Document of Public Disclosure Authorized The World Bank
Report No: 21851
PROJECT APPRAISAL DOCUMENT
ON A
PROPOSED CREDIT
IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 32.3 MILLION EQUIVALENT Public Disclosure Authorized (US$41.5 MILLION EQUIVALENT)
TO
THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS
FOR A
HN/COMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT
April 10, 2001 Public Disclosure Authorized
Human and Social Development Group Central America Country Management Unit Latin America and Caribbean Region Public Disclosure Authorized CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS
(Exchange Rate Effective January 15, 2001)
Currency Unit = Lempiras (L) 15.130 Lempiras = USS1.00 US$1.30 = XDR 1.0
FISCAL YEAR January 1 to December 31
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONTYMS ADELs Local Education Development Association (Asociaciones de Desarrollo Educativo Local) AECOs Parent School Associations (Asociaciones Educativas Comunitarias) AIF IDA- International Development Association (Asociaci6n Internacional de Fomento) APSO Agency for Personal Service Overseas CCPREB Community Based Preschool Services CEPENF Original Non-Formal/Community-Based Preschool Centers (Centros de Educacion Preescolar No Formal) CCIE Community-Based Pre-Primary Experience Program (Centros Comunitarios de Educaci6n Inicial) DCA Development Credit Agreement ECCE Early Childhood Care Education EIB Intercultural and Bilingual Education Program (Programa de Educaci6n Interculturaly Bilingiie) FHIS Honduras Social Investment Fund (Fondo Hondurefio de Inversi6n Social) FONAC National Convergence Forum (Foro Nacional de Convergencia) GOH Government of Honduras (Gobierno de Hondutras) GPAC Global Procurement Plan IEC Campaign of Informnation,Education and Communication (Campahias de Informaci6n, Educaci6n y Comunicaci6n) lNCAE Central American Management Institute (Instituto Centroarnericano de Administraci6n y Economia) IRR Internal Rate of Return LIL Learning and IrLnovationLoan
Vice President: David de Ferranti Country Manager/Director. Donna Dowsett-Coirolo Sector Manager/Director: Xavier Coll Task Team Leader/Task Manager: Joel Reyes (ProyectosEducativos de Centro) PFC Life Long TeacherTraining Program (Programade Formaci6n Continua de Docen,es) PRAF Supply-sideSchool Grant ProgramFor Poor Families (Programade AsistenciaFamiliar) PROHECO HondurasCommunity Based EducationProgram (ProyectoHondureiio de Educaci6n Comunitaria) PROMEB HondurasBasic EducationProject (Proyectode Educaci6nBasica en Honduras) PRONEAH National EducationProgram for Ethnic Communities (ProgramaNacional Educativo para ComunidadesEtnicas) RRA Rapid Rural Appraisal SE Secretariatof Education (Secretariade Educaci6n) UAF FinancialAdministrative Unit UMCE ExternalEvaluation Unit of the Quality of Education (Unidad de Medici6n de la CalidadEducativa) UNDP UnitedNations DevelopmentProgram UTEN EducationTransformation Technical Unit (Unidad Tkenica de Transformaci6nde la Educaci6nNacional)
Vice President: David de Ferranti Country Manager/Director: Donna Dowsett-Coirolo Sector Manager/Director: Xavier Coll Task Team Leader/TaskManager: Joel Reyes
HONDURAS HN/COMMUNITY-BASEDEDUCATION PROJECT
CONTENTS
A. ProjectDevelopment Objective Page
1. Project developmentobjective 2 2. Key performanceindicators 2
B. StrategicContext
1. Sector-relatedCountry Assistance Strategy (CAS) goal supportedby the project 2 2. Main sector issues and Govemrnmentstrategy 3 3. Sector issuesto be addressedby the project and strategicchoices 7
C. Project DescriptionSummary
1. Projectcomponents 8 2. Key policy and institutionalreforms supportedby the project 12 3. Benefits and target population 12 4. Institutionaland implementationarrangements 14
D. Project Rationale
1. Project altemativesconsidered and reasons for rejection 15 2. Major related projects financedby the Bank and other developmentagencies 17 3. Lessons learnedand reflectedin proposedproject design 18 4. Indicationsof borrower commitmentand ownership 20 5. Value added of Bank support in this project 20
E. SummaryProject Analysis
1. Economic 20 2. Financial 22 3. Technical 23 4. Institutional 23 5. Environmental 28 6. Social 29 7. SafeguardPolicies 32
F. Sustainabilityand Risks
1. Sustainability 32 2. Critical risks 33 3. Possible controversialaspects 34 G. Main Credit Conditions
1. EffectivenessCondition 34 2. Other 34
H. Readinessfor Implementation 35
I. Compliancewith Bank Policies 35
Annexes
Annex 1: ProjectDesign Summary 36 Annex 2: DetailedProject Description 44 Annex 3: EstimatedProject Costs 57 Annex4: Cost-EffectivenessAnalysis Summary 59 Annex 5: Financial Summaryand Fiscal Impact Analysis 68 Annex 6: Procurementand DisbursementArrangements 75 Annex 7: Project ProcessingSchedule 86 Annex 8: Documentsin the ProjectFile 87 Annex 9: Statementof Loans and Credits 88 Annex 10:Country at a Glance 90 Annex 11: Social Assessmentand IndigenousDevelopment Plan 92 Annex 12: Evaluation,Monitoring and InformationSystems 98 Annex 13: InstitutionalCapacity Assessment 103
MAP(S) HONDURAS HN/COMMUNITY-BASEDEDUCATION PROJECT Project Appraisal Document
Latin Americaand CaribbeanRegion LCSHE Date: March 12, 2001 Team Leader: Joel E. Reyes CountryManager/Director: Donna Dowsett-Coirolo Sector Manager/Director:Xavier Coll Project ID: P007397 Sector(s): EP - Primary Education LendingInstrument: SpecificInvestment Loan (SIL) Theme(s): Education Poverty Targeted Intervention: Y ProjectFinancing Data [ ] Loan [X1Credit [] Grant [1 Guarantee [ ] Other: For Loans/Credits/Others: Amount (US$m):SDR 32.3 million equivalent ProposedTerms: StandardCredit Graceperiod (years): 10 Yearsto maturity:40 Commitmentfee: 0.5% Servicecharge: 0.75% FinancingPlan: Source Local Foreign Total BORROWER 6.30 0.00 6.30 IDA 34.08 7.42 41.50
Total: 40.38 7.42 47.80 Borrower:REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS Responsibleagency: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
Address: Ministry of Education,Tegucigalpa, Honduras Contact Person: CristobalRodriguez, Director General de la Unidad de Planeamientoy Evaluaci6nde Gesti6n Tel: 504-222-0700/220-1230/222-8586/9901277(Cellularphone) Fax: 504-220-1230 Email: rodriguezcristobal(hotmail.com
Estimateddisbursements ( Bank FYIU$$M): FY 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Annual 0.20 6.50 13.60 14.50 10.00 3.00 Cumulative 0.20 6.70 20.30 34.80 44.80 47.80 Projectimplementation period: June 2001- June 2006 Expectedeffectiveness date: 06/01/2001 Expectedclosing date: 12/31/2006 XS VAD FW- Rv U, 2X A. Project DevelopmentObjective
1. Project development objective: (see Annex 1) The objective of the Community Based Education Project is to improve the quality of preschool and lower basic education (grades 1-6) in targeted rural areas in Honduras, including the improvement of the quality of intercultural and bilingual education in indigenous communities.
2. Key performance indicators: (see Annex 1) * Increased enrollment rates in rural preschool and lower basic education by 5 and 8 percentage points, respectively.
* Improved internal efficiency indicators in rural schools: (i) increased early entry and promotion; and (ii) reduced repetition and drop out rates in rural schools (baseline data 1999).
* Improved performance in standardized test scores in Spanish and Mathematics for 3rd and 6th grade students from mainly rural multigrade schools (baseline data 1999). v Improved student evaluation results of social achievements and self-esteem (non-cognitive development).
* Improved rural school teachers' productivity measured by attendance and days of work (baseline data 1999).
* Availability and relevance of education learning materials for rural schools.
* Changes in perceptions, attitude and behavior of key school-based actors: principals, teachers, students, parents and the community.
B. StrategicContext 1. Sector-related Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) goal supported by the project: (see Annex 1) Documentnumber: 19893 HO Date of latest CAS discussion: IDA/R99-182 (1 2/14/99)-IFC/R99/(1 9/01/0 1) The Bank's Country Assistance Strategy targets poverty reduction as its primary goal, focusing on three development themes identified by the Government: (i) reducing poverty and enhancing social development to strengthen human capital and social safety nets; (ii) reviving and accelerating growth to ensure a swift economic recovery and shift the economy into a higher growth path; and (iii) sustainability through ensuring that the Government and society's efforts are supported by macroeconomic stability, debt sustainability, state modernization and decentralization and improved governance. The CAS builds on positive Government initiatives, such as deepening of the decentralization process, improved dynamics between the Government and civil society, and a sharper focus on the govemance agenda.
The proposed Project will directly support the first and third of the CAS development themes:
First, this Project is designed to target poverty reduction and social development through basic education opportunities, especially in the most isolated and dispersed rural communities. The Project will expand an existing community participation strategy for involvement of parents in rural schools, called PROHECO
- 2 - 800 schools in poor and dispersed rural communities, where parental committees partner with the Government to manage the provision of school services. Through PROHECO,the Project will channel funds to the most needed and poverty afflicted communitiesof Honduras, guaranteeing them education services,human capitaldevelopment and inclusioninto the overall developmentefforts of the country.
In addition to expanding PROHECO,the Project will make important new investments in (i) improving pedagogicalmodels (mainly participatory, student centered and multigrade methods); (ii) adapting the PROHECOmodel for interculturaland bilingualcommunities; (iii) expanding lessons learned in parental involvementand school developmentto traditionalrural schools in the country, and (iv) institutionalizing communityparticipation promotion and training through the local offices of the Secretariatof Education (Departmentaleducation offices and SchoolDistricts).
Second,with regard to sustainability,the project will deepeneducation decentralizationstrategies through the creationand strengtheningof community-leveleducation associations, which will receive legal statusto manage public funds earmarked for school improvement. The project will also support strengthening decentralizededucation offices of the Secretariatof Education (SE), (Departmentaleducation offices and School Districts) to promote, support and monitor communityinvolvement in rural schools. The project places great emphasis on community-basedand local education offices' processes and procedures to improveeducation administration, efficiency and transparency.
Furthermore,this operation will directly support the Government'spoverty reduction strategy, as outlined in the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) presented to the Board in July 2000. Since that time, the Govemmenthas made good progresstowards completionof the full PRSP. The key objectiveof the Govemment'sstrategy is the reduction of extremelyhigh levels of poverty, which is measuredboth in terms of low income levels and lack of access to a set of basic human needs, including primary education. Consistent with the InternationalDevelopment Goals, the Govemment is considering the inclusion of educationquality and coverageimprovement (e.g., providinguniversal enrollment in primary education)as one of the key long-run targets in the final PRSP. The expansion and strengthening of PROHECO, as supportedunder the proposed project,are congruentwith the Government'spoverty reductionobjective by ensuring better coverage and higher quality of education in the neediest areas, as well as reduced inequalitiesbetween rural and urban communities.
2. Main sectorissues and Governmentstrategy:
Main Sector Issues:
Trends of publicexpenditure on education.Although Honduras is a small country with a populationof 6 million and a GDP per capita of $730, it has devoted a substantialand growing portion of public resources to education. In 1999, total public expenditure on education amounted to 5.2 percent of GDP, or 21.4 percent of total government expenditure. This is a significantamount for the Central America region (in 1997, public education expendituresin other Central American countries, as percentage of GDP were: Nicaragua: 3.6%; Panama: 3.6%; Guatemala: 1.3%; El Salvador: 4.7%). Between 1990 and 1999, education spending increased faster (55 percent) than either the GDP (27 percent) or government expenditure(32 percent). Over this period, between 45 and 50 percent of the total educationexpenditure was for primary education, about 14 to 18 percent was for secondary education and 25 to 30 percent for higher education.The large share of expenditureon primary education contributedto the high enrollment rates at this level.
-3 - Gains in Primary Education Enrollmentand Years of Schooling. Honduras has made considerable progress in primary education during the past thirty years. Since 1970, enrollment in primary education has tripled and, at 111 percent, gross primary enrollment is slightly higher than the LAC average. Net primary education enrollment across geographical areas is relatively high (95 percent in urban areas (Tegucigalpaand San Pedro Sula) and 85 percent in rural areas). Years of schooling have increased, reaching an average of 5.1 years of primary school in 1999 (up from 4.7 in 1989), and pre-primary education coverage has risen sharply over the last decade, from 17 percent to almost 40 percent (1999). The expansionof coveragehas mainlybenefited the poor.
Notwithstandingthese accomplishments,a number of issuesremain: Unequal EducationOutcomes. Quality and efficiency outcomes remain poor and unequitable.Only 70 percent of the cohortaged 15 in 1999 had passed 6th grade. Those failing were, overwhelmingly,the poor. In 1999, in the bottom quintile, only 50 percent of the cohort aged 15 had graduated from primary, comparedwith 87 percent in the top quintile.These figures indicate that most poor children go to school, but that the system fails them and half of them drop out without completingprimary education.The World Bank's Public ExpenditureReview (undertakenduring 2000 and currently being finalized) concludedthat one cause of failure to completeprimary educationis late entry, due in part to access difficultiesin remote areas. This leads to children being overage and dropping out when they enter adolescence, before completing6th grade.
Average primary years completed % with primary ed. completed
I QINTILEOINTILE Cohort 1 2 3 4 5 Total 1 2 3 4 5 Total |aged 15 in. l ,____ I ____l 1999 4.6 4.8 5.2 5.5 5.6 5..1 52 63 71 81 87 70 1994 4.4 4.5 4.8 5.3 5.7 5.0 49 65 66 83 88 71 1989 3.7 4.2 4.6 5.3 5.5 4.7 40 50 63 77 86 62
In addition, 7 percent of childrenin the primary age range are still out of school. The estimatednumber of 7 to 11 year olds out of school in March 1999 was 56,101. This was caused partially by drop-outsfollowing grade failure, and by continuingaccess problems in remote areas of the country. Although repetitionand drop out rates have improvedin the last ten years, they are still high, especially in the rural areas (in 1998 primary educationrepetition and drop out rates reached 8 percent).
- 4 - Table 1 - Estimatednumber of childrenout of school,March 1999 Age 7 8 9 10 11 Average Quintile % matriculated I (poorest) 84 89 90 91 91 89 2 89 93 94 94 93 93 3 86 94 94 93 88 91 4 92 99 97 98 94 96 5 (richest) 98 97 97 98 98 98 Total 90 94 94 95 93 93 Equivalent Number of children out of school Total sections 1 (poorest) 5,419 3,726 3.387 3.048 3,048 18,628 621 2 3,726 2.371 2,032 2,032 2,371 12,531 418 3 4,742 2,032 2.032 2.371 4,064 15,241 508 4 2,425 303 910 606 1,819 6.064 202 5 (richest) 606 910 910 606 606 3,638 121 Total 16,918 9,341 9,270 8,664 11,909 56,101 1,870 Urban 11,220 374 Rural 44.881 1.496 Notes. Basedon officialpopulation projections for 1999and Match 1999EPMPM data.
Quality. Poor quality education and the resulting low academic achievement of students are two of the most serious problems in the Honduran education system. The country's Education Quality External Evaluation Unit (UMCE) conducted a general Math and Spanish assessment of 17,638 third and sixth graders (percent of right answers within specific competencies) in a random sample of 568 schools in the country (7 percent of total number of schools). In reading comprehension, the average score for 3rd graders was 50 percent in urban schools and 38 percent in rural schools. In grammar, the average was only 37 percent in urban schools and 31 percent in rural schools. For sixth graders, the average Spanish scores in the same competencies, were 57 percent, 49 percent, 44 percent, and 35 percent, respectively.
In Math, third graders' average scores in questions related to the general property of numbers were 35 percent in urban areas and 31 percent in rural areas; for problems related to numerical calculations, the average scores were 34 percent and 31 percent, respectively. For sixth graders, the average math scores, in the same competencies, were 40 percent, 35 percent, 33 percent, and 29 percent, respectively. Although, there is still no national standardized testing for all schools, the results of the sample are alarming. The quality problem in Honduras was further confirmed when it received the lowest ranking of II countries evaluated in the recent UNESCO/OREALC Latin American and Caribbean Achievement Assessment. Problems in education quality are due in part to an irrelevant curriculum, lack of a formative learning assessment system, shortages of pertinent instructional materials, and poor quality of instruction.
Access to Pre-Primary Education. While the percentage of students enrolled in primary education is quite high in Honduras, preschool gross enrollment is only 38.9 percent of eligible children, as compared to 44 percent in neighboring El Salvador and 84 percent in Jamaica (World Bank, 2000). Community and volunteer based strategies have been supported by UNICEF and others, including the Bank, but further investments to increase coverage and quality of preschool are still needed. Since performance in the first three grades of primary school is linked to participation in pre-primary education, the Government seeks to expand preschool education, both through traditional and non-traditional (mainly community and NGO supported) strategies, as a key quality intervention.
- 5 - Provision of Education in Rural Areas. Educational opportunities are limited in rural areas (where it has traditionally been difficult to open schools, attract qualified teachers, and retain students) and for disadvantaged groups such as ethnic minorities. Lack of access to education in remote areas contributes to late entry and to not completing primary education. Rural children, mostly from families in the lowest income quintiles, tend to enroll later in school: only 84 percent of 7 year olds in the lowest quintile started school in 1999 (the national average is 88 percent). Late entry is followed by a high level of failure, especially in the lower grades. The failure rate for first grade students is 18.5 percent. Finally, children tend to drop out of school at the age of 13, regardless of which grade they attend or if they have completed primary school. Therefore, once a child gets behind (either by late entry, first grade failure, or repetition), there is a high probability that he/she will not complete primary education. Together, these three factors contribute to 30 percent of all children and 48 percent of the poorest children failing to graduate primary school.
The urban-rural differentials in learning (as observed above in the results of the standardized tests by urban and rural sectors) also call for targeted strategies for student learning, considering the particular needs of rural schools. A feature of rural schools is that a considerable proportion of them are single-teacher schools. Thus, providing training and technical assistance to teachers in multi-grade classrooms is crucial. Finally, education expenditures are distributed unevenly between urban and rural areas. Student/teacher ratios were 29:1 for urban areas and 42:1 in rural areas in 1996. Moreover, approximately 98 percent of the education budget finances personnel expenses and only 1.3 percent are targeted to investments in maintenance, equipment, etc. Institutional efficiency. The overly centralized institutional structure and the low capacity of the SE to manage the education system has reduced the ability of schools to perform efficiently and offer quality education services. Departmental education offices and school Districts are at risk of becoming local units that demand rather than provide services to schools. In turn, schools do not have the means or incentives to improve. Schools should be involved in identifying their needs, in self-improvement activities and in evaluating the services they receive.
Effects of Hurricane Mitch. Mitch damaged an estimated 17 percent of the country's 9,548 primary schools and left more than 170,000 students (10 percent of the basic education student population) without schools. Undamaged schools had to be used as temporary shelters for those who had lost their homes, resulting in further interruptions in service provision. Total damage to the education sector was estimated at $28.1 million. Repair and replacement costs were estimated to be $31.2 million. The international community, including the World Bank, made resources available irnmediately after the crisis to rebuild schools and to recover basic educational materials. However, Hurricane Mitch exposed the vulnerability of the education system to natural catastrophes and the effects upon poor communities.
GovernmentStrategy:
Education Sector Priority. The Government assigns top priority to its education reform, viewing it both as a key component of its longer-termnpoverty reduction strategy and as a critical part of its vision of developing a dynamic and productive economy able to compete in an increasingly globalized context. In general, the increased national focus on education, the successful experiences with community participation, and the demands for institutional accountability create a positive environment for educational reforns.
National Education Reform Consensus. To define a national strategy to deal with the country's education sector issues, the Government called on a national dialogue to build consensus on educational
- 6 - reforms. In 1998, the Government created the Foro Nacional de Convergencia (FONAC), with representationfrom the private sector,NGOs, governmentagencies, teacher unions, parents, international organizationsand other stakeholders. FONAC led a year-long, national consultationprocess on national education needs and reforms. As a result, FONAC, with support from the SE, published a document (November2000) that sets goals and priority actionswhich follow those identifiedin the PovertyReduction Strategy for Honduras,and are supportedby this project.
Community Participation. An additional pillar of the Government strategy has been community participation. In March of 1999, the SE launched a community-basededucation program to attract teachers to isolated rural areas and improve their performance. The program, called PROHECO (Honduran Community Education Program) formed parental committees (Community Education Associations- AECOs) to open schools, hire and pay teachers, and support school improvementsand maintenance. The program objective for the first year of operation was the creation of 500 schools to provide educationalopportunities for approximately25,000 rural students. In its second year, PROHECO enrollmentfurther increased (from 22, 350 studentsin 1999 to 39,070 in 2000), as well as the number of teachers working in remote, rural areas (from 649 teachers in 1999 to 1070 in 2000). 5,700 parents, organizedin AECOs, have been trained and thus far close to 800 schools are functioning.
A study by UNDP/CEPAL(Durston, September 1999) shows that the immediate impacts of PROHECO include the availabilityof teachers and educationalmaterials in isolated rural communitieswhich did not have schools in the past. The report also states that the PROHECO model can generate: (i) better attendanceof both studentsand teachers;(ii) parental support in rural schools;and (iii) a more efficient and participatory system for education management, including accountability for public and community resources earmarked for school improvement.Now, the community-basededucation managementmodel needs to be complemented with improvements in pedagogical processes, including multigrade methodologies,curriculum application pertinent to rural and intercultural and bilingual communities,and formativelearning assessment and feedbackto students,teachers and parents.
3. Sector issues to be addressedby the projectand strategicchoices: The proposedproject will focus on the followingeducation sector issues:
Quality and EfficiencyImprovements in Preschool and Lower Primary Education. The project will concentrateits support on the preschool and lower basic education level. Criteria used for this strategic choice included: (i) the country's need to improve the quality of learning, retention and promotion of children at the primary level; (ii) the IDA's previous support to primary education in Honduras, its knowledgein early childhood care and education,and the experiencewith community strategiesin basic education in the region, and (iii) coordination with donors, which will support other aspects of the education reforms, especially with the IDB which is supportinghigher basic education (grades 7-9) and developinga programfor improvementsin secondaryeducation (grades 10-11-12).
PedagogicalPertinence and Quality in Rural Preschool and Lower Basic Education (grades 1-6), IncludingSchools in Interculturaland BilingualCommunities. Pedagogicalpertinence and qualitywill be achievedby: (a) multigrade teachingmethods for rural schools with dispersed populations;(b) support for intercultural and bilingual education in communities from the nine ethnic groups in Honduras; (c) teacher training programs targeted to those working in rural, interculturaland bilingual communities;(d) provision of updated instructional materials; and (e) on-going evaluations of teaching and learning in schools.
-7- EquitableProvision of EducationServices and Universalizationof Lower Basic (Primary)Education Access in Rural Areas. The project will expand PROHECOas a proven strategy to reach the groups traditionally excluded by the primary education coverage programs in Honduras (which have been successfulin reaching only 85 percent of the primary school age populationin rural areas). To reach the additional 15 percent of rural childrenwithout coverage,the country needs to combine traditionaleducation inputs (school construction, teacher availability and training, and educational materials) with social interventionsto guarantee the inclusion of the poorest and most isolated communities, participationand self-determinationof rural and indigenous families, and agile strategies to provide and sustain education servicesin these communities.
Promotionand Supportof a School-BasedManagement System for Rural Schools. Although PROHECOsuccessfully showed the benefits of parental involvementin hard-to-reachrural schools,the rest of traditionalrural schools in the country have not had a school-basedmanagement model. Thus, to guaranteecommunity support in traditionalschools, the project will establish "schoolgovernments" with the participationof parents, students, teachersand principals in more than 3,000 traditional, multigrade, rural schools in Honduras.This "schoolgovernment" in a traditionalschools is calledADEL (Asociacion de DesarrolloEducativo Local). The ADEL,with support of other educationstakeholders in the community,will assess school needs, prioritizeimprovements, and prepare school developmentplans. These school plans (called in HondurasProyectos Educativos de Centro, PEC) will receive Project financingand will contributeto improvingthe qualityof educationin rural schools. StrengtheningDecentralization of EducationServices at the Departmentand School District Levels. As the educationinstitutions closest to the school,Departmental education offices and school Districtsmust improve the services they offer, such as: (i) the required pedagogical assistance; (ii) community participationpromotion; and (iii) school improvementsupport in rural areas. Therefore,the Govemmentis advancing its decentralization strategies in the education sector. Departments and districts will be responsiblefor channelingand monitoringeducation resourcesto schools, for "pedagogicalin-classroom" assistanceto teachers, for supportingeducation quality supervisionand evaluation,and for the promotion and supportof communityparticipation and school-basedmanagement strategies.
C. Project DescriptionSummary 1. Projectcomponents (see Annex 2 for a detailed descriptionand Annex 3 for a detailedcost breakdown): The project would implementvarious strategies to achievethe followingfour objectives:
* developingeducational strategies and materialssuited for multigrade rural schools, in line with the national curriculumand supportingany necessaryintercultural and bilingual adaptations; * attracting and retaining teachers in rural schools through community support in school managementand professionaldevelopment incentives for rural teachers; * strengtheningand expanding,in traditionalrural schools, successfulexperiences of communityand school-basedmanagement; and * guaranteeing the quality support of local education offices (school districts and departmental education offices) for the three above-mentionedobjectives (multigrade pedagogical processes; attracting and retaining rural teachers; and community participation and school-based management).
-8 - The strategiesfor achieving these objectivesare divided in the followingcomponents : (i) Local School Application of National Curriculum;(ii) Community-BasedProvision of Preschool and Basic Education Services (PROHECO Program); (iii) School-Based Management for Rural Communities; and (iv) Strengthening of Institutional Support for Community Participation and School-Based Management Programs.
I. LocalApplication of NationalCurriculum This component will support the implementation of the national curriculum in rural multigrade, interculturaland bilingual schools through the following sub-componentsand strategies. (The national curriculumis being developedin the countrywith support of other donors and cooperationagencies.)
A. Validation of the Nadonal Curriculum for Preschool and Lower Basic Education (grade I to 6) by Rural Teachers
This sub-componentwill support rural teachers' feedback regarding: (i) national curriculum reforms, programs,methodologies, and tools for its implementationin rural, interculturaland bilingualschools; and (ii) pedagogicalstrategies to address learningdisabilities. In addition, this sub-componentwill support the coordinationof a similar teachers and educationstakeholders' validation process in poor urban areas not addressedby this project.
B. Effective Application of Curriculum and Appropriate Educational Materials for Preschool and Primary Rural Schools This sub-component will (i) support the integration and implementationof various rural multigrade teachingand preschool modalities in the country;(ii) provide the appropriatemethodologies and didactic mnaterialsto implementmultigrade pedagogical strategies in rural schools;and (iii) provide the appropriate methodologiesand didacticmaterials to implementintercultural and bilingual educationstrategies in rural indigenousand Garifunaconmmunities representing all nine ethnic groups in the country.
