Community Participation for Equity & Quality in Basic Education in Guinea

PACEEQ Participation Communautaire à l’Education de Base pour l’Equité et la Qualité

FINAL REPORT Covering the period September 2001 – April 2007 Submitted to Dr. Maladho Baldé CTO USAID/Guinea

World Education Guinea B.P. 111 Mamou

USAID COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT N° 675-A-00-01-00163-00

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Acronyms 3

Introduction 4

The PACEEQ Approach 6

Analytical Summary 10

Intermediate Result 3: Improved Community Participation In Basic Education 20

Sub-IR 3.1. Increased participation, decision-making and mobilization and management of resources for primary schools 21

Sub-IR 3.2. Increased participation of CSOs and NGOs in Education 35

Sub-IR 3.3. Increased educational quality and greater equity for girls and rural children as a result of community participation 85

Intermediate Result 4: Improved Gender And Rural/Urban Equity In Basic Education 98

Sub-IR 4.1. Improved access to basic education for girls and rural children 99

Sub-IR 4.2. Increased promotion and retention rates for girls and rural children 105

Project Management 118

Administration and Finances 140

Monitoring & Evaluation 145

Annexes 151

2 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 List of Acronyms ACRONYMS DEFINITION (ENGLISH-FRENCH)

AED Academy for Educational Development

AG (GA) General Assembly (Assemblée Générale)

APEAE Parents’ Association (Association des Parents d’Elèves et Amis de l’Ecole) Board of Parents’ Association B/APEAE (Bureau d’Association des Parents d’Elèves et Amis de l’Ecole) Federated Parents’ Association C/APEAE (Coordination des Associations des Parents d’Elèves et Amis de l’Ecole) CBO Community Based Organization (Organisation Communautaire) Local Scholarship Management Committee (Comité de Gestion de Bourses à la CGBB Base) CSO Civil Society Organization (Organisation de la Société Civile) Rural Community Development Committee CRD (Communauté Rurale de Développement) CTP Prefectoral Technical Advisor (Conseiller Technique Préfectoral)

CTR Regional Technical Advisor (Conseiller Technique Régional) Prefectoral Department of Education DPE (Direction Préfectorale de l’Education) Elementary Education Representative (Délégué Scolaire de l’Enseignement DSEE Elémentaire) EAP (PAE) Educational Action Plan (Plan d’Action de l’Education)

EDC Educational Development Center

ERO Bi-Annual Internal Evaluation (Evaluation Rapide Organisationnelle)

FKL The regions of Faranah, Kankan, and Labé National Foundation for Girls’ Education FONSEF Fonds National de Soutien à l’Education des Filles INRAP Institut National de Recherche et d’Action Pédagogique

ONG (NGO) Non-Governmental Organization (Organisation Non Gouvernementale) Community Participation for Equity & Quality in Basic Education in Guinea PACEEQ (Participation Communautaire à l’Education de Base pour l’Equité & la Qualité) PDL Local Development Plan for CRD (Plan de Développement Local des CRD)

PS Planification Strategique (Strategic Planning) NGO Network for Education And Child Protection RONGEPE Réseau des ONG pour l’Education et le Protection des Enfants RTI Research Triangle Institute

TOT (FdF) Training of Trainers (Formation de Formateurs)

WEG World Education, Guinea

3 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Introduction World Education began working in community participation in education in Guinea with the 1997 Community Education pilot program in 1997 with funding from USAID. In 2001, Building on the experience from the pilot project, World Education launched the Community Participation for Equity and Quality in Basic Education in Guinea (Participation Communautaire à l’Education de Base pour l’Equité et la Qualité – PACEEQ) with funding from USAID. PACEEQ was a consortium managed by World Education, with Academy for Education Development (AED), Education Development Center (EDC), Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and Save the Children- US as consortium partners. PACEEQ worked with Parents’ Associations and other community based organizations by building their capacity to work in partnership with the school administration to improve the quality of education. In August 2005 USAID awarded an extension to PACEEQ for a consolidation phase.

This Final Report covers all activities carried out during the PACEEQ from 2001 through 2007 funded by USAID Cooperative Agreement 675-A-00-01-00163-00. The report is organized by intermediate result and for each intermediate result there is a summary table showing the activities completed and results attained.

PACEEQ supported two of USAID/Guinea’s Intermediate Results, specifically: 1) Improved community participation in basic education and 2) Improved gender and rural/urban equity in basic education.

The strategic objectives of PACEEQ were to achieve:

1. A qualitative increase of community participation in improving primary education; 2. A heightened and more decisive involvement of Parent-Teacher Associations (APEAE) in decision making and resource management for schools; 3. An augmentation of school inscription and retention rates, along with heightened student performance, particularly among girls and students in rural zones; 4. An amelioration of the participation of the civil society and, in particular, of NGOs, in the process of improving the quality of the education system.

Designed to capitalize on the success of the PACEEQ initiative from 2001-2005, the consolidation phase sought to: • Build on current activities and continue to achieve strong results; • Ensure the sustainability of project activities and approaches; • Gather, analyze and document the experiences of PACEEQ in order to share lessons learned with stakeholders and inform the development of future strategies in Guinea, particularly for the education sector.

4 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The strategic objectives for the PACEEQ consolidation phase were:

1) Continue the achievement of strong results in building community participation and improving gender and rural/urban equity in education; 2) Solidify the partnership between the formal education system and APEAE at the local level; 3) Reinforce the organizational capacity, representation and sustainability of federated APEAE structures at the sub-prefecture, prefecture, regional, and national levels; 4) Expand capacity-development activities for Local Alliances for Girls’ Education and the National Equity Committee in order to ensure their viability and partnership in advancing girls’ education in Guinea; 5) Create and implement strategies that will ensure the sustainability for project activities and approaches; and 6) Conduct studies and enrich project documentation in order to document and share information about lessons learned with relevant stakeholders.

The concept of community participation in education entered the national debate in Guinea in 1985 as part of a larger movement for the development of civil society organizations in Guinea. The creation of Parents’ Associations was authorized by Ministerial decree in 1986.

Progress in attaining meaningful community participation has been hindered by a number of obstacles, including the mindset inherited from the era when the government had sole responsibility for school affairs. Prior to 1986, schools had always been considered the domain of the government as opposed to the community. Although recent policies and decentralization plans are beginning to reverse the situation by giving greater responsibility to local communities for community development including education, the old mindset lingers.

High illiteracy rates pose another obstacle to widespread and meaningful community participation in education. The literacy rate for the adult population in Guinea today is estimated only at 41%. This is even lower for women and rural areas. The high level of illiteracy reinforces the existing division between schools and communities. Illiterate parents feel disempowered next to the educated, salaried school officials, who did not always welcome their involvement.

Another obstacle is the low organizational capacity of the Parents’ Associations themselves. Although Parents’ Associations have been in existence since 1985, until 1997 when World Education began working with Parents’ Associations, most existed in name only. Board members were not elected; they were appointed, often by the school administration. There was little documentation of the activities of Parents’ Associations, most were not legally registered, and they kept few, if any written records of the funds collected and how they were spent. There was virtually no accountability to members in terms of activity or financial reporting, and women’s participation overall was negligible.

5 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 This is the context in which World Education began working with Parents’ Associations, first in 1997 with the Community Education project and later in 2001 with the PACEEQ consortium. Today, through the efforts of PACEEQ, many Parents’ Associations have become models of civic action for education, demonstrating that communities are capable of organizing and contributing to improvements in the quality of education. This renewal of Parents’ Associations came to be seen as a “social movement” which was sanctioned by the Ministry of Education. A landmark policy directive by the Ministry of Education in 2005 validated the efforts of Parents’ Associations and mandated their roles and responsibilities.

Ministry of Education Circular No. 0999

In September 2005 the Ministry of Pre-University Education and Civic Education issued MEPU-EC Circular No. 0999. This landmark policy document set out to define roles and responsibilities for the Parents’ Association in the co-management of schools. Previously, school management had been the exclusive domain of school officials.

This Ministry Circular was the result of the efforts of a number of USAID funded projects including PACEEQ and NFQE/Maillon as well as other international aid agencies. The Ministry Circular was a culmination of the experience of PACEEQ and other community participation efforts, which had demonstrated the benefits of an effective, representative and democratic Parents’ Association working in collaboration with school officials to improve the quality of education.

However the Ministry Circular was not welcomed or understood by all education stakeholders. Many school officials perceived the Ministry Circular as a threat to their authority and did not understand that the autonomy of the Parents’ Association was compromised when school officials served on the boards. In many cases, school officials did not understand the Ministry Circular, had never seen or read the document, and were adamantly opposed to it. In addition, Parents’ Association members themselves did not have a solid understanding of the Circular, or how they were supposed to partner with angry school officials to implement it.

To address some of these issues during the PACEEQ consolidation phase, a specific training module on the contents of the Ministry Circular was developed and implemented with both the Parents’ Associations and school officials. In addition, PACEEQ assisted MEPU-EC to organize a series of regional forums culminating in a national forum to address issues related to the implementation of the Ministry Circular No. 0999.

The PACEEQ Approach At the core, PACEEQ’s main strategy was to train Parents’ Associations to assume responsibility for their children’s education by empowering them to make decisions and building key skills to manage their own resources. This was achieved through a comprehensive training, sub-grant and technical assistance program that prepared Parents’ Associations to play a meaningful role in the co-management of schools.

The approach is bottom-up, and PACEEQ begins capacity building at the grassroots level before working with the sub-prefecture, commune, prefecture and regional structures.

The implementation of Education Action Plans serves as the linchpin for the PACEEQ approach to building Parents’ Associations capacity. The process of participatory action planning is launched through a participatory community diagnostic that

6 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 involves the entire community in a situational analysis. On the basis of the data gathered and the community dialogue to discuss the results of the situation analysis, a consensus is reached on the prioritization of needs and inventory of community resources available to address them. These discussions result in the first draft of the Education Action Plan, which is later finalized, and budgeted by activity with technical assistance from PACEEQ. The Education Action Plan is then discussed and validated by all members of the Parents’ Association during a General Assembly.

The participatory planning is structured as a dynamic and iterative process. Every training module for the Parents’ Association includes a specific theme that directs its’ members back to the Education Action Plan to integrate the content of the training into the Plan. For example, after a training workshop on HIV/AIDS prevention, Parents’ Associations revise their Education Action Plans to include at least two activities dealing with HIV/AIDS prevention. After a training workshop on Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation, Parents’ Associations revise once again their Education Action Plans to include at least two activities involving advocacy or negotiation. In this manner, planning becomes a reflexive process for the Parents’ Associations. Each time association members learn a new skill or identify new needs, they integrate this into their planned activities.

To partially finance Education Action Plans, PACEEQ implements a sub-grant component that builds in sustainability from the beginning. Parents’ Associations are required to contribute between 5-25% of the total sub-grant as an in-kind or in-cash community contribution. Furthermore, Parents’ Associations are responsible for implementing all the activities in their Education Action Plan, not just those covered by the sub-grant. In this sense, mobilization of resources by the Parents’ Association is built into the process.

PACEEQ experience has shown that the types of concrete activities Parents’ Associations can undertake fall into several non-mutually exclusive categories:

1) Improving quality of education: This includes a wide type of student support activities such as study groups, summer school, scholastic prizes to motivate students, exam support, tutoring, school clubs, school competitions, cultural activities for students, and sports competitions.

2) Improving access to education: This includes conducting student recruitment campaigns and awareness-raising campaigns within the community on the importance of enrolling children in school, as well as taking a census of school-age children not enrolled.

3) Improving gender equity: This includes a variety of activities such as gender equity campaigns within communities, campaigns to recruit girls for enrollment; monitoring of girls activities, support to girls- both material and moral, and enforcement of fines against infractions (i.e. teachers or adults who impregnate a girl in school).

7 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 4) Teacher support: This includes assisting in providing housing, financial aid, encouragement and moral support, and recruitment of teachers.

5) Construction, repairs, renovations and school improvements: This includes all construction and renovation activities that assist the school to maintain sufficient and adequate classrooms, enclosed courtyards, latrines, and water points. It can also include repairing a leaky roof, planning trees in the courtyard, as well as installing and or repairing doors and windows in classrooms.

6) Procurement, management and maintenance of school materials: This includes procurement of pedagogical aids, school supplies, textbooks, desks chairs, blackboards, school registers and medicine. Oversight of the management of school materials already acquired is covered under the category of oversight activities.

7) Finance: This includes traditional fundraising activities, collection of members’ dues, social mobilization, collection of contributions from “ressortistants” or “community Diaspora” who have relocated to large urban centers or abroad, and advocacy efforts to fundraise through partnerships with other community based associations, local development councils, local NGOs and other relevant education stakeholders.

8) Oversight activities: This includes all activities related to liaising with school officials to solve problems at the school, such as regular meetings with the school principal, analysis of school results on a regular basis with the school principal and his staff, and inventory management and oversight of school materials.

9) Activities to improve organizational effectiveness of the APEAE: This includes support for PACEEQ literacy centers, study visits, preparation of general assemblies and elections; financial and activity reporting, maintaining records of the APEAE, managing correspondence, procurement of basic office supplies (registers, notebooks, pens, etc.) and representation functions at official or public venues.

All of the activities listed above are eligible for PACEEQ sub-grants with two exceptions: teachers’ salaries and new construction activities. Using external sub- grant funds to pay the salaries of locally recruited teachers is not sustainable. While recruitment of community teachers is often an activity listed in the education action plans, APEAE conduct fundraising campaigns or use other local mechanisms to fund this activity. Due to the restrictions on using USG funding for new construction activities, PACEEQ sub-grants are only used. First, PACEEQ sub-grants cannot be used to pay teachers salaries, as the project designated this as unsustainable use of sub-grant funds. Second, PACEEQ funds cannot be used for new construction of classrooms, as new construction activities are prohibited by USAID regulations. Funds can be used, however, to complete construction activities already underway (i.e. putting a roof on a new school classroom). Renovations, and digging of latrines

8 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 and wells and building of fences around courtyards were not considered construction activities under the project.

The overall PACEEQ approach described above can be illustrated by the image below.

Illustration 1: The PACEEQ Model – Consolidation Phase:

Literacy & Post Literacy Programs

Civil Society Education

Stakeholders

PACEEQ Local FEGUIPAE NGOs C/APEAE APEAE School Local Alliances Improvement

Rural Radio & Communication Improved Partnership Strategy

School Officials Local Development Councils National Equity Committee FONSEF National Media Task Force National NGO Network

The literacy and post-literacy programs targeted Parents’ Association members and proved to be an important tool in reinforcing the capacity of Parents’ Associations to contribute to the co-management of schools.

The rural radio programs targeted Parents’ Association members and communities at large and proved to be an effective means for communicating with rural communities. These radio broadcasts played an important role in increasing the demand for accountability and transparency in management of Parents’ Associations. A total of 44 radio programs were developed and broadcast in Pular (Labé) AND Maninke (Kankan). In addition, PACEEQ facilitated the creation of multi-stakeholder communication strategies at the regional and national levels through the organization of appreciative planning summits at the regional and national levels which resulted in the development and implementation of comprehensive communication strategies.

9 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 During the PACEEQ I phase, a total of 650 APEAE in Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé, and N’Zérékoré were targeted, as well as 87 sub-prefecture C/APEAE, 37 Local Alliances and 57 CRDs. It is important to note that prior to PACEEQ, 251 Parents’ Associations in Mamou benefited from the pilot project EDUCOM.

During the PACEEQ consolidation phase both the geographic coverage and the number of target groups at the sub-prefecture level and above was expanded.

By 2007, PACEEQ had covered 100% of the regional C/APEAE, 100% of the prefecture C/APEAE, 35% of the sub-prefecture C/APEAE (106 out of a total of 303 sub-prefectures) and only 13% of all the APEAE (901 APEAE out of a total of 6,815 schools in Guinea.

Analytical Summary

Summary of key accomplishments:

• APEAE Capacity Building: A total of 650 APEAE from 5 regions (Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé, and N’Zérékoré) were trained in 6 core training modules. A total of 440,531 participants took part in the training workshops, of which 117,654 (27%) were women. In addition, 100% of the targeted APEAE successfully managed PACEEQ sub-grants and completed at least 50% of planned activities in their education action plans.

• C/APEAE Capacity Building: A total of 136 C/APEAE received capacity building assistance from PACEEQ, including 106 sub-prefecture C/APEAE, 25 prefecture, 5 commune C/APEAE and 8 regional C/APEAE. In addition to the intensive and varied training program, 100% of targeted C/APEAE successfully managed PACEEQ sub-grants and 100% of the targeted sub- prefecture C/APEAE completed at least 50% of the planned activities in their Education Action Plans.

• Exchange Visits: PACEEQ supported a number of exchange visits. A total of 24 newly integrated sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE participated in exchange visits to veteran C/APEAE. In addition, representatives from 6 regions carried out exchange visits to either Boké or Labé to expand the Coordination Régionale des Intervenants en Education (CRIE). As a result, CRIE mechanisms were established in all 6 regions.

• Resource Persons: As part of the innovative resource person strategy, a total of 272 C/APEAE resource persons and 88 Local Alliance resource persons were identified. 599 resource persons, school administration officials and CRD members took part in a training on Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation; As a result of the training workshops, 273 resource persons co-facilitated key training workshops alongside NGO facilitators; 196 resource persons in Kindia and Conakry participated in APEAE outreach activities and training; 168 resource persons participated in orientation

10 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 sessions and then carried out dissemination activities on the Ministry Circular No. 0999; and 317 resource persons were trained in participatory monitoring and evaluation and then participated fully in the data collection, interpretation and restitution sessions of the last ERO. Today, as a result of these activities, resource persons are emerging as leaders within their communities, solicited for their knowledge, skills and experience by school administration officials and other international projects and institutions.

• FEGUIPAE Capacity Building: With technical support from PACEEQ, FEGUIPAE developed a strategic plan, conducted democratic elections for the first time since its creation, organized three General Assemblies, developed an administrative and financial policy and procedures manual that was validated by the General Assembly and successfully managed an institutional strengthening sub-grant. Today, FEGUIPAE is recognized as the legitimate representative of Parents’ Associations and is solicited by the Ministry of Education and other international partners in policy dialogues.

• Capacity Building for Guinean NGOs: PACEEQ trained NGO personnel in Strategic Planning and Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation. In addition, PACEEQ assisted 26 NGOs to develop a strategic plan and a financial and administrative policy and procedures manual. Today, a number of PACEEQ NGO partners have grown considerably in size, geographic coverage, technical expertise, reputation, and funding diversification.

• Civil Society Strengthening: A total of 16 thematic round tables took place in 8 regions to address issues related to education. A national NGO network (RONGEPE) was created. With technical support from PAEEQ, RONGEPE created a strategic plan, elaborated a financial and administrative policy and procedures manual, organized 4 national meetings of members and successfully managed an institutional strengthening sub-grant. In addition they successfully collected member contributions and decided to formally join the Conseil National des Organisations de la Société Civile.

• Support to Key National Structures: The National Equity Committee, National Media Task Force, and the National Foundation for Girls’ Education (FONSEF) all developed strategic plans and received institutional strengthening grants totaling 70,50,000 GF. In addition, PACEEQ collaborated with the National Equity Committee in the organization of National Girls’ Day Celebration and provided technical and financial support to the National Media Task Force to implement a Comparative Study on Girls’ Education in Boké and N’Zérékoré.

• Transversal HIV/AIDS Activities: One-third of all sub-prefecture C/APEAE and one third of all Local Alliances received refresher training in HIV/AIDS prevention. In addition, a theme was included in the Community Participation and Partnership module on the harmonization of HIV/AIDS prevention messages in school and at home. As a result of these workshops, HIV/AIDS prevention activities were integrated into their action plans.

11 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

• Gender Equity: Significant strides were made to improve gender equity. A comprehensive training and sub-grant package was administered for 44 Local Alliances (surpassing the target of 35 Local Alliances) and corresponding Equity Sub-Committees and a total of 231,300,585 GF was administered in sub-grants. 100% of targeted Local Alliances completed at least 50% of their planned activities in their Education Action Plans. Training in Gender Sensitive Community Participation in Education was provided to 88 women role models and 88 religious leaders.

• Activities in Support of Girls’ Education: Complementary activities benefiting girls’ education including school clubs, tutoring, review groups, mentoring, exchange visits, and innovation grants took place in all 8 regions. In addition, each year PACEEQ supported the National Girls’ Day Celebration to promote girls education at the national and regional levels. PACEEQ collaborated with the USAID-funded Ambassador Girls’ Scholarship Program (AGSP) program in the distribution of girls’ scholarships. Between 2004 and 2007 a total of 21,000 scholarship packages were distributed.

• Literacy: Initial literacy activities reached a total of 11,420 learners and post literacy activities reached a total of 1,113 learners. In addition, three editions of a community newsletter were produced in four local languages with a distribution of over 12,000 copies. Furthermore, PACEEQ supported the SNA in the organization of four literacy roundtables at the regional level. Although the PACEEQ literacy approach is successful, the Mid-Term Literacy Evaluation (2004) demonstrated that the benefits of the literacy component go beyond acquisition of basic literacy skills. Learners enrolled in the literacy program express increased confidence, are more likely to ensure the education of their children, and are more likely to occupy posts of responsibility within the Parents’ Association.

• Materials development and documentation: A total of 40 PACEEQ training modules were edited and a master set of 16 key training modules was created and disseminated to over 40 partners. In addition, initial literacy manuals were developed and implemented in 4 national languages. Following the Mid-Term Literacy Evaluation, these manuals were improved and reprinted. In addition, 3 post-literacy manuals were developed in collaboration with the SNA in 4 national languages.

• National and Regional Forums on Lessons Learned from PACEEQ: A total of 8 regional forums and 1 national forum on PACEEQ lessons learned took place, resulting in the production of regional reports and a national forum report that was disseminated to over 30 partner associations.

• National Forum on Girls Education: In collaboration with MEPU-EC, PACEEQ organized a National Forum on Girls Education. As a result of this form, recommendations were drafted and a monitoring committee established to oversee the implementation of the recommendations. Committees at the

12 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 regional and prefecture level have been active in monitoring the implementation of these recommendations

• Radio Programming and Communication Strategy: PACEEQ developed a radio program with 44 broadcasts in Maninké and Pular designed to increase community participation in education and improve gender equity. These popular radio shows were broadcast in Kankan and Labé. In addition, 8 regional communication forums and 1 National Communication Forum took place, which resulted in the elaboration of communication strategies at the regional and national levels that were funded with EDC/PACEEQ sub-grants.

• Regional and National Forums on the Implementation of Ministry Circular on Community Participation. A total of 8 regional fora and 1 national forum were organized to conduct a situation analysis on the level of implementation of the Ministry Circular on community participation. The recommendations from the National Forum were distributed to over 40 organizations involved in education.

• Action-Research Projects: To encourage innovation, increase the knowledge base and identify best practices, PACEEQ funded a total of 19 action research projects. These projects were selected on a competitive basis. The total budget for the 19 action research projects was 93,362,085 GF, of which 16,407,900 GF (18%) came from in-kind or cash contributions of the implementing organizations.

• Evaluations and Studies: Over the years, PACEEQ has produced and disseminated an impressive amount of documentation. Studies conducted include: PACEEQ Mid-Term Evaluation on Local Alliances; PACEEQ Mid-Term Evaluation on Literacy Activities; PACEEQ Final Evaluation; Comparative Study on Girls’ Education in Boké and N’Zérékoré; Feasibility Study for the Establishment of a National Radio Frequency for Education; Evaluation of PACEEQ’s Gender Approach; and Evaluation of the Long Term Impact of PACEEQ. All evaluations were carried out with technical assistance from Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in the development of the terms of reference.

Impact:

• APEAE participating in the PACEEQ program have demonstrated a significant and enduring change in their performance. In particular, Parents’ Associations have shown increased transparency, accountability and participatory decision-making within the. APEAE now work in collaboration with school administration officials to improve the quality of education, resulting in good governance in the co-management of schools. • The actions of APEAE at the grassroots level are beginning to have an important spillover effect into other areas. In some cases APAEAs have created community demand for accountability from school officials and locally elected officials. Parents who have found their voice and realized their capacity to contribute are less likely to be complacent when abuses are

13 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 noted in other community based associations or in other sectors. In this sense, capacity building of APEAE has contributed to good governance at the local level.

• A growing awareness on the part of the school administrators at all levels that the involvement of parents is not a nuisance but rather an important resource that can help them to better manage the multiple problems that teachers and principals face on a daily basis is in evidence. This growing recognition of the benefit of parents’ involvement needs to be nurtured so that positive examples can be showcased to help spread the message.

• C/APEAE and Local Alliances are beginning to play an active role in the resolution of minor disputes at the local levels. As C/APEAE, APEAE and school administration officials at all levels begin to experiment in the co- management of schools, some friction is inevitable. However, the C/APEAE and Local Alliances have demonstrated their willingness and ability to rise to meet the challenge.

• A number of positive effects of PACEEQ can be observed in the field, most notably the success that the prefectoral and regional C/APEAE are beginning to experience in engaging other partners to participate in supporting their education plans through well thought out and carefully planned advocacy campaigns. Several examples of successful advocacy and growing influence are noteworthy: the regional C/APEAE of Kindia successfully advocated for elements of their Strategic Plan to be included in Aide et Action’s long-term planning; and a number of regional C/APEAE were solicited by their local Prefecture Director of Education (DPE) to participate in the elaboration of the action plan of the Comité Préfectorale de Pilotage pour l’Education (CPPE).

• The PACEEQ Impact Evaluation indicates that many APEAE continue to carry out school improvement activities through action planning both 1 year and 4 years after the period of direct assistance from PACEEQ has been completed. They continue to hold elections by secret ballot, elaborate and implement education action plans, monitor the presence of the teacher in the classroom and meet regularly with the school principal to analyze school results. More importantly, qualitative interviews with APEAE members indicate that they are fiercely proud of the positive change in status of the Parents’ Associations. They are aware that they have earned a reputation as a transparent organization that contributes significantly to school quality and are highly motivated to keep this status.

• Resource persons trained by PACEEQ are becoming more and more recognized by their communities and other development partners and are invited to assist other sectors outside of education, such as the health sector. Resource persons are emerging as leaders within their communities. The majority of regional workshops on the implementation of the Ministry Circular No. 0999 were co-facilitated by the C/APEAE resource persons.

14 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

• FEGUIPAE is being recognized by MEPU-EC as a strategic partner. Following rumors of mismanagement of funds by the APEAE of the Gbèssia school in Conakry, the Minister of Pre-University Education and Civic Education invited the board of the FEGUIPAE to assist him in dealing with the situation.

• The literacy component was an effective source of motivation and inspiration for APEAE members on many levels that goes beyond the acquisition of basic literacy skills. However the messages promoted as part of the literacy materials (concerning functioning of APEAE, co-management of school, gender equity, etc.) have had an impact in changing attitudes of the learners. Furthermore, learners report increased self-esteem after participating in the literacy program, and women who participated in the literacy program are more likely to be active members of the APEAE.

• CRDs are making a significant contribution to improving the quality of education. Prior to PACEEQ, education was generally a relatively low priority for CRDs. Today, CRDs are more likely to fund education infrastructure projects and projects promoting girls’ education and they are more likely to work in close partnership with Parents’ Associations.

Challenges and Opportunities

• The application in the field of the Ministry Circular 0999. The circular provides general guidance and the PACEEQ training module on Community Participation and Partnership further clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the different actors in the co-management of schools as outlined in the circular. However, it will take time to change attitudes and behaviors that will result in collaborative co-management of schools by both parents and school officials. In some cases, there is significant pushback from school officials who see the circular as a threat to their influence. This must be managed with care and diplomacy.

• Installing a culture of democracy within the C/APEAE through democratic elections, transparent decision-making and management of resources. Although this approach was very successful with the APEAE, it will take time to achieve the same level of accountability with C/APEAE, who have been introduced into the PACEEQ program only recently.

• Reinforcing collaboration between the different levels of the federated Parents’ Associations. Many of the regional and prefecture level staff still tends to think that they “supervise” the sub-prefecture and school-level Parents’ Associations, instead of represent them. It will take time to nurture a representative accountability chain.

• Active participation of women in NGOs, elected office and within the school administration. Although PACEEQ has made strides to increase women’s representation among Parents’ Associations, there is still a dearth of women

15 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 represented as NGO facilitators within PACEEQ NGO partners, as well as among school officials and elected CRD members.

• Collaboration between Local Alliances and SCE (sous-comité d’équité) needs to be improved in terms of cohesion and passing of information.

• Reinforcing the capacity of the newly trained C/APEAE resource persons to enable them to provide quality support to their C/APEAE and to the APEAE. C/APEAE have shown remarkable motivation in training the APEAE, and the APEAE have expressed their satisfaction with trainings provided by the C/APEAE resource persons. The challenge will be to maintain this dynamic and keep the momentum going. In addition, the representation of women among the C/APEAE resource persons is relatively weak compared to overall women’s representation within the C/APEAE. As the introduction of resource persons is new, more time is needed to increase women’s representation in this new role.

• Not all actors at the sub-prefecture and prefecture level are aware of the democratic renewal process integral to the federated APEAE system or the Ministry Circular No 0999. Instilling a culture of democracy within the C/APEAE through democratic elections, transparent decision-making and management of resources will take time. Changing attitudes and behaviors must take place not only within the APEAE system but also with local authorities, general community members, and school administration officials at all levels. This transition needs to be managed with care and diplomacy.

• Critical mass of APEAE. At the same time, PACEEQ created a number of opportunities that did not exist previously, including a network of trained APEAE from the local to national levels and a network of trained resource persons at the prefecture and sub-prefecture level, as well as trained DSEE who understand the contribution of APEAE. The closing of the project provides an opportunity and a challenge to take advantage of these resources to expand the reach of PACEEQ to beyond the structures originally included in the project.

• Communication between members of the FEGUIPAE in the different regions. The extension of the PACEEQ consolidation phase was an excellent opportunity for the FEGUIPAE to benefit from a series of meetings, working sessions and General Assemblies that bring them together. Although the number of meetings was appropriate in light of the many tasks and challenges facing the FEGUIPAE, the intensity of the meetings was high. More down-time between activities would have been beneficial.

• Scarce resources and poverty impediments to sustainability. Income- generating projects have been suggested by participants as desired activities for countering this challenge; however this was not part of the PACEEQ program.

16 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 • Although the post-literacy component added in the final year began to address some of the issues concerning retention of literacy and providing reading materials in local languages, retention of literacy skills remains a challenge.

The following difficulties were noted :

• Repeated periodic civil unrest, general strikes and in some cases, riots and breakdown of law and order interrupted project activities several times throughout the life of the project.

• High level of training activities form PACEEQ and NFQE/MAILLON at the same time results in same targets (notably the DSEE) were solicited for multiple activities.

• High volume of training sessions did not allow ample time for participants to apply what they learned before the next training session began. In some cases the frequency of the training program was further intensified due to frequent disruption of scheduled activities caused by general strikes and civil unrest.

• High turnover of village literacy trainers who seek employment with other projects (PACEEQ is voluntary approach) resulted in a need for repeated training of new village literacy trainers.

• Many Parents’ Associations at the school level continue to maintain their records in French, as opposed to in national languages, despite encouragement from the PACEEQ-supported literacy program. This tendency created a dependency on the limited number of Parents’ Association members literate in French who could maintain association records. As a result, record keeping and activity and financial report preparation of the Parents’ Associations tended to be weak after the project assistance was completed.

• Certain APEAE and C/APEAE reported difficulties accessing their funds from the rural credit offices because the rural credit only offers services two days per week in some locals, and requires the presence of both signatories for the account. This was difficult to coordinate for certain APEAE and sub- prefecture C/APEAE and caused a slight delay in their being able to access the funds.

• APEAE and C/APEAE who have not yet participated in the PACEEQ capacity building program continue to request training assistance from PACEEQ. Expanding the project to reach a critical mass of associations remains a challenge for the future.

• The DSEE served as a key resource person for two USAID funded education projects: PACEEQ and the NFQE/Maillon project. This resulted sometimes in

17 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 an overcommitted schedule for the DSEE, who was solicited to participate in both PACEEQ and NFQE/Maillon trainings.

Lessons Learned:

• Training the regional and prefecture C/APEAE in Financial Management was a necessary initiative, even though training for these structures was not originally included in the results framework. It was noted that most of the members of these structures did not have any knowledge or background in financial management. This training permitted them to gain a basic understanding and allowed them to judiciously manage the PACEEQ sub- grants.

• As a result of the training in Community Participation and Partnership, school administration officials became convinced of the necessity of collaborating closely with C/APEAE in the co-management of schools.

• The diversity of participants in the communication forums contributed to their success. In the forums, participants shared experiences and identified practices and approaches that contributed to improved quality of education. Through these forums, participants understood the advantage of sharing success stories and planning to capitalize on replicating these success stories.

• Identifying the DSEE as a resource person in certain key training workshops, notably the FASE, Non-Formal Adult Education and Facilitation Techniques and Community Participation and Partnership, was highly appreciated by the DSEE, despite their already overburdened schedules. Their participation in the joint training sessions opened communication channels between the C/APEAE and the DSEE and his staff. This has significantly facilitated community-government collaboration at the intermediary levels. In the past, the DSEE and the C/APEAE would only meet if there was a conflict at hand that needed to be addressed. Now, not only have they established a partnership but as a result of the shared training sessions, they also share common ground and speak a common language concerning community participation and the roles and responsibilities of the C/APEAE and APEAE.

• Including the CRD in a series of three training modules (Institutional Development, Decentralization and Quality of Education, and Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation) has given a huge boost to C/APEAE advocacy efforts. Many C/APEAE reported a change in mentality within the CRD, as evidenced by their willingness to give education issues a higher priority in the local development plans. CRD have also lauded the usefulness of the training they received from PACEEQ and claimed that they now realize education must be a vital plank of any local development plan.

• Even in rural communities with high levels of illiteracy, parents can play a meaningful role in the co-management of schools. This contribution includes

18 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 both actions that parents can take (information campaigns to enroll girls in school, organization of study groups, following progress of children in school, etc.) as well as resources that parents can mobilize to contribute to the management of the school.

• The PACEEQ training and sub-grant program was an effective approach in building the capacity of APEAE. Despite the high level of illiteracy among members, APEAE have demonstrated remarkable performance in planning and implementing school improvement projects, in budgeting activities and managing sub-grant funds, and in attaining a degree or transparency, representation and accountability in the management of the APEAE itself.

• The “bottom-up” approach is effective in working with grassroots organizations at the beginning of the intervention. Inclusion of federated APEAE at a later stage in training and sub-grant program is an effective means to engage members of the federated APEAE as resource persons to participate in the delivery of the training program and to provide support and follow-up to the grassroots levels. It is unlikely that the federated APEAE could have played this role had the PACEEQ program started at the intermediary level. Rather, it was success at the grassroots that facilitated an environment in which the federated APEAE had an expanded role to play.

• Co-management is more effective when roles and responsibilities of both parents and school administration are well defined, understood and supported by all relevant actors, including the school administration at all levels, prefects, sub-prefects, and members of CRDs.

• Partnership was a key element to the success of the APEAE. APEAE must learn to see themselves as partners with the school administration, traditional/religious leaders, rural development councils and locally elected officials.

• The structure of the training program, which began with simple modules that devoted significant time to practical application of what was learned, was an important factor in the success of the program. Rewards must be visible and tangible and come fairly quickly to show that new ways bring about desired results.

• The sustainability of the PACEEQ intervention is demonstrated by the fact that PACEEQ NGO partners continue to grow in the competitive search for funding for education projects. Many former PACEEQ partners now have several different funding sources for multiple projects. This diversified funding base is a source of institutional security for the NGOs. In addition, even after PACEEQ direct assistance has been completed, APEAE, Local Alliances and C/APEAE continue their participatory planning process, organizing general assemblies and implementing the activities in their education action plans. This sustainability is further enhanced by the presence of resource persons within the C/APEAE and Local Alliances.

19 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

The next sections provide a description of activities and results organized by Intermediate Result and Sub-Intermediate Results.

Intermediate Result 3: Improved Community Participation In Basic Education

PACEEQ contributed significantly to increasing community participation in basic education. Through a comprehensive training, sub-grant and technical assistance package, PACEEQ strengthened the capacity of 1,021 Parents’ Associations and Friends of the School1 as well as 144 federated Parents’ Associations at the sub- prefecture, commune, prefecture and regional levels. As a result, by the end of the project 100% of the targeted structures completed at least 50% of the planned activities in their Education Action Plans.

In addition, PACEEQ provided institutional strengthening grants, training and technical support to several national structures including the FEGUIPAE, the National Media Task Force and a national network of Guinean NGOs (RONGEPE).

Furthermore, as part of the effort to improve community participation in basic education PACEEQ developed and implemented the following initiatives: a strategy for the training and deployment of resource persons; a structured program of exchange visits; initiatives to promote improved collaboration between school officials and Parents’ Associations; an action-research program, thematic round tables, a program of expansion of the CRIE, regional and national forums, support for the development of a national network of Guinean NGOs and a strategy to improve collaboration between Parents’ Associations and local development councils.

As a result of all these initiatives, Parents’ Associations have been transformed, as documented by numerous evaluations including the PACEEQ Final Evaluation in 2005, the sector-wide education evaluation carried out by USAID in 2006 and the PACEEQ Impact Evaluation, carried out at the beginning of 2007. Today there is more transparency, accountability, inclusiveness and participatory decision-making among the Parents’ Associations. Democratic elections by secret ballot of board members have become the norm.

Parents now work in close partnership with school administration officials to solve problems and improve access to quality education. Collaboration has replaced subordination in relationships between Parents’ Associations and School Administration Officials.

1 These are cumulative figures since 1997 and include the 251 APEAE from the Mamou Pilot, the 650 APEAE from PACEEQ as well as 120 APEAE in Kindia and Conakry who benefited from resource person outreach. 20 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Parents’ Associations are recognized as significant actors contributing to quality education. At the sub-prefecture and prefecture levels, Parents’ Associations are now actively solicited to participate in the elaboration of the Education Development Plans and Annual Budgets alongside school administration officials and local development councils. Parents’ Association resource persons trained by PACEEQ are solicited to assist with training and awareness raising campaigns by other projects, institutions. They are a valuable asset to their communities and continue to be active in collaborating with school administration officials and local development councils to ensure access to quality education.

There has been a major shift in attitudes and perceptions vis-à-vis the school. In the past, communities were indifferent at best to how schools were managed. It was considered solely the domain of the government. Today, communities are active in the co-management of schools. They have a strong sense of ownership of the school and what happens with their children’s education.

Activities under Intermediate Result 3 are organized by sub-intermediate result and are described in detail in the following sections.

Sub-IR 3.1. Increased participation, decision-making and mobilization and management of resources for primary schools

Sub-Intermediate Result 3.1 Increased participation in decision-making, mobilization and management of resources for primary schools Activities Results 9 A total of 440,531 participants from 650 APEAE Organize capacity building training for 3.1.1. took part in APEAE training workshops, of which APEAE 117,654 (27%) were women. Provide assistance to APEAE in 9 A total of 650 APEAE developed Education Action 3.1.2. development and implementation of Plans and implemented at least 50% of their Education Action Plans planned activities. 9 A total of 650 APEAE received 3,210,318,840 GF in 3.1.3. Administer sub-grants to APEAE sub-grants. 100% of sub-grant expenses were justified.

3.1.1. Organize capacity building training workshops for APEAE

The PACEEQ training workshops are an integral part of the overall capacity building process. The three-year technical assistance package includes two years of core training, with an additional third year for refresher training as needed. The refresher training is essential to overall capacity building because it builds on previous experience to strengthen and consolidate the knowledge and skill of APEAE members.

PACEEQ training modules are developed by Guinean staff members with international technical assistance from PACEEQ consortium partners through module development workshops which also includes the participation of MEPU-EC

21 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 representatives, Guinean technical experts as well as community representatives. Once the modules are developed, they are piloted in a target community. Based on the experience of the pilot training workshop they are revised and finalized. The training module topics and themes developed in the training modules are founded on the information gathered during the participatory community diagnostic to ensure they are relevant to both community members’ concerns as well as USAID strategic objectives. In addition, to promote collaboration between APEAE and school principals, all school principals are also invited to participate in the APEAE training.

PACEEQ training workshops are participatory in nature and are based on best practices in non-formal adult education techniques. Although they include new information and teach new skills, they also build upon prior experiences of individuals to ensure an appropriate learning context for adults. They are practical in focus, and each theme within the training module is linked to a practical activity that the participants undertake after the training workshop.

PACEEQ Training Methodology To ensure a high quality of training workshops, PACEEQ uses a modified approach to cascade training. The PACEEQ technical who that developed the training modules are responsible for training the local NGO partners in a Training of Trainers (TOT) seminar. The NGO staff is then responsible for conducting the training with the Parents’ Associations. PACEEQ staff monitor regularly the APEAE trainings and provide feedback and support to NGO facilitators. If deemed necessary, TOT refresher training workshops are held periodically for NGO staff to ensure a high level of training quality. One of the advantages of this approach is the transfer of skills and competence to the local NGO partners.

As another mechanism to ensure a high quality of training workshops, the APEAE training sessions are conducted individually for each APEAE (i.e. they are not grouped). The schedule for the training sessions is planned during a social negotiation process that takes place between PACEEQ and the APEAE. Also, training modules are not covered in one sitting but rather are divided into smaller components. For example, the training module Internal Governance has a total of ten themes. The first training session will cover the first three themes. Then, after a period of 2-4 weeks (negotiated with the APEAE), the training sessions will continue and the next 4 themes will be covered. After a period of another 2-4 weeks, the final three themes will be covered. Although it is more time consuming to break the training modules into parts, conducting the training workshops in this manner increases retention and allows the participants time to apply what they have learned concerning the first series of themes and then regroup and discuss how that application went, before moving on to the next themes.

