education and Science(2008), 99.9% of primary and secondary schools and 52.8% of students participated in Afterschool Program nationwide. Despite of such a success, however, issues have arisen regarding the performance and quality of the program.
This report reviewed overall Afterschool Program and its 3 sub-programs, focusing on budget operation, development process and performance management. This report methodologically employed literature reviews, discussion groups, and interviews with experts from related research organizations.
Main findings and recommendations of the report are as follows.
First, a performance management system needs to be developed to measure the achievement of performance goals such as reducing private education expenses and enhancing educational welfare. Also, a performance indicator should be designed to represent not only the short-term output but also the long-term outcome of the program.
Second, a more target-oriented approach should be taken for the implementation of Afterschool Program especially to school in rural regions where students have little access to educational resources. In order to carry out the program successfully in rural areas, additional support such as school buses is needed. It is also necessary to provide a variety of afterschool programs to choose from.
Third, some afterschool activity programs for primary and secondary students are currently redundant. The ministries in charge of the programs should incorporate them based on their policy target and purpose. This will help maximize budget efficiency.