The last two decades have witnessed numerous changes in the administrative systems of many less developed countries. A few have centralised their administrations, but a larger number have decentralised. Usually education has been affected as part of overall changes, though occasionally reforms in education have been initiated independently of other sectors. This paper begins by discussing the meaning of decentralisation. It points out that the term is vague, that systems may have many contradictory strands, and that the terminology and processes may not be understood even by those in charge of decentralisation projects. The paper then discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different structures, and the experiences of several countries during the 1970s and 1980s. Particular prominence is given to events in Papua New Guinea.
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Mark Bray (1985) studied this question.