C. Student Learning Assessment and Education Quality Evaluation Strategies
This sub-componentwill (i) support design and implementationof a validation learning assessment;(ii) develop and distribute student assessment guides for teachers in primary and preschool levels; (iii) disseminatethe student learningresults (by school, subjectsand grade levels) to districts and communities; (iv) finance externalbi-annual standardizedassessments for 3rd and 6th graders to evaluate the quality of education nationwide; and (v) evaluate innovative community-based education programs such as PROHECO,Community Based PreschoolServices (CCPREB)and Interculturaland Bilingual Education (EIB).
D. In-service Teacher Development and Training Programs
This sub-componentwill support (i) in-service university training programs for rural teachers, district staff and teacher trainers. The training will concentrateon multigrademethodologies, learning evaluation, school-basedmanagement and/or intercultural and bilingualeducation; (ii) quality enhancementprograms for community-basedvolunteers supportingteaching in preschool and interculturaland bilingualschools; and (iii) in-classroomtraining and follow-upfor rural teachers.
-9- II. Community-BasedProvision of Preschooland BasicEducation Services This componentwill expand PROHECO,a commnunity-basedprogram for provision of basic education services (preschool and grades 1-6) to rural and remote communities and to intercultural bilingual populations. PROHECO also provides incentive mechanisms to attract and retain teachers in these communities. A. Strengthening and Expansion of the Honduras Community Education Program (PROHECO)
This sub-componentwill support (i) organizingcommunity education councils (AECOs) in 600 remote rural communities; (ii) creating new PROHECO schools in those 600 rural communities, and (iii) attracting and retaining at least 720 new basic education teachers (grades 1-6) and 600 preschool volunteers in these new PROHECO schools. Teacher retention would be supported through various community-basedincentives, such as contractual relations between parental conmmitteesand teachers, support of school by parents, and social support of teachers'basic needs by the community. B. Creation of Intercultural and Bilingual Schools using the PROHECO Model for Community Participation and Parental Involvement This sub-component will adapt PROHECO strategies to the education needs of the nine ethnic communitiesof Honduras. It will support (i) creatingnew AECOs and PROHECOschools in at least 200 intercultural and bilingual communities; and (ii) attracting and retaining 200 EIB-trained lower basic educationteachers, 200 EIB volunteers,and 200 preschool volunteers. Volunteerswill be selected from the local community (guaranteeingcultural and linguistic relevance). Financial transfers, to be managed by parental committees, will support paying teachers, volunteers, and purchasing non-durable school materials (chalk, paper, pencils, etc.). The project will ensure that the curricular, pedagogical, learning assessmentand teachertraining interventionspertinent for interculturaland bilingualeducation (detailed in ComponentI, above) reach and impact these newly opened schools. III. School-BasedManagement for Rural Communities
This component aims at creating an effective school organization strategy in rural areas through the involvementof principals,teachers, parents and studentsto improvethe efficiencyand effectivenessof their schools. It adapts the school council model of PROHECO to the needs and existing organizational structures of traditional rural schools (most of them also multigrade with one, two or three teachers attending all 6 primary grades). School councils, in both PROHECOand traditional rural schools, will prepare school-based improvement projects (called Proyectos Educativos de Centro, PEC), and will manage financialtransfers to support implementationof the PEC. A. Development of a School-Based Planning and Community Participation System in the Rural Sector This subcomponent will (i) support the organization of school councils (to be called ADEL -- Asociaciones de Desarrollo Educativo Local) in rural communities for traditional multigrade schools; and (ii) train school council members to improve school managementcapacity, education planning, and administrationof financialtransfers for school improvementactivities. B. School-Based Design and Implementation of the Education Improvement Projects (Proyectos Educativos de Centro - PEC)
This subcomponentwill (i) supportplanning of school improvementactivities by AECOs (school councils of PROHECOschools) and ADELs (school councils of traditional schools) through the developmentof
- 10- school projects (ProyectosEducativos de Centro - PEC); (ii) transfer financialresources to AECOs and ADELs to carry out their PECs; and (iii) provide trainingon school improvementto teachersand parents throughteachers' self-help groups (Centrosde AprendizajeDocente) and workshops for parents (Escuela para Padres).
IV. Strengthening of Institutional Support for Community Participation and School-Based ManagementPrograms
This component will strengthen the SE (Secretaria de Educacion) including its decentralized offices (DepartmentalEducation Offices and School Districts) to guarantee effective support for community participationand school-basedmanagement strategies for the rural education sector in Honduras.
A. Central Support of the CommunityParticipation and School Based Management System in the Rural Sector
This sub-componentwill: (i) strengthenthe central units of the SE which support school organizationand communityparticipation in the rural sector; and (ii) support the Unidad Tecnica de Transformacionde la Educaci6nNacional (UTEN), which will coordinatenew educationinvestment programs and manage the nationalInformation, Education and Communication(IEC) campaignfor educationreforms.
B. Strengthening the Capacity of DepartmentalEducation Offices to Plan Educational Needs and to Monitor Community-BasedEducation Programs
This sub-componentwill: (i) support the design and implementationof an information system, including education statistics,human resources, physical resources, financial information and school maps for the programs financed by the project (PROHECO,CCPREB, and EIB); (ii) finance the training, acquisition and installation of equipment to improve the administrative efficiency of depairtmnentaloffices in monitoring and evaluating results of education programs; and (iii) establish a financial administrative system to monitor, legalize and audit financial transfers for school improvements channeled directly to schools,communities and educationdistricts.
C. Strengthening Capacity of Education Districts to Support Curricular Applications and Communityand School-BasedManagement This sub-componentwill: (i) completethe basic infrastructureneeds of the eighty six school districts that have the largestpercentage of rural, interculturaland bilingualschools; (ii) provide equipment(computers, furniture and vehicles) to support these districts' new role in the promotion, organization, training and technical assistance activities for community participation and school-based management; and (iii) strengthen the school district professional teams by training them as "agents of change" to support multigrade teaching, intercultural and bilingual education, community involvement and school-based management.
Indicatie Bank- % of Component Sector Costs % of financing Bank- .______.____.______. (US$M) Total (US$M) financing 1. Local Applicationof the National Primary 9.71 20.3 8.91 21.5 Curriculum(Preschool and Basic Education Education-grades 1 to 6)
-11 - 2. Community-BasedProvision of Primary 14.49 30.3 11.13 26.8 Preschooland Basic Education Education Services 3. School-BasedManagement for Rural Community 9.96 20.8 8.96 21.6 Communities Action Program 4. Strengtheningof Institutional Institutional 11.23 23.5 10.09 24.3 Support for CommunityParticipation Development and School-BasedManagement Programs 5. Contingencies Unidentified 2.41 5.0 2.41 5.8 TotalProject Costs 47.80 100.0 41.50 100.0 Total Financing Required 47.80 100.0 41.50 100.0
2. Key policy and institutional reforms supported by the project: The proposed project focuses on two key aspects of policy and institutional reforms in the Honduran education sector: (i) community participation and school-based management; and (ii) decentralization of education services to departments and school districts. The country's education reforms emphasize the democratization of decision making within the education sector, especially at the community and school levels.
Recent changes in the education sector's legal and administrative framework have allowed transfers of public funds to community-based organizations. In the case of PROHECO, law (Decreto) No. 266-98 of October 30, 1998, gave school councils with parental membership (Asociaciones Educativas Comunitarias, AECO) legal status to manage public funds for school operations. The project will support the implementation of this key policy, and it will help expand an adapted school council model ( Asociaciones de Desarrollo Educativo Local, ADEL) to the rest of traditional rural schools (schools in which services are not provided by the community, but by the traditional public education system).
A prior IDA-financed education project supported the creation of departmental education offices and school districts in Honduras. School districts, in particular, have a pivotal role in supporting quality improvements in schools, yet district teams have not been strengthened to provide the pedagogical and participatorysupport needed for the new school-basedmanagement models. Thus, the project will ensure that departmentaloffices, school districts and communities have the capacity and necessary resources to support their schools in improving classroom leaming and student attendance and promotion.
3. Benefitsand target population: (a) Socialand economicbenefits:
* An increase in rural preschool coverage from 38.8 percent in 2000 to 43 percent in 2005, or 15,000 new students attending (or 5 percent of the existing 5 year old rural population). This would be possible through opening 800 new preschool sections with an average of 18 students each.
* An increase in rural primary education (grades 1-6) net coverage from 85 percent in 2000 to 93 percent in 2005, or 28,800 new students attending (or approximately 8 percent of the existing 6-11 year old rural population). This would be possible through opening 800 new multigrade schools with an average of 46 students each.
- 12- * Modem school managementand teaching and learning methodologiesto improve social interaction among students,between adults and children,and betweenthe communityand the school.
* Interculturaland bilingualeducation focusednot only on appropriatemethodologies for ethnic groups, but also on nationwideknowledge of the culturalrichness of Honduras.
* In addition to the socio-pedagogicreturns resulting from increased equity in education opportunities and positive social interactions,the expectedeconomic benefits of the project can be quantifiedin terms of increased earning potential based on each additional year of schooling - workers can earn an additionalUS$45 annuallyby each year of basic educationschooling.
(b) Institutionalbenefits:
* Increasedsupport from school and communityactors in the deliveryof education services. * Increasedaccountability of public institutionsto ultimateusers (schools and communities). * Improvedservices providedby SE units located closer to the school: departmenteducation offices and school districts. * A coordinated approach across levels (community,districts and central agencies) to implement and monitor internationallysupported projects. m An appropriatenumber of highly professional and pedagogicalpersonnel in departmentaleducation offices and school districts. * Appropriateadministrative tools to support communityparticipation reforms in the education sector.
(c) Poverty reductionand target population:The project aims to improvethe quality and pertinence of educationalservices in the followingtraditionally excluded groups:
* Poor and marginalizedrural communities * Preschool students(ages 5-6) * Nine ethnic groups * Overageand late-entrystudents
By expanding access to basic educationalservices at the preschool and primary education levels (grades 1-6), this project will benefit approximately45,000 new school-agedchildren in targeted rural areas and contributeto the universalizationof basic educationin Honduras.
Around 4000 rural communities, including 800 intercultural and bilingual groups, will be organized to supportand monitor schoolperformance, benefiting over 300,000children in rural communities.
Although the interventionsof this project are targeted to poverty afflicted and excluded groups in rural, interculturaland bilingual communities,the proposed education and participatoryreforms will eventually result in improvementsto all schools in the country,thereby reachingall school-goingchildren.
- 13- 4. Institutionaland implementationarrangements: The Secretariat of Education (SE) would have overall responsibility for project implementation. A small and highly specialized team of financial and procurement managers will be responsible for leading IDA and government processes for using IDA credit funds. This administrative team will be located within the Technical Unit for National Education Transformation of the SE (UTEN - Unidad Tecnica de Tranformaci6n de la Educaci6n Nacional), guaranteeing direct access to the SE leadership, its general administrative offices and technical departments.
The project will require technical assistance from individual long-term consultants and from national and intemational organizations. This TA will be provided by NGOs, higher education institutions (public and private universities) and firms. The performance of technical and administrative staff hired by the project will be monitored to guarantee the contracting of the best services possible in the country or the region. The project will be implemented over a period of five years, beginning in 2001 and ending in 2006.
At the school level, school and community education councils (ADEL and AECO) will execute a large part of project resources both to operate schools and to implement school improvement subprojects (Proyectos Educativos de Centro - PEC). AECOs and ADELs will sign an agreement with the SE, which will detail their responsibilities in school management and the implementation of school improvement activities to be detailed in their school subprojects (PECs). Upon approval by the SE, the Project will transfer a portion of credit proceeds to the AECO and ADEL for implementation of their school-based management and improvement activities. Under PROHECO, Honduras has already successfully tested transferring financial resources to school councils (AECOs); a financial audit conducted by an international audit firm in 2000 found highly transparent and efficient use of funds by the AECOs. The project will also strengthen school districts (local supervisory offices of the SE) organization and train and provide technical assistance to ADELs and AECOs.
Executingagencies:
The SE will coordinate and monitor the implementation of the different components at the national and departmental levels. An Administrative and Financial Unit (UAF) to be established within UTEN will manage all administrative requirements of the IDA credit. The SE has already carried out a competitive process to select a consultant to provide administrative and technical assistance and training in project management to the UAF.
In the decentralized components of the project (school improvement subprojects and school financial transfers), school councils (ADELs and AECOs) will be responsible for their own planning, project execution, financial and procurement management. Appropriate financial and output accountability systems will monitor decentralized processes.
The National Pedagogical University (Universidad Pedagogica Nacional Francisco Morazan- UPNFM) of Honduras will implement the extemal evaluations of education quality and the in-service training program proposed within the project (the SE and the UPNFM will sign a co-executing agency agreement to this effect). The co-executing role of the UPNFM follows from (i) its built-in capacity for external evaluation of education, standardized testing, and in-service teacher training; and (ii) the Govemment efforts of the past decade to guarantee that the UPNFM provides efficient and high quality external education evaluations and teacher training within the Honduran education system.
- 14 - The performanceof all executingentities will be closelymonitored for good project implementationand to ensure achievementof the project developmentobjectives.
Project coordinator:
The TechnicalUnit for National EducationTransformation (UTEN) will be responsiblefor the monitoring and evaluation of the various projects supportingthe overall country plan for education reforms. There will be one Project Coordinatorwithin the UTEN to directly oversee the Community Based Education Project. The UTEN, as part of the SE EducationReform Team (which also includes the directorsof the SE's technical departments),will monitor project processes, physical progress of activities, outcomes of componentsand subcomponents,and achievementof project objectives on a regular basis. The details of the monitoringand evaluationsystem are detailedin Annex 12.
Project financial managementand auditing. IDA's Regional Financial Management Unit (LCOAA) conducteda project financialmanagement (FM) assessment,which concludedthat the project did not have a system satisfying IDA's financial managementrequirements. An action plan was consequentlyagreed upon, as explained in Annex 6. Substantialcompletion of the FM action plan will be a conditionof credit effectiveness. Shortlyafter effectiveness,an independentaudit firm acceptableto IDA will be engaged to carry out the yearly audit, in accordancewith terms of reference approved by IDA. The extemal auditors will make quarterlyvisits.
D. Project Rationale 1. Projectalternatives considered and reasonsfor rejection: Targetedsupport to pedagogicalneeds of rural schools versus broad curriculumreforms * Originally, the project was to be involved in all aspects of broad curriculum reforms, including definition of standards,content of subject areas, broad guidelinesfor lesson plans, etc. However,the Government decided national curriculum reforms were better supported by institutions with local presence already supporting, in coordination,the developmentof the National Curriculum (such as USAID, GTZ and the Spanish CooperationAgency). Thus, the proposed project will concentrate on specific curriculum application in rural areas. This will include multigrade teaching strategies, contextualizationof leaming (i.e., making use of rural contexts to explain and exemplify curriculum conceptsand subjectcontent), pertinent educational materials and teacher training.
Targetedsupport to local educationoffices and community-basededucation management versus broadinstitutional development efforts * The project concept proposed investmentsin the general structuraland managerial reforms of the SE. However, institutionalassessments recommended that this project focus on the local institutionallevel to incorporatelessons learned from local and communityeducation management, within the scope of broader institutional reforms supported by the Government'sPublic Sector Modemization Program. The project supportsdecentralized and communityparticipation models (alreadybeing implementedin the Honduran education sector) by providing resources for decision making and self-improvementto the most isolatedrural schools and for interculturaland bilingualcommunities.
Community-basedpreschool education versus traditionalPreschool education services * The project considered opening formal preschool grades in traditional Basic Education schools. However, the fiscal sustainabilityand economic impact analysis showed that expanding preschool
- 15 - services through formal programs is financially precarious and unsustainable Also, experience shows that Honduras can expand preschool coverage effectively and efficiently through community models. Thus, the project will continue to support community-based preschool programs by opening preschool sections with community volunteers in existing and new PROHECO schools. The project will guarantee training in finance and materials in order to guarantee the quality of service provided by community-based preschool teaching volunteers.
Marketapproach to publishingand editingtextbooks versus developmentand protectionof in-house capacityof Secretariatof Education * In previous projects, there was an attempt to develop the capacity in the SE to design and edit educational materials. However, this strategy was not efficient and the quality of educational materials produced was low. Within this project, educational materials, such as textbooks, teachers' guides and student workbooks, will be selected from those available in the regional or worldwide market. Even for some locally focused materials (i.e.social studies, history and culture) the development of textbooks and materials would be contracted from experienced and internationally competitive publishers and editing companies, based on locally provided specifications.
Decentralizedprovision of consumableschool materials versus centrallyprocured 3 Originally, basic teaching and learning materials, such as paper, pencils, notebooks, didactic materials, etc, were procured centrally. However, through examining previous lessons learned, it is evident that centrally provided consumable classroom materials reached schools late and absorbed additional financial resources due to prolonged warehousing and inefficient distribution. The strategic choice made by this project is to decentralize the purchasing of these materials to the school level, and to support teachers in developing in-house basic didactic materials, especially at the preschool level.
External evaluation of education quality versus internal self-assessmentsby the Secretariat of Education - The SE was considering not having an external quality evaluation unit, and instead proposed the development of a self-evaluation function within its structure. However, technical studies during project preparation confirm the importance of having an independent agency to evaluate the quality outcomes of the education system. Thus, the project will support external, bi-annual standardized testing at the end of the first two basic education levels (3rd and 6th grade). In turn, the learning evaluation functions assigned to the SE will concentrate on (i) formative student learning evaluations; (ii) strengthening teachers' capacity to assess their students' learning; and (iii) feedback to schools and teachers to improve assessed areas of learning difficulty in children.
Expansionof school-basedmanagement initiatives in the rural sector versus targeted focus only in PROHECOschools * Originally, the project's participation strategies focused only on consolidating PROHECO. However, the social and institutional assessments confirm the readiness of traditional rural schools and communitiesto embrace a communityparticipation and school-basedmanagement strategy, as well. Thus, the project will pilot the creation of school councils in traditional schools (to be called ADELs, Asociaciones de Desarollo Educativo Local) and the adaptation of the PROHECO model in intercultural and bilingual communities through allowing parental associations in the nine ethnic communities of Honduras to manage their schools and select intercultural and bilingual teachers and community volunteers.
- 16 - Training and education of parents involved in school-based management activities versus no direct investment in this area * The project will support parental participation in rural schools by providing parents with access to relevant trainingand adult education. Originally,this interventionwas not considered,given the basic education focus of the project. However, since parents' involvementis PROHECO's bedrock of the communityparticipation strategy, providing them with training and education was considereda key factor for the quality of parental involvementand support of preschool and basic education for their children.
Multi-level support of improved efficiency and transparency of educational inputs versus central support only * Stakeholder consultations during project preparation proposed a multi-level approach for project monitoring, rather than focusing on training and technical assistance for the SE. Thus, to support the country's objective of improved governance and efficient use of public resources, the project will develop the capacity of the SE, the departmentaleducation offices, school districts and communitiesto store,deliver, and monitor the use and maintenanceof physicalgoods and inputs to schools.
2. Major related projects financed by the Bank and/or other development agencies (completed, ongoing and planned). Increased collaboration has developed between the World Bank, the IDB and key bilateral donors to define the curricular needs of basic and secondary education, the benefits of community participationmodels, strategies for rural education access, and management improvements throughout the entire education system. The following table presents sectoral issues in Honduras being addressed by other projects and internationalagencies: Latest Supervision SectorIssue Project (PSR)Ratings (Bank-financedprojects only) Implementation Development Bank-financed Progress(IP) Objective (DO) Poor quality of basic educationservices Basic EducationProject S S Deficientbudget and financial PSM/SAC and PSMITAC S S managementsystems Weak public sector institutionsand PSM/SAC and PSMITAC S S excessiverole of the state Poor deliveryof health services Health Reform Project S S Poor performanceof infrastructure Transport SectorRehab. S S Other developmentagencies Expansionof SecondaryEducation IDB (grades 7-9 and 10-12)and School Based Managementin Secondary Schools National curriculumguidelines and Spanish Cooperationand standards USAID Improvementof teachingand learning JICA of Mathematicsand Sciencein schools
- 17- Curriculumdevelopment in GTZ Mathematicsand Spanish for first graders in rural schools Improvementof informalEarly UNICEF ChildhoodCare and Education Improvedmanagement capacity, IDB planning and transparencyof SE ImprovedEducation Planning, GTZ, USAID, UNDP and InformationSystems and Statistical SwedishDevelopment Agency Data of SE
IP/DORatings: HS (HighlySatisfactory), S (Satisfactory),U (Unsatisfactory),HU (HighlyUnsatisfactory)
3. Lessonslearned and reflectedin the project design: ExistingIDA-Supported Education Project in Honduras(Project CompletionDate: December30, 2000)
The lessons learned and reflected are drawn from experiences in similar Bank-supported projects successfully implementedin Central and Latin America as well as from previous education projects in Honduras.
The mid-termevaluation of the previous IDA-supportededucation project in Honduras,PROMEB, pointed out a number of issues that have been taken into account in the proposed new project. First, in rural areas and among disadvantagedgroups the quality of educationservices continuesto be poor and requiresfurther support. PROMEB invested significantly in pedagogical inputs, such as educational materials, teacher training and student evaluations. Nevertheless, management was overcentralized and lacked decision making at the school level.
Second, PROMEB attempted to resolve all institutionalproblems at all levels. Institutional development investmentswere broad and fragmented. The SE resisted transferringeducation managementfunctions to its departmentaloffices and school districts. Based on this experience,the new project will support key changes through managementinterventions at levels closer to schools, especially departrnentaleducation offices and school districts. In turn, the project will support the SE's focus on normative and evaluation functions,rather than direct managementand controlof all educationalinputs.
Positive lessons from PROMEB were also considered.The evaluation of the community based strategy (PROHECO), initially supported by PROMEB, indicates that this is a successful strategy to increase education access in rural areas. Initial evidenceof PROHECO'sbenefits include availabilityof education services in very isolated rural communitieswhich never had a school, attracting and retaining teachers in isolated rural areas which traditionally were at a disadvantagein attracting teachers, increasedattendance of both studentsand teachers, and increasedcommunity participation and parental involvementin schools. The new project is doubling the aggregatedtotal of PROHECOschools in the country today (800 schools by the end of the year 2000), with a coverage of approximate30,000 students, at the preschool and lower basic education (grades 1-6).
- 18 - Finally, other successful programs by PROMEB, such as the Unit for the External Evaluation of Education Quality (UMCE), the Continuing Teacher Training Program (PFC), and the support for Community-Based Preschool Programs (CEPENF)--are key inputs for the comprehensive education reforms promoted in Honduras today. The proposed Community Based Education Project will support the sustainability and integration of these programs, and guarantee that all education inputs reach the school as a comprehensive package, and that parents and communities have a voice in determining their education needs and in supporting their schools.
Other Projects in The Central American Region
Central American countries are increasingly sharing lessons learned in education. The community participation model through which parents manage schools, pay teachers and supervise student and teacher attendance was originated in El Salvador (EDUCO Program). The Salvadorian experience has provided a framework from which community participation programs in other countries may be developed (i.e. Guatemala and Honduras). Although each model is different based on local needs, in general, lessons and risks can be identified based on shared experiences. Common lessons include the importance of gaining the support of teacher unions, which are traditionally opposed to education management changes, as well as institutionalizing community participation within the legal and financial framework of the public education system.
Bank-financed education projects in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica are also dealing with similar issues regarding teacher training, student evaluations and rural education, particularly multigrade teaching. These project experiences were considered during project preparation through exchange of lessons learned and technical support across Central American countries.
Lessons Learned in Latin America and Elsewhere
Education reforms, community participation, quality improvements, and early childhood care and education, among others, are issues being addressed worldwide. In Latin America, examples of school-based management interventions in Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia have been studied. These programs show evidence of the benefits of parental and community participation in school improvement activities. Some risks, such as raising expectations, extremely bureaucratic procedures for school-based management, approval of school improvement plans and financial disbursements to schools, and resistance by traditional education management actors to shifting power to schools have also been assessed. This project takes into consideration these lessons learned, and is prepared to face and overcome the potential risks.
Also, early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs in Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil were identified as possible examples of informal, community-based ECCE strategies. Lessons were learned in rural education and multigrade methods from Escuela Nueva in Colombia, NEU in Guatemala and Escola Nova in Brazil. Finally, a teacher training programs in Chile offered important lessons from the merger between academic training, applied leaming and teacher-based classroom research.
Coordination Among Donors and Projects Supporting the Education Sector
Perhaps one of the most important lessons learned is the need to foster a sense of teamwork between the Govemment, IDA and other development agencies in Honduras. This is an essential ingredient to the success of any comprehensive reform. Thus, the project's design, preparation and implementation are part of a coordinated effort of donor agencies and projects supporting different needs of the education sector
- 19 - reforms in Honduras. IDA has participated in the Goverment-led "Round Table of Donors in Education" (MERECE -- Mesa Redonda de Cooperantes en Educaci6n), which provides an important platform to coordinate international assistance strategies and to liaise directly with other international agencies supporting complementary aspects to the project. Project preparation and its technical and feasibility studies have also incorporated recommendations from other Bank-supported studies currently under preparation, such as the Poverty Assessment Report, the Public Expenditure Review, the Infrastructure Assessment findings, and other pertinent studies relevant to this operation.
4. Indications of borrower commitment and ownership: The Government is fully committed to the reform of the education system, as indicated by the following:
* The establishment of broad national consultations on education reform, led by the Foro Nacional de Convergencia (FONAC). * The formation of a committee to support coordination of international assistance in the education sector (MERECE). * Official recognition of a proposal for the transformation of the education system endorsed by institutions from the public, private and NGO sectors. * Broad participation in national project identification workshops, conducted by the World Bank, to develop a more concrete proposal for education investments based on broad consensus. * Continued support for community participation strategies at all levels of government, as evidenced by the successful launching of PROHECO, the expansion of PRAF (Programa de Asistencia Familiar - another community-based program that supports the education needs of poor families through family grants), and steps for the creation of school governments and community participation strategies in traditional schools (Asociaciones de Desarrollo Educativo Local --ADELs ). * Government support for decentralization in the education sector, and integrating efforts across sectors (public modernization, financial reforns, and social development).
5. Value added of Bank support in this project: * Direct IDA support in the launching of PROHECO and in exchanging experiences in community participation across Central American countries. * Bank experience in preschool and basic education development in the region. * Bank experience in rural education modalities, including multigrade teaching, active leaming and student participation. * IDA experience in Honduras, both before and after Hurricane Mitch, testing different ways to increase the impact of IDA supported projects, the efficiency of government institutions and the transparency of administrative procedures. * On-going IDA support to the SE to strengthen the services provided by its departmental and district offices and to facilitate coordination with other social sector loans from IDA and other international agencies/lenders. * Successful experiences in community-based monitoring and audits of project inputs to schools.
E. SummaryProject Analysis (Detailed assessments are in the project file, see Annex 8) 1. Economic (see Annex 4): * Cost benefit NPV=US$8.2 million; ERR = 11 % (see Annex 4) O Cost effectiveness O Other (specify) Cost Benefit Analysis (of School-Based Management Investments Only). The economic evaluation of
- 20 - the project looked at the costs and benefits of the planned school-basedinterventions: creation of school councils (AECOs and ADELs); hiring of preschool volunteers and; implementationof school-managed improvementsubprojects.
