Making the Grade? Analyzing the State of Education across Asia, from Grade School to Trade School

Abstract

Education attacks poverty at its roots, laying the groundwork for achieving all development goals. Teaching children to read and write, for example, not only improves their employment prospects, but also better attunes them to their country's development goals - all of which depend on disseminating important information to be successful. As such, literacy is the foundational cornerstone for development.

This edition of Development Asia takes stock of the region's successes and remaining challenges in the education sector. The issue looks at different approaches to reform the educational system to advance national interests, from building elite universities to strengthening vocational programs. A story on the Republic of Korea relates efforts of the state to wean students' overdependence on private tutoring, which is jacking up the cost of education. "Preparing for a Windfall" talks about how Mongolia is consolidating its economic gains by investing in schools - even in the Gobi Desert.