22 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

Description of Core Training Modules for APEAE

Internal Governance: This training module prepares the APEAE to manage its administrative affairs. It covers topics such as creating a mission statement for the APEAE, organizational structure, obtaining legal registration for the APEAE with local authorities, keeping minutes of official meetings, managing correspondence and other administrative documents, preparing and organizing a general assembly, elaborating an education action plan, validating an education action plan with the general assembly, mobilizing resources for the implementation of the education action plan, preparing activity reports, and finally monitoring and evaluation of progress. This is the first training module that the newly elected APEAE boards receive and by the end of the training module, the APEAE have developed their organizational structure, the roles and responsibilities of the different posts are defined, they are legally registered with local authorities, have a functioning secretariat, have prepared and conducted a general assembly which often corresponds with democratic election of officers corresponding to the newly defined organizational structure, and have elaborated and validated their education action plan.

Financial Management: An initial training module is designed to follow the Internal Governance module. At this point, the newly elected board has their action plan and the next step is to create a budget for the activities and a plan for the mobilization of resources in order to implement the planned activities. The Financial Management modules walks the APEAE through the budget process by covering in detail the following themes: developing an annual budget, mobilization of resources, managing an annual budget, opening an official bank account for the APEAE, managing a bank account (passbook), purpose and function of a petty cash fund, keeping records of the petty cash fund, receipts and justification of expenses, developing a financial report, and finally the PACEEQ sub-grant application process.

Health in the school environment and HIV/AIDS prevention: This training module covers topics related to health in the school environment and covers a number of practical subjects that APEAE can integrate into their education action plans to promote health of school children. Topics include: prevention of infectious diseases, nutrition, vaccination, hygiene, as well as five separate training themes related to HIV/AIDS prevention. The HIV/AIDS prevention themes focus both on theory (understanding what HIV/AIDS is and how it is transmitted) as well as practical themes targeting attitude and behavior change.

Quality of Education: This training module provides APEAE members with an opportunity to examine the factors that negatively affect the quality of education in their school and the practical steps they can take to improve the situation. Designed to build on the specific results of the participatory community diagnostic of each community as well as integrate the Ministry of Education “quality school criteria” developed by NFQE/MAILLON. This training module covers a wide range of education topics including: decentralization of the education system in Guinea, a practical definition of quality education, recruiting and supporting teachers, monitoring the attendance of teachers, teacher training, enrollment and retention of students, monitoring and supporting students at home in their scholastic progress, maintenance of school grounds and property, management of school textbooks, preparing for school exams, analysis of school results, as well as themes related specifically to girls’ education.

Techniques of Advocacy and Negotiation: The PACEEQ approach to working with Parents’ Associations is founded on the notion of partnership. To be effective, Parents’ Associations should both complement the efforts of school officials and other education stakeholders, as well as provide oversight (checks and balances) to school administration officials. To render this idea of “partnership” operational, PACEEQ developed a training module on techniques of advocacy and negotiation which covers the following topics: the notion of advocacy, planning an advocacy “action”, presentation of the advocacy message, the notion of negotiation, strategies of negotiation, preparing and executing a negotiation plan, monitoring and evaluation of advocacy and negotiation campaigns.

Gender Equity: Guinea has experienced an impressive improvement in girls’ enrollment statistics over the past decade, witness to the fact that new ideas about girls’ education, such as those outlined in the Gender Equity module, have had a significant impact on attitude and behavior changes related to girls’ education. The PACEEQ training module covers the following topics: the dangers of stereotypes and gender discrimination in education, the notion of gender equity in education, activities and roles related to gender equity, obstacles to enrollment and retention of girls in school. One of the striking features of this training module is the use of an illustrated daily calendar, in which participants “map” how boys and girls spend their time. This participatory, hands-on activity brings participants to draw their own conclusions as to how the unequal distribution of household chores can have a negative impact on girls’ education, and what practical steps can be taken to ensure that girls have adequate time to devote to school.

23 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Another significant feature of the PACEEQ training methodology is the bottom up approach. PACEEQ begins the capacity building process at the grassroots level before moving up to the sub-prefecture, commune and prefecture levels. The effects of the “bottom-up” approach are discussed in detail in section 3.2.

Training Statistics Table 1 provides a cumulative summary of the all the APEAE training carried out during the course of PACEEQ from 2001 through the end of the consolidation phase in 2007.

Table 1: Cumulative Summary of PACEEQ APEAE Training from 2001 through 2007 (Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé and N’Zérékoré combined) Total participants Women % TRAINING MODULES Total Men # Women Women Internal Governance 112,297 81,203 31,094 28% Financial Management 84,245 63,537 20,708 25% Quality of Education 86,585 63,414 23,171 27% Gender Equity 52,412 38,912 13,500 26% HIV/AIDS and School Health 62,582 45,544 17,038 27% Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation 42,410 30,267 12,143 29% TOTAL 440,531 322,877 117,654 27%

These training statistics cover 650 APEAE trained in the five regions of Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé, and N’Zérékoré. The 251 Parents’ Associations trained in Mamou were covered by the Community Education Pilot from 1997-2001 and are not covered under this cooperative agreement. The training of 120 APEAE in Kindia, Conakry and newly integrated sub-prefectures in N’Zérékoré are covered in section 3.2.2 covering the activities of resource persons.

Cumulatively, a total of 440,531 participants took part various training workshops, of which 117,654 (27%) were women. A detailed breakdown of training statistics by module by region can be found in the annexes.

The percentage of women in these training is considered as an achievement of PACEEQ. As noted in the introduction, when PACEEQ first began, in many APEAE women’s participation was practically non-existent. Through a variety of strategies detailed in section 4 of this report, slowly over the years PACEEQ contributed to a significant increase in women’s participation in Parents’ Associations, as demonstrated by the fact that 27% of participants in PACEEQ APEAE training workshops at the grassroots level were women.

Key Observations on Core Training Package Although it is difficult to separate the impact of the APEAE training package from the other PACEEQ components (sub-grants, monitoring and coaching, ERO feedback sessions, as well as changes within the C/APEAE, FEGUIPAE and within the

24 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Ministry of Education itself in support of community participation) some palpable attitude and behavior changes have been noted.

Prior to the PACEEQ project, it was widely believed that Parents’ Associations, whose members were largely illiterate, could not make contributions to the quality of education in their communities, with the exception of handing over contributions funds to school principals, who managed theses funds with no oversight or accountability. This ambitious capacity building program was viewed by many with skepticism. However, the results have been tangible and significant.

As a result of the Internal Governance and Financial Management training workshops, APEAE members have gained a solid understanding of how to organize the structure of the APEAE, how to manage basic administrative tasks, prepare activity reports, create an education action plan, develop a budget, prepare financial reports and justify expenses.

More importantly, they understand and appreciate the authority of the General Assembly as a decision-making body within their organization. No longer are decisions made by a few individuals in private. Accountability and transparency are demanded by the APEAE members. They are no longer complacent to let the school principal appoint the president—they want to elect their own board members by secret ballot. They want to be informed of how their contributions were spent by the board.

The actions of APEAE at the grassroots levels are beginning to have an important spillover effect into other areas. In some cases it has created a demand for accountability from school officials or locally elected officials. Parents who have found their voice and realized their capacity to contribute are less likely to be complacent when abuses are noted in other community based associations or in other sectors. In this sense, this type of capacity building within APEAE is a contribution to good governance at the local level.

There have even been changes in the local market place. As one PACEEQ staff member noted about the Mamou market, “before PACEEQ it was difficult to find receipts in the market place. If you bought something and asked for a receipt, people had no idea what you were talking about. Today, because the APEAE always ask for receipts to justify the purchases made for education activities as part of the PACEEQ sub-grant, you can now easily find receipts in most places in the market.”

Although it is difficult to attribute all of this change solely to the APEAE core training package, it is telling that APEAE not included in the PACEEQ program have approached the trained APEAE to learn what they can from them and to try to replicate the results. This indicates that the attitude and behavior changes within the APEAE are deeply rooted.

Understandably, there has been some resistance from school principals, who perceived the empowerment of parents as a threat to their own influence.

25 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 However, with support from PACEEQ and the inclusion of school principals in all APEAE trainings, combined with the issuing of the Ministry Circular No. 0999, school administration officials at all levels are beginning to see that an empowered and efficient APEAE is more of a help than a hindrance in addressing the many problems at the school level.

Even in rural communities, with high levels of illiteracy, parents can play a meaningful role in the co-management of schools. This contribution includes both actions that parents can take (information campaign to enroll girls in school, organization of study groups, following progress of children in school, etc.) as well as resources that parents can mobilize to contribute to the management of the school.

The PACEEQ training and sub-grant program is an effective approach in building the capacity of APEAE. Despite the high level of illiteracy among members, APEAE have demonstrated remarkable performance in planning and implementing school improvement projects, in budgeting activities and managing sub-grant funds, and in attaining a degree or transparency, representation and accountability in the management of the APEAE itself.

Finally, the simple structure of the training program that required little training time and devoted significant time to practical application of what was learned was an important factor in the success of the program. Rewards must be visible and tangible and must come fairly quickly to show that new ways bring about desired results.

3.1.2. Provide technical assistance to APEAE in the development and implementation of Education Action Plans

Description of the Participatory Planning Process In addition to the implementation of the core training program, PACEEQ supported the APEAE first to develop, and then to review and renew their Education Action Plans.

The goal of the review and renewal process is for the APEAE to update their action plans by evaluating what activities have already been accomplished and adding new activities that they would like to accomplish this year. It is important to note that the development of the first draft Education Action Plan resulted from the Participatory Community Diagnostic that took place in the community to launch the PACEEQ program. (See box below for a description of the Participatory Community Diagnostic.) Identification of new activities takes place during the course of the PACEEQ refresher training workshops and is related to the theme of the training workshop.

26 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

The Participatory Community Diagnostic

The Participatory Community Diagnostic is a learning experience for communities and for PACEEQ. It stimulates public debate by engaging community members in an overarching analysis of the education sector in their communities. It touches upon problems as well as local solutions and strategies. It prepares the way for the development of the Education Action Plans.

The introduction of the PACEEQ program into a community is always carried out through the Participatory Community Diagnostic.

The specific objectives of the Participatory Community Diagnostic are to: • Conduct an open and constructive analysis and exchange on the quality of education in the community; • Gather information pertinent to education in each community; • Solicit an engagement from community members towards improving the quality of education in their respective communities; • Engage in a participatory analysis that results in the first draft of the Education Action Plan

The Participatory Community Diagnostic enables PACEEQ and communities to: • Gather data and document important aspects concerning the quality of education and school community relations;

• Gather baseline data necessary for tracking of various project indicators;

• Gather necessary information on the level of performance of Parents’ Associations in order to identify

training needs.

Participatory Community Diagnostics were carried out in 650 communities in the regions of Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé, Mamou and N’Zérékoré. In addition, a modified Participatory Community Diagnostic was developed and implemented at the sub-prefecture/commune level in 24 sub-prefectures and communes in Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré as part of the consolidation strategy.

The elaboration of the Education Action Plan and accompanying budget takes place in several steps and is an integral part of the Internal Governance training module (see above section 3.1.1. for a description of the Internal Governance training).

The first step in the development of the Education Action Plan is the identification of the problems that impede children from accessing quality education. Next, the identified problems are prioritized, and finally the APEAE discuss and propose local solutions for each problem identified. This activity encourages communities to examine the difficulties they have encountered and hone-in on appropriate solutions that are within their means.

It is important to note that activities identified in the Education Action Plans complement the Ministry of Education “quality school criteria” as covered in the Quality of Education training module (see above for more details). In addition, many Education Action Plans contain activities related to HIV/AIDS prevention as

27 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 well as various activities that target drop-out prevention and improvement in pass rates, especially for girls.

At the end of this exercise, the APEAE possess a viable plan of action and accompanying budget. At this point the APEAE are ready to begin the sub-grant application process, where a number of selected activities within the overall Education Action Plan are partially funded through PACEEQ after demonstration of the appropriate community matching funds, which can be contributed either in- kind or in cash.

The review and renewal of the Education Action Plan follows the same basic format, with the exception that it begins when the APEAE evaluate their progress in implementing the activities from the previous year. They examine which activities have been accomplished, which have not, and the reasons behind the failure to execute a planned activity.

Content Analysis of Education Action Plans As noted above, the participatory planning process is structured as a dynamic and iterative process. Every training module for the Parents’ Association includes a specific theme that directs the Parents’ Association members back to the Education Action Plan to integrate the content of the training into the Education Action Plan. Thus, throughout the capacity building process, the content of the Education Action Plans are continually changing and they are revised and updated each time association members learn a new skill or identify new needs.

At the end of 2003, a content analysis was conducted on the Education Action Plans of 650 APEAE to provide a snapshot overview of dominant themes in the Education Action Plans. It is important to note that at the time of the content analysis, The 466 APEAE of Faranah, Labé and Kankan were at the end of the second year of the 3-year capacity building process and the 184 APEAE of Boké and N’Zérékoré were at the end of the first year of assistance.

The purpose of the content analysis was to provide a snapshot overview of the content of the Education Action Plans at a particular point in to and to shed light on the most dominant and pressing concerns of the APEAE.

28 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

The graph below provides an illustration of the major activities in the Education Action Plan that dealt with general educational quality.

General Educational Quality EAPs

600

500 A P 400 E A 300 E s 200

100

0 Student Teacher Literacy Analysis of Student Children's Inventory Study Groups Exam Exchange Support* Support** Classes Scholastic Recruitment Census Management Support Visits Results

*Student Support includes Study Groups, Summer School, Scholastic Prizes, Tutoring, and Reduction of School Fees. **Teacher Support includes Training, Housing, Financial Aid and Encouragment, and Recruitment.

The most frequently listed activity is teacher support, which is indicative of the overall teacher shortage in Guinea. Activities that fall under the category of teacher support include teacher training, housing, financial aid, recruitment and encouragement.

It is important to note that APEAE activities for teacher support imply de facto collaboration with school administration officials. Although the importance of partnership between communities and schools was underscored throughout the entire PACEEQ experience, the issue of partnership gained special emphasis during the consolidation phase, with specific training modules developed on the theme of partnership and the inclusion of DSEE as PACEEQ resource persons. The centrality of the issue of partnership for the success of the APEAE is evident by the fact that the most frequent activity, teacher support, requires close collaboration with school officials.

The second most frequent type of activity listed in the APEAE action plans is support for literacy centers noted are literacy classes. This is reflective of the PACEEQ literacy centers. 29 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

The third most frequent type of activity listed is the analysis of school results. Analysis of school results is an activity promoted by PACEEQ in which the APEAE sits down with the principal and teachers to analyze school results, which includes not only exam results but also enrollment and attendance statistics. This analysis permits parents and teachers to identify problem areas and propose solutions. One of the advantages of having parents and teachers/principals conduct this activity together is that the parents (via the APEAE) can often play a significant role in assisting the school administration to address some of these problems. This is demonstrated by the previous graph of general education activities in the Education Action Plan. Poor enrollment can be addressed by student recruitment (approximately 220 APEAE listed this activity). Poor exam scores can be addressed by study groups (approximately 200 APEAE) or exam support (approximately 80 APEAE). Another example, if poor student results are linked to lack of textbooks, a better system of managing the textbooks might be suggested. As noted in the graph above, approximately 175 APEAE were engaged in inventory management, which can include textbook management.

The content analysis also examined activities related to gender equity/girls’ education.

Gender/Equity EAPs

600

500 A P 400 E A 300 E s 200 100

0 Total G/E* Direct G/E** Fines G/E Recruitment Girls' Census Monitoring Girls' Support Against G/E Campaigns of Girls Girls' (Material & Infractions Activities Morale)

*Total Gender/Equity is calculated by including both projects that directly mention girls' education as a target and those which will positively impact girls' education but have not directly mentioned this as a target. **Direct Gender/Equity is calculated using only projects that directly mention girls' education as a target. All other figures shown here are calculated with Direct Gender/Equity standards.

30 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 As noted in the graph above, almost all of the APEAE included activities defined as “total Gender Equity” and more than half included activities defined as “direct Gender Equity” as well as “Gender Equity Campaigns.” Once again this speaks to the direct link between the content of the APEAE core training program (in this case the Gender Equity training module) and the implementation of the Education Action Plans.

Implementation of Education Action Plans PACEEQ provided support to APEAE in the implementation of the Education Action Plans. This is carried out through regular site visits and monitoring by PACEEQ staff and local NGO partners, who meet with APEAE board members regularly about the progress they are making in the implementation of their plans.

The table below indicates the number of APEAE who have implemented at least 50% of their planned activities. It also provides information on the number of new activities added to Education Action Plans as new needs were identified.

Table 2: Implementation of Education Action Plan (cumulative by region) # of APEAE who Total # completed at least 50% Activities by of their planned Region # APEAE by Region Region activities Boké 104 1,240 104 Faranah 104 1,360 104 Kankan 152 1,435 152 Labé 210 6,469 210 N'Zérékoré 80 1,635 80 TOTAL 650 12,139 650

Community contribution in the implementation of Education Action Plan activities is substantial. Often PACEEQ funded one or two activities listed in the PAE, of which communities will contribute a portion of the budget in either in-kind or cash contributions. However, in order to meet the target of completing at least 50% of all planned activities, APEAE must also implement those planned activities in their Education Action Plans that are not covered by PACEEQ sub-grants. The fact that 100% of the APEAE proved themselves capable of doing so demonstrates their ability to implement local solutions to the problems they have identified, an indicator of the potential long-term sustainability and impact of the approach.

Another important aspect in the implementation of the Education Action Plans is the fact that the APEAE continue to revise their Education Action Plans as they get new information and ideas. For example, following the HIV/AIDS and School Health refresher training that took place this quarter, a number of APEAE revised their Education Action Plans to add new activities in HIV/AIDS prevention. The fact that the planning process is not a “one-time” activity but rather is iterative and dynamic as new needs are perceived or new information is gained, is an indicator that the

31 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 APEAE have taken ownership of the Education Action Plans and the participatory planning process involved in their development.

It is also important to note that the achievement of this result was progressive. The chart below shows the progression of the level of implementation of the activities in the Education Action Plans.

Implementation of Education Action Plans

120% 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Sep-02 Feb-03 Sep-03 Feb-04 Sep-04 Feb 205 Sep-05 Dec-05 Mar-06 Jul-06 Sep-06

In the beginning, it was difficult for the APEAE to achieve the target of 50%, but slowly they persisted. In February 2005 the number of APEAE having implemented at least 50% of the planned activities was lower than it had previously been in 2004. This is due to the fact that PACEEQ encourages APEAE to continually update the Education Action Plans by adding new activities following new training workshops. The addition of many new activities can result in an APEAE that had previously achieved the 50% target to suddenly fall below it. This was the case in February 2005; when there was a big push to add new activities. By September 2005, all 650 APEAE had achieved the 50% target.

Key observations on Education Action Plans The content analysis of the Education Action Plans demonstrates that the link between the core training package and the implementation of Education Action Plans is robust. This link creates a practical outlet for APEAE to immediately apply what they have learned in the training program.

Although the academic and research literature has not yet been able to demonstrate a significant link between improved learning outcomes and increased community participation, the content analysis of the Education Action Plans along the axe of “general educational quality” suggests directions for further research. Logic would dictate that schools that organize study groups, exam support groups, exchange visits and have adequate textbooks and other basic materials due to sound inventory management would be more likely to demonstrate improved learning outcomes. This link should be explored further.

The monitoring system for measuring implementation of at least 50% of the activities in the education plan was an effective measure of APEAE progress during the first year of capacity building. However, a more sophisticated system of measuring progress after the first year, or after the target of 50% completion rate had been attained would be useful. One improvement would be to classify activities according to the school calendar to determine the relationship between timing and

32 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 level of completion of the Education Action Plans. Categories could include the collection of data on the level of implementation at the opening of the school year, during the school year, during exam periods, and during summer vacation. Such an indicator that allows measurement of activities during time periods would have provided a more detailed picture of the level of implementation of the Education Action Plans each year.

Focus on analysis of school results

The joint meeting to analyze school results held by the APEAE and the school principal and his staff appears at first glance to be a fairly straightforward activity. However, qualitative interviews from the PACEEQ Long Term Impact Evaluation reveal another aspect to these meetings.

On the one hand, these sessions serve the practical function for which they were designed. They provide a forum where parents and school staff can analyze the school’s results together, identify problem areas, identify the causes of the problems and come up together with solutions. This provides the school principal and his staff with the support of the community in addressing all sorts of issues which would have been solely the problem of the principal without the analysis session. Another benefit is that it keeps the school principal under public scrutiny, because his own performance and that of his staff is now the subject of a public meeting.

However, there are also subtle power dynamics at work. Prior to the PACEEQ intervention, the very idea of the principal and the teachers sitting down with a group of parents, mostly illiterate, to analyze the school results would have been quickly disregarded by the school administration. They would have considered consultation with a group of mostly illiterate parents as an exercise in futility. The feeling of superiority of the school administration vis-à-vis parents is best summed up by a quote from a school principal who was stating his disfavor with the new Ministry Circular on Community Participations scoffed “no illiterate is going to tell me how to run my school.”

Through the PACEEQ project, Parents’ Associations had an opportunity to gain the respect of the school administration. First, through the many activities they carried out in the implementation of their Education Action Plans (student support, teacher support, construction and renovations, procurement of school materials, fundraising as well as the effective administrative and financial management of the APEAE), their contributions to the school were large, palpable and public. They become a model of accountability and transparency known for producing results. The very implementation of the Education Action Plan raised their status in the eyes of the school administration as well as with the community at large.

What became apparent from the qualitative interviews carried out as part of the Long Term Impact Evaluation is that the APEAE members are very conscious and proud of this elevated status. One APEAE member interviewed said, “Now whenever there is a problem to be discussed, they call us to the table. Before, they only used to call on us to give them a contribution [monetary].” Although they credit PACEEQ with the capacity building training program, they know that they have earned their new status through their own actions and their performance as a community organization. They are very proud of this accomplishment and are motivated to continue working to maintain their new status. Since the status is based on performance, performance must be sustained to maintain the status: a promising formula for sustainability.

One of the findings of the Long Term Impact Evaluation carried out in January 2007 in the overwhelming majority of the communities researched, even in the case of Mamou where direct support for APEAE was completed in 2001, is that the analysis of school results continues.

33 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

3.1.3. Administer APEAE sub-grants

From 2001 through 2007, a total of 650 APEAE successfully completed sub-grant applications, and received and justified PACEEQ sub-grants. A total of 3,210,318,840 GF was disbursed to the 650 APEAE.

In preparing their sub-grant applications, APEAE members are applying the training they have received in action planning and financial management (preparation of budgets). The procedure for authorizing the disbursement of the sub-grants is a long process involving documentation of several steps, including the creation of the participatory action plan validated by the General Assembly, preparation of the budget and validation of the proposed budget by the General Assembly, as well as documentation of the contribution of the APEAE.

As APEAE complete their school improvement projects and the school year draws to a close, the focus for APEAE shifts from implementation of activities to justification of sub-grant expenses. Although less tangible and visible than the implementation of the school improvement projects, the justification of sub-grant expenses is an integral part of the overall capacity building component of PACEEQ.

During the justification process APEAE provide receipts and/or documentation for all sub-grant activities. The rigorous justification process serves as a major milestone for the APEAE. By justifying their sub-grant expenses, these grassroots civil society organizations are demonstrating not only to PACEEQ, but also to the parents that they represent, that they have acted responsibly in the management and financial oversight of their school related projects.

APEAE are responsible for justifying both PACEEQ sub-grant expenses as well as community funds mobilized by the APEAE that constitute their contribution to the funded activity. For example, if an APEAE includes the building of latrines for girls in their education action plan, and this activity is funded as part of the Education Action Plan sub-grant, the activity is not funded 100% but rather the community will provide a contribution between 5% and 25%. This contribution can be in-kind or in- cash. APEAE are required to justify both the funds they received from PACEEQ as well as the in-kind or in-cash contributions they mobilized from the communities. The justification of their own contributions is an important facet of their overall accountability to other parents.

34 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

Sub-IR 3.2. Increased participation of CSOs and NGOs in Education

Intermediate Result 3.2 Increased Participation of CSOs and NGOs in Education 3.2.1. Sub-prefecture, Commune and Prefecture C/APEAE Activities Results 9 87 sub-prefecture C/APEAE from Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé, Mamou and N’Zérékoré were trained in Organizational Development; Financial Management; Quality of Education; Gender Equity, HIV/AIDS Prevention; and Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation 9 111 sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE trained in: FASE, Conflict Prevention and Management, ERO, Community Participation and Partnership Conduct capacity building training 9 64 sub-prefecture C/APEAE in Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé, 3.2.1.1 workshops for sub-prefecture, Mamou, and N’Zérékoré received refresher training in HIV/AIDS commune and prefecture C/APEAE Prevention (exceeded target of 54) 9 Prefecture C/APEAE in Faranah, N’Zérékoré, Kankan and Kindia that covered: Organizational Development, Decentralization and Quality of Education, HIV/AIDS Prevention and Gender Equity and 25 Prefecture C/APEAE trained in Financial Management 9 24 newly integrated sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE in Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré trained in Organizational Development, Financial Management; Decentralization and Quality of Education and HIV/AIDS Prevention Provide support to sub-prefecture, 9 136 sub-prefecture, Commune and Prefecture C/APEAE commune and prefecture C/APEAE in elaborated and/or renewed Education Action Plans 3.2.1.2 the elaboration or renewal of their 9 100% of Sub-prefecture C/APEAE completed at least 50% of their Education Action Plans planned activities in their Education Action Plans 9 136 Sub-prefecture, Commune and Prefecture C/APEAE received Disburse sub-grants to sub-prefecture, 3.2.1.3 sub-grants for implementation of activities in their Education Action commune and prefecture C/APEAE Plans

Conduct exchange visits for newly 9 24 newly integrated sub-prefecture C/APEAE conducted 3.2.1.4 integrated sub-prefecture C/APEAE exchange visits to “veteran” PACEEQ C/APEAE

3.2.2. Resource Persons Assist C/APEAE and Local Alliances to 9 272 C/APEAE resource persons and 88 Local Alliance resource 3.2.2.1 identify appropriate resource persons persons selected Organize training workshops for 9 599 participants were trained in Non-Formal Adult Education and 3.2.2.2 resource persons Techniques of Facilitation Assist resource persons in co- 9 273 resource persons, of which 39 (14%) were women, co- 3.2.2.3 facilitating training modules in facilitated training sessions alongside NGO facilitators. collaboration with NGO facilitators Train resource persons for outreach 3.2.2.4 9 196 resource persons, of which 14 (7%) trained in APEAE outreach work with APEAE Conduct training workshops in Participatory Monitoring and 9 317 resource persons, of which 37 (12%) were women, were 3.2.2.5 Evaluation for sub-prefecture and trained in Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation. commune C/APEAE resource persons

35 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 9 168 resource persons, of which 19 (11%) were women, were Support C/APEAE and Local Alliance oriented in dissemination of Ministry Circular No. 0999. 6000 copies 3.2.2.6 resource persons in the dissemination of Ministry Circular translated into National Languages distributed of Ministry Circular No 0999 by trained resource persons. 3.2.3. Regional C/APEAE Provide support to regional C/APEAE 9 8 regional C/APEAE finalized strategic plans and began 3.2.3.1 in the finalization and implementation implementation of activities. of Strategic Plans 9 8 regional C/APEAE trained in the following modules : Advocacy Organize capacity building training and Techniques of Negotiation ; Administrative Management and 3.2.3.2 for regional C/APEAE Budgets ; Conflict Prevention and Management ; Community Participation and Partnership; Financial Management Administer sub-grants to regional 3.2.3.3 9 8 regional C/APEAE received PACEEQ sub-grants C/APEAE 3.2.4. FEGUIPAE Provide support to FEGUIPAE in the 9 FEGUIPAE finalized and validated strategic plan and began 3.2.4.1 finalization and implementation of implementation of activities their Strategic Plan 9 80 participants, of which 27 (34%) were women, were trained in Organize capacity building training the following modules: Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation ; 3.2.4.2 workshops for FEGUIPAE Administrative Management and Budgets ; Conflict Prevention and Management ; Community Participation and Partnership Assist the FEGUIPAE to develop 9 Administrative and Financial Policy and Procedures manual 3.2.4.3 administrative and financial policy elaborated and validated by General Assembly and procedures manual Provide Technical Assistance to the 9 Three General Assemblies organized by FEGUIPAE with technical 3.2.4.4 FEGUIPAE in the organization three assistance from PACEEQ General Assemblies Disburse sub-grant for institutional 3.2.4.5 9 Institutional strengthening sub-grant disbursed strengthening to FEGUIPAE 3.2.5. Other Civil Society Capacity Building for the Education Sector 9 C/APEAE and school administration officials participated in 3.2.5.1 Encourage the expansion of the CRIE exchange visits to encourage expansion of the CRIE. CRIE mechanisms established in all 8 regions. Organize thematic round tables with 9 16 thematic round tables held in all 8 regions (2 per region) with 3.2.5.2 NGO partners intervening in the the participation of 310, of which 52 (17%) were women. education sector Organize capacity building training 9 226 members of CRDs, of which 40 (15%) were women, were workshops for newly integrated 3.2.5.3 trained in Organizational Development; Decentralization and CRD/Communes in the following Quality of Education; Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation modules: 9 Establishment of RONGEPE Reinforce the capacity of Guinean 9 RONGEPE held 4 national planning meetings and developed an 3.2.5.4 NGO and create or revitalize a administrative and financial policy and procedures manual national federation of Guinean NGOs 9 RONGEPE held consultative meeting with OSC and decided to formally integrate OSC 9 Members of targeted national structures trained in Strategic Provide technical assistance through Planning training and sub-grants to the 9 3 Strategic Plans elaborated and/or revised for targeted national 3.2.5.5 following national structures: National structures Equity Committee, FONSEF, and 9 3 sub-grants for institutional strengthening disbursed to targeted National Media Task Force national structures.

36 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 3.2.1. Sub-prefecture, Commune and Prefecture C/APEAE

PACEEQ provided capacity building training to a total of 136 C/APEAE at the sub- prefecture, prefecture and commune levels.

The type of technical assistance varied, depending on when the C/APEAE was integrated into the PACEEQ program. The first technical assistance package for the 87 sub-prefecture C/APEAE began during PACEEQ I (2001-2005) and later complemented by technical assistance designed during the PACEEQ consolidation phase (2005-2007). Three additional technical assistance packages were added during the consolidation phase for newly integrated C/APEAE. This assistance expanded the number of C/APEAE to include an additional 24 sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE, as well as 25 prefecture C/APEAE, bringing the total number sub-prefecture, commune and prefecture C/APEAE supported by PACEEQ to 136.

Building on the lessons learned during the first phase of PACEEQ, the consolidation phase placed special emphasis on the C/APEAE at the sub-prefecture, commune and prefecture levels. The C/APEAE play an important role in supporting the APEAE at the school level as well as in collaborating with school officials at the sub- prefecture, commune and prefecture levels to solve problems and improve the quality of education.

The revitalization of the C/APEAE through PACEEQ capacity building was an important factor in the successful renewal of the FEGUIPAE. This section describes the capacity building components targeting sub-prefecture, prefecture and commune C/APEAE.

Capacity building support for the C/APEAE was typically preceded by capacity strengthening for APEAE at the grassroots level. The only exception is in the case of the 24 newly integrated sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE of Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré. In these newly integrated zones, the project targeted directly the C/APEAE through an accelerated technical assistance package (see table above). This innovation assisted C/APEAE resource persons with Training of Trainers capacity building to reach a total of 120 APEAE.

Originally the 25 prefecture level C/APEAE were all targeted with technical assistance package #3. Due to limited time and funding, technical assistance package #3 did not contain all of the core training modules offered to C/APEAE receiving technical assistance packages #1 and #2. Supplementary funding that was made available from USAID near the end of the consolidation phase through an extension grant allowed for 15 of the targeted 25 prefecture C/APEAE to benefit from the core training modules (technical assistance package #4). Again, limited time and funding did not make it possible to offer the core training modules to all of the 25 Prefecture C/APEAE. As a result, four regions were selected. The region of Kindia was chosen because it was a newly integrated regional and required additional support, and the regions of Faranah, Kankan and N’Zérékoré were selected because of their inclusion in the new USAID strategy launched in 2007.

37 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The table below provides an overview of the different technical assistance packages offered to the various categories of C/APEAE.

Table 3: Categories of types of technical assistance packages offered to sub- prefecture, prefecture and commune C/APEAE Type of Technical Assistance Modalities Description of Content Package and Target Groups C/APEAE Technical Assistance PACEEQ I • Core training modules: Organizational Development; Package #1 (2001-2005) Financial Management; Quality of Education; HIV/AIDS Prevention; Gender Equity; Advocacy and Techniques Target Groups: 87 sub-prefecture of Negotiation C/APEAE in Mamou, Boké, Labé, • Sub-grants Kankan, Faranah and N’Zérékoré integrated during PACEEQ I who • Consolidation training modules: FASE, Community continued to receive support during PACEEQ Participation and Partnership; Conflict Prevention and the consolidation phase Consolidation Management; ERO (2005-2007) • HIV/AIDS Prevention refresher training • Sub-grants • Resource Person Strategy C/APEAE Technical Assistance • Core training modules: Organizational Development; Package #2 Financial Management; Decentralization and Quality of PACEEQ Education; HIV/AIDS Prevention; Gender Equity; Target Groups: 24 newly integrated Consolidation Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation sub-prefecture and commune (2005-2007) • Sub-grants C/APEAE in Kindia, Conakry and • Consolidation training modules: FASE, Community N’Zérékoré integrated during the Participation and Partnership; Conflict Prevention and consolidation phase Management; ERO • Sub-grants • Resource Person Strategy • Exchange Visits C/APEAE Technical Assistance PACEEQ • Core and consolidation training modules: Financial Package #3 Consolidation Management; Community Participation and Partnership; (2005-2007) Conflict Prevention and Management; ERO Target Groups: 10 Prefecture • Sub-grants C/APEAE in Labé, Mamou and Boké • Resource Person Strategy integrated during the consolidation phase C/APEAE Technical Assistance PACEEQ • Core training modules: Organizational Development; Package #4 Consolidation Financial Management; Quality of Education; HIV/AIDS (2005-2007) Prevention; Gender Equity; Target Groups: 15 Prefecture • Consolidation Training modules: Community C/APEAE in Kindia, Faranah, Participation and Partnership; Conflict Prevention and Kankan, and N’Zérékoré integrated Management; ERO during the consolidation phase • Sub-grants • Resource Person Strategy

The following sub-sections detail the various aspects of the technical assistance package.

38 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 3.2.1.2. Conduct capacity building training workshops for Sub-Prefecture, Commune and Prefecture C/APEAE

C/APEAE Core and Consolidation Training Modules The six core C/APEAE training modules are very similar in content to the six core training modules for the APEAE, described in detail in the previous section. The C/APEAE training module Organizational Development corresponds to the APEAE training module Internal Governance.

In addition to the six core training modules, four additional training modules were developed for C/APEAE during the consolidation phase. These consolidation modules build on the core training modules and focus on the skills and knowledge necessary to consolidate the achievements of PACEEQ I.

Prior to the development of new training modules, a research team of PACEEQ personnel was assembled to conduct field research using focus groups and interviews in Mamou. The purpose was to gather information on the major obstacles and challenges to effective collaboration between parents and school administration officials. The research focused no only on problems, but also on what aspects of partnership were working, and what could be done to reinforce them.

The goal of this assessment was also to bring to light the challenges, obstacles and constraints linked to collaboration between the APEAE and the school administration officials in the co-management of schools. The assessment was designed so that the researchers could identify training needs to be addressed in subsequently produced training modules. The specific objectives of the assessment were to: 1) Gather information on the existing relationship between APEAE and school administration officials 2) Evaluate the level of implication of APEAE in the realization of activities in collaboration with school administration officials 3) Identify approaches parents used and types of messages they transmit in terms of HIV/AIDS prevention 4) Gather information on the types of collaboration currently existing between APEAE and the APEAE Coordinations 5) Map out the types of conflicts that could exist between APEAE and school administration officials 6) Gather information related to the inclusion of community participation activities of APEAE in the reports of schools principals, DSEE and DPE

This assessment took place in three phases. The first step was preparatory. The team elaborated an outline of the information they needed to collect, developed the goal and specific objectives of the assessment, defined a methodology, selected sites, created data collection tools (surveys and guidelines for focus groups), selected a team of “researchers” from among the PACEEQ staff, and oriented the “researchers” on the methodology and tools.

39 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Phase II was a test phase which took place in Mamou. During this phase the initial questionnaire and data collection methodologies were field tested and the tools revised based on the field test.

Finally, the third phase involved data gathering using the revised tools and was carried out in Labé and Kankan. The surveys and focus groups targeted school officials at all levels (IRE, DPE, DSEE, DE and teachers) as well as APEAE and APEAE coordinations. To ensure a representation of views from both genders, men and women representing community members were organized into separate focus groups.

The assessment report yielded the following key findings:

• Mobilization of APEAE structures is weak in some areas, which leads to an overall weak partnership. • Board members of APEAE have less credibility than teachers in the eyes of the rank and file APEAE members. • The principal source of revenue for the APEAE stems from contributions (cotisations), a practice that often excludes those defined as “friends of the school” (amis de l’école). • The majority of conflicts between the school administration officials and the APEAE have their genesis in a poor management of funds. • Partnership between communities and school administration officials is a relatively unknown concept amongst both parties. • Community participation efforts are often not recognized or validated by school officials, especially at the school level. • DPE are well informed about the strength of the partnership between the APEAE and school administration officials. • There was a wide availability of education stakeholders who gave information. • The use of the Fiche d’Appréciation de la Situation de l’Ecole (FASE) on quality criteria was not widely known among school administration officials. • There is need to improve the collaboration amongst local actors and stakeholders that are not a part of the PACEEQ project.

40 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The results of the field research served to guide the development of the consolidation training modules described below.

Description of Consolidation Training Modules

FASE (Fiche d’Appréciation de la Situation de l’Ecole) PACEEQ developed a training module for C/APEAE and DSEE based on the Ministry of Education “school quality criteria” developed by project NFQE/MAILLON. NFQE/MAILLON developed the quality criteria and an assessment sheet in how to use them, and subsequently trained teachers throughout Guinea on how to use these quality criteria. Since C/APEAE and APEAE elaborate and implement Education Action Plans in collaboration with school officials, it is important that they have similar ideas of what constitutes quality and how to measure it. The FASE training for teachers covers technical pedagogical issues, whereas the FASE training for C/APEAE focuses more on topics that are more accessible to parents with no formal pedagogical training.

Community Participation and Partnership: To improve school-community collaboration, PACEEQ developed a training module entitled Community Participation and Partnership. This training module is based on the Ministry Circular No. 0999 and deals with the application of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation. It covers both the contents of the circular as well as related topics of school-community relations, the notion of partnership, and communication between the APEAE federated system and school officials at all levels. An additional important feature of this training module is the last theme, which invites participants to plan HIV/AIDS prevention activities that include both C/APEAE and DSEE. This practical theme has a dual benefit. First, it provides an opportunity for immediate collaboration between school officials and Parents’ Associations. Second, it harmonizes the HIV/AIDS prevention messages that children receive in school and that their parents promote at home.

Conflict Prevention and Management: The training module on Conflict Prevention and Management was designed to enable the C/APEAE to have a more developed repertoire of responses to the various conflicts that may arise in the co-management of schools as well as in the application of Ministry Circular No.0999. As C/APEAE begin to assume their full responsibilities as outlined in the Ministry Circular, some friction will inevitably occur. This training module helps C/APEAE anticipate what to expect and to develop pro-active and positive response strategies. Themes covered in the module include: the notion of conflict, causes and consequences of conflict, and preventing conflict in the co- management of schools.

ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment: The training module on ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment) covered the basics of the PACEEQ rapid organizational assessment tool used to measure capacity building progress in C/APEAE. The goal was to involve the C/APEAE in the assessment process under the premise that the more they understood the tool, how it is used and what can be learned from it, the more likely they would be to take the results seriously and to take corrective measures to improve organizational functioning when necessary. Providing an overview of the ERO enabled C/APEAE and resource persons to participate more fully in the monitoring and evaluation process. A more participatory approach to monitoring organization capacity facilitated improved ownership of results and more involvement of C/APEAE in developing solutions to the problems and challenges that their structures face.

Overview of Training Statistics The text and tables below provide a general overview of the training statistics for sub-prefecture, commune and prefecture C/APEAE. In effect, these are details of the various training workshops that correspond to the four technical assistance packages described above. Detailed training statistics by training module and by region can be found in the annexes.

41 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

9 C/APEAE Core Training Modules: (part of technical assistance package #1) A total of 87 sub-prefecture C/APEAE from Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé, Mamou and N’Zérékoré were trained in the core C/APEAE training modules as follows: Organizational Development; Financial Management; Quality of Education; Gender Equity, HIV/AIDS Prevention; and Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation. A total of 31,336 participants took part in the various training workshops, of which 9,454 (30%) were women. Detailed participation statistics by training module and by region can be found in Annex 2.

9 C/APEAE Consolidation Training Modules: (part of technical assistance package #2) A total of 111 sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE trained in: FASE, Conflict Prevention and Management, ERO, Community Participation and Partnership. A total of 2,687 participants took part in the training, of which 610 (23%) were women. The table below provides an overview of participants by module. Details on the FASE training by region can be found in Annex 3. Details on Community Participation and Partnership by region can be found in Annex 4. Details on Conflict Prevention and Management and ERO by region can be found in Annex 5. It is important to note that with the exception of the FASE training, these summary statistics do not include statistics related to the training of resource persons. Training statistics on resource persons are covered in section 3.2.3.

Table N°4: Cumulative Summary of C/APEAE Training in Consolidation Training Modules Total participants Women # % TRAINING MODULES Total Men Women Women FASE 367 336 31 8% Community Participation and Partnership 816 601 215 26% Conflict Prevention and Management 752 570 182 24% ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment) 752 570 182 24% TOTAL 2,687 2,077 610 23%

9 HIV/AIDS Prevention Refresher Training: (part of technical assistance package #2) A total of 64 sub-prefecture C/APEAE in Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé, Mamou, and N’Zérékoré received refresher training in HIV/AIDS Prevention. A total of 616 C/APEAE board members representing 64 C/APEAE were trained in HIV/AIDS Prevention training, of which 179 (29%) were women. Detailed statistics on HIV/AIDS Prevention training by region can be found in Annex 6.

