Technical Assistance Consultant’s Report
Project Number: 40368 June 2011
LAO People’s Democratic Republic: Secondary Education Sector Development Program (Financed by the Technical Assistance Special Fund)
Prepared by
Cambridge Education in association with the Lao Consulting Group Lao PDR
For Ministry of Education Department of Secondary Education
This consultant’s report does not necessarily reflect the views of ADB or the Government concerned, and ADB and the Government cannot be held liable for its contents. (For project preparatory technical assistance: All the views expressed herein may not be incorporated into the proposed project’s design.
Secondary Education Sector Development Program (Formerly Basic Education Sector Development Program II)
ADB TA 7555 LAO
Project Preparation Technical Assistance (PPTA)
Document FINAL REPORT June 2011
Department of Secondary Education Ministry of Education Lao PDR Document List
Document 1 BESDP II Inception Report December 2010
Document 2 BESDP II Interim Report March 2011
Document 3 SESDP Draft Final Report May 2011
Document 4 SESDP Final Report June 2011
Cambridge Education (United Kingdom) in association with the Lao Consulting Group (Lao PDR) have been contracted by ADB to provide technical assistance to the Government of Laos PDR for the preparation of the second Basic Education Sector Development Program (BESDP II) now the Secondary Education Sector Development Program SESDP. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
ADB Asian Development Bank ADF Asian Development Fund AusAid Australian Agency for International Development ASLO Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes BEGP Basic Education (Girls) Project BESDP I Basic Education Sector Development Program I BESDP II Basic Education Sector Development Program II (now SESDP) CACIM Committee on Approval of Curriculum and Instructional Materials CRC Camera Ready Copy DEB District Education Bureau DMF Design and Monitoring Framework DNFE Department of Non-formal education DOF Department of Finance, MOE DOI Department of Inspection, MOE DOP Department of Personnel, MOE DPEM Department of Private Education Management, MOE DPPE Department of Pre-school and Primary Education, MOE DSE Department of Secondary Education, MOE DTE Department of Teacher Education, MOE ED Educational Disadvantaged EDGP Education Development Grant Program EDP Second Education Development Project EGP Ethnic Group Plan EMIS Education Management Information System EQIP II Second Educational Quality Improvement Project ESDF Education Sector Development Framework ESITC Education Statistics & Information Technology Centre ESQAC Education Standards and Quality Assurance Centre ESWG Education Sector Working Group EU European Union FMIS Financial Management Information system FOE Faculties of Education FTI CF Fast Track Initiative Catalytic Framework GAP Gender Action Plan GER Gross Enrolment Rate GOL Government of Lao PDR ICT4LE Information Communication and Technology for Lao PDR Education IEC Inclusive Education Centre IU Implementing Unit IVET Integrated Vocational Education and Training Schools JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency KOICA Korea International Cooperation Agency LABEP Lao-Australia Basic Education Project Lao PDR Lao Peoples Democratic Republic LDC Least Developed Country LSE Lower Secondary Education MIS Management Information Systems MDG Millennium Development Goals MOE Ministry of Education MOF Ministry of Finance MPI Ministry of Planning and Investment MTE BESDP I Mid-Term Evaluation Study MTEF Medium-term expenditure framework NESDP National Socioeconomic Development Plan NESRS National Education System Reform Strategy NGO Non-Government Organization NGPES National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy NPIE National Policy on Inclusive Education NSC National Statistical Center NUOL National University of Laos ODA Official Direct Assistance PAF Performance Assessment Framework PAM Project Administration Manual PES Provincial Education Service PIU Provincial Implementing Unit PMIS Personnel Management Information System PMO Prime Minister’s Office PMU Program Management Office PPA Pupil Parents Association PPTA Project Preparation Technical Assistance PREI Procurement Review for Effective Implementation PRSO Poverty Reduction Support Operation RIES Research Institute for Educational Studies SOQ Schools of Quality Sida Swedish International Development Agency SPA Secondary Pedagogical Advisers SREAC Strategy Research and Education Analysis Centre SEAP Draft Secondary Education 5-year Action Plan SESDP Secondary Education Sector Development Program (formerly BESDP II) SPRSS Summary Poverty Reduction and Social Strategy SY School Year TB Textbook TDMP Teacher Development and Management Policy Framework and Action Plan TEI Teacher Education Institution TESAP Teacher Education Strategy and Action Plan TEMIS Teacher Management Information System TG Teachers’ guide TQPM Teacher Quality and Performance Monitoring TTEST Teacher Training Enhancement and Status of Teachers Project TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund USE Upper Secondary Education VEDC Village Education Development Committee CONTENTS
List of acronyms Table of contents Knowledge summary
Page Number
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
2.0 POLICY AND PLANNING CONTEXT 2
3.0 SECONDARY EDUCATION SUBSECTOR 3
3.1 Secondary Education 3 3.2 Equitable Access to Secondary Education 4 3.3 Quality and Relevance at the Secondary Level 6 3.4 Education Budget, Expenditure, Costs, Management and Administration 9 3.5 Coordination and Linkages With Development Partners 13
4.0 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND EQUITY 14
5.0 PROGRAM DESIGN 15
5.1 SESDP Program Component 15 5.2 SESDP Investment Project Component 20
5.2.1 Project description 20 5.2.2 Impact and outcome 21 5.2.3 Outputs 21
Output 1 Improved Access to Secondary Education 21 Output 2 Improved delivery of New Secondary Education Curricula 25 Output 3 Strengthened secondary education subsector management 32
5.2.4 Monitoring and Evaluation of SESDP 36
6.0 SAFEGUARDS 38
7.0 COST ESTIMATES AND FINANCING 39
7.1 SESDP Program Component 39 7.2 Project Investment Plan 40 7.3 Financing Plan 41
8.0 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT 41
8.1 Project Implementation Organizations – Roles and Responsibilities 41 8.2 Financial Management Assessment 42 8.3 Risk Management 44
9.0 PROCUREMENT 44
10.0 SUMMARY 45 ANNEXES
ANNEX 01 PPTA Implementation
ANNEX 02 Problem Tree Analysis
ANNEX 03 Design and Monitoring Framework
ANNEX 04 Implementation Plan
ANNEX 05 Documents Accessed
ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Sub-Sector Situational Analysis
ANNEX 07 Secondary Teacher Tracer Study
ANNEX 08 Secondary Teacher Placement Scheme
ANNEX 09 LD Financial Analysis
ANNEX 10 LD Economic Analysis
ANNEX 11 LD Development Coordination
ANNEX 12 LD Summary Poverty Reduction and Social Strategy
ANNEX 13 LD Ethnic Group Plan
ANNEX 14 LD Gender Action Plan
ANNEX 15 Selection of Access Focus Districts (SESDP)
ANNEX 16 SESDP Access Support Delivery Models
ANNEX 17 Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule
ANNEX 18 Proposed Civil Works Schedule
ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
ANNEX 20 SESDP Scholarships, Access Grants and Dormitories
ANNEX 21 Proposed Textbooks, Teachers Guides Printing and Delivery Schedules
ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works Equipment and Materials
ANNEX 23 Summary Capacity Building Plan for Curriculum Delivery
ANNEX 24 Management Capacity Development Plan
ANNEX 25 Outline Design for Impact Evaluation Study of SESDP Scholarship Program
ANNEX 26 Detailed Costing and Financing Plan
ANNEX 27 Financial Management Assessment
ANNEX 28 LD Risk Assessment and Risk Management
ANNEX 29 Consultant Services Schedule
ANNEX 30 Procurement Capacity Assessment TABLES
Table 1 The magnitude of the ODA effect for 2008/09
Table 2 Outline Plan for M3-M7 Teacher Training
Table 3 Outline Plan for M3-M7 Curriculum Materials development
Table 4 Outline Plan for M3-M7 Printing Assumptions
Table 5 Project Investment Plan
Table 6 Financing Plan
BOXES
Box 1a Output: 1 Policy Actions by end 2013
Box 1b Output 1 Policy Actions by end 2015
Box 2a Output 2 Policy Actions by end 2013
Box 2b Output 2 Policy Actions by end 2015
Box 3a Output 3 Policy Actions by end 2013 Box 3b Output 2 Policy Actions by end 2015
Box 4 Project Management Organisation KNOWLEDGE SUMMARY
The purpose of the Secondary Education Sector Development Program (SESDP) is to enhance equity, quality and efficiency of secondary education in Lao PDR through expanding access to secondary education, improving delivery of the new secondary education curricula and strengthening the management of the secondary education subsector.
The proposed Program is in close alignment with the government’s National Education Sector Reform Strategy and the Education Sector Development Framework. In addition to lower secondary education specific interventions, the Program would also support: further refinement and launch of the revised upper secondary education curriculum, with enhanced linkages to lower secondary education and upstream to higher education and employment; broader system capacities, including support to the Ministry of Education, provincial offices, and institutions responsible for curriculum development and teacher training for secondary education; and increased resourcing of secondary education.
Linkages with Development Partners have been maintained throughout the preparation of the Program through the Education Sector Working Group and individual consultations. In particular a dialogue has been maintained with UNESCO, Unicef, JICA and the World Bank.
Cutting across all of the work are the issues of gender, language and ethnic identity, poverty and social exclusion, disability rights, safeguarding of ethnic group welfare, care for the environment, and geographical equity. Other areas that cut across components include decentralization, institutional capacity building, improving linkages between departments and units, and implementation of policy into practice, quality assurance and performance monitoring. Awareness of the backwards and forwards linkages to primary and post secondary education is maintained.
The SESDP consists of a $10 million policy loan and a $30 million investment grant, both from the Asian Development Fund. In close alignment with the government's priorities, the policy loan will support reforms to enhance secondary education access and equity, quality and relevance, and subsector governance. It is currently envisaged that the program loan will be released in two equal tranches, released in or around the end of 2013 upon completion of all first-tranche policy actions, with the second scheduled for release 24 months later, when remaining policy actions are expected to have been completed. Draft tranche conditions are identified subject to further review by the government and ADB and finalization at loan negotiations. The linked investment grant will focus on lower secondary and upper secondary education delivery in determined national target areas, and on improving educational outcomes of disadvantaged groups (girls, children from poor families and ethnic groups, and disabled children).
For both the loan component and the grant component the anticipated impact is improved educational attainment in Lao PDR. The expected outcome is enhanced equity, quality, and efficiency of SE in Lao PDR. Supporting the government's ongoing reforms in the secondary education subsector and in close alignment with ESDF’s three pillars and targets, the Program will deliver three core outputs.
Both the grant and the loan components will contribute to SESDP addressing supply and demand-side constraints to educational access among disadvantaged groups, including by supporting development of new or improved systems for scholarships and school-level “access grants” aimed at equity enhancement, as well as modest support for provision of lower and upper secondary classrooms and facilities in underserved disadvantaged focus areas (selected using ‘educationally disadvantaged’ and ‘poorest’ criteria). Particular emphasis will be given to teaching, including supportive reforms as well as capacity building for teacher training institutions. The Program will also support (a) pre-service and in-service training; (b) completion of the rollout of the revised lower secondary education curriculum; (c) the full rollout of the revised upper secondary education curriculum, including developing textbooks and teacher guides; and (d) provision of equipment and materials for teaching and learning. The Program will support policy reforms and capacity building in key areas affecting lower secondary and upper secondary education, such as financing, management information systems, performance assessment, and mobilization of the private sector (including non-profit) actors.
The SESDP, to be implemented over seven years, is supported by a grant of $30.00 million from the Asian Development Fund (ADF). The grant will fund 92.8% of the proposed program, with the GOL accounting for the remaining 7.2%.
Project implementation organizations to be established by the Ministry of Education prior to effectiveness include: a Ministry of Education Steering Committee, a SESDP Supervisory Committee, a Project Management Unit, and Implementing Units. Provincial Implementing Units and Pupil Parent Associations will set up at province, district or school levels as relevant. The Director General of the Ministry of Education, Department of Secondary Education will serve as Program Director. TA-7555 LAO Final Report Secondary Education Sector Development Program PPTA
1.0. INTRODUCTION
1. This F inal R eport presents a c oncise account of the c ontext of the s econdary education subsector and a summary of the design of the Secondary Education Sector Development P rogram 201 1-2016 (SESDP ; the P rogram)1. T he development o f t he design through the inputs and activities of the Project Preparation Technical Assistance (PPTA) Team is outlined in Annex 1. The PPTA Team worked closely with the Director General of the Department of Secondary Education (DSE) and other departmental staff within the Ministry of Education (MOE).
2. The purpose of SESDP is to enhance equity, quality and efficiency of secondary education in Lao PDR through expanding access to SE, improving delivery of the new SE curricula and strengthening the management of the SE subsector. An ADB concept paper has guid ed th is design process (ADB 201 0). Annex 2 pres ents a problem tre e analysis, A nnex 3 the Des ign an d Monitoring Frame work a nd A nnex 4 the Implementation Pla n. The proposed Pro gram is in c lose alignment with the government’s N ational E ducation S ector R eform S trategy ( NESRS) an d t he E ducation Sector Development Fr amework (ESDF) .2 I n addition to l ower s econdary education (LSE) specific interventions, the Program would also support (i) fur ther refinement and launch o f th e revised up per secondary education (USE) c urriculum, w ith enhanced linkages to LSE and upstream to higher education and employment; (ii) broader system capacities, including support to the MOE, provincial offices, and institutions responsible for c urriculum de velopment and tea cher tr aining for L SE and USE; and (iii) i ncreased resourcing of secondary education. Documents accessed are listed in Annex 5.
3. The p reparation of SESDP was based arou nd review, a nalysis, communication, capacity building and partnership. The preparatory approach had three overlapping and mutually reinforcing p hases: (i) reviewing the B asic Ed ucation S ector D evelopment Program (BESDP) initiatives and the status of intended system reforms; (ii) preparing a situation analysis of the secondary education sub-sector; and (iii) designing and costing detailed SESDP plans to address gaps and pursue opportunities.
4. Cutting across all of the w ork ar e t he iss ues o f gend er, la nguage and eth nic identity, p overty and social e xclusion, d isability r ights, safeguarding of indige nous people’s welfare, c are fo r t he environment, and geographical e quity. Other areas t hat cut across components include decentralization, institutional capacity building, improving linkages b etween d epartments and units, a nd implementation of polic y in to prac tice, quality assurance and performance monitoring. A wareness of the bac kwards and forwards linkages to primary and post secondary education is maintained.
5. The proposed S ESDP consists o f a $1 0 milli on policy loa n and a $30 milli on investment grant. The Pr ogram would s eek t o s upport GOL i n enhancing ac cess, quality, and efficiency of secondary education. In close alignment with the government's ESDF, the inv estment gran t will s upport reforms to e nhance s econdary e ducation access and equity, quality and relevance, and education sector governance with a focus on the secondary education sub-sector.
1 Formerly known as the second Basic Education Sector Development Program (BESDP II). The change in name corresponded with a change in financing modality to a $30 million investment grant and a $10 million policy loan. 2 The draft Secondary Education Sub-Sector Action Plan (SEAP) 2010 – 2015, DSE, MOE, Vientiane (MOE 2010) prepared with UNESCO support has been developed within the Education Sector Development Framework (ESDF).
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2.0. POLICY AND PLANNING CONTEXT
6. Lao PDR had a population estimated at 5.62 million in 2005 that is grow ing at a rate of 2.1% per annum3. Approximately 73% of the population lives in rural areas. 39% of the population is under the age of 15. Ru gged terrain high seasonal rainfall, limited infrastructure of roads, bridges, etc. make the provision of school buildings and facilities difficult in re mote s parsely po pulated ar eas o f th e c ountry. Ens uring they h ave appropriately t rained teachers and adequate te aching and learning ma terials are particularly problematic.
7. In the urban areas, the fertility rate has stabilized at 2.044. In rural areas that have easy access to main roads, the fertility rate is 3.70, and in rural ‘off road’ remote areas the f ertility r ate is 4.74 (M OE 20 08). T he lite racy rate for the popu lation aged 15 and over, was 49 perc ent f or th e non Lao-Tai grou ps compar ed to 84 percent among th e Lao-Tai groups (NSC 2005).
8. The Government of Lao PDR (GOL) aims to grad uate from its status as a le ast- developed c ountry (LDC) by 2020. Ec onomic p rogress h as r esulted i n a s ubstantial reduction in poverty over the past 15 years5 and the country is on course to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target of halving poverty by 2015 and on track to meet MDG tar gets s uch as those o n primar y en rolment an d c hild mortalit y rates . The secondary e ducation su bsector mu st play an in creasingly cen tral ro le in ad dressing human capacity constraints to development in Lao PDR. The Program will support three interlinked t ransformations: (i) f rom a p lanned to a market economy; (ii) f rom a largely inward-focused, subsistence-based economy to a commercially oriented and region ally integrated economy; and (iii) fro m an agrarian to more u rbanized so ciety.6 For an increasing number of workforce participants making a living is based upon arms length wage or salary contracts rather than traditional forms of family or self-employment. In this changed environment qualifications, as a means of s kills and k nowledge, become much mo re c ritical ma rkers than th ey w ere previously. Thes e transformations imply demand for a lab or for ce tha t ha s at leas t a moder ate le vel of lite racy, n umeracy, communication and other specialized skills, which are linked, to s econdary and hi gher levels of ed ucation and t echnical a nd vocational educ ation and training (TVET). Economic d evelopment will i ncrease th e opportunity for emp loyment, e specially i n industrial and service sectors.
9. The MDG development strategy was ar ticulated i n t he National Gro wth a nd Poverty Era dication S trategy (NGPES) (GOL 20 04) a nd the sixth Nation al Soc io- Economic De velopment Pla n (NSEDP ) 20 06-2010 (GO L 2 006). The s ixth NSE DP emphasized the importance of e ducation as one of its four pillars and the improvement of educ ation quality a nd h uman r esource de velopment h as been ide ntified as a k ey directive in the draft seventh NS EDP 201 1-2015 ( MPI 20 10). The P overty R eduction Strategy Operation (PRSO 2004) now includes actions supporting school block grants and the strengthening of expenditure assignment from the central to the provincial level of a dministration. E ducation planning w ill n eed to t ake a ccount o f P RSO p lanning so that outputs can b e aligned wi th PRSO ou tcomes. All na tional de velopment plans highlight the importance of literacy and numeracy through universal primary e ducation. Policies r eaffirm the nationa l human res ource agenda for im proving social w elfare, enhancing workforce p roductivity and greater ac cess to further educ ation. A strong er relationship between formal education and employment is a key feature of these plans.
3 NSC (2005) Population Census National Statistics Centre Vientiane, NSC 4 Births per 100 women of child-bearing age 5 The poverty incidence fell from 46 percent in 1992 to 26 percent in 2007 (MPI, 2009), and Lao PDR is on course to meet the MDG target of halving poverty from 48 percent in 1990 to 24 percent in 2015. 6 See ADB. 2010. Country Assistance Program Evaluation (CAPE) for Lao PDR. Manila.
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10. The Ed ucation La w ( GOL 2007) defines th e o verall educ ation sector and there are particular referen ces to s econdary e ducation and v ocational education within a framework t hat em phasizes c itizenship, l ife s kills an d t he l abor m arket. The l egal framework set out by the Law underpins the directions set out by the NESRS.
11. The overall goals of t he NESRS focus on moving towards relevant regional and international standards with Government priorities being identified as: (i) increasing the length of gener al educ ation to 1 2 years (5+4+3) 7; (ii) furthe r i mproving quality a nd access; ( iii) i mplementing the T eacher E ducation S trategy a nd Action P lan (TESAP) 2006-2010; and (iv) expanding technical schools and vocational training. Amongst eight approaches to achieving NESRS goals two might be mentioned as particularly relevant: (i) modification of the purpose and the content of the general education curriculum and (ii) c ontinuation of th e development of the national e ducation s tructure. Specific reference to technical education and vocational training in the NESRS again repeats the need to “improve the quality of education and training, and s ee that it is closely related to t he world of work”. It continues by stating tha t the training r eceived by s econdary school graduates, technical personnel and technicians should be relevant to the needs of the e conomy and the labor market. There is a ne ed to “ encourage lower and upper secondary education graduates to enter technical schools at different levels”.
12. The ESDF was prepared as the national education sector action plan to identify, define and articulate the priority gov ernment polic ies and strategies tha t the national education s ystem needs to pur sue in ord er to meet the ed ucation goals, tar gets and outputs set out in key GOL policy statements. Also the ESDF supported the phasing of numerous e ducation pl ans p roduced s ince 2005 a nd k ey n ew education development projects. The ES DF sets o ut p olicy tar gets and strategies for ac celerating implementation of the NS EDP, NGPES and NESRS. The N ational Polic y on I nclusive Education (NPIE) ( GOL 20 10) complements and r einforces t he i mplementation of t he National Plan of Act ion on Education for All 2003-2015, the NESRS, the ESDF and the Education Development Plan 2011-2015. Other documents guiding the development of secondary education are the N ational Inclusive Education Strategy 2011-2015, Teacher Development and Man agement Policy Framework and Ac tion Plan (TMDP) 2010-2015, Strategy for Promoting P rivate Educ ation, 2010-2010, TVET Mas ter Plan 2008-2020, and the draft Secondary Action Plan (SEAP) 2010 – 2015.
3.0. SECONDARY EDUCATION SUBSECTOR
3.1 Secondary Education
13. The MOE is responsible for formal and non-formal education at all levels, for both public and private education. T he MO E is g overnment’s lead ag ency and c entral management organization in e ducational ma tters, pla nning and d etermining policy, as well as super vising, leading, an d i mplementing and con trolling educational tasks nationwide. Under the GOL de-concentration policy the Ministry shares responsibilities with the P rovincial Edu cation S ervices (PES) and District Education Bur eaux (DEB). Various institutions have spe cified responsibilities at t he school, village and community level. Th e D SE ha s a clear man date to adminis ter and manage secondary edu cation throughout th e c ountry and a s pecified role i n communicating, c oordinating, and cooperating w ith oth er MOE departments and c enters, d evelopment partners, international organizations, non- government org anizations, and oth er g overnment sectors, in the development of secondary education (Interim Report8 Annex 8 Secondary Education Institutional Stakeholders Map).
7 Achieved in academic year 2010/2011 8 BESDP II PPTA Interim Report March 2011 is called the Interim Report throughout this document.
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14. Se condary schools are categorized as low er s econdary gr ades (M1 to M4)9, upper s econdary (grades M5 an d M6 and fr om 20 10 grade M7), c omplete secondary (grades M1 to M6 and from 2010 grade M7) and incomplete lower secondary, which do not have all lower s econdary g rades. In 2 009-2010 t here were 594 l ower s econdary schools w ith 7 ,883 teachers, 1 7 upper secondary s chools w ith 612 teachers, 354 complete secondary schools with 12,409 teachers and 209 incomplete lower secondary schools with 1,130 te achers. In 2 009-2010 th ere were 421,269 s econdary school students; 105,769 in M1; 8 8,220 in M2; 75,221 in M 3; 66,178 in M 4; 52,202 in M5 and 45,837 in M6 (EMIS 20 09/2010). Following 2010/2011 M7 data will be c ollected by the Education Statis tics a nd I nformation Tec hnology C enter (ESITC) and included i n the annual school census.
15. In 2009-2010 of 19,299 secondary teachers 50.3% were female. 17,289 of these teachers were Lao-Tai (52.8% female), 993 were Mon-Khmer (31.3% female), 247 Sino- Tibetan (69.6% female), 746 Hmong-Yu Mien (12.3% female) (SEAP 2010). There are a further 2684 te achers reported by q ualifications in EMIS w ho either did n ot r eport ethnicity or are i n DEB a nd PES p ositions ra ther than in scho ols, br inging t he total number of secondary teachers to 22,034 in 2009/10.
16. The ESDF outlines the policies and strategies related to secondary education with a steady expansion of enrolments in both LSE and USE following the introduction of the 5+4+3 s chool o rganizational s tructure from 2010 onwards10. T he s trategy i s f or a gradual expansion of USE, including enhanced provisions for USE vocational education and pos t-secondary tec hnical e ducation. The re a re p lans to establish 22 Integr ated Vocational Education and Training Schools (IVET) with a capacity for 500 students each by 2015 (MOE 2008). These IVET schools will strengthen the delivery of USE. Lao PDR is mo ving to wards a th ree-track u pper s econdary education s ystem: g eneral or academic r elated, v ocational-related, a nd m ixed a cademic an d v ocational-related. T he GOL has made the strategic choice to provide technical and vocational education and training (TVET) as part of the secondary education system. What is still being debated is the detailed form it will take.
17. Developed within t he frame work of th e ES DF the dr aft SEAP p uts effective management, g overnance and financ ing of LSE and US E as a g oal. The ov erall objectives ar e g iven as (i) s trengthen m anagement and governance at c entral, provincial, district and school levels to improve education delivery; (ii) ensure demand- driven and equitable teacher deployment and d istribution; and (i ii) ensure coordinated, evidence- based sector planning, financing and monitoring.
3.2. Equitable Access to Secondary Education
18. Improving access to secondary education, learning outcomes and pro gression to further education and employment requires specific attention to three aspects of the Lao PDR education system: (i) access to quality primary education, competencies developed by Grade 5 (primary completion) and community “demand” for secondary education; (ii) access to a network of secondary schools (“supply”) which meets standards for physical facilities, t extbooks and l earning materials an d qualified t eachers a ble t o a ssist their students to p erform well and progress to high er g rades; and (iii ) management of schools, dis tricts, pr ovinces an d c entrally which gives prio rity t o quality l earning outcomes for all students.
9 In Lao PDR lower secondary international school grades 6, 7, 8 and 9 are labelled as M1, M2, M3 and M4 respectively, while grades 10, 11 and 12 are known as M5, M6, M7 respectively. 10 The ESDF gross enrolment ratio target of 75% differs from the NSEDP6 target of 40%10. The ESDF argues that 75% should be possible due to the ESDF strategy for reducing repetition and dropout.
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19. Progress on each dimension requires successful implementation of other policies and adequate funding for the education system as a whole. In most education systems, where available budget funding limits implementation, dependence on the availability of project fu nding can dis tort the s equence i n which the MOE c an implem ent re forms. Integration o f dev elopment as sistance within t he ESDF ha s been an imp ortant s tep forward.
20. Improving secon dary education access will de pend on initia tives th at su pport improved pr imary ed ucation completion ra tes an d learning outc omes. Th is pro cess creates demand for “access” to LSE grades, as well as an increased demand for training and appointment of LSE teachers (World Bank 2009).
21. Universal LSE cannot be achieved if a large proportion of students drop out, or do not complete primar y s chool with l earning s kills re quired for success in s econdary grades. Improving a ccess fo r ch ildren in sma ll, remote co mmunities a ttending small, incomplete primary schools becomes even more difficult if they are to complete Grade 5 and have access to a viable LSE school.
22. Of the 8,968 primary schools reported in EMIS 2009/10, 2,380 had fewer than 50 students and ano ther 2,598 hav e betw een 50 an d 100 s tudents. Small in complete primary s chools o ccur across many districts a nd “ complete” primary schools are concentrated in the 50 to 149 band of enrolment. The dispersed rural population, terrain, distance t o the n earest prim ary school and dis tance fr om th e nearest ma in ro ad contribute to this pattern of small, incomplete primary schools, which are more difficult to staff with trained/qualified teachers than schools in more densely settled areas.
23. Primary completion is a pre-requisite for access to secondary education. Analysis of t he G rade 1 inta ke i n 2005/06 (i ncluding repetition) s hows more than half di d not reach Grad e 5 in 2009/10. The pr ofiles for girls a nd boys are s imilar. This analysis is limited to provincial data, which obscure within-province differences.
24. In four prov inces (Oudomxai, Sek ong, Phongsaly, Sar avan), edu cation survival rates for gi rls to Gra de 9 is mo re than 2% tha t f or boys. In Vie ntiane City, Lua ng Namtha, Savann akhet an d K hammouan, g irl an d boy education s urvival ra tes are similar. In n ine other pro vinces, male s urvival to Grade 9 e xceeds femal e s urvival to Grade 9, especially in Vientiane Province where the male rate is 10% above the female rate.
25. Low primary completion reduc es demand for s econdary ed ucation and th ere is marked r ural-urban a nd gender differences in a ccess to q uality s chooling. If t he 17 provinces are divided into 5 groups, based on their educational disadvantage (ED) rating and their government poverty classification,11 there are 30 ed ucationally disadvantaged poorest rural dis tricts; 26 non-ED r ural districts po or and non-poor, 29 non-ED rural districts w hich are p oorest or poor, 3 7 non- ED non -poor “rural” d istricts outs ide Vientiane City and not provincial centers and 22 districts in Vientiane City and non-poor provincial centers. 26. In 2009/10 each of these five gr oups had bet ween 44,000 and 60,000 G rade 1 students, but only 12,100-32,800 by Grade 6 (M1) and 3,300-20,800 in Grade 11 (M7). High repetition in lower primary grades and poor primary completion rates contribute to the profile, especially the poor educational outcomes in ED districts. Note: this analysis is a 2009/10 “snap-shot” not a longitudinal analysis of the cohort that entered Grade 1 and progressed to Grade 11 over the decade.
11 See Section 4 Social Development and Equity
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27. The F ast Track Initiative (FTI) Project an d other dev elopment p artners are assisting th e MO E to implement th e ESDF, w hich will c ontribute to imp roved primary completion r ates. On e MOE target c ould be lifting the FTI dis tricts p rofile to th e countrywide average. Th e A DB BES DP w as plan ned, and th e SESDP is planned t o strengthen transition from p rimary to l ower s econdary and onto Gr ade 9 (M4) completion. 28. Of the 55,569 female students in Grade 5 in 2005/06 who continued to Grade 6 in 2006/07 there were 29,202 or 52.6% still enrolled in Grade 9 in 2009/10. There were almost 12,0 00 more male students in G rade 5 in 2004/05 (6 7,344), o f whom 36,976 (54.9%) were s till present in G rade 9 i n 2009/10. A br eakdown of Lao P DR data by gender and pr ovince is inc luded in the Situa tional A nalysis (Annex 6). Und erstanding reasons for dropout is the first step towards a strategy to reduce these losses. 29. Enrolment data can be expressed as a percentage of the Grade 1 e nrolment to show the relative positions of the ED and other poorest/poor districts relative to the Lao average and the non-poor urban dis tricts. On this measure, t hree out of fou r students (74.7%) in non- poor urban d istricts re ach Gra de 6 (M1) and a lmost one in two re ach Grade 11 (M7) (47.3%). The poorest ED Dis tricts, by contrast, average only one in five to Grade 6 (21.8%) with only 1-in-15 reaching Grade 11 (6%). 12 30. A difficult question remains whether poor primary school outcomes combine with family expectations and distance to the nearest secondary school to r educe “demand” for s econdary s chooling. If lack of community demand for continuing to s econdary school is th e issu e, co nstruction of n ew se condary sch ools may no t be su fficient to produce appreciable change in the above patterns. 31. If access to a complete primary school is the first barrier to improving educational outcomes for many children in Lao PDR, access to a complete secondary school, or to at least Grade 9 (M4), access may be an even greater problem in po orest ED districts, where most incomplete LSE schools have fewer than 100 students. Most LSE schools have mo re than 100 stu dents while mo st complete se condary schools have o ver 300 students. Students have to spend more time travelling to a larger secondary school with qualified teachers. Many small, remote districts cannot guarantee access to a complete LSE, with viable class groups, and teachers qualified in at least the core LSE subjects. 32. Without clarification of the access issues abov e, prov inces and dis tricts m ay continue to build s chools in places where “ demand” is hig h but n ot in areas where demand “appears” low when the lack of an accessible school may be the major barrier to progression into, and completion of, secondary school education.
33. Difficulty of staffing existing secondary schools in more remote, rural districts may be a further supply constraint – especially the lack of specialist teachers in mathematics, physics, or c hemistry. MOE is c ontinually exploring incentives to a ttract (a nd retain) qualified teachers. The delivery of textbooks to remote districts may cost more than the printing cost of many of the books. An alternative strategy being discussed is provision through the proposed block grant.
3.3. Quality and Relevance at the Secondary Level
34. The analysis of progress in delivery of the new secondary school curriculum has focused on three broad areas: institutional capacity assessment of the education system to deliver pre-service and in-service teacher training; teacher supply and demand issues including recruitment of graduate science and mathematics teachers to lower and upper secondary s chools, a nd s upply of s econdary s chool tea chers to poor, e thnic gro up
12 Note that this reference is cross-sectional and not longitudinal. It compares survival rates across age groups and sexes in a single year rather than trace the experience of a single cohort year.
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areas; and review of progre ss a nd i dentification of fu ture needs for de velopment and delivery of th e ne w M1 to M7 c urriculum te xtbooks, teachers guides a nd ins tructional materials.
Institutional Capacity Gap Assessment
35. The capacity of Tea cher Education Institutions (TEIs) and F aculties of Edu cation (FOEs) h as bee n s trengthened throug h th e Sid a TTEST Project 2002-2008, and the implementation of the activities s pecified i n t he TESAP 2 006-2010. Th e r eview of TESAP currently being undertaken by the Department of Tea cher Education (DTE) will provide a comprehensive upd ate on the s tatus o f all a ctivities, which w ill s erve as a basis for prioritizing and future planning of teac her education. All TEIs and FOEs have prepared 5 year institutional plans through which human, financial and physical capacity gaps at institutional level have been identified.
36. The analysis of institutional capacity gaps for secondary teacher training indicates two pri ority areas for furth er s trengthening of TEIs : (i) the p re-service teacher training curriculum for LS E an d U SE t eachers an d t he c orresponding i nstructional resource capacity of TEIs needs to b e developed to more c losely align with the new M1 to M7 curriculum; a nd (ii ) the s ystem of Q A introduced into TE Is needs to be f urther strengthened thr ough, for example, th e d evelopment o f a standardized s ystem f or course accreditation between TEIs.
37. The Teacher Development and Management Policy Framework and Action Plan (TDMP 20 10) prov ide the policy foundation for c apacity dev elopment in tea cher education. Teacher Quali ty an d Pe rformance (TQP) is identified i n the T DMP as a priority activity f or syste m-wide qu ality imp rovement. The Ed ucation St andards and Quality Assurance Centre (ESQAC), in collaboration with DSE and DTE, has begun the design of a TQP system, w hich aligns with the S chools of Quality (SOQ ) init iative. Monitoring guidelines now need to be developed as a b asic tool for imple mentation of the TQP system.
Teacher Recruitment and Deployment
38. Graduate Teacher Supply - although the total number of teacher graduates being produced by TEIs and FOE is sufficient, the re is a c ontinuing s hortage in supply of teachers in remo te area s chools, a s hortage of female t eachers in s ome ar eas an d a shortage of science teachers in LSE and USE. Wastage at graduate level is due to a number of r easons including teachers refusing deployment to re mote areas, and more attractive alternative employment opportunities for English, mathematics, science and IT graduates outside the profession and/or into the private school sector.
39. Tracer Study - a small tracer study undertaken during the SESDP PPTA, provides data on student flow from U SE to tea cher training and g raduation from TE I/FOE into teaching (Annex 7). The analysis shows a lack of clear information on student flow, and the need fo r P ES a nd T EIs to imp rove the mo nitoring of grad uate r ecruitment fr om TEI/FOE, to imp rove s ystem e fficiencies. A me chanism fo r monitoring th e flow of graduates into t eaching p osts and of tho se who do not tak e u p teaching would as sist MOE to improve efficiency in teacher education and effectiveness in teacher supply.
40. Teacher Incentives – a k ey barrier to ac hieving t he g oal of providing quality secondary school education is the difficulty of recruiting and retaining teachers to work in underserved areas of the country. Teachers are least attracted to areas where living and working conditions are more c hallenging, and supplementary allowances have not provided sufficient inc entive. The quota system h as n ot pro ved effective as a
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mechanism for deployment of teachers to areas of n eed, and neither have the exis ting scholarship and contract sc hemes solved the pr oblems of u ndersupply o f te achers to poor eth nic a reas. The MOE recognizes th at the liv ing an d working c onditions and salaries of t eachers ar e c rucial factors that need t o be addressed to hel p solve the problem.
41. The TDMP includes upgrading of compensation, benefits and incentives. One of the g oals s tated in th e TD MP is “to ensure t hat the c urrent teaching fo rce is retained through t he s etting up of prop er systems for inc entives, promotion and career development. Teachers who are assigned to work in rur al and remote areas should be provided with r easonable inc entives, a nd training opportunities for continuous upgrading”.
42. The feasibility and design of a focused pilot of an incentives mechanism for rural teacher deployment has been drafted based on wide consultation, and reflects the views and perspectives of teachers and education officers. An initial design for a Pilot Teacher Placement Scheme is included in Annex 8).
In-Service Training to support implementation of the SE curriculum
43. Strengthening of Secondary Pedagogical Adviser Support In each province there are 22 Secondary Pedagogical Advisers (SPA) responsible for ped agogical support to LSE and US E schools. The majority of SP As are located in the provincial centers. In- service and school-based support is very limited for t eachers in t he mor e remote schools. Budget constraints restrict the mobility of SPAs. La ck of teaching resources in secondary schools limits the teaching of practical lessons. SPAs have expressed a need for more opportunity for professional networking through regional meetings.
44. Upgrade Program for Secondary Teachers - analysis of teacher in-service training revealed th at a pproximately 68 pe rcent of all s econdary te achers h ave 11+3 qualification or above13 meaning that approximately 32 percent of all secondary teachers do not meet this minimum standard. There is an on-going secondary teacher upgrade program c onducted in TEI s and FO Es with enr olment bas ed on a quota s ystem and attendance is s elf-financed by t eachers. The program is popular because upg rade qualifies the teacher for a salary increase. Access to teacher upgrade courses is difficult for t eachers f rom r emote districts fu rther perpetuating th e c hallenge of improv ing education quality in poor, ethnic group areas.
Development and delivery of the new M1 to M7 curriculum
45. The se condary sch ool cu rriculum has b een revised to a lign w ith the expanded secondary school s ystem fro m 5 +3+3 to 5+4 +3. LS E was expanded in 2009-2010 to include the four grades 6-9 (M1-M4 ), and USE was expanded in 2010-2011 academic year to c over the three grades 10-12 (M5-M7). Th e new M1-M7 c urriculum is in th e process of development to align with the expanded secondary education system, and is managed by the Research Institute for Educational Science (RIES).
46. The new M1 to M7 curriculum framework has been developed and M1 curriculum implementation was c ompleted i n 20 10. M2 textbook s and teachers’ g uides ar e b eing distributed to sch ools and M2 te acher training will be pro vided b y mid-2011. Th e provisional M7 c urriculum, in troduced in to G rade 1 2 in 2 010/2011 is b ased on th e universities foundation year course.
13 MOE EMIS 2009/2010. Data could not be disaggregated to show lower and upper secondary school teachers by qualifications
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47. Text Books (TB), Teaching Guides (TG) and Instructional Materials – a Textbook and T eachers Guide Production S trategy has been d eveloped t o assist RIES in implementing the writing and publishing of textbooks, which provides a sound basis to guide the curriculum development process including QA guidelines. A review of current procedures f or c urriculum deliv ery has ide ntified th e n eed to im prove th e efficiency of textbook distribution, build the capacity of teachers to teac h the new curriculum and to assess s tudent le arning. Further support is needed f or implem entation of t he loc al curriculum.
48. Review of M1 Teacher Training Model – a cascade model of teacher training was used for tra ining of 4,033 M1 tea chers in 2 010. A training ma nual was p repared, and master trainers and SPAs were trained to d eliver the M1 tea cher training at provincial level. A rev iew of the M1 te acher training mod el i ndicates tha t a rrangements f or provincial-based training varied from place-to-place as PES us ed innovative strategies for delivery of M1 training. Teachers identified the need for follow up support in schools and for more than one te acher per s chool t o be tr ained. Tr aining programs need to include opportunity for participants to prepare activities that they will implement in the ir school. The follow up actions taken by teachers in their schools should be monitored to provide an impact assessment.
49. Enhancing the use of Information Technology and Education Media for curriculum implementation - central and provincial training workshops are high cost, and this limits the n umber of tea chers w ho c an a ttend. Th is, in tu rn, p laces a re sponsibility o n participants to trans fer th e le arning f rom the tr aining c ourse t o the ir own c lassroom practice, and to also share their new learning with colleagues in their schools. There is scope for s trengthening professional development activities at district an d school level, including strengthening of the RIES Education Media Centre to deliver television, radio and ICT ba sed tea cher t raining ma terials. This would ali gn with the I nformation Communication Technology for Lao Education (ICT4LE) initiative [See 2B4].
50. Student Learning Outcomes - the expanded secondary education system and the new M1 to M7 curriculum will impact on the national examinations for completion of LSE and USE. The SEAP includes, under Student Performance Monitoring, a requirement to “develop new institutional arrangements for nationwide student performance monitoring requirements to improve learning outcomes and employment opportunities” (draft SEAP 2010, Target 2.2b). At USE level the G12 National Information Resource Centre is to be established, alon g with procedures f or t ransparent national e xaminations (SEAP USE Quality Progr am 4.5). S chool p erformance monitori ng pla ns a re to be developed by ESQAC for implementation in LSE schools (SEAP 2010 LSE Quality Program 1.4). The BESDP Mid-term Evalu ation (MTE) noted “a lthough there i s an attemp t to have assessment activities as part of i nstructional process, the MTE stated that t here is no clear inclusion of any assessment system in the c urriculum, especially if the n ew LSE and USE curricula will be used as qualifications for employment and further s tudies in higher education”.
3.4. Education Budget, Expenditure, Costs, Management and Administration
Review of Education Budget, Expenditure and costs
51. Lao PDR has a fa vorable e conomic o utlook bas ed on projected revenues from hydro-electricity sales and other natural resources, but budg et revenue benefits to th e social s ector are limited by high ed ucation s ector operating costs. With s alaries and related c osts accounting for 87.4% of t he ed ucation rec urrent b udget in 2008/09 (a nd 90.8% of education local recurrent budgets), the sector has limited budget flexibility and
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the costs o f supporting almost 1.3 5 million students, more t han 57 ,000 teachers and 10,000 schools spread across the country.
52. The education s ector fun ctioned with 1 5.8% of to tal g overnment expenditure in 2008-09 bec ause it attracted 19.6% o f Official Direct Assistance (ODA) to s upport school c onstruction, provision of textbook s and t eacher traini ng. Th ere are t hree problems with this pattern – ODA represented 34.8% of the education sector budget, it subsidized some operating costs where the budget allocation was insufficient and ODA fluctuates from year to year.
53. ADB fu nding u nder BESDP required the Gov ernment to a llocate 16% of th e annual bud get to education as a tra nche condition. In e xplaining the s hortfall, the Government no ted th at tota l education expe nditure de clined because foreign fundi ng (ODA) declined. The an alysis is co rrect, but t he lo gic o f the t ranche conditionality requires r eview. T wo m easures may b e necessary - G overnment c ontribution to the education budget as a p roportion of the state budget (e xcluding ODA) where the measure achieved in 2008/09 was 10.5% and Government contribution including ODA where the r esult was 1 3.0%. Link ing G overnment c ontribution to ODA c ontribution exposes th e s ystem to p ipeline fluctuations i n project appr oval, d isbursements and external factors affecting ODA. The magnitude of the ODA effect is apparent in Table 1.
Table 1 The magnitude of the ODA effect for 2008/09
Education 2008/09 Education 2008/09 USD Total USD Excluding Sector ODA minus ODA Enrolment exchange per Student ODA Expenditure rate Million Kip (a) (b ) (c)=(a)-(b) (d) (e) (a*e)/d ((a-b)*e)/d
1,302, 600 453, 500 849, 080 1,330,779 8,000 $106 $80
(a), (b) from December 2010 report on 2008/09 Budget Implementation (d) EMIS (e) assumed constant
54. An alternative measure would be real expenditure per student, which requires an adjustment for c ost changes. The share of budget measure sidesteps any measure of inflation, is sues about e nrolments in n on-government s chools, and exc hange rates if comparability with other countries is required. The real expenditure per student measure can also be used to id entify regi onal/geographic differ ences in the c osts o f d elivering education to smaller classes in remote or difficult to access localities.
55. Another issue is how the allocated funds are s pent, especially the proportion on salary and related costs versus non-salary expenditure. In 20 08/09, 74% of education sector recurrent expenditure was on Chapter 10 salaries and allowances, increasing to 88% if C hapter 11 c ompensation an d allo wances a re in cluded. If lo cal edu cation expenditure is examin ed, s alaries and allo wances were 8 1% (Chapter 1 0) and 91% if Chapter 11 expenses a re in cluded. Loc al b udgets ha ve limited f unds f or non-salary related e xpenditure (mai ntenance an d ope rations, utilities, c onsumable mate rials, an d costs of travel).
56. The limited flexibility within the budget allocations for non-salary-related expenses is fu rther c omplicated by previous a nd pr oposed dev olution to p rovince and district.14 The MOE has developed a draft Budget Norms Decree with an adjustment for LSE with
14 See for example Jean-Marc Lepain (August 2010) End of Mission (EU) Report and an April 2010 Concept Note on the Introduction of Expenditure Norms in the Education Sector (especially Table on Budget Trends, page 5). Reference to Andrew Jackson draft paper (November 2010)
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fewer t han 50 students. Fifty may be appr opriate for prim ary sc hools but up t o 100 students would cover three-quarters of incomplete LSE.15
57. Lao PDR has more than 2 ,131 incomplete primary schools, plus 249 “complete” primary s chools w ith few er than 50 s tudents, and 2 ,598 s chools w ith 50-9 9 s tudents. Maintaining this network includes the additional costs of recruiting and retaining qualified teachers, p lus d istrict expenditure f or deliv ery of book s and materials. With out an adequate budget allocation, the materials are either not delivered or teachers bear the cost o f travel to the district ce ntre to collect their salary pa yment a nd bring ma terials back to their school.
58. With increased primary c ompletion rates and impr oved tra nsition to lo wer secondary s chools which ar e further from students’ h omes, an additional s et of c osts arise – tr avel to s chool o r c osts of b oarding with rel atives or i n other accommodation away fr om home. For inv estment in c lassrooms, s tudent a ccommodation where necessary an d te acher ac commodation to be s ustainable/justified, more s tudents will have to travel further to access a complete LSE school or a complete secondary school. It is justifiable to fund these investments under SESDP for improved access for girls and poor students to secondary e ducation, and to dev elop procedures f or gov ernment payment o f t hose co sts, p rovided provincial bu dgets a llocate f unds t o su stain th ese schools beyond the life of the Program.
59. Annexes 9 and 1 0 g ive a mor e detailed fin ancial analysis a nd a more d etailed economic analysis respectively.
Management and Administration
60. Rapid expansion in demand fo r s econdary edu cation i n s ome loc ations (for example, where LSE gross enrolment has risen to 76% by 2008/9 and where the GER is as low as 31%), coupled with under-enrolment in some rural, ethnic group and poorer districts (31%), h as led to dis parities and inadequacy in service provision (s ee dra ft SEAP 2010) . Sec ondary educ ation (and in p articular l ower secondary educ ation) remains a b ottleneck to balanced educational development. Failure to keep pace with, and to r eflect differences in p atterns of, demand for LSE and USE places have led the SE subsector to become a bottleneck to balanced education development. This situation has b een exacerbated by s ystemic pr oblems w ith t he secondary edu cation subsector including: (i) institutional weaknesses and uneven decentralization; (ii) inadequate sector financing and imba lance between cap ital an d recurrent budge ts; (iii) hum an r esource and capacity g aps, e specially in poor l ocalities; (iv ) g aps in ma nagement in formation systems a nd tea cher assessment; and (v ) limit ed international support and a weak private sector (Annex 2 Problem Tree Analysis).
61. There ar e challenges a ssociated with re structuring the cycles o f p rimary education (5 years), LSE (4 years) and USE (3 years), and the current low throughput to USE. Th e r estructuring of the cycles d oes not overcome t he educational pr oblems connected with staffing s mall s chools, w hich may nee d a range of alternative interventions. The c hallenge of the r ising overall tra nsition fr om prima ry y ears to secondary, combined with the demand-side challenge of improving GER for girls, ethnic groups, disabled children and children from poor rural areas, link directly to s ignificant disparities in provision and inequalities in outcomes.
15 Add note re Block Grant payments to primary schools to cover costs of student textbooks and teacher workbooks. If grants are too small, other costs may reduce funds available to procure the required textbooks. Procedures, guidelines and training for school managers and community required if funds are to be spent on approved items.
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62. The 2007 Education Law, the NESRS, and the ESDF, within the broader contexts of t he NS EDP, NG PES an d t he PR SO, i ndicate t hat t he G overnment regards strengthening managem ent in the edu cation s ector as a p riority. Wh ile t he fo cus of BESDP h as been on s econdary education the program also c ontributed to bro ader education system developments.
63. The draft SEAP has effectiv e ma nagement, governance and financ ing of lowe r and upper s econdary e ducation as a goal. The overall objectives are given as (i) strengthen management and governance at central, provincial, district and school levels to improve education delivery; ( ii) en sure demand -driven and equitable tea cher deployment and dis tribution; and ( iii) e nsure coordinated, e vidence ba sed s ector planning, financing and monitoring. Certain targets in the ESDF focusing on secondary education were supported by BESDP (strengthening management; management related to teacher issues; planning, and monitoring and evaluation; and school fees). The MOE is continuing to examine human resource development for teachers and administrators in the context of ESDF implementation. The TDMP has been mentioned in the previous section on quality and relevance, along with the updated TESAP. In both documents key areas are identified for strengthening teacher management and administration.
64. The S trategy f or Promoting Priv ate Ed ucation, 2010-2020 (MOE 201 0) i ncludes an analysis of t he s ub-sector. Constraints of t he P rivate E ducation S ector i nclude an urban focus, a shortage of qualified administrators, teachers whose qualifications do not match the ir po st, no framew ork for sa lary levels, facilities sometimes d o no t meet standards, and weak subsector regulation. In addition the rules and regulations related to the man agement of p remises are not imp lemented and nee d r evision. B oth awareness of the role of private education and collaboration between stakeholders are low in t he su bsector. A t th e po st-secondary le vel, courses are focused t owards business, English and ICT. Private education is seen as needing more access to capital investment. Inc entives for private education development h ave b een identified, but implementation of these incentives has been slow.
65. Planning and financing (inc luding bu dgeting) at all l evels (c entral, pr ovincial, district an d school) s till h ave difficulties. W here funding is in sufficient to implement sector plans, greater pr iority needs to be given to s tructural reforms than to spreading investment t oo thinly across too ma ny initiatives. Cap acity buil ding w ill nee d t o foll ow structural reforms. There is confidence in central, provincial and district education offices in using the education Medium-term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) but fo r the MTEF to be implemented smoothly further c apacity building may be needed in the in stitutions responsible for preparing MTEF. The education MTEF needs to be part of a whole-of- government MTEF and for MOF to issue appropriate guidelines.
66. Weak ins titutional c apacity for pla nning and ma nagement at a ll levels in the system h as impacted o n the effic iency o f education s ervice de livery, with further progress on rationalization and dec entralization requ ired. Th e human resource management and data s ystems within MOE w hile improv ing are s till u nder-developed and consequently do not alw ays contribute effectively to p lanning p rocesses. There is still a ne ed f or EMIS to be furth er streng thened and im proved to mee t t he various information needs of edu cation pl anners. Th e d ifferent d atabases (FMIS, PMIS and TEMIS)16 used by the managers and decision-makes in the education sector have still to be lin ked to gether. MO E databases would use c ommon c odes for provinces, distric ts and schools a nd a c ommon teac her ID - an d this c ould be fo cus for (any ) proposed
16 EMIS = Education Management Information system, FMIS = Financial Management Information System, Personnel Management Information System and TEMIS = Teacher Educator Management Information System
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"tracking" initiative. There is an expressed view that EMIS has been a priority in the past and that the next priority is PMIS followed by FMIS.
67. The D epartment o f I nspection h as i dentified needs an d t hese include capacity building of PES and DEB on monitoring and evaluation, establishment of a mo nitoring and evaluation database, re vising th e te rms of referenc e of the mo nitoring and evaluation di vision, improvement of monitoring and evaluation tools a nd s trengthening provincial and district level monitoring and any implementation units established at sub- national and national l evel. A Performance Assessm ent Fra mework (PAF) will assess ESDF pr ogress. PA F components r elate t o principles, focus, res ponsibilities, organization, timing, indic ators of pr ogress, monitoring and re porting instruments, c ost categories, a nd c apacity bu ilding re quirements fo r ESDF p erformance assessment (MOE 2009). PAF indicators for ESDP 2011 – 2015 are in process of being set.
68. Manuals of working procedures need to be revised for all entities with secondary education responsibilities linked. Some need for caution has been expressed, as MOE is considering further re-organization although opinions were given that the changes would not be major enough to affect the development of manuals. This would help clarify the way in which DOI, ESQAC, ESITC, SREAC and RIES work together.
69. Capacity of dis tricts to support i nstructional leadership in s econdary s chools needs strengthening. A Secondary Education Unit has been established but currently is staffed by one person. Consideration should be giv en to dev eloping the U nit so that it has the capacity to provide support to sch ool m anagement teams. Villa ge Education Development C ommittees ( VEDC) are in some ways more directly a ligned t o primary schools (sin ce its typically one school per village) than to second ary schools ( where even the government target would be one secondary school per four primary schools (or villages). BESDP h elped to set u p the student-parent associations to co ordinate w ith VEDCs in all villages in a secondary school’s catchment area. If SESDP c ontinues this SPA model, it may be important to further institutionalize their role.
70. District Educa tion D evelopment C ommittees h ave been s uccessfully p iloted in some dis tricts, and c ould be used to promote th e establishment of primary-secondary school networks. Expanding the num ber of these committees could be considered. The District G overnor would chair the C ommittee with r epresentatives fro m education stakeholders.
3.5 Coordination and Linkages with Development Partners
71. An Education Sec tor Work ing G roup (ESWG), c haired b y the MOE and co- chaired b y Au stralia and U NICEF, has an o verall responsibility to co ordinate and implement three education programs of access, quality and management in alignment with the GOL NSEDP and the GOL H R D evelopment Pla n. In addit ion, ESWG h as a role in helpi ng MOE in fo rmulating, d eveloping and m onitoring le gislation for th e implementation of education sector priority policies and strategies. The MOE members of ESWG ar e c omposed of senior s taff from different l ine d epartments; op erationally there are 4 foc al g roups with up t o 13-19 members: LSE is represented on the Bas ic Education Fo cal Gro up an d USE o n the Pos t-Basic Focal G roup b y s taff of the MOE DSE (Annex 11 Development Coordination).
72. Several key projects implemented over the past decade have provided support to quality improv ement in th e s econdary e ducation s ector. Th e Teac her Training Enhancement and S tatus of Tea chers P roject ( TTEST) und er the s econd Edu cation Quality Imp rovement P roject (EQ IP II) has s trengthened th e c apacity of T EIs an d improved the quality of p re-service and in-service teacher training programs. The EQIP
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II, the s econd Educ ation Development Projec t ( EDP II), the Bas ic Education ( Girls) Project (BEGP), the Lao-Australia Basic Education Project (LABEP) and KOICA projects have provided support to curriculum delivery through funding of curriculum reform and textbook de velopment inc luding reprinting o f textb ooks and te achers guides, an d printing of the new primary school textbooks and teachers guides. JICA has built lower secondary schools in 2 provinces. The first major intervention at secondary level BESDP became effective in Oc tober 2 007 a nd w ill phys ically c lose March 20 12. T he main features of BESDP, and the p rogram’s s tatus a re s ummarized in a matr ix (Interim Report Annex 04).
73. Linkages with d evelopment partners have b een m aintained in th e c ourse of the PPTA through t he ES WG a nd individual c onsultations. While ADB is th e major development partner in the secondary education sub-sector other development partners have imp ortant programs c ontributing to th e gr owing s upport for l ower secondary education (basic education) a nd s upport to po st-basic education inc luding TVE T an d higher e ducation. In p articular t he P PTA maintained a dialogue with UNE SCO (Draft SEAP), Unic ef (S chools of Quality), J ICA (to e nsure c omplementary activities in provinces where they h ave lo wer s econdary s chool ac tivities in cluding building new schools) and World Bank and other development partners involved in the FTI program to ensure complementary program design in educational disadvantaged districts.
74. SESDP will m aintain close d ialogue w ith de velopment partners (and other stakeholders) and build partnership in certain strategic areas. Subject to more detailed planning early in the p roject, o ther for eseen c oordination and c ooperation will inc lude aligning dis trict-level c apacity b uilding on s econdary educ ation m anagement in th e 30 districts w ill th at provided b y FTI for loc al prima ry s ubsector management (including block gr ant introd uction), as well as c ooperation with UNICEF in p romotion of c hild- centered learning and child-friendly school environments.
4.0 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND EQUITY
75. The poverty rating system used by the GOL categorizes administrative districts as non-poor, po or and po orest. As indicated in t he previous s ection, the MOE under FTI has identified 56 districts as ED. 2009/10 EMIS data have been mapped to both these sets o f d istricts, GOL po verty sta tus and 5 6 ED d istricts. Reduced edu cation opportunities for girls are apparent in both primary completion and the Grade 5 to Grade 6 transition to lower secondary school. In the poorest districts, the proportion of children in Grade 2 reaching Grade 5 is 59.5% compared with 72.9% in non-poor districts - and the difference f or g irls is e ven greater (57.3% v ersus 74.1%). For t he poorest E D districts, the disparity becomes even wider (51.5% for girls in poorest ED districts versus 87.5% for girls in those "urban" districts not ED).
76. A Summary Poverty Reduction and Social Strategy (SPRSS) has been prepared to identify potential target groups and beneficiaries (Annex 12).
77. Specific interventions and procedures to promote participation by, and benefits to, women, the poor, e thnic g roups, and oth er d isadvantaged groups in initiatives to be supported under the Project are consolidated under an Ethnic Group Plan (EGP) (Annex 13). The project Gen der Ac tion Plan (GAP) ( Annex 14) ens ures that (i) s ite lo cation prioritizes areas with low female enrolment and all school construction and upgrading of schools includes separate latrines for girls in separate locations; (ii) 50 % of dormitory spaces, sc holarships, r emedial l earning opportunities, mater ials, sc hool d evelopment grants are allocated for poor female students from remote areas; (iii) target 50% female participants in all pre-service and in-service teacher training for LS and US teachers; (iv) target a t least 50% o f inc entive a nd te acher up grade grants to fema le te achers,
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especially from et hnic gr oups; (v) prioritize f emale r epresentation in a ll m anagement training p rograms and su pport strategies including SPAs: recruitment, train ing and mentoring programs for increasing women in school management positions; (vi) develop social mark eting c ampaign f or parents and c ommunity le aders t o inc rease understanding of the positive benefits of s econdary education for female students and promote female education in science as well as a strategy to provide recognition awards for districts with good practices in gender awareness raising and increasing access of female, especially from ethnic areas.
78. Key gender issues that the Project will impact on include: financial factors such as the c ost o f clothing and s chool s upplies; physical fa ctors such as the dis tance to the nearest s chool, roa d access to s chool, and the existence of s eparate l atrines for girls and b oys; e ducational barriers s uch as the la nguage of instruction, relevance of th e school c urriculum, p oor q uality of ins truction, the l imited number of eth nic minority teachers, an d s ocio-cultural barriers, f or example, t he l evel of p arents’ s upport, awareness of opportunities related to education, etc. A gender action plan and a fuller gender analysis is found in the SESDP PAM Appendices 19 and 21.
5.0. PROGRAM DESIGN
79. The SE SDP con sists of a $10 milli on policy loan and a $30 millio n investme nt grant. The proposed SESDP would seek to s upport GOL in enhancing access, quality, and efficiency of secondary education. In close alignment with the government's ESDF, the policy grant will support reforms to enhance secondary education access and equity, quality and relevance, and subsector governance. The linked investment grant will focus on LSE and USE delivery in determined target areas , and o n i mproving educ ational outcomes of disadvantaged groups (girls, children from poor families and ethnic groups, and disabled children). Indicators and targets at the impact, outcome, and output levels are identified in the revised draft design and monitoring framework (DMF) in Annex 3.
5.1. SESDP Program Component
Impact
80. The anticipated impact is improved educational attainment in Lao PDR. The Program and Project Impact will be measured in 2023 against three targets/indicators: (i) a percentage increase of 20% in the share of young adults aged 15-24 that complete at le ast 9 y ears of s chooling using a 2012 bas e l evel; (ii) an increase i n the gross enrolment rate for girls in LSE to at least 0.75 from a 2008 baseline in of 0.47; (iii) a ratio of girls to boys enrolled in secondary education of at least 1.0 fr om a 0.81 baseline in 2009/10; and (iv) a ratio of secondary to primary enrolment at least 0.6 (from baseline of 0.47 in 2009/10)
Outcome
81. The expected outcome is enhanced equity, quality, and efficiency of SE in Lao PDR. The Pro gram and P roject Outc ome will be measured in 2018 a gainst fou r targets/indicators: (i) the sh are o f female primary s chool gr aduates that e nter L SE in poorest districts increasing to at lea st 86% (baseline 81% in 200 8); (ii) a t least 75% of secondary teachers qualified (baseline 68% in 20 09); (iii) LSE s urvival rate to grade 8 rises 89% for girls and 87% for boys (baseline 79% for girls and 77% for boys in school
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year 2007/08);17 (iv) survival rate from grade 6 through to completion of grade 11 rises at least 15% for both girls and bo ys (baseline 51% for girls and 49% for boys in school year 2007/08)18
Outputs
82. Supporting the gov ernment's ongoin g reforms in th e s econdary ed ucation subsector and in close alignment with ESDF’s three pillars and targets, the Program will deliver three core outputs.
83. Expanded access to secondary education. Th e Pro gram will addr ess both supply- and d emand-side constraints t o e ducation access am ong disadvantaged groups, in cluding by supporting development of n ew or im proved syste ms f or scholarships/stipends an d sc hool-level “access g rants” a imed at equit y enhancement, as w ell as modes t s upport for prov ision of L SE and USE c lassrooms an d fac ilities in underserved disadvantaged target areas.
84. Improved delivery of new secondary education curricula. Particular emphasis will be given to teaching, including supportive reforms as well as ca pacity building for teacher training ins titutions. The P rogram will als o s upport (a) p re- and i n-service training; (b) completion of the r ollout of the revised LSE curriculum; (c) full rollout of the revised USE c urriculum, inc luding de veloping te xtbooks and teacher gui des; and ( d) provision of equipment and materials for teaching and learning. The Program will also include focused pilot testing of new mechanisms, as described below.
85. Strengthened secondary education subsector management. The Program will support policy reforms and capacity building in key areas affecting LSE and U SE, such as fina ncing, ma nagement in formation s ystems, pe rformance as sessment, an d mobilization of private sector (including non-profit) actors.
86. Complementary policy program and investment project components will contribute to these outputs, as detailed below.
Program Loan Component, by Output
87. The P rogram will align w ith and suppo rt na tional ref orms and policies aimed at improving equity and access, quality and relevance, and education sector management, with a focus on the secondary education subsector. Draft Policy Actions which identify key reform-related targets that would serve as conditionalities for release of two program loan tranches, indicatively consisting of eleven conditions for achievement by end 2013 and ten conditions for achievement by end 2015, are given below following descriptions of Program outputs.
Output 1: Expanded access to secondary Education
88. The P rogram will s upport progress towards n ational go als (including the achievement of 75% g ross enr ollment rates in LSE and USE by 201 5 and 2020, respectively) and advancement of the Inc lusive Educ ation Polic y. The po licy program will, in particular, support con tinued progress in 2 areas, related to (i) scho larships for disadvantaged students; and (ii) dormitories to enhance equitable access.
17 In school year 2009/10, LSE was extended to cover grades 6-9, while grade 12 will be added in 2010/2011. Survival rate target herein maybe revised during Program Implementation as survival rates for grade 9 and grade 12 become available. 18 See prior footnote
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89. Scholarships for disadvantaged students (li nked to Project su b-output 1B ). The government’s ES DF s ets am bitious t argets f or p rovision o f LS E an d USE scholarships, namely: (i) “ expanded Grades 6-9 scholarships program fo r 20% of students from 2010 onwards, beginning with the 4719 poorest districts”; and (ii) “around 20% of students in u pper s econdary s chool, TVET, an d un iversity awarded scholarships”. In v iew of the resources r equired for government p rovision of scholarships on any large scale (even if less than 20%), it will be critical to pursue an evidence-based approach and to d evelop appropriate mec hanisms an d guidelines to ensure targeting to the most disadvantaged students.
90. Dormitories to enhance equitable access (links to Project sub-output 1C). MOE recognizes that provision of dormitories is a key instrument for addressing constraints to access. Th is is pa rticularly s o fo r gir ls and ethnic gro up c hildren in r emote villages, where distances to the nearest secondary school are largest. At the same time, despite increasing investments, there h as currently n o c oncrete p olicy for d ormitories at th e secondary education level, a nd support in this area w as identified a s a priority for SESDP.
91. Supported b y c omplementary in terventions under SESDP’s project c omponent, the draft Policy Actions foresee the following conditions related to Outpu t 1 (Boxes 1a and 1b). The Loan could be released in t wo tranches - Tra nche 1 (T1 ) and Tranche 2 (T2) following completion of policy triggers at the end of 2013 and 2015. Similar boxes follow for Output 2 and Output 3.
Box 1a: Output 1 Policy Actions by end 2013
Policy Actions by end 2013
T1.(i).1 MOE shall have approved criteria for beneficiary selection as well as interim guidelines for implementing MOE- administered scholarships for disadvantaged students at all post-primary levels, including targets for female and ethnic group students.
T1.(i).2 MOE shall have completed a review of existing dormitories for secondary education and their impact on equitable access
Box 1b: Output 1 Policy Actions by end 2015
Policy Actions by end 2015
T2.(i).1 By fiscal year 2015/16, MOE shall have created and budgeted for an additional budget line for secondary education scholarships for disadvantaged students, including targets for female and ethnic group students.
T2.(i).2 MOE shall have adopted a policy on dormitories for secondary education, including guidelines on ensuring their impact on equitable access
19 Additional district has recently been added to the ‘poorest’ category making 48.
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Output 2: Improved Delivery of New Secondary Education Curricula
92. The policy program, in particular, supports continued progress in 3 areas: (i) pre- service teacher training, recruitment, deployment, and utilization planning; (ii) improving in-service teacher performance; and (iii) secondary education curriculum reform.
93. Pre-service teacher training, recruitment, deployment, and utilization planning (linked to Project sub-output 2A). Policy and project support to the pre-service teacher training system, recruitment and deployment, and local planning for utilization of new and existing tea chers w ere i dentified as priorities for th e Program, to s upport implementation of the new TDMP, TESAP, and other policies.
94. Improving in-service teacher performance (link ed to Pro ject sub-output 2B ). Monitoring and imp roving teacher performance a re recognized as c ritical to impr oving quality and advancing pupil-centered, active learning, as reflected in the TESAP.
95. Secondary education curriculum reform (linked to Project sub-output 2C). The introduction of a n imp roved c urriculum (and rel ated textb ooks) s panning four years of LSE and three years of USE a core thrust of the government’s education reform agenda. ESDF a lso stipulates targ ets of “a t least ... 4 textbooks for each s econdary school student”, and “one textbook per student per subject for Grades 1- 9 by 2015”.
96. Pre-service tea cher training will be strengthened through re vision of th e TEI curriculum by 2015 , to ful ly align with t he M1-M7 sch ool curriculum. All TEIs w ill be provided with an equipment package for secondary education and the M3-M7 textbooks and teacher guides. The quality assurance procedures for TEI course accreditation will be enhanced. To support the staffing of rura l remote schools a new policy will need to be adopted on proce dures for rural tea cher deployment and utilization. An i ncentive mechanism will be trialed for improved deployment of n ew gr aduate LSE teachers to understaffed schools in remote areas.
Box 2a: Output 2 Policy Actions by end 2013
Policy Actions by end 2013
T1.(ii).1 To align with the new secondary education curricula in schools, MOE shall have approved a revised national curriculum for higher diploma programs for pre-service training of LSE teachers at all TEI.
T1.(ii).2 MOE shall have commenced pilot testing of a placement incentive scheme for newly graduated teachers recruited to remote areas
T1.(ii).3 MOE shall have approved a guidelines for use by PES, DEB, and concerned institutions in developing annual teacher recruitment and utilization plans
T1. (ii).4 MOE shall have approved a guidelines and adopted an operational manual for teacher performance monitoring and evaluation
T1.(ii).5 MOE shall have completed the cohort- based introduction of the new LSE curriculum, including nationwide textbook and teacher guide distribution and related teacher training for fourth year LSE in SY2013/14
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Box 2b: Output 2 Policy Actions by end 2015
Policy Actions by end 2015
T2.(ii).1 MOE shall have (i) approved a revised national curriculum for bachelor’s degree programs for pre- service training of USE teachers at all FOEs; and (ii) minimum quality standards for all TEIs and FOEs
T2.(ii).2 MOE shall have completed implementation and analysis of the pilot test of a placement incentive scheme for newly graduated teachers recruited to remote areas
T2.(ii).3 MOE shall have approved new textbooks for all USE grades, ensuring these are sensitive to gender, ethnicity, and disability
Output 3: Improved delivery of new secondary education curricula
97. The policy p rogram, in partic ular, s upports c ontinued p rogress in: (i) enh anced resourcing and planning for education; and (ii) improved SE subsector management.
98. Enhanced resourcing and planning for education (linked to Project sub-output 3A). As refle cted in th e rev ised La w on Educ ation20, the ESDF, a nd v arious po licy documents, a k ey priority will be increasing resourcing to th e education sector, as well as the efficacy of fund utilization. Within this, ESDF targets increased, better managed non-salary recurrent costs and the i ntroduction of block grants as key thrusts. ESDF’s Section 2 .5 on Pr o-poor Financing stipulates, “Introduction o f formulae a nd unit cost based non-salary school block grants to all primary and secondary schools to offset loss of school income through abolition of fees.” Alongside the government’s move towards village cluster (kumban) development, it will also be essential to ensure that investments in ne w s chool c onstruction are based on c areful s chool network mapping, that a ligns investment with unmet need to efficiently and equitably expand access.
99. Improved secondary education subsector management (linked to Project sub- output 3B). Under ES DF’s thir d pilla r, improv ed s econdary education s ubsector management and governance will be c ritical to d elivery o f Lao PDR’s secondary education s ubsector refor ms a nd ov erall s ubsector p erformance. To p romote reforms’ efficacy, identifie d priorities for SESDP s upport inc lude (i) d evelopment of a communication strategy within the MOE system and outwards to communities and other stakeholders; (ii) further operationalization of th e new St rategy f or P romoting Private Education, 2 010-2010 ( which w as developed w ith BESDP support), including mobilization of non-profit actors ( e.g., N GOs), corporate s ocial responsibility, a nd various types of public-private-partnerships; and (iii) development of policy and strategy related to how s elective in vestments in ap propriate forms of information and communication te chnology ( ICT; ranging from print, tele vision and r adio, to more modern forms of ICT) can serve Lao PDR’s education objectives.
20 Approved in July 2007 The Law on Education stipulates that by 2015, 18% of the total Government budget shall be allocated to the education sector
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Box 3a: Output 2 Policy Actions by end 2013
Policy Actions by end 2013
T1.(iii).1 MOE shall have approved (i) a policy for introducing block grants to cover recurrent costs for all schools and education institutions at all levels within the MOE system, and (ii) a supporting block grant management manual
T1.(iii).2 MOE shall have (i) completed a nationwide secondary education school network mapping, and (ii) issued a decree directing PES and DEBs on use of the school network mapping to guide planning for future capital investment
T1.(iii).3 MOE shall have developed, approved, and initiated implementation of a communication strategy within the MOE system and to the general public
T1.(iii).5 MOE shall have approved a policy on appropriate ICT to support school education (grades 1-12), which is dictated by educational objectives and clearly prioritizes equity and sustainability
Box 3b: Output 2 Policy Actions by end 2015
Policy Actions by end 2015
T2.(iii).1 The Government of Lao PDR shall have allocated to the education sector a share of the total Government budget not less than 18.0%
T2.(iii).2 MOE’s budget allocation for non-salary recurrent expenditure (excluding salaries and allowances) shall be not less than 11.0% of MOE’s total budget
T2.(iii).3 MOE shall have budgeted for and released block grants to cover recurrent costs in LSE schools in all districts defined as poorest and educationally disadvantaged districts as of May 2011
T1.(iii).4 The Prime Minister’s Office shall have approved a revised decree on private education that is in alignment with the Investment Law and supports implementation of the Strategy for Promoting Private Education
T1.(iii).5 MOE shall have approved a strategy for implementing the policy on appropriate ICT to support school education (grades 1-12), which is dictated by educational objectives and clearly prioritizes equity and sustainability
5.2. SESDP Investment Project Component
100. The Project Grant will support a set of activities that are closely aligned with the policy actions and are designed to support their implementation as well as attainment of broader SE subsector goals nationwide, with some interventions targeted to prioritized disadvantaged areas. Key design features and targets are outlined by output below, as well as in the DMF (Annex 3).
5.2.1 Project Description
101. As w ith th e po licy program l oan c omponent of SES DP the p roject gr ant component will address equity, qua lity and efficiency of seco ndary education issues in Lao PDR t hrough expanding access to secondary education, improving delivery of the new secondary education curricula and strengthening the management of the secondary education subsector. The Program is in close alignment with the government’s National Education Sector R eform St rategy ( NESRS) a nd t he Ed ucation S ector De velopment
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Framework (ESDF). In ad dition to s econdary ed ucation s pecific interventions, the Program will sup port: com pletion of th e lau nch of th e revise d secondary education curriculum, w ith enhanced l inkages to p rimary edu cation a nd upstream to higher education and employment; broader system capacities, including support to th e MOE , provincial offices, an d ins titutions r esponsible fo r c urriculum dev elopment and tea cher training f or L SE an d USE; an d inc reased resourcing of secondary e ducation. Cuttin g across all of the work are th e is sues of g ender, l anguage a nd ethnic identity, po verty and social exclusion, disability rights, safeguarding of indigenous people’s welfare, care for the environment, and geographical equity. Other areas that cut across components include decentralization, institutional c apacity bu ilding, impro ving link ages between departments and units, and implementation of policy into practice, quality assurance and performance monitoring.
5.2.2 Impact and Outcome
102. The Pro ject’s targeted impact is impr oved educational attainment in La o PD R. The project’s e xpected outc ome is e nhanced eq uity, qu ality, a nd efficiency o f the secondary education sub-sector in Lao PDR.
5.2.3 Outputs
103. Three o utputs h ave been designed too achieve the e xpected o utcome: ( i) expanded ac cess to secondary educ ation; (ii) im proved deliv ery o f new s econdary education curricula; and (iii) strengthened secondary education subsector management.
104. In the detailed project description below the activity reference numbers (1A1, 1A2, etc.) relate to activities with milestones as listed in the DMF presented as Annex 3.