The Cost-Benefitanalysis only appliesto the school-basedmanagement interventions, which are considered the most important innovation in this project to improve education access and efficiency. The correspondingNPV and IRR results of this economic analysis do not cover project investments at the nationallevel: .(i) strengtheningcurriculum application through multigrade strategiesand contextualization of leaming and instructionalmaterials for rural schools;(ii) strengtheningdepartmental and district support for community-basededucation; and (iii) developingmethodologies for interculturaland bilingualeducation (EIB). These nationalinterventions are validatedthrough cost-effectivenessanalysis and studies that show their positve impact on improving the quality of education. Investmentsat the national level within the project amount to a total of $US32 million (or 64 percent of total project costs).
Cost-benefitanalysis of the communityand school-basedinterventions was carried out to establish the rate of return in four scenarios:
1. Where a PROHECO school is built enabling children, who would otherwise be out of school, to get primary education. 2. Where a PROHECOschool replacesa failing traditionalschool. 3. Supportfor establishmentof a preschoolclass through the community-basedvolunteer model. 4. Supportfor establishmentof school-basedmanagement councils (ADELs) in traditionalschools. Benefits: In each of the scenarios,the benefit streamis estimatedas the impact of the project's intervention on the future income stream of the cohort. Costs: * In the first scenario,the increase in future income resulting from improved educational attainmentis compared to the costs of providing education, including both providing the school building and the revenue costs, and the eamings foregoneduring schooling. * In the second scenario,the outcome dependson the differencebetween the cost of providing schooling under PROHECOand that of a traditionalschool, coupled with the differencesin educationaloutcomes between the two and their impact on incomes. • In the third scenario,the criticalconsideration is the balancebetween the cost of the preschool year and the impact of preschooleducation on primary educationoutcomes, which in turn feeds into changes in income. * In the final scenario,the question is whether the cost of grants to ADELs for school improvementsare justified by the benefits in the form of improvedperformance and outcomesand the resultingincome.
Summaryof conclusionsand recommendations. The study of the economic return to the Honduras Community Based Primary Education Project considered the project's "fit" with the main sector strategic issues. The study reviewed the dimensions of the proposed interventions, and modeled the conditions under which the proposed investments would have acceptable rates of retum. Sector strategy and dimensions of the project: The project addresses important sector issues in primary coverage, efficiency and effectiveness and is, in general, well dimensioned. However, closer consideration is needed regarding the establishment of 800 new PROHECOs in rural communities, since primary education is nearly universal. At the same time, these 800 new schools would not only provide new access, but also
- 21 - may replace 'failed traditional schools in remote rural areas. Natural increase in demand through population growth (see annex 5) has also been considered.
Economic rates of return: In the absence of historical data for their impact on primary education efficiency and flow rates, it is not possible to make firm ex-ante predictions of the IRR of the project's planned interventions. However, it is possible to consider whether the improvements in perfonnance needed to generate an acceptable IRR seem reasonable. In general, all the interventions show possibilities of acceptable rates of return.
1. Where no school presently exists, the rate of return on establishing a PROHECO school is 11 percent, even if it is not more efficient than traditional primary schools in Honduras. 2. Where a PROHECO school replaces a traditional one, the economic return is positive under all scenarios because PROHECO's unit costs are slightly lower than those of a traditional school. If the PROHECO school achieves a high improvement in flow rates, the IRR is 19 percent. 3. The IRR for support to preschool classes depends on the degree of improvement in flow rates at the first grade level that results from this intervention. With a high improvement, there is an IRR of 10 percent but if flow rates do not improve the IRR is below the acceptable range. 4. The IRR for support to ADELs depends on the improvement in flow rates across the board in primary grades. With high improvements, ADELs report an IRR of 10.3 percent but if flow rates do not improve the IRR is below the acceptable range.
The project's school-based interventions have a positive Net Present Value (NPV) for all scenarios discounting at 5 percent and 10 percent, but not at 12 percent. Therefore, the overall rate of return is around 11 percent In the most probable scenario of a moderate improvement in the flow rate, and the benefits discounted at 10 percent annually, the school-based investments have NPV of over 123 million Lempiras or US$8.2 million.
2. Financial (see Annex 4 and Annex 5): NPV=US$ million; FRR = % (see Annex 4)
Fiscal Impact: The examination of the fiscal impact of the project is based on a review of public expenditure for education from 1990 to 1999 and projection of GDP growth, govemment expenditure, education expenditure, and school-age population from 2000 to 2015. The analysis used three scenarios which differed in the GDP growth rates. While all three scenarios accepted a GDP growth rate of 5 percent between 2000 and 2001, the high growth scenario assumed the continuation of 5 percent growth between 2002 and 2015, the medium growth scenario assumed 3.5 percent, and the low growth scenario used 2 percent. All three assumed government expenditure as a percentage of GDP to be 24 percent between 2000 and 2002, and 22.5 percent from 2003 through 2015. The three scenarios differed in the share of SE budget as a percentage of total government budget. The budget for pre-primary, primary and secondary education was derived from per student spending multiplied by projected enrollment in public education at these levels. The counterpart funds of the project will amount to $6.3 million over 5 years. The recurrent cost to be financed after the life of the project include (i) 920 new PROHECO basic education teachers at a cost of 52.44 million lempiras per year; (ii) 800 new preschool volunteers at a cost of 10.4 million Lempiras per year; and (iii) 200 EIB volunteers at a cost of 2.6 million lempiras per year. The total is 65.5 million lempiras or US$4.4 million per year.
- 22 - To give an additional level of comfort,this analysis took into account the new IDB SecondaryEducation Project's counterpartfunding during the project and recurrentcost financing afterwards.The IDB credit is $20 million for four years, and counterpart funding is $2.6 million. Since the IDB project primarely financescapacity building, the recurrent cost is expectedto finance only 200 new teachers at an estimated 36,000Lempiras per person per year.
The projectionsshow substantialdifferences among the three scenarios in the amount of GDP, government budget, SE budget, and share of each subsectorwithin the SE budget. However, the counterpartfunds and the recurrentcosts after the end of the project representonly a small share in all of the scenarios- ranging from 0.3 percent of GOH budget during the first year of project implementationfor both IDA and IDB projects, to 1.2 -1.6 percent of all three scenarios. Given the relatively small share of these counterpart funds and recurrentcosts, the project seems sustainable.
3. Technical: The following technical studies supported the design, quality and sustainable impact of the activities financedby the project: * A study of the first two years of implementationof PROHECO,including its benefits and risks. * Extemal evaluationof education quality,existing capacity and the areas for future support. * A study of the intercultural and bilingual education program financed by the prior IDA-supported Project. * A study of the In-Service Teaching Program (Programa de Formacion Continua, PFC) co-implementedby the NationalPedagogical University of Honduras(UPNFM). - Reviewof the Community-BasedEarly ChildhoodCare and EducationService DeliveryPrograms. * Review of the rural education services modalities, including multigrade teaching and participatory child-centeredstrategies.
4. Institutional: The InstitutionalAssessment included (i) the consideration of cost-effectivenesscriteria to design the decentralized provision of support services to schools, and (ii) a project implementation capacity assessmentof each of the central and local institutionsinvolved in project execution. Cost-EffectivenessCriteria The following cost-effectivenesslessons were considered in terms of the decentralizedexecution of the project throughlocal education offices (departmentsand districts):
* Central distribution of textbooks and other instructional materials showed high inventories costs due to long warehousestorage, inefficient distribution, and lack of local participationand transparency. * High numbers and salary costs of non-specializedstaff at the central level (SE), who are not willing to travel or relocate closerto schools. * Slow and highly politicizedprocess of re-engineeringat the central level, includingresistance to organizationalchanges, which absorbed considerablefinancial resources, limited outcomes, and blocked efficient servicesfor schools. * Departmental education offices and school districts require additional support for existing investmentsin infrastructureand human resources, to make their servicesfully operational. * Worldwide school development research shows that administrativeand pedagogicalservices from institutionsclosest to schools are more pertinentand efficient.
- 23 - Project Implementation Capacity:
The Government project preparation team, supported by external consultants and IDA staff, conducted an implementation capacity assessment, with the following objectives:
* Identify those actions necessary to achieve successful and sustainable implementation of the project; * Assess the organizational capacity of the SE and key implementing units to successfully implement the activities defined by the project; * Propose actions, strategies and policies required to strengthen project implementation units; and * Contribute to the understanding, ownership and commitment of actors involved in implementing the new project.
The participatory strategies included workshops and in-situ focus groups with schools, departmental and district staff in several regions of the country. The analysis covered global objectives/strategies and specific activities of each unit responsible for implementing key project activities. Specific analytical dimensions included: (i) organizational settings; (ii) leadership; (iii) human, physical and financial resources; and (iv) work practices (see Annex 13).
The assessment concluded that the key executing agencies will be able to implement the project provided that:
* the UTEN has a high quality core team to start project implementation and coordination of activities; * on-going and in-situ technical assistance is provided to gradually strengthen procurement and financial activities; * a gradual implementation of project activities controls the results of the project supported innovations, specially the ones related to quality improvements, such as the multigrade methodologies, the expansion of the PROHECO model, and the creation of school councils (ADELs) in traditional rural schools; * the Government complies with the action plans for both procurement and financial management, closing capacity gaps before project effectiveness; and * the project undertakes further capacity building steps during its first year of implementation , as detailed in the tables in Annex 13.
Assessment of units which will be involved in project implementation
* Secretariat of Education: At the central level, the evaluation confirmed that many SE staff are resisting change, lack skills, and are not always willing to work closer to schools and conmnunities. Nonetheless, a group of SE leaders have a positive vision and are guiding the proposed education reform policies and strategies. The assessment of SE units which will be involved in project implementation (Direcci6n General de Educaci6n, Unidad de Gesti6n Escolar, Direcci6n General de Servicios Pedag6gicos, Departamento de Tecnologia Educativa, de Diseno Curricular, la Direcci6n General de Evaluacion de la Calidad) recommended the use of existing human resources, while providing the needed technical assistance, financial and material resources to carry out project activities. Knowledge and know-how transfer will stengthen the skill base of the SE and will motivate its personnel. * Technical Unit for National Education Transformation (UTEN - Unidad de Transformacion Educativa Nacional): UTEN coordinates the education reform investment activities, seeking to assure synergies among projects and programs under execution. Technical staff for the UTEN will be selected through competitive procedures and will receive support from external consultants during project implementation. An Administrative and Financial Unit (UAF) within the UTEN will be responsible for
- 24 - coordinatingthe administrativeprocedures of the Project. As a condition of credit effectiveness,the UAF will be establishedand staffedfrom a nationalpool of highly qualifiedfinancial, procurement and monitoringspecialists.
* Departmental Education Offices: The institutionalassessment pointed out some of the weaknessesin the Departmenteducation offices which will be addressedby the institutionaldevelopment components of the project,including the: (i) need to incorporatemore skilled professionalsin pedagogical,planning and evaluation areas; (ii) lack of adequate technology and equipment for planning and monitoring functions; and (iii) need to strengthen the supervisionand monitoring functions to support the district level. Despite these deficiencies,existing departmentalstaff are highly enthusiastic and supportiveof communityparticipation strategies. The project will provide resources to close the human and physical resourcesgap and build managerialand leadershipcapacity.
* School Districts: The implementationcapacity analysis determinedschool districts need to support more than 50 percent of overall project tasks and activities. In terms of leadership and human resources,school districts seem to have a concretevision of their role and are very motivated. District staff are knowledgeableof schoolneeds and are in direct contact with teachers. Nonetheless,they lack information technology and supervision skills and have limited financial and material resources, including physical space and transportation. The project's School Districts Strengthening sub-componentaddresses these needs, providing them infrastructure,equipment, vehicles and even financialresources to support their functions in promoting,organizing, training and providingtechnical assistanceto schools.
* PROHECO Coordination Unit: The assessment confimed the high level of commitment and enthusiasm of the PROHECO team. However, it identified areas to be strengthened,in light of the expansion and consolidation of the program. The assessment called for: (i) training and capacity building for PROHECO leaders at the central and departmentallevels; (ii) improving implementation planning, programming and supervision; and (iii) developing an active impact evaluation and monitoringsystem.
* UPNFM (Universidad Pedagogica Nacional, Francisco Morazan): The assessment concluded that the UPNFM has developeda clear vision of its goal and functionsin the education sector,mainly as a provider of high quality training for teachers, education research and evaluation. The university leadershiphas provideda clear path for quality improvementsand for internationalfeedback, including seeking international university standards for accreditation and participating in intemational inter-university technical capacity improvement agreements. The evaluation of the Education Evaluation Quality Unit (UMCE), within the UPNFM, confirmedthe quality of services rendered to the education system, and concludedthat the evaluationcapacity developedis one of the best in the Central America region. In terms of administrationcapacity, the external financial and administrative audits of various projects and contracts managed by the university have been satisfactory. The Government of Honduras seeks to continue to support the increased capacity of the UPNFM to guaranteeon-going high quality teachers'training and educationquality evaluation.
- 25 - 4.1 Executing agencies: At the central level, the project executing agencies are the: * SE: as an overall coordinator; * Administrative and Financial Unit (UAF) of the UTEN: administrative matters for financial management and procurement procedures of IDA credits funds; * National Pedagogical University, Francisco Morazan (UPNFM): implementation of the external evaluation and teacher training subcomponents; and * Ministry of Finance: providing counterpart funds and expediting requests for replenishments of the Special Account.
At the local level, the two key executing agencies are the
* School Districts, as part of the SE: support all aspects of community organization and school-based management; and * Community and School Associations (ADELs and AECOs): management of project funds and other inputs to schools. 4.2 Project management: The Community-Based Management Project incorporates successful experiences from the latter part of the previous IDA- supported education project including:
* a highly qualified cadre of administrative professionals in financial management and procurement hired from the private sector; * continuous communication and coordination with the Ministry of Finance, for readily available credit and counterpart funds; and * decentralized executing mechanisms used at the district, community and school levels, successfully tested under the ongoing project.
For project implementation, a highly qualified procurement team within the UAF of the UTEN will be hired, and its performance will be constantly monitored and evaluated by the SE, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank. The SE will hire a technical assistance agency to provide support in project implementation. A competitive process has been already carried out to identify an international agency with the best technical and financial proposal. 4-3 Procurement issues: Procurement issues and problems with the existing education IDA credit were assessed and addressed. Chronic problems include lack of capacity in procurement staff, who had education sector experience but were not administration or procurement specialists and had no private sector experience. In addition, the agency hired to support the procurement processes had limited time to provide technical assistance or to build capacity within the education sector, focusing instead on processing paper work and payments.
The procurement assessment found that the procurement process in Honduras appears more developed than in earlier IDA-financed projects. Nonetheless, the overall risk is high. Thus, IDA will provide close procurement supervision from the onset until implementation pace reflects satisfactory performance (see Annex 6 for details).
- 26 - 4.4 Financial management issues: The weak institutional capacity of the public sector in Honduras has traditionally affected its financial management capacities. The project will not only guarantee appropriate financial and audit systems, but will support the transparency and accountability of project inputs through decentralized processes and community oversight of inputs received by schools. The new project guarantees administrative staff with private sector experience and clear knowledge of Government and IDA financial procedures, as well as a full functioning management information system.
In accordance with IDA's policy OP/BP 10.02, the LCR Financial Management Unit (LCOAA) reviewed the project's financial management system. The review focused on the assessment of the internal controls, planning, budgeting, accounting, financial reporting system and audit arrangements (see Annex 6 for details).
It was concluded that the project did not have yet in place a system satisfying IDA's financial management requirements; hence, an action plan was agreed with the Government (see Annex 6), to reach financial arrangements satisfactory to IDA before credit effectiveness. The action plan aims at allowing the project to implement a functional financial management system that provides, with reasonable assurance, accurate and timely financial information via Project Management Reports (PMRs).
Until the project is considered capable of producing PMRs in an accurate and timely fashion, disbursements will be based on traditional procedures, including the use of Statements of Expenditure (SOEs) with thresholds matching those of prior review for procurement (See Annex 6, Table B). Reimbursement of other expenditures would require submitting full documentation to IDA. Retroactive financing would not exceed an equivalent amount of $3 million for expenditures incurred within the year preceeding the signature of the Loan Agreement, for activities related to the validation and adaptation of the national curriculum, training related to these activities and the creation of AECO-PROHECO schools.
4.5 Legal Issues:
Financial Transfers to PROHECO schools for Payment of Teachers and Community Volunteers. The financing of PROHECO teachers and community volunteers plays a key role in the strategies for community participation; school development; and availability, retention and productivity of teachers in rural areas. Therefore, based on OMS 1.21 (Financing of Recurrent Costs), recurrent costs of PROHECO teaching staff will be financed out of the proposed credit proceeds on a declining basis, allowing the government to absorb them progressively.
Legal Status of School Management Associations (AECO and ADELs). PROHECO follows appropriate legal requirements to establish Community Education Committees (AECOs). The SE, via an agreement with the AECO members, legally conforms the AECO (providing "personeria juridica"), allowing it to manage and account for the use of public funds. Law (Decreto No. 266-98 of October 30, 1998) sets forth the legal framework, responsibilities and functions of AECOs. A similar law for the formation of the ADELs was drafted and sent to Congress for its approval. The issuance of said law (including the regulations to said law) for the creation and operation of the ADELs is a condition of disbursement for the respective ADEL investments under the project.
- 27 - Inter-Institutional Agreements Between SE and Other Project Implementation Entities. As part of the strategy of inter-institutional alliances in the social sector, the Francisco Morazan National Pedagogical University (UPNFM) will implement the teacher training and external evaluation sub-components of the project. An inter-institutional implementation agreement will detail the functions and responsabilities of each party. The UPNFM will mantain separate accounting and files for the project and will be part of the annual external financial audits. The signing of said agreement is a condition of effectiveness.
Selection of the UPNFM as an implementing agency within the project is justified by: (i) its coordination with Government efforts during the past decade to build the capacity to carry out external evaluations of the education system; (ii) the UPNFM's excellent track record in implementing the standardized testing for Basic Education and, thus, monitor the quality of education in the country (through its "Unidad de Medicion de la Calidad de la Educaci6n"); (iii) the UPNFM's innovative teacher training strategies, which include state-of-the-art research facilities, distance education methods, teaching satellites in all territorial departments in Honduras, and in-classroom follow-up of its trainees to guarantee application of pedagogical methods.
Sound Management Practices and Performance Agreement of Project Technical Staff Project irnplementation success relies heavily on the performance and commitment of the technical staff hired to manage the different aspects of project execution. To this effect, the SE will include a performance clause in every contract. The Government and IDA agreed to annually monitor the performance of technical staff funded by credit proceeds.
5. Environmental: Environmental Category: C (Not Required) 5.1 Summarize the steps undertaken for environmental assessment and EMP preparation (including consultation and disclosure) and the significant issues and their treatment emerging from this analysis. Major Issues: The project presents no major environmental issues nor is it heavily involved in infrastructure construction. The project will complement the school infrastructure program already underway through the Honduran Social Investment Fund (FHIS) by supporting community participation processes to define appropriate education infrastructure needs. The operational and the AECO manual state that school district infrastructure, including schools built by FHIS, the community, or other public or private agencies, will not cause any resettlement of population. The approval of the Operational Manual and the AECO Manual by IDA is a condition of effectiveness.
The social assessment carried out identified the environmental education needs of some communities (especially ethnic groups), which will be addressed in the component for local adaptation of the national curriculum and related instructional materials, teacher training and school development projects.
5.2 What are the main features of the EMP and are they adequate? * Community participation and self assessment by rural communities * Socio-environmental considerations of local curriculum 5.3 For Category A and B projects, timeline and status of EA: Date of receipt of final draft: Not applicable 5.4 How have stakeholders been consulted at the stage of (a) environmental screening and (b) draft EA report on the environmental impacts and proposed environment management plan? Describe mechanisms of consultation that were used and which groups were consulted?
- 28 - The rapid rural assessment and stakeholderconsultations undertaken by the Government and IDA used a participatory process to collect data and analyze the education needs of rural communities, including environmentaleducation requests, especiallyin ethnic communities. The consultationstrategies included:
* Town Meetings * Focus Groups * One on one interviewswith communityleaders * Meetings with national institutionsand NGOs workingwith ethnic groups and poor rural communities * Visits to a sample of communitiesrepresenting the nine ethnic groups and isolatedrural communities
5.5 What mechanismshave been establishedto monitor and evaluatethe impact of the project on the environment? Do the indicatorsreflect the objectivesand results of the EMP? The ProjectImpact Evaluationwill include assessmentof the applicationof the adapted curriculumand teaching strategiesin terms of social and environmentalawareness and actions of teachersand students participatingin the project. 6. Social: 6.1 Summarizekey social issuesrelevant to the project objectives,and specify the project'ssocial developmentoutcomes. The ProjectParticipation Plan was designedon the basis of the followingsocial issues:
* Social acceptanceand support for PROHECOand its communityparticipation strategies. * Requests from ethnic groups for inter-culturaland bilingual educationprograms. * Requests from stakeholdersfrom communityparticipation in monitoring the delivery of project inputs to schools. : Involvementof NGOs and OrganizedCommunity Groups in project related activities; especiallyin the provisionof community-basedpreschool services.
Social Assessment A Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) was conducted in November 2000, as a joint effort of the Governmentof Honduras and IDA. Four teams of social scientistsand education specialistsvisited 49 communitiesin 19 municipalitiesof 11 departments.The appraisal included included a review of the pertinence of existing programs such as PROHECOand the InterculturalBilingual Program (EIB), and the feasibility of introducing these programs in new communities.The RRA consulted communities on the pertinence of community-basedpreschool centers (CEPENF,CCIE) and also surveyed the feasibility of introducing School Councils (Asociaciones de Desarrollo Educativo Local-ADEL) and school improvementprojects (PECs) as a means of decentralizingeducational and financial resources directly to communities.
The sampled communitiesare located in the departmentsof Santa Barbara, Copan, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan,Olancho, Valle, Choluteca,Atlantida, Col6n, Gracias a Dios (Mosquitia)and Bay Islands. Focus groups were conductedin all communitieswith teachers, parents, studentsand the IndigenousFederations. Interviewswere carried out with School Principals,Department and District Directors, NGOs working in education, and indigenous authorities. In communitieswith indigenouspopulations, the RRA consulted beneficiariesregarding the demand for InterculturalBilingual education, Spanish/bilingualteachers, and the introductionof PROHECO-EIBpreschool and basic school in communitiesnot yet covered by the program(See Annex 11).
- 29 - Someof the conclusionsof the SocialAssessment are: PROHECO * This decentralized,community-based program is widely accepted, as the best answer to educational needs, particularlyin hard-to-reachrural areas; * Teachers in PROHECOcommunities are much more satisfiedwith the high level of collaborationand supportfrom the communitiesthan those in traditionalschool settings. However,PROHECO teachers still show apprehensionregarding job stabilityand teachers' benefits (i.e. retirement,access to loans); * According to school district Directors, drop-out rates, repetition rates, students and teachers' attendancerecords, and communityparticipation in school life in PROHECOschools exceeds those of traditionalschools; * There are still many extremelypoor regions in the country (i.e. Mosquitia, and slums of Bay Islands) where PROHECOhas not been introduced;in these areas, the community-basedprogram could help solve numerous problems (i.e. teachers' absentism,lack of school supplies, long distances walked by childrenat high risk). Community-BasedPreschool Education (CEPENF) * Only 38 percent of Honduran childrenattend preschool, and half of them attend CEPENFs in rural and periurban areas; * CEPENFsare highly valued by parents and teachers; - The informal status of CEPENF volunteers and the financial dependence on NGOs are significant concerns; - There is consensuson keeping the preschoolsattached to primary schools. School Government in TraditionalSchools (ADELs) and Education Improvement Projects (PEC) 3 All the communitiesconsulted welcomed the idea of the introductionof school councils in traditional schoolsand of the community-managedprojects (PEC) in traditionaland PROHECOschools. Intercultural and Bilingual Education (EIB) and Indigenous DevelopmentPlan o There is urgent demand for EIB in ethnic communities(Miskito, Garifuna, Chorti, Pech, Tawahka, Tolupan,Creole). 3 The IndigenousPeoples Development Plan, agreed with the SEP, recommends(i) reorganizationof the SE's National EducationProgram for Ethnic Communities(PRONEEAAH) and the decentralizationof the program to the district level; (ii) a comprehensivein-service Teachers' Training Program; (iii) evaluationof existing grammar texts, teacherand student manuals and dictionariesin seven languages; (iv) a monitoring and evaluation system to measure student progress; and (v) an impact evaluation duringthe mid-term review. * The Indigenous Development Plan is incorporated into the design of the project. Each project component will have a specific applicationfor inter-culturaland bilingual education. The Project is innovative as it mainstreams indigenous developmentin the project's implementationstrategies and development objectives, guaranteeing that the curriculum reforms, pedagogical methods and communityparticipation strategies reach the country's nine ethnic groups. On-going Social Evaluations * The social assessment recommends mid-term impact evaluations of the different programs (ADEL-PECs,EIB) in 2003, and an impact evaluation of PROHECOby December 2001. The impact evaluationswould try to measure not only equity (education for all), efficiency (student and teacher performance,student age-appropriateness),and cost-effectivenessrelative to remoteness (students and teachers), but also the social capital produced by the decentralized community-based PROHECO, ADEL and EIB in the beneficiarycommunities.
- 30 - 6.2 ParticipatoryApproach: How are key stakeholdersparticipating in the project? Project preparation has used the existing country venues for stakeholder and community consultations, includingthe Foro Nacional de Convergencia(FONAC), NGO umbrellaorganizations, and municipal and communitytown meetings.All feasibilitystudies have included participatorydata collection,analysis and feedback tools. During project implementation,close to 70 percent of project funds will be executedby community education councils, school governments and school districts. Administrative mechanisms, including social audits of project inputs, are incorporating decentralized and community participation strategies. The introduction of each community-basedprogram (PROHECO, PECs, CEPENF, EIB) includes a consultation/ socialization process which requires not only acceptance by the community, but also appropriationof the program and commitmentfor sustainability.All these programs seek to educate and empowerthe communitiesto share the responsibilityof educationwith the State. For the structuring of the InterculturalBilingual Program, a program specialist from each autochthonous federation (Lenca, Chorti, Garifima, Miskito, Tolupan, Pech, Tawahka, Nahoa, Creole) will coordinate actionswith the correspondingdistrict authorities. 6.3 How does the project involve consultationsor collaborationwith NGOs or other civil society organizations? Project identificationfollowed the consultationprocess of FONAC and met with other NGO umbrella organizations(e.g., Interforos) and district and school stakeholders. Project preparation continued the consultation process. The terms of reference for all firms and consultants that carried out feasibility studies called for the use of participatorydata collection,analysis and feedback instruments. The social assessment (Annex 11) documents this participatoryprocess during project preparation. A participation strategyfor the executionof the projecthas been alreadydeveloped. 6.4 What institutionalarrangements have been providedto ensurethe projectachieves its social developmentoutcomes? Within the key executing agencies (see institutionalarrangements) the following participatoryprocesses, procedures,expertise and instrumentshave been and will be created: * At the level of the Secretariat of Education, the PROHECO office has a proven system and organizationto promote and guaranteecommunity organization, decision making and management of human and financialresources. * At the departmentaland district levels, the project is providing training in communityparticipation processes, and is integratingan expert in communitypromotion and technical assistanceinto each local teams . * At the community level, the project will strengthen the successful creation of the Community EducationAssociations (AECOs), which have already accumulatedexperience in managingpublic resources for their schools; it will also create homologous school organizations in traditional schools (ADELs). * For the structuring of the Intercultural Bilingual Program, a program specialist from each autochthonousfederation (Lenca, Chorti, Garifina, Miskito, Tolupan, Pech, Tawahka, Nahoa, Creole) will be hired by the SE as a liaison between the SE and the linguistic group. The reorganizationof EIB at the central level and the implementationof the Indigenous Peoples DevelopmentPlan (IPDP) will require the consensusof all the ethnic specialists, their federations and the SE.
