Balancing National and Local Responsibilities [antikvár]

Foreword The chapters in this book were prepared under the "Local Government Policy Partnership" Program. This is a joint project of two donor organizations: the British Government's Department for International Development (DFID), and the Local Government and Public Service Initiative (LGI) of the Open Society Institute, Budapest, which launched this régiónál program. The "Local Government Policy Partnership" (LGPP) projects intend to contribute to policy development and innovations in Central and Eastern European countries. LGPP hopes to develop expertise and to support professional cooperation among local government specialists throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Parallel to this, experiences from this region should be made available in Central and Eastern Europe, and in Central Asia. The core partner countries are the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. However, other countries have been invited to participate in these régiónál projects, which would help direct information exchange and comparison of policy efforts. Planned LGPP publications include policy studies and proposals discussed with government officials and experts in the countries involved. Targeted beneficiaries of LGPP projects are national government ministries, local government associations, research and training institutions, and individual local authorities throughout the CEE region. LGI intends to publish three studies each year. In 2000-2001, (the first year of LGPP operádon), the following policy areas were selected: a) Education financing and management; b) Reguládon and competition of local utility services, and c) Public perception of local governments. Readers of this publication will find detailed information on the management and financing of primary, secondary and vocational schools in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. The book focuses particularly on the varied divisions of responsibility between the State, local government and school managements and the way these have evolved over the past decade. The overview chapter analyses the differences between the four countries in the allocation of responsibilities and assesses the influence these may have on the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of the educational system. Kenneth Davey & Gábor Péteri