9 Training for Newly Integrated C/APEAE: (part of technical assistance package #2) A total of 24 newly integrated sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE in Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré were trained in Organizational Development, Financial Management; Decentralization and Quality of Education and HIV/AIDS Prevention. A total of 1,388 participants took part in the training

42 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 sessions, of which 331 (24%) were women. Detailed statistics on training for newly integrated C/APEAE can be found in Annex 7.

9 Training for Prefecture C/APEAE: (part of technical assistance package #3) and 25 Prefecture C/APEAE were trained in Financial Management. A total of 111 individuals participated, of which 23 (21%) were women. Detailed statistics by region can be found in Annex 8.

9 Training for Prefecture C/APEAE: (part of technical assistance package #4) A total of 25 prefecture C/APEAE in Faranah, N’Zérékoré, Kankan and Kindia were trained in Organizational Development, Decentralization and Quality of Education, HIV/AIDS Prevention and Gender Equity. A total of 856 participants took part in the training workshops on these four training modules, of which 191, or 22%, were women.

Key observations from C/APEAE training As a result of the FASE training, C/APEAE ensured that the school improvement projects that were included in their Education Action Plans contributed to achieving the “school quality criteria” of the Ministry of Education. Including both the DSEE and the resource persons in the training ensured that the school quality criteria would also reach APEAE at the school level. The resulting shift allowed Parents’ Association members and school administration officials to “speak the same language” when it came to school quality. Parents’ Association members expressed their satisfaction with the training because it aligned their efforts with official Ministry of Education policy. School administration officials greatly welcomed the training, as they felt it would improve collaboration and partnership with the Parents’ Associations.

Following the training workshops on Community Participation and Partnership, both C/APEAE and school officials developed a better understanding of the Ministry Circular and were able to begin implementation. Experience has shown that many school administration officials were opposed to the Ministry Circular because they believed it disempowered or threatened them. However most who opposed the policy had little understanding of it and had never even read the Ministry Circular. This constituted a real obstacle to effective implementation of the policy, with school officials and Parents’ Associations lining up on different sides of the fence either opposed or in favor of the policy, yet neither side had any understanding of the content. The PACEEQ training workshops contributed in large part to reducing this obstacle by providing an opportunity for C/APEAE and DSEE to sit down together, read the actual text, discuss what it meant and how it could be operationalized at the school level. As a result of this training, many school administration officials stated that they were no longer opposed to the new policy because now they understood its purpose and understood that its application could benefit the attainment of their goals by having more support from active Parents’ Associations. For their part the Parents’ Associations greatly appreciated the training because they now felt that they had a roadmap for partnership with the school administration officials.

43 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 As a result of the training workshops on Conflict Prevention and Management, participants reported that they felt better equipped to prevent conflict through improved listening skills.

In addition, participants reported that they greatly appreciated the training in ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment). The ERO is carried out periodically to measure the institutional capacity of the C/APEAE. C/APEAE members participate in the debriefing session following the ERO to discuss the results of the assessment. Participants, especially resource persons, reported that having a better understanding of how the assessment is carried out increased their appreciation of the ERO and how it can be used as an “organizational thermometer” to measure the progress of the C/APEAE.

These refresher training workshops in HIV/AIDS prevention were important in revitalizing the HIV/AIDS prevention efforts of C/APEAE. As a result of the refresher training, C/APEAE were able to integrate additional HIV/AIDS prevention activities into their Education Action Plans.

It was noted that the similarity in content of the core training modules for APEAE and C/APEAE facilitated collaboration between the two structures by giving them a common language and common knowledge base.

For the 24 newly integrated sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE receiving technical assistance package #2, the training program was too intense. There were too many training modules covered under too short a time-frame. This resulted in “training workshop fatigue”, and it did not leave sufficient time for practical application of the training themes (through activities implemented as part of the Education Action Plans).

As part of the consolidation strategy, one-third of the C/APEAE, or a total of 54 Sub- Prefecture C/APEAE, were targeted to receive refresher training in HIV/AIDS Prevention. The selection of C/APEAE was made based on recommendations from NGO facilitators in the field, observations from previous training sessions, conclusions drawn from monitoring visits and whether or not the C/APEAE had already integrated HIV/AIDS prevention activities into the Education Action Plan. Special efforts were made to include C/APEAE who had no previous HIV/AIDS prevention activities identified in the Education Action Plans in the refresher training. It is important to note that many of the new activities added to the Education Action Plans are HIV/AIDS prevention activities included as a result of the refresher workshop.

3.2.1.1. Provide support to sub-prefecture, commune and prefecture C/APEAE in the elaboration or renewal of their Education Action Plans The elaboration of the Education Action Plan for the C/APEAE follows the same logic as the process of elaboration of Education Action Plan for APEAE described above in section 3.1.2. The goal is to bring the C/APEAE to elaborate a dynamic Education Action Plan with an emphasis on partnership with APEAE to improve the quality of

44 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 education. Identification of new activities takes place throughout the course of the year with each new training workshop.

A total of 136 C/APEAE (106 sub-prefecture C/APEAE, 25 prefecture C/APEAE and 5 commune C/APEAE in Conakry) took part in this dynamic participatory planning process. Of the 136 C/APEAE, 24 of them were newly integrated into PACEEQ during the consolidation phase, as and such, they had not previously undertaken the participatory community assessment at the community level that launched the elaboration of every action plan during the PACEEQ I phase.

The participatory community diagnostic (DPC) tool was revised for use at the sub- prefecture level with the newly integrated C/APEAE in the regions of Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré. The goal of the DPC is to gather information on the baseline situation of the education sector in the various communities, as well as to serve as the catalyst for the process of participatory planning which results in the Education Action Plan. A total of 1,938 people participated in the DPC process in Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré, of which 363 (19%) were women. The participants represent all segments of society (local administrators, school officials, APEAE, elected local officials, religious leaders, and men and women of all ages).

In addition to revising and/or elaborating Education Action Plans, C/APEAE received technical support from PACEEQ throughout the process to ensure that the plans were updated regularly and that the planned activities were implemented. This was carried out through regular site visits and monitoring by project staff, who met with C/APEAE board members regularly about the progress they made in the implementation of their plans.

It is important to note that all 106 C/APEAE (100%) implemented at least 50% of the planned activities in their EAP. This is well above the target of 75% of C/APEAE completing at least 50% of their planned activities.

Community contribution in the implementation of Education Action Plans was substantial. Often PACEEQ funded one or two activities listed in the Education Action Plan, of which C/APEAE had to contribute a portion of the budget in either in-kind or cash contributions. However, in order to meet the target of completing at least 50% of all planned activities, C/APEAE also had to implement those planned activities in their Education Action Plans that are not covered by PACEEQ sub- grants. The fact that the 100% of the C/APEAE were capable of doing so demonstrates their ability to implement local solutions to the problems they have identified, an indicator of the potential long-term sustainability and impact of the approach.

45 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The table below indicates the number of C/APEAE who have implemented at least 50% of their planned activities.

Table N° 5: Implementation of C/APEAE Education Action Plans by Region

Total # of APEAE who implemented # APEAE per activities at least 50% of planned Region region per region activities Boké 8 170 8 Faranah 8 173 8 Labé 17 313 17 Kankan 13 214 13 Mamou 33 492 33 N’Zérekoré 14 298 14 Kindia/Ckry 13 534 13 TOTAL 106 2,194 106 Note: This table includes statistics on the 106 sub-prefecture C/APEAE only. The monitoring and evaluation system was not designed to track the 25 prefecture C/APEAE.

Key observations on the implementation of Education Action Plans for the C/APEAE The same limitations noted with the monitoring of the implementation of the Education Action Plans for the APEAE are noted for the C/APEAE. A more sophisticated system of measuring progress after the first year, or after the target of 50% completion rate has been attained would be useful.

3.2.1.3. Disburse sub-grants to prefecture, sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE PACEEQ disbursed sub-grants to 136 prefecture, sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE totaling 719,742,585 GF. The purpose of these sub-grants was to partially fund targeted activities in their Education Action Plans.

The capacity building process is a long one consisting of elaborating a participatory Education Action Plan, creating an annual budget and excerpt for specific activities, contributing a percentage of the cost of the implementation of activities through community participation (either in-kind or cash), applying for the sub-grant, and then subsequently implementing the activity. However it does not end there. Justification of sub-grant expenses is also an integral part of the capacity building process.

By justifying their sub-grant expenses these grassroots civil society organizations demonstrate not only to PACEEQ, but also to the parents that they represent, that they have acted responsibly in the management and financial oversight of their school related projects.

C/APEAE are responsible for justifying both PACEEQ sub-grant expenses as well as community funds mobilized by the C/APEAE that constitute their contribution to the funded activity. For example, if a C/APEAE includes the building of latrines for girls in their education action plan, and this activity is funded as part of the EAP, the

46 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 activity is not funded 100% but rather the community will provide a contribution between 5% and 25%. This contribution can be in-kind or in-cash. C/APEAE are required to justify both the funds they received from PACEEQ as well as the in-kind or in-cash contributions they mobilized from the communities. The justification of their own contributions is an example of the rigorous performance standards set by PACEEQ.

3.2.1.4. Conduct exchange visits for newly integrated sub-prefecture C/APEAE Exchange visits were planned so that the 24 newly integrated sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE from Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré could visit “veteran” C/APEAE that had benefited from PACEEQ during previous years. The purpose of the exchange visits was to deepen the practical understanding of the training themes the newly integrated C/APEAE received through a structured exchange with more “experienced” C/APEAE.

Illustrative example of an agenda Prior to the exchange visit, C/APEAE representatives met to prepare an elaborated by C/APEAE in agenda and to identify the particular preparation for their exchange visit: issues they wanted to discuss at length with the other C/APEAE. Although the • Structure and function of the C/APEAE agendas varied slightly, below is an • Collaboration with school officials illustrative example of an agenda. • Effective management of parental contributions These exchange visits are useful in • Mobilization of resources reinforcing the training workshops that • Administrative and financial the newly integrated C/APEAE received documentation in an intense manner during the short • Integration of HIV/AIDS prevention time-frame of the PACEEQ activities into EAP consolidation phase. These visits also enabled the newly integrated C/APEAE This agenda was prepared by C/APEAE members to get a better grounding on the from N’Zérékoré for their visits to the sub- practical applications of the PACEEQ prefectures of Boussou and N’Zoo. training workshops and prepare them to meet some of the challenges ahead.

Overall, visiting representatives were satisfied with their visit and felt motivated by the exchange of ideas and experiences with their colleagues in other sub- prefectures supported by the PACEEQ program.

Specifically, visiting representatives stated that the opportunity to ask questions of “veteran” C/APEAE members provided them with new ideas and problem solving techniques. They reported that they had a deeper understanding of the following issues:

• Overall functioning of C/APEAE; • New strategies for mobilizing resources; • Real life examples of applications of specific themes covered in the financial and administrative management training workshop;

47 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 • How to effectively engage school administration officials as partners; • How to make efficient use of designated resource persons.

Upon their return, visiting representatives debriefed their respective boards on what they learned during this exchange visit and explored how it could be applied to their respective structures.

Cumulatively, 60 representatives of the 24 newly integrated C/APEAE in Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré have taken part in a total of 11 exchange visits.

3.2.2. Resource Persons

One of the innovations of the PACEEQ consolidation phase is the introduction of resource persons within the C/APEAE and Local Alliances. Defining a role for resource persons within civil society and then training the resource persons to fulfill that role enhances prospects for the sustainability of the PACEEQ approach and constitutes a means of providing a larger outreach to the APEAE at the grassroots level. The following sections describe the capacity building and activities of the PACEEQ resource persons.

3.2.2.1. Assist C/APEAE and Local Alliances to identify appropriate resource persons As an integral part of the consolidation strategy, the PACEEQ regional offices provided support to C/APEAE and Local Alliances in the identification of appropriate resources persons. First, PACEEQ explained that the role of the resource person was to assist the C/APEAE and Local Alliances to function more efficiently. Second, project staff clarified that resource persons could also be called upon to provide outreach and guidance to APEAE not covered by the PACEEQ program.

PACEEQ Resource Person Eligibility Criteria C/APEAE and Local Alliances were applied by communities responsible for identifying their own

• Good ability to communicate resource persons according to basic • Availability to work for the community selection criteria. A total of 272 • Membership in the relevant structure resource persons were identified within (C/APEAE or Local Alliance) the C/APEAE level and 88 resource • Permanent residency in the community persons within the Local Alliances. • Availability to travel and participate in training sessions The addition of resource persons as part • Credibility and acceptance in the eyes of the PACEEQ approach was of the community welcomed by C/APEAE and Local • Willingness to work voluntarily for their Alliances, who saw the identification respective communities • Experience in community development and training of resource persons within • Nomination by the civil society their respective structures as an organization/community additional, and greatly needed, internal • Basic literacy in French or the national resource. In fact, two Local Alliances in language spoken in the community Kindia (Bourouwal Sounky and Kaback) took the initial idea of the resource person even farther. They decided to add two additional categories of resource

48 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 persons for their Local Alliances, namely religious leaders and women role models. These two categories of resource persons played a key role in promoting girls’ education and enhancing the sustainability of PACEEQ activities by organizing public debates to promote girls’ education as well as providing support and mentoring for girls in primary school who are particularly vulnerable to dropping out.

3.2.2.2. Organize capacity building training workshops for resource persons

Description of training approach: As part of the Consolidation phase, designated resource persons were trained on a series of training modules. This included the four consolidation modules (FASE, Community Participation and Partnership, Conflict Prevention and Management and ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment) as well as a two new modules developed specifically for resource persons: Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation and Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation.

PACEEQ administered the ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment) tool to measure improvement of civil society organizations in a number of key organizational development domains (administration, mobilization of resources, planning, etc.). The assessment was typically conducted by NGO animators, who discussed and validated the results with the target civil society groups through a participatory process. As part of the extension activities, PACEEQ enriched the role of the resource persons further by training them in participatory monitoring and evaluation.

New Training Modules for Resource Persons

Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation This module was developed with the goal of increasing the capacity of project staff, local NGO staff and targeted resource persons to be able to work effectively with Parents’ Associations. It covers the following training themes: characteristics of adult learning; the experiential learning cycle; facilitation; types of questions/answers; skits and role plays; case studies and use of images; group work; formulating training objectives; preparing and presenting a training session; and monitoring and evaluation of training.

Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation: This training module was developed to increase the capacity of resource persons to engage in monitoring and evaluation activities of their respective structure. Specifically, the module sought to develop a heightened sense of the importance of regular and objective monitoring and evaluation that is necessary for the organizational development of their respective structures and enable the resource persons to participate fully in data collection, interpretation of results and restitution (feedback) sessions.

Resource persons were trained together with NGO facilitators or in a separate training session for C/APEAE resource persons, Local Alliance resource persons, DSEE, and, in some cases, CRD members. Although the content of the training sessions was identical to that received by the members of the C/APEAE, conducting them separately served another important purpose. First, it allowed them to be trained together with DSEE, and in some cases CRD, thus further emphasizing their role as resource persons. Secondly, training the resource persons before the members of

49 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 the respective C/APEAE structures were trained allowed the resource persons to serve as co-facilitators during the training of the C/APEAE. This reinforced the content of the training materials for the C/APEAE and reinforced their role as a resource person in their respective structures.

Training statistics for resource persons

9 A total of 599 individuals were trained in Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation, of which 82 (14%) were women. Of the 599 participants, 226 were C/APEAE resource persons and 76 were Local Alliance resource persons. This training module also targeted local NGO facilitators, resource persons from the Equity Sub-Committees, as well as DSEE and CRD members. Detailed statistics on the Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation training by target group and by region can be found in Annex 10.

9 A total of 378 resource persons were trained in Community Participation and Partnership, of which 27 (7%) were women. This includes sub-prefecture and prefecture resource persons as well as targeted DSEE. Detailed statistics on resource person training by region can be found in Annex 11.

9 A total of 309 resource persons were trained in both Conflict Prevention and Management and ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment), of which 30 (10%) were women. This includes sub-prefecture and prefecture C/APEAE resource persons as well as DSEE. Detailed training statistics by region can be found in Annex 12.

9 A total of 317 resource persons from sub-prefecture, prefecture C/APEAE and Local Alliances were trained in Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation, of which 37 (12%) were women. Detailed training statistics by region can be found in Annex 13.

Key observations on resource person training The training on Non-Formal Adult Education and Facilitation Techniques was very hands-on and practical. In the course of the training session, the participants identified social topics of their choice and then prepared and presented training modules on these subjects, using the different techniques and methods covered in the training. The participants expressed great satisfaction with the new skills they acquired in facilitation and management of groups of adults. They expressed their commitment to redouble their efforts in support of the C/APEAE, their new skills.

In general, the participants achieved an appreciable level of mastery of the material which enabled them to comprehend the essential parts of the training module and to apply the various techniques and methods. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the resource persons in the various C/APEAE are not all of the same skill level (for example, this is the case of Kégnéko and Soyah). Recommendations were made during the training to identify other resource persons and in doing so, to

50 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 adhere more stringently to the established criteria for the selection of resource persons

Furthermore, women, despite their relatively low representation in this training, were extremely active in group work sessions and plenary sessions. DSEE who participated in this training expressed great interest in the subject matter and were very enthusiastic about its application in their work.

At the end of each training sessions, participants made recommendations. Below is a synthesis of the most frequent recommendations:

• Participants need to begin to put to use these new skills • Training module should be distributed to resource persons • Training should be expanded to reach more people • DSEE in non-PACEEQ zones should be associated in future trainings

As a result of the training on Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation, resource persons developed a deeper sense of the importance of regular monitoring and evaluation of the organizational effectiveness of the C/APEAE. Following the training, the ERO was administered by the NGO facilitators in all 8 regions, with the active participation of the resource persons. In addition, the C/APEAE resource persons assisted NGO facilitators in the restitution of the ERO results. The restitution sessions took place in all regions with the exception of Kankan and N’Zérékoré2.

Overall, participation of women in the resource person training sessions was very low (between 7-14%) compared to the overall participation of women in C/APEAE training sessions (generally between 20-30%). Although participation of women within the C/APEAE was relatively robust, either women were reluctant to embrace the new role of resource person, or they were elbowed out by men who seized the new opportunity first.

3.2.2.3. Assist resource persons in co-facilitating training modules in collaboration with NGO facilitators Following their training resource persons were encouraged to serve as co-facilitators to the NGO facilitators in training sessions for their own structures. This reinforced both their acquisition of the content of the training sessions as well as their role as an internal resource for their respective structures.

Resource persons helped to co-facilitate the following training modules: Community Participation and Partnership; Conflict Prevention and Management; ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment)

2 When the data from Kankan and N’Zérékoré was analyzed, incoherencies were found that rendered the data useless for restitution. Because of the closeout activities of the Kankan and N’Zérékoré regional offices, it was not possible to conduct a second data collection exercise. 51 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The table below provides an overview of the number of training sessions co- facilitated by resource persons.

Table N° 6: Overview of Resource Persons Co-Facilitating Training Sessions in: Conflict Prevention and Management; ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment); or Community Participation and Partnership REGION Total M W %W Boké 32 32 0 0% Faranah 18 17 1 6% Labé 45 39 6 13% Mamou 88 69 19 22% Kankan 50 37 13 26% Kindia 11 11 0 0% Conakry 4 4 0 0% N’Zérékoré 25 25 0 0% TOTAL 273 234 39 14%

A total of 273 Resource Persons, of which 39 (14%) were women, co-facilitated training workshops alongside NGO facilitators.

Key observations on resource person co-facilitation Through their expanded role as co-facilitators and supplementary training, resource persons serve as a resource for their own structures and are more likely to develop a strong sense of ownership of the messages, attitudes and behaviors they are promoting. Resource persons expressed great satisfaction with their role as co- facilitators. They appreciated the opportunity to put into practice the techniques and skills they learned during the training Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation and expressed their commitment to continue to actively serve as resources for their respective structures as well as their communities at large.

Despite the relatively short time that PACEEQ had to pilot this new strategy, it appears that the training and co-facilitation of resource persons was an effective means to increase the internal resources available to the C/APAEA and enhance the sustainability of the content of the consolidation training modules.

Reports from NGO facilitators and staff monitoring observations indicate that there is a wide variation in the level of skill of resource persons. While some resource persons demonstrate remarkable talent as facilitators and communicators, others appear to not fully understand their role, have not assimilated basic facilitation techniques, or do not have a mastery of the training content.

3.2.2.4. Train resource persons for outreach work with APEAE Another role of the C/APEAE resources persons in the 24 newly integrated sub- prefectures in Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré is outreach to APEAE not previously covered by PACEEQ. A total of 120 APEAE were selected to benefit from the support of the C/APEAE resource persons. The selection was carried out via a participatory meeting between the C/APEAE, DSEE and PACEEQ. During this

52 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 meeting, the participants in each sub-prefecture examined the selection criteria from the PACEEQ Implementation Guide and applied these criteria to select the APEAE that would benefit from the support of the C/APEAE resource persons. To prepare them for the outreach to APEAE, C/APEAE resource persons received an orientation on 4 training modules designed for APEAE. These modules are as follows:

• Internal Governance • Quality of Education • Gender Equity • School Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention

These modules are similar in content to the training modules designated for the C/APEAE; however they are specifically adapted for APEAE training to be conducted by C/APEAE resource persons. For example, where the C/APEAE was trained in Organizational Development, the APEAE was trained in a similar module entitled Internal Governance. Where the C/APEAE was trained in Decentralization and Quality of Education, the APEAE was trained in a simplified module entitled Quality of Education.

All 49 C/APEAE resource persons from Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré participated in the orientation workshops. It is also important to note that all sub-prefecture and communal C/APEAE have 2 resource persons, with the exception of the sub- prefecture of Sougeta in Kindia, which selected 3 resource persons given the large number of schools and the great distances that separate the school in the sub- prefecture of Sougeta. This explains why there are 49 resource persons for 24 sub- prefectures.

The table below provides details on the number of participants per region.

Table No 7: Participants in Orientation for C/APEAE Resource Persons Regions Modules Total Men W %W N’Zérékoré Internal Governance 12 11 1 8% Quality of Education 12 11 1 8% Gender Equity 12 11 1 8% School Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention 12 11 1 8% Kindia Internal Governance 27 26 1 4% Quality of Education 27 26 1 4% Gender Equity 27 26 1 4% School Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention 27 26 1 4% Conakry Internal Governance 10 8 2 20% Quality of Education 10 8 2 20% Gender Equity 10 9 1 10% School Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention 10 9 1 10% TOTAL 196 182 14 7%

Following the orientation, NGO facilitators assisted the resource persons to organize a special training session for the 120 targeted APEAE in Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré. This special training session covered four themes pulled from two 53 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 different APEAE training modules, Internal Governance (3 themes) and Financial Management (1 theme). The themes covered were:

• Administrative Organization (Internal Governance) • How to Hold a Meeting (Internal Governance) • Registration with Local Authorities (Internal Governance) • Opening a Bank Account for the APEAE (Financial Management)

Members of all 120 targeted APEAE participated in this training workshop facilitated jointly by the NGO Facilitator and the C/APEAE resource person. As a result of the training, the targeted APEAE are in the process of obtaining their legal registration and opening bank accounts.

The APEAE outreach training conducted by the Resource Persons was welcomed by the APEAE. A couple of success stories have been noted. For example, in the commune of Matam in Conakry, prior to the special training session for APEAE, it was reported that none of the APEAE in Matam had their own bank account. Rather, all APEAE funds were managed by the C/APEAE. The C/APEAE served as the signatories to the accounts were the APEAE funds were deposited. This meant that the APEAE had no say over how the funds were used, and if they wanted access to these funds, they had to request them from the C/APEAE. Following their own training PACEEQ training sessions, the C/APEAE of Matam realized that this was not within the norms. They then used the special training session for APEAE co-facilitated by the C/APEAE resource persons to inform the APEAE of how these accounts should be managed and instructed them to open their own bank accounts so they could have autonomy in managing their own funds.

The C/APEAE of Kaloum commune reported that following the training sessions for 6 APEAE given jointly by the NGO Facilitator and the C/APEAE resource persons, there is more awareness among these APEAE that they have a role to play in managing parental contributions. Previously all parental contributions were managed directly by the school principal and the teachers. There was no bank account and no accountability. Now the 6 targeted APEAE in Kaloum commune have opened their own accounts and are beginning to manage the parental contributions themselves. This has not been an easy transition for the APEAE, who had to advocate long and hard with the school principals and the teachers to come to an agreement over the management of these funds, as the school principals and teachers were reluctant to give up management of these funds. Indeed, the case of Kaloum and many other urban APEAE in Conakry will require careful monitoring in the future by the C/APEAE resource persons to ensure that agreements are being respected.

3.2.2.6. Support C/APEAE and Local Alliance resource persons in the dissemination of Ministry Circular No 0999 The contents of the Ministry Circular No. 0999 are covered in the PACEEQ training module Community Participation and Partnership. As part of the consolidation phase, sub-prefecture, prefecture, commune, and regional C/APEAE, as well as DSEE, Local Alliances and FEGUIPAE were all trained in this module. In addition, C/APEAE resource persons received additional training that allowed them to co-

54 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 facilitate the Community Participation and Partnership module alongside the NGO facilitators. The role of the resource persons was intended to increase ownership of the training content by the C/APEAE, as well as to provide the C/APEAE with a resource person with a greater depth of knowledge and familiarity in the designated training topics.

An expanded role for these resource persons in the dissemination of the Ministry Circular No. 0999 was included in the extension of the consolidation phase. A total of 150 resource persons were selected (one per structure) from sub-prefecture C/APEAE and Local Alliances to attend an orientation session on the dissemination of the Ministry Circular. Building on their previous experience, and excerpt was adapted from the Community Participation and Partnership module in which the resource persons were trained on how to facilitate a half-day orientation session for community members and CRDs on the Ministry Circular. To assist them in this task, copies of the Ministry Circular in four local languages (Maninke, Pular, Sousou and Kpele) were provided to all the resource persons for distribution. The copies in Maninke, Pular and Sousou were reviewed by the SNA to ensure that the proper orthography and vocabulary was used in the translation. A total of 6,200 copies of the Ministry Circular were made.

The table below provides a summary of the number of resource persons who participated in the orientation sessions.

Table 8: Orientation sessions for C/APEAE and Local Alliance Resource Persons on the Dissemination of the Ministry Circular No. 0999 PARICIPANTS REGION Total Men Women % Women Boké 16 16 0 0% Faranah 9 9 0 0% Labe 17 16 1 6% Mamou 33 28 5 15% Kankan 18 16 2 11% Kindia 38 33 5 13% Conakry 37 31 6 16% N’Zérékoré 31 26 5 16% TOTAL 199 175 24 12%

A total of 199 resource persons participated in the orientation sessions, of which 24 (12%) were women. Following the orientation session, each participating resource person was instructed to brief their counterpart (there were two designated resource persons per structure) and to organize dissemination sessions in their respective communities to discuss the contents of the Ministry Circular using the

55 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 techniques they acquired during the PACEEQ orientation session and the translated copies of the Ministry Circular.

The dissemination sessions were welcomed by communities and school administration officials alike. These sessions, animated by the C/APEAE and Local Alliance resource persons brought together APEAE, C/APEAE, teachers, principals, DSEE, DPE, IRE, as well as CRDs, religious leaders, locally elected officials and community members with an interest in education. Receiving the translated version of the Ministry Circular, reading it for themselves, and discussing it with different members of the community was a real “eye-opener” for many participants. After the sessions, many who had previously opposed the Ministry Circular said that they now understood the contents and appreciated the policy change. This was particularly in evidence among teachers and principals, who, prior to the dissemination session, saw the document uniquely as an exclusionary tactic, something that excluded them from serving on the board of the APEAE. When they read the document in its entirety, with the breakdown of roles and responsibilities between the school administration and APEAE respectively, and had the opportunity to discuss the implications of these changes, they said that they would welcome a partnership of this type with the APEAE. The dissemination of the translated copies played a large role in the success of the dissemination sessions.

Key observations on the Implementation of the Resource Person Strategy At first, the concept of a resource person for the C/APEAE was not easily understood by members of C/APEAE structures, the NGO facilitators in charge of training the resource persons, or by the resource persons themselves. In fact, there was some initial friction because NGOs perceived the resource persons as a threat – mistakenly seeing them as their potential replacements. However, PACEEQ staff and management in the field worked closely with management of the NGO partners to correct the misconception. Over time, resource persons came to be regarded as a valuable asset for each respective structure. They were solicited for assistance by PACEEQ, by their own C/APEAE in the implementation of their Education Action Plans, by school administration officials at various levels, and by other international NGOs and projects. Over the course of the extension period, the role of the resource persons as local spokespersons and agents of the PACEEQ methodology became apparent. In Mamou prefecture, the DPE solicited the assistance of the C/APEAE resource persons to help him to work with the secondary school APEAE to encourage more transparent management and democratic renewal following secondary school protests against APEAE mismanagement.

Due to the additional training they received, resource persons co-facilitated many of the consolidation training workshops and played prominent role in various project activities, such as the dissemination of the Ministry Circular No. 0999 and the co- facilitation of the Regional Forums on PACEEQ lessons learned. Many resource persons reported that they felt more confident about their abilities as facilitators, as spokespersons, and as all around resources for their respective C/APEAE. Many also reported an improved relationship with the DSEE as a result of attending training together.

56 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 These results are very promising given the short timeframe in which the resource person strategy was implemented. Nonetheless, some challenges are to be noted. The first is the low percentage of women identified as resource persons. Even in the urban areas, of the two resource persons identified per C/APEAE, in the overwhelming majority of cases, both were men. The second challenge is how to maintain the momentum of this innovative intervention now that PACEEQ has come to an end. The resource person strategy itself was designed to enhance the sustainability of the PACEEQ approach, however since the resource person strategy was only piloted during the consolidation phase; it may take more time for it to become firmly entrenched. The final challenge will be replacing the resource persons who leave. As the status of resource person as well as the improved skill set of the resource persons may open doors of opportunities for many individuals, and it is probable that over time many will move on to occupy other posts. The question of how to replace those who have left remains.

57 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 “Bottom-Up Approach” versus Resource Person Outreach In the six regions of Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé, Mamou and N’Zérékore, the bottom up strategy of working with Parents’ Associations meant that PACEEQ began working with the APEAE at the grassroots level and only later added the C/APEAE. In the case of Kindia and Conakry, two regions newly integrated during the consolidation phase, a different strategy was applied. PACEEQ began intervening directly with the sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE, and used resource person outreach to provide basic training to 120 APEAE.

Although the PACEEQ lessons learned forum, as well as the various PACEEQ evaluations, demonstrated that the “bottom up” approach with Parents’ Associations in Guinea was highly effective, it is also time consuming and costly. More importantly, given the large number of APEAE (over 6000 according to the 2005-2006 Ministry of Education Annual Statistics), it was not possible to reach a critical mass of APEAE.

The Kindia/Conakry innovation sought to test a new approach to see if there was a way to increase coverage to APEAE by reaching them through the C/APEAE. This strategy involves creating a new form of Participatory Community Diagnostic at the sub-prefecture/commune level, training the C/APEAE and using resource persons to provide outreach orientation sessions to APEAE.

Is this alternative methodology effective? Although the short period of time in which this new strategy was piloted did not permit for an in-depth or long term evaluation of its impact, a few observations can be made. First, this new approach appears to be effective at reinforcing the capacity of the sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE. Second, there were some positive results achieved in terms of reinforcing the capacity of the APEAE through resource person outreach. A majority of the APEAE opened bank accounts, held democratic elections and legally registered the Parents’ Association. Although the results observed with the APEAE are promising, with ERO results, it is difficult to compare them to the APEAE who received the full three year technical assistance package. Furthermore, it is reasonable to expect significant differences in capacity between those who received the full three years of technical assistance and those who only benefited from C/APEAE resource person outreach during the consolidation phase.

The positive initial results observed with the innovation strategy might not have been possible had they been applied from the beginning. It is important to keep in mind the overall environment in which PACEEQ began operating in 2001. Outside of Mamou where World Education piloted the EDUCOM program, there was little in the way of capacity building for APEAE. The idea of co- management of schools was considered by many to be a far-etched idea, and even for those who were not opposed to the idea of parental involvement, there was little understanding of what that involvement would entail and how it could contribute to the quality of education. By 2005 when the PACEEQ consolidation phase began, the success of the PACEEQ model was widely known throughout Guinea and there were many supporters within the Ministry of Education. The publication of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation created further momentum behind the drive for increased community participation. School administration officials in Kindia and Conakry, the two zones who received the innovation strategy, had been lobbying for PACEEQ intervene in their respective regions.

The success of the innovation strategy piloted in Kindia and Conakry was most likely influenced by a number of factors that did not exist at the beginning of PACEEQ I. This includes: the widespread popularity of the PACEEQ model; the existence of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation; the receptivity of school administration officials in Kindia and Conakry to host the PACEEQ intervention; trained C/APEAE resource persons; strong advocates for the PACEEQ model within the Ministry of Education; exchange visits for newly integrated C/APEAE to visit “veteran” C/APEAE; and a renewal of the FEGUIPAE at the national level.

Although the innovation strategy is certainly a less time consuming and less costly way to reach a greater number of APEAE at the grassroots level, APEAE received more benefit from the three year technical assistance package than they did from the resource person outreach strategy. The quality of the technical assistance in the three-year package and the learning outcomes of the APEAE surpassed that of the innovation strategy.

58 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 3.2.3. Regional C/APEAE

3.2.3.1. Provide support to regional C/APEAE in the finalization and implementation of the Strategic Plans

As part of the overall capacity building process, regional C/APEAE participated in a series of strategic planning training workshops. The strategic planning training sessions are organized as a series of consecutive workshops spaced two to four weeks apart to allow participants time to work on their strategic plans between training sessions. Developing a vision and creating mission statements, as well as formulating strategic objectives that capitalize on strengths and opportunities are ways to reinforce the organizational identity of the regional C/APEAE.

The content of the strategic planning workshop series focused on the following themes:

1. Types of organizations and their characteristics 2. Life cycle of organizations 3. Elaboration and/or revision of existing missions and vision statements 4. Analysis of internal and external environments

Table 9 provides an overview of the statistics for the strategic planning workshops for the regional C/APEAE. A total of 169 participants took part in the training, of which 36 (21%) were women.

Table 9: Strategic Planning Workshops for Regional C/APEAE Total participants Women REGIONS Total Hommes # % Boké* 27 24 3 11% Faranah 12 10 2 17% Kankan 9 7 2 22% Labé* 29 24 5 17% Mamou* 25 17 8 32% N’Zérékoré* 43 32 11 26% Kindia 11 10 1 9% Conakry 13 9 4 31% TOTAL GENERAL 169 133 36 21%

Once the strategic plan is finalized it is presented to the members at a General Assembly at which the entire regional C/APEAE is present as well as representatives from all of the prefectures in the region. This encourages dialogue and facilitates communication and information flow between the regional C/APEAE and their prefectoral constituents. During the presentation of the strategic plan, the committee that worked on the strategic plan explains to the General Assembly all of the steps they went through to develop the strategic plan (restitution of PACEEQ training which includes description of analysis of internal and external environment). 59 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 They also explain and describe each part of the strategic plan in detail (vision, mission, strategic objectives, major activities, etc.) Then, the floor is open for the members to ask questions and debate the strategic plan. The purpose of the detailed presentation and ensuing debates is to make sure that all of the concerns of the constituents are taken into consideration in the strategic plan. When necessary, modifications to the strategic plan can be made on the spot. Once the debates have concluded, the general assembly moves to a vote to officially validate the strategic plan.

A strategic plan is a long-term vision of three to five years. To begin implementation of the newly validated strategic plan, an annual operational plan is developed from the strategic plan. The annual operational plan is a detail of the strategic plan and includes an annual budget. PACEEQ provided technical support to assist regional C/APEAE extract their annual operational plans and prepare an annual budget. Emphasis was placed on the fact that the annual operational plan must be composed of activities that the regional C/APEAE estimate that they could implement over the course of the current year, using their own resources, as well as activities that were to be carried out with PACEEQ sub-grants. This is an important point because the annual action plan should not be dependent on PACEEQ funding for implementation.

Technical assistance was given through regular follow-up visits of the PACEEQ Regional and Prefectoral Training Advisors. In addition, the PACEEQ training workshop on Administrative and Budgetary Management served to help the regional C/APEAE finalize and budget for their annual action plans. Once the annual action plans were finalized and budgeted, they were submitted to PACEEQ as accompanying documentation as a part of the sub-grant application.

Implementation of activities in the annual action plans began immediately when the plans were finalized. Implementation of the plan included the execution of all activities in the plan, including those financed by PACEEQ and those carried out independently by the C/APEAE.

3.2.3.2. Organize capacity building training for regional C/APEAE Following the finalization of regional C/APEAE strategic plans, a series of training workshops were held for the regional C/APEAE.

A total of 494 participants took part in the regional C/APEAE trainings, of which 112 (23%) were women. The table below details the training received by regional C/APEAE.

60 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

Table 10: Training Statistics for Regional C/APEAE by Module and by Region Total participants REGION MODULES Women Total Men # % Community Participation & Partnership 34 28 6 18% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 27 22 5 19% Conflict Prevention and Management 27 22 5 19% BOKE Administrative Management and Budgets 12 9 3 25% Community Participation & Partnership 5 3 2 40% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 5 3 2 40% Conflict Prevention and Management 7 5 2 29% FARANAH Administrative Management and Budgets 7 5 2 29% Community Participation & Partnership 9 4 5 56% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 9 5 4 44% Conflict Prevention and Management 9 4 5 56% LABE Administrative Management and Budgets 9 4 5 56% Administrative Management and Budgets 38 34 4 11% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 11 9 2 18% Community Participation & Partnership 24 20 4 17% KANKAN Conflict Prevention & Management 24 20 4 17% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 7 3 4 57% Community Participation & Partnership 7 3 4 57% Conflict Prevention & Management 7 4 3 43% MAMOU Administrative Management and Budgets 11 7 4 36% Community Participation & Partnership 22 20 2 9% Administrative Management and Budgets 22 20 2 9% Conflict Prevention & Management 27 23 4 15% KINDIA/CKRY Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 27 23 4 15% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 20 18 2 10% Community Participation & Partnership 32 23 9 28% Conflict Prevention & Management 32 23 9 28% N'ZEREKORE Administrative Management and Budgets 23 18 5 22% TOTAL 494 382 112 23%

In addition to the training modules listed above, Regional C/APEAE also received training in Financial Management. These training workshops were held jointly with the Prefecture C/APEAE and the training statistics for Regional C/APEAE are included in the table on Financial Management training for Prefecture C/APEAE in section 3.2.1.

Key observations on regional C/APEAE training As part of PACEEQ’s bottom up approach, these modules are similar to the modules for the FEGUIPAE, with slight adaptations making them relevant for the regional level. The fact that the Regional C/APEAE and the FEGUIPAE received the same basic training content facilitated the empowerment of the newly elected FEGUIPAE board. This was evident during the FEGUIPAE General Assemblies where the FEGUIPAE Strategic Plan was validated, financial and activity plans were validated, and democratic elections were held. The professional behavior, serious discussions and quality question and answer sessions that prevailed throughout the FEGUIPAE General Assemblies is difficult to envision, had the Regional C/APEAE not participated in the PACEEQ training series.

61 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

Instead of implementing Education Action Plans, like their Sub-Prefecture, Commune and Prefecture counterparts, Regional C/APEAE elaborate Strategic Plans, and play a key role in supporting the Prefecture, Sub-Prefecture and Commune C/APEAE. In addition, members of the Regional C/APEAE are directly responsible for electing the FEGUIPAE board. Given this role, it appears the training modules selected for the Regional C/APEAE were well chosen.

In addition, by limiting the number of training modules designated for Regional C/APEAE to a few well-chosen modules, the issue of “training fatigue” that was evident with the Sub-Prefecture and Commune C/APEAE receiving technical assistance package #2 was not in evidence with the Regional C/APEAE.

Although PACEEQ staff did not quantify the monitoring of the implementation of the Strategic Plans of the Regional C/APEAE (by calculating the percentage of activities that were implemented) as was done with the Education Action Plans, anecdotal evidence was reported on the learning outcomes of the training workshops for the Regional C/APEAE. In addition to the role of the Regional C/APEAE in the success of the FEGUIPAE, as noted above, Regional C/APEAE members played a key role in the organization of the Regional Forums on PACEEQ Lessons Learned, as well as the Regional Forums on the Implementation of the Ministry Circular No. 0999. In fact, in the latter case, members of the Regional C/APEAE co-facilitated sessions of the Regional Forums alongside representatives of the Regional Education Inspectors or IRE. Furthermore, Regional C/APEAE members are frequently sought out by school administration officials at the Regional level to assist in solving problems and to participate in regional level education activities, such as the CRIE.

Timing is also an important issue. Just as the trained APEAE elected the sub- prefecture C/APEAE boards, who in turn elected the Prefecture C/APEAE boards, the Prefecture C/APEAE boards elected the Regional representatives. This bottom- up approach of renewal of the Federated Parents’ Associations is an effective methodology.

Through regular monitoring visits, PACEEQ staff have noted the following changes in the regional C/APEAE as a result of the Strategic Planning process3:

• Strong buy-in from the regional C/APEAE for all the steps in the strategic planning process • Improved functioning of regional C/APEAE boards as they undertake all of the steps in the strategic planning process • Improved awareness by board members of the need to respect internal regulations and procedures, especially related to financial reporting • Improved ability to mobilize resources outside of PACEEQ and engage external partners in the implementation of targeted activities

3 “Process” refers to training, development of strategic plans, creation of a budget and annual operational excerpt, validation of strategic plan by the general assembly, sub-grant application process as well as implementation of activities and justification of sub-grant expenses. 62 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 • Ability to successfully implement activities in the annual operational excerpt of the Strategic Plan, both those financed by PACEEQ and supported through their own resource mobilization efforts • Strong sense of accomplishment from activities implemented using non- PACEEQ resources • Higher profile among other education stakeholders gained through successful implementation of PACEEQ funded activities

It is also important to note that many regional C/APEAE were solicited by DPE to participate in the development of the action plan of the Comité Préfectoral de l’Education (CPPE). In addition, the regional C/APEAE of Kindia shared its Strategic Plan with Aide et Action and was able to lobby effectively to have components of their Strategic Plan included in Aide et Action’s three-year planning document.