- 31 - 6.5 How will the projectmonitor performancein terms of social developmentoutcomes? The monitoring and evaluation strategy for social development outcomes has been prepared (see Annex 12). The project will monitor the expectedsocial outcomes(commitment to education, social involvement, interpersonalrelations among school and communityactors, etc.) resulting from the project's participation strategiesand mechanisms,information, consultation and communitymanagement.
7. SafeguardPolicies: 7.1 Do any of the followingsafeguard policies applyto the project? Policy Applicabilitl EnvironmentalAssessment (OP 4.01, BP 4.01, GP 4.01) 0 Yes * No Natural habitats (OP 4.04, BP 4.04, GP 4.04) 0 Yes * No Forestry (OP 4.36, GP 4.36) 0 Yes * No Pest Management(OP 4.09) 0 Yes * No Cultural Property(OPN 11.03) 0 Yes * No IndigenousPeoples (OD 4.20) * Yes 0 No InvoluntaryResettlement (OD 4.30) 0 Yes * No Safety of Dams (OP 4.37, BP 4.37) 0 Yes 0 No Projects in InternationalWaters (OP 7.50, BP 7.50, GP 7.50) 0 Yes * No Projects in DisputedAreas (OP 7.60, BP 7.60, GP 7.60) 0 Yes * No
7.2 Describeprovisions made by the project to ensure compliancewith applicablesafeguard policies. Indigenous and Afro-Honduranpopulations are targeted beneficiariesof the Project. Representativesand community actors of the country's nine ethnic groups were consulted during project identificationand preparation. As a result, all project componentshave provisions for the implementationof the Indigenous DevelopmentPlan alreadyagreed with the Governnent (see Annex 11).
F. Sustainabilityand Risks 1. Sustainability: The sustainabilityof the decentralizationand communityparticipation reforms will largely depend on their success on the ground and how stakeholdersare informedof, involvedin, and accountablefor the outputs and outcomes of their schools. Participationand decentralizationstrategies change the distribution of power and decision making, provokingresistance from traditionalactors. "Championing"the successesand being open about the challengesof community-basedand school-basedmanagement strategies (and taking a collective approach to resolve them), can help bring sustainable changes in institutional cultures and in people's perceptions.To support this change efforts, a social communicationprogram was planned as part of the information,education and consultation(IEC) strategy for the Project.
Project preparationhas focused on its financialsustainability. Cost-effectivenessof the investmentsand the transparencyin the use of credit and governmentfunds are expectedto reduce unsustainablefinancial inefficiencies. Especially, project preparation assessed the cost-benefits of the proposed community educationstrategies, including the sustainabilityof its recurrent costs. This study compared favorably the costs of communityparticipation to its substantivepedagogical, social and even economic benefits.
Furthermore, the education quality reforms require an integration of inputs provided to schools: (i) textbooksbased on the new curriculum;(ii) teacherstrained on curriculumapplication and adaptation,(iii)
- 32 - appropriateuse of pedagogicalmethods and educationalmaterials; (iv) student evaluationsaccompanied by dissemination and improvement strategies; etc. In many cases, these inputs have been provided independently. If schools receive fragmentedand uncoordinatedquality interventions,the sustainabilityof its impact is jeopardized. In this project, community-basedprocesses will support local strategies-for which education serviceproviders will be accountable-to guaranteethat educationalinputs are integrated and, its impact, sustainable.
2. CriticalRisks (reflectingthe failure of critical assumptionsfound in the fourth columnof Annex 1): Risk Risk Rating Risk MitigationMeasure FromOutputs to Objective Support from key education stakeholders M The Participationand ConsultationPlan and the IEC Strategiestarget key educationstakeholders to gain and/ormaintain the support for the objectivesand interventionsof the project Technicaladvice to ground educational M Technicalassistance will focus on reformsat schoollevel implementationof reformsat schooland classroomlevel, not on academicstudies Appropriatesupport to local education M Incentivesat the SE and other central offices offices (departmentaleducation offices, aimed to promote appropriatesupport for local school districtsand schools) educationoffices Parents will send their childrento school M The involvementof parents in openingnew if supplyis increased schools guaranteesthey want to and will send their childrento school Economiccrisis will not draw childrenout M Financialsupport of school developmentin poor of schoolsto work. communitieswill help mitigateeconomic pressures
FromComponents to Outputs Agreement on National Curricular M The Project provides resourcesto support the Reforms on-goingnational curricularreforms in the country and for validationof these reformsby teachersand other key stakeholders Integrationof quality educationinputs S The Project focuses the identificationand (materials,training, leaming assessment, controlof educationalinputs at the school level. parental involvement,etc.) The monitoring systemswill guaranteethat schools receive an integratedpackage of resourcesfor school improvement. Understandingof Need for both Extemal S The Project supportsboth extemal evaluations Evaluationof EducationQuality and and intemal leaming assessments,and promotes InternalLeaming Assessments. coordinationbetween them TrainedTeachers Remainin Rural Areas S The Projectprovides incentivesin the form of opportunitiesfor professionaldevelopment and support of teachersby communitiesto promote retentionof teachers in isolated rural areas
- 33 - Delays to approvethe legal frameworkto M The Project supportsthe creation of school allow the creationof ADELs governmentsin traditionalschools. The draft legislationhas been sent to Congress. There is widespreadsupport for greater community participationin school managementin Honduras. Authorityto carry out decentralization S The Project will support changemanagement and school managementreforms delegated interventionsat the central level to foster to local offices and communities. changesin centralizedinstitutional culture and resistance.
OverallRisk Rating M RiskRating - H (High Risk), S (Substantial Risk), M (Modest Risk), N(Negligibleor Low Risk)
3. Possible ControversialAspects: Community Participation strategies and school-basedmanagement models, during their early stages of implementationtraditionally received criticism by teacher unions. In Honduras, teachers unions were initially suspicious of PROHECO, perceiving the program as a "privatization"of education and being skepticalof managementof educationresources by schools. To minimizethe risks of such initial criticism, the Governmentand the SE undertook,and will continueto implement,the following activities: * Actively clarified any mis-informationabout PROHECO and dissemined the positive pedagogical, social and democratizationresults of the Program, through workshops, the media, and one-to-one meetingswith teacher union leaders. * Incorporatedwithin the new Project an Information,Education and Consultation(IEC) to pro-actively respond to the needs of all actors involved in the communityeducation programs; and to support an open, transparent and easily accesible system of information to prevent misperceptionsand reduce resistanceto positivemanagement changes in the educationsector. * Promoted exchange of international experiences in school based management and participatory educationmodels, for all key actors in the educationsystem, including SE staff, teachers,teacher union leadership,and legal and regulatoryentitites.
G. Main Loan Conditions 1. EffectivenessCondition * OperationalManual and AECO Manual approvedby IDA; * Signed inter-institutional agreement between the Universidad Pedagogica Nacional Francisco Morazan (UPNFM) and the Secretaria de Educaci6n (SE) for the UPNFM co-implementation of the teacher training and extemal evaluationof educationquality subcomponentsof the project. * UAF establishedand adequatelystaffed; * Implementationof financialmanagement arrangements satisfactory to IDA; * Employmentof independentauditors by the Borrowerto carry out the yearly audits of project records and accounts.
2. Other [classifyaccording to covenanttypes used in the Legal Agreements.] * The legal agreementincludes as a conditionfor disbursementof funds to the ADELs the approval of: (a) a law (includingits regulations)that will provide legal support to the creation and operation of these school councils and that said law is in full force and effect; and (b) the ADEL Manual, reviewedby and acceptableto the Association.
- 34 - H. Readinessfor Implementation 1 1. a) The engineeringdesign documentsfor the first year's activitiesare completeand ready for the start of project implementation. L 1. b) Not applicable.
1 2. The procurementdocuments for the first year's activitiesare completeand ready for the start of project implementation. 1 3. The Project ImplementationPlan has been appraisedand found to be realistic and of satisfactory quality. 1 4. The followingitems are lackingand are discussedunder loan conditions (SectionG):
* Completionof Action Plan for FinancialManagement System Readiness * ExecutiveAgreemenit for LegalStatus of ADEL * Signed Inter-InstitutionalAgreement between SE and the National PedagogicalUniversity (UPNFM) for thc Teacher Training and ExternalEvaluation of EducationQuality
1. Compliancewith Bank Policies D 1. This project complieswith all applicableBank policies. Ll 2. The followingexceptions to Bankpolicies are recommendedfor approval. The project complieswith all other applicableBank policies.
Joe'l E. Reyes v5ieY Coll Donna Dowsett-Coirolo TeamLeader SectorManager CountryManager
- 35 - Annex1: ProjectDesign Summary HONDURAS:HN/COMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT KeyPerormance Hiea yft Xbeivs Indlcators MOting & Evaluation CriticaAssumpons Sector-relatedCAS Goal: SectorIndicators: Sectorlcountry reports: (fromGoal to BankMission) To support the Government's Health, education and labor Periodic Living Standard Economic situationcontinues to reconstructionand transformation statistics Measurement Survey (LSMS) improve, continued political program, with a strong emphasis analysis support, and country on reducingpoverty, improving reconstructioncontinues as the quality of human capital and planned. strengthening the social safety net. ProjectDevelopment OutcomeI Impact Projectreports: (fromObjective to Goal) Objective: Indicators: Improve the quality of * Increased enrollment rates I.Evaluations from the Unit for The Government will maintain its preschool and lower basic in rural preschool and External Evaluation of the commitmentto the community education (grade 1-6 ) in lower basic education by 5 Quality of Education (UMCE) in based education strategies, targeted poor rural, and 8 percentage points the UPNFM. providing adequate support and intercultural and bilingual respectively. funding. communities.. communities. ~~~~~~~~~2.Periodic LSMS analysis 3. Impact evaluation report. * Increased early entry and 4. UTEN evaluation of education promotionand reduced coverage and performance (based repetition and dropout on national educational statistics). rates in rural schools (baseline data 1999).
* Improved performancein Comparison with available 1999 standardized test scores in base line data. Spanish and Mathematics for 3rd and 6th grade students from mainly rural multigrade schools * Improved results in students evaluationsof social achievements and self-esteem (non-cognitive development). * Improved teachers productivitymeasured by attendance and days of work (baseline data 1999) * Changes in perception, attitude and behavior in key actors involved in the schools:principals, teachers, students and the community * Availabilityand relevance of education learning materials for rural schools.
- 36 - KeyPerformance Hierarchyof Objectives, Indicators Monitoring& Evaluation Critial Assumptions Outputfrom each OutputIndicators: Projectreports: (fromOutputs to Objective) Component: ComponentI 1. Reporton the validation 1. Supportfrom key education SubcomponentA. processpresented by the SE. stakeholders Nationalcurriculum validated 1. Reportfrom teachers validating andtools developed to implementthe curricular options proposed by it in Preschooland Basic theSE; 2. Technicaladvise provides Education. 2.Availableand validated groundingof educationreform pedagogicalguidelines to identify visionat the locallevel. learningdisabilities; 3. Studyon curricular, pedagogicaland otherassociated needsof urbanpoor schools. Component1 3. SE, Departmentstaff and SubcomponentB projectpedagogical advisors Application of the curriculum 1. Available and validated provedappropriate support to and use of the educational preschool pedagogical schooldistricts, communities and materials in rural schools for adaptations and didactic schoolprincipals and teachers. preschools and basic levels. materials for 1,200 preschool teachers and 30,000 students;
2. Available and validated multigrade pedagogical adaptations and didactic materials for 4,500 lower basic education (grades 1-6) teachers and 300,000 students;
3. Available and validated intercultural and bilingual pedagogicaladaptations and didactic materials for 1,200 intercultural and bilingual lower education teachers and 45,000 students and 400 intercultural and bilingual preschool teachers and 15,000 students.
- 37 - ComponentI SubcomponentC Availability of an appropriate 1. Available and validated evaluation system of the student assessmentguidelines EvaluationReports from the quality of education and the and instruments for preschool evaluation department legal framework to support it. and grades1-6; (Direcci6n General de Evaluaci6n, Secretaria de 2. Available and disseminated Educaci6n) and the UMCE (in results of bi-annual the UPNFM). standardizedtest scores for 3rd and 6th graders in the 4,000 rural and EIB communitiestargeted by the project.
ComponentI SubcomponentD Training of teachers, 1. Completed training and volunteer teaching assistants performace assessmentsin Supervisionreports from the working in preschool and pedagogicalmethods and District offices. lower basic education schools community participationfor and technical experts at 500 district staff, 400 teacher district level on trainers (from "escuelas implementationof the new normales"), 1,200preschool curricula and new teching communityvolunteers, 300 methods. intercultural and bilingual communitybased volunteers, and 2,900 lower basic education rural teachers, and 600 intercultural and bilingual teachers.
- 38 - H. Community-Based Provisionof Preschooland Basic Education Services
SubcomponentA 1. Creation of PROHECO Expansi6nand Strengthening Schoolsand Training of AECOs Annual technical evaluation, 1. Sufficient community of PROHECO in 600 communitiesin rural areas produced by UTEN, on support and funding and in 200 intercultural and PROHECO schools 2. Parents will send their bilingual communities, children to school if supply is 2. Hire and retain 720 Supervision report from increased PROHECOteachers (grades 1-9) District offices. 3. Adequate supply of and 600 preschool volunteers education providers and 3. New education services for NGOs for the preschool 1,200preschool students and programs. 27,600 for lower basic education
1. Creation of PROHECO Subcomponent B Schoolsand Training of AECOs Creation of PROHECO in 200 intercultural and bilingual Annual technical evaluation, Intercultural and Bilingual cormnunities, produced by UTEN, on Schools 2. Hire and retain 200 PROHECO schools intercultural and bilingual teachers (grades 1-9), 200 intercultural and bilingual preschool volunteers, and 200 intercultural and bilingual communityvolunteers. III. Strengthening School-BasedManagement
SubcomponentA Organization of School n. Creation and training of 2,800 Annual technical evaluation, 1. Approval of the legal Govemments in rural schools schoolsand 400 ADELs in produced by UTEN, on framework that allow the (Asociaciones de Desarrollo schools in intercultural and traditional schools creation of ADELs in Educativo - ADEL) bilingual communities. administered by ADELs traditional schools.
SubcomponentB Design and implementation of 1. Planningand financing of Projectos Educativos de 1,400PECs by AECOs, 2,800 Consolidated report by Centro - PEC PECs by ADELs, 800 PECs in departments to UTEN on intercultural and bilingual PECs progress. communities
2. Strengtheningof 400 teacher learning centers (CADs) and 1,500training centers for AECO and ADEL parents (escuelaspara padres) IV. Strengtheningof DecentralizedEducation offices
- 39 - SubcomponentA 1. Key centraloffices (such as UTEN annual report, based on StengtheningCentral Offices UTEN, PROHECOand other) the district and department Capacity to Support staffed with high performing periodic reports. Community-BasedEducation technical staff and appropriate Programs guiding instruments (manual, informationsystems, IEC campaigns)for community-basededucation programs.
2. Availabledatabases with resultsfor monitoringreports for PROHECO,CCPREB, interculturaland bilingual and transfersfor PECs; 3. Accountingsystems and aggregatedfinancial consolidationsfor Project Management,Audit and WB requirements; 4. Updatedinformation and inventorieson projectproviding inputsaggregated by schools, district,department and national level; 5. Successfulimplementation of a nationalIEC campaign in support of communityparticipation and schoolbased management.
SubcomponentB UTEN annual report, based on Strengthenthe institutional 1. Updated statisticsby the district and department capacityof the Departmental education program being periodic reports. offices to plan and monitor implemented in the education programs department; Monitoring reports aggregated at the departmentallevel for PROHECO,CCPREB, intercultural and bilingual and PECs tranfers;
2. Accountingsystems and aggregated financial consolidationsof legalized expendituresform AECOs and ADELs in the Department; 3. Updated informationon education inputs and inventoriesaggregated and by school, district and department level.
- 40 - SubcomponentC Strengthen the institutional I. Proper infrastructure and Annual evaluation report, capacity of the Districts to equipment in at least 86 school produced by UTEN, on support curricular adaptations districts; coverage and performance of and community participation. 2. Properly formed and trained the education system. district teams includinga district director and at least 3 district technical officers (or "change agents"); 3. Positivecomments by communityleaders, AECO and ADEL members on the support provided by their districtdirector and their technical officer; 4. Implementedsystems and data collection to feed educational statistics and input inventories to be aggregated at the departnental level.
-41- Hierarchyof Obectives Itlcators Moniting & SEvaluationCriticil Assumptions ProjectComponents J Inputs: (budgetfor each Projectreports: (fromComponents to Sub-components: component) Outputs) I. Local Applicationof National Curriculumfor Pre-School and Lower Basic Education (grades 1-6). 1. Validation of the National US$0.57 mil. 1. Curricular refonns are Curriculum successfully agreed by national education 2. Effective Applicationof the US$4.32 mil. stakeholders. Curriculum and appropriate Educational Materials for 2. Educational inputs reach Preschooland Primary Rural the school as a comprehensive Schools package and not independently of each other
3. Student Learning Assessment US$1.42 mil. 1. Evaluation and student and Education Quality Evaluation learning results are feed back Strategies to the community, school and students. 4. In service Teacher US$3.39 mil. 1. Trained teachers remain in Development and Training the education system and Programs teaching in the rural sector.
1. Strengtheningand Expansion US$11.05million 1. Sufficient communitysupport of PROHECO and funding 2. Parents will send their children to school if supply is increased. 2. Creation of Intercultural and US$3.44 million Bilingual Schools with the PROHECOmodel for Community Participation and Parental Involvement
Ill. School Based Management for Rural Communities
1. Developmentof a School-BasedPlanning and US$0.63 million. 1. Sufficient communitysupport CommunityParticipation System and funding in the Rural Sector.
2. School-BasedDesign and Implementationof Education US$9.33 million ImprovementProjects
- 42 - IV. Strengtheningof Institutionalsupport for 1. Authorityto carry out CommunityParticipation and US$4.1 million functions delegated to appropriate School-BasedManagement levels (within the SEP and Programs vertically to departnents, 1. Central Support of the districts, the community and CommunityParticipation and schools). School-basedmanagement system US$1.95 million 3. Financial resources provided. in the rural sector 4. Clear lines of authority across levels. 2. StrengtheningCapacity of Education Departmental Offices to Plan EducationalNeeds and to Monitor Community-Based US$5.18 million Education Programs.
3. StrengtheningCapacity of Education Districts to Support Curricular Applicationsand Communityand School-Based Management
- 43 - Annex 2: Detailed Project Description HONDURAS:HN/COMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT Project Objectivesand Components:
The general goal of the Honduras Community Based Education Project is to improve the quality of preschool and lower basic education (grades 1-6) in targeted rural areas in Honduras, including the improvementof the quality of interculturaland bilingual educationin indigenouscommunities. More than 4,000 rural schools will be targeted, most of which are multigrade schools; 15% are in interculturaland bilingualcommunities.
To Project would achieve this goal through the following four objectives: (i) developing educational strategiesand materialssuited for multigraderural schools, that are in line with the national curriculumand supporting any necessary interculturaland bilingual adaptations; (ii) attracting and retaining teachers in rural schools through communitysupport and professionaldevelopment incentives; (iii) strengtheningand expanding existing experiences of community and school-basedmanagement of rural schools, and (iv) guaranteeing the quality support of local education offices (school districts and education departmental offices) for the three prior objectives (pertinentcurricular applicationand pedagogicalprocesses; attracting and retainingrural teachers;and communityparticipation and school-basedmanagement).
The strategiesoriented at achievingthe above-mentionedobjectives are divided in the followingcomponents of the proposed project: (i) Local School Application of National Curriculum; (ii) Community-Based Provision of Preschool and Basic Education Services; (iii) School-Based Management for Rural Communities and (iv) Strengthening of Institutional Support for Community Participation and School-BasedManagement Programs Project Supervision.
The project supports existing educational strategies in Honduras that have had success in student evaluation, teacher training, community participation and decentralization. Most of these education strategies were initiated by a prior IDA-financededucation project (Proyecto de Mejoramiento de la Educacion Bdsica, PROMEB). The new Project will strengthen the successful elements of PROMEB, adapt them and expand them to the continuousneeds in rural and interculturalschools in Honduras. Table 2.1 outlines the componentsof the new proposed project and the linkages with the prior IDA-supported educationproject in the country.
-44 - COMPONENTS FROM COMPONENTS FROM PROMEB STRENGTHENING, EXPANSION AND/OR THE COMMUNITY-BASED (Prior Bank-Financed Education Project) COMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY EDUCATION PROJECT BETWEEN BOTH PROJECTS I. Local Application of National 1. Improving the Quality of Basic Curriculum Education * Validationby Rural Teachers of the (not addressed) Duringthe preparationof PROMEB,curricular NationalCurriculum for Preschooland guidelinesfrom the early 1970s were used. Lower Basic Education(grades 1-6) However, Hondurasis now developinga new nationalcurriculum, with support of international donors. This Projectwill supportthe final stage of the SE's curriculumreform, by validating(i.e., obtainingfeedback) the proposedcurriculum with teacherand other educationstakeholders in rural and interculturaland bilingualcommunities. * EffectiveApplication of Curriculum * Textbooksand DidacticMaterials The new Project complementstextbooks provided and AppropriateEducational Materials by PROMEBwith educationalmaterials for for Preschooland Primary Rural pedagogicaladaptations required by multigradeand Schools. interculturalschools. * StudentLeaming Assessment and * ExternalEvaluation of Student PROMEBhelp establishthe extemaleducation EducationQuality Evaluation AcademicAchievement (Unidad de quality evaluationunit (UMCE)at the National Strategies Medicionde la CalidadEducativa -- PedagogicalUniversity (UPNFM). This Project will UMCE) continueto supportthe bi-annualstandardized nationaltesting for Spanish,Math and associated factors to learning. The Project also supportsthe SE to implementits systemfor in-classroom evaluationof studentlearning and pedagogical feedbackby and for teachers. * In-ServiceTeacher Development and * Training of Teachers (Programade The new Projectcontinues the PFC program TrainingPrograms Formaci6nContinua - PFC) initiatedby PROMEB. The PFC will include a training programfor preschooland interculturaland bilingualcommunity volunteers, who do not have .. fully accreditedteaching credentials. 11. Community-BasedProvision of II. InstitutionalStrengthening EducationServices * Strengtheningand Expansionof the * Teacher'sPerformance Improvement PROMEB supportedthe launchingand first phase Honduras'Community Education Program of PROHECO,within its componentto Improve Program(PROHECO) Performanceof Teachers in rural areas. The new Projectexpands PROHECO at the preschooland lowerbasic educationlevels, and institutionalizes its implementation(promotion, organization, trainingand technicalassistance) through the supportof school districtsand departmentaloffices of the SE. * Creationof Interculturaland Bilingual * BilingualEducation (part of component PROMEBsupported the "normalizationand Schoolswith the PROHECOModel for I above) systematization"of the Garifina and Misquito CommunityParticipation and Parental languages,developed dictionaries, and financed Involvement linguisticstudies. This new Project guaranteesall 9 interculturalcommunities in Hondurasaccess to pertinent,multicultural and bilingualeducation services throughthe PROHECOmodel. 111.School-Based Management for Rural Communities * Developmentof a School-Based (not addressed) Thisnew Project adapts the PROHECOschool Planningand CommunityParticipation councilmodel for traditionalrural schools(mostly Systemin the Rural Sector multigrade). In these schools,the Project will promote,organize and train SchoolCouncils composedof teachers,parents and students,called ADELs(Asociaciones de DesarrolloEducativo Local).
-45 - * School-Based Design and (not addressed) In PROMEB, the SE centrally managed all school Implementation of Education inputs, with some inherent efficiency and Improvement Projects (Proyectos effectiveness weaknesses (such as long warehousing Educativos de Centro -- PEC) time, uncoordinated services, and exclusion of the most isolated rural schools). This Project will channel financial resources directly to schools for the implementation of their own school-based improvement subprojects and will give priority to the most excluded rural communities (mainly multigrade and hard to reach schools). IV. StrengtheningInstitutional Support for CommunityParticipation and School-BasedManagement Programs. * Central Supportof the Community * Reorganizationof the Ministryof PROMEBfinanced a reorganizationof the Participationand School-Based Education'sCentral Offices Secretariatof Education.The newProject will ManagementSystem in the Rural strengthenSE centralunits (UTEN, PROHECO, Sector TechnicalDepartmnents, etc.) in policy and technical assistancefor communityparticipation, school-basedmanagement strategies, and coordinationof intemationalassistance and investmentprojects for educationreform. * Strengthenthe Capacityof * StrengtheningDecentralized Services PROMEB financedthe constructionof the DepartmentalEducation Offices to departmentaloffices, equipmentand new personnel MonitorCommunity-Based Education (on a decliningbasis -- they are now fully Programs incorporatedinto the governmentbudget). The new Project proposesto strengthendepartmental functions for educationplanning and monitoringof educationprograms. * Strengthenthe Capacityof Education * StrengtheningDecentralized Services PROMEB financedthe hiring of schooldistrict Districtsto support rural curricular directors (on a decliningbasis -- they are now fully adaptationsand communityand incorporatedinto the governmentbudget). The new school-basedmanagement. Projectproposes to strengthendistrict functions for school and communitysupport--especially for curricularand pedagogicalapplication and school-basedmanagement.
By Component:
ProjectComponent 1 - US$9.71million I. LOCAL APPLICATION OF NATIONAL CURRICULUM This component will support the pertinent application of the national curriculum in rural multigrade and intercultural and bilingual schools through the following sub-components and strategies: (The national curriculum is being developed in the country through the support of other donors and cooperation agencies.)
A. Validation by Rural Teachers of the National Curriculum for Preschool and Lower Basic Education (grade I to 6) -- US$0.57 million
Intervention. This sub-component will support rural teachers' feedback regarding: (i) the national curriculum reforms, programs, methodologies, and tools for its implementation in rural and intercultural and bilingual schools, and (ii) the pedagogical strategies to address learning disabilities. In addition the sub-component will support the coordination of a similar teachers and education stakeholders' validation process of the National Curriculum in poor urban areas not addressed by this Project.
Implementation Strategy: The National Curriculum reform is an on-going strategy of the Secretariat of Education. Therefore, the project will support the SE to carry out the final stage of the curriculum reform process by providing financial and technical assistance to guarantee national curriculum validation by a sample of teachers in the rural sector and the coordination with other excluded sectors not addressed by the project, such as urban marginal schools. Financial and technical contributions would be made to SE's
-46 - offices (curriculum, bilingual and intercultural education, etc.) and other projects managing this macro-educationalstrategy.
