Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends A Qualitative Assessment iii

Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Directorate of Primary Education

Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends A Qualitative Assessment Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment

First Published : November 2013

© Directorate of Primary Education (DPE), Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), and UNICEF Bangladesh, November 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) Mirpur-2, Dhaka-1216, Dhaka, Bangladesh Telephone: +880-2-8057877 Fax: +880-2-8016499 Email: [email protected] Website: www.dpe.gov.bd

Power and Participation Research Centre House 77A, Road 12A, Dhanmondi R/A Dhaka 1209, Bangladesh Tel. +880-2-8119207, 9118880 Fax: +880-2-8144379 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.pprcbd.org/new/

UNICEF Bangladesh BSL Office Complex, 1 Minto Road, Dhaka-1000 Telephone: +880-2-9336701-10 Email: [email protected] Website: www.unicef.org.bd

This publication is available in the websites of DPE < www.dpe.gov.bd >, PPRC , and UNICEF Bangladesh

ISBN: 978-984-8969-16-8

Cover design : Khondoker Shakhawat Ali

Cover Photo: UNICEF/Siddique

Inner design : ShikkhaBichitra, 196/3, Shantibag, Malibag, Dhaka-1217, Acknowledgements

The study was undertaken collaboratively and the report was jointly produced by the Directorate of Primary Education, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, the Power and Participation Research Centre and UNICEF Bangladesh. The purpose of the study was to assist appropriate programme and policy reforms in the primary education stipend programme for the new phase of the sector-wide Third Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP3).

Contributions in conceptualization, analysis and report preparation were received from the following officials and experts:

Directorate of Primary Education and Ministry of Primary and Mass Education

S.M. Ashraful Islam, Additional Secretary; Md. Serajul Huq Khan, Additional Secretary; Irtiza Ahmed Chowdhury, Project Director, Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP); and Imtiaz Mahmud, Deputy Chief, Planning.

Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman; Liaquat Ali Choudhury, Senior Research Fellow; Syed Ziauddin Ahmed, Director, Resource Planning and Khondaker Shakhawat Ali, Research Fellow.

UNICEF Bangladesh Isa Achoba, Chief, Social Policy, Monitoring and Evaluation; Mohammed Shafiqul Islam, Social Policy Specialist; and Shantanu Gupta, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist.

Special thanks are also due to Billal Hossain, Masudul Huq, M. Billah Faruqi, Nurul Momen. Mohidur Rahman Khan, Nurul Anwar, Subodh Chandra Sarker and Iftekhar Ahmed of PPRC for facilitating data collection, data processing and data management. Foreword

Inclusive primary education has been a policy priority of all governments of Bangladesh since independence. The Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP) has been one of the key instruments to advance the causes of this national policy goal. The PESP has evolved in targeting and scope over the past decade, currently reaching 7.8 million children per annum, drawn largely from poor households with cash incentives to reduce schooling cost. Various studies during the preceding decade underscored the PESP's important role in increasing enrolment and reducing, albeit slowly, the drop-out rate, which remains a critical challenge in primary education. Poised to complete its second five-year phase and as the primary education sector as a whole embarks on a new round of reforms and targets through the Third Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP3), it is timely that an in-depth analysis of the PESP be undertaken jointly by the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE), the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME), Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and UNICEF. Going beyond the limits of usual impact analysis, this study has utilized a variety of qualitative research instruments to establish the ground realities vis-à-vis PESP operation and has engaged the critical range of stakeholders composed of key duty bearers and rights holders to assess strengths and weaknesses and identify the reform priorities that can further enhance the role of PESP in accelerating inclusive primary education. It is indeed a matter of concern that rising costs of schooling are impacting on the ability of poorer families to avail themselves of the opportunities of primary education. The opportunity cost of schooling is particularly significant for the students of the higher grades of 4 and 5 and their families. While Bangladesh does not charge tuition fees for primary schooling, the entrenched problem of drop-out is a consequence of user costs among several other barriers. A particular strength of this study has been to provide innovative and credible analysis of these and related factors and to indicate where reform actions may bear the optimal dividend for Bangladesh's inclusive growth. viiiviii BangladeshBangglladdeesh PrimaryPrimarryy EducationEEdducation StipendsStiippenddss : A QualitativeQualittaative A Assessmentssessment TheThe partnershippartnership t thathaatt ledled t too thisthis s studytuddyy aan andnd itsits e ensuingnsuing findingsffiindings aan andnd rrecommendations,ecommendaattions, i iff i implemented,mplemented, d demonstrateemonstrate t thehe v valuealue o off a s socialocial eector-ledctor-led approachaappproach toto c child-sensitivehild-sensitive s socialocial protectionprotection inin thethe c country'souunntrryy's mmoveove t too m middleiddle i incomencome s status,tatus, w withith e equityqquuity i inn e educationalducaattional o opportunitiespportuunnities ffoforor a allll c childrenhildren i inn B Bangladesh.aanngladesh. WWee h hopeope t thishis r reporteport w willill b bee anan i importantmportaannt additionaddition t too thethe r richich bodyboddyy o off aanalysisnalysis ffo focusedocused o onn PESPPESP andand thethe t themeheme ofof i inclusivenclusive p primaryrimary educationeducation aan andnd bebe usefuluseffuul toto policypolicy m makers,aakkers, a agenciesgencies andaannd academia.academia. MostMost importantly,importaanntly, w wee h hopeope thatthaatt t thehe analysisaannalysis a andnd recommendationsrecommendations eemergingmerging fromffrrom t thehe s studytudy willwill spurspur ffr fruitfulruitffuul a actionsctions toto consolidateconsolidate aan andnd ffufurtherurther s strengthentrengthen thethe importantimportaannt rolerole ofof PESPPESP inin t thehe p promotionromotion o off iinclusivenclusive primaryprimaarrryy educationedduucaattion thatthaatt hashas b broughtrought B Bangladeshangladesh j justifiableustiffiiaabble ggloballobal r renown.enown.

Shyamal Kanti Ghoshh HossainHossaiain ZillurZillur R Rahmanahman PascalP Villeneuve DirectorDirector GeneralGeneral ExecutiveExecutive ChairmanChairmaann RepresentativeRepresentative DirectorateDirectoraatte ofof PrimaryPrimaarry PowerPower andaannd ParticipationParticipaattion UNICEFUNICEF BangladeshBangladesh EducationEducation ResearchResearch CentreCennttre Contents

Acknowledgements v Foreword vii List of Tables xi List of Figures xi Abbreviations xiii

1 Introduction 1 1.1 Inclusive primary education: A policy priority 1 1.2 Mixed balance sheet on achievements 2 1.3 Distinguishing features of PESP 3

2 Rationale of study, scope and research strategy 5 2.1 Rationale of study 5 2.2 Scope 6 2.3 Research strategy and methodology 6

3 PESP in operation: A reality check 11 3.1 Success in coverage and geographic targeting 11 3.2 Selection: Low inclusion error 12 3.3 Disbursement: Low leakage but transaction burdens 12 3.4 Changes in the real value of the stipend 14 3.5 Stipend spent on student, not family 16 3.6 Stipend, opportunity cost of schooling and drop-out dynamics 17

4 What has the stipend achieved? 23 4.1 A branding success 23 4.2 Impact 25 4.3 Spillover effects 29 4.4 Is the stipend adequate? 31

5 Conclusion 37

References 41 Annex-1 43 List of Tables

Table 1 : Primary school completion rate, 1991 and 2010, Bangladesh 3 Table 2 : Bangladesh PESP school survey: Sampled area location 7 Table 3 : Scope of FGDs in school survey, Bangladesh 2013 8 Table 4 : Scope of interviews and case studies in school survey Bangladesh 2013 9 Table 5 : Primary stipend coverage in 2011 and 2013, Bangladesh 11 Table 6 : Changing value of primary stipend 2003-2012, Bangladesh 15 Table 7 : Items on which stipend is utilized, Bangladesh 2013 16 Table 8 : Opportunity cost of schooling: Average child wages in typical rural Occupations insights from FGDs, Bangladesh 2013 18 Table 9 : Drop-out dynamics: Two case scenarios, Bangladesh 2013 20 Table 10 : Parental aspiration on children's education, Bangladesh 2013 24 Table 11 : Perceptions on outcome impact of stipend programme: Insights from triangular FGDs, Bangladesh 2013 26 Table 12 : Average annual cost of primary education: Findings from student FGDs, Bangladesh 2013 32 Table 13 : Rural average annual cost of primary education: Findings from student case studies, Bangladesh 2013 32 Table 14 : Average annual household costs of primary education (grade 4 & 5), Bangladesh 2013 33 Table 15 : Options of adjusting primary stipend, Bangladesh 2013 35

List of Figures

Figure 1: Trends in net enrolment ratio in primary education, 1990-2011, Bangladesh 2 Figure 2: Inflation adjusted primary stipend value, 2003-2012, Bangladesh 15 Figure 3: Rice equivalent of primary education stipend value, 2003-2013, Bangladesh 16 Abbreviations

ASPR Annual Sector Performance Report BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics BDT Bangladesh Taka BIDS Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee CAMPE Campaign for Popular Education DPE Directorate of Primary Education FFE Food for Education FGD Focus Group Discussion GoB Government of Bangladesh IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute MDG Millennium Development Goals MoPME Ministry of Primary and Mass Education NGO Non-government Organization PD Project Director PEDP Primary Education Development Programme PESP Primary Education Stipend Programme PMED Primary and Mass Education Division PPRC Power and Participation Research Centre SMC School Management Committee UNO Upazila Nirbahi Officer UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund UEO Upazila Education Officer WFP World Food Programme IntroductionIntroduction 1