3.2.3.2. Administer sub-grants to regional C/APEAE During the PACEEQ consolidation phase all 8 regional C/APEAE received sub-grants to assist in the implementation of their strategic plans. Both the sub-grant application process and the justification of sub-grant expenses are identical to those described in previous sections for the APEAE. A total of 41,050,000 GF was disbursed to the 8 regional C/APEAE during the consolidation phase.

The capacity building process was a extensive, consisting of elaborating a participatory Education Action Plan, creating an annual budget and excerpt for specific activities, contributing a percentage of the cost of the implementation of activities through community participation (either in-kind or cash), applying for the sub-grant, and then subsequently implementing the activity. However, it did not end there. Justification of sub-grant expenses was also an integral part of the capacity-building process.

By justifying their sub-grant expenses these grassroots civil society organizations demonstrated not only to PACEEQ, but also to the parents they represent that they acted responsibly in the management and financial oversight of their school related projects.

C/APEAE were responsible for justifying both PACEEQ sub-grant expenses as well as community funds mobilized by the C/APEAE that constitute their contribution to the funded activity. For example, if a C/APEAE included the building of latrines for girls in their education action plan, and this activity was funded as part of the EAP, the activity was not funded 100% but rather the community provided a contribution between 5% and 25%. This contribution was either in-kind or in-cash. C/APEAE were required to justify both the funds they received from PACEEQ as well as the in-kind or in-cash contributions they mobilized from the communities. The justification of their own contributions is an important facet of their overall accountability to other parents.

63 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 3.2.4. FEGUIPAE

The National Federation of Parents’ Associations, FEGUIPAE, was created in 1998 but at the start of the PACEEQ consolidation phase in August 2005, FEGUIPAE was experiencing a legitimacy crisis. Because the original board members were not elected by the representatives of the trained local Parents' Associations, they were not considered legitimate representatives of the Parents’ Associations at the grassroots level. FEGUIPAE remained little known by the local boards, in urban as well as in rural areas. The coffers were empty and a consensus concerning a vision for the organization did not seem to exist.

The members of the national board claimed not to have the means to make their existence known to the Parents’ Associations at the grassroots level because the portion of the membership fees that was supposed to trickle up was not forthcoming. Without such means, the national organization claimed they could not visit communities or prefectures at least, to make its existence known and explain the role it plays. A vicious circle existed to prevent FEGUIPAE from acquiring the funds it needed to operate: because it had no means, there was no information about the organization at the grassroots level; because there was no information, or legitimacy, there were no contributions by members, resulting in no means.

The financial problems were real because FEGUIPAE had not yet managed to create buy-in around the idea that members should contribute financially to the organization. Furthermore, the FEGUIPAE was plagued by confusion over the definition of membership eligibility. In fact, parents did not feel that they were really members, even if they knew that in theory they were represented at the higher levels (i.e., prefecture, etc.).

As part of the PACEEQ consolidation phase, a series of different capacity building mechanisms were designed to reinforce the FEGUIPAE. These included: support for the development of a strategic plan; technical training; support in the preparation and organization three general assemblies (including the democratic renewal of the FEGUIPAE board through fair and free elections); support to develop a financial and administrative policy and procedures manual; and finally institutional strengthening grants. The following sections below detail activities carried out as part of the capacity building for the FEGUIPAE.

3.2.4.1. Provide support to FEGUIPAE in the finalization and implementation of their Strategic Plan As part of the overall capacity building process, FEGUIPAE members participated in a series of strategic planning training workshops which were spaced two to four weeks apart to allow participants time to work on their strategic plans between training sessions.

A total of 33 participants took part in the strategic planning training, bringing together not only FEGUIPAE members but also the National Equity Committee, the National Foundation for Girls’ Education (FONSEF), and the National Media Task

64 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Force. Although each structure prepared their own strategic plan, participants benefited from the opportunity of sharing experiences during the workshop.

By reviewing their vision and mission statements and formulating strategic objectives that capitalize on strengths and opportunities in the internal and external environment, FEGUIPAE reinforced its organizational identify and mission so as to enable it to communicate with other members and with the public at large.

The content of the workshop focused on the following themes: • Types of organizations and their characteristics • Life cycle of organizations • Elaboration and/or revision of existing missions and vision statements • Analysis of internal and external environments

At the end of the first workshop, the following next steps were outlined for the participants to accomplish before the second workshop:

1. Restitution to other members of the organization to gain buy in for strategic planning process 2. Establishment of a committee to prepare and type up the strategic plan document 3. Validation of “products” of the workshop by general assembly (vision, mission, etc.) 4. Categorization of SWOT analysis carried out as part of workshop 5. Proposition of general and strategic objectives for the organization 6. Definition and duration of the strategic plan 7. Determine the dates for the next training workshop

Each participating organization then set a date for a follow-up session, with one of the PACEEQ trainers to review progress before the next workshop. An additional three members from FEGUIPAE participated in the second workshop, bringing the total number of participants to 36. The second workshop focused on practical aspects of planning, budgeting and organization necessary to bring the newly articulated vision and mission to life. The workshop begins with a review of the work completed by the participants between the workshop (analysis of internal and external environment, general and strategic objectives) and then proceeded to cover the following themes:

1. Implementation of the strategic plan 2. Monitoring and evaluation 3. Mobilization of resources 4. Organization and functioning

65 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 At the end of the second workshop, participants were tasked with the following:

1. Finalize the content of their draft strategic plans 2. Elaborate a budget and an implementation plan 3. Develop a monitoring and evaluation plan 4. Prepare the strategic plan using the format provided by PACEEQ 5. Finalize their plan for mobilization of resources 6. Establish a committee of 3 to 4 persons to monitor the implementation of the plan 7. Submit the strategic plan to PACEEQ for feedback 8. Begin development and/or revision of administrative and financial manual for the organization

The third and final workshop brought together a total of 36 participants. Prior to the third workshop, participants met with PACEEQ staff to finalize the contents of their strategic plans, specifically the implementation plan, resource mobilization plan, and monitoring and evaluation plan.

During the third workshop, the strategic plan was presented and discussed in great detail. The animated discussions and lively debates demonstrated that there was a great deal of interest in and ownership of the strategic plans. One of the advantages of having a “mixed” workshop that brought together participants from FEGUIPAE, FONSEF, National Media Task Force and the National Equity Committee was that it gave the participants a chance to offer valuable feedback on the strategic plans of the other organizations during the plenary sessions. Through this process of “learning by doing” the FEGUIPAE, as well as FONSEF, National Media Task Force and the National Equity Committee finalized their respective Strategic Plans.

3.2.4.2. Provide capacity building training to FEGUIPAE Immediately following the strategic planning workshop, FEGUIPAE members began a series of workshops in Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation, Administrative Management and Budgets, Conflict Prevention and Management, and Community Participation and Partnership.

It is important to note that all of the training modules that the FEGUIPAE received are the same modules (with slight adaptations) received by the regional C/APEAE. This improved the ability of the regional and national levels to work collaboratively together. An example of how this strategy works was demonstrated when the FEGUIPAE strategic plan was presented for approval by its General Assembly. The General Assembly of the FEGUIPAE was composed of representatives from the regional C/APEAE, who themselves had been trained in Strategic Planning and they had participated in the development of the strategic plans for the regional C/APEAE. The result was a high level of discussion and extremely pertinent question and answer session prior to General Assembly approval of the FEGUIPAE strategic plan.

66 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Table 11 provides an overview of training statistics for the FEGUIPAE.

Table 11: Training Statistics for FEGUIPAE

Total participants

Women MODULES Total Men # % Organizational Development and Strategic Planning 14 7 7 50% Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation 14 10 4 29%

Budget and Administrative Management 19 13 6 32%

Community Participation and Partnership 19 13 6 32% Conflict Prevention and Management 14 10 4 29% Total 80 53 27 34%

According to participants, the Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation module was particularly useful to the newly elected board. In the beginning of the module participants were asked to identify a problem facing the FEGUIPAE, and participants then formulated an objective and advocacy activities to address the problem. In the case of FEGUIPAE, they identified poor management of student “livrets” (the books used for monitoring students’ progress). Participants cited that these books were often not kept up to date, were often missing, and that there was no record of the students’ progress throughout the years. The other problem they identified was the management of student identity cards.

The activities in the training module helped the FEGUIPAE to formulate objectives of how to engage school administration officials to work together to address these issues. They created a draft action plan to address these two issues using advocacy techniques, and they integrated these elements into the overall FEGUIPAE Strategic Plan.

3.2.4.3. Assist the FEGUIPAE to develop an administrative and financial policy and procedures manual PACEEQ provided technical support to the FEGUIPAE to assist them to develop an administrative and financial policy and procedures manual. During the process of developing the manual, important organizational development took place within FEGUIPAE. The manual dealt with administrative and financial procedures, human resource policy, and statutes. Discussing and deciding together how the FEGUIPAE should be managed engendered a strong sense of ownership and conviction on the part of FEGUIPAE’s members. At the end of the process, board members who participated in the development of the manual had a solid understanding of and respect for policies and procedures. As a result, the process of developing the manual contributed significantly to more transparent and capable leadership, supported by a deep commitment to uphold the policies and procedures they had developed with their members.

67 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The development of the manual took place through a series of working sessions. The first step was to select the chapters or large topics to be covered in the manual. Then the group was divided into smaller working groups with each group tackling one topic. Each group produced a draft of what should be contained in their chapter. This draft was typed and distributed to the all members; then it was discussed in detail during a plenary session. The plenary sessions served both to debate “content” (i.e. what the policies should be) as well as form (how clearly it was expressed in the written document). It involved long discussions in which the ramifications of the selected policies and procedures were debated by the entire plenary. In this sense, the elaboration of the manual benefited from the knowledge and prior experience of all participating board members. PACEEQ facilitators provided technical advice throughout the entire process, by facilitating the plenary sessions, and by asking questions throughout to ensure that the FEGUIPAE members had thought through the long-term implications of the policies and procedures they were elaborating. PACEEQ facilitators ensured that the FEGUIPAE weigh the value of the policies and procedures they proposed in terms of their practicality, sustainability, efficiency as well as fairness and basic good management principles.

The working session to begin the elaboration of the administrative and financial policy and procedure manual took place in October 2006 and brought together a total of 15 FEGUIPAE board members, of which 6 were women (including the 02 internal auditors). During this working session, board members decided upon a table of contents for the manual and created the following committees which were responsible for drafting their respective sessions: administrative committee; finance and accounting committee; human resources committee; and the fundamental texts committee.

The second working session was held in November 2006 with the participation of 15 board members, of which 6 (40%) were women. The various committees presented the drafts they had prepared with technical assistance from PACEEQ staff during the time between the first and second working sessions. Long and detailed discussions were held as to how to improve the drafts presented. These discussions were extremely useful as it forced the participants to be specific in the policies and procedures they were proposing.

The final working session was held in January and brought together the 15 participants of which 6 (40%) were women. During the time between the second and third working sessions, committee members met to revise their respective drafts with technical assistance from PACEEQ staff. During this working session the various chapters were finalized and preparations were made to present the manual to the FEGUIPAE members at the next General Assembly for approval.

The administrative and financial policy and procedures manual was presented to the FEGUIPAE General Assembly in March and validated by all members. The process of elaborating the manual through a series of working sessions with the technical support of PACEEQ was an important milestone in the renewal of the FEGUIPAE.

68 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 3.2.4.4. Provide Technical Assistance to the FEGUIPAE in the organization three General Assemblies PACEEQ provided technical assistance to the FEGUIPAE for the organization of three General Assemblies. The emphasis of the technical support was on the preparatory work prior to the General Assembly. PACEEQ brought the actors together, provided a venue for meeting and asked the participants the appropriate questions that the FEGUIPAE needed to grapple with and decide upon in preparing for the upcoming General Assembly. For example, in the case of the first General Assembly in preparing for the elections, the FEGUIPAE had to debate the issue of who was eligible to run, what posts would be up for election, and how the elections themselves would be organized. In the second general assembly after the successful democratic elections, the preparation focused on the finalization of the strategic plan and issues related to communication, and in the third general assembly the preparation involved finalizing the administrative and financial policy and procedures manual for presentation to the General Assembly.

Whatever the issue at hand, the role of PACEEQ in providing technical assistance was to ensure that the appropriate questions and issues are put on the table and debated by FEGUIPAE. PACEEQ staff were scrupulous in ensuring that the preparations and debates were carried out by the FEGUIPAE members themselves. The merits of this approach became apparent during the preparation for the third General Assembly, when the FEGUIPAE members were familiar with undertaking preparations in advance: they initiated and carried out most of the preparations independently.

General Assembly #1: FEGUIPAE Elections In preparation for the first PACEEQ-supported FEGUIPAE General Assembly in which democratic elections would be held for the first time, PACEEQ facilitated a meeting between FEGUIPAE board members at the national level and the regional representatives of the C/APEAE. In the past, there was a disconnect between the regional C/APEAE and the FEGUIPAE. This was the first meeting between the regional and national levels and it focused on practical aspects of planning for the upcoming FEGUIPAE General Assembly and democratic elections, most notably:

• Clarity and consensus on the eligibility requirement for candidates seeking to run for office • Definition and preparation of the election process • Public discussions and debates on candidates’ merits • Public debates and discussions on issues concerning governance of the FEGUIPAE • Revision of the FEGUIPAE statutes, legal texts and documents • Substantial participation of the membership in debates and discussions, as well as the election process

Some of these issues were highly sensitive to particular FEGUIPAE members, and PACEEQ played a facilitative role during the debate and ensured that discussion resulted in constructive problem solving on a number of “questions” that the

69 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 FEGUIPAE would have to decide on as a group. The “questions” that PACEEQ helped the FEGUIPAE to formulate are summarized below:

• How many technical commissions will there be in the organization of the General Assembly and what will be the role of each technical commission? • What should be the composition of the board (i.e. how many elected posts) and what are the corresponding responsibilities associated with each elected post? • How will the actual voting process take place (i.e. secret ballot, hand count, voice count, etc.) and who will monitor the process? • Who is eligible to run for election? • Various questions pertaining the logistics were raised, such as when to hold the General Assembly, where, how many days should it last, whom to invite, etc.

In order to address these questions and to organize the General Assembly and elections, five commissions were established, as follows:

1. Commission for the revision of the FEGUIPAE legal texts 2. Logistics Commission 3. Commission for preparing updates (regional and national) to be presented during the General Assembly 4. Secretarial Commission (to ensure invitations go out, among other things) 5. Electoral Commission

A dedicated focal person from the PACEEQ regional office in Kindia was assigned to provide follow-up support and monitoring to each technical commission during the month leading up to the General Assembly.

The issue of democratic elections was a highly sensitive one for the outgoing FEGUIPAE board. Some of the causes of the sensitivity of this issue include, but are not limited to the following:

• Entrenched positions of certain current board members who felt threatened by the upcoming election process • Unwillingness by certain sitting board members to be held accountable for their action, or lack thereof, either now or in the future • The Ministry Circular No. 0999 which, if applied, would technically bar current sitting members who were concurrently holding positions in the Ministry of Education from being elected again • Influential members of FEGUIPAE might try to use connections within Ministry of education to influence the election process

The role of PACEEQ in helping the FEGUIPAE to take the complex issues and break them down into practical questions and the transparency of the PACEEQ facilitators in assisting the FEGUIPAE to debate the issues without favoring particular individuals or positions served to help alleviate some of the tensions surrounding the sensitive and political issue of democratic elections for the FEGUIPAE.

70 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

These challenges notwithstanding, the preparatory work was carried out the entire month preceding the General Assembly, and helped to create an environment in which FEGUIPAE was be able to democratically renew itself and move forward with recognition from its grassroots membership as a legitimate representative of parents and parents’ associations.

The FEGUIPAE General Assembly took place in Dalaba in April 2006. 66 out of 73 anticipated delegates from FEGUIPAE and the federated APEAE present, as well as 33 other guests who were members of other NGOs, institutions, MEPU-EC and school administration officials. The other guests served as observers, witnesses to the process and in some cases assisted with the facilitation of the sessions.

A total of 17 positions were elected, and two honorary “advisor” positions were created for the outgoing president and another outgoing board member who was a school administration official within MEPU-EC. Some notable results of the elections were that:

• There was an increase in representation from the regions. • There was an increase in the representation of women. • The election process was considered legitimate and was accepted by all FEGUIPAE members. • Despite the heated informal discussions the night before the elections and the high sensitivity surrounding the issue of who was eligible to vote, the elections were carried out in a dignified and civil manner. • Representation from the MEPU-EC at the elections ensured that the transparency of the process was witnessed by MEPU-EC, and that the results were supported by MEPU-EC.

General Assembly #2: The second General Assembly supported by PACEEQ was the first general assembly prepared and organized by the newly elected FEGUIPAE board. As with the organization of the previous general assembly, PACEEQ placed special emphasis on the preparatory work in organizing a successful General Assembly, and worked closely with the FEGUIPAE during the preparatory stages.

To begin preparation for this General Assembly, a meeting was organized in Faranah. 16 members of the FEGUIPAE, of which 05 (31%) were women, took part in the meeting.

The meeting was organized in three parts: sharing of information; working committees formed to organize various aspects of the General Assembly; consultative visits with APEAE of Faranah.

Following the meeting in Faranah, the various working committees met as planned according to the schedule they had developed. PACEEQ staff members provided technical assistance.

71 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The FEGUIPAE General Assembly took place in Kankan December 2006 and was official opened by the Governor of Kankan. This was the first General Assembly organized by the FEGUIPAE since the elections held the previous April in Dalaba. A total of 96 individuals (of which 24 or 25% were women) participated in the General Assembly. The breakdown of participants is below:

• FEGUIPAE Board Members: 17 out of 21 present • Regional C/APEAE delegates: 52 out of 56 present • Prefectoral C/APEAE and APEAE of Kankan: 14 out of 14 present • Other Guests: 23

Highlights from the General Assembly included:

• Presentation of the FEGUIPAE annual action plan and budget, which had been elaborated with technical support from PACEEQ was debated and duly adopted.

• Presentation of detailed and coherent activity and financial plans were appreciated by all the regional and prefecture C/APEAE delegates, as well as the APEAE. The presentation of the FEGUIPAE reports brought to light one outstanding activity and an associated outstanding advance (the same one that had been noted during the preparatory meeting). By the time of the December General Assembly, the FEGUIPAE was able to report that steps had already been taken to address the situation.

• A visit from the Minister of Technical and Professional Training who lauded the progress of the FEGUIPAE

• Presentation of activity reports from all 8 regional C/APEAE

• Fruitful discussions on resource mobilization. The topic was introduced and then delegates were divided into groups with the following instructions: “Taking in account the realities of your region/community, propose strategies for resource mobilization and financial management.” Following group work, group presentations and plenary discussions were held. Three strategies for resource mobilization were retained as follows: 1) Contributions 2) income generating activities and 3) funding from donors for specific projects.

General Assembly #3 The third PACEEQ-supported FEGUIPAE General Assembly took place in Conakry in March 2007 with a total of 53 delegates. This General Assembly was marked by the sorrow at the passing of the elected President, Mr. Alseny Yattara the previous month. A moment of silence was observed in memory of Mr. Yattara before the opening speeches were made. Following the conclusion of the opening formalities, the agenda was presented to the General Assembly for approval.

72 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Agenda 1. General Information and announcements 2. Presentation, amendments and adoption of the FEGUIPAE Administrative and Financial Policy and Procedures Manual 3. Presentation and validation of the results of the technical commissions who prepared a presentation on the FEGUIPAE strategy for resource mobilization 4. Miscellaneous

The first item on the agenda dealt with information relating to the passing of Mr. Alseny Yattara. The FEGUIPAE Executive Board shared with the delegates the tremendous outpouring of condolences that they received from donors including USAID, Ministry of Education and other international organizations.

There was then a discussion around the role of the Vice President, Madame Adama Sow, who was serving as interim President. It was decided that she would continue to serve in this function until the next General Assembly when elections could be held. This was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly.

Next, the FEGUIPAE Administrative and Financial Policy and Procedures Manual that had been elaborated by the FEGUIPAE Executive Board with technical assistance from PACEEQ was presented to the General Assembly.

The first section on Administrative Management was presented and discussed by the delegates, with changes to the wording regarding “ordre de mission” and monitoring of FEGUIPAE material and assets made.

The second section concerning Human Resources engendered a lively debate, and through the active discussions modifications were made to a number of sections including terms of reference of posts, organizational structure (organigram) and technical commissions.

The third section to be debated was the Financial Management Section. Here a number of modifications were made to the following sections: budgetary management, procedures for opening and managing the FEGUIPAE bank account, managing assets, and bank records.

The last section, the Basic Texts, also solicited lively debate and resulted in modifications to the following articles: 1, 2, 8, and 9,14,25,59.

At the end of the plenary session, the FEGUIPAE Administrative and Financial Policy and Procedures Manual was duly approved and adopted by the FEGUIPAE General Assembly.

The next item on the agenda to be discussed was the FEGUIPAE resource mobilization strategy. Following the presentation of the technical commission, a plenary debate took place and the following items were adopted by the General Assembly.

73 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Regional C/APEAE would contribute yearly dues to the FEGUIPAE ranging from 1,000,000 GF to 1,500,000 GF depending on the region. The bank account information for the FEGUIPAE would be communicated to all the regional C/APEAE to facilitate the bank transfer, which would be made during the course of the year in two installments.

It was also decided that a strategy would be put in place for income generation through the establishment of school bookstores and the sale of school uniforms.

Impact of the PACEEQ technical support to the FEGUIPAE: A number of changes in the FEGUIPAE are visible today as a result of technical support provided by PACEEQ.

First, in terms of legitimacy, today the FEGUIPAE has a democratically elected board that is recognized by federated Parents’ Associations. All of the newly elected board members have participated in training sessions in Strategic Planning and Organizational Development, Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation, HIV/AIDS Prevention, Community Participation and Partnership, and Conflict Prevention and Management.

However not only has the newly elected board participated in this series of training sessions, they have had several opportunities to put these practical skills to work.

9 FEGUIPAE has elaborated a 3-year Strategic Plan. This plan was presented to the General Assembly and validated by all the members.

9 FEGUIPAE has elaborated a communications strategy and received a sub-grant from PACEEQ for the implementation of targeted activities. They have successfully completed 50% of their planned communication activities.

9 FEGUIPAE has created an Administrative and Financial Policy and Procedures Manual that was approved by its General Assembly.

9 FEGUIPAE have organized three General Assemblies since 2005 with technical assistance from PACEEQ. With each successive General Assembly, FEGUIPAE Executive Board Members have played a larger role in the organization of the General Assembly, and have become experts in mastering the myriad of technical and logistical preparations required to hold a successful General Assembly.

9 FEGUIPAE developed a strategy for resource mobilization that was approved by its General Assembly. This includes a plan for collecting contributions from the regional C/APEAE. The lack of contributions from C/APEAE prior to 2005 was one of the major obstacles facing the FEGUIPAE.

9 The FEGUIPAE suffered the loss of their president, and successfully weathered the crisis while remaining faithful to their statutes and basic texts, and their Administrative and Financial Policy and Procedures Manual. The decision to appoint the Vice President as interim President and plan for another round of elections was in accordance with their own policies.

9 FEGUIPAE has managed its institutional strengthening sub-grant from PACEEQ with transparency.

Today, the FEGUIPAE is regarded as the legitimate representative of Guinea’s Parents’ Associations. It is solicited by the Ministry of Education and International Organizations to participate in policy dialogues and campaigns.

74 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Other sources of potential revenue were discussed in terms of charging for the use of the FEGUIPAE photocopier and use of the FEGUIPAE generator, as well as different advocacy campaigns to be carried out with the government and other international institutions for supporting FEGUIPAE activities.

3.2.4.5. Disburse sub-grants for institutional strengthening to FEGUIPAE A total of 23,500,000 GF was disbursed to the FEGUIPAE as an institutional strengthening sub-grant. The total cost of activities in their sub-grant application was 25,160,000 GF with 1,660,000 GF (constituting 7% of the total cost) coming from their own contribution. This sub-grant allowed them to equip their new office with a computer, a generator, a small photocopier and basic office furniture.

3.2.5. Other Civil Society Capacity Building in the Education Sector

3.2.5.1. Encourage expansion of the Coordination des Intervenants en Education (CRIE) Early in the implementation of PACEEQ, field staff in the regional offices identified a lack of coordination between the various education stakeholders intervening in the education sector. This included a lack of collaboration and coordination between international and national NGOs implementing education programs, as well as a lack of coordination with school administration officials at the regional level (IRE). The result was duplication of efforts and less than optimal geographic coverage of assistance packages. In some cases the differing approaches and strategies of two projects intervening with the same target groups in the same geographic areas created confusion and conflict.

The IRE of Labé took a laudably proactive position to this problem, and together with PACEEQ and other NGO partners, the first Coordination des Intervenants en Education (CRIE) was created in Labé in 2002. The goal of the CRIE was to provide a forum in which different projects in the education sector and the formal education sector at the regional level, represented by the IRE, could come together and share information and experiences. The goals were to avoid duplication of efforts, ensure better geographic coverage, share best practices, materials and approaches as well as engage in frank problem solving. The specific objectives of the CRIE were twofold:

1) To share information related to the implementation of education programs with all relevant actors in the region 2) To increase the synergy between and complementary efforts of all education projects in the region

The formal establishment of the CRIE in Labé greatly improved collaboration between education projects themselves, as well as between various education projects. The CRIE enjoyed periodic technical support from PACEEQ as well as other projects. The CRIE was also greatly appreciated by the IRE as it was an important tool in sharing information with education partners in the region.

75 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 When the IRE of Labé was transferred to Boké, he brought the idea of the CRIE with him, and in 2005 the CRIE-BO (CRIE-Boké) was established.

During the PACEEQ consolidation phase, PACEEQ sought to expand the CRIE initiative to the other 6 administrative regions in Guinea. This was to be accomplished through a series of exchange visits, in which both C/APEAE and IRE representatives would prepare and carry out exchange visits to either Boké or Labé.

During the preparations for the exchange visits, delegates prepared an agenda, or specific topics they sought to discuss with the CRIE they were visiting. As an example of an agenda, below is the agenda prepared by the delegates from Mamou, Kankan and N’Zérékoré prior to their visit with the CRIE of Boké:

1. The composition, organization and functioning of the Boké CRIE 2. The roles and responsibilities of the regional C/APEAE in the Boké CRIE 3. The roles and responsibilities of the IRE in the Boké CRIE 4. Exchange on the experiences and initiatives of Mamou, Kankan and N’Zérékoré in establishing their own CRIE

All 6 targeted regions (Mamou, Kankan, N’Zérékoré, Faranah, Kindia, and Conakry) have carried out exchange visits to either Labé or Boké with the purpose of expanding the CRIE to their respective regions. A total of 24 individuals from regional C/APEAE and school administration officials traveled to Labé or Boké as part of the CRIE expansion exchange visits. Following the exchange visits, CRIE were launched in all six regions.

In addition, the following was noted:

• In Kankan, the first CRIE session was initiated following the exchange visit. It brought together 65 education stakeholders throughout the region. An action plan to improve coordination between actors was drafted. • A constitutive assembly was organized for the first CRIE meeting in Faranah. Presided over by the IRE, the meeting brought together the DPE of Dabola, Dinguiraye, Faranah and Kissidougou, as well as the regional C/APEAE and NGO representatives from PACEEQ, ASED, Plan Guinea, and Africare. A provisional executive board was put in place. • As part of the wider efforts to expand the CRIE, Aide et Action organized a national policy meeting that was held in Kindia to bring together MEPU-EC representatives and members of active CRIE to discuss how to develop a national policy framework to expand the CRIE. PACEEQ staff members from the Kindia regional office attended the meeting and in addition, PACEEQ supported C/APEAE regional representatives from Kindia and Conakry to attend the meeting.

76 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 3.2.5.2. Organize thematic round tables with NGO partners intervening in the education sector In the context of the larger goal of strengthening civil society in Guinea, PACEEQ supported the organization of a series of thematic regional roundtables for Guinean NGOs operating in the education sector. These thematic roundtables provided a timely and strategic opportunity for Guinean NGOs operating in the education sector to come together and network, discuss common issues and brainstorm together on solutions to shared difficulties. Specifically the regional thematic roundtables sought to:

1. Assess the current level of collaboration between local NGOs intervening in the education sector in the region 2. Develop, in a participatory fashion, a list of relevant issues and themes pertaining to improved collaboration between NGOs 3. Debate one of the issues identified above in order to elaborate joint action points to address the issue at hand

The table below provides an overview of the thematic roundtables:

`Table 12: Cumulative Summary of Regional Thematic Roundtables Participants Region Dates Themes Debated at Regional Roundtables Total M W % Kindia 12-May Reinforcement of civil society and sustainability of education activities 13 10 3 23% 3-Jun Establishment of a regional NGO consortium for Kindia 18 14 4 22% Conakry 26-May Reinforcement of institutional capacities of NGOs 22 19 3 14% 20-Jun Establishment of a regional NGO consortium for Conakry 51 39 12 24% N’Zérékoré 23-Jun Strategies to reinforce partnership between NGOs intervening education 22 20 2 9% 31-Aug Developing an effective partnership with other education stakeholders 28 23 5 17% Kankan 22-May Strategies to reinforce partnership between NGOs intervening education 24 19 5 21% 26-Jun Establishment of a regional consortium of NGOs intervening in the education sector 30 26 4 13% Mamou 8-Apr Revitalization of regional NGO consortium for Mamou 18 17 1 6% 28-Jul Establishment of an NGO consortium- statutes, regulations, technical commissions 12 9 3 25% Labe 9-May Reinforcement of institutional capacities of NGOs 16 13 3 19% 31-Jul Establishment of an NGO consortium- statutes, regulations, technical commissions 10 9 1 10% Faranah 26-Apr Sustainability of PACEEQ 10 10 0 0% 15-Jul Establishment of an NGO consortium- statutes, regulations, technical commissions 6 6 0 0% Boke 27-May Improving synergy between education actors in Boké 14 10 4 29% 12-Sep Establishment of NGO consortium – statutes, regulations, technical commissions 16 10 2 13% Total 310 254 52 17%

A total of 310 participants took part in the thematic roundtables, of which 52 (17%) were women. These thematic roundtables reinforced the collaboration between NGOs at the regional level. In many cases, the participants themselves decided to formalize the arrangement by creating a regional network of NGOs intervening in the education sector, as was the case with Kindia, Conakry, Kankan, Mamou, Labé, Faranah and Boké. This development was greatly welcomed by the national network of Guinean NGOs (RONGEPE) as an opportunity to collaborate with a larger

77 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 number of regional NGOs and establish a firmer base at the regional level. Furthermore, these regional roundtables provided an opportunity for participants to discuss in depth issues that had surfaced during the CRIE coordination meetings but were not able to be dealt with in programmatic detail within the framework of a coordination meeting.

3.2.5.3. Organize capacity building training workshops for CRD/Communes

Description of the training approach Training for the CRDs/Communes is an integral part of the overall PACEEQ strategy. One of the features of a successful C/APEAE is their ability to forge a successful and dynamic partnership with local development councils to work together to improve the quality of education in their locality. Providing training for the CRDs/Communes not only increases the technical capacity of the members of these local development councils, but also raises the profile of education in general. As a result, local development council members are more aware of their role in the community as significant actors in the education sector and as key partners for the C/APEAE.

During the PACEEQ I phase, 57 CRDs were targeted for PACEEQ capacity building training. During the consolidation phase, 18 newly integrated CRDs and communes in Kindia and Conakry were added. Although these training modules were specially adapted for the CRDs/Communes, the content of the training material was similar to that provided to C/APEAE, APEAE and FEGUIPAE. This promoted collaboration and facilitated communication between CRDs and C/APEAE.

78 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Description of Training Statistics The table below provides a summary of the CRD/Commune training carried out during the PACEEQ consolidation phase.

Table 13: CRD Training Statistics by Module and by Region Total participants REGION MODULES Total Men Women # % Institutional Development and Strategic Planning 258 253 5 2% BOKE Quality of Education 685 674 11 2%

Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation 480 480 0 0% Institutional Development and Strategic Planning 465 461 4 1% FARANAH Quality of Education 200 200 0 0% Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation 241 240 1 0% KANKAN Institutional Development and Strategic Planning N/A N/A N/A N/A Quality of Education 150 150 0 0% Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation N/A N/A N/A N/A Institutional Development and Strategic Planning 646 629 17 3% LABE Quality of Education 510 497 13 3% Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation 756 745 11 1% Institutional Development and Strategic Planning 1496 1482 14 1% MAMOU Quality of Education 1928 1911 17 1%t Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation N/A N/A N/A N/A Institutional Development and Strategic Planning 15 15 0 0% N'ZEREKORE Quality of Education 15 15 0 0% Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation 15 15 0 0% TOTAL GENERAL 7,860 7,767 93 1%

A total of 266 participants, of which 40 (15%) were women, took part in the workshops.

Key Observations on CRD/Commune Training Targeting the CRD/Communes for PACEEQ training on a number of carefully chosen training modules was an effective means of enhancing the collaboration between the sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE and the CRDs and Communes. As a result of these training workshops, CRDs/Communes are more likely to consider education a priority in their localities and are more likely to collaborate with C/APEAE to improve the quality of education.

Participation of women is extremely low, between 0%-3%, as compared to the participation of women in APEAE and C/APEAE training modules, which ranges between 20%-30%. This is indicative of the lack of headway women have made in running for local public office, especially in rural zones. Although it is beyond the scope of the PACEEQ project to address this issue, increasing women’s participation in locally elected rural development councils remains a challenge.

79 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 3.2.5.4. Build the capacity of NGO partners and create or revitalize a national federation of Guinean NGOs

Description of approach to NGO capacity building One of the key features of the PACEEQ approach is implementation through local NGO partners. Implementation through local partners ensures that the trainers and facilitators delivering the training modules and carrying out the monitoring and support functions, speak the local dialects, and are in tune with local practices, history and idiosyncrasies. The importance of appropriate delivery of the training content is critical to skill transfer, and ultimately to changing attitudes and behaviors.

Implementation through local partners is also an opportunity to reinforce the capacity of the NGO sector in Guinea. By including various capacity building mechanisms, NGOs participating in the PACEEQ project have an opportunity to grow significantly as an organization.

Capacity building for local NGO partners is achieved through a number of different mechanisms. First, PACEEQ trained all 26 local NGO partners in Strategic Planning, and provided training workshops as well as technical assistance to them in the development of administrative and financial policy and procedures manuals. Furthermore, PACEEQ set high performance benchmarks in service delivery as well as in financial reporting and management.

During the PACEEQ I phase, there were a total of 26 NGO partners, one for each prefecture where PACEEQ was implemented. During the PACEEQ consolidation phase, the number of NGO partners was reduced to 11 based on the following calculation: The regions of Faranah, Mamou, Labé, Kankan, Kindia and Conakry had one local NGO partner per region, since the main focus of the consolidation phase in these regions was at the C/APEAE level. In the regions of Boké and N’Zérékoré, one local NGO partner per prefecture was maintained (3 for Boké and 2 for N’Zérékoré) because these regions were still supporting APEAE. Thus a total of 11 NGO partners were selected through a competitive bid process.

Description of training statistics The table below provides an overview of the capacity building training for Guinean NGO partners.

Table No 14: Capacity Building Training for NGO Partners (excludes technical TOT trainings) Participants MODULES Total Men Women # % Organizational Development and Strategic Planning 933 796 137 15% Administrative Management and Budgets 162 142 20 12% Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Negotiation 59 55 4 5% TOTAL 17,47 1,551 196 11%

In addition, NGO facilitators and coordinators participated in training of trainer (TOT) workshops for all of the PACEEQ technical modules.

80 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Key observations on capacity building for local NGO partners The partnership with Guinean NGOs in the delivery of the PACEEQ capacity building package to APEAE and C/APEAE has been highly successful. The Training of Trainers workshops given to the Guinean NGO equipped their personnel with the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver a high quality training workshop to the various target groups. Equally, through coaching and training from the PACEEQ staff, the NGO facilitators have also improved their skills in monitoring and supporting APEAE and C/APEAE in the implementation of the training workshops.

In terms of reinforcing the institutional capacity of the Guinean NGOs, the approach has proven to be highly effective with some Guinean partners and less effective with others. Although all 26 NGOs produced a quality strategic plan that was approved by all members and developed administrative and financial policy and procedures manuals, some NGOs have been more successful than others at using these management tools for improved performance.

It was the intention of PACEEQ to conduct an external audit of the Guinean partners as a means of improving their financial and administrative management, however due to limited time and resources in the PACEEQ consolidation phase, this was not possible. It is recommended in the future that any capacity building partnerships with Guinean NGOs build in an external audit as part of the process.

All of the Guinean NGO partners were trained in strategies to increase their resource mobilization capacities. This was done as part of the Strategic Planning process (analysis of internal and external environment, challenges and opportunities). In addition, it was touched up through the training module Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation. Although all NGOs received the same support, the results varied widely. Over the course of the partnership, some NGO partners have grown significantly, in size, geographic coverage and diversity of donors. Other NGOs have regressed and exist with a minimum amount of funding and activities.

Since the capacity building package was constant across the board yet performance varied widely, it would have been interesting to conduct action research to find out about the other contributing factors to the Guinean NGOs’ success or lack thereof.

In retrospect, PACEEQ could have paid more attention to the issue of gender equity within the NGO partners. A dearth of female staff members, particularly in key training positions in the field, was noted in the PACEEQ Gender Evaluation. Future partnerships with Guinean NGOs should have a strategy to improve gender equity within the Guinean NGOs.

Creating/revitalizing a national network of Guinean NGOs In order to reinforce synergy between international actors, a series of consultative meetings were held with international NGOs and national civil society organizations to explore how PACEEQ could best support the creation and/or revitalization of a national federation of Guinean NGOs.

81 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 During these consultative sessions, PACEEQ met with the various partners to gather information on their own initiatives to explore how PACEEQ and other institutions can work together in the achievement of shared objectives. The consultations focused on previous achievements, challenges and obstacles, and potential solutions to the identified obstacles. The list of persons consulted is summarized in the table below:

Organizations/Individuals Consulted • Conseil National des Organisations de la Société Civile and CENAFOD, April 5, 2006-07-31 • Mr. SYLLA, President of the local NGO CAM, and Mr. DIALLO, President of the local NGO ASED, April 18, 2006 • IFES, Mr. Bakary FOFANA, June 2, 2006

One of the dominant themes that surfaced during these consultations was that many regional and local NGOs felt disenfranchised from the national level organizations, who they felt are representing their own narrow interests as opposed to the general interests of all NGOs. Another challenge that was pointed out during the course of the consultations was that of keeping the NGO network apolitical. In order to be truly representative of all NGOs in Guinea, the NGO federation should not be associated with a particular political party. Another major obstacle that was mentioned was the problem of resources and the management of membership dues. The main source of income for a network is members’ dues, which tend to wane as member NGOs develop a feeling of alienation and disenfranchisement from the network. The tendency for many local and regional networks to be established is generally seen as a positive development on the condition that these local initiatives are linked with a national structure, and are not operating in competition with the national networks.

In addition to these consultations, PACEEQ organized a series of thematic roundtables in all 8 regions of Guinea (see previous section for details). These roundtables also provided information on the issues and concerns of Guinean NGOs and reinforced many of the observations from the consultations with the national networks.

One of the many positive initiatives in Guinean civil society is the founding of RONGEPE (Réseau des ONG Intervenant en Education et la Protection des Enfants). Initiated by 26 Guinean NGOs (current and former partners of PACEEQ) RONGEPE seeks to provide a representative forum for NGOs intervening in the education and child protection sectors. As part of its overall support to the revitalization of a widely recognized national NGO network in Guinea, PACEEQ provided technical and financial support for RONGEPE to hold their first General Assembly which brought together 48 delegates, representing the member NGOs, as well as one representative of SERRACO4, and PACEEQ staff.

The General Assembly set out to achieve the following objectives: 1. Establish a strategy of accompaniment for NGO members

4 SERRACO is the Regional Services Support to Groups and Coordination of Cooperative and NGO Interventions and is the government body responsible for coordinating NGOs in Guinea. 82 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 2. Present and approve the statutes and policies of RONGEPE by members 3. Draft an annual action plan and budget for the establishment of the NGO network

During the General Assembly, the draft statutes and policies and regulations, which had been drafted prior to the General Assembly, were presented to the delegates. The delegates then divided into five working groups to study the proposed statutes and policies and regulations, as well as to produce a draft annual plan and budget. Following the group work, each group presented its recommendations on plenary and long discussions ensued. One point that involved a lot of discussion was the setting of the amount of the membership sign-up fees and the annual dues. After much discussion, the organizational sign-up fee was set at 250,000 GF and the annual dues at 120,000 GF per organization per year. The statues, policies and regulations, as well as the action plan and budget were all validated by the General Assembly. As a reflection of their skills at resource mobilization and a show of enthusiasm, members decided to start a voluntary contribution fund on the spot and a total of 162,000 GF was collected that day.

Four separate support mechanisms were established to support this nascent network. First, PACEEQ supported a series of meetings which allowed the newly formed network to gather members from all 8 regions of Guinea for working and planning sessions during the critical start-up stage. Second, PACEEQ provided technical support to RONGEPE to elaborate on activity and financial policy and procedures manuals. As mentioned earlier in the case of the FEGUIPAE, the process of elaborating the manual was critical for organizational development. The third mechanism was a sub-grant for institutional support. The fourth mechanism was a consultative session with the already established civil society organizations to discuss synergy between the two networks and to avoid duplication.