Indicators and Targets:The general indicatorsfor this sub-componentare (for full details of monitoring and impact evaluationsystem see annex 1 and annex 12): 1. Report of validationby rural and interculturaland bilingualteachers of proposednational curriculum guidelines 2. Availableand validatedpedagogical guidelines to identifylearning disabilities 3. Study on curricular,pedagogical and other associatedneeds of poor urban schools.
B. Effective Application of Curriculumand AppropriateEducational Materialsfor Preschool and PrimaryRural Schools - US$4.32 million
Intervention: This sub-componentwill: (i) support the integration and implementationof various rural multigrade teaching and preschool modalities in the country; (ii) provide the appropriatemethodologies and didactic materials to implementmultigrade pedagogicalstrategies in rural schools; and (iii) provide the appropriatemethodologies and didactic materials to implement intercultural and bilingual education strategiesin rural indigenousand Garifunacommunities representing all nine ethnic groups in the country.
Implementation Strategy: The Project will provide internationaland national technical assistance to design and validate each of the respective curricular and pedagogicaladaptations for (i) preschool, (ii) multigrade and (iii) intercultural and bilingual education. Subsequently,the Project will finance the requireddidactic materials,for both teachersand students,in each of these modalities.
Indicatorsand Targets: The generalindicators for this sub-componentare: 1. Available and validatedpreschool pedagogicaladaptations and didactic materialsfor 1,200 preschool teachersand 30,000 students 2. Available and validated multigrade pedagogicaladaptations and didactic materials for 4,500 lower basic education(grades 1-6) teachersand 300,000 students. 3. Available and validated intercultural and bilingual (EIB) pedagogical adaptations and didactic materials for 1,200 EIB lower basic education teachersand 45,000 students, and 400 EIB preschool teachers and 15,000students.
C. Student Learning Assessment and Education QualityEvaluation Strategies -- US$1.42million Intervention: This sub-componentwill: (i) support the validation by teachersof the new national learning assessmentand student self-assessmentstrategies; (ii) develop and distribute student assessmentguides for teachersin primary and preschool levels;(iii) disseminateto districtsand communitiesthe student learning results--byschool, subjects and grade levels; (iv) financeexternal bi-annual, standardizedassessments for 3rd and 6th graders to evaluate the quality of education nationwide; and (v) evaluate the innovative community-based education programs such as PROHECO, Community Based Preschool Services (CCPREB),Intercultural and bilingualEducation (EIB). ImplementationStrategy: The Project will implementactivities (i)-(iii) through the SE's EvaluationUnit and the departmental and district offices, providing international and national technical assistance to design and validate the learning assessment system and making available to teachers student assessment manuals and applicationtraining workshops. The external evaluation activities will be executed through the External EvaluationUnit of the Quality of Education (UMCE) created by the previous World Bank supportededucation project in the country.
-47 - Indicatorsand Targets: The generalindicators for this sub-componentare: 1. Availableand validated student assessmentguidelines and instrumentsfor preschool and lower basic education(grades 1-6) 2. Availableand validated student assessmentmanuals for 1,200 preschool teachers 3. Availableand validatedstudent assessment manuals for 4,500 lowerbasic education teachers 4. Available and validated student assessment manuals for 400 preschool teachers and 1200 basic educationteachers in interculturaland bilingualcommunities. 5. Availableresults of bi-annual standardizedtest scores for 3rd and 6th graders in the 4,000 rural and interculturaland bilingual(15% of total) communitiestargeted by the Project
D. In service TeacherDevelopment and TrainingPrograms -- US$3.39Million
Intervention: This sub-component will support (i) in-service university training programs for rural teachers, district staff and teacher trainers. The training will concentrate on multigrade methodologies, learning evaluation, school-basedmanagement and/or interculturaland bilingual education; (ii) quality enhancementprograms for community-basedvolunteers supporting teaching in preschool and intercultural and bilingualschools; and (iii) in-classroomtraining and follow-upfor rural educationteachers.
ImplementationStrategy: The Project will implementthe teacher training activities (i and ii) through the existing Continuing Education Model (Programa de Formaci6n Continua -- PFC) executed by the Pedagogical University and supported by their local satellite teacher training institutions. The training deliverymechanism will be a mixed approachthrough distancestrategies, school-based projects and some lectureson weekends by training staff decentralizedat easy to reach locations across the country. These staff developmentprograms will include incentivemechanisms for rural teachers, through priority will be given to those teachers working in the most isolated and poverty stricken areas. Also, the top academicallyplaced trainees will participate in intemational ex-changeprograms and field visits during vacation (for example to rural, multigradeand communityparticipation education programs in nearby El Salvador and Guatemala). District staff and leading teachers from the in-service university training programs will support the on-job-trainingprogram for rural teachers, making use of the existing teacher leaming circles (Centrosde AprendizajeDocente -- CADs).
Indicatorsand Targets: The general indicatorsfor this sub-componentare: 1. Training in CommunityParticipation and School Based Managementfor 500 district staff. 2. Specializationtraining for 400 teacher trainers (from "escuelasnormales") 3. Quality EnhancementProgram ("diplomado")for 1,200preschool communityvolunteers 4. Quality Enhancement Program ("diplomado")for 300 intercultural and bilingual community based volunteers 5. PFC universitytraining for 1,600teachers specialized in multigrademethodologies. 6. PFC university training for 1,300 teachers specialized in other areas (curricular adaptation, student evaluation,community participation, etc.) 7. PFC universitytraining for 600 teachersspecialized in interculturaland bilingual education.
-48- ProjectComponent 2 - US$14.49million II. COMMUNITY-BASEDPROVISION OF PRESCHOOL AND BASIC EDUCATION SERVICES
This component will expand PROHECO,a community-basedprogram for provision of basic education services (preschool and grades 1-6) to rural and remote communities and to intercultural bilingual populations. PROHECO also provides incentive mechanisms to attract and retain teachers in these communities.
A. Strengtheningand Expansion of the Honduras' CommunityEducation Program (PROHECO) -US$11.05 million Intervention: This sub-componentwill support (i) organizingcommunity education councils (AECOs)in 600 remote rural communities;(ii) creatingnew PROHECO schools in those 600 rural communities,and (iii) attracting and retaining at least 720 new basic education teachers (grades 1-6) and 600 preschool volunteers in these new PROHECO schools. Teacher retention would be supported through various community-basedincentives, such as contractual relations between parental committees and teachers, support of school by parents, and social support of teacher basic needs by the community.
PROHECOis a community-basededucation managementprogram created to provide education services in hard-to-reachrural areas, and, in addition, to solve problems regarding:(ii) low student efficiency,(ii) low productivityof rural teachers, and (iii) lack of educationalinputs. The table below present a summary of problems experiencedby targeted PROHECO communitiesand how the model attempts to provide solutions.
STRUCTURAL EDUCATION PROBLEMS OF ISOLATED RURAL COMMUNITIES AND SOLUTION ELEMENTS PROPOSED BY THE PROHECO MODEL Structural Educational Disadvantages Evidenced Negative Outcomes Solution Elements Proposed by PROHECO Model Low Student Efficiency * Late entry to the education system * Schools In (or closer to) Isolated Rural * Overage Students Communities * Repetition * Parental Involvement to Support Student * Drop-out Early Entry and Permanence in School * Less years of overall schooling * Multigrade Strategies to Provide Increase EducationServices Low Productivity of Teachers * High Tum Over * Contractual model between parental * More School Close Days committees and teachers guarantees * Less Hours of Teaching schools opened during school days and * Isolated Teachers complete hours of teaching. * Personal and Social Costs of Teachers * Community supports basic personal and social needs of teacher * Incentives provided to teachers, including available monthly teaching consumable materials and some economic or in-grant
Lack of Educational Inputs * Lack of School Infrastructure * Expedited Process for School Opening * Lack of basic consumable teaching * State (through monthly financial materials (chalk, paper, pencils, etc.) transfers) and Community contributions * Lack of school security and maintenance for teaching materials * Community support in school security and maintenance
Implementation Strategy: The Project will implementthis sub-componentthrough the already proven implementationstrategies of PROHECOfor communitypromotion, organizationand training of parental committees (AsociacionesEducativas Comunitarias-- AECO), and technical assistance. Without prior
- 49 - school services, AECOs are naturally formed by communityparents that organize themselves to open a school, select a teacher, and subsequently support and monitor teacher performance. This Project institutionalizesthe promotion, organization,training and technicalassistance of AECOs throughthe SE's district offices, to which PROHECOpromoters will belong. Also the Project will emphasize that the curricular,pedagogical, learning assessment and teacher training interventions,detailed in the Component I above, reach and impact PROHECO schools. All PROHECO schools receive financial transfer to support paying teachers and preschool volunteers, as well as for buying non-durable schools materials (chalk, paper, pencils, etc.). PROHECO school transfers would be absorbed by the Government on an incremental basis during the life of the Project. The table below presents the formula for financial transfers for PROHECOschools, which incorporatespreschool sections under a cost-effectivecommunity volunteerstrategy:
FORMULA OF ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES FOR PROHECO SCHOOL TRANSFERS Cost for One School Year Eligible Expenditure Amount Salary of Basic Education Teacher (grades 1-3 and grades 4-6) * 56,300 lempiras (US$3,753)/yr Financial Bonus for Preschool Section Volunteer * 13,000 lempiras (US$866)/yr * (financial incentives given to community volunteers in charge of preschool sections -- does not include yearly training and professional development) Transfer for Consumable Teaching Materials * 1,500 lempiras (US$ I 00)/yr * (financial transfer to buy basic consumable school items such as chalk, paper and pencils)
Indicators and Targets: The generalindicators for this sub-componentare: 1. Successfullyorganize and train 600 new AECOs 2. Successfullyopen 600 new PROHECOschools in remote rural areas. 3. Successfullyhire and retain 720 PROHECOteachers for lower basic education (grades 1-9) 4. Successfullyhire and retain 600 preschoolvolunteers 5. Provide new education services for at least 12,000preschool students (an average of 20 per section) and 27,600 lowerbasic education students(an averageof 46 per school).
B. Creation of Intercultural and Bilingual Schools with the PROHECO Model for Community Participation and Parental Involvement - US$3.44 million Intervention: This sub-componentwill adapt PROHECO strategies to the education needs of the nine ethnic communitiesof Honduras. It will support (i) creating new AECOS and PROHECO schools in at least 200 interculturaland bilingualcommunities, and (ii) attracting and retaining 200 EIB-trained lower basic education teachers,200 EIB volunteers,and 200 preschool volunteers. Volunteerswill be selected from the local community(guaranteeing cultural and linguistic relevance). Implementation Strategy: The Project will implement this sub-component by adapting PROHECO strategiesto form parental committeesin the 9 ethnic communitiesof Honduras; supportingthese parental committees in selecting teachers and volunteers within their cultural and linguistic communities; and providing financial transfers to be managed by the parental committees to support paying teachers, volunteers,and buying non-durable schools materials (chalk, paper, pencils, etc.). Also the project will emphasize that the curricular, pedagogical, learning assessment and teacher training interventions pertinentfor interculturaland bilingualeducation (detailed in ComponentI above) reach and impact these schools. Indicators and Targets: The general indicatorsfor this sub-componentare: 1. Successfullyorganize and train 200 new AECOs in interculturaland bilingual communities without school
- 50 - 2. Successfullyopen 200 new PROHECOschool in interculturaland bilingualcommunities. 3. Successfullyattract and retain 200 qualifiedEIB teachersfor lowerbasic education. 4. Successfullyattract and retain 200 EIB teachingvolunteers from the local community. 5. Successfullyattract and retain 200 EIB preschool volunteersfrom the local community.
ProjectComponent 3 - US$9.96 million III. SCHOOL-BASEDMANAGEMENT FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES
This component aims at creating an effective school organization strategy in rural areas through the involvementof principals,teachers, parents and studentsto improve the efficiency and effectivenessof their schools. It adapts the school council model of PROHECO to the needs and existing organizational structures of traditional rural schools (most of them also multigrade with one, two or three teachers attending all 6 primary grades). School councils, in both PROHECO and traditional rural schools, will prepare school-based improvement projects (called Proyectos Educativos de Centro, PEC), and will managefinancial transfersto support implementationof the PEC.
A. Development of a School-BasedPlanning and CommunityParticipation System in the Rural Sector-- US$0.63 million Intervention:This subcomponentwill: (i) support the organizationof school councils (to be called ADEL -- Asociacionesde Desarrollo Educativo Local) in rural communities for traditional multigrade schools, and (ii) train school council members to improve their school management capacity, education improvementplanning, and administrationof financialtransfers for school improvementactivities.
ImplementationStrategy: In rural communitieswhere school services are already providedby traditional means by the Government,a new type of school govemancewill be created: Asociaci6n de Desarrollo Educativo Local (ADEL). The ADEL would be composed not only by parents, but also by existing teachersand students. The two key govemanceroles of the ADEL, that of president and treasurer,will be shared by both the principal (or head teacher) and parents. The following table shows the different composition,roles and functions of AECOs (to be created under component II) and ADELs: (For detailed review of functions and school managementprocedures see drafts of AECO and ADEL organizationand financialtransfers management manuals already in project files.)
- 51 - Organizationof School Based Associationsin the Rural Sector of Honduras OrganizationalElements Very IsolatedAreas Without SchoolServices Other Rural Areas Where School Services Are Already Provided Through Traditional Means Legal Name of the Organization: * AECO -- Asociaci6n Educativa * ADEL -- Asociaci6n de Desarrollo Comunitaria EducativoLocal Member Composition: * Parents * Principal,Teachers, Parents and Students OrganizationalStructure: * Parentsshare rolesof president,treasurer, * Principal and Parent share respectively secretary, auditor and support members the role of presidentand treasurer. Other ("vocales") parents, students or teachers share the roles of secretary, auditor and support members("vocales"). Functions: * Select and Pay Teachers * Promoteparental involvementin school * Promoteparental involvementin school * Monitor teacher and student attendance * Monitor teacher and student attendance and performance and performance * Manage funds for non-durable school * Manage funds for non-durable school materials materials * Manage funds for implementation of * Manage funds for implementation of school improvement activities (PECs -- school improvementactivities (PECs -- seesubcomponent below) see subcomponent below)
Indicators and Targets: The general indicators for this sub-component are: 1. Successfully organize and train 2,800 new ADELs, and 2. Successfully organize and train 400 new ADEL in intercultural and bilingual communities with existing school services.
B. School-Based Design and Implementation of Education Improvement Projects (Proyectos Educativos de Centro - PEC)-- US$9.33 million. Intervention: This subcomponent will: (i) support planning of school improvement activities by AECOs (school councils of PROHECO schools) and ADELs (school councils of traditional schools) through the development of school projects (Proyectos Educativos de Centro -- PEC); (ii) transfer financial resources to AECOs and ADELs to carry out their PECs, and (iii) provide training on school improvement to teachers and parents through teachers' self-help groups (Centros de Aprendizaje Docente) and workshops for parents (Escuela para Padres).
Implementation Strategy: The Project will support the planning process of AECO and ADELs to identify and fulfill school needs through their PECs ("Proyectos Educativos de Centro"). Since most of the Project targeted communities are in extreme poverty, community contributions (including labor, local materials, and some parental and teacher financial contributions) are not enough to imnplement fully school improvement efforts. Thus, the Project will provide financial transfers to support the implementation of the PECs. On average each AECO or ADEL will receive about US$700 to implement its PEC during its first year of implementation and to complement community provided financial and/or in-kind resources. In subsequent years, during the life of the Project, schools with active PECs willl receive about US$100 a year to support continued implementation of the school activities derived from their approved school improvement subprojects. Communities and schools with important education innovations that raise the quality and standards of education, and that can serve as samples to others, may apply for additional funds on a competitive basis.
- 52 - An exampleof a possiblePEC is presentedin the table below:
Menu of PossibleInvestments Supported b FinancialTransfers to AECOs and ADELs EducationalImprovement Objective Exampleof Elgible Expenditures Applied and ContextualizedLearning * Educationalmaterials and tools for technical, ecological,artistic and/or extra-curricularactivities. Multiculturaland Bilingual Education * Multicultural events; school based activities to promote oral history,traditional language or local costumes;etc. PhysicalEducation and Health * Sport goods for Physical Education; primary health campaigns; students'nutrition activities; school first aid kht,etc. Schooland learningspace organization. * Development of teacher and student made didactic materials,didacticdecoration of classroom walls and spaces for learning, etc. ComplementaryEducation Materials * ReadingMaterials, small school libraries,abacus, posters, etc. SchoolEnvironment * Improvementsto the teachingand learningenvironment. GeneralGuidelines Non EligibleExpenditures * ADELs and AECO should continue to promote other * Total use of financial transfer in only one type of activity or contributionsby the communityto complementfinancing of their expenditure PEC. * Non educationalgoods or services * All expendituresshould be for school use and should provide * Deluxeproducts exceeding basic need tangible changes in the school environmentand/or pedagogical * Expenditurenot based on consensusof the ADEL,AECO and the practices largerschool community All ADELs (as is the case with AECOs) will receive legal statusas institutionswithin the educationsector able to receive, manage, and monitor public funds. An account will be opened in the closest bank under the name and legal status of the ADEL or AECO. Funds will be monitored by all ADEL or AECO members. Bank checks will be signed by at least two of the three registered firms (the president, the treasurer and the auditor). ADELs and AECOS will be audited on a random samplebasis. So far during the past two years, random audits of AECOs have provided evidencethat public funds are managed in a fully transparent manner and that the school associations are accountable and monitored by the communityat large. (For detailed review of functions and school managementprocedures see drafts of AECO and ADEL organizationand financialtransfers managementmanuals already in project files.)
The training program for AECO and ADEL members will include strategies and tools for school improvement, community-based planning, procurement and financial management. An existing mechanism to support exchange of experience and self-help by teachers called CAD (Centros de Aprendizaje Docente) will be strengthenedto support the school-basedmanagement strategies in rural areas. No more than 10 small rural schools will conform each CAD. For parents, the Project will support the establishmentof "escuelaspara padres" (parent schools),which will be supportedby CAD members and volunteertraining. Somemethodologies of adult trainingalready existing in Honduras will be adapted for the parentalschools supporting the rural school-basedmanagement strategies.
Indicatorsand Targets: The general indicatorsfor this sub-componentare: 1. Successfullyimplement 1400 PECs by AECOs 2. Successfullyimplement 2,800 PECs by ADELs 3. Successfullyimplement 800 PECs by ADELs or AECOs in interculturaland bilingualcommunities 4. Positiveresults of procurementand financial auditsin random samplesof AECOsand ADELs 5. 400 CADs activatedto support rural school-basedmanagement activities. 6. 1,500 parentalschools activated to supportparents involvedin school-basedmanagement activities.
ProjectComponent 4 - US$11.23million IV. STRENGTHENING OF INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS This Component will support the institutional structure to guide the community participation and
- 53 - school-based management system for the rural sector in Honduras. The strategy will make strong use of decentralized structures created during the last four years in the education sector, including departmental education offices and school districts. In addition, the Project will support the consolidation of the central structures that are supporting the on-going education reforms ("transformaci6n educativa") in the country. Also, the central coordination of PROHECO will become an integral part of the Secretariat of Education, Departmental Offices and Districts (during the past two years, it was an independent project with its own implementation unit). By doing so, PROHECO becomes in essence the institutionalized model for improving access, efficiency and teaching productivity in isolated, rural areas in Honduras.
A. Central Support of the CommunityParticipation and School Based Management System in the Rural Sector-- US$4.1 million
Intervention: This sub-component will: (i) strengthen the central units of the SE which support school organization and community participation in the rural sector; and (ii) support the Unidad Tecnica de Transformacion la Educacion Nacional (UTEN), which will coordinate new education investmnent programs and will manage the national Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign for education reforms.
Implementation Strategy: The Project will foster support of central offices of the SE to the school-based management strategies by financing the availability of human resources and their training as "change agents" that champion and support community participation through proper policies, guidelines and national events. Selected SE staff will be trained in all aspects of community organization, such as AECO and ADELs, and in school-based improvement programs, such as PECs. These SE staff will become "change agents" by training and gaining support for the school-based management and community participation models from other central units in the Secretariat of Education, Ministries, Teacher Unions and other key central education actors.
Also, a newly created unit, UTEN (Unidad de Transformaci6n Educativa), will have the faculty to coordinate the investment programs and international assistance related to the education transformation of the country. As such, the UTEN will house the Administrative and Financial Unit (AFI) that would manage procurement and financial processes for both multilateral Banks (IDA and IDB), with their respective staff assigned to each project to guarantee full time support for the administration and direct coordination with Bank technical units. The UAF of the UTEN will guarantee adherence to the Operational Manual and the Decentralized Operational Manuals guiding this Project's implementation (first drafts are available for review in the Project Preparation Files). The Project will finance the UAF's operating costs include staffing, technical assistance needs, equipment, mid-term and project-end evaluations, and financial and procurement audits for PROHECO, EIB, CCPREB and school-based management programs. Finally, the Project will finance the UTEN's implementation of a national IEC campaign in support of community participation and school-based management.
Indicators and Targets: The general indicators for this sub-component are: 1. Fully formalized and active central units in the SE to support policy, guidelines and central negotiations for community participation and school-based management. 2. A full function UTEN and its Administrative and Financial Unit with high quality staff evidenced by extemal annual job performance reviews and evaluations. 3. Available data bases with results of monitoring reports for PROHECO, CCPREB, EIB and Transfers for PECs 4. Accounting Systems and Aggregated financial consolidations for Project Management, Audit and World Bank Requirements
- 54 - 5. Updated information and inventories on Project provided inputs aggregated by school, district, departmentand national levels. 6. SuccessfulImplementation of a national IEC campaign in support of community participationand school-basedmanagement.
B. Strengthening Capacity of Education Departmental Offices to Plan Educational Needs and to Monitor Community-BasedEducation Programs -- US$1.95 million
Intervention: This sub-componentwill: (i) support the design and implementationof an information system, including education statistics, human resources, inventory of assets of physical resources, financial informationand school maps for the programs financed by the project (PROHECO, CCPREB, and EIB); (ii) finance the training, acquisitionand installationof equipmentto improve the administrative efficiencyof the Departmentaloffices in monitoringand evaluatingresults of educationprograms; and (iii) establish a financial administrative system to monitor, legalize and audit financial transfers for school improvementschanneled directly to schools,communities and educationdistricts.
ImplementationStrategy: The implementationof this subcomponentbasically guaranteesthe monitoring and evaluationrole of departmentsfor the three first componentsof the Project -- (i) curricularapplication and educational materials, (ii) provision of community-basededucation services (PROHECO, EIB and CCPREB),and (ii) creation and implementationof AECOs, ADEL and PECs. Four years ago, Education Departmentswere created to increasinglyassume functionspreviously held at the central level, especially in education planning (for which education statistics need to be collected),managing personnel actions (such as teacher leave and transfers),and monitoringand evaluation of education programs implemented in each of the 18 departmentsof the country. Each departmenthas a pedagogicalunit, a teacher support unit, a monitoringand evaluationunit, and an administrativeand financial managementunit. These units would have specific monitoring and evaluationresponsibilities within the three previous componentsof this Project. All materialsresources provided to departmentaloffices will request specific monitoringand evaluationproducts for the PROHECO,EIB, CCPREB and school-basedmanagement programs.
Indicators and Targets: The general indicatorsfor this sub-componentare: 1. Updated statistics on school enrollment,student age populationand beneficiariesby each education programbeing implementedin the department 2. Monitoring reports aggregated at the departmental level for PROHECO, CCPREB, EIB and Transfers for PECs 3. AccountingSystems and Aggregatedfinancial consolidations of legalized expendituresfrom AECOs and ADELs in the Department 4. Updated information on education inputs and inventories by aggregated by school, district and departmentallevels.
C. Strengthening Capacity of Education Districts to Support Curricular Applications and Community and School-Based Management - USS5.18 million
Intervention:This sub-componentwill: (i) support small infrastructureneeds (approximatelyUS$10,000 per district) of the 86 school districts that have the largest percentage of rural, interculturaland bilingual schools;(ii) provide equipment(computers, furniture and vehicles) to support these districts' new role in the promotion, organization,training and technical assistance activities for communityparticipation and school-basedmanagement; and (iii) strengthenthe school district professionalteams by training them as "change agents" at the district level to support multigradeteaching, interculturaland bilingual education, communityinvolvement and school-basedmanagement.
- 55 - Implementation Strategy: The implementationof this subcomponentguarantees the support of school districts for the three first Project components- (i) curricular and pedagogicalapplication, (ii) provision of community-basededucation services(PROHECO) in hard-to-reachrural areas and ethnic communities, and (iii) adaptation of school council in traditional rural schools (ADEL) and implementation of school-basedimprovement projects (PECs). Each school district has a director (Director Distrital) and at least three technicalofficer. School districts staff are motivated,in close contact to schools (althoughwith limited means) and willing to improve the services they provide to their communities, especially the poorest and most isolated. However, each school district supervises from 100 to 300 schools and each technical officer manages from 30 to 50 schools. To support human resources capacity at the district level, the Project will finance district level change agents in school-based management, community organizationand the applicationof multigradeteaching, EIB, and preschooleducation.
Also, the institutionalassessment during Project preparationidentified the lack of financial and material resources at the district level. Thus, the Project supports to close this gap. These material and financial inputs will enable districts to better support the community-basedorganization, training and technical assistance required of their schools and communities. During the first year or Project operation each technicalofficer (or district change agent) will be responsiblefor the promotion,organization, training and technical assistanceof at least 5-10 ADEL and/or AECO.
Indicators and Targets: The generalindicators for this sub-componentare: 1. Small infrastructure improvements (e.g., additional office space, expanded meeting rooms, and rehabilitatedfacilities) and equipmentin at least 86 school districts. 2. Properly formed and trained districtteams including a district director and at least 3 district technical officers (or changeagents). 3. Positive commentsby communityleaders, AECO and ADEL members on the support provided by their district directorand their respectivetechnical officer. 4. Implementedsystems and collection of data to feed educationalstatistics and input inventoriesto be aggregatedat the departmentallevel.
- 56 - Annex 3: EstimatedProject Costs HONDURAS:HNICOMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT
Local Foreign Total ProjectCost By Component US $million US $million US$million I. Local Applicationof National Curriculum 5.32 4.39 9.71
A. Validationby Rural Teachersof the NationalCurriculum for Preschooland Lower Basic Education(grades 1-6)
B. EffectiveApplication of Curriculumand Appropriate EducationalMaterials for Preschooland Primary Rural Schools
C. StudentLearning Assessment and EducationQuality Evaluations
D. In-ServiceTeacher Development and Training Programs 11. Community-BasedProvision of Preschooland Basic 14.49 0.00 14.49 EducationServices
A. Strengtheningand Expansionof the Honduras'Community EducationProgram (PROHECO)
B. Creationof Interculturaland BilingualSchools with the PROHECOModel III.School-Based Management for Rural Communities 9.96 0.00 9.96
A. Developmentof a School-BasedPlanning and Community ParticipationSystem
B. School-BasedDesign and Implementationof Education ImprovementProjects IV. Strentheningof InstitutionalSupport for Conimunity 8.20 3.03 11.23 Participationand School-BasedManagement Programs
A. Central Supportof the CommunityBased and School-BasedManagement System in the Rural Sector
B. StrengtheningCapacity of EducationDepartmental Offices for EducationPlanning and MonitoringCommunity-Based Education Programs
C. StrengtheningCapacity of EducationDistricts to Support CurricularApplications and Communityand School-Based Management Total BaselineCost 37.97 7.42 45.39 PhysicalContingencies 2.41 2.41 PriceContingencies 0.00 0.00 0.00
- 57 - Total Project Costs 40.38 | 7.42 47.80 Total Financing Required 40.38 7.42 47.80
Local Foreign Total Projet Cost By Category US$million US $million US$million Works 0.95 0.00 0.95 Goods (including printing services) 3.19 4.42 7.61 Consultants' Services 3.78 2.00 5.78 Training 5.70 1.00 6.70 AECO-PROHECOSchool Transfers 12.40 0.00 12.40 AECO Grants 3.40 0.00 3.40 ADEL Grants 5.00 0.00 5.00 Project Incremental Operating Costs 5.96 0.00 5.96 Total Project Costs 40.38 7.42 47.80 Total Financing Required 40.38 7.42 47.80
[dentifiable taxes andduties are O (US$n) andthe total project cost, net oftaxes. is 47.8 (US$m). TherefoTe, the project cost sharing ratio is S6.82%of totalproject cost net of taxes.