1.11.1 InclusiveInclusive primaryprimary education:education: A policypolicy prioritypriority UniversalUniversal primaryprimary eeducationducation hhasas bbeeneen a policypolicy prioritypriorriity ofof allall governmentsgovernments ofof BangladeshBangladesh ssinceince independenceindependence inin 11971.971. A successionsuccession ofof ppolicyolicy sstepsteps iinn thisthis rregardegard iincludenclude tthehe nationalizationnationalization ofof primaryprimary educationeducation inin 1974,1974, tthehe passagepassage ofof thethe UniversalUUnniverrssal pprimaryrriiimmarryy CompulsoryCompulsorryy PrimaryPrimary EducationEducation ActAct iinn 1990,1990, thethe establishmentestaabblishment ofof educationeducattiion hashas a dedicateddedicated implementingimplementing agencyagency-PrimaryPrimarryy andand MassMass EducationEducation beenbeen a policypolliiccyy DivisionDivision (PMED)(PMED)-inin 19921992 aandnd iitsts eelevationlevation ttoo a ffufull-fledgedull-fflledged mministry-Ministryinistry-Ministry ooff PPrimaryrimary aandnd MMassass EEducationducation ((MoPME)MoPME)-inin priorityprriiorriittyy ofof allallll 2004.2004. AlongsideAlongside tthesehese broadbroad policypolicy aandnd iinstitutionalnstitutional ssteps,teps, tththerehere governmentsgoverrnnmenttss ofof hhasas bbeeneen aann aapappreciationppreciation ooff tththehe nneedeed ffoforor eextraxtra eeffortsfffffoorts ttoo eenrollnroll BangladeshBangllaaddeesh sincesiinnce ppooreroorer cchildrenhildren inin primaryprimary sschoolschools andand reducereduce tthehe ddrop-outrop-out rrate.ate. independenceiinnddeeeppenddeence inin BBangladesh'sangladesh's ddemand-sideemand-side iinnovationsnnovations hhaveaavve bbeeneen ppioneeringioneering iinn 1971.197711. nnatureature andand hhaveaavve garneredgarrnnered wworldwideorldwide rrecognitionecognition aass CConditionalonditional CCashash Transfers.Transffeers. TThehe ffifirstirst iinnovationnnovation uusedsed ffofoodood ttransfersransffeers aass aann iinstrumentnstrument ttoo eencouragencourage sselectedelected ppooroor ffafamiliesamilies ttoo ssendend theirtheir cchildrenhildren ttoo sschool.chool. TThehe Food-for-EducationFood-ffoor-Education (FFE)(FFE) projectproojject introducedintroduced inin 19931993 onon a pilotpilot basis,basis, atat itsits height,height, coveredcovered 2727 perper centcent ofof thethe country.country. SomeSome 4040 perper centcent ofof enrolledenrolled studentsstudents fromffrrom poorpoor familiesffaamilies werewere givengiven 1515 kgkg ofof wheatwheat oror 1122 kgkg ooff ricerice perper beneficiarybeneffiiciary ffafamily,amilyy,, whichwhich wwasas llaterater rreducededuced ttoo 1100 kkgg ooff wwheatheat oorr 8 kkgg ooff rririceice iinn 22001-2002.001-2002. TToo Bangladesh'sBangllaaddeesh''ss eextendxtend coverage,coverage, a separateseparate cash-basedcash-based programmeprogramme-PrimaryPrimary demand-sideddeemandd--siddee EducationEducation StipendsStipends (PES)(PES)-waswas iintroducedntroduced inin 11990-2000990-2000 wwithith innovationsiinnnovattiions havehave BBDTDT 2255 TTaTakaaka pperer mmonthonth pperer bbeneficiaryeneffiiciarryy aass tthehe bbenefiteneffiit ppackage.ackage. beenbeen pioneeringpioneerriiinng BBothoth FFFEFE aandnd PPESES wwereere rreplacedeplaced bbyy a ssingleingle ccash-basedash-based PPrimaryrimary inin naturenature andand EEducationducation SStipendtipend PProgrammerogramme ((PESP)PESP) ccoveringovering tthehe wwholehole ccountryountry iinn 22002-2003.002-2003. TThehe PPESPESP iiss ccurrentlyurrrrently iinn tthehe ffifinalinal yyearear ooff havehave garneredgarrnnered iitsts ssecondecond ffifive-yearive-year pphase.hase. IInitially,nitially, tthehe ttargetingargeting pprinciplerriinciple wwasas worldwideworlldddwwiddee uuniformniffoorm aacrosscross uupupazilaspazilas ((sub-districts),suubb-districts), bbutut iinn tthehe rrecentecent pphase,hase, recognitionrreecooggnittiion asas tthehe pprinciplerriinciple ooff ggeographiceograapphic ttargetingarrggeting hhasas bbeeneen aaddeddded wwithith ppooreroorer ConditionalCCoonddiittiional CashCCaash uupupazilaspazilas bbeingeing eeligibleligible ffoforor pproportionatelyroportionately hhigherigher ccoverageoverage-upup Transfers.TTrranssfffeerrss. ttoo 9900 pperer ccentent-ofof tththehe poorpoor childrenchildren inin a school.school. 2 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment There have been Stipends for poorer students have not been the only means of significant promoting inclusive primary education. There have been several achievements other supply-side and demand-side policy steps, such as abolition of school fees, free text books, infrastructural development of in school primary schools and training of primary teachers. enrollment and closing of the 1.2 Mixed balance sheet on achievements gender gap... There have been significant achievements in primary education on other crucial most notably in school enrollment and closing of the gender gap. indicators, Between 1990 and 2011, enrolment rose from 60 per cent to 98.7 progress is either per cent as per the departmental data (BANBEIS and DPE: Figure 1). Strikingly enough, girls' enrolment began to overtake more limited... boys' enrollment by 2005 and almost reached the EFA goal by 2011. Attendance too has improved from 49.7 per cent in 2001 to 77 per cent in 2011.1

Figure 1: Trends in net enrolment ratio in primary education, Bangladesh 1990-2011

120.00 100.00

e 80.00 g a t n

e 60.00 c r e

P 40.00 20.00 0.00 1990 1995 1997 2000 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 Total 60.48 75.75 80.86 85.52 87.20 90.90 91.10 93.90 94.89 98.70 Girls 50.76 73.86 81.33 85.83 90.10 94.50 94.70 99.10 97.60 99.40 Boys 89.43 77.53 80.41 85.22 84.46 87.60 87.80 89.10 92.20 97.20

Source : BANBEIS & DPE However, on other crucial indicators, progress is either more limited or the overall situation stark. Only 21.6 per cent of 5 year olds have access to pre-primary education.2 Disaggregated data is even starker, with remote rural areas such as Kurigram district showing only 9.4 per cent of 5 year olds in pre-primary education.

1Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and UNICEF, Child Equity Atlas: Pockets of Social Deprivation in Bangladesh (Bangladesh: July, 2013). 2 Ibid , p.43 Introduction 3 The more comprehensive indicator of cycle completion rate also shows much slower progress. Between 1990 and 2010, the cycle completion rate rose from 43 per cent to only 67 per cent as reported by departmental data (see Table 1). The picture in rural schools is probably worse than these national averages. Data from Population Censuses broadly confirm these departmental findings: proportion of out-of-school 6-10 year olds stood at 23 per cent in 2011.3 Quality indicators in terms of learning achievements also indicate a difficult situation compounded by a relative lack of independent data.

Table 1 : Primary school completion rate, 1991 and 2010, Bangladesh The picture in rural schools is Completion Rate (per cent) Year probably worse than these 1991 43 Source: Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) national averages. 2010 67 1.3 Distinguishing features of PESP The key objective of PESP is to increase educational participation-enrolment, attendance, persistence and performance-of primary school-age children from poor families. The program, currently in its 2nd phase, is one of the biggest educational programmes of the government. According to the Revised Development Project Proforma of PESP-II of December, 2010, annual allocations stand at BDT 3.9 Billion and cover 62,087 rural schools and 7.8 million primary students. Coverage rose by 62 per cent midway through the current phase to reach current total of 7.8 million children. The program is 100 per cent financed by GoB and covers six categories of schools: government primary schools, registered non-government primary schools, community schools, satellite schools, NGO-run full (grades 1-5) primary schools approved by the GoB, and Ebtedayee Madrashas recognized by the GoB with a minimum of 100 students.

The distinguishing features of PESP include:

Q Cash-based incentive to selected poor household to send their primary-age children to school;

Q Conditionalities on selected students to increase attendance rate and avoid drop-out;

3 ibid , p.43 4 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment

Q Use of banking channel to provide the cash incentive; Q Pursuit of a women empowerment goal by making the mother the authorized person to collect the cash incentive from bank;

Q Pursuit of a geographic targeting goal by providing proportionately greater coverage in poorer upazilas;

Q A transparent local-level beneficiary selection process wherein primary selection is done at the school level by school management committees (SMCs) and teachers and approval is provided at upazila level by the Government officials, specifically the Upazila Education Officer (UEO) and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO). RationaleRationale ofof study,studyy,, sscopecope aandnd rresearchesearch sstrategytrategy 2

AfterAfftter a decadedecade ooff operation,operation, tthehe PESPPESP hhasas pplayedlayed anan importantimportant rroleole iinn tthehe aachievementchievement ooff tthehe MMillenniumillennium DDevelopmentevelopment GGoaloal ((MDG)MDG) ttargetarget ooff iincreasedncreased pprimaryrimarryy eenrolmentnrolment aandnd hhasas hhelpedelped ttoo ssignificantlyigniffiicantly nnarrowarrrrow tthehe eenrolmentnrolment ggenderender ggap.aapp. HHowever,oweverr,, aass tthehe eearlierarlier eevidencevidence sshowed,howed, iissuesssues ooff ddrop-out,rop-out, llowow attendanceattendance andand childchild labourlaabbour remainremain gravegraavve concerns.concerrnns. AsAs thethe primaryprriimary educationeducattiion sectorsector transitionstransitions toto thethe newnew sector-widesector-wide programmeprogramme phasephase ofof anan issueissue thattthhat PEDP-3,PEDP-3, itit isis timelytimely toto taketake a broaderbroader looklook atat thethe efficacyefffffiicacy ofof meritsmerittss deeperddeeeepper PESPPESP inin relationshiprelationship toto itsits statedstated goalsgoals ofof enhancedenhanced educationaleducational attentionattteenttiion isis thetthhe participationparttiicipation byby poorerpoorer childrenchildren andand concomitantconcomitant reductionreduction inin adequacyaddeequaccyy ooff childchild labour.labour. TheThe departmentaldepartmental mid-termmid-term review,review, thethe WorldWWoorld primarypriimmarryy stipends,sttiiippenddss, Bank'sBank's rrecentecent assessmentassessment ofof PPESPESP aandnd tthehe IInternationalnternational FoodFood ...as...as aann iinincentive...ncentivee.... PolicyPolicy ResearchResearch IInstitute/Chronicnstitute/Chronic PovertyPoverty RResearchesearch Centre'sCentre's vis-à-visviiss-à-viiss tththehe impactimmppact assessmentassessment notenote provideprovide usefuluseffuul insights.insights.4 However,Howeverr,, anan issueissue thatthat meritsmerits deeperdeeper attentionattention isis thethe adequacyadequacy ofof primaryprimarryy changingchangiinng stipends,stipends, inin particular,particular, howhow wwellell thethe economiceconomic vvaluealue ooff thethe educationedduucattiion costcost stipendstipend hhasas beenbeen pperformingerffoorming aass anan iincentivencentive overover timetime vis-à-visvis-à-vis realitiesrealliities facingffaaciinng thethe changingchanging educationeducation costcost realitiesrealities facingffaacing householdshouseholds andand thethe households...householldddss... differingdifffffeerriing oopportunitypportunity ccostost 5ofof sschoolingchooling ffoforor childrenchildren iinn tthehe hhigherigher primaryprriimary grades.grades. TheThe monetarymonetary valuevalue ofof thethe primaryprriimary stipendstipend hashas remainedremained uunchangednchanged aatt BDTBDT 110000 perper monthmonth sincesince PESPPESP waswas introducedinttrroduced iinn 2002-2003,2002-2003, butbut thethe PPESPESP ccoverageoverage hashas growngrown toto 7.87.8 millionmillion children.children. Furthermore,Furtthherrmmore, thethe qquantumuanttuum ooff thethe stipendsttiipend isis thethe samesame forffoor gradegrade 1 sstudentstudents aandnd ffoforor sstudentstudents iinn tthehe hhigherigher ggradesrades ooff 4 aandnd 5 wwherehere tthehe opportunityopportunity ccostost ooff sschoolingchooling bbecomesecomes a rreal-lifeeal-liffee iissuessue ffoforor ppooroor hhouseholds.ouseholds. AAdditionally,dditionallyy,, tthehe pprimaryrriimary sstipendtipend ffoforor ffafamiliesamilies wwithith mmultipleultiple cchildrenhildren eenrollednrolled iinn