Output 1: Expanded Access to Secondary Education
105. The P roject will expand access through the construction of new LSE schools in targeted districts. The tar geted districts will meet two key criteria as determined by the MOE during the PPTA. Firstly officially defined by the government as a ‘poorest’ district, and secondly, classified by the MOE as ‘educationally disadvantaged’.21 Site selection will depend on additional criteria including (i) being situated on acceptable government- owned land (that does not currently host an existing permanent LSE school) that will not involve any resettlement or any adverse environmental impacts; (ii) the site’s selection is supported by the kumban; and (iii) meets a set of technical conditions (Annex 15).
106. Support to im prove access will be provided through: LSE Model 1, LSE Model 2 and an USE Model (Annex 16).
LSE Model 1 consists of on e new LS E school ( 4+1+1), LSE furniture, scholarships, a low-cost community dormitory, remedial support, an access grant, equipment and materials that include M1 and M2 textbooks and teacher’s guides, and additional arts and physical education materials LSE Mo del 2 c onsists of sc holarships, o ne lo w-cost c ommunity dormitory, remedial support, and an access grant for existing schools USE Mo del c onsisting of o ne teac hing b lock (3+1+1+1), USE fur niture, scholarships, a low-cost community dormitory, remedial support, an access grant,
21 Letter referenced 319/NCRD/Cabinet dated 19 May 2011 from the Prime Minister’s Office (National Commission for Rural Development and Poverty Reduction) confirmed newly designated districts, Phonthong (Luang Prabang), Mun (Vientiane Province), Xaisathan (Xaignabouly Province) and Xaichamphon (Bolikhamxai Province) are classified as ‘poorest’.
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equipment and m aterials. The U SE te aching b locks w ill be constructed on 15 existing secondary school sites.
107. Output 1 staff and teacher training activities are summarized in Annex 17.
Sub-output 1A: Classroom Provision to Address Physical Access
1A1 Construction of 30 new LSE schools which provide access to quality education
108. SESDP will support PES and DEB in ide ntifying new school locations, which will reduce di stance and t ravel time for s tudents f rom t he p oorest c ommunities. The new schools w ill have 4 classrooms, a mu lti-use room tha t su pports science tea ching and provides space for a library, and a teacher-resource room. Schools will also be provided with reliable supplies of electricity and potable water supply and gender-segregated wet areas (Annex 18). D esigns will be similar to th ose de veloped u nder BESDP and will ensure a ccess to d isabled ch ildren. P rocurement of LSE ci vil works will follow the procurement plan in Annex 19; the PES will be responsible for the process supported by the Project Management Unit (PMU), following the announcement by the MOE (PMU).
1A2 Expansion of USE classroom and laboratory facilities at 15 existing secondary schools
109. USE c lassroom c onstruction will either exp and an existing LSE sc hool to be a complete s econdary s chool or will expand USE p laces in an al ready complete secondary school. These facilities will be created in 15 Provinces on sites identified by DEB and PES so that there are classroom places for the greater numbers of students completing Gra de 9. These expa nded USE fa cilities on government-owned land will receive 3 c lassrooms, a labor atory, a multi-u se room, a t eacher-resource room, electricity, water s upply an d g ender-segregated toilets acc essible to d isabled c hildren. Procurement of US E civil works will follow the procurement plan in Annex 19; the PES will be responsible for the pro cess supported by the PMU, following the announcement by the MOE (PMU).
1A3 Furniture packages for 30 LSE schools and new USE classrooms in 15 existing secondary schools
110. The 30 new LSE schools and 15 USE teaching blocks will be provided with basic furniture p ackages. In a ddition they will be p rovided with equipment pac kages u nder Output 2 to support the new M3-M7 curricula [see 2D1/2D2]. Procurement of LSE and USE furniture and equipment will follow the procurement plan in Annex 19; the PMU will be responsible for the process.
Sub-output 1B Direct Support for Disadvantaged Students
1B1 LSE baseline in 30 districts
111. During 2012 following initial training, provided by the PMU with support from the Inclusive Ed ucation Centre (IEC) and ESITC, pr ovincial an d district sta ff w ill s upport school-level members of the pupil parents associations (PPAs), VEDCs and kumbans as appropriate to establish or confirm baseline data on feeder primary schools, including details of s tudents by gr ade, gender, year of bir th, home la nguage, family e conomic status, and distance/time to the nearest school with Grades 6-9.
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112. Some information about out of sc hool children aged 11-14 will also be collected. Information collected in the LSE baseline will be used by the DEB to re-confirm sites for new LSE con struction identified by t he MO E d uring t he PPTA , and provide a comprehensive lis t of Grade 4 s tudents in 20 11/12 who will f orm the pool of Grade 5 students in 2012/13 for possible LSE scholarships in 2013/14.
113. In c ommunities selected fo r new LSE construction, c ommittee me mbers of the PPA, VEDC, and kumban would undertake a more detailed study of all 11-14 year-olds in their c ommunity, inc luding numbers by gender and whether children h ave ev er attended s chool, a re c urrently attending primary s chool, c urrently a ttending LSE, o r have dropped out of school. For new LSE schools drawing students from feeder villages remote from the proposed school site, SESDP will support baseline data collection and consultation with village communities.22
1B2 LSE scholarships in selected communities of 30 districts
114. SESDP c onsultants w ill a ssist the IE C in r evising scholarship pr ocedures developed under BESD P; w ith PP As in targ et sch ools pr oviding grea ter commu nity supervision of scholarship awards, attendance and completion rates (Annex 20).
115. Up to 1 ,740 LSE scholarships w ill b e made a vailable to the p oorest students entering Grade 6 in 2013/14 in 30 new sc hools and 30 existing LSE schools in tar get districts: at least 50% s hall be r eserved fo r gi rls and 80% f or ethn ic group students. Scholarships will be paid a t t he Gov ernment mo nthly r ate at the beginning of ea ch semester in Grade 6 to Grade 9, with an incentive payment in the second semester in Grade 9 for scholarship students completing Grade 9.
116. Community participation in ba seline da ta collection w ill assist identification of poorest families and selection of Grade 5 students in 2012/13 to be offered scholarships for Grade 6 in 2013/14.
1B3 USE baseline survey in 15 provinces
117. Training will be provided by the PMU w ith s upport from the Inc lusive Education Centre (IEC) and ESITC for provincial and district staff to establish/confirm baseline data of exis ting s chools with LSE Gra des M1 -M4, by g ender and home la nguage, an d approximate d istance/time to t he ne arest school with g rades M1 0-12. Some information, about out of school c hildren ag ed 13-16 will be required. The information collected in the USE baseline will be used by provinces to identify potential sites for new USE construction, as well as a comprehensive list of Grade 7 students in 2011/12 who will form the pool of Grade 9 stude nts in 2013/1 4 for possible U SE scholarships in 2014/15.
1B4 USE scholarships in selected communities
118. Project consultants w ill assist t he IEC i n adapting S ESDP L SE scho larship procedures f or awarding USE sc holarships; tha t inc lude PPAs in t arget s chools providing c ommunity s upervision of s cholarship aw ards, a ttendance a nd c ompletion rates.
119. The school c ommunity in each p rovince, which receives USE c lassrooms, will assist ide ntification of eligible s tudents c ompleting Grade 9 in 2 013/14 for entry i nto
22 The age/grade/participation profile generated by the baseline provides a basis for monitoring changes in participation patterns in target districts.
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Grade 1 0 i n 2014/15. A n a dditional 25 USE s chools in t he s ame provinces will be allocated scholarships and will also need to establish a PPA in order for the scholarships to be managed. Each of the 40 schools will be allocated up to 30 scholarships giving a total of at least 1,200 USE scholarships, at least 50% shall be provided for girls and 80% for ethnic grou p students. Scholarships will be paid at the Government monthly rate at the beginning of ea ch s emester in G rade 10 to Grade 12.23 Und er s ub-output 3D 2, a rigorous impact evaluation of LSE scholarships will be undertaken.
Sub-output 1C School-level Support to Enhance Equitable Access
1C1 Low-cost community managed LSE dormitories
120. SESDP w ill sup port co mmunity manag ement of low -cost d ormitories fo r LSE students in 30 new LSE schools [1A1] and 3 0 existing schools giving a total of 60 LSE dormitories. In the 30 s ites where t he Project is c onstructing new LSE s chools, the construction co ntract w ill provide the concrete base, p illars and the roof. For the 30 existing LSE schools, which will r eceive Grad e 6 s cholarships in 2013/14 to imp rove access for girls and eth nic g roups to secondary s chool, c ement, pilla rs an d roofing materials will b e pr ovided for a dormitory. [If p racticable, this ma y be i ncluded in the nearest LSE con struction contract]. Appropriate arr angements will be made fo r ad ult supervision by p roviding accommodation for a male and a female tea cher w ithin the dormitory to be c onstructed with P roject s upport.24 Cooking an d feeding w ill be arranged through community management guidelines (Annex 20).
1C2 Remedial support for boarding students in 60 LSE schools
121. Students f rom small p rimary schools in remote villages entering LSE Grade M3 may need support, particularly in mathematics, reading and writing if they are to make an effec tive tran sition to a new l earning env ironment w ith s tudents f rom different communities. Option s inc lude “homework” s upport from th e adult s upervisor or fr om teachers of particular subjects. Remedial activities are intended to make effective use of student time out-of-school and to ensure students achieve the best learning outcomes in the 60 LSE. The remedial support will be provided in both new schools and in existing schools provided with low cost dormitories. Advice and materials on rem edial programs will be provided by the DSE, in a way that is flexible enough to allow each LSE school to design its own program.
1C3 Access grants for 60 LSE schools
122. In addition to scholarships, low-cost boarding facilities and remedial support in 60 LSE schools the PPAs may apply for an access grant for an approved purpose including more low-cost d ormitory s pace, expanded remedia l s upport and s upport for poor children. SE SDP w ill assist D SE in collabo ration with DNFE to revise the BE SDP Education Development Grant Program (EDGP) guidelines for “access grants”, including income-generating a ctivities such a s a school gard en or s chool canteen to generate funds for the school t o support increased access and eq uity. Access Grant guidelines would limit any income generating activity to half of the grant amount (Annex 20).
23 No completion incentive payment proposed for USE scholarships. 24 Any required internal partitions to the dormitories will be provided by the community
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1C4 Low-cost community managed USE dormitories
123. SESDP will support community management of low-cost dormitories in 15 schools receiving U SE c lassrooms [1A2]. The Pr oject would provide ma terials for th e base/foundation; col umns/pillars and roofing ma terials for comm unity construction of dormitory acc ommodation and gender segregated t oilets and wet areas. Co oking and feeding will be arranged through community management guidelines (Annex 20).
1C5 Remedial support for boarding students in schools receiving new USE classrooms
124. Students from small LSE schools in remote villages entering Grade M5 may need support, particularly in mathematics, reading and writing if they are to make an effective transition to a new learning env ironment w ith s tudents fro m different communities. Options inc lude “homework” support fro m the a dult supervisor or fr om te achers of particular subjects. It is intended to make effective use of student time out-of-school and to ens ure s tudents ac hieve t he bes t learni ng outcomes. Adv ice and ma terials on remedial programs will be provided by the DSE, in a way that is flexible enough to allow each USE school to design its own program.
1C6 Access grants for 15 schools with USE
125. In addition to scholarships, low-cost boarding facilities and remedial support in 15 USE schools th e PP As may apply f or an access grant for an ap proved purpo se including mor e low-cost dormito ries, ex panded r emedial support and s upport for poor children. S ESDP w ill assist D SE in collaboration with DNFE to revise B ESDP EDGP guidelines for USE Access Gran ts man agement pur poses. The gr ants will also be available f or i ncome-generating activity such a s a s chool garden or s chool c anteen t o generate funds for the school to support increased access and equity. Grant guidelines would limit any income generating activity to half of the grant amount. (Annex 20).
Output 2: Improved Delivery of New Secondary Education Curricula
Sub-output 2A. Strengthening Pre-service Teacher Training Systems and Placement of New Secondary Education Teachers
2A1 Pre-service teacher training curriculum to be aligned with M1-M7 school curriculum and develop procedures for TEI QA accreditation system
126. Two TEI p riorities are i dentified fo r fu rther strengthening of c apacity under the SESDP pr oject: (i) the pr e-service tea cher training curriculum f or lo wer and upper secondary teachers and the corresponding instructional resource capacity of TEIs needs to be developed to more closely align with the new M1 to M7 curriculum; (ii) the s ystem of quality assurance in TEIs needs to be further strengthened.
127. The c urriculum re vision i s n eeded in order to upgr ade the TEI p re-service curriculum from the 11+3 to 12+3 Higher Diploma LSE qualification and 11+5 to 12 +4 Bachelor de gree USE q ualification.25 U nder SESDP the high er diploma an d ba chelor degree courses w ill be review ed and sup plementary gui delines will be written for all secondary edu cation s ubjects. R IES and TEI/FO E subject s pecialists working with project consultants will support the revision.
25 11+3 LS LSE qualification and 11+5 US USE qualification will be upgraded to 12+3 LS LSE qualification and 12+4 US USE qualification in 2011/2012
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128. TEI master trainers and senior staff will participate in, and lead, capacity building workshops for introduction of the revised curriculum.
129. The E SQAC and DTE will be provided with consultancy support to develop t he Quality As surance procedures f or accreditation of LSE and USE p re-service teacher training courses to ensure equivalency of standards between TEIs and FOEs.
2A2 Curriculum resources and instructional materials for TEIs and FOEs
130. Teaching materials will be provided to all TEIs and FOEs with a priority on supply of science a nd library resources to enabl e teac hers to learn mor e practical teaching approaches aligned to the new student-centered methodology. Physical education and arts resources will also be provided to the respective specialist TEIs. All TEIs and FOEs will be provided with 4 complete sets of M3 to M 7 textbooks and t eacher guides at the same time as rollout and distribution to schools. The ICT4LE learning resources being developed by RIES under 2B2 will also be applicable to the TEI curriculum delivery.
2A3 Trial graduate teacher placement scheme
131. A Graduate Teacher Placement Scheme will be piloted to encourage new science graduate teac hers t o work in po or e thnic area L SE sc hools in rur al are as by 2 013/14 (Annex 8). De partment of Per sonnel (DOP ) a nd DSE will d evelop procedures f or implementation of the Graduate Teacher Placement Scheme; the procedures w ill build on t he initial feasibility and preliminary design prepared under t he SE SDP PPTA. The Graduate Teacher Placement Scheme will be piloted in 5 project districts. 25 graduate teachers will be s elected and appointed to 5 target dis tricts, giving p riority t o female teachers and teachers from ethnic groups. A cash and in-kind payment will be provided equivalent to 150 USD for each of two years. The pilot scheme will test the effectiveness of an initial location allowance and an end of year bonus payment.
132. An M&E pr ocedure will be designed for district and school level audit. The M &E procedure will b e c onducted t hrough MOE staff monitoring visits a nd district lev el monitoring m eetings. An ev aluation of t he s cheme will be procured throu gh PMU to assess the fea sibility for scale u p, cri tical sustainability fa ctors, a nd procedures for regularizing of the scheme by MOE.
2A4 Procedures and manuals for teacher recruitment and utilization, and teacher quality and performance
133. The SESDP w ill support the DOP to de velop pro cedural g uidelines for the Teacher Recruitment and Utilization Plan, to replace the teacher quota system. ESQAC, in c ollaboration with DS E a nd DTE, has be gun the des ign of a teac her qu ality and performance monitoring (TQP M) s ystem, w hich a ligns w ith the SOQ in itiative. Th e project will provide support for development of monitoring guidelines to be used by DOP, PES and DEB as a basic tool for implementation of the TQPM system by 2014.
Sub-output 2B. In-service Teacher Training and Support for Delivering the New SE Curriculum
2B1 Delivery of M3-M7 curriculum in-service teacher training
134. SESDP consultants will s upport D SE in c ollaboration w ith DTE and RIES i n delivery o f the training of trainers (TOT) and in-service teacher training workshops associated with implementation of M3 to M7 curriculum starting by 2014 with completion by 2016.
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135. Training manuals w ill be prepared for eac h g rade level, providing p ractical information for use in district and school-based training sessions, including a summary of ne w c urriculum c ontent, g uidance on practical te aching m ethodology, t he l ocal curriculum, classroom management, and assessment of student learning.
136. All secondary pedagogical advisers (SPAs) and master trainers will participate in regional training of trainers (TOT) for capacity building to enable them to implement the in-service tea cher traini ng prog ram at p rovincial a nd district c enters, a nd t o prov ide follow up support in s chools, totaling 16 days of prof essional development for SPA and master trainers.
Table 2 Outline Plan for M3-M7 Teacher Training
Outline Plan 2012 2012 201 3 201 4 2015 2016 for M3-M7 M3 M5 (pilot) M4 M5 (final) M6 M7 Teacher Training Workshop to 5 days 5 days 2 days 5 days 3 days 3 days prepare Training Manual TOT 5 days - 2 days 3 days 3 days 3 days In-Service 5 days x 5 5 days x 5 days x 5 5 days x 5 5 days x 5 5 days x 5 Teacher M3 11 M 5 M4 M5 M6 M7 Training teachers teachers teachers teachers teachers teachers from each from 15 from each from each from each from each school schools school school school school Note: Wording “from each school” refers to coverage of all LSE, USE, or complete SE schools covering t hat grade nationwide.
2B2 RIES to develop media-based materials to support SPAs
137. Capacity building of the RIES Education Media Unit will be undertaken within the SESDP to impr ove deliv ery of TV, ra dio and ICT media- based teaching and lea rning materials. A capacity needs a ssessment a nd fea sibility stud y w ill be und ertaken of RIES. TV a nd r adio p rograms will b e developed f or u se b y S PAs i n t he de livery o f school b ased in-service teac her training fo r improv ed imp lementation of the n ew secondary school curriculum. This will help to overcome the problem of de livering high cost central and provincial bas ed training which li mits the n umber of p articipants, especially te achers from rem ote ar eas. Furthermore, te acher tr aining programs delivered in or close to school sites will enable learning to be transferred more directly to the classroom and teac hers will be ab le to e stablish professional networks w ith colleagues in their schools to share their new learning.
138. ICT4LE media-based teaching and learning materials will be developed by RIES Education Media Unit, initially for one secondary education core subject and used in the SPA Pilot [2B4]. The ICT4LE materials development will be scaled up by RIES, following the analysis of the pilot phase, to provide a set of media-based materials for the 5 core secondary education subject strands and with further support from SESDP.
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2B3 Support for the professional development of pedagogical advisers
139. The SESDP will provide targeted support to DSE to strengthen the capacity of all SPAs nationwide, through the funding of annual regional conferences by 2012. DSE will ensure that all SPAs will receive a total of 16 days TOT in the program to train trainers for the M3 to M7 curriculum rollout over the period 2012 to 201 6. The one-day annual regional conferences w ill be s cheduled at the end of the M3-M7 TO T w orkshops to minimize travel time and associated costs. In the regional annual conferences the SPAs supported by DSE will o rganize a structured p rogram of information exchange and professional networking including reporting on the progress in implementation of Pilot 2 trialing of ICT4LE media-based resources [2B4].
2B4 SPA package to support the pilot ICT4LE
140. SESDP will provide a local allowance and resource package to one SPA in each of 5 t arget p roject di stricts on a t rial basis. D SE in c oordination with t he RIES a nd respective PES will take responsibility.
141. The 5 selected SPAs will participate in the piloting and evaluation of the education media resources developed by RIES. A local allowance will be funded by the project for a 3-year trial period to c over the costs of v acation travel, accommodation costs in the district location and transportation allowance for the 5 selected SPAs to travel to outlying schools.
142. The r esource package w ill include a la ptop comp uter and TV/DVD pla yer to enable the 5 selected S PAs to ac cess ICT4L E media- based resources. The I CT4LE materials will be piloted by the 5 S PAs who have been allocated the resource package in the LSE and USE schools in which they work. The ICT materials will include DVDs, radio and TV progr ams. The materials will include classroom activities for teachers and students, and schoo l based in-service teacher train ing f or use by SPAs, school principals and teachers.
143. All schools will be able to access the pilot TV and radio broadcasts if they wish to do so. Lessons learned and practical ideas for implementation of ICT4LE will be shared and discussed in the annual regional conferences for SPAs.
2B5 Teacher upgrade grants
144. A grant w ill be provided w ithin the SESDP t o enable 30 LSE qua lified science teachers working in poor ethnic areas to enroll on secondary education teacher upgrade programs to upg rade fro m 11 +3 to BA q ualification. Prio rity will be given to f emale teachers and t eachers from ethn ic gr oups. Th e s election of the tea chers will be the responsibility of DSE working with DTE. The course requires attendance at a provincial centre or TEI for 6 weeks each summer for three years. The grant will cover the cost of course fe es, accommodation a nd trav el allo wance for the th ree-year upgrade p eriod with a final bonus payment on successful course completion and retention in the same school location. The program will start in target districts in 2012.
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Sub-output 2C Support for New Curriculum Materials (Textbooks and Teacher Guides)
2C1 Distribution of M3 and M4 textbooks and teacher guides to 1,200 schools and all TEIs
145. In parallel with training for M3 and M4, the PMU will directly support procurement of the printing, packaging and nationwide distribution of the final 2 years (M3-M4) of LSE curriculum materials (Annex 21). The textbooks and teacher guides will be delivered to 1200 schools and all TEIs in SY2012/13 (M3) and SY2013/14 (M4)—see also Tables 3- 4 further below.
2C2 New USE textbooks and teacher guides to 500 schools with USE classes and all TEIs
146. SESDP consultants will s upport RIES in the development of MOE ’s new U SE curriculum mate rials (text books a nd tea cher guides) within the a pproved U pper Secondary C urriculum F ramework. As s hown i n Table 2, i n e ach of t he years 2 013- 2015 prior to the offic ial introduction o f the new M5 -M7 c urriculum, a series of workshops will be conducted to develop curriculum materials for that USE year.
147. In each year (for each of the 3 USE grades), RIES will organize a 2-day review of existing materials f or each gr ade l evel, followed b y a 5-day c urriculum materials development workshop, bringing together curriculum writing teams, two specialists each for the 5 c ore subject strands. A furth er 5 days is allocated for school-based testing of the curriculum materials for the 14 secondary education subjects at each grade level.
148. A Committee on Approval o f Curriculum and In structional Ma terials (CACIM) workshop and curriculum materials ‘camera ready copy’ (CRC) check will be undertaken before documents are released for printing.
149. The PMU w ill directly support p rocurement o f th e pr inting, packaging and nationwide distribution of the (M5-M7) of USE curriculum materials annually as set out in Annex 21 (the Proposed Textbooks, Teachers Guides, Printing, Packaging and Delivery Plan) and Annex 19 (the Procurement Plan).
150. As noted in Sub-output 2C3 below, in 2012, SESDP will also support pilot testing of interim M5 materials, to feed into the M5-M7 curriculum development process during 2013-2015.
Table 3: Outline Plan for M3-M7 Curriculum Materials development
Outline Plan for M3-M7 Curriculum Materials 2012 2 013 2014 2015 development Review of existing materials 2 M5 (final) M6 M7 days Curriculum materials development 5 M5 (final) M6 M7 workshop days Curriculum materials testing 5 M5 (final) M6 M7 days Curriculum materials CACIM workshop 3 M5 (final) M6 M7 days Curriculum Materials CRC check 2 M3 and M4 M5 (final) M6 M7 days M5 (pilot) Bid Evaluation Meeting 1 day M3 M4 M6 M 7 M5 (pilot) M5 (final)
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Table 4: Outline Plan for M3-M7 Printing Assumptions
Outline Plan 2012 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 for M3-M7 Printing M3 M5 (pilot) M4 M5 (final) M6 M7 assumptions Text B ook Titles 11 titles 11 t itles 11 titles 11 t itles 11 titles 12 titles Student: 1:1 (core) 1:1 (core) (core) 4:1 Textbook ratio 3 sets per 4:1 4:1 school 8 titles 8 titles 8 titles (electives) (electives) (electives) 3 sets per 25 copies of 25 copies of school each book each book per school per school Teachers Guide 14 titles 12 titles 14 titles 12 titles 12 titles 13 titles Titles 25:1 (core) 25:1 (core) (core) 25:1 Student: 2 sets per 25:1 25:1 Teachers school Guides ratio 10 titles 10 titles 10 titles (electives) (electives) (electives) 1 set per 25:1 25:1 school Text B ook Titles 11 titles 1810 sets 11 titles 1810 sets of 1810 sets of 12 titles for MOE, TEI 1810 of core and 1810 core and core and 1810 and private Textbooks electives Textbooks electives electives Textbook sector stock s Teachers Guide 14 titles 1810 sets 14 titles 1810 sets of 1810 sets of 13 titles Titles 1810 of core and 1810 core and core and 1810 Quantity for Teachers electives Teachers electives electives Teachers MOE, TEI and Guides Guides Guides stock for private sector Distribution 120 0 LSE Assume 1200 LSE Assume 500 Assume 500 Assume schools 450 schools schools with schools with 500 schools M5 M6 schools with M5 with M7
2C3 M5 curriculum materials piloted in 15 SE schools in 5 target provinces
151. In addition to the cohort rollout of M3 to M7 textbooks and teacher guides, a pilot M5 print run and distribution of textbooks and teacher guides will be undertaken in 2012 by RIES working with DSE and DTE. This interim measure will be undertaken to meet the c urrent extreme shortage of M5 textbooks and teac her guides. The M5 pilo t will provide R IES with an opportunity fo r tria ling an d s ubsequent revision to th e M5 textbooks and teacher guides prior to full roll out in 2014.
152. The project will provide: (i) limited (but nationwide) printing and distribution of an emergency supply of these interim M5 materials; (ii) a focused pilot test in 5 pr ovinces and a total of 15 schools with M5 classes, including provision of training on the interim M5 materials’ content and careful monitoring and evaluation; (iii) findings from the pil ot refinements to the M5 mat erials in time fo r th e printing an d nation wide roll-out of the revised M5 curriculum in SY2014/15.
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Sub-output 2D Teaching and Learning Equipment and Materials to Support Improved Teaching (in 30 new LSE Schools and 15 USE schools)
2D1 Provide M1 and M2 textbooks and teacher guides, basic science equipment, materials and library books to 30 LSE schools in target areas
153. A basic set of teaching a nd learning resources will be pr ovided for all ne w LSE schools constructed under the SESDP by 2013. A school set of M1 and M2 textbooks and te acher guides will b e p rovided. Basic science e quipment and l aboratory facilities will also be pr ovided to each newly constructed LSE school, in cluding instru ctional materials for physics, bio logy and che mistry, and library resources. The priority will be on t he s upply of science a nd library res ources to impr ove s tudent u nderstanding, practical application of learning and s elf-study opportunities. Indicative lists for science equipment are included in Annex 22. RIES with DSE will be responsible for review of the technical lists of equipment and learning materials. Procurement of the equipment and materials will follow the procurement plan in Annex 19; the PMU will be responsible for the procurement process and distribution.
2D2 Provide basic materials/equipment for Arts/Music/Physical Education
154. An additional set of teaching and learning resources for arts and music kits will be provided by 2013 for 30 ne w LSE schools constructed under the SESDP. Procurement of the arts/music/physical education equipment and materials will follow the procurement plan in A nnex 19; the PMU will be re sponsible for t he procu rement proce ss an d distribution.
2D3 Provide science equipment and materials for 15 existing secondary schools to support USE instruction by 2017
155. Basic science equi pment will be provided to 15 new ly constru cted SE teach ing blocks, including instructional materials for physics, biology chemistry, library resources, physical education kits, and arts and music kits. The priority will be on supply of science and library resources to improve student understanding, practical application of learning and self-study o pportunities. Procurement o f the USE equipment and materials w ill follow t he procurement plan in Annex 1 9; the PMU will be r esponsible for th e procurement process and distribution.
Sub-output 2.E. Support for Improved Student Assessment
2E1 Rules and regulations M4 and M7 national exams and HE exams
156. The SESDP project w ill assist ESQAC and DSE in s trengthening the national examinations for M4 and M7 through support in drafting of new rules and regulations by 2014. Workshops to be facilitated by ESQAC and D SE will include technical input from SESDP consultants to assist in formulating a document, which aligns with international standards and best prac tice. At USE le vel th e G12 National Infor mation R esource Centre is to be established along with procedures for improving transparency in national examinations (SEA P USE Quality P rogram 4.5). T he SESDP will support the pro cess through w orkshops to a ssist i n formulating a do cument, w hich is compliant with th e emerging Na tional Q ualifications Framework. Th e inputs will ensure tha t the re is enhanced continuity and smooth transition from USE schools to university and technical vocational study, aligned with international standards and best practice.
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2E2 Assessment for student learning outcomes for M4 in 2014 and M7 in 2017
157. The SESDP will assist RIES and DSE with development of t he M4 (Assessment for Student Learning Outcomes) ASLO in 2014 and t he M7 ASLO in 2017. Support will build upon t he exis ting expertise a nd experience of RIES to a ssist in p lanning and design s tages an d the l ater analysis and reporting stage. RIES has the c apacity to conduct th e AS LO fo llowing t he procedures alread y es tablished in ear lier r ounds of ASLO. The critical safeguards to be put in place relate to transparency in administration and reporting of the ASLO.
158. Support and implementation responsibilities for Outpu t 2 s ub-outputs and activities are summarized in Annex 23. The proposed staff and teacher training schedule is set out in Annex 17.
Output 3. Strengthened Secondary Education Subsector Management
159. The Program’s contribution to strengthening secondary education will support SE subsector a nalysis, capacity building f or improv ed SE subsector ma nagement at a ll levels, community engagement in s chool s upport and manag ement in t arget L SE and USE schools, monitoring and evaluation, a s pecial evaluation linked study and project management.
160. Output 3 institutional and capacity building activities are summarized in Annex 17.
Sub-output 3A. Support for Enhanced Subsector Analysis
3A1 Institutional analysis of SE subsector and in-depth LSE needs assessment.
161. There will be a ne ed to update the analyses carried out under ESDF, SEAP and the SESDP PPTA to en sure that activities p lanned un der 3B1 a re sti ll a ligned, appropriately tar geted w ith no duplication; and no new opportunities have e merged since late 2 010. This will be particularly n ecessary in the E D dis tricts w here the FTI project and SESDP will both be working with the PES and DEB. The PMU will take the lead in coordinating DOP and other beneficiary departments identified under 3B1, and complete the update by December 2012. The update will be prepared through a central review and planning workshop organized by DOP, who will also collect data through a rapid rev iew a t th e local level;26 an d a validation me eting at c entral l evel. Project consultants will support the overall process.
3A2 Updated LSE and USE school-network mapping
162. A school network mapping exercise will be rolled out by the ESITC that includes: (i) r eviewing the re commendations made under BES DP; (ii) c ontributing to the confirmation of school locations identified as potential sites for the 30 new LSE schools; (iii) confirming the locations of the 15 new teaching blocks for USE under SESDP; (iv) map other current and future secondary school locations in the same districts in order to complete school mapping in the 30 access focused districts; (v) survey other districts in the same provinces; and map provinces where no construction is planned using SESDP funds. In all cases kumban arrangements with be taken into account.
163. The school-network mapping program will begin with a central five-day workshop to train 17 provincial staff in school-network mapping techniques. This trained group will then tra in 1 43 d istrict s taff through p rovincial le vel five -day workshops i n t he sa me
26 Three provinces and 2 districts in each of the three provinces will be visited. (North, Central and South)
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techniques. The training will build capacity for DEB and PES staff to (i) assist VEDC and kumban members in identifying options for access to LSE and (ii) support more rigorous planning for LSE and USE expansion. National and international consultants will support design an d traini ng aspects o f the school-network ma pping pr ogram. Fo llowing th e extensive data coll ection t he data will be analyzed and a rep ort p repared for ea ch province du ring a 5- day prov incial l evel w orkshop. As tar geted in the Program po licy actions MOE s hall have (i) completed the nationwide SE school-network mapping, and (ii) issued a dec ree directing all P ES and all DEB o n th e u se o f th e s chool-network mapping p rocesses an d products to gu ide planning fo r future c apital in vestment b y 2013.
3A3 Assessment of existing secondary education related management information systems
164. Under the SESDP a review of the existing assessments of secondary related MIS by ESITC in c onsultation with other MIS data providers (including DOP, Dep artment of Finance (DOF), DTE, PES and DEB) will contribute to the continual work to improve the MIS of the education sector. The assessment will include a review to supplement recent modifications under B ESDP to improv e the LSE r elated MI S and t he preparation of a detailed plan for better in tegrating LSE and U SE re quired da ta i nto th e pr ocesses of information c ollection. T raining a ctivities will s trengthen the maintena nce, mo nitoring and analytic capacity of the DOP and DOF staff who maintain the PMIS and the FMIS. Workshops and field visits are provided: to carry out the reviewing and supplementing of recent a nalyses o f e xisting LSE related MIS, to prepare detailed plans fo r be tter integrating of MIS systems; and the strengthening of PMIS and FMIS staff capacities.
3A4 Detailed needs analysis USE in 15 provinces
165. PES and DE B with the suppo rt of ESITC w ill undertake a de tailed USE needs analysis in 15 provinces to a ssist in the confirmation o f USE school lo cations in bo th districts and provinces identified during the PPTA.
Sub-output 3B. Capacity Building for Improved SE Subsector Management At All Levels
3B1 Phased, multi-modal capacity building for education sector staff at central, provincial/local levels and secondary school principals
166. Based on th e u pdated i nstitutional analysis [3A1], a ph ased and multimodal capacity building program for educ ation sector staff a t central level (including the PMU, and impl ementing units (IUs )), p rovincial/local le vels and tar geted s econdary lev el school principa ls will be de veloped and de livered with na tional and international consultant s upport ( Annex 24). Th e P MU w ill c oordinate the implementation of th e training pl an with th e benefitting line departments of MOE a nd provincial and district offices (Annex 17).
167. At the central to district levels the focus of the program will be on capacity building for quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation, finance, secondary education system management a t c entral, p rovincial and district lev el; and SESDP man agement. Th e content will be agreed w ith the benefitting organizational units (including ESQAC, DOF, DOP, DOI and DSE). A p articular focus is on the needs of the d istricts that will receive one of the three access packages (LSE Model 1, LSE Model 2 and the USE Model).
168. Within the capacity building program DOP supported by SESDP consultants will assist th e r evision of the m anuals of working procedures of t he c entral MOE
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departments, centers and units and the provincial and district equivalents. Staff of each division w ill w ork o n the revision and this will assist furth er un derstanding of working procedures by departmental personnel.
169. DOP, supported by the SESDP consultants, will organize a training of trainers for PES cou nterparts, who w ill then conduct provincial level tra inings on school improvement planning with an emphasis on instructional leadership. The latter will cover a total of 1,200 secondary school directors, one from each school in 2013, followed by a phased program of annual capacity building seminars with two school leaders from each school (in total 2,400 staff phased over 4 y ears). Participants in these seminars will be the s chool di rector a nd wher e po ssible priority given to a s enior femal e te acher fr om each of the 1200 secondary schools.
3B2 Communication, dissemination and advocacy strategy developed and launched
170. A communication, dissemination and advocacy strategy that re cognizes t he importance of secondary education and in particular LSE will be developed. RIES, with support from SESD P co nsultants, will prepare t he stra tegy i n dialogue, with MOE information officers, the De partment o f No n-formal ed ucation ( DNFE), a nd other stakeholder departments. This communication, dissemination and advocacy strategy will be developed and launched by the end of 2013. The strategy will include positive media coverage and incorporate heroic stories about teachers and DEB staff working in remote poor ethnic group areas. Further consultation will take place through regional meetings and a validation meeting will be held prior to the submission of the draft communication, dissemination and advocacy strategy to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Following the signing of the decree, a national event be held by the end of 2013 to launch the strategy. Implementation of the strategy will begin with a workshop to train 10 MOE staff, 17 PES staff and 17 provincial information officers.
3B3 Support for the implementation of the Strategy for Promoting Private Education, 2010-2020
171. The P rogram will prov ide s upport t o the Dep artment of Private Edu cation Management (DPEM) f or t he im plementation of the Strategy for P romoting Private Education i ncluding (i) f ocus g roup meetings o n bu siness in vestment in private education, (ii) f ocus gr oup me etings on NGO a nd non-profit making o rganizations to contribute inv estment in p rivate education especially i n remote are as a nd (iii) t he development of a decree (targeting approval by the PMO by 201 5 that is in alignment with th e I nvestment Law and s upports implementation of the Strategy for Promotin g Private Education, 2010-2020.
3B4 Development of a strategy and policy on “ICT-for-Lao PDR Education”
172. The Progra m p rovides for technical advice to the DSE in the pre paration of a strategy and policy on a ppropriate ICT for Lao Education (ICT4LE). The strategy and policy, to support teaching, learning and school management, will be developed by DSE in dialogue with the Department of P re-school and Primary Ed ucation ( DPPE), ESITC and other institutions within and outside the MOE. The policy on appropriate ICT for Lao Education will c over s chool e ducation (grades 1-1 2) a nd be dictated by e ducational objectives and clearly prior itize equ ity and sustainability. Contributing to the po licy development a small-scale pilot stud y will be undertaken under 2B4. The task dir ectly supports ac hievement of tw o policy l oan c onditions: (i) approval of th e ICT4L E Policy and issue of a c orresponding d ecree by the end of 2013 and ( ii) the approval of th e ICT4LE Strategy by 2015.
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Sub-output 3C. Support for Community Engagement in School Support and Management in target LSE and USE schools
3C1 Establish pupil parent associations and build their capacity
173. DSE will work with DNFE and DEB’s to establish or reconstitute the PPA’s in the 75 schools supported under Output 1. The capacity of the PPAs will be built to reinforce management of s cholarships and access grants and to strengthen PPAs broader roles in ex panding local enr olment and s chool manag ement. O nly schools with functioning PPAs will be eligi ble for sch olarships a nd access gra nts [see 1 B, 1 C an d Annex 20]. DSE with DNFE will provide a workshop with consultant support for provinces, districts and s chools to review an d re vise the c urrent PPA ’s processes and BES DP manuals. Following the e stablishment of new or r econstituted co mmittees tw o-day capacity building workshops for school mana gement committee members will be held by DEBs supported by central trainers. Further capacity building will be through periodic two-day experience sharing meetings at district level every year. Additional capacity building will be undertaken through Output 1, as various manuals and guidelines are developed to ensure tha t ma nagement of sc holarships and access grants a re adminis tered transparently against clearly set out criteria.
Sub-output 3D Monitoring and Evaluation and Special Study
3D1 M&E implemented throughout the project with data feeding into the MOE Performance Assessment Framework
174. A detailed SESDP mo nitoring and eva luation plan will be finalized early in 2012, by PMU s taff supported by M&E consultants. K ey M&E mile stone activities to b e included in the M&E pla n include the collection of baseline data by end 2012, an interim assessment by 2014, final data collection by 2016, and report submission by 2017. The M&E plan will include quarterly reporting of project specific activities and outputs. Output reports will include data relevant for monitoring and evaluating all aspects of the project covering all three outputs: expanded access to secondary education, improved delivery of new secondary education curriculum and strengthened secondary education. Section 5.1.4 gives more details of M&E activities throughout the Project.
175. The comprehensive SESDP ba seline s tudy t o be comp leted by end 2012 will include relevant quantitative and qualitativ e data identified by inte rnational and national M&E c onsultants with contributions from other c onsultants, in p articular, the grants/scholarships and g ender/social de velopment consultants, and a greed w ith the MOE.
3D2 Independent impact evaluation study
176. The P MU w ill be r esponsible fo r recruiting an in dependent inter national institution/firm to develop and carry out a rigorous impact study to measure the effect of the LSE and USE scholarship programs. An in dicative framework for the design of the impact stud y is p resented in An nex 2 5 fo llowing a matrix that s ummarizes SESDP implementation and m onitoring, as sessment an d evaluation is sues a nd places th e Scholarship Impact Study in the broader context of M&E throughout the Project.
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Sub-output 3E Support for Project Management
177. The PMU will be s upported t hroughout t he Proje ct. Th is bro ad but targ eted support w ill include p rovision o f office space, utilit ies, eq uipment, tra nsport, ad ditional staff and in-country travel. SESDP will procure the services of international and national consultants. The PMU will also locally contract professional individuals to w ork directly with the PMU, as well as PMU administrative and general staff. In addition the PMU will also engage from time to t ime outside entities to conduct studies and s urveys. Further details are given under Section 8.1 Project Implementation Arrangements.
5.2.4 Monitoring and Evaluation of SESDP
Project Design and Monitoring Framework
178. The detailed DMF is in Annex 3.
Monitoring
179. Project performance monitoring. A de tailed SESDP mo nitoring a nd ev aluation plan w ill be fin alized within Year 1, includ ing quarter ly repo rting of Proj ect sp ecific activities and o utputs f or students, s chools, communities and d istricts a s appropriate, annual p erformance r eporting against SESDP ou tcomes i ncluding t he p erformance of Project districts against provincial and national performance measures using the latest available EMIS data.
180. A co mprehensive SE SDP baseline stud y will i nclude relevant q uantitative and qualitative d ata id entified by i nternational and national M&E, g rants/scholarships a nd gender/social development specialists, and agreed with the MOE. All student data will be disaggregated by s ex, year of b irth, ethnic group, poverty status and distance/travel time between home and school, as part of the identification of eligible students for LSE scholarships for Grade 6 in 2013/14 and for USE scholarships for Grade 10 in 2014/15. Individual s tudent da ta will be s tored in a s ecure database with access limit ed to authorized users only.
181. A comparable baseline collection will be made of potential Grade 10 scholarship students in 2014/15 when the province/districts identify proposed sites for construction of USE classrooms from 2013/14. Teacher data in target districts/secondary schools will be a ggregated by s ex g ender, age- group, ethnic group, te aching qualification/s, years teaching and the number of days training received in the previous year.
182. A community profile will be developed for each kumban/village/school from which LSE students are drawn. The profile will be developed with the PPA to identify the total number of c hildren aged 11- 14 by s ex, yea r o f birth, e thnic group, an d e ducational status. Each PPA will receive training in conducting a “rapid assessment”27 of childr en age 11 to 14 in the community to determine whether they (a) have ever been enrolled, (b) are c urrently en rolled in primary, (c ) are c urrently en rolled in LSE, or (d) have l eft school.
183. “Rapid assessment” forms part of a baseline against which each community can assess the impact of Project interventions.
27 Rapid assessment is an effective community mobilization activity, drawing on local knowledge to construct a community “map”, leading to discussion about reasons/causes for the observed patterns of student participation. It is most effective where the assessment process is the product rather than the “map”!
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184. The Project baseline study will later be u sed for the data collection and analysis for the midterm and final impact studies. Included here will be an independent evaluation of the imp act o f the P roject on educ ational outcomes fo r the 1740 s tudents rec eiving Grade 6 scholarships in 2013/14 SY.
185. The P roject goal of t he establishment of lo w cost, c ommunity-managed s tudent dormitories is central to improve access to secondary education, and the participation of more girls in LSE. The Project team will w ork closely with DEB staff a nd the P PA to ensure t hat dormitor ies are fully oc cupied, are s ecure a nd w ell s upervised, a nd resources for remedial support are being used effectively.
186. A steering group will be set up comprising representatives from DSE, IEC, ESITC, DOI a nd th e c onsultants. Its fun ctions will be to oversee data collection, v alidation, security, ma nagement an d procedures for tr aining a t school/community and dis trict levels.
187. Routine internal project monitoring will include the al location of a unique identity code of L SE a nd USE construction s ites. Responsibility for the internal mo nitoring of project implementation performance will lay with the PMU, in collaboration with relevant MOE, PES, DEB and kumban/VEDC officials.
188. Compliance monitoring. All pro ject covenants in the Gr ant Ag reement will be monitored regularly by the Project Director, and during ADB project review missions.
189. Safeguards monitoring. The ADB involuntary resettlement category is C , as civil works is limited to u pgrading LSE/USE fac ilities and c onstructing ne w b uildings within existing boundaries on government owned land and which will not require resettlement. The i ndigenous peo ples' c ategorization is B , a s the s cholarship pr ogram and the construction o f dormitories w ill d irectly benefit ethnic g roups. The environmental categorization is C. During c onstruction of the schools and classrooms, t he contractor will keep noi se an d dust within l ocally a cceptable levels, a s well as manage fill, excavated mater ial, a nd solid waste i n a man ner that does not c reate a p ermanent impact. Water supply will meet national drinking water quality standards (Annex 13).
190. Gender and social dimensions monitoring. A su mmary po verty reduction an d social s trategy was prepared for th e project b ased on the social analysis c onducted during project preparation (See Annex 12).
191. A gender action plan (GAP) was also prepared to ensure female students have equal opportunities t o access Grade 6 a nd G rade 10 scholarships, and a ccess to secure, s upervised gend er-segregated d ormitory a nd bathroom/toilet facilities ( See Annex 14)
192. The GAP is also based on a social analysis, and is developed in accordance with the ADB Policy on Gender and Development (1998). Specific actions and targets are set out in the GAP, with some of these targets included in the DMF. The Project Director will be responsible for im plementing, monitoring a nd reporting p rogress on the GAP, an d ensuring th at specific targets (a nd s ex-disaggregated indic ators) are in corporated in to the Project Performance Monitoring System. PPAs and other community stakeholders will receive gender awareness training modules as part of Project training activities.
Evaluation
193. ADB will conduct an inception mission within two months of project start-up, and a review mission every 6 months thereafter. The midterm review mission will occur early in
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Year 3 of implementation. Within 6 months after the physical completion of the project, the Pro ject D irector will s ubmit to ADB a project c ompletion report, ana lyzing pro ject implementation, p roject performance and ac hievements against the targets, an d expected project impact.
194. An independent evaluation will be undertaken of the 1,740 LSE scholarships to be awarded fr om 2013 /14, to a ssess the effec tiveness of sch olarship programs in improving participation of girls, and ethnic students from the poor and r emote districts targeted by SES DP. This eva luation will support GOL policy to exte nd scholarships from b udget re sources, so t hat th e access a nd p articipation goals a re a chieved as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Reporting
195. Data on selected outputs will also be collected regularly, by the Project Director, M&E consultants and ADB review missions, using data from E MIS and fiel d visits, and the midterm sur vey. The P roject D irector will pr epare quarterly r eports on pro ject implementation and s ubmit them to ADB w ithin 30 days afte r e ach quarter. Th ese reports, which will i nclude data on th e implem entation targets and th eir a chievement, problems and constraints faced, and proposed actions and s olutions, will be submitted in English, in a format acceptable to ADB.
Stakeholder Communication Strategy
196. The PMU/DS E will liais e with PES/DEB offic ials on a ll Pr oject rela ted p ublicity, outlining the purpose of the p roject. P roject ac tivity at school/community lev el will ensure that VE DC/kumban leaders are aware of all proposed activity and are invited to participate if they wish. The P MU will assist PES/DEB/communities organize opening ceremonies at each new school facilit y. In formation will be made available to prospective students and to th e lo cal commu nity. All communication messages and materials will have the logo of the project for facilitating easy identification and branding of the project.
197. Activities in the 75 Project schools in 30 districts will seek maximum involvement and engagement of community through the PPAs, VEDC and Kumban. The participatory PPA r apid assessments will combine ba se-line data c ollection w ith discussion ab out student enrolment, a ttendance and sec ondary com pletion issues. Thi s link between PMU/DSE, PES/DEB and Project schools will s trengthen c ommunications b etween all stakeholders.
6.0. SAFEGUARDS
198. The policy loan and project grant address ac cess an d e quity is sues related t o LSE for ethnic groups in Lao PDR. Of the 30 districts selected for LSE delivery in the project grant, 20 districts have a majority ethnic group population.
199. The ADB involuntary resettlement category is C with SESDP including small-scale construction of low er seco ndary sch ools and upp er se condary f acilities. All sites are expected to be o n government-owned land. The c riteria to i dentify the 30 d istricts in which LSE s chools will be built were s et us ing two mea sures, one s et b y MOE (educational dis advantaged) and th e other by the Gov ernment (poorest). Th e identification o f s ites for upper s econdary education w ill be determined during th e implementation of the Program.
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200. The SESDP only includes small-scale construction, and all buildings are expected to be on gov ernment-owned la nd and situated in non-sensitive a reas. Th e ADB environment category is C.
201. The ADB ethnic group categorization is B as the SESDP i s expected to have no adverse impact, while substantially benefiting ethnic groups. The Project will target poor, largely ethnic group areas for provision of s chools/classrooms, school-level grants, and scholarships to poor students (es pecially ethnic-group gi rls). An Ethnic Gro up Pla n (EGP) ha s b een p repared with t he p urpose of ou tlining t he p otential impacts of t he project on ethnic groups; specify actions to address the impacts and to help improve the distribution of project benefits to ethnic populations (Annex 13). A more detailed Ethnic Group A nalysis is inc luded as A ppendix 19 i n the SESDP PAM. EG P s upports integration of ethnic groups' needs and interes ts into each of the P roject outputs, and ensures effective participation and access to the benefits of the Project. Where impacts on e thnic gr oups are po sitive, me asures w ill be identified to e nhance and ensure equitable s haring of b enefits. Wh ere impa cts are poten tially nega tive, a ppropriate mitigation measures will be identified.
202. EGP outlines anticipated positive and negative effects, and recommendations to enhance/mitigate impacts. Ke y fea tures of t he EGP includes: (i) targets of 75 % of dormitory s paces, sc holarship, remedi al l earning opportunities, s chool development grants for poor ethnic students, to support transition from primary grade 5 to LSE grade 6 and c ompletion of L SE; (ii) p olicy triggers to e ncourage e thnic g roup students graduating fro m gr ade 12 to mo ve in to teacher training; (iii) t argets f or ethnic gr oup participation in in-service training and training of master trainers;(iv) a ta rget of at least 80% of tea cher i ncentive a nd te acher upg rade gr ants to e thnic group tea chers; (v) development of all materials under the project to integrate ethnicity sensitivity and (vi) ensure that institutional analysis of SE s ubsector and in-depth LSE needs assessment and school network mapping procedures include ethnic group issues and criteria.
7.0 COST ESTIMATES AND FINANCING
203. The overall sector development program financing is estimated at $42.3 million, including indicatively (i) $10.0 million equivalent under the program component; and (ii) $32.3 million equivalent under the project component.
7.1 SESDP program component
204. The government has requested a concessionary Asian Development Fund (ADF) loan not e xceeding $10 million equivalent to fin ance SESDP’ s pr ogram compon ent, which is ex pected to be imp lemented over a 4-year pe riod ( tentatively en d of 2 011 through end of 2015 ). Subject to confirmation or r efinement a t loan negotiations, th e standard terms for program loans financed from ADF resources involve a fixed-term, 24- year matu rity including a gr ace p eriod of 8 y ears, a 1.0 % in terest charge during the grace p eriod and 1.5% durin g the amortization pe riod, and e qual amortization. It is currently env isaged that the program loan w ill be re leased in two e qual tr anches, released in or around the end of 2013 upon completion of all first-tranche policy actions, with the second scheduled for release 24 months later, when remaining policy actions are expected to have been completed.
205. Draft tranche c onditions are identified in the draft policy actions in an e arlier section, s ubject to further re view by th e g overnment a nd ADB an d finaliz ation a t lo an negotiations.
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7.2 Project Investment Plan
206. The t otal program cost o f the P roject component is e stimated at $32.34 million, including taxes and duties of $1.71 million and contingencies of $4.27 million (see Table 5). These constitute 5.3% a nd 13.2% r espectively, of t he total. The foreign exchange component of total program costs is estimated at $8.95 million, or about 27.5%.
Table 5: Project Investment Plan28
a. Physical contingencies are estimated at 4% of total base costs b. Price contingencies, for both local currency and foreign exchange are set a t: year 1 - 6.5%; year 2 - 6.0%; year 3 – 5.5%; years 4 to 7 – 5.0%
207. The total base cost of the program is estimated at $28.07 million, of which $25.41 million (90.5%) is for investment purposes (including taxes and duties), and $2.66 million (9.5%) is to cover recurrent costs.
208. Investment expenditure is made up of $5.60 million (22.1%) for civil works; $2.26 million ( 8.9%) for f urniture and equipment; $4 .28 million ( 16.8%) for teaching and learning materials; $4.69 million (18.4%) for staff development and training; $5.38 million (21.1%) for con sulting ser vices; and $ 1.51 million (5.9%) fo r sch olarships and other grants. The remainder is for government taxes and duties.
209. Support for ex panded ac cess to secondary e ducation w ill a ccount for an estimated $10.68 million (33.0%) of the total program cost of $32.34 million; improving delivery of th e new se condary educa tion curricula w ill be supported b y $1 4.60 million (45.2%); and the strengthening of secondary education sub-sector management will be assisted with $7.05 million (21.8%).
28 Unit cost estimates and assumptions are contained in PAM Appendix 13
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7.3 Financing Plan
210. The SESD program, to be implemented over seven years, is supported by a grant of $30.00 million from the Asia n Deve lopment Fun d (A DF). The go vernment’s contribution of $2.34 million will be in the form of the land on which 30 new LSE schools and 15 new USE teaching blocks will be built, and accommodation and utilities for the PMU. Recurrent costs as well as taxes and duties incurred by program activities will be met f rom t he A DF gran t is still unde r ADB review. The grant will fund 92.8% of th e proposed program, with the GOL accounting for the remaining 7.2% (Table 6).
Table 6: Financing Plan
211. Detailed cost and finance tables are contained in Annex 26.
8.0. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
8.1 Project Implementation Organizations – Roles and Responsibilities
212. MOE will serve as the Executing Agency (EA) for the SESDP, in coordination with other agencies as n eeded. A s EA, MOE s hall ensure th at relev ant staff inv olved in implementation are fully aware of, and c omply with, relevant GOL and ADB procedures including, but not limited to, those for implementation, procurement, use of consultants, disbursement, reporting, monitoring, and prevention of fraud and corruption.
213. The MOE Steering Committee w ill provide overall su pervision a nd gui dance to SESDP pa rticularly o n the policy pro gram issues; and r eport to the Gov ernment and development partners as required. The MOE Minister will chair the Steering Committee, which w ill provide ov erall guidanc e to the Program and support c ross-agency policy dialogue linked to its policy reform agenda.
214. SESDP Supervisory Committee will s upport p olicy d ialogue a cross MO E departments and deal with any particular issues such as settlement of complaints during procurement.
215. The Director General of the MOE/DSE w ill serve as Program Director, and will facilitate policy dialogue across MOE units (i.e., departments, institutions, etc.) and with other a gencies as appropriate; s upervise and ov ersee proj ect implementation a t the central and s ub-national le vels; mo bilize professional s taff t o s upport pr oject implementation; rev iew and endorse any r equests an d d ocuments within h is\her jurisdiction during proj ect implementatio n (e .g. a pproval of b idding d ocuments, bid evaluation r esults a nd c ontract aw ards for c ontracts p rocured by PMU; approv al of overall and detailed implementation plans and cost estimates); and submit periodic and adhoc reports on project performance as required by ADB and concerned agencies.
216. Established within DSE and re porting to the Pr oject Direc tor, the Project Management Unit (PMU) will pr ovide o verall management of a ll as pects of implementation of the S ESDP, e nsuring c ompliance with loan a nd g rant c ovenants, relevant ADB policies, and Project Administration Manual (PAM), as well as alignment
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with the project design (excepting agreed modifications), the GAP, and EGP, and other agreements. S pecific ar eas of responsibility wi ll include: ( i) ov erall planning; ( ii) monitoring and evaluation; (iii) s ocial s afeguards; (iv ) administration, including procurement, d isbursement, a nd ac counting; and (v ) e nsuring i ndependent auditing. The PMU will supervise a nd b e supported b y project-financed c onsultants, and will coordinate the w ork of in dividual Implementing Units (IUs), noted below. The PMU will also s erve as f ocal point for pe riodic r eporting, s ubmission of annu al or periodic work plans and other proposals, and liquidation and provision of other documentation to ADB. Detailed TOR for the PMU w ill be defined in an MOE decree before effectiveness, and included in agreed revisions of the PAM. The PMU staff will include a Head of the PMU (MOE staff member) supported by 3 MO E Technical Staff, plus 3 ADB funded staff ( a Procurement Officer, a Finance Officer and a Monitoring and Reporting Officer). A PAM has been prepared as part of the PPTA but will remain a living document and is included in the report as a separate document.
217. Implementing Units (IUs) w ill be re sponsible fo r imp lementing and su pervising certain gro ups o f p roject a ctivities, d etermined i n align ment with their r esponsibilities. Each IU will be he aded by the Direc tor Ge neral of the l ead department/institution in MOE as in dicated in the P roject Org anization Structure. I Us w ill propose work p lans annually or as needed to the PMU, and will report quarterly or as needed to the PMU. They will also be responsible for submitting to t he PMU materials to support liquidation of allowable expenditures and other required documentation. Membership and TOR of each IU will be defined in an MOE decree before effectiveness, and included in agreed revisions of the PAM.
218. A Provincial Implementation Unit (PIU) will be established in each PES headed by a PES Deputy Director and with delegated members of the technical sections (Provincial Unit for Con struction a nd Development As sistance, Financ e, Tea cher Development, Secondary Edu cation Section and others if appropriate to th e pro vince’s ta sks under SESDP). Exact me mbership and TOR to be defined i n an MOE Decree before effectiveness.
219. The DEB roles and re sponsibilities related to SESDP will include supporting the establishment of Pupil Parent Associations, liaison with kumbans and village authorities, distribution o f textb ooks to s chools, with s chools s electing te achers for i n-service teacher training and M & E.
220. In target schools supported under Output 1, Pupil Parent Associations (PPAs) will be responsible for the management of scholarships and access grants.
221. Asian Development Bank. AD B will approv e p rocurement ac tivities and withdrawal applications, dis burse fun ds f or a llowable expenditures, s upervise pr oject implementation and c ompliance with th e Loan and Grant Agreements a nd PA M, and conduct periodic re views to a ssess p rogress towards Program o utcome, o utputs, and expected deliverables, as well as the GAP and EGP.
222. The Project Management Organization is illustrated in Box 4.
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Box 4: Project Management Organization29
MOE Steering Committee
Chair: Minister MOE
SESDP Steering Committee
Program Director
Director General Department of Secondary Education
Project Management Unit
Head (MOE) Technical Assistants (3) Procurement Officer (LQ) Finance Officer (LQ) Reporting and Monitoring Officer (LQ)
Implementing Implementing Implementing Implementing Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 DSE RIES IEC DOP
Provincial District School Implementation Education Pupil Parent Units Bureau Associations
8.2 Financial Management Assessment
223. The purpose of the Financial Management Assessment was to review and assess the MOE’s financial management including financial report, accounting, auditing internal control, disbursement pace, and cash flow management. The assessment f ocused on adequacy management of the proj ect tra nsactions; re gular records; r eliable fina ncial
29 Number of Implementing Units to be finalized by MOE/ADB
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statements; update o f the asset inv entory and finan cial aud it mana gement. ADB’s Financial Management Assessment Questionnaire (FMQ), disbursement handbook, and the Gu idelines for the Finan cial Gov ernance an d M anagement of Proje ct were us ed. The Financial Management Assessment is in Annex 27.
224. The establishment of the PMU requires careful selection of highly competent staff experienced i n A DB-funded projects. The f ollowing recommendations a re specific for PMU financial management:
. The supervisor of t he PMU s hould have knowledge, e xperience and s kill in Project Management.
. Establish a n ef fective financial ma nagement team thr ough rec ruitment of competent senior a ccountants, w ith clearly defined duties, r esponsibilities, and lines of s upervision a nd explicit au thority f or ap proval a nd p ayment o f Project money.
. Funds Transfer consists of two types: (a) from ADB to imprest accounts, and (b) directly from ADB to suppliers and contractors. Funds transfer for schools should be directly from I mprest Ac count to sc hool accounts (e stablished a t a District Bank), with each school accounting for payme nts to students. Funds for project administration are fro m Imprest account to a Project Management Sub-Account. Large procurement and civil works contracts are transferred directly from Imprest Account to suppliers and contractors.
. Establish a c omputerized financial mana gement re porting s ystem that is integrated with MOE system and ADB format. Each of the SESDP schools which receives scholarship or other ac cess grant p ayments should h ave a s eparate reporting identity, so that timely reporting of a ll p ayments ca n be made, an d reported at school, district, provincial and national level.
. PMU, DOF, prov incial and district fin ance/accounting s taff need appropriate training in f inancial management, preparation of bud get, financial analys is, an d reporting; and
. ADB designates an external auditing firm to audit the Project.
8.3 Risk Management
225. A risk assessment and risk management plan is provided in Annex 28. Nine risks have bee n iden tified and c ategorized a s me dium w ithout mit igation. The ov erall risk level is seen as medium. Management plans or m easures are indicated to manage the risks reducing the risk categories to low with an overall risk assessment of low.
9.0 PROCUREMENT
226. A procurement plan for the project has been drawn up (Annex 19). It is based on detailed assessments of the r equirements for c ivil works, fu rniture and equipment, instructional mater ials a nd c onsulting services for the imp lementation of th e proposed project. The plan will proceed in accordance with ADB’s Procurement Guidelines (April 2010), and engagement of consulting services w ill p roceed in a ccordance with ADB’s Guidelines on the Use of Consultants by ADB and its Borrowers (April 2010). Additional references are given in Annex 19.
44 TA-7555 LAO Final Report Secondary Education Sector Development Program PPTA
227. Civil works: a p rogram of c onstruction, o f 30 n ew LSE schools, 15 ne w USE teaching blocks and 75 low-cost dormitories (30 to accompany the new LSE schools, 15 to acco mpany th e new US E tea ching blocks, an d an additional 3 0 on existing LSE school s ites) is to be imp lemented, b eginning i n 2 013 and extending to 2016. D esign and specification of the school buildings are based on those in BESDP, and include site preparation, toilets and wet areas. Design and specification of the low-cost dormitories including s ite preparation, to ilets a nd wet a reas, will be un dertaken duri ng 2012. Procurement for these works will commence in 2012.
228. Furniture and equipment: a pro gram of supply o f (i) classroom furniture for t he new LSE and USE classrooms, laboratory/multi-purpose rooms and teachers’ rooms (ii) science eq uipment kits, library kits and in structional material kits fo r art/music a nd physical education for the new LSE schools and USE teaching blocks and for TEI/FOE (iv) I CT and re lated eq uipment for RIES , TEI a nd SPA (v ) o ffice and managem ent support equi pment for s chools, p rovincial and district offic es a nd the PMU, a nd ( vi) project vehicles, will be undertaken over the first five years of the project. Procurement of ICT and office equipment, and of project vehicles, will begin in 2012, and procurement for the s chool fur niture and equipment program will commence in 20 13, to harmonize with the school construction program.
229. Textbooks, teaching guides and teacher training manuals: a coordinated program of printing and packaging of textbooks and teaching guides, to support the new M3 to M7 curricula, and their distribution to all LSE and USE schools, and to all TEI and FOE, will commence in 2011, and continue through to 2016. Th e procurement program will start with the M3 and M5 (first edition) textbook and teaching guide rollout in the fourth quarter of 2011.
230. Detailed lists of building construction, furnishings and equipment, and of textbook, teaching gui de and o ther i nstructional mate rial printing, packaging and d elivery, to be procured a re pr ovided in A nnex 22. Th e pro posed s chool b uilding p rogram an d schedule is contained in Annex 18 and the proposed textbook, teaching guide and other instructional material program and schedule is in Annex 21.
231. Consulting services SESDP will procure the services of international and national consultants. It w ill also locally contract professional individuals to work directly with the PMU, as well as PMU a dministrative and g eneral s taff. In addition t he PMU w ill also engage from time to time outside entities to conduct studies and surveys. Detailed lists of consulting services to be procured are contained in Annex 29.
232. A procurement capacity assessment of the DSE/MOE for the proposed SESDP is provided in Ann ex 30. Its findings are bas ed on the PCA of the Technical and Vocational E ducation D epartment of MO E, un dertaken i n M ay 2010 i n preparation f or the ADB fun ded St rengthening T echnical a nd Voc ational E ducation and Training Project, and upon t he Procurement Review for Effec tive Implementation (PREI) of the BESDP of Feb ruary 2011. Whilst t he P REI rated the overall risk as sociated with procurement for BESDP as high, it did recommend a series of risk mitigation measures to be a dopted in the short and medium term. These are c urrently being c onsidered by DSE/MOE.
233. To support DSE/MOE in the implementation of the proposed SESDP procurement plan, the PPTA has proposed the consulting services schedule shown in Annex 29.
45 TA-7555 LAO Final Report Secondary Education Sector Development Program PPTA
10. SUMMARY
234. The purpose of SESDP is to enhance equity, quality and efficiency of secondary education i n Lao PDR th rough expanding access to secondary e ducation, impr oving delivery of the new SE curricula and strengthening t he management of th e secondary education subsector. The proposed Program is in close alignment with the government’s NESRS a nd the ES DF. Cutting ac ross a ll o f the de sign ar e the issues o f gender, language and ethnic identity, poverty and social exclusion, disability rights, safeguarding of indigenous people’s welfare, care for the environment, and geographical equity. Other areas that cut ac ross c omponents inc lude decentralization, in stitutional c apacity building, improv ing li nkages bet ween dep artments and units, a nd imp lementation of policy into practice, quality assurance and performance monitoring.
46 TA-7555 LAO Final Report Secondary Education Sector Development Program PPTA
ANNEXES
ANNEX 01 PPTA Implementation
ANNEX 02 Problem Tree Analysis
ANNEX 03 Design and Monitoring Framework
ANNEX 04 Implementation Plan
ANNEX 05 Documents Accessed
ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Sub-Sector Situational Analysis
ANNEX 07 Secondary Teacher Tracer Study
ANNEX 08 Secondary Teacher Placement Scheme
ANNEX 09 LD Financial Analysis
ANNEX 10 LD Economic Analysis
ANNEX 11 LD Development Coordination
ANNEX 12 LD Summary Poverty Reduction and Social Strategy
ANNEX 13 LD Ethnic Group Plan
ANNEX 14 LD Gender Action Plan
ANNEX 15 Selection of Access Focus Districts (SESDP)
ANNEX 16 SESDP Access Support Delivery Models
ANNEX 17 Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule
ANNEX 18 Proposed Civil Works Schedule
ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
ANNEX 20 SESDP Scholarships, Access Grants and Dormitories
ANNEX 21 Proposed Textbooks, Teachers Guides Printing and Delivery Schedules
ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works Equipment and Materials
ANNEX 23 Summary Capacity Building Plan for Curriculum Delivery
ANNEX 24 Management Capacity Development Plan
ANNEX 25 Outline Design for Impact Evaluation Study of SESDP Scholarship Program
ANNEX 26 Detailed Costing and Financing Plan
ANNEX 27 Financial Management Assessment
ANNEX 28 LD Risk Assessment and Risk Management
ANNEX 29 Consultant Services Schedule
ANNEX 30 Procurement Capacity Assessment TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01
Annex 01 Page 1 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01 Annex 01b: Indicative Work Plan
The review and situation analysis phases set up the detailed design processes in the latter part of the project, although in practice all three phases will run concurrently to some extent.
Process/Activity Milestone or product Delivery 1.0 INCEPTION 1.1 Inception: Mobilisation, introductions; Inception Report December 2010 establish communications, admin and logistical services. Completed 2.0 RAPID REVIEW PHASE 2.2 Initial stakeholder consultations, meetings Inception workshop and meeting December 2010 and site visits including Government notes; PPTA detailed offices, DPs, schools, others. Rapid implementation plan. Completed assessment of subsector policy environment and gaps. 2.3 Fact finding in decentralised locations: In- Documented meetings, PPTA October 2010 to depth meetings and focus group resources library, sources and March 2011 discussions at Provincial and District MOE; summaries: all contributing to Completed secondary schools and TEIs; communities; situation analysis. other stakeholders. Documentary analysis. 2.4 Consultations with SESDP stakeholders: Recommendations for SESDP, October 2010 to review and recommendations on progress integrating other DPs’ findings. March 2011 and capacity building required. Completed 2.5 Budget and expenditure review Budget and expenditure review December 2010 report Completed 2.6 Plan for inclusion of disadvantaged Equity and safeguarding plan. December 2010 people’s voices in consultation exercises. Completed 3.0 SITUATION ANALYSIS and CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES 3.1 Design and undertake data collection Survey reports. November to exercises where essential, e.g. tracer study Capacity development undertaken February 2011 of SE training graduates; facilities survey. and recorded. Completed 3.2 Secondary education situation analysis, Situation analysis report (SAR), October 2010 to incorporating policy, existing programs and including recommended March 2011 investment frameworks, and issues relating incremental reforms and Completed to access, equity, quality, relevance, sector investments. management efficiency, financing. 3.3 Analysis of teacher training and Contribution to SAR. February 2011 deployment. Completed 3.4 Analysis of management and administration Contribution to SAR. February 2011 practices at national and sub-national Completed levels. 3.5 Assess existing pre- and in-service training Contribution to SAR. February 2011 and support for SE teachers. Completed 3.6 Review of SE learning and teaching Contribution to SAR. February 2011 materials. Completed 3.7 Assess existing management information Contribution to SAR. February 2011 systems. Completed 3.8 Assess contribution of private sector within Contribution to SAR. February 2011 SE and impact on equity, quality, efficiency, Completed and resources. 3.9 Identify priorities for incremental policy and Recommendations. February 2011 operational mechanism reforms, including Completed decentralisation issues, to support SE subsector improvements.
Annex 01 Page 2 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01 Process/Activity Milestone or product Delivery 3.10 Mid term report and progress review: Interim Report February 2011 stakeholder workshop. Completed 3.11 Review 3-track USE policy, informed by Policy paper. February 2011 international practice. Final Draft 4.0 DRAFT PROGRAM AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT 4.1 Utilise SAR to begin drafting program Initial design work. February 2011 framework. Completed 4.2 Drafting, trialling, revision and initial Draft framework for program Early March 2011 consultation stages of policies, program, reviewed at Mid-term workshop Completed plans and resources 4.3 Teacher Education Institutional Teacher Education Institutional Early March 2011 Development Plan Development Plan Completed 4.4 Seek consensus around SESDP Approved recommendations. March 2011 recommendations and draft DMF Completed 4.5 Assess institutional capacity for program Assessment of institutional April 2011 delivery. capacity. Completed 4.6 Monitoring and evaluation framework. M&E framework. April 2011 Ongoing 4.7 Economic and financial analysis and Economic, financial and investment April 2011 investment plan plans. Completed 4.8 Review of LSE/USE revised curriculums; SE quality and HR review February 2011 LSE in-service training program; USE TT Completed framework; SE principals' HRD 4.9 Poverty, gender and social analysis; action Social development and End February plan safeguarding draft plan. Completed
5.0 DETAILED DESIGN AND COSTING OF PROGRAM 5.1 Fully costed program plan Integrated into Final Report. May/June 2011 Completed 5.2 Plans for gender, disadvantaged groups, Social, gender and safeguarding May/June 2011 project safeguarding integrated. plans incorporated into Final Report Completed and appendices. 5.3 Procurement list; final annotated cost Procurement documentation. May/June 2011 tables, procurement capacity assessment; Completed procurement guidelines in Lao language 5.4 Draft Final Report for review Draft Final Report and appendices May 2011 Completed 5.5 Final Report, costs, and annexes, Final Report and costs of proposed May/June 2011 submitted in conformity with ADB SESDP, including supporting Submitted requirements. documentation, aligned to RRP 8 June 2011 Proceedings of Wrap-up Meeting.
5.6 In-depth follow up to identify targets for Follow up report. May/June 2011 program component, project investments, Completed and baseline values.
Annex 01 Page 3 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01
Annex 01 Page 4 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01
Annex 01d Methodology
The design of the BESDP II will probably be marked by a continuation and enhancement of on-going reforms of the secondary education system in Lao PDR, rather than new departures. Therefore the analysis needs to be retrospective, contemporary, and forward- looking. The approach has been designed with three overlapping and mutually reinforcing phases: 1 Review BESDP I initiatives and the status of intended system reforms. 2 Prepare a situation analysis of the secondary education sub-sector. 3 Design and cost detailed BESDP II plans to address gaps and pursue opportunities. In each of the three steps outlined above, due emphasis will be given to access for disadvantaged groups, quality improvement, the restructuring of LSE, and awareness of the backwards and forwards linkages to primary and upper secondary education.
Cutting across all of the work are the issues of gender, ethnic and language identity, poverty and social exclusion, disability rights, safeguarding of indigenous people’s welfare, care for the environment, and geographical equity. Taking a dual approach these concerns are mainstreamed into the work of each and every team member with the Social Development and Equity Specialist, Project Safeguards Specialist, and Team Leader ensuring consistency.
Other areas that cut across components include decentralisation, institutional capacity building, improving linkages between departments and units, and implementation of policy into practice, quality assurance and performance monitoring.
The major milestones for PPTA implementation are presented in the charts in Annexes 01b and 01c and 11. The review and situation analysis phases will set up the detailed design processes in the latter part of the project, although in practice aspects of all three phases run as strands throughout the analysis and design periods.
The methodology for the preparation of BESDP II is based around review, analysis, communication, capacity building and partnership.
Review and analysis – in conjunction with, and under the guidance of MOE counterparts the international and national consultants what has been accomplished and what lessons have been learned from past experience has been reviewed. Documents accessed and reviewed are listed in Annex A02e. This work will continue to be guided by the specific documentation originating from MOE, BESDP I and development partners active in the Lao PDR education sector. Sections of this report map out and begin the review of the more influential finalised documents and drafts.
Communication will be through formal and informal workshops/seminars, focus groups, and individual meetings supplemented by practical systems of communication by which details of relevant planning issues will be circulated to management and counterparts for full and frank discussion. As appropriate such communication will be extended to the provinces and relevant outlying institutions. One team member has particular responsibility for ensuring that the PPTA is an effective opportunity for national consultation. MOE staff at all levels need to know the direction and achievements of BESDP I, plans for BESDP II, and how these relate to subsector, sector and national frameworks.
Capacity building Opportunities will be taken where possible to build capacity of counterparts working with the PPTA Team. Staff development and capacity building of this kind will be undertaken through normal working practices, where PPTA consultants and counterparts work together and exchange ideas and techniques; working simultaneously with individuals, organisations, and the enabling environment, to enhance the conditions under which program preparation objectives can be achieved.
Partnership – key recommendations and design decisions will be made only with the full informed consent of the host government, stakeholders and ADB.
Annex 01 Page 1 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01
Annex 01e Mechanisms for Working Together
1. TABLE SUMMARISING THE MECHANISM FOR WORKING TOGETHER
BESDP STEERING COMMITTEE
BESDP Technical Working Group
BE2 BE2 BE2 BE2 Working Working Working Working Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
2. STEERING COMMITTEE: BASIC EDUCATION SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The supervision of the BESDP II PPTA is included in the terms of reference of the established BESDP Steering Committee.