- 58 - Annex 4: Cost BenefitAnalysis Summary HONDURAS:HN/COMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT
Summary of Benefits and Costs: 1. Introduction
This annex summarizesthe economic evaluationof the Honduras CommunityEducation Project; considers the sector context for the project, drawing on the findings of the on-going PER study; looks at the dimensioningof the project; reports the methodologyand findingsof cost benefit analysis for four of the main interventions;and summarizesthe main conclusionsand makes recommendationsfor the SE strategy of the project. 2. Sectorcontext
Data collectedduring the initial stages of preparationof the World Bank's Public ExpenditureReview for Honduras highlightedthe followingproblems in primary education:(i) most poor childrengo to school,but the system fails them and half of them drop out without completingprimary; (ii) 7% of childrenof primary education age, in mostly hard to reach rural areas, are still out of school. According to household survey, 93% of all children aged 7 through 11 attend school (Table 1). Even among the bottom quintile of households,89% of childrenin this age reange attend school. However,only 70% of the cohort aged 15 in 1999 had passed 6th grade. Those failing are, overwhelmingly,the poor. In the bottom quintile, only 50% of the cohort aged 15 in 1999 had graduated from primary education, compared with 87% in the top quintile. The PER study concluded that an important cause of failure to complete primary education is late entry, due in part to access difficulties in remote areas, leading to childrenbeing overage and droppingout when they enter adolescence,before completing6th grade. Secondly,7% of childrenin the primaryage range are still out of school. The estimatednumber of 7 to 11 year old out of school in March 1999 was 56,101, equivalentof an averageneed of 1870 classrooms. Part of this is due to drop-outsfollowing grade failure, and part is due to continuingaccess problems in remote areas of the country.
Table I - Estimated number of children out of school, March 1999 Age 7 8 9 10 11 Average Quintile % matriculated I (poorest) 84 89 90 91 91 89 2 89 93 94 94 93 93 3 86 94 94 93 88 91 4 92 99 97 98 94 96 5 (richest) 98 97 97 98 98 98 Total 90 94 94 95 93 93 Equivalent Number of children out of school Total sections I (poorest) 5,419 3,726 3,387 3,048 3,048 18,628 621 2 3,726 2,371 2,032 2,032 2,371 12,531 418 3 4,742 2,032 2,032 2,371 4,064 15,241 508 4 2,425 303 910 606 1,819 6,064 202 5 (richest) 606 910 910 606 606 3,638 121 Total 16,918 9,341 9,270 8,664 11,909 56,101 1,870 Urban 11,220 374 Rural 44,881 1,496 Notes. Based on official population projections for 1999 and March 1999 EPMPM data.
- 59 - In response to these problems, the Government,with the support of the prior IDA-supportededucation project (PROMEB), established the PROHECOprogram, with a mandate to improve primary education access in remote rural communities. As well as expanding coverage in remote areas, the PROHECOmodel aims to attract and retain teachers and to improve the attendance fo both teachers and studentsby involving the parents and communityin opening and supporting the school. Local community associations called Asociaciones Educativas Comunitarias(AECOs) run the PROHECOschools. Parents have a decisive role in the administrationof the school, includingthe hiring of the teacher. The SE assigns the AECO with legal status to carry out these functions,using delegatedauthority from the President of the Republic. Public funds are transfered to the AECO to pay for the salaries of the PROHECOteaching staff. Parents donate their time and effort for the administrationof the school, so that formally these are "semi-official"schools - the first time this has existedat primary level. PROHECO teachers are paid according to the Estatuto del Docente, and since they are mostly new graduates at the bottom of the scale, their monthly pay is just over L.3,000 (about $200). Unlike mainstream SE staff, they do not go onto the SE payroll or acquire a "plaza" through an acuerdo executivo, which thereafter is theirs by right. The PROHECO post belongs to the community and the teachers are contractedby the AECO, which receives a transfer of public funds in order to pay them. To date (October2000) 809 PROHECOschools have been created,covering just over 20,000 children. Buildingon the experienceand lessons learnedof the PROHECOproject, the Community-BasedEducation Project aims to improve the quality and relevanceof preschool and lower basic education (Grades 1-6) for targeted poor and traditionallyexcluded communities.The project componentsinclude: locally developed quality improvementstrategies for pre-schooland basic educationwith emphasis on the needs of poor and rural populations; strengthening and expansion of community based preschool and basic education (PROHECO);and strengtheningof departmentaland districtlevel support and supervision.
Main Assumptions: School Based Interventions. The specific communityand school-basedinterventions to be financed by the project are the following:
1. Improve educational quality by promoting schoo-based quality improvement strategies for preschooland basic education,working with AECOs (in the PROHECOmodel) and with Asociacionesde DesarrolloEducativo Local (ADELs),in "official" schools. The AECOs and ADELs will be involved in the developmentof School ImprovementPlans and will administerresources to provide additional support for teachers. In total 3,200 schools will be supportedin this way. Within this total, 400 schools will be in indigenouscommunities, where the support will be geared to establishingbilingual interculturaleducation (Educaci6nIntercultural Bilingue, EIB). There will also be 800 ladino AECOs, and 2000 ladino ADELs. The estimatedtotal cost of this componentis US$4.15million. 2. The creation of 1200 new pre-grade sections using a community-basedmodel utilizing local teachingvolunteers. The estimatedtotal cost of this componentis US$4.3 million. 3. Creating 800 additional PROHECOschools (896 sections).This will include new schools in rural communitieswith access problems, and the transfer to the PROHECOmodel of failing traditionalschools in such areas. Within this total 200 will be EIB schoolsin indigenouscommunities. The estimatedtotal cost of this componentis US$10.6 million.
- 60 - Table 2 summarizesthe project's planned interventionsat school level. It should be noted that the project also plans national level activities to strengthen the curricular application (through multigrade strategies and contextualisationof learning) and instructionalmaterials for rural schools, to strengthen departmental and district support to community-based education, and to develop methodologies for EIB. The Cost-Benefitanalysis is only done for the school-basedmanagement interventions, which is consideredthe most importantinnovation of these project. The other national level interventions,whose cost totals US$32 million,are not analyzedin the cost-benefitanalysis presented here.
Table 2 - Principal planned school - level interventionsfor CBE Project No of schools per year Accum. Students Year: 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 total (total) 1.Strengthening existing schools AECOs 15 62 423 300 0 800 28,800 ADELs 15 156 1,070 759 0 2,000 92,000 EIB 15 32 210 143 0 400 24,000 Sub total 45 250 1,703 1,202 0 3,200 144,800 2.Preschool provision 18 150 601 431 0 1,200 30,000 3.Creating new schools PROHECOLadino 10 200 200 190 0 600 18,000 PROHECOEIB 5 50 100 45 0 200 12,000 Sub total 15 250 300 235 0 800 30,000 4.Total 60 500 2,003 1,437 0 4,000204,800
The demand for new rural sections. In 1999, the number of childrenaged seven to eleven who were out of school was just over 56,000. Of this total, 44,881 were in rural areas (Table 1). This estimate predates the creationof 809 PROHECOschools in rural areas during 1999 -2000, which extended coverage in rural areas to 20,000more children. This would suggest that, nationwide,roughly 24,880 children are still out of school in rural areas.
The creation of 800 new PROHECOschools (including200 EIB schools with 2 sections each) will result in 1,000 new multigrade sections(classroom) of 30 studentseach creating approximately30,000 additional places. This is apparentlymore than the needed number to get to 100% rural coverage; however, some of the new PROHECOschools will take over from failing traditionalschools in the project's agreed area of influence (remoterural communities)and some marginfor natural incrementsin coverage are considered. Cost benefit analysis. The economic evaluation of the project looked at the costs and benefits of the planned school-based interventions to establish their economic rate of return. Cost benefit analysis was carried out to establish the rate of return for four scenarios:
1. Where a PROHECOschool is built enabling childrenwho were otherwise out of school to get primary education. 2. Where a PROHECOschool replacesa failing traditionalschool.
- 61 - 3. Supportto the establishmentof a preschoolclass through the community-basedvolunteer model. 4. Supportto the establishmentof school-basedmanagement committees (ADELs) in traditionalschools. Benefits: In each of the scenarios,the benefit stream is estimatedas the impact of the project's intervention on the future income stream of the cohort. Costs: 1. In the first scenario,the increasein future income from improvededucational attainmentis set against the costs of providing the education (includingboth providing the school building and the revenue costs) and the earnings foregoneduring schooling. 2. In the second scenario,the outcome dependson the differenceof the cost of providing schoolingunder PROHECOand traditionalprovision, coupled with the differencesin educationaloutcomes between the two and their impact on incomes. 3. In the third scenario,the critical considerationis the balance between the cost of the preschoolyear and the impact of preschool education on primary education outcomes, which in turn feed through into changedincome streams. 4. In the final scenariothe question is whether the cost of grants for school improvementto ADELs are justifiedby the resultingbenefits in the form of improvedperformance and outcomesand the associated income. Cost-Effectivenessindicators:
Data and methodology
Cost estimates: In each case the analysisis limitedto the fiscal costs of the project. No effort was made to estimateprivate costs, apart from the opportunitycost of time in school (which is treated as a differencein the benefit).
For scenarios I and 2, PROHECOprovided data on the real revenue and capital cost of its programs.The cost of alternativetraditional programs was estimated based on Secretary of Education (SEP) data. For traditionalprovision a 10% mark-up was applied for central administrativecosts; for PROHECOthis was reduced to 5% as personnel administrationis undertakenby the AECO, not SEP. Total revenue costs per student-yearin traditional schools were estimated at L.1,474 (a figure scarcely sufficient to pay for the teacher's salary). In PROHECO,they are estimatedat L. 1,429. The capital cost of a one classroomschool building is L. 1,273,000(FHIS data); it was supposed that this would have a residual value of 80% at the end of 6 years (i.e. the building would have a lifetimeof 30 years). For scenario 3, the additional cost due to the project is the cost of transfers to support preschool sections. The planned transfers are L. 13,000per year as an incentivegrant to the volunteerteacher, plus L.6,500for teaching materials,giving a total of L. 19,500per year for a sectionof 25; that is, L.780 per student/year. For scenario 4 the cost includes the training and manuals needed to set up the ADELs (L.3,000) plus the annual transfer to the ADELs under the CBE project, budgeted at L.11,550. The average number of studentsper ADEL is estimatedat 36 (based on 88% single section schools and 12% two-sectionschools and an average section size of 32). This gives an additional cost of L.321 per student under the ADEL model, comparedwith traditionalprovision. Benefits: In all the scenarios the estimatedbenefit of the project is based on projected increases in future incomes arising from improvedprimary educationattainment. The EPHPM (March 1999) was analyzedto establish the average labor income of all persons in the workforce whose educational level is up to 6th
- 62 - grade of primary; those who have completed any years of secondary education are excluded from the analysis.
The results of this analysis are reported in Table 3. They show, for example,that a person aged between 20 and 24 will earn on average L.9,456a year if they have zero education; while if they have completed primary they will earn L.16,960, a difference of 79%. The difference generally rises through time; for a person in their late-thirtiesit is 112%;for someonein their late forties, it is 126%. The same database was used to extrapolatebackwards from earningsof 10 to 14 year olds in order to estimate earningsfor children of 8 and 9 years of age (no data are registeredin the surveyfor these ages).
Table 3 - Average annuallabor income of employed and self - employedpeople by age group and level of primaryattainment Completedyears of primary education Difference
*Age - 1-2 3-5 6 6vs.0 - Annual income in Lempiras % 10- 14 5,315 4,915 6,209 7,744 46 15- 19 8,992 10,142 9,446 11,615 29 20 - 24 9,456 12,744 13,976 16,960 79 25 - 29 12,421 15,936 13,073 17,972 45 30 - 34 11,615 18,055 16,442 21,052 81 35 - 39 11,047 15,136 18,401 23,438 112 40-44 12,078 19,244 19,949 25,211 109 45 -49 11,635 16,879 24,322 26,317 126 50- 54 12,539 19,739 21,158 31,250 149 55 - 59 10,050 18,763 24,420 28,244 181 60 - 64 8,330 12,443 14,918 19,684 136 Total 10,948 15,827 16,536 19,062 74 Source:EPHPM, March 1999. Only individuals with labor income (either from employment or self employment)
Shadowprices: Since the exchangerate is not severelydistorted, no shadow-priceconversions were made to either the cost or benefit streams.
Modeling improvedprimary outcomes: A model was establishedfor a cohort of 30 children, using flow rates from traditionalschools in rural parts of the departrnentof Lempira as the benchmark for the study. Table 4 shows the flow rates at each grade level and the results in terms of the educational status of the cohort. The existing flow rate leads to only 71% of the childrenwho originallymatriculated in first grade graduatingfrom primary education. A reduction of 33% in the gap between baseline performanceand a flow rate of 100%would lead to 83% of the cohort graduatingfrom 6th grade; and a 66% reduction of the gap would lead to 93% graduating.
- 63 - Table 4 - How improved flow rates increase the % of children graduatingfrom primary Flow rate % of gap between baseline and 1000/othat is closed Grade 0% 33% 66% 1 77% 85% 92% 2 83% 89% 94% 3 86% 91% 95% 4 90% 93% 97% 5 91% 94% 97% 6 93% 95% 98% %passing 6th grade 71% 83% 93%
No data yet exist on the impact of the project's community-basedmethodologies on efficiency and effectivenessin primary education (i.e. on pass-throughrates). Similarly,no data exist on the impact of pre-grade attendanceon the probabilityof passing first grade. Therefore,the analysis modeled the rate of return in order to show what ranges of values would result in an acceptablerate of retum.
Sensitivityanalysis / Switchingvalues of critical items:
Case where PROHECO establishes a new school: The IRR for establishing a new PROHECO school where none presently exists is 11.0%,even if there is no improvementin the flow rate. This shows that even at present productivityrates, primary schools are reasonableinvestments.
Table 5 - Economicevaluation of a new PROHECOschool Improvement in flow rate/I High,zero building Zero Moderate High cost NPV, 12% -96,679 -87,262 -77,693 67,371 NPV, 10% 117,475 146,413 172,635 308,843 NPV,5% 1,812,9641,997,373 2,154,823 2,259,687 IRR 11.0% 11.1% 11.3% 12.8% Note: 1/ A Moderate improvement means that 33% of the gap between baseline and 100%flow rates is closed; High, that 66% of the gap is closed.
The analysisalso shows that increasingproductivity doesn't make much difference to the IRR in this case. With a moderate improvementin flow rates, the IRR is 11.1% and with a high improvement,the IRR is 11.3%. The reason is that the marginaldifference in the earnings streamis offset in part by increasedcosts (due to more student-yearsof educationbeing supplied). The additional benefit does more than offset the marginal differencein cost, tweakingup the IRR slightlyas a result. However, overall,the outcome is still dominatedby the IRR on the basic project. The IRR is affectedby the high up-front cost of building the school classroom;when this is removed from the analysis,the IRR in the "high improvement"scenario rises to 12.8%.
- 64 - Table 6 - Sensitivity analysis of higher income increases for the IRR of a new PROHECO school Increaseof impacton wagesof completingprimary, compared with EMHPMdata: 0% 25% 50% 100% Flow rate improvement IRR Zero 11.0% 11.6% 12.1% 12.8% Moderate 11.1% 11.7% 12.2% 12.9% High 11.3% 11.9% 12.3% 13.0%
Sensitivity analysis shows that the rate of return on the project would be increased if the impact on earnings of increased primary attainment were higher (Table 6). If earnings were increased by 25% more than they are at present, the rate of return (under all the flow rate scenarios) increases by 0.6%. This suggests that the quality of education and its "fit" with the needs of the labor market are important considerations. Case where PROHECO replaces a traditional school: This scenario, even if PROHECO does not improve the flow rate, the project has a positive economic value due to the cost saving. This arises because PROHECO's operating costs are a little lower than those of traditional provision, and in this case, no new building is needed. The NPV with a discount rate of 12% is positive at L.5,171. When PROHECO produces a high improvement in the flow rate, the NPV (12%) rises to L.6,852. In this case the IRR is 19.4%. In this context, it is important to indicate that, to date, flow rates in PROHECO schools have not been superior to those registered in traditional schools. This underlines the importance of the complementary initiatives to improve flow rates and educational outcomes in both traditional and PROHECO schools, which are contemplated in the new project's other interventions. Establishing a preschool year: The impact here depends on the improvement in flow rates at first grade due to the child having been exposed to a pre-grade year.
Table 7 - Economic evaluation of a PROHECO school taking over from a failing traditionalschool Improvement in flow rate/ I Zero Moderate High NPV, 12% 5,171 5,519 6,852 NPV, 10% 5,479 8,076 11,415 NPV, 5% 6,393 23,967 40,171 IRR Undefined Undefined 19.4%
Note: 1/ A Moderate improvement means that 33% of the gap between baseline and 100% flow rates is closed; High, that 66% of the gap is closed.
As already commented, at present no empirical data exist that would allow us to predict this impact. All that can be done is to show what ranges of improvement would result in acceptable returns.
- 65 - Table 8 summarizes the results of the analysis. A considerable hike in first grade flow rates would be needed to make the pregrade investment profitable. If the first grade flow rate improves slightly, the IRR is positive at 5.7%; a moderate improvement reports an IRR of 8.7% and a high improvement, 10%. It is recommended that the SE system of the project monitor the improvements in "with pregrade" schools compared with "without pregrade" schools to quantify the real impact.
Table 8 - Economic evaluation of adding a preschool section Improvementin flow rate in first grade/I Very Slight Slight Moderate High NPV,12% -20,286 -19,707 -19,707 -15,171 NPV, 10% -19,208 -17,213 -17,213 306 NPV, 5% -7,818 6,229 6,229 134,752 IRR 3.8% 5.7% 8.7% 10.0% Note: 1/ A Very Slight improvementmeans that 5% of the gap between baseline and 100% flow rates is closed; Slight, 10%; Moderate, 33% and High, 66%.
Support to ADELs: Here, the expenditure (estimated in L.344 per child per year) is incurred continually as the child goes through primary school. The expected impact is improved flow rates throughout this period. Table 9 - Economicevaluation of support to ADELs Improvementin flow rate/i Very Slight Slight Moderate High NPV, 12% -34,741 -33,834 -29,507 -23,153 NPV, 10% -34,700 -31,147 -15,271 5,202 NPV, 5% -20,028 5,859 118,754 256,603 IRR 3.3% 5.4% 8.8% 10.3% Note: 1/ A Very Slight improvement means that 5% of the gap between baseline and 100% flow rates is closed; Slight, 10%; Moderate, 33% and High, 66%.
As in the case of the preschool intervention, no empirical data exist that would allow us to predict this impact at present. All that can be done is to show what ranges of improvement would result in acceptable rates of return. The pattem of retums on this intervention is similar to that for pregrade classes. Under the scenarios of Moderate and High improvements in the flow rate, the IRR is respectively 8.8% and 10.3%. It is recommended that the M&E system of the project monitor the improvements in "with ADEL" schools compared with "without ADEL" schools to quantify the real impact.
Summary of conclusions and recommendations for M&E strategy: This study of the economic return to the Honduras Community Based Primary Education Project has considered the project's "fit" with the main sector strategy issues in primary education, has looked at the dimensioning of the proposed interventions, and has modeled the conditions under which the proposed investments would have acceptable rates of return.
- 66 - Sector strategy and dimensioning of the project: The project addresses important sector issues in primary coverage, efficiency and effectivenessand is, in general, well dimensioned. However a reservation is expressed about the dimensioning of the component to establish 800 more new PROHECOs in rural communities.Household survey data suggest that there may not be enough demand to absorb this quantity of resourcesin new schools in rural areas. It is recommendedthat the project should be allowedto finance the transfer of failed traditional schools to the new model, and that the project should be allowed to intervene in urban marginal communities with coverage difficulties.If these are allowed, it should be possibleto use all the programmedresources effectively.
Economic rates of return: In the absence of historical data for their impact on primary education efficiency and flow rates, it is not possible to make firm ex-ante predictions of the IRR of the project's planned interventions.However, it is possibleto considerwhether the improvementsin performanceneeded to generatean acceptableIRR seem to be reasonable. In general,all the interventionsare found to have the possibilityof acceptablerates of return.
* Where no school presently exists, the rate of return on establishinga PROHECO is 11%, even if the efficiencyis no better than traditionalprimary efficiencyin Honduras. * Where a PROHECO school replaces a traditional one, the economic return is positive under all scenarios,because PROHECO's unit costs are a little lower than those of a traditional school. If the PROHECOschool achieves a high improvementin flow rates, the IRR is 19%. * The IRR on support to pregrade classes depends on the degree of improvementin flow rates at first grade that results from this intervention. With a high improvement,there is an IRR of 10%but if flow rates do not improve the IRR is below the acceptablerange. * The IRR on support to ADELs depends on the improvementin flow rates across the board in the primary grades. With high improvements,ADELs report an IRR of 10.3% but if flow rates do not improve,the IRR is below the acceptablerange.
Recommendationsfor M&E strategy: The data generated in the past by UMCE (performancein objective tests of Spanish and Math at 3rd and 6th grade) are not sufficientto answer important questions related to the new project's impact.
It is recommendedthat the M&E strategy for the projectmonitor the flow rates in all schools supportedby the project and in a matching set of samples of otherwise-similarschools that are not benefiting from the project's interventions.Data should be gathered at all grade levels both for supply side indicators such as teacher attendance and the availability of materials, and for outcome indicators including student attendance, drop out and promotion rates. This should be done in the frameworkof a carefully designed sample study of school performance under different project interventions,using matching "with project" and "without project" schools. If necessary, resources should be shifted from the study of objective test performanceto finance this. An interim report should be generatedat the end of year 2. This will allow the real impact of the project's interventionson the flow rate to be determined. The results of this analysis should be used to optimize resource distributionduring years 3 to 5 of implementation.
- 67 - Annex 5: FinancialSummary HONDURAS:HNICOMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT The context
Trends of public expenditureon education.Although Honduras is a small country with 6 million population and a GDP per capita of $730, it has devoted a substantial and growing portion of public resourcesto education.In 1999, total public expenditureon education amountedto 5.2 percent of GDP, or 21.4 percentof total governmentexpenditure. Between 1990 and 1999, education spendingincreased faster (55 percent) than either the GDP (27 percent) or governmentexpenditure (32 percent). (Figure 1). Over this period, between 45 and 50 percent of the total educationexpenditure was spent on primary education, while about 14 to 18 percent was on secondaryeducation and 25 to 30 percent on universities (Figure 2). The large share of expenditure on primary education contributedto the high enrollment rates in primary education.
Figure1: Trendsof GDP,Government Expenditure andEducation Expenditure In Constant1990 Lempiras
20000 150 0v E = 10000 .2. X 5000= S w
1990 1991 1992 1993 994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
l-- Education-U- Total expenditure GOP
Figure2: Intra-sectoralAllocation of Public Expenditureon Educationby Level
60
50 4 ~ ~ ~ ,
u30 - --- Secondary
0 20 Universities 10 0. ta~~~4 t\t0t4N 1A 4 "2t;
Between 1990 and 1999, enrollment in primary education grew by 21 percent and that in secondary education by 18 percent (Figure 3). Per student spending in real terms increased in secondary education,
- 68 - but declinedin primary education during the middle of the decade, although it recoveredtowards the end. (Figure4).
Figure3. Enrollmentin Primaryand Secondary Education,1990-99
1200 ° 1000 - * 800- . 600 u 400 ° 200 z O0 90 19911992 993 994 W95 996 997 1998S99
| + Primary -- Secondary I
Figure4: Per StudentSpending In Constant1990 Lempiras,1990-99
1000 800
.52600 -. Primary E 400 -4--Secondary 200 0
Projectedgrowth of the school-agepopulation and enrollment. At present, about 44 percent of Honduras'spopulation are under the age of 15, and 65 percent are under 25. This means that a large share of the populationneeds educationservices. In 1999,gross enrollmentratios were 38 percent in pre-school, 107 percent in primary education, and 47 percent in secondary education. But these ratios encompassed over-aged studentsand repeaters.Net enrollmentratio in primary education,which indicatesthe percentage of the relevant age-cohortin specific levels of education,was only 90 percent. It was unclear what the net enrollment of pre-school and secondaryeducation was. To expand access and improve quality in future would require additionalresources over and above the current level of spending. Although the population growth rates are projected to decline from 2.42 percent in 2000-2004,2.07 percent in 2005-2009,and 1.82 percent in 2010-2015, the total school-agepopulation will still increase modestly in absolute numbers. Between2000 and 2015, the pre-schoolpopulation of 4-6 year-olds is projected to increasefrom 567,000 to 575,000, the primary-school-agepopulation of 7-12-year-oldsfrom 1.038 million to 1.162 million, and the secondary-school-agepopulation of 13-to-18-year-oldsfrom 934,000 to 1.160 million. Unless public spending on education will increase in real terms in the next 15 years to keep pace with the growth of school-age population, per student spending will decline and the current enrollment ratios cannot be
- 69 - maintained. Figure 5 presents the projected age groups of 4-6, 7-12, and 13-18 from 2000 to 2015, as well as the projected enrollment in pre-primary,primary and secondary education. The enrollment projection in the pre-primary level was based on the actual data of 2000 and the historical annual growth rate of 11.4 percent in this level.At this rate of increase,the gross enrollmentin pre-schoolwould reach only 42 percent from 2001 through 2015. As regards primary education, enrollment was projected to maintain the gross ratio of 109, taking into account the repeaters and over-aged students in the system. With respect to secondaryeducation, the projectionused the historical growthrate of 4.7 percent at this level. At this rate of increase, gross secondary enrollment would increase to 56 percent in 15 years' time. In summary, interventionsare needed to accelerate the rates of increase in enrollment in pre-primary and secondary enrollment. The project provides such an interventionfor raising pre-schoolenrollment.