4 MMinistryinistry ofof PPrimaryrimary MMassass Education,Education, FinalFinal ReportReepport onon Mid-TermMMiid-TTeerm Evaluation/AssessmentEEvvalluuation//AAssessment ofof PESPPPEESSPP (Phase((PPhase II);IIIII)); WorldWorld Bank,Bank, AnAn AssessmentAssessment ofof thethe RevisedRevised PESPPPEEESSSPP inin BangladeshBangglladesh (Draft,(Drafftt, WorldWorld Bank,Bank, 2012);2012); BobBob Baulch,Baulch, TheTThhe Medium-termMMeedium-term ImpactIImmmppact ofof thethe PESPPPEEESSSPP inin RuralRural Bangladesh,Bangladesh, (International(International FoodFood PolicyPolicy ResearchResearch Institute/ChronicInstitute/Chronic PovertyPoverty ResearchResearch Centre,Centre, 2010)2010) 5 HereHere itit meansmeans incomeincome foregoneffooregone duedue toto schoolschool attendance.attendance. 6 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment the primary grades is only 25 per cent higher than for a family with a single student. Given these features, the adequacy of the primary stipend vis-à-vis its inclusive education goal has become an important policy concern. The rationale of the current study is the findings and to review the basis for such a concern and, based on this, identify appropriate policy steps that may enhance the efficacy of PESP. recommendation As Bangladesh engages in wider social protection reform, the contribute findings and recommendation from this PESP study will to the education contribute meaningful knowledge to the education sector-led sector-led child- child-sensitive social protection reform for inclusive growth. sensitive social 2.2 Scope protection reform The current study is a qualitative assessment of PESP based on a for inclusive review of secondary data as well as a sample review of selected growth. rural schools. Specifically, the study looks at:

i The cost realities of primary education facing rural households; ii The opportunity cost of schooling vis-à-vis the prevalence of child labour; iii The beneficiary perceptions on the efficacy of primary stipends and the dynamics of drop-out; iv How best the primary stipend is repackaged to ensure an adequate incentive.

2.3 Research strategy and methodology Strategy Though the study is essentially a qualitative assessment, it entailed a rigorous research strategy based on i) an intensive review of secondary information; ii) selection of a sample of rural and urban schools spread across the country; iii) implementation of a range of qualitative instruments on key stakeholders in the selected schools and localities. Sample The qualitative assessment was national in scope with eight rural and four urban sites chosen across the country. The first step was to choose one district in each of the six administrative divisions in the country. The districts chosen were Barguna, Chittagong, Gaibandha, Mymensingh, Satkhira and Sunamganj. The second step was to choose one upazila in each of these selected districts based on two criteria: poverty rate (World Food Programme Rationale of Study, Scope and Research Strategy 7 poverty map) and drop-out rate (DPE Annual School Survey). To ensure representation of ethnic minorities, one school each in two additional upazilas-Nachol upazila of Chapai Nawabganj district and Sadar upazila in Bandarban district-was also included. Thus, the final sample included eight upazilas. Of these, four were high-poverty upazilas and four were medium- poverty upazilas (see Table 2) The third step was to choose six rural schools in each of the selected upazilas, having an initial sample of 36 rural schools. Two ethnic area schools in Nachol and Bandarban were added, making the rural school sample 38. During survey implementation, in one of the rural sites-Sundarganj in Gaibandha-an extra school beyond the original six of the initial sample was included due to some issues in survey implementation. Thus, the final rural school sample stood at 39. The fourth step was to add a few low-income urban area schools as per the suggestion of MoPME, covering both big and small city contexts. One school each was chosen from the two metropolitan centres of Chittagong and Narayanganj and two secondary cities of Lalmonirhat and Rajbari, bringing the total urban school sample to four. The final sample of surveyed schools stood at 43, of which 39 were rural and four were urban (see Table 2). The list of surveyed schools is provided in Annex 1.

Table 2: Bangladesh PESP school survey: Sampled area locations

District Upazila Poverty Area

rate(per characteristics cent)

Rural Barguna Patherghata 36 Coastal Chapai Nawabganj Nachol 25 Ethnic Chittagong Banshkhali 22 Plains Chittagong Hill Tracts Bandarban 26 Ethnic Gaibandha Sundarganj 39 Char Mymensingh Haluaghat 46 Plains, ethnic Satkhira Shyamnagar 65 Coastal Sunamganj Bishwambarpur 30 Haor Urban Chittagong Metropolitan Lalmonirhat Secondary city Narayanganj Metropolitan Rajbari Secondary city 8 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment Research instruments Information was collected through five qualitative research instruments. They included: Focus group discussions (FGDs): These were held with four categories of stakeholders-parents, teachers, students and SMC- of each selected school. The Table below shows that the FGDs had on average five to 16 participants per FGD for different groups. In-depth interviews: These were carried out with three categories of implementers-headmaster, Upazila Education Officer (UEO)/Assistant Upazila Education Officer (AUEO) and bank official. Beneficiary household case studies: One beneficiary household case study per school was carried out, making a total of 43 case studies. Drop-out student case studies: Case studies were also carried out on drop-out students, three per upazila, plus one each in the five urban sites and the supplementary ethnic rural site. The total number of such case studies came to 24. In-depth view exchange with PESP directorate: There were two wide-ranging and in-depth view exchange meetings with the Project Directorate of the PESP and his team on a range of operational and policy issues relevant to the study. The first meeting was held prior to the field work and the second after the preliminary report had been prepared. Tables 3 and 4 describe the scope of each of the above.

Table 3 : Scope of FGDs in school survey, Bangladesh 2013

Stakeholder Number of FGDs Total number of participants

Student 43 680 Parents 43 496 Teachers 43 227 *FGDSMC with one SMC-Banshkhali, 42* Chittagong-could not be carried 273 out due to severe political disturbance during field work Rationale of Study, Scope and Research Strategy 9 Table 4 : Scope of interviews and case studies in school survey, Bangladesh 2013

Category Number Implementer interviews

Headmaster 43 UEO/UAEO 12 Case studies Bank official 8 Beneficiary household 43

Drop - out student 24 The qualitative instruments were supplemented by two types of fact sheets-one on the selected upazila and the other on the selected school. These fact sheets provided useful contextual information that both supplemented and cross-checked the information arising from the FGDs, case studies and interviews.

Survey timing The survey was implemented from 15 February through 2 April, 2013. Midway through the survey, fieldwork was hampered by high political unrest. The SMC FGD could not be completed in Banshkahli. In Gaibandha, the selected school had to be dropped halfway through the survey and a replacement school was surveyed. However, once the unrest had subsided, the headmistress of the originally selected school requested the PPRC team to complete the survey. As a result, in this site, seven schools were surveyed instead of the originally planned six. . PESPPESP iinn ooperation:peration: A rrealityeality ccheckheck 3

3.13.1 SSuccessuccess inin coveragecoverage aandnd geographicgeographic ttargetingargeting InIn 2010,2010, PPESP'sESP's ttargetingargeting policypolicy wwasas cchangedhanged ffrfromrom uuniformniffoorm ccoverageoverage ooff 4400 pperer ccentent ttoo ggeographiceograapphic ttargeting,argeting, wwithith ppooreroorer aareasreas ggiveniven pproportionatelyroportionately ggreaterreater ccoverageoverage uupp ttoo a llimitimit ooff 9900 pperer ccent.ent. BBothoth thethe 22013013 ssurveyurvey ooff 3399 rrururalural sschoolschools aandnd ootherther rrelatedelated ssurveysurrvveys indicateindicate tthathat ttherehere hhasas beenbeen ssignificantigniffiicant expansionexpansion iinn coveragecoverage aandnd tthathat thethe pprinciplerinciple ofof geographicgeograapphic ttargetingargeting hhasas workedworked wellwell iinn practicepractice ((s(seesee TTaTableable 55)) CCoverageoverage oonn aaverageverage iincreasedncreased ffrfromrom aaroundround 4040 perper ccentent ttoo aaroundround 6060 pperer cent.cent. TThehe ppositiveositive aachievementchievement ooff ggeographiceograapphic ttargetingargeting iiss cclear:lear: hhighigh ppovertyoverty uupupazilaspazilas hhaveave a mmuchuch hhigherigher ccoverageoverage aatt 778.68.6 pperer ccentent ccomparedompared ttoo mmediumedium ppovertyoverty uupupazilaspazilas aatt 550.90.9 pperer ccent.ent. A rrelatedelated WWorldorld BBankank rreporteport aalsolso sshowshows a rriseise iinn sstipendtipend ccoverageoverage ffrfromrom 338.58.5 pperer ccentent iinn OOctoberctober 22009009 ttoo 556.66.6 pperer ccentent iinn OOctoberctober 22010.010. 6

TableTable 5 : PrimaryPrimaarry sstipendtipend ccoverageoverage iinn 20112011 andand 2013,2013, BangladeshBangladesh

SurveySurveeyy DataDat a SSurveyurrvveeyy % ofof stipendstipend AArearea categorycateeggorryy (Survey((SSurrvveeyy % ofof stipendstipend ccoverageoverage ooff 3939 schools,schoolss,, 2013)20133)) ccoverageoverage

SSurveyurvey ofof 502502 rruralural HHighigh ppovertyoverty ((fivefive hhoaroar uupazilas)pazilas) 445.85.8 uupazilaspazilas 778.68.6 hhouseholds,ouseholds, 22011011 SSurveyurvey ofof 3939 ruralrural MediumMedium povertypoverty schoolsschools iinn eighteight 68.968.9 upazilasupazilas 50.950.9 Source:Source: PPPPPRC,PPRRCC,, 2011,2011, EducationEducation RealitiesRealities inin HoarHHooar Region;Region; PESPPPEESSPP FieldFielldd Survey,Surveeyy, districts,districts, 22013013 BangladeshBangglladesh 20132013