A series of meetings were supported by PACEEQ. The meetings were critical to ensuring that the RONGEPE network was sufficiently representative of the needs of its member organizations, and that the newly elected board members assume their roles and responsibilities to promote and defend their members’ interests. As a result of these meetings, important discussions took place concerning:

• The strategic axes of RONGEPE and the services it will offer to its member organizations • Discussions were also held to determine the desired relationship between RONGEPE and OSC, as well as between RONGEPE and newly established regional NGO networks that emerged from the thematic roundtables for NGOs in each region, organized by PACEEQ the previous quarter.

In addition, RONGEPE also produced the following tools and documentation: • Statutes and legal registration for the network • Opening of a bank account • Collection of membership fees totalling 10,000,000 GF • Formal document outlining strategic axes and objectives of RONGEPE • Opening of a small office in Conakry

83 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 • An evaluation tool was created, based on the PACEEQ ERO tool, that RONGEPE plans to use to evaluate the performance of its member organizations to be able to provide targeted capacity building • An assessment was carried out using this evaluation tool that rated the organizational capacity of the members in terms of structure, activities, and administrative and financial management. The results of this assessment were presented to the members during their second meeting.

In addition to the meetings, PACEEQ assisted RONGEPE to elaborate an administrative and financial policy and procedures manual. The procedure used to elaborate the manual is the same as that outlined in the previous section for FEGUIPAE. During this reporting period, two working sessions took place, the first on December 13-18 with the participation of 25 RONGEPE members, of which 7 (28%) were female. RONGEPE created the following three technical committees to elaborate the manual: administrative management committee; financial management committee; and an equipment and logistics committee.

RONGEPE also was the recipient of an institutional strengthening sub-grant totaling 23,500,000 GF for the purchase of essential equipment (computer, small generator). The total budget for all of the activities in their sub-grant application came to 20,450,000 GF, with 5,950,000 GF (representing 20%) coming from their own contribution.

In addition, PACEEQ provided support to RONGEPE to prepare for a consultation with the CNOSC (Conseil National des Organisations de la Société Civile). During this meeting, representatives from the CNOSC and the delegation from RONGEPE explored possibilities for collaboration. As a result of this exchange, RONGEPE decided to formally join the CNOSC.

It is important to note that RONGEPE continues to be active even after PACEEQ activities have been completed. Using their own resources from member contributions, they planned a General Assembly which will take place in Mamou in July 2007. Furthermore, some of the RONGEPE NGO members were invited by Save the Children to participate in a capacity building training workshop in July. The RONGEPE board members successfully lobbied Save the Children to invite three RONGEPE members (in addition to those already invited) to participate in the capacity building training with the objective of replicating this training to all of the RONGEPE NGO members. Finally, RONGEPE has entered into negotiations with the Ministry of Education in Guinea in which they are discussing the possibility of signing an agreement giving them recognition as a resource organization in the domains of education and community participation. RONGEPE would then be poised to assist with various aspects of the implementation of the Education for All agenda on an as needed basis.

84 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

Sub-IR 3.3. Increased educational quality and greater equity for girls and rural children as a result of community participation

Sub-Intermediate Result 3.3: Increased educational quality and greater equity for girls and rural children as a result of community participation Activities Results 9 A National Forum on Girls’ Education was organized and Organize a National Forum on Girls’ Education and a national steering committee established. provide support to the National Monitoring 3.3.1. 9 131 members participated in 17 Zone Coordination Committee and the Zone Coordinations in the meetings to monitor the implementation of the implementation of the recommendations from the recommendations from the National Forum on Girls’ National Forum on Girls’ Education Education. 3.3.2. Organize National Girls’ Day Celebration 9 National Girls’ Day celebrations were organized.

9 PACEEQ played a key role in the start up and launch of Support girls’ education through innovation projects AGSP activities in Guinea in 2004-2005. 3.3.3. and complementary activities in collaboration with 9 Innovation projects and complementary activities in AGSP support of girls’ education were carried out. Enhance the level of community participation in the 9 A total of 44 roundtables were organized to solidify the 3.3.4. AGSP program and organize round tables to role of Local Alliances in AGSP. solidify the role of Local Alliances in AGSP 9 The National Equity Committee, FONSEF, and the Provide support to National Equity Committee, National Media Task Force all developed strategic plans FONSEF, and the National Media Task Force in the and begin implementation with technical support from 3.3.5. finalization and implementation of their strategic PACEEQ. plans and disburse institutional strengthening sub- 9 Institutional strengthening sub-grants were disbursed to grants the National Equity Committee, FONSEF, and the National Media Task Force Promote community participation in education and 9 A total of 90 scripts were developed and broadcast in 3.3.6. gender equity through rural radio broadcasts Kankan and Labé

3.3.1. Support girls’ education through the organization of a National Forum on Girls’ Education and provide support to the National Monitoring Committee and the Zone Coordinations in the implementation of the recommendations from the National Forum on Girls’ Education

National Forum on Girls’ Education PACEEQ, in collaboration with the MEPU-EC and the National Equity Committee organized a National Forum on Girls Education. The goal of the National Forum was to stimulate debate and engage education stakeholders in concrete and coordinated actions to improve girls’ education. Specific attention was paid to enrollment, retention and pass rates.

The National Forum for Girls’ Education, held in Conakry and attended by 170 people (16 School administrators, 63 Regional communities (local Alliances, C/APEAE at Prefectoral and sub-Prefectoral level), 19 local NGOs, 10 National organizations involved in girls’ education, 5 Bi-lateral and International Organizations with girls’ education in their program. During the forum, regional representatives 85 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 presented their views on obstacles to girls’ education and proposed solutions to overcome them in Regional Action Plans. The forum allowed Regional Girls’ Education Committees to have contact with the national level organizations and provided the opportunity to seek funding for their activities. Also, the event was an opportunity to present USAID’s strategy on girls’ education at the national level.

The Ministry of Education (MEPU-EC) chaired the venue; two other ministries attended as well as all national and international partners with a girls’ education component in their activities. There were five outcomes from the National Forum:

1) A synthesis of recommendations adopted on consensus basis; 2) Acceptance of a bottom-up approach for taking care of communities’/schools’ needs; 3) Start-up of collaboration between regions and national level organizations; 4) Acceptance for the integration of the Regional Action Plans in the PAAB/EPT 5) Establishment of a national ‘Comité de Suivi” of national forum recommendations.

Following the National Forum on Girls’ Education, feedback meetings were organized with regional committees.

National Monitoring Committee and Zone Coordinations As mentioned above, one of the results of the National Forum on Girls’ Education was the establishment of a Monitoring Committee to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the National Forum on Girls’ Education. The presidency of the Monitoring Committee was assured by the General Secretary of MEPU-EC, the Vice-Presidency was assured by the National Coordinator of the National Equity Committee and the secretariat was assured by PACEEQ.

The Zone Coordinations are a branch of the National Monitoring Committee at the regional level that contribute to the implementation of the recommendations from the National Forum on Girls’ Education. These Zone Coordinations received support from PACEEQ for the organization and the design of the terms of reference for their role in the implementation of the recommendations of the National Forum on Girls’ Education. Specifically, the role of the Zone Coordinations was to:

1. Work together with the CRIE sub-committee for girls’ education on the coordination of the implementation of activities related to promoting girls’ education in the region 2. Serve as a liaison between communities, the National Equity Sub-Committee and the National Equity Committee 3. Monitor and support activities promoting girls’ education implemented by APEAE, C/APEAE, Local Alliances, National Equity Sub-Committees, FEG/FAWE, and other education stakeholders implementing activities promoting girls’ education

This support consisted of providing assistance to the preparation of the annual review of activities and assistance to the facilitation of the meeting.

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Preparation of the annual review: The following activities were carried out in preparation for the Annual Review: • Preparation and distribution of invitations • Preparation of a document summarizing all of the National Monitoring Committee for Girls’ Education activities over the last year • Preparation of a document summarizing the key points to be presented during the Annual Review • Convening of a preparatory meeting with the National Coordinator of the National Equity Committee prior to for the Annual Review

The Annual Review Meeting The Coordinator of the National Equity Committee presented the summary of all activities accomplished during 2005 by the National Equity Committee, as well as the activities planned for the 2005-6 school year.

The summary of activities carried out in 2005 was approved by the members of the Monitoring Committee for Girls’ Education. They also examined and approved the recommendations for the proposed activities for 2005-2006.

The members of the Monitoring Committee for Girls’ Education concluded that:

• All of the actors intervening in girls’ education should present the results of their activities to the committee; • The principle actors intervening in girls’ education should convene a meeting in February 2006 to harmonize their activities with the objective of integrating community participation with a focus on gender equity adopted as an integral part of EFA.

The next step consisted of integrating the feedback from PACEEQ management into the review documents and distributing this to the members of the National Monitoring Committee for Girls’ Education.

Zone Coordinations meetings took place in Kankan, Conakry, Kindia, Labé, Faranah, Mamou and N’Zérékoré. With technical assistance from AED, these meetings resulted in the drafting of terms of reference for the Zone Coordinations. Participants in these meetings included school administration officials at the regional level (IRE), members of the Sub-Committee for Equity, members of the regional C/APEAE, religious leaders, notable community members, and PACEEQ NGO partners.

The objectives of these meetings were as follows:

1. To finalize and adopt terms of reference for the Zonal Committees 2. Define the relationship between the Zonal Committee and the CRIE 3. Elaborate an annual action plan for the Zonal Committee

87 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Cumulatively, all regions have held 2 Zone Coordination meetings, with the exception of Boké that convened 3 meetings, for a total of 17 meetings in which 131 participants took part, of which 34 (26%) were women.

To date, the Zone Coordinations have played a key role in ensuring that the recommendations from the National Forum on Girls’ Education are implemented. They have been particularly active in the following areas:

• Ensuring that the recommendations from the national forum are communicated to the regional and prefecture levels • Lobbying at the regional level to ensure that girls’ education remains a priority • Participating actively in the PPDE and PAAB processes • Collaborating with the APEAE and school officials in social mobilization to enroll girl students, and participating in the analysis of school results • Ensuring that community efforts (community participation) to promote girls’ education are mentioned in the reports of the DSEE and the DPE

3.3.2. Organize National Girls’ Day Celebration

The tradition of National Girls’ Day Celebration harkens back to 1992 when the Union des Ancienne Rufisquuoises de Guinée (UARG) marked June 21 as National Girls’ Day in an effort to promote girls’ education.

Following the National Forum on Girls’ Education and the launching of the Ambassadors Girls’ Scholarship Program in 2004, every year a co-joint committee, composed of the National Monitoring Committee and the AGSP Steering Committee, is responsible for the preparation and organization of the National Girls’ Day Celebration. In the past, the presidency of the committee has been assured by the General Secretary of MEPU-EC, the Vice-Presidency has been assured by the National Coordinator of the National Equity Committee and the secretariat has been assured by PACEEQ. Members have included: USAID/Guinea, The Embassy of the United States of America (represented by the American Cultural Center), Education For All, The National Equity Committee, SNA, World Education, AED, Save the Children, RTI, EDC, PAM, FEG-FAWE, FEGUIPAE, FONSEF, the National Media Task Force, UNICEF, UARG, CECI, the World Bank, Peace Corps, GTZ, Plan Guinea, Aide et Action and JICA.

National Girls’ Day Celebrations take place on two levels. One region is selected for the “National Launch.” Dignitaries and notable personalities in Guinea including administrative and political figures, representatives of international institutions and organizations, diplomats, representatives of civil society organizations as well as community members, teachers, school administration officials and girls and their parents attend the national launch.

The national launch served as an opportunity to emphasize the primordial importance of girls’ education and to mobilize decision-makers and education

88 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 development partners at the national and international levels to strive harder to accelerate efforts being made in girls’ education.

In order to understand the significance of this event, it is important to remember the long hours of preparation meetings that preceded this event, not only in terms of the organizing committees (which were numerous) but also in terms of each individual school, where Parent Association members met with school officials to carefully and transparently apply the selection criteria in selecting the girls to receive the prizes.

In past festivities, a number of prizes were distributed to mark notable achievements in promoting girls’ education.

There were four categories of prizes awarded at National Girls’ Day Celebrations:

• Prizes of excellence (prix d’excellence) for girls who have achieved outstanding grades in school • Encouragement prizes (prix d’encouragement) for girls’ designated as ‘courageous’ for pursuing their studies despite difficulties of poverty, physical disabilities, being members of households affected by HIV/AIDS • Prizes for the most improved (prix d’amélioration) for girls who have made remarkable progress throughout the school year • Participation prizes (prix de participation) for girls who have demonstrated perseverance and punctuality in attending tutoring and revision sessions that resulted in good grades

Teachers, school administration officials and community members have also been recognized for their efforts to promote girls’ education through the following prizes:

• Prizes of satisfaction (prix de satisfaction) for dedicated teachers who have worked hard throughout the school year to help their students achieve good results • Collaboration prizes (prix de collaboration) for designated DSEE who have demonstrated their commitment to promoting girls’ education through their availability and high level of involvement in PACEEQ • Satisfaction prizes (prix de satisfaction) for specific local management committees for AGSP who have demonstrated their commitment to girls’ education through community mobilization and scrupulous management of the scholarship packages at the local level • Special prize (prix special) awarded to an individual for their commitment to promoting girls’ education

In 2004, National Girls Day Celebrations were launched in Conakry, in 2005 in Conakry, and in 2006 in Kindia.

It is also important to note that in addition to the national launch, PACEEQ and AGSP support National Girls’ Day Celebrations in all 8 regions in Guinea. Detailed

89 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 statistics on the prizes awarded each year as part of National Girls’ Day Celebration can be found in Annex 14.

Every year, recommendations are made and lessons drawn from the experience of celebrating the National Girls’ Day. The lessons learned from the 2006 National Girls’ Day Celebration were:

• It was recommended that the practice of holding the National Celebration in a different region each year continue. The roving nature of the National Ceremony has been a source of anticipation for the other 06 regions and is widely perceived as being egalitarian and eliminating discrimination.

• It was recommended that the practice of establishing heterogeneous preparatory committees and commissions continue. The heterogeneous mix of the members of the various committees (members of school administration at all levels, locally elected officials, local NGOs, and representatives of national organizations and institutions) and the intense pre-celebration work has created links between these various actors and built a strong sense of teamwork and partnership.

• The implication of school administration officials (notably the DEV, DCE, DPE, IRE) in the selection of the prize recipients was positive.

3.3.3. Support girls’ education through innovation projects and complementary activities in collaboration with AGSP

World Education Inc. signed a contract with the US Agency for International Development to implement the Africa Education Initiative (AEI) Ambassadors Girls Scholarship Program (AGSP) in West Africa beginning in September 2004. In Guinea, World Education continues to implement the AGSP program in all eight administrative regions of Guinea, working closely with local NGO partners to establish a systematic community-based process for identifying girls most in need and administering scholarship funds and mentoring programs.

AGSP supports the overall goal of the Africa Education Initiative, an American Presidential Initiative that seeks to improve school retention for girls who would otherwise have no means of continuing their education. This is accomplished through the award of scholarships, innovation projects and complementary activities that inspire and encourage girls in their educational pursuits.

The Ambassadors Girls’ Scholarship Program (AGSP) reinforces coordination of girls’ education activities at the national level and empowers advocates for girls’ education at the decentralized community levels. The AGSP National Advisory committee brings together all key national girls’ education stakeholders, including the Ministry of Pre-University Education and Civic Education, the National Equity Committee, the U.S. Embassy, USAID, Peace Corps, FEGUIPAE, PACEEQ consortium

90 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 partners (AED, EDC, RTI, Save the Children US), UNICEF, WFP, GTZ, Plan Guinea, FEG/FAWE FONSEF, the National Media Task Force.

Beginning in 2004, World Education/PACEEQ made tremendous efforts to assure the implementation of the AGSP program and to ensure complementarities and synergy between PACEEQ and AGSP.

Description of start up activities for AGSP Start up activities in 2004 included: creation of a National Steering Committee for AGSP, selection of schools based on low rates of retention and success for girls in PACEEQ intervention zones using SSP data; recruitment of AGSP staff; orientation of AGSP staff and PACEEQ staff; briefing of school administration officials in all AGSP prefectures.

The National Steering Committee convened its first meeting and selected the eligibility requirements for scholarship recipients.

Following the start up activities, training on the management of AGSP activities began on a large scale. A total of 252 NGO facilitators were trained in a TOT on AGSP management, followed by large scale training sessions for 131 newly established local management committees in which a total of 8,207 participants were trained, of which 3,536 (44%) were women.

The cost of the scholarship package is approximately $100 and the contents include school supplies and basic staples that defray the costs of schooling.

All 5th and 6th grade beneficiary girls were identified by the local committees; then selected and approved by the C/APEAE and local Alliance committees. A total of 6,000 beneficiaries were identified and distribution of all scholarship packages was completed by the end of March 2005.

The role of PACEEQ during this process was instrumental. Specifically, PACEEQ:

• Set up 131 sub-prefecture AGSP steering committees (87 C/APEAE, 37 local Alliances and 7 newly integrated Alliances). All of these committees were established after the general assemblies, during which an overview was given to all members. Elections were organized for each C/APEAE and local Alliance to designate 7 steering committee members, of whom 4 must be women and also include one DSEE;

• Signed agreements with local NGOs for AGSP implementation;

• Trained these committees via NGO moderators and AGSP assistants on the AGSP module. This was done to ensure an understanding of the program and to assist in choosing schools and deciding the number of scholarships to be given per school.

91 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 • Assisted sub-prefecture AGSP committees to select schools, which allowed APEAE to hold elections for their local committees of 7 members (including: 4 women, a teacher or a school administrator).

• Managed this process via the local NGO moderators who were trained on the AGSP management module in December 2004. The NGO moderators are now training all the other committees and handling the monitoring and evaluation process and data collection.

• Assisted these NGO moderators to train committees, who began the selection process to choose schools and girls at the local level. Defined selection criteria were applied in the selection process. The selections were approved by the sub-prefectoral AGSP committees before being sent to the PACEEQ regional office for control and assurance (list of beneficiary girls available separately).

Scholarship distribution Cumulatively, since its inception in Guinea, AGSP has distributed a total of 21,000 scholarship packages to girls in Guinea. A total of 6,000 scholarship packages were distributed in 2004-2005, and 7,500 scholarship packages distributed in 2005-2006, and 7,500 in 2006-2007. Details of the distribution by year and by region can be found in Annex 15.

Description of innovation projects: Girls’ education has benefited from the synergistic support of both PACEEQ and AGSP since 2004. PACEEQ, in collaboration with AGSP supported Local Alliances and C/APEAE in the implementation of complementary activities to support girls’ education. Innovation projects to support girls’ education were selected based on the following criteria:

• Cost: No single request for funding was to exceed 5,000,000 GF. • Community Participation: Community should contribute a significant portion of the budget either in kind or in cash. • Pertinence: Project should be pertinent to promoting girls’ education. • Documentation: C/APEAE or Local Alliance should have up–to-date legal registration and existing protocol of comply with PACEEQ for funding of Education Action Plan • Respect for planning: Project should be an integral part of validated Education Action Plan of the C/APEAE or Alliance • Need: Project should document need for the proposed activities • Period of execution: Project should be able to be fully implemented within PACEEQ timeframe.

Statistics on innovation projects: During the 2006-2007 school year, a total of 37 projects were selected totaling 204,778,300 GF. Of this sum, 30,086,800 GF (or 30%) consisted of community contributions. A total of 174,691,500 GF was disbursed in sub-grants. These projects

92 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 included the construction of separate latrines for girls, construction of school wells, renovations of classrooms, school libraries, and holding of interscholastic competitions. These school projects serve to improve the overall quality of education and will support improved retention and pass rates for girls. Details of the projects funded by region during the 2006-2007 school year can be found in Annex 16.

During the 2004-2005 schools year, a total of 109 innovation projects were selected totaling 167,237,175 GF. Of this sum, 44,281,300 GF (or 26%) consisted of community contributions.

Description of complementary activities: Complementary activities focus on HIV/AIDS mitigation and prevention, community participation and improved educational outcome. These complementary activities sought to contribute to the retention and success of girls in 5th and 6th grades. Complementary activities fell into the following five categories:

• School clubs: Extracurricular school clubs were organized to improve the knowledge and skills of students, particularly girls. The purpose was to raise girls’ awareness of the importance of their education through the use of theatrical performances, role playing, poetry reading, debates, games and other extracurricular activities. Each club was operated by a management committee that was established in collaboration with parents and teachers. The girls participating in the school clubs often played leadership roles in the organization of specific activities.

• Revision groups: Revision groups sought to improve the academic results of girls in the 5th and 6th grades. In these revision groups, girls met once or twice a week to go over lessons to enhance their grasp of the material.

• Women role models: This complementary activity facilitated positive interactions between girls in 5th and 6th grades with women role models. It provided a venue for an exchange about the specific concerns and issues that girls face in their schooling, personal needs, and life choices. Women role models were selected on the basis of being well-educated, credible by community standards, residing in the community, showing interest in the life and progress of the community, and being available to meet regularly with girl students.

• Tutoring: Tutoring provided support for students with low academic performance by those with a greater level of achievement. The establishment of tutoring relationships between students allowed those students to face their academic challenges with support from capable peers.

• Exchange visits: Exchange visits offered young girls the opportunity to visit urban centers, to view first-hand the public and private lives of women who have succeeded in their professional lives and to inspire the girls to expect more from their future.

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Statistics on complementary activities: Cumulatively, a total of 37,049 students have benefited from complementary activities, of which 34,116 (92%) are girls.

In 2006-2007 a total of 5,398 students benefited from complementary activities. In 2005-2006 a total of 6,587 students benefited and in 2004-2005 a total of 35,762 students benefited from complementary activities. Detailed statistics by year and by region can be found in Annex 17.

Key observations Complementary activities and innovations projects play a key role in supporting girls’ education at the community level. First, certain complementary activities had a direct impact on student learning, such as the study groups and the tutoring sessions. Other activities, such as the women role models, exchange visits and school clubs, provided opportunities for girls to interact with each other, created informal support networks, share and exchange ideas, experience new activities, and become inspired by successful women in their communities. The confidence building activities contributed to a more positive school experience for girls.

Furthermore, the fact that these complementary activities were organized by community members themselves depended on the commitment of communities to girls’ education and enhanced prospects for sustainability of these activities and their impact.

3.3.4. Organize round tables to solidify the role of Local Alliances in AGSP

Local Alliances have played a key role in both the implementation of the AGSP program at the community level, as well as in the implementation of complementary activities in support of girls’ education. In order to institutionalize the role of the Local Alliances in the management of the girls’ scholarship as part of AGSP, each sub-prefecture with a Local Alliance and a beneficiary of the AGSP organized a round table to discuss the sustainability of Local Alliance involvement in the management of girls’ scholarships after PACEEQ.

A total of 44 roundtables were organized, with a total of 1,555 participants, of which 810 (52%) were women.

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The table below provides a cumulative summary of all participants in Local Alliance- AGSP roundtables.

Table N° 15: Participation in roundtables to solidify the role of Local Alliances in AGSP Region Number of Sub- Total Men Women % round tables prefectures Boké 7 7 266 122 144 54% Kankan 8 8 345 166 179 52% Faranah 6 6 176 78 98 56% Mamou 3 3 105 50 55 52% Labé 10 10 300 144 156 52% Kindia 2 2 90 69 21 23% N'Zérékoré 8 8 269 112 157 58% Total 44 44 1,551 741 810 52%

These round tables targeted Local Alliance boards and members, DSEE, school directors, members of the Equity Sub-Committee, CRD, sub-prefecture C/APEAE members, religious leaders, and women designated as “female role models” by AGSP or by PACEEQ, parents of scholarship recipients and the scholarship recipients themselves. During the course of the round table, participants discussed how to sustain the impact of the scholarship program, the role of each actor (parents, students, Local Alliance, school administration, C/APEAE and APEAE) in the management of the scholarship program and the follow up to the scholarship program.

Key observations from the round tables The round tables were successful in engaging relevant stakeholders in a meaningful discussion on the future role of the Local Alliances in the AGSP program. Local Alliances played a key role in the scholarship management committees of AGSP. In collaboration with school officials, they were involved in the selection process of scholarship recipients and more importantly, they played a key role in the monitoring of the progress of the scholarship recipients.

Local Alliance members recognized the importance of the scholarship package in contributing to increased support for girls’ education in general, and specifically in contributing to improved retention and pass rates. However they also credit themselves for the monitoring and accompanying they carried out with the scholarship recipient, and the critical role they played in mediating when problems occurred. Many Local Alliances have at least one story of a scholarship recipient who was about to drop out of school, but did not thanks to an intervention from the Local Alliance.

95 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 3.3.5. Provide technical assistance through training and sub-grants to the following national structures: National Equity Committee, FONSEF, and National Media Task Force

As noted in the previous section, the National Equity Committee, FONSEF, and the National Media Task Force all benefited from training and technical assistance in the elaboration of their strategic plans.

With support from PACEEQ, the National Equity Committee, FONSEF and the National Media Task Force participated in a series of training workshops to develop strategic plans (for a detailed description of the training workshops, see section 3.2.4.1.). As a result of the training workshops and technical assistance from PACEEQ, all the targeted national structures finalized their Strategic Plans.

The strategic planning process was critical to the organizational development of these national structures. The strategic planning training workshops are organized as a series of consecutive workshops spaced two to four weeks apart to allow participants time to restitute training to other members and to work on their strategic plans in between training sessions.

Staff from the Kindia regional office continued to provide technical support to the national level structures through monitoring visits to review progress and provide feedback and advice. During these monitoring visits, PACEEQ staff discussed the strategic plan and the annual action plan, which is the budgeted excerpt of the Strategic Plan. Specifically, they encouraged the national structures to be vigilant about implementing all of the planned activities, not just those financed with the PACEEQ sub-grant. It was also noted that the sub-grants for institutional support were being put to good use. These grants allowed the structures to purchase necessary equipment (computers, printers, etc.) and as a result members of these structures were spending more time in their offices and were able to be more productive in producing reports.

In addition, each of these organizations received an institutional strengthening sub- grant from PACEEQ. A total of 70,500,000 GF was disbursed to these organizations.

3.3.6. Promote community participation in education and gender equity through rural radio broadcasts

PACEEQ developed and broadcast a series of radio programs designed to increase community participation in education and improve gender equity in zones not covered by the PACEEQ intervention.

Description of the approach Two separate programs were developed and broadcast, Héré Sila in Kankan and N’Daygou in Labé. The overall strategy was simple: improve the quality of education and increase gender equity and equity between urban and rural zones via rural radio broadcasts.

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The first step in achieving this goal was the development of a “conceptual guide.” The guide outlines 45 objectives on which all of the radio broadcasts are built.

The next step was to develop master plans for each broadcast. The master guide contained the objective of the specific broadcast, an outline of the content, and the characters in the broadcast. The master document served as the guide to developing the script. Developing the master guide also included defining the format of the program. A total of 90 master plans were created (45 per region).

The next step was writing the actual script, which generally took place at WEG headquarters in Mamou under the technical leadership of EDC. Special care was taken to ensure that all of the relevant themes identified by PACEEQ were covered fully in the scripts. The list of themes builds on the PACEEQ training modules in: Internal Governance; Financial Management; Gender Equity; Quality of Education; and HIV/AIDS Prevention and School Health.

Once the scripts were developed, the actors were selected and a test broadcast was carried out in two test villages. One test village was supported by PACEEQ and one was not. Following the test broadcast, the scripts were amended as necessary before the shows were broadcast.

A formative evaluation was carried out to measure the impact of the broadcasts.

In general, the following achievements were noted: • Reinforcement of the capacity of the APEAE that were not covered by PACEEQ in the regions of Kankan and Labé • Creation of a stock of 90 radio broadcasts (out of 88 planned) • Awareness raising in communities in issues related to health and HIV/AIDS prevention as a result of the broadcasts • Positive impact on relations between APEAE and school administration officials

Rural radio was an effective means of gaining support among parents for the idea that they could, and should, contribute to improved quality of education

97 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Intermediate Result 4: Improved Gender And Rural/Urban Equity In Basic Education

PACEEQ has made remarkable strides in contributing to improved gender and rural/urban equity. PACEEQ launched a comprehensive training and sub-grant program targeting 44 Local Alliances, 25 Equity Sub-Committees, 88 women role models and 88 religious leaders. At the national level, PACEEQ provided institutional strengthening support to the National Equity Committee and FONSEF as well as provided technical assistance to the National Media Task Force to carry out a comparative study on girls’ education in Boké and N’Zérékoré.

Furthermore, PACEEQ established an integrated literacy and post-literacy program, in four local languages which had a combined cumulative enrollment of 13,438 of which 7,383 (55%) were women. To reinforce retention of newly acquired literacy skills, PACEEQ, in collaboration with the Guinean National Literacy Service (SNA) created a community newsletter in four National Languages. The newsletter contained articles written by the literacy learners themselves and was distributed in over 12,000 copies.

Today, significant attitude and behavior changes concerning gender equity can be observed, as documented in the USAID Evaluation of the Education Sector in 2006 and the PACEEQ Gender Evaluation of 2006. Women are now participating actively in public life. Prior to PACEEQ, if women participated in Parents’ Associations, it was mostly limited to the post of social affairs, in which their role was often to prepare the meals when meetings were convened. Today, women occupy posts of importance and participate actively in public debates and decision-making processes. Even in rural areas, it is no longer uncommon to find women in Parents’ Associations elected to the post of treasurer, vice president and even president. In fact, during the recent FEGUIPAE elections which took place in April 2006 with technical support from PACEEQ, women were elected to over 40% of the posts, including that of Vice President.

The literacy program also plays a major role in building skills and confidence among women, especially in rural areas. Specifically, the PACEEQ literacy evaluation noted that women who participated in the PACEEQ literacy program were more likely to:

• Ensure their children attend school regularly • Ensure their children have the necessary school supplies and books • Organize household chores in a manner that permits children, particularly girls, to study • Make sure their children study and do their homework • Monitor the academic progress of their children in school • Meet with their children’s teacher to discuss the academic progress of their children

98 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 In collaboration with Parents’ Associations, Local Alliances and local NGOs, PACEEQ supported complementary activities to promote girls’ education. This includes school clubs, exchange visits, tutoring, mentoring, review lessons, school sports for girls, and innovation projects designed to improve school infrastructure in a manner that promotes girls education (i.e. building separate latrines for girls, etc.) As part of the consolidation phase, an estimated 14,751 girls and boys benefited from accompanying activities.5

PACEEQ was launched in communities and school districts (mostly rural) that have girls’ enrollment, retention and pass rates well below the national average. However, by the end of the project, PACEEQ zones were reporting girls’ enrolment, retention and pass rates that were higher than the national average.

The following sections describe in detail the activities and results by sub-intermediate result.

Sub-IR 4.1. Improved access to basic education for girls and rural children

Sub-Intermediate Result 4.1: Improved access to basic education for girls and children in rural zones Activities Results Provide capacity building training to 9 44 Local Alliances benefited from capacity building training 4.1.1. Local Alliances workshops Provide support to Local Alliances in the 9 100% of targeted Local Alliances implemented at least 50% of 4.1.2. finalization and implementation of their their planned activities in their Education Action Plans Education Action Plans Train Women Role Models and 9 A total of 33 religious leaders and 39 female role models 4.1.3. Religious Leaders in Gender Sensitive participated in the training workshops. Community Participation in Education Disburse sub-grants to Local Alliances 9 A total of 231,300,585 GF was disbursed to the 44 Local 4.1.4. for the implementation of the EAPs Alliances during the consolidation phase

4.1.1. Provide capacity building training to Local Alliances

Description of the training approach A series of capacity building training modules were developed for the Local Alliances. During the PACEEQ I phase, these training modules consisted of: Organizational Development; Financial Management; Quality of Education; Gender Equity; Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation; and HIV/AIDS Prevention.

The content of these training modules was very similar to the content given to the APEAE and the C/APEAE.

5 This figure does not include the number of students that benefited from innovation projects.

99 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 During the consolidation phase, three new training modules for Local Alliances were developed. The content of these training modules were developed through field research designed to build on lessons learned from the PACEEQ I experience.

Field research was conducted in Dalaba and Koba. Data collection tools were modeled after the field research conducted earlier for the C/APEAE training modules. Interviewers gathered data on the following:

• Relationship between the DSEE and the Local Alliance; • Communication between the “sous-comité d’équité” and the Local Alliance; • Level of implication of the Local Alliance in school affairs; • Relationship between the Local Alliance and the APEAE; • Relationship between the Local Alliance and the C/APEAE.

This information gathered during the field research formed the basis of the material on which the new training modules were developed. AED provided technical advice on integrating a gender perspective into all the modules.

New Training Modules Developed for Local Alliances Consolidation Phase

Leadership and Mobilization of Resources This module was designed to help participants further develop their leadership skills so they can put them to use to promote girls’ education. Themes include: the notion of a leader and leadership; communication and management of meetings; leaders of community organizations for gender equity; developing leadership; social mobilization.

Partnership This module was similar in focus to the C/APEAE module entitled Community Participation and Partnership in that it deals with school-community relations, issues related to partnership, and implementation of the Ministry Circular No. 0999. Themes include: definitions of partnership; communication between Local Alliances and the school administration; relationship between the Local Alliance and other local actors in education; design of a protocol of accord between the DSEE, the Local Alliance, and the Equity Sub-Committee.

Girls’ Vulnerability This training module invited participants to look at the various risk factors that can lead to girls’ dropping out of school, by examining risk factors that are school related, family/home related, and community related. Themes include: factors that contribute to girls dropping out of school; assessing the most common responses; and strategies for fighting against girls’ dropping out of school.

During the consolidation phase, one-third of all Local Alliances were targeted for refresher training in HIV/AIDS Prevention and 7 new Local Alliances were integrated. These newly integrated Local Alliances received the full training package from PACEEQ I in addition to the new consolidation training modules.

Refresher training for Local Alliances in HIV/AIDS and School Health seeks to cover a third of all Local Alliances. Selections as to which Local Alliances for the refresher training were made on the basis of recommendations from NGO facilitators, observations from previous training sessions and monitoring visits, and whether or not

100 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 a Local Alliance had already integrated HIV/AIDS prevention activities into their Education Action Plans (PAE). Special efforts were made to include Local Alliances that had not already included HIV/AIDS prevention activities in their PAE. The idea was that the refresher training would inspire them to modify their PAE to include HIV/AIDS prevention activities. It is important to note that many of the new activities added to the Local Alliance PAEs this quarter were HIV/AIDS prevention activities.

Description of Training Statistics • During PACEEQ I, a total of 37 Local Alliances were trained on the six core training modules. A total of 16,995 participants took part in the various training workshops, of which 8,085 (48%) were women. For details of the training statistics by region and by training module see Annex 18.

• During the PACEEQ consolidation phase, a total of 44 Local Alliances were trained in three new training modules: Leadership and Resource Mobilization; Partnership; and Girls’ Vulnerability. A total of 1,244 participants took part in the training, of which 566 (45%) were women. Detailed statistics by region can be found in Annex 19.

• A total of 369 participants took part in the HIV/AIDS Prevention refresher training workshops, of which 185 (50%) were women. These workshops covered 26 out of the total 44 Local Alliances, surpassing the target of covering 14 Local Alliances. Detailed statistics by region can be found in Annex 20.

• The 7 newly integrated Local Alliances were trained in four core training models: Organizational Development; Gender Equity; HIV/AIDS Prevention; and Quality of Education. A total of 433 participants, of which 100 (46%) were women, took part in the training workshops. Detailed statistics on these training workshops can be found in Annex 21.

Key observations on Local Alliance Training The number of participants reported in the training statistics for PACEEQ I seems to be elevated. In certain regions, it was noted that field staff were reporting attendance as opposed to number of participants, thus inflating the participation statistics. It appears this error has not been able to be corrected in the PACEEQ I training statistics, as the reported number of participants, 16,995 seems too high.

It is encouraging to note the high percentage of female participants in the Local Alliance training workshops. Whereas with the C/APEAE training, women’s participation usually ranged between 20%-30%, in the case of the Local Alliance it was usually between 40%-55%. This would seem to indicate that the Local Alliances provided a different opportunity for women’s participation, and that more women were likely to participate in the Local Alliances than in the C/APEAE or APEAE.

In terms of learning outcomes, the Local Alliances have proved themselves very effective at applying the contents of the training workshops both in the

101 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 implementation of their Education Action Plans, as well as in the implementation of complementary activities for girls’ education and innovation projects.

One of the successful innovations of the consolidation phase was the addition of the members of the Equity Sub-Committees to the Local Alliance training sessions. This was greatly welcomed by both the Equity Sub-Committees as well as the National Equity Committee. Prior to this the Equity Sub-Committees had not participated in any training activities, neither from PACEEQ nor from the National Equity Committee. The capacity of the Equity Sub-Committees was of particular importance to the National Equity Committee as these sub-committees were their de facto representatives on the ground.

In spite of the large volume of training modules for the newly integrated Local Alliances to absorb in a short time frame, their performance was on par with the veteran Local Alliances. These training workshops were a significant factor in enabling the newly integrated Local Alliances to achieve the same level of performance as their counterparts.

4.1.2. Provide support to Local Alliances in the finalization and implementation of their Education Action Plans

Community contributions to the implementation of Education Action Plan activities were substantial. Often PACEEQ funded one or two activities listed in the PAE, of which communities contributed a portion of the budget in either in-kind or cash contributions. However, in order to meet the target of completing at least 50% of all planned activities, Local Alliances were required to implement those planned activities in their PAEs that were not covered by PACEEQ sub-grants. The fact that 100% of the Local Alliances were capable of doing so demonstrates their ability to find local solutions to the problems they have identified.

Another important aspect in the implementation of the Education Action Plans is the fact that the Local Alliances continue to revise their Education Action Plans as they get new information and ideas. For example, following the HIV/AIDS and School Health refresher training that took place this quarter, a number of Local Alliances revised their Education Action Plans to add new activities in HIV/AIDS prevention. The fact that the planning process is not a “one-time” activity but rather is iterative and dynamic as new needs are perceived or new information is gained, is an indication that the Local Alliances have taken ownership of the Education Action Plans and the participatory planning process involved in their elaboration.

102 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The table below provides an overview of the level of execution of the PAEs. It is important to note that 100% of Local Alliances have implemented at least 50% of their planned activities.

Tableau N° 16: Level of Execution of Education Action Plans-Local Alliances # Alliances that implemented at least 50% of their planned activities in their PAES # of new Total # of activities # Alliances activities Previous Current added this Region per region per region quarter quarter Cumulative quarter Boké 7 110 4 3 7 9 Faranah 6 82 2 4 6 3 Kankan 8 79 6 2 8 12 Labé 10 136 8 2 10 14 Mamou 3 25 0 3 3 2 N'Zérékoré 8 98 5 3 8 22 Kindia 2 20 2 - 2 20 TOTAL 44 550 27 17 44 82

4.1.3. Train Women Role Models and Religious Leaders in Gender Sensitive Community Participation in Education

Local Alliances applied a set of PACEEQ criteria to select women role models and religious leaders within their communities. These individuals were selected because of their achievements, their stature and their willingness to collaborate with the Local Alliance to promote girls’ education within their communities. A total of 88 individuals were selected, or one religious leader and one female role model for each Local Alliance.

The selected individuals received training from PACEEQ on a newly developed module entitled Gender Sensitive Community Participation in Education. This module was designed to enable participants to further develop their leadership skills and to apply them to carry out activities to promote girls’ education. Themes in the training module include:

• Religious Leaders and Girls’ Education • Managing Debates on Girls’ Education • Female Role Models and Girls’ Education • Monitoring and Support for Girls’ Education

A total of 33 religious leaders and 39 female role models participated in the training, along with an addition 165 community members, of which 65 (39%) were women. In addition to the religious leaders and female role models, Local Alliance resource persons, Equity Sub-Committee resource persons, and in some cases Local Alliance

103 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 board members also participated in the training in order to help the religious leaders and female role models carry out activities to promote girls’ education. The participation of these Local Alliances and Equity Sub-Committee was also designed to enable them to monitor these activities.

The table below provides a summary of the statistics for the training in Gender Sensitive Community Participation in Education.

Table No 17: Training of Religious Leaders and Women Role Models in Gender Sensitive Community Participation in Education Religious Leaders and Female Role Models Other Participants REGION Religious Leaders Female Role Models Total Men Women Total % Women Boké 7 7 14 0 0 0 na Faranah 3 5 8 20 15 35 43% Labé 8 10 18 2 6 8 75% Mamou 3 3 6 18 18 36 50% Kankan 7 8 15 22 7 29 24% N’Zérékoré 8 8 16 38 19 57 33% Kindia 4 5 9 0 0 0 na TOTAL 33 39 72 100 65 165 39%

Following the training in Gender Sensitive Community Participation in Education, religious leaders began organizing a series of public debates to promote girls’ education. Female role models provided follow up and support to girls at risk of dropping out.

4.1.4. Disburse sub-grants to Local Alliances for the implementation of the Education Action Plans

During the PACEEQ consolidation phase all 44 Local Alliances received sub-grants to assist in the implementation of their Education Action Plans. Both the sub-grant application process and the justification of sub-grant expenses are identical to those described in previous sections. A total of 231,300,585 GF was disbursed to the 44 Local Alliances during the consolidation phase.

104 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Sub-IR 4.2. Increased promotion and retention rates for girls and rural children

Sub-Intermediate Result 4.2: Increased promotion and retention rates for girls and rural children Activities Comments 9 Social negotiation processes were initiated and resulted in the opening of 349 initial literacy centers (263 during PACEEQ I Conduct social negotiations with and 86 during the consolidation phase) and 90 post-literacy 4.2.1 communities for the opening of initial centers. A total of 11,420 learners, of which 6,270 were literacy and post-literacy centers women (55%) were enrolled in initial literacy courses and a total of 2,018 learners, of which 1,113 were women (55%) were enrolled in post-literacy courses. Provide refresher training village 9 Village literacy trainers were trained in initial literacy 4.2.2. literacy trainers methodology, post-literacy methodology. Conduct evaluations of initial literacy 9 A total of 349 initial literacy centers were evaluated in 4.2.3. centers in collaboration with local collaboration with the SNA. SNA representatives Evaluate 90 post-literacy centers in 9 90 post literacy centers were evaluated in collaboration with 4.2.4. collaboration with local SNA SNA representatives, with a retention rate of 90% and a pass representatives rate of 80%. 9 349 initial literacy centers and 90 post literacy centers received Disburse micro-grants literacy 4.2.5. micro-grants. centers.