Figure5: ProjectedSchool Age Populationand Enrollmentby Level,2000-2015
1400 1200 *
800 o 600 S400 E? - 200 ~ - - - '
°t o -z ¢ ) z O > CD CD CarD ai 'o CD CD {D; 2° o c o- N N ,N (W v< N N
- 4-6 age group -4-7-2 age group 1-18 age group Pre-primary )- Primary -+--Secondary
Fiscal Impactof the Project
The analysisof the fiscal impact of the project was conductedwithin the above mentionedcontext. It worked out three scenarios: high, medium, and low economic growth (Tables 1, 2, and 3). All three scenariosused the actual, 1999 data of the GDP, governmentexpenditure and expenditure of Secretariatof Education (SE), and the enrollment data of 1999 and 2000 as the bases for projection. These scenarios differed in the growth rates of the GDP. While all three scenarios accepted the GDP growth rates of 5 percent between 2000 and 2001, the high growth scenario assumed the continuation of 5 percent growth between 2002 and 2015, the medium growth scenario,3.5 percent, and the low growth scenario,2 percent. All three assumedthe governmentexpenditure as a percentageof GDP to be 24 percentbetween 2000 and 2002, and 22.5 percent from 2003 through 2015. The three scenarios also differed in the share of SE budget as a percentage of total goverm-nentbudget. The assumptions are presented at the bottom of the tables and will not be repeated in the text. The budget for pre-primary,primary and secondary education was derived from per student spending multipliedby proiected enrollment in public education at these levels. The basis of enrollment projection was the projected growth of the school-agedpopulation. The education budget of each subsector was assumed to grow at the rates of the GDP of the respective scenarios.
The counterpartfunds of the project were based on the figures in the PAD. The recurrent cost to be financed after the life of the project include (i) 920 new PROHECObasic education teachers at a cost of 57,000 lempiras (52.44 million) each a year; (ii) 800 new preschool volunteers at a cost of 13,000lempiras (10.4 million) each a year; and (iii) 200 EIB volunteers at a cost of 13,000 lempiras each year (2.6
- 70 - million).The total is 65.4 million lempirasor US$4.4 million.To give an additionallevel of comfort,this analysistook into account the new IDB SecondaryEducation Project's counterpart fund during the project and recurrentcost financing afterwards.The IDB credit is $20 million for four years and counterpartfund is $2.6 million. Since the IDB Project mostly finances capacitybuilding, the recurrent cost is expectedto finance only 200 new teachersat an estimated36,000 lempiras per person per year.
The projections show substantial differences among three scenarios in the amount of GDP, government budget, SE budget, and share of each subsector within the SE budget. However, the counterpartfunds and the recurrentcosts after the end of the project representonly a small share in all of the scenarios.
The intra-sectoralallocation of the SE budget in 1999was 2.5 percent to pre-primary,40 percentto primary, and 18.5 percent to secondary,totaling 61 percent. Tertiary education accounted for about 20 percent of the SE budget, while administrationand other programstook up the rest. Table 1 shows that in the high growthscenario, the primaryeducation budget wouldbe reducedfrom 40 percent of the SE budget to 22 percentbetween 1999and 2015. The pre-primarybudget would rise from 2.5 percentto 3.1 percent in 2008, and then fall to 2.4 percentby 2015. The secondaryeducation would declinefrom 18.5percent of the SE budget to 16.5 percent. In total, the budget for these three subsectorswould be reduced from 61 percent to 41 percent of the SE budget in 15 years' time. GOH financingof the World Bank Project will increase from 0.2 to 4.4 percent of the combined pre-primary and primary education budget within 15 years, and that of the IDB Projectwill decline from 1.3 to 0.7 percent of the secondaryeducation budget. Together, the two Projects would increase from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of the total budget of the Ministry of Educationbetween 2001 and 2015. As long as the higher education budget remains within the range of 20 to 25 percent, there would be additional resources to finance the recurrent cost after the life of the project, improvequality, and expandpre-school and secondaryeducation.
Table 2 displaysthe medium growth scenario.As the total educationbudget is smaller,the budget shares of pre-primary,primary, and secondarybecome higher, accountingfor 2.9, 28, and 20 percent by 2015, respectively.Together, the budget for these subsectorsrepresents 49 percent of total SE budget, a reductionfrom 61 percent in 1999. The share of GOH counterpartfunds and recurrentcost after the end of the World Bank and IDB Projectswould slightlyincrease from 0.3 percent in 2001 to 1.4 percent of the SE budget. There will still be additionalresources to expandand improveeducation, if tertiary educationstays within bound. Also, because GOH financing of the World Bank and the 1DB projects represents only a relativelysmall portion of the budget of each subsector,the additionalshares as a percentageof SE budget changedvery little.
Table 3 presentsthe low growth scenario.As the overall educationbudget shrinksfurther, the shares of pre-school, primary education, and secondary education will increase to 3.2, 30, and 22 percent, respectively,by 2015. These represent55 percent of total SE budget. The share of GOH counterpartfunds and recurrent cost after the end of the World Bank and IDB Projects would slightly increase from 0.3 percent in 2001 to 1.6 percent of the SE budget. While the available resources would be much more limited, if higher educationstays within the range of 20-25 percent of the SE budget, there would still be sufficientresources to coverthe recurrentcost of both WorldBank and IDB projects, and to financelimited expansion and irnprovementof education.Therefore, the projects are sustainable even in a low growth scenario.
- 71 - Table 1: Fiscal Impact of the Project: High Economic Growth Scenario
GOP of Central Govt. MOE Budget Pre-pnmary Primary Secondary Pre- Primar Secon GOH fund GOH fund GOH GOH GOH prim. y dary for fund fund fund ______~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~asfor Year Honduras Budget budget education education budg as % as % World Bank for IDB % of as % WB budget budget et as pre- of &
of of of Project Project & Seco as % MOE MOE MOE prim ndar of
1999 76,563,000,000 18,468,600,000 3,300,000,000 83,900,000 1,330,200,000 609,200,000 2.5% 40.3% 18.5% 2000 80,391,150,000 19,293,876,000 4,826,500,000 133,300,000 1,487,500,000 617,600,000 2.8% 30.8% 12.8% 2001 84,410,707,500 20,258,569,800 4,963,349,601 143,352,153 1,601,616,458 683,434,932 2.9% 32.3% 13.8% 4,073,160 8,625,000 0.2% 1.3% 0.3% 2002 88,631,242,875 21,271,498,290 5,211,517,081 146,122,126 1,627,041,338 712,148,962 2.8% 31.2% 13.7% 29,407,170 8,625,000 1.7% 1.2% 0.7% 2003 93,062,805,019 20,939,131,129 5,130,087,127 148,942,213 1,649,159,617 742,052,404 2.9% 32.1% 14.5% 32,033,310 8,625,000 1.8% 1.2% 0.8% 2004 97,715,945,270 21,986,087,686 5,166,730,606 151,813,218 1,666,526,456 773,193,632 2.9% 32.3% 15.0% 23,493,180 8,625,000 1.3% 1.1% 0.6% 2005 102,601,742,533 23,085,392,070 5.194,213,216 154,955,751 1,685,870,067 809,533,732 3.0% 32.5% 15.6% 23,493,180 7,200,000 1.3% 0.9% 0.6% 2006 107,731,829,660 24,239,661,673 5,332,725,568 158,163,335 1,702,237,737 847,581,818 3.0% 31.9% 15.9% 65,440,000 7,344,000 3.5% 0.9% 1.4% 2007 113,118,421,143 25,451,644,757 5,344,845,399 161,437,316 1,714,141,498 887,418,163 3.0% 32.1% 16.6% 66,748,800 7,490,880 3.6% 0.8% 1.4% 2008 118,774,342,200 26,724,226,995 5,612,087,669 164,779,069 1,721,581,348 929,126,817 2.9% 30.7% 16.6% 68,083,776 7,640,698 3.6% 0.8% 1.3% 2009 124,713,059,310 28,060,438,345 5,892,692,052 168,189,996 1,727,533,228 972,795,777 2.9% 29.3% 16.5% 69,445,452 7,793,512 3.7% 0.8% 1.3% 20101 130,948,712,275 29,463,460,262 6,187,326,655 171,251,053 1,729,021,198 1,018,517,179 2.8% 27.9% 16.5% 70,834,361 7,949,382 3.7% 0.8% 1.3% 2011 137,496,147,889 30,936,633,275 6,496,692,988 174,367,823 1,729,021,198 1,066,387,486 2.7% 26.6% 16.4% 72,251,048 8,108,369 3.8% 0.8% 1.2% 2012 144,370,955,284 32,483,464,939 6,821,527,637 177,541,317 1,729,021,198 1,116,507,698 2.6% 25.3% 16.4% 73,696,069 8,270,537 3.9% 0.7% 1.2% 2013 151,589,503,048 34,107,638,186 7,162,604,019 180,772,569 1,729,021,198 1,168,983,560 2.5% 24.1% 16.3% 75,169,990 8,435,948 3.9% 0.7% 1.2% 2014 159,168,978,200 35,813,020,095 7,520,734,220 184,062,630 1.730,509.168 1,223,925,787 2.4% 23.0% 16.3% 76,673,390 8,604,666 4.0% 0.7% 1.1% 2015 167,127,427,110 37,603,671,100 7,896,770,931 187,412,570 1,729,021,198 1,281,450,299 2.4% 21.9% 16.2% 78,206,858 8,776,760 4.1% 0.7% 1.1% Assumptions: (1) GOP will growin real terms by 5 percent from 2000 through2015. (2) The govemmentexpenditure will be 24 percent of GOPfrom 2000 to 2002,and 22.25 percentfrom 2003 through 2015. (3) MOE's budgetwill be 25 percentof total govemmentbudget in 2000,24.5 percentfrom 2001 to 2003, 23.5 percentin 2004 and 22.5 percent in 2005, 22 percent in 2006,and 21 percentafterwards. (4) The budget of pro-prmary, primary and secondary educabon is driven by the growthof school-agepopulafion at 2.42 percent from 2000 to 2004, 2.07 percentfrom 2005 to 2009, and 1.82 percentfrom 2010 to 2015. Only public enrollmentis projected.The budget of each subsectorwill growat the same rate as GPD. (5) The recurrentcosts after the life of the World Bank project include(i) 920 new PROHECObasic educaton teachersat a cost of 57,000 lempiras (52.44million) each a year; (ii) 800 new preschoolvolunteers at a cost of 13,000 empiras(10.4 million) each a year;and (iii) 200 EIB volunteers at a cost of 13,000 limpiraseach year (2.8 million). The total is 65.4 million lempiras or USS4.4million. It will grow at 2 percentper year. (6) To ensure that the World Bank projectis sustainable,this analysis also takes into accountthe counterpartfund during the projectand recurrentcost financingaftewards of the lOB projecton secondaryeducation. The IDBproject mostlyfinances capacitybuilding. The recurrentcost is expectedto fnance only 200 new teachers. The cost will grow at 2 percentper year.
- 72 - Table 2: Fiscal Impactof the Projec: MediumEconomic GrowthScenado
GDPof GOH MOEBudget Pre-school Primarybudget Secondary Pre- Primary Seconda GOHfund GOHfund GOH GOHt GOK budget budget primer ry for fund fund fund y as for Year Honduras Budget basedon basedon basedon budget budget budget World Banlk forIDB %of as % WB & projected projected projected as% as% as% prepr. Of IDB enrollment enrdltment enrolment of of MOE of MOE Project Project & secon as% MOE pnmar dary of ______~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MOE- I9Gb 76,563,000,000 18,468,800,000 3,300,000,000 83,900,001 0 609,200,000 2.5% 40.3% 18.5%
2000 80,391,150,000 19,293,876,000 4,826,500,000 133,300,000 617,600,000 2.8% 30.8% 12.8%
2001 84,410,707,500 20,256,589,800 4,862,056,752 143,352,153 1,801,818,458 683434,932 2.9% 32.9% 14.1% 4,073,160 8,625,000 0,2% 1.3% 0.3% 2002 87,787,135,80S 21,068,912,592 4,845,849,896 145,422,9T7 1,619,256,451 708,741,551 3.0% 33.4% 14.6% 29,407,170 8,625,000 1.7% 1.2% 0.8%/ 2003 90,859,685,553 20,443,429.249 4,804,205,874 148,226,145 1,641,230,965 738,484,844 3.1% 34.2% 15.4% 32,033,310 8,625,000 1.8% 1.2% 0.8% 2004 94,039,774,547 21,158,949,273 4,803,081,485 151,813,21811,666,526,456 773,193,632 3.2% 34.7% 16.1% 23,493,180 8,625,000 1.3% 1.1%t 0.7% 2005 97,331,166,657 21,899,512,498 4,817,892,749 154,207,173 1,677,725,767 805,622,941 3.2% 34.8%1 16.7% 23,493,180 7,200,000 1.3% 0.9%1 0.6% 200f 100,737,757,489 22,665.995,435 4.873,189,019 157,399,261 1,694,014,367 843,487,220 3.2% 34.8% 17.3% 65.440,000 7,344,000 3.5% 0.9% 1.5% 2007 104.263,579,002 23,459,305,275 4,926,454,108 160,857,426 1,705,860,621 883,131,119 3.3% 34.6% 17.9% 66,748,800 7,490,88 3.6% 0.8% 1.5% 2008 107,912,804,267 24,280,380,960 5,098,880,002 163,963,035 1,713,264,530 924,638,281 32S% 33.6% 18.1% 68,083,776 7,640,698 3.6% 0.8% 1.5% 2009 111,689,752,418 25,130,194294 5,277,340,80 167,377,463 1,719,187,657 968,096,281 3.2% 32.6% 18.3% 69,445,452 7,793,512 3.7% 0.8% 1.5% 2010 115,598,893,751 26,009,751,094 5,462,047,730 170,423,754 1,720,688,439 1,013,598,806 3.1% 31.5% 18.6% 70,834,361 7,949,382 3.7% 0.8% 1A% 2011 119,644,855.032 26,920,092,382 5,653,219,400 173,525,466 1,720,668,439 1,061235,856 3.1% 30.4% 18.8% 72,251,04B 8,108,369 3.8% 0.8% 1.4% 2012 123,832,424,958 27,862,295,618 5,851,082,079 176,683,629 1,720,668,439 1,111,113,941 3.0% 29.4% 119.0% 73,696,069 8270,537 3.9% 0.7%S 1.4% 2013 128,166,559,831 28,837,475,962 6,0565,869,952179,899,272 1,720,668,439 1,163,336,296 3.0% 28.4% 19.2% 75,169,990 8.435,946 4.0% 0.7% 1.4% 2014 132,652,389,426 29,846,787,621 6,267,825,400 183,173,438 1,722,149,221 1,218,013,102 2.9%/. 27.5% 19.4% 76,673,390 8,604,668 4.0% 0.7N 1.4% 20151 137,295223,055 30.891,425,187 8,487,199,289 166,507,195 1,720,688,439 1,275,259,718 2.9% 26.5%1 19.7% 78,206,858 8,776,760 4.1% 0.7% 1.3% Assumptions: (1)GDP witlgrowin realtems bySpercentin 2000 and2001, 4 percentn2002, 3.5 penrentfrom2003 through 2015. (2) The govemrmntexpendiure Yallbe 24 percentof GDPfrom 2000through 2002, and 22.5 percentfrom 2003through 2015. (3) MOE's budgetwig be 25 percentof totalgDvemment budget in 2000,24 percentin 2001,23 percentin 2002,23.5 percent in 2003,22.7 percentin 2004,22 percentin 2005,21.5 percentin 2006, and21 percentafterwards. (4) The budgetof pro-primary,pnmary and seoondaryeducation is drivenby thegnwth of school-agepopuatabon at 2.42 percentfrom 2000 to 2004,2.07 percentfrom 2005to 2009,and 1.82 percent from 2010 Io 2015. Onlypublic enrollmentis projected.The budgetof eachsubsector vwill grow at the samerate as GPD. (5) The recurrnt costsafter bt life of the WorldBank projectindude (i) 920new PROHECObasic educabon teachers at a cost of 57,000lempiras (52.44 mrniton) each a year (ii) 800new preschoo volunteersat a cost of 13,000 empiras(10.4 millon) eacha year,and (iii) 200 EIB volunteersat a cost of 13,000limpiras each year (2.6 milion). The total is 65.4 mrillionlempiras or US54.4milion. It will growat 2 percentper year. (6)To ensurethat the World Bankproect is sustainabie,his analysisalso takes into accountthe counterpartfnd duringthe prject and recurrentcost financing aftewards of the 1DBprojec on secondaryeducabon. The IDB poject mos8yfinances capacity building. The rrcurrent costis expectedto financeonly 200 newteachers. The oostwill growat 2 percentper year.
- 73 - Table 3: Fiscal Impact of the Project: Low Economic Growth Scenario
GDP of GOH MOE Budget Pre-school Primary Secondary Pre- Primar Second GOH fund GOH fund GOH GOH GOH budget budget budget prim y ary for fund fund fund ary as for Year Honduras Budget based on based on based on budg budge budget World Bank for IDB % of as % WBs projected projected projected et as t as % as % pre- of IDB
enrollment enrollment enrollment of of of MOE Project Project & Secon as % MOE MOE primar dary of I I _ _ _ _ _ i,MOE 1999 76,563,000,000 18,468,600,000 3.300,000,000 83,900,000 1,330,200,000 609,200,000 2.5% 40.3% 18.5% 2000 80,391,150,000 19,293,876,000 4,826,500,000 133,300,000 1,487,500,000 617,600,000 2.8% 30.8% 12.8% 2001 84,410,707,500 20,258,569,800 4,862,056,752 142,669,524 1,593,989,713 680,180,479 2.9% 32.8% 14.0% 4,073,160 8,625,000 0.2% 1.3% 0.3% 2002 87,787,135,800 21,068,912,592 4,845,849,896 145,422,977 1,619,256,451 708.741,551 3.0% 33.4% 14.6% 29,407,170 8,625,000 1.3% 1.2% 0.8% 2003 89,542,878,51620,147,147,666 4.533,108,225 148,226,1451,641,230,965 738,484,8443.3% 36.2% 16.3% 32,033,310 8,625.000 1.8% 1.2% 0.9% 2004 91,333,736,086 20,550,090,619 4,623,770,389 151,813,218 1,666,526,456 773,193,632 3.3% 36.0% 16.7% 23,493,180 8,625,000 1.3% 1.1% 0.7% 2005 93,160,410,808 20,961,092,432 4,716,245,797 151,587,11481,649,220,718 791,935,173 3.2% 35.0%1 16.8% 23,493,180 7,200,000 1.3% 0.9% 0.7% 2006 95,023,619,024 21,380,314,280 4,810,570,713 154,725,002 1,665,232,569 829,156,126 3.2% 34.6% 17.2% 65,440,000 7,344,000 3.6% 0.9% 1.5% 2007 96,924,091,405 21,807,920,566 4,906,782,127 159,877,536 1,697,579,744 878,844,075 3.3% 34.6% 17.9% 66,748,800 7,490,880 3.6% 0.9% 1.5% 2008 98,862,573,233 22,244,078,977 5,004,917,770 163,187,001 1,704,947,712 920,149,746 3.3% 34.1% 18.4% 68,083,776 7,640,698 3.6% 0.8% 1.5% 2009 100,839,824,697 22,688,960,557 5,105,016,125 166,564,971 1,710,842,086 963,396,784 3.3% 33.5% 18.9% 69,445,452 7,793,512 3.7% 0.8% 1.5% 2010 102,856.621,191 23,142,739,768 5,207,116,448 169,596,454 1,712,315,680 1,008,676,433 3.3% 32.9% 19.4% 70,834,361 7,949,382 3.8% 0.8% 1.5% 2011 104,913,753,615 23,605,594,563 5,311,258,777 172,683,109 1,712,315,680 1,056,084,225 3.3% 32.2% 19.9% 72,251,048 8,108,369 3.8% 0.8% 1.5% 2012 107,012,028,688 24,077,706,455 5,417,483,952 175,825,942 1,712,315,680 1,105,720,184 3.2% 31.6% 20.4% 73,696,069 8,270,53T 3.9%Y 0.7%1 1.5% 2013 109,152,269,261 24,559,260,584 5,525,833,631 179,025,974 1,712,315,680 1,157,689,033 3.2% 31.0% 21.0% 75,169,990 8,435,948 4.0% 0.7%1 1.5% 2014 111,335,314,646 25,050,445,795 5,636,350,304 182,284,247 1,713,769,273 1,212,100,417 3.2% 30.4% 21.5% 76,673,390 8,604,666 4.0% 0.7%1 1.5% 2015 113,562,020,939 25,551,454,711 5,749,077,310 185,601,820 1,712,315,680 1,269,069,137 3.2% 29.8% 22.1% 78,206,858 8,776,760 4.1% 0.7% 1.5% Assumptions: (1) GOP wilI grow in real terms by 5 percent in 2000 and 2001, 4 percent in 2002, and 2 percent from 2003 through 2015. (2) The govemment expendiure will be equivalent to 24 percent of GOP in 2000 and 2002, and 22.5 percent from 2003 through 2015. (3) MOE's budget will be 25 percent of total govemment budget in 2000, 24 percent in 2001, 23 percent in 2002, 22.5 percent from 2003 through 2015. (4) The budget of pre-primary, primary and secondary education is driven by the growth of school-age population at 2.42 percent from 2000 to 2004, 2.07 percent from 2005 to 2009, and 1.82 percent from 2010 to 2015. Only public enrollment is projected. The budget of each subsector will grow at the same rate as GPD. (5) The recurrent costs after the life of the World i3ank project include (i) 920 new PROHECO basic education teachers at a cost of 57,000 lempiras (52.44 million) each a year; (ii) 800 new preschool volunteem at a cost of 13,000 lempiras (10.4 million) each a year; and (iii) 200 EIB volunteers at a cost of 13,000 limpiras each year (2.6 million). The total is 65.4 million lempiras or US$4.4 million. It will grow at 2 percent per year. (6) To ensure that the World Bank project Is sustainable, this analysis also takes into account the counterpart fund during the project and recurrent cost financing aftewards of the IOB project on secondary education. The IDB project mostly finances capacity building. The recurrent cost is expected to finance only 200 new teachers. The cost will grow at 2 percent per year.
- 74 - Annex6: Procurementand Disbursement Arrangements HONDURAS:HNICOMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT
Procurement
Procurementfor the proposed project would be carried out in accordancewith World Bank "Guidelines: Procurement under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits" published in January 1995 (revised January/August 1996, September1997 and January 1999);and "Guidelines:Selection and Employment of Consultantsby World Bank Borrowers" published in January 1997 (revised in September 1999 and January 1999); and the Specialprovisions (SectionIII) and special provisionsstipulated in the DevelopmentCredit Agreement (DCA).
(1) Procurement Methods: The methods to be used for the procurement described below, and the estimatedamounts for each method, are summarizedin Table A. The threshold contractvalues for the use of each method are found in Table B.
Works
All works to be financed under this project are small works of replacement or rehabilitationof district offices of SE. Individual costs of pre-groupedcontracts are not expectedto cost more than the equivalent of US$150,000,up to an aggregate of US$0.95 million equivalent. Contracting of small works will be spread over the project implementationperiod 2001-2004, as detailed in the Global Procurement Plan (GPAC)for the project.
- 75 - Procurement methods (Table A)
Table A: Project Costs by Procurement Arrangements (US$ million equivalent)
Procurement Metho (1) Expenditure ICB NCB Other (2) NBF Total Cost Category
1. Works 0.00 0.00 0.95 0.00 0.95 0.00 000 0u85 0.00 0.85 2. Goods (including 5.80 0.83 0.98 0.00 7.61 didactic materials and printing services) . 5.55 0.75 0.70 0.00 7.00 3. Consulting 0.00 0.00 5.78 5.78 Services . ,_... 0.00 0.00 5.78 0.00 5.78 4. Training 0.00 00 6.70 0.00 6.70 ______0.00 0.00 6.68 0.00 6-68 Miscellaneous 5. AECO- 0.00 0.00 12.40 0.00 12.40 PROHECO School Transfers (school operational costs, including teaching staff and non-durable goods) O0 0.00 9.88 0.00 9.88 6. AECO- 0.00 0.00 3.40 0.00 3.40 PROHECO Grants (School Improvement Subprojects) ______°Q::::0.00 0.00 30 3.00 7. ADEL Grants 0.00 0.00 5.00 0.00 5.00 (School Improvement Subprojects) O0M0 0.00 4.00 0.00 4.00 8. Incremental 0.00 0.00 5.96 0.00 5.96 Operating Costs __
______0.00~~O 0.00 4.31 0 04. 1 Total: 5.80 0.83 41.17 0.00 47.80 : 5.55 0.75 35.201 0.00 41.501 (I) Cost figures have been rounded for purposesof this Table therefore figuresmay not add. Figures in parenthesis are the amounts to be financedby IDA. All costs include contingencies.
(2) Procurementmethodologies, where applicable,in this column include: (i) for small works: 3-quotations;(ii) for goods and didactic materials:national or internationalshopping; (iii) consulting services: proceduresdescribed in respective Section A of this Annex; (iv) school grants: national shoppingfor school materials; and (v) for incremental operational costs, national shopping for consumableoffice materials and O&M of equipmentor vehiclesfinanced with proceeds from credit. Teacher'ssalaries and other fixed operationalcosts (rents/utilities)are excluded. (3) Includescost of media time.
- 76 - Goods
Goods procured under this project will include: vehicles (motorcycles and 4x4 pickups) for use by supervisorsof district SE's offices; computerequipment and softwarefor MIS at central, departmentaland district levels; office equipment and furniture; didactic materials (teacher and student guides) to be contractedat central level. To the extentpossible, contractsfor these goods have been groupedinto bidding packagesof more than US$150,000equivalent and procured followingICB procedures,using Bank-issued StandardBidding Documents (SBDs). Goods estimatedto cost US$150,000equivalent or less per contract, up to an aggregatenot to exceed US$900,000equivalent, may be procured under NCB procedures,using model bid documents based on the Bank's SBDs and agreed with IDA. Small amounts of goods, with estimated values of under US$25,000 per contract that cannot be grouped, may be procured following national or internationalshopping procedures as describedin paragraph 3.5 and 3.6 of the Guidelines,up to an aggregate of US$1,000,000.
Goods within school subprojects (PECs) will be contracted during implementation using shopping proceduresto be carriedout directly by AECOSand ADELs (schoolcouncils), and financed with proceeds from grants (donaciones) transferred to the AECOS and ADELs by SE, up to an aggregate of US$3.4 million and US$5.0 million equivalent,respectively. Grant transfersto schools projects are estimatedat no more than an annual transfer of US$1,000 per school and US$100 annually thereafter, for the life of the project,benefiting existing and new project schools.
All procurementby central SE and AECOs and ADELswill be done followingprocedures agreed with IDA in the DCA, with details stated in the Project OperationalManual (OM), the AECO Operational Manual and the ADEL Operationalmanual.
Selectionof Consultants
Consulting services will be contracted under this project in the following principle areas of expertise: curriculumdevelopment and revision; pedagogicalmethodology; teacher training; design of information systems; organizationaldevelopment and institutionalchange managementand strengthening;monitoring and evaluation; social assessment; and participatory alternatives. The cost of these services is largely distributedas follows:(i) US$5.0 million for technicalassistance and studies; (ii) US$1.0 million for IEC; (iii) US$6.7 million for training; and (iv) US$2.5 million, and US$280,000of national and international individual consultants,respectively, who will be joining project teams in all areas of implementation, trainingand supervision,including financing of key staff contractsin UTEN, for a total project cost of US$ 15.48million equivalent.