3. BESDP Technical Working Group
Membership
Director General, Department of Secondary Education Chairperson Director General, Department of Inspection, Director of ESITC Director of IEC Director of SREAC Deputy Director, Department of Planning and Cooperation Deputy Director, Department of Teacher Education (TWG 2) Deputy Director, Department of primary Education and Pre-school Deputy Director, Department of Personnel Deputy Director, Department of Finance Deputy Director, Department of Non-formal Education Deputy Director, RIES Deputy Director of ESQAC Deputy Director of Physical & Art Education Deputy Director of DTVET Deputy Director of Department of Higher Education Deputy Director of Department of Private Education Management Dean Faculty of Education, NUOL Director of Teacher Development Center,
Technical Assistance to the Technical Working Group PPTA Team Leader PPTA Deputy Team Leader
4. BE2 WORKING GROUPS
For guidance it is suggested that membership of thematic working groups should be no less than 3 people and more than 5 or 6 people.
Annex 01 Page 1 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01
Generic TOR for BE2 Working Groups Each BE2 working group will:
* Discuss and refine generic TORs to match the purpose of their working group * Depending on the technical area assigned the members will review and guide the PPTA team on the relevant sections of the PPTA reports and key documents listed in the report, individual specialist’s initial reports and work plans and identify other key documents * Contribute to the international and national consultants reports on their component. * Provide guidance on the scope of their component in any ensuing project. * Identify areas that need in depth discussion, organise focus group discussions and draft preliminary reports for inclusion in component reports. * Comment and develop the draft sections of the analytic component reports, as the sections are prepared.
5. Membership of BE2 Working Groups
BE2 Technical BE2 Working Group Members form Consultants Working area Counterpart Departments Group Group 1 Access to DPC: Ms.Chanthavone Phandamnong Phoutsavong Thaonaochor Secondary IEC: Ms. Yangtsia Lee Sumountha Youtitham Education DSE: Mrs. Somphone Vilaysong Geoff Howse ESITC: Mr. Khammoun Sengthong DOF: Mr. Thipphamonh DOP: Ms. Viengkeo Phommavong DoNFE: Ms. Malikhone Soundala Group 2 Quality and DTE: Ms. Varadune Amarathithada Littana Soumpholphakdy Relevance Mr. Somphou Vichitta Marion Young RIES: Dr. Onekeo Nuannavong Mr. Outhit Thipmany SREAC: Dr. Phanh DSE: Mr. Xayadeth Songmeexay Mr. Manosine Masavongdee ESQAC: Dr. Panya Chanthavong DONFE: Mr. Ben Teso FOE/TDC/NUOL: Mr. Bouseng Kannavong DPEM: Viengsavanh Vilasith IEC: Bouaphanh Ratthida Group 3 Sub-sector DOP: Mr. Khounmy Phommanimit Khamhoung Sacklokham Management DOI: Mrs. Khanthaly Siriphongphan John Bailey DSE: Mr. Banchong Lathavanh DPC: Mr.Sengsomephone Viravouth DOF: Vimmonh Sisouva BESDP: Ms. Keomanivanh Phimmahasay Mr. Bounthapany Bounxouay ESITC: Mr. Somkhanh Didaravong Mr. Phoukhaoka Sacklokham DPEM: Mr. Phomma Khamkikeo DTE: Mrs. Alongkot SosengIn Group 4 Budgeting DOF: Mr. Vimon Sisouva Lattana Syhalath and Costing DSE: Mr. Mannosine Masavongdee Leo Maglen DPC: Mr. Sithong Sikhao DOF: Ms. Chanthone Thammathevo Phetsouline Noraseng BESDP: Mr. Bounthapany Bounxouay DOP: Dr. Chan Phommavong DNFE: Mr. Visan Somphong RIES: Bounthong Thonglo IEC: Ms Dara khiemthammakhoune
Annex 01 Page 1 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01
Annex 01f Consultation Activity Log
Date Activity Notes October 2010 13 ESWG briefing Consultation Senior Education Advisor 14 Initial briefing Consulation DG Secondary Education 19 Introductory Meeting with MOE Departments Schedules and scope of PPTA 19 Unicef Consultation, Schools of Quality 20 Videoconference with Manila ADB, MOE, PPTA Team 20 ESITC Consultation re secondary education statistics 21 BESDP I Consultation, Briefing 21 DTE Consultation - update on TESAP evaluation 22 DOF Consultation – MOE and PES reporting expenditure 22 RIES Consultation – implementation of M1-M7 22 ESQAC Consultation – QA systems for Teacher Education and teacher performance assessment 25 NUOL FOE Consultation – training and recruitment of US teachers, QA and expansion of BA courses in TEIs 25 DOP Consultation - update on school principals training and teacher recruitment/deployment policy (quota) 26 TEED/DTE Consultation – TEMIS and In-Service Teacher Training / Teacher Professional Networks 26 DOP Consultation /briefing re PMIS status 28 DSE and PPTA Meeting Management Meeting November 1 DPC Consultation, Senior Education Advisor 1 DPC Consultation, Briefing, DG DPC 3 DOI Consultation, EU Consultant 3 UNESCO (UNDAF Coordination) Consultation 4 AusAid Consultation 5 JICA Consultation 5 UNICEF Consultation 5 World Bank Consultation 8-11 Savannakhet Field Visit Consultation PES, TEI, DEB, University, schools: initial Tracer Study data collection and TEI institutional capacity assessment 15 DOP and TEED DTE Requests for PMIS and TEMIS data 16 RIES Consultation – education media centre and ASLO student assessment 22 SREAC Consultation 23 BE2 WG Meeting Access 23 BE2 WG Meeting Quality Consultation: review of BESDP I quality interventions 23 BE2 WG Meeting Management 23-26 Luang Namtha Field Visit Consultation PES, DEB, Schools, Community 24 ADB Informal Meeting Progress report included DSE 25 EU Consultation – teacher supply and demand analysis 26 DOI Consultation DG DOI 29 JICA Consultation – brifing on JICA project support to SE (in-service teacher training model) 30 TWG Inception Report Discussion and Workshop Agenda 30 WB FTI Consultation, briefing on FTI plans December 1 BE2 WG Meeting Access Consultation – Primary completion, transition to Grade 6 (LSE) in poorest FTI districts 2 BESDP I Mid-Term Evaluation Team Consultation on draft report 2 PPTA/ADB Meeting Issues discussion, Gender and Development 3 DPC Consultation, Senior Education Adviser 6 BESDP I Mid-term Review Meeting Progress and Evaluation 7 BESDP II Inception Meeting DG DPC, DG DSE, ADB, AusAid, Unicef, Room to Read, ADB, UNESCO, 4 TEI, BESDP I consultants, 17 PES, MOE line departments and PPTA Team (65 participants). 9 ADB Mission Wrap-up Meeting DSE, ADB, PPTA Team 9 DOF Briefing re MTEF 9 DOF Division of Budget (MOE, Provincial Payroll) 14 BESDP I Consultation re MTEF and Budget Manuals 16 DPC Consultation re FTI and BESDP indicators
Annex 01 Page 1 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01
Annex 01f Consultation Activity Log
January 12 BE2WG - Quality Teacher supply and demand, and teacher incentives 16-19 Xiang Khouang Field Trip PES, TEI, DEB, schools 21 ESITC Meeting Consultation School Mapping 26 IEC Consultation – teacher incentives and poor ethnic group areas – Sekong field visit briefing 27 TESAP consultant (DTE/UNESCO) Consultation/Coordination TESAP and BESDP II 31 Team Meeting with DSE Progress discussion and issues February 1 Meeting IEC BESDP Study 1 Review TOR 1 UNICEF Consultation – SOQ, QA, ASLO and RIES Media Centre 2 BE2WG - Quality Consultation – review of DMF, SEAP and TMDP quality actions 2 Meeting BE2 Management Working Group 4 TVET Meeting Consultation 4 DPEM Meeting Consultation 4 DOP meeting Consultation – Incentives scheme (draft), TDMP review/prioritisation, Graduate Teacher Tracker 4 NUOL FOE Consultation New curriculum for SE and TE, US teacher supply 9-12 Xekong Field Trip Consultation PES, DEB, Schools 11 DSE Meeting Progress and issues 15 BE2 Access Group Meeting Consultation – DOP, DPC, DSE, DOF, DNFE, IEC Management Access measures, potential criteria for target activities and target districts 16 DSE Meeting Progress and issues 16 Videoconference Manila DSE/ADB/PPTA Team 17 RIES Consultation – roll out of M3-M7, ASLO, DMF review 18 DOP Consultation – TDMP review and prioritisation ESITC Consultation – re measures Access WG discussed 22 Discussion with Access Study Team Oudomxay and Saravane districts PES, DEB, Schools and Communities 23 DTE Consultation – DMF, SEAP, TESAP, TDMP review and prioritisation for Teacher Education 28 ESWG Meeting Progress Report by DSE March 4 TWG Meeting Interim Report and Workshop Briefing 9 ADB Mission Kick Off Meeting Update of BESDP II 10-11 Interim Workshop Progress Report and Issues 14 ICT Policy Meeting Round Table Meeting: Paper presented 15 ADB Pre-wrap up meeting TWG 16 ADB Wrap Up Meeting TWG 18 Meeting BE2 Access Working Group Criteria for selecting school site districts 22 Access Study Draft Report Discussed 22 PPTA Team Meeting Progress and Next Steps April 22 PPTA Team Meeting Cost estimates 29 Teleconference MOE, ADB Manila, PPTA Team – ADB Fact-finding Mission Preparation May 2 Informal Meeting ADB Task Manager and International PPTA Team 3 ADB Mission Kick Off Meeting 9 ADB Mission Fact-finding 10 ADB Mission Fact-finding 11 ADB Mission Fact-finding 12 ADB Mission Fact-finding 13 SESDP Final Workshop DG DPC, DG DSE, ADB, Development Partners, TEI, BESDP I consultants, PES, MOE PPTA Team 16 ADB Mission Fact-finding 17 ADB Mission Fact-finding 18 ADB Mission Fact-finding 19 ADB Mission Fact-finding 20 ADB Mission Pre-wrap up 23 ADB Mission Fact-finding 24 ADB Mission Wrap -up June ADB Mission Fact-finding 8 Final Report Submit to MOE and ADB 30 June Close SESDP Office
Annex 01 Page 1 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01
Annex 01g People Met
Ministry of Education Mr. Lytou BOUAPAO Vice Minister of Education, Lao PDR Mrs. Sengdeuane Lachanthaboun, Vice Minister of Education, Lao PDR Mr. Ly Foung, Director General, Department of Secondary Education, MOE Mr. Keomanivanh Phimmahasay, BESDP Head of PMU, MOE Mr. Somkhanh Didaravong, Director Education Statistics & Information Technology Centre, MOE Mr. Sisana Boupha Director General Department of Finance MOE Ms. Viengkeo Phommavong Head of Division Department of Personnel, MOE Ms. Varadune Amarathithada, Deputy Director Department of Teacher Education, MOE Ms. Chanthavone Phandamnong, Deputy Director, Department of Planning and Cooperation, MOE Mr. Sengsomephone Viravouth, Director General, Department of Planning and Cooperation, MOE Mr. Khammoun Sengthong Deputy-Director Education Statistics & Information Technology Centre, MOE Ms. Bouaphanh Latthida Head of Gender Equity in Education division Ms. Phouangkham SOMSANITH, Director, Research Institute for Education Studies Dr. Panya Chanthavong, Educational Standard Quality Assurance Centre, MOE Mrs. Khantaly Siriphongphanh, Director General, Department of Inspection, MOE Mrs. Kampaseuth Kitignavong, Deputy Director DPC (ESDF Coordination Unit), MOE Dr. Phanh Champathong, Director Strategy Research and Education Analysis Centre, MOE Mr. Ka Saleumsouk, Director Department of Private Education Management, MOE Dr. Kongsy Sengmany, Director General Department of Technical and Vocational Education, MOE Ms. Yangsia Lee, Director Inclusive Education Centre, MOE Mr Onekeo Nuannavong, Deputy Director, RIES Mr Outhit Thipmany, Head of Mathematics, RIES
PES, TEI, DEB, and schools Staff of Savannakhet PES, DEB, and schools Staff of Luang Namtha PES, DEB, Schools and communities Staff of Xiang Khouang PES, DEB, and schools Staff of Xekong PES, DEB, Schools and communities Staff of Saravan PES, DEB, and schools Staff of Oudomxay PES, DEB, Schools and communities
Teacher Education Institutions and Universities Savannakhet TEI Xiang Khouang TEI Faculty of Education National University of Lao Savannakhet University
Consultants and Advisers Bernadette Gonzales, Team Leader, BESDP, MOE Ouam Sengchandavong, Education Planning Specialist BESDP
Annex 01 Page 1 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 01
Mike Lally, Senior Education Advisor, Ministry of Education Arthur Chrisfield Socio-economic Assessment, Kobe Green Power Co George Taylor, EU Support to Capacity Development in Education, Team Leader Davong Vongsay, UNDAF Coordinator, UNESCO Aya Arakawa, Education Adviser, JICA, Ministry of Education Richard Noonan, Capacity Development for Teacher Education, UNESCO Peter Gam, EU Support to Capacity Development in Education Richard Gonzales, Team Leader, BESDP I Midterm Evaluation Team Tim Denny, Consultant BESDP I Midterm Evaluation Team Julian Watson, Curriculum Development/ICT, Specialist, Strengthening Higher Education Project Development Partners Suhas D. Parandekar, Senior Education Economist, World Bank Miki Nozawa, Programme Specialist, UNESCO Jill Zarchin Unicef Siamphon Buakhamvongsa Unicef Jane Davies, Education Specialist, Basic Education and Gender Equality, Unicef Tim Napper, Secondary Secretary Development Cooperation Aus AID Makiko Iwasaki, Education Sector Representative, JICA Montlatda Chanthavong, Assistant Program Officer, JICA
ADB Chris Spohr, Senior Education Economist, Social Sectors Division, SED, Manila Ms. Khantanh Chanty, Senior Program Officer, Lao PDR Resident Mission Ms. Theonakhet Saphadkdy, Consultant (Gender and Development Specialist) Lao Resident Mission Ms. Uzma Hoque, Gender Specialist
Annex 01 Page 1 of 11 Final Report SESDP TA 7555 LAO Problem Tree Analysis ANNEX 02
Marginalized Persistent Depressed LSE graduates Constrained, less LSE sector LSE system groups face inequities across human capital ill-prepared for inclusive growth with targets missed sustainability threatened constrained regions and accumulation subsequent slow and imbalanced and pace of opportunities groups; weakened and broader education, economic reforms slowed and persistent social cohesion social training, and modernization; poverty traps development work (i.e. low weakened external participation in global Consequences efficiency economy
Low educational attainment, particularly Uneven mastery of critical knowledge and High repetition, dropout, and other internal among disadvantaged groups (e.g., the competencies needed for national economic inefficiencies further strain the ability of limited poor, ethnic minorities, and girls) and social development resources to deliver on education sector priorities
Emergence of secondary education (SE)—in particular lower secondary education (LSE)—as a bottleneck in balanced Problem educational development, with persistent gaps in access by disadvantaged groups, insufficient quality, and low system efficiency
Socioeconomic Gaps in physical Weak feed-in Gaps in SE Poor facilities and Weaknesses in Gaps in SE (particularly constraints access: from primary curricula learning resources Teaching LSE) sector facing Incomplete school education Lags in uptake in LSE Lack of management: disadvantaged network Persistent non- & effective Classrooms teachers in rural Institutional groups: (concentrated in completion implementation increasingly areas weaknesses, including Language gaps urban areas) (ceiling on LSE of new LSE overcrowded Broader gaps/ uneven decentralization Parents' lack Conditions (e.g., enrolment) curriculum Shortage of mismatches in Inadequate sector of and/or low unsanitary/unsafe) Meanwhile, Local textbooks and teacher financing & imbalance value placed on may deter swelling autonomy to materials qualifications between capital & education enrolment numbers develop LSE Lack of labs, Pre- & in- recurrent budgets Causes Difficulty Expansion to 4- primary curricular libraries, etc. service training Human resource and bearing direct year LSE means graduates often elements not Ad-hoc weak, especially capacity gaps, and indirect more classrooms ill- prepared for well used approach to ICT in face of shift to especially in poor financial & needed LSE, esp. in Upper SE may create new LSE & USE localities opportunity costs rural areas curriculum in inefficiency and curricula Gaps in management Gender norms Compounded flux, with limited inequity Persistent rote- information systems, especially in by lack of upstream & based instruction teacher assessment, poor rural areas remedial downstream & inadequate etc. malnutrition support in LSE linkages effective teaching Limited international time support and weak private sector role
Annex 02 Page 1 of 1 Final Report TA 7555 LAO (Final Report) ANNEX 03 Design and Monitoring Framework (RRP 14.06.11 version) DESIGN AND MONITORING FRAMEWORK Data Sources/ Design Assumptions and Performance Targets /Indicators Reporting Summary Risks Mechanism Impact By 2023: . Multiple Assumption Improved . Share of young adults 15-24 having completed at least 9 Indicator . GOL maintains educational years of schooling rises at least 20% from 2012 level by Cluster strong emphasis attainment in 2020 Surveys for on human Lao PDR . Gross enrolment rate for girls in LSE at least 0.75 (baseline 2012 and 2020 development and 0.47 in 2008) . MOE poverty reduction . Ratio of girls to boys enrolled in secondary education at education . least 1.0 (baseline 0.81 in 2009/10) No major shocks management that derail recent . Ratio of secondary to primary enrolment at least 0.6 (from information baseline of 0.47 in 2009/10) growth in GOL system (EMIS) revenue base and database recurrent budget for education Outcome By 2018: . Millennium Assumption Enhanced . Share of female primary school graduates that enter lower Development . Government equity, quality, secondary education (LSE) in poorest districts at least 86% Goal (MDG) commitment to and efficiency (baseline 81% in 2008) reporting (at Education Sector least to 2015) of secondary . At least 75% of secondary teachers qualified (baseline 68% Development education in in 2009) . MOE EMIS Framework and Lao PDR database other sectoral . LSE survival rate to grade 8 rises to 89% for girls and 87% (augmented strategies and for boys (baseline 79% for girls and 77% for boys in school 1 with Program targets remains year 2009/10) support) strong . Survival rate from grade 6 through completion of grade 11 . NSC 2015 . No major social or rises to 66% for girls and 64% for boys (baseline 51% for Population and economic shocks girls and 49% for boys in school year 2007/08) Housing that derails Census, and progress in other data enrolments Outputs Program . Program Assumptions 1. Expanded . Criteria for scholarships approved by MOE by 2013 progress . Central and local reports and access to . Dormitory policy developed by 2015 governments secondary monitoring and maintain . education Additional MOE budget line for scholarships by 2015 evaluation coordination in Project (M&E) reports jointly prioritizing In target areas, by end 2018: . EMIS and equity for other MOE disadvantaged . 30 LSE schools built on existing government-owned sites data groups . USE classroom blocks built at 15 existing SES school sites . Teachers . At least 60 dormitories constructed at LSE and 15 responsive to dormitories for USE, with at least half of spaces for girls incentives for . At least 1,740 poor LSE students and 1200 poor USE teaching in rural students benefit from scholarships, with at least half areas provided to girls and 80% going to ethnic students . Scholarship . At least 60 LSE schools and 15 USE schools receive selection criteria access grants to address constraints to access and quality and school grant . Average LSE enrolment in target districts increases from guidelines strictly 1174 in 2009/10 to 1300 by 2015/16. followed 2. Improved Program . Program Assumptions delivery of new . Pilot testing of new placement scheme for rural teacher progress . No major SES curricula deployment commenced, and operational manual for SES reports and changes in teacher recruitment and utilization approved by 2013 M&E reports current strategies . MOE approves new US textbooks by late 2014 . Pre- and post- of restructuring training education to a . Revised LSE and USE Pre-Service Teacher Training assessments; 5+4+3 system curriculum approved by 2013 teacher . MOE completes introduction of the new LSE curriculum, evaluations
1 Grade 9 and grade 12 completion targets to be defined when secondary education restructuring complete.
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textbooks and teacher guides by 2013 . Training . MOE approves guidelines and an operational manual for institution teacher performance monitoring and evaluation by 2013 enrolment data Project . EMIS data By 2018, unless otherwise noted: . MOE data on student . Nationwide roll-out of revised LSE curriculum completed by achievement SY2013/14, with 12,000 grade 8-9 teachers trained (at least 50% female) and 182,130* textbooks distributed . Year-by-year, starting 2013*, new grade 10-12 textbooks and teacher guides developed and approved . Nationwide roll-out of revised USE curriculum completed by SY2016/17, with 7,500 grade 10-12 teachers trained (at least 50% female) and 52,590* textbooks distributed 3. Program . Official MOE Assumptions Strengthened . Education share of national budget increases from 15.5% and . Government SES in FY2011/12 to 18% by 2015 government priority on management decrees and . MOE budget allocation for non-salary recurrent expenditure implementing budget education reforms (excluding salaries and allowances) shall not be less than documents 11.0% of MOE’s total budget by 2015 maintained, with . Pre- and post- supportive . SES school network mapping completed to guide planning training decrees and for future capital investment, by 2013 assessments regulations . Policy approved for introducing and a manual for managing . Project enacted in a block grants by 2013 monitoring and timely manner . MOE shall have budgeted for and released LSE block evaluation Risks grants in 30 selected districts by 2013 (M&E) reports . Government . MOE approves, develops and launches a communication share not strategy by 2013 sustained; ODA . Policy (2013) and strategy (2015) for ICT as tool to levels not promote grade 1-12 education objectives approved maintained; Revised decree for promoting private education approved, . Breakdown in aligned with Investment Law by 2015 inter-agency and Project development partner . PPAs functioning in 75 LSE and USE schools in target coordination on areas, each with at least 40% female representation better aligning . Capacity building delivered for 1,055 staff of central to existing MIS district education sector offices systems . 1,200 (all) SES school principals complete initial 5-day . Research capacity building, followed by annual seminars for 1,200 strategy for principals and 1,200 senior female teachers independent impact evaluation compromised Project Activities with Milestones (Program Milestones are under Outputs Above) Inputs Output 1: Expanded access to Secondary Education ADB: ADF grant of $30 1.A Classroom provision to expand physical access million, of which: (i) 30 new LSE schools each with a low cost dormitory by 2016 Civil works $5.38 million; (ii) Build USE classroom blocks at 15 existing SES school sites Furniture and equipment (iii) Furniture packages: 30 new LSE schools and new USE classrooms in 15 existing $3.14 million; schools Teaching and Learning 1.B Direct support for disadvantaged students materials $5.70 million; (i) LSE baseline completed in 30 districts by end 2012 Training and Professional (ii) Scholarship criteria finalized by end 2012, and scheme launched by 2013 Development $5.46 million; (iii) USE Baseline completed for 15 existing USE schools by end 2013 Consultants $6.53 million; (iv) Scholarship criteria finalized by 2012, and scheme launched by 2014 Scholarships and grants 1.C School-level support to enhance equitable access $1.76 million (i) Low cost community managed LSE dormitories Recurrent costs 2.02 (ii) Remedial support for boarding students in 30 new LSE schools (iii) Access grants for 60 LSE schools with guidelines for USE finalized by 2012, PPA Government: principally orientation completed by 2014, and grants launched by 2015 in-kind contribution of $2.34 (iv) Low-cost community managed USE dormitories completed million, of which: (v) Remedial support for boarding students in schools receiving new USE classrooms Civil Works $1.43 million;
Annex 03 Page 2 of 3 Final Report TA 7555 LAO (Final Report) ANNEX 03 Design and Monitoring Framework (RRP 14.06.11 version)
(vi) Access grants for 15 schools (new USE classrooms) with guidelines for USE finalized by Recurrent costs $0.91 2012, school management committee orientation completed by 2014, and grants million launched by 2015 Output 2: Improved delivery of new SES curricula 2.A Pre-service training and placement of new SES teachers (i) Develop pre-service teacher training curriculum to align with M1-M7 school curriculum by 2013 and develop procedures for TEI QA accreditation system (ii) Procure curriculum resources and instructional materials for TEIs and FOEs by 2013 (iii) Pilot 1: trial Graduate Teacher Placement scheme in 5 districts (25 teachers) by 2013/14, assessed in 2015/2016 (iv) New procedures and manuals for Teacher Recruitment and Utilization, and Teacher Quality and Performance by 2014 2.B In-service teacher training and support (i) Delivery of M3-M7 curriculum In-service Teacher Training initiated by 2012, completed by 2016 (ii) RIES to develop media-based materials to support teaching (TV, Radio, DVD etc) (iii) Launch annual regional meetings of Pedagogical Advisers by 2012, and trial SPA Incentive Package to support Pilot 2 (iv) Pilot 2: ICT4LE in target rural LSE schools in 5 districts completed by end 2013 (v) Provide Teacher Upgrade Grants (11+3 to BA) for 30 LS teachers in target districts starting in 2012 2.C New curriculum materials (textbooks and teacher guides) (i) Textbooks and teacher guides distributed to 1,200 schools and all TEIs for grades 8 and 9 by August* 2012 and 2013 (ii) New USE textbooks and teacher guides approved and distributed for grades 10-12 by August* 2014, 2015, and 2016 (iii) Pilot 3: M5 curriculum materials piloted in 15 SES schools in 5 target provinces by 2012/13, and evaluated by 2013 2.D Teaching and learning equipment and materials (i) Provide M1 and M2 textbooks and teacher guides, basic science equipment, materials and library books to at least 30 LSE schools in target areas by 2013 (ii) Provide additional materials/basic equipment for Arts/Music/Physical Education by 2013 (iii) Provide science equipment and materials for 15 new USE classroom blocks by 2017 2.E Support for improved student assessment (i) Assist in review of Rules and Regulations for M4 and M7 national exams and HE exams by 2014 (ii) Support MOE/RIES to conduct ASLO for M4 in 2014 and M7 in 2017 Output 3: Strengthened secondary education subsector management 3.A Support for enhanced subsector analysis (i) Institutional analysis of SE subsector and in-depth LSE needs assessment completed by 2012 (ii) Updated LSE and USE school network mapping completed nationwide by end 2012 (iii) Assessment of existing SES-related MIS completed by end 2012; improvement plan implemented by 2015 (iv) Detailed needs analysis of (i) LSE in 30 districts, and (ii) in USE in target areas Completed by end 2012 3.B Capacity Building for SES staff at all levels (i) Based on institutional and needs assessments, phased and multi-mode capacity building program for education sector staff at central level (including project management unit and implementing units) and provincial/local levels and targeted LSE school principals developed by Sept 2012 and completed by June 2016 (ii) Communication/dissemination advocacy strategy developed and launched by end 2013 (iii) Support for the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Private Sector Promotion in Education Development (iv) Develop strategy (by 2013) and policy (by 2015) on low-cost, pro-equity ICT to serve grade 1-12 education 3.C Community Engagement in School Support and Management (i) PPAs established or reconstituted and initial capacity building completed in 75 SES schools by Q3, 2012 3.D Monitoring and Evaluation (i) Baseline by 2012, and M&E throughout Program duration, feeding into MOE Performance Assessment Framework (ii) Interim assessment by 2014, final data collection by 2016, and report submission by 2017. (iii) Independent rigorous impact evaluation study launched by end 2012, completed by 2018* 3.E Project Management (i) Formally establish PMU by October 2011 EMIS = education management information system; FY = fiscal year; ICT = information and communication technology; ICT4LE = ICT-for-Lao PDR education; LSE lower secondary education; M&E = monitoring and evaluation; MDG = Millennium Development Goal; MIS = management information system; MOE = Ministry of Education; PPA = pupil-parent association; SES = secondary education subsector; USE = upper secondary education;
Annex 03 Page 3 of 3 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 04 Implementation Plan {Indicative} Activities 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 A. DMF Output 1: Expanded access to LSE and USE 1.A. Classroom Provision to Address Physical Access 1.A.1. 30 new LSE schools (4 classrooms + 1 multi-use room + teacher room + sex-segregated sanitation facilities) each with and low cost dormitory by 2016 1.A.2. Facilities for USE classes and 1 low cost dormitory at 15 existing SE schools (3 classrooms + 2 lab + 1 multi-use room + teacher room + sex-segregated sanitation facilities provided by 2017)
1.A.3 Furniture packages for 30 + 14 1.B Direct Support for Disadvantaged Students 1.B.1 Scholarship criteria finalized by 2012, and scheme launched by 2013 1.C School Level Support to Enhance Equitable Access 1.C.1 Low cost community managed dormitories in 30 new LSE schools 1.C.2 Remedial support focused on boarding students in same 30 new LSE schools 1.C.3 School Access Grant guidelines finalized by 2012, school management committee orientation completed by 2013, and grants launched by 2013 1.C.4 Low cost community managed dormitories in 15 new LSE schools 1.C.5 Remedial support focused on boarding students in same 15 new LSE schools 1.C.6 School Access Grant guidelines for USE finalized by 2012, school management committee orientation completed by 2014, and grants launched by 2015 Output 2: Improved delivery of new SE curricula 2.1 Strengthening pre-service teacher training systems and placement of new SE teachers
2.A.1 Develop pre-service teacher training curriculum to align with M1-M7 school curriculum by 2013 and develop procedures for TEI QA accreditation system 2.A.2 Procure curriculum resources and instructional materials for TEIs and FOEs by 2013
2.A.3. Pilot 1: trial Graduate Teacher Placement scheme in 5 districts (25 teachers by 2 years) by 2013/14, assessed in 2015/16 2.A.4. Develop procedures and manuals for Teacher Recruitment and Utilization, and Teacher Quality and Performance by 2014 2.B. In-service Teacher Training and support for delivering the new SE curriculum 2.B.1 Delivery of M3-M7 curriculum In-service Teacher Training initiated by 2012, completed by 2016 2.B.2. RIES to develop media-based materials to support teaching (TV, Radio, DVD etc) 2.B.3. Establish an Annual Regional Meeting of Pedagogical Advisers by 2012; and trial SPA Incentive Package to support Pilot 2 2.B.4. Pilot 2: ICT4LE in target rural LSE schools in 5 districts completed by end 2013 2.B.5 Provide Teacher Upgrade Grants (11+3 to BA) for 10 LS teachers in target districts starting in 2012 2.C. Support for New Curriculum Materials (Textbooks and Teacher Guides) 2.C.1 Distribution of textbooks and teacher guides to 1200 schools and all TEIs in SY2012/13 (M3) and SY2013/14 (M4) 2.C.2 New USE textbooks, teacher guides approved for use by end 2015 aligned with National Examination regulations; distribution of textbooks and teacher guides to 500 US schools and all TEIs in 2014 (M5), 2015 (M6), 2016 (M7); 2.C.3 Pilot 3: M5 curriculum materials piloted in 15 SE schools in 5 target provinces by 2012/13, and evaluated by 2013 2.D. Teaching and learning equipment and materials to support improved teaching (in 30 new LSE schools and 15 existing SE schools) 2.D.1 Provide M1 and M2 textbooks and teacher guides, basic science equipment, materials and library books to at least 30 LSE schools in target areas by 2013 2.D.2. Provide additional materials/basic equipment for Arts/Music/Physical Education by 2013
Annex 04 Page 1 of 2 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 04 Implementation Plan {Indicative} Activities 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2.D.3. Provide science equipment and materials for 15 existing SE schools to support USE instruction by 2017 2.E Support for improved student assessment 2.E.1 Assist in review of Rules and Regulations for M4 and M7 national exams and HE exams by 2014 2.E.2 Support MOE/RIES to conduct ASLO for M4 in 2014 and M7 in 2017 Output 3: Strengthened SE subsector management 3.A. Support for enhanced subsector analysis to guide decision-making 3.A.1. Update institutional analysis of SE subsector and in-depth LSE needs assessment completed by 2012 3.A.2. Updated LSE and USE school network mapping completed nationwide by end 2012 3.A.3. Assessment of existing SE-related management information systems (MIS) completed by end 2012, and plan for improving and better integrating MIS implemented by 2015.
3.A.4 Detailed needs analysis of (i) LSE in 30 districts, & (ii) USE in target areas completed by end 2012 3.B. Capacity Building for improved SE subsector management at all levels 3.B.1. Based on institutional and needs assessments, phased and multi-mode capacity building program for education sector staff at central level (including PMU and IU) , provincial/local levels 3.B.2. Communication/dissemination advocacy strategy developed and launched by end 2013
3.B.3. Support for the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Private Sector Involvement in Education Development 3.B.4. Develop strategy and policy on ICT4LE by end 2013, including a focus on ICT to support SE teaching, learning, and school management 3.C. Support for Community Engagement in School Support and Management in 92 Target Schools (45 LSE and 16 USE schools) 3.C.1. School management committees established or reconstituted and initial capacity building completed in LSE schools by 2015 and USE schools by September 2017; 3.D. Monitoring and Evaluation and Special Study 3.D.1. M&E implemented throughout Program, with data feeding into MOE Performance Assessment Framework with baseline by 2012, interim assessment by 2014, final data collection by 2016, and report submission by 2017 3.D.2. Special study: Independent impact evaluation study focused on scholarships conducted, review baseline by end 2012, interim assessment by 2014, final data collection by 2016, and report submission by 2017 3.E. Project Management 3.E.1 Establish PMU by October 2011 B. Management Activities Procurement plan key activities to procure contract packages Consultant selection procedures Environment management plan key activities Gender action plan key activities Communication strategy key activities Annual/Mid-term review Project completion report
Annex 04 Page 2 of 2 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 05 Documents Accessed
ADB. 1995. Involuntary Resettlement Policy. Manila
ADB. 1998. Policy on Indigenous Peoples. Manila
ADB. 2002. Environment Policy. Manila
ADB. 2006. Country Strategy and Program: Lao People’s Democratic Republic 2007-2011. Manila
ADB. 2006. Poverty Handbook. Manila
ADB. 2007. Handbook and Social Analysis. Manila
ADB. 2008. Gender and Development Plan of Action (2008 – 2010). Manila
ADB. 2009. Safeguard Policy Statement. Manila
ADB. 2010. Concept Paper: Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Basic Education Sector Development Program II. Manila
ADB. 2010. Procurement Guidelines (as amended from time to time). Manila
ADB. 2010. Second Education Quality Improvement Project, Project Completion Report. Vientiane
BESDP II. 2010. BESDPII Inception Report Vientiane
BESDP II. 2010. BESDPII Interim Report Vientiane
GOL. 2004. National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy. Vientiane
GOL. 2006. Vientiane Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Vientiane
GOL. 2007. Education Law. Vientiane
GOL. 2008. National Education Sector Reform Strategy 2006-2015. Vientiane
GOL. 2010. Draft National Socio-economic Plan 7. Vientiane
GOL. 2010. National Policy on Inclusive Education. Vientiane
GOL and UN. 2009. Millennium Development Goals 2008 Progress Report Lao. Vientiane
Lepain, Jean-Marc. 2010. Concept Note for the Introduction of expenditure norms in the education sector, Vientiane
Lepain, Jean-Marc. 2010. End of Mission Report. Vientiane
MOE. 2006. Operational Study 4: Teacher Education Institution Capacity. Vientiane
MOE. 2006. Operational Study 6: Professional Development Networks including Isolated Schools. Vientiane
MOE. 2006. Teacher Education Strategy and Action Plan 2006-2010. Vientiane
MOE. 2008. TVET Master Plan 2008-2020. Vientiane
Annex 05 Page 1 of 3 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 05 Documents Accessed
MOE. 2008. Education for All Mid-Decade Assessment. Vientiane
MOE. 2009. Education Sector Development Framework. Vientiane
MOE. 2009. ESDF Financing Model. Vientiane
MOE. 2009. BESDP Annual Progress Report and 4th Quarter Progress Report March to December 2009 ADB Grant 0069 Loan 2306-LAO. Vientiane
MOE. 2009. Information and Communication Technology for Upper Secondary Education (RIES). Vientiane
MOE. 2009. Mathematics Curriculum for Upper Secondary Education (RIES). Vientiane
MOE. 2009. Education Sector Development Framework, Performance Assessment Framework and Preparation-for-Implementation Plan. Vientiane
MOE. 2009. Human Resource Management Sector Study (ESDF). Vientiane
MOE. 2009. Decree 1572 DEB responsibilities at the LSE level (administration and pedagogy) and the USE level (administration only) are set out. Vientiane
MOE. 2009. Decree 1584 retains responsibility for pedagogic advice at upper secondary at the PES through Pedagogic Advisers. Vientiane
MOE. 2010. BESDP August Progress Report ADB Grant 0069 Loan 2306-LAO.Vientiane
MOE. 2010. Pre-test Report - Lower Secondary Education Textbooks and Teachers Guides (RIES). Vientiane
MOE. 2010. Draft Secondary Education Action Plan 2010 – 2015. Vientiane
MOE. 2010. Teacher Development and Management Policy Framework and Action Plan (2010-2015) draft. Vientiane
MOE. 2010. Tracer Study on MA Graduates in Education (DTE). Vientiane
MOE. 2010. Training Manual on the Use of The New Lower Secondary Education Textbooks and Teachers’ Guide (BESDP). Vientiane
MOE. 2010. Validation Study on the Draft Upper Secondary Education Curriculum (RIES BESDP). Vientiane
MOE. 2010. National Inclusive Education Strategy and Plan of Action 2011-2015. Vientiane
MOE. 2010. Strategy Plan for Private Education Promotion 2010 – 2020. Vientiane
MOE. 2010. Monitoring Survey of Teachers for School year 2009-2010 (DOP). Department of Personnel, Ministry of Education Vientiane
MOE. 2010. Midterm Evaluation Study of the Basic Education Sector Development Program ADB Grant 0069/Loan No. 2306 LAO. Vientiane
MOE. 2011. Assessment and Analysis of 2010 TESAP Review: Implementation Gaps and Capacity Development Needs (DTE). Vientiane
MOE/Sida. 2010. Final Evaluation Report: Teacher Training Enhancement and Status of Teachers Project (2002-2010). Vientiane
Annex 05 Page 2 of 3 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 05 Documents Accessed
MOE/Unesco. 2010. Education Quality Assurance Strategic Plan for 2010-2015. Vientiane
MPI. 2009. Report on Round Table Implementation Meeting. Vientiane
NSC. 2005. Population Census National Statistics Centre Vientiane, NSC
UNDP. 2009. Human Development Report 2009 Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development. New York
Unesco. 2008. Secondary Teachers in Lao PDR: Priorities and Prospects. Bangkok
World Bank. 2007. Lao PDR Economic Monitor. Vientiane
World Bank. 2008. Teaching in Lao PDR, Vientiane
World Bank. 2009. Lao PDR Economic Monitor. Vientiane
World Bank. 2009. Project Appraisal Document on a Proposed Grant in the amount of USD30M to the Lao People's Democratic Republic for A Catalytic Fund EFA/FTI PROGRAM. Vientiane
World Bank. 2009. Conditional Cash Transfers: Reducing Present and Future Poverty. Washington
Annex 05 Page 3 of 3 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis
SECONDARY EDUCATION
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
March 2011
Annex 06 Page 1 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis
CONTENTS
List of acronyms
Table of contents
Page
1.0 INTRODUCTION 4
2.0 NATIONAL AND SECTOR CONTEXT 4 2.1 Economic and Social Development 4 2.2 Implications for the Education Sector 5
3.0 THE EDUCATION SYSTEM 5 3.1 National Policies and Planning 5 3.2 Secondary Education Policy Context 5 3.3 Re-structured Education System 6 3.4 Secondary Schools Basic Data from 2009-2010 EMIS statistics 8 3.6 Current and Past Interventions in Secondary Education 9
4.0 ACCESS TO SECONDARY EDUCATION 9 4.1 Access to quality Primary Education 10 4.2 Demand for Secondary Education 10 4.3 Access to a Network of Secondary Schools 15 4.4 Supply Issues 16
5.0 QUALITY AND RELEVANCE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 17 5.1 Teacher Recruitment and Deployment 18 5.2 Institutional Capacity Development 21 5.3 Lower & Upper Secondary School Curriculum and Instructional Materials Delivery 25
6.0 SECONDARY EDUCATION AND SECTOR MANAGEMENT 28 6.1 Policies, Planning and Management 28 6.2 Management of Secondary Education 29 6.3 Summary of Stakeholder Analysis 30 6.4 Development Partners 35 6.5 Recent Management Developments through BESDP I 35 6.6 Consultation Outcomes 36 6.7 Possibilities for BESDP II 40
7.0 ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS 42 7.1 Education Share of Lao PDR Budget 43 7.2 Funding Secondary Education 45 7.3 Project Budget Expenditure 46 7.4 Education Sector Efficiency 46
8.0 CHALLENGES 49
9.0 SUMMARY 50
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APPENDICES
Appendix 01 ESDF Targets Related to Secondary Education Appendix 02 BESDP I Impact, Outcome and Outputs Appendix 03 Summary of Provincial Secondary Education Data
FIGURES
Figure 01 Diagram illustrating the Lao PDR Education System (2011 Figure 02 Number of Secondary School Teachers and Schools by School Type, 2009-2010 Figure 03 Number of Secondary School Students by Grade, 2009-2010 Figure 04 Number of Secondary School Teachers by Ethnic Group and Sex, 2009-2010 Figure 05 Planning Framework and BESDP II Outputs Figure 06 Primary Schools by Incomplete/Complete Grades, Poverty, FTI and Enrolment Figure 07 Distribution of 2009/10 Enrolments by Grade and Target Districts Figure 08 Primary and Secondary Grade Enrolments 2009/10 by Districts grouped by Educational Disadvantage and Poverty. Figure 09 Grade Enrolment Profile 2009/10 by Districts as a Proportion of Grade 1 Figure 10 Grade 2 (2005/06) Students Enrolled in Grade 6 (2009/10) by Province and Gender Figure 11 Cohort Survival from Grade 5 in 2005/06 to Grade 9 in 2009/10 by Gender Figure 12 Female and Male Cohort Survival from Grade 5 to Grade 9 (2005/06-2009/10) Figure 13 Cohort Survival by Gender: Grade 5 in 2005/06 to Grade 9 in 2009/10 Figure 14 Distribution of Secondary Schools in 2009/10 by Incomplete/Complete Grades, Poverty, Educational Disadvantage (FTI=1), and School Enrolment Figure 15 Distribution of Secondary Schools by Enrolment Band and School Type, 2009/10 Figure 16 Indicative Data of Supply/Demand and Exit Numbers Figure 17 Status from TESAP Evaluation Report Figure 18 Proposed M3-M7 timeframes for cohort rollout and M5-M6 trial Figure 19 ESDF Pillars, BESDP I and Preliminary BESDP II Management Outputs Figure 20 Government Revenue and Expenditure 2009/2010 Figure 21 Education Sector Share of LAO PDR State Budget 2005/06-2009/10 Figure 22 Education Sector Spending per Capita 2005/06-2009/10 Figure 23 Consolidation of Ministry and Provincial Budget Allocations 2009/10 Figure 24 Enrolment and Recurrent Expenditure by Secondary Student by Province Figure 25 Monthly Payroll Expenditure Reported by MOE, 2009-2010 Figure 26 FY 2009-2010 Budget Allocations by Subsector and Chapter (Salary, Allowances etc) Figure 27 Comparison of Salaries and Payroll Data by Province
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
1. Lao PDR has a population estimated at 5.62 million (NSC 2005) that is growing at a rate of 2.1 percent per annum. Urbanisation remains comparatively low with 73 percent of the population living in rural areas. There is a relatively young population, with 39 percent of the population being under the age of 15. Life expectancy is estimated at 59 years for males and 63 years for females (NSC 2005). In the urban areas, the fertility rate has stabilised at 2.04. In the rural areas which have easy access to main roads, the fertility rate is 3.70 and in rural ‘off road’ areas (that is in remote and often non Lao Tai ethnic communities) the fertility rate is 4.74 (MOE 2008). The Lao ethnically diverse population has 49 officially recognised ethnic groups categorised in terms of four major ethno-linguistic families: Lao-Tai (65%), Austro- Asiatic (22 percent), Hmong-Yu Mien (9 percent) and Sino-Tibetan (3 percent). The literacy rate for the population aged 15 and over was 49 percent for the non Lao-Tai group compared to 84% among the Lao-Tai groups (NSC 2005).
2.0 NATIONAL AND EDUCATION SECTOR CONTEXT1
2.1 Economic and social development
Economic development
2. Economic progress has resulted in a substantial reduction in poverty over the past 15 years and Lao PDR is on course to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target of halving poverty by 2015 and on track to meet MDG targets such as those on primary enrolment and child mortality rates2. Challenges remain with other targets. There is potential for growth: as the impact of the economic corridors increase so will the need for new skills, new technologies and industries, and economic opportunity (employment and private sector expansion) as investment grows (GOL and UN 2009). Lao PDR now faces the challenge of integrating its workers into the modern mainstream economy. The SE subsector must play an increasingly central role to address the issue of human capacity, a binding constraint for development in Lao PDR. This will support three interlinked transformations: (i) from a planned to a market economy; (ii) from a largely inward-focused, subsistence-based economy to a commercially oriented and regionally integrated economy; and (iii) from an agrarian to more urbanized society.3
Social development
3. To continue to achieve significant reductions in poverty Lao PDR needs to diversify its economy and give further attention to strengthening its agriculture and manufacturing sectors. GOL will also need to improve existing rural jobs and create additional jobs, with actions that include: (i) increasing growth in agriculture, (ii) investing in people living in rural areas, (iii) improved access to basic education, (iv) improved access to health services and early nutrition, and (v) encouraging migration through the provision of information, improved transport, making rights to public services and protection portable and facilitating remittances (GOL and UN 2009).
1 This chapter draws on the introductory chapter of the draft Secondary Education 5-Year Action Plan (2010) 2 The poverty incidence fell from 46 percent in 1992 to 26 percent in 2007 (MPI, 2009), and Lao PDR is on course to meet the MDG target of halving poverty from 48 percent in 1990 to 24 percent in 2015. 3 See ADB. 2010. Country Assistance Program Evaluation (CAPE) for Lao PDR. Manila.
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2.2 Implications for the secondary education subsector
4. Geographical conditions create difficulties in the supply of school buildings and facilities, teaching and learning materials, and a need for qualified teachers with multi- grade/multi-subject skills in sparsely populated, remote areas. Ethnic diversity also has implications for educational provision in terms of language of instruction, recruitment of teachers from the same ethnic group as the children, and flexibility of the curriculum to allow local authorities to include relevant vocational and cultural content and pedagogy into instruction. Higher fertility rates in rural areas require greater educational opportunities for more children in the places where the current education system struggles to provide coverage of education services. Economic development will increase the opportunity for employment, especially in industrial and service sectors. Further development in the agriculture sector will also require those who have not only basic knowledge but also more innovative ideas and approaches. They imply demand for a labour force that has a moderate level of literacy and communication and other specialised skills, which are linked, to secondary and higher levels of education and technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Economic development will increase the opportunity for employment, especially in industrial and service sectors.
3.0 THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
3.1 National policies and planning
5. The GOL aims to improve the living conditions of its poor, meet the MDG by 2015 and graduate from its status as a least-developed country (LDC) by 2020. The MDG development strategy was articulated in the National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES) 2004 and the sixth National Socio-Economic Plan (NSEDP) 2006-2010. The sixth NSEDP emphasized the importance of education as one of its four pillars. Improvement of education quality and human resource development has been identified as a key directive in the draft seventh NSEDP 2011-2015 (MPI 2010). The Poverty Reduction Strategy Operation (PRSO 2004) has actions supporting school block grants and the strengthening of expenditure assignment from the central to the provincial level of administration. Education planning will need to take account of PRSO planning so that outputs can be aligned with PRSO outcomes. All national development plans highlight the importance of literacy and numeracy through universal primary education.
3.2 Secondary education policy context
6. Policies and plans reaffirm the national human resource agenda for improving social welfare, enhanced workforce productivity and greater access to further education. A stronger relation between formal education and employment is a key feature of these policies and plans.
7. The Education Law (2007) has number of provisions that relate specifically to secondary and vocational education while others are important for the whole sector or other specified subsectors of the education sector. The education sector is defined and there are particular references to secondary education and vocational education within a framework that emphasises citizenship, life skills and the labour market. The legal framework set out by Education Law underpins the directions set out in the National Education System Reform Strategy (NESRS) 2006-2015.
8. The overall goals of the NESRS focus on moving towards regional and international
Annex 06 Page 5 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis standards that are relevant4. The objectives of the NESRS cover: early childhood education, primary and secondary education, technical education and vocational training, higher education and universities, teacher training, non-formal education and inclusive education. Government priorities are identified as: (i) increasing the length of general education to 12 years (5+4+3)5; (ii) further improving quality and expanding access; (iii) implementing the Teacher Education Strategy and Action Plan (TESAP) 2006-2010; and (iv) expanding technical schools and vocational training.
9. Specific reference to technical education and vocational training in the NESRS again repeats the need to “improve the quality of education and training and see that it is closely related to the world of work”. It continues by stating that the training received by secondary school graduates, technical personnel and technicians should be relevant to the needs of the economy and the labour market. An additional point is made that there is a need to “encourage lower and upper secondary education graduates to enter technical schools at different levels”.
10. The NESRS has an additional focus in the development of the Education Sector Development Framework (ESDF), the national education sector action plan for Lao PDR, which informs education sector development. The ESDF was prepared to identify, define and articulate priority government policies and strategies the national education system needs to pursue in order to meet education goals, targets and outputs set out in key Government policy statements. The ESDF is designed to support the phasing of numerous education plans produced since 2005 and key new education development programs and projects. The ESDF proposes policy targets and strategies for accelerating implementation of the NSEDP, NGPES and NESRS. The National Policy on Inclusive Education (NPIE) (GOL 2010) complements and reinforces the implementation of the National Plan of Action on Education for All 2003- 2015, the NESRS, the ESDF and the Education Development Plan 2011-2015.
11. Included in the ESDF are targets for the expansion of secondary education in quantitative terms, while the new organizational structure of 5+4+3 is introduced. At the same time it sets a number of targets to improve equity and quality, and measures to strengthen management of the education system generally and the secondary subsector specifically. ESDF Access targets for secondary education are clustered in four groups: enrolment rates; student flow rates; equitable access for all groups; and infrastructure. Quality targets in the ESDF relating to secondary education are clustered in five groups: curriculum and instructional materials; student performance monitoring; teacher training, teacher deployment and private education and model schools. Management targets in the ESDF related to secondary education are grouped in four clusters: strengthening management, management related to teacher issues; planning, monitoring and evaluation; and school fees. More details of the ESDF Access, Quality and Management targets are given in Appendix 1.
3.3 The re-structured education system
12. The Education Law (2007) formally recognises the restructuring of the lower secondary education system from three years to four years and in Article 18 states that as part of basic education, lower secondary education shall be four years in duration and provide basic knowledge in areas of Lao Language, mathematics, natural and social sciences, regulations and laws, information and communication technology, foreign languages, and technology and vocational knowledge.
4 The NESRS and its implementation has recently been reviewed (2010) and a report drafted (early 2011). 5 Achieved in 2009-2010
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13. The structure of the education system is illustrated in Figure 1. Pre-primary education consists of crèches and kindergarten schools and all aim to support the development of children and allow for a smooth transition into primary education. Primary education consists of five years and is compulsory. Lower secondary education consists of four years and upper secondary three years. Basic education ends at Grade 9. Post-basic education includes upper secondary education. Post-secondary education covers technical schools with one or two-year programs, and three to seven years of tertiary education programs offered by technical institutions, teacher training institutions and universities. The private sector is contributing to the rapid growth of private post-secondary fee paying colleges mainly offering programs in business, computing, tourism, or English Language. In addition to the formal education programs there are non-formal education (NFE) programs being offered to out-of- school youth and adults. The NFE programs include basic literacy and numeracy training, and a wide range of other vocational and skills-based programs.
Figure 1 Diagram illustrating the Lao PDR education system (2011)
Nominal Age Cohort ISCED Code 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
0 Pre-Primary Year 1 2 3 1 Primary Grade 1 2 3 4 5 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D Lower Secondary Grade 6 7 8 9 3A, 3B, 3C Upper Secondary (general and vocational) Grade 10 11 12
3C Primary Teacher Training (9+3) Year 1 2 3 4B Vocational Training (Certificate level) Year
1 2 Education Continuing and Life Working
4B Technical Training (University Degree level eg engineering) Year 1 2 3 4
4A, 4B Technical College (Diploma level) Year 1 2 3
4A, 4B Higher Technical College (Degree/Higher Diploma level) Year 1 2 3
5B Primary Teacher Training (12+1) Year 1
5B Lower Secondary Teacher Training (12+3 Higher Diploma) Year 1 2 3
5B Upper Secondary Teacher Training (12+4 Bachelor Degree) Year 1 2 3 4
5A, 5B University Degree Program Year 1 2 3 4
6 Medical Training Year 1 2 3 4 5
14. The Department of Secondary Education has a clear national mandate to support secondary education. Other departments with clear responsibilities for secondary education include the Department of Inspection (DOI), Department of Planning and Cooperation (DPC), Department of Primary and Pre-school Education (DPPE), Department of Teacher Education (DTE), Department of Personnel and Organisation (DOP), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Non-formal Education (DNFE), Department of Physical Education and Art (DPEA), Department of Private Education Management (DPEM), the Department of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (DTVET) and the Department of Higher Education (DHE). In the recent re-organisation of MOE6 a number of key centres, institutions and agencies were established or strengthened within the MOE structure and all have responsibilities related to secondary education and mirror the communicating, coordinating, and cooperating role of the DSE. These centres and institutions include the Education Statistics and Information Technology Centre (ESITC), the Inclusive Education Centre (IEC), the Strategic Research and Education Analysis Centre (SREAC), the Education Standards
6 2008
Annex 06 Page 7 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis and Quality Assurance Centre (ESQAC) and the Research Institute for Educational Studies (RIES). Agencies involved include the UNESCO National Commission, the Educational Printing House and the Educational Material Production Factory.
15. The Provincial Education Service (PES) of each province has roles of supervision, direction, management, implementation, inspection, and expansion of education within its province. District Education Bureaux (DEB) have responsibilities at the lower secondary level (administration and pedagogy) and upper secondary level (administration only). Various institutions have specified responsibilities at the school, village and community level including Village Education Development Committees (VEDC).7
3.4 Secondary schools basic data from 2009-2010 EMIS statistics
16. Secondary schools are categorized as lower secondary (grades M1 to M4), upper secondary (grades M5 and M6 and from 2010 grade M7), complete secondary (grades M1 to M6 and from 2010 grade M7) and incomplete lower secondary, which do not have all lower secondary grades.
17. In 2009-2010 there were 594 lower secondary schools with 7,883 teachers, 17 upper secondary schools with 612 teachers, 354 complete secondary schools with 12,409 teachers and 209 incomplete lower secondary schools with 1,130 teachers (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Number of secondary school teachers and schools by school type, 2009-2010 Lower Secondary Upper Secondary Complete Secondary Incomplete School School School M1-M6 Secondary School Teachers 7883 612 12409 1130 Schools 594 17 354 209 Source: MOE EMIS 2010
18. In 2009-2010 there were 421,269 secondary school students 105,769 in M1, 88,220 in M2, 75,221 in M3, 66,178 in M4, 52,202 in M5 and 45,837 in M6 (Figure 3). Following 2010/2011 M7 data will be collected by ESITC and included in the annual bulletin.
Figure 3. Number of secondary school students by grade, 2009-2010 M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 Students 105769 88220 75221 66178 52202 45837 (From 2010-2011) Source: MOE EMIS, 2010
19. In 2009-2010 there were a total of 19,299 secondary teachers of whom 50.3% were female. 17,289 of the teachers were Lao-Tai (52.8% female), 993 were Mon-Khmer (31.3% female), 247 Sino-Tibetan (69.6% female), 746 Hmong-Yu Mien (12.3% female) (SEAP 2010)8. There are a further 2684 teachers reported by qualifications in EMIS who either did not report ethnicity or are in DEB and PES positions rather than in schools, bringing the total number of secondary teachers to 22,034 in 2009/10.
7 VEDCs are in some ways more directly aligned to primary schools (since it’s typically 1 school per village) than to secondary schools (where even the government target would be 1 secondary school per 4 primary schools (or villages). For example, BESDP helped to set up student-parent associations to coordinate with VEDCs in all villages in a secondary school’s catchment area. If BESDP II continues this SPA model, it may be important to further institutionalize their role. 8 Data from EMIS indicates that 2684 teachers either did not report ethnicity or are not teaching in schools.
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Figure 4. Number of secondary school teachers by ethnic group and gender, 2009-2010 Total Female Percent Female Lao-Tai 17,289 9,123 52.8% Mon-Khmer 993 311 31.3% Chinese-Tibetan 247 172 69.6% Hmong-Yu Mien 746 92 12.3% Foreign 7 3 42.9% Others 17 6 35.3% Total 19,299 9,707 50.3% Source: MOE EMIS, 2010
3.5 Current and past interventions in secondary education
20. Several key projects implemented over the past decade have begun to provide support to the secondary education sector. The Teacher Training Enhancement and Status of Teachers Project (TTEST) project under the Second Education Quality Improvement Project (EQIP II) has strengthened the capacity of Teacher Education Institutions (TEI) and improved the quality of pre-service and in-service teacher training programs. EQIP II, the second Education Development Project (EDP II), the Basic Education (Girls) Project (BEGP) and KOICA have provided various levels of support.
21. The Basic Education Sector Development Program (BESDP I) became effective in October 2007 and will physically close 31 March 2012 and complete at the end of September 2012. The estimated project cost consists of: (i) a program loan of US$ 8.9 million equivalent; and (ii) a project grant of US$ 12.66 million equivalent. The total project cost of US$ 15.83 million is financed by the ADB grant with net amount of US$12.66 million and government counterpart funding of US$ 3.17 million. Main features of BESDP I are indicated in Figure 5. The status of program conditionalities and activities are summarized in a matrix in the BESDP II Interim Report Annex 04. The current status gives the opportunity for a smooth continuation to be designed that allows BESDP II to build on BESDP I achievements in the secondary education subsector and the broader education sector management areas (Figure 5).
Figure 5 Planning framework and BESDP II outputs Component ESDF pillar BESDP I output Draft SEAP BESDP II ACCESS Assuring equitable Expanded and equitable Nationwide and Expanded access access to LSE provided in equitable access to 4 access to LSE fast-growing, high-demand years of quality lower urban areas and in secondary to meet the poorest rural and remote demand of the areas communities of all regions QUALITY Improving quality Improved relevance and To improve the quality Improved and relevance quality of LSE and relevance of lower delivery of new secondary education SE curricula and learning outcomes MANAGEMENT Strengthening Improved capacity for Effective management, Strengthened sector governance planning, budgeting, governance and SE subsector and performance management, and delivery financing of LSE and management management of education USE
4.0 ACCESS TO SECONDARY EDUCATION
22. Improving access to secondary education, learning outcomes and progression to further education and employment requires specific attention to three aspects of the Lao PDR education system: . Access to quality primary education, competencies developed by Grade 5 (Primary completion) and community “demand” for secondary education.
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. Access to a network of secondary schools (“supply”) which meets standards for physical facilities, textbooks and learning materials and qualified teachers able to assist their students to perform well and progress to higher grades, and . Management of Schools, Districts, Provinces and nationally which gives priority to quality learning outcomes for all students
23. Lao PDR progress on each dimension requires successful implementation of other policies and adequate funding for the education system as a whole. In most education systems, where available budget funding limits implementation, dependence on the availability of project-funding can distort the sequence in which the MOE can implement reforms. Integration of development assistance within the Education Sector Development Framework has been an important step.
24. Improving secondary education access depends in part on Fast Track Initiative (FTI) activities, which support improved primary completion rates and learning outcomes. This process creates demand for “access” to lower secondary grades, as well as an increased demand for training and appointment of LSE teachers.
4.1 Access to quality primary education
25. Limited access to primary schools offering all 5 grades is the major constraint on improving demand for secondary education. Of 8399 Primary schools reported in EMIS 2009/10, 2380 had fewer than 50 students and another 2598 have 50-99 students. The smallest incomplete schools occur in both Poorest (P2), educationally disadvantaged (FTI=1) districts and in non-poor, non-FTI districts. Complete Primary schools are concentrated in the 50-149 bands.
Figure 06: Primary schools by incomplete/complete grades, poverty, MOE/FTI and enrolment
26. The dispersed rural population, terrain, distance to the nearest Primary school and distance from the nearest main road contribute to this pattern of small, incomplete Primary schools, which are difficult to staff with trained/qualified teachers.
4.2 Demand for secondary education
27. The distribution of 2009/10 enrolments by grade in Figure 07 identifies “educationally- disadvantaged” Districts by their reported poverty status. All potential target districts are non- urban, outside Vientiane Capital and exclude most Provincial centers.
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Figure 07: Distribution of 2009/10 enrolments by grade and target districts
28. Districts are grouped in Figure 8 as the 29 poorest educationally disadvantaged rural districts (FTI P2R), 26 other FTI rural districts poor and non-poor (FTI PXR), 29 non-FTI rural districts which are poorest or poor (OTH P21R), 37 non-FTI non-poor “rural” districts outside Vientiane City and not Provincial Centers (OTH PXR) and the 22 Districts in Vientiane City and non-poor Provincial Centers (OTH PXU).
Figure 08: Primary/secondary grade enrolments 2009/10 by districts grouped by educational disadvantage and poverty.
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0 Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11
FTI P2R FTI PXR OTH P21R OTH PXR OTH PXU
Source: EMIS data (2009/10) BESDP II analysis 29. The higher outcome for non-poor “urban” districts (black line red circles) is inflated by students moving from remote rural districts to the Provincial Center or to Vientiane City to access better quality secondary education.
30. The BESDP II analysis confirms FTI identification of educationally disadvantaged districts. High grade repetition in lower primary grades and poor primary completion rates contribute to the profile below, especially the poor educational outcomes in FTI districts. Each of these groups had between 44,000 and 60,000 students in Grade 1, only 12,100-32,800 in Grade 6 and 3,300 to 20,800 in Grade 11.
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31. The FTI Project and other development partners are assisting the MOE implement the ESDF that will contribute to improved primary completion rates. One target should be lifting the FTI districts profile (the two lowest lines in the graph) to the Lao average, which is close to the green line (with triangles).
32. The ADB BESDP I and the BESDP II being planned are working to strengthen transition from primary to lower secondary and Grade 9 completion. Improving access for children in small, remote communities attending small, incomplete primary schools becomes even more difficult if they are to complete Grade 5 and have access to a viable LSE school.
33. Figure 09 expresses 2009/10 enrolments by grade as a percentage of Grade 1 to show the relative positions of the educationally-disadvantaged and other poorest/poor districts relative to the Lao PDR average (black line yellow circles) and the non-poor urban districts (orange line blue circles). On this measure, three out of four students in non-poor urban districts reach Grade 6 and almost one-in-two reach Grade 11. The poorest MOE/FTI districts, by contrast, average less than one-in-four to Grade 6 and only 1-in-20 students reach Grade 11. This analysis in Figure 09 is based on single year data for each district, not on progression by cohort (which requires tracking the same cohort over several years, and discussed further below).
Figure 09: Grade enrolment profile 2009/10 by districts as a proportion of Grade 1 110%
100%
90%
80% 74.7%
70%
60%
50% 47.3% 40%
30%
21.8% 20%
10%
6.0% 0% Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11
FTI P2R FTI PXR OTH P21R OTH PXR OTH PXU Lao PDR
Source: EMIS 2009/10 (BESDP II analysis)
34. The unanswered question remains whether poor primary school outcomes combine with family expectations and distance to the nearest secondary school to reduce “demand” for secondary schooling. (BESDP II Interim Report Annex 10, BESDP II Access Study 2011) Does distance to the nearest LSE school discourage enrolment beyond Grade 5 and/or does family/community place less value on further schooling are “demand” issue questions. Would construction of a more accessible LSE school encourage continuing to LSE and/or would
Annex 06 Page 12 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis scholarships (such as BESDP 1) or student dormitories in district/ provincial centers encourage continuation are “supply” issue questions.
35. If lack of community demand for continuing to secondary school is the issue, construction of new secondary schools may not be sufficient to produce appreciable change in the above patterns.
36. Gender differences in primary completion rates and progression to lower secondary require further examination, preferably with district level data. Figure 10 presents provincial data on Grade 6 (2009/10) proportion of Grade 2 (2005/06) to reduce distortion due to Grade 1 repetition, as well as the apparent attrition between Grade 5 Females (in 2008/09) and Grade 6 the following year. The ten provinces to the right of the Lao PDR average confirm the need to improve Grade 5/Grade 6 transition rates for both female and male students, especially for females if the gender parity line (dashes) is to rise above 90% and approach 100%.
Figure 10: Grade 2 (2005/06) students enrolled in Grade 6 (2009/10) by province and gender
37. Increasing transition to Grade 6 and reducing attrition before Grade 9 are important strategies if Lao PDR is to improve secondary educational outcomes. Figure 11 shows 55,569 female students in Grade 5 in 2005/06 and their transition to Grade 6 in 2006/07 and 29,202 or 52.6% from Grade 5 still enrolled in Grade 9 in 2009/10. There were almost 12,000 more male students in Grade 5 in 2004/05 (67,344), of whom 54.9% (36,976) were still present in Grade 9 in 2009/10.
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Figure 11: Cohort survival from Grade 5 in 2005/06 to Grade 9 in 2009/10 by gender
38. The arrows in Figure 12 show the cohort data in Figure 11 graphically. Numbers enrolled in each grade have increased each year since 2005/06 but the arrows show net losses each year. Understanding reasons for drop-out is the first step towards a strategy to reduce this attrition.
Figure 12 Female and male cohort survival from Grade 5 to Grade 9 (2005/06-2009/10)
FEMALE (left block) MALE (right block)
80,000
70,000 67,344
60,000 55,569
50,000
40,000 36,976 30,000 29,202
20,000
10,000
- F F F F F M M M M M
200506 200607 200708 200809 200910 200506 200607 200708 200809 200910 Grade05 Grade06 Grade07 Grade08 Grade09 Grade10 Grade11
39. Figure 13 provides an analysis of aggregate Lao PDR data by gender and by province, with provinces ordered by the proportion of Grade 5 females in 2005/06 who were enrolled in Grade 9 in 2009/10. Ten provinces with 33,531 (60%) of Grade 5 enrolments in 2005/06 have less than half their cohort remaining until Grade 9 in 2009/10. Only 6 provinces had less than 50% of Grade 5 males enrolling in Grade 9, but note that 7 provinces had more than the national 79 females per 100 males in Grade 9. Male attrition before Grade 9 requires further examination by the MOE - if reasons for male and female attrition differ, different gender- specific strategies may be required to improve both female and male completion of secondary education.
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Figure 13: Cohort survival by gender: Grade 5 in 2005/06 to Grade 9 in 2009/10
40. Assuming 10% attrition from grade to grade for reasons beyond the influence of secondary schools, a “successful” outcome would be Grade 6 with 90% of Grade 5, Grade 7 with 81% of Grade 5, Grade 8 with 73% and Grade 9 with 66%. Only Vientiane City and Luang Namtha reach or exceed this level for both female and male students, and Vientiane Province achieves it for male students (while female students remain at least 10% below the male rate).
41. There is another effect which could be followed up – students leaving school before Grade 5 are not included in this analysis – and this would be an FTI Project issue. FTI success would create greater demand for additional secondary school classrooms and teachers and reinforces rationale for BESDP II concentrating in the poorest educationally disadvantaged districts.
42. Provincial data analysis masks movement of students from remote Districts to secondary schools located in the provincial center, so targeting the poorest under-performing districts is necessary strategy if Lao PDR is to improve its overall performance from 53% females and 55% males reaching Grade 9.
43. BESDP II district selection could include ESITC reporting comparable “district” data from 2005/06 to 2009/10. This activity could be undertaken as a half-day or full-day workshop with ESITC and provinces with three or more poorest, educationally disadvantaged districts. Such a workshop could contribute to MOE and PES understanding of BESDP II target criteria, and methods would contribute to better use of existing EMIS data to monitor district performance. Mid-term review and more rigorous evaluation of Project outcomes should examine whether total enrollments increase because retention in each grade improves or whether a greater proportion of each cohort complete Grade 9 and progress to upper secondary grades.
4.3 Access to a network of secondary schools
44. If access to a complete primary school is the first barrier to improving educational outcomes for many children in Lao PDR, access to a complete secondary school (to at least LSE Grade 9) may be an even greater problem in Poorest FTI districts, where most incomplete LSE schools have fewer than 100 students. Grade 6-9 LSE schools are mostly 100+ students while most Complete Secondary Schools have 300+ students. Some students have to spend more time travelling to a larger secondary school with qualified teachers. Many
Annex 06 Page 15 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis small, remote districts cannot guarantee access to Grades 6-9, with viable class groups, and teachers qualified in at least the core LSE subjects.
Figure 14 Distribution of secondary schools in 2009/10 by incomplete/complete grades, poverty, educational disadvantage (FTI=1), and school enrolment
Source: EMIS 2009/10 data (Lao2D_19Feb003Size.sql)
Figure 15 Distribution of secondary schools by enrolment band and school type, 2009/10
45. Secondary schools with fewer than 150 students are mostly incomplete LSE schools, offering limited opportunity for students to access the full secondary curriculum schools. Larger secondary schools are mostly in urban/provincial centers even more remote from the poorest rural communities. Poor outcomes for many ethnic groups are because they are over- represented in smaller villages in remote areas.
4.4 Supply issues
46. Without appreciation of the access issues above, provinces and districts may build schools in places where “demand” is high but not in areas where demand “appears” low when the lack of an accessible school may be the major barrier to educational access. Note that some “new” construction replaces existing (unsatisfactory) facilities without necessarily
Annex 06 Page 16 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis expanding the total secondary enrolment. BESDP II construction could seek some balance between high growth areas and “access” provision for small remote communities.
47. Difficulty of staffing existing secondary schools in more remote, rural districts may be a further supply constraint – especially the lack of specialist teachers in Mathematics, Physics, or Chemistry. Teacher qualifications are being explored, as well as incentives to attract (and retain) qualified teachers. This issue is examined further in Section 5 and BESDP II Interim Report Annex 05.
48. Provision of textbooks should be subsidized for upper secondary grades in remote/poorest districts (the 29 Poorest FTI districts had 3300 Grade 11 students in 2009/10 compared with 31900 in the 59 non-FTI non-poor districts). The delivery of textbooks to those remote districts may cost more than the printing cost of many of the books. An alternative strategy could be a block grant, which meets the textbook and delivery, costs for “target” schools – so Provinces could monitor lack of textbooks, especially where any Schools/District fail to utilize their block grant. The Ministry is finalizing a Decree on Budget Norms with provision for block grants.
5.0 QUALITY AND RELEVANCE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
49. Three current MOE policy action documents guide the analysis of quality improvement in the secondary education sector, each one reflecting the Education Reform goals.
50. The quality component of the SEAP 2010–2015 (describes the targets for curriculum and instructional materials, student performance monitoring, teacher training and teacher deployment. The activities are described under programs relating to implementation of the new LS curriculum reform, new teaching methods and approaches for learning assessment; activities to address the problem of teacher shortage in certain subjects and geographical areas at LS level; monitoring and assessment of teachers’ and school directors’ performance; provision of a sufficient number of quality US teachers; provision of quality teaching and learning materials for US schools; and piloting of secondary technical vocational education at US level.
51. The Teacher Development and Management Policy Framework and Action Plan 2010- 2015 (TDMP) provides the structure for DTE and DOP to improve the quality of teacher training, to improve the teacher recruitment and utilization systems and procedures, upgrading of teacher benefits and incentives, teacher testing and certification, and strengthening of teacher career development and promotion. The BESDP I program has provided support to MOE in development of the TDMP which will require further support from BESDP II in future to ensure the effective implementation of revised procedures for teacher recruitment and deployment and non-salary incentives.
52. A review of TESAP 2006-2010 is currently being undertaken by DTE, which will lead into the development of TESAP Phase 2 2011-2015. A status report9 on TESAP progress is referenced in this situation analysis and is used to inform the BESDP II program design.
53. BESDP I is currently providing support to RIES and DSE in the development and implementation of M1 and M2 curriculum reforms, and development of the curriculum framework for M3-M7 secondary school grades. Planned BESDP I activities to support national assessment of student learning outcomes and training of secondary pedagogical advisers (SPAs) has been minimally addressed in the M1-M2 training to date. The BESDP II project will continue to support and strengthen each of these areas of secondary school improvement.
9 Report 3 of the 2010 TESAP Review DTE/MOE (draft) 2011)
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5.1 Teacher recruitment and deployment
54. A major policy change is being introduced in Lao PDR to improve the efficiency of teacher recruitment and deployment. Teachers will soon be de-linked from the Civil Service and the quota system will be replaced by direct recruitment through PES and DEB offices. When the quota system is removed teachers will be deployed to schools based on real demand, including the awarding of all new recruited teachers to permanent staff posts under the teachers’ payroll. The TDMP provides the policy foundation for the procedural changes to teacher recruitment and a decree is now being prepared for Ministerial approval. The MOE, provincial offices and schools will follow the TDMP guidelines and annual teacher projections will be incorporated in the annual provincial plans.
55. The quota system has not been able to resolve the problems of teacher recruitment to underserved areas and for subject shortages. The quota system of providing scholarships for students from remote areas to train as teachers and return to their home district to teach on graduation has been difficult to enforce. Graduates may not be clear on their contractual obligations. PES and TEI/FOEs do not have a systematic method of tracking the progress of new teachers after they graduate from TEI or FOE, and quota places are not always correctly targeted to meet teacher demand in the most underserved areas10.
56. The DOP completed a Monitoring Survey of Teachers for School Year 2009-2010. The survey was designed to validate the number of teachers for purposes of monitoring teacher recruitment at provincial level, especially in poor districts. It covered 8 provinces (Phongsaly, Hoauphanh, Oudomxay, Vientiane Capital, Bolikhamxay. Khammouane, Xekong and Attapeu). The survey covered a total of 20,518 teachers, 9,602 were female. The key findings of the survey were the lack of teachers compared to actual need, especially in more remote and poorest areas; the continuing number of volunteer teachers who have not been awarded with permanent teacher status; the shortage of qualified upper secondary teachers in some subjects and lack of applicants in some areas; lack of accuracy in data collection; lack of textbooks and teaching facilities in remote areas; teacher retention is difficult in poorer, more remote areas; services and travel are more difficult in poor remote areas. The recommendations from the survey address each of these key findings for improvement in recruitment and deployment of teachers and improvements in the provision of school and living facilities for teachers in poor and remote areas.
Process of recruitment of new graduates into teaching
57. “After TEI students graduate they have to take an examination to be recruited as teachers according to the hiring quota approved by the Government. The MOE allocates the quota for teachers and staff to PESs and TEIs throughout the country. Overall, the recruitment principle based on the quota system limits the availability of teachers to schools and TEIs.” (TDMP 2010)
58. The TDMP identifies weaknesses in the process of teacher recruitment and utilization. Teacher recruitment processes are slow - students who graduate from TEI/FOEs in the current year are appointed to schools after the start of the next school year. Vacancy announcements are not widely spread – graduates have to travel to districts to place their applications. Graduate supply from TEI/FOEs does not match with the demand for teachers in shortage subjects and in willingness to take up postings in remote locations. Even in
10 Teaching in Lao PDR, World Bank / MOE 2009; Secondary Teachers in Lao PDR: Priorities and Perspectives, UNESCO 2010
Annex 06 Page 18 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis underserved areas where selection exams are waived and teachers have been offered immediate permanent teacher status vacancies remain unfilled or are filled with teachers qualified to teach at another level. Benefits and incentives that are received by teachers are not adequate to compensate for remote postings.
