As stated in the international education policy framework of 2001, the NPT should be demand-driven, meaning that the recipient countries indicate what their priorities are for support of post-secondary education and training capacity. At that time it was already realised that the demand-driven approach would not be implemented in the same way in all countries.
This assumption that was made in 2001 has indeed turned out to be right. We have found that the involvement of the national governments in the demand identification process varies considerably between countries. This is partly due to the level of centralisation of the state in general. In countries like Ethiopia and Vietnam, the government is the main stakeholder in the identification process. In countries like Uganda, Colombia and Guatemala the role of the national government is less prominent. The sectors are in principle chosen by the Embassy and are consistent with the focal sectors of the bilateral relationship between the Netherlands and the beneficiary country.
4.2.1 Harmonisation with the national government priorities
Given the central role of the government in the identification process in Vietnam, there is no doubt about the close link with the policy priorities of the government. The current oversight of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and line ministries is an almost sure guarantee for the existence of that link. It has also resulted in a broadening stakeholder involvement beyond a single institution. In many cases multiple institutions of higher education as well as ministerial departments benefit from the capacity building effort.
In the case of Vietnam the central government structures have a strong say in what will happen at institutional level. Projects proposed by an institution—after the RNE has identified or recognised the institution as a valid instance for sector-related capacity building—go through a lengthy and complicated approval process in which the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) plays a central role.
So far the prevailing conditions in Vietnam have been responsible for significant delays in the approval process of the NPT projects. In many cases it also has held up implementation (for an entire year in the case of VNM/007) due to the requirement that projects that had been approved at the outline stage needed to be re-approved after the tendering procedure had led to adaptations and the identification of a collaborating northern partner institution or consortium.
It is noted, on the other hand, that the involvement of central government has also had positive effects. In some cases it was MPI that suggested seeking a response to an institutional demand via one of the two Netherlands programmes for capacity building. MPI’s role has also led to broadening the range of Vietnamese beneficiaries of NPT projects, considering that demands originally identified with one or two major institutions were equally shared by lesser ones spread across the country. Typically, many of the NPT projects list a large number of Vietnamese project partners.
Also in Tanzania the areas that have been chosen for NPT support fit very well with the priorities and policies of the government. The Government of Tanzania (GoT) has for instance emphasised the need to transform the education system by developing the culture of entrepeneurship as a tool in the struggle against poverty. In Tanzania it is difficult for graduates to find jobs and therefore it is important that graduates are stimulated to start their own business. Not “finding employment” but “creating employment” is the message that they are being given. For this, graduates need to develop entrepreneurial skills. NPT project outputs, such as mainstreaming of entrepreneurship in curricula, development of MBA programmes, and provision of business development services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are therefore in line the policy and initiatives of the Government of Tanzania.
Decentralisation is an important policy objective of the GoT. Moreover, in the poverty reduction strategy, the improvement of social service delivery at local level is seen as a critical element in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Tanzania. However, capacity at local government levels is weak, which is a constraint to
transferring authorities and responsibilities. Under the Local Government Reform Programme (LGRP), local authorities are offered a capacity building grant to invest in staff development. The LGRP has facilitated the design of standard training courses in financial management, human resource management, planning etc. to ensure that local authorities have access to quality and consistent curricula. Universities and other education institutes that play an important role in the training of local government personnel are accredited to be allowed to offer these standard courses to local authorities. This is a short-term approach to capacity building. The accredited education institutes are now also targeted under the NPT programme to strengthen their capacity on longer term. In the NPT projects they develop curricula that better address the needs at local
government levels, both for pre-service and in-service education and training. The NPT is therefore complementary to the LGRP and, albeit indirectly, contributes to the
decentralisation policy of the government.
4.2.2 Bilateral sectors versus higher education sector
Some tension exists in the ambition level of the NPT programme (e.g. formulating objectives at sector level) versus the scope of the interventions (capacity building of a particular higher education institute). Demand identification starts at national level with the needs of a sector, but the NPT project activities take place at the level of the
individual education institutes. The wider context, however, is important to achieve the results at the sector level. For instance, for the aim of business development in Tanzania, the creation of an entrepreneurial attitude through the NPT projects is an important aspect, but other factors need to be addressed as well, such as the non-transparent complicated legal framework, criminality, high taxes, infrastructure and corruption. Developing entrepreneurial skills is no guarantee that the private sector will improve as long as these barriers have not been removed. The NPT projects should therefore not be seen in isolation, but developments in the wider (policy) framework should be taken into account as well. The institutional context in which the NPT projects are implemented are an essential factor for achieving the desired results at sector level. NPT is only one element.
Related to this, there is a potential tension in the set-up of the NPT programme. Is the core focus of NPT on the bilateral sectors or on the higher education sector? If it is the first, the institutional context of the particular sector becomes more important. In some countries it might even become more important than what actually happens in the NPT projects. For instance, the non-transparant complicated legal framework might be a bigger obstacle for business development in Tanzania than the lack of an entrepreneurial
attitude, while only the latter is being addressed through the NPT projects. In other words, the objectives of the NPT programme are formulated at sector level and go further than what can directly be achieved through the NPT interventions in the higher education sector. Consequently, it could therefore be debated whether NPT in all cases is the right programme for achievement of sector objectives? Without saying that NTP cannot contribute to achieving sector objectives or that it does not have an added value, it could be argued whether the focus on achieving broad sector objectives is the most appropriate point of entry for a programme that is limited in its interventions to developing capacity of higher education institutes.
It might be more realistic to take the strengthening of the higher education institutes as the first point of entry in the NPT programme, which still can be made supportive to attainment of bilateral sector objectives. In that case, the institutional and policy context of the higher education sector should be given more attention. For instance, in Tanzania the NPT programme has been formulated first of all from the perspective of the bilateral sectors (business development and decentralisation), whereas the perspective of the higher education sector - including the role and involvement of the Ministry of Higher Education – has got little attention. The higher education sector in Tanzania is very fragmented at present. Reform of the sector is needed, but that requires more than the present isolated NPT interventions at individual higher education institutes.