6 OOp.cit.p.cit. AnA n AssessmentAssessment ofof tthehe RevisedRevised PESPPPEEESSSPP iinn BangladeshBangladeessh , p.4p.4 12 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment Inclusion error Despite these positive developments, the FGDs carried out based on the during the 2013 survey indicated that there was still some unmet eligibility criteria demand particularly in medium poverty areas. has been 3.2 Selection: Low inclusion error relatively minor. The PESP utilizes several criteria to select beneficiaries, which ...in some have been designed to be self-evident rather than requiring instances, detailed data-collection. Five basic types of criteria are stipulated inclusion errors to identify poor households: insolvent female-headed may be a households; low income occupations such as day labourer, consequence of fishermen, artisans; landlessness; insolvent ethnic minorities; and students suffering from disabilities. Basic information is the compulsion of generated through home visits by schoolteachers to all families fulfilling the within the catchment area. From this information-base, selection quota ... is finalized in the monthly SMC meeting together with the teachers. The relevant class teacher plays the lead role in the process for his/her class. The criteria are not considered separately but rather in a composite manner to establish the insolvency of the household. Among the criteria, applying landownership presented many practical challenges because of such issues as infertile land and mortgage. In December 2010, the landownership criterion was officially dropped from the list ...use of the of eligibility criteria. banking channel Inclusion error based on the eligibility criteria has been relatively for disbursing minor. A reworking of the data in the World Bank draft report stipends ... referred to earlier had an inclusion error of 6 per cent (the proportion of ineligible students in the total number of receiving has worked well. students). The FGDs in all 39 schools also show a comparable level of inclusion errors to the World Bank report. The FGDs also indicated that, in some instances, inclusion errors may be a consequence of the compulsion of fulfilling the quota when eligible students are barred due to their failure to meet conditionalities on attendance and performance. 3.3 Disbursement: Low leakage but transaction burdens The use of the banking channel for disbursing stipends with strict adherence to the proviso for the mother of the beneficiary student as the authorized recipient has worked well. FGDs across all 39 schools in eight districts indicate virtually no leakage as such. The comparable World Bank assessment notes that about 8 per cent of beneficiaries pay on average BDT 10 to receive the stipend. But the significance of this information is PESP in Operation: A Reality Check 13 rendered somewhat questionable by the simultaneous admission On average, of a lack of knowledge of why or to whom this payment is made.7 delays of two While leakage as such does not appear to be an issue, transaction weeks are typical burdens on both the implementer and recipient side appear to be except for the an issue. Four types of transaction burdens were indicated by the FGDs and in-depth interviews: i) disbursement delay; ii) final installment opportunity cost of one day's lost labour and/or travel/food costs in December, for guardians, specially from schools other than the mother when the delay school,8 since typically it takes a whole day for collection; iii) extends on loss of teaching time on payment paperwork and booth average to two assistance; iv) lapse of payment for mothers who miss collection months. on the appointed day. Disbursement delays arise both due to delayed receipt of allocated money by the bank from the government and banks holding on to the fund for brief periods before actual disbursement. On average, delays of two weeks are typical except for the final installment in December, when the delay extends on average to two months. The FGDs indicated that the typical two-week delay is not considered a major problem by the recipients. However, the much longer delay in the final installment is a concern. This is particularly true for class 5 students who have left the primary school stage by the time the installment is received after the two to three month delay. Severe overcrowding is a regular phenomenon on the day of disbursement. A single bank branch on average has to disburse stipend money to upward of 150 schools within a time period of 15 days. Daily workloads for a booth are typically about 1,500 beneficiary students. The FGDs with guardians and teachers emphasized that though the transaction burdens were real, they did not have serious ...though the consequences. There were some positive aspects too, since it was felt that the collection days served as spontaneous forums to transaction exchange views and spark motivation among the mothers for burdens were real, their children's school participation. Though the transaction they did not have burdens were not serious, some easy solutions were suggested. serious One issue that merits immediate attention is the lapse of payment consequences. for mothers who miss the collection day. Interviews with bank

7Ibid, p.11 8During stipend disbursement, schools are clustered into average groups of 5-6 with one designated as the mother school where the bank booth is established for the day. 14 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment the obvious and officials indicated that the money not distributed on collection easy solution is to day does not revert to the government immediately but remains carry over the with the bank. So the obvious and easy solution is to carry over the lapsed payment to the next installment. This requires a policy lapsed payment to decision and, if enacted, can be implemented immediately. This the next would remove an important source of inequity for around 5 per installment. This cent of mothers who on average miss collection day due to a requires a policy multitude of personal reasons. decision. The other suggestion to lessen the transaction burden is to make the payment through the school rather than through school clusters as is the current practice. Even though payment is made through bank booths in the designated mother school, teachers must spend time dealing with the paperwork and providing a degree of supervision on collection day for their respective students. A comparison can be made to the separate social transfers for students with disabilities, which are currently implemented through the individual school. This issue merits further review and perhaps can be piloted before any general policy change is decided upon. Regarding the transaction burden in terms of loss of teaching time, the FDGs suggested to either provide for compensation for the teachers who would arrange this work as a dedicated additional responsibility or provide for dedicated personnel in the form of a stipend assistant. This issue too requires further review before any general policy steps are undertaken. 3.4 Changes in the real value of the stipend Since its introduction in 2002-2003, the monetary value of the stipend has been unchanged at BDT 100 per month. How has the How has the real real value of this benefit evolved over time given inflation and value of this other price changes? Prior to PESP, this benefit was given in benefit evolved food-grains. Thus, one way to look at the changes in the value of over time given the stipend is in terms of rice equivalents using prevailing retail price of coarse rice. The other approach is to discount the stipend inflation and value by the inflation rate. Table 6 looks at the changing value of other price the primary stipend, using both of the above approaches. changes? PESP in Operation: A Reality Check 15

Table 6 : Changing value of primary stipend 2003-2012

Year Rate of Inflation adjusted Primary tipend in terms of rice inflation tipend v equivalents vis à vis prevailing (%) (Tk)- retails price of coarse rice s alue -g)-

(k 2003 100 7.0 2004 6.0 94.33 6.9 2005 7.0 88.15 6.12 2006 7.2 82.23 5.69 2007 9.1 75.37 5.23 2008 8.9 69.21 3.59 2009 5.4 65.46 3.64 2010 8.1 60.55 3.88 2011 10.7 54.55 3.7 Source:2012 Inflation figures7.7 from CIA World 50.51 Fact Book on Bangladesh; Rice 3.7 price data from Statistical Yearbook, 2010, WFP Bangladesh Food Security Monitoring Bulletin, April-June, 2012 the value of the Adjusting for inflation, the real value of the BDT 100 primary primary stipend stipend stood at BDT 50.51 in 2012. In terms of rice equivalents, has declined by the real value of the stipend has declined from 7 kg of rice to 3.7 kg. By both measures, the value of the primary stipend has half since it was declined by half since it was introduced in 2003. The trend is introduced in also shown graphically in Figure 2 and 3. 2003. Figure 2 : Inflation adjusted primary stipend value, 2003-2012, Bangladesh

100 100 94.33 88.15 82.23 75.37 80 69.21 65.46 ) 60.55 k 54.55 T 60 50.51 n i ( e u

l 40 a V 20

0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year

Source : PPRC Calculation from BBS Data. 16 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment Figure 3 :

Rice equivalent of primary education stipend value, 8 2003-2012, Bangladesh 7.03 6.9 6.12 5.69 6 5.23 ) g

K 3.88 n 3.59 3.64 3.7 3.7 i

( 4 e u l a V 2

0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year

Source : PPRC Calculation from BBS Data. 3.5 Stipend spent on student, not family

An important FGD focus was to establish how the stipend money was being utilized. Table 7 provides a ranking of the items on which stipend money is usually spent as determined through the FGDs with guardians and students and further corroborated through the FGDs with teachers and SMC members.Table 7 : Area Items on which stipend is utilized, Stipend Bangladesh utilization 2013 ranking of items as per FGDs

Haluaghat, Mymensingh Stationaries, Guidebook, Tutoring, Dress Shyamnagar, Satkhira Tutoring, Stationaries, Guidebook Patherghata, Borguna Stationaries, Guidebook, Tutoring Banshkhali, Chittagong Stationaries, Dress, Tiffin Biswambarpur, Sunamganj Stationaries, Tiffin, Tutoring, Dress Sundarganj, Gaibanda Stationaries, Tutoring, Child food Nachol, Chapai Nawabganj Stationaries, Tiffin Source:Sadar, PESPBandarban Field Survey, Bangladesh 2013 Stationaries, Tutoring, Family expenses Overwhelmingly, stipend money is - - used for In only one area Bandarban Sadar upazila family schooling-related expenses were mentioned as one of the items on which the purposes. stipend money was utilized. Overwhelmingly, stipend money is used for schooling-related purposes. Such a finding9 is corroborated by the World Bank quantitative assessment.

9 Op. cit. An Assessment of the Revised PESP in Bangladesh PESP in Operation: A Reality Check 17 The dominant use of the stipend money is for stationaries. All eight study sites across the country confirm this ranking. The second major expenditure item, which was reported by six of the eight surveyed sites, is private tuition. The comparable World Bank finding corroborates such a ranking.10 Though less universal, other items on which stipend money is used include dress, tiffin and guidebooks. The last group of items is mainly used by students of classes 4 and 5. 3.6 Stipend, opportunity cost of schooling and drop-out dynamics For poor families, schooling has an opportunity cost in terms of lost earning opportunities. While this logic is more compelling for older children, particularly those at the secondary education One of the level, opportunity costs can also be a concern for primary objectives of the students of classes 3, 4 and 5. One of the objectives of the primary stipend primary stipend was to offset such concerns and provide an was to provide an incentive to poor families to prioritize schooling over incentive to poor opportunity costs. The qualitative assessment examined the families to ground realities of these dynamics. prioritize Bangladeshi children have traditionally participated in family schooling over work both at home and in the field. Not all such work necessarily opportunity costs. clashes with schooling. The issue becomes a concern when i) participation in work renders participation in school irregular, leading to poor performance; ii) participation in work entails dropping school altogether. There are other relevant issues such as hazardous work, but for purposes of this paper, the analysis is limited to the dynamics of the relationship between work and schooling. For families labouring under the pressures of poverty in rural Bangladesh, the opportunity costs of schooling for primary-aged children stem from possibilities of income supplementation in the following types of work: seasonal work in agriculture and fishing; work as helpers in tea stalls or small workshops; attached labourer in brick fields; helpers in bus and other transportation; domestic helpers in others' homes. However, these opportunities are relevant only for the upper grades within the primary cycle, mainly grades 4 and 5. Both the categories

10 Ibid. p.11 (Expenditure on stationaries is reported by 83 per cent of beneficiaries and on private tuition by 63 per cent) 18 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment of such child work and the levels of income typically available from such work as described in the FGDs in the eight field sites across the country are described in Table 8.

