Sector Assistance Program Evaluation on Education in Uzbekistan
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Evaluation Study Reference Number: SAP:UZB 2010-29 Sector Assistance Program Evaluation: 26194 September 2010 Uzbekistan: Education Independent Evaluation Department CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 31 July 2010) Currency Unit – sum (SUM) SUM1.00 = $0.000621 $1.00 = SUM1,610.60 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank ADF – Asian Development Fund BETDP – Basic Education Textbook Development Project CAPE – country assistance program evaluation CAR – Central Asian republic COM – Cabinet of Ministers CSP – country strategy and program CSPU – country strategy and program update CSSE – Center for Senior Secondary Education DMC – developing member country ESDP – Education Sector Development Program GDP – gross domestic product ICT – information and communication technology ICTBEP – Information and Communications Technology in Basic Education Project IED – Independent Evaluation Department IFI – international financial institution IMF – International Monetary Fund INSETT – in-service teacher training M&E – monitoring and evaluation MDG – Millennium Development Goal MOPE – Ministry of Public Education MOHSSE – Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education MTEF – medium-term expenditure framework MTS II – medium-term strategy II NPBED – National Program for Basic Education Development NPPT – National Program for Personnel Training OCR – ordinary capital resources PCR – project completion report PIU – project implementation unit PPP – public–private partnership PSD – private sector development RBEP – Rural Basic Education Project RDTA research and development technical assistance RTRFF – republican textbook revolving fund foundation RRP – report and recommendation of the President SAPE – sector assistance program evaluation SDP – sector development program SHS – senior high school SSE – senior secondary education SSEP – Senior Secondary Education Project STDP – Second Textbook Development Project TA – technical assistance TCR – technical assistance completion report TPAR – technical assistance project audit report TRS – textbook rental scheme TVET – technical and vocational education and training UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF – United Nations Children's Fund WISP – Welfare Improvement Strategy Paper GLOSSARY hokimiyat – local government mahalla – community oblast – provincial or regional government and administration Oliy Majilis – state representative legislative body raion – district government and administration NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the government ends on 31 December. (ii) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. KEYWORDS adb; asian development bank; country partnership strategy; country strategy and program; education; employment; evaluation; human resource development, independent evaluation department; national program for basic education development; national program for personnel training; productivity; sector assessment; sector assistance program evaluation; skills development; uzbekistan Director R. B. Adhikari, Independent Evaluation Division 1, IED Team leader K. Hardjanti, Principal Evaluation Specialist, IED Team members A. Anabo, Senior Evaluation Officer, IED S. Labayen, Senior Operations Evaluation Assistant, IED Independent Evaluation Department, SE-22 In preparing any evaluation report, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Independent Evaluation Department does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Objective, Scope, and Rationale 1 B. Evaluation Framework and Methodology 1 II. SECTOR BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT 2 A. The Evolving Political, Economic, and Social Setting 2 B. Key Development Challenges 3 C. Government's Strategies and Priorities in Education 5 D. The Education System in Uzbekistan 6 E. ADB's Strategies and Programs 10 F. Other Development Partners' Strategies and Programs 12 G. Findings and Lessons from Earlier Evaluations 13 III. ASSESSMENT OF ADB'S ASSISTANCE IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR 17 A. Strategic and Institutional-Level (Top–Down) Performance Assessment 17 B. Project/Program-Level (Bottom–Up) Performance Assessment 21 C. Overall Assessment 30 IV. KEY FINDINGS, LESSONS, KEY ISSUES, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 30 A. Key Findings 30 B. Lessons 32 C. Key Issues 33 D. Recommendations 34 APPENDIXES 1. ADB Lending and Nonlending Assistance for the Education Sector in Uzbekistan 35 2. Evaluation Framework 37 3. Selected Socioeconomic Data in Uzbekistan 40 4. ADB’s and Other Development Partners' Strategies and Activities for the Education Sector in Uzbekistan 45 5. Lessons from ADB's Past Assistance in the Sector 47 6. Outputs, Outcomes, and Impacts of Completed and Ongoing Loan Projects for the Education Sector in Uzbekistan (1997–2009) 51 7. Ratings of Education Projects in Uzbekistan (1997–2008) 79 The guidelines formally adopted by the Independent Evaluation Department (IED) on avoiding conflict of interest in its independent evaluations were observed in the preparation of this report. Director General, IED recused himself from the review and approval of this report, and delegated this to Director, IED1 due to his previous involvement in all aspects of ADB’s operations in Uzbekistan. B. Prakash, R. Jamon, and M. Shagazatova were the consultants. To the knowledge of the management of IED, there were no conflicts of interest of the persons preparing, reviewing, or approving this report. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The objective of this sector assistance program evaluation (SAPE) is to assess the performance of Asian Development Bank (ADB) assistance in the education sector of Uzbekistan for the period 1996–2009. It also identifies factors affecting the performance, and draws lessons and recommendations to feed into the preparation of a country assistance program evaluation and future education sector operations. The SAPE undertakes strategic and institutional as well as project and program-level performance evaluation of the sector assistance. The Government of Uzbekistan gives high priority to human development. After gaining independence in 1991, Uzbekistan continues to provide quality education to its citizens. It developed a National Program for Personnel Training (NPPT) in 1997, which has been implemented in three stages and is coming into full effect from 2010. Uzbekistan also adopted the National Program for Basic Education Development in 2004. In 2007, a Welfare Improvement Strategy Paper was developed to reduce the poverty incidence in Uzbekistan. Development challenges. Uzbekistan, the most populous in the Central Asian region, is a doubly landlocked country. It is endowed with precious natural resources such as copper, gold, natural gas, oil, and uranium. In recent years, the Uzbekistan economy has been growing at the rate of 8.5%–9.5% per annum. It has weathered the global financial and economic crisis well, certainly better than many economies at its level of development in the region. In this sense, the key challenge is to stay the course, complete the transition, and keep on removing the "binding constraints" that are precluding better economic performance and private sector development. It needs to absorb newer technologies rapidly to boost the productivity of economic operations. Backed with good governance, its investment climate needs to be transparent, stable, and predictable for the global investors. Despite the high rate of economic growth, poverty incidence has risen. The main challenge of human development in Uzbekistan lies in the development of skilled and knowledgeable personnel who are able to facilitate the transition to an internationally competitive economy. The availability of quality human resources is critical in effecting this transformation. The government, with the assistance of ADB and other development partners, is seeking to accelerate this transformation. Uzbekistan spends about 8%–9% of its gross domestic product on education, which is much higher than in countries at a comparable level of development. Ensuring efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of such high investment in education is a challenge for the country. ADB’s assistance to the education sector. ADB’s medium-term strategy II prioritized addressing the goal of poverty reduction and emphasized catalyzing investments through human resource development, and strengthening inclusiveness through key social development interventions. ADB’s medium-term strategy II included education as one of the core operational sectors where ADB should focus its expertise and assistance. ADB’s Strategy 2020 also identifies education as one of the five core areas for specialization. It recognizes that investments in and access to education and vocational training are necessary for more inclusive growth, achieving gender equality, and for promoting public–private partnership (PPP) and regional cooperation. ADB assistance also supports the Millennium Development Goals, especially those seeking to reduce poverty, enhance the status of women, and augment knowledge and skills. The education sector strategy also supports the alignment of ADB assistance with the inclusive growth needs of the country. ii The total value of ADB loans to Uzbekistan from 1996 to 2009 is $1.29 billion, of which $290.5 million (22.5%) were loans to the education sector. These were sourced from both the ordinary capital resources (72.5%) and the Asian Development Fund (27.5%). In addition, ADB extended 15