9 A total of 4 regional roundtables were organized in Organize 4 regional roundtables for 4.2.6. collaboration with the SNA with the participation of 91 literacy in collaboration with the SNA individuals, of which 16 (18%) were women. . Develop and distribute 3 editions of a 9 3 editions of a post-literacy newsletter in four national post-literacy newsletter in four languages (Pular, Sousou, Maninke, Kpele) were published 4.2.7. national languages in collaboration and 12,000 copies were distributed in collaboration with the with the SNA SNA.

105 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 4.2.1. Conduct social negotiations with communities for the opening of initial literacy and post-literacy centers

Community-Managed Literacy Centers Description of the PACEEQ approach The PACEEQ Approach to community managed literacy centers PACEEQ begins with a community dialogue. Communities Local NGO animators, supported by express their interest in literacy centers and accept the the PACEEQ regional antennas, responsibilities of managing a center before a center can conducted a process of social open. PACEEQ provides the literacy manuals, and trains negotiation with communities to the village literacy trainers on using the participatory identify sites for the opening of initial methodology appropriate for adult learning. PACEEQ also trains the literacy center management committees on the literacy centers. basics of managing the center, and provides a small sub- grant to the literacy center as a reimbursement for expense The rationale of “re-opening” initial related to purchase of notebooks, pens, chalk, etc. literacy centers during the PACEEQ consolidation phase was to provide a Communities are responsible for identifying the village literacy trainers, negotiating within the community where the “second chance” to learners who had literacy center courses will be held (often in a school). enrolled in the PACEEQ literacy Village literacy facilitators often work between 6-10 hours centers during PACEEQ I but had not per week depending on the schedule negotiated by the completed the course, either because community and receive incentives for their efforts from the they dropped out or because they did communities themselves, often through in-kind not pass the end-of-course literacy contributions. Communities can also decide to use a portion of the sub-grant as a cash incentive for the village evaluation. In addition, enrolment literacy facilitator. . would also be open to community members who had not previously The benefit of this approach is that the communities enrolled in the literacy course, thus themselves are invested in the management of the center. expanding the outreach and It is seen as a community managed structure, and the coverage within targeted success of failure of the literacy program is viewed as the success or failure of the community. communities.

The social negotiation process is an open community dialogue that involves not only the learners themselves, but all segments of society. During the social negotiation process, communities expressed their desire to manage a literacy center, and the roles and responsibilities of both PACEEQ and the community were discussed (see box below for details). It is important to note that members of civil society organizations, elected local, school administration officials and community leaders all played an active role in the discussions/social negotiation processes that resulted in the identification of the centers. Through this process, a total of 349 centers were opened, 263 during the initial PACEEQ phase and an additional 86 centers during the consolidation phase.

Just after the process of social negotiation and the identification of those centers that were to be (re)opened, the following steps took place: enrolment of learners; negotiation of a schedule for classes (time, days, hours, location, etc.) with the learners, and distribution of the initial literacy manuals in Pular, Maninke, Sousou and Kpele to the re-opened literacy centers.

106 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 PACEEQ applied an “integrated” literacy approach. This means that basic reading, writing, and mathematics instruction was linked to a development theme. Themes frequently used were maternal and reproductive health, HIV awareness, primary school improvement, and income generation. By integrating this type of practical knowledge with literacy skills, learners were motivated to continue their lessons, even though learning to read and write takes time and can be frustrating. Linking these skills lessons with a topic, the learners saw immediate applications of the information to their daily lives. Additionally, it was a great way to enable learners to identify and solve problems related to their lives and communities.

Literacy lessons began with a problem-posing illustration based on a development theme. Village teachers led the learners in a discussion of the theme and how it related to their environment and daily life. Emphasis was given to the feelings and experiences of the learners and how it personally affected them. In the course of the discussion, key words were generated that relate to the theme. One of these key words was the launching point for the day’s reading and writing practice. The literacy curriculum provided learners with ample time to practice reading, writing and mathematics skills by using a combination of individual, small group, and large group activities.

Classes were typically 2-3 hours long and were held between 2 and 4 times per week. Each community set its own class schedule and depending on the number of classes per week they decided to hold, different literacy centers could complete the entire literacy course in 3 to 6 months. The initial literacy course is based on approximately 250 hours of instruction (this varies slightly per language, as there are slight variations in the lessons of the different languages). Literacy courses and materials are all in national languages (Kpele, Pular, Maninke and Sousou) in line with the SNA guidelines.

Initial Literacy Enrollment Statistics During the PACEEQ I phase, the 263 centers had a combined enrollment of 8,766, of which 4,774 (55%) were women. For more details on the enrolment statistics of the initial literacy centers by region during PACEEQ I see Annex 21.

During the PACEEQ consolidation phase, 86 initial literacy centers were re-opened. A total of 2,654 learners enrolled, of which 1,496 (56%) were women. For more details on the enrolment statistics of the initial literacy centers by region during PACEEQ consolidation phase see Annex 22.

Description of PACEEQ Post-Literacy Approach The PACEEQ post-literacy course is based on 124 hours of instruction that is broken down as follows: 32 hours of review, 72 hours using the post-literacy booklets, and 20 hours for other materials, including the post-literacy newsletter. The post literacy booklets are a series of three booklets the increase in difficulty and complexity from the first to the last booklet. The booklets cover the following themes: • Quality of Education • Promotion of Girls’ Education • HIV/AIDS Prevention

107 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Post literacy is a time for skill reinforcement, for guided reading and writing practice and for self-motivated learning. In light of this, the structure of the post-literacy classes differs from the initial literacy courses. The review lessons of the post-literacy course (the first 32 hours) are carried out in a classroom setting. The sessions using the post-literacy booklets and newsletters use a combination of classroom learning and individual or small group learning in the form of reading sessions conducted outside of the literacy center. In setting up the flexible schedule, the post-literacy classes should meet at least once a week to correct writing exercises, respond to questions and share experiences.

Additionally, at these weekly meetings, the learners have access to other post- literacy materials. The literacy staff collect and distribute copies of materials created by other organizations (and shared during the SNA roundtables) and also make available copies of the advanced math book, the school management reference book, Reglement Interieure du Bureau de l’APEAE (created in 1999) and the post- literacy reading and grammar book, Deuxième Livre de Lecture des Associations de Parents d’Elèves et Amis de l’Ecole (created in 2001).

Description of PACEEQ Post-Literacy Enrolment Statistics The number of literacy centers per region varied in function with the number of APEAE supported in each region. The reason for the low number of literacy centers in the region of Mamou stemmed from the fact that Mamou benefited from the World Education pilot program, EDUCOM, which was implemented in Mamou from 1997-2001.

The region with the highest level of female enrolment was Mamou at 93%. The regions with the lowest levels of female enrolment in the initial literacy centers were Kankan and N’Zérékoré.

Although the overall percentage of women enrolled in the literacy centers is 56%, there are some notable regional differences. The highest percentage of women learners are in Middle Guinea. Labé and Mamou had women’s enrolment rates of 71% and 89% respectively.

In contrast, the percentage of women learners in Upper Guinea was substantially lower, with 46% in Faranah and 55% in Kankan. Both coastal Guinea and the Forest region have rates similar to Upper Guinea, 54% for Boké and 46% for N’Zérékoré.

In comparing the percentage of women enrolled during PACEEQ I and the consolidation phase, it is noteworthy that Middle Guinea, especially Labé and Mamou, continued to enroll the highest percentage of women while Faranah and N’Zérékoré continued to have the lowest percentage of female learners.

A total of 2,018 individuals were enrolled in the post literacy centers, of which 1,113 (55%) were women. For more details on enrolment by region in PACEEQ post- literacy centers see Annex 22.

108 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 4.2.2. Provide training for village literacy trainers

PACEEQ developed a number of training workshops to endow the village literacy trainers with the necessary skills to facilitate initial and post literacy sessions as well as how to effectively manage the literacy center in collaboration with the literacy center management committee.

A series of different training programs was created, including a 9-day training workshop for initial literacy facilitators, a 4-day refresher training for initial literacy facilitators, and a 9-day training workshop for post-literacy methodology. All of the training workshops focused on the following elements:

• Review the essential criteria of a well-functioning literacy center; • Improve the AVs’ ability to facilitate the dynamic literacy program through simulated practice sessions; • Provide an opportunity for the AVs to practice applying the tools to evaluate a learning session; • Train the AVs on salient techniques in advocacy and social negotiation necessary for the proper functioning of the literacy center.

In sum, PACEEQ trained a total of 767 village literacy trainers, of which 136 (16%) were women. The table below provides an overview of the training statistics.

Table No. 18: Summary Training Statistics for Village Literacy Trainers # Centers Total Men Women % Women Initial Literacy Centers 2001-2005 263 486 407 79 16% Initial Literacy Centers 2005-2007 86 168 137 31 18% Post Literacy Centers 2005-2007 90 180 154 26 14% Total 439 834 698 136 16%

4.2.3. Conduct evaluations of initial literacy centers in collaboration with local SNA representatives

Description of evaluation statistics of initial literacy centers Evaluations were carried out in all initial literacy centers in collaboration with decentralized SNA representatives. Prior to the evaluations, staff from each PACEEQ regional office met with local SNA representatives, including the DPA (Directeur Préfectoral d’Alphabétisation) to discuss the evaluation tools and criteria and the schedule. Depending on the availability of the DPA, the evaluations were jointly carried out between PACEEQ and the DPA. The DPA participated as a full member of the evaluation team, correcting texts and giving marks for the reading portion of the evaluation along with the PACEEQ staff.

The table below provides an overview of the results of the initial literacy evaluations for the 263 literacy centers that operated during the first phase of PACEEQ.

109 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

Table No. 19: Evaluation of Initial Literacy Centers by Region - PACCEQ I (2001-2005) Enrolled Completed Passed Pass Rate Initial Total Men Total Men Total Men Total % Women Women Literacy Retention Women Region Centers # % Women Rate # % Boké 46 1,403 654 749 53% 1,199 575 624 85% 869 468 401 46% 72% 64% Faranah 44 1,424 657 767 54% 1,162 565 597 82% 845 480 365 43% 73% 61% Kankan 73 2,822 1,511 1,311 46% 2,352 1,328 1,024 83% 1,582 976 606 38% 67% 59% Labé 69 2,180 699 1,481 68% 1,745 588 1,157 80% 1,322 497 825 62% 76% 71% Mamou 2 60 4 56 93% 20 3 17 33% 5 2 3 60% 25% 18% N’Zérékoré 29 877 467 410 47% 851 464 387 97% 753 442 311 41% 88% 80% TOTAL 263 8,766 3,992 4,774 54% 7,329 3,523 3,806 84% 5,376 2,865 2,511 47% 73% 66%

Of the 8,766 learners enrolled, 54% were women. Of the learners who completed the course, 54% were women. Of the 7,329 individuals who completed the PACEEQ initial literacy course, 52% were women. The overall completion rate was 84%.

The overall pass rate for both men and women combined was 73%. The pass rate for women was 66%, a total of 7 percentage points lower than the pass rate for men.

These national figures mask large differences between regions. In terms of retention rates, the lowest retention rate, 33%, was recorded in Mamou and the highest retention rate, 97% was recorded in N’Zérékoré. In terms of pass rates, again Mamou reported the lowest pass rate of only 18% while N’Zérékoré recorded a pass rate of 80%. These differences are explained by the fact that only two literacy centers were operating in Mamou and both experienced difficulties. In N’Zérékoré, the literacy centers developed an accelerated course where they held courses 4-5 times per week and thus finished the cycle in 3 months, as opposed to most other centers which held courses 2-3 times per week and took 4-6 months to complete the literacy course. Learners in N’Zérékoré reported that the accelerated schedule met their needs and suited the agricultural seasons of the Forest Region, where it rains for nine to ten months out of the year. It was more convenient for the learners in N’Zérékoré to adopt this modified schedule, and this contributed to the high retention rates.

110 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The table below provides an overview of the evaluation statistics from the 86 initial literacy centers that were operational as part of the PACEEQ consolidation phase.

Table No. 20: Evaluation of Initial Literacy Centers by Region – PACEEQ Consolidation (2005-2007) Enrolled Completed Passed Pass Rate Total Men Total Men Women Total Men Total % Women Women Wome # Retention Région Centers # % Rate # % n Boké 19 568 264 304 54% 478 210 268 84% 398 178 220 55% 83% 82% Faranah 17 525 283 242 46% 230 124 106 44% 212 129 83 39% 92% 78% Kankan 16 515 232 283 55% 414 193 221 80% 265 130 135 51% 64% 61% Labé 23 690 203 487 71% 576 163 413 83% 517 148 369 71% 90% 89% N’Zérékoré 10 321 172 149 46% 279 157 122 87% 231 138 93 40% 83% 76% Mamou 1 35 4 31 89% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A TOTAL 86 2,654 1,158 1,496 56% 1,977 847 1130 74% 1623 723 900 55% 82% 80%

The overall retention rate was 74%, which is 10 percentage points lower than the retention rate from PACEEQ I and 1 percentage point short of the target of 75%. The lowest retention rate is in Faranah (44%) and the highest rate is reported in N’Zérékoré (87%).

The low retention rate in Faranah resulted from the late opening of the literacy centers in Faranah, the timing of which coincided unfavorably with the agricultural season and resulted in a large percentage of learners dropping out. If we exclude the results of Faranah, the average retention rate for the rest of the centers is 82%.

During the consolidation phase, PACEEQ achieved an overall pass rate of 82% for all learners, and 80% for women, surpassing both the pass rate from PACEEQ I of 73% as well as the target pass rate for the consolidation phase of 80%. The lowest pass rate is in Kankan at 61% and the highest in Labé at 89%.

Key observations on results of initial literacy centers The PACEEQ methodology was effective in achieving the desired results in terms of enrollment, percentage of women enrolled, completion rates and pass rates. Although there were substantial regional differences, the overall averages were all within 1% of their desired targets or higher.

As a result of the mid-term literacy evaluation conducted in 2004, a number of changes were made to the initial literacy approach launched in 2005, notably the improvements to the literacy manual images and streamlining the monitoring tools used to track the progress of the literacy centers. The overall pass rate improved from 73% during PACEEQ I to 85% during the PACEEQ consolidation phase.

The issue of maintaining literacy skills remains a challenge. Although the post- literacy courses and community news bulletin offered as part of the PACEEQ consolidation phase addressed the issue of maintaining newly acquired literacy skills beyond the initial literacy course, the challenge of creating a literate environment remains. Lack of available reading materials in local languages, and lack of opportunities that require literacy in local language, contribute to the erosion over time of the newly acquired literacy skills.

111 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

One important opportunity to apply literacy skills in local languages in a practical setting seems to have been missed. Although PACEEQ encouraged all APEAE to maintain their records in local languages (activity reports, financial reports, registries, correspondence, etc. ), the PACEEQ Long Term Impact Evaluation revealed that nonetheless a great number of APEAE continue to maintain their records in French. As there are not many members literate in French, this concentrates the activity in the hands of one or two key members. When those members leave the APEAE, there is no one to take over the role and the responsibility for the secretariat and as a result record keeping falls in disuse. Instead, if the record keeping was managed in local languages, not only would it contribute to the sustainability of this function, but it would provide a useful outlet for the application of the literacy skills acquired through the PACEEQ literacy courses.

The involvement of the SNA in the monitoring and evaluation of the PACEEEQ literacy centers was lauded by prefecture level SNA representatives and the learners themselves. It increased the value of the learning in their eyes, as they saw the PACEEQ literacy program as an extension of the Ministry of Education/SNA and not just another project that is here today but gone tomorrow.

In addition, as the Mid-Term Literacy Evaluation indicated, the benefits of the initial literacy course go beyond the acquisition of basic literacy skills. Specifically, the PACEEQ literacy evaluation noted that women who participated in the PACEEQ literacy program were more likely to: • Ensure their children attend school regularly • Ensure their children have the necessary school supplies and books • Organize household chores in a manner that permits children, particularly girls, to study • Make sure their children study and do their homework • Monitor the academic progress of their children in school • Meet with their children’s teacher to discuss the academic progress of their children

Collaboration with the Guinean National Literacy Service (SNA)

International Literacy Day The PACEEQ Literacy team took part in Guinea’s celebration of International Literacy Day held every year on September 8th. This event brought together all of the major stakeholders in literacy in Guinea (PACEEQ, GTZ, IIZ-DVV, UNICEF among others) and was presided over by the Minister of Pre-University Education and Civic Education and the National Director of the SNA. The designated theme was “literacy and environmental protection.”

SNA Annual Review of Literacy Activities in Guinea During the most recent review, the SNA sponsored a series of working sessions as part of their annual review of literacy activities. The PACEEQ literacy team took part in the sessions which focused on the following themes: criteria of success in a literacy program; and the presentation of the SNA literacy activity report; presentation on REGA (Réseau Guinnéen pour l’Alphabétisation). In addition, the review was an opportunity for all the literacy partners to present their literacy manuals and materials developed through their respective programs. In addition the SNA collected a set of literacy manuals from each partners to enrich their documentation. The SNA expressed their appreciation of PACEEQ for the frank collaboration with the SNA in the implementation of the PACEEQ literacy component and their active participation in the SNA Annual Review.

112 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

4.2.4. Evaluate 90 post-literacy centers in collaboration with local SNA representatives

Prior to the evaluations, staff from each PACEEQ regional office met with the local SNA representatives (DPA) to discuss the evaluation tools and criteria and the schedule. Depending on the availability of the DPA, the evaluations were carried out jointly between PACEEQ and the DPA. The DPA participated as a full member of the evaluation team, correcting texts and giving marks for the reading portion of the evaluation along with the PACEEQ staff.

The table below provides an overview of the evaluation results from the 90 post- literacy centers.

Table N° 21: Evaluation of Post Literacy Centers

ENROLLED COMPLETED PASSED PASS RATE Women Women Wom Retention Region Total M # % Total M en Rate Total M # % Total W Boké 483 222 261 54% 464 220 244 96% 375 188 187 50% 81% 77% 191 154 157 121 Faranah 430 212 218 51% 345 80% 278 44% 81% 79% Kankan 171 193 171 193 152 91 364 53% 364 100% 243 37% 67% 47% Labé 119 320 92 262 439 73% 391 101 290 89% 354 74% 91% 90% Mamou 3 15 3 12 2 5 18 83% 15 83% 7 71% 47% 42% 180 86 150 68 N’Zérékoré 284 178 106 37% 266 94% 218 31% 82% 79% Total 2,018 905 1,113 55% 1,845 866 979 91% 1,475 741 734 50% 80% 75%

The overall retention rate was 91%. The lowest retention rate was in Faranah at 83% and the highest retention rate was in Kankan at 100%.

The overall pass rate was 80%, with the lowest pass rates being recorded in Mamou at 47% and the highest pass rates being recorded in Labé at 91%.

Key observation from post-literacy results: Overall, the learners enrolled in the post-literacy centers expressed their satisfaction with the opportunity to continue their literacy training beyond the initial literacy course. Furthermore, they reported satisfaction with the flexible learning schedule and reported that the content of the post-literacy manual was relevant to their lives.

The relatively high retention rate is most likely indicative of a certain degree of self selection (the more motivated learners who passed the first literacy course enrolled in the post-literacy course) as well as a function of the flexible schedule.

In general, women’s pass rates tended to be a couple of percentage points lower than those of men. This is consistent with the results of the initial literacy evaluations.

113 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

The overall pass rate was recorded as 75%; however a total of 18 centers in Mamou experienced difficulties in correctly applying the post-literacy methodology and reported pass rates of only 47%, thus bringing the overall average down.

In addition, the publication of the community news bulletin in local languages provided learners with another outlet for their literacy skills. A number of sessions in the post-literacy centers were devoted to assisting the learners to write articles to submit to the bulletin for publication.

Although PACEEQ only had the opportunity to pilot the post-literacy approach and materials during the consolidation phase, initial results were promising. It is recommended to find additional outlets for application of literacy skills beyond the post-literacy courses and to continue with the post-literacy initiative.

4.2.5. Disburse micro-grants to literacy centers

Unlike the sub-grant process, micro-grants to literacy centers were managed on a reimbursement basis. This means that the literacy centers purchased the necessary materials for the operation of their center (chalk, notebooks, pens, etc.) and submitted the receipts to PACEEQ for reimbursement.

In order to receive the reimbursement, communities were required to first produce results (select, negotiate with and engage the literacy trainers; negotiate a local location for the literacy classes to be held; agree upon a schedule for classes that is mutually beneficial for the majority of learners and the village literacy trainer; conduct a social mobilization campaign to enroll learners). Furthermore, all learners must purchase basic supplies (notebooks, pens) and the center must purchase chalk and notebooks to record attendance and to manage expenses. Once the community has achieved these results and the classes are up and running, they are eligible for reimbursement. This learning by doing approach to managing a literacy center combined with the fact that successful results are rewarded with reimbursement (and failure is not rewarded) is a significant factor contributing to the success of the centers and the potential for replication of the model.

A total of 73,400,000 GF was disbursed in micro-grants to 249 initial literacy centers and 90 post literacy centers between 2001 and 2007.

4.2.6. Organize 4 regional roundtables for literacy in collaboration with the SNA

As part of the consolidation strategy, PACEEQ supported the SNA in the organization of regional roundtables to improve collaboration between NGOs intervening in the literacy sector. A total of four roundtables were planned, one in each geographic area of Guinea (the Coastal Region, Middle Guinea, Upper Guinea, and the Forest Region).

114 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The roundtables provided an opportunity for all literacy actors in the region to come together to share approaches, strategies and tools in literacy and post literacy as well to discuss ways to create better collaboration and synergy between different projects. The roundtables were chaired by the Regional Director of Literacy (DRA) and two representatives from the SNA at the national level. Also present were representatives of the SNA decentralized staff at the regional, prefecture and sub- prefecture levels, as well as representatives of other local and international NGOs carrying out literacy activities in the region. The Kankan regional roundtable was presided over by the National Director for the SNA, Madame Albertine Fadiga. A total of 91 participants took part in the round tables, of which 16 (18%) were women.

The roundtables were structured to guide participants to produce the following: • Overview of literacy activities, approaches and strategies currently being applied in the region • Inventory of literacy material currently being used • Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for literacy in the region • Formulation of recommendations to the SNA and other NGOs to improve collaboration

Following the overview of literacy activities and material, participants conducted an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for literacy in local languages in the region. Following this analysis, they formulated recommendations to improve collaboration and promote synergy between the various literacy programs.

Participants made recommendations to NGO actors and recommendations to the SNA services. The detailed list of recommendations for all 04 roundtables can be found in the table on the following page. It is interesting to note, however, that despite some regional differences, a few common themes stand out across regions and as being relevant to both NGOs and the SNA. These common themes can be summarized as follows: • • Reinforce collaboration between NGOs and SNA al all levels (i.e. better communication, information sharing, submission of NGO manuals and materials to SNA for feedback prior to use in the field, involvement of decentralized SNA services in monitoring and evaluation of literacy activities in the field); • Encourage the sustainability of literacy through a series of accompanying activities (income generation, access to credit, community newsletters in local languages, establishment of a rural press, community libraries); • Improve collaboration and sharing of information and materials between literacy programs in the field; • Widespread dissemination of a national policy for literacy; • Support to regional and prefecture SNA services to enable them to effectively monitor and participate in the evaluation of current literacy programs.

115 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Below is a summary of the recommendations elaborated during the roundtables: Table No. 22: Recommendations issuing from SNA/PACEEQ Literacy Round Tables Recommendations to the SNA Recommendations to the NGOs Labé 1. Establish a research unit at the regional level 1. Put in place a network of NGOs intervening in 2. Disseminate national policy on literacy on large scale literacy at the regional level 3. Support the establishment of a network of NGOs intervening in literacy at the 2. Organize exchange visits regional level 3. Facilitate the establishment of a network of village 4. Propose standard curriculum for literacy trainers literacy trainers at the regional, prefecture and sub- 5. Provide decentralized SNA structures with resources prefecture levels 6. Diversity the literacy partners in the EFA program 4. Reinforce the collaboration between decentralized 7. Capitalize on regional successes in literacy SNA offices and projects Boké 1. Recognize and value the efforts of NGOs in the field of literacy 1. Organize exchange visits 2. Formalize a literacy network among those implementing literacy project 2. Establish a network of NGOs intervening in the 3. Reinforce the collaboration between the decentralized SNA staff and NGOs literacy sector 4. Disseminate national literacy policy 3. Harmonize strategies 5. Reinforce technical support in the creation of literacy manuals and materials 4. Reinforce collaboration with decentralized SNA services and local NGOs Kankan 1. Reinforce the collaboration between decentralized SNA structures and NGO 1. Establish a consultative framework between the partners in the field working in literacy regional and national levels 2. Encourage the creation of a literate environment to sustain literacy activities 2. Assure the coordination of the consultative (village libraries, newsletters in local languages, a rural press) frameworks put in place in order to harmonize 3. Facilitate women’s access to credit strategies 4. Provide quarterly reports to the decentralized literacy services at the regional 3. Advocate with donors for additional literacy programs and prefecture levels. 4. Encourage NGOs to have their literacy 5. Allocate funds to decentralized literacy services to enable them to support documents/manuals validated by the SNA and monitor literacy programs 5. Capitalize on experience by disseminating existing 6. Involve decentralized literacy services in the recruitment and training of NGO literacy materials. literacy trainers to improve quality of facilitation 6. Define and disseminate a national policy for literacy 7. Establish a regional network for literacy to reinforce national efforts 7. Facilitate with the State and certain donors capacity 8. Establish a consultative framework between actors intervening in literacy building for SNA cadres involved in literacy efforts 9. Involve the SNA in providing feedback on pedagogical materials developed 8. Update SNA policies and disseminate and by various projects implement 10. Establish a monitoring committee for the follow up of these 9. Encourage the development of pedagogical supports recommendations at the regional level for literacy materials 11. Encourage communities to assume more responsibility in terms of literacy 10. Encourage consultation between different actors in 12. Establish a consultative framework between partners at the operational level literacy in the field 11. Facilitate and encourage capacity building of different 13. Respect engagements with communities literacy actors (literacy trainers, supervisors) 14. Capitalize on the experience of each NGO 12. Reinforce efforts in monitoring and evaluation of 15. Involve decentralized SNA services in the elaboration of pedagogical tools literacy programs and monitoring and evaluation of centers. 13. Organize regional and national round tables every year N’Zérékoré 1. Reinforce collaboration between NGOs and SNA services at the 1. Allocate a budget to the decentralized literacy decentralized levels services 2. Develop a consultative framework between NGOs and the SNA 2. Provide logistical means for prefecture and regional 3. Provide support to decentralized literacy services in the monitoring and literacy services evaluation of literacy activities of NGOs 3. Ensure literacy programs are included in PDR 4. Ensure that village literacy trainers are compensated for their time to ensure 4. Advocate for the prolongation of literacy programs quality of instruction 5. Create community libraries 5. Respect all contractual arrangements 6. Promote use of national language in the Forest 6. Ensure didactic material is available on time for the start of a literacy Region campaign 7. Disseminate widely the national policy on literacy 7. Submit manuals to the SNA for feedback before using them in the field 8. Capitalize on successful experiences, methods, approaches 9. Encourage income generating activities for the sustainability of literacy 10. Elaborate a curriculum for village literacy trainers and literacy learners

116 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 4.2.7. Develop and distribute 3 editions of a post-literacy newsletter in four national languages in collaboration with the SNA

In close collaboration with the SNA, PACEEQ created and published three editions of a community newsletter for the newly literate in four national languages (Kpélé, Maninké, Pular and Sousou). A total of 12,000 copies were circulated.

The first edition of the newsletter was created using existing articles written previously by PACEEQ literacy learners. These same articles were translated into all four languages so that the same article appeared in every language edition of the community newsletter. The intention was to publish the existing articles to stimulate interest and encourage current literacy participants to write new articles.

The examples provided by the first edition of the newsletter sparked interest in the readers, measured by the increasing number of articles submitted with each successive edition. After the first edition of the literacy community newsletter was distributed, PACEEQ began receiving article submissions from the post literacy centers in all regions for publication in the second edition. In fact, so many submissions were received, that PACEEQ decided to make the following change in the newsletter. Instead of only selecting four or five articles for publication and translating them into all four languages, PACEEQ decided to select four or five articles per language group (i.e. 4-5 articles submitted in Pular, 4-5 articles submitted in Sousou, 4-5 articles submitted in Maninke, and 4-5 articles submitted in Kpele).

In order to select the submissions on a competitive and transparent basis, a commission was established to review all of the submissions based on the following criteria:

• Content of article is related to education and community participation • Article is situated in a context relevant to the daily lives of the readers • Clarity of expression in the article • Articles of a political nature are not accepted • Articles that could result in stigmatization of individuals or make allegations that are beyond the scope of the PACEEQ literacy team to investigate, are not accepted (i.e. an article that tells the story of a girl whose parents are divorcing and mentions the family by name is not published, an article that tells of a school director who was stealing and mentions the director by name is not published, etc.)

The newsletter also contained announcements pertinent to the co-management of schools, such as the article covering the successful FEGUIPAE elections, a message from the Director of the SNA, an article explaining the Ministry Circular No. 0999, etc. These articles were translated into all four national languages and appeared in all versions of the newsletter.

A similar process was used for the creation of the third edition. However, it was done in close collaboration with representatives from the SNA at the national level. Two SNA technical staff from Conakry, the DPA from Lola prefecture in N’Zérékoré

117 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 and the entire PACEEQ literacy team (Mamou and Kankan) participated in a 5-day working session in Mamou to elaborate the third edition of the newsletter. During the 5-day working session, the SNA representatives were given an overview of the Publisher software used to create the newsletter. Furthermore, the teams selected articles to be published from the reader submissions in the four national languages, corrected the grammar of the selected articles and ensured that a unified segmentation was used, typed the articles and finalized the four-page layout. Furthermore, on the final day the SNA and PACEEQ staff brainstormed on the conditions and skills necessary for the SNA to continue publishing a post-literacy newsletter after PACEEQ has closed.

Project Management

Activities Comments 9 A total of 40 training modules were revised and/or adapted Develop, test, implement and disseminate PACEEQ and documented. A CD containing a master list of 16 1 training modules PACEEQ training modules was developed and distributed to over 40 education stakeholders. Organize 8 Regional Forums and 1 National Forum 9 8 regional forums and 1 national forum were organized to 2 to document PACEEQ lessons learned document the lessons learned from PACEEQ. 9 8 regional forums and 1 national forum were organized to Organize 8 Regional Communication Forums and 1 3 elaborate regional and national communication strategies National Communication Forum for regional C/APEAE and FEGUIPAE. Conduct studies and evaluations to enrich project 9 Throughout the life of the project, PACEEQ undertook 4 documentation and share lessons learned with several studies and evaluations to identify best practices relevant stakeholders and evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches. 9 19 action research projects and for a total budget of were funded for a total 93,362,085 GF, of which 16,407,900 GF 5 Disburse sub-grants for action research projects (18%) were in-kind or cash contributions of the implementing organizations. 9 A total of 8 regional forums and 1 National Forum on the Organize National Forum to support implementation 6 implementation of Ministry Circular No. 0999 were of Ministry Circular No. 0999 organized.

1. Document and disseminate PACEEQ training modules and literacy manuals

Over the years, PACEEQ developed a wide array of training modules for various target groups. One of the goals of the consolidation phase of PACEEQ was to consolidate and document tools and approaches. Part of this documentation included reviewing all of the PACEEQ training modules to standardize the format and distribute widely.

In order to determine the optimum format, all PACEEQ regional coordinators provided feedback to Mamou headquarters on their preferred format, from a trainer’s perspective. A standard format was selected and an inventory conducted of PACEEQ modules to develop a master list of a total of 40 training modules.

118 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

These training modules were edited and converted into a standard format. The ‘standard format’ refers not to a page layout but rather to the manner in which the pedagogical progression is organized.

Of 40 training modules available, many are similar in content. For example, the training module HIV/AIDS and School Health exists in three separate versions, one for the APEAE, one for Local Alliances and sub-prefecture C/APEAE, and one for the regional and national levels.

To streamline the available materials, PACEEQ selected a sample of 16 different training modules and placed them on a CD-ROM. These training modules were distributed to over 40 different structures including C/APEAE as well as departments within the Ministry of Education. In addition, these modules were distributed to all of the PACEEQ consortium partners. The list of the 40 training modules developed by PACEEQ, as well as the list of the 16 training modules disseminated, can be found in Annex 23.

2. Develop initial and post-literacy manuals

PACEEQ literacy manuals were developed in Pular, Maninke, Sousou and Kpele and were distributed for use in all initial literacy centers. Following the mid-term evaluation of PACEEQ literacy activities, recommendations were made for revising the literacy manuals.

The revision of the initial literacy manuals was conducted at the beginning of the PACEEQ consolidation phase. It involved two main tasks: 1) improving the visual representation of the problem-posing images in the manuals, and 2) simplifying and streamlining the monitoring tools for basic literacy which were too cumbersome in their present state.

In order to improve the images in the literacy booklets, a local artist was contacted to redraw many of the pictures in the books based on feedback from the learners, the village animators, and PACEEQ staff. The revisions varied in nature. In some cases, the image itself needed to be redone completely because the problem posing idea that was used to launch the discussion was not clear. In other cases, the images were altered to create gender balance, making people look more real/African, or cleaning up the drawing style (i.e. clear, distinct pictures rather than impressionistic drawings). A World Education international literacy specialist and the PACEEQ team worked closely with the local artist to ensure that the main idea and social messages were easily identified through the images. A total of 14 images were revised.

In addition, World Education’s international literacy specialist worked with the literacy team to review the existing monitoring and evaluation tool and simplify and streamline it. Prior to the revision, the team was still administering the original data collection tools introduced during the pilot phase. The original data collection tools

119 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 were designed to solicit feedback on the teaching approach, the pictures, additional information required to teach the lessons, etc. Three years later, collection of this information became redundant and the tools were streamlined.

Furthermore, the two self-reflective forms for the village literacy facilitators were combined into one shorter form. This new tool, a pedagogic evaluation form, follows the same format as the ERO tools used in the communities and can be used in basic literacy and post literacy, by village animators, and by NGO facilitators and others during their monitoring visits. The use of this new tool during monitoring visits served to move the M&E activities from formative evaluations to a more supervisory model (as suggested by the 2004 literacy evaluation). In addition the current tool used for monitoring the literacy centers was also modified and improved. The recommendation section of this revised form was revised to include space for next steps, specifying who is responsible for what and by when.

The PACEEQ literacy team also developed a post-literacy strategy and a series of 3 post-literacy booklets on the following themes: Quality of Education, HIV/AIDS and Girls’ Education.

Prior to the development of the new materials, meetings were held with the SNA to solicit their participation and input in the materials development process. Specifically, the following points were discussed during the meeting:

• Greater involvement of the SNA at the national level in materials development: PACEEQ sought to increase the level of active involvement of the SNA at the national level in the development and review of PACEEQ initial literacy materials.

• Harmonization of the PACEEQ post-literacy approach and the SNA post- literacy approach: It was agreed that PACEEQ would work closely with the SNA in the implementation of the post-literacy component, especially in the case of the community newsletter. In terms of the overall approach, the SNA approach and the PACEEQ approach were deemed compatible.

• Participation of the SNA in evaluation of PACEEQ literacy centers – It was agreed that the SNA at the prefecture level) would participate in the evaluation of the PACEEQ literacy centers.

• Sharing of PACEEQ literacy results and statistics – It was agreed that PACEEQ would continue to share all literacy statistics with the SNA so that the PACEEQ data would be integrated in the SNA database.

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3. Organize 8 Regional Forums and 1 National Forum to document PACEEQ lessons learned

As part of the strategy of consolidation and documentation of the PACEEQ extension phase, a series of regional forums were organized to engage education stakeholders in a review of lessons learned from the PACEEQ experience. The regional forums sought to explore, in a participatory manner, perspectives and insights on the following five strategic axes:

• objectives • methodology/approach • obstacles • opportunities • target groups

The overarching question posed to the participants was: “If PACEEQ were to plan another project to continue the current efforts, based on everything that we know now, how should we improve things?” What should we do more of? What should we do less of? Was the methodology or approach appropriate? Were the training topics applicable to everyday life? Should anything be added? Dropped? Was the intensity of the training appropriate? What obstacles were faced and how were they met? Was this effective? What new opportunities today exist because of the PACEEQ experience and what is the best way to capitalize on those new opportunities?

The regional forums brought together education stakeholders such as APEAE members, C/APEAE members, Local Alliances, members of the Equity Sub- Committee, school administration officials, rural radio, local CRD, local NGOs partners, and other national and international NGOs involved in education in the region.

Throughout the regional forums, there was an emphasis not only on evaluating PACEEQ from the perspective of beneficiaries and partners, but also on soliciting their ideas and opinions on how to maintain the momentum of change that was set in motion by PACEEQ. In other words, instead of just asking where PACEEQ has been successful, the regional forums were designed to solicit from beneficiaries and partners how PACEEQ could achieve better results and to gather ideas and perspectives that could result in program innovations for the future.

In order to ensure maximum participation, participants were given a list of questions and asked to discuss the issues/questions with the other members of their respective structures as a preparation for the forum. Although it was not required, many participants prepared reports and recommendations.

The table below summarizes the participation in the 8 regional forums.

121 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

Table No. 23: Participants in Regional Forums on Lessons Learned from PACEEQ Participants REGIONS Total Men Women % W Mamou 117 100 17 15% N'Zérékoré 86 65 21 24% Boké 86 67 19 22% Labé 98 68 30 31% Kankan 112 95 17 15% Faranah 56 46 10 18% Kindia 90 70 20 22% Conakry 51 43 8 16% TOTAL 696 554 142 20%

A total of 696 participants took part in the regional forums, of which 142, or 20% were women.

Each regional forum generated an impressive amount of documentation. In addition to the elements produced by each group activity, many participants brought reports from their respective structures (C/APEAE, APEAE, and Local Alliances) with a summary of responses to the questions in the preparatory questionnaire. All of these reports were analyzed by PACEEQ and included in the material prepared for the National Forum at the regional and sub-regional levels.

In follow-up to the regional lessons learned forums, regional reports were prepared summarizing the recommendations from each region. These reports were then disseminated to the participants. In addition, the regional reports were a key factor in preparing the National Forum.

The table below shows the number of regional reports disseminated by region. It is important to note that the dissemination of the regional reports took place after the National Forum. Therefore, PACEEQ was able to annex the recommendations of the National Forum to each of the regional reports so that participants could compare the results of their region with the recommendations issued at the National Forum.

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Table No. 24: Dissemination of Regional Reports # Regional Reports Region Disseminated Mamou 105 Faranah 51 Labé 87 N’Zérékoré 68 Kankan 99 Kindia 77 Conakry 40 Boké 44 TOTAL 571

On August 8-10, 2006 PACEEQ organized a National Forum on lessons learned from the PACEEQ experience. The National Forum brought together over 150 education stakeholders from all 8 regions of Guinea, representing civil society organizations (APEAE, C/APEAE, Local Alliances, FEGUIPAE, FONSEF, National Media Task Force, Guinean NGOs who partnered with PACEEQ during its implementation) as well as school administration officials and MEPU-EC representatives at all levels such as IRE, DPE, DSEE and the National Equity Committee and Sub-Committees for Equity. In addition, other key partners such as the National Literacy Service (SNA), Ministry of Social Affairs, and representatives of other national and international institutions such as EPT and IFESH were also represented.

The National Forum built on the experience of the Regional Forums on Lessons Learned that were held in all 8 regions. The National Forum provided a forum to synthesize and validate the conclusions of the regional forums as well as provided a venue where representatives of all 8 regions had the opportunity to come together to discuss issues and compare regional experiences.

The goal of the National Forum was to explore, in a participatory manner, the lessons learned form the PACEEQ experience throughout the years from the perspective of different stakeholders in civil society and the Ministry of Education. Similar to the regional forums, The National Forum focused on the following five strategic axes:

1. Objectives 2. Methodology/Approach 3. Obstacles 4. Opportunities 5. Target Groups

123 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The overarching question posed to the participants was “If PACEEQ were to plan another project, based on everything that we now know, how should we improve or change aspects of the program?”

The participatory approach used during the regional forums was adapted for the National Forum in a manner that solicited active participation and quality contributions from the participants.

The National Forum was successful in drawing out and documenting a series of lessons learned from the PACEEQ experience and creating a dynamic venue in which perspectives, concerns, and experiences from all 8 regions could be shared and evaluated.

On the final day of the National Forum, the delegates examined the opportunities that had been created as a result of the PACEEQ experience and developed recommendations as to how to take advantage of those opportunities to maximize the benefits.

A detailed report of the National Forum which includes a detailed description of the methodology and process, as well as the results from all of the group work and the recommendations, was submitted to USAID. A brief 13-page summary of the report was prepared and translated to French and disseminated to over 40 partners. In addition, the recommendations from the National Forum were annexed to the regional reports and disseminated to 571 participants from the regional forums.

4. Organize 8 Regional Communication Forums and 1 National Communication Forum

As a follow-up to the successful rural radio programs broadcast as part of the communication strategy during the first phase of PACEEQ, technical assistance was provided to regional C/APEAE and the FEGUIPAE to assist them to develop their own communication plans. To this end, a series of regional communication forums were organized with the goal of assisting all of the regional C/APEAE and the FEGUIP to develop, in a participatory manner, a communication strategy designed to promote collaboration between schools and communities in support of basic education, including concrete actions that can be carried out at the regional level as well as recommendations from the regional level to be dealt with at the national level.