Table 8 : Opportunity cost of schooling: Average child wages in typical rural occupations insights from FGDs, Bangladesh 2013

Area Type of child work Average remuneration

Haluaghat, Mymensingh Seasonal agri labour Daily wage of BDT 100 Helper in tea stall, shops Daily wage of BDT 50 + 3 meals Girls doing stitching work Monthly wage of BDT 500-600

Shyamnagar, Satkhira Seasonal agri labour Daily wage of BDT 90 Helper in hotel, workshops Daily wage of BDT 50 + 1 meal

Patherghata, Borguna Seasonal helper in fishing trawler Daily wage of BDT 100 - (April-July) and dress Collection of shrimp fries after Daily wage of BDT 300 -350 school ( April-July)

Banshkhali, Chittagong Seasonal fruit picking Family farms Helper in tea stalls Daily wage of BDT 80-100

Biswambarpur, Sunamganj Seasonal agri labour Daily wage of BDT 80-90 Stone/sand lifting Daily wage of BDT 100

Sundarganj, Gaibandha Seasonal agri labour Daily wage of BDT 100 -150

Nachol, Chapai Nawabganj Bus helper Daily wage of BDT 50 + 3 meals Hotel boy Monthly wage of BDT 1,000-1,500 + food Agri labour Daily wage of BDT 100 -150

Bandarban Work in family farm Shop assistant Daily wage of BDT 100

Source: PESP Field Survey, Bangladesh 2013

While opportunity costs of schooling for the higher grades within the primary cycle are real as seen above, actual incidence of child work varies considerably across regions. Typically, such incidence is relatively higher in high poverty upazilas compared to the medium poverty upazilas. There may also be additional contextual factors impinging upon such incidences. For example, tribal children in Nachol, Chapai Nawabganj and children in the Cyclone Sidr-affected coastal south face greater pressure to participate in paid work. The obvious indicator to assess the magnitude of child work vis- à-vis schooling is the drop-out rate; though it is worth bearing in PESP in Operation: A Reality Check 19 mind that there may be other determinants of drop-out, such as child-unfriendly teaching-learning methods, overcrowded classrooms and unattractive educational environments. As a phenomenon, drop-out is less self-evident than commonly assumed. At least four dimensions can be distinguished: i. Permanently leaving school: This is usually what is understood as drop-out. The FGDs indicate that this proportion may be smaller than commonly assumed. As a phenomenon, drop-out is less ii. Leaving school but going to another school or a madrasha: self- evident than This is a regular and sizeable phenomenon, but surprisingly enough is not separately recorded and hence treated as drop- commonly out. The field teams examined the official forms on which assumed. At least such statistics are recorded and found no column to record four dimensions the phenomenon of leaving for another school/madrasha. can be Arguably, leaving a school to join a madrasha is often distinguished: poverty-driven since food and lodgings are generally free in these religious schools. Nevertheless, this phenomenon must be distinguished from the first, which is an immediate and permanent break with schooling. iii. Irregularity and temporary absence from school to join seasonal and other work opportunities: As indicated earlier, in several rural localities, seasonal work opportunities are an established phenomenon such as coastal fishing, fruit picking or crop-harvesting. Assisting on family farms is common, but for some poorer students it is a matter of full-time paid work albeit for the season. The FGDs revealed that it is mostly male children who are involved in such prolonged absences due to work. However, absences can also be intermittent but persistent. Typically, such irregularities result in poor performance and may lead to permanently dropping out. iv. Repeat Students: Students who fail to qualify in annual performance tests become repeat students. This proportion varies across areas and schools and is not an inconsiderable percentage. A segment of such repeat students can become more permanent drop-outs if their performances fail to improve. For stipend beneficiaries, performance failure also usually means getting dropped from the stipend list, although rejoining the list by bettering performance is possible. A typical consequence of repetition is that these children finish primary education at a much later age. Persistent repetition can also lead to permanently dropping out. 20 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment Given the above dynamics, it is no surprise that estimates of drop-out rates can present considerable conceptual and methodological challenges, a fact acknowledged in the 2012 Primary Education Annual Sectoral Performance Report (ASPR, 2012).11 The field teams undertook 23 case studies on drop-out students who were identified through discussions with teachers from the surveyed schools. Of these, 16 were boys and 7 were girls. Maximum drop-out was in grade 4 (16 out of 23) while the rest dropped-out from grades 3 and 5. In addition to these case studies, the field teams also established cohort scenarios for a few of the schools. Table 9 describes two cohort scenarios that put the complexities of the drop-out process in sharp relief.

Table 9 : Drop-out dynamics: Two case scenarios, Bangladesh 2013

Case scenario Class 1 Cycle completers Repeaters Moved to another Permanently cohort (survived until class 5) school/madrasha left school

Songra Primary School, Haluaghat, 64 15 26 18 5 Mymensingh School in Nachol, 59 39 5 10 5 Source:Chapai PESP Nawabganj Field Survey, Bangladesh 2013 By current practice, drop-out rate is calculated as a combination of those who have permanently left schooling and those who have moved to another school/madrasha. With this calculation, the drop-out rate in the two cases comes to 36 per cent in the it is no surprise Mymensingh school and 25 per cent in the Nachol school. The that estimates of ASPR 2011 reports a generally comparable overall drop-out rate drop-out rates can of 29.7 per cent.12 present However, if only those who have permanently left schooling considerable within the primary cycle are considered, the drop-out rate is conceptual and almost similar in the two cases: 7.8 per cent and 8.5 per cent, methodological respectively. Since specific information on those who move to another school/madrasah is not maintained, the larger percentage challenges that combines both those who have abandoned school altogether and those who have moved to another institution is usually cited as the drop-out rate. It is noteworthy, however, that the MoPME

11 Government of Bangladesh Directorate of Primary Education, Bangladesh Primary Education Annual Sector Performance Report (ASPR, 2012), (May 2012), p 29. 12 Ibid PESP in Operation: A Reality Check 21 Mid-Term Evaluation of PESP2 assess drop-out rate in respondent schools to be 9.9 per cent in 2010, a figure that is quite close to the above estimate of drop-out rate exclusive of those who have moved to another educational institution. 13 Further insight into drop-out dynamics can be gleaned by reviewing the reasons stated by those who drop out permanently. The information from the two case scenarios described earlier shows that in the Mymensingh school, for instance, of the five students who dropped out permanently, two did so because of the onset of disability, two because they migrated to Dhaka with their parents for employment and one girl because of early marriage. In the other school at Nachol, of the five who permanently dropped out, four did so to work and one girl for marriage. Field teams also carried out a number of case studies on students who had dropped out. A selection of these case summaries are described in the Box 1.

Box 1: Drop-out case studies, Bangladesh 2013

Case Study 1: Haluaghat, Mymensingh A poor vendor with three primary-aged children: The first child dropped out from Class 4. The second child, a stipend recipient, attended Class 2 irregularly to supplement family income by working in the field. This child had to repeat Class 2 for failing to pass exams. The irregularity became more pronounced in Class 3 as the pressure to work grew. Facing continuous scolding and punishment, the second child, like his elder brother, dropped out completely from Class 4. Now at age 13, he is a full-time helper in a tea shop for a daily wage of Taka 60. The third child has started schooling, but faces a similar prospect as his brothers.

Case Study 2: Shyamnagar, Satkhira A family with one child: The father died when the child was very young, forcing the mother to become a labourer in a brick field. The mother admitted her son into a school and tried her best to keep him there. A stipend recipient, the boy had no option but to abandon school from Class 4 when his mother fell sick and was unable to work. Now age 11, the boy is a full-time labourer in a brick field, earning Taka 60 as daily wage. This is the only income of the family.

Case Study 3: Banshkhali, Chittagong An ethnic minority family, the father works as a barber and the mother as domestic help: The girl, a stipend recipient, dropped out of school from Class 4 to mind her younger brother and attend to household chores because both parents were working during the day.

(Box 1 Contd.)

13 Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Final Report on Mid-Term Evaluation/Assessment of PESP (Phase II), (Bangladesh, 2012), p. 33. 22 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment (Box 1 Contd.) Case Study 4: Nachol, Chapai Nawabganj An ethnic minority family in which both parents worked as agricultural day labourers: The parents were keen on their daughter's education and got her admitted to the local government primary school. A stipend recipient, she had to interrupt her studies when her mother gave birth to another girl and she had to replace her mother as a day labourer. Though she resumed her classes later, she had little choice but to drop out altogether from Class 4 because her mother resumed working and the girl had to be home to look after the baby and do household chores. On occasions, she also had to work part-time to supplement the family income. The headmaster of the school The drop-out tried to persuade the parents to send her back to school, but their poverty factors are a made this impossible. combination of poverty The drop-out factors are a combination of poverty (as in those ...social pressure who have joined the paid workforce to supplement family ...and marginality income or who had to perform household chores in the absence ...FGDs also of their working parents), social pressure (as in girls who are identified certain married off at an early age) and marginality (as in the case of the supply-side disabled). In addition to these reasons, the FGDs also identified factors that play a certain supply-side factors that play a role in exacerbating the role in drop-out process, notably child-unfriendly class environments, exacerbating the overcrowding and increased study loads in the higher grades of 3 drop-out to 5. Such supply-side drivers of the drop-out rate are process,... emphasized in a number of other studies focusing on Bangladesh.14 Discussion with the PESP Directorate also underscored the supply-side drivers of the drop-out rate, particularly the sharply increased study load from grades 3.

14Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Mrinmoy Samadder, Beyond Dropout: A Study on BRAC Primary School (Bangladesh: Research and Evaluation Division BRAC, 2010); A Mushtaque R. Chowdhury (ed.), Rasheda K. Chowdhury (ed.) and Samir R. Nath (ed.) Hope Not Complacency: State of Primary Education in Bangladesh (Bangladesh: Campaign for Popular Education,1999); Ricardo Sabates et al., School Dropout: Pattern, Causes, Changes and Policies, Background Paper for EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011 (UNESCO, 2010). WhatWhat hashas thethe stipendstipend aachieved?chieved? 4

