During the 2009–2013 period, a number of policy level actions have been taken The Master Plan for Secondary Education development and the operational manual for secondary education resource center are approved, a Child Friendly School Policy for basic education, and changes in curriculum development. The in-service training systems for math and sciences were developed. The local life skills, ICT, tourism curriculum is approved and library standards for secondary school have been drafted. The enrolment in and the quality of secondary education has improved a little. The repetition rate has decreased slightly but the dropout rate has not changed. More students have selected science subjects; however, the quality of student learning in these subjects is unclear as there is no national assessment test conducted at Grade 12. Scholarships were provided annually. Students achieved math and sciences medals from SEAMEO Olympiad and International Olympiad competitions. National assessment system has been institutionalized and is budgeted for. National examinations for grade 9 and 12 have been regularly conducted. The number of lower secondary schools and upper secondary schools increased. 50% of lower secondary schools have been upgraded to upper secondary school status. Secondary education resource centers (SRC) are established in each Province. 141 lower secondary schools in 8 provinces have computer labs. Regional Teacher Training Colleges and National Institute of Education offer pre-service teacher training opportunities and formal in-service basic education teacher training system is being expanded. An in-service training system for math and sciences is ready for expansion. All upper secondary school principals and some lower secondary school principals have participated in leadership and management training. Technical group leaders of SRC and its networks received training on curriculum standards. The Child Friendly School Policy has been implemented in 823 (50.74%) lower secondary schools. In terms of quality, students graduating from grade 12 need improved and relevant knowledge and skills for technical, vocational, and higher education. Many secondary schools, especially schools in rural areas, lack quality inputs and in some subject areas teachers, teaching materials and equipment, textbooks, sciences labs, computer and language labs and library packages. Teaching style currently characterized by formal lecturing, copying, recitation and memorization will be shifted to encourage thinking and reasoning skills; teacher standards will be implemented to better monitor, appraise and develop teacher performance. Technical Education is a relatively newly established function in MoEYS and a policy on Technical Education had been approved. This policy mentions the establishment of General Secondary Education and Technical Education High School (GTHS). There are currently two GTHSs, which implement four programs. All graduates from the programs found employment. The current technical education program lacks both a strong quality framework and quality inputs. There is neither an accreditation system nor a school quality assurance system and links between the school system and labour market are very limited. A school administrative and financial management system is yet to be developed. Technical education service will learn from other countries. More development partners are becoming interested in these programs.