The specific objectives of the forum were as follows:

1. Initiate the participants on communication strategies for community participation 2. Identify and review previous ‘success stories’ in the realm of communication and sensitization in community participation in order to identify strengths, achievements, resources and opportunities for the future

124 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 3. Formulate two to five year aspirations in terms of community participation that are based on a communication strategy 4. Develop a regional communication strategy through the elaboration of a concrete draft action plan for communication to realize the expressed aspirations 5. Develop recommendations from the regional level to be put before the national level for action

The participants included members of FEGUIPAE, C/APEAE at all levels, Alliances, school administration officials (IRE, DPE, DESS, school principals) media partners (Radio Rurale, National Media Task Force) and various local NGOs intervening in education. In addition, there were members of the sous-comite d’equité and FEG/FAWE. A total of 315 participants took part in the regional forums, of which 76 (24%) were women.

The communication forums were designed using the appreciative inquiry methodology. This methodology involves examining the outcomes of specific activities and sharing results and analysis with the larger group with the goal of building on existing community strengths and resources. This is achieved by the formulation of aspirations followed by the selection of activities that the group intends to implement.

The forum also entailed presentations and group work with a special emphasis on the importance of communication as a means of facilitating change in terms of knowledge, attitudes and practices. The forums also focused on the formulation of messages in order to realize the aspirations identified in the previous stage and the selection of a means of communication

As a result of these forums, each regional C/APEAE developed a communication action plan. In addition, the regional forums created a series of recommendations for the national communication action plan that would be elaborated at the National Forum. Although each region produced their own specific recommendations, a summary of all the regional recommendations can be found below.

Recommendations from regional communication forums on themes/activities that should be channeled to the national communication forum: • Finding partners • Violence in the school environment • Establishment of information newsletters • Broadcasts reflecting the ‘voice of parents’ or “parents speaking to parents and friends of the school” • Creation of brochures and documentary materials • Review and renewal of the legal texts and rules governing the school • Exchange visits • Support for a school health program

125 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Following the elaboration of the communication action plans, sub-grant applications were prepared and submitted to EDC/PACEEQ for the disbursement of sub-grants to regional C/APEAE to finance a portion of the activities in the communication action plan. A total of 8 sub-grants were disbursed to the regional C/APEAE.

The table below contains a summary of all of the themes chosen by the regions as part of their regional communications action plans.

Table No.25: Summary of Themes from Regional Communication Forums No. Communication Themes/Activities Chosen by Regional C/APEAE Number of times chosen 1 Girls’ Education/Gender Equity 7 2 Training of APEAE (including mobilization of resources and management of 5 parental contributions) 3 Dissemination of Ministry Circular MEPU-EC No, 0999 3 4 Access to education for school aged children 2 5 Sensitization for school construction and school equipment 2 6 Partnership 2 7 Capacity building for APEAE and Local Alliances 2 8 Establishment of school canteens 1 9 HIV/AIDS and School Health 1 10 Violence in the school environment 1 11 Support for the organization of study groups 1 12 Ending exploitation of students (labor) 1 13 Transparency in the management of exam centers 1 14 Preparing for the opening of the school year 1 15 Support for sports events 1

PACEEQ organized a National Forum on Communication Strategies in Favor of Improved School-Community Participation. The Forum was opened by the MEPU-EC Secretary General and brought together 106 participants, of which 20% were women. Participants hailed from the FEGUIPAE, federated APEAE at different levels, school administration officials, local NGOs, and regional and national press.

The forum employed the same participatory methodology as used in the regional communication forums, appreciative inquiry, and set the following six objectives:

1. Share and appreciate testimonies of success in communication endeavors experienced by education stakeholders at the regional and local levels 2. Share the communication action plans developed by the regional C/APEAE during the regional forums 3. Explore and review previous success stories at the national and supra- regional levels in the framework of community participation in order to identify assets, resources and opportunities available for future activities 4. Develop and formulate aspirations at the national level in terms of how communications strategies can support and promote national efforts in terms of collaboration between communities and the education system 5. Develop a national education strategy by elaborating a concrete education action plan to realize those strategies

126 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 6. Develop recommendations for communication actions that should be a part of the mandate of each regional C/APEAE and their regional partners on a continual basis

High points of the forum included:

As many of the participants had already participated in the regional forums, they were already familiar with the methodology. As a result, group work and certain activities were enhanced by active participation and lively discussions. For example, during the first group work activity, participants worked in groups to identify and share previous successes in communication followed by an analysis of strengths, assets and resources available, participants were actively engaged in discussions from the beginning, in contrast to the regional forums where groups had difficulties getting started. The productions/presentations of the groups during the National Forum were livelier, and the participants provided a rich analysis. • Identification of the following key words to describe the aspirations of the FEGUIPAE: transparency, credibility, dynamism, justice, and equity. These key words were then used to create the following statement of aspiration:

• The first step in creating the communication action plan involved evaluating the recommendations made to the FEGUIPAE during the regional workshop. This allowed the FEGUIPAE to integrate with the material culled from the regional forums into their own communication action plans.

Some difficulties encountered included:

• The large number of participants prevented the intimate workshop atmosphere that prevailed during the regional workshops. However, despite the large number of participants the team was able to overcome the difficulties of managing such a large group though a creative use of space and lively facilitation.

• Friction around the interpretation of the Ministry Circular persisted and the difference between the Ministry of Education hierarchy and the federated system of APEAE in which the higher levels were supposed to represent the grassroots level continued to be misunderstood by certain actors within the school administration. One representative of the school administration announced that it was the job of the FEGUIPAE to coordinate the activities of the regional C/APEAE and then continued to explain that he meant they should set the agenda for them and tell them what they should do. Diplomatically, PACEEQ outlined how the ministry circular describes a relationship of representation at the national level of APEAE, but is not parallel to the top-down hierarchy in the school administration system. PACEEQ further explained that the fact of holding elections and undertaking a strategic planning process that results in a strategic plan that is validated by the members is what should set the agenda of the regional C/APEAE, not the FEGUIPAE. This explanation was met by a round of applause from the

127 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 participants, indicating that the APEAE covered by the PACEEQ zones of intervention understand their roles as outlined by the Ministry Circular on Community Participation and are still looking for allies in passing this message to their school administration counterparts.

• On the second day of the workshop, the IRE of N’Zérékoré announced that he opposed an activity of the regional C/APEAE and issued a “note de service” to oppose and put a stop to this activity that he was not in agreement with. This indicates that the relationship between the parents associations and the school administration officials is still not clear and requires ongoing diplomacy, support and communication strategies to render the Ministry Circular on Community Participation functional.

The Regional and National forums enabled the C/APEAE and the FEGUIPAE to focus on the importance of a strategic communication plan. Within the FEGUIPAE itself, the National Communication Forum was the first activity at the national level for the newly elected board of the FEGUIPAE. It provided them with the opportunity to undertake a concrete task as a team (creating an action plan for communication at the national level) in collaboration with partners and building on previous work done on the regional level.

Following the National forum, the FEGUIPAE finalized their communication plan and was awarded for implementation of select activities contained in the communication action plan.

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5. Conduct Studies and Enrich Project Documentation in Order to Document and Share Lessons Learned with Relevant Stakeholders

Throughout the life of the Project, PACEEQ conducted a number of studies and evaluations to identify best practices and share lessons learned. A summary of this documentation is provided in the table below.

Table N. 26: PACEEQ Documentation Name of Study, Evaluation or Report Date Dissemination Plan PACEEQ Mid-Term Evaluation (French) November 2003 Submitted to USAID and Principle Investigator: Félipé Tejeda PACEEQ Consortium Partners Mid-Term Evaluation of PACEEQ Literacy Activities (English) November 2004 Submitted to USAID and Principal Investigator: Kirstin Potter PACEEQ Consortium Partners Available on USAID website PACEEQ Mid-Term Evaluation of Local Alliances (French) December 2004 Submitted to USAID and Principle Investigator, Kéfing Condé PACEEQ Consortium Partners Final Evaluation of PACEEQ (English) July 2005 Submitted to USAID and Principle Investigator: Maurice Garnier PACEEQ Consortium Partners Available on USAID website Report of National Forum on Lessons Learned from PACEEQ August 2006 Submitted to USAID Author: Maurice Garnier French summary report distributed to 40 education stakeholders in Guinea Comparative Study on Girls Education in Boké and N’Zérékoré September 2006 Submitted to USAID (French) Distributed to over 35 Author:: National Media Task Force education stakeholders in Guinea Feasibility Study for the Establishment of a National Education August 2006 Submitted to USAID Radio in Guinea (English) Authors: Amadou Diallo, Max Graef, Jennifer Swift-Morgan Evaluation of PACEEQ’s Gender Approach (French) December 2006 Submitted to USAID Principle Investigator: Odile Akpaka Distributed to 40 education stakeholders in Guinea Evaluation of the Long Term Impact of PACEEQ in Mamou, January 2007 Submitted to USAID Faranah, Labé and Kankan (French) Distributed to 40 education Principle Investigator: Chérif Diallo stakeholders in Guinea

The following section provides a brief description of the main questions or issues these studies sought to address. Terms of reference for each study were drafted with technical assistance from RTI and significant input from USAID. The full text of each study can be obtained from USAID or World Education.

• PACEEQ Mid-Term Evaluation (November 2003): The Mid-Term Evaluation examined specific areas of PACEEQ in order to gain a deeper understanding of what was working well and what could be improved.

129 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 This evaluation examined in detail the PACEEQ training approach to determine its effectiveness, efficiency and identify its strong points as well as areas that could be improved. The evaluation also sought to examine learning outcomes of the training workshops, specifically how members of the APEAE assimilated and put to use their new knowledge and skills. The findings of this study were distributed to all consortium partners and were used to inform the second half of the implementation of PACEEQ.

• PACEEQ Mid-Term Evaluation of Local Alliances (November 2004): This evaluation focused specifically on the composition, degree of efficiency of Local Alliances in promoting girls education. It explored the role of Local Alliances within the overall federated structures of APEAE, the relationship between the Local Alliances and the APEAE, the relationship between the Local Alliances and school administration officials, perspectives for sustainability, and the contribution of Local alliances toward improved enrollment, retention and pass rates for girls.

PACEEQ Mid-Term Literacy Evaluation (December 2004): The internal, mid-term evaluation of the PACEEQ literacy program sought to address the following questions:

How does the PACEEQ literacy component strengthen a community’s ability to improve quality and equity in schools and community? How does literacy add value to the achievement of the overall goal of the project? What are the factors leading to lack of retention in literacy classes? Are there factors that increase/decrease drop-out rates? What are the barriers to learners achieving their targeted literacy levels? Are there factors that could be better supported in order to augment the achievement of literacy learners?

• PACEEQ Final Evaluation (July 2005): The final evaluation of PACEEQ provides an overall analysis on what aspects of the intervention were successful, which aspects were less successful, and to make recommendations for the PACEEQ consolidation phase. In addition, the evaluation focused on the link between the project activities and outputs, and improved learning outcomes, measured by enrollment, retention and pass rates.

• Report of National Forum – PACEEQ Lessons Learned (August 2006): As a part of the objective to ensure documentation of PACEEQ processes and results, a series of regional forums on lessons learned were held in all 8 regions of Guinea, culminating in a National Forum on PACEEQ lessons learned. A detailed description of these forums can be found in part 3 of the Project Management section of this report.

Comparative Study on Girls’ Education in Boké and N’Zérékoré: (September 2006): PACEEQ commissioned the National Media Task Force to conduct a comparative study on girls’ education in the regions of Boké and N’Zérékoré to document the impact of PACEEQ and ASGP activities on the daily lives of girls and their families.

130 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Building on the conclusions of previous evaluations of PACEEQ, this comparative study sought to add a new focus to our understanding of social change at the community level by capturing the qualitative changes in attitudes and practices pertaining to girls’ education. Using a journalistic approach, interviews were conducted with community members, parents, teachers and the girls themselves in an attempt to capture the changes in beliefs, opinions, habits and daily routines on aspects of daily life related to why parents support the education of their daughters.

The report produced by the National Media Task Force is the summary and analysis of hours and hours of group and individual interviews conducted with girl students, parents, teachers, APEAE members. The final report was submitted to USAID as well as disseminated to the National Equity Committee, FONSEF, FEGUIPAE, FEG/FAWE, and MENRS at the National and decentralized levels (IRE, DPE) as well as regional C/APEAE.

Feasibility Study for the Establishment of a National Radio Frequency for Education (August 2006): PACEEQ conducted a study to determine the feasibility of a national radio frequency for education.

The specific objectives of the feasibility study were to: • Conduct a situational analysis of educational radio in Guinea, reviewing the major elements of its history and identifying the existing capacity and assets pertinent to the creation of a new educational radio service; • Identify the major directions such a radio would take in terms of its mission and programming, based on the interest expressed by those consulted and the identified educational needs of the country; • Evaluate, from a technical perspective, the most appropriate and cost- effective ways of creating a national broadcasting network and production system for the educational radio service; • Propose the general organization and structure that would be most appropriate to support the educational radio service; • Identify and evaluate the human resource needs of the radio service as well as the opportunities available to meet these needs; • Identify the general budgetary categories and costs associated with the establishment of the radio service according to the approaches recommended by the study following an evaluation of all the options; • Identify and evaluate the major challenges and opportunities with regard to the financing of the radio service; • Evaluate the overall feasibility of creating and maintaining the national educational radio service based on an overall assessment of the findings.

The final report was submitted to USAID.

Evaluation of the Long Term Impact of PACEEQ in Mamou, Faranah, Kankan and Labé (January 2007): , A study of the long term impact of PACEEQ in the regions of Mamou, Faranah, Kankan and Labé was commissioned with the overall goal of examining the impact of PACEEQ in communities where PACEEQ has not directly supported APEAE since 2005 in the case of Kankan, Faranah and Labé and since

131 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 2001 in the case of Mamou. APEAE in these targeted communities were interviewed to determine their level of performance along a number of predetermined indicators, such as structure and function, resource mobilization and partnership. Specifically, this study addressed the following research questions: Are certain PACEEQ results more sustainable than others? Are there regional differences in sustainability? How is co-management of schools being negotiated between the school administration and APEAE after the PACEEQ direct intervention to APEAE has been completed? What is the status of the APEAE in the eyes of the school administration specifically, and of the community in general? The evaluation was disseminated to a number of education stakeholders including the MEPU-EC, FEGUIPAE and regional C/APEAE, National Equity Committee, FONSEF, UNICEF, Education for All and PACEEQ Consortium Partners.

• Evaluation of PACEEQ’s Gender Approach (December 2006): The overall goal of this evaluation was to examine the gender approach implemented in the PACEEQ program, analyze its strengths and weaknesses and compare it to other gender approaches used in education programs in Guinea. It also addressed the issue of how PACEEQ integrated gender transversally though all project activities.

The final report was disseminated to key education stakeholders including the National Equity Committee, FONSEF, UNICEF as well as USAID, Embassy staff, and PACEEQ consortium partners.

132 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

6. Disburse sub-grants for action research projects

Throughout the life of the project, PACEEQ supported a number of innovative action research projects. The selection of the action-research projects was made using the following criteria:

• Pertinence of proposed study to PACEEQ objectives • Feasibility • Period of execution (whether or not the project could be completed within the PACEEQ timeframe) • Cost

Action Research Projects funded under PACEEQ I

Table No. 27: Action-Research Projects Funded by PACEEQ I Name of Project Funded Implementing Organization Cost 1. Retention and Pass Rates for Girls in Grade 5 in Dinguiraye Prefecture C/APEAE of Dinguiraye 2,861,000 2. Girls' Enrollment in Faranah Sub-Prefecture APIF Faranah 2,554,635 3. Support for improved enrollment, retention and pass rates for girls in 3 CRDs in Labe CAM-Labe 5,175,000 4. Study of Obstacles to Girls’ Enrollment and Retention in 3 CRDs in Mamou UTDI 4,295,300 5. Capacity Building for APEAE not supported by PACEEQ Prefecture C/APEAE of Mamou 2,466,000 6. Capacity Building for Contractual Teachers ADECOM - Togue 6,726,100 7. Support for Girls in Difficult Situations in Foumbadou Sub-Prefecture Local Alliance of Foumbadou 724,100 8. Retention and Pass Rates for Girls in Tanene Sub-Prefecture Local Alliance of Tanene 1,649,800 9. Support for Theatre Troupes on the Consequences of Dropping Out of School Local Alliance of Tiro 2,186,500 10. Support to the Women's Literacy Center in Bara APEAE of Bara 112,500 TOTAL COST OF PROJECTS 28,750,935 FUNDING RECEIVED FROM PACEEQ 23,122,135 AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION 5,628,800 % COST SHARE FROM COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS 20%

Action Research Projects funded during PACEEQ consolidation phase PACEEQ funded a total of 9 action research projects that dealt with various issues related to school-community relations. Projects were selected on a competitive basis and a total of 53,832,050 GF was disbursed. Participating organizations also contributed to the cost of the Action Research project with in-kind or cash contributions for a total of 10,779,100 GF, or 17% of the total cost of the project.

133 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The table below provides an overview of the action-research projects funded by PACEEQ during the consolidation phase.

Table No. 28: Action-Research Projects Funded by PACEEQ Consolidation Phase Total Cost Name of Action Research Project Funded Implementing Organization of Project 1 Retention Rates and Pass Rates of girls and HIV/AIDS prevention Mamou Rural Radio 8,815,000 2 Fostering Collaborative Relationships between Parents and Schools Club Amis du Monde (CAM) 8,963,100 3 Establishment of a Community Library Prefecture C/APEAE of Mandiana 5,125,500 4 Improved partnership between local actors of the education system NGO-ADECOM Guinée 11,242,350 Eliminating Obstacles to Girls’ Enrollment, Retention Rates, and Pass 5 NGO UTDI Mamou Rates 8,588,000 6 Impact of Preschool in Primary Education Regional C/APEAE & IRE, Mamou 8,984,000 7 School Community Partnerships to Improve Reading Local Alliance of Tanéné 6,021,000 8 School Health and HIV/AIDS NGO VGD Koudara 5,304,600 9 Improving Geometry Teaching and Learning APEAE of Doghoun, 1,567,600 TOTAL COST OF PROJETS 64,611,150 FUNDING RECEIVED FROM PACEEQ 53,832,050 AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION 10,779,100 % COST SHARE FROM COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS 17%

7. Organize National Forum to support implementation of Ministry Circular No. 0999

The publication of MEPU-EC Circular No. 0999 was a landmark policy decision for Guinea in terms of community participation in education. By officially recognizing and validating the efforts of APEAE, Guinea has distinguished itself as a leader in terms of forward thinking policies regarding parental involvement in education. By defining roles and responsibilities for APEAE to become involved in the co- management of schools, MEPU-EC permitted the creation of an environment favorable to co-management of schools by parents and school administration officials.

The PACEEQ experience demonstrated that the benefits of a trained, organized, representative and democratic APEAE working to improve the quality of education serves an important asset for teachers, principals and school administration officials. The PACEEQ experience has also shown that the contributions of APEAE, in terms of resources mobilized, school improvement projects implemented, assistance provided to principals in the recruitment and retention of teachers has a significant impact on the ability of the principal to successfully cope with the many problems that arise in managing the school. Despite high rates of illiteracy among parents, especially in rural zones, Parents’ Associations have proven themselves to be capable partners of the school administration. Teachers and principals in PACEEQ zones have expressed their appreciation for the benefits they have received by partnering with the APEAE.

The publication of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation in September 2005 generated a considerable amount of debate and discussion with school administration officials and parents taking positions either for or against the new

134 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 policy. Parents and community members were largely in support of the new policy whereas school administration officials, who perceived it as a threat, were adamantly against it. Interestingly enough, many school administration officials, teachers and principals expressed their opposition to the Ministry Circular, without even being familiar with its contents. This was due largely to rumors and misunderstandings. Many teachers and principals have only heard that they are no longer supposed to serve on the boards of APEAE. They don’t understand why, nor do they have a clear idea of how this change is to be implemented. Due to lack of information and lack of understanding, they adopted a stance firmly opposed to the Ministry Circular.

To complement existing dissemination efforts on the part of MEPU-EC and PACEEQ, a National Forum was organized to create a roadmap for the effective implementation of the Ministry Circular throughout Guinea. PACEEQ and MEPU-EC worked closely together to plan the technical aspects of the forum. And MEPU-EC designated three resource persons at the national level to work closely with PACEEQ in the facilitation of the event. The resource persons selected by MEPU-EC are Mr. Sory Kaba of the DNES (Direction Nationale de l’Enseignement Secondaire), Mr. Raymond Georges Camara of the IGE (Inspection Générale de l’Education) and Mamadou Sylla of the DNEE (Direction Nationale de l’Education Elémentaire).

The first step in the organization of the National Forum was a series of Regional Forums that served to document issues at the regional level and inform the National Forum.

Regional Workshops: As a run-up to the national forum, a total of 16 regional meetings were organized in all regions of Guinea with the following objectives:

1. Share information and experiences to inventory the progress made towards implementing the Ministry Circular in the region 2. Identify the factors that contribute to the Ministry Circular being misunderstood and propose solutions to deal with those factors

The regional meetings were planned in close collaboration with the IRE. First, a preliminary planning meeting was held with the IRE and the regional C/APEAE to discuss the objectives of the regional meeting, finalize the list of participants, review the facilitator’s guide created by PACEEQ for the session, organize the logistics of the meeting, and to assign roles for facilitation. A facilitator’s guide was created for the regional workshop. As the topic of the regional workshop was the MEPU-EC Circular, the IRE played a leading role in the organization and facilitation was assigned to the IRE. The regional workshops brought together all education stakeholders at the regional level including locally the IRE, DPE, DSEE, school principals, teachers, CRD, regional, prefecture and sub-prefecture C/APEAE, APEAE, Local Alliances, National Equity Sub-Committee, and rural radio representatives. The table below summarizes the participation in the regional workshops.

135 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

Table 29: Regional Workshops on Ministry Circular No. 0999 Participants Women REGION Total Men # %

Boké 60 51 9 15%

Faranah 47 39 8 17% Labé 47 36 11 23% Mamou 41 35 6 15%

Kankan 45 43 2 4%

Kindia 42 37 5 12% Conakry 37 30 7 19% N’Zérékoré 46 41 5 11% TOTAL 365 312 53 15%

The agenda for the regional workshops was as follows:

1. Opening formalities 2. Context: In this section the overall context of the Ministry Circular is reviewed, the objectives of the regional workshop presented, and the relationship between the regional workshops and the planned National Forum is explained 3. Situational analysis: In this section, facilitators explore with the participants how they learned of the Ministry Circular, what were the positive and negative reactions they observed vis-à-vis the Ministry Circular, and the positive and negative effects and opportunities they observed as a result of the Ministry Circular. 4. Ownership of the Ministry Circular: In this section, participants examined the Ministry circular closely to identify any parts they felt required additional explanation 5. Solutions: In this section, participants developed strategies to address the issues of non-implementation

Following the regional workshops, the reports were analyzed by PACEEQ staff and the following general observations, both positive and negative, were noted:

• Poor understanding of the content of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation, regardless of whether one has favorable or unfavorable opinion of it.

• Lack of familiarity with the content of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation.

• Testimonials from individuals who cited increased transparency and accountability as well as improved outcomes when APEAE trained by

136 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 PACEEQ participated in the co-management of schools alongside school administration officials.

• Despite the new restriction on school administration officials serving on the boards of APEAE, the democratic renewal of APEAE boards through election by secret ballot promoted by PACEEQ was considered a positive development and a large success. Palpable friction revolving around the implementation of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation combined with a lack of vision and understanding as to how this new policy should be implemented operationally.

• Confusion over the terminology in the Ministry Circular on Community Participation regarding the difference between the “comité de development d’école” and the “comité de gestion.”

The above synthesis, as well as the full reports, were shared with the three MEPU-EC resource persons and served as the starting point for the National Forum.

The National Forum took place at INRAP in Conakry and brought together 151 education stakeholders, of which 25 (17%) were women. The objectives of the National Forum were:

1. Conduct a participatory situational analysis on the current level of application of the Ministry Circular using data from the regional reports

2. Review the content of the Ministry Circular with all of the education stakeholders present to assure a common understanding

3. Develop action points and recommendations to improve the application of the Ministry Circular

The agenda of the National Forum was as follows:

1. Opening ceremony 2. Review of historical context of the Ministry Circular 3. Overview of the content of the Ministry Circular 4. Sharing of experiences from Regional Forums 5. Participatory situational analysis of current level of application of the Ministry Circular 6. Partner presentations of models of school co-management (PAREEG and Comités de Gestion and Plan/Guinea and Comité de Developpement de l’Ecole) 7. Group Work – Development of action points to improve application of Ministry Circular 8. Plenary 9. Presentation of recommendations 10. Closing ceremony

137 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 The Ministry of Education, FGUIPAE, other international and national partners expressed their satisfaction with the National Forum. According to one participant, this was the first time all of the major education stakeholders came together to discuss the application of the Ministry Circular from a technical standpoint. The sharing of information, the situational analysis, and the partner presentations of different models of school committees were greatly appreciated by the participants.

Highlights of the forum included:

• The situational analysis provided many inspiring examples of the application of the Ministry Circular. These examples showed how the application of this policy could contribute to the quality of education through improved school- community relations. Equally, the situational analysis also provided many examples of friction and resistance to the application of the Ministry Circular. It is important to note that in many cases, the strongest resistance came from individuals who had never even read the policy document and were not familiar with its contents.

• The partner presentations sparked an important debate about the use of different models of school committees, specifically the PAREEG model of Comité de Gestion and the Plan Guinea model of Comité de Developpement d‘Ecole. This was the first time education stakeholders at the national level came together to discuss the harmonization of these different models.

• The format of the National Forum presented an excellent opportunity for facilitated exchange and dialogue. It provided a platform to document important steps that had already been taken to implement the Ministry Circular. This format created an action-oriented dynamic that later expressed itself in the ambitious and practical action points that were adopted as the National Forum Recommendations.

At the end of the workshop, the National Forum presented the following recommendations.

To the National Forum Participants: • Share the results of the forum with their respective structures and organizations in an effort to increase ownership of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation and improve effective application; • Serve as resource persons to their respective organizations in the application of the Ministry Circular; • Encourage Parents’ Associations and school administration to solve misunderstandings and disagreements about the application of the Ministry Circular through mutual consultation and dialogue.

138 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 To Federated Parents’ Associations and Community Based Organizations: • Hold meetings with members to discuss the contents of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation; • Integrate activities to disseminate information on the application of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation into FEGUIPAE and C/APEAE action plans; • Initiate actions to develop the spirit of collaboration and partnership; • Pursue resource mobilization activities and ensure transparent management of resources; • Establish monitoring committees at the regional level composed of school administration officials, parents, community members and education stakeholders to resolve conflicts related to the application of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation.

To School Administration Officials: • Adhere to the new vision of co-management of schools and welcome the participation of Parents’ Associations; • Respect the guiding principals of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation regarding the roles and responsibilities of Parents’ Associations outlined therein; • Encourage the active participation of Parents’ Associations at the school level; • Involve school principals in the dissemination of information on the Ministry Circular on Community Participation.

To NGOs, Projects, Programs and Development Partners: • Pursue activities related to increasing ownership of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation both at the community level as well as the national level; • Increase resources devoted to application of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation; • Initiate action research activities to improve application of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation; • Support innovations that have been developed in the application of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation; • Facilitate the sharing of results, action research projects, and innovations carried out as part of the application of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation.

To the Ministry of Education: • Capitalize on the progress already made in the application of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation; • Renew the commitment to reinforce the capacities of key actors relevant to the successful application of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation; • Provide clarification from a policy perspective on the models of school committees that should be established in Guinea compatible with the

139 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 language and guiding principles of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation; • Establish a mechanism of monitoring and follow-up for the application for the Ministry Circular on Community Participation; • Continue to advocate among the development partners to mobilize support for the new vision of co-management of schools; • Strengthen the trust and mutual respect between school administration officials and Parents’ Associations and communities.

To the Media : • Continue to follow the development of the application of the Ministry Circular on Community Participation and document the success stories.

Administration and Finances

Administration & Finances Activities – Planned Activities – Implemented Activities Region (s) Done Comments 9 Mamou 9 National NGO partners were selected through a 1. Initiate start-up activities Yes Headquarters competitive bid process. 9 25 motorcycles (AG), computers and computer 2. Submit regular financial and activity Mamou Yes accessories, a generator and a photocopier were reports Headquarters procured. PACEEQ personnel were recruited in 3. PACEEQ Personnel recruitment and Mamou Yes establishment of regional offices Headquarters accordance with the approved organigram. 4. Review and revise results framework, Revised results framework, Mamou implementation plan and PMP and submit to Yes Headquarters implementation plans and PMP were USAID for final approval submitted to and approved by USAID. Mamou All sub-grants were disbursed to and 5. Disburse sub-grants to target groups Headquarters/All Yes Regions justified by target groups. 4. Initiate close-out activities

1. Initiate Start-up Activities

The following section provides an overview of startup activities for both phases of PACEEQ.

• Development and signing of sub-agreements with international partners • Updating accounting system and field financial systems • Recruitment of PACEEQ personnel • Training of PACEEQ personnel • Selection of Guinean NGO partners

140 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 • Guinean NGO partner protocols and sub-grants • Training of NGO personnel • NGO institutional assessment • Equipment procurement and deployment • Establishment of PACEEQ regional offices and deployment of technical personnel • Selection of schools and zones of intervention in conjunction with local authorities • Development of monitoring and evaluation system • Submission of revised detailed work plan, results framework and performance monitoring plan • Regular activity and financial reporting with USAID

Roles and responsibilities of consortium partners In accordance with the proposal submitted to USAID, World Education signed sub- contract agreements with consortium partners Academy for Education Development (AED); Education Development Center (EDC); Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and Save the Children-US. Roles and responsibilities of international consortium partners were defined in the sub-contract agreements as follows:

AED was responsible for providing technical assistance in the domain of gender across all program activities and was involved operationally in the capacity building of Local Alliances and Equity Sub-Committees.

EDC provided expertise in the domain of communication and was responsible for implementation of the rural radio program during the PACEEQ I phase, and implemented the communication strategy, including sub-grant management for 8 regional C/APEAE and the FEGUIPAE during the consolidation phase. In addition, through a separate sub-grant mechanism, EDC carried out the Feasibility Study for the Establishment of a National Education Radio in Guinea.

RTI provided technical expertise in the monitoring and evaluation system that PACEEQ established, including the PACEEQ database. In addition, RTI provided technical assistance in the development of terms of reference for all studies and evaluations conducted throughout the course of PACEEQ, including the Mid-Term Evaluation of Local Alliances; the Mid-Term Evaluation of PACEEQ literacy activities; PACEEQ I Final Evaluation; Comparative Study on Girls’ Education; PACEEQ Gender Evaluation; and the Evaluation of the Long Term Impact of PACEEQ.

Save the Children-US was responsible for direct implementation of project activities in Kankan and N’Zérékoré.

As the lead organization, World Education was responsible for consortium management, reporting to USAID, development of Project Results Framework, Performance Management Plan, Project Implementation Plan, ensuring synergy and coherent application of project strategy by all consortium partners as well as direct implementation of all project activities in the regions of Boké, Conakry Faranah,

141 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Kindia Labé and Mamou, as well as assuring coordination at the National level with MEPU-EC, EPT, SNA, National Equity Committee and other international institutions.

Selection of Guinean NGO Partners To initiate project activities, PACEEQ launched a request for applications to recruit local NGO partners. Following the announcement, the project registered applications and a technical commission was constituted to evaluate applications based on established criteria: eligibility and selection criteria, as outlined below:

A - Eligibility NGO applicants were required to have the required experience and capacity to be eligible to apply. These were broken down into three categories: - Experience in managing programs - Capacity in financial management - Institutional capacity

B - Selection Criteria Criteria based on the following were used to finalize NGO selection:

a) Technical Approach (20%): quality of applicant description of strategies, objectives and activities to be implemented in the extension program b) Action Plan by region (40%): quality of detailed annual action plan including activities, results, means of verification, actors, beneficiaries, target sites and period of implementation for each activity. c) Budget (25%): budget that takes into consideration all activities by region d) List of key personnel and description of institutional capacity (15%): submission of key personnel CVs that will contribute to program management.

In this manner a total of 26 Guinean NGO partners were identified for the PACEEQ I phase (I1 per prefecture of operation). In the same manner a total of 11 Guinean NGO partners were identified for the consolidation phase (1 per region for Conakry, Faranah, Kindia, Kankan, Labé, and Mamou and one per prefecture for Boké and N’Zérékoré).

Recruitment of Personnel: Each organization was responsible for recruitment of the necessary personnel in accordance with the organigram submitted to USAID as part of the proposal. See the annexes for detailed organigrams for PACEEQ I and PACEEQ consolidation phase.

Selection of target groups: Although the number of target groups (i.e. how many APEAE, how many C/APEAE per region) were determined in the proposal, the specific selection of which APAEA would benefit from the PACEEQ capacity building intervention was carried out in a transparent process in collaboration with MEPU-EC and local school administration officials. Criteria were established, and using the SPS database of the MEPU-EC with the technical assistance of RTI, a total of 650 APEAE and 87 sub-prefecture C/APEAE were identified in collaboration with MEPU-EC for the first phase of PACEEQ. In

142 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 addition, a total of 57 CRD were identified, and communities selected for the establishment of 37 Local Alliances for girls’ education.

During the consolidation phase, the number of sub-prefecture C/APEAE was increased to 106, and the 5 commune C/APEAE of Conakry and 25 prefecture C/APEAE were added. In addition, 18 CRDs/CU were added and 7 new Local Alliances were integrated.

Establishment of regional offices During the first phase of PACEEQ, a total of five regional offices were established to support the following five regions: in Mamou, Boké, N’Zérékoré, Faranah, Labé and Kankan.

During the PACEEQ consolidation phase, regional offices were reorganized and a total of five regional offices supported all eight regions of Guinea as follows: There were five regional offices in Kankan, N’Zérékoré, Kindia, Boké, and Mamou. The Kindia regional office supported both Kindia and Conakry, and the Mamou regional office supported the regions of Mamou, Faranah, and Labé.

The regional offices of Kankan and N’Zérékoré were managed by Save the Children-US and all regional offices in other regions were managed by World Education.

It is important to note that World Education headquarters are located in Mamou. World Education maintains a small liaison office in Conakry.

Submit regular activity and financial reports to USAID World Education submitted regular quarterly activity reports and financial reports to USAID. The information below summarizes all of the sub-grant activity World Education administered to local partners.

PACEEQ I During PACEEQ I, a total of 1,171,230,020 GF in sub-grants was disbursed.

PACEEQ consolidation phase The graph below provides an overview of the different PACEEQ sub-grants disbursed. Almost half of the funds disbursed, 760,792,625 GF6 were disbursed to 144 Federated Parents’ Associations (C/APEAE) at the Regional, Prefecture, Sub- Prefecture and Commune levels. In addition, 32 Parents Associations at the school level (APEAE) in the regions of Boké and N’Zérékoré received a total of 223,519,300 GF. 44 Local Alliances received sub-grants totaling 231,300,585 GF. In addition, 5 national structures, the National Federation of Parents Associations (FEGUIPAE), the National Media Task Force, and the National Equity Committee all received institutional strengthening sub-grants totaling 112,750,000 GF.

6 All costs are listed in Guinean Francs. Due to the large fluctuations of the Guinean currency it is not possible to convert these figures accurately into corresponding dollar amounts.

143 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

PACEEQ Sub-Grants 2006

GNF 174,691,500

GNF 33,980,000

GNF 53,832,050

GNF 112,750,000 C/APEAE

Local Alliances GNF 760,792,625 APEAE

National Structures

Research Action GNF 223,519,300 Literacy

Innovation sub-grants

GNF 231,300,585

PACEEQ funded a total of 9 action research projects that dealt with various issues related to school-community relations. Projects were selected on a competitive basis and a total of 53,832,050 GF was disbursed. Participating organizations also contributed to the cost of the Action Research project with in-kind or cash contributions for a total of 10,779,100 GF, or 17% of the total cost of the project.

Close out of project In accordance with USAID rules and regulations, World Education initiated close out protocols. Regional offices were closed, sub-contract agreements with local and international partners were terminated. All outstanding sub-grants were justified. Personnel contracts were terminated. An asset disposition plan was prepared and submitted to USAID. Following approval of the asset disposition plan by USAID, assets were discharged accordingly. Each of the following national and international partners received one vehicle: AED, Save the Children, FEGUIPAE and RONGEPE. The rest of the vehicles remained with World Education for the implementation of the AGSP program. In addition, a total of 162 motorcycles were distributed to PACEEQ NGO partners, and sub-prefecture and prefecture C/APEAE, and both Save the Children and RONGEPE received a generator.

144 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

Monitoring & Evaluation

ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment) PACEEQ administered a rapid organizational assessment tool (Evaluation Rapide Organisationnelle – ERO) to the Parents’ Associations on a regular basis. This tool tracks their level of performance in administrative and financial management terms, as well as along a number of other performance criteria such as partnership, resource mobilization and advocacy, as well as HIV/AIDS prevention activities. The ERO was administered at the same time as the data collection survey, in the presence of all the board members of the Parents’ Association. The ERO measured the performance of the Parents’ Association by using a number of objective criteria. The criteria were explained in detail, and a discussion among board members and the NGO facilitators took place to give the Parents’ Association a score from 1 to 5 (with 1 being very unsatisfactory and 5 being very satisfactory).

Parents’ Associations were scored on specific items according to a pre-set number of components. They receive a score for each item, which was then averaged into a score for the component. A brief description of each component follows:

Structure/Functioning: The component examined their administrative efficiency. It addressed issues such as: Does the Parents’ Association record minutes of official meetings? Do they hold General Assemblies? Do they have a management system for correspondence? Do they have an up-to-date Education Action Plan? Do activity reports exist and are they up to date? Do they have an adequate filing system for official documents? Etc.

Finances: This component addressed issues such as: How often do they engage in resource mobilization activities? How do they manage their financial resources? Do they have a bank account? Who is signatory on the account? Are their bank statements in order? Have they developed financial procedures for handling their funds? Do they produce regular financial reports?

Partnership: This component looked at their relationship and level of collaboration with the school administration officials, locally elected officials, other NGOs and other parents associations. It asked specific questions such as, in the last six months have you met with school administration officials to discuss issues related to school co-management? Have you undertaken a collaborative activity with another organization (women’s group, other Parents’ Associations, local NGO, etc. . ) in the last six months? Etc.

Advocacy: This component looked at the different advocacy campaigns the parents associations have undertaken in the last six months. What was the issue? Who did they say? How did they present their message? What advocacy techniques did they use? Related to training module on Advocacy and Techniques of Negotiation? Where they successful?

145 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

HIV/AIDS Prevention and School Health: This component looked at the activities the Parents’ Association had been involved in or initiated as related to HIV/AIDS prevention and school health in general.

It is important to note that the ERO tool was modified for each target group. Although the five basic categories remained the same, the specific items within each category differed depending on whether it was the ERO for the APEAE, C/APEAE or NGOs.

The graph below summarizes the results of a select number of criteria measured by the ERO.

MOYENNE ERO DES APEAE PAR REGION

5.0 4.68 4.50 4.55 4.49 4.28 4.43

4.0

3.0 2.72 2.81 2.75 2.67 2.58 2.48 2.0 1.9 2.0 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8

1.0

0.0 BOKE FARANAH KANKAN LABE N'ZEREKORE Moyenne PACEEQ

Moyenne ERO 1 1.7 1.7 2.0 1.7 1.9 1.8 Moyenne ERO 2 4.28 4.43 4.50 4.55 4.68 4.49 Moyenne Ecart 2.58 2.72 2.48 2.81 2.75 2.67

Once calculated, the ERO scores were entered into the PACEEQ database and controlled for transcription and data entry errors. The results were then presented back to the Parent’s Association members in restitution sessions so that remedial steps could be planned and implemented in cases where performance needed improvement.

The graph above shows the evolution of the average ERO scores (averaged for the five components) from the beginning of the project to the end of first phase. As the graph above indicates, there was a net improvement of ERO scores across the board for all of the 650 APEAE supported by PACEEQ.

One important feature of the ERO tool was the restitution session mentioned above. This ensured that these ERO scores were not merely project indicators used by PACEEQ but also were examined, discussed and debated by the APEAE members themselves. As described in section 3.2.2., C/APEAE resource persons were trained in Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation which focused specifically on the ERO.

146 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

Specific Indicators and Data Collection Survey Every six months, PACEEQ surveyed the targeted APEAE to track progress on a number of indicators designed to measure the level of community participation. The survey is carried out by the local NGO partner and took place in three stages. First, a team of NGO facilitators met with the board members of the targeted Parents’ Association to administer the survey. Questions were asked to the entire group so that responses could be discussed and verified publicly, thus stimulating debate, and increasing the reliability of the responses. The second stage was the analysis of the collected data. The data was entered into the PACEEQ database and simple coherence tests were carried out to minimize transcription or data entry errors. The third stage involved restitution. The results of the data collection exercise were summarized and presented back to board members as well as community members. Progress and obstacles were identified and remedial actions discussed. The feedback sessions with the Parents’ Association members were critical in promoting continual progress.

PACEEQ identified 26 specific indicators7 (taken from the results framework), to monitor the progress toward achieving project goals. Below is a summary of the levels achieved for the 650 APEAE.

Indicator 2: Proportion of APEAE which use the situational study indicators in the development of their EAPs and in their decision making process. (Targeted level = 75%) • All regions achieved 100%

Indicator 3: Proportion of APEAE that have an EAP that includes activities related to access, quality and equity. (Targeted level = 100%) • All regions achieved 100%

Indicator 4: Proportion of APEAE that have implemented activities to improve school infrastructure. (Targeted level = 80%) • All regions achieved 100%

Indicator 5: Proportion of APEAE that have initiated or supported pedagogical improvement projects. (Targeted level = 80%) • Level achieved = 94%

Indicator 6: Proportion of APEAE having implemented at least 50% of their activities planned in their EAP. (Targeted level = 75%) • Level achieved = 100%

7 There were originally 44 indicators which were later reduced to 26. The database had already been created when the indicators were removed so they retained their original numbering. This explains why the indicators are not numbered consecutively.