4.14.1 A bbrandingranding ssuccessuccess TheThe bbroadroad objectiveobbjjective ooff tthehe sstipendtipend pprogrammerogramme hhasas bbeeneen ttoo enhanceenhance aandnd sstrengthentrengthen aaccessccess aandnd pparticipationarticipation iinn pprimaryrimary eeducationducation ffoforor cchildrenhildren ffrfromrom ppooroor ffafamilies.amilies. IInn tthis,his, tthehe sstipendtipend pprogrammerogramme hhasas nnotot bbeeneen a sstand-alonetand-alone iintervention,nterrvventtiion, wworkingorrkking iinn iisolation.solation. TThehe bbiscuitiscuit pprogramme,rogramme, ffrfreeree ttextbookexttbbook pprogrammerogramme aandnd iinfrastructuralnffrrastructural iimprovementmprovement tthroughhrough aadditionaldditional cclassroomslassrooms aalsolso wworkork ttowardsowards a ssimilarimilar ppurpose,urrppose, tthoughhough tthehe sstipendtipend pprogrammerogramme thetthhe ffifirstirrsst aandnd hhasas thethe distinctiondistinction ooff bbeingeing a targetedtargeted aandnd cconditionalonditional mmechanism.echanism. WithinWithin thisthis ccrowdedrowded interventioninterrvvention mmilieu,ilieu, tthehe ffifirstirst ffoforemostoremost iimimpactmmppact andand foremostffooremost impactimpact ooff tthehe sstipendtipend pprogrammerogramme hhasas bbeeneen iitsts ooff tththehe sstipendttiiippeennd brandingbranding ssuccess.uccess. TThehe sstipendtipend pprogrammerogramme-inin BanglaBangla referredreffeerred pprogrammerroogramme hhasas ttoo asas upobrittiuuppobritti-hashas comecome ttoo eenjoynnjjoy greatgreat namename rrecognitionecognition wwithinithin bbeeneen iitsttss bbrandingranddiiinng gguardianuardian ccirclesircles andand withinwithin llocalocal ccommunitiesommunities aatt llarge.arge. WWhilehile iitt ssuccess.uccess. iiss a programmeprogramme targetedtargeted ttoo ppooreroorer hhouseholds,ouseholds, iitt hhasas nneverthelessevertheless transcendedtranscended thisthis bboundaryoundary aandnd tthehe nnameame recognitionrecognition hhasas comecome ttoo bbee a mmoreore ggeneraleneral pphenomenon.henomenon. FFurthermore,urthermore, ssuchuch nnameame rrecognitionecognition hhasas nnotot bbeeneen mmerelyerely a mmatteratter ooff iinformationnffoormation aawareness,wareness, bbutut mmoreore ssubstantively,uubbstantively, kkeyey cconstituenciesonstituencies ssuchuch aass mmothers,others, sstudentstudents aandnd tthehe llocalocal ccommunityommunity hhaveave ccomeome ttoo sseeee tthehe pprogrammerogramme aass aann eessentialssential iinterventionntervention iinn pprimaryrimarryy eeducation.ducation. TTherehere aarere aatt lleasteast ffifiveive ddimensionsimensions ttoo tthishis bbrandingranding ssuccess.uccess. FFirstirst tththehe stipendstiippend aandnd ffoforemost,oremost, tthehe sstipendtipend pprogrammerogramme iiss sseeneen aass aann oopopportunitypppportunittyy ffoforor ppooreroorer ffafamiliesamilies ttoo pparticipatearticipate iinn pprimaryrimarryy eeducation.ducation. SSecondly,econdly, pprogrammerroogrraamme hhasas ttherehere iiss tthehe incentiveincentive ddimensionimension tththathat mmakesakes uupp tthehe pprogrammerogramme aalsollsso eengenderedngenddeerreed a ccontent,ontent, bbothoth iinn ttermserms ooff tthehe ffifinancialinancial ssupportuuppport aass wwellell aass tthehe llalargerarrgger iininterestntteerest iinn conditionalitiescondittiionalittiies toto eensurensure pperformance.erffoormance. BButut bbeyondeyond tthesehese ttwo,wo, eeducationducattiion aamongmong ttherehere aarere ttwowo ootherther ddimensionsimensions tthathat aalsolso ddefineeffiine tthehe bbrandingranding tththehe rruralural successsuccess ofof thethe stipendstipend programme.programme. ppopulationooppullaattiiioon InIn a sociopsychologicalsociopsychological sense,sense, thethe stipendstipend programmeprogramme hhasas alsoalso iincludingnclluuddiiinng aamongmong engenderedengendered a largerlarger interestinterest inin educationeducation amongamong thethe ruralrural tththehe ppoorestoorest populationpopulation includingincluding amongamong thethe poorestpoorest families.ffaamilies. TheThe FGDsFGDs havehave discovereddiscovered severalseveral elementselements thatthat piquepique anan interestinterest amongamong ffafamilies.amilliies. 24 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment families. Most poor parents are illiterate and perceive illiteracy as a major handicap in their economic and social life. Illiteracy and low social status are seen as strongly correlated. A powerful belief coming from the parent FGDs was that their children should escape this particular fate of their parents and acquire a minimum of schooling. Education is also seen as a vehicle of economic mobility. An additional consideration for girls concerns marriageability as well as specific employment ...success... in opportunities. In Sundarganj, Gaibanda, for example, girls have triggering employment opportunities in garment factories and in the enhanced social Village Defence Party (law enforcement). status for two key Certainly the stipend programme has not been the only factor groups-mothers responsible for this increased interest in education. Better and children. communication and greater mobility within the rural society and an aspirational transformation in general have also underpinned this burgeoning family interest in the education of their children. Notwithstanding these larger trends, the stipend programme from its origin as the food-for-education programme has played a major role in strengthening family interest in education. It has also helped that from the outset, it had a national scale. Some confirmation of the rising interest in education can be seen from two data sources from two surveys: one on haor-area primary schools carried out in 2011 by PPRC and the other this current study. Table 10 describes parental aspirations for their children's education.

Table 10 : Parental aspirations for children's education, Bangladesh 2013

PPRC Haor Primary Schools Survey, Current urvey of 39 ural Parental aspiration for the level their children will pursue education 2011 primary chools, 2013 s r (Surveyed families: 502) (Total number of g participants:s 437)

Up to primary 1.1 Up to secondary 26.9 17.2 Up to higher secondary 13.9 12.9 Up to graduate studies 27.3 43.8 Source:As per PPRC capacity Study and2011 student and PESP interest Field Survey Bangladesh, 2013 30.2 26.2

The fourth dimension to the branding success has been in triggering enhanced social status for two key groups-mothers and children. Making the mother the authorized recipient of the stipend has worked not merely as an administrative arrangement What Has the Stipend Achieved? 25 but more significantly has galvanized this crucial constituency as a co-partner in pursuing the programme goals. Mothers are a visible presence and strongly identify with the programme. At a different level, the child too has undergone a noticeable status change within both the family context and the local community context because the child is now a regular attendee in school and continued enjoyment of the stipend is proof of performance. Within the family context, an additional factor contributing to enhanced status is the fact that he or she is the reason why a regular infusion of money to the family budget, howsoever small, is occurring. It should be added that alongside the stipend programme, the biscuit programme too has gained a visible brand identity for possibly related, but distinct reasons, including its snack-appeal the primary to children. Though more limited in coverage, this programme stipend too has created great interest particularly among the children and programme is programme awareness has reached areas that are not currently strongly covered. Although not the focus of this study, the FGDs associated with a highlighted significant demand for biscuit programme in all areas alongside the demand for the stipend programme. Some 60 clean governance per cent of the 577 students participating in the FGDs carried out image with little in the 39 surveyed schools identified the biscuit programme as report of leakage an important incentive that can contribute to reducing the drop- or political out rate. Hence, further study is required to better understand the misuse. intricacies of this observation and the policy implications and to compare them with global knowledge on similar programmes. The fifth and final dimension of the branding success of the stipend programme lies in the fact that within the plethora of social safety net programmes, the primary stipend programme is strongly associated with a clean governance image with little report of leakage or political misuse. This is so because of three key factors: i) use of the banking channel; ii) simultaneous engagement of three mutually monitoring groups of stakeholders-parents, teachers and SMCs members; iii) procedural opportunities for leakage are very small. 4.2 Impact Triangular FGDs that cover parents, teachers and SMC members show a number of areas in which the stipend programme is perceived to have made an impact (see Table 11). The three different types of stakeholders articulate some common effects of the stipend programme. 26 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment

Table 11 : Perceptions on outcome impact of stipend program: Insights from triangular FGDs

Area Perceived impacts Parent FGDs Teacher FGDs SMC FGDs

z z z Prevented drop-out up Haluaghat, Mymensingh z Cost burden on z Educational costs z to 20-25% stationaries reduced z partly covered z z Children now school- Attendance increased Enrollment increased oriented Drop-out slightly z Education materials Female decision- reduced now affordable making in children Immediate food shortfalls can be education increased z z z covered z Cost burden on 30% more enrollment Parent’s interest in z - Shyamnagar, Satkhira stationaries reduced Private tuition z sending children to z Children now school z possible, most parents school has increased oriented illiterate Parents are more

Parents illiterate and Costs of stationaries engaged in the z cannot help on school and dress covered z education of their work. Stipend has Attendance increased children z made private tuition Some educational possible z expenses have become z Attendance rate affordable increased Child labour and drop Female decision out rate slightly z making in children reduced education increased Reduced drop-out z z z

Patherghata, Borguna z Cost burden on Children and mother Mother’s and student’s stationaries reduced z both have increased z interest in education Stipend has made z interest in schools - z has increased private tuition Attendance increased– z Attendance increased possible and Some educational Prevented drop-out consequently school expenses – guide Some educational performance book, stationaries expenses can be can be covered covered z z z

z Cost burden on z Big role in covering z Stationaries cost can Banshkhali, Chittagong now be covered stationaries reduced z costs of stationaries z z Children now school- z Attendance increased z Enrollment increased Attendance increased oriented Drop-out reduced Female decision - Competitive spirit z Mothers more engaged making in children among children in children’s education education increased increased z Drop-out reduced as also child labour Students are now more competitive(Table 11 Continued) What Has the Stipend Achieved? 27

(Table 11 Continued) Area Perceived impacts Parent FGDs Teacher FGDs SMC FGDs z z z z z Biswambarpur, z Children now school- z 25% extra enrollment z Enrollment increased Sunamganj oriented Attendance increased Attendance increased Mothers’ involvement Teacher attendance Drop-out rate reduced z in children education also increased. increased Cost burden on z stationaries reduced z z

Sundarganj, Gaibanda z Children now school- z 30% increased Poorest families can oriented enrollment now have courage to z Cost burden on z Educational expenses z send their children to stationaries remove can be covered school z Private tuition has Attendance increased z Students more become possible attentive to lessons Guardians more Some educational z attentive to children z expenses now school attendance affordable Reduced drop-out Drop-out rate slowly z z z decreasing z Nachol, Chapai z Cost burden on Attendance increased z Children now school- Nawabganj stationaries reduced Quality of education z oriented z Children now school- increased z Attendance increased oriented Drop-out rate reduced z Private tuition now z Parent awareness possible increased Reduced drop-out Cost burden removed on some items z z z - z z z Attendance increased Enrollment increased Sadar, Bandarban Attendance increased Some educational Children now school- z Children now school z z expenses now oriented oriented Costs of stationaries z affordable Cost burden on Attendance increased stationaries reduced can be covered Drop-out slightly Source: PESP Field Survey Bangladesh, 2013 reduced

Four major impacts of the stipend program can be highlighted:Attitudinal changes have occurred among two core groups: i) children have become school-oriented; ii) parents are more interested in sending their children to school and are more engaged, especially mothers, in monitoring school participation. This has led to increased enrolment. 28 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment stipend money has School attendance increased: Parents, teachers, SMC made the members-all three types of stakeholders-strongly suggested purchase of that school attendance has significantly increased due to the stipend programme. The conditionality associated with the stationaries stipend programme has played the major role in this regard. The affordabl recent assessment by the World Bank provides quantitative evidence of such impact.15 For girls, attendance rates for stipend holders are shown to be 91 per cent compared to 69 per cent for non-stipend. For boys, attendance rates are 89 per cent for stipend and 65 per cent for non-stipend. Necessary education expenditures, in particular stationaries, have become affordable: All three types of stakeholders unanimously agreed that the stipend money has made the purchase of stationaries affordable and that coverage of this expenditure by stipend money is almost universal. Though a relatively small expenditure, stationaries are a regular requirement and uncertainty of this basic schooling-related supply has in the past led poorer students to attend irregularly and eventually drop out. The stipend money has made such regular expenditures affordable and has thus provided an important brake on the persistent problem of drop-out. Drop-out rate has been reduced: Drop-out rate remains a major problem in primary education though the rate has been declining, albeit slowly. The stipend programme has played an important role in the reduction of the drop-out rate. The FGDs with parents, students and teachers provide an indicative estimate of the extent to which the stipend contributes to drop-out reduction. The percentage of students who are likely to drop out if the stipend programme was to be stopped was assessed to be 10 per cent by students, 7 per cent by parents and 18 per cent by teachers. Field teams assessed that the estimate by students and parents was in all likelihood an underestimate since both these groups were The stipend eager to project an image of being greatly interested in programme has education. The estimate provided by teachers was likely to be a played an more realistic indicator of the likely impact of the stipend on important role in drop-out reduction. the reduction of The factors through which the stipend impinges on drop-out the drop-out rate. reduction include: i) increased children's interest in schooling;