Graduate teacher supply
59. Although the total number of teaching graduates being produced by TEIs and FOE is sufficient there is a continuing shortage in supply of teachers to remote areas, shortage of female and ethnic group teachers in some areas and shortage of science teachers particularly for US schools. Wastage at graduate level is due to a number of reasons including teachers refusing deployment to remote areas, and more attractive employment opportunities for English, maths, science and IT graduates.
60. A comparison of the verified data from DOP, ESDF and TEMIS sources provides an estimation of the number of graduate teachers who do not enter teaching. Calculations are not possible using one data source. The data that is available is a combination of actual statistics eg number of teachers requested and quota allocation, and projected figures eg. ESDF data calculated using student enrolments in 2007/2008 as the baseline and projected figures using Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) and estimated student growth rates and teacher attrition rates. The analysis shows that the minimum percentage of graduate teachers who do not enter teaching is 49.2 percent for lower secondary qualified teachers and 65.6 percent for upper secondary qualified teachers.
Figure 16 Indicative data of supply/demand and exit numbers Comparison of Data - indicative data of supply/demand and exiter numbers LSUS Teachers Requested in 2010 2440 1539 Source: DOP data (sample verified - data from three provinces missing) Teacher Quota allocated in 2010 1608 584 Source: DOP data (sample verified - data from three provinces missing) Teachers Recruited in 2010 1860 276 Source: DOP data (sample verified - data from three provinces missing) Projected demand in 2010 1047 670 Source: Calculated from ESDF finance model projections based on 2007/2008 enrolments, MOE PTR targets, enrolment growth, teacher attrition Total graduates in 2010 3660 803 Source: TEMIS website (verified) Estimated magnitude of exiters 49.2% 65.6% Teachers recruited / Total graduates in 2010
Clarifiers / Assumptions: Teachers recruited in 2010 includes new graduates and volunteer teachers assigned to permanent teacher positions but the disaggregated data on this is not available Teachers recruited in 2010 does not give any disaggregated data to show differences by location, or by subject, or by recruitment from TEI Total graduates in 2010 can be disaggregated by TEI and by subject studied
Teacher shortage - under-supply by 580 1263 Teachers requested - teachers recruited teacher recruitment Teacher graduate wastage as 1800 527 Graduates not recruited, assuming 100% recruited were graduates graduates not employed as teachers Teacher over-supply by number of 1220 -736 Graduates who would not be absorbed if all graduates were recruited and 100% of vacancies graduates not recruited were for graduates
61. Neither the TEI/FOEs nor the PES have a system for tracking graduates. The PES indicated that most scholarship teachers return to their home district to teach though there were no comprehensive records to verify this and no systematic monitoring system is in place. Informal observations from PES staff suggested that some TEI/FOE graduates follow friends to another district or province and some return to their home location but take up jobs in other government offices. It was reported that many government offices have some graduate teachers working in administration positions.
62. A small tracer study undertaken during the BESDP II PPTA provides analysis of student flow from US graduation to TEI/FOE and then into teaching, while also raising awareness of the need to improve the monitoring of graduates from TEI/FOE to improve system efficiencies (see detailed report in Interim Report, Annex 05). The PPTA team collected data in field visits to Savannakhet, Xiang Khouang, Luang Namtha and Sekong Province. The main findings
Annex 06 Page 19 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis from the study sample show that 69 percent of the tracer study sample who entered teaching since 2005 were initially appointed as volunteer teachers. Of the 72 graduates in the tracer study sample, 25 percent were awarded permanent teacher status in their first year of teaching. A further 22 percent were awarded permanent teacher status in their second year of teaching, 11 percent in their third year of teaching and 3 percent in their fourth year of teaching. The remaining 39 percent are on volunteer teacher status and have been teaching between one to three years. Evidence from the field visits indicates that the problem of graduate teachers being unable to secure a permanent teaching position under the quota system is easing, following the increased number of quota places allocated by MOE in 2010. In Sekong province for example the PPTA Team were informed that of the 126 LS teachers recruited in 2010, 16 volunteer teachers were upgraded to permanent teacher status and 110 new teaching positions were awarded to graduate teachers. No new recruits in 2010 had to enter teaching as volunteer teachers. For bachelor degree teachers the quota is higher than the number of applicants.
63. The tracer study data also provides evidence of the number of teachers who return to their home district after completion of teacher training. 42 percent of graduate teachers in the tracer study sample returned to teach in their home district where they had also attended secondary school. 24 percent of graduate teachers moved away from their home district to attend secondary school and they returned to teach in the district where they went to school. 25 percent of graduate teachers teach in a district, which is not their home district and is not where they attended secondary school. 10 percent of graduate teachers moved away from their home district to attend school and moved to another district to teach.
64. The tracer study sample of teachers was asked to explain where their TEI colleagues who did not go into teaching are now working. The alternatives listed included: police force, government administration officer, private sector employment, farmer, army, tourism, banking and private schools. The reasons given for not going into teaching included lack of quota, low salary, better salary in private schools / private sector, preference for other job, the wait is too long to become a certified teacher, deployment to a remote area is not attractive, poor grades in teaching qualification, no vacancies close to family, some graduates only want the qualification and don’t want to teach.
65. Further analysis of the Tracer Study data (BESDP II Interim Report Annex 05) will explore patterns, trends and disparities revealed through disaggregation by poorest district status, gender, teaching subject and qualification, and TEI/FOE attended.
Teacher incentives
66. A key barrier to achieving the goal of providing quality secondary school education in Lao PDR is the difficulty of recruiting teachers to under-served areas of the country. Teachers are least attracted to areas where living and working conditions are more challenging and supplementary allowances have not provided sufficient incentive. The quota system has not proved effective as a mechanism for deployment of teachers to areas of need and neither have the existing scholarship and contract schemes solved the problems of undersupply of teachers to poor ethnic areas. The MOE recognizes that the living and working conditions and salaries of teachers are crucial factors that need to be addressed; in particular to attract secondary school teachers to underserved areas of the country.
67. The UNESCO Secondary Teacher Study (2009) draws attention to the complexities of providing quality education to poor ethnic communities including recognition that marginal costs of educating children in these areas at primary school and even more so at secondary level will be higher than the national average.
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68. The draft SEAP 2010-2015 highlights the key issues to be addressed in equitable deployment of teachers to secondary schools including the need for incentives for remote postings.
69. One of the goals stated in the TDMP is “to ensure that the current teaching force is retained through the setting up of proper systems for incentives, promotion and career development. Teachers who are assigned to work in rural and remote areas should be provided with reasonable incentives and training opportunities for continuous upgrading”. Component 3 of the TDMP focuses on upgrading of compensation, benefits and incentives. The TESAP review 11 reports that “Output 5.3 Remote areas special fund for teachers established” has not been completed apart from the drafting of a set of procedures for the establishment, investment and use of the special funds. No funding sources have been identified.
70. Remote teaching incentives are 15% additional salary for moderately remote schools, 20% for more remote schools and 25% additional salary for most remote schools. Each district categorizes schools by remoteness. Scholarships provided to secondary school graduates from some rural areas have been effective and teachers have returned to the village but others do not fulfill the commitment. Village communities provide rice and accommodation for teachers. PES’ have proposed to the MOE that salaries and allowances for teachers working in remote schools should be increased.
71. During the field visits to Savannakhet and Sekong provinces teachers and district officials were asked for their views on the kind of incentives that might attract teachers to work in poor underserved areas. Discussion and observation of the localities prompted the following suggestions and options for targeted incentives.
72. Cash-based incentives - end of year bonus; pay three months salary advance at the beginning of the school year for new graduate teachers to relocate, establish themselves and set up home; raise the percentage allowance for remote teacher posts; provide allowance for installation of new teachers and cost for accompanying to the post when the teacher needs a guide to show them the way; transportation at start and end of vacation from the district to the provincial centre for teachers to be able to visit their family.
73. In-kind incentives - satellite dish, TV and VCD for setting up a district resource centre plus water powered generator (Chinese); phone / sim access for teachers in remote locations donated by telecom provider as an example of PPP and corporate social responsibility; provide teacher accommodation to meet a basic minimum standard with facilities (water, electricity, etc); provide transport to take new teachers and their belongings to their school
5.2 Institutional capacity development
74. An Institutional Capacity Development Plan is being developed under the BESDP II PPTA to include priority areas for capacity strengthening of pre-school and in-service teacher training targeting TEI and FOE staff, SPAs and secondary school principals.
Strengthening the Capacity of TEI and FOE Staff and Facilities Development
75. The SIDA funded TTEST project (2002-2008) under EQIP II supported the development of a comprehensive Teacher Education Strategy (2006-2015) and Action Plan (2006-2010) which has built capacity at all levels of pre-service and in-service teacher training. TESAP is currently being reviewed and TESAP Phase 2 will be developed from that
Annex 06 Page 21 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis review. A TTEST evaluation (MOE 2010) reported that the capacity development of administrators and senior staff has led to improvements in the learning environment and facilities management. The research capacity of TEIs and FOEs and the quality of teaching has also improved. The report identifies a continuing need for strengthening of the network of key trainers including master trainers and pedagogical advisers (PAs). The report also identifies the need for capacity development plans, which build on existing skills within each institution. This indicates a need for each institution to develop its own institutional capacity within the national framework.
76. The current review of TESAP identifies the status of each subcomponent of the plan. Of relevance to possible institutional capacity development interventions under BESDP II are the following subcomponents of TESAP with their current reported status (DTE/MOE Report 3a (draft) 2011)11
77. The BESDP II interventions will need to be compatible with the future DTE TESAP priorities and timelines focusing particularly on implementation of the new curriculum in pre- service and in-service teacher training. The infrastructure needs of TEIs and FOEs can be assessed from each Institutional Implementation Plan. Quality Assurance systems will need to be further strengthened in TEIs/FOEs and in schools. Professional development needs of TEI/FOE staff and secondary school teachers may be prioritized for project support, including TEI/FOE staff and SE teacher upgrade programs. Strengthening of the SPA system at district level may enable the expansion of professional development networks.
Figure 17 Status from TESAP Evaluation Report
TESAP Outputs and Activities Status from TESAP Evaluation Report 3a 2011 Output 1.4 Infrastructure Identified and an implementation plan produced: Implementation Plans needs at TEIs completed and submitted to donors for discussion Output 2.4 QA system Introduced into DTE and TEI/FOEs: QA Handbook, database and orientation of DTE and TEI staff completed. Definition of minimum standards, design of legal framework and implementation guidelines under preparation by TEED. Credit transfer and Lao Teacher Education Certification Framework completed. QA system for schools to be introduced in TESAP Phase 2. Output 2.6 Capacity building Key trainers have been trained. Status of professional development of TEI teaching staff activities of TEI staff unknown. Output 3.1 Clear guidelines Minimum standards under development. All other activities assigned to for recruitment of TEI staff TESAP Phase 2 including upgrade of staff for teaching practice Output 4.1 Professional All activities have been piloted in 3 provinces and may require funding development networks for further roll-out established and used for teacher support Output 4.2 Professional Not completed. The DEBs and TEIs need support to implement an Development Plans annual assessment of teacher in-service training needs Output 5.3 Remote areas A set of procedures for the establishment, investment and use of the special fund for teachers special funds completed. Regional training and identification of funding established source not completed.
78. The BESDP II interventions will also need to be compatible with and support the implementation of some activities outlined in the TDMP under Component 1.3 “Quality of
11 Report 3 Assessment and Analysis of the 2010 TESAP Review, Implementation Gaps and Capacity Development Needs, R Noonan, DTE/MOE (draft) 2011)
Annex 06 Page 22 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis teachers at Teacher Education Institutes is improved”. The main activities to be implemented under this output and which may require external support are (i) revision of the TEI and FOE curriculum to ensure quality and relevance, (ii) improve facilities of TEI/FOEs, and (iii) evaluate performance of TEI/FOE teachers. Curriculum revision is currently being undertaken by TEIs led by FOE, but targeted capacity strengthening may be needed for example in ICT or to support development of the vocational education strand. Facilities improvement relates to the above mentioned infrastructure needs and implementation of Institutional Development Plans. Performance evaluation of TEI/FOE staff falls under the remit of ESQAC and DOP working with DTE, and this may require further strengthening of capacity to implement the quality assurance systems.
Strengthening of secondary pedagogical adviser support
79. The present system of pedagogical support to LS and US schools is provided through the work of the Secondary Pedagogical Advisers (SPA). The TESAP project strengthened the capacity of primary school PAs who are managed by each DEB. SPAs are managed by the PES and each PES has now established an SPA Center under the PES administrative structure. There are 22 SPAs in each province, located in complete secondary schools. They are contracted to teach for 6 hrs per week and the remaining time is allocated to SPA duties including support to other secondary schools within their catchment area. In one province it was reported that the SPAs make at least one scheduled visit per year to the remote secondary schools where they may plan to stay for up to one week. They check lesson plans, participate in classroom teaching and check curriculum implementation. Additionally the SPAs provide ongoing support to all teachers by providing their contact details and responding by letter to address teachers’ concerns. The challenges identified by the SPAs during field visits included: budget constraints mainly resulting in lack of mobilization allowance, limited or no teaching resources resulting in lack of practical lessons in schools.
80. SPA trainers have been trained in the past 2-3 years in student centered learning (DGE-EQIP II) and life skills learning (UNICEF) including guidelines for working with persons living with HIV/AIDS. In August 2009, the DSE held a workshop to revise the training manuals for training secondary pedagogical advisers in 9 subjects, included Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, History, Civics, Arts and Music. Its main purpose was to amend the training manual to expand the quality of SPAs to conduct the in-service training for secondary teachers in Project provinces. (ADB EQIP II Project Completion Report12).
81. BESDP I includes an activity to provide 25 days of training for 44 replacement secondary pedagogical advisers and two annual review workshops for 222 secondary pedagogical advisers. This activity has not yet been implemented. All SPAs have been trained as trainers under the BESDP I Training of Trainers program for delivery of M1 training at provincial level.
Professional development of school principals
82. Secondary School Principals have had very little opportunity for professional development training. DOP have provided one administrative training course for secondary school principals in 15 of the 17 provinces, delivered by a central MOE team of trainers. EQIP 2 provided funding for delivery of the same training course in 9 provinces and BESDP I funded the delivery of the same training in 6 other provinces. Sekong and Attapeu are the 2 remaining provinces in which secondary school principals are yet to be receive this administrative training course. Training has been conducted at Vang Vieng in the Center for
12 ADB EQIP II Project Completion Report, MOE/DTE 2010
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Development of Education Managers (CDEM). It is planned for the CDEM to be upgraded to Institute for Development of Education Managers.
83. ESITC is currently undertaking a round of provincial based training for all secondary school principals to develop their capacity in data handling and statistics.
84. Based on feedback from PPTA Team field visits, future capacity development interventions for secondary school principals might include a focus on inclusion of the senior management team including school based and cluster based.
85. One module of the pre-service teacher training course includes a focus on school management as a result of which all new TEI graduates are trained in the basics of school management.
86. Discussion during the PPTA field visits resulted in identification by school principals and PES staff of the following training needs for school principals: - In depth understanding of the new reforms in academic work and in school management, budgeting and planning skills, and understanding of new concepts. - Refresher and upgrade training in leadership and school management. - Motivation through refresher courses - Roles and responsibilities of each unit and implementation of official instructions and guidelines
87. The PES suggested that deputy directors need to be trained as well as the school principals but school principals reported that there is no budget and no norm or directive established for school principals to disseminate information from training when they return to school. The present expectation is that an incentive payment would be needed for school based in-service and workshop dissemination. If MOE were to issue a directive for school based dissemination of training to become part of professional practice of school managers and curriculum leaders this would provide a cost effective avenue for expanding in-service professional development. Some guidance and support materials in the form of handouts would be required and could be provided at minimal cost.
Upgrade program for secondary teachers
88. Analysis of teacher in-service training under the BESDP II PPTA has focused on the number and distribution of secondary school teachers by level of qualification. Approximately 68 percent of all secondary teachers have 11+3 qualification or above13 meaning that approximately 32 percent of all secondary teachers do not meet this minimum standard. There is an on-going secondary teacher upgrade program conducted in TEIs and FOEs with enrollment based on a quota system and attendance is self-financed by teachers. The program is popular because upgrade potentially qualifies the teacher for a salary increase where they are able to apply for a higher level teaching post. The initial analysis of secondary teacher upgrade data is included in the BESDP II Interim Report, Annex 06.
89. There is a continuing, unmet demand for upper secondary teachers in subject shortages and for secondary school teachers from ethnic groups. Targeted support could be given for teachers who meet clearly defined criteria to enroll in the teacher upgrade programs. The DTE recommends that a flexible approach to delivery of teacher upgrade programs should be encouraged, such as the district based upgrade programs being delivered by Savannakhet TEI. This may be linked to an incentives scheme and to the review of
13 MOE EMIS data 2009/2010
Annex 06 Page 24 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis recruitment procedures to ensure that preferential treatment and special conditions are applied to teachers in high demand subject specialisms.
5.3 Lower and upper secondary school curriculum and instructional materials delivery
90. The secondary school curriculum has been revised to align with the expansion of the secondary school system from 5+3+3 to 5+4+3 grades. Lower secondary education was expanded in 2009-2010 to include four grades M1-M4, and upper secondary education was expanded in 2010-2011 academic year to cover grades M5-M7.
91. Development of the M1-M7 curriculum framework is being supported through the BESDP I project, with development and delivery of M1 and M2 textbooks and teachers guides, provision of instructional materials, and teacher training for implementation of the new M1 curriculum in 2010/2011 and implementation of the new M2 curriculum scheduled for 2011/2012.
92. The BESDP II project will provide support for continued development and implementation of the new curriculum for grades M3 to M7 following a cohort model as shown in the proposed schedule below.
Figure 18 Proposed M3-M7 timeframes for cohort rollout and M5-M6 trial Curriculum Development Cycle 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Lower Secondary TB/TG development M1+M2+M3+M4 TB/TG printing M1+M2 M3 M4 In-Service Teacher Training M1 M2 M3 M4 Implementation in schools M1 M2 M3 M4 Upper Secondary TB/TG development M5 M6 M5 (final) M6 (final) M7 TB/TG printing M5 (trial) M6 (trial) M5 (final) M6 (final) M7 In-Service Teacher Training M5 (trial) M6 (trial) M5 (final) M6 (final) M7 Implementation in schools M5 (trial) M6 (trial) M5 (final) M6 (final) M7
Summary of BESDP I progress to Q1 2011: M1-M7 curriculum development
93. A detailed presentation and discussion of progress to date of the M1-M7 curriculum development process is given in the BESDP II PPTA Interim Report, Annex 07.
Aug 2010 Teacher training provided for 4033 M1 teachers for implementation in schools in the academic year 2010/2011. Oct 2010 M1 textbooks and teachers guides distributed to schools - 656,876 copies of textbooks covering 12 subjects of Year 1 (M1) and 66,077 copies of the teachers’ guides for 12 subjects. Distribution of textbooks was based on a ratio of 1:2 in targeted BESDP I districts and provinces outside Vientiane City, and a ratio of 1:3 for schools in Vientiane City. Nov 2010 CACIM workshop to finalise and approve the US curriculum framework Jan 2011 M2 textbooks and teachers guides distributed to provinces for introduction in the academic year 2011/2012. Feb 2011 New US curriculum framework approved by MOE Mid-2011 M2 teacher training will be provided to approximately 4000 M2 teachers.
94. The M5 US curriculum materials are being developed with MOE funding in the first quarter 2011.
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95. The BESDP I Annual Report 2010 recommends the following future priorities for continuation of the quality component:
. Establish a resource pool of professional content-developers (writers, editors, graphic designers) within RIES, DSE, DPE, DTE and core technologies maintained. . Develop alternative modes of training and learning delivery including contextualisation and adaptation for all Lao learners and use of a range of information technologies for learning. . Social marketing advocacy and communication strategy targeted to various stakeholders (eg. perceptions of US students, teachers and parents, promotion of vocational strand, and public-private partnerships). . Performance tracking including quality assurance, national achievement tests and interventions of under-performing schools, districts and provinces.
96. In addition several key recommendations to improve curriculum delivery are described in the BESDP I Mid-Term Evaluation and these may be considered in the design of the BESDP II project. It is recommended that: (i) a National School Assessment Policy Framework be formulated; (ii) innovative book sharing programs developed by schools to overcome problems of TB shortage; (iii) instructional materials provision aligned with the new curriculum and teachers trained in their use.
Text books (TB), teaching guides (TG) and instructional materials (IM)
97. A Textbook and Teachers Guide Production Strategy has been developed under BESDP I to assist RIES in implementing the writing and printing of textbooks. The guidelines provided a basis for rigorous quality assurance of the new LSE curriculum development process. The textbook contents and features were determined through a series of workshops that were geared towards enhancing the subject matter content and on technical aspects of writing, lay-outing, editing, and printing textbooks and teachers guide.
98. Information gathered during PPTA team field visits indicated that some problems were encountered with distribution of TB to schools. Some schools reported receiving the wrong assignment of text books and there is a lack of instructional materials in schools and in TEI/FOEs and FOE to support the implementation of the new curriculum. It may be beneficial to undertake a review of TB/TG and IM procurement and delivery systems in Lao to identify ways in which to build capacity and improve the efficiency of the system. This may also be of wider relevance in streamlining procurement procedures under the aid effectiveness agenda.
Review of M1 Teacher Training Model
99. During the PPTA field visits to Savannakhet, Xiang Khouang, Luang Namtha and Sekong trainers and teachers who attended the M1 training were interviewed in focus group discussions. The arrangements for provincial based training varied from place to place indicating that PES’ used different strategies for delivery of M1 training. In one province the outlying schools were invited to attend and more centrally located schools were not prioritized for the M1 training as they are more easily accessed by SPAs for regular follow up. In another province schools were grouped in clusters so that within the cluster the full range of subject specialist were trained. There were reports of some mismatch of teachers to the correct subject group. Some provinces supplemented the budget allocation to train more teachers. Teachers from private schools were invited to participate in the M1 training. One school that was not included in the M1 training organized its own review of the new textbooks as an innovative school-based training exercise.
100. The PPTA curriculum specialists are tasked with reviewing the training model in order
Annex 06 Page 26 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis to assist the MOE in improving the M3 and M4 training. Feedback from teachers and M1 trainers strongly supports an increase in practical activities in the training and less theoretical content including use of instructional materials and student centered learning methods. Teachers need continuous/ongoing training, as their subject knowledge is still low. For some longer serving teachers this was the first in-service training they had received. Teachers requested follow up support in schools and the need for more than one teacher per school to be trained. Teachers reported that they could only provide follow up school based support in their own subject. Future curriculum training programs should include a component in which participants prepare some generic activities at the end of the training to deliver school-based pedagogical advice for teachers of all subjects.
101. Teachers working in poor ethnic areas may not speak the same language as their students. Teachers reported that some primary school graduates from remote area ethnic group areas do not understand simple instructions in Lao language when they transfer to LS in the district centre. This situation is perpetuated due to the under-representation of teachers from ethnic groups. A catch up or secondary school preparedness program in the summer vacation could be provided to PS students from remote areas as special measures when they transfer to LS to support them during the transition, to enable them to cope with the new learning environment.
102. Several strands of the secondary education curriculum may be brought together in a pilot intervention to strengthen the quality of curriculum deliver in secondary schools: o School or district based development of the local curriculum o Integration of science in the LS curriculum o M1 secondary school preparedness or catch-up classes in literacy and numeracy skills.
103. The proposed intervention could be targeted specifically to curriculum delivery in small secondary schools where each teacher is required to teach more than one subject. Piloting of flexible curriculum could be undertaken in a small sample of BESDP II project schools supported by trained SPAs. Implementation of a local curriculum would be particularly relevant to students studying in poor ethnic group areas in remote environments where topics relating to forestry, health awareness, agriculture and rural development can improve the lives of the local community. Local construction techniques, rural livelihoods, parenting skills, careers opportunities, civic education, environmental education, sustainable development, new (appropriate) technologies, energy/water resources, and local crafts and culture could all be included in the local curriculum.
Enhancing the use of education media for in-service teacher training
104. Aligned to the current discussions on appropriate and relevant use of information technology for learning, the BESDP II program may consider ways in which to strengthen the RIES Media Centre to provide more focused and targeted educational programs (TV, Radio and digital media – CD and tape recordings). Feedback from school principals, teachers and teacher trainers during field visits indicated an interest in improving education media for use in staff meetings, recorded language lessons, short demonstration lessons on specific aspects of the new curriculum and updates on news relating to the education reforms.
Student learning outcomes
105. The BESDP I MTE14 notes “although there is an attempt to have assessment activities as part of instructional process, the MTE noted that there is no clear inclusion of any
14 Mid-Term Evaluation Study of the Basic Education Sector Development Program, ADB 2011
Annex 06 Page 27 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis assessment system in the curriculum, especially if the new LSE and USE curricula will be used as qualifications for employment and further studies in higher education”. The BESDP I MTE recommends the formulation of a National School Assessment Policy Framework.
106. It is too soon to evaluate teacher performance and effectiveness of the new M1 curriculum through measurement of teaching and learning outcomes. However it may be timely to undertake an assessment of student learning outcomes during the BESDP II project period. There are three options: (i) Teacher competencies in school-based assessment of student learning should be a focus of the M3-M7 teacher training. It could also be used as a tool for strengthening and improving annual measurement of student learning outcomes. (ii) Review and strengthening of high stakes national examinations at M4 (Grade 9 LS completion) and M7 (Grade 12 US completion). (iii) Initial support to drafting of a National School Assessment Framework.
107. An assessment of student learning outcomes (ASLO) may be administered in 2014 to assess M4 students who would be the first cohort to have completed the new M1-M4 curriculum. Assessment of the first cohort of M7 students to have studied the complete new curriculum could be conducted in 2017. This is outside the present scope of the BESDP II project design.
TEI and FOE curriculum development
108. Pre-service teacher training curriculum development is ongoing at present to adjust to the M1-M7 school curriculum. In-service teacher training needs to be strengthened as more than 30 percent of secondary school teachers are not qualified to teach at that level. There is good enrolment in the secondary school teacher upgrade programs offered by TEI/FOEs. The master trainers and SPAs have been trained as trainers under the BESDP I program but there is very limited opportunity for district, school and classroom based follow up. Lessons learned are being identified by the PPTA team from discussion with M1 teachers and trainers and this will be built into the proposed development of M3 and M4 teacher training under the BESDP II project. Analysis of the secondary school teacher upgrade program and data on teacher numbers by level of qualification in the SE sector is presented in a supplementary paper in BESDP II PPTA Interim Report, Annex 05.
6.0 SECONDARY EDUCATION AND SECTOR MANAGEMENT
6.1 Policies, planning and management
109. The Education Law (2007), the NESRS, and the ESDF, within the broader contexts of the NSEDP, NPES and the PRSO, indicate that the Government regards strengthening management in the education sector as a priority. Certain targets in the ESDF (strengthening management; management related to teacher issues; planning, and monitoring and evaluation; and school fees) focusing on secondary education were identified as targets and activities for BESDP I. Figure 19 indicates the close alignment of ESDF, BESDP I, SEAP and BESDP II at the output level.
110. Consultation, document review and further analysis clearly indicate that secondary education (and in particular lower secondary education) remain a bottleneck to balanced educational development including persistent gaps leading to low system efficiency. The reviewed Problem Tree Analysis (presented in BESDP II Interim Report Annex 09) gives the management causes of the bottleneck as: (i) institutional weaknesses and uneven decentralization; (ii) inadequate sector financing and imbalance between capital and recurrent
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111. While the focus of BESDP I has been on secondary education the Program has also contributed to broader education system developments. Both broader developments and those more specific to secondary education are summarised in Annex A04 Matrix Reviewing BESDP 1 Initiatives and Indicating Current Status.
112. The draft SEAP puts effective management, governance and financing of lower and upper secondary education as a goal. The overall objectives are given as (i) strengthen management and governance at central, provincial, district and school levels to improve education delivery; (ii) ensure demand-driven and equitable teacher deployment and distribution; and (iii) ensure coordinated, evidence based sector planning, financing and monitoring. The bottom row of Figure 5 illustrates the relationship between the ESDF Pillars, BESDP I, SEAP, as well as the preliminary BESDP II management output.
6.2 Management of secondary education
113. The Ministry of Education (MOE) is responsible for formal and non-formal education at all levels, for both public and private education. The MOE is government’s central management organisation in educational matters; determining policy, planning, supervising, leading, implementing and controlling educational tasks nationwide. Under the Government’s de-concentration policy the MOE shares responsibilities with the PES and DEB. The departments, centres and agencies of the MOE with roles and responsibilities related to the management of the secondary education subsector are concisely described in Annex 08 of the BESDP II Interim Report.
114. It is important to put on record the gains that have been made in determining policy, planning, supervising, leading, implementing and controlling educational tasks nationwide over the past few years following the changes in organisation since 2008.
115. The Department of Secondary Education has a clear mandate to administer and manage secondary education throughout the country and a specified role in communicating, coordinating, and cooperating with other MOE departments and centres, development partners, international organisations, non-government organisations, other government sectors, in the development of secondary education. Other departments with clear responsibilities for secondary education include the Department of Inspection (DOI), Department of Planning and Cooperation (DPC), Department of Primary and Pre-school Education (DPPE), Department of Teacher Education (DTE), Department of Personnel and Organisation (DOP), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Non-formal Education (DNFE), Department of Physical Education and Art (DPEA), Department of Private Education Management (DPEM), the Department of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (DTVET) and the Department of Higher Education (DHE). In the recent re-organisation of MOE15 a number of key centres, institutions and agencies were established or strengthened within the MOE structure and all have responsibilities related to secondary education and mirror the communicating, coordinating, and cooperating role of the DSE. These centres and institutions include the Education Statistics and Information Technology Centre (ESITC), the Inclusive Education Centre (IEC), the Strategic Research and Education Analysis Centre (SREAC), the Education Standards and Quality Assurance Centre (ESQAC) and the Research Institute for Educational Studies (RIES). Agencies involved include the UNESCO
15 2008
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National Commission, the Educational Printing House and the Educational Material Production Factory.
116. The Provincial Education Service (PES) of each province has roles of supervision, direction, management, implementation, inspection, and expansion of education within its province. It is accountable for enhancing and implementing policies, resolutions, directives, provisions and regulation of the MOE. The MOE Decree 1572 (July 2009) outlines the District Education Bureaux (DEB) responsibilities at the lower secondary level (administration and pedagogy) and upper secondary level (administration only). Decree 1584 (July 2009) retains responsibility for pedagogic advice at upper secondary at the PES through Pedagogic Advisers.
117. Various institutions have specified responsibilities at the school, village and community level including Village Education Development Committees (VEDC).16
6.3 Summary of stakeholder analysis
MOE Stakeholders
118. Annex 08 of the BESDP II Interim Report presents a matrix containing the mandate of each stakeholder institution, the stakeholders’ responsibilities in the secondary sector and an analysis summary. The summary for each stakeholder focuses on the capacity of each stakeholder organisation to achieve their current mandate and indicates briefly areas where support may be focused in order to strengthen secondary education management.
119. Department of Secondary Education (DSE) DSE has a mandate that requires shared tasks with another departments, centres and institutions. Professional areas covered include quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation, examinations, teachers’ recruitment quotas, curriculum implementation, provision and distribution of textbooks and teacher guides, in- service training and professional development. Not surprisingly with such a range of roles in the administration, management and leadership of secondary education there is a need to ensure that the number of qualified and competent staff is adequate to promote and lead the development of secondary education throughout the reform process. There is a need to more clearly define the terms of reference of each staff position and improve the allocation of tasks.
120. Department of Inspection (DOI) The mandate of DOI covers inspection monitoring and evaluation of the overall system. However, the boundaries of the mandate are not clear to other departments. In particular there is a need for DOI to establish what is required of DSE (and other departments) to do in regards to monitoring, inspection and evaluation of Lower Secondary Schools and Upper Secondary Schools. This is realized by the MOE and the issue of coordination has been assigned to a newly established Monitoring and Evaluation Network and tasks around the issue delegated.
121. Department of Planning and Cooperation (DPC) The overall number of projects and programs in the DPC portfolio reduces the time staff can spend on their monitoring and supervision of programs and projects. In part this may be due to DPC appearing in some cases to have taken an implementation role beyond its coordination mandate.
16 VEDCs are in some ways more directly aligned to primary schools (since it’s typically 1 school per village) than to secondary schools (where even the government target would be 1 secondary school per 4 primary schools (or villages). For example, BESDP helped to set up the student-parent associations to coordinate with VEDCs in all villages in a secondary school’s catchment area. If BESDP II will continue this SPA model, it may be important to further institutionalize their role. As with some other spheres, part of the issue is that virtually all of the development partners are focusing on primary schools, so sometimes primary-level seems to dominate all of the thinking surrounding institutional setup & planning.
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122. Department of Primary and Pre-school Education (DPPE) The core mandate of DPPE relates to pre-school and primary. However, the mandate naturally includes the flow of students into lower secondary education. Important areas of cooperation between DPP and DSE that need to be clearly institutionalised are; (i) the delineation of catchment areas and school networks of LSS and primary schools; (ii) ensuring primary graduates have the competencies to benefit from lower secondary education; and (iii) working arrangements for the management of any future grade 1-9 Basic Education Cycle School (IEC Strategy 2010).
123. Department of Teacher Education (DTE) While the mandate of DTE is clear there is some confusion in overlapping stakeholder responsibilities. The quality and quantity of programs of in-service training for secondary teachers need strengthened coordination between DTE and other stakeholder departments, especially with RIES and DSE/PA, to ensure resources are fully and efficiently utilised. The interface of responsibilities between DTE, DSE, RIES, PES /PA, PES Teachers Development Section, and TEIs needs to be further mapped out and understood. There are perceived methodological differences between training provided by TEI Master trainers and secondary PAs. There is a need to further align the TEI curriculum with the new general school curriculum. Monitoring of teacher quality and access to professional development remains a problem. Coordination and collaboration with ESQAC, SREAC and RIES around quality assurance needs to be further clarified. The specialised Teacher Educator Management Information System (TEMIS) is located in the DTE Teacher Education Evaluation Division (TEED) and like other other information systems in MOE needs more links developed with other system.
124. Department of Personnel & Organisation (DOP) The DOP is responsible for teacher recruitment and management. Secondary schools still suffer teacher shortages in some subject areas, this is more pronounced in upper secondary. Incentives for teacher are still not effective in attracting teachers trained to teach at the lower secondary and upper secondary levels. This is especially so for rural and remote schools. Selection of best teachers to award teachers titles is still limited in number. Instructions for the implementation of TDMP are under preparation and implementation of the plan will need support. Programs to train schools managers are limited. The Personnel Management Information System (PMIS) is not fully functional, has a weak report generation capacity and cannot link with other education sector information systems. DOP has a low capacity in number of personnel and professional competencies need to be further strengthened.
125. Department of Finance (DOF) The implementation of school block grants for lower secondary schools is delayed. Schools still collect fees from families. There are problems with the distribution of textbooks, teacher guides and other instructional materials. The Financial Management Information System needs to be aligned with PMIS and EMIS. The recurrent budget for schools is low.
126. Department of Non-formal Education (DNFE) Lower secondary and upper secondary equivalency programs with NFE programs are not yet established including students transferring between the two systems. The provision of DNFE mobile teachers for secondary school level education in remote areas is difficult. DNFE has some responsibilities in promoting secondary education through student-parent associations and community mobilization for secondary schools.
127. Department of Physical Education & Art (DPEA) Providing sufficient physical education and arts teachers for secondary schools is a big challenge in part due to budget constraints as no external programs/projects support physical education and arts education. This makes it difficult for DPEA to achieve its mandate.
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128. Department of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (DTVET) Incentives are needed to attract secondary students to enter technical and vocational schools to reduce the overload of general upper secondary schools. The NSERS sets targets for secondary level students in future TVET innovations.
129. Department of Higher Education (DHE) Faculties of education need to produce/train sufficient qualified secondary teachers to match subject needs. Curriculum at the faculties of education needs to change to align with upper secondary curriculum change. The provision of science, mathematics and ICT teachers is a priority.
130. Department of Private Education Management (DPEM) There are some overlaps in responsibilities between different departments. Shortfalls in monitoring of secondary private schools occur due to shortage of qualified staff and there is a budget constraint.
131. Research Institute for Educational Sciences (RIES) Mechanisms to coordinate operational participation of RIES/DSE/DTE in completing tasks and responsibilities related to the implementation of curriculum innovations need made explicit. Capacity for assessing student learning outcomes at the secondary level needs to be built. Further capacity needs to be developed in order to prepare upper secondary textbooks and teacher guides of a good educational quality on schedule.
132. Education Standards and Quality Assurance Centre (ESQAC) ESQAC lack of staff both in terms of qualifications and staff numbers at present resulting in DSE waiting for new standards, norms, rules and regulation for secondary schools examinations. Final exams currently administered and conducted by the DSE. Quality assurance for secondary schools being developed. There is a need to firmly link qualifications with regional standards and international standards
133. Education Statistics and Information Technology Centre (ESITC) There are data gaps needed for planning purposes related to secondary education including distance between secondary schools and feeder schools, school mapping and the number of qualified teachers and teachers not qualified for the level they are teaching by subject; in order to project future numbers. The final version of the annual statistics is needed to inform secondary education decision-makers. Skills need to be developed that help managers use the information-based reports in their planning and management. A mechanism is needed for cooperation and coordination between ESITC and DSE regarding ICT Education in lower and uppers secondary schools (conceptualization, policy, and implementation). Secondary school mapping is planned but not yet initiated. There is still a need to align and further develop EMIS with PMIS, FMIS and TEMIS.
134. Inclusive Education Centre (IEC) A constraint that is repeated in the mandates and responsibilities of a number of MOE stakeholders is the question of mandate boundaries. Initially established as responsible for policies and promotional works the IEC is also involved in implementation activities such as the scholarship programs of projects and programs.
135. Strategy Research and Education Analysis Centre (SREAC) The Centre’s capacity to carry out or review all research and analysis that DSE needs for planning and improvement again raises the question of how to share tasks and responsibilities. There is a shortage of qualified staff and funds. The establishment of a MOE Research and Analysis Board (whose members are the DG of all Departments) to screen research topics each year has been suggested.
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Sub-national stakeholders
136. The summary for each stakeholder focuses on the capacity of each stakeholder organisation to achieve their current mandate and indicates briefly areas where support may be focused in order to strengthen secondary education management (Annex 08).
137. Provincial Education Service (PES) There are staffing issues in terms of number of established posts, staff appointments and competencies. Allocation of budgets to ensure basic delivery of services is inadequate so that tasks that should be routine cannot be completed. A frequently quoted example is that funds are inadequate for regular SPA visits to schools including teachers’ pedagogical support – arranging visits to remote lower secondary schools is especially difficult. A further, often mentioned, area is the difficulty in supporting the development of local secondary school curriculum. The divide of responsibilities between PES and DEB at the secondary level needs further clarification and operationalisation. The roles and responsibilities of PES, are clearly defined but manuals of work procedure need updating.
138. Pedagogical Support Centres Professional development and upgrading of pedagogical advisers is limited. There is limited in-service delivery and pedagogic support for schools, and teachers, due to limited resources (capacities, budget, funds and vehicles).
139. Provincial Vocational Schools Limitation of in-service and support for schools and teachers due to limited resources (capacities, budget, funds and vehicles).
140. District Education Bureaux (DEB) Qualified staff are needed to monitor and support secondary schools and teachers at the district level needed. The Secondary Unit recently established at DEB needs to be strengthened to be able to manage lower secondary schools within the district. Capacity of staff needs to be built to match new mandate. The reliance on PES PA creates delays in the delivery of pedagogic support to secondary schools. Clarification of the PES and DEB divide of responsibilities at the secondary level needs further clarification.
141. Complete Lower Secondary Schools Secondary schools express concern about: the shortage of textbooks and teacher guides especially the new M1 textbooks and teacher guides; and many teachers have still to been trained how to use new curriculum and materials. There is a need to review, revise and redefine the organizational structure and staffing of schools. There is no secondary school networks established; a network would be helpful for internal in-service training of teachers and encourage schools to share professional experiences.
142. Complete Secondary Schools and Upper Secondary Schools There are difficulties in recruiting sufficient teachers at upper secondary level (IT, Sciences, Maths and Physics). Other concerns include: no recurrent budget for management; principals not trained in school management; insufficient textbooks and teacher guides. As with lower secondary schools there is a need to review, revise and redefine the structure and staffing of schools; and a secondary school network established.
143. Village Education Development Committee (VEDC) The VEDC is chaired by the Head of the Village. The School Director is the Secretary. If the VECD is active and keen to encourage primary school graduates to continue to secondary school, there are mechanisms to do so. A promotion campaign tool would help and the LS school director could coordinate. Communication and coordination between the LSS and VECD needs further development especially in rural districts where the VECD of feeder primary schools are often far from the
Annex 06 Page 33 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis lower secondary school. District Education Development Committees have been successfully piloted in some districts and could be used to promote the establishment of primary- secondary school networks. The District Governor would chair the Committee with representatives from education stakeholders.
144. PPA (Pupils Parents Association) At the secondary level in rural and remote communities the PPA is the main supporter of education including school construction, maintenance and innovation. PPA mobilizes children to go to school and supports teachers in their daily life. If a PPA is active and the community support is healthy, the PPA can add to the resources available to the school. But in some poor communities the contributions are difficult and slow.
145. Teacher Education Institutions Planning and managing TEI program outputs so they match demand requirements particularly those to disadvantaged poor and remote areas needs support; this includes increasing the recruitment of secondary school graduates into teacher shortage areas. Re-alignment is also needed in the subject and pedagogic area with a need to review and revise the TE Curriculum due to the recent changes in the general education curriculum. Pedagogic methodology in TEI is conceptually and practically different from PA in-service training methodology. These and other concerns have been reported and analysed in an earlier section and in BESDP II Interim Report Annex 06.
146. Faculties of Education (FOE) at the National University of Laos (NUOL), Suphanouvong University and Champassak University Need to review and revise the TEI Curriculum due to the recent changes in the general education curriculum. The methods of recruitment, enrolment into the FOE does not support the supply of teachers to rural/remote US schools.
Mass organisations mandates
147. Lao Women's Union (LWU) The ratio of girl students enrolled to boys still needs to be improved so more promotion, encouragement and mobilizations of girls into school needed. Youth Union The LPRYU mobilizes youth going to schools with groups in lower and upper secondary schools. Concerns. Extra curricular activities in schools need to be diversified. Trade Unions Incentives for teachers like vacations for good performance teachers could be initiated by Trade Union. Link manufacturers to schools to enrich curriculum or orientation purpose for students.
Private education stakeholders
148. The summary for each stakeholder focuses on the capacity of each stakeholder organisation to achieve their current mandate and indicates briefly areas where support may be focused in order to strengthen secondary education management (Annex 08). Consultative Council for Private Education Sector (PECC) PECC has potential for mobilization of PPP and mobilization of investment in secondary Education than is currently being achieved. National Association for Private Schools (NAPS) The Association could play a greater role in the quality assurance systems of private secondary schools through closer monitoring and it has been suggested that a schools fees review mechanism id needed.
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6.4 Development partners
149. Education Sector Working Group (ESWG) The Group was established to coordinate and implement three education programs of access, quality and management in alignment with the GOL NSEDP and the HR Development Plan. The ESWG has a role in supporting the development and monitoring of legislation for the implementation of priority policies and strategies for the Education Sector. The ESWG supports dialogue to assist the implementation of the 1, 3 and 5-year subsector plans in alignment with the NESRS, ESDF, and the Education Sector Development Plan through coordinating the reviewing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting of the plans achievements. Basic, post-basic, management and research sub-committees (focus groups) have been formed to increase deeper technical dialogue between development partners and government stakeholders. The MOE and GOL members of ESWG are senior staff from different departments. Each sub-committee (focus group) has 13 -19 members with task distribution still to be defined. There is some confusion about how to avoid an overlap of assigned tasks with those of MOE departments in the coordination, planning, monitoring and implementation of tasks. Lower Secondary Education is represented in the Basic Education Focal Group and Upper Secondary Education in the Post-Basic Focal Group.
150. Mandates and responsibilities of other stakeholders in the education sector that have an interest in secondary education are briefly described in Annex A08. Key stakeholders include ADB, UNICEF, JICA, KOICA and ILO.
6.5 Recent management developments through BESDP I
151. Certain targets in the ESDF focusing on secondary education were supported by BESDP I (strengthening management; management related to teacher issues; planning, and monitoring and evaluation; and school fees).
152. In BESDP I policy targets were set for increased budgetary allocations for education measured by (i) an increased education share of national budget from 15.5% in 2009 and 16% in 2010; (ii) an increased share of recurrent expenditures for education from 45% in 2009 and 50% in 2010 and (iii) an increased disbursement rate for education budget from 80% for 2009 to 85% for 2010. In addition to the policy targets for increased budgetary allocations for education the BESDP I Design and Monitoring Framework (DMF) for the grant project set out actions to improve capacity for planning, budgeting, management, and delivery of education through: (i) School management committees being established in 96 schools; (ii) annual and medium-term LSE planning and budgeting/expenditure formats piloted in at least 3 provinces; (iii) planning and budgeting process in PES aligned with school mapping approach, teacher allocation and deployment process, and official development assistance planned interventions; (iv) improved accounting, reporting, and monitoring of expenditure; (v) improved outcome-oriented budget format and process; (vi) a more informed decision-making process regarding MOE budget negotiations with the MOF ( (MTEF); (vii) an improved assessment and monitoring of MOE physical assets; and (viii) staff training to support all of the above. Policy actions were designed to trigger funds in three tranches, two of which have been released (December 2007 and March 2010) and progress is being made on fulfilment of conditions to release the third tranche, scheduled for March 2011. An indication of their status based on BESDP I Reports is given in the matrix in Annex 04. Progress against BESDP I Output 4 Indicators is indicated in the same Annex.
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6.6 Consultation outcomes
Joint national, sub-national and Institutional consultation
153. At the BESDP II Inception Meeting the Joint National and Sub-national Management Group was asked to identify areas of management that remain problematic at national and sub-national levels. Responses related to planning and financing, human resource management, MTEF and EMIS.
. Planning and financing (including budgeting) at all levels (central, provincial, district and school) still have difficulties. A common opinion is that the difficulties are caused by a lack or an insufficiency of funds to implement the plans. A view that raises the question of whether too much attention is given to planning action assuming funds will be available rather than planning better use of available funding. The capacities of staff, especially at the district and school levels, for planning and budgeting are still regarded as inadequate for the tasks assigned..
. The discussion around human resource management focused on managing teacher recruitment and deployment, which does not yet work properly. Critical barriers to improve the situation were identified as the employment of teachers not matching subject requirements and level of qualification, inadequate incentives and allowances, shortage of training slots for untrained and unqualified teachers, the low awareness of the people and communities about the importance of education, the need for quality qualified teachers raise awareness or mobilization of people/communities to more support for education.
. Representatives from the provincial education services were confident in using MTEF but highlighted the need for MOF and MPI to give clear guidelines for preparation and use of the MTEF approach. For the MTEF to be implemented smoothly further support is needed to mobilize adequate capacity building in the institutions responsible for preparing MTEF. For the MTEF to be really useful there needs to be a whole-of-government MTEF. Looking through the Education MTEF prepared in the 3 pilot provinces, it is clear that what DEB and PES want to do is good and very relevant but needs a higher non-wage recurrent budget which is what the ESDF concept of Block Grants is meant to provide.17 There is still a need for EMIS to be further strengthened and improved to meet the various information needs of the planners. The different databases (TMIS, FMIS, PMIS and TEMIS) used by the managers and decision-makes in the education sector have still to be linked together.
Cross-departmental consultations
154. Meetings of the BE2 Management Working Group have given the opportunity for focused discussions concerning management. An overlapping range of issues was identified for the education sector and the participants identified secondary subsector and more specific shortcomings.
155. When considering information systems, identified needs included further institutional capacity building for secondary education school directors of public and private schools (including targeted training for master trainers). Additional areas for attention include EMIS
17Perhaps a more suitable trigger for the future program loan might be a target of non-wage recurrent increases rather than a vague "education share of total".
Annex 06 Page 36 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis data collection sheets and database assessment in terms of efficiency and quality, complete the full establishment of PMIS and FMIS, set up a link between EMIS, PMIS and FMIS, build the capacity of the central, PES, DEB on PMIS and FMIS, and to build the PES, DEB and secondary school management team to be capable of analyzing data and using the information for planning. There is an expressed view that EMIS has been a priority in the past and that the next priority is PMIS followed by FMIS.
156. For Department of Inspection identified needs included capacity building of PES and DEB on monitoring and evaluation, establish a monitoring and evaluation database, revise the terms of reference of the monitoring and evaluation division, improve monitoring and evaluation tools and strengthen provincial and district level monitoring and evaluation and any implementation units established at sub-national and national level.
157. DOF/MOE needs to develop the education MTEF in line with the national MTEF being prepared by MOF, and MOF needs to issue guidelines on MTEF preparation. There is a need for further capacity building on preparation and use of MTEF as a planning tool.
158. Manuals of working procedures need to be revised for all entities with secondary education responsibilities linked to ESDF planned activities. Some need for caution expressed as MOE is considering further re-organization although opinions were given that the changes would not be major.
BESDP II Strengthening Management Output and the draft SEAP
159. BE2 Management Working Group focused on the commonalities of the preliminary BESDP II Design and Monitoring Framework (DMF) in Annex 08 BESDP II Inception Report, by looking at each of the activities related to Output 3, A Strengthened Secondary Education Subsector, and the management sections of the draft Secondary Education 5-year Action Plan (2010).
160. The draft Secondary Education 5-year Action Plan (2010-2015) puts effective management, governance and financing of lower and upper secondary education as a goal. The overall objectives are given as (i) strengthen management and governance at central, provincial, district and school levels to improve education delivery; (ii) ensure demand-driven and equitable teacher deployment and distribution; and (iii) ensure coordinated, evidence based sector planning, financing and monitoring.
161. Five programmes are planned, each with a number of identified activities to reach these objectives: capacity building. Programme 3 Reform of budget allocation, financial planning and management to enhance capacity in USE. Programme 4 Improvement of the teacher management system. Programme 5 Awareness raising on the importance of LSE. After review the following activities were endorsed.
162. Programme 1 covers capacity building for planning, financing and management at central, provincial, district and school level. Provide training for managers in planning, financing; Provide training for management of secondary schools; and Equip secondary schools with computers and printers for management and training
163. Programme 2 Reform of budget allocation, financial planning and management to enhance capacity in USE. Develop new budget lines interface to transfer budget directly to schools; Introduce block grant through piloting allocation of budget based on the set unit costs and formulae according to the new budget lines interface; Introduce scholarships for disadvantaged students in parallel with the introduction of affordable fees in accordance with
Annex 06 Page 37 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis the cost recovery policy (30% scholarships, 70% fee paying by 2015.); Monitor and assess the impact of the block grant and cost recovery initiatives.
164. Programme 3: Enhance provision of quality USE service through restructuring and improving legal framework. Develop secondary education management and regulations; Improve mechanisms for monitoring progress promotion and grade completion; Establish procedures and regulations for quality standard schools; Review management regulatory frameworks; Develop Manuals of Working Procedures; Revision of the Decree1500/ED.Org on Deconcentration (2010-2011) according to the ESDF post-basic education policy.
165. Program 4 Improvement of the teacher management system. provide training on information and statistics for school managers. Provide equipment and means (vehicles) to school managers; Improve teacher recruitment and teacher deployment procedures.
166. Programme 5 Awareness raising on the importance of LSE. Enhance Students’ Parents Association, NGOs, Parent Associations and Non-Parent Associations, private sector, Education Promotion Associations, Village Education Development Committees (VEDCs) in planning and fund raising for the renovation and refurbishment of school facilities in their respective localities; Promote parents and the community to participate in teaching learning of local curriculum, local knowledge, local culture and traditions; Promote private sector to increase investment in secondary education; Mobilize support from international agencies, donors and development partners.
167. DMF activities related to management were reviewed and endorsed, by the Group, with few changes and the addition of two further activities for consideration. Further review will be necessary to ensure there is no mismatch between the targets and activities.
168. In order to strengthen secondary education subsector management more specific activities being considered include: (i) an update of institutional analysis of SE subsector and in-depth LSE needs assessment; (ii) updated LSE and USE school mapping completed nationwide; (iii) school management committees’ established or membership reconstituted and initial capacity building; (iv) based on institutional and needs assessments, phased and multi-mode capacity building for education sector staff at central level (including project management unit and implementing units) and provincial/local levels and targeted LSE school management teams; (v) assessment of existing LSE-related management information systems (MIS) and approved plans for improving and better integrating MIS implemented; (v) analysis on strategic options for appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) for teaching learning, and school management in SE; small scale pilot in target rural LSE schools completed and lessons distilled in final policy report;
169. The possible new activities to be developed are (i) social marketing and communication strategy on the importance of LSE Including positive media coverage and heroic stories from remote poor ethnic group areas where there are some very hard working teachers and DEB staff; (ii) improvement of Teacher Management System; (iii) support for the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Private Sector Involvement in Education Development.
Private Education Consultation
170. Background Following the Governments new socio-economic development policy in 1986, decree in 1990 authorised the establishment of private schools (Decree No. 58/PM) and in 1995 a Private Education Office was established in 1995 (Decree No. 58/PM). This Office became the Department of Private Education Management in 2008. Government policy is for private education to contribute to national socio-economic development and help reduce
Annex 06 Page 38 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis cost of investment of the party and government in national education. There has been growth in quantity and quality over 15 years.
171. Data The contribution of private education at the secondary level is still limited. In the academic year 2008-2009 there was 56 private schools, five more than 2007-2008. There were 296 classrooms accommodating 9,319 students (4,320 female) and 563 teachers (293 female). There is no school offering a complete secondary vocational curriculum. There were 5 upper secondary vocational schools, which was 3 lower than 2007-08. There were 357 students (108 female) and 67 teachers 8 female.
172. Positives There is interest from national and international entrepreneurs and legal and regulatory frameworks exist. MOE has set roles and responsibilities from central to local level, and Private Education Advisory Council (PEAC) and Private Education Association activated
173. Shortcomings Urban, shortage of administrators and teachers, under qualified or unqualified teachers, no framework for salary levels, facilities do not meet standards, untrained managers and administrators, weakly regulated.
174. Possible directions for further support, some of which would support the overall development of secondary education: (i) Improvement of the guidelines and regulations on the selection of students entering in private schools; (Ii) Formulation of management regulations for pre-primary, vocational / technical and higher education in private schools; (iii) Improvement on the organizational structure and mandate of private education from central to local levels; (iii) Increasing the role of the Consultative Council for Private Education Sector. (iv) Increasing the role of the Association of Private Schools; (v) improving the defining of roles, and responsibilities; (vi) Improving legislation / guidelines and other incentive policies for private education sector (vii) Cooperating with public and private sectors to strengthen labor force in accordance with the demand of socio-economic development; (viii) Government support on staffing, training, and upgrading private education employees; (ix) Encourage private school owners to invest in the development of infrastructure and basic technical equipment; (x) strengthen monitoring, inspection and assessment of education services delivery; (xi) Increase cooperation between private and public institutions, especially in vocational and higher education; cooperating with companies, enterprises both public and private sectors; (xii) Encourage and support individuals, groups and local and international private organizations to participate in education service delivery; (xiii) Provide incentives for local and international private sectors to participate in the development of education service delivery in the country; (xiv) Build up the cooperation and relations network between Lao higher education and foreign higher education institution for academic exchange.
175. Strategic Plan for Private Education Promotion 2010 – 202018 The Strategic Plan clearly states that private education is part of the national education system. The clear vision links the national definitions of education, the labour market, and the scope of private education. In addition links to NSEDP and NESRS, partnerships, and increased access to private education enrolment in private vocational schools are made explicit. A summary of the Strategic Plan for Private Education Promotion 2010 – 2020 Action Plan is presented in the BESDP II Interim Report Annex Seven identified strategies set the framework for further development of the Private Education subsector. The seven strategies cover access, quality and management. Seven projects have been planned to implement the strategies and implementation will be over two phases: Phase 2010 – 201 and Phase 2015 -2020. The Projects are (i) Promote establishment and expansion of private education premises
18 The Strategic Plan for Private Education Promotion 2010 – 2020 is waiting for Government Approval and is expected to be planned mid-2011.
Annex 06 Page 39 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis nationwide; (ii) Promote businesspersons locally and internationally to invest in private education; (iii) Promote NGOs and non-profit organizations locally and internationally to contribute investment in private education; (iv) Promote the improvement of education quality; (v) Promote educating and upgrading teachers and personnel; (vi) Improve management- administration policy and mechanism; (vii) Determine orientation and policy on promoting private education development counterpart.
6.6 Possibilities for BESDP II
176. As is clear from the combined terms of reference the purpose of the PPTA is to assist the Government of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) to improve “access, quality, and efficiency of secondary education, through the detailed design of the BESDP II based on a detailed situational analysis of the secondary education sub-sector within the national context. BESDP II will build on progress achieved under BESDP I and aim to contribute to the attainment of ESDF targets with a particular emphasis on LSE and educational outcomes for disadvantaged groups such as girls, children from poor families and ethnic groups and disabled children (BESDP II Interim Report Annexes 10). Whilst principally focused on LSE, BESDP II will also address identified key challenges of the USE Subsector. The ultimate impact of the program, BESDP II, will be improved educational attainment in Lao PDR. A revised preliminary design and monitoring framework is presented in the BESDP II Interim Report Appendix 11. BESDP II will be implemented from October 2011 until 201619. The preliminary design and monitoring framework shows how the three core outputs of BESDP II will embody the three pillars of the ESDF.
177. The MOE is continuing to examine HRD for teachers and administrators in the context of ESDF implementation (ADB 2009).
178. The TDMP has been mentioned in the previous section on quality and relevance. Along with updated TESAP and the revised action plan key areas are identified for strengthening teacher management and administration. The management of teacher recruitment and deployment does not yet work properly. Critical barriers to improve the situation are identified as the employment of teachers not matching subject requirements and levels of qualification, inadequate incentives and allowances, shortage of training slots for untrained and unqualified teachers, the low awareness of the people and communities about the importance of education, the low level of awareness amongst the people of the need for quality qualified teachers, and a need to mobilize of people/communities to give more support for education.
179. The Strategic Plan for Private Education Promotion 2010-2020 includes an analysis of the sub-sector. Constraints include an urban focus, a shortage of qualified administrators, teachers whose qualifications do not match their post, no framework for salary levels, facilities sometimes do not meet standards, and weak subsector regulation. In addition the rules and regulations related to premises management systems are not implemented and need revision. Both awareness of the role of private education and collaboration between stakeholders is low in the subsector. At the post secondary level courses are focused towards business, English and ICT rather than subjects relevant to national socio-economic development. Private education needs more access to capital investment. Incentives for private education development have been identified but implementation is slow.
180. Lao PDR is moving towards a multi-track upper secondary education system: general or academic related, vocational-related, and mixed academic and vocational-related. The GOL has made the strategic choice to provide technical and vocational education and training
19 2011 to 2017 is under discussion
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(TVET) as part of the secondary education system. What is still being debated is the detailed form it will take. Internationally it has taken several forms: separate vocational or technical secondary schools, separate vocational or technical streams within secondary schools or vocational and technical subjects offered as part of a general secondary education. A policy paper is under preparation (Annex 10).
181. Planning and financing (including budgeting) at all levels (central, provincial, district and school) still have difficulties. Where funding is insufficient to implement sector plans, greater priority should be given to structural reforms than to spreading investment too thinly across too many initiatives. Sustainable and equitable benefits for all future students should be targeted ahead of small, temporary gains for many students.
182. There is confidence in using the education MTEF but for the MTEF to be implemented smoothly further capacity building is needed in the institutions responsible for preparing MTEF. For the MTEF to be really useful and effective there needs to be a government-wide MTEF and MOF to issue appropriate guidelines.
183. There is still a need for EMIS to be further strengthened and improved to meet the various information needs of the planners. The different databases (TMIS, FMIS, PMIS and TEMIS) used by the managers and decision-makes in the education sector have still to be linked together. Ministry databases would use common codes for provinces, districts and schools and a common teacher ID - and this could be the focus of any proposed "tracking" initiative. There is an expressed view that EMIS has been a priority in the past and that the next priority is PMIS followed by FMIS.
184. Department of Inspection identified needs include capacity building of PES and DEB on monitoring and evaluation, establish a monitoring and evaluation database, revise the terms of reference of the monitoring and evaluation division, improve monitoring and evaluation tools and strengthen provincial and district level monitoring and any implementation units established at sub-national and national level.
185. Manuals of working procedures need to be revised for all entities with secondary education responsibilities linked. Some need for caution has been expressed as MOE is considering further re-organization although opinions were given that the changes would not be major enough to affect the development of manuals. This would help clarify the way in which DOI, ESQAC, ETITC, SREAC and RIES work together.
186. Capacity of districts to support instructional leadership in secondary schools needs strengthening. A Secondary Education Unit has been established staffed by one person. Consideration should be given to developing the Unit in each district so that it has the capacity to provide support to school management teams.
187. VEDCs are in some ways more directly aligned to primary schools (since its typically 1 school per village) than to secondary schools (where even the government target would be 1 secondary school per 4 primary schools (or villages). BESDP I helped to set up the PPA in targeted districts linked to the Project in order to coordinate the VEDCs of all villages in a secondary school’s catchment area. If BESDP II continues this PPA model, it may be important to further institutionalize their role.
188. District Education Development Committees have been successfully piloted in some districts and could be used to promote the establishment of primary-secondary school networks. Expanding the number of committees could be considered. The District Governor would chair the Committee with representatives from education stakeholders.
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189. A Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) describes the components of ESDF progress assessment. These components relate to principles, focus, responsibilities, organization, timing, indicators of progress, monitoring and reporting instruments, cost categories, and capacity building requirements for ESDF performance assessment (MOE 2009). Any work that BESDP II proposes to do should build on this work.
190. Figure 5 given earlier summarizes the relationship between the ESDF, BESDP I and BESDP II which will build on achievements of BESDP I interventions taking into account lessons learned from BESDP I and other recent education and non-education sector interventions in Lao PDR.
7.0 ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS
191. The macro-economic outlook for Lao PDR is optimistic, driven by commercial activity and revenues from hydro-electricity, minerals and other resources. Investment in major infrastructure such as dams, east-west road corridors (linking Thailand and Viet Nam) and the north-south express rail-link with China bring immediate benefits during construction but government revenue benefits lag behind investment. Economic pressure to reduce external debt requires higher debt repayment, which could delay projected hydro-electricity revenue benefits for education and poverty reduction. Regional free-trade arrangements offer potential benefits from volume of electricity/resource exports and flow on activity in service industries. Demand for labor force skills should drive growth in specific service sectors if the secondary and post-secondary education sectors are able to respond.
192. The investment driven growth strategy has several potential risks
delay in projected revenue growth could reduce short-term funds for budget dependent sectors such as education and health; lack of skills in growth sectors could encourage inflow of skilled labor from neighboring countries and delay development of those skills within the local population; re-distributive effects of urban growth opportunities while agricultural areas may face higher costs for fuel, fertilizers and machinery. Prices for agricultural products sold locally and into neighboring countries are likely to grow less than these input prices; salaries for teachers relative to those in growth sectors could be a further impediment to attracting new teachers, and make remote rural schools even more difficult to staff. Other consequences such as outflow of agricultural labor into low paid employment in Thailand may increase dependence of rural communities on foreign remittances.
193. Travel costs are a major issue for education services in Laos, both as a barrier to access for rural students and for Ministry, Provincial and District education officers in efficient sector planning and management. Greater economic integration with Thailand, China and Viet Nam may expose Laos to higher fuel prices. Revenue from commercial traffic on the express rail link to China could be required to subsidize the cost of passenger travel if poorer communities from the northern provinces are to have access to the railway service.
194. The State Budget Plan 2009-2010 (July 2009) assumed 8,115,761 Million Kip revenue (Taxes 47%, Customs 32%, Other 21%), and 12,470,433 Million Kip expenditure. Foreign Capital (31%) filled most of the shortfall between projected revenue and expenditure.
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7.1 Education share of Lao PDR budget
195. The Government allocated 1,366,330 Million Kip for Education in the 2009/10 Budget, 11% of the State Budget and 2.53% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Figure 21 shows decline from approximately 14.5% and 2.5% respectively from the levels in 2005/06 and 2006/07. This pattern masks two separate processes – recurrent expenditure, mostly teacher
196. salaries and allowances, has increased from 37% to 57% of the Sector Budget while Donor funded projects have declined from 60% to 37% of the Sector Budget. Government funded investment has increased from 3% to 6% of Sector Budget (85,000 M Kip or some USD 10M in 2009/10).
197. The categorization of donor funding as “Investment” may be misleading, as a large proportion of donor projects support recurrent operating costs in the Education Sector. In 2009/10, for example, the BESDP I Project contributed USD 1.672 million on textbooks and related teacher training. Both are “investment” in curriculum and teaching but they are indicative of sector dependence on donor funding. The decline in 2008/09 donor funding has been presented as an explanation for Laos falling short of its sector share target.
Figure 20 Government Revenue and Expenditure 2009/2010 REVENUE 2009/10 (M Kip) EXPENDITURE 2009/10 (M Kip) Tax 3,842,000 47.3% Salaries+Allowances 3,425,405 27.5% Customs 2,600,000 32.0% Other Recurrent 3,919,756 31.4% Other 1,673,761 20.6% Total Recurrent 7,345,161 58.9% Total Reveue 8,115,761 100% Local Capital 1,265,000 10.1% Revenue-Expenditure Foreign Capital 3,860,272 31.0% - 4,354,672 Total Expenditure 12,470,433 100.0%
Figure 21 Education sector share of LAO PDR state budget 2005/06-2009/10
000 Million Kip 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 (a) GDP 33222 38409 43287 50326 54100 (b) State Budget 6943 7913 8884 7877 12470 (b/a) Budget/GDP 20.9% 20.6% 20.5% 15.7% 23.1% (c ) Education Budget (Central+Local) 1026 1156 1141 1235 1366 (c/a) Education Budget/GDP 3.1% 3.0% 2.6% 2.5% 2.5% (c/b) Education/State Budget 14.8% 14.6% 12.8% 15.7% 11.0% (d) Education Recurrent Budget 378 422 552 750 773 (d/c) Recurrent share Sector Budget 36.8% 36.5% 48.4% 60.7% 56.6% (e) Education Investment Budget 649 734 588 485 594 (e/c) Investment share Sector Budget 63.2% 63.5% 51.6% 39.3% 43.4% (f) Donor funded Investment 615 694 473 427 508 (f/c) Donor share of Sector Budget 59.9% 60.0% 41.5% 34.6% 37.2%
Source: Jean-Marc Lepain, Intergovernmental Fiscal Advisor (April 2010b) 2008/09 Actual added
198. BESDP I tranche conditions requiring an allocation of 16% of State Budget to Education cannot be met if the 2009/10 allocation was 11% and only 6.9% excluding donor
Annex 06 Page 43 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis projects. Given that some project funding is “budget support”, the latter measure may be unfair. The underlying issue is that share of budget may not be an appropriate tranche conditionality. Expenditure per person (per capita) is another measure (Figure 22).
Figure 22: Education sector spending per capita 2005/06-2009/10 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 Population (millions) 5.595 5.733 5.874 6.000 6.144 Education Sector spending per capita 183,447 201,617 194,179 205,766 222,370 Recurrent Education spending per capita 67,542 73,579 94,054 124,922 125,765 Source: Jean-Marc Lepain, Intergovernmental Fiscal Advisor (April 2010b) 2008/09 Actual added
199. Real expenditure per capita is limited by measures of inflation as well as matching enrolment data to expenditure, with reliability of both population estimates and inflation as potential limitations. Student enrolments may be more appropriate than population estimates, partly because annual data collections make student data more reliable. Such measures are useful when expenditure and enrolment data are disaggregated by level of schooling and by Province.
200. Table 23 consolidates planned Ministry of Education and 17 Provincial allocations to provide the Education Sector allocation and its share of the State Budget allocation (see paragraph 4 above). Note the discrepancy between 10.5% Recurrent allocation in Table 23 and 11.0% reported in Table 21. Errors in disaggregation, reporting and aggregation can be compounded by different reporting channels from provinces, analysis by different departments within MOE, and the purpose of specific analyses (reporting to donors etc).
Figure 23: Consolidation of Ministry and provincial budget allocations 2009/10 ED MINISTRY 2009/10 (M Kip) ED PROVINCES 2009/10 (M Kip) Salaries+Allowances 95,270 15.4% Salaries+Allowances 578,909 77.6% Ministry Other Rec 38,781 6.3% Other Recurrent 59,792 8.0% Ministry Recurrent 134,051 21.6% Total Recurrent 638,701 85.6% Local Capital 45,500 7.3% Local Capital 39,748 5.3% Foreign Capital 440,685 71.1% Foreign Capital 67,649 9.1% MINISTRY ONLY 620,236 100% TOTAL PROVINCES 746,098 100%
EDUCATION SECTOR 2009/10 (M Kip) EDUCATION SHARE 2009/10 Salaries+Allowances 674,179 49.3% Salaries+Allowances 19.7% Other Recurrent 98,573 7.2% Other Recurrent 2.5% Total Recurrent 772,752 56.6% Total Recurrent 10.5% Local Capital 85,248 6.2% Local Capital 6.7% Foreign Capital 508,334 37.2% Foreign Capital 13.2% TOTAL EDUCATION 1,366,334 100% TOTAL EDUCATION 11.0% Source: State Budget Plan 2009-2010 (July 2009) Outcome differs from planned allocations
201. Teacher salaries and allowances account for 87% of the Recurrent Budget Allocation for the sector in 2009/10, including almost 91% of Provincial Recurrent Allocations. Lack of non-salary funds restricts the operational capacity of the sector, especially for travel costs, and increases sector dependence on “Projects” to fund training costs. The ratio of primary schools per secondary school (approximately 7:1 in 2009/10 EMIS data) offers a proxy measure of operational challenges facing many Provinces and Districts.
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202. A draft Decree on per capita funding for schools is a step towards eliminating informal fee payments and creating capacity for maintenance of facilities, procurement of textbooks and other materials for schools. If the allocation formula is appropriate, and schools receive the amounts allocated, this should be a step towards improved school operations.
7.2 Funding secondary education
203. Complete Secondary schools (offering Grades 6-11 and Grade 12 in 2010/11) tend to be concentrated in District centers and larger village clusters (kumban), with students in smaller, more remote villages having access to small Lower Secondary schools offering Grades 6-9 from 2009/10. There were more than 200 LSE with fewer than 100 students, and three-quarters were “incomplete” (having fewer than four LSE grades). Upgrading access to quality education is one of the BESDP II planning objectives.
204. Staffing levels (incomplete LSE averaged fewer than 6 teachers in 2009/10), qualifications of teachers, quality of learning outcomes and non-salary (operational) funding requires special attention. Staffing and funding formulae may work well for secondary schools in District centers and larger urban areas.
205. The following analysis draws on 2009/10 budget material prepared in the Ministry from Provincial reports as part of annual planning and MOE dialogue with the donor community. In Appendix 3, the budget material for Lower Secondary and Upper Secondary schools has been supplemented with EMIS data on student enrolment by level, numbers of teachers and numbers of schools. For some calculations, LSE and USE have to be aggregated. There are more than 350 Complete Secondary Schools (offering both LSE Grades 6-9 and USE Grades 10-12) where teachers may be teaching LSE and USE classes.
206. Secondary students: Provinces ranged from 46,409 LSE students in Vientiane City (VTE) and 38,409 in Savannakhet (SVK) to five Provinces with fewer than 10,000 LSE students (Luang Namtha, Bokeo, Phongsaly, Attapeu and Sekong). Upper Secondary followed a similar pattern – 181,131 in Vientiane City, 10,213 in Savannakhet, and the same five Provinces had fewer than 3,000 USE students.
207. Secondary teachers: USE and LSE numbers are combined for the reasons outlined above. Vientiane City had 3,215 secondary teachers at 20.1 students per teacher; Savannakhet had 2,572 teachers at 18.9 students per teacher. The same five smallest Provinces had the least teachers, three less than the 19.7 Lao average, and three others (Savannakhet 18.9, Champassak 18.4 and Sayaboury 16.4) were below the national average.
208. School size may be an important measure of secondary school capacity to offer subjects with teachers trained in each subject, where “small” secondary schools have limited subjects or subjects are taught by teachers without a qualification in that subject.
209. The BESDP II Project could assist selected Provinces/Districts undertake a baseline study of subject offering in small schools, monitor enrolment growth over the Project and the extent to which increased enrolments improved the range of subjects taught by trained/qualified teachers. Student learning outcomes may also be measurable.
210. Four Provinces averaged fewer than 300 secondary students per school – Hauphanh 98 schools at 259 students; Sekong 23 schools at 265 students, Phongsaly 30 schools at 282 students and Khammouane 85 schools at 285 students per school.
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211. Figure 24 plots LSE students (blue line yellow diamond markers) and USE students (red line red square markers) on the right-hand scale, with Provinces ranked on their LSE enrolment. On the left-hand scale, most provinces averaged around 350,000 Kip Recurrent per LSE student (orange triangles on light green line; no data for Khammouane) and between 700,000 and 1,000,000 Kip Recurrent per USE student (green diamond on purple line). There were four Provinces averaging 1,500,000 Kip per student (most had fewer than 5,000 USE students).
212. Salary and Allowance expenditure per Secondary teacher is also plotted on Figure 24. Provinces with 20,000+ LSE students and 5,000+ USE students are the seven blue circles to the left of the graph, and another seven provinces with fewer LSE+USE students spent less than 700,000 Kip per teacher. The three Provinces (Huaphanh, Luang Namtha and Attapue) with outlying values are the same outliers in terms of recurrent expenditure per student. Examining why these Provinces differ from the others may provide the Ministry and those Provinces with insights about how secondary education functions.
Figure 24: Enrolment and recurrent expenditure by secondary student by province
Expenditure per LSE/USE Student 2009/10 (left scale) and numbers of Students enrolled (right scale) 3,500,000 50,000
3,150,000 45,000
2,800,000 40,000
2,450,000 35,000
2,100,000 30,000
1,750,000 25,000
1,400,000 20,000
1,050,000 15,000
700,000 10,000
350,000 5,000
- - 1VTE 13SVK 10VIN 16CPK 6LPB 8SBY 9XKG 7HPN 12KHM 11BLK 4ODM 14SRV 3LMT 5BOK 2PNG 17ATP 15SEK
LSE REC USE REC Salary+ Lower Upper Kip per Kip per Allowances Secondary Secondary Student Student Kip per Sec Students Students Teacher
7.3 Projected budget expenditure
213. Budget data 2010/11 to be added, together with estimates for 2011/12 and 2012/13.
214. Notes on expenditure estimates (to be added in April Input)
7.4 Education sector efficiency
215. The Education Sector is the largest expenditure area in the Lao PDR Budget, and teacher salaries and related allowances are the largest items in the Sector Budget. Demonstrating efficient use of funds is a pre-requisite for bids for additional staffing to match projected enrolment growth, improvements in salaries and conditions of teaching (especially in difficult to staff Provinces/Districts), and improving the ratio of non-salary expenditure to
Annex 06 Page 46 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis salaries.
