Overview of the PNG Education Capacity Building Program 2003 - 2008

Program overview

The Education Capacity Building Program (ECBP) is a partnership between the Government of Australia and Papua New Guinea. The ECBP is a ten-year program of developmental assistance coinciding with the National Education Plan (2005-2014).

Program goal and purpose

The goal of ECBP is to strengthen the capacity of the national education system at the national, provincial and district levels to achieve quality improvements in education service delivery and, where appropriate, support local service delivery. The main components are:

• organisational systems development
• improved service delivery systems
• improved performance management systems
• program management.

Strengthening and embedding PNG Department of Education processes

ECBP philosophy and practice is building capacity through strengthening Department of Education (DoE) processes. The opportunity to do this occurs at every turn and relates to personnel systems, processes, and policies.

Sector wide approach

Papua New Guinea and its development partners are developing a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) to education planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation with the objective of improving education outcomes in PNG. ECBP supports developing an Education SWAp against the goals of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) and the Papua New Guinea Commitment to Aid Effectiveness (2008).

ECBP is supporting the SWAp through support of the Education Sector Improvement Program (ESIP) and the DoE Secretariat. Through the ESIP all significant public funding in the education sector will support a single policy and expenditure program, under PNG government leadership. There will be common approaches adopted across the education sector, and increasing reliance on PNG government procedures to disburse and account for all funds.

SWAp principles are evolving both in theory and application. ECBP is developing and improving the ESIP through monitoring international developments in SWAp models and applying lessons learned from international and PNG experience with SWAps.

Links with other activities

ECBP is working closely with the Basic Education Development Program to support Education and is part of extensive development support across the public sector. As progress is made in the SWAp, strategic links with other aid strategies such as the Sub National Strategy and relevant government departments will continue. Aid effectiveness is contingent on this coordination, cooperation and understanding.