15 World Bank, An Assessment of the Revised PESP in Bangladesh (March 1, 2012 Draft). What Has the Stipend Achieved? 29 ii) affordability of regular costs, such as stationaries, that serve to keep children in school; iii) the possibility of access to private tuition, serving to increase the confidence levels of the student; iv) closer monitoring by parents on school attendance of the child since non-attendance means loss of the stipend. 4.3 Spillover effects The stipend programme has produced some indirect changes or spillover effects that are as important as its direct impacts. Five are highlighted below. Empowerment of mothers The provision for making the mother the authorized recipient of the stipend on behalf of her child has brought about several spillover effects. Over the long term, these have the potential to transform the mother into a key stakeholder in primary education and include the following: i There is a role transformation within the family with the mother emerging as having a primary responsibility for children's education. ii The need to transact at the bank has forced illiterate mothers to attain minimum literacy in terms of signing for the stipend, a process that has the potential to impact on adult The stipend literacy. programme has iii The stipend collection day in which mothers from five to six produced some schools congregate for the whole day in one designated indirect changes school campus has effectively become an empowerment or spillover effects forum for the mothers. Such ma shomabesh (convention of that are as mothers) allow mothers to exchange views with other important as its mothers, teachers and SMC members, not just on stipend matters but overall school activities as it pertains to their direct impacts. children. iv Since non-attendance leads to a suspension of the stipend, the mother has become more engaged in monitoring her child's school attendance and performance.

Strengthening child rights within the family The branding success of the stipend programme has worked not only at the community level but also within the family. There is considerable awareness among the children, particularly those in 30 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment the higher grades of Classes 4 and 5, that the stipend is intended for them and that they can insist on the money being used for their needs. The information on stipend utilization indicates that this indeed is the case. The FGDs with parents confirm that their children are now more assertive about their needs. When the stipend money had been spent on some immediate family need, for instance, monies were later reimbursed out of the family income to pay for the children's schooling needs. Triggering proactiveness of key stakeholders in school activities Management of The stipend programme has sparked proactive engagement of the stipend key stakeholders in school activities. Management of the stipend programme has programme has prompted greater interaction among the four key school constituencies-students, mothers, teachers and SMC prompted greater members. The FGDs with all four stakeholder categories interaction among repeatedly underscored this point. the four key Strengthening accountability within the school process school constituencies- An indirect consequence of the stipend programme, particularly students, mothers, the implementation of the conditionalities on attendance and performance, has strengthened accountability within the school teachers and SMC process. Random absences now can carry concrete sanctions members. such as suspension of the stipend and both guardian and student are aware of such consequences. On the implementer side, teachers and SMC members may and do face questioning by mothers if stipend-related decisions are not seen as fair. The accountability pressure appears to be working even within the family because children cannot skip classes and not get caught as continuity of the stipend is affected. Students are more competitive Notwithstanding its pro-poor goals, guardians and students understand that the opportunity provided by the stipend is an incentive not an entitlement. This is true even for high poverty areas, where coverage is significantly larger but the conditionalities on attendance and performance are enforced equally. Consequently, the programme has succeeded in generating a competitive spirit among the children, which together with improved attendance, is producing more emphasis on performance. An additional suggestion emerging from the FGDs is that the stipend programme should also consider recognizing the emphasis on performance by including merit What Has the Stipend Achieved? 31 students (top three in each grade) in the stipend list irrespective On paper, primary of their economic status. education is free. 4.4 Is the stipend adequate? In reality, all households, even At its core, the stipend is a financial incentive and the question of its adequacy is moot given the halving of its real value since the the poorest among programme began and a space for rethinking becoming available them, bear several through the transition to a new sector-wide programming types of phase-the PEDP3. However, a meaningful resolution of the expenditures for question of adequacy requires a juxtaposition of the stipend size their children's to the costs of education. education. The costs of primary education On paper, primary education is free. In reality, all households, ...there is an even the poorest among them, bear several types of expenditures increase in costs for their children's education. An earlier PPRC study had found with grade that the burden of such educational expenditures was quite progression; inelastic, meaning that the burden had to be borne whatever the income position of the household.16 This remains the case as seen in the findings from the current study (see Tables 12 and 13). Two sets of data are examined, one derived from student FGDs in which 680 students from grades 4-5 participated and the other from 39 case studies of student families with the latter including some additional cost items, notably tiffin. Both findings are generally comparable once excluded items are taken into account. Average annual costs of primary education of grades 4-5 stand at BDT 4,788 (excluding tiffin). For the high poverty areas, this is slightly lower, but not by much-BDT 3,617-while for urban areas, it is slightly higher-BDT 6,398 (see Table 12). Data from the case studies show that there is an increase in costs with grade progression; with grade 4 costs being more than three times the grade 1 costs (see Table 13). Such increases are due to specific costs items, notably expenditures on guidebooks and on. private tutoring. There are slightly higher expenditures on male students compared to their female counterparts, but the difference is not significant (6 per cent in the case of grade 4 students)

16 Hossain Zillur Rahman and K. Shakhawat Ali, Quality Improvement in Primary Education: Micro Insights for Macro Agenda, Power and Participation Research Centre Policy Paper (Dhaka: 2005), p. 13. 32 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment

Table 12 : Average annual costs of primary education: Findings from student FGDs, Bangladesh 2013

Cost item High poverty areas Medium poverty areas Urban areas All areas

Taka % Taka % Taka % Taka %

Guidebooks 371 10.3 399 9.2 468 7.3 413 8.6 Dress 473 13.1 471 10.8 602 9.4 515 10.8 Stationaries 1,057 29.2 1,229 28.2 1,533 24.0 1,273 26.6 100.0 4,788 100.0 PrivateTotal tuition 1,7163,617 100.0 47.4 2,2544,353 100.0 51.8 3,7956,398 59.3 2,588 54.1 Source: Student FGDs, Survey of 43 Schools, Bangladesh 2013

Table 13 : Rural average annual costs of primary education: Findings from student case studies, Bangladesh 2013

Cost items Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Average Annual Cost (BDT)

Examination and 50 50 50 50 60 60 90 90 other fees Pencil/pen/exercise 600 550 700 650 1,000 900 1,300 1,250 book Guide/notebook 0 0 0 0 450 475 500 480 Dress/bag/umbrella 800 900 900 1,000 1,100 1,250 1,400 1,350 Tiffin 300 270 360 280 350 205 805 720 Total 1,750 1,770 2,410 2,380 3,565 3,190 5,395 5,090 Private tutoring 0 0 400 400 605 300 1,300 1,200 Source: 39 Household Case Studies of Primary Students, PESP Field Survey, Bangladesh 2013 How representative are these 2012 cost estimates from the DPE/MoPME-PPRC-UNICEF Study? A Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) study of 2009-2010 on primary education provides a useful comparison. The BRAC study was carried out in 76 schools (49 government primary schools) in a nationally representative sample of 62 villages 17. Estimates of private expenditure of grades 4 and 5 for the year 2008 for the government primary schools are shown to be Taka BDT 2569. This estimate excludes two cost items, namely tiffin and guidebooks. Another estimate from 2005 is provided by Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), which covered a

17 Alia Ahmad and Iftekharul Haque Economic and Social Analysis of Primary Education in Bangladesh: A Study of BRAC Interventions and Mainstream Schools, Research Monograph Series No. 48, Research and Evaluation Division (Dhaka: BRAC, 2011). What Has the Stipend Achieved? 33 larger number of schools. Average private cost for primary education of grades 4 and 518 in the CAMPE Study stood at BDT 3,619. Table 14 compares the findings of the DPE/MoPME-PPRC- UNICEF, BRAC and CAMPE studies on the average annual household cost on primary education (grades 4 and 5). The BRAC estimate and the DPE/MoPME-PPRC-UNICEF FGD estimates exclude an important cost item, namely tiffin, but the other two estimates are comparable and have the additional feature of representing the situation over a 10-year interval without adjusting for inflation. Two factors Table 14 : Average annual household costs of primary education (grades 4 impinge on this & 5), Bangladesh 2013 question of Average private annual costs adequacy-the of primary education (grades 4 & 5) drop in the value of the stipend and CAMPE Education Watch 2006 2005 BDT 3,619 increase in the FGDBRAC findings Study 2008Data BDT 2,569 (exclusive of tiffin) costs associated MoPMECase- Study DPE-PPRC-UNICEF Findings Study 2013Year BDT 4,788 (exclusive of tiffin) with schooling. BDT 5,242 Perceptions on the adequacy of the stipend amount An important emphasis of the FGDs with parents, teachers and SMC members was to assess the social perceptions on the adequacy of the stipend amount. Two factors impinge on this question of adequacy-the drop in the value of the stipend and increase in the costs associated with schooling. As has been noted in the previous sections, the real value of the stipend has dropped by half over the preceding decade. Over the same period, the private cost of primary schooling has also risen. The estimates in the CAMPE and DPE/MoPME-PPRC-UNICEF studies, separated by nearly a decade, can be used here for an approximation of increase in costs. This amounts to a 45 per cent rise in private costs of primary schooling. This estimate is applicable for the higher grades of 4 and 5. A decade ago (the CAMPE study), costs for the higher grades were on average 42 per cent higher than for the intermediate grades of 2 and 319 . The

18 Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), Education Watch 2006: Financing of Primary and Secondary Education in Bangladesh. 19 Ibid, p. 43 34 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment On both current study shows that the rise in cost in grade 4 compared to grounds-drop in that for grades 2 and 3 is 75 per cent (see Table 13). Compared real value and to grade 1, the rise in cost is around 300 per cent. increase in costs- On both grounds-drop in real value and increase in costs-there there are are clearly acceptable reasons for rethinking the stipend amount, reasons for particularly for the higher grades of 4 and 5. Such a need has been highlighted in the FGDs with all three groups of principal rethinking the stakeholders-parents, teachers and SMC members. The FGD stipend amount participants were also clear that the contribution of the stipend did not prevent the core drop-out rate, which was driven by extreme poverty. Rather, they saw the stipend as playing an important dual role-lessening the burden of private costs of schooling and triggering greater interest in schooling. Within such an understanding of the goals and contribution of the stipend, the FGDs provided five suggestions for rethinking the stipend amount: i An increase in the stipend amount to reduce the increased cost burdens on essential items. The suggested increase was in the range of BDT 250-300. ii Increased stipend amount can be implemented mainly for the higher grades of 4 and 5, where the cost of schooling is a much more serious burden. iii Introduction of additional in-kind support to cover two other cost items seen as increasingly necessary-bag and school dress.

iv A change in the policy of the second child within the family getting only BDT 25 instead of the full stipend value of BDT 100. The proposal is to provide the stipend value equally to all children from a family enrolled in primary education. v To strengthen the role of the stipend as an incentive to emphasize performance, a provision for including merit students (top three in each grade) in the stipend list irrespective of their economic status should be included. Budgetary implications of rethinking stipend Policy re-thinking on the stipend program so far has prioritized coverage over increase in the stipend amount. In 2010, coverage was increased 62 per cent from 4.8 million to 7.8 million. However, the question of re-thinking is again being felt in policy circles. There are of course major budgetary implications on any What Has the Stipend Achieved? 35 re-thinking in this regard that also have to be borne in mind. Currently, around 11.73 per cent of budgetary allocations are given to education as a whole and 5.36 per cent specifically to primary education (Budget 2013-14). PESP allocations constitute 8.1 per cent of MoPME budget (Budget 2013-14). Table 15 describes the options on rethinking the stipend amount and their budgetary implications.