147 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Indicator 7: Proportion of APEAE having taken into account the criteria for quality as outlined by NFQE in their EAP. (Targeted level = 100%) • Level achieved = 99%.

Indicator 8: Proportion of APEAE that have undertaken analysis of scholastic results two times per year. (Targeted level = 75%) • Level achieved = 99%

Indicator 9: Proportion of APEAE, which have increased the number of civic actions for the school. By definition the term civic action is meant to imply a voluntary and constructive action in favor of education. (Targeted level = 75%) • Level achieved = 89%

Indicator 10: Proportion of APEAE that monitor student and teacher attendance. (Targeted level = 80%) • Level achieved = 92%

Indicator 11: Proportion of APEAE that organize a minimum of three general assemblies per year. (Targeted level = 75%) • Level achieved = 100%

Indicator 15: Proportion of APEAE that have an attendance list for each meeting held. (Targeted level = 50%) • Level achieved = 92%

Indicator 16: Proportion of APEAE that hold at least one monthly meeting to discuss school problems. (Targeted level = 80%) • Level achieved = 62%

Indicator 20: Proportion of APEAE who mobilize their internal resources to realize the planned activities in their EAP. (Targeted level = 80%) • Level achieved = 99%.

Indicator 23: Proportion of APEAE that distribute their EAP to other stakeholders (CRD, Coordinators, school administrators, etc…). (Targeted level = 75%) • Level achieved = 96%

Indicator 25: Proportion of APEAE with external fundraising activities for the benefit of the school. (Targeted level = 35%) • Level achieved = 85%

Indicator 26: Proportion of APEAE that have established advocacy groups and procedures. (Targeted level = 60%) • Level achieved = 81%

Indicator 29: Proportion of APEAE having participated in exchange visits. (Targeted level = 100%) • Level achieved = 84%

148 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 Indicator 30: Proportion of APEAE who, after an exchange visit, began specific actions to improve their structural base and who shared the results with their community. (Targeted level = 75%) • Level achieved = 87%

Indicator 34: Proportion of APEAE in rural zones that have recruited a teacher or supported teachers (i.e. provided housing, financial aid, etc…) (Targeted level = 65%) • Level achieved = 98%

Indicator 36: Proportion of APEAE that have recruitment activities and that monitor girls’ activities at schools. (Targeted level = 100%) • Level achieved = 100%

Indicator 37: Proportion of APEAE that have implemented activities to increase girls’ enrolment. (Targeted level = 75%) • Level achieved = 100 %.

Indicator 39: Proportion of APEAE having planned at least one activity related to Health in their EAP. (Targeted level = 100%) • Level achieved = 100%.

Indicator 40: Proportion of APEAE having engaged in at least one activity related to health. (Targeted level = 65%) • Level achieved = 98%

Indicator 41: Proportion of APEAE that have written activities in their EAP relating to the retention and academic success of girls in school. (Targeted level = 100%) • Level achieved = 99%

Indicator 42: Proportion of APEAE that have engaged in activities to increase the rates of retention and scholastic success of girls. (Targeted level = 75%) • Level achieved = 100%

Indicator 43: Proportion of APEAE that elaborate on themes discussed during the rural radio programs in their debates. (Targeted level = 50%) • Level achieved = 92%

PACEEQ achieved or surpassed almost all of the planned targets with only two exceptions. One exception was the proportion of targeted APEAE that held at least one monthly meeting to discuss school problems. To qualify as a positive response for this indicator, the APEAE must hold a monthly meeting each month. If an APEAE misses one monthly meeting a negative response is recorded. More information is required to find out if the other APEAE who did not meet the target are holding

149 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007 meetings but less frequently than each month. The indicator in its present does not provide information on whether the APEAE are meeting regularly but less frequently.

The second indicator for which the target was not achieved concerns exchange visits. It was planned that 100% of APEAE would plan and carry out exchange visits, however only 82% conducted exchange visits.

The performance on the above indicators demonstrates that APEAE have become more involved in the co-management of schools. They are taking concrete steps to improve enrollment, retention rates and pass rates by working together with school administration officials to solve problems and support community teachers. They are developing and implementing Action Plans for Education and sharing these action plans with school administration officials. In terms of sustainability, the data above indicates APEAE regularly understood external fundraising to benefit the school and mobilized internal resources to fund their Education Action Plans.

The data above also indicates that girls’ education is a high priority for APEAE, evidenced by the fact that 99% of the APEAE undertook activities to support enrolment, retention and the academic success of girls.

150 PACEEQ Final Report 2001-2007

ANNEXES

ANNEX 1 APEAE TRAINING STATISTICS BY REGION

The table below provides a detailed description of training statistics for the 650 APEAE of Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Labé, Mamou and N’Zérékoré by module.

Cumulative APEAE training by region and by module (2001-2007) APEAE Board Members Other Participants Total participants REGION MODULES Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women # % # % # % Internal Governance 9,114 6,668 2,446 27% 1,823 1,444 379 21% 10,937 8,112 2,825 26% Financial Management 9,123 6,890 2,233 24% 1,933 1,471 462 24% 11,056 8,361 2,695 24% Quality of Education 9,810 7,258 2,552 26% 2,394 2,076 318 13% 12,204 9,334 2,870 24% BOKE Gender Equity 5,594 4,146 1,448 26% 903 715 188 21% 6,497 4,861 1,636 25% HIV/AIDS Prevention & School Health 8,976 7,165 1,811 20% 1,863 1,334 529 28% 10,839 8,499 2,340 22% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 5,528 4,005 1,523 28% 1,474 945 529 36% 7,002 4,950 2,052 29% Internal Governance 7,685 5,840 1,845 24% 4,839 3,677 1,162 24% 12,524 9,517 3,007 24%

Financial Management 5,496 4,177 1,319 24% 7,316 5,487 1,829 25% 12,812 9,664 3,148 25%

Quality of Education 7,538 5,729 1,809 24% 1,870 1,346 524 28% 9,408 7,075 2,333 25% FARANAH Gender Equity 4,483 3,360 1,123 25% 1,261 936 325 26% 5,744 4,296 1,448 25%

HIV/AIDS Prevention & School Health 4,932 3,649 1,283 26% 1,452 1,060 392 27% 6,384 4,709 1,675 26% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 4,075 2,988 1,087 27% 1,102 782 320 29% 5,177 3,770 1,407 27% Internal Governance 17,625 13,219 4,406 25% 22,373 16,556 5,817 26% 39,998 29,775 10,223 26%

Financial Management 13,786 10,340 3,446 25% 14,729 10,310 4,419 30% 28,515 20,650 7,865 28%

KANKAN Quality of Education 14,468 9,983 4,485 31% 14,868 10,705 4,163 28% 29,336 20,688 8,648 29%

Gender Equity 11,581 8,736 2,845 25% 9,413 7,154 2,259 24% 20,994 15,890 5,104 24%

HIV/AIDS Prevention & School Health 10,200 7,038 3,162 31% 9,801 7,057 2,744 28% 20,001 14,095 5,906 30% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 7,357 5,150 2,207 30% 6,809 5,107 1,702 25% 14,166 10,257 3,909 28% Internal Governance 19,026 13,889 5,137 27% 19,205 11,331 7,874 41% 38,231 25,220 13,011 34%

Financial Management 11,614 8,362 3,252 28% 4,117 2,635 1,482 36% 15,731 10,997 4,734 30%

Quality of Education 18,659 13,248 5,411 29% 6,580 4,540 2,040 31% 25,239 17,788 7,451 30% LABE Gender Equity 9,182 6,152 3,030 33% 3,052 2,014 1,038 34% 12,234 8,166 4,068 33%

HIV/AIDS Prevention & School Health 11,703 8,192 3,511 30% 4,005 2,683 1,322 33% 15,708 10,875 4,833 31% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 9,239 6,005 3,234 35% 3,191 2,393 798 25% 12,430 8,398 4,032 32% Internal Governance 7,342 6,205 1,137 15% 3,265 2,374 891 27% 10,607 8,579 2,028 19%

Financial Management 8,455 7,048 1,407 17% 7,676 6,817 859 11% 16,131 13,865 2,266 14%

Quality of Education 6,338 5,135 1,203 19% 4,060 3,394 666 16% 10,398 8,529 1,869 18% N'ZEREKORE Gender Equity 5,175 4,320 855 17% 1,768 1,379 389 22% 6,943 5,699 1,244 18%

HIV/AIDS Prevention & School Health 6,646 5,179 1,467 22% 3,004 2,187 817 27% 9,650 7,366 2,284 24% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 2,225 1,723 502 23% 1,410 1,169 241 17% 3,635 2,892 743 20% TOTAL 272,975 201,799 71,176 26% 167,556 121,078 46,478 28% 440,531 322,877 117,654 27%

ANNEX 2 Training Statistics for 87 sub-prefecture C/APEAE by module and by region

Capacity building training statistics for 87 C/APEAE (PACEEQ I Sept 2001 - August 2005) C/APEAE Board Members Other Participants Total participants REGION MODULES Total M W Total M W Total M W # % # % # % Organizational Development 1,412 436 976 69% 330 181 149 45% 1,742 617 1,125 65% Financial Management 42 31 11 26% 2 2 0 0% 44 33 11 25%

Quality of Education 99 75 24 24% 14 13 1 7% 113 88 25 22% BOKE Gender Equity 809 534 275 34% 175 175 0 0% 984 709 275 28% HIV/AIDS Prevention 525 249 276 53% 228 227 1 0% 753 476 277 37% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 742 649 93 13% 749 598 151 20% 1,491 1,247 244 16% Organizational Development 1,152 884 268 23% 197 157 40 20% 1,349 1,041 308 23% Financial Management 85 70 15 18% 0 0 0 0% 85 70 15 18%

Quality of Education 206 135 71 34% 12 12 0 0% 218 147 71 33% FARANAH Gender Equity 1,573 1,038 535 34% 131 131 0 0% 1,704 1,169 535 31% HIV/AIDS Prevention 369 232 137 37% 1 1 1 100% 370 233 138 37% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 110 76 34 31% 13 10 3 23% 123 86 37 30% Organizational Development 2,123 1,635 488 23% 1,094 833 261 24% 3,217 2,468 749 23%

Financial Management 709 517 192 27% 262 222 40 15% 971 739 232 24% KANKAN Quality of Education 145 102 43 30% 115 92 23 20% 260 194 66 25%

Gender Equity 1,649 1,258 391 24% 488 371 117 24% 2,137 1,629 508 24% HIV/AIDS Prevention 152 108 44 29% 110 87 23 21% 262 195 67 26% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 135 101 34 25% 105 89 16 15% 240 190 50 21% Organizational Development 576 402 174 30% 0 0 0 0% 576 402 174 30% Financial Management 590 404 186 32% 0 0 0 0% 590 404 186 32%

Quality of Education 498 351 147 30% 0 0 0 0% 498 351 147 30% LABE Gender Equity 1,960 1,386 574 29% 182 131 51 28% 2,142 1,517 625 29% HIV/AIDS Prevention 1,793 1,340 453 25% 69 48 21 30% 1,862 1,388 474 25% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 1,907 1,392 515 27% 499 457 42 8% 2,406 1,849 557 23% Organizational Development 2,372 732 1,640 69% 158 136 22 14% 2,530 868 1,662 66% Financial Management 0 0 0 0% 0 0 0 0% 0 0 0 0%

Quality of Education 2,105 1,726 379 18% 91 82 9 10% 2,196 1,808 388 18% MAMOU Gender Equity 852 647 205 24% 0 0 0 0% 852 647 205 24%

HIV/AIDS Prevention 786 645 141 18% 137 137 0 0% 923 782 141 15% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 209 126 83 40% 0 0 0 0% 209 126 83 40% Organizational Development 85 68 17 20% 51 50 1 2% 136 118 18 13% Financial Management 24 21 3 13% 16 16 0 0% 40 37 3 8%

Quality of Education 90 72 18 20% 30 23 7 23% 120 95 25 21% N'ZEREKORE Gender Equity 43 32 11 26% 30 30 0 0% 73 62 11 15%

HIV/AIDS Prevention 0 0 0 0% 0 0 0 0% 0 0 0 0% Advocacy & Techniques of Negotiation 90 69 21 23% 30 29 1 3% 120 98 22 18% TOTAL GENERAL 26,017 17,543 8,474 33% 5,319 4,340 980 18% 31,336 21,883 9,454 30%

ANNEX 3 Training Statistics for C/APEAE on FASE by Region

As part of the overall consolidation strategy, the C/APEAE were trained together with the CRD and DSEE to enhance collaboration. The table below provides an overview of the statistics of the FASE training for 111 sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE, CRD as well as DSEE.

TRAINING IN FASE C/APEAE Resource CRD DSEE TOTAL Persons Women Women Women Women Region Total M # % Total M # % Total M # % Total M # % Boké 15 15 0 0% 6 6 0 0% 14 12 2 14% 35 33 2 6% Faranah 14 12 2 17% 3 3 0 0% 6 6 0 0% 23 21 2 9% Labé 33 30 3 10% 9 7 2 22% 17 17 0 0% 59 54 5 8% Mamou 34 22 12 55% 10 10 0 0% 18 18 0 0% 62 50 12 19% N’Zérékoré 12 11 1 9% 4 2 2 50% 15 14 1 7% 31 27 4 13% Kindia 27 26 1 4% 12 12 0 0% 13 13 0 0% 52 51 1 2% Conakry 10 9 1 11% 3 3 0 0% 7 7 0 0% 20 19 1 5% Kankan 26 23 3 13% 55 54 1 2% 4 4 0 0% 85 81 4 5% TOTAL 171 148 23 16% 102 97 5 5% 94 91 3 3% 367 336 31 8%

A total of 367 participants took part in the FASE training, of which 31 (8%) were women.

ANNEX 4 Training Statistics for C/APEAE on Community Participation and Partnership by Region

The table below details the training for the 136 sub-prefecture, commune and prefecture C/APEAE in the consolidation training module Community Participation and Partnership by region.

Training for Sub-Prefecture, Commune and Prefecture C/APEAE in Community Participation and Partnership Sub-Prefecture/Commune C/APEAE Prefecture C/APEAE Other Participants TOTAL REGION Total M W %W Total M W %W Total M W %W Total M W %W Boke 49 34 15 31% 8 5 3 38% 8 7 1 13% 65 46 19 29% Faranah 38 26 12 32% 8 5 3 38% 0 0 0 0% 46 31 15 33% Labe 124 85 39 31% 16 12 4 25% 0 0 0 0% 140 97 43 31% Mamou 330 242 88 27% 16 11 5 31% 5 5 0 0% 351 258 93 26% Kankan 41 31 10 24% 16 10 6 38% 18 18 0 0% 75 59 16 21% Kindia 20 15 5 25% 10 9 1 10% 0 0 0 0% 30 24 6 20% Conakry 10 10 0 0% 0 0 0 0% 0 0 0 0% 10 10 0 0% Nzerekore 54 34 20 37% 33 30 3 9% 14 14 0 0% 101 78 23 23% TOTAL 666 477 189 28% 107 82 25 23% 45 44 1 2% 818 603 215 26%

A total of 816 persons were trained in Community Participation and Partnership, of which 215 (26%) were women. This does not include statistics on the training for resource persons (including DSEE and CRD).

ANNEX 5 Training Statistics for C/APEAE on Conflict Prevention and Management and ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment) by Region

The table below provides an overview of the training statistics for 136 sub- prefecture, commune and prefecture C/APEAE in the core training modules Conflict Prevention and Management and ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment). A total of 752 individuals were trained of which 182 (24%) were women. This does not include the statistics on the resource persons trained (including CRD and DSEE) which is covered in the next section on resource persons.

Training in Conflict Prevention and Management and ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment) for C/APEAE members C/APEAE Members Other Participants TOTAL REGION Total M W %W Total M W %W Total M W %W Boké 46 34 12 26% 10 9 1 10% 56 43 13 23% Faranah 29 22 7 24% 5 5 0 0% 34 27 7 21% Labé 105 71 34 32% 17 17 0 0% 122 88 34 28% Mamou 175 110 65 37% 9 9 0 0% 184 119 65 35% Kankan 99 84 15 15% 51 51 0 0% 150 135 15 10% Kindia 74 51 23 31% 11 11 0 0% 85 62 23 27% Conakry 25 20 5 20% 0 0 0 0% 25 20 5 20% Nzérékoré 70 50 20 29% 26 26 0 0% 96 76 20 21% TOTAL 623 442 181 29% 129 128 1 1% 752 570 182 24%

ANNEX 6 Combined Training Statistics on HIV/AIDS Prevention Refresher Training and Training for Newly Integrated C/APEAE

The table below details the HIV/AIDS training statistics by region. Training statistics on HIV/AIDS Prevention were grouped, so that the statistics below include both the refresher trainings for the original 87 sub-prefecture C/APEAE as well as the training workshops for the 24 newly integrated sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE.

HIV/AIDS Refresher Training for targeted Sub-Prefecture C/APEAE # C/APEAE # C/APEAE Participants Region Planned Trained Total M W %W Boké 3 4 63 39 24 38% Faranah 3 3 21 17 4 19% Labé 6 8 64 40 24 38% Mamou 11 11 77 45 32 42% Kankan 5 17 113 87 26 23% Kindia 13 13 65 49 16 25% Conakry 5 5 25 20 5 20% Nzérékoré 8 3 188 140 48 26% TOTAL 54 64 616 437 179 29%

ANNEX 7 Training for Newly Integrated Sub-Prefecture and Commune C/APEAE by Region

Training for newly integrated C/APEAE of Kindia, Conakry and N’Zérékoré As part of the consolidation phase, an additional 24 Sub-Prefecture and Commune C/APEAE were targeted for PACEEQ capacity building. These C/APEAE were in zones that were not previously covered by PACEEQ.

The table below provides an overview of training statistics for the newly integrated Sub-Prefecture and Commune C/APEAE.

Training for Newly Integrated sub-prefecture and commune C/APEAE PARTICIPANTS REGION MODULES M W Total %W Organizational Development 129 43 172 25% Financial Management 129 43 172 25% Decentralization and Quality of Education 130 28 172 16% Gender Equity 94 37 158 23% Kindia HIV/AIDS Prevention 49 17 131 13% Organizational Development 47 9 66 14% Financial Management 47 9 56 16% Decentralization and Quality of Education 48 17 56 30% Gender Equity 40 10 56 18% Conakry HIV/AIDS Prevention 20 25 65 38% Organizational Development 68 23 50 46% Financial Management 35 14 49 29% Decentralization and Quality of Education 59 18 45 40% Gender Equity 38 19 91 21% N’Zérékoré HIV/AIDS Prevention 38 19 49 39% TOTAL 971 331 1388 24%

A total of 1,388 participants took part in the training sessions, of which 331 (24%) were women.

ANNEX 8 Training Statistics for Prefecture and Regional C/APEAE in Financial Management by Region

Prefecture C/APEAE and Regional APEAE received training in Financial Management to help them to effectively manage the sub-grants funds.

The table below provides and overview of the training statistics in Financial Management. A total of 111 individuals participated, of which 23 (21%) were women.

Training for C/APEAE in Financial Management Participants REGION Women Total Men # % BOKE 12 9 3 25% FARANAH 7 5 2 29% LABE 9 4 5 56% KANKAN 27 25 2 7% MAMOU 11 7 4 36% N'ZEREKORE 23 18 5 22% KINDIA/CONAKRY 22 20 2 9% TOTAL 111 88 23 21%

ANNEX 9 Training Statistics for Prefecture C/APEAE in Core Training Modules by Region

As part of the consolidation phase, a number of Prefecture C/APEAE in the regions of Faranah, N’Zérékoré, Kankan and Kindia were targeted for additional training in the following modules: Organizational Development; Decentralization and Quality of Education; HIV/AIDS Prevention, and Gender Equity.

These training sessions for the prefecture C/APEAE who had not previously benefited from PACEEQ allowed these structures to fill in essential gaps in their skills and knowledge and enabled them to collaborate better with sub- prefecture C/APEAE who had already been trained by PACEEQ.

A total of 856 participants took part in the training workshops on these four training modules, of which 191, or 22%, were women.

The table below provides a description of the training statistics by region.

Training for Prefecture C/APEAE PARTICIPANTS REGION MODULES Total Men Women Decentralization and Quality of Education 23 16 7 30% Gender Equity 29 18 11 38% FARANAH Organizational Development 30 22 8 27% HIV/AIDS 23 16 7 30% Decentralization and Quality of Education 48 43 5 10% Gender Equity 48 43 5 10% KANKAN Organizational Development 48 43 5 10% HIV/AIDS 48 43 5 10% Decentralization and Quality of Education 54 44 10 19% Gender Equity 53 44 9 17%

KINDIA Organizational Development 64 54 10 16% HIV/AIDS 53 44 9 17% Decentralization and Quality of Education 33 22 11 33% Gender Equity 20 18 2 10% Organizational Development 23 18 5 22% N'ZEREKORE HIV/AIDS 33 22 11 33% TOTAL GENERAL 856 665 191 22%

ANNEX 10 Training Statistics on Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation by Target Group and by Region

The table below summarizes the number of persons trained in Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation.

TOT in Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation Local C/APEAE Alliance SCE Total participants Resource Resource Resource NGO Region Person Persons Persons CRD DSEE Facilitators Total Women % Boké 22 2 9 12 5 23 73 13 18% Faranah 22 12 5 3 12 3 57 8 14% Labé 39 20 8 10 27 6 110 17 15% Kankan 18 16 4 5 27 4 74 8 11% Mamou 53 6 6 10 34 5 114 21 18% N’Zérékoré 35 16 1 2 22 20 96 6 6% Kindia 27 4 4 0 15 5 55 7 13% Conakry 10 0 0 0 7 3 20 2 10%

TOTAL 226 76 37 42 149 69 599 82 14%

A total of 599 individuals were trained in Non-Formal Adult Education and Techniques of Facilitation, of which 82 (14%) were women.

This training module was used as a capacity building tool not only for C/APEAE and local Alliance resource persons, but also targeted local NGO facilitators, resource persons from the Equity Sub-Committees, as well as DSEE and CRD members,

ANNEX 11 Training Statistics for Resource Persons in Community Participation and Partnership by Region

The table below provides an overview of training statistics for resource persons and DSEE in Community Participation and Partnership.

Training for Resource Persons in Community Participation and Partnership Sub-Prefecture Resource Prefecture Resource Persons Persons DSEE TOTAL REGION Total M W %W Total M W %W Total M W %W Total M W %W Boké 16 16 0 0% 5 5 0 0% 7 6 1 14% 28 27 1 4% Faranah 15 14 1 7% 6 4 2 33% 6 6 0 0% 27 24 3 11% Labé 34 31 3 9% 8 6 2 25% 17 17 0 0% 59 54 5 8% Mamou 66 58 8 12% 6 6 0 0% 33 33 0 0% 105 97 8 8% Kankan 26 22 4 15% 8 7 1 13% 13 13 0 0% 47 42 5 11% Kindia 26 25 1 4% 10 10 0 0% 11 11 0 0% 47 46 1 2% Conakry 10 8 2 20% 0 0 0 0% 7 6 1 14% 17 14 3 18% N'Zérékoré 28 27 1 4% 6 6 0 0% 14 14 0 0% 48 47 1 2% TOTAL 221 201 20 9% 49 44 5 10% 108 106 2 2% 378 351 27 7%

ANNEX 12 Training Statistics for Resource Persons by Region on Conflict Prevention and Management and ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment)

The table below provides details on the training statistics for resource persons and DSEE by region in Conflict Prevention and Management and ERO.

Resource Person Training in Conflict Prevention and Management and ERO (Rapid Organizational Assessment) Resource Persons DSEE TOTAL REGION Total M W %W Total M W %W Total M W %W Boké 22 22 0 0% 6 5 1 17% 28 27 1 4% Faranah 16 13 3 19% 5 5 0 0% 21 18 3 14% Labé 42 37 5 12% 17 17 0 0% 59 54 5 8% Mamou 66 54 12 18% 27 27 0 0% 93 81 12 13% Kankan 34 29 5 15% 13 13 0 0% 47 42 5 11% Kindia 27 25 2 7% 0 0 0 0% 27 25 2 7% Conakry 10 9 1 10% 0 0 0 0% 10 9 1 10% N’Zérékoré 16 15 1 6% 8 8 0 0% 24 23 1 4% TOTAL 233 204 29 12% 76 75 1 1% 309 279 30 10%

ANNEX 13 Training Statistics for Resource Persons in Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation

The table below provides an overview of the training workshops held during this quarter.

Training in Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation for Resource Persons PARICIPANTS REGION Total Men Women % Women Boké 16 15 1 6% Faranah 22 20 2 9% Labé 39 36 3 8% Mamou 76 65 11 14% Kankan 33 31 2 6% Kindia 57 47 10 18% Conakry 11 9 2 18% N’Zérékoré 63 57 6 10% TOTAL 317 280 37 12%

A total of 317 resource persons from sub-prefecture, prefecture C/APEAE and Local Alliances were trained, of which 37 (12%) were women.

ANNEX 14 Prizes Awarded as Part of National Girls Day Celebration

Prizes awarded as part of National Girls’ Day Celebration 2005-2006 # sub- prefecture # of # of C/APEAE # Alliances # of girls teachers to DSEE to # Management supported by supported by to receive receive receive Committees to PACEEQ PACEEQ prizes prizes prizes receive prizes Boké 8 7 270 30 2 1 Faranah 8 6 252 28 2 1 Kankan 13 8 378 52 2 1 Kindia 13 2 270 30 2 1 Labé 17 10 486 44 3 1 Mamou 33 3 648 72 5 1 N’Zérékoré 14 8 396 44 2 1 Conakry 5 0 60 10 2 1 TOTAL 111 44 2,760 310 20 8

Prizes awarded as part of National Girls’ Day Celebration 2005-2006 # Alliances # sub-prefecture C/APEAE supported by # of girls to # of teachers to supported by PACEEQ PACEEQ receive prizes receive prizes Boké 8 6 260 30 Faranah 8 6 174 28 Kankan 13 8 260 42 Kindia 0 0 15 2 Labé 17 8 336 56 Mamou 33 3 438 72 N’Zérékoré 8 6 194 32 Conakry 0 0 42 14 TOTAL 87 37 1719 276

Note: Prizes for the 2006-2007 National Girls Day Celebration are not included here because they will be awarded in June 2007, after the reporting period for this report.

ANNEX 15 AGSP Scholarship Distribution

AGSP Scholarship Packages Distributed 2006-2007 school year REGION # of Scholarships by # of Scholarships Total Grade by Zone Scholarships Grade 5 Grade 6 Rural Urban Zone Zone Mamou 699 777 1,194 282 1,476 Labé 496 918 1,058 356 1,414 Faranah 258 414 450 222 672 Kankan 558 300 674 184 858 N’Zérékoré 284 445 639 90 729 Kindia 352 448 675 125 800 Conakry 303 432 0 735 735 Boké 411 405 552 264 816 Total 3,361 4,139 5,242 2,258 7,500

Scholarship Distribution for the 2005-2006 school year AGSP Scholarship Packages Distributed 2005-2006 school year Scholarships by Scholarships by Zone Total N° Regions Grate Scholarships Grade 5 Grade 6 Rural Urban 1 Boké 354 462 552 264 816 2 Faranah 387 285 469 203 672 3 Kankan 312 546 677 181 858 4 Kindia 404 396 680 120 800 5 Labé 859 555 1 083 331 1,414 6 Mamou 705 771 1 194 282 1,476 7 Conakry 415 320 0 735 735 8 N'Zérékoré 430 299 611 118 729 Total 3 866 3 634 5 266 2 234 7 500 Percent 51% 49% 70% 30% 100%

AGSP Scholarship Packages Distributed 2004-20065school year Total N° Regions Scholarships 1 Boké 816 2 Faranah 672 3 Kankan 828 4 Kindia 65 5 Labé 1,414 6 Mamou 1,476 7 N'Zérékoré 729 Total 6000 Percent 100% ANNEX 16 Innovation Projects in support of Girls Education

Summary of innovation projects in support of girls' education 2006-2007 # projects % N° ACTIVITIES financed Amount provided by: Total Contribution PACEEQ Recipients 1 Construction of separate latrines for girls 16 73,360,500 10,045,300 12% 12% 2 Interscholastic competitions 1 4,999,000 585,000 10% 10% 3 School reading competitions 1 5,000,000 500,000 9% 9% 4 Construction of improved wells 6 27,647,800 5,444,000 16% 16% 5 Construction of school fence 9 44,970,000 11,572,500 20% 20% 6 Renovation of classrooms 3 13,714,200 1,250,000 8% 8% 7 School libraries 1 5,000,000 690,000 12% 12% TOTAL 37 174,691,500 30,086,800 204,778,300 15%

Innovation Projects 2004-2005 Mothers' Association Latrines for Girls Well Repairs Exchange Visits School Materials Reivions Groups HIV/AIDS Prevention Interscholastic Sports Cultural Activities Courtyard Improvement

Note: There were no innovation projects funded during the 2005-2006 school year.

ANNEX 17 Complementary Activities in Support of Girls’ Education

Complementary Activities in Support of Girls Education 2006-2007 Complementary Activity Total Girls Boys Students School Clubs 1,175 764 411 Revision Groups 1,810 1,258 552 Women Role Models 1,138 1,106 32 Tutoring 731 649 82 Exchange Visits 544 644 0 Total 5,398 4,421 1,077

Complementary Activities in Support of Girls Education 2005-2006 Complementary Activity Total Students Girls Boys School Clubs 1175 981 44- Revision Groups 1810 1258 1416 Women Role Models 1138 1106 0 Tutoring 746 746 0 Exchange Visits 1718 1716 0 Total 6587 5807 1416

Complementary Activities in Support of Girls Education 2004-2005 Complementary Total Students Girls Boys Activity

School Clubs 1297 938 326 Revision Groups 5506 5315 191 Women Role Models 13355 13047 308

Tutoring 4,301 3983 285 Exchange Visits 605 605 0 Total 25,064 23,888 1,110

ANNEX 18 Statistics on Core Training Modules for Local Alliances

Training Statistics for Local Alliances PACEEQ I Board Members Other Participants Total participants REGION MODULES Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women # % # % # % Organizational Development 1,020 590 430 42% 216 104 112 52% 1,236 694 542 44% Financial Management 85 36 49 58% 36 18 18 50% 121 54 67 55%

Quality of Education 166 76 90 54% 14 7 7 50% 180 83 97 54% BOKE Gender Equity 715 357 358 50% 74 50 24 32% 789 407 382 48% HIV/AIDS Prevention 487 258 229 47% 25 20 5 20% 512 278 234 46% Advocacy & Tech of Neg. 574 315 259 45% 119 53 66 55% 693 368 325 47% Organizational Development 943 481 462 49% 176 107 69 39% 1,119 588 531 47%

Financial Management 85 72 13 15% 0 0 0 0% 85 72 13 15% Quality of Education 113 61 52 46% 11 7 4 36% 124 68 56 45% FARANAH Gender Equity 787 315 472 60% 44 40 4 9% 831 355 476 57%

HIV/AIDS Prevention 90 40 50 56% 6 4 2 33% 96 44 52 54% Advocacy & Tech of Neg. 86 44 42 49% 10 7 3 30% 96 51 45 47% Organizational Development 1,521 842 679 45% 481 308 173 36% 2,002 1,150 852 43%

Financial Management 213 73 140 66% 154 98 56 36% 367 171 196 53% KANKAN Quality of Education 136 48 88 65% 10 6 4 40% 146 54 92 63% Gender Equity 1,365 649 716 52% 96 56 40 42% 1,461 705 756 52%

HIV/AIDS Prevention 125 71 54 43% 5 4 1 20% 130 75 55 42% Advocacy & Tech of Neg. 128 77 51 40% 11 8 3 27% 139 85 54 39% Organizational Development 615 295 320 52% 94 79 15 16% 709 374 335 47%

Financial Management 285 118 167 59% 0 0 0 0% 285 118 167 59% LABE Quality of Education 405 216 189 47% 24 24 0% 429 240 189 44% Gender Equity 1,203 607 596 50% 13 10 3 23% 1,216 617 599 49%

HIV/AIDS Prevention 1,160 554 606 52% 109 67 42 39% 1,269 621 648 51% Advocacy & Tech of Neg. 944 413 531 56% 119 46 73 61% 1,063 459 604 57% Organizational Development 701 423 278 40% 162 144 18 11% 863 567 296 34%

Financial Management 11 8 3 27% 0 0 0 0% 11 8 3 27% MAMOU Quality of Education 300 180 120 40% 60 45 15 25% 360 225 135 38% Gender Equity 74 47 27 36% 22 12 10 45% 96 59 37 39%

HIV/AIDS Prevention 150 71 79 53% 6 6 0 0% 156 77 79 51% Advocacy & Tech of Neg. 32 15 17 53% 0 0 0 0% 32 15 17 53% Organizational Development 33 11 22 67% 20 11 9 45% 53 22 31 58%

Financial Management 15 3 12 80% 10 9 1 10% 25 12 13 52% Quality of Education 103 48 55 53% 21 19 2 10% 124 67 57 46% N'ZEREKORE Gender Equity 40 17 23 58% 21 19 2 10% 61 36 25 41%

HIV/AIDS Prevention N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Advocacy & Tech of Neg. 94 41 53 56% 35 32 3 9% 129 73 56 43% TOTAL GENERAL 14,771 7,461 7,310 49% 2,184 1,409 775 35% 16,955 8,870 8,085 48%

ANNEX 19 Training of Local Alliances during PACEEQ Consolidation Phase

Training for Local Alliances and Equity Sub-Committees Alliance Board Members Equity Sub-Committee Total participants REGION MODULES Total M Women Total M Women Total M Women # % # % # % Leadership & Resource Mobilization 19 11 8 42% 16 11 5 31% 35 22 13 37% BOKE Partnership 61 28 33 54% 11 10 1 9% 72 38 34 47% Girls' Vulnerability 61 28 33 54% 11 10 1 9% 72 38 34 47% Leadership & Resource Mobilization 28 7 21 75% 5 3 2 40% 33 10 23 70% FARANAH Partnership 29 14 15 52% 10 8 2 20% 39 22 17 44% Girls' Vulnerability 29 14 15 52% 10 8 2 20% 39 22 17 44% Leadership & Resource Mobilization 40 23 17 43% 15 8 7 47% 55 31 24 44% LABE Partnership 50 19 31 62% 8 2 6 75% 58 21 37 64% Girls' Vulnerability 50 19 31 62% 8 2 6 75% 58 21 37 64% Leadership & Resource Mobilization 15 3 12 80% 6 2 4 67% 21 5 16 76% MAMOU Partnership 24 10 14 58% 6 2 4 67% 30 12 18 60% Girls' Vulnerability 24 10 14 58% 6 2 4 67% 30 12 18 60% Leadership & Resource Mobilization 23 9 14 61% 2 2 0 0% 25 11 14 56% KINDIA Partnership 29 12 17 59% 4 3 1 25% 33 15 18 55% Girls' Vulnerability 29 12 17 59% 4 3 1 25% 33 15 18 55% Leadership & Resource Mobilization 56 43 13 23% 43 34 9 21% 99 77 22 22% KANKAN Partnership 58 42 16 28% 37 33 4 11% 95 75 20 21% Girls' Vulnerability 58 42 16 28% 37 33 4 11% 95 75 20 21% Leadership & Resource Mobilization 95 31 64 67% 58 53 5 9% 153 84 69 45% N’Zérékoré Partnership 20 19 1 5% 18 10 8 44% 38 29 9 24% Girls' Vulnerability 113 43 70 62% 18 10 8 44% 131 53 78 60% TOTAL 911 439 472 52% 333 249 84 25% 1244 688 556 45%

ANNEX 20 Refresher Training in HIV/AIDS Prevention for Local Alliances during PACEEQ Consolidation Phase

Refresher Training Local Alliances in HIV/AIDS and School Health (cumulative)

# Alliances # Alliances Participants Region Planned Trained Total M W % Boké 2 4 84 43 41 49% Mamou 1 1 7 2 5 71% Faranah 2 2 14 5 9 64% Labé 3 8 52 27 25 48% N’Zérékoré 3 8 137 66 71 52% Kankan 3 3 75 41 34 45% Total 14 26 369 184 185 50%

ANNEX 21 Training Workshops for Newly Integrated Local Alliances

During the Consolidation Phase, 7 Local Alliances were newly integrated into the PACEEQ program in the regions of Boké, Labé, Kindia and N’Zérékoré.

The table below provides a cumulative summary of all the training workshops for the 7 newly integrated Local Alliances.

Training for Newly Integrated Local Alliances (cumulative) Participants Region Modules Total M W % Organizational Development 16 8 8 50% Boké Gender Equity 16 8 8 50% Quality of Education 16 8 8 50% HIV/AIDS and School Health 16 8 8 50% Organizational Development 15 10 5 33% Gender Equity 15 10 5 33% Labé Quality of Education 15 10 5 33% HIV/AIDS and School Health 52 27 25 48% Organizational Development 8 6 2 25% Kindia Gender Equity 30 12 18 60% Quality of Education 30 12 18 60% HIV/AIDS and School Health 32 13 19 59% Organizational Development 29 13 16 55% N’Zérékoré Gender Equity 57 38 19 33% Quality of Education 29 13 16 55% HIV/AIDS and School Health 57 38 19 33% Total 433 234 199 46%

A total of 433 participants, of which 100 (46%) were women, took part in the training workshops.

ANNEX 22 Enrollment Statistics PACEEQ Literacy Centers

Enrollment in Initial Literacy Centers by Region for PACEEQ I (2001-2005) Initial Enrolled Literacy Total Men Women Region Centers # % Boké 46 1,403 654 749 53% Faranah 44 1,424 657 767 54% Kankan 73 2,822 1,511 1,311 46% Labé 69 2,180 699 1,481 68% Mamou 2 60 4 56 93% N’Zérékoré 29 877 467 410 47% TOTAL 263 8,766 3,992 4,774 54%

Enrollment statistics in initial literacy centers by region (consolidation phase 2005-2007) Total Learners # Reopened Women Region Centers Total M # % Boké 19 568 264 304 54% Faranah 17 525 283 242 46% Kankan 16 515 232 283 55% Labé 23 690 203 487 71% Mamou 1 35 4 31 89% N’Zérékoré 10 321 172 149 46% Total 86 2,654 1,158 1,496 56%

Enrollment in Post Literacy Centers by Region

# # Learners Enrolled in Literacy Course Women Region Centers Total M # % Boké 18 483 222 261 54% Faranah 18 430 212 218 51% Kankan 16 364 171 193 53% Labé 22 439 119 320 73% Mamou 1 18 3 15 83% N’Zérékoré 15 284 178 106 37% Total 90 2018 905 1113 55%

ANNEX 23 Complete List Training Modules Developed by PACEEQ

Training Modules for Dissemination Complete List of Training Modules 1. Qualité de l’Education (APEAE) 1. Qualité de l’Education (APEAE 2. Qualité de l’Education (extrait adopté pour les personnes ressources) 3. FASE (C/APEAE) 2. Gouvernance Interne (APEAE) 4. Gouvernance Interne (APEAE) 5. Gouvernance Interne (extrait adopté pour les personnes ressources) 3. Gestion Financière (APEAE) 6. Gestion Financière (APEAE) 7. Gestion Financière (Alliances) 8. Gestion Financière (C/APEAE) 4. Plaidoyer & Techniques de Négociation 9. Plaidoyer & Techniques de Négociation (APEAE) (APEAE) 10. Plaidoyer & Techniques de Négociation (C/APEAE) 11. Plaidoyer & Techniques de Négociation (CR/APEAE) 12. Plaidoyer & Techniques de Négociation (FEGUIPAE) 13. Plaidoyer & Techniques de Négociation (Alliances) 14. Plaidoyer & Techniques de Négociation (CRD) 15. Plaidoyer & Techniques de Négociation (ONG) 5. Santé en Milieu Scolaire (APEAE) 16. Santé en Milieu Scolaire (APEAE Prévention de VIH/SIDA (C/APEEAE) 17. Prévention de VIH/SIDA (Alliances) 6. Décentralisation et Qualité de l’Education 18. Décentralisation et Qualité de l’Education (CRD) (CRD) 7. Développement Institutionnel (CRD) 19. Développement Institutionnel (CRD) 20. Développement Institutionnel (C/APEAE) 21. Développement Institutionnel (Alliances) 8. Participation Communautaire et Partenariat 22. Participation Communautaire et Partenariat (C/APEAE) (C/APEAE) 23. Participation Communautaire et Partenariat (CR/APEAE) 24. Partenariat (Alliances) 25. Participation Communautaire et Partenariat (FEGUIPAE) 9. Prévention et Gestion des Conflit 26. Prévention et Gestion des Conflit (C/APEAE) (C/APEAE) 27. Prévention et Gestion des Conflit (CR/APEAE) 28. Prévention et Gestion des Conflit (FEGUIPAE) 10. Equité Genre (Alliances) 29. Equité Genre (Alliances) 30. Equité Genre (APEAE) 31. Equité Genre (C/APEAE) 11. Leadership et Mobilisation des Ressources 32. Leadership et Mobilisation des Ressources (Alliances) (Alliances) 12. Vulnérabilité des Filles (Alliances) 33. Vulnérabilité des Filles (Alliances)

13. Participation Communautaire en Education 34. Participation Communautaire en Education Visant le Genre (Leaders Visant le Genre (Leaders Religieux et Religieux et Femmes Rôle Modèle Femmes Rôle Modèle) 14. Développement Organisationnel et 35. Développement Organisationnel et Planification Stratégique (ONG) Planification Stratégique (ONG) 36. Développement Organisationnel et Planification Stratégique (FEGUIPAE) 37. Planification Stratégique (CR/APEAE) 15. Animation et Andragogie (ONG et 38. Animation et Andragogie (ONG et Personnes Ressource) Personnes Ressource) 16. Gestion Administrative & Budgétaire (ONG) 39. Gestion Administrative & Budgétaire (ONG)Gestion Administrative & Budgétaire (CR/APEAE) 40. Gestion Administrative & Budgétaire (FEGUIPAE)