216. Examination of the apparent anomalies (such as in Figure 24 above) improves understanding of possible expenditure distortions in Provinces/Districts with low enrolment rates and many small schools.
217. Data analysis can also identify errors in reporting as records as forwarded from schools to districts to Provinces and to the Ministry. Each quarter, Provincial Education Services fax payroll data to the Budget Division of the MOE Department of Finance; the data are consolidated and reported to the Minister who in turn reports payments to the National Assembly. Figure 25 consolidated quarterly reports from July 2009 through June 2010, initially to compare the July-September 2009 quarter with the same quarter in 2010, but apparent errors in the July-September 2010 data prevented the comparison. Examining those errors is a step towards improving procedures, data quality and understanding.
Figure 25 Monthly payroll expenditure reported by MOE, 2009-2010 07 08 09 10 11 12 01 02 03 04 05 06 July-June Province 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009/10 1 VTE VIENTIANE (City) 4,017 4,017 4,017 3,963 3,963 3,963 3,963 3,963 3,963 3,963 3,963 3,963 47,721 2 PNG PHONGSALY 1,661 1,661 1,661 1,618 1,618 1,618 1,418 1,418 1,418 1,418 1,418 1,418 18,346 3 LMT LUANG NAMTHA 1,647 1,647 1,647 1,614 1,614 1,614 1,681 1,681 1,681 1,681 1,681 1,681 19,870 4 ODM OUDAMXAI 1,666 1,666 1,666 1,765 1,765 1,765 1,788 1,788 1,788 1,788 1,788 1,788 21,020 5 BOK BOKEO 1,054 1,054 1,054 370 370 370 1,054 1,054 1,054 1,054 1,054 1,054 10,594 6 LPB LUANG PRABANG 2,930 2,930 2,930 2,921 2,921 2,921 2,921 2,921 2,921 2,921 2,921 2,921 35,082 7 HPN HUA PHANH 2,745 2,745 2,745 3,172 3,172 3,172 3,142 3,142 3,142 3,169 3,169 3,169 36,688 8 SBY SAYABOURY 2,834 2,709 2,609 2,945 2,945 2,945 2,912 2,912 2,912 2,912 2,912 2,912 34,460 9 XKG XIANG KHUANG 2,416 2,416 2,416 2,494 2,494 2,494 2,481 2,481 2,481 2,481 2,481 2,481 29,615 10 VIN VIENTIANE (Prov) 4,259 4,259 4,259 4,293 4,293 4,293 4,214 4,214 4,214 4,214 4,214 4,214 50,938 11 BLK BOLIKHAMXAY 1,687 1,687 1,687 1,758 1,758 1,758 1,764 1,764 1,764 1,764 1,764 1,764 20,918 12 KHM KHAMMOUANE 2,637 2,637 2,637 2,753 2,753 2,753 2,717 2,717 2,717 2,717 2,717 2,717 32,471 13 SVK SAVANNAKHET 6,273 6,273 6,273 6,337 6,337 6,337 5,800 5,800 5,800 5,797 5,797 5,797 72,618 14 SRN SARAVAN 1,969 1,969 1,969 1,828 1,828 1,828 1,845 1,845 1,845 1,845 1,845 1,845 22,462 15 SEK SEKONG 929 929 929 958 958 958 982 982 982 982 982 982 11,551 16 CPK CHAMPASSAK 4,044 4,044 4,044 4,084 4,084 4,084 4,009 4,009 4,009 4,009 4,009 4,009 48,442 17 ATP ATTAPEU 1,368 1,368 1,368 1,078 1,078 1,078 1,078 1,078 1,078 1,078 1,078 1,078 13,804 9999 LAO PDR 44,137 44,012 43,912 43,952 43,952 43,952 43,769 43,769 43,769 43,793 43,793 43,793 526,603 Source: MOE Payroll Data (Quarterly Reports) July-September 2010 not included (data discrepancies) (PAYROLL0910 7MARCHZ.sql Bokeo anomaly)
218. The Lao PDR fiscal year is September through August, so the twelve months in Figure 25 of 526,603 Million Kip is only an estimate of fiscal year payroll expenditure. Comparison of Provincial totals in Figures 25 and 26 are presented in the chart (Figure 27).
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Figure 26: FY 2009-2010 budget allocations by subsector & chapter (salary, allowances etc) LOWER SECONDARY UPPER SECONDARY PRIMARY SECTOR (SCHOOLS ONLY) YEAR PROV Ch 10 Ch 11 Other Recurrent Ch 10 Ch 11 Other Recurrent Ch 10 Ch 11 Other Recurrent Ch 10 Ch 11 Other Recurrent Investment 09/10 1 8,902 600 651 10,153 11,654 1,355 1,050 14,060 20,004 1,006 1,330 22,340 46,000 3,500 5,275 54,775 42,689 09/10 2 2,180 353 201 2,734 1,967 146 156 2,269 11,264 1,370 767 13,401 18,794 1,515 1,798 22,107 1,844 09/10 3 2,598 1,362 254 4,214 2,264 844 281 3,389 8,942 361 727 10,030 17,240 3,550 2,377 23,167 100 09/10 4 2,292 547 263 3,102 2,528 534 265 3,327 11,344 1,347 1,055 13,746 19,145 3,835 3,046 26,026 1,652 09/10 5 3,000 50 138 3,188 1,500 62 209 1,771 4,500 100 217 4,817 12,424 1,442 2,240 16,106 1,238 09/10 6 5,259 203 439 5,901 6,159 182 561 6,902 19,659 925 1,030 21,614 39,462 7,351 4,481 51,294 2,136 09/10 7 5,650 2,230 640 8,520 5,160 2,150 410 7,720 17,600 3,760 1,146 22,506 29,179 8,920 2,717 40,816 1,974 09/10 8 6,594 874 491 7,959 4,901 416 410 5,727 16,684 1,026 1,158 18,868 35,421 5,073 3,975 44,469 9,269 09/10 9 7,475 549 1,017 9,041 3,834 260 870 4,964 15,031 1,208 852 17,091 28,718 2,296 3,590 34,604 5,979 09/10 10 9,019 266 716 10,001 6,222 567 528 7,317 27,977 1,190 2,046 31,213 48,150 4,000 5,035 57,185 17,004 09/10 11 4,764 341 283 5,388 4,047 358 566 4,971 15,629 1,126 939 17,694 19,000 1,950 430 21,380 4,949 09/10 12 - - - - 9,059 736 1,225 11,020 - - - - 29,800 2,420 4,700 36,920 2,225 09/10 13 13,084 1,060 982 15,126 9,145 1,002 795 10,942 29,398 1,778 2,011 33,187 67,773 6,019 7,775 81,567 8,080 09/10 14 3,396 470 260 4,126 2,695 284 207 3,186 13,463 1,252 898 15,613 23,845 4,196 2,550 30,591 1,454 09/10 15 945 102 165 1,212 1,403 168 91 1,662 3,548 1,481 549 5,578 10,730 1,730 1,589 14,049 336 09/10 16 12,518 396 550 13,464 6,526 382 200 7,108 19,786 2,166 2,636 24,588 54,866 5,366 6,764 66,996 2,515 09/10 17 1,235 44 86 1,365 2,735 1,262 225 4,222 5,980 353 511 6,844 12,700 2,500 1,450 16,650 3,954 09/10 99 88,911 9,447 7,136 105,494 81,799 10,708 8,050 100,557 240,810 20,449 17,872 279,131 513,247 65,663 59,792 638,701 107,397 Source: MOE 2009/10 (Year to September 2010) Tables D.2, D.3, D.4 (Data for Khammouane incomplete) (Prov0910 Salary.sql 7March)
Figure 27: Comparison of salaries and payroll data by province Comparison of 2009-10 Salaries (Chapter 10) with July-June Payroll Data by Province 140,000 140.0%
125.7% 120,000 120.0% 109.0% 100,000 100.0%
85.3% 80,000 80.0%
60,000 60.0%
40,000 40.0%
20,000 20.0%
- 0.0% 13 16 10 1 6 8 12 7 9 14 4 11 2 3 17 5 15 SVK CPK VIN VTE LPB SBY KHM HPN XKG SRN ODM BLK PNG LMT ATP BOK SEK
Chapter 10 Salaries Payroll July-June Payroll/ Chapter 10 2009/10
219. Data problems in Khammouane (109%) and Bokeo (85%) may explain differences in
Annex 06 Page 48 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis their measures, but an examination of the Huaphanh discrepancy could be a useful management task. The most likely explanation could be an error in data entry, especially where data are entered in different Provincial and Ministry systems. Improvements in data management across Ministry Departments and with PES are discussed elsewhere, but become of even greater importance as more responsibility is devolved to Provinces and Districts.
220. Much of the analysis as part of the BESDP II PPTA has focused on enrolment, staffing and curriculum issues facing small Lower Secondary schools in rural or remote areas. Another access issue could include the very large Ethnic and Complete Secondary schools in Provincial centers, especially if staffing for schools with boarding/dormitory facilities may explain the discrepancies in data reported to the Ministry.
221. Further examination of effective ways of providing students in small villages or sparsely settled areas with access to quality secondary education should be encouraged by BESDP II. Such examination should include the following:
1. Access to the National Explore variations which allow local curriculum, subject Curriculum integration and/or use of media (radio, television, internet) See Interim Report Annex 07 2. Taught by qualified Retaining teachers and attracting new teachers teachers See Interim Report Annex 05 3. Encouraging mixed (a) More LSE and Complete schools in strategic locations; models (b) Boarding/Dormitory models similar to Ethnic Schools; (c) Alternative models (radio, television, internet etc); (d) Access Grants to allow greater choice. 4. Economic assessment Evaluation of capital and recurrent costs of preferred models, including hidden private costs which may remain a barrier to completion of secondary education.
8.0 CHALLENGES
222. As already mentioned the main issues to be tackled through the PPTA when designing BESDP II relate to the bottleneck of LSE. Therefore the new program must address:
. The challenge of the rising overall transition from primary years to secondary, combined with the demand-side challenge of GER for girls, ethnic groups, disabled children and poor rural areas, which link directly to significant disparities in provision and inequalities in outcomes . The efficiency challenges of restructuring the cycles of primary education (5 years), LSE (4 years) and USE (3 years), and of low throughput to USE; and . The quality challenge of improving learning outcomes for children, while access is increasing (including children from disadvantaged backgrounds with lower average educational achievements to date), while new curricula and learning and teaching materials are being developed and introduced, while the supply of qualified and skilled secondary teachers is constrained, and while management of the subsector is reorganised. 223. Rapid expansion in demand for secondary education in some locations (e.g., Vientiane 76% LSE GER 2008/9), coupled with under-enrolment in some rural, ethnic group and poorer districts (31%), has led to disparities and inadequacy in service provision. 224. The lack of adequate curriculum materials in schools affects the quality of education and student achievement. Increased enrolment (despite reduced repetition rates) has led to a
Annex 06 Page 49 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis shortage of teachers, with the upgrading of primary teachers creating an oversupply of lower secondary teachers in some areas. In some provinces this may be re-formulating itself into unallocated LSE qualified teachers being deployed as volunteer teachers to remote rural primary schools and LSE teachers studying the 11+3+2 upgrade course to qualify as USE teachers. These are stopgap policies at best. 225. Physical access is a barrier to secondary school attendance for many children in rural, underdeveloped districts. 226. These are the drivers for BESDP II to be designed around the three elements of equitable access, quality improvement and management strengthening. Progress in addressing these problems will alleviate some of the ills associated with the LSE bottleneck, such as imbalanced educational provision, low educational attainment, persistent marginalisation of ethnic groups, continued poverty, regional inequalities within the country, depressed human capital development, constrained and non-inclusive inequitable economic opportunities, and weakened participation in the global economy. 227. Some of these well documented in a number of documents will need to be addressed in some measure by the new program. It is anticipated that the detailed situational analysis provides for greater depth of understanding of the main the challenges summarised below and other challenges as may yet be identified.
. Ensuring that more students have access to the complete cycle of secondary education . Creating a stable supply of quality secondary teachers . Improving the quality of teaching-learning environments, the relevance of curriculum and the measurement of achievement at secondary level . Ensuring the number of available classrooms keeps pace with demand . Ensuring secondary education is sufficiently funded and affordable . Ensuring quality education management systems support all levels of education
9.0 SUMMARY
228. Consultation, document review and further analysis clearly indicate that secondary education (and in particular lower secondary education) remain a bottleneck to balanced educational development with persistent gaps in the sub-sector embracing (i) the level of access by disadvantaged groups; (ii) insufficient quality in teacher education, curriculum and teaching; and (iii) low system efficiency. 229. The reviewed Problem Tree Analysis presented in Appendix 06 of the BESDP II Interim Report gives the causes of the bottleneck as: (i) institutional weaknesses and uneven decentralisation; (ii) inadequate sector financing and imbalance between capital and recurrent budgets; (iii) human resource and capacity gaps, especially in poor localities; (iv) gaps in management information systems and teacher assessment; and (v) limited international support and a weak private sector.
230. The bottleneck has resulted in: (i) low educational attainment particularly among disadvantaged groups (e.g. the poor, ethnic groups and girls); (ii) uneven mastery of critical knowledge and competencies needed for national economic and social development; and (iii) high repetition, dropout, and other internal efficiencies that further strain the ability of limited resources to deliver on education sector priorities.
231. Low educational attainment particularly amongst disadvantaged groups has had the effect of constraining opportunities for marginalised groups, weakened social cohesion and
Annex 06 Page 50 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis depressing human capital accumulation and broader social development. Uneven mastery of critical knowledge and competencies has left LSE graduates ill-prepared for subsequent education, training and work and led to constrained, less inclusive growth with slow and imbalanced economic modernisation. The strain on utilisation of the limited resources to deliver on education sector priorities lead to missed LSE sector targets and LSE system sustainability is threatened and give a focus for management interventions to improve
232. Areas for further discussion are listed under: Access, Quality and Relevance, Management), Design and Monitoring Framework, and Policy Actions.
ACCESS ISSUES for further discussion
233. The locations for building and/or upgrading of LSE classrooms will need to be identified using an agreed and clearly defined set of criteria: (i) location in 1 of 29 districts that are simultaneously classified as educationally disadvantaged and poorest districts; (ii) at an acceptable site that is government-owned but without any existing or already planned permanent LSE structure; and (iii) agreeable to the kumban (village cluster). A fourth criteria will support ranking among potential sites. This will indicatively be based on a compound measure incorporating measures for (a) district-level measures for primary-to-LSE transition rate, LSE completion rate, and/or ethnic group populations; (b) site-level measure(s) for remoteness (e.g., distance from the kumban to the district seat); (c) the situation of potential feeder primary schools; and (d) complementarity with potential investments by other DPs.
234. A review of the BESDP I scholarships program and alternative models for access grants to students who meet approved criteria provides the basis for options that may be piloted in BESDP II.
235. School development grants which may be utilized following approved guidelines and supervised by school management committees have been reviewed and possible alternative options considered, including conditional cash transfer schemes linked to the scholarships program.
QUALITY ISSUES for discussion
236. Priority areas have been identified by DOP and DTE where future support may be targeted in the process of implementation of TDMP. Technical support may be required for development of manuals and guidelines and provincial level training to assist in the introduction of changes to the procedures for recruitment and deployment of teachers (TDMP 2.1). The strengthening of quality assurance systems for performance assessment of secondary teachers may require further support including development of action plans. Teacher performance assessment should be based upon teacher standards and competencies identified by DTE and ESQAC, and aligned to the introduction of SOQ in the secondary sub-sector. A Teacher Promotion and Career Development Plan (TDMP 5.2) is also to be developed to provide a structure of responsibilities followed by categorization of all teachers onto the career structure.
237. The teacher selection and recruitment process should be strengthened through the implementation of an improved system for TEI student selection and a Teacher Tracking system (TDMP 4.1 and 4.3). A graduate teacher tracking mechanism could be designed and piloted to monitor the flow of students from school to TEI/FOE and to monitor the TEI/FOE graduates who take up teaching positions and those not entering the teaching profession.
238. The feasibility and initial design for a focused pilot of targeted incentive mechanisms for
Annex 06 Page 51 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis rural LS and US teacher deployment has been outlined in the BESDP II Interim Report. This may be implemented in the BESDP II program (TDMP 3.1 and 3.2).
239. Institutional strengthening of capacity of TEIs, FOEs, SPAs and secondary school teachers should focus on (i) implementation of TEI and FOE Institutional Capacity Development Plans including shared utilization of physical facilities with demonstration schools for example; (ii) piloting of incentives for district-based SPAs to provide instructional leadership; and (iii) school based training to support implementation of the new curriculum. The strengthening of the RIES Media Centre would enable educational resources to be provided for dissemination through radio, TV and DVD to all secondary schools to support school-based teacher training for more effective implementation of the new curriculum. Targeted support for enrollment on provincial based US Teacher Upgrade Programs may be an effective strategy to increase teacher supply in subject shortages and in remote locations.
240. In-service training will need to be provided for M3 and M4 teachers in 2012 and 2013 based on lessons learned from the M1/M2 training model training. Support will need to be provided for procurement and distribution of M3 and M4 TB/TG and instructional materials.
241. Roll out of the new curriculum for M5-M7 teachers will follow a cohort model with in- service training to be provided in 2014-2016. Support for implementation of overall framework for USE teacher training program may be provided through summer schools for SPAs and TEI/FOE master trainers. Printing and distribution of M5 to M7 TB/TG and instructional materials for US grades would follow the same timeframe 2014-2016.
242. In parallel to the curriculum rollout, the assessment of student learning outcomes should be strengthened in LS and US schools. A National School Assessment Framework may be developed and teacher’s skills may be enhanced through teacher training for implementation of the new curriculum. Capacity development may be targeted to the key MOE offices of ESQAC, DSE and RIES, as well as TEIs, FOEs and secondary school teachers, to improve student assessment standards, techniques and procedures..
MANAGEMENT ISSUES for discussion
243. Details of an update of institutional analysis of SE subsector and in-depth LSE needs assessment, LSE and USE school mapping completed nationwide and school management committees’ established or membership reconstituted and initial capacity building.
244. Based on institutional and needs assessments, phased and multi-mode capacity building for education sector staff at central level (including project management unit and implementing units) and provincial /local levels and targeted LSE school principals.
245. Assessment of existing LSE-related management information systems (MIS) and plans for improving and better integrating MIS implemented;
246. Strategic options for appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) for teaching learning, and school management in SE; small scale pilot in target rural LSE schools completed and lessons distilled in final policy report;
247. Social marketing and communication strategy on the importance of LSE Including positive media coverage and heroic stories from remote poor ethnic group areas where there are some very hard working teachers and DEB staff.
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Appendix 1: ESDF Targets Related to Secondary Education
Included in the ESDF are precise targets for expansion of secondary education in quantitative terms, while the new organizational structure of 5+4+3 is introduced. At the same time it sets a number of targets to improve equity and quality, and measures to strengthen management of the education system generally and the secondary subsector specifically.
Box 1 ESDF Access Targets Related to Secondary Education Access targets are clustered in four groups: enrolment rates, student flow rates, equitable access for all groups and infrastructure. Enrolment rate: (i) 75% gross enrolment rate in lower secondary school from 2015; (ii) 75% gross enrolment rate in upper secondary school by 2020 (40% GER by 2015 – NSEDP); and 25% of total upper secondary enrolment in upper secondary vocational schools by 2015. Student flow rates: (i) 98% progressive promotion rates for lower secondary education from 2015 onwards and (ii) drop-out rate being significantly reduced in line with EFA NPA projections. Equitable participation by all groups: (i) 20% of all lower and upper secondary students to receive pro-poor scholarships against agreed eligibility criteria commencing by 10% from 2011; (ii) to Incorporate 30% of children with light disabilities into inclusive education schools (Grades 1-9) by 2015; and (ii) re-entry programs for Grades 3-9 students who have been out of school for up to 3 years. Infrastructure: (i) Introduce basic education cycle schools of Grades 1-9 through the provision of additional classrooms in selected locations without a Grade 6-9 school facility (with 85% coverage by 2015) and additional Grade 6-9 facilities based on 1 lower secondary school for every 4 primary schools; and (ii) provision of additional classrooms and facilities for upper secondary education, and Integrated Vocational Education and Training centres by 2015.
Box 2 ESDF Quality Targets Related to Secondary Education Quality targets in the ESDF related to secondary education are grouped in five clusters: curriculum and instructional materials, student performance monitoring, teacher training, teacher deployment and others. Curriculum and instructional materials: (i) reforming the general education curriculum by increasing the number of years of schooling from 11 years (5+3+3) to 12 years (5+4+3); (ii) introducing a curriculum policy and strategy with increased instructional hours and equitable access to essential textbooks; (iii) improving the Grade 1-9 curriculum framework finalized with 4 textbooks for each student in Grades 6-9 by 2015; (iv) improving the Grade 1-9 curriculum framework based on an inclusive curriculum with 20% of content set aside for local context curriculum; (v) providing equitable access to textbooks and selected complementary instructional materials for Grades 1-9 through one-off central procurement and replacement costs in block grant schemes; (vi) one textbook per student per subject for Grades 1-9 by 2015; (vii) nationwide procurement process commencing in 2010 with replacement costs included in school block grants from 2010 (viii) K-12 curriculum framework finalized by 2012 with emphasis on a revised and strengthened Grade 11 and Grade 12 curriculum. Student performance monitoring: (i) defining minimum standards of student achievement for Grades 3, 5 and 9 and assuring a shared understanding of minimum standards amongst teachers, parents and other stakeholders; (ii) defining learning outcomes and introduce from 2011 with sample surveys over 2011-2012; (iii) school and community agreements and standard report cards in place by 2012; (iv) develop new institutional arrangements for nationwide student performance monitoring requirements to improve learning outcomes and employment opportunities; (v) 15,000 teachers and 2,500 school heads trained to develop school-community plans and whole school development plans by 2015. Teacher training: (i) decrees issued during 2010 in support of strengthening teacher training and enabling teacher education institutions to offer 12+3 degree programs from 2012 onwards with a total enrolment of around 15,000; (ii) new teacher training curriculum developed over 2010-2012 reflecting the 5+4+3 school organizational structure and (iii) 20% of teachers receive in-service training annually.20 Teacher deployment is summarised by two targets: (i) demand-led approach to teacher recruitment and redeployment ensuring adequate teacher supply to underserved districts by 2012 and (ii) issue a decree for a teacher quota system and budgeting based on a pupil teacher ratio (PTR) of 30 for lower secondary, 25 for upper secondary, 20 for TVET and higher education during 2010 with targets reached by 2015.21 Private education and model schools: (i) expanded private provision of upper secondary schooling with the required new regulations and involvement of the ESQAC and (ii) 20 model upper secondary schools throughout the country by 2015.
20 No mention of USE Teacher Training Targets. However tentative targets are given in MOE (2010) 21 Decree issued 2010 and quota system withdrawn from 2011
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Box 3 ESDF Management Targets Related to Secondary Education
Management targets in the ESDF related to secondary education are grouped in four clusters: strengthening management; management related to teacher issues; planning, monitoring and evaluation; and school fees. Strengthening management: (i) Revised legislation and regulations consistent with revisions to staff functions, responsibilities and mandates at the central, provincial and district levels including primary and secondary school education responsibilities for Village Education Development Committees22; (ii) Realigned functions and operational guidelines for the implementation of revised responsibilities at all levels to strengthen education management; (iii) Revised policy and regulations for delegating authority to provincial education authorities for teacher supply planning. Teacher management issues: (i) equitable deployment and distribution of better qualified teachers across urban, rural and remote schools; (ii) introduce new conditionalities related to remote and difficult postings including 100% housing allowances and newly posted teachers receiving a payment in advance of taking up their post; (iii) identify specific school postings for trainee teachers at the beginning of training linked to a signed agreement to take up the post within the identified school; (iv) introduce accelerated promotion for school head teachers based on leadership programs, planned performance appraisal, induction programs and new head teacher allowance. Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation: (i) improved efficiency in school performance monitoring, planning and management through redefined role of inspection services at the central, provincial and district levels and introduction of performance measures for all education staff at all levels; (ii) strengthened central and provincial technical, personnel and financial management information systems against agreed performance indicators; (iii) strengthened district level personnel planning and management systems against agreed staffing norms. School Fees: (i) abolition of registration and instructional fees for students in early childhood playgroups, primary, lower secondary, NFE and teacher education; and (ii) elimination of fees for primary and lower secondary education offset by a phased and incremental scheme of school block grants, school operational budgets and school development plans.
22 The role of Village Education Development Committees in the governance of Secondary Schools needs further investigation.
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Appendix 2. BESDP I Impact, Outcome and Outputs
The program loan was provided to promote expanded access, equity, and quality of education, while also strengthening the capacity of MOE and the provincial and district bodies responsible for education administration to provide more effective decentralized planning, management, financial reporting, and budgeting for school education. The design allowed the loan to be released in three tranches based on completion of three sets of policy actions. The First Tranche (T1) US$3 million was released in December 2007; the Second Tranche (T2) US$3 million was released March 2010, and the Third Tranche (T3) US$ is scheduled to be released March 2011.
The loan’s more specific objective is to support a series of policy actions that collectively contribute to:
Ensuring increased resource mobilization to the education sector including rationalizing budgetary allocations for education Designing and implementing an outcome-oriented budgeting and financial management system that will also lead to preparation of a medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) for education Providing a more relevant and integrated curriculum for school education Strengthening teacher management through preparation of a recruitment and deployment plan and development of a teacher management information system Strengthening capacity for decentralized planning (and budgeting).
The anticipated impact of the grant project is an increased and more equitable educational attainment among the adult population measured by (i) improved tested adult literacy rates, from 44.8% (2005) to 50% (2010), and declared adult literacy rates from 75% (2005) to 87% (2010) and (ii) improved tested adult literacy rates among 20% of the poorest population from 30% (2005) to 40% (2010).
The expected outcome of the project is expanded and equitable access to improved quality and more efficient lower secondary education (LSE) measured by: (i) an increased gross enrolment rate in LSE from 54% in 2005 to 64.5% in 2010; (ii) increased female share in admissions to LSE from 44% in 2005 to 46% (2005) to 81,700 (2010); (iv) an increase in transition rate from grades 5 to 6 from 78.0% in 2005 to 85.0% in 2010 (75% for females and 80% for males); (v) an increased completion rate of LSE from 40% in 2005 to 52% in 2010 and (vi) an average LSE dropout rate reduced from 12% in 2005 to 6% in 2010.
Output 1 Increased budgetary allocations for education measured by (i) an increased education share of national budget from 15.5% in 2009 and 16% in 2010; (ii) an increased share of recurrent expenditures for education from 45% in 2009 and 50% in 2010 and (iii) an increased disbursement rate for education budget from 80% for 2009 to 85% for 2010.
Output 2 Expanded and equitable access to LSE provided in fast-growing, high-demand urban areas and in poorest rural and remote areas measured by: (i) the provision of 28 new LSE schools, 144 LSE classrooms in existing LSE schools, in the 20 targeted districts of BESDP I provinces and (ii) 1,638 scholarships for ethnic and poorest pupils, including at least 50% girls, received and completed.
Output 3 Improved relevance and quality of LSE through: (i) a revised integrated curriculum framework for grades 1–12 (primary education completed by 2008 and upper secondary curriculum drafted by end of Project); (ii) revised curriculum and student learning outcomes developed for LSE by 2009; (ii) a teacher recruitment and deployment framework and action
Annex 06 Page 55 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 06 Secondary Education Situational Analysis plan; (iii) the in-service training of 5,373 lower secondary teachers completed in 50 project districts and post-tests showing adequate teaching skills; (iv) 10 teacher training colleges, 28 new lower secondary schools, and 109 other lower secondary schools receive a package of equipment, teaching material, and learning resources by 2011
Output 4 Improved capacity for planning, budgeting, management, and delivery of education through: (i) School management committees being established in 96 schools; (ii) annual and medium-term LSE planning and budgeting/expenditure formats piloted in at least 3 provinces; (iii) planning and budgeting process in PES aligned with school mapping approach, teacher allocation and deployment process, and official development assistance planned interventions; (iv) improved accounting, reporting, and monitoring of expenditure; (v) improved outcome-oriented budget format and process; (vi) a more informed decision-making process regarding MOE budget negotiations with the MOF (MTEF); (vii) an improved assessment and monitoring of MOE physical assets; and (viii) staff training to support all of the above
Annex 06 Page 56 of 57 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Interim Report)
SECONDARY EDUCATION SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS ANNEX 03
Appendix 3 Summary of Provincial Secondary Education Data (sorted by Lower Secondary enrolment) [A] [B] [C] [(A+B)/C] [D] [(A+B)/D] [E] [E/A] [F] [F/B] [note] Secondary Education Salary+ Lower Upper LSE+USE Secondary LSE LSE REC USE USE REC Education Secondary Secondary percent Salary Allowances PROV Secondary Secondary Students Students Recurrent Kip per Recurrent Kip per percent Teachers Schools Education percent Kip per Sec Students Students /Teacher /School M Kip Student M Kip Student Recurrent Budget Recurrent Teacher 1VTE 46,409 18,131 3,215 20.1 115 561 10153 218,772 14060 775,467 24.8% 84.0% 56.2% 421,468 13SVK 38,409 10,213 2,572 18.9 152 320 15126 393,814 10942 1,071,380 29.1% 83.1% 91.0% 389,589 10VIN 32,559 9,892 2,201 19.3 95 447 10001 307,165 7317 739,689 23.3% 84.2% 77.1% 257,617 16CPK 30,821 9,364 2,187 18.4 124 324 13464 436,845 7108 759,077 29.6% 81.9% 96.4% 174,677 6LPB 24,991 6,917 1,390 23.0 60 532 5901 236,125 6902 997,831 24.0% 76.9% 96.0% 130,944 8SBY 21,992 6,698 1,753 16.4 81 354 7959 361,904 5727 855,031 25.5% 79.7% 82.8% 237,315 9XKG 21,761 6,194 1,465 19.1 72 388 9041 415,468 4964 801,421 34.5% 83.0% 85.3% 177,482 7HPN 20,646 4,696 1,261 20.1 98 259 8520 412,671 7720 1,643,952 38.0% 71.5% 95.4% 1,705,006 12KHM 18,622 5,569 1,182 20.5 85 285 missing - 11020 1,978,811 28.2% 80.7% 94.3% 622,681 11BLK 16,823 4,617 770 27.8 49 438 5388 320,276 4971 1,076,673 39.3% 88.9% 81.2% 464,947 4ODM 16,396 3,865 890 22.8 58 349 3102 189,192 3327 860,802 23.2% 73.6% 94.0% 600,006 14SRV 11,712 3,165 780 19.1 45 331 4126 352,288 3186 1,006,635 22.8% 78.0% 95.5% 364,111 3LMT 9,288 2,131 576 19.8 37 309 4214 453,704 3389 1,590,333 32.7% 74.4% 99.6% 1,465,289 5BOK 8,074 2,076 508 20.0 29 350 3188 394,848 1771 853,083 28.6% 77.1% 92.9% 122,056 2PNG 6,710 1,745 479 17.7 30 282 2734 407,452 2269 1,300,287 20.9% 85.0% 92.3% 304,811 17ATP 5,495 1,352 474 14.5 21 326 1365 248,408 4222 3,122,781 27.1% 76.3% 80.8% 2,662,456 15SEK 4,680 1,414 331 18.4 23 265 1212 258,974 1662 1,175,389 20.0% 76.4% 97.7% 507,560 99LAO 335,388 98,039 22,034 19.7 1,174 369 105494 314,543 100557 1,025,684 27.6% 80.4% 85.6% 485,984 Source: MOE Tables D.2, D.3, D.4 (no date), EMIS 2009/10 data on schools, enrolment, teachers. Note: check 56.2% Recurrent share for Vientiane City (1VTE).
Page 1 of 57 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 07 Teacher Tracer Study
Supplementary Paper [1] to Annex 05: Lao LS and US Graduate Teacher Tracer Study
Introduction A small scale tracer study was designed under BESDP II PPTA, to identify and analyse the underlying issues behind system inefficiencies in recruitment and deployment of graduate teachers to secondary schools in Lao PDR.
The purpose of the Graduate Teacher Tracer Study was to profile the flow through of graduate teachers from upper secondary school graduation into pre-service teacher training and from pre-service teacher training into schools as class teachers or into other employment
The Tracer Study was designed to track: (i) the flow of school graduates into teaching, and (ii) the flow of new graduates from teacher training into schools as well as those exiting teaching and taking up other employment opportunities.
Methodology. Information was gathered from four main sources: (i) Analysis of existing data (quantitative) accessed from EMIS, TEMIS and PMIS databases and from direct information sources (TEIs, FOEs, PES, DEB and schools); (ii) Analysis of information from reports and sector studies (qualitative); (iii) Individual profiles (quantitative/qualitative) from questionnaires administered during school visits to a total of 72 teachers who graduated from TEI/FOE since 20061; (iv) Information (quantitative/qualitative) gathered from focus group discussions with management, teaching and administrative staff in TEI, PES, LS and US schools and ethnic boarding schools during field visits to four provinces: Savannakhet representing a large province with urban and remote area schools, economic growth potential and a TEI; Luang Namtha, a northern province with poor ethnic group areas and a TEI; Xiang Khoaung a geographically large province with a TEI and a dispersed rural population; and Sekong, a small poor province with remote ethnic group areas and no TEI.
In addition to gathering information for the tracer study, the field visits included fact finding and focus group discussions on issues of: . Teacher deployment (supply and demand); . Initial cycle of M1 teacher training for introduction of the new curriculum; . In-service support for the implementation of the new LS/US curriculum; and . An institutional capacity assessment of TEI/FOEs.
Why is a Tracer Study needed? As described in Annex 05, there is currently no shortage in either supply of or demand for secondary school teachers. However there are concerns about system inefficiency, which may need to be addressed when a comparison is made between the proportion of graduate teachers who take up teaching posts and those who exit the teaching profession on graduation from TEI/FOE. The exact scale of the problem is difficult to calculate with any measure of accuracy. The annual total number of LS and US qualified graduate teachers is known. The number of teachers needed and recruited in each district is known as is the number of quota places allocated each year for each school level. The total number of volunteer teachers currently in the system and the number of quota positions taken up either by volunteer teachers or new graduates each year is not clear. Also, data on the actual supply and demand for secondary teachers by subject specialism is not easily available. Anecdotal evidence suggests, for example, that some teachers teach another subject to the one they studied in TEI/FOE, some teachers teach more than one subject and in some schools there are no teachers for some subjects, specifically science subjects, ICT and mathematics. At the present time many secondary school teachers are pursuing teacher
1 Some teachers had graduated from pre-service teacher training since 2006 and some teachers in the sample graduated before 2006 and had more recently completed a teacher upgrade training 8+3 to 11+3 and 11+3 to BA.
Annex 07 Page 1 of 5 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 07 Teacher Tracer Study upgrade programs of study at their own expense since the increased opportunity for promotion and salary increment from upgrading provides teachers with a strong incentive.
Overall, the picture of secondary teacher supply and demand is changing quite rapidly. Maintaining comprehensive and up to date records, which accurately reflect the situation, is consequently quite challenging. As LS and US enrolments expand in the coming years with higher primary school completion and transition rates and government policy commitments to expand secondary education access the critical shortages in remote areas and in subject shortages will become more acute unless some action is taken to meet the future teacher demand in secondary schools.
Analysis of available data presented in Annex 05 shows an oversupply of LS graduate teachers. One reason that US graduates opt for teacher training is because this provides a stepping stone to wider job opportunities compared to other post-secondary qualifications. The findings of the tracer study indicate that the surplus of LS teachers is absorbed into private sector employment and other government departments with some subjects such as English and ICT offering more attractive prospects for employability than teaching. The situation is similar for employment options for US graduate teachers with opportunities for BA graduates to be offered employment in universities and the private sector. However the number of US graduate teachers exiting the profession adds to the problem of under supply shown by a simple comparison between the annual number of US qualified graduates in subject shortage areas and the number of unfilled teaching positions in US schools.
Who is responsible for tracking graduate teachers? Information on students who graduate from school to TEI should be held by each TEI. A Graduate Teacher Record Card could form the basis of a simple tracking system that could be used to compare the profile of teachers in training and new graduates in the first and subsequent years of teaching. A preliminary design for a Graduate Tracker mechanism is presented at the end of this section. The Graduate Tracker mechanism could provide a manageable means of improving efficiency in recruitment of graduate teachers.
Tracer Study Findings The main finding from the tracer study undertaken as part of the BESDP II PPTA is that there is no system in place either in schools, TEI/FOEs, PES or DEB to trace students after graduation from TEI/FOE. There is no systematic monitoring of students from underserved districts who are given scholarships through special dispensation to train as teachers. Provinces have a rural posting policy and TEIs give priority to prospective trainees from villages experiencing difficulty in recruiting teachers. On completing teacher training the pre-condition is that those teachers selected and fast tracked2 from remote areas will return to teach in their home district to teach. PES tracks entry to ensure that entry level criteria are met and the correct subject is taken up but there is no monitoring or follow up of graduates. The PES and DEB staff indicated that most scholarship teachers return to their home district to teach. Some teachers contracted under the remote posting scholarship scheme may not have been made fully aware of the contractual obligations. Some graduates follow friends to another district or province and some return to their home location but take up jobs in other government offices. Many government offices have some graduate teachers working in administration positions.
Graduate Teachers returning to their home district The tracer study data provides evidence of the number of teachers who return to their home district after completion of teacher training.
2 TEI Entrance requirements may be waived and VEDCs provided with the mandate and criteria for selection of students to enrol in teacher training courses on bonded contracts. The bond is difficult to enforce and there is some suggestion from field visit discussions that trainee teachers on such contracts may not be fully aware of the pre- conditions.
Annex 07 Page 2 of 5 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 07 Teacher Tracer Study o 42 percent of graduate teachers in the tracer study sample returned to teach in their home district where they had also attended secondary school. o 24 percent of graduate teachers moved away from their home district to attend secondary school and they returned to teach in the district where they went to school. o 25 percent of graduate teachers attended secondary school in their home district and moved away from that district to teach. o 10 percent of graduate teachers moved away from their home district to attend school and moved to another district to teach. The data suggests that the tendency is for graduates to return to their home or district where they attended secondary school to teach. However it is not possible to determine from the tracer study data whether teachers who returned to their home district did so in fulfilment of the remote ethnic group quota allocation for enrolment to TEI. Of the teachers sent on BA scholarships from one tracer study province the PES reported that none had returned to teach in the province but 11 NOUL FOE BA graduates had joined the PES in 2010. Some Higher Diploma LS qualified graduates had returned from regional TEIs but the actual number could not be confirmed. Most BA graduates came from the regional and national FOE but again numbers could not be confirmed.
Volunteer Teacher status Of the 72 graduates in the tracer study sample, 78 percent (56) of who entered teaching since 2005 were initially appointed as volunteer teachers. 33 percent of the sample was awarded permanent teacher status in their second teaching appointment. 25 percent of teachers were awarded permanent teacher status within their first year of teaching. A further 22 percent achieved permanent teacher status in their second year of teaching and 11 percent in their third year of teaching. 39 percent of the sample were on volunteer teacher status at the time of the survey and had been teaching between one to three years. Evidence from the field visits indicates that the problem of graduate teachers being unable to secure a permanent teaching position under the quota system is easing following the increased number of quota places allocated by MOE in 2010. In one province for example the TA team were informed that of the 126 LS teachers recruited in 2010, 16 volunteer teachers were upgraded to permanent teacher status and 110 new teaching positions were awarded to graduate teachers. No new recruits in 2010 had to enter teaching as volunteer teachers. For BA degree teachers the quota is higher than the number of applicants.
Reasons for graduate teachers exiting the system The tracer study sample of teachers was asked to explain where their TEI colleagues who did not go into teaching are now working. The alternatives listed included: police force, government administration officer, private sector employment, farmer, army, tourism, banking and private schools. The reasons given for not going into teaching included lack of quota, low salary, better salary in private schools / private sector, preference for other job, the wait is too long to become a certified teacher, deployment to a remote area is not attractive, poor grades in teaching qualification, no vacancies close to family, some graduates only want the qualification and don’t want to teach. Some BA graduates prefer to work in private schools or private sector employment where salaries are higher. Graduates hope for an urban posting and they take another job if given a rural posting. Incentives are not attractive and teachers stay only for a few years. The best graduates stay on in TEI/FOE as staff.
Proposed Actions arising from the Tracer Study PES and TEI/FOEs held the view that a graduate teacher tracker system would be useful and would contribute to improved efficiency. The recommended actions included: o Priority process for students from underserved areas to gain entrance to TEI. o Selection of TEI quota students should be done by DEB at village and district level o Students sign a contract with MOE before entering TEI and on graduation they are contracted to teach in the home district
Annex 07 Page 3 of 5 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 07 Teacher Tracer Study Preliminary Design for a Graduate Tracker Mechanism
A simple tracking system that could be easily applied in all TEIs, FOE, PES and DEBs with the aim to reduce wastage and thereby improve efficiency in recruitment of teachers.
Rationale A key justification for design and implementation of a Graduate Teacher Tracker in TEIs and PES is to improve the efficiency of teacher recruitment and deployment as one step towards solving the problems of teacher supply and demand. The current quota allocation and scholarship scheme is designed to encourage US graduates from poor ethnic group areas to enrol in TEI and to then return to their home district to teach. The efficiency of this scheme is being questioned based on analysis of education statistics showing disparities between teacher supply and teacher recruitment. Analysis of the rate of return and fulfilment of contracts to take up a teaching post on graduation from the TEI/FOE may be possible if a system is designed to trace new graduate teachers3. Analysis of teacher recruitment and projection data from DOP, ESDF Finance Model and TEMIS is detailed in the BESDP II PPTA Interim Report, Annex 05.
The small scale Graduate Teacher Tracer Study implemented under the BESDP II PPTA has identified that there is no system in place at present to monitor the flow of graduates from upper secondary school into post secondary education including TEI and FOE, nor to monitor the flow of TEI and FOE graduates into teaching or non-teaching appointments. All institutions interviewed in the tracer study who are involved in this teacher recruitment cycle agreed that a graduate tracking system would be useful. It would provide information from which to improve the recruitment process and would lead to more efficient returns on investment.
Currently those graduate teachers who have exited the system can only be traced in an ad hoc way through (i) information from new graduates about their classmates from TEI, (ii) information in DEB and PES offices of new graduates who have been employed in other government offices often because of proficiency in English, mathematics and ICT and (iii) direct follow up with a random sample of graduates within the first year of completing teacher training traced through home contact details from the TEI.
Purpose of the Proposed Teacher Graduate Tracker . To identify the number of graduates from TEIs and NUOL FOE who enter teaching and the number who do not enter the teaching profession on graduation. . To understand the reasons and alternative careers chosen by graduates who do not enter teaching . To monitor the deployment and retention of new recruits into teaching in the first 3 years by location of first posting, home district, etc. focusing on differences between urban and rural appointments and subject shortages.
Proposed Design The system would register trainee teachers on enrolment in TEI and FOE including individual profiles and information on quota, scholarship and contract conditionalities of each individual. On graduation from the TEI/FOE each student could be issued with a Completion Certificate in the form of a Graduate Teacher Record Card which shows their individual profile and this card is presented to any future employer. Whether the graduates become teachers or become employed outside the education system, they may be required to inform TEI/FOE of their employment situation in order for the DTE to be able to track graduate teachers and ultimately to improve efficiency. Graduate teachers who received quota scholarships from underserved areas should also be required to inform the PES or DEB of their employment situation. At the simplest level each TEI should keep records of the contact details of all graduates and request graduates to keep them informed and updated of any change of address. Each institution or student group could establish an alumni.
3 Contract conditionality options may include conditional cash bonus scheme. Conditional cash bonuses may be made to individual graduates and TEIs/FOE, DEBs and VEDC who fulfil the commitment to ensure that trained teachers are deployed to and retained in underserved schools for a period of two years or more, for example.
Annex 07 Page 4 of 5 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 07 Teacher Tracer Study Considerations The tracker should be linked to the existing TEMIS, PMIS or PES database system currently operating but it will be necessary to ensure that the system is manageable in terms of consistency of data entry, data quality, maintenance of the system and functionality. A parallel MIS system should not be developed. This record may then also be linked to incentive payments such as bonus for completion of the first year of teaching in designated underserved schools.
Data Collection Information on students who graduate from school to TEI should be held by each TEI. The basic information should include the following information recorded in a simple questionnaire format: Student ID / male-female / age / home village / last secondary school attended / year of graduation / subject grades / ethnic group / contact details
Information on students who graduate from each TEI should be held on a Graduate Teacher Record Card. The basic information should include the following information recorded in a simple questionnaire format: Student ID / male-female / age / home village / last secondary school attended / year of graduation / TEI attended / year of graduation / subject grades / ethnic group / contact details / employment record (school of first and subsequent appointments, teaching responsibilities, subject / grades taught)
Each graduate teacher would be required to submit to the TEI on an annual basis an updated record of employment covering the first three years after graduation. If the basic data were available, as above, a tracking system would be possible by comparing the profile of teachers in training and new graduates in the first year of teaching. While TEI and PES should hold data that is relevant to them overall responsibility should be assigned to DTE TEED or DOP.
Some questions to be raised in Graduate Teacher Tracker design and pilot stage What information is needed, by whom? Where does the information come from? How will the information be used? How will the information help decision making and improved efficiency in teacher recruitment and deployment? Identify advantages and disadvantages of linking the proposed incentive schemes to the Graduate Teacher Tracker (See Teacher Incentives Pilot Design)
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Supplementary Paper: Incentives for Recruitment, Deployment and Retention of Qualified Male and Female Teachers to Underserved Areas
The ADB BESDP II concept note includes reference to a program intervention developed to explore the feasibility of a focused pilot test of incentive mechanisms for rural teacher deployment linked to policy reforms. This paper presents an initial design for a pilot teacher placement scheme, which may be trialed in target districts with BESDP II support for implementation and evaluation.
Background A key barrier to achieving the goal of providing quality secondary school education in Lao is the difficulty of recruiting teachers to under-served areas of the country. Teachers are least attracted to areas where living and working conditions are more challenging and supplementary allowances have not provided sufficient incentive. The quota system has not proved effective as a mechanism tor deployment of teachers to areas of need and neither have the existing scholarship and contract schemes solved the problems of undersupply of teachers to poor ethnic areas. The MOE recognizes that the living and working conditions and salaries of teachers are crucial factors that need to be addressed; in particular to attract secondary school teachers to underserved areas of the country.
The UNESCO Secondary Teacher study (2009) draws attention to the complexities of providing quality education to poor ethnic communities: “ensuring educational provision for these disadvantaged populations is not a simple question of extending existing policies and extrapolating existing costs”. In addition to geographical barriers for students to access school, small school size and language issues, marginal costs of educating children in these areas at primary school and even more so at secondary level will be higher than the national average.
One challenge which the MOE faces in improving teacher recruitment and deployment to underserved areas is to balance additional costs of staffing rural schools with incentives that are sufficiently attractive enough to persuade teachers to take up appointments. Another challenge that will need to be carefully considered is how to ensure that teachers who are already working in under-served areas are not de-motivated if additional placement related incentives, working conditions and allowances are applied only to new graduates
It cannot necessarily be assumed that the same placement related incentives should apply across the country and from district to district. Therefore any review may need to consider alternative options for teacher incentives. Also, the situation will change over time and therefore it is essential that the graduate teacher placement scheme should be regularly 1 reviewed within a broader teacher pay review process . Clear guidelines and selection criteria will be needed to ensure that the placement related incentives are correctly targeted. A monitoring system will be needed to ensure that the system is both efficient and performance related.
During field visits to Savannakhet and Sekong provinces teachers and district officials were asked for their views on the kind of incentives that might attract secondary teachers to work in poor underserved areas. Discussion and observation of the localities prompted the following suggestions for targeted incentives:
Cash-based incentives - end of year bonus; pay three months salary advance at the beginning of the school year for new graduate teachers to relocate, establish themselves and set up home; raise the percentage allowance for remote teacher posts; provide allowance for installation of new teachers and cost for accompanying to the post when the teacher needs a
1 Reference to relevant TESAP activities relating to teacher salaries and career structure and progress status
Annex 08 Page 1 of 7 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 08 Teacher Placement Scheme guide to show them the way; transportation at start and end of vacation from the district to the provincial centre for teachers to be able to visit their family In-kind incentives - satellite dish, TV and VCD for setting up a district resource centre plus water powered generator (Chinese); phone / sim access for teachers in remote locations donated by telecom provider as an example of PPP and corporate social responsibility; provide teacher accommodation to meet a basic minimum standard with facilities (water, electricity, etc); provide transport to take new teachers and their belongings to their school
INITIAL DESIGN FOR A PILOT GRADUATE TEACHER PLACEMENT SCHEME: Placement related incentives for recruitment, deployment and retention of qualified female and male secondary school teachers in poor ethnic group areas
The pilot graduate teacher placement scheme for enhancement of teacher incentives in poor ethnic areas is designed to address the challenge of encouraging qualified graduate teachers to work in rural and hard-to-reach areas, to encourage US school graduates from underserved areas to train as teachers and return to their home district to teach, and to retain experienced teachers in the underserved areas.
Aim of the Pilot Graduate Teacher Placement Scheme: to trial and evaluate the effect of incentives on recruitment, deployment and retention of teachers to poor ethnic group areas.
Expected Outcomes: - increase in recruitment of graduates from US schools in underserved poor ethnic group areas to enrol in TEI; - increase in the number of graduate teachers who take up teaching posts in poor ethnic group areas, including those on rural quota scholarships who return to their home district to teach; and - improve the retention period of experienced teachers working in rural poor ethnic areas
Background Remote teaching incentives are 15% additional salary for moderately remote schools, 20% for more remote schools and 25% additional salary for most remote schools. Each district categorises schools by remoteness. Scholarships provided to secondary school graduates from some rural areas have been effective and teachers have returned to the village but others do not fulfil the commitment. Village communities provide rice and accommodation for teachers. PES’ have proposed to the MoE that salaries and allowances for teachers working in remote schools should be increased.
The SEAP 2010 (draft) and the TDMP (2010) include specific reference to incentives arrangements for secondary school teachers working in underserved areas of the country. SE Action Plan (SEAP draft 2010) TDMP (2010) Lower Secondary Programme 2: Output 3.1 Increase in Teacher Compensation Adequately address the problem of teacher shortages in certain subjects and geographic (i) Raise salaries of teachers by preparing areas. legislation on new salary structure for teachers, 2.5 Provide incentives for teachers to upgrade their which will consider: teachers receiving more qualifications. allowances when they teach more grades or 2.6 Increase the quota for graduates from ethnic levels, improve payment system especially for minority groups to enrol in teacher training teachers who work in remote areas to ensure on colleges. time payment of salaries. 2.7 Provide incentives for teachers to be deployed Output 3.2 Convenience facilities are provided to to rural and remote areas such as accommodation teachers for them to perform their jobs allowances, travel allowances, and other social welfare benefits. (i)Set-up regulation to provide facilities for teachers to make their living and working conditions convenient.
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The SEAP (draft) outlines three key management issues: - Equitable deployment and distribution of better qualified teachers across urban, rural and remote schools. - Introduce new conditionalities related to remote and difficult postings including 100% housing allowances and newly posted teachers receiving a payment in advance of taking up their post. - Identify specific school postings for trainee teachers at the beginning of training linked to a signed agreement to take up the post within the identified school.
Implementation of a procedure for contracting of teachers to specific school postings early in their teacher training course will be problematic because (i) the administration would not be able to reasonably determine vacancies further than one year in advance, and (ii) it is difficult to make a signed agreement binding.
Increasing the quota of graduates from ethnic group areas is dependent on US student completion rates from those under-served areas, and of students reaching the required entry standard and being motivated to enter the teaching profession.
The TDMP describes the situation in Lao PDR where teachers’ salaries are very low compared to neighboring countries in the region; teacher allowances for remote, isolated or mountainous area posts are not attractive enough compared to comforts of urban living; and, there is a wide gap in the living conditions and facilities for teachers in rural and remote areas compared to those of teachers in urban areas.
One of the goals stated in the TDMP is “to ensure that the current teaching force is retained through the setting up of proper systems for incentives, promotion and career development. Teachers who are assigned to work in rural and remote areas should be provided with reasonable incentives and training opportunities for continuous upgrading”. Component 3 of the TDMP focuses on upgrading of compensation, benefits and incentives. The TESAP review (MOE, 2011)reports that “Output 5.3 Remote areas special fund for teachers established” has not been completed apart from the drafting of a set of procedures for the establishment, investment and use of the special funds. No funding sources have been identified.
Locality Allowances may be proposed which define alternative arrangements and options appropriate to different areas and individual circumstances. For newly posted teachers a one- off basic payment may be made in advance, before taking up their post, to pay for re-location costs. The provision would have to be secured by a commitment from the teacher either by arranging payment on signing of a permanent staff contract or by arranging payment on arrival at the school. The 100% housing allowance proposed in the SEAP (draft 2010) may be appropriate for a teacher who is far from their home village but another incentive may be applicable to a teacher who returns to her home village to teach. The housing allowance may specify the expected minimum standard of accommodation to be provided by the local community. Where a community is requested to provide housing for teachers the PES and DEBs explained that there is some concern among communities about how an in-kind contribution can be equitably distributed. All communities in a school catchment area should contribute to the construction so that the community where the school is located does not have to carry the whole burden.
Future Policy Actions that may be supported by BESDP II The design and viability of the pilot Graduate Teacher Placement Scheme, undertaken during the project preparation, identifies options which may be considered by DOP for approval by MOE and subsequent trialling during the BESDP II project period. Further detailed design and preparation would have to be undertaken including all legal and regulatory requirements.
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Consideration would need to be given to the sustainability of the scheme beyond the lifetime of BESDP and potential for scaling up and embedding within a broader Career Development Plan. Monitoring and evaluation procedures would need to be established as well as clear selection criteria and safeguards to ensure that the placement related incentives reach the most deserving teachers.
BESDP II could assist with: - piloting of the Graduate Teacher Placement Scheme for teachers working in underserved and poor ethnic group areas2 - implementation of the TDMP including review and revision of existing decrees/regulations and operational guidelines - system performance monitoring including a tracking system for recruitment, deployment and retention of teachers, career progression - advice on teacher pay reforms including financial and in-kind incentive allowances and support for development of procedures and capacity development for roll-out of a teacher career structure including pay reform.
Scale and Scope The target districts would be the starting point for selection of trial schools.
Guidelines would be drafted to define the procedures, incentives options, selection criteria for selection of incentives to trial and beneficiaries, and implementation process including monitoring of impact and overall effectiveness.
The target group for trialing of the Graduate Teacher Placement Scheme would be identified based on a clear set of criteria which address the root cause of teacher shortages in poor ethnic areas.
Thorough monitoring and rigorous evaluation implementation of the Remote Teacher Incentive Scheme could be a BESDP II conditionality.
STRATEGIES AND PLACEMENT RELATED INCENTIVES TO ENCOURAGE TEACERS TO TEACH IN UNDERSERVED AREAS INCLUDING RURAL AND POOR ETHNIC GROUP AREAS
Recruitment of graduates from Upper Secondary School to TEI/FOE Issue 1: TEI selection / recruitment of graduates from rural LSE and USE schools US graduates from rural areas are unaware of the TEI application process US graduates do not have the opportunity to take the TEI entrance exam Shortage of US graduates who are able to meet the TEI/FOE entry requirements US graduates from rural areas have less success in TEI entrance exam
Proposed Strategies and Placement Related Incentives that may be considered for TEI selection/recruitment of graduates from rural LSE and USE schools . Village leaders and DEB should be involved in selection and recruitment of US graduates from underserved areas into TEI . Ensure that graduates from rural USE schools are provided with careers advice about teaching as an option
2 DMF Target: New policy adopted on incentives for rural teacher deployment, and selected mechanisms successfully piloted in the deployment of at least NN teachers. NOTE: an activity needs to be included in the DMF to match this target. Annex 08 Page 4 of 7 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 08 Teacher Placement Scheme
. Make it easier for graduates from rural USE schools to sit the TEI entrance exams . Make special allowance for graduates from rural USE schools who do not meet the selection criteria for entrance to TEI – preparation classes in summer school . Provide additional quota targeted to meet specific shortage criteria eg subject shortages and ethnic group shortages . Review effectiveness and efficiency of scholarships and bonded contract schemes for graduates from rural USE schools to gain admission to TEI and pilot alternative schemes for contracting and incentivising against the targeted shortage criteria, including consideration of performance/results based conditional cash grants to students and to TEIs.
Recruitment of new graduates from TEI/FOE into schools in poor ethnic areas Issue 2: Deployment of TEI graduates to rural, poor LSE and USE schools Lack of quota places for new graduates as quota places are used to absorb volunteer teachers3 Delay in recruitment and appointments process More attractive employment opportunities in private sector and private schools Contractual conditions disregarded and not enforceable Placement Related Incentives are inadequate to attract teachers to underserved areas and US subject shortage teachers
Proposed Strategies and Placement Related Incentives that may be considered for PES and DEB4 selection/recruitment of graduates from TEI and FOE to underserved LSE and USE schools in rural and poor ethnic group areas MOE through the PES and DEB should provide a guarantee of provisional Civil Service appointment to new graduate teachers, confirmed on permanent status after satisfactory completion of the first year of teaching. TEI should provide orientation as part of TEI graduate exit workshop – new graduates posted to remote areas given basic skills orientation for survival in work /daily life in remote areas DEB and TEI should provide orientation program to the communities on how to provide support to new graduate teachers (BEGP model). DEB to assist with selection and deployment of new graduates to underserved areas Ensure salaries and remote teacher allowances are paid on time Provide a conditional cash bonus after “x” years of teaching in an underserved area. For teachers willing to re-locate to remote and under-served areas: - Prioritize and fast track teacher appointments - Waive the requirement to take post graduate selection test - Payment of a one-off mobilization and re-location allowance for transport to the remote area and basic household provisions. - Provide adequate housing for teachers in underserved areas - Provide solar / mini-hydro power unit - Prioritize provision of teaching resources to underserved schools - Give publicity to teachers working in remote areas and promote their stories in the media to give recognition - Invite teachers from remote areas to a one week provincial training/meeting annually to enable them to network and to update on developments in education and other current affairs to reduce their isolation.
3 The quota system will be removed in the near future, pending preparation of the guidelines and directives for implementation of an alternative recruitment and deployment process. (DOP TDMP 2010) 4 Reference to roles and responsibilities mandated to PES and DEB will be described by DOP in the Guidelines for TDMP implementation in management and pedagogical support to secondary schools
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Placement Related Incentives to retain experienced teachers working in schools in poor ethnic areas Issue 3: Retention of teachers for +2 years teaching experience in rural, poor LS /US schools Proposed Strategies and Placement Related Incentives that may be considered as bonus payment for teachers who teach for more than 2 years in LS and US schools in rural poor ethnic group areas Retain existing qualified teachers through bonus scheme incentives including locality allowances, teaching support materials and annual mobilization provision at the beginning and end of the school year. Incentives for upgrade of under-qualified teachers including locality allowance, access to upgrade training scholarships, upgrade programs delivered in targeted district centers, access to multi-media education programs (TV, radio, DVD and mobile phone) Provide orientation / preparedness programs for teaching in remote areas in TEI/FOE programs and provide parallel community-based orientation to support teachers in target districts and schools Appoint a school based mentor/pedagogical adviser in remote schools with access to additional teaching /media resources. Support the development of the school as a community learning centre to raise the status of teachers in the community and to raise the value of education in the community. Teachers appointed to schools in remote areas should receive salary 3 months in advance including a Mobilisation allowance and subsequent quarterly payments in advance to limit need to travel to the district or provincial centre to receive pay each month. Housing allowances where applicable should be paid in advance with salary. TEI/FOE with high success rate in trainee course completion and appointments to specified underserved districts / schools and in subject shortages should receive an annual allowance for travel to undertake supervision-monitoring visits to schools in remote areas and for procurement of additional instructional materials.
Case Study – Provincial Field Visit (February 2011)
Theses are the difficulties reported by teachers and district officials in one remote mountainous district of Lao PDR Communication between district and province, and district and village is not effective. Village locations are scattered and distances between villages are long. Enrolment rates are still low including low female enrolment and recruitment of teachers to school is difficult. Capacity and qualification of staff does not match their level of responsibilities Population in some parts are not aware of the value and importance of education so they do not encourage children to attend school. Morale of staff is not strong, salary is low compared to business and general economy. There are few employment opportunities in the area. Some teachers do not report to their assigned school to take up their post. Teachers prefer an easier location for living and working When the teachers’ children are sick they may be absent from school for 1-2 months Deployment of teachers cannot meet the PTR Schools in some areas have no trained teachers. Some villages have no road access and communications and transport are difficult There is telephone connectivity, TV signal and electricity in the district centre. Internet access is slow. There are 5 village health centres in the district and one hospital. Some villages have a water powered generator from China
School Construction is easy but teacher supply is difficult. The construction plans are developed on the basis of village clusters. The number of students is calculated and a site selected for access to facilities, communication and road access.
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Supply of teachers is the real challenge.
Proposed Options for Remote Teacher Incentives: . end of year bonus . satellite dish, TV and VCD for setting up a district resource centre plus water powered generator (Chinese) . phone /sim access (subsidy/promotion for teachers in remote locations by telecom) provider as an example of PPP and corporate social responsibility) . Provide three months salary advance at the beginning of the school year for new graduate teachers to relocate, establish themselves and set up home. Rationale: poor teachers have to be self sufficient for food and accommodation with no support. They receive a phone call with instructions to report to the school provided by district or school. They may wait for 3 months or up to 8 months before receiving their first salary payment . Raise the percentage allowance for remote teacher posts. . Provide allowance for installation of new teachers and cost for accompanying to the post when the teacher needs a guide to show them the way . transportation allowance at start and end of vacation from the district to the provincial centre for teachers to be able to visit their family. Teachers can make their own transport arrangements once they reach the provincial centre. Costs in Kileum District, Sekong Province: 500,000 kip per boat in the rainy season 60,000 kip per person by road in the dry season . Provide teacher accommodation to meet a basic minimum standard with facilities (water, electricity, etc) . Provide transport to take new teachers and their belongings to their school
Annex 08 Page 7 of 7 Final Report TA 7555 LAO (Final Report) ANNEX 09 Financial Analysis
A. Macroeconomic Context 1. Sustained growth and rising government revenues. Following economic reforms and increased external orientation, the economy of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has sustained rapid growth in recent years. Despite the global economic downturn, growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita remained in the 3.6% to 6.2% range during 2006-2010 (averaging 5.3% per annum). Industry (representing one-quarter of GDP) grew by 18.0% in 2010, while output of electricity more than doubled, with Nam Theun 2 hydropower plant reaching full capacity. Table 1 shows projected growth of real GDP per capita at 5.7% in 2011 and 5.8% in 2012, and continued strong prospects thereafter, with continued expansion of power generation, industry, and services.
Table 1: Key Economic Indicators, 2005-2012 Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011a 2012a GDP growth rate 6.8 8.1 7.9 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.7 7.8 GDP per capita growth … 6.0 3.6 5.5 5.2 6.2 5.7 5.8 rate Inflation 7.2 6.8 4.5 7.6 0.0 6.0 6.5 6.0 … = not available, GDP = gross domestic product a projections Source: Asian Development Bank. 2011. Asian Development Outlook 2011. Manila (South-South Economic Links, Statistical Appendix Tables A1, A2 and A8). 2. The proceeds of projected growth, especially hydropower revenue, will sustain government revenue and allocations to the education sector. The education sector response to labor market demand to support economic growth will determine how the benefits of investment-driven growth benefit all Lao PDR citizens1, especially ensuring access to better educational outcomes for female and ethnic groups in rural areas. Improved access to secondary education provides the basis for a skilled labor force to meet emerging labor market demand. Improved educational qualifications leading to higher individual earnings should contribute to increased Government revenue and reduced outlays on poverty reduction programs. These effects should be greater in poorer districts which have low educational outcomes.
B. Education Sector Finance 3. Government priority for Education. GOL has continued to prioritize education, with nominal value of Government Recurrent funding increasing 2.4 times between 2005/06 and 2009/10 (Table 2). Official Direct Assistance (ODA) has supported sector growth, more than tripled in from 2004/05 to 2006/07, but declined sharply in 2007/08. As government financing of the education sector has risen, the share of ODA in total education financing declined from 60% mid-decade to 31% in 2009/10. Figure 1 shows the annual increase in Government recurrent funding and the effect of declining ODA on total sector budget.
Table 2: Education Budget, 2005/06-2009/10 1000 Million LAK 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 Recurrent Budget 358.1 467.3 562.8 774.9 874.5 Domestic Investment 51.1 41.5 50.0 74.2 258.2 ODA 598.9 739.6 473.0 453.5 512.4 Education Budget 1008.1 1248.4 1085.7 1302.6 1645.2 Source: MOE (Department of Finance data)
4. The Government has demonstrated a commitment to increase its investment in education, and the Program directly supports this agenda in terms of both increasing and more efficiently utilizing resources, with a focus on the SE subsector.
1 Refer LD10 Economic Analysis.
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5. The Education Sector averaged 16% of State Budget (less debt repayment) over the five years 2005/06 to 2009/10, with Education Sector share of GDP averaging 2.9% (Table 3). Education Sector share was 15.5% of State Budget in 2009/10. Figure 1 shows a 2007/08 decline in Education Sector funding when the ODA contribution declined.
Figure 1: Education Budget, 2005/06-2009/10
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
1000 Million1000 Kip (LAK) 600
400 ODA
Domestic Investment 200 Recurrent Budget 0 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10
6. Projected Government Finance and Education Expenditure. With projected GDP growth at 7.7% in 2011 and 7.8% in 2012, and assuming annual GDP growth averaging 6% per annum through the following five years, Table 3 presents a forecast in which Lao PDR achieves an education sector share of at least 3.3% of GDP and meets the Government undertaking to allocate at least 18% of State Budget to Education by 20152.
Table 3: Education Budget and Sector Share, 2005/06-2009/10, and Projection to 2016/17 Reported Outcomes Projected Growth to 2016/17 1000 Million LAK 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2014/16 2016/17 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 33,222 39,492 43,287 50,573 54,100 58,266 62,810 66,893 71,241 75,872 80,803 86,056 State Budget 6,325 6,550 7,367 8,472 10,648 11,653 11,934 12,710 13,037 13,885 14,787 15,748 Education Budget 1,008 1,248 1,086 1,303 1,645 1,865 1,969 2,161 2,281 2,499 2,662 2,835 Education Share of Budget 15.9% 19.1% 14.7% 15.4% 15.5% 16.0% 16.5% 17.0% 17.5% 18.0% 18.0% 18.0% Education Share of GDP 3.0% 3.2% 2.5% 2.6% 3.0% 3.2% 3.1% 3.2% 3.2% 3.3% 3.3% 3.3% Source: MOE (Department of Finance data) to 2009/10. SESDP projections to 2016/17.
7. Increased numbers of students completing primary school and enrolling in lower secondary schools suggest annual growth in secondary enrolment by at least 5%. Grade 12 in 2010/11 is expected to increase total secondary enrolment by 15% before stabilizing between 5% and 10% per annum. Teacher salaries (including allowances) accounted for 84.4% of total MOE and Provincial recurrent budget allocations in 2009/10. Enrolment growth nearer 10% annum could require the education share of State Budget to exceed the 18% target after 2015.
2 Budget share calculations in Tables 3 and 4 use the accepted definition in Lao PDR which expresses total Budget allocation to education sector as a proportion of GOL Budget, inclusive of ODA and net of debt servicing. Achieving 18% allocation to education by 2015 is a policy condition for the SESDP Program Loan.
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8. The strong economic outlook should ensure that Lao PDR has the financial resources to meet immediate growth in enrolments and Education Budget allocations. Figure 2 shows projected Education expenditure, share of GDP and share of State Budgets to 2017/18.
Figure 2: Projected GOL Budget and Education Expenditure 2010/11-2017/18 2,500 20% 18.0% 17.0% 18% 16.0% 2,000 15.4% 16% 1,848 2,096 1,630 14.7% 14% 1,492 1,500 12% 1,457 1,331 10% 1,000 8% 1,059 Dollars Dollars Millions 921 6%
500 3.1% 3.2% 3.1% 3.3% 3.4% 3.4% 4% 2.5% 2%
- 0%
State Budget Education Budget Education as % of Budget Education as % of GDP
Table 4: Education Budget and Sector Share, 2007/08-2009/10, and Projection to 2017/18 Reported Outcomes Estimated Projection $ millions 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 5,411 6,322 6,763 7,283 7,851 8,322 8,821 9,350 9,911 10,506 11,136 State Budget 921 1,059 1,331 1,457 1,492 1,589 1,630 1,736 1,848 1,969 2,096 Education Budget 135 163 212 233 246 270 285 312 333 354 377 Education as % of Budget 14.7% 15.4% 15.9% 16.0% 16.5% 17.0% 17.5% 18.0% 18.0% 18.0% 18.0% Education as % of GDP 2.5% 2.6% 3.1% 3.2% 3.1% 3.2% 3.2% 3.3% 3.4% 3.4% 3.4% Costs associated with SESDP interventions 6.347 7.341 6.861 5.885 3.481 1.462 0.962 SESDP as % of Education Budget 2.6% 2.7% 2.4% 1.9% 1.0% 0.4% 0.3% SESDP as % of GDP 0.08% 0.09% 0.08% 0.06% 0.04% 0.01% 0.01% Source: MOE (Department of Finance data) to 2009/10. SESDP estimates to 2011/12. Projection 2012/13-2017/18 assumes 6% p.a. GDP growth.
9. Table 4 presents the Table 3 data in dollars3. SESDP expenditure is concentrated in the first four years, 2011/12-2014/15, supporting nationwide provision of Grade 8 (M3), Grade 9 (M4) and Grade 10 (M5) textbooks and teacher training, as well as commencement of LSE construction and low-cost dormitories in 30 target districts, and scholarships for Grade 6 in 2013/14 and Grade 10 in 2014/15. In addition to employment of additional teachers to support enrolment growth where SESDP has constructed LSE and USE classrooms, there is a recurrent cost for replacement of textbooks. SESDP interventions represent between 2 and 3% of the Education Budget in 2011/12 t0 2013/14, but following project completion incremental recurrent costs are expected to remain less than 0.1% of GDP from 2019 onwards.
10. Provincial Education Funding. National aggregate data in Tables 1-4 obscure regional imbalances, especially where enrolments expand at a faster rate in rural districts which require increased school infrastructure and have difficulty
3 Dollar to Lao PDR Kip assumed constant at LAK 8,000 to one US dollar.
Annex 09 Page 3 of 6 Final Report TA 7555 LAO (Final Report) ANNEX 09 Financial Analysis attracting qualified LSE and USE teachers. Table 5 summarizes 2009/10 Provincial Budget allocations, and contrasts seven Provinces with most enrolments and the seven with least aggregate enrolments4. The first group has 58% of Lao PDR Primary and 65% of Secondary enrolments, compared with the third group having 26% and 18% respectively. The first group allocates one-third of their Provincial recurrent budget to education (91% for salaries) while the third group allocates a quarter of their local Budget to education (89% for salaries).
Table 5: Education Share of Provincial Recurrent Budgets 2009/10, Grade 5 to Grade 6 transition rates, and 2009/10 ratio of Secondary to Primary enrolment Million LAK Recurrent Education Non-Salary Grade 6 Secondary Education SESDP Budget Share Recurrent /Grade5 /Primary Recurrent (g) Provinces 2009/10 Recurrent Share (d) (e) 2009/10 (f) 7 Provinces (a) 1,148,494 387,234 33.7% 8.7% 85.7% 53.2% 9 3 Provinces (b) 376,925 102,769 27.3% 10.6% 76.9% 50.8% 4 7 Provinces (c') 606,475 148,696 24.5% 11.1% 78.3% 32.4% 17 Total Provinces 2,131,894 638,699 30.0% 9.6% 82.6% 47.4% 30 Source: National Assembly 2009/10 Budget Allocations. (a) Savannakhet, Vientiane Province, Champassak, Vientiane City, Huaphanh, Luang Prabang, Xieng Kuang; (b) Sayabouly, Khammouan, Bolikhamxai, (c') Phongsaly, Luang Namtha, Oudomxai, Bokeo, Saravan, Sekong. Attapeu). (d) MOE DOF Report. (e) EMIS Grade 6 2009/10 divided by Grade 5 2008/09. (f) EMIS 2009/10 Total Secondary, Total Primary. (g) SESDP Districts. [PROV BUDGET 0910.xls]
11. With 17 of the 30 SESDP districts in the third group of Provinces, success in programs to improve Grade 5 to Grade 6 transition rates5 and retention to Grade 9 will place greater demands on these Provinces to increase their annual budget allocation for education. Achieving ESDF targets will require improvements in these access and participation measures, and will require increased Provincial education expenditure to employ additional teachers. 12. SESDP extends the nation-wide achievements of the Basic Education Sector Development Program (BESDP) by enabling the Ministry to provide new Grade 8-12 textbooks and teachers guides, and support Grade 8-12 in-service teacher training. Pre-service teacher education institutes and faculties of education will be engaged in training so the next generation of teacher graduates is familiar with the new curriculum. 13. In a sector where teacher salaries and allowances account for almost 90% of recurrent expenditure, other recurrent costs (textbook replacement, teacher in- service/upgrading, school maintenance, improving information and management systems) tend to be under-resourced. The Ministry has sought Budget provision for the introduction of block grant payments to schools to maintain buildings, replace textbooks, meet travel costs for teacher training and other school operational expenses. This initiative has been encouraged by the EFA/FTI Project in primary schools6 and SESDP supports its extension for secondary schools, as well as ensuring that Ministry, Provincial and District education personnel have adequate funds for essential travel. EFA/FTI and BESDP have each introduced school grant payments in project schools. SESDP will extend these as “Access Grants” to focus on the expected outcomes. These offer the Ministry models and procedures for managing block grant payments to schools7.
4 The remaining 3 Provinces could be combined with either the first 7 or the last 7 Provinces. 5 The third group average 78% Grade 5 to Grade 6 transition compared with 86% in the first group. 6 Funding from Nam Theun 2 revenues to be allocated in 2011/12 for replacement primary textbooks. 7 See Financial Management Capacity Assessment.