Table 15 : Options of adjusting primary stipend, Bangladesh 2013

Policy options Extra budget required (Crore Taka)

Option 1

Increase monthly amount to Taka 200 1,000 (As emerging Provision of umbrella (for 7.8 million) 156 from the Provision of winter clothing (for 7.8 million) 156 discussion with Total 1,429 Provision of soaps (7) (for 7.8 million) 117 PESPOption directorate) 2

Increase monthly amount to Taka 250 1,480 As emerging from the field FGDs Total number of beneficiaries in 2012-13 was 7,869,000 and total amount of stipend paid was BDT 884 Crores. If monthly the stipend is raised to BDT 200, extra budgetary requirement is BDT 1,000 Crores. If increased amount is BDT 250 per month, recommendation extra budgetary requirement is BDT 1,480 Crores. However, the is to increase the recommendation is to increase the stipend only for grades 4 and stipend only for 5. In that case, the extra budgetary requirement will come down grades 4 and 5. substantially. It is also In addition to increasing the monthly stipend, it is also recommended to recommended to add some annual in-kind items-umbrella, add some annual soap and winter clothing. Total budgetary requirement for these in-kind items in-kind items comes to BDT 429 Crores. ConclusionConclusion 5

PESPPESP hashas m madeade i importantmportant a achievementschievements a andnd needsneeds t too b bee sustained:sustained: PESPPESP hashas e energizednergized s socialocial interestinterest i inn primaryprimary sschoolingchooling inin p particulararticular amongamong t thehe poorpoor a andnd marginalizedmarginalized g groups.rouupps. IItsts impactimpact h hasas b beeneen multidimensionalmultidimensional withwith n noticeableoticeable improvementimprovement i inn e enrolment,nrolment, a attendancettendance a andnd d drop-out.rop-out. I Itt h hasas a alsolso triggeredtriggered i importantmportant s spilloverpillover effectsefffffeects t thathat h haveave s strengthenedtrengthened accountabilityaccountability p processesrocesses withinwithin primaryprimary s schoolingchooling andand mademade stakeholders,stakeholders, suchsuch a ass mothers,mothers, teachersteachers a andnd S SMCs,MCs, moremore pproactiveroactive i inn schoolschool m matters.atters. TheseThese a achievementschievements havehaavve l laidaid a ann iimportantmportant foundationffooundation ffo foror t thehe largerlarger policypolicy g goaloal o off inclusiveinclusive andand qqualityuality education.education. P PESPESP r remainsemains criticalcritical inin sustainingsustaining t thishis process.process. TheThe c costost b burdenurden o off schoolingschooling r remainsemains as seriouserious b barrierarrier t too A pragmaticpraagggmmattiic meaningfulmeaningffuul p participationarticipation byby poorpoor studentsstudents a andnd r rethinkingethinkkiing thethe stipendstipend p programmerogramme toto lessenlessen s suchuch b burdensurdens isis necessary:necessary: ThoughThough rethinkingrreetthhiinnkiinng onon tthehe interestinterest i inn e educationducation hashas s significantlyigniffiicantly g gainedained ground,ground, p privaterivate adjustingaddjjustiinng thetthhe ccostsosts o off s schoolingchooling r remainemain a ann i importantmportant d deterrenteterrrrent t too m meaningfuleaningffuul stipend,stiippendd,, bothbotthh inin pparticipationarticipation b byy poorerpoorer s students.tudents. TheThe valuevalue o off thethe s stipendtipend h hasas termstteerrmms ofof monetarymonettaarryy ddroppedropped b byy h halfalf s sinceince itsits introduction,introduction, whilewhile t thehe p privaterivate c costost o off enhancementenhancement andand sschoolingchooling h hasas seenseen a ann i increase.ncrease. Ap pragmaticragmatic r rethinkingethinking onon adjustingaddjjusting t thehe s stipend,tipend, bothboth inin termsterms o off m monetaryonetary e enhancementnhancement in-kindiinn-kiinnd provisionprroovisiioon andand in-kindin-kind p provisionrovision ofof i identifieddentiffiied prioritypriority items,items, s suchuch asas bag,bag, ofof identifiediddeenttiiifffiied dress,dress, isis needed.needed. AnAn i increasencrease i inn t thehe stipendstipend amountamount maymay b bee prioritypriorittyy items,itteems, moderatedmoderated b byy thethe ffa factact thatthat s suchuch increasesincreases w wouldould applyaappply p primarilyrriimarily ...is...iiss needed.needdeedd.. toto thethe h higherigher g grades,rades, w wherehere t thehe c costost o off t thehe s schoolingchooling burdenburden isis higher.higher. T Thehe p policyolicy ofof p providingroviding onlyonly p partialartial stipendstipend t too as secondecond childchild w withinithin t thehe familyffaamily enrolledenrolled i inn p primaryrimarryy educationeducation needsneeds t too bebe rreconsideredeconsidered a ass t thehe c costost b burdenurden aap appliespplies ffo foror a allll c children.hildren. BudgetaryBudgetary implicationsimplications o off e enhancednhanced stipendstipend areare n notot ooverwhelming,verwhelming, butbut suitablesuitable a advocacydvocacy e effortsfffffoorts a arere necessarynecessary toto generategenerate b broaderroader p policyolicy s support:upport: TheThe extraextra budgetarybudgetary requirementsrequirements forffoor e enhancingnhancing t thehe stipendstipend throughtthhrough t thehe twotwo o optionspttiions reviewedreviewed e earlierarlier a arere i inn tth thehe r rangeange o off B BDTDT 1 1,000,000 a andnd 1 1,480,480 c croresrores 38 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment or USD 125 and 185 million. If as recommended, the enhanced amount is applied only for grades 4 and 5, the extra requirements will be substantially lower. In addition to the monetary enhancement, recommended in-kind items will require an extra BDT 429 Crores or USD 54 million. While these amounts are not large in an absolute sense, strong advocacy efforts will be required to convince the broader policy-making establishment to implement these recommendations. While PESP is a successful programme by many yardsticks, strong advocacy there are considerable opportunities to enhance outcomes efforts will be through specific strengthening of the implementation process: required to The DPE/MOPME-PPRC-UNICEF Study has brought out a convince the number of steps to improve the implementation process in the broader policy- areas of disbursement and program management. These include making i) timely budget allocations and release processes that eliminate the banking and disbursement delays particularly in the case of establishment to the final installment in the annual cycle where delays of up to implement these two months are routine, ii) review the experience of mobile recommendations. banking pilot for stipend disbursement and scale up operation if found useful, iii) include additional provision to ensure that mothers missing out on collection of stipend amount on stipulated day has the opportunity to collect during the succeeding cycle, and iv) address the issue of stipend-related paperwork burden on teachers either by reasonably enhancing compensation for teachers or arranging for administrative assistant in schools with large student population. Access to schooling for the urban poor is a growing issue and a policy review of how best to extend the stipend programme to urban areas is a priority: While the urban poor enjoy greater access to economic opportunities than their rural counterparts, national statistics20 indicate that their access to social opportunities, such as schooling, is less secure. Extending the stipend programme may be an important policy step to redress this situation and merits urgent policy consideration. While further analysis is required, simultaneous expansion of the biscuit programme complements the stipend programme: The FGDs found a widespread demand for the biscuit programme as an important complement of the stipend programme. Providing biscuits can lessen the cost burden of tiffin and is seen as increasing food security and attendance. Further study is

20Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Household Income and Expenditure Survey, 2005 and 2010. Conclusion 39 recommended to gain insight into the intricacies and policy Improving supply- implications and to draw lessons from similar interventions side factors implemented elsewhere. ...are as To maximize the impact of the stipend programme, several important... supply-side factors need to be addressed: Improving supply-side factors such as teacher-student ratio, user-friendly text-books, infrastructural improvements and maintenance are as important as addressing demand-side interventions such as the stipend programme. References

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School List

Chittagong Division

1. East Baghmara Registered Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 2. Kockdondi Govt. Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 3. KalipurNaseraKhatun Govt. Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 4. Middle Katharia Govt. Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 5. West ChechuriaGhonapara Registered Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 6. Boilchhari Govt. Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 7. Raichha Govt. Primary School, BandarbanSadar, Bandarban. 8. West Bakalia Govt. Primary School, Chittagong City Corporation

Dhaka Division

9. Saint Andress, Govt. Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 10. Kalapagla, Govt. Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 11. Baghitola, Govt. Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 12. Krisnonagar, Govt. Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 13. Sangdha, Registered Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 14. PurbaSaknite, Registered Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 15. NarayanganjAdarsha, Govt. Primary School, NarayanganjSadar, Narayanganj 16. Bazar Pathshala, Govt. Primary School, RajbariSadar, Rajbari

Rangpur Division

17. Mahisbandhi, Govt. Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 18. TalukBelka, Govt. Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 19. Paglarhat, Govt. Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 20. Sicha(2), Govt. Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 21. Zamadiar Char, Govt. Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 22. Char Khurda Registered Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 23. DaskhinKakoiKashdaha, Registered Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 24. Khorda, Saptana, Govt. Primary School, LalmoirhatSadar, Lalmonirhat 44 Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment

Rajshahi Division

25. Hatbakail, Govt. Primary School, Nachole, Chapai Nawabganj

Khulna Division

26. Nawabeki, Govt. Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira 27. BuriGoalini Govt. Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira 28. Kolbari, Govt. Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira 29. Munshiganj, Govt. Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira 30. Munshiganj, Uttar Kadamtala, Registered Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira 31. Zurzuria Registered Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira

Sylhet Division

32. Bhatipara, Govt. Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj 33. Durgahpur, Govt. Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj 34. Muktikhola, Govt. Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj 35. Dhonpur, Govt. Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj 36. Kachirgati, Registered Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj 37. Islampur, Registered Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj

Barisal Division

38. Charduani, Govt. Primary School, Patharghata, Borguna 39. Ruhita, Govt. Primary School, Patharghata, Borguna 40. Padma, Govt. Primary School, Patharghata, Borguna 41. Kathaltoli, Govt. Primary School, Patharghata, Borguna 42. TalukerCharduani, MuktijoddhaAdarsha, Registered Primary School

Patharghata, Borguna

43. Hoglapasha Adarsha, Registered Primary School, Patharghata, Borguna