Educational planning, in its broadest generic sense, is the application of rational, systematic analysis to the process of educational development with the aim of making education more effective and efficient in responding to the needs and goals of its students and society.
Coombs, Philip. 1970. What is educational planning? Fundamentals of Educational Planning 1. Paris: UNESCO-IIEP.
At the beginning of the 1960s, educational planning was seen as a must for the newly independent countries in order to allow them to move ahead quickly and systematically with their human resource development. Planning Units were set up in Ministries of Education but were highly dependent on external expertise (IIEP, 2010: 9).
Carron, Gabriel, Khalil Mahshi, Anton De Grauwe, Dorian Gay, and Sulagna Choudhuri. 2010. Strategic planning: concept and rationale. Paris: UNESCO-IIEP.