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14. SESDP supports increasing the non-salary recurrent proportion of MOE Budget from a 2009/10 measure of 6.5% to 11.0% over the next five years8. As well as ensuring adequate provision for delivery of textbooks and learning materials to schools, there is an allocation which enables ministry, provincial and district officials to travel to schools and participate in training activities. This allocation would also provide funds to support the introduction of Block Grant payments to schools, and steps to expand current and proposed scholarships to maximize enrolment and completion of secondary education. 15. Education sector efficiency should be improved as average school enrolment increases and drop-out is reduced across all grades, especially at transition from Primary Grade 5 to LSE Grade 6. These problems are more acute in the poorest rural areas being targeted by SESDP, and girls generally have lower outcomes than boys on many indicators. In the 30 target districts, 37% of Primary schools had fewer than 50 students and 52% were incomplete; 17% of Secondary schools had fewer than 50 students and 35% were incomplete. Small incomplete schools are difficult to staff with trained teachers, increase probability of drop-out and reduce likelihood of students completing secondary school. 16. To improve access and educational outcomes, SESDP will assist MOE extend the Grade 6 scholarship program implemented under BESDP to attract more Grade 5 students in 2012/13 to enter Grade 6 in 2013/14, construct 30 LSE schools in under-served areas, support low-cost, community-managed, adult-supervised, gender-segregated dormitories and provide remedial support in math, reading and writing. As well as maximizing opportunity for students in target districts to complete Grade 9, an existing secondary school in each of the 15 target Provinces will receive USE classrooms and laboratories, low-cost, community-managed, gender- segregated dormitories and scholarships for students entering Grade 10 in 2014/15. 17. SESDP initiatives support MOE policy on student scholarships and dormitory provision, while also seeking to demonstrate viable school size as a requirement for an efficient and effective school. SESDP will also work with the MOE Education Statistics and Information Technology Center (ESITC) and Provincial/District Departments to review the existing network of primary, incomplete secondary and small LSE schools, so that new school construction can be targeted to maximize access for students in remote, underserved areas to a viable secondary school. A separate SESDP activity will work with MOE on incentives to attract qualified teachers to work in difficult-to-staff areas.
18. Financial planning risks and sustainability. Within the integrated ESDF across MOE Departments and Provincial Education Services, as well as for dialogue with development partners, SESDP supports strengthening of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework process so that Provinces have greater certainty in planning and staffing schools to maximize secondary enrolments. MTEF offers a framework which will encourage Provinces to increase funding to meet increased enrolment and to employ additional qualified teachers. 19. Together the EFA/FTI program, SESDP and external assistance supports the GOL in meeting projected enrolment growth. LSE construction under the BESDP and 30 new LSE schools and USE classrooms in 15 secondary schools under SESDP contribute to improved access and quality education in districts requiring better
8 Non-salary excludes Chapter 10 (Salary) and Chapter 11 (Allowances) and is calculated on total budget because planning, implementing, managing and monitoring capital works also incur non-salary expenses.
Annex 09 Page 5 of 6 Final Report TA 7555 LAO (Final Report) ANNEX 09 Financial Analysis access to secondary education. Ongoing operating and replacement costs of Secondary textbook provision under BESDP (Grades 6 and 7) and SESDP (Grades 8-12) will require provision in future recurrent budget allocations to replace these textbooks. 20. Public education has an important role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of rural schools to meet national social and economic development goals. SESDP supports this public investment to reduce disparities between rural and urban areas and should ensure that ethnic communities benefit from economic growth driven by mining and hydropower investment. Improved educational outcomes should increase employment and government revenue. To the extent that the Government is able to increase the share of revenues from hydropower and other large-scale revenue-generating projects going to the education sector, the above analysis represents a favorable assessment of prospects for sustaining investments foreseen under the Program.
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I. ECONOMIC JUSTIFICATION
1. Role of Secondary Education in Lao PDR. The Government gives a high priority to education, as the basis for sustained economic growth and poverty reduction. It is central to the Lao PDR goal of graduating from least-developed country status by 2020. Completion of a quality secondary education offers access to post secondary skills training and further education to be competitive in a more integrated regional labor market1. The secondary education and post-secondary subsectors have a central role in ensuring human capacity supports economic growth, through three interlinked transformations: (i) from a planned to a market economy; (ii) from a largely inward-focused, subsistence economy to a commercially- oriented and regionally integrated economy; and (iii) from an agrarian to a more urbanized society.2 Expanding access to secondary education in the poorest rural regions redistributes the benefits of economic growth so these districts are part of these economic transformations. 2. The Lao PDR education system contribution to modernization, equity and inclusive growth, poverty reduction and broader socioeconomic development is built on policy and program initiatives, with the ADB as the major development partner in the secondary education sub-sector. Program initiatives to support physical access, quality and subsector management are reinforced by action to offset gender and poverty constraints on demand for secondary education, especially 75.1% female transition from Grade 5 to Grade 6 in target districts. 3. Nation-wide activities under SESDP support access, curriculum and management, and are complemented by more targeted activities in the poorest, educationally disadvantaged districts. With improvements in Primary completion rates, from a net enrolment rate (NER) of 86.0% in 2006/07 school year to 92.7% in 2009/10 (91.7% girls; 93.7% boys), lack of LSE capacity, low enrolment and completion rates become a key bottleneck. Distance to the nearest complete secondary school is a widely reported factor in low demand for secondary education, combined with poor primary school outcomes, language and other cultural factors. Gender compounds issues such as cost of education, with female participation declining from 47.2% in Primary to 44.8% at Lower Secondary and to 44.3% in Upper Secondary (Table 1).
Table 1: Female Participation: Level of Schooling, LAO PDR, Poorest Districts, SESDP Target Districts PRIMARY LOWER SECONDARY UPPER SECONDARY* Females percent F/100M Females percent F/100M Females percent F/100M LAO PDR (143) 432,349 47.2% 89 150,855 44.8% 81 43,544 44.3% 80 POOREST (48) 131,399 46.4% 87 31,873 41.9% 72 6,398 39.5% 65 TARGET (30) 69,519 45.5% 83 13,726 40.8% 69 2,617 39.4% 65 Source: EMIS 2009/10 (SESDP LD ECON Table 1 10June.sql) *Grades 10 and 11 (Grade 12 from 2010/11)
4. Improving female participation and completion rates is essential if Lao PDR is to maximize its economic opportunities, to improve the efficiency of its education sector, and for longer term social and health outcomes. Gaps vis-à-vis urban and more affluent areas are even more marked – only 30% of Grade 5 females reached Grade 9 in districts targeted under Output 1 of SESDP, some 26 percentage points
1 Refer LD09 Financial Analysis re projected economic growth driven by hydropower generation for export and related industrial/service sector growth requiring a better educated and better skilled labor market. 2 See ADB. 2010. Country Assistance Program Evaluation (CAPE) for Lao PDR.
Annex 10 Page 1 of 6 Final Report TA 7555 LAO (Final Report) ANNEX 10 Economic Analysis for LD below districts classified as both “non-educationally disadvantaged” and “non-poor”. Comparable rates for Grade 5 males were 36% and 28%. 5. Figure 1 compares the 48 poorest districts (and the subset of 30 districts targeted by SESDP Output 1 Access) with the Lao PDR profile using 2009/10 enrolment data. Lower Grade 5 to Grade 6 transition in the poorest districts is compounded by higher attrition during each LSE grade.
Approximated Profiles of Transition into and Within LSE and USE Grades (Share of grade 5 students expected to reach grades 6-11)
100%
90% Grades 6-9 (LSE) Grade 5 Grades 10-11 80% (primary) (USE in SY2009/10) 70%
60%
50%
40%
30% Lao PDR 20% 48 poorest districts 30 target districts 10%
0% G5 G6 G7 G8 G9 G10 G11
6. Male secondary teachers outnumber female teachers by almost 2-to-1 in the educationally disadvantaged poorest (Target) districts and the other Poorest districts, compared with 115 males per 100 females nationally3 (Table 2). This gender imbalance may reinforce cultural factors if some rural communities place less value on girls completing secondary education. Female teachers as role models would encourage more girls to complete secondary school4. Educating girls increases their employment options, especially if they are trained as teachers, with long term benefits for succeeding generations.
Table 2: Secondary Enrolment by Grade, Mean School Enrolment 2009/10 Teachers Lower Secondary Upper Secondary Secondary Districts Schools M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7* Mean Female Male Students STR G06 G07 G08 G09 G10 G11 G12 Enrol LAO PDR (143) 1,174 10,222 11,812 105,769 88,220 75,221 66,178 52,202 45,837 - 433,427 369 19.7 POOREST (48) 302 1,489 2,729 26,668 20,435 15,816 13,087 8,847 7,416 - 92,269 306 21.9 TARGET (30) 159 741 1,276 11,967 9,101 6,890 5,698 3,493 3,147 - 40,296 253 20.0 Source: EMIS 2009/10 (Lao2011D_Grade5June.xlsx) *No Grade 12 (M7) students until 2010/11.
7. Supply side factors are evident where students living in rural/remote communities, students travel long distances to attend small, incomplete secondary schools with fewer qualified teachers for all subjects, and have limited post-school training and employment opportunities. Urban and provincial centers have larger secondary schools with better qualified teaching staff in core subjects and are more
3 Non-Poorest (95 districts) average 104 Male teachers per 100 Females, schools average 391 students, STR=19.2. 4 Of secondary teachers in target districts, 80% of teachers are Lao Tai – but 88% of female secondary teachers are Lao Tai. Females are a positive gender role model but the cultural message may be less positive.
Annex 10 Page 2 of 6 Final Report TA 7555 LAO (Final Report) ANNEX 10 Economic Analysis for LD likely to be direct beneficiaries of the new economic opportunities. The gap between the 30 poorest educationally disadvantaged districts and the 57 districts, which are neither disadvantaged nor poor, is evident in declining enrolment in lower secondary and upper secondary grades in SESDP target districts in Table 2. 8. The 302 secondary schools in 48 poorest districts would need to enroll an additional 19,000 students (+21%) to reach the Lao PDR mean enrolment of 369. The 159 schools in target districts require 18,400 students (+46%) to reach the 2009/10 Lao PDR mean. Improving LSE transition and grade progression rates would have the dual effect of improving mean class size and reducing wastage before students complete Grade 9. II. COST EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS
9. Strengthening the secondary education system. SESDP supports the Government’s ESDF with system level initiatives: Strengthening Access: Improved access is a major objective, especially where cost effective investments achieve better learning outcomes for all secondary school graduates. To implement an effective 20% scholarships policy, the scholarships should target poorest communities and students at greater risk of dropping out. SESDP will build on MOE capacity developed under BESDP so that procedures are in place to expand the scholarship program when Budget funds are allocated. Improved outcome monitoring, including a comprehensive evaluation of SESDP lower secondary scholarships, will support MOE in both targeted scholarships and justifying an identified Budget allocation for scholarships. Community-managed dormitories will support MOE development of a national dormitories policy, especially where low-cost models enable more students in rural and remote communities to complete secondary education. 10. Lao PDR loses half its students from Grade 5 to Grade 9, with long term implications for future employment prospects and poverty reduction. One-in-five Grade 5 students in 2005/06 did not make transition to Grade 6. Of 122,913 students enrolled in Primary Grade 5, only 54% reached Grade 9 in 2009/10.5 Investment in these students completing secondary school brings individual and collective benefits in future household earnings, reduced poverty, future government revenues and maximizing Lao PDR capacity to benefit from regional economic growth. Failure to invest in education has greater long term economic and social costs. 11. The economic benefits of increased secondary school completion are even greater for the poorest districts, with secondary graduates having access to post- secondary education, to government employment and potential private sector employment. GOL revenues benefit and each Province should have greater resources to expand education, health and other services. 12. Strengthening Quality: Secondary education depends on five elements: (i) learning skills developed in primary grades, (ii) a relevant curriculum, (iii) availability of skilled and trained teachers, (iv) access to necessary teaching and learning materials, and (v) improved and equipped school facilities. SESDP supports the MOE in completing revision of the secondary curriculum, including the extension to Grade 12 (M7), and provision of textbooks, teachers’ guides and in-service teacher training for M3-M7.
5 In the 7 “poorest” Provinces (with 16 out of 30 target districts) one-in-four did not make transition to Grade 6 and 49% reached Grade 9. Females in those Provinces had 72% transition to Grade 6 and 50% reached Grade 9.
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13. Two-thirds of Secondary teachers have at least “11+3” qualification6, with no apparent qualification difference between the 48 Poorest and 95 non-Poorest districts – but the Poorest districts had 60 Female teachers per 100 Male teachers while non- Poorest averages 106 Females per 100 Male teachers. Teacher Education Institutes and Faculties of Education increasing their female intake from Poorest districts would support parallel changes in pre-service training curriculum so that each new generation of teacher graduates is better prepared. MOE and Provincial practices in recruiting new graduates, with incentives so that teachers accept appointments in rural schools, will reinforce the access policy reforms described above. 14. Provision of textbooks, teachers’ guides and training support for the new curriculum, are cost effective when teachers have training and skill to utilize them. Secondary pedagogical advisors (SPAs), radio, video, ICT4E and other distance media offer potential learning support for teachers in small rural schools which should lead to better student outcomes. 15. In the longer term, secondary education completion (as an “access” strategy) provides opportunities for post-secondary education and training, especially entry to teacher education courses. Each student returning to their home district after post- secondary education generates a three-fold benefit – (i) access to government employment, especially teaching, (ii) provides a positive role model for current students, and (iii) improves the proportion of qualified teachers in local schools. Girls completing post-secondary education double those impacts, with a generational impact on the education and health of future children. 16. Strengthening Subsector Management: Access and quality outcomes require increased sector financial resources and better management of those funds to implement policy reforms. The link between improving secondary completion, better- qualified graduates entering teaching and effective appointment procedures at Provincial and District levels are core sector functions, which SESDP will assist, strengthen. Increased budget allocations for non-salary recurrent spending, including block grants to schools to meet recurrent teacher training and textbook replacement costs, are part of the process. Implementation of scholarships and dormitory policies require extensive training for provincial and district level staff.7 17. These strategies support increasing secondary enrolment and completion rates, with more Lower Secondary Schools and Complete Secondary Schools developed outside District Centers8. School network mapping by Provinces and Districts will be supported by ESITC and the Project, so that each District develops a strategy which maximizes transition from Primary Grade 5 students to larger LSE schools and to complete secondary schools which enroll sufficient students to offer a viable secondary curriculum. Other efficiency outcomes will include a reduction in numbers of incomplete secondary schools9, an increase in average enrolment in existing LSE schools, and upgrading them to complete secondary schools. A reduction in the number of small incomplete schools will simplify management of Block Grant payments to schools as well as scholarships when the Government 20% policy is introduced.
6 Eleven years schooling plus 3 years teacher training. Few teachers have a graduate qualification. 7 Community-management of SESDP scholarships and low-cost dormitories will include Provincial/District staff in training, so that Pupil Parent Associations support Provincial and District educational plans. 8 Of the 30 districts targeted by SESDP, there are only 37 complete secondary schools. Two of the newer districts (Phonthong and Xaysathan) have no complete secondary school. 9 In 2009/10, 35% of the incomplete lower secondary schools were in SESDP target districts.
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18. Network mapping does not eliminate the impact of distance on access to schooling. There are further limits to quality secondary education in the target districts: Half the primary schools are incomplete and average only 45 students; there are fewer secondary schools but only 1-in-4 are “complete”. By targeting these districts, improved “supply” of better equipped secondary schools, combined with access scholarships and dormitory accommodation, will increase the viability of these schools, attract better qualified teachers and create greater demand for secondary schooling. SESDP provision of USE classrooms and laboratories should create more “complete” secondary schools, closer to where the students live, and increase the educational outcomes for all students in the district. 19. New LSE classroom construction at 30 sites in target districts, together with scholarships and dormitory provision, will lift total LSE enrolments above the 33,656 in 159 secondary schools. In target districts, improved retention, SESDP scholarships, provision of low-cost, community-managed dormitories and construction of up to 4,500 LSE student places should increase LSE enrolment from under 34,000 to more than 42,000.10 Scholarships and dormitory provision at 30 other LSE or complete school sites will increase total enrolment and the viability of those schools. Scholarships, which target at least 50% girls and 80% ethnic students, will improve the existing LSE gender imbalance (69 Females per 100 Males in 2009/10) and provide access to USE opportunities. 20. Each school-based SESDP initiative – LSE construction, low cost dormitories, scholarships and access grants – may be small in scale, but the combined impact of these activities should generate community interest and ownership of their school and demonstrate the benefits of parents sending their children to secondary school. The overall impact should be better learning outcomes for more students, and potentially extend Grade 6-9 LSE schools into complete secondary schools. Successful schools should have improved student teacher ratios, and be able to attract and retain teachers with better qualifications. 21. SESDP supports more accessible, lower-cost, community-managed dormitories to reduce the costs of “access” and reduce distance from home villages. Remedial teaching in math, reading and writing for students living in the dormitories, with male and female teachers living on site to provide remedial support and adult supervision should encourage more families to allow their daughters to complete secondary education. Pupil Parent Associations which include representatives from all villages served by LSE schools constructed under the SESDP Project will ensure that the poorest children in the community receive scholarships, that scholarship payments each semester reach the designated students, monitor attendance, minimize drop out and report regularly to the school community, DEB, PES and MOE.
III. BENEFICIARY ANALYSIS
22. Direct beneficiaries: SESDP will provide sector-wide support for secondary education, through reforms supported by the program loan and capacity building for sector managers at national, provincial and district level during the project. Curriculum reform depends on both better trained graduates from TEI and FOE
10 Assumes 30 new LSE new schools plus increased enrolments from 1,740 LSE scholarships and 3,000 LSE dormitory places in these new schools and 30 other schools. The demonstration effect of SESDP investment in LSE is assumed to offset students who are direct beneficiaries of new classrooms, scholarships and dormitory places.
Annex 10 Page 5 of 6 Final Report TA 7555 LAO (Final Report) ANNEX 10 Economic Analysis for LD entering teaching, especially in rural districts, and strengthening the capacity of current teachers. 23. Provision of Grade 10 (M5) textbooks in 2012/13 should benefit up to 60,000 USE students and 78,000 in 2014/15.11 The program should provide Grade 11 (M6) and Grade 12 (M7) textbooks to 70,000 and 63,000 students respectively, with subsequent cohorts direct beneficiaries if budget allocations to MOE and Provinces provide for textbook replacement.12 24. Over 500,000 secondary students13 will be direct beneficiaries of SESDP program support. SESDP will extend the provision of textbooks to an estimated 96,000 students in Grade 8 (M3) in 2012/13 and 86,000 students in Grade 9 (M4) in 2013/14, based on substantial growth from 2009/10 LSE enrolments of 75,221 in Grade 8 and 67,698 in Grade 9. Projected growth in enrolments depends on additional classroom capacity, appointment of qualified and trained teachers and increased demand for secondary education from girls and ethnic communities. 25. More than 22,000 Secondary teachers are direct beneficiaries, receiving teaching guides plus in-service teacher training for five teachers from each secondary school when new textbooks are introduced.14 Teacher Education Institutes will also receive new textbooks and teachers guides so that prospective graduates are better prepared for teaching the new curriculum. TEI/FOE staff are actively involved in training trainers for in-service courses. 26. Aggregating future student beneficiary numbers is more complex – many are multiple beneficiaries of classroom construction, dormitory provision, scholarships, access grants, new textbooks, new curriculum and better trained teachers. They are indirect beneficiaries when taught by trained teachers and using textbooks in subsequent years. 27. In the 30 target districts, improving LSE completion rates for girls, ethnic groups and poor students bring direct benefits to their communities. More than 1700 families will benefit as their children receive Grade 6 scholarships from 2013/14, reducing the cost burden of students completing secondary education. The communities will be indirect beneficiaries.
11 M5 core curriculum and elective textbooks will be provided as three sets per school in the 2012/13 pilot and on a 1:4 student ratio in 2014/15. M6 and M7 provision planned on 1:4 student ratio in 2015/16 and 2016/17 respectively. 12 MOE has proposed introduction of block grants to schools in 2011/12 Budget to cover textbook replacement and other school operating expenses. 13 EMIS reported 433,427 secondary students in 2009/10, Grade 12 has been added in 2010/11 and improved Primary completion rates will feed more students into Grade 6. SESDP costing assumes the 335,388 LSE students in 2009/10 would increase to approximately 400,000 in 2012/13 and 2013/14. 14 In larger LSE schools, other teachers would be indirect beneficiaries.
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A. Major Development Partners: Strategic Foci and Key Activities
1. Major international development partners (IDPs) now working in the education sector include Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and a number of international nongovernment organizations (NGOs).
2. Cooperation between the Government of Lao PDR and IDPs in education (particularly primary education) has included the large recent projects tabulated below. IDP support to the secondary education subsector (SES) has been more limited, but has included parallel financing by ADB and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) of the Second Education Quality Improvement Project and Teacher Training Enhancement and Status of Teachers Project, which helped improve the capacity of teacher education institutions and quality of primary and SES pre-service and in-service teacher training programs. The Second Education Quality Improvement Project, Second Education Development Project, Basic Education Girls Project, Lao-Australia Basic Education Project, and KOICA support have assisted curriculum delivery through funding of curriculum reform and textbook development.
Major Development Partners
Development Amount Partner Project Name Duration ($ million) Education Sector AusAid Development of the Education Sector Development 2008-2009 0.5 Framework Basic Education IDA/AusAid Second Education Development Project (EDP II) 2005-2010 16.28 IDA Second Education Development Project Additional 2010-2013 15.5 Financing (EDP II AF) AusAid Access to Basic Education in Laos (ABEL) 2005-2010 11.0 ADB/AusAid Basic Education (Girls) Project (BEGP)/LABEP 1999-2008 34.60 ADB Basic Education Sector Development Project 2007-2012 15.83 (BESDP) JICA School Environment Improvement in Southern 2009-2011 7.60 Provinces ADB/SIDA Second Education Quality Improvement Project 2002-2011 SEK (EQIP II)/TTEST 123.0 EC Basic education in Northern Communities (BENC) 2004-2010 €6.0 UNESCO Support for the preparation of the Secondary 2010-2011 Unknown Education Action Plan 2010 FTI/AusAid/IDA Catalytic Fund EFA/FTI Program 2010-2013 65.50 Secondary Education ADB Secondary Education Sector Development Program 2011-2018 40.0 PRC Use of ICT for Educational Access and Quality 2011-2012 50.00 Improvement Technical and Vocational Education ADB Strengthening Technical and Vocational Education 2011- 2015 23.00 and Training (TVET) Higher Education Strengthening Higher Education Program 2010- 2015 24.80 Source: Asian Development Bank, Catalytic Fund EFA/FTI Program Administration Document (2010)
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3. As a whole, IDP and NGO assistance has focused on expansion of primary education, although some programs and projects as noted above have included at least limited support to areas such as LSE teacher training. Primary education support in the last decade (tabulated above) and prior to that has included: (i) World Bank projects in 1993 and 2004 (EDP I and EDP II); (ii) ADB’s EQIP I and EQIP II in 1991 and 2001; (iii) Government of Sweden support through TTEST (2002-2010); (iii) Government of Japan grant assistance for teacher training and primary school construction; (iv) the Government of Australia grant support for in-service and pre- service training of ethnic teachers and the development of supplementary learning materials; and (v) UNICEF grant support for teacher upgrading. UNESCO assisted MOE in producing the Education for All National Plan of Action for 2003-2015 to provide a common framework for future assistance.
4. Other education subsectors, such as TVET, have received significant loan and/or grant support through bilateral assistance from countries that include Australia, France, Germany, Japan, People’s Republic of China, and Republic of Korea.
5. From 1989 to 2008, ADB technical assistance (TA) to the education sector totalled $9.21 million. This included 18 TA projects with most based on basic education; three focused on higher education with the most recent preparing the current Strengthening Higher Education Program. Since 2008 two key TA projects have prepared projects to strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training and to support Secondary Education.
6. From 1991 to 2006 ADB provided five project and program loans to the education to the education sector, for a total of $82.2 million and in 2006 for $12.66 million financed the Basic Education Sector Development (Investment) Project. The Strengthening Higher Education Program started in 2010 and Strengthening TVET Program starts in June 2011. The Secondary Education Development Program is scheduled to start in late 2011.
B. Institutional Arrangements and Processes for Development Coordination
7. The Vientiane Declaration signed by Government of Lao PDR (GOL) and 24 Development Partners including ADB in 2006 seeks to take appropriate actions that can be monitored to make aid more effective and assist the country in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and the long-term development goal of exiting the status of Least Developed Country by 2020. An Education Sector Working Group (ESWG), chaired by MOE1 and co-chaired by AusAID and UNICEF, supports sector coordination and policy dialogue for the sector and more broadly the GOL National Socio-economic Development Plan and Human Resource Development Plan. The ESWG plays a role in formulation, development and monitoring of legislation for the implementation of Education Sector priority policies and strategies. ESWG also supports multi-year sector plan in alignment with the National Education Sector Reform Strategy (NESRS) and related Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP), including reviewing, reporting, and M&E under a Performance Assessment Framework. Four focal groups—for (i) basic education (including LSE), (ii) post-basic education (including USE), (iii) sector management,
1 MOE Department of Planning and Cooperation plays a lead role, with MOE representation from senior staff from different departments and agencies.
Annex 11 Page 2 of 4 Final Report TA 7555 LAO (Final Report) ANNEX 11 Development Coordination and (iv) research—have been established to deepen technical dialogue between government and IDP stakeholders. As noted in para.10, ESDF provides a unified framework to guide all government and IDP efforts. It includes three pillars: (i) assuring equitable access, (ii) improving quality and relevance, and (iii) strengthening sector governance and performance management.
8. The Secondary Education Sector Development Program (SESDP) was designed in close dialogue with various IDPs (and other stakeholders at various levels), including through dialogue in various ESWG meetings. In view of capacity constraints and other factors, it does not involve a program-based approach (PBA). However, the SESDP provides comprehensive policy and investment support to the government’s ongoing reforms in SES, and is directly aligned with ESDF’s 3 pillars related to access, quality, and governance.2 SESDP directly supports key government thrusts and targets in these areas, including (i) prioritized support for expanding equitable access in a subset of 30 of MOE-defined “educationally disadvantaged districts” and support for introducing new LSE and USE scholarship programs; (ii) continued roll-out of the new LSE and USE curriculum, including directly supporting achievement of the government’s target of 1 copy of each textbook per LSE student, and providing teacher training for grades 8-12 covering virtually all teachers at these grade levels nationwide; and (iii) policy support to reach the 18% education share in the total government budget (as stipulated in the Law on Education) and introduction of block grants in LSE and USE.
9. At the macro-level, SESDP’s comprehensive, subsector-wide support for reforms and strengthening of SES directly complements other IDPs efforts concentrated on primary education. In addition to assisting MOE implement ESDF and SEAP (see footnote 2), implementation of SESDP will maintain close dialogue with IDPs (and other stakeholders) and build partnership in certain strategic areas. Among the latter, selection of a subset of 30 of the MOE-prioritized 56 educationally disadvantaged districts promotes complementarity with efforts to expand primary education access under the newly approved Catalytic Fund Education for All Fast- track Initiative Program (FTI-CF), supported by the World Bank and AusAID, as well as the World Food Program. Subject to more detailed planning early in the project, other foreseen coordination and cooperation will include aligning district-level capacity building on SES management in the 30 districts will that provided by FTI for local primary subsector management (including block grant introduction), as well as cooperation with UNICEF in promotion of child-centered learning and child-friendly school environments.
C. Achievements and Issues
10. Reflecting strong dialogue linking the government and IDPs, the ESDF was approved by the Prime Minister in 2009.3 It marks a major milestone, promoting closer government and IPC coordination under an overarching framework to guide all government and DP efforts, including aligned planning and operationalizing the government’s sector reform agenda. At the same time, 1 important issue is that
2 ESDF directions and targets for SES are also reflected in the draft Secondary Education Action Plan, 2011-2015 (SEAP) being drafted with UNESCO support. SESDP’s program and project support will thus play a key role in helping the MOE Department of Secondary Education to operationalize the SEAP. 3 ESDF’s development was directly supported by ADB technical assistance. ADB. 2007. Technical Assistance to Lao PDR for Sector-wide Approach in Education Sector Development. Manila. (TA 4907-LAO)
Annex 11 Page 3 of 4 Final Report TA 7555 LAO (Final Report) ANNEX 11 Development Coordination ESDF foresees a very ambitious scale and scope of sector improvements, which may exceed financial and human resource capacities.
D. Summary and Recommendations
11. In view of the above, SESDP’s design supports operationalization of the existing reform agenda, strategically focusing on SES and reforms seen as most urgent and where SESDP can have the most value-added impact. Close alignment with ESDF and dialogue with and cooperation with the ESWG and various stakeholders will be maintained throughout implementation.
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Summary Poverty Reduction and Social Strategy
Country: Lao People’s Project Loan / Grant -LAO: Secondary Education Democratic Republic Title: Sector Development Program (SESDP; (Lao PDR) formerly “Basic Education Sector Development Program II”)
Lending/Financi Sector Development Departmen Southeast Asia Regional Department (SERD) ng Modality: Program (SDP) t/ Division: Human and Social Development Division (SEHS)
I. POVERTY ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY A. Links to the National Poverty Reduction Strategy and Country Partnership Strategy The Sixth National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) stressed the importance of education as one of its four pillars and improvement of education quality and human resource development has been identified as a key directive in the draft 7th NSEDP (2011-2015). All national plans highlight the importance of literacy and numeracy through universal primary education. Policies reaffirm the national human resource agenda for improving social welfare, enhancing workforce productivity and greater access to further education. The Education Law (2007) defines the overall education sector and there are particular references to secondary education within a framework that outlines citizenship, life skills and the labor market. The proposed Program is consistent with ADB’s long-term strategic framework in Lao PDR, contributing to the promotion of pro-poor, sustainable growth. It would contribute to poverty reduction by promoting equitable access and improved education outcomes for disadvantaged groups, enhancing their eventual economic opportunities, while also contributing to inclusive growth nationally, by expanding the human capital base. The detailed design incorporates planning directions emerging from the preparation of the 7th National Socio-economic Plan 2011-2015 and 7th Five-year Education Development Plan (2011- 2015), which is expected to be approved in Mid 2011. The Secondary Education Sector Development Program (SESDP) contributes to poverty reduction, is aligned with the ADB country strategy and program, and supports the implementation of the second phase of the 20-year Strategic Vision (Education Sector Development Plan, 2006–2010). SESDP supports implementation of the National Plan of Action for Education For All (EFA Plan, 2003–2015), which highlights for LSE (i) increasing access to basic education for all people, especially the disadvantaged; (ii) strengthening formal and non-formal education; (iii) providing vocational and skills training; (iv) improving teachers’ status and qualifications; (v) improving the relevance and quality of school curriculum; and (vi) improving management of the education sector. B. Poverty Analysis Targeting Classification: Targeted Intervention-MDGs There remain considerable differences in development levels and poverty—as well as gender imbalances—across the country’s different geographic areas and ethnic groups.1 Economic growth and poverty reduction has been concentrated in urban areas and in districts along the Thai border, and the northern part of the country remains poorer where the average poverty rate is 37% of the population live in rural areas, (significantly higher than the national average 30%)2 and about 65 % are non-Lao Thai ethnic groups. In general, upland areas are significantly poorer than lowland districts, and have worse social indicators. And in both urban and rural areas, female-headed households (FHH) are generally poorer than male-headed households (MHH) even after controlling for education, household composition, and other factors.3 Social and poverty differences based on gender are substantially higher among ethnic communities. For example, the progress made in the school enrollment rates of Lao-Tai girls has not been shared by either boys or girls from other ethnic groups, and the least progress of any groups is
1 Department of Statistics and World Bank, “Poverty in Lao PDR,” 2010. 2 -Grant:0235 RRP (2010): Lao PDR, Northern Rural Infrastructure Development Sector Project. 3 The Geography of Poverty and Inequality in the Lao PDR, 2008.
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Summary Poverty Reduction and Social Strategy among the non-Lao-Tai girls. Education indicators for non-Lao-Tai rural women remain among the lowest in East Asia.4 Design features. The SESDP program seeks to support the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in enhancing access, quality, and efficiency of secondary education (SE). In close alignment with the government's Education Sector Development Framework (ESDF), the policy loan supports reforms to enhance SE access and equity, quality and relevance, and subsector governance, with a focus on lower secondary education (LSE). A linked investment grant will focus on LSE delivery in 30 target districts and on improving educational outcomes of disadvantaged groups: in particular, girls, children from poor families and ethnic groups. The 30 target districts are selected from the poorest and most educationally disadvantaged districts under the Fast Track Initiative supported WB, AUSAID and UNICEF. The FTI targets districts according to educational disadvantage, socio-economic disadvantage, low transition rate from primary to secondary and grade 9 completion, remoteness and ethnicity. Most of the SESDP 30 districts are clustered in the north and the south in the upland areas along the border with Vietnam. Key design features include: targets for dormitory spaces, scholarship, remedial learning opportunities, school development grants for poor ethnic and female students to support transition from primary grade 5 to LSE grade 6 and completion of LSE; targets for ethnic group participation in in-service training and training of master trainers; targets for teacher incentive and teacher upgrade grants to poor, ethnic group teachers; (v) development of all materials under the project to integrate gender and ethnicity sensitivity and (vi) ensure that institutional analysis of SE subsector and in-depth LSE needs assessment and school network mapping procedures include gender and ethnic group issues and criteria. C. Poverty Impact Analysis for Policy-Based Lending Given progress in recent years towards universalization of primary schooling, LSE becomes the threshold at which poor and otherwise disadvantaged poor children are dropping out of the education system. National level reforms being e promoted and/or better operationalized under the Program are pro-poor, with a particular focus on increasing inclusiveness of LSE for girls, ethnic groups, and the disabled and on narrowing rural-urban and inter-regional disparities. Poverty was a leading criterion for the selection of target areas for construction and upgrading of classrooms, scholarships to poor students, and teacher training. Together, these address many of the constraints to education facing the poor, which in turn lead to low human capital generation, limited economic opportunities, and intergenerational poverty traps. Program interventions will directly or indirectly address several constraints identified by the poor in the ADB-supported Participatory Poverty Assessment (2006), including (i) addressing direct and opportunity costs associated with education by providing needs-targeted scholarships; (ii) enhancing curricular relevance, including by assisting local education offices and schools to better utilize autonomy over certain elements of the LSE curriculum; (iii) increasing the supply of qualified teachers in poor rural areas and promoting participation by all students via more student-centered learning approaches and strengthened remedial support for children with weaker educational backgrounds (e.g., poor children from non-Lao speaking households and graduates from weaker village primary schools); (iv) providing more textbooks and other reading materials, which are very scarce in poor rural areas; and (v) expanding LSE school networks to narrow the distance between villages to the nearest LSE school (while also addressing overcrowding), and exploring more pro-poor provision of dormitories, particularly for girls from remote villages. Such interventions will be mainstreamed into the Program's gender and ethnic group development plan. The Program will also pilot test the use of ICT to improve rural education, with a strong focus on "soft components" to ensure that minimalist ICT equipment supports improved quality and relevance of education in poor and remote rural areas. II. SOCIAL ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY A. Findings of Social Analysis Key issues: There are about 240 ethnic groups classified into four language groups: Lao-Tai, Mon- Khmer, Chinese-Tibetan and Hmong-Mien. The Lao-Tai are in the majority with strong participation in
4 Poverty and Social Impact Assessment, World Bank. 2008. Annex 12 Page 2 of 5 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 12
Summary Poverty Reduction and Social Strategy political and economic life. The Lai-Tai are mainly in the lowlands while the other groups are in the more geographically upland areas. Inequalities exist across and within ethnic groups. The Mon-Khmer, have the highest rate of poverty at 57%, the Hmong-Mien at 46%, the Tibeto-Burman at 40%, and the Lao-Tai at 25%. Although poverty is strongly linked to geography, natural resources, and access, ethnicity also plays a role. Education achievements also differ across ethnic groups with the Lao-Tai showing the highest rates of enrollment and the lowest gender gap. Affirmative action to create more positive attitudes to schooling and increase affordability for disadvantaged ethnic groups is needed to redress inequality. Project preparation consultations confirmed statistical evidence: poverty is one of the main reasons for low enrollment. Project preparation village consultations found that parents and secondary school age children believe education is important, but for many it is unaffordable. Low enrolment and completion rates reflect complex supply- and demand-related factors, ranging from physical access (e.g., lack of nearby schools and of teachers), to financial constraints and opportunity costs affecting poorer families. In addition to effective access, these children need education to be learner-centered, relevant, and of good quality, to equip them to take advantage of continued opportunities for study and for gainful employment. The principal beneficiaries will be children of lower secondary school age, and Program interventions will explicitly prioritize girls and other disadvantaged children, as well as poor rural areas of Lao PDR, including via needs-targeted scholarships and school-level grants aimed at enhancing equity and quality. Additional beneficiaries include teachers and education sector staff. Potential constraints, include (i) poverty, parents' lack of education, gender-related norms and other socioeconomic constraints; (ii) weak levels of preparedness from primary schooling; (iii) perceptions of high costs and low quality and relevance of public education; and (iv) remoteness and low levels of development in many parts of Lao PDR, and difficulty in targeting interventions to dispersed disadvantaged groups; and (iv) the overall capacity of education systems to ensure equity and quality while also facing the need to respond to rapidly rising total enrolments. Program interventions such as construction/upgrading of schools and classrooms, provision of school- level grants and needs-targeted scholarships, strengthening of remedial support to LSE entrants from disadvantaged backgrounds, and support for school network mapping and strengthened sector management will all be designed to address or minimize these factors. Stakeholder consultations, from the central level down to school management committees, will also play an advocacy role. B. Consultation and Participation 1. Provide a summary of the consultation and participation (C&P) process during project preparation. MOE and provincial education service (PES) offices, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Center for Inclusive Education, Research Institute for Education Sciences, international organizations, NGOs and other private sector actors involved in education, other Education Sector Working Group members, Lao Youth Union, ethnic group representatives, school teachers and principals, school management committees and other villagers, students.
2. What level of C&P is envisaged during the project implementation and monitoring? Workshops/roundtables with agencies/departments, DPs, and private sector/nongovernmental actors; compilation of existing data and conduct of focused studies; informal focused group discussions at both the institution and village/community levels; and direct consultations with school staff and students in target areas.
Information sharing Consultation Collaborative decision making Empowerment 3. Was a C&P plan prepared for project implementation? Yes No Consultation with stakeholders will take place regularly throughout SESDP and will build on consultation during BESDP.
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Summary Poverty Reduction and Social Strategy C. Gender and Development Gender Mainstreaming Category: ______1. Key issues. Lao PDR is still far from achieving the MDG3 target. Data from school year SY2009-2010 depict that primary, secondary and upper secondary education enrolment rates for girls and boys at 91.7% and 93.7%; 55.5% and 64.4% and 30.4% and 37.3%, respectively. Although gender gaps in enrolment rates have been narrowing in Lao PDR, there are still fewer girls than boys enrolled at all levels and the gap increases at higher education levels. Furthermore, girls are a higher proportion of those who have never attended school. Sector challenges include not only increasing access, but improving quality of teaching, language of instruction for non-Lao speaking groups, ensuring safe school environments and quality school infrastructure, challenging traditional values regarding girls’ education, early marriage, etc.
2. Key actions. The project gender specific design features include : (i) institutional analysis of SE subsector and in-depth LSE needs assessment includes gender and equity dimensions (ii) site selection with areas with low female enrolment and all construction and upgrading of schools include separate latrines for girls in separate locations; (iii) 50% of dormitory spaces, scholarships, remedial learning opportunities, materials, school development grants are allocated for poor female students from remote areas; (iv) targeting of 50% female participants in all pre-service and in-service teacher training for LS and US teachers; (v) quota of at least 50% of incentive and teacher upgrade grants to female teachers, female secondary pedagogical advisors (SPAs), especially from ethnic groups; (vi) prioritizing female representation in all management training programs and support strategies: recruitment, training and mentoring programs for increasing women in school management positions; (vi) developing social marketing campaign for parents and community leaders to increase understanding of the positive benefits of SE for female students and promote female education in science as well as a strategy to provide recognition awards for districts with good practices in gender awareness raising and increasing access of female, especially from ethnic areas. Gender action plan Other actions or measures No action or measure
III. SOCIAL SAFEGUARD ISSUES AND OTHER SOCIAL RISKS Plan or Other Significant/Limited/ Measures ISSUE Strategy to Address Issue No Impact Included in Design Involuntary No impact Construction will be undertaken No action Resettlement government-owned sites. Indigenous Peoples The Program design Specific interventions and Indigenous prioritizes increased measures are integrated in the IP peoples plan access to quality LSE Plan and DMF. from students from remote areas and from disadvantaged ethnic groups. Labor The Program focuses Encourage LSE and USE No action on interventions within completion and more students Employment the education sector from poor, remote, ethnic districts opportunities (in particular SE), enrolling in Teacher Education including better linking courses. of LSE and USE curriculum to students' training and employment.
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Summary Poverty Reduction and Social Strategy Affordability Targeted financial Reduce cost barriers to access No action support mechanisms and participation in LSE and USE. included (e.g., needs targeted scholarships for LSE) and dormitories. Other Risks and/or Dormitories may Impact eliminated by community Other action Vulnerabilities involve possible risk of supervision of dormitories, training trafficking. on Code of Conduct and safety to Human trafficking all education sector staff, dormitory management and communities, supported by SESDP. IV. MONITORING AND EVALUATION Are social indicators included in the design and monitoring framework to facilitate monitoring of gender and social development activities and/or social impacts during project implementation? Yes No These are included in the Gender Action Plan and The Ethnic Group Plan Source: Asian Development Bank analysis and TA 7555-LAO: Basic Education Sector Development Program II
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Ethnic Group Plan
The Secondary Education Sector Development Program II seeks to support the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in enhancing access, quality, and efficiency of secondary education (SE). The program includes a (i) policy loan that will support reforms to enhance SE access and equity, quality and relevance, and subsector governance, with a focus on lower secondary education (LSE); and (ii) an investment grant that will focus on LSE delivery in 30* poorest and educationally disadvantaged target districts to improve the educational outcomes of disadvantaged groups. Both the policy loan and project grant focus on addressing access and equity issues related to children from poor ethnic groups and girls students.
2. Twenty of the 30 target districts have a majority of ethnic group (EG) population (16 districts; Mon- Khmer, 1 district Hmong Mien, 3 districts: Sino Tibetan, 4 districts: Lao-Tai and the rest have a combination of Lao-Tai and ethnic group populations). The purpose of the ethnic group assessment and measures is to outline the potential impacts of the project on ethnic groups; specify actions to address the impacts and help improve the distribution of project benefits to the ethnic groups.
Project Output Anticipated Anticipated Proposed measures to mitigate impact (by output and Positive Negative sub-output) Effect Effect Output 1: Better access 1A. Ensure that site location for all LSE construction Ethnic groups Expanded of ethnic prioritizes areas with low EG enrolment. excluded due access to groups to to lack of 1B. Ensure that a rigorous baseline study is conducted in secondary SESDP knowledge on all target districts, including analysis of EG issues. education SESDP and 1B. Publicise scholarship schemes, remedial learning, scholarship / accommodation support, etc., provided by the project to grant funding promote enrolment of children from EG; disseminate information in ethnic language and through local media and opportunities, channels accessed by EGs and a lack of targeting. 1B and 1C. Ensure that ethnic students are given preferential access for SESDP-constructed dormitory spaces, with at least 80% of dormitory spaces are reserved for poor ethnic students in areas where EG are a majority. 1C. Ensure that 80% of each of LSE and USE scholarships and remedial learning opportunities are allocated for poor ethnic students. 1C. Under the access grant program, ensure that the guidelines, capacity building for pupil-parent associations (PPAs), proposal submission and review procedures, and monitoring provide for clear prioritization of support for access and learning outcomes for poor and ethnic students. Ethnic groups Ethnic group Output 2 2A. Ensure that (i) annual TEI reports include EG analyses benefited by excluded from of staff enrolment and student achievement; and (ii) all Improved increased SESDP due to institutional review plans include strategies to increase EG 1 delivery of new quality of lack of grade 12 graduates entering teacher training. secondary SESDP knowledge and 2A. Ensure EG teachers receive preferential access to in- education training and interest; lack of service teacher training, with at least 50% of ethnic LSE curricula curriculum sensitivity of and USE teachers nationwide receiving at least 1 round of development curriculum and training during the Project period. from teacher 2A. Target at least 80% of graduate teacher incentives (25) training and and teacher upgrade grants (10) to EG teachers. development 2B. Ensure that all M3-M7 textbooks, teachers’ guides, student assessment techniques, and ICT multi-media initiatives resources (e.g., radio, TV, and DVDs) are sensitive to
1 Presently, of 1,654 teachers in the 30 districts, fully 81% is Lao-Tai, with 14% in the Mon- Khmer grouping, 4% Hmong-Mien, and 1% Sino-Tibetan. Annex 13 Page 1 of 2 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 13
Ethnic Group Plan
ethnicity (and disability), including positive images. 2B. Include module to build awareness on EG issues in education in capacity building workshops for curriculum developers, including ICT4E 2E. Ensure ethnic group analysis of national examination and ASLO results is conducted Output 3: Ethnic groups Ethnic groups 3A. Ensure institutional analysis of SE subsector and in- Strengthened benefited by excluded from depth LSE needs assessment and school network mapping secondary increased procedures include EG issues and criteria. these education social opportunities 3B. Prioritize EG participation in all management training subsector marketing and programs (to be measured as share of EG participation vis- management decentralized à-vis EG in those positions). training of Capacity building programs for Education sector staff at all education levels, principals, teachers, and PPAs to build awareness managers, and include strategies to promote EG access to and and school completion of SE. principals Development of ICT4LE policy and strategy to incorporate gender, ethnicity and disability issues. Increased 3B. Within the multi-modal capacity building program for community education sector staff, include advocacy and representatio interventions to increase ethnic group representation in n and school management positions. participation Include within the social marketing strategy a campaign for parents and community leaders from ethnic groups to increase understanding of the positive benefits of SE. 3C. Prioritize EG participation in all PPAs, with, at least 50% EG representation in communities with EG majority. 3D. The project M&E framework will incorporate M&E for EG Plan. 3D. All M&E and impact evaluation study on scholarships to report on sex and ethnicity disaggregated data related to access, learning outcomes and other SE indicators. 3E. Train all PMU staff on ethnicity issues.
3. Implementation Arrangements. The Project Director and PMU will be responsible for ensuring EGP implementation, in close cooperation with MOE’s Inclusive Education Centre (IEC) and other relevant units. As part of its broader role of promoting equitable access in education, IEC will serve as implementing unit (IU) to oversee the implementation of the LSE and USE scholarship programs, and will also ensure close coordination with the Lao National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Lao Women’s Union, and Lao Front for National Construction. The MOE Department of Non-formal Education (DNFE) will serve as IU for the access grant program and will work closely with IEC and other units to promote community level advocacy and equity promotion activities. International and national consultants will help integrate ethnic group concerns into SESDP activities, working closely with IEC, DNFE, and other IUs. Progress reports will provide data and analysis on the ethnicity-related aspects. The midterm review mission will consider review and identify any needed adjustments in this EGP.
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Gender Group Action Plan (GAP)
Project Outputs Actions (by output and sub-output) Organization Responsible1 Output 1 1A. Ensure that all civil works (i) is based on site selection prioritizing PES, PUCDA, Expanded areas with low female enrolment; (ii) includes separate toilets for girls DEB, VEDC access to LSE in separate locations and ensures accessibility for disabled girls and boys (e.g., ramps); (iii) uses labor-based technology, with 40% female representation among unskilled laborers and men and women receiving equal pay for equal work; and (iv) child labor will not be used. 1B. Publicise scholarship schemes, remedial learning, accommodation IEC,DOE Info support, etc., provided by the project to promote female enrolment in Div, Prov. Info & 30 target districts. Culture Service 1C. Ensure that 50% of the scholarships and remedial learning IEC, PPAs opportunities are allocated for poor female students. 1C. Under the access grant program, ensure that the guidelines, DNFE, PPAs capacity building for pupil-parent associations (PPAs), proposal submission and review procedures, and monitoring provide for clear prioritization of support for access and learning outcomes for girls and other disadvantaged. PUCDA,DEB, 1C. Ensure that at least 50% of dormitory spaces are reserved for poor PPA female students and dormitories have separate toilets and facilities for IEC, DNFE, males/females. PPAs . Provide briefing on safety and protection and reporting mechanisms School Directors to all students in project supported schools. DSE, DoP, IEC, . Develop Code of Conduct training and integrate in training programs TEI/FOE for PES/DEB officials, school managers, teachers, pupil/parent association, dormitory management/ staff, and surrounding communities.
Output 2 2A. Ensure that the annual TEI reports include analyses of female and DTE, TEED Improved ethnic group staff and student achievement. delivery of new . Ensure TEI pre-service SE curriculum addresses issues of Codes of SE curricula DTE, TEI Conduct including health and safety, counseling, reporting and monitoring procedures related to gender issues. . Ensure that all institutional plans include strategies for increasing the number of female and ethnic group students and teaching staff, TEI, DSE,PMU including female teachers for science subjects. DTE/DSE/TEI 2A. Ensure 50% female participants in all pre-service and in-service teacher training for LSE and USE teachers. RIES . Ensure that all female master trainers and SPAs are trained. TEI . Ensure that all TEI pre-service and in-service teacher training programs and guidelines for quality/performance assessment are gender sensitive. . Ensure school and teacher training curricula integrate strategies to DoP, DSE, DTE, reduce gender gaps in student attendance and achievement. PMU 2A. Target at least 50% of graduate incentive and teacher upgrade grants to female teachers, female SPAs, especially from ethnic groups. 2B. Ensure that all M3-M7 textbooks, teachers guides, student RIES assessment techniques and ICT4LE multi-media resources are gender and disability sensitive and include positive images and role models of females (as well as those with disability) from various ethnic groups. 2B. Include gender briefing in capacity building workshops for curriculum developers, including ICT4E. RIES 2E. Ensure that rules and regulations for national examinations and preparation of ASLO for M4 and M7 incorporate gender issues, ESQAC, DSE,
1 For brevity, excludes oversight and coordination by the PMU, as well as support from anyAnnex SESDP consultants.14 Page 1 of 2 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 14
Gender Group Action Plan (GAP) including safety of female students, transport/ accommodation RIES assistance. ESQAC 2E. Ensure gender and ethnic group analysis is undertaken as part of assessment of national examinations and ASLO. Output 3 3A. Ensure institutional analysis of SE subsector and in-depth LSE DoP Strengthened needs assessment includes gender and equity dimensions SE subsector 3A. Include gender and ethnic group criteria in school network mapping management ESITC procedures and data analysis and presentation strategies 3B. Prioritize female representation in all management training programs (to be measured as share of female participation vis-à-vis DSE,PMU females in those positions). . Capacity building programs for Education sector staff at all levels, DSE,PMU including principals, teachers and pupil parent associations to include training on gender issues in education, including strategies to promote access to and completion of SE . Development of ICT4E policy and pilot to incorporate gender and ethnicity issues, including content of materials, access, relevance to users, etc. DoP . Within the manual of recruitment and utilization of teachers, include strategies: recruitment, training and mentoring programs for increasing women in school management positions. . Include within the social marketing strategy a campaign for parents and community leaders to i) increase understanding of the positive IEC,DOE Info benefits of SE for female students, especially from ethnic areas; ii) Div, Prov. Info & promote female education in science; and, iii) a strategy to provide Culture Service, recognition awards for districts with good practices in gender Consultant awareness raising and increasing access of female, especially from ethnic areas. DEB, IEC, Dept 3C. Ensure 50% female representation in pupil parent associations of NFE and provide appropriate transport/ accommodation assistance, where necessary, to support participation. PMU 3D. The project M&E framework will incorporate M&E for GAP. IEC Train all PMU staff on gender/ethnicity issues, including gender analysis. PMU 3D. All M&E and impact evaluation study on scholarships to report on sex and ethnicity disaggregated data related to access, learning outcomes and other SE indicators.
Implementation Arrangements and Reporting: Director General, Department of Secondary Education and the PMU will be responsible for the overall implementation of the gender action plan (GAP). One international and 1 national consultant on gender and social development (both principally focused on gender) will provide expert advice and overall guidance in GAP implementation, with the national consultant working closely with the PMU throughout the project duration, on an intermittent basis. Under the guidance of the Director General, the consultants will coordinate with units responsible for the activity areas and deliverables noted above. All PMU reports submitted to the ADB will report progress against GAP.
Annex 14 Page 2 of 2 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 15 Access Focus Districts (SESDP)
Selection of Districts for access focused activities
1. Preparation of the SESDP (formerly BESDP II preparation) commenced with analysis in 2010 focused on the outcomes of primary education, transition to lower secondary, the impact of BESDP activity on improving LSE access and quality outcomes to be achieved nationwide by Grade 8-12 curriculum, textbooks and teacher training. In 2011, the Government and the ADB agreed in principle to an expanded upper secondary education component. 2. A central issue in the design was the interaction between community “demand” for secondary education, especially primary completion rates by gender and ethnicity in rural versus urban areas, and the adequacy of existing “supply” of lower secondary school places. Project preparation in 2010 included review of six measures extracted from the 2009/10 EMIS data collection1 to assess whether a possible focus on the poorest EFA/FTI districts was supported by the data, to guide design of potential project activities to improve transition from primary to lower secondary and to increase LSE Grade 9 completion. The analysis could serve as a baseline for Districts/Schools to monitor their performance under the Project. 3. During project preparation, the MOE requested that SESDP focus on districts, which are both educationally disadvantaged and acknowledged by the Government as “poorest”.2 Of the 56 educationally disadvantaged districts, the 30, which were also “poorest”, became potential “target” districts for access-focused activities. One-fifth of all Lao PDR districts, these 30 districts had 28% of incomplete primary schools with fewer than 100 students3, 24% of complete primary schools with fewer than 100 students and 31% of Incomplete LSE schools with fewer than 100 students. By contrast, target districts had only 11% of LSE schools with grades 6-9, 10% of complete secondary schools, but only 8% of female students in complete secondary schools. 4. With only 37 complete secondary schools in the 30 districts4, most students have to travel to the district center to access complete secondary education. Even where the EFA/FTI project is successful in raising primary school completion rates, many students have access to a small incomplete LSE school, a small LSE school with Grades 6-9 or have to travel to the more remote district center. LSE construction under SESDP should be located in an area where several small incomplete LSE could be consolidated into a LSE with 200+ students.
Table 15.1: Summary 2009/10 Performance Measures for Target and Other Districts
1 2009/10 was the latest data set available. Data for the 2010/11 school year is scheduled to be released in June- July 2011. 2 Educational Disadvantaged is one of the 56 priority districts identified by the EFA/FTI Project strengthening primary school outcomes. Poorest Districts are the 47 identified by Government in 2003, updated to include more recently created districts, which the Government has certified as “poorest”. The latter include Phonthong (0612) in Luang Prabang, Xaysathan (0811) in Sayabouli, Muen (1013) in Vientiane Province and Xaichampone (1107) in Bolikhamxai. 3 Target districts accounted for 36% of schools with fewer than 50 students. 4 Two of the newer districts, Phonthong and Xaysathan, have no complete secondary school.
Annex 15 Page 1 of 7 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 15 Access Focus Districts (SESDP)
5. Low primary completion rates (52%) and improving Grade 5 to Grade 6 transition rates are a focus of EFA/FTI activity. SESDP aims to increase community “demand” for secondary education, with dormitory provision and 1740 Grade 6 LSE scholarships in 2013/14 giving priority to girls and ethnic groups, as well as expanding “supply” of accessible lower secondary school places to Grade 9. SESDP construction of 30 LSE schools, scholarships and supporting low cost community-managed, adult-supervised and gender-segregated dormitories should enable poor students, especially girls, to complete Grade 9 and make the transition to USE Grade 10.
Table 15.2 30 Districts are classified as Poorest and Educationally Disadvantaged5
PROVINCE DISTRICT
2 Phongsaly Samphanh Nhot Ou 3 Luang Namtha Long Viengphoukha Nalae 4 Oudomxai Namo Nga Beng 5 Bokeo Meung Pha-Oudom 6 Huaphanh Viengxai Huamuang Xamtai 7 Xaignbouli Xaisathane 8 Louang Phabang Phontong 9 Xiengkhouang Khoun 10 Vientiane Province Mun 11 Bolikhamxai Xaychamphon 12 Khammouane Boualapha Nakai 13 Savannakhet Phin Xepon Nong Vilabouly 14 Salavan Ta-Oy Samouai 15 Sekong Kalum Dakchung 17 Attapu Sanxai Phouvong
5 No districts in Vientiane City (1) or Champassak (16) met the criteria for SESDP selection
Annex 15 Page 2 of 7 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 15 Access Focus Districts (SESDP) Table 15.3 SESDP Covers all Provinces and Districts in Lao PDR (Shaded Districts Indicate Districts with an Additional Access Focus)
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Annex 15 Page 4 of 7 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 15 Access Focus Districts (SESDP)
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Annex 15 Page 6 of 7 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 15 Access Focus Districts (SESDP)
Annex 15 Page 7 of 7 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 16 Access Support Models (SESDP)
Annex 16 Page 1 of 1 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 17
Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule
Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 OUTPUT I: EXPANDED ACCESS TO SECONDARY EDUCATION Sub-output 1A: Classroom provision to address physical access 40
Vientiane Workshop on LSE/USE Construction 20 40 Savannakhet Workshop on School Construction 20 20 OudomxaiSub-output 1B: Direct support forWorkshop disadvantaged on School students Construction 20 80
Vientiane SESDP Launch/Briefing for MOE/Provinces 40 80 Savannakhet SESDP Briefing for Participating Districts 40 40 OudomxaiSub-output 1C: School-level supportSESDP to Briefingenhance for equitable Participating access Districts 40 580
District/Schools SESDP Scholarship/Dormitory/ 400 180 (inOUTPUT up to 30 2: locations)IMPROVED DELIVERY OFAccess NEW Grants SECONDARY issues EDUCATION CURRICULA Sub-output 2.A: Strengthening pre-service teacher training systems and placement of new secondary education teachers
M7 Pre-Service Curriculum Preparation workshops 300 FOEs - NUOL (3 subjects), (i) Curriculum review and drafting of Curriculum Framework Champasak (1 subject), Luang for M7 Pre-Service teacher training 300 Prabang (1 subject) (3 days for each of 5 subjects)
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Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
(ii) drafting / writers workshop 250 FOEs - NUOL (3 subjects), (5 writers workshops one for each of 5 subject strands x 10 Champasak (1 subject), Luang 250 subject specialists x 5 days) to draft and assign curriculum Prabang (1 subject) writing tasks to TEI subject teams
(iii) TEI staff training / capacity development One workshop in each of 10 TEIs and 3 FOEs (13) for 2,080 professional staff to review the new curriculum. 10 TEIs and 3 FOEs 2,080 Note: assume 5 staff and 14 subject in each TEI ie 70 professional staff + facilitators and MOE/RIES staff/observers (10)
QA training workshop for Senior Managers in TEIs and FOEs 240 (accreditation of BA course) - 2 days per year for three years Vang Vieng management (i) development of procedures and professional consultation 80 80 80 training centre (ii) preparation for the pilot / trial (iii) monitoring / feedback
Workshop for development of (i) Teacher Performance Monitoring and (ii) Teacher Recruitment and Utilisation Plan 360 for DOP and Senior Managers in TEIs / FOEs and PES - 2 days Vang Vieng management per year for three years 120 120 120 training centre (i) development of procedures and professional consultation (ii) preparation for the trial (iii) monitoring / feedback
Workshops to suport implementation of Teacher Graduate Incentives Scheme 25
MOE (i) Initial consultation on modality 120 25 (ii) launch of the implementation guidelines including MOE 120 selection criteria and procedures
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Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 100
target districts (tbd) (iii) District meetings for final selection 200 100
target districts (tbd) (iv) annual monitoring / audit meeting x 2 years (Y3 and Y4) 100 100
600 Curriculum Development specialists for M3-M7 teacher central level 300 300 training pre-service course (10 ) Sub-output 2B: In-service teacher training and support for delivering the new secondary education curricula
2,856 regional training centres Annual Regional Meeting for Secondary Pedagogical Advisers 408 408 408 408 408 408 408 (north, central, south) (SPAs) and Secondary Master Trainers 1,260 Teacher Upgrade grants (11+3 to BA) for 10 LS qualified provincial training centres science/maths and/or female teachers from poor ethnic group 420 420 420 areas 225
central Workshop to prepare M3 Teacher Training Manual 225 2,430 regional training centres M3 TOT workshop 2,430 (north, central, south) Training of all SPAs and TEI Master Trainers
M3 In-Service Teacher Training 30,500 provincial or districts training 5 days for 5 teachers from each LS school (one teacher for 30,500 centres each subject strand) Assuming 1200 Secondary Schools 90
central Workshop to prepare M4 Teacher Training Manual 90 972 regional training centres M4 TOT workshop 972 (north, central, south) Training of all SPAs and TEI Master Trainers
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Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
M4 In-Service Teacher Training 30,500 provincial or districts training 5 days for 5 teachers from each LS school (one teacher for 30,500 centres each subject strand) Assuming 1200 Secondary Schools 225 Workshop to revise M5 Teacher Training Manual (final) central Revise based on review pilot training evaluation and M5 225 teacher feedback 1,458 regional training centres M5 TOT workshop (final) 1,458 (north, central, south) Training of all SPAs and TEI Master Trainers
M5 In-Service Teacher Training (final) 5 days summer school for 5 teachers from each US school (one 12,750 teacher for each subject strand) FOEs and TEIs 12,750 Summer Schools run in the 7 TEIs and FOEs that deliver BA program Assuming 500 schools with US classes 135
central Workshop to prepare M6 Teacher Training Manual 135 1,458 regional training centres M6 TOT workshop 1,458 (north, central, south) Training of all SPAs and TEI Master Trainers
M6 In-Service Teacher Training 5 days summer school for 5 teachers from each US school (one 12,750 teacher for each subject strand) FOEs and TEIs 12,750 Summer Schools run in the 7 TEIs and FOEs that deliver BA program Assuming 500 schools with US classes 135
central Workshop to prepare M7 Teacher Training Manual 135
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Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
1,458 regional training centres M7 TOT workshop 1,458 (north, central, south) Training of all SPAs and TEI Master Trainers
M7 In-Service Teacher Training 5 days summer school for 5 teachers from each US school (one 12,750 teacher for each subject strand) FOEs and TEIs 12,750 Summer Schools run in the 7 TEIs and FOEs that deliver BA program Assuming 500 schools with US classes 50 Findings from the ICT4LE capacity needs assessment and RIES 50 feasibility study 30
RIES workshop for design of pilot ICT4LE implementation 30 100 workshop for development of multi-media materials for pilot RIES 100 ICT4LE implementation
Implementation of ICT4LE pilot project activities including (i) 375 5 districts where pilot project school focused planning and orientation (ii) capacity building schools are located (remote, poor 375 of SPAs and teachers (iii) work plans developed by SPAs and ethnic areas) teachers with activities and monitoring processes described
200 5 districts where pilot project ICT4LE review workshops to monitor progress with schools are located (remote, poor 100 100 implementation and to further build capacity ethnic areas) 50 Workshop on ICT4LE Lessons Learned including planning RIES 50 Sub-output 2C: Support for new curriculaprocess of materials scaling up (textbooks and teacher guides)
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Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
40
MOE M3 and M4 curriculum materials CRC readiness check 40 72
MOE M5 (1st edition) curriculum materials CRC readiness check 72 80
MOE M5 (2nd edition) curriculum materials review 80 200
MOE M5 (2nd edition) curriculum materials revision workshop 1 200 70
MOE M5 (2nd edition) curriculum materials testing 70 120
MOE M5 (2nd edition) curriculum materials CACIM workshop 120 72
MOE M5 (2nd edition) curriculum materials CRC readiness check 72 80
MOE M6 curriculum materials review 80 200
MOE M6 curriculum materials development workshop 200 70
MOE M6 curriculum materials testing 70 120
MOE M6 curriculum materials CACIM workshop 120 72
MOE M6 curriculum materials CRC readiness check 72 80
MOE M7 curriculum materials review 80 200
MOE M7 curriculum materials development workshop 200 70
MOE M7 curriculum materials testing 70
Annex 17 Page 6 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 17
Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
120
MOE M7 curriculum materials CACIM workshop 120 72
MOE M7 curriculum materials CRC readiness check 72 250 Workshop to prepare M5 Teacher Training Manual (pilot) central Provide generic pedagogical training and review of changes in 250 the M5 curriculum for all subjects
M5 In-Service Teacher Training (pilot) 975 5 days summer school for 11 teachers (one for each subject) FOEs and TEIs 975 from 15 schools with M5 Summer Schools run in a TEI or FOE that delivers BA program
M5 In-Service Teacher Training (pilot) monitoring and 294 evaluation visits DSE 294 7 days per province x 3 provinces / 15 schools with M5 14 member monitoring team Sub-output 2.D: Teaching and learning equipment and materials to support improved teaching
Subno-output training 2.E: associated Support with for thisimproved sub-output student assessment
125 Development of M4 Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes MOE / ESQAC 125 in 2014 180 Strengthening of national examinations for M4 and M7 MOE / ESQAC Review and approval of Rules and Regulations for M4 and M7 90 90 exams and entrance exams to Higher Education
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Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
125 Development of M7 Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes MOE / ESQAC 125 OUTPUT 3: STRENGTHENED SECONDARYin 2017 EDUCATION SUB-SECTOR MANAGEMENT Sub-output 3.A: Support for enhanced sub-sector analysis
100 Workshop to review documents and design institutional Central 100 ------analysis and needs assessment update 60 Province Data collection 2-day workshop in 3 provinces 60 60 ------
District Data collection 1-day workshop in 6 districts 20 60 ------
Central Update report validation meeting 185 20 ------5-day workshop to train 17 provincial staff for school Central 185 ------network mapping nationwide 715 5-day training of 143 district staff supported by national Province 715 ------trainers as required in 3 regions 1,430
Distict School mapping exercises at district level (Field activity) 800 1,430 ------5-day work shops to aggregate provincial mapping data in 17 Province 800 ------provinces 60 3-day workshop to review and supplement recent analyses of Central 60 ------existing LSE related MIS 180
Province, District Prepare detailed plan for better integrating of EMIS systems 180 90 90 - - - - -
Strengthen PMIS staff capacities 90 90 - - - - - Detailed needs analysis of LSE in 30 Districts and USE in target District areas
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Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Sub-output 3B: Capacity building for improved secondary education sub-sector management at all levels
1,920 2 x 5-day workshops to build planning capacity at the Central 960 - 960 - - - secondary education level 1,920
Central, Province, District Quality assurance workshops 1,920 960 960
Central, Province, District Finance workshops 2,310 960 960
Central, Province Secondary Education Workshops 480 2,310
Central, Province PMU and PMI Project Management 1,740 240 - 240 - - -
Monitoring and Evaluation (DOI) 750 870 - 870 - - - 5-day workshops (5 days each) to revise Manuals for Working 750 - - - - - Procedures 6,000 Initial 5-day workshops on school improvement planning with Province, District 6,000 - - - - - educational leadership emphasis 4,800
District Rotating annual capacity building seminars for school leaders - 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 110 5-day workshop to develop draft communication/ Central dissemination/ advocacy strategy with participation of 110 - - - - national and provincial stakeholders 90
Province 2-day consultation on draft strategy in 3 regions 80 90 - - - - -
Central 2-day validation meeting with representation from 3 regions - 80 - - - - 220 Workshop to train MOE and 17 PES and 17 information Central - 220 - - - - officers 40 Central National event to launch strategy 750 40 Central Development of decree Private sector 500 250 - -
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Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
30 Facilitate 4 focus group meetings on business investment in Central, regional 30 - - - - - private education 30 Facilitate 4 focus group meetings on NGO and non-profit Central, regional making organisations to contribute investment in private education especially in remote areas 110
Central 5 workshop days to develop draft policy 90 110 - - - -
Province 2-day consultation on draft policy in 3 regions 80 90 - - - - -
Central 2-day validation meeting with representation from 3 regions 40 - 80 - - - -
CentralSub-output 3C: Support for communityNational engagement event to launc in hschool strategy support and management in target LSE and USE schools40
240 A workshop with representation from provinces, districts and Central school, to review and revise, if necessary, the current school 240 - - - - - management committees processes 812
District, school Establish new committees or reconstitute where necessary 812 - - - - - 1,624 2-day capacity building workshops for school management School 1,624 - - - - - committee members 8,120 Annual 2-day experience sharing meetings for school District - 1,624 1,624 1,624 1,624 1,624 management committee members at district level x 5 40 Savannakhet Support for Community Engagement (TOT) 40 40 Oudomxai Support for Community Engagement (TOT) 40 40 Vientiane Support for Community Engagement (TOT) 40 District/Schools Community(Assume 5*30 training, meetings briefing, over Project monitoring life) issues 3,000 (Multiple locations) 600 600 600 600 600
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Proposed Staff and Teacher Training Schedule Person days Project/Calender Year Location (if known) Program Description Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Sub-output 3D: Monitoring and evaluation and special study
Subno-output training 3E: associated Support with for projectthis sub -managementoutput
no training associated with this sub-output
Annex 17 Page 11 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 18
Civil works, Building, Furnishing and Equipment Program
The proposed civil works, building, furnishing and equipment program will follow a carefully designed sequential schedule, that began during project design (2011) and will run through to the fifth year of the project (2016). Over that period 30 new LSE schools and 15 new USE teaching blocks on existing school campuses will be designed, built, furnished and equipped. In addition 75 low cost dormitories will be designed and built over this period – 45 to accompany the new LSE schools and USE teaching blocks, and a further 30 on other identified LSE school sites.
The process of selecting the locations in which the new LSE schools will be built commenced in 2011. The initial identification within those locations of possible school building sites - that meet the criteria of being on government land, free of dwellings and UXO, have all weather access especially during the construction period, are well-drained and have availability of access to reliable supplies of potable water and electricity – will start in 2011 and continue on into 2012. The same process with respect to the USE sites and the additional 30 LSE sites for low cost dormitories will commence in 2012, and carry over into 2013. Verification that the sites have met the criteria, and assessments of what is required to prepare the sites for construction will then be carried out through field visits by project officers.
Detailed designs and drawings for the 30 new LSE schools have already been prepared under the auspices of BESDP. In the first year of the project, 2012, architect designed USE school buildings and low cost dormitories will also be drawn up and specified.
The first of the construction contracts – beginning with LSE schools and dormitories – will be let in the second half of 2012, for commencement in 2013. Similarly some furniture and equipment procurement can commence in 2013.
The building program is illustrated in Figure 17.1, and an indicative rollout schedule is in Table 17.1. Project personnel available to support MOE in the program and its rollout are shown in Table 17.2
Figure 17.1. The school and dormitory building program
Land Location selection Building Site identification Designs, drawings, specifications Site verification Site preparation assessment
Furniture and equipment package specification Construction tendering process
Furniture and equipment Construction of schools and tendering dormitories processes
Furniture and Operational schools and dormitories equipment supply
Annex 18 Page 1 of 3 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 18
Civil works, Building, Furnishing and Equipment Program
Table 17.1. Proposed rollout schedule of the building program
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Input 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 School site identification, validation and preparation
For new LSE 20 10 construction For LSE dormitory 20 10 construction For new USE 5 10 construction Total number of 40 25 10 sites Construction
School buildings LSE 10 15 5
USE 5 6 4
Subtotal 10 20 11 4
Dormitories
LSE 20 30 10
USE 5 6 4
Subtotal 20 35 16 4
Furniture
Classrooms LSE 40 60 20
USE 15 18 12
Subtotal 40 75 38 12
Laboratories LSE 10 15 5
USE 15 18 12
Subtotal 10 30 23 12
Teachers’ rooms
LSE 10 15 5
USE 5 6 4
Subtotal 10 20 11 4
Annex 18 Page 2 of 3 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 18
Civil works, Building, Furnishing and Equipment Program Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Input 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Equipment
Science kits
LSE basic 10 15 5
USE physics 5 6 4
USE chemistry 5 6 4
USE biology 5 6 4
Subtotal 10 30 23 12
Other curricula support materials Physical education 10 20 11 4 materials kits Arts/music 10 20 11 4 materials kits Library materials 10 20 11 4 kits* Subtotal 30 60 33 12
Other equipment packages
School management equipment 5 6 4
School ICT4LE 10 15 5
*Library package for the 30 new LSE schools will include M1 and M2 textbook sets for all Grade 6 and 7 students.
The following project personnel will support the building program and its rollout.
Table 17.2 Project personnel directly supporting the building program
(person months) Specialist position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 International consultant Expert on School Architectural Design 2------National consultants Civil Works Coordinators (2 individuals for 16 16 16 16 8 - - North & South) Specialist on School Design (Architect) 3 3 - - - - - Project contracted professionals Project Procurement Officer 12 12 12 12 12 Project Monitoring and Reporting Officer 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 Commissioned surveys School construction assessment surveys 10 20 11 4
Annex 18 Page 3 of 3 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
A. Advance Contracting
All advance contracting would be undertaken in conformity with ADB’s Procurement Guidelines (April 2010, as amended from time to time) and ADB’s Guidelines on the Use of Consultants by ADB and its Borrowers (April 2010, as amended from time to time). 1 The issuance of invitations to bid under advance contracting would be subject to ADB approval.
Advance contracting. To expedite project implementation, the Lao PDR government may request ADB to approve advance contracting, which include the recruitment of consultants and procurement of goods and works. Advance contracting would include (i) prequalification of contractors, tendering, and bid evaluation for civil works contract packages; (ii) preparation of tender documents for the procurement of materials and equipment; (iii) award of contracts; (iv) recruitment of consultants; and (v) finalization of requests for proposal based on final design and detailed measurement survey to be submitted to ADB for review and approval prior to award of civil works contracts. The issuance of invitations to bid under advance procurement action would be subject to ADB approval.
The Government would be advised that approval of advance contracting does not commit ADB to finance the project.
B. Procurement of Goods, Works and Consulting Services
All procurement of goods and works to be financed under the grant will be undertaken in accordance with ADB’s Procurement Guidelines 2(2010, as amended from time to time) and the procurement plan prepared and agreed between the Government and ADB.
Under the project, international competitive bidding (ICB) procedures will be used for civil works contracts estimated to cost $1,500,000 or more, and supply contracts valued at $500,000. Contracts for works of more than $100,000 but less than $1,500,000 will follow national competitive bidding (NCB) procedures. Supply contracts for goods estimated below $500,000 but above $100,000 will be awarded on the basis of NCB. Items costing $100,000 or less will be procured through shopping.
Before the start of any procurement, ADB and the Government will review the public procurement laws of the central and state governments to ensure consistency with ADB’s Procurement Guidelines.
An 18-month procurement plan, indicating threshold and review procedures, goods, works, and consulting service contract packages and national competitive bidding guidelines is in Section C.
All consultants will be recruited according to ADB’s Guidelines on the Use of Consultants.3 The terms of reference for all consulting services are detailed in PAM Appendix 154 and their scheduling is outlined in Annex 27.
1 Available at: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Guidelines/Consulting/Guidelines-Consultants.pdf 2 Available at: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Guidelines/Procurement/Guidelines-Procurement.pdf
3 Checklists for actions required to contract consultants by method available in e-Handbook on Project implementation at: http://www.adb.org/documents/handbooks/project-implementation/ The Fact-Finding Mission MOU notes that members of the PPTA consultant team mobilized by CEC and LCG (see footnote 2) were not involved in drafting TORs or other preparations for SESDP implementation consultants, and thus 4 would be eligible for consultancy under SESDP.
