Our Framework Policies and Strategies: Education

Abstract

In 1988, when the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved the education policy paper,1 it officially recognized, for the first time, basic education as a human right. It also acknowledged that investment in the sector should extend far beyond ADB’s traditional focus on technical-vocational and higher education. In the following decade, the region and ADB experienced enormous change. Education is now recognized as a prerequisite for development, both economic and human development. Basic education—especially for girls and women—is acknowledged as being closely linked to the achievement of other human development indicators such as lower infant mortality rates and reduced fertility rates. The incidence of child labor also declines with education enrollment. Investment in education is synergistic, leading to greater utilization and greater impact of investments in other areas of social infrastructure such as health, nutrition, sanitation, and the environment. An educated population is more productive and more likely to use modern methods and technologies. An educated workforce is easier to train and better able to acquire new skills and technologies required as economies develop. The question is not whether to invest in education, but how such investment can be targeted most effectively in the different context of each country to ensure maximum human, social, and economic benefits.