G LO B A L E D U C AT I O N M O N I TO R I N G R E P O R T 2 0 1 6
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SUMMARY
Technical, vocational, tertiary
and adult education
TARGET 4.3
T
arget 4.3 introduces technical, vocational and tertiary education into the global development agenda. They were
considered part of Education for All, but only as support for alternate goals.
The global indicator for the target — the percentage of youth and adults participating in formal or non-formal
education or training in the previous 12 months — also embraces adult education. Hence, the GEM Report covers
technical-vocational, tertiary and adult education under target 4.3 from the angle of the three concepts in its
formulation: access, affordability and quality.
TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is provided at institutions, the workplace or a combination of
the two. Given the variety of policy frameworks, institutional arrangements and organizational approaches, national
statistical systems may only capture a partial picture, making TVET provision difficult to compare across countries.
New analysis from
12 countries shows
about 20% of youth
had participated in
workplace-based
programmes
Current monitoring mechanisms emphasize enrolment in institutions, especially those
supervised by education ministries. This considerably narrows the scope of monitoring
the target. To include workplace-based education and training requires data from labour
force, enterprise or household surveys, which need to coordinate their definitions and
questionnaires more closely. Analysis for the GEM Report from 12 countries showed about
20% of youth had participated in workplace-based programmes.
Questions of affordability should focus on the extent to which government policy helps
address inequality in TVET access. The extreme diversity of providers, cost structures,
public policies and national contexts makes it unlikely that a single indicator can describe
affordability. A possible approach might be to look at the amount of institution income covered by students,
compared with the amount of government financial support students receive.
One approach to assessing TVET quality is to focus on whether reliable standards are codified in a national qualification
framework. At least 140 countries have such frameworks. They vary in effectiveness but can help learners, providers
and employers focus on outcomes rather than how qualifications are acquired.
TERTIARY EDUCATION
Tertiary education ranges from short courses to bachelor, master and doctoral programmes. Institutions vary widely in
terms of size, cost, courses, procedures and quality. The question of equity needs to take into account hurdles at various
stages from access to graduation. Global enrolment in tertiary education doubled from 100 million in 2000 to 207 million
in 2014, but disparity across and within countries is huge. In the Philippines in 2013, 52% of the richest 25- to 29-yearolds, but only 1% of the poorest, completed at least four years of tertiary education.
Affordability in tertiary education depends on the relationship between costs and income. Total costs can be
compared with average household income levels from household surveys. While this is a useful guide, it does not show
how many young people cannot afford higher education. A possible measure is to compare the financial burden for
households with government financial assistance to households. Success in targeting those most in need should also
be monitored.
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