Annex 19 Page 1 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
person months Specialist position International National Expert on Secondary Education Management / Team Leader and Deputy Team 48 84 Leader Expert on Upper Secondary School Architectural Design 2 Specialist on Upper Secondary School Design (Architect) 6 Civil Works Coordinators (2 individuals for North & South) 72 Expert on Access-Enhancing Scholarships and School Grant Schemes 4 Scholarship and Access Grant Coordinator 24 Expert on Gender and Social Development 6 30 Expert on Teacher Education and Training Systems 23 27 Expert on Quality Assurance in Teacher Education 3 3 Expert on Teacher Recruitment, Deployment, and Performance Monitoring 8 9 Expert on ICT-based Materials Development for Educators 10 12 Expert on Textbook Policy Development 4 6 Specialist on Textbook and Teacher Guide Procurement 6 Expert on Upper Secondary Curriculum Materials Development - Foreign Language 4 8 Specialist on Upper Secondary Curriculum Materials Development - Mathematics 6 Expert on Upper Secondary Curriculum Materials Development - Science 4 10 Expert on Upper Secondary Curriculum Materials Development - Social Sciences 4 6 Expert on Instructional Materials Procurement 2 3 Expert on Secondary School Student Assessment 9 11 Expert on School Network Mapping 6 4 Expert on Social Marketing and Communication 4 12 Expert on Private Sector Mobilization in Education 4 4 Expert on ICT-for Education Policy and Strategy 4 12 Expert on Education M&E 6 24 Total 155 379 Local Contract Staff 10 Curriculum Development specialists for M7 teacher training pre-service course 20 Project Finance Officer 84 Project Procurement Officer 60 Project Monitoring and Reporting Officer 84 Total 248
To support project implementation, a firm will be engaged to provide 155 person-months of international consultant inputs and 379 person-months of national consultant inputs. The consulting firm will be engaged using the quality- and cost-based selection (QCBS) method with a standard quality cost ratio of 80:20. Full technical proposals (FTPs) will be required for submission; shortlisted consultants allowed 45 days to prepare FTPs. The 248 person- months of contract professional services will be recruited directly by the PMU, with prior review and approval of ADB.
An indicative list of civil works, furniture, equipment and instructional materials to be procured is in Annex 28. The proposed civil works schedule is in Annex 17, and the proposed textbook and teaching guide printing, packaging and delivery schedule is in Annex 20.
Annex 19 Page 2 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
A procurement capacity assessment is in Annex 30.
C. Procurement Plan
The procurement plan is prepared in accordance with COSO generic or country specific templates as appropriate
Project Name: Secondary Education Sector Development Program (SESDP, formerly BESDPII) Country: Lao PDR Executing Agency: Department of Secondary Education, Ministry of Education Grant Amount: USD 30 million Grant Number: tbd
Date of First Procurement Plan: Date of this Procurement Plan: wwwww yyyyy
A. Process Thresholds, Review and 18-Month Procurement Plan
1. Project Procurement Thresholds Except as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) may otherwise agree, the following process thresholds shall apply to procurement of goods and works.
Procurement of Goods and Works Method Threshold International Competitive Bidding (ICB) for Above $1,5000,000 Works International Competitive Bidding for Goods Above $500,000 National Competitive Bidding (NCB) for Below $1,500,000 and above $100,000 Works National Competitive Bidding for Goods Below $500,000 and above $100,000 Shopping for Works Below $100,000 Shopping for Goods Below $100,000
2. ADB Prior or Post Review
Except as ADB may otherwise agree, the following prior to post review requirements apply to the various procurement and consultant recruitment methods used for the project.5
Procurement Prior or Post Comments Method Procurement of Goods and Works ICB Works Prior Prior review of all bidding documents ICB Goods Prior
5 Available at http://www.adb.org/Documents/Guidelines/Procurement/Guidelines-Procurement.pdf (Appendix 1) and at http://www.adb.org/Documents/Guidelines/Consulting/Guidelines-Consultants.pdf. (para. 1.16)
Annex 19 Page 3 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
NCB Works Prior/Post The first two contracts in English language version for each NCB/Shopping goods and NCB Goods Prior/Post works will be reviewed using prior review procedure. Following that, post review will Shopping for Works Prior/Post be used. ADB-approved procurement documents will Shopping for Goods Prior/Post be used as a model for subsequent procurement. Recruitment of Consulting Firms
Consultants’ Qualifications Selection (CQS) Prior review for first two packages
Quality- and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) Prior review for all contracts
Recruitment of Local Contractual Staff DSE/MOE selects, negotiates and manages Local contractual Staff Prior the contract with prior review and approval of ADB. ADB=Asian Development Bank, ICB=international competitive bidding, MOE=Ministry of Education, NCB=national competitive bidding, Q=quarter, DSE=Department of Secondary Education
3. Goods and Works Contracts Estimated to Cost More Than $1 Million
The following table lists goods and works contracts for which procurement activity is either ongoing or expected to commence within the next 18 months.
Number General Contract Prequalification Procurement Advertisement Of Description Value ($) Of Bidders Method Date Contracts Instructional materials
Printing of textbooks and teaching guides in Year 1 (2012), to 1,558,2006 1 Y ICB Q1, 2012 support introduction of M3 and M5 (first edition) curricula
Printing of textbooks and teaching guides in Year 2 1,330,5987 1 Y ICB Q1, 2013 (2013), to support introduction of M4 curriculum ICB = international competitive bidding, NCB = national competitive bidding, Q = quarter, Y = yes, N = no, tbd to be decided
6 7 Includes $11,100 for M3-M7 instructional materials for TEI and FOE Includes $21,534 for miscellaneous instructional materials Annex 19 Page 4 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
The procurement plan is prepared in accordance with COSO generic or country specific templates as appropriate
Project Name: Secondary Education Sector Development Program (SESDP, formerly BESDPII) Country: Lao PDR Executing Agency: Department of Secondary Education, Ministry of Education Grant Amount: USD 30 million Grant Number: tbd
Date of First Procurement Plan: Date of this Procurement Plan: wwwww yyyyy
A. Process Thresholds, Review and 18-Month Procurement Plan
1. Project Procurement Thresholds
Except as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) may otherwise agree, the following process thresholds shall apply to procurement of goods and works.
Procurement of Goods and Works Method Threshold International Competitive Bidding (ICB) for Above $1,5000,000 Works International Competitive Bidding for Goods Above $500,000 National Competitive Bidding (NCB) for Below $1,500,000 and above $100,000 Works National Competitive Bidding for Goods Below $500,000 and above $100,000 Shopping for Works Below $100,000 Shopping for Goods Below $100,000
2. ADB Prior or Post Review
Except as ADB may otherwise agree, the following prior to post review requirements apply to the various procurement and consultant recruitment methods used for the project.8
Procurement Prior or Post Comments Method Procurement of Goods and Works ICB Works Prior Prior review of all bidding documents ICB Goods Prior
8 Available at http://www.adb.org/Documents/Guidelines/Procurement/Guidelines-Procurement.pdf (Appendix 1) and at http://www.adb.org/Documents/Guidelines/Consulting/Guidelines-Consultants.pdf. (para. 1.16) Annex 19 Page 5 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
NCB Works Prior/Post The first two contracts in English language NCB Goods version for each NCB/Shopping goods and Prior/Post works will be reviewed using prior review procedure. Following that, post review will be used. Shopping for Works ADB-approved procurement documents will Prior/Post be used as a model for subsequent Shopping for Goods procurement. Prior/Post Recruitment of Consulting Firms
Consultants’ Qualifications Selection (CQS) Prior review for first two packages
Quality- and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) Prior review for all contracts
Recruitment of Local Contractual Staff DSE/MOE selects, negotiates and manages Local contractual Staff Prior the contract with prior review and approval of ADB. ADB=Asian Development Bank, ICB=international competitive bidding, MOE=Ministry of Education, NCB=national competitive bidding, Q=quarter, DSE=Department of Secondary Education
3. Goods and Works Contracts Estimated to Cost More Than $1 Million
The following table lists goods and works contracts for which procurement activity is either ongoing or expected to commence within the next 18 months.
Number General Contract Prequalification Procurement Advertisement Of Description Value ($) Of Bidders Method Date Contracts Instructional materials
Printing of textbooks and teaching guides in Year 1 (2012), to 1,706,669a 1 N ICB Q1, 2012 support introduction of M3 and M5 (first edition) curricula
Printing of textbooks and teaching guides in Year 2 1,455,812b 1 N ICB Q1, 2013 (2013), to support introduction of M4 curriculum a Includes $11,100 for M3-M7 instructional materials for TEI and FOE b Includes $21,534 for miscellaneous instructional materials ICB = international competitive bidding, NCB = national competitive bidding, Q = quarter, N = no. 4. Consulting Services
Annex 19 Page 6 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
The following tables list consulting services contracts for which procurement activity is expected to commence within the next 18 months.
4A Contracts Estimated to Cost More Than $100,000
International General 1) Contract 3) Recruitment Advertisement or Comments Description 2) Value ($) Method Date National Assignment (a) 155 person- months of international consultants, Consulting including services for International/ 4,697,653 QCBS 80:20 Q4, 2011 international SESDP national air fares and implementation (b) 379 person- months of national consultants Impact International/ Assessment 117,500 CQS tbd a national Study QCBS = quality- and cost-based selection, CQS = consultants’ selection qualification, tbd = to be decided a It is foreseen that there will be 1 consulting services contract and 1 contract to undertake the impact assessment study. 4B Contracts Estimated to Cost Less Than $100,000
International Cumulative General Recruitment Advertisement or Contract Comments Description Method Date National Value ($) Assignment (a) Pilot study for graduate teacher incentive Outsourced scheme, 5,000 studies and 120,000 CQS tbd National (b) school surveysa construction assessment surveys, 45,000 and (c) annual audits, 70,000 248 person- Locally months of contracted locally professionals for 669,600 ICS Q4, 2011 National contracted SESDP personnel at implementation professional grade. Locally 84 person- contracted months of administrative administrative 283,080 ICS Q4, 2011 National and general staff staff and 252 for SESDP person-months implementation of general staff ICS = individual consultant selection, CQS = consultants’ selection qualification, tbd = to be decided
Annex 19 Page 7 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan a It is foreseen that there will be 3 contracts for outsourced studies and surveys (as indicated in the table); 13 contracts for locally contracted professionals (10 curriculum development specialists, 1 project finance officer, 1 project procurement officer and 1 project monitoring and reporting officer); 1 project administrative support officer contract and 3 project general staff contracts.
5. Goods and Works Contracts Estimated to Cost Less than $1 Million
The following table groups smaller-value goods, works and consulting services contracts for which procurement activity is either ongoing or expected to commence within the next 18 months.
Value of Procurement/ Number of General Description Contracts recruitment Comments contracts (Cumulative) method $ Works Construction of thirty (30) new LSE schools, and fifteen (15) new USE teaching blocks, complete with site preparation, water and electricity connections, fixtures a and fittings, but 4,617,311 15b NCB without furnishings. In addition seventy five (75) basic dormitory constructions, forty five (45) on the same sites (30+15) plus an additional thirty (30) LSE sites to be decided Furniture and Equipment (Goods) Classroom, laboratory and teachers’ room furniture for the thirty (30) newly 587,045 3c NCB constructed LSE schools and the fifteen (15) newly constructed USE teaching blocks Science equipment kits for use in forty five (45) new schools TEI and FOE to 489,240 1 NCB support teacher training in the new M3 M7 curricula Physical education kits for use in forty 40,352 1d NCB five (45) new schools Arts/music kits for use in forty five(45) 66,240 1e NCB new schools Library materials for 302,332 1 NCB
Annex 19 Page 8 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan use in forty five(45) new schools and 13 TEI and FOE Office equipment 262,577 1 NCB packages ICT equipment and 701,122 3 NCB materials UNOPS or Project vehicles 180,675 1 NCB
Motor cycles for DEB 63,934 1 Shopping a In total the number of contracts and their value to be decided when the location and siting of the schools have been determined, and the most economical and logistical groupings of schools can be assessed. b Once the sites have been located, the preference is for contracts to be awarded on a local basis, with the actual number and disposition of contracts to be determined by the project officers, based on their assessment of the optimum strategic grouping of sites according to their access from main roads, proximity to one another, etc. Preliminary information indicates that around 15 contracts will be awarded, none of which would exceed $ 1 million nor fall below $100,000. c Depending on the location and siting of schools, and their most cost-effective grouping, but with the view to achieving some economies of scale, preliminary indications are that regional (north, central and south) contracting would be appropriate, where no one contract would exceed $500,000, nor fall below $100,000 d, e `Even though the value of this contract is below the NCB threshold, because it is a specialized package, it is recommended that the most effective method of procurement is through 1 contract, awarded through NCB.
Printing and packaging of textbooks, teaching guides and instructional materials Printing and packaging of textbooks and teaching guides in a 571,046 1 N NCB Year 3 (2014), to support introduction of M5 (second edition) curriculum* Printing and packaging of textbooks and teaching guides in 536,488a 1 N NCB Year 4 (2015), to support introduction of M6 curriculum* Printing and packing of textbooks and teaching guides in a 379,337 1 N NCB Year 5 (2016), to support introduction of M7 curriculum* Distribution of textbooks and teaching guides to PES Distribution of textbooks and teaching guides in Shopping or direct Year 1 (2012), to 90,050 1 N contracting* support introduction of M3 and M5 (first edition) curricula Distribution of textbooks and Shopping or direct teaching guides in 66,000 1 N contracting Year 2 (2013), to support introduction
Annex 19 Page 9 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan of M4 curriculum
Distribution of textbooks and teaching guides in Shopping or direct Year 3 (2014), to 27,500 1 N contracting support introduction of M5 (second edition) curriculum* Distribution of textbooks and teaching guides in Shopping or direct 27,500 1 N Year 4 (2015), to contracting support introduction of M6 curriculum* Distribution of textbooks and teaching guides in Shopping or direct 27,500 1 N Year 5 (2016), to contracting support introduction of M7 curriculum* ICB=International Competitive Bidding, NCB=National Competitive Bidding, Y=yes, N=no, tbd=to be decided Note: Indicative procurements to commence at later stages in the project, and subject to further discussion and revision."; a Includes $11,100 for M3-M7 instructional materials for TEI and FOE.
C. National Competitive Bidding
1. General
1.The procedures to be followed for National Competitive Bidding (NCB) shall be those set forth for “Public Bidding” in Prime Minister’s Decree No. 03/PM of the Lao PDR, effective 09 January 2004, and Implementing Rules and Regulations effective 12 March 2004, with the clarifications and modifications described in the following paragraphs required for compliance with the provisions of the Procurement Guidelines.
2. Application
2.Contract packages subject to NCB procedures will be those identified as such in the project Procurement Plan. Any changes to the mode of procurement from those provided in the Procurement Plan shall be made through updating of the Procurement Plan, and only with prior approval of ADB.
3. Eligibility
3.Bidders shall not be declared ineligible or prohibited from bidding on the basis of barring procedures or sanction lists, except individuals and firms sanctioned by ADB, without prior approval of ADB.
4. Advertising
4.Bidding of NCB contracts estimated at $500,000 or more for goods and related services of $1,000,000 or more for civil works shall be advertised on ADB’s website via the posting of the Procurement Plan.
5. Procurement Documents
Annex 19 Page 10 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
5.The standard procurement documents provided with Ministry of Finance, Procurement Monitoring Office shall be used to the extent possible. The first draft English language version of the procurement documents shall be submitted for ADB review and approval, regardless of the estimated contract amount, in accordance with agreed review procedures (post and prior review). The ADB-approved procurement documents will then be used as a model for all procurement financed by ADB for the project, and need not be subjected to further review unless specified in the procurement plan.
6. Preferences
(i) No preference of any kind shall be given to domestic bidders or for domestically manufactured goods. (ii) Suppliers and contractors shall not be required to purchase local goods or supplies or materials.
7. Rejection of all Bids and Rebidding
6.Bids shall not be rejected and new bids solicited without ADB’s prior concurrence.
8. National Sanctions List
7.National sanctions lists may be applied only with prior approval of ADB.
9. Corruption Policy
8.A bidder declared ineligible by ADB, based on a determination by ADB that the bidder has engaged in corrupt, fraudulent, collusive, or coercive practices in competing for or in executing and ADB-financed contract shall be ineligible to be awarded ADB-financed contract during the period determined by ADB.
10. Disclosure of Decisions on Contract Awards
9.At the same time that notification on award of contract is given to the successful bidder, the results of the bid evaluation shall be published in a local newspaper or well-known freely accessible website identifying the bid and lot numbers and providing information on (i) name of each Bidder who submitted a Bid, (ii) bid prices as read out at bid opening, (iii) name of bidders whose bids were rejected and the reasons for their rejection, (iv) name of the winning Bidder, and the price it offered, as well as the duration and summary scope of the contract awarded;. The executing agency/implementing agency shall respond in writing to unsuccessful bidders who seek explanation on the grounds on which their bids are not selected.
11. Member Country Restrictions
10. Bidders must be nationals of member countries of ADB, and offered goods, works and services must be produced in and supplied from member countries of ADB.
Annex 19 Page 11 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
Consolidated References
A. Project documents
SESDP Project Administration Manual (PAM), June 2011, Appendix 18 ‘Procurement Capacity Assessment’
B. Downloaded ADB Documents9
ADB Procurement Guidelines (April 2010) http://www.adb.org/Documents/Guidelines/Procurement/Guidelines- Procurement.pdf
ADB Guidelines on the Use of Consultants by ADB and its Borrowers (April 2010, http://www.adb.org/Documents/Guidelines/Consulting/Guidelines-Consultants.pdf
ADB Project Administration Instructions
PAI 3.03 International Competitive Bidding (revised June 2006) PAI 3.04 Local Competitive Bidding (revised April 2008) ( PAI 3.04 Local procurement (revised January 2005)
ADB Ministry of Education, Procurement Review for Effective Implementation (PREI) (February 2011)
C. Additional Web-based Sources
Procurement Guidelines: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Guidelines/Procurement/default.asp
Guidelines on Use of Consultants by ADB and Its Borrowers http://www.adb.org/Documents/Guideliines/Consulting/default.asp
Consulting Services Recruitment Notice: http://csrn.adb.org http://csrn.adb.org:8080/csrn/login.jsp
Templates for engagement of consultants: (including submission templates) http://www.adb.org/Consulting/loan-rfp.asp
Harmonized RFP (Loans) http://www.adb.org/Consulting/all-methods-loan.asp
Sample Individual consultant contract http://www.adb.org/Consulting/ICS-Contract-Loan.pdf
9 Available from the SESDP PMU Annex 19 Page 12 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 19 Procurement Plan
Consulting Services Operations Manual http://www.adb.org/Documents/Manuals/Consulting-Services-Operations- Manual/CSOM.pdf
Toolkits and Templates for Consultants http://www.adb.org/Consulting/toolkit-template.asp
Project Administration Instructions PAI 3.03 International Competitive Bidding http://www.scribd.com/doc/55969983/pai-3-03-jun06
Procurement Documents: http://www.adb.org/Procurement/prequalification-bid-documents.asp
User’s Guide (Procurement of Goods) http://www.adb.org/Documents/Manuals/Bidding_Documents/Goods/SBD- Goods-Users-Guide.pdf
User’s Guide (Small Civil Works – below 10 Min USD) http://www.adb.org/Documents/Manuals/bidding_documents/prequalification/SB DWorks-sml-UserGuide.pdf
Guide on Bid Evaluation http://www/adb.org/Procurement/guide-bid-apr06.pdf
Procurement Plans http://www.adb.org/Procurement/reports.asp?key=reps&val=PP
Electronic Procurement http://www.mdbegp.org/www/eGPInteractiveus/tabid/69/language/en- US/Default.aspx
E-GP (Electronic Government Procurement) Toolkit http://www.mdbegp.org/www/eGPToolkitus/tabid/67/language/en- US/Default.aspx
Project Administration Instructions http://www.adb.org/Documents/Manuals/PAI/default.asp
E-Handbook on Project Implementation http://www.adb.org/Documents/handbooks/project- implementation/default.asp?p=proj
Anticorruption and Integrity http://www.adb.org/Integrity/default.asp
How to report fraud and corruption http://www.adb.org/Integrity/howto.asp
Annex 19 Page 13 of 13 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 20
SESDP Scholarships, Access Grants and Dormitories
1.0 Scholarships
1.The purpose of the scholarship is for all scholars to complete Grade 9, and each student (and a parent) will sign an undertaking or agreement to this effect.
2.SESDP will enable the Inclusive Education Center in MOE to make up to 1740 LSE scholarships available to eligible students to enroll in Grade 6 classes in 2013/14 in 60 schools in SESDP target districts. Scholarships will be awarded on criteria similar to BESDP, with specific revisions to be outlined in a revised Scholarships Manual.
3.Major changes in SESDP scholarship procedures for discussion with MOE include:
(a) Collection of comprehensive baseline data on all 2012/13 Grade 5 students in primary schools that will supply students to the 30 new LSE schools (to be constructed by SESDP) and in 30 additional LSE schools to be identified in each SESDP district. (b) For the two LSE schools in each district, each feeder primary school will prepare a list of potential students, with details about name, year of birth, gender, home language/s, family financial status, Grade 5 school performance, Grade 5 attendance, distance from home to the LSE school, and primary school recommendation to the PPA for priority. (c) Each participating LSE school will have a functioning Pupil Parents Association (or will create one), with provision for participation of representatives from feeder primary schools. (d) Changes to payment procedures, where scholarship payments would be transferred to a school account (opened at a district branch of an approved bank), and managed by the Pupil Parents Association and head of the school. PPA would certify the list of eligible students, attendance over the previous semester, satisfactory performance and behavior. (e) Students would sign for receipt of scholarship funds at a public meeting of the PPA. Where practicable, one of the student’s parents should countersign the scholarship receipt.1 (f) The Pupil Parents Association will take necessary steps to encourage scholarship holders to complete Grade 9, including recommendation for a “completion payment” in the final semester of Grade 9. (g) Except in exceptional circumstances, there will be no “replacement” scholars after Grade 6. Students who leave the schools during Grade 6 for an acceptable reason may be replaced by a student on an eligibility list created at the time when the initial scholarships were awarded. (h) Scholarships will be paid at the official Government rate (LAK 410,000 per semester as at May 2011), as amended during the life of the Project.
4.Special procedures for Grade 10 scholarships from 2014/15 to be developed.
1 Any funds withheld for dormitory meals etc will be clearly identified and accounted for in PPA accounts.
Annex 20 Page 1 of 3 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 20
SESDP Scholarships, Access Grants and Dormitories
2.0 SESDP Access Grants
1. The purpose of SESDP Access Grants is to improve educational outcomes for students, improving Grade 9 completion rates, progression to Grade 10 and Grade 12 completion. At least half of beneficiaries should be female, and students from poor families and from ethnic groups should have priority.
2. Access Grants should enable Pupils Parents Associations (PPA) in participating LSE schools in 30 SESDP Districts (and participating schools with USE classes) to apply for Access Grants for approved purposes. Schools without a PPA will be required to establish one based on guidelines set out in the SESDP Access Grants and Scholarships Manuals.
3. The Project will assist participating schools establish PPAs and provide necessary training. Training could include each community/Khumban undertaking a rapid assessment of numbers of children in their community, particularly 11-14 year olds, and whether they have never been enrolled, currently enrolled in Primary, currently enrolled in LSE grades, or whether they have dropped out. Such an assessment would help the community identify action required to get all school age children enrolled and attending school. This could lead to PPA proposals for an Access Grant.
4. SESDP will assist the MOE to develop a Grants Manual and submit the revised SESDP Grants Manual for ADB review and approval.
5. Access Grants will assist PPA undertake activities which improve access and learning outcomes for students in participating schools. Low cost, community-managed dormitories (see below), remedial classes in math, reading and writing, and income-generating activities (IGA) are examples of purposes for which Access Grants could be used. IGA such as school gardens could subsidize feeding students in dormitories or to generate income which PPA uses to support student learning outcomes.
6. Any funds for Access Grants will be paid into either a School Account or a separate PPA Account in an approved District Bank. All funds must be reported to the PPA, the School, the District Education Bureau and to the SESDP. Grants, which include a semester or annual payment, can only be made if all funds from any previous payment are fully accounted for and reported in an approved manner.
3.0 Low-cost Community Managed Dormitories
1. Distance from home to school and lack of suitable accommodation for students attending secondary school were identified by communities as barriers to students in small, remote communities entering and completing secondary education. Scholarships at the official government rates were not sufficient to meet the costs of travel, accommodation, meals and other necessary expenses.
2. Lao PDR has a long history of Ethnic Boarding Schools, usually at the provincial center, for lower and upper secondary students from primary and LSE schools in districts. SESDP target districts tend to be remote from the provincial center, and the challenge is ensuring that students completing primary have reasonable access to at least a LSE school.
Annex 20 Page 2 of 3 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 20
SESDP Scholarships, Access Grants and Dormitories 3. SESDP has identified low-cost, community-managed dormitories as an appropriate way of meeting community need for safe/secure facilities, which enable students to benefit from completing secondary school. PPAs and the community (VEDC/kumban) ownership and management of dormitories should ensure that dormitories continue after the project ends.
4. Where practicable, the dormitory (dormitories) should be on the school site or adjacent to the site. This would enable after-hours access to classrooms for remedial classes.
5. SESDP will provide cement, pillars and roofing materials, and the community will provide labor and other materials. In the 30 sites where the Project is constructing new LSE schools, the construction contract will provide the concrete base, pillars and the roof. For the 30 existing LSE schools, which will receive Grade 6 scholarships in 2013/14 to improve access for girls and ethnic groups to secondary school, cement, pillars and roofing materials will be provided for a dormitory. [If practicable, this may be included in the nearest LSE construction contract].
6. Dormitory accommodation will be secure, gender-segregated, with gender-segregated washing and toilet facilities (wet area). For the 30 existing LSE schools, the Access Grant funds could be used to ensure that that toilets are built if needed.
7. The PPA/school/community will ensure that there is adult supervision of all dormitories. This could include providing accommodation for a male and female teacher as supervisors of the male and female dormitories.
8. Remedial classes in math, reading and writing should be provided so that learning outcomes improve for students. The PPA could use an Access Grant to meet any additional costs of these classes, or the male/female teacher dormitory supervisors could provide classes in lieu of the cost of their accommodation.
9. The PPA will manage the dormitories, including arrangements for feeding resident students. School gardens may be one way in which food costs could be subsidized. Student work in garden, cleaning and cooking will meet GOL requirements for safety and restrictions on use of child labor. [Dormitory costs could be reported in the PPA Account or PPA could operate a special Dormitory account].
10. Most students receiving scholarships should live in the school dormitory. [There would be exceptions where a scholarship student comes from the village where the school is located, where a non-scholarship student from a distant village requires accommodation, or where families prefer their child living with relatives rather than in the dormitory].
11. There are further matters for discussion with MOE at SESDP implementation, including finalizing Scholarship, Access Grant, Dormitory and PPA Manuals. These discussions should clarify issues about who pays for what, how funds received are reported, and that there is appropriate public accountability for all Project/Grant payments.
12. There are other potential issues relating to extending or enlarging dormitory capacity in existing LSE or complete secondary schools, especially where additional USE classrooms are provided at 15 schools. Some of these issues will depend on which schools are identified for USE classroom construction, and additional schools identified for Grade 10 USE scholarships.
Annex 20 Page 3 of 3 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 21 M3-M7 Textbook and Teaching Guide Printing, Packaging and Distribution Program
SESDP supports the rollout of the new M3 to M7. In particular it is providing textbooks and teaching guides to all government secondary schools and a selection of private schools. Table VI.4.1 summarizes the assumptions upon which the program is based, and indicates the magnitude of the process. Over the first five years of the program, from 2012 to 2016, a total of 2,884,326 textbooks will be printed, packaged into 267,804 sets and delivered to all government secondary schools and a selection of private schools, TEIs, FOEs and the MOE. Over the same period an additional 284,156 teaching guides will be printed, packaged into 24,478 sets and distributed to the same destinations. Table 1 details the printing packaging and distribution program with respect to each of the M3 to M7 curricula, and Table 2 traces the rollout schedule that this program will entail.
Table 20.1 M3-M7 textbook and teaching guide printing, packaging and delivery program
est. no. of no. of titles est. no. of est. no. of Curriculum allocation sets printing packaging distribution per set students schools required M3 Textbooks 11 1:1* 95,833 95,833 1,200 1,054,163 95,833 1,200 Teaching guides 14 1:25** 95,833 3,833 1,200 53,666 3,833 1,200 Texts for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 11 1,810 19,910 1,810 Guides for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 14 1,810 25,340 1,810 Subtotal M3 1,153,079 103,286 1,200 M4 Textbooks 11 1:1* 86,250 86,250 1,200 948,750 86,250 1,200 Teaching guides 14 1:25** 86,250 3,450 1,200 48,300 3,450 1,200 Texts for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 11 1,810 19,910 1,810 Guides for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 14 1,810 25,340 1,810 Subtotal M4 1,042,300 93,320 1,200 M5 (first edition) Textbooks - core curriculum 11 3 per school 1,350 450 14,850 1,350 450 Teaching guides - core curriculum 12 2 per school 900 450 10,800 900 450 Textbooks - electives 8 3 per school 1,350 450 10,800 1,350 450 Teaching guides - electives 10 1 per school 450 450 4,500 450 450 Texts for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 11 1,810 19,910 1,810
Annex 21 Page 1 of 4 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 21 M3-M7 Textbook and Teaching Guide Printing, Packaging and Distribution Program
est. no. of no. of titles est. no. of est. no. of Curriculum allocation sets printing packaging distribution per set students schools required Guides for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 10 1,810 18,100 1,810 Subtotal M5 (first edition) 78,960 7,670 450
M5 (second edition) Textbooks - core curriculum 11 1:4* 77,625 19,406 500 213,469 19,406 500 Teaching guides - core curriculum 12 1:25** 77,625 3,105 500 37,260 3,105 500 Textbooks - electives 8 25 per school 12,500 500 100,000 12,500 500 Teaching guides - electives 10 2 per school 1,000 500 10,000 1,000 500 Texts for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 11 1,810 19,910 1,810 Guides for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 10 1,810 18,100 1,810 Subtotal M5 (second edition) 398,739 39,631 500 M6 Textbooks - core curriculum 11 1:4* 69,863 17,466 500 192,123 17,466 500 Teaching guides - core curriculum 12 1:25** 69,863 2,795 500 33,534 2,795 500 Textbooks - electives 8 25 per school 12,500 500 100,000 12,500 500 Teaching guides - electives 10 2 per school 1,000 500 10,000 1,000 500 Texts for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 11 1,810 19,910 1,810 Guides for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 10 1,810 18,100 1,810 Subtotal M5 (second edition) 373,667 37,380 500 M7 Textbooks 12 1:4* 62,877 15,719 500 188,631 15,719 500 Teaching guides 13 1:25** 62,877 2,515 500 1,885 2,515 500 Texts for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 12 1,810 21,720 1,810 Guides for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 13 1,810 23,530 1,810
Annex 21 Page 2 of 4 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 21 M3-M7 Textbook and Teaching Guide Printing, Packaging and Distribution Program
est. no. of no. of titles est. no. of est. no. of Curriculum allocation sets printing packaging distribution per set students schools required Subtotal M7 235,766 21,854 500 TOTAL PRINTING AND PACKAGING Textbooks 2,611,986 236,024 Teaching guides 185,446 16,598 Texts for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 272,340 31,780 Guides for MOE, TEI/FOE and private schools 98,710 7,880 Total textbooks 2,884,326 267,804 Total teaching guides 284,156 24,478 TOTAL PRINTING AND PACKAGING 3,168,482 292,282 * textbook:student ratio ** teaching guide:student ratio
Annex 21 Page 3 of 4 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 21 M3-M7 Textbook and Teaching Guide Printing, Packaging and Distribution Program
Table 21.2 Proposed schedule for the printing, packaging and distribution of M3 to M7 textbooks and teaching guides
Project/Calendar Year Curriculum Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 printing M3 packaging distribution printing M4 packaging distribution printing M5 packaging first edition distribution printing M5 packaging second edition distribution printing M6 packaging distribution printing M7 packaging distribution
Annex 21 Page 4 of 4 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials
Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
CIVIL WORKS
Land Acquisition m2
30 LSE and 14 300,000 3.2 3.2 3.2 952,559 - 952,559 - 952,559 USE schools, average 1 hectare apiece. 150,000 3.2 3.2 3.2 476,279 - 476,279 - 476,279
Total land acquisition 450,000 1,428,838 - 1,428,838 - 1,428,838 1. Building - 30 m2 new LSE schools basic school building, with assume 10 198.3 10.4 208.7 21.9 230.7 separate toilet block 4,010 795,195 41,852 837,047 87,890 924,937 schools per region, - northern region each new building basic school 401m2, comprising building, with 4 classrooms, 1 151.1 8.0 159.1 16.7 175.8 separate toilet block laboratory/multi- 4,010 606,091 31,900 637,991 66,989 704,980 - central region use room and 1 teachers' room basic school and a separate building, with toilet/ wet area 167.1 8.8 175.9 18.5 194.3 separate toilet block 4,010 670,015 35,264 705,279 74,054 779,333 - southern region
Sub-total 12,030 2,071,301 109,016 2,180,317 228,933 2,409,251 site preparation, 10 percent of electricity and new construction potable water 207,130 10,902 218,032 22,893 240,925 costs connection
fixtures and 3 percent of new fittings construction costs 62,139 3,270 65,410 6,868 72,278
Annex 22 Page 1 of 11 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
Total new LSE school 12,030 2,340,571 123,188 2,463,758 258,695 2,722,453 construction 2. Building - 15 new USE teaching m2 blocks basic school assume 5 building, with schools in each of 198.3 10.4 208.7 21.9 230.7 separate toilet block 2,350 466,012 24,527 490,539 51,507 542,046 the northern, - northern region central and basic school southern regions, building, with each new building 151.1 8.0 159.1 16.7 175.8 separate toilet block 470m2, comprising 1,880 355,191 18,694 373,885 39,258 413,143 - central region 3 classrooms, 2 laboratory/multi- basic school use room and 1 building, with teachers' room 167.1 8.8 175.9 18.5 194.3 separate toilet block and a separate 2,350 392,652 20,666 413,318 43,398 456,716 - southern region toilet/ wet area
Sub-total 6,580 1,213,855 63,887 1,277,742 134,163 1,411,905 site preparation, assume 5 electricity and percent of new potable water 60,693 3,194 63,887 6,708 70,595 construction costs connection assume 2 fixtures and percent of new fittings 24,277 1,278 25,555 2,683 28,238 construction costs
Total new USE school 6,580 1,298,825 68,359 1,367,184 143,554 1,510,738 construction 3. Building - 75 m2 dormitories
assume each one each on the school will have 50 site of the 30 new boarders -25 LSE schools being 4,500 39.1 4.3 43.4 4.8 48.2 198,620 22,069 220,689 24,276 244,965 female and 25 constructed male.
Annex 22 Page 2 of 11 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
assume seperate dormitory for each sex, and one each on the allowing each site of the 15 new boarder 3m2, area LSE teaching blocks 2,250 39.1 4.3 43.4 4.8 48.2 94,037 10,449 104,486 11,493 115,979 is estimated at being constructed 75m2 each, for a total of 150m2 per school
assume each dormitory will be supplied with concrete floor, roof supports and roofing. An one each on an additional amount additional 30 LSE (13% for LSE 4,500 39.1 4.3 43.4 4.8 48.2 198,620 22,069 220,689 24,276 244,965 school sites schools and 7% for USE schools) is included to allow for site clearing, utility connections and fixtures and fittings. Total dormitory construction 11,250 491,277 54,586 545,864 60,045 605,908
Total building and construction 29,860 4,130,672 246,133 4,376,806 462,294 4,839,100
TOTAL CIVIL WORKS 5,559,511 246,133 5,805,644 462,294 6,267,938 FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT ( each category of furniture and equipment is a standardised package of items, the contents of which are included in annex z)
Classroom package assume 4 per LSE new LSE school 120 2,030.6 106.9 2,137.5 224.4 2,361.9 243,675 12,825 256,500 26,933 283,433 building
assume 3 per USE new USE building 45 2,030.6 106.9 2,137.5 224.4 2,361.9 91,378 4,809 96,188 10,100 106,287
Sub-total 165 335,053 17,634 352,688 37,032 389,720
Annex 22 Page 3 of 11 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
Laboratory package
LSE assume 1 per science/multi- new LSE school 30 2,025.4 106.6 2,132.0 223.9 2,355.9 60,762 3,198 63,960 6,716 70,676 purpose building assume 3 per USE science new USE teaching 45 2,227.9 117.3 2,345.2 246.2 2,591.4 100,257 5,277 105,534 11,081 116,615 block
Sub-total 75 161,019 8,475 169,494 17,797 187,291 Teachers' room package
assume I per LSE new LSE school 30 853.1 44.9 898.0 94.3 992.3 25,593 1,347 26,940 2,829 29,769
assume I per USE new USE teaching 15 853.0 170.2 1,023.2 119.3 1,142.5 12,795 2,553 15,348 1,790 17,138 block
Sub-total 45 38,388 3,900 42,288 4,619 46,906 Science kits package
distribution to 30 LSE science new LSE schools 30 1,190.0 1,190.0 238.0 1,428.0 - 35,700 35,700 7,140 42,840
physics 2,500.0 2,500.0 500.0 3,000.0 - 60,000 60,000 12,000 72,000 distributed to 15 chemistry new USE schools 24 6,000.0 6,000.0 1,200.0 7,200.0 - 144,000 144,000 28,800 172,800 and 9 TEI biology 7,000.0 7,000.0 1,400.0 8,400.0 - 168,000 168,000 33,600 201,600
Sub-total 54 - 407,700 407,700 81,540 489,240 Instructional package materials physical education 45 731.0 731.0 146.2 877.2 - 33,626 33,626 6,725 40,352 distributed to new music/arts LSE and USE 45 1,200.0 1,200.0 240.0 1,440.0 - 55,200 55,200 11,040 66,240 schools and TEI library books, DVDs etc 54 909.7 3,510.0 4,419.7 793.0 5,212.6 52,760 203,580 256,340 45,992 302,332
Sub-total 144 52,760 292,406 345,167 63,757 408,924
Annex 22 Page 4 of 11 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
ICT equipment package and materials RIES 6 2,793.0 2,793.0 558.6 3,351.6 - 16,758 16,758 3,352 20,110 SPA 5 1,110.0 1,110.0 222.0 1,332.0 - 5,550 5,550 1,110 6,660 ICT4LE materials 1,201 98.0 350.4 448.4 79.9 528.2 117,698 420,770 538,468 95,924 634,392 development school ICT4LE (pilot) 30 1,110.0 1,110.0 222.0 1,332.0 - 33,300 33,300 6,660 39,960
Sub-total 1,212 117,698 476,378 594,076 107,045 701,122 Office equipment package
provincial offices 14 3,370.0 3,370.0 706.0 4,076.0 - 47,180 47,180 9,884 57,064 district 29 education bureaux 3,370.0 3,370.0 706.0 4,076.0 - 97,730 97,730 20,474 118,204 school 15 management 2,425.0 2,425.0 474.0 2,899.0 - 36,375 36,375 7,110 43,485 PMU 1 15,400.0 15,400.0 3,461.0 18,861.0 - 15,400 15,400 3,461 18,861 other (laptops) 15 939.7 939.7 181.0 1,120.7 - 14,096 14,096 2,715 16,811
Sub-total 74 - 210,781 210,781 43,644 254,425 Vehicle item medium-size SUV 3 40,150.0 40,150.0 20,075.0 60,225.0 - 120,450 120,450 60,225 180,675 motor cycle 29 1,420.8 1,420.8 710.4 2,131.1 - 41,202 41,202 20,601 61,803
Sub-total 32 - 161,652 161,652 80,826 242,478
TOTAL FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT 704,919 1,578,926 2,283,845 436,260 2,720,105 TEXTBOOKS, TEACHING GUIDES AND TEACHER TRAINING MANUALS
Textbooks
M3 set
Annex 22 Page 5 of 11 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
assume 11 printing - textbooks per set compulsory subjects and one set per 97,643 6.0 6.0 12.0 1.8 13.8 585,370 585,370 1,170,740 175,611 1,346,351 student sub-total printing 97,643 585,370 585,370 1,170,740 175,611 1,346,351 packaging/ware housing etc 97,643 1.2 - 1.2 0.1 1.3 117,074 - 117,074 11,707 128,781 assume distribution distribution to 1,200 25.0 - 25.0 2.5 27.5 30,000 - 30,000 3,000 33,000 1,200 schools
Sub-total 732,444 585,370 1,317,814 190,318 1,508,132 M4 set assume 11 printing - textbooks per set compulsory subjects and one set per 88,060 6.0 6.0 12.0 1.8 13.8 527,920 527,920 1,055,839 158,376 1,214,215 student sub-total printing 88,060 527,920 527,920 1,055,839 158,376 1,214,215 packaging/ware housing etc 88,060 1.2 - 1.2 0.1 1.3 105,584 - 105,584 10,558 116,142 assume distribution distribution to 1,200 25.0 - 25.0 2.5 27.5 30,000 - 30,000 3,000 33,000 1,200 schools
Sub-total 663,504 527,920 1,191,423 171,934 1,363,358 M5 set
assume 11 printing - textbooks per set compulsory subjects and one set per 24,376 6.0 6.0 12.0 1.8 13.8 146,134 146,134 292,268 43,840 336,108 four students
assume 8 textbooks per set printing - elective and one set per subjects 13,850 4.4 4.4 8.7 1.3 10.0 60,386 60,386 120,772 18,116 138,888 four students doing electives
sub-total printing 38,226 206,520 206,520 413,040 61,956 474,996
Annex 22 Page 6 of 11 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
packaging/wareho using etc 38,226 1.2 - 1.2 0.1 1.3 45,833 - 45,833 4,583 50,416 assume distribution distribution to 950 950 25.0 - 25.0 2.5 27.5 23,750 - 23,750 2,375 26,125 schools
Sub-total 276,103 206,520 482,623 68,914 551,538 M6 set
assume 11 printing - textbooks per set compulsory subjects and one set per 19,276 6.0 6.0 12.0 1.8 13.8 115,560 115,560 231,119 34,668 265,787 four students
assume 8 textbooks per set printing - elective and one set per subjects 12,500 4.4 4.4 8.7 1.3 10.0 54,500 54,500 109,000 16,350 125,350 four students doing electives
sub-total printing 31,776 170,060 170,060 340,119 51,018 391,137 packaging/wareho using etc 31,776 1.2 - 1.2 0.1 1.3 38,099 - 38,099 3,810 41,909 assume distribution distribution to 500 500 25.0 - 25.0 2.5 27.5 12,500 - 12,500 1,250 13,750 schools
Sub-total 220,659 170,060 390,719 56,078 446,796 M7 set assume 11 printing - textbooks per set compulsory subjects and one set per 17,529 6.5 6.5 13.1 2.0 15.0 114,640 114,640 229,279 34,392 263,671 four students sub-total printing 17,529 114,640 114,640 229,279 34,392 263,671 packaging/ware housing etc 17,529 1.3 - 1.3 0.1 1.4 22,928 - 22,928 2,293 25,221 assume distribution distribution to 500 500 25.0 - 25.0 2.5 27.5 12,500 - 12,500 1,250 13,750 schools
Sub-total 150,068 114,640 264,707 37,935 302,642
Annex 22 Page 7 of 11 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
Total texbooks sets
printing 273,234 1,604,509 1,604,509 3,209,018 481,353 3,690,370 packaging warehousing 273,234 329,518 - 329,518 32,952 362,470 distribution 4,350 108,750 - 108,750 10,875 119,625
Total texbooks 2,042,777 1,604,509 3,647,286 525,179 4,172,465 Teaching guides
M3 set
assume 11 textbooks per set, printing - student:teacher compulsory subjects ratio of 1:25 and 5,643 7.8 7.8 15.7 2.4 18.0 44,241 44,241 88,482 13,272 101,755 one set per teacher sub-total printing 5,643 44,241 44,241 88,482 13,272 101,755 packaging/ware housing etc 5,643 1.6 - 1.6 0.2 1.7 8,848 - 8,848 885 9,733 assume distribution distribution to 1,200 25.0 - 25.0 2.5 27.5 30,000 - 30,000 3,000 33,000 1,200 schools
Sub-total 83,089 44,241 127,330 17,157 144,488 M4 set
assume 11 textbooks per set, printing - student:teacher compulsory subjects ratio of 1:25 and 5,260 7.8 7.8 15.7 2.4 18.0 41,238 41,238 82,477 12,372 94,848 one set per teacher sub-total printing 5,260 41,238 41,238 82,477 12,372 94,848 packaging/ware housing etc 5,260 1.6 - 1.6 0.2 1.7 8,248 - 8,248 825 9,072 assume distribution distribution to 1,200 25.0 - 25.0 2.5 27.5 30,000 - 30,000 3,000 33,000 1,200 schools
Annex 22 Page 8 of 11 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
Sub-total 79,486 41,238 120,724 16,196 136,921 M5 set
assume 11 printing - textbooks per set, compulsory subjects student:teacher 7,625 6.7 6.7 13.4 2.0 15.5 51,240 51,240 102,480 15,372 117,852 ratio of 1:25 and one set per printing - elective teacher subjects 1,000 5.6 5.6 11.2 1.7 12.9 5,600 5,600 11,200 1,680 12,880
sub-total printing 8,625 56,840 56,840 113,680 17,052 130,732 packaging/wareho using etc 8,625 1.3 - 1.3 0.1 1.5 11,592 - 11,592 1,159 12,751 assume distribution distribution to 950 950 25.0 - 25.0 2.5 27.5 23,750 - 23,750 2,375 26,125 schools
Sub-total 92,182 56,840 149,022 20,586 169,608 M6 set
assume 11 printing - textbooks per set, compulsory subjects student:teacher 4,605 6.7 6.7 13.4 2.0 15.5 30,946 30,946 61,891 9,284 71,175 ratio of 1:25 and one set per printing - elective teacher subjects 1,000 5.6 5.6 11.2 1.7 12.9 5,600 5,600 11,200 1,680 12,880
sub-total printing 5,605 36,546 36,546 73,091 10,964 84,055 packaging/wareho using etc 5,605 1.3 - 1.3 0.1 1.5 7,533 - 7,533 753 8,286 assume distribution distribution to 500 500 25.0 - 25.0 2.5 27.5 12,500 - 12,500 1,250 13,750 schools
Sub-total 56,579 36,546 93,124 12,967 106,091 M7 set
Annex 22 Page 9 of 11 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
assume 11 textbooks per set, printing - student:teacher compulsory subjects ratio of 1:25 and 4,325 7.3 7.3 14.6 2.2 16.7 31,486 31,486 62,972 9,446 72,418 one set per teacher sub-total printing 4,325 31,486 31,486 62,972 9,446 72,418 packaging/ware housing etc 4,325 1.5 - 1.5 0.1 1.6 6,297 - 6,297 630 6,927 assume distribution distribution to 500 500 25.0 - 25.0 2.5 27.5 12,500 - 12,500 1,250 13,750 schools
Sub-total 50,283 31,486 81,769 11,326 93,095 Total teaching sets guides printing 29,458 210,351 210,351 420,702 63,105 483,808 packaging warehousing 29,458 42,518 - 42,518 4,252 46,770 distribution 4,350 108,750 - 108,750 10,875 119,625 Total teaching guides 361,619 210,351 571,970 78,232 650,203 Miscellaneous instructional materials M3-M7 instructional materials (TEI/FOE) package
printing 2,500 10.0 10.0 20.0 2.2 22.2 25,000 25,000 50,000 5,500 55,500 Supplementary guidelines for M1- M7 pre-teacher package training
printing 140 10.0 10.0 20.0 2.2 22.2 1,400 1,400 2,800 308 3,108 QA guidelines package printing 300 10.0 10.0 20.0 2.2 22.2 3,000 3,000 6,000 660 6,660 TEI manuals package
Annex 22 Page 10 of 11 TA-7555 LAO BESDP II PPTA (Draft Final Report) ANNEX 22 Indicative Lists of Civil Works, Furniture and Equipment and Teaching Materials Unit Cost (USD) Estimated Total Cost (USD)
Total Base Cost Base Cost Estimate Item Assumptions Unit Quantity Taxes and Total Unit Taxes and Total Cost Charges Cost Charges Estimate Local Forex Total Local Forex Total
printing 10.0 10.0 20.0 2.2 22.2 Teacher Incentive Scheme manuals package
printing 30 10.0 10.0 20.0 2.2 22.2 300 300 600 66 666 Total miscellaneous instructional package materials s 2,970 29,700 29,700 59,400 6,534 65,934
TOTAL TEXTBOOKS, GUIDES AND MATERIALS 2,434,096 1,844,560 4,278,656 609,946 4,888,602
Annex 22 Page 11 of 11 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 23 Summary Capacity Building Plan for Curriculum Delivery
Summary Capacity Building Plan for Improved Delivery of New SE Curriculum Training Program Target Group Program Length & Means of implementation Number of Unit Total Project timing Participants Days Cost Outcome: Enhanced equity, quality and efficiency of secondary education (SE) in Lao PDR Output 2. Improved delivery of new SE curriculum
2A1 QA training workshop Senior managers (i) development of procedures 2 days per Project consultants working 40 2 day 240 for Senior Managers in in TEIs and FOEs and professional consultation year for 3 with ESQAC and DTE workshop x TEIs / FOEs (ii) preparation for pilot / trial years 3 years (iii) monitoring / feedback 2A1 Workshops for preparation of Supplementary Guidelines for M1-M7 Pre-Service Curriculum 2A1 (i) Curriculum review DTE, RIES, DSE, Review and drafting of 3 days for Project consultants working 100 3 days per 300 and drafting of Curriculum TEIs and FOEs Curriculum Framework for M1- each of 5 with RIES and TEI/FOE subject Framework for M1-M7 M7 Pre-Service teacher training subjects subject specialists Pre-Service teacher training 2A1(ii) drafting / writers RIES, SPA and 5 writers workshops, one for 5 days for Project consultants working 10 subject 5 day 250 workshop subject specialists each subject strand each with RIES and TEI/FOE specialists in workshops subject subject specialists each workshop x 5 subject workshops = 50 2A1 (iii) TEI staff training TEIs and FOEs Professional staff review of the 1day per Internal institutional 60 x 13 = 480 1 day per 3900 / capacity development new curriculum subject arrangement in each TEI/FOE subject x 5 10 subject specialists x 5 + subjects subject observers 2A3 Workshops to support implementation of Graduate Teacher Incentives Scheme 2A3 (i) Initial consultation DOP, PES, DSE Procedures for administering 1 day Project consultants working 25 One day 25x1 on modality the scheme with MOE staff meeting 2A3 (ii) launch of the PES, DEB, schools Briefing and instruction on 2 days Project consultants as 12 x 5 = 60 One 120 implementation guidelines and DOP selection and administration facilitators Assuming 5 meeting including selection criteria participating and procedures districts 2A3 (iii) District meetings LS schools, DEB, Selection of graduates in 5 1 day District level meeting to 20 participants x 1 day in 100 for final selection LS teachers districts finalize selection 5 districts = 100 each district 2A3 (iv) monitoring / DOP, PES, LS Check of records and impact 1 day x 2 DOP to instruct school and 20 participants x 1 meeting 200
Annex 23 Page 1 of 7 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 23 Summary Capacity Building Plan for Curriculum Delivery
audit meeting schools, LS assessment years PES to audit the scheme 5 districts = 100 per year for teachers 2 years 2B1(i) Workshop to RIES and TOT Preparation of M3 Training 5 days Project consultants working 45 One 5 day 225 prepare M3 Teacher subject specialist Manual with RIES workshop Training Manual writers 2B1 (ii) M3 TOT workshop All SPAs and Training of SPAs and Master 5 days Project consultants and RIES (22x7) + (8x11) One 5 day 2430 Master Trainers Trainers + 24 = 486 workshop to familiarise for TOT in participants on each region content and methodology 2B1 (iii) M3 In-Service M3 teachers 5 days for 5 teachers from each 5 days SPAs and Master trainers to 6100 = 1200 LS School 6100 x Teacher Training LS, one teacher for each subject deliver training at provincial schools x 5 clusters to 5 = strand or district levels teachers plus be arranged 30500 100 facilitators by each PES 2B1 (iv) Workshop to RIES and TOT Preparation of M3 Training 2 days Project consultants working 45 One 2 day 90 prepare M4 Teacher writers Manual with RIES workshop Training Manual 2B1 (v) M4 TOT workshop All SPAs and Training of SPAs and Master 2 days Project consultants and RIES (22x7) + (8x11) One 2 day 972 Master Trainers Trainers + 24 = 486 workshop to familiarise for TOT in participants on each region content and methodology 2B1 (vi) M4 In-Service M4 teachers 5 days for 5 teachers from each 5 days SPAs and Master trainers to 6100 = 1200 LS School 6100 x Teacher Training LS, one teacher for each subject deliver training at provincial schools x 5 clusters tbd 5 = strand or district levels teachers plus by each PES 30500 100 facilitators 2B1 (vii) Workshop to RIES and TOT Revise based on review pilot 5 days Project consultants working 45 One 5 day 225 revise M5 Teacher writers training evaluation and M5 with RIES workshop Training Manual (final) teacher feedback 2B1 (viii) M5 TOT All SPAs and Training of SPAs and Master 3 days Project consultants and RIES (22x7) + (8x11) One 3 day 1458 workshop (final) Master Trainers Trainers + 24 = 486 workshop for TOT in each region 2B1 (ix) M5 In-Service M5 teachers (5 Summer school to be run in the 3 days SPAs and master trainers to 2500 = 5 3 day 7500
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Teacher Training (final) teachers from 7 TEIs and FOEs that deliver US deliver training at subject teachers x 500 workshop each school with BA teacher training based summer schools in schools per subject M5) Assumes 500 schools with M5 selected TEIs and FOEs. in selected and 5 subject strands TIE/FOE
2B1 (x) Workshop to RIES and TOT Revise based on review and M6 3 days Project consultants working 45 One 3 day 135 prepare M6 Teacher writers teacher feedback with RIES workshop Training Manual 2B1 (xi) M6 TOT workshop All SPAs and Training of SPAs and Master 3 days Project consultants and RIES (22x7) + (8x11) One 3 day 1458 Master Trainers Trainers + 24 = 486 workshop for TOT in each region 2B1 (xii) M6 In-Service M6 teachers (5 Summer school to be run in the 3 days SPAs and master trainers to 2500 = 5 3 day 7500 Teacher Training teachers from 7 TEIs and FOEs that deliver US deliver training at subject teachers x 500 workshop each school with BA teacher training Assumes based summer schools in schools per subject M6) 500 schools with M6 and 5 selected TEIs and FOEs. in selected subject strands TIE/FOE
2B1 (xiii) Workshop to RIES and TOT Revise based on review and M7 3 days Project consultants working 45 One 3 day 135 prepare M7 Teacher writers teacher feedback with RIES workshop Training Manual 2B1 (xiv) M7 TOT All SPAs and Training of SPAs and Master 3 days Project consultants and RIES (22x7) + (8x11) One 3 day 1458 workshop Master Trainers Trainers + 24 = 486 workshop for TOT in each region 2B1 (xv) M7 In-Service M7 teachers (5 Summer school to be run in the 3 days SPAs and master trainers to 2500 = 5 3 day 7500 Teacher Training teachers from 7 TEIs and FOEs that deliver US deliver training at subject teachers x 500 workshop each school with BA teacher training Assumes based summer schools in schools per subject M7) 500 schools with M7 and 5 selected TEIs and FOEs. in selected subject strands TIE/FOE
2B3 Annual Regional All SPAs Annual one day meeting 1 day SPAs to coordinate, with 22 SPAs x 17 One day per 2448 Meeting for Secondary attached to M3-M7 TOT logistical support from DTE districts = 408 year for 6 Pedagogical Advisers workshops and PES years (SPAs) 2B4 (i) Review findings RIES, DSE, DEOs, Findings reviewed and taken 1 day RIES to coordinate with 50 50
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from the ICT4LE capacity SPAs, TEIs forward into planning project consultants needs assessment and feasibility study 2B4 (ii) workshop for RIES, IC and NC, Implementation plan and 2 days RIES to coordinate with 15 One 30 design of ICT4LE SPAs and 2 ICT4LE curriculum materials project consultants planning teachers from 3 development framework design workshop pilot districts based on needs assessment and of 2 days feasibility study 2B4 (iii) workshop for RIES, IC, NC, 3 Design of pilot materials for one 5 days RIES and project consultants 20 One 5 day 100 development of multi- SPAs and subject subject – DVD, TV and radio to coordinate the program workshop media materials for specialists programs ICT4LE implementation 2B4 (iv) Implementation of SPA, DEO, TA (IC (i) school focused planning and 5 days SPAs and project consultants 10 participants x Three 5 day 150 ICT4LE curriculum and NC) and 5 orientation (ii) capacity building to coordinate the program 3 districts = 30 workshops, activities teachers + school of SPAs and teachers (iii) one in each principals Workplans developed by SPAs pilot district and teachers - activities and monitoring processes 2B4 (v) ICT4LE review RIES, SPA, DEO, Monitoring of progress with 2 days in District level review facilitated 25 participants x One review 300 workshops TA (IC and NC) implementation and to further 2014 by SPA/RIES and project 3 districts workshop and 5 teachers + build capacity 2 days in consultants for each school principals 2015 district each yr for 2 yrs 2B4 (vi) Workshop on RIES, SPA, DEO, ICT4LE Lessons Learned 1 day Central level review 50 One 50 ICT4LE Lessons Learned TA (IC and NC) including planning process for coordinated by MOE/RIES and meeting scaling up DSE
2B5 Teacher Upgrade 10 LS qualified Attendance on a district or 6 weeks Teachers invited to apply or 10 (50% female) Individual 1360 grants (11+3 to BA) for 10 science/maths provincial TUP per year selected by DEO Grants 6 weeks x 3 enrolment LS qualified science/maths and/or female Grant to cover fees (400,000 for 3 years provided to selected teachers years x 10 and/or female teachers teachers from kip), accommodation and travel participants from poor ethnic group poor ethnic group allowance areas areas 2C1 (ii) M3 Bid Evaluation MOE ad RIES Bid opening and evaluation 1 day MOE to manage and 10 One day 10 meeting coordinate 2C1 (iii) M4 Bid Evaluation MOE ad RIES Bid opening and evaluation 1 day MOE to manage and 10 One day 10
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meeting coordinate 2C1 (iv) M5 (pilot) Bid MOE ad RIES Bid opening and evaluation 1 day MOE to manage and 10 One day 10 Evaluation meeting coordinate 2C1 (v) M5 (final) Bid MOE ad RIES Bid opening and evaluation 1 day MOE to manage and 10 One day 10 Evaluation meeting coordinate 2C1 (vi) M6 Bid Evaluation MOE ad RIES Bid opening and evaluation 1 day MOE to manage and 10 One day 10 meeting coordinate 2C1 (vii) M7 Bid MOE ad RIES Bid opening and evaluation 1 day MOE to manage and 10 One day 10 Evaluation meeting coordinate 2C2 (i) M5 (1st edition) RIES and Review and final check of M5 TB 2 days Curriculum teams review 36 one 72 curriculum materials CRC curriculum and TG following RIES instructions. workshop readiness check writers Support from project in RIES consultants 2C2 (ii) M5 (2nd edition) RIES and Review pilot evaluation and M5 2 days Curriculum teams review 40 one 80 curriculum materials curriculum teacher feedback following RIES guidelines workshop review writers Support from project in RIES consultants 2C2 (iii) M5 (2nd edition) RIES and Review drafts and curriculum 5 days Coordination by RIES 8 participants x one 200 curriculum materials curriculum framework in five subject strand Support from project 5 subjects =40 workshop revision workshop writers teams consultants per subject x 5 in RIES 2C2 (iv) M5 (2nd edition) RIES and US Test and revision of revised 5 days Coordination by RIES 14 5 days per 70 curriculum materials teachers TB/TG sections Support from project subject in testing consultants schools and RIES 2C2 (v) M5 (2nd edition) RIES and subject Finalise all M5 curriculum 3 days Coordination by RIES 8 participants x one 120 curriculum materials specialist teams materials Support from project 5 subjects =40 workshop CACIM workshop consultants per subject x 5 in RIES 2C2 (vi) M5 (2nd edition) RIES and Review and final check of M5 TB 2 days Curriculum teams review 36 one 72 curriculum materials CRC curriculum and TG following RIES instructions. workshop readiness check writers Support from project in RIES consultants 2C2 (vii) M6 curriculum RIES and Review old M6 TB/TG, new 2 days Curriculum teams review 40 one 80 materials review curriculum curriculum framework and M6 following RIES guidelines workshop
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writers teacher feedback Support from project in RIES consultants 2C2 (viii) M6 curriculum RIES and Review drafts and curriculum 5 days Coordination by RIES 8 participants x one 200 materials development curriculum framework in five subject strand Support from project 5 subjects =40 workshop workshop writers teams consultants per subject x 5 in RIES 2C2 (ix) M6 curriculum RIES and US Test and revision of revised 5 days Coordination by RIES 14 5 days per 70 materials testing teachers TB/TG sections Support from project subject in consultants schools and RIES 2C2 (x) M6 curriculum RIES and subject Finalise all M6 curriculum 3 days Coordination by RIES 8 participants x one 120 materials CACIM specialist teams materials Support from project 5 subjects =40 workshop workshop consultants per subject x 5 in RIES 2C2 (xi) M6 curriculum RIES and Review and final check of M6 TB 2 days Curriculum teams review 36 one 72 materials CRC readiness curriculum and TG following RIES instructions. workshop check writers Support from project in RIES consultants 2C2 (xii) M7 curriculum RIES and Review old M7 TB/TG, new 2 days Curriculum teams review 40 one 80 materials review curriculum curriculum framework and M7 following RIES guidelines workshop writers teacher feedback Support from project in RIES consultants 2C2 (xiii) M7 curriculum RIES and Review drafts and curriculum 5 days Coordination by RIES 8 participants x one 200 materials development curriculum framework in five subject strand Support from project 5 subjects =40 workshop workshop writers teams consultants per subject x 5 in RIES 2C2 (xiv) M7 curriculum RIES and US Test and revision of revised 5 days Coordination by RIES 14 5 days per 70 materials testing teachers TB/TG sections Support from project subject in consultants schools and RIES 2C2 (xv) M7 curriculum RIES and subject Finalise all M7 curriculum 3 days Coordination by RIES 8 participants x one 120 materials CACIM specialist teams materials Support from project 5 subjects =40 workshop workshop consultants per subject x 5 in RIES 2C2 (xvi) M7 curriculum RIES and Review and final check of M7 TB 2 days Curriculum teams review 36 one 72 materials CRC readiness curriculum and TG following RIES instructions. workshop
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check writers Support from project in RIES consultants 2C3 (i) Workshop to RIES and TOT Provide generic pedagogical 5 days Project consultants working 45 One 5 day 225 prepare M5 Teacher writers training and review of changes with RIES workshop Training Manual (pilot) in the M5 curriculum for all subjects 2C3 (ii) M5 In-Service M5 teachers (one Summer school to be run in the 5 days SPAs and master trainers to 15= 1 teacher x 5 day 855 Teacher Training (pilot) teacher from each 7 TEIs and FOEs that deliver US deliver training at subject 15 schools + 30 workshop school with M5) BA teacher training Assumes 15 based summer schools in additional per subject schools with M5 and 11 subject selected TEIs and FOEs. in selected strands TIE/FOE
2E1 Strengthening of ESQAC, DSE Review and approval of Rules 6 days DSE and ESQAC to coordinate 30 3 days 180 national examinations for and Regulations for M4 and M7 workshop M4 and M7 exams and entrance exams to each yr for Higher Education two yrs 2E2 Development of RIES, DSE and Support for implementation of 5 days RIES and ESQAC to coordinate 25 One 125 Assessment of Student ESQAC ASLO for M4 (2014) and M7 workshop Learning Outcomes in (2017) 2014 and 2017
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Training and Institutional Capacity Building Plan
Institutional Capacity Development Plan at Central, provincial and district levels
Introduction
The ESDF PAF identifies the requirement for capacity development within the MOE and throughout the system for effective implementation of education reforms and the new policies, which have been drafted and approved in the past several years.
The initial stage of ESDF capacity development has been undertaken through EU support following the structure described in Stage 1 activities: ESDF Basics, ESDF Enabling Skills and Capacity Building Skills Development. The BESDP II institutional capacity development activities will need to align with the programs and progress made in ESDF capacity development in specific areas of common interest. This annex needs to be bread in parallel with Annex A06, which lays out the Institutional Teacher Education Capacity Development Plan.
This Plan focuses on Program activities planned to achieve the targets displayed in Output 3 Strengthened Secondary Education Subsector Management (BESDP II Interim Report Annex 11). While the ultimate beneficiaries are anticipated to be the students in secondary schools, the immediate beneficiaries are the male and female staff of Ministry of Education’s departments, centres and institutions at the national, provincial, district and school level; and in particular those that have roles and responsibilities related to secondary education.
The Department of Secondary Education has a clear mandate to administer and manage secondary education throughout the country and a specified role in communicating, coordinating, and cooperating with other MOE departments and centres, development partners, international organisations, non-government organisations, other government sectors, in the development of secondary education.
Other departments with clear responsibilities for secondary education include the Department of Inspection (DOI), Department of Planning and Cooperation (DPC), Department of Primary and Pre-school Education (DPPE), Department of Teacher Education (DTE), Department of Personnel and Organisation (DOP), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Non-formal Education (DNFE), Department of Physical Education and Art (DPEA), Department of Private Education Management (DPEM), the Department of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (DTVET) and the Department of Higher Education (DHE).
In the recent re-organisation of MOE1 a number of key centres, institutions and agencies were established or strengthened within the MOE structure and all have responsibilities related to secondary education and mirror the communicating, coordinating, and cooperating role of the DSE. These centres and institutions include the Education Statistics and Information Technology Centre (ESITC), the Inclusive Education Centre (IEC), the Strategic Research and Education Analysis Centre (SREAC), the Education Standards and Quality Assurance Centre (ESQAC) and the Research Institute for Educational Studies (RIES). Agencies involved include the UNESCO National Commission, the Educational Printing House and the Educational Material Production Factory.
The Provincial Education Service (PES) of each province has roles of supervision, direction, management, implementation, inspection, and expansion of education within its province. It is accountable for enhancing and implementing policies, resolutions, directives, provisions and
1 2008
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Training and Institutional Capacity Building Plan regulation of the MOE. The District Education Bureaux (DEB) has a mandate for administration at the lower and upper secondary levels. The PES retains responsibility for pedagogic advice at the upper secondary level through Pedagogic Advisers.
Various institutions have specified responsibilities at the school, village and community level including Village Education Development Committees (VEDC).2 In rural and remote communities the Pupils Parents Association is the main supporter of education including school construction, maintenance and innovation. PPA mobilizes children to go to school and supports teachers in their daily life. If a PPA is active and the community support is healthy, the PPA can add to the resources available to a school. But in some poor communities the contributions are difficult and slow.
Secondary Schools Basic Data from 2009-2010 EMIS statistics
Number of Secondary School Teachers and Schools by School Type, 2009-2010 Lower Secondary Upper Secondary Complete Secondary Incomplete School School School Grades M1-M6 Secondary School
Teachers 7883 612 12409 1130 Schools 594 17 354 209 Source: MOE EMIS 2010
Number of Secondary School Students by Grade, 2009-2010
M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7
Students 105769 88220 75221 66178 52202 45837 (From 2010-2011)
Source: MOE EMIS, 2010
Number of Secondary School Teachers by Ethnic Group and Sex, 2009-2010 Total Female Percent Female Lao-Tai 17,289 9,123 52.8%
Mon-Khmer 993 311 31.3% Chinese-Tibetan 247 172 69.6% Hmong-Yu Mien 746 92 12.3% Foreign 7 3 42.9% Others 17 6 35.3% Total 19,299 9,707 50.3% Source: MOE EMIS, 2010
Processes
A number of processes are well recognized as ways of approaching organizational and institutional capacity building. Some of these processes are briefly described in this section.
On-the-job instruction. On-the-job (day-to-day) instruction is often considered as the best way for people to learn how to do the job and to develop their skills related to their technical
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Training and Institutional Capacity Building Plan responsibilities. The process is considered cost-effective as well as the best way to support learning, as it is timely, directly relevant to the job, and ensures work continues while the person is learning.
Counterparts. Many projects identify individuals, or specified positions, to be counterparts to international and/or national specialists. On many projects the international specialist and a national specialist are teamed with one or more counterparts to develop relevant skills, knowledge and attitudes, as well as personal systems and processes to enhance work performance. At the same time the national specialist and the counterpart have a responsibility to teach the adviser about local conditions and environment and assist with project implementation by provision of advice and support.
Learning agreements. To overcome the mindset that on-the-job learning is of low value and to set targets learning agreements can be used. These agreements based on joint work plans of the specialists and the counterparts (or manager and managed); identify the learning to occur and the means by which the learning would be achieved.
In-house training courses. These courses designed for education managers supported by the participants’ current knowledge and experience and well structured to follow adult learning principles can be valuable. The courses provide opportunities for application and interaction. Successful in-house courses must be timed to coincide with implementation or consolidation needs. The skill or information gained is then used and a mentor or other system provides follow-up support to the participants.
Seminars have a role in capacity building when information needs to be shared with a broad range of people. They can be very useful when policy development and research reports are presented.
External short courses can be used, but need to be carefully targeted and the external suppliers selected carefully. They need to be targeted at organizational needs and learning and reinforced with follow-up from advisers or managers to ensure lessons learned are being implemented.
Manuals are designed for several purposes: as a record of newly designed policies and processes, as a source of information for new staff and as a source of information for the development of individual capacity. One has to be careful that consultants do not produce them just because they are named as milestone requirements. Participation of counterparts and other colleagues is essential in their development. A manual is of the most value when it is developed specifically, with or by government staff, for the local environment. It is important that the manual is used actively as a tool over a period of time and updated regularly.
Working groups and task forces can be used to build individual capacity in problem solving and participative decision-making. In these cases individuals also develop a better understanding of policies and processes. Regular meetings in the work place offer a forum for capacity building.
Executive and team meetings can be used as forums to communicate on progress of activities, to gather ideas and suggestions and to develop solutions to issues as they arise. This process can provide a role model for good communication and management practice.
Coaching is a term usually applied to the development of non-technical skills such as staff supervision and management, through one-to-one advice. Coaching is only successful when there is mutual trust and respect. The interpersonal skills of the coach are critical to success.
Mentoring assists managers and staff to develop their own personal strengths and to pursue their own goals. Mentoring provides guidance on how to work within the political environment of an organization as well as supporting in the pursuit of professional excellence.
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Training and Institutional Capacity Building Plan
Overseas scholarships at all academic levels in developing professional skills, conceptual ability and self-learning skills can be considered critical to the long term creation and sustainability of new ideas and processes. Participation in the programmes and the timing of them needs to be carefully controlled if the country is to benefit from them.
Study tours should be used with care, balancing motivation with capacity building. They are useful in exposing managers and teacher educators to new ideas in relatively short periods of time. Selection of the right candidates is critical and should be aligned to the information and exposure needs of the organization. Participants must have the personal capacity to learn from the experience and the willingness to share the learning with their follow officers on their return.
Conferences carefully selected can be appropriate if clearly connected with institutional and individual performance goals.
The important thing is that appropriate processes are selected to achieve specific outcomes. It is also important to ensure that the building of capacity in individuals is clearly aligned to organizational outcomes and priorities. Attendance on courses and participation in overseas programmes should be on an organizational needs basis and on-the-job instruction should be directly relevant to a person’s role.
Required competencies by level
Ministry of Education: Expansion and consolidation of skills (competencies) related to functions in: Macro planning/ strategic planning in education; Educational policy analysis/ sector analysis in education; Educational policy formulation; Education planning, programming and budgeting; School, enrolment and teacher projections; Educational costing, expenditure and financing; Resource analysis; Efficiency and cost benefit analysis; Human resource planning; Financial management; Program monitoring and evaluation; Personnel evaluation/measurement; EMIS development for monitoring; Understanding of access, equity, quality and relevance for policy and program planning; Education policy research and analysis; Statistical analysis.
Provincial Education Services: Expansion and consolidation of skills (competencies) related to functions in: Strategic planning in education; Educational policy analysis; Education planning, programming and budgeting; School, enrolment and teacher projections; Educational costing, expenditure and financing; Resource analysis; Efficiency and cost benefit analysis; Human resource planning; Financial management; Program monitoring and evaluation; Personnel evaluation/measurement; EMIS development for monitoring; Understanding of access, equity, quality and relevance for policy and program planning; Statistical analysis; Working with the community and NGO’s, CBO’s; Administration and management of examinations; General and financial administration.
District Education Bureaux: Expansion and consolidation of skills (competencies) related to functions in: School administration; Decentralized planning; School improvement planning; Teacher personnel management; Preparation and costing of educational plans, programs and projects; Teacher evaluation; Implementation management; School evaluation and monitoring; Working with the community and NGO’s, CBO’s; Administration and management of examinations; General and financial administration.
Schools: Expansion and consolidation of skills (competencies) related to functions in: School improvement planning; Institutional planning; Teacher evaluation; Community relations;
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Training and Institutional Capacity Building Plan
Collaboration with local bodies, parents and communities; Community surveys; Community mobilization; Preparation and use of instructional materials; School-based staff development School-based curriculum development and management.
Generic Management skills: Expansion and consolidation of skills (competencies) related to functions in: Principles and practices of management; Strategic planning and thinking; Management of change; Public accountability and awareness; Time and stress management; Office management; Conducting and participating in meetings; Conflict management and negotiation; Communication and inter-personal relationships; Decision-making and problem- solving; Delegation; Development policies, plans and programs of the government; Programming and budgeting; Management information systems; Team building; Leadership.
Generic workplace skills required by all staff independent of one’s organizational role: Expansion and consolidation of skills (competencies) related to functions in: Work- planning/scheduling; Office memo writing; Report writing; Working in multi-cultural settings/group dynamics; Assertiveness skills; Gender sensitization; Organizing meetings and/or attending meetings; Presentation skills; Appropriate level of computer skills; Public relations skills; English language skills
Professional and pedagogical skills: Expansion and consolidation of skills (competencies) related to functions in: Theories of educational reform and change; Early childhood education; Primary education; Secondary education; Girls’ education; Women’s education; Adult education; Non-formal education; Teacher education and training; Test and measurement; Evaluation and assessment; Curriculum development; Continuing education.
Outline Capacity Building Plan
All figures are purely illustrative until targets are set.
Focus Target Responsible NOTES Groups Provide rotated annual School DOP . National coverage through a 5 year training for school-based Directors DSE cycle managers in all aspects of . 594 lower secondary schools (priority) school improvement Deputy . 354 complete secondary schools planning including Directors . 17 upper secondary schools instructional leadership. . 965 schools (Schools of Quality) . Locate at provincial level to strengthen networks. . 5 days x 965 schools x 2 persons . (Consider 10 TEI) Provide training on School Staff ESITC . zz day x 965 schools x 1 person information and statistics PES including use of data in DEB making decisions School Planning and financing Central DOF . 2 person per province( 1 planning and (including budgeting) Provincial DOP 1 for budgeting) District . 4-5 persons at central level School Management of DSE To be decided . Review and revise lower secondary scholarships and access DOF access grants and education grants development grant manuals to match revised models
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Training and Institutional Capacity Building Plan
Focus Target Responsible NOTES Groups Community involvement in School DOP . BESDP II school construction, access managing schools Directors DNFE grant and educational development including fund raising for PPA’s DSE grant areas the renovation and VEDCs . Annual capacity development for refurbishment of school DEB project period facilities . 100 lower secondary schools . 2 days x 100 x 10 persons x 5 years PMIS training for DEB staff DOP . Capacity development for improved teacher Implementation of TDMP guidelines recruitment, deployment PES staff for teacher recruitment, deployment and retention – Quota and retention – DOP drafting of TDMP system replacement guidelines is planned for 2011 National school mapping Central staff ESITC Training required to initiate Province EMIS Central staff ESITC Capacity for data analysis Province District School Multi-mode capacity Central staff DOP Required competencies based on building for education PMU DSE institutional and needs assessments sector staff PIU DPP Province DTE District School
Further capacity building Central staff DOF Secondary Education Action Plan in preparing education Province There is confidence in using the sector MTEF. education MTEF but for the MTEF to be implemented smoothly further capacity building is needed in the institutions responsible for preparing MTEF. Capacity building of Department DOI Monitoring and evaluation, establish a inspection functions at of Inspection monitoring and evaluation database, PES and DEB revise TOR of the monitoring and evaluation division, improve monitoring and evaluation tools and strengthen provincial and district level monitoring and any implementation units established at sub-national and national level. Secondary Education Unit DOP DSE Management and Pedagogical Advisory DEB DOP for Secondary Education at the District Level. Knowledge of Secondary Education Curriculum, Textbook and Teacher Guide. Local Curriculum Development. Build understanding of Central staff DOP Manuals of Work Procedures mandates, roles, PMU DSE responsibilities and PIU working together with Province other departments, District centres and institutions Education Development in District DOP Educational Supervisory and the District Education Community Mobilization at the District
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Training and Institutional Capacity Building Plan
Focus Target Responsible NOTES Groups Development level. Committees (DEDC) MOE Support for policy DSE, DTE, DSE Capacity development support for implementation (SE DOP implementation of new policies relating Policy, TDMP policy, IE to improvements in secondary education Policy) sector. Activities to support Central staff DoPEM Strategic Plan for Private Education increased private sector PEAC Promotion 2010-2020 investment in LSE. PEA
Annex 24 Page 7 of 7 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 25 Outline Design for Impact Evaluation Study of SESDP Scholarship Program
SUMMARY OF SESDP IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING, ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION CONTEXT Assessment LSE Scholarship Project design Project implementation Monitoring Final Project Review (mid term review) Impact Evaluation 2011 (baseline) 2012 2012-2016 2016 2014 2016-2017 District 2009/10 EMIS data; Update with 2010/11 Update with 2011/12 EMIS 2012/13: 30 Target EMIS 2014/15: n.a. Selection FTI/Poverty data EMIS data EMIS data Districts versus other FTI Target Districts vs Other FTI vs Other School Rapid assessment (focus Review/confirm new site Update Assess appropriate n.a. Selection on sites) selection selection? Pupil Parents Develop Manual; PPA management/ report PPA review 11-14 year Assess PPA Associations (PPA) Training PPA; rapid Grant funds; and old children’s effectiveness on assessment 11-14 year- Scholarships supervision participation observed outcomes olds (2011-12) (2013-14) LSE Construction LSE design similar to Review/confirm new site PPA/District report District report on Impact of supply on Assess effect of BESDP selection status/progress value/quality completion rates construction USE Construction Develop detailed design DEB/PES report PES report on Impact of supply on USE n.a. for SESDP status/progress value/quality enrolment LSE Scholarships Revise/modify MOE PPA manage selection MTR assessment of Assess contribution of See separate schedule (BESDP) Scholarship from Grade 5 2012/13 effective selection scholarships on LSE Manual students (gender, ethnicity, completion; USE minimal attrition) transition USE Scholarships Develop USE PPA/District monitor MTR examines USE Assess selection n.a. Scholarships Manual Grade 8 (2012/13) as selection process (gender, ethnicity) potential USE LSE (and USE) Develop MOE (SESDP) PPA training and MTR examines PPA Assess dormitory impact Assess effect of Dormitory provision Dormitory Manual management management and on gender, ethnicity, dormitories on outcomes/impact outcome completion rates School Access Grants Revise/modify MOE PPA training and MTR examines PPA Assess Grants impact on Assess any effect of (BESDP) Grants Manual management management and gender, ethnicity, grants on outcomes outcomes/impact outcome Teacher staffing, 2009/10 EMIS data; SESDP obtains teacher DEB/PES assess MTR examines impact of Assess value of training Any difference in effect of qualifications, training BESDP outcomes feedback on training SESDP training impact training on on student learning training on outcomes? activity teaching/learning outcomes Textbook delivery and BESDP outcomes Review BESDP M2 PPA/DEB assess MTR examines textbook Assess value of Any difference in effect of use delivery outcome textbook provision impact on textbooks on learning textbooks on outcomes? teaching/learning outcomes District, Province, MOE School network mapping DEB/PES assess school MTR assesses Lessons applied? n.a. planning impact mapping contribution Lessons learned?
Annex 25 Page 1 of 4 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 25
Framework for LSE Scholarship Impact Analysis The primary purpose of the Scholarship Impact Analysis is to enable the Ministry to assess the benefits of the SESDP Scholarship program. This will enable the Ministry to justify a more comprehensive scholarship program in line with Government policy.
For the planned analysis, attention has been given to capturing pre-Project data on students in the 30 Districts targeted for specific SESDP interventions. This data will enable the consultant/company or institution contracted by the Ministry to undertake the Impact Analysis without having to reconstruct data for the 2013/14 LSE scholarship cohort. The pre-Project data set could also be used to identify sample groups of continuing and discontinuing students for interview if it would yield more information about the cultural and economic factors affecting family decisions about continuing schooling.
In 2009/10, there were 16,959 students in Grade 5 in 30 target Districts, and 11,967 in Grade 6 (G6/G5=70.6%). The students for the Scholarship cohort (Grade 6 in 2013/14) and the preceding cohort (2012/13) and following cohort (2014/15) would be distributed in the following 3 x 3 matrix – 3 cohorts by three levels of direct SESDP provision of targeted activity – in addition to all groups benefiting from textbook provision and teacher training:
Effect group 1 are the 30 new LSE schools, where students benefit from new classroom construction, may receive scholarships, provision of dormitory accommodation, remedial learning support, and other PPA use of Access Grants. It is assumed that most schools would be some distance from the District center. [In 2009/10, two districts Phonthong and Xaysathan had no complete secondary school, and the centre may be the logical location].
Effect group 2 are students in an additional 30 schools (LSE or complete secondary schools) which receive no classroom construction, but may receive scholarships, dormitory accommodation, and PPA use of Access Grants for income generating activity, remedial learning support or other purposes. It is assumed that most of the schools would be some distance from the District center.
Table 23.2 LSE Scholarship: Impact Assessment Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Outcomes in Outcomes in 30 Grade Grade Outcomes in other LSE existing 5 6 30 new LSE /Secondary schools (no schools schools in construction) District Cohort prior to SESDP 2011/12 2012/13 LSE Scholarships SESDP LSE Scholarship 2012/13 2013/14 Cohort Cohort following SESDP 2013/14 2014/15 LSE Scholarships
Page 2 of 4 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 25
Effect group 3 could be the District center school - 25 districts have only 1 complete secondary school, or more remote incomplete schools, which have insufficient students to justify LSE construction, and would not be a viable LSE school. It is assumed that many of these students would have priority for a LSE scholarship to the complete secondary school in the District center. One outcome could be a reduction in the number of incomplete secondary schools.
Each province may nominate one school to receive USE classrooms and laboratories, either expanding USE capacity at a complete secondary school in a district center or upgrading an existing LSE school to a complete secondary school. It could also be a combination of LSE and USE construction to create an additional “complete” secondary school (which may affect outcome in Effect group 1). Most of these issues will become clearer when nominations for LSE construction are developed and the district/province/MOE confirm the proposed location.
Assessing Project Impact
The latest available EMIS data is for 2009/10 (with 2010/11 data expected to become available late June/early July 2011) and the EMIS data for 2009/10 is used to show the amount of information collected if data was captured for all Grade 5 students in 2011/12 to 2013/14 in the 30 target districts. A nominal estimate would be between 60,000 and 70,000 for the three-year period.
If SESDP captures data for up to 20,000 Grade 5 students each year - 2011/12, 2012/13 (the scholarship cohort) and 2013/14 - including student name1, gender, age (year of birth), home language(s) and some measure of family economic status2, these students can be matched with Grade 9 completion in 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 respectively. This would enable evaluation of the impact of the scholarships, especially whether there was a marked increase in Grade 5 to Grade 6 transition (maximum effect would be if scholarships encouraged students who would have dropped out to continue and complete Grade 9; the minimum effect would be if students awarded scholarships would have continued to Grade 9 without scholarships), and whether the transition rate was maintained in the post-scholarship cohort.
The comparison between the three “effect” groups provides another dimension for impact evaluation – construction of the new school, especially if
1 Student name is required so that Grade 9 completion can be assessed against the entry characteristics. Name would be stored in a secure database, with limited access, and reporting would be aggregated where necessary to avoid identification of individual students. 2 Family size, number of children (and birth order of the scholarship student) should be captured, as these factors as well as gender could affect family decision about a student continuing education
Page 3 of 4 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 25 the location maximizes access for communities not currently served by a LSE or a complete secondary school, could increase retention and completion. This effect would be expected to be sustained for the post-scholarship cohort.
Summary
The final decision about the Impact Evaluation rests with the Ministry and the ADB, with advice from monitoring and evaluation consultants, the feasibility and cost of the proposed study. Subject to ADB procurement procedures, the Ministry (PMU) would invite prospective institutions or companies to outline their proposed approach to the evaluation, methodology, timeframe and a sealed financial proposal.
Page 4 of 4 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report)
ANNEX 26 Cost and Finance Plan Taxes and duties as part of grant dependent on ADB review
Table 24.1 Draft Program Cost Estimates in LAK and USD
Annex 26 Page 1 of 4 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report)
ANNEX 26 Cost and Finance Plan Taxes and duties as part of grant dependent on ADB review
Table 24.2 Draft Program Cost Estimates by Component
Annex 26 Page 2 of 4 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report)
ANNEX 26 Cost and Finance Plan Taxes and duties as part of grant dependent on ADB review
Table 24.3 Draft Program Cost Estimates by Year of Program
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ANNEX 26 Cost and Finance Plan Taxes and duties as part of grant dependent on ADB review
Table 24.4 Draft Program Finance Plan
Annex 26 Page 4 of 4 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 27 Financial Management Assessment
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
1.The purpose of the Financial Management Assessment (FMA) was to review and assess the EA’s financial management including financial report, accounting, auditing internal control, disbursement pace, and cash flow management. The assessments focused on adequacy management of the project transactions, regular record keeping, the reliable financial statements, update the asset inventory and financial audit management. ADB’s Financial Management Assessment Questionnaire (FMQ), disbursement handbook, and the Guidelines for the Financial Governance and Management of Project were used.
A. Review of Previous Reports
2.Project documents examined prior to the financial management assessment were: ADB, Institutional Strengthening of the National Audit Office (TRA: Lao32310), Basic Education Development Project (Project Number: 32312); Strengthening Higher Education Project (Project Number: 42134), Improved Public Financial Management Systems (Project Number 40300). Department of Finance (DOF) of the Ministry of Education's (MOE) Operation Manual. The Second Education Development Project (EDP2), World Bank, completed a comprehensive financial management assessment for EFA/FTI Catalytic Funding in November 2010, including central, provincial, and district and school level assessments. An assessment was also completed for the Strengthening Technical Vocational Education and Training (STVET) Project (Project 42278). Both reports assessed the MOE financial management capacity as adequate.
B. Key Findings
(a)Issues for MOE
3.Executing Agency (MOE/DSE). Any project financed by external sources, particularly ADB projects, MOE has assigned the department concerned to implement the project activities. Project Coordination Committee (DSE, Department of Planning, DOF of MOE). Within the MOE, project financial proposal needs approval from DSE, DOF, Minister of MOE, and MOF. MOE establishes a Project Management Unit (PMU), whose role is to manage the planning and implementation of the project. PMU is responsible for carrying out all the project activities. Decree No. 008 is the governing decree for financial calculation for government employees. DOF has taken full responsibility in processing and endorsing all the project activities and it has coordinated with MOF related all work activities.
4.Funds Flow Arrangement. MOF designates MOE to open an imprest account at BOL. The Ministry receiving the assistance administers the project, including financial management and reports. The project has to deal with three departments at MOF (Tax Department, External Relation Department (for direct payment and replenishment), and Treasury Department (for imprest account).
5.Project financial flow consists of direct payment and payment through Imprest Account. For direct payment, PMU collects invoices from suppliers or contractors; prepares payment document; and submits withdrawal application to DOF, MOE for approval. Approval from MOF (External Finance Department) before submission to ADB is required. ADB transfers payment directly to supplier/contractor’s account. (Direct payment consists of large procurement and civil work). For Imprest Account, PMU prepares and submits withdrawal application to DOF, MOE for approval; the request is then forwarded for approval of MOF (Treasury Department) before submission to ADB. Funds flow from ADB to BOL (Imprest
Annex 27 Page 1 of 6 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 27 Financial Management Assessment
Account). Funds flow through imprest account consists of expenses, such as workshops, personnel development, training, and project management.
6.For document processing, PIU prepares a proposal and submits to the project director (PD). PD checks the proposal in consultation with the concerned Department and submits the proposal to DOF, MOE. Depending on the delegation of authority, Director of DOF or Minister approves before submitting it to MOF and then to ADB. At DOF, Financial Control Division and Accounting Division check the financial document.
7.DOF document processing rules for financial management, particularly where a project extends to the provinces need to be adhered to. . Provincial education officials do not have full understanding on the nature of supporting documents; on procedure of financial flow; proposals for disbursement, project plan and execution, and other financial-related matter.
8.Fund transfer to students has experienced difficulties. Under the Basic Education Sector Development Program (BESDP), students in receipt of scholarships were required to obtain parental consent to open a bank account, and accounts were opened for each student to receive scholarship payments each semester. Given difficulty in students travelling to the nearest bank, it was reported that many head teachers took signed authorities from students, withdrew funds from student accounts and paid money to the students upon return to school. This process negated the purpose in opening individual student accounts.
9.Under STVET, the PMU transfers the budget to province and the school pays the allowance to students, not directly transfer to students. The more transfer points the financial arrangement has to go through, the slower it is. Transaction fees raise the cost of administration.
10. Scholarship payments to students in Ethnic Boarding Schools (on the Provincial Budget) already use a direct payment from PES to the school and the school makes payments to students.
11. For the introduction of GOL Block Grant payments to schools, each school will be required to open an account at a District Bank. There is a strong argument that the same process applies for payment of SESDP scholarship funds and Access Grant funds (where approved) to the school accounts. This will require someone from the school to travel to the District Center to withdraw funds. Guidelines for pupil-parent associations will establish procedures for community oversight of payments to eligible students.
12. Other than the BESDP scholarship payments due to remoteness of schools from the nearest Bank, there only problems for direct payment were the pace of document processing between PMU and DOF at MOE. The problems of financial flow through imprest account are with the slow pace of document processing between PMU and DOF due to few staff handling many projects and document checking. In principle, project expense requires approval and account clearance approval requires signatures by: PIU, PMU, and DOF (MOE).
13. Staffing. Both the EFA/FTI and STVET FMA identified level of MOE DOF staffing as problems. There are 8 staff allocated for accounting division and 4 staff for Financial Control Division. No staff at the Accounting Division has accounting major (three staff majored in Business Management, and two in Finance). Although the DOF/MOE is staffed with experienced staff, technical qualifications and the number of staff are limited, with only two for supervising ADB funded projects. While MOE runs many externally funded projects, it needs more qualified accountants, with delegated authority to approve financial matters. Education for All (EFA), Fast Track Initiative Catalytic Fund (FTI/CF) project, co-financed by World Bank,
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AusAID, and Lao Government, sent a World Bank Mission to observe financial management of MOE, and also identified that accounting staff at DOF is insufficient. It was proposed by DOF that 13 accountants are needed for Accounting Division and 7 financial controllers for Financial Control Division.
14. In April 2010, new personnel quota (7 staff) was allocated to DOE. DOE has recruited three staff (one for Accounting Division; one for Financial Control Division; and one for Construction Design and Maintenance Division, and is planning to recruit four more staff (three for Accounting Division, and one for Construction Design and Maintenance Division). During 2011, DOF has recruited an additional 6 staff, all graduates – five in Business and the sixth has a Master in Finance including Budget Accounting. See chart below.
15. Accounting Policies and Procedures. The chart of account is adequate to properly account for and report on project activities and disbursement categories. Cost allocations to the various funding sources are made accurately and in accordance with established agreements, and the General Ledger and subsidiary ledgers are reconciled and balanced. All accounting and supporting documents are retained on a permanent basis in a defined system that allows authorized users easy access. DOF has requested short, in-country courses tailored to meet the specific needs of its staff and to share experiences with international experts.
16. Segregation of Duties. According to roles and tasks responsibilities are divided among the Minister, Director General of DSE, Director of DOF, Chief Accountant, Accountants and Cashier to manage cash flow. The recording of transactions is carried out by accountant officers at PMU level and the cashier is the custodian of assets obtained through the transactions. Ordering, receiving, accounting and paying functions are segregated. Hence, there is proper accounting control between the recording and cash disbursement functions.
17. Budgeting System. The MOE follows the Government fiscal year – October to September. The current budgeting system of MOE follows financial Management Regulation specified by MOF. There is a system of variance analysis which is done on a quarterly and yearly basis.
18. Asset Inventory. All assets belonging to the Project are tagged and recorded by PMU in asset accounts. The assets assigned to project beneficiary are recorded in the organization’s asset account. Therefore, there are adequate safeguards to prevent from fraud, waste and misuse of the project fund. However, asset values are not updated at the end of each year, and physical verification of assets and reconciliation with records is not done on a regular basis by PMU, but by an auditing agency. All assets, except for vehicles, are not insured.
19. Financial Reporting and Monitoring. Financial statements are prepared quarterly for MOE and MOF. The reporting system is already fully adapted to report on the project outputs. The financial management reporting responsibilities, required content of the financial report, and procedures are specified in the operation manual of the DOF in MOE. Computerization of the accounting record has just started, utilizing different software identified in a different project. Streamlining the software and system is needed to improve the current financial information management to incorporate the project accounts and ensure that these are reflected accurately in the financial reporting system of MOE. Likewise, the project’s financial reporting needs to be strengthened to conform to both ADB and MOF requirements.
20. Management of accounting information is mostly manual system. MOE and externally funded projects use different software to maintain financial information (e.g. Microsoft Excel, Quicken, and ACCPAC). Therefore, financial information are not capable of digitally
Annex 27 Page 3 of 6 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 27 Financial Management Assessment reconciliation. The primary control over expenditure is the budget allocation. Another point of internal control is the Treasury Department that ensures that payment is genuine and within budgetary limits. Management of accounting information is handled by DOF, MOE.
21. Audits. For ADB, State Audit Office audits project account. The Financial Control Division within DOF, MOE carries out internal financial control. The Government requires mandatory external audits. In the previous audits, no major problem has been identified.
22. In conclusion, MOE’s capacity to undertake the financial management report is adequate. The financial department of MOE has the required capacity and experience in financial management for the annual operation and maintenance of the system, with additional qualified accounting staff, training and software improvement. Among the major issues are (i) MOE has inadequate qualified and experienced accountants to manage the payment and contractors’ disbursement of numerous projects; (ii) need to streamline project expense approval and account clearance approval processes: required signatures from PIU, PMU, DOF (MOE), MOF; and double checking layers at DOF (by Accounting Division and Financial Control Division) which may not be necessary since the procedure of application itself requires several inspections; (iii) lack of integrated financial information management systems (different software used in different levels), and (iv) financial management operation procedure manual does not fully describe all the needed procedures and is not widely disseminated. In general the financial management is based on the Principles and Regulations issued by the MOF. It is required that the MOF should disseminate these principles and regulations for smooth implementation.
23. Recommendations. (i) Since procedures cannot be altered, MOE needs more technically competent accounting staff, with delegated authority. (ii) Financial information management needs improvement. The process of document processing can be streamlined through a synchronizing software for financial information from PMU, DOF, MOE, and MOF to enhance the quality, accuracy, and speed of financial management. (iii) MOE shall adapt software to handle financial information management system and train a specialist to administer the system. (iv) Improving financial and accounting operation manual and disseminating it to all financial staffs at different levels will increase an understanding of financial flow and requirements. For Funds Flow, see Proposed Funds Flow section.
Summary of Issues
24. PMU is formed with the approval from the Ministry of Education and steering committee. PMU recruits accountants and prepares annual contracts, which are subject for extension/renewal depending on staff performance. In the first six months, the accountant usually requires close supervision from project director as he/she learns the required procedures.
25. Proposal for expense is time consuming due to PIU's insufficient understanding of budget allocation and eligible expenses; thus the proposal is sent back and forth between PMU and PIU (particularly at provincial level). The same matter sometimes occurs between PMU and National Treasury, MOF, as the latter controls the expenses according to the actual cost in the market, e.g. accommodation, conference venue, etc.
26. SESDP follows the current BESDP Project and the existing procedures and standards for the PMU and Ministry DOF should continue. The requirement for students receiving BESDP scholarships to open personal bank accounts required an unnecessary diversion of time, and accounting. Students required parental consent to open accounts, the Banks were too remote from the schools and procedures were adopted where the school head or a designated
Annex 27 Page 4 of 6 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 27 Financial Management Assessment teacher went to the bank, withdrew funds from student accounts, and students signed for receipt of the money. These procedures negated the purpose of operating individual student bank accounts.
27. Scholarship Payments. SESDP should assist the MOE revise guidelines for scholarship payments to students, submit these for ADB concurrence, and provide training for pupil- parent associations to (i) ensure that the poorest students receive scholarships, (ii) maintain an accurate record of payments made to each student, (iii) monitor attendance and minimize drop-out, and (iv) the Pupil Parent Associations ensure that the scholarship moneys are used appropriately.
28. Access Grant payments under SESDP for low-cost community managed dormitories should be based on MOE approval of proposals from Pupil Parent Associations in the 30 newly constructed LSE schools, up to 30 additional LSE schools, and 15 schools receiving new USE classrooms and laboratories. Timely reporting of all payments made and any unspent funds should enable the PMU to account for all Project funds.
29. As SESDP will operate in at least 30 districts in 15 Provinces, the PMU and DOF should provide training for District and Provincial staff so that financial reporting meets MOF and ADB requirements.
C. Recommendations:
28. The establishment of the PMU requires careful selection of highly competent staff experienced in ADB-funded projects. The following recommendations are specific for PMU financial management:
(i) The Head of the PMU should have knowledge, experiences and skill in Project Management (ii) Establish an effective financial management team through recruitment of competent senior accountants, with clearly defined duties, responsibilities, lines of supervision and explicit authority for approval and payment of Project money. (iii) Funds Transfer consist of three types: (a) from ADB to schools; (b) from ADB to imprest accounts, and (c) directly from ADB to suppliers and contractors. Funds transfer for schools should be directly from Imprest Account to school accounts (established at a District Bank), with each school accounting for payments to students. Funds for project administration are from Imprest account to a Project Management Sub-Account. Large procurement and civil works contracts are transferred directly from Imprest Account to suppliers and contractors. (iv) Establish a computerized financial management reporting system that is integrated with MOE system and ADB format. Each of the SESDP schools which receives scholarship or other access grant payments should have a separate reporting identity, so that timely reporting of all payments can be made, and reported at school, district, provincial and national level. (v) PMU, DOF, Provincial and District finance/accounting staff need appropriate training in financial management, preparation of budget, financial analysis, and reporting before the beginning of the project; and (vi) ADB designates an external auditing firm to audit the Project.
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Education Background of Accounting Division, DOF, MOE
Name Position Major Degree 1 Ms.Seunchit Selinokham Head of Division English Bachelor 2 Mr.Bounphent Phommanivong Deputy Head Finance Bachelor 3 Ms.Phetsaline Norlasong Deputy head Maths/Physics Bachelor 4 Ms.Soutchay Souvannavong Technical staff Business Management Bachelor 5 Mr.Chack Phommahane Technical staff Business Management Diploma 6 Mr.Souphab Saenglath Technical staff Finance Diploma 7 Mr.Yeyang Naoyiyang Technical staff Economic Planning Master 8 Ms.Viengsouk Namlammoun Technical staff Business Management Bachelor 9 Ms.Phonesavanh Hommanyphet Technical staff BA Bachelor 10 Ms.Phonethepha Vongsithi Technical staff BA Bachelor 11 Ms.Nouansy Southichack Technical staff Maths Bachelor 12 Mr.Sengthong Daovong Technical staff BA Bachelor 13 Mr.Ninxay Vongphaxay Technical staff BA Bachelor 14 Mr.Sisouphanh Savanglienkham Technical staff Finance Master Updated May 2011. Positions 9-14 new appointments.
Annex 27 Page 6 of 6 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 28 LD Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan
Assessment Assessment without with Risks Mitigation Management Plan or Measures Mitigation Overall Medium Low MOE is to address financial staff capacity through careful selection of PMU and IU staff, which will have high degree of continuity with BESDP. PMU head will have knowledge and Financial experience in project management including Medium Low management financial management. The Project will fund contractual accounting staff for the PMU and train staff in implementing units in financial planning, accounting, auditing and control.
Initial training and capacity building under PPTA to be followed by training on the procurement requirements of the Project, lessons learned from BESDP and the PREI. To support the civil works and textbook/teaching guide procurement Procurement Medium Low programs the Project will engage two civil works coordinators and a project procurement officer for the PMU. Ongoing procurement training of IU staff will be part of their TOR.
Large procurement and civil works contracts transferred directly from Imprest Account to suppliers and contractors. Scholarship and Access Grant Funds for schools transferred directly from Imprest Account to school accounts (established at a District Bank) with guidelines to Corruption Medium incorporate clear mechanisms for monitoring, Low accounting, reporting, etc. PPAs will witness scholarship payments, with proof of student receipt (e.g., signatures) required as part of liquidation. Annual external audits and spot- checks planned.
Outcome-level The program is designed to support the government’s ongoing reforms in the secondary education subsector and in close alignment with Commitment to ESDF’s three pillars and targets. The ESDF and other complementary policy program and investment sectoral strategies Medium grant contributes to the delivery of the three Low and targets does not outputs expanded access to secondary remain strong education, improved delivery of new secondary education curricula and strengthened secondary education subsector management.
Output-level Scholarship Scholarship and access manuals to be prepared selection criteria, by the PMU and training/orientations for DEB, Low access grant PPA, VEDC conducted in order to ensure
Annex 28 Page 1 of 2 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 28 LD Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan guidelines and Medium supervision of the process of scholar selection dormitory place and awarding of scholarships and access grants. allocations not Communication/dissemination advocacy strategy strictly followed planned to reinforce scholarship, access grant and dormitory initiatives. Core content of guidelines, scholar names, access grant fund utilization, etc. to be transparently posted on school billboards (as confirmed by DEB and spot-checks) with DEBs responding to any inquiries or grievances.
Tranche conditions for Program Loan include government commitment to allocate a share of total government budget (excluding debt Growth of total repayment) not less than 18% (which is fully budget for education aligned with the same target specified in the and/or for recurrent Medium revised Law on Education); targets for MOE non- Low expenditures not staff recurrent budget and introduction of block maintained grants for secondary education in target districts are fully consistent with ESDF and other national targets, and project will support policy dialogue.
Breakdown in inter- DSE (and as appropriate PMU) will take the lead agency and in coordinating the involvement of ESITC, DOP development partner and DOF in working together and better aligning coordination on existing MIS system. Full participation by DSE in Medium Low better aligning ESWG focus groups will ensure against existing MIS breakdown of coordination. systems
Project will recruit (i) M&E consultants to support objective M&E, including tracking of data for GAP and EGP; and (ii) independent firm or M&E including institution to conduct Impact Evaluation. independent impact Medium Baseline and Impact Evaluation guidelines Low evaluation included in PAM, and support robust impact compromised evaluation: ADB to be consulted closely on TOR, final detailed design of baseline and impact evaluation, etc.
BESDP = Basic Education Development Sector Program, DEB = District Education Bureau(s), DOF = Department of Finance, DOP = Department of Personnel, DSE = Department of Secondary Education, EGP = Ethnic Group Plan, ESDF = Education Sector Development Plan, ESITC = Education Statistics and Information Technology Centre, GAP = Gender Action Plan, IU = Implementing Unit, ESWG = Education Sector Working Group, M&E = monitoring and evaluation, MIS = Management Information System, MOE = Ministry of Education, PMU = Project Management Unit, PPA = pupil-parent association(s), PREI = Procurement Review for Effective Implementation, IU = Implementing Unit, SESDP = Secondary Education Sector Development Program, TOR = Terms of Reference, VEDC = Village Education Development Committee(s). Source: Asian Development Bank
Annex 28 Page 2 of 2 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 29 Consultant Services Schedule
Project/Calender Year Tota (person months) Specialist position1 l 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ord 20 20 201 201 201 20 20 er 12 13 4 5 6 17 18
International consultants
48 Expert on Secondary Education Management / Team 1 return air fares 14 102 102 62 62 62 52 52 Leader 2 return air fares 1 1 ------2 Expert on School Architectural Design 2 ------4 Expert on Access-Enhancing Scholarships and 3 return air fares 2 21 21 ------School Grant Schemes 6 return air fares 3 1 1 1 - - - - 4 Expert on Gender and Social Development 3 2 1 - - - - 23 return air fares 12 3 4 2 2 1 - - 5 Expert on Teacher Education and Training Systems 7 8 3 3 2 - - 3 return air fares 3 - 1 1 1 - - - 6 Expert on Quality Assurance in Teacher Education - 1 1 1 - - - 8 Expert on Teacher Recruitment, Deployment, and 7 return air fares 7 21 22 22 22 ------Performance Monitoring 10 Expert on ICT-based Materials Development for 8 return air fares 5 21 21 21 21 21 - - - - Educators 4 return air fares 2 - 1 1 - - - - 9 Expert on Textbook Policy Development - 2 2 - - - - 4 Expert on Upper Secondary Curriculum Materials 11 return air fares 3 - - 21 11 11 ------Development - Foreign Language 4 Expert on Upper Secondary Curriculum Materials 10 return air fares 3 - - 21 11 11 ------Development - Science 4 Expert on Upper Secondary Curriculum Materials 12 return air fares 3 - - 21 11 11 ------Development - Social Sciences 2 return air fares 1 - 1 - - - - - 13 Expert on Instructional Materials Procurement - 2 - - - - - 9 return air fares 7 - 2 2 2 - 1 - 14 Expert on Secondary School Student Assessment - 4 2 2 - 1 - 6 return air fares 2 1 1 - - - - - 15 Expert on School Network Mapping 4 2 - - - - - 4 return air fares 2 1 1 - - - - - 16 Expert on Social Marketing and Communication 2 2 - - - - - 4 return air fares 2 1 1 - - - - - 17 Expert on Private Sector Mobilization in Education 2 2 - - - - - 4 return air fares 2 1 1 - - - - - 18 Expert on ICT-for-Education Policy and Strategy 3 1 - - - - - 6
19 Expert on Education M&E 2 - 2 - 2 - -
The Mission noted that members of the PPTA consultant team mobilized by CEC and LCG (see footnote 2) were not involved in drafting TORs or other preparations for SESDP implementation consultants, and thus 1 would be eligible for consultancy under SESDP.
Annex 29 Page 1 of 3 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report) ANNEX 29 Consultant Services Schedule
Project/Calender Year Tota (person months) Specialist position1 l 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ord 20 20 201 201 201 20 20 er 12 13 4 5 6 17 18 return air fares 3 1 - 1 - 1 - - TOTAL person months 155 41 48 24 19 12 6 5 return air fares 77 15 23 16 13 5 3 2
National consultants
84 Specialist on Secondary Education Management / 1 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 Deputy Team Leader 72 Civil Works Coordinators (2 individuals for North & 2 6 16 16 16 16 8 - - South) 24 3 Specialist on School Design (Architect) 3 3 - - - - - 30 4 Scholarship and Access Grant Coordinator 4 8 6 6 - - - 27 5 Specialist on Gender and Social Development 8 6 5 3 3 2 3 6 Specialist on Pre- and In-service Teacher Training 3 9 9 4 4 2 - - Specialist on Quality Assurance in Teacher 7 - 1 1 1 - - - Education 9 Specialist on Teacher Recruitment and Teacher 8 3 2 2 2 - - - Performance Monitoring 12 Specialist on ICT-based Materials Development for 9 2 4 2 2 2 - - Educators 6 Specialist on Textbook and Teacher Guide 10 2 1 1 1 1 - - Procurement 8 Specialist on Secondary Curriculum Development - 11 2 3 2 2 - - - Foreign Languages 6 Specialist on Upper Secondary Curriculum Materials 12 - 3 2 2 - - - Development - Mathematics 10 Specialist on Upper Secondary Curriculum Materials 13 2 5 2 2 - - - Development - Science 6 Specialist on Upper Secondary Curriculum Materials 14 6 - 3 2 2 - - - Development - Social Sciences 3 15 Specialist on Textbook Policy Development - 3 3 - - - - 11 16 Specialist on Instructional Materials Procurement - 3 - - - - - 4 17 Specialist on Secondary School Student Assessment - 5 3 3 - 1 - 12 18 Specialist on School Network Mapping 2 2 - - - - - 4 19 Specialist on Social Marketing and Communication 6 6 - - - - - 12 20 Specialist in Private Sector Mobilisation in Education 2 2 - - - - - 24 21 Specialist on ICT-for-Education Policy and Strategy 6 6 - - - - - 10 Total person months 379 84 65 59 31 15 18 22 M&E Coordinator 5 74 5 4 3 - 3 Locally contracted professional grade staff
20 10 Curriculum Development specialists for M7 20 months deleted from 84 10 10 teacher training pre-service course PAM version 60 Project Finance Officer 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 84 Project Procurement Officer 12 12 12 12 12 Total person months 248 46 46 36 36 36 24 24 Project Monitoring and Reporting Officer 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 Surveys involving outside contracted personnel 45 $1,0 00 School construction assessment surveys 50 10 20 11 4 $10 Pilot study/surveys - graduate teacher incentive 75 25 25 0 scheme $50Total surveys 170 - - 55 80 27 8 - 0 Scholarship impact evaluation surveys 20 35 16 4
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Project/Calender Year Tota (person months) Specialist position1 l 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ord 20 20 201 201 201 20 20 er 12 13 4 5 6 17 18 Estimated cost of surveys 45,0 00 $1,0 5,00 10,00 20,0 11,0 4,0 School construction assessment surveys - - - 00 0 0 00 00 00 $10 2,50 Pilot study/surveys - graduate teacher incentive 117, - - 2,500 - - - 0 scheme 500 0 $50 167, 90,00102, 40,017,5 19,08,00 6,02,0 Total cost - - - 0 Scholarship impact evaluation surveys* 500 5000 00 000 00
*plus a lump-sum of $80,000 in year 3
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Procurement Capacity Assessment
Proposed Project Name:
Secondary Education Sector Development Program (SESDP, formally BESDPII) in Lao PDR
Proposed Amount:
US $30 million
Executing Agency (EA):
Department of Secondary Education (DSE), Ministry of Education (MOE)
Source of Funding:
ADF
Date:
June 2011
Expected Procurement:
1. Procurement of goods, works and services, financed under the grant, will be in accordance with “Public Bidding” in Prime Minister’s Decree No. 03/PM of the Lao PDR, effective 9 January 2004, and Implementing Rules and Regulation on Decree of Government of Goods, Work, Maintenance and Service (IRRs) No. 063/MOF dated 12 March 2004, and No. 0861/MOF dated 5 May 2009, issued by the Ministry of Finance, with the clarifications and modifications described in the following paragraphs, required for compliance with the provisions of the ADB’s Procurement Guidelines (2007, as amended from time to time) shall be followed.
2. A procurement plan for SESDP is contained in Section VI of the PAM.
3. for the construction of new LSE schools and dormitories, and for additional USE teaching blocks and dormitories under the project are estimated to cost less than USD1,500,000, but more than USD100,000, and shall be awarded through national competitive bidding (NCB). Minor items costing less than USD100,000, but more than USD10,000, may be procured through shopping with advertising, and items costing less than USD10,000 may be procured through shopping without advertising. Equipment for all institutions being supported under the project will be procured centrally by the EA through the PIU.
4. Contracts for the printing of textbooks and teaching guides are estimated to cost more than USD1,000,000 shall be awarded on the basis of ICB. Goods, civil works and services shall be procured centrally by PIU working under the Bidding Committees (BC), with representatives DSE, other MOE departments and other ministries, organized for each procurement threshold. The PIU shall use ICB for a textbook, teaching guide and manual printing contract estimated to cost the equivalent or more than USD1,500,000; NCB bidding for civil works, furniture and equipment contracts and for the warehousing and delivery to schools of textbooks
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Procurement Capacity Assessment and teaching guides, estimated at USD1,500,000 or less but more than USD100,000, and shopping with advertisement for civil works, furniture and equipment contracts of USD100,000 or less but more than USD10,000. Civil works, furniture and equipment contracts below USD10,000 may be procured through shopping without advertising. The procedures to be followed for procuring goods, works and services shall be those set forth in “Public Bidding” in Prime Minister’s Decree No. 03/PM of the Lao PDR, effective 09 January 2004, and Ministry of Finance Implementing Rules and Regulation on Decree of Government Procurement of Goods, Work Maintenance and Service (IRRs) No. 063/MOF dated 12 March 2004, and No. 0861/MOF dated 5 May 2009, with the clarifications and modifications described in Schedule 3 of the Grant Agreement.
Assessment of the National Environment
5. “Public Bidding” in Prime Minister’s Decree NO. 03/PM of the Lao PDR, effective 09 January 2004, and Implementing Rules and Regulation on Decree of Government Procurement of Goods, Work, Maintenance and Service (IRRs) No. 063/MOF dated 12 March 2004, and No. 0861/MOF dated 5 May 2009 issued by the Ministry of Finance, currently provides the policies and procedures governing the procurement of goods, works and consulting services. As per paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 of the BESDP Grant Agreement of March 2007, ADB-funded procurement has to be supported by an annual budgetary appropriation. Clarifications and modifications described in the National Competitive Bidding Annex to the Financing Agreement are needed for compliance with the provisions of the Procurement Guidelines.
These include:
(i) Bidding shall not be restricted to pre-registered firms and such registration shall not be a condition for participation in the bidding process. (ii) Eligible bidders (both national and foreign) shall be allowed to participate. (iii) A bidder declared the lowest evaluated responsive bidder shall not be required to form a joint venture or to sub-contract part of the supply of goods as a condition of award of the contract. (iv) Bidding of ICB contracts estimated at USD500,000 or more for goods and related services of USD1,500,000 or more for civil works shall be advertised concurrently with the general procurement notices on ADB’s website. (v) Where required, bid security shall be in the form of a bank guarantee from a reputable bank. (vi) Bids shall be opened in public, immediately after the deadline for submission of bids. (vii) The contract shall be awarded to the technically responsive bid that offers the lowest evaluated price. (viii) Bids shall not be rejected and new bids solicited without the ADB’s prior concurrence. (ix) When the number of responsive bids is less than three (3), re-bidding shall not be carried out without the ADB’s prior concurrence. (x) Bidders must be nationals of member countries of ADB, and offered goods and services must be produced in and supplied from member countries of ADB.
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Procurement Capacity Assessment (xi) Firms bidding for a contract must be incorporated in an ADB member country.
General Agency Resource Assessment
6. As recently as February 2011, a major assessment was made by the ADB of the procurement capacity of MOE and in particular the BESDP.1 The Procurement Review for Effective Implementation (PREI) in the main focused on the overall institutional procurement practices and procedures of MOE, as opposed to a project based assessment, to arrive at a holistic appreciation of the procurement capacity, performance and maturity of the EA, and provide for mechanisms for further development or mitigating measures in the event of risk findings. The PREI appraisal methodology is hinged on five (5) major criteria, and supplemented by twenty-four (24) Indicators, to arrive at a clear picture of the EA’s procurement performance and capacity.
7. The five (5) major criteria are as follows:
(i) Organizational and Staff Capacity; (ii) Information Management; (iii) Procurement Practices (Competition, Transparency and Efficiency); (iv) Effectiveness; and, (v) Accountability Measures.
8. The five major criteria and the twenty four indicators are designed to complement each other, to present an overarching result on how procurement is implemented at the level of the EA, and how the results are achieved or failures experienced. In determining milestones and setbacks, the PREI methodology provides for a qualitative rating that measures risks as – a) Low; b) Average; c) High; and, d) Extremely High. Since this methodology is not based on a point system, the risk rating is anchored on “satisfactory thresholds” for each indicator, in order to measure results, and they serve as guides for the Assessor in determining the EA’s procurement capacity and operating environment, to identify the appropriate risk level.
9. Overall the FREI gave MOE’s procurement capacity a risk rating of HIGH, and for each of the five criteria, the following ratings
(i) Organizational and Staff Capacity - High (ii) Information Management - Average (iii) Procurement Practices (Competition, Transparency and Efficiency) - High (iv) Effectiveness - High (v) Accountability Measures - High
10. The findings of the PREI have been summarised as follows:2
Ministry of Education, Procurement Review for Effective Implementation (PREI), 1 ADB February 2011. 2 ‘Executive Summary’, PREI pages 4 to 9 Annex 30 Page 3 of 17 TA-7555 LAO SESDP PPTA (Final Report)
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Procurement Capacity Assessment Organizational and Staff Capacity. Risk rating for this major criterion is HIGH.
11. Procurement of goods, works, services and maintenance in Lao PDR is governed by Prime Minister Decree No. 03/PM (the Procurement Decree) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), Minister of Finance Decree No. 063/MoF, as amended by Ministry of Finance Decree No. 0861/MoF. There are established Bidding Committees (BC) in the MoE, such as those in the BESDP and SHEP, which were created pursuant to the Procurement Decree and its IRR, as amended. These BCs, however, are created on an Ad Hoc basis; in that, the membership changes from time to time depending on the availability of representatives from each identified Office; this setup, however, affects the institutional memory, procurement knowledge, experience and expertise of procurement officials. Procurement related officials and personnel have little or no training or formal education on the rudiments of public procurement, local or foreign, thus, procurement capacity and performance are impaired affecting the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the procurement exercise. Despite the identification of members to be designated to the BC, there are no requirements for additional competencies relating to educational attainment, expertise, knowledge, experience or even procurement training to qualify as a member of the BC, thereby affecting the capacity of the BC and the eventual efficiency of the procurement process. In addition, there are no policies in place to undertake the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the BC or the Secretariat that would determine their capacity, efficiency and effectiveness in the conduct of their procurement functions.
12. The Minister of Education or the Provincial Governor does not serve as member or Chairman of the BC. However, there is no actual prohibition in the Procurement Decree or in the associated IRR, as amended, preventing the Minister or Governor to be a member or from appointing himself as the Chairman of the BC; as such, there is ample possibility that the Minister or Governor may serve as Chairman of the BC thereby giving rise to a Conflict of Interest situation. Another Conflict of Interest scenario is the eligibility of Heads of Department in the Ministry and Provincial Heads of Division in the Provinces to become members of the BC, in these situations the function of the bid evaluator and the approving authority are lodged in the hands of one and the same person.
13. As with the BC, the Secretariat, likewise serves on an Ad Hoc basis. Apart from the MoE’s PMU/PIU for ADB funded projects, such as in BESDP and SHEP, the Secretariat is not a permanent Unit within MoE whose duties, functions and responsibilities are dedicated only to provide support service to the BC. The Secretariat members primarily perform tasks for their respective offices thereby affecting the efficiency and expediency of the procurement process. Excluding ADB approval through a No Objection Letter (NOL), there are at least two (2) levels of approval from the request to procure until actual contract approval that does not show a sufficient balance between specialization and centralization of authority within MoE. Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs) and a Procurement Manual are available for the use of PMU/PIU, EAs and procuring entities in Lao PDR, such as the Provincial Education Service in Savannaket Province. For ADB financed projects, the BESDP-PMU and the SHEP-PIU utilized the SBDs for National Competitive Bidding (NCB) subject to the approval of ADB.
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Procurement Capacity Assessment Information Management. Risk rating for this major criterion is AVERAGE.
14. Procurement records for the last two (2) years are available for review. However, it is evident in the course of the assessment that no procurement contract, file or record contains a complete compilation of the necessary procurement and accountable documents for future audit, assessment and review. Procurement files and records are found in various folders or even in different offices. There are no existing policies and guidelines concerning the creation, classification, filing, recording, storage and protection of procurement documents. Record keeping and custody of procurement documents where made relying mainly on customary practice of the procuring entity. Moreover, record keeping facilities and infrastructure are inadequate to accommodate procurement records over the years. For these reasons, the transparency and openness of the procurement process become contentious. Review of procurement contracts, however, revealed that there is budget approval or appropriation prior to the commencement of every procurement activity. In other words, budget allocations are earmarked to finance the procurement activity and these facilitate a more efficient, effective and expedient procurement process. These conditions are applicable to both ADB and Lao PDR financed projects.
Procurement Practices (Competitiveness, Transparency and Efficiency). Risk rating for this major criterion is HIGH.
15. The contracts that were procured through public bidding; the number of bidders participating in publicly bid contracts; and, the number of days within which a bidder may prepare a responsive bid, which must be at least thirty (30) calendar days from advertisement of bid to bid opening date, show that the procurement process in MoE is less competitive. However, advertisement of bid notices provides a positive light on the aspect of transparency because all the contracts procured through public bidding were duly advertised in at least one (1) newspaper of nationwide circulation. This notwithstanding, the advantage of advertising the Invitation for Bids (IFB) is undermined by the failure of MoE to advertise or post contract awards in a newspaper of nationwide circulation or a dedicated website thereby affecting the transparency of the procurement process. On the other hand, the efficiency of the procurement process shows positive indications because all contracts reviewed are included in the Procurement Plan; contract execution and signing take place within ninety (90) calendar days or an average of sixty-six (66) calendar days from bid opening to contract signing; and, it did not necessitate the BC to declare a failure of bidding in all publicly bid contracts. But these efficiency aspects were quickly counterbalanced by the fact that the bid evaluation for fifty percent (50%) of contracts procured through public bidding were performed beyond ten (10) calendar days; and, payments made beyond thirty (30) calendar days from the submission of the Invoice and Acceptance Certificate.
Effectiveness. Risk rating for this major criterion is HIGH.
16. BESDP contracts were awarded over and above the cost estimate, despite the representation made by MoE that the cost estimates are being confirmed and validated prior to the conduct of the procurement activity. Review of publicly bid contracts shows that the difference between the total cost estimates and total contract amounts as awarded representing would be savings is not remarkable. If there is any consolation, it is good to stress that there is no occasion that contract
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Procurement Capacity Assessment prices were increased due to Change Orders or Variation Orders. Although it could be viewed positively that no formal complaint or protest was received by the MoE arising from the conduct of procurement, this could be attributed to the lack of established policies, processes and procedures for the handling of observations, complaints and protest during and after the conduct of the bidding process.
Accountability Measures. Risk rating for this major criterion is HIGH.
17. There is no existing internal auditing body that provides for separate standards to be observed in the course of the performance of procurement functions and activities within MoE. In the same vein, there is no internal auditing system that would oversee the conduct of actual procurement from inception and planning, solicitation, selection of sources, award of contract, contract financing and contract administration. Audit review jointly conducted by the State Auditing Organization (SAO) together with the Department of Finance (DoF), MoE, is external in nature and focuses mainly on expenditures, disbursement of funds, accounts reconciliation and public financial management, leaving procurement process audit at bay. The Procurement Decree and its associated IRR, as amended, have mentioned situations were a bidder may be barred from participating in public bidding opportunities. However, the actual rules and procedures for the debarment of bidders have not yet been formulated, as such; since there is no debarment mechanism in place, erring and recalcitrant bidders have not been called for investigation for debarment purposes. The present separation of transactional responsibilities at MoE is supportive of accountability measures that operate to detach and decentralize authority and power to certain individuals that will prevent commission of corruption, theft, concealment and fraud.
18. All told, the strengths and weaknesses of MoE’s procurement capacity, performance and practices vis-à-vis the five (5) PREI major criteria are summarized as follows:
Strengths
(i) There is an established procurement legal and policy framework in MoE and Lao PDR. In 2004, the Prime Minister’s Office issued the Prime Minister Decree No. 03/PM dated January 9, 2004, otherwise known as the Decree on Government Procurement of Goods, Works, Maintenance and Services. The Implementing Rules and Regulations was issued through Ministry of Finance Decree No. 063/MoF, dated March 12, 2004, and was subsequently amended by Ministry of Finance Decree No. 0861/MoF, dated May 5, 2009. To supplement its application and full implementation, the Procurement Decree and its IRR, as amended, are supported by corresponding Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs) for Goods and Works and a Procurement Manual issued by the Ministry of Finance, Procurement Monitoring Office (PrMO) for use by all government procuring entities in the procurement of Goods, Works, Maintenance and Services pursuant to Ministry of Finance Notification Letter No. 0423/MoF, dated February 25, 2010; (ii) Procuring entities within MoE, including the BESDP-PMU, embark on procurement of good, works, maintenance and services with actual budget approval contained in the approved Annual Procurement Plan;
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Procurement Capacity Assessment (iii) Goods, Works, Maintenance and Services are procured only if they are contained in the Annual Procurement Plan (APP), proposed projects that are not in the Procurement Plan are not procured until the Plan has been revised and updated; (iv) For publicly bid projects, bidding opportunities reflected in the Invitations to Bid are published in at least one newspaper of general nationwide circulation for transparency and competition purposes; (v) Publicly bid contracts in MoE BESDP-PMU are normally executed within ninety (90) calendar days from the date of bid opening until contract signing; and, declaration of failure of bidding or nullity of the bidding process does not occur for all the publicly bid BESDP contracts signifying efficiency in the procurement process; (vi) No increase in contract prices by way of Price Adjustment, Variation Order or Change Order had been experienced for all BESDP projects procured through public bidding; and, (vii) Transactional responsibilities in MoE are separated to avoid centralization of authority or power in one individual and in order to avoid, corruption, fraud, concealment or theft.
Weaknesses
(i) Although BCs within MoE have already conducted procurement activities in the past, they have not undergone a formal procurement study or training apart from those procurement orientation conducted by the PrMO-MoF, which did not provide a step-by-step process walkthrough that will sufficiently guide the BC members in the proper interpretation, construction, application and implementation of the Procurement Decree and its IRR, including the use of the Standard Bidding Documents and Procurement Manual. Procurement related officials interviewed attested to the fact that if they have undergone procurement training at all, this was held in the late part of the 90s and the early part of the decade and training was focused on the project implementation process for foreign funded projects such as those financed by ADB and the World Bank (WB). Procurement related officials also claimed that there is no procurement training involving ADB Procurement Guidelines; (ii) The BC and Secretariat are Ad Hoc bodies and members were designated thereto without regard to education, rank, experience, knowledge, expertise, training and technical know-how in the conduct of the procurement process. (iii) There is no direct prohibition for the Minister of Health or the Provincial Governor to become a member of the BC. Heads of Department in the Ministry and Provincial Heads of Division are eligible to be members of the BC when these officials are the ones approving and signing the contract within their respective offices, thereby giving rise to a conflict of interest situation. (iv) There are only two (2) levels involved in decision making and approval of contract awards showing an imbalance between specialization and centralization of authority and organizational efficiency. (v) There is no existing mechanism for the reporting, monitoring and evaluation of the performance and capacity of procurement related
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Procurement Capacity Assessment officials and personnel, or support service that provides for sustained procurement training, capacity building and knowledge enhancement; (vi) Cost estimates have been prepared and apparently validated by the MoE BESDP-PMU prior to the conduct of procurement; however, the contract review revealed that very few of the contracts procured through public bidding were awarded 10% lower than the budget estimate signifying inaccuracy in cost estimation; (vii) Procurement documents and papers are available for review, but there is no BESDP contract file containing a complete record of the procurement activity and processes for a particular project. There are no fixed guidelines and policies for record keeping and management thereby allowing MoE procuring entities to adhere to and adopt customary record keeping practices that are often lacking in order and system; (viii) The Competitiveness of the procurement process is slackened and weakened by the number of bidders participating in publicly bid contracts and the time upon which they are allowed to prepare and submit a responsive bid; (ix) Transparency and openness of the procurement process is affected by the failure of MoE, including the BESDP-PMU, to advertise and post contract awards in a newspaper of general nationwide circulation or a designated website; (x) The length of time to conduct the bid evaluation process, that should normally be performed within ten (10) calendar days from bid opening date; and, the delay in payment and settlement of Invoice/Billings, normally set at thirty (30) days upon submission of Invoice, dilutes the efficiency of the procurement exercise; (xi) Although the Procurement Decree and its associated IRR, as amended, provide for the complaint and dispute procedures, there is no internal observation, complaint and protest system setup within MoE to facilitate and assist would be observers and complainants to lodge and institute their observations and complaints against the BC or erring bidders; (xii) There is no policy, rule or procedure on the invitation of Observers coming from the State Auditing Organization (SAO) or from Civil Society Organizations or Non-Government Organizations to observe all relevant stages of the bidding process and to support a more transparent procurement activity. (xiii) Sound procurement exercise permits the establishment of an internal audit system to monitor, assess and evaluate the procurement activities of the procuring entity, apart from an external audit source. The MoE, however, has no established internal audit system to police and oversee its procurement activities. External audits are performed post-contract implementation that would normally capture after- procurement activity issues. Similarly, there is no existing system and procedure for the debarment or blacklisting of erring bidders, suppliers, manufacturers and contractors.
Risk mitigation measures recommended by the PREI
19. The PREI recommended a series of measures and actions, that need to be performed or achieved within the short and medium terms, if the overall MoE
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Procurement Capacity Assessment procurement capacity and performance is to be improved. The recommended risk mitigating measures are to be applied and implemented in accordance with the risk rating received by each major criterion, as they are defined and qualified by specific PREI indicators. Priority of action should be afforded to those criteria that obtained a “High” risk rating, such as, Organizational and Staff Capacity, Procurement Practices, Effectiveness and Accountability Measures that need to be addressed urgently due to the threat(s) each risk pose to the procurement activities of the MoE. Additionally, the implementation of risk mitigating measures should likewise be considered in the light of its practicality, viability and do-ability. Thus, a short term/high priority and a medium term risk mitigating recommendations are provided to be implemented within a period of one (1) year and three (3) years, respectively.
20. Risk management principles dictate that known risks should be assigned or allocated to persons, entities or institutions most suitable to handle and address the underlying threats brought by such risks. Accordingly, the proposed Action Plan shall identify the appropriate person, entity or institution best fit to handle and manage specific risks and the corresponding mitigating measures to address them.
Risk Mitigating Measures to be Achieved in the Short Term
21. The recommendations provided hereunder are to be achieved by MoE in the short-term and considered as high priority for having obtained “High” risk ratings. The goal is to execute the proposed recommendations in the short-term to achieve the desired result of immediately improving the procurement system of MoE.
22. Creation of a Standby Pool of Procurement Officials. Although not specifically mentioned, it can be readily seen from the provisions of the Procurement Decree and its IRR, as amended, that the creation of a permanent BC is not the intention of the framers of the Decree and the rules. The more desirable scenario, however, is the creation of a permanent BC with tenure of at least one (1) year to build and broaden the knowledge, experience and expertise of BC members. Nevertheless, the MoE is not prohibited from creating a standby pool of procurement officials, preferably from mid to senior levels with knowledge, experience and expertise in public procurement, to be chosen from the offices identified to compose the BC. BC members should then be selected from this standby pool for subsequent public bidding activities.
23. Creation of a Permanent BC Secretariat. Considering that the Procurement Decree and the IRR, as amended, are silent on the creation, membership, qualification and tenure of office of the members of the BC Secretariat, the MoE may immediately create a permanent Secretariat that will serve as the main support unit of all the BCs within the MoE. Initially, the Secretariat may compose at least five (5) permanent members due to the number of MoE BCs it will support. The Secretariat membership may be increased periodically as demand arises. The duties, functions, responsibilities, qualifications, rank and tenure of office of the Secretariat members must be clearly defined and delineated.
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Procurement Capacity Assessment 24. Establishment of a Pool of Technical Personnel/Experts. The MoE should create a pool of technical experts with knowledge, experience and expertise on the goods, works and services often procured by MoE. The pool of technical experts shall comprise such number as would be necessary to assist the BCs and the Secretariat in the preparation of the technical specification, cost estimates and the conduct of bid evaluation, inspection and testing.
25. Issuance of Guidelines on Job Description and Responsibilities. The creation of a standby pool of procurement officials to become members of the BC, the BC Secretariat and the pool of technical experts, must be supported by the issuance of appropriate Ministerial Decree or Guidelines that provides for: 1) job description, outlining with specificity their educational qualifications, duties, responsibilities and functions; 2) rank, position, term of office, re-appointment and succession; and, 3) basic rules of order relative to quorum, voting and voting rights.
26. Establishment of an In-Depth Procurement Training Program. With the creation of a standby pool of procurement officials who will serve as BC members, including the creation of the BC Secretariat and the pool of technical experts; a detailed and encompassing procurement training program should then be implemented by MoE. The training should include the step-by-step procurement procedures from bidding document preparation; bid opening; bid evaluation; post-qualification and award of contract. An in-depth study of the interpretation, construction, application and implementation of the provisions of the Procurement Decree and its IRR, as amended, including the provisions of the Standard Bidding Documents must likewise be included in the training curriculum.
27. Mandatory Invitation of Observers. To enhance transparency and competition, the MoE through the BCs shall immediately implement the invitation of observers from Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) or Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), including representatives from the State Auditing Organization (SAO), to observe all the relevant stages of the public bidding process, from pre-bid conference to contract award. The MoE shall likewise identify and provide for the rights, duties, responsibilities and obligations of the observers prior to, during and after the procurement activities.
28. Mandatory Posting of Procurement Opportunities in Designated Website. To enhance transparency, efficiency and competition in the procurement process, the MoE, through its BCs must utilize all necessary means to publicly disseminate procurement opportunities, in that, advertisement of the IFB should be made not only in a newspaper of national and local circulation, but it must also be posted in the designated website of the MoE or the website created by the PrMO-MoF, including a publicly accessible Bulletin Board within the office of the procuring entity, for the purpose of circulating the widest information to the public and securing the largest possible participation from prospective bidders. Contract awards must also be advertised or posted in the above-mentioned designated websites.
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Procurement Capacity Assessment 29. Monitoring and Evaluation of Procurement Performance and Capacity. The MoE should set up a system that would periodically monitor and evaluate the performance of BCs and the Secretariat in order to support and achieve an effective and efficient procurement process; and, to identify areas of improvement that have to be addressed. 30. Maintenance of a Good Information and Record Management System. MoE and its PMU/PIU should establish and maintain a good record keeping and information management system that must consider a uniform and systematic manner by which to create, identify, classify, retrieve, receive, transmit, store, protect, dispose, preserve and share procurement information and record. A single file for every procurement project must be the foundational concept in record keeping and maintenance, in that, the BC and its Secretariat must be well-informed of the necessary procurement documents and records to be maintained in a single file, which are as follows: 1) cost estimates; 2) certificates of budget appropriation; 3) public notices of bid opportunities/copies of bid advertisements/postings in newspapers and a website; 4) bidding documents and addenda; 5) bid opening information/minutes of bid opening; 6) bid evaluation/ appraisal reports; 7) recommendations and approvals of awards; 8) procurement committee resolutions; 9) duly received notice of award; 10) signed contracts and amendments; 11) invoices, disbursement vouchers with inspection and acceptance reports; 12) receipts of payments; 13) formal appeals by bidders and outcomes; 14) records on claims and dispute resolutions; 15) records of time taken to complete key steps in the procurement process. With assistance from ADB and other development partners (DPs), MoE should upgrade the physical facilities and infrastructure where procurement files and records are kept, stored and maintained. The MoE should likewise engage or appoint dedicated personnel to take custody, secure, maintain, manage and preserve procurement documents, files and records.
31. Strict and Mandatory Compliance with Procurement Decree and IRR. The MoE and its PMU/PIU, including its BCs and Secretariat members both from the national and local governments must immediately and strictly comply with the provisions of the Procurement Decree and its IRR, as amended, and implement the following:
(i) Use competitive bidding as the primary mode of procurement before adopting any of the alternative methods of procurement. (ii) The BCs shall allow prospective bidders the full forty-five (45) days or at least a period of thirty (30) days from bid advertisement to bid opening within which to prepare a responsive bid. (iii) The BCs shall post contract awards in the designated MoE or PrMO website or in a Bulletin Board constructed for the purpose. (iv) The BC must carefully and conscientiously conduct the bid evaluation process within a period of 10 calendar days, or 15 days as provided for under the Procurement Decree and its IRR, as amended. Although expediency is a factor to consider, the quality of the bid evaluation process must not be sacrificed at the expense of competition, fairness, efficiency and economy. (v) The BC, with assistance from the Secretariat, must ensure timely payments, in that, Invoices must be paid within thirty (30) days from receipt thereof
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Procurement Capacity Assessment Risk Mitigating Measures to be Achieved in the Medium Term
32. The recommendations enumerated hereunder are to be achieved in the medium- term. These recommendations recognize administrative, operational and coordinative difficulties within MoE and other related agencies, specifically the PrMO- MoF, hence, the suggested timeframe. In general, the risk mitigating recommendations shall uplift the procurement condition and environment in MoE and, in particular, these shall remarkably improve the procurement capacity, performance and practices of procurement related officials and personnel thereby addressing compliance requirements that have been flagged or to be identified in future procurement capacity assessments or country procurement assessments.
Tasks Specific to PrMO-MoF
33. Revision and Amendment of the IRR. The PrMO should revisit the Procurement Decree and its IRR, as amended, and consider the following:
Permanent Bidding Committee. Revise the composition of the BC and constitute the same as a permanent committee within procuring entities allowing for the creation of at least one (1) permanent BC in the procuring entity or one (1) BC for every kind of procurement, that is, one (1) BC for goods, works and services. The creation of the permanent BC must consider the position or ranking of the official to be appointed, preferably within mid to senior levels; educational qualifications; experience and training; tenure of office; manner of succession; conduct of business; voting rights; functions; duties, obligations and responsibilities. Direct Prohibition for Head of the Procuring Entity as member of the BC. Revise the composition of the BC to directly prevent the Minister, Provincial Governor, Head of Departments in Ministries and Division Heads in Provinces from being members of the BC to avoid conflict of interest situations where a member of the BC is also the same person who approves the contract. Permanent Secretariat. Creation of a permanent Secretariat within procuring entities that shall serve as the main support unit of the BC. The creation of the permanent Secretariat must consider the position or ranking of the official to be appointed; educational qualifications; experience and training; tenure of office; manner of succession; conduct of business; functions; duties, obligations and responsibilities. Harmonization of IRR and SBDs. Harmonization of the provisions of the Procurement Decree, IRR and the Lao PDR SBDs, such as, but not limited to, the following: 1) Bid Security and Performance Security, both with respect to form and amount, including the right of the bidder to choose the form and amount of security; 2) posting of contract award information; and, 3) debriefing. Harmonization of Lao PDR and DPs’ SBDs. Harmonization with ADB and other DP SBDs, such as the WB, is recommended in order for Lao PDR to have a uniform set of SBDs to be used by procuring entities both for local and foreign financed projects. Inclusion of Procurement Timelines. Inclusion of procurement timelines in every step of the procurement process. There are no prescribed
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Procurement Capacity Assessment timeframe or period for the following procurement activities under the Procurement Decree and its IRR, as amended, to wit:
i. Period to advertise and post IFB, their intervals and the number of days within which the IFB must be advertised; ii. Time to hold a pre-bid conference; iii. Period of time within which to conduct post-qualification; iv. Time frame within which to approve the recommendation of the BC to award the contract; and, v. Time frame within which to sign and execute the procurement contract.
Training of Trainers; Professionalization of Procurement Officials and Personnel; and, Private Sector Procurement Training. In order to establish a sustainable procurement training program, the PrMO-MoF must identify and train a Cadre of Procurement Trainers to perpetuate the procurement training and capacity building of BCs and Secretariat members, including the pool of technical experts and other procurement related officials from the national and local governments. The procurement capacity building and training implemented by PrMO should eventually set the stage for the professionalization of procurement related officials and personnel in Lao PDR. The PrMO, with assistance from ADB and other development partners (DP), may engage the services of a University or a Training Institution that will develop and formulate a curriculum that will eventually grant participants a Procurement Certificate or a Procurement Degree enabling and qualifying them to serve as BC, Secretariat or Technical Working Group (TWG) members. To further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the procurement process, suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and contractors must likewise be trained on the rudiments of the Procurement Decree and its IRR, as amended, including the use of SBDs and its interpretation and construction. Establishment and Maintenance of Price Reference List. The PrMO-MoF should coordinate with various Ministries and agencies of the government, such as, Education, Health, Trade and Commerce, the National Statistics Center of Lao PDR, or its equivalent Office, and such other appropriate agencies, to come up with a Price Reference List or Price Index for goods, materials, equipment and services for the development of an accurate project cost estimates. Establishment of a Single Procurement Information Portal. Development of a Procurement Website, preferably maintained by the PrMo-MoF to serve as the central repository and posting site of all procurement and bidding opportunities in Lao PDR, including bidding outcomes. The Procurement Website shall serve as an eBulletin Board for advertisement of bids and posting of contract awards, with a platform that could be upgraded to a facility that is capable of hosting an eBidding, eCatalogue and a Virtual/Online Store for procurement of common-use office supplies and equipment by the Government. Debarment/Blacklisting Rules and Procedures. In accordance with the provisions of the Procurement Decree, its IRR, as amended, and other allied laws, rules and regulations, the PrMO-MoF must develop
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Procurement Capacity Assessment the appropriate rules and procedures for the debarment/blacklisting of suppliers, manufacturers, contractors and consultants, providing for the grounds therefore and the appropriate procedural and remedial measures to be undertaken by the procuring entity and the bidder- respondent involved in the debarment/blacklisting proceedings. Complaint, Protest and Observation Mechanisms. Alongside the rules for the debarment/blacklisting of bidders, the PrMO-MoF should likewise device a system for the receipt, processing, hearing and management of observations, complaints and protests from prejudiced and aggrieved bidders or parties. In that regard, the PrMO-MoF should prepare the appropriate guidelines and procedures for the receipt, processing, hearing and management of observations, complaints and protests to afford the parties their right to due process and fair hearing. The imposition of the proper administrative and civil sanctions should be included and the procedures and processes for the institution of criminal proceedings should likewise be defined in accordance with existing laws. Enactment of a Procurement Law. Due to its social and economic impact, the magnitude of its effect on the market; and, in order to obtain a more stringent and stricter compliance from government agencies and procuring entities, the Procurement Decree must be elevated to the level of a law enacted by the National Assembly. The PrMO-MoF may take the initiative of revising the Procurement Decree into a draft/proposed bill and secure support and sponsorship from interested legislators to commence the procurement reform measures in the legislature. This effort may find support from ADB and other DPs, such as the WB for its realization. Institutionalization of the PrMO as an MoF Department. The Ministry of Finance should seriously consider the institutionalization of the PrMO into a policy-making body and not maintain and limit its functions to plain procurement monitoring activities. Accordingly, the PrMO should be transformed and converted to the level of a Department within the MoF to be denominated as the Procurement Policy Department (PPD). This is also to afford the PrMO that power and authority to impose and demand compliance from other government agencies and procuring entities. The newly created PPD shall be complemented by knowledgeable and experienced procurement personnel whose functions, duties, obligations and responsibilities must be outlined and defined accordingly. Creation of the Lao PDR Procurement Policy Board (LPPB) and its Technical Support Group (TSG). On the other hand, should the Procurement Decree be elevated into a law enacted by the National Assembly, a provision in the new procurement law may provide for the absorption of the functions, obligations, duties and responsibilities of the PrMO/PPD into a newly created office denominated as the “Lao PDR Procurement Policy Board (LPPB),” a policy making body that directs and oversees the implementation and enforcement of the procurement law and provides for periodic guidelines, circulars, resolutions and opinions on the proper interpretation, construction and application of the procurement law. The composition of the LPPB must be representative in nature, in that; the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Public Works,
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Procurement Capacity Assessment Ministry of Trade and Commerce, and such other Ministries with big- ticket procurement must be represented therein. The LPPB must be supported by a Technical Support Group (TSG) that will provide the necessary administrative, research and technical work for the LPPB.
Tasks Specific to MoE
(a) Additional Level of Approval. Essentially, there are only two (2) levels of authority involved in the approval and award of contracts in the MoE, at least an additional authority or level should be involved to prevent concentration of functions that affects the balance between specialization and centralization of authority and organizational efficiency. In this regard, MoE may consider a revision or a restructuring of its procurement and contract approval set up to include an additional level of authority to prevent over concentration of power in one office or official.
(i) Strengthening of Contract Implementation and Administration. The MoE should strengthen the contract implementation and administration aspects of its procurement activities through appropriate monitoring and evaluation of both the performance and economic aspects of contract execution that should consider the following: i. Preparation of a Contract Administration Plan. The preparation of the Contract Administration Plan commences even prior to the start of the procurement activities, where the procuring entity should clearly layout how the contract should be managed; how risks are controlled; and, how opportunities are maximized, apart from identifying and carefully selecting the appropriate manpower, capital and resources to be tapped to implement and manage the contract administration scheme respecting aspects of “time,” “quality” and “cost” controls. Accordingly, the Contract Administration Plan should involve tedious monitoring and supervision that shall include the following: ii. Appropriation and budget availability. To achieve timely payments, the procuring entity must ensure that there is available budget to support the project before commencement of the actual procurement activity, or there must at least be an appropriation specifically earmarked to support the project. iii.Supplier’s or contractor’s compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract. Being the law between the parties, the supplier/contractor must strictly comply with all the provisions of the contract, specifically those which are necessary and vital to the fulfillment and completion of the subject matter of the contract, mainly, the satisfactory delivery of the goods and the completion of the works. iv.Quality control through random inspection and testing of goods at production site and/or while it is in transit. Quality control and assurance is best achieved through timely anticipation of probable or would be defects of the goods or works, which can be determined by random or thorough
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Procurement Capacity Assessment inspection of the goods at production site or while it is on transit vis-à-vis the Technical Specifications, or the careful inspection of the works based on the Design and Scope of Work. v. Inspection and testing of goods and equipment at the time of delivery. Apart from ”site” and/or “in transit” inspections, the procuring entity must prepare an Inspection Team in every delivery site, or work site, to see to it that the goods/works delivered are in accordance with the Technical Specifications and/or Scope of Work. vi.Timely deliveries. Goods and works must not only comply with the Technical Specifications, Design and Scope of Work, but also with the delivery period or time frame as specified in the Contract, lest liquidated damages may set in, or worse, contract termination may be enforced. Claims settlement. Contract variations may set in during project implementation brought about by Change Orders, Variation Orders, Price Adjustment or Compensation Events, the corresponding costs for these and the Project Engineer’s contest or disallowance shall ultimately comprise compensable claim. vii. Enforcement of contractual warranties and execution of repairs. Suppliers and contractors warrant that the goods and works they deliver are free from hidden defects, such that, in case of operation or performance less than what is required in the contract, the procuring entity may always call on the warranty and effect the appropriate replacement or repair. viii. Extension of time for delivery of goods or works; Identification of construction delays; and, Imposition of liquidated damages. Construction timelines and progress must be met on the dot, lest it will translate to added operation time and cost to the procuring entity. As such, construction progress must be religiously monitored and delivery extensions must be effectively managed and, in case of delay, liquidated damages must be imposed to compensate the procuring entity for the economic lost it has incurred. The imposition of liquidated damages must also be required in the event of late delivery of the procured goods. ix.Variation order, through Change Order or Change Work, and contract amendments. The cost for increase or decrease in quantities of original work items in the contract, or the cost for additional or new work, which are not included in the original contract, but are necessary for the completion of the works, must be progressively monitored as variation orders may only be allowed to a certain threshold. x. Payments. As part of the bargained for exchange, the supplier/contractor expects to be paid on time to compensate for its investment. On the part of the procuring entity, its end of the bargain is to pay the supplier/contractor on time upon timely submission of Billing Invoices and appropriate supporting documentations. xi.Contract Termination by way of Default or Convenience. The supplier/contractor may incur acceptable and reasonable
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Procurement Capacity Assessment delays brought by factors normally considered beyond its control, e.g. force majeure, however, delays that are attributable to the supplier’s/contractor’s default may be imposed the corresponding liquidated damages or its cumulative default may give rise to a Notice of Termination by Default. In certain occasions, when the project is no longer necessary, or the purpose/reason for which a project was conceptualized is no longer available, or the funds therefore have been cancelled or withdrawn, the procuring entity must notify the supplier/contractor in writing of a contract termination for convenience. xii. Performance Evaluation and Assessment. Upon complete delivery or completion of work, the procuring entity must be able to come up with an evaluation and assessment scheme to rate the overall performance of the supplier/contractor. xiii. Dispute Settlement. Contractual disputes may be settled through Arbitration and the payment of the arbitral award; through Mediation; or any other methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). xiv. Establishment of an Internal Procurement Audit Service in MoE. To enhance transparency, efficiency and economy in the Public Procurement System, an Internal Procurement Audit Service (IPAS) must be created within the MoE to periodically monitor and evaluate the progress of procurement projects and to see to it that a procurement process and implementation audit are undertaken to determine compliance with the Procurement Decree and its IRR, as amended, including the provisions of the SBDs for goods and works.
Tasks Specific to PrMO-MoF, MoE and other Concerned Agencies
(i) Creation and Maintenance of a Supplier/Contractor Registry. Creation and maintenance of a Supplier/Contractor Registry to facilitate an efficient and expedient procurement process. The Supplier/Contractor Registry may be maintained in the Ministries or National level to facilitate the identification of eligible and qualified suppliers/contractors for the procurement of goods and works.
(ii) Strengthening of the External Audit System. Strengthen and enhance the scope of the external auditing processes in the MoE, and, in that regard, should include a procurement process audit apart from the public financial management and expenditure audit that is normally conducted by the State Auditing Organization (SAO).
34. The proposed Procurement Capacity Development and Risk Mitigation Action Plan derived from the foregoing short-term to medium term risk mitigating measures is contained in PREI Appendix 6.
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