Firms
Contracts with firms estimated to cost US$200,000equivalent or more would be procured using QCBS procedures,as describedin Section II of Guidelines. IDA's StandardRequest for Proposals (RFP) will be used for all contracts above this threshold. Contractsbelow this threshold for small and simple services estimatedto cost US$200,000equivalent or less may be procuredby using LCS (as describedin para. 3.6 of the Guidelines) for assignmentsof technical or educationalnature, up to an aggregate amount not to exceed US$1.7 million equivalent. Contractsestimated to cost less than US$75,000 may be procuredby CQ (as described in paragraph 3.7 of the Guidelines) for no-critical technical assistance required to support supervisionor training of parent activities of ADECOs or ADELs, up to an aggregate amount not
- 77 - to exceed US$1.7 million. Simplified forms of contract, as published by IDA, will be used for these contracts.
Individuals
Consultingservices for advisory,technical or institutionalstrengthening assistance and long-termkey staff in UTEN will be providedby individualqualified consultants. All services will be contractedcompetitively by comparisonof qualificationsof at least three candidatesand hired in accordancewith the provisions in paras. 5.1-5.3 of the Guidelines, up to a total project aggregate of US$5.5 million. A simplified model contractwill be agreed for these contracts.
Training. The project will finance training activities that include the cost of rents of installationsand other logisticsrequired for trainingto be deliveredas detailed in each project component.
(2) Prior review thresholds. The proposed threshold for prior review is based on the procurement capacity assessment of the project implementingunit and is summarized in Table B. In addition to this prior review of individualprocurement actions, the PAC and budget of the UTEN operating costs will be reviewedand agreedby IDA annually.
Assessmentof the A2encv'sCapacity to ImplementProcurement
The technical coordinationand financial, procurementand administrativemanagement would be housed under the National Unit for EducationalTransformation (UTEN). The UTEN is a unit of recent creation within the SE under the direct overview of the Secretary of Education's Office. The UTEN overall role would be to assist SE in institutionalizingthe coordinationof projects from its donor community. An assessment of the procurementmanagement capacity of the UTEN was carried out in December2000 (the full assessment report is filed in the Office of the Regional ProcurementAdvisor). The assessment proposed an action plan, including technical assitance support, to strengthen the organizationalstructure and arrangements for UTEN, which is expected to be fully staffed and functioning no later than effectiveness.The highlightsof the assessmentare as follows: * The procurement functions would be under the supervision of the Coordinator of the Financial-AdministrativeUnit (UAF) in UTEN, one of four main coordinating units. The UAF Coordinatorwould have direct line of responsibilityto the ExecutiveDirector of UTEN. * Determinationof procurementperformance in the previous IDA-supportedproject showedpoor results, in spite of the presence of a procurement agent (PA) The PA was unsuccessful at exerting a satisfactory technical presence and transfer know-how to improve the procurement capacity of the PCU. * On the basis of this infornation, for the new operation, SE through UTEN will be the center of activity of IDA's project. * Thus, the role of the UTEN is considered critical to successful execution of the project since the SE is trying an minovateapproach to institutionalize project execution and eventually reducing its dependence on the use of a PA in support of its procurement activities.
The UAF will assume the responsibility of all procurement activities and direct management of funds for all components, except for specific activities in the area of grants (transfers to school councils) and transfers to co-executing agencies (such as the UPNFM), and other non-procurement related activities in the incremental operating costs categories. The procurement function will be performed by a Procurement Officer (PO) assisted by a technical person, whose skills and experience include competencies in
- 78 - internationalprocurement and local law. This notwithstanding,there is the risk that the PO will experience a learningcurve lasting longer than six months.
The assessment determines that the UTEN will continue to require the assistance of qualified external technical expertisein project adrninistration,in essence requiringthe role of a Technical Agent (TA). This technical and capacity building assistance would be required from project launching until the UTEN has reached ample experiencefor successfulimplementation. To hire the external TA, a competitiveselection was made among qualified organizations(including UNDP) to advise and assist UTEN in key activities related to the project componentsand in the UAF.
The principal risk associated with procurementrelates to the speed by which the PO can be hired and trained. To lessen the risk directly related to procurementactivities, discrete actions have been considered in the Action Plan (AP), already negotiated and agreed with the GOH. After the approval of the DCA by the General Assembly of Honduras, the SE and its co-implementationagencies (UPNFM, ADELs and AECOs), through confirmation by the Secretariatof Finance (SEFIN), will be fully responsible for the managementof procurementactivities for their respective Project components, under the guidelines and methods stipulatedin the DCA. These and other administrative,procurement, and financialprocedures and controlshave been included in the respectivechapters of the OperationManual of the Project.
OverallProcurement Risk Assessment
High ProcurementPlan
A detailed Global ProcurementPlan (GPAC) has been completed and agreed with the GOH. The GPAC includes grouping of contracts for the life of the project, and as such, it also served as the basis for aggregateamounts for the procurementmethods in TableA. Before December 15 of each year the SE will update the PAC with detailed inputs agreedwith IDA under the Annual Operating Plan (POA). The PAC for the first year of project implementationhas also been completedand agreed with the SE and the GOH.
Frequencyof procurementsuDervision missions
In addition to the prior review by IDA to be carried out from its offices, the capacity assessment recommends one supervision mnissionafter six months of project launching and one mnissionyearly thereafter(includes at least one specialprocurement supervision for post-review/auditsannually).
- 79 - Prior review thresholds (Table B) Table B: Thresholdsfor ProcurementMethods and Prior Review' (US$'OO)
Expenditure ContractValue Procurement Contracts Subject Category Threshold Method to Prior Review 1. Works More than 1,500 ICB * None expected. Less than 1,500 NCB * None expected. Less than 150,000 3 Quotations * First 2 contracts; first (small works) contract annually * (Total: $200) 2. Goods,didactic More than 150 ICB a All materialsand * (Total:$5,800) printingservices. 25 to 150 NCB * First contract in each expenditure category * (Total: $200)
Less than 25 Shopping * None (Post review)
Less than 0.6 Shoppingby School - None (Grants transfers; Councils PECs audited periodically) 3. Consulting Services More than 200 QBCS a All Firms (Total:$3,300) Less than 200 but more LC u Between 200 and 75: than 75 ALL * Below 75: TORs and Short-list * (Total:$1,700)
Less than 75 CQ * TORs and Short-list * (Total: 1,700)
Individuals More than 35 3 Candidates *(Total:(oALL $500)
Less than 35 3 candidates * ALL TORs or Bi-annual contracting plans by Component * (Total: $1,100)
Total value of contractssubject to prior review: US$14.5 million
Financial Management Assessment
In accordance with IDA's policy OP/BP 10.02, the LCR Financial Management Unit (LCOAA) reviewed the project's financial management system. The review was focused on the assessment of the internal control, planning, budgeting, accounting and financial reporting system, and audit arrangements. Details can be found in the Financial Management Assessment Report dated December 15, 2000.
- 80 - It was concludedthat the project did not have yet in place a system satisfyingIDA's financialmanagement requirementsfor the project; hence, a pertinentcondition of effectivenesswas recommended.Compliance with the condition is expected upon substantialcompletion of the activities in the action plan described below.
The complete action plan aims at allowing the project to implement a functional financial management system that can provide, with reasonableassurance, accurate and timely financial information via Project ManagementReports (PMRs).
Financialmanagement action plan
Area / Action Expecteddate C.E.
1. Organizationand staff
,I1Redesigning of UTEN'sorganizational chart and implementationarrangements. Feb 01 X
1.2 Preparationofjob descriptions/termsof referencefor financial managementstaff in UTEN. Feb - Jun 01 X
1.3 Selectionand appointmentof financial managementstaff in UTEN. Feb - Jun 01 X
1.4 Preparationand executionof the plan to incorporatecurrent PROHECO unit into UTEN. Feb - Jun 01 X
1.5 Preparationof the annualplan for trainingand evaluationof the financialmanagement staff Feb - Jun 01
2. Proceduralcontrols
2.1 Updatingand distributionof the administrativeprocedures manuals. Feb - Jun 01 X
2.2 Writtenprocedures for controlof assetsand inventories. Feb - Jun 01 X
2.3 Writtenprocedures for independentand timelyprocessing of communityallegations. Feb - Jun 01 X
2.4 Writtenpayroll procedures. Feb - Jun 01 X
2.5 Writtenprocedures for reviewand follow-upof audit (CGR,intemal, external)reports and recommendations. Feb - Jun 01 X
2.6 Writtenprocedures and inter-institutionalagreement with the PedagogicalUniversity for exchangeof financial Feb - Jun 01 X information,transfer of funds, and documentation.
2.7 Preparationof pilot plan to decentralize,at departmentallevel, the review of expenditures'documentation from Feb - Jun 01 AECOsand ADELs.
2.8 Definitionof the internalauditing function in UTEN (ex-postapproach) Feb - Jun 01
3. Flow of funds
3.1 Writtenflowcharts and proceduresfor the flow of funds fromevery financingsource and for each project Feb - Jun 01 X component.
3.2 Openingof the Special Accountin US$. Jun 01
3.3 Openingof the bank account for counterpartresources: revolving fund in an amount sufficientto cover Jun 01 X counterpart's required contribution for four months.
3.4 Satisfactory arrangements to simplify payments to INPREMA. Jun 01 X
-81- 4. Accounting
4.1 Updating of the accounting manual and chart of accounts, in view of the new project. Feb - Jun 01 X
4.2 Entering of the chart of accounts in the accounting MIS. Feb - Jun 01 X
4.3 Enhancement of the transfers module in the accounting MIS. Feb - Jun 01 X
4.4 Updating of the accounting MIS: incorporation of treasury process; subsidiary records for accounts receivable, Feb - Dec 01 assets and inventories; security levels by user; technical and user manuals, etc.
4.5 Implementation of safeguards for protecting accounting documents from destruction and/or unauthorized Feb - Jun 01 X access.
5. Planning, budgeting and financial reports
5.1 Completion of the annual operational plan and monitoring indicators. Feb - Jun 01 X
5.2 Preparation of annual budget classified by source/category/ component, in accordance with the Credit Feb - Jun 01 X Agreement.
5.3 Preparation of annual budget by line of expenditure. Discussion with SEFIN to simplify budget lines. Feb - Jun 01 X
5.4 Budgets broken down quarterly. Feb - Jun 01 X
565 Entenng of budgets in the accounding MIS. Feb - Jun 01 X
5.6 Wntten formats for quarterly (PMRs) and annual (for audit) financial statements. Feb - Jun 01
5.7 Written procedures for preparason, review and approval of financial statements and reports. Feb - Jun 01 X
5.8 Preparation of first quarterly PMRs. Oct - Dec 01
6. Externaieudit
6B1 Preparation and submiter of audit temos of reference and proposed short list of firms. Feb -cJun 01 X
6.2 Appointrnent of extemal auditors. Jul - Sep 01
(*) To be considered for compliance with FM condition of effectiveness
For monitoring purposes, the Secretary of Education will prepare monthly reports on the progress in execution of the FM Action Plan.
Proiect Manaeement Rep)orts(PMRs)
Beginning no later than six months after effectiveness, the Borrower would prepare quarterly PMRs to be submitted to IDA 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter. In accordance with formats to be agreed with IDA, each PMR should comprise at least the following:
(i) a financial section that: (a) sets forth actual sources and applications of funds for the project, both cumulatively and for the period covered by said report, and projected sources and applications of funds for the project for the six-month period following the period covered by said report; and (b) shows separately expenditures financed out of the proceeds of the credit during the period covered by said report and
- 82 - expendituresproposed to be financed out of the proceeds of the credit during the six-month period followingthe period covered by said report;
(ii) an output monitoring section that: (a) describes physical progress in project implementation,both cumulativelyand for the period covered by said report; and (b) explains variancesbetween the actual and previouslyforecast implementationtargets; and
(iii) a procurementsection setting forth the status of procurementunder the project and expendituresunder contractsfinanced out of the proceedsof the credit, as at the end of the period covered by said report.
Audit arrangements
Project accountswill be audited annuallyby independentchartered auditors acceptableto IDA, underterms of reference to be approved by IDA. Certifiedcopies of the audit reports would be furnished to IDA no later than April 30 of the year followingthe period under review, with updates based on interim auditing activitiesprovided quarterly throughout the year.
Allocation of credit proceeds (see Table C). The proposed IDA credit would be disbursed over an implementationperiod of about five years, to be completedby June 30, 2006. The credit closing date would be December31, 2006. Disbursementswould be in accordancewith guidelinesset out in the WorldBank's DisbursementHandbook and LACI ImplementationHandbook, as applicable. Disbursementswould be made againstthe followingcategories of expenditure:
- 83 - Disbursement
Allocation of credit proceeds(Table C) Table C: Allocation of Credit Proceeds (US$)
Expenditure Category Amount Financing Percentage
1. Works 765,000 93%
2. Goods (including Educational Materials and Printing Services)
(a) For Application of Curriculum, Student 6,000,000 100% of foreign expenditures, 100 % of local expenditures Assessment, and Institutional Strengthening (ex-factory cost), and 87% of other items procured locally.
(b) For External Education Quality Evaluation 100%/oof foreign expenditures, 100 % of local expenditures and In-Service Teacher Training 507,000 (ex-factory cost), and 87% of other items procured locally.
3. Consulting Services (including studies, evaluations, IEC, and technical assistance)
(a) For Application of Cuniculum, Student 3,800,000 100% Assessment, Creation of AECO-PROHECO, and Institutional Strengthening.
(b) For Extemal Education Quality Evaluation 1,080,000 100% and In-Service Teacher Training.
(c) For Creation and Organization of ADEL. 900,000 100%
4. Training (a) For Application of Curriculum, Student 2,800,000 100% Assessment, Creation of AECO-PROHECO, and Institutional Strengthening.
(b) For Extemal Education Quality Evaluation 2,700,000 100% and In-Service Teacher Training.
(c) For Creation and Organization of ADEL. 512,000 100%
5. AECO-PROHECO School Transfers 8,883,000 100% until an aggregate amount of US$6,000,000 has been reached, 60% until an aggregate amount of USS7,900,000 has been reached, and 40% thereafter.
6. AECO Grants (For School Improvement 3,000,000 100% of amounts disbursed Subproject, PECs)
7. ADEL Grants (For School Improvement 4,000,000 100% of amounts disbursed Subprojects, PECs)
8. Incremental Operating Costs (a) For Application of Curriculum, Student 3,500,000 100% until an aggregate amount of US$2, 100,000 has been Assessment, Creation of AECO-PROHECO, and reached, 60% until an aggregate amount of US$2,900,000 has Institutional Strengthening. been reached, and 40% thereafter.
(b) For External Education Quality Evaluation 641,000 100% until an aggregate amount of USS500,000 has been reached, and In-Service Teacher Training. 60% until an aggregate amount of US$600,000 has been reached, and 40% thereafter.
9. Unallocated 2,412,000
Total: 41,500,000
- 84 - Retroactive financing, not exceeding an equivalent amount of US$3 million, will be accepted for expendituresincurred within twelve months prior to the signatureof the DevelopmentCredit Agreement, for the financing of activities related to the validation and adaptation of the national curriculum,training related to these activities and the creation and operationsof AECO-PROHECOschools.
Use of statements of expenditures(SOEs): Credit withdrawalapplications can be supportedby SOEs with thresholdsmatching those of prior review for procurement(Table B). Reimbursementof other expenditureswould require submittal to IDA of full supportingdocumentation.
Use of ProjectManagement Reports (PMRs)
If the GOH shall so request, credit disbursementswould be based on quarterly PMRs upon satisfactory implementationof a system satisfying IDA requirements for PMR-based disbursements. Until then, "traditional"disbursement procedures (e.g., reimbursements,direct payments, full documentation,SOEs) would be used for credit disbursements.
Documentsin support of SOEs andlor PMRs will be maintainedby UTEN at least until one year after IDA has received the audit report for the fiscal year in which the last credit withdrawal was made. Such documentsmust be made availablefor review by extemal auditorsand IDA representatives.
Specialaccount: To facilitate disbursementsand timely project implementation,on behalf of the GOH, the SE would open and maintain a Special Account in US Dollars at the Central Bank. The authorized allocation of the Special Accountis US$2.5 million. Proceeds from the SpecialAccount will be disbursedfor expenditures including including direct transfers to ADECOs, ADELs, and UPNFM (and other expendituresnot paid from the accountmanaged by the technicalassistance and procurementagency supportingthe UTEN). The SE would have direct access to the Special Account upon the issuance of disbursement orders to the Central Bank for all expendituresto be financed by IDA's credit proceeds deposited in the SA. All withdrawalsin the SA will be documentedby UTEN for project expenditures,as agreedwith IDA.
Revolvin- Fund (RF}. In parallel to the SA the GOH has agreed to open and maintain an account in the Central Bank in the form of a Revolving Fund. The GOH will deposit in this RE the counterpartfunds, allocated each fiscal year in SE's budget, needed to cover the share of total project expenditures not financed by IDA. The RF must be replenished quarterly to ensure timely and sufficient availabilityof GOH's fundsrequired to accompanyall paymentsand other expendituresdone through the SA or the direct disbursementsmade by IDA. The SpecialAccount, SOEs and PMRs would be audited in conjunctionwith the annualindependent audit of the project.
- 85 - Annex 7: Project ProcessingSchedule HONDURAS:HNICOMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT
ProjectSchedule Planned Actual Timetaken to preparethe project(months) 14 11 FirstBank mission (identification) 02/15/2000 05/08/2000 Appraisalmission departure 12/11/2000 12/11/2000 Negotiations 01/30/2001 03/05/2001 PlannedDate of Effectiveness 03/22/2001 06/01/2001
Preparedby: Joel Reyes, Task Team Leader
Preparationassistance: SamiaBenbouzid, Natalia Moncada
Bank staff who worked on the project included: Name Speciatity Joel Reyes Task Team Leader, InstitutionalAssessment Ximena Traa Social Scientist,Social Assessment and IPDP Kin Bing Wu Sr. EDU Economist,Economic Assessment Manuel Vargas FinancialManagement Officer, FinancialAssessment Barbara Bruns KnowledgeCoordinator, Educ. Reform and Mgmt; Peer Reviewer DanielViens Sr. Education Specialist,Peer Reviewer MadalenaDos Santos Sector Leader,Institutional Assessment MassimilianoPaollucci EducationConsultant, Project Cost M. Rosa Puech Operations/EducationConsultant, Project Preparation Samia Benbouzid LanguageTeam Assistant Natalia Moncada LanguageProgram Assistant ReynaldoPastor Sr. Counsel Darlyn Meza EducationConsultant, PROHECO/Technical-Pedagogical specialist Nelly Weelock Consultant,Project Costs RebeccaSantos EducationConsultant, Financial Management Rosa Estrada ProcurementAnalist, Procurement Henry Forero-Ramirez InformationSystem Specialist Ian Walker Cost BenefitsAnalysis
- 86 - Annex 8: Documentsin the Project File* HONDURAS:HNICOMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT
A. ProjectImplementation Plan 1. "Plan de Implementaci6n del Proyecto, Transformaci6n de la Educaci6n con Participaci6n de la Communidad" - Prebasica y Basica (1 A 6 Grado)-(Gobierno de Honduras, Secretaria de Educaci6n/Tegucigalpa,7 de Noviembrede 2000)
B. Bank StaffAssessments 1. "Social Assessment and Indigenous Peoples Development Plan - PROHECO, ADEL and the InterculturalBilingual Program" 2. "PROHECO"(revisi6n) 3. "PROHECO: a un afiode los esfuerzosinciales" (PROHECO) 4. "La Unidad de Medici6n de la Calidad Educativa(UCME) y sus comienzos"- Gobierno de Honduras, Secreataria Educaci6n". 5. "El Programa de Formaci6n Continua:una experienciaalentadora" - Gobiemo de Honduras, Secreataria de Educaci6n. 6. " Educacion Intercultural Bilingue: Educacion para la Diversidad, Sistematizaci6n del Sub-Componente" 7. "Project Costab" 8. "Honduras Community-BasedEducation Project: Financial Management Assessment Report". The World Bank'sLatin America and the CaribbeanRegional FinancialManagement Unit. December 15, 2000.
C. Other 1. "Plan de Participaci6npara la Preparaci6ndel Proyectode Transformaci6nEducativa con Participacion de la Comunidadde Honduras"& anexos: (i) ParticipacionComunitaria; (ii) Conceptode proyecto; (iii) Quehacerdel Banco Mundial; (iv) Filosofia e instrumentosde preparaci6n de proyectos; (vi) Propuesta de transformaci6n del sistema educativo de honduras. Propuesta de asistencia financiera del banco mundia; (vii) Factibilidaddel diseiio del proyectoy Capacidadde implementaci6n. 2. "OperationalManual" (Ministryof Education) 3. "Asociacionesde DesarrolloEducativo Local (ADEL) - Manual de Organizaciony Funcionamientode las ADEL" 4. "ReglamentoEspecial de las AsociacionesEducativas Comunitarias (AECO)" 5. "Presentaci6nde ProyectosEducativos de Centro (PEC)" 6. "Instructivopara el Manejo de la TransferenciasFinancieras a las ADEL" 7. "Guia de ProcedimientosAdministrativos para el Funcionamientode las AECOs" 8. "Manualde las OficinasDistritales y Departamentales"(Borrador) 9. "InstructivoTransferencia a las DireccionesDistritales y Departamentales" 10. "Estrategiade Evaluaci6nde Impacto" 11. "Sistemade Informaci6nde Seguimientoy Evaluaci6n". *Includingelectronic files
- 87 - Annex 9: Statement of Loans and Credits HONDURAS:HNICOMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT Mar-2001 Difference between expected and actual Original Amount in US$ Millions disbursements Project ID FY Purpose IBRD IDA GEF Cancel. Undisb. Orig Frm Rev'd P057538 2001 ROAD RECONSTRUCTIONAND IMPROVEMENT 0.00 66.50 0.00 0.00 66.26 0.00 0.00 P060785 2001 HN ECONOMIC& FIN.MANAGEMENTPROJECT 0.00 19.00 0.00 0.00 18.55 2.81 0.00 P064895 2001 HN/FIFTHSOCIAL INVESTMENT FUND PROJECT 0.00 60.00 0.00 0.00 60.48 0.00 0.00 P064913 2000 EMERGDISASTER MGMT 0.00 10.82 0.00 0.00 10.51 0.00 0.00 P057350 1999 PROFUTURO 0.00 8.30 0.00 0.00 6.13 2.10 0.00 P048651 1999 HNIFHIS IV 0.00 45.00 0.00 0.00 13.986 19.56 0.00 P044343 1998 BIODIVERSITYPROJ 0.00 0.00 7.00 0.00 4.66 4.54 0.00 P007398 1997 RURAL LANDMGMT 0.00 34.00 0.00 0.00 12.60 9.04 9.01 P007387 1996 HN PUB SEC MOD SAC 0.00 55.00 0.00 0.00 26.33 1.13 36.83 P007399 1995 HN- BASIC EDUCATION 0.00 30.00 0.00 0.00 4.99 7.40 4.31 P007388 1993 TRNSPRTSCTR RHB 0.00 65.00 0.00 0.00 4.95 -15.40 4.74 P007392 1993 HN/NUTRITION/HEALTH 0.00 25.00 0.00 0.00 0.40 -10.41 0.16
Total: 0.00 418.62 7.00 0.00 229.64 -18.34 55.06
- 88 - HONDURAS STATEMENT OF IFC's Held and Disbursed Portfolio Mar-2001 In Millions US Dollars
Committed Disbursed IFC IFC FY Approval Company Loan Equity Quasi Partic Loan Equity Quasi Partic 1998 Camino Real Plaz 10.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 8.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1995/98 Elcosa 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1986/99 Granjas Marinas 6.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Total Portfolio: 16.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 14.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Approvals Pending Commitment FY Approval Company Loan Equity Quasi Partic 2000 Agropalma 7000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1999 Celtel Honduras 5000.00 5000.00 0.00 15000.00 Total Pending Commitment: 12000.00 5000.00 0.00 15000.00
- 89 - Annex 10: Country at a Glance HONDURAS:HN/COMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION PROJECT Latin Lower- POVERTYand SOCIAL Americo middl mi Htonduras & Canib. income Devotopmentdiamond 1999 Population.mid-vear (millionsl 6.3 509 2094 Life expectancy GNP Per capita (Atlas method, US$) 760 3,840 1,200 GNP (Atlas method, US$ billions) 4.8 1,955 2.513 Average annual growth, 1993-99 PoDutation(%) 28 1.6 1.1 Labor force M 38 25 12 GNP Gross per primary Most recerntetimate (tatest year vailable. 1993.99) capita enrollment Povertv(% of populationbetow nationalPOv8rty linel 53 Urbanpoopultion (% of total ponulation) 52 75 43 Life exDectancyat birth (vears) 69 70 69 Infantmortalitvy eff1,000 live births) 36 31 33 Child rnalnutrition(% of childreftunder S) 25 8 15 Accessto safe water Access to improvedwater source(% of populationl 65 75 86 Illiteracv(% ofpopulation ape 1$5) 26 12 16 _ Gross Primary enrollment ?% of school-apepopulationr ill 113 114 Honduras Male 110 114 Lower-middle-incomegroup Female 112 116 - KEY ECONOMICRATIOS and LONG-TERMTRENDS 1979 1989 1998 1990 . Economicratios' GDP (US$ biltlon,s) 2.3 5.2 5.2 5A4 Gross domesticinvestmentlGoP 26g8 191 30.8 329 Trade Exports of goodsand services/GDP 36.6 29.0 47 2 42.9 Gross domesticsavings/GOP 22.0 13.7 24.6: 19.1 Gross national savings/GDP 18.0 9.9 25.3 22,9 Current accountbalancetGDP -88 .7.9 555 10.0 Domestic Interest Dayments/GDP 2.7 0.9 3. 3 2 o Investment Total debt/GOP 52.6 68.5 95.3 994 Savings Total debt service/exports 20.5 12,6 18.2 13.4 Presentvalue of debtlGDP 61.4 Presentvalue of debtlexports - 116.2 Indebtedness 1979-89 1989-99 1998 199S 1999-03 (averageannual growth) GOP 2.4 3.2 2.9 -1,9 5.3 - Honduras GNPper caPita .0.7 0.8 0,4 -3.9 2.8 Lower-middle-incomegroup EXDortsof oords and services 0.5 1.5 0.3 -9.4 9.8
STRUCTUREof the ECONOMY 1979 1989 1998 1999 Growthof investmentand GOP (%) (% of GDP) 3 Agriculture 25.6 21.1 19.2 16.2 Industrv 24.4 24.7 30.4 31.9 20 Manufacturinq 15.1 15.0 18.6 19.6 1ij \ Services 50.0 54.2 50.4 519 o 7.
Private consumption 67.0 72.0 65.3 69.4 .10 94 95 97 98 99 General oovernmentconsumDtion 10.9 14.3 10.1 11.4 -GVI _GDP Importsof goodsand services 41.4 34.4 53.3 56.7
1979-89 1989-99 1998 1999 Growthof exportsand imports (%) (averageannual growth) Agriculture 2.4 2,4 -2.9 -8.7 is - Industrv 2.9 3.5 4.2 4.0 10 Manufacturing 3.0 3.8 3.4 2.6 r Services 2.3 3,5 5.6 -0.2 Private consumption 2.8 3.0 3.4 0.8 s' 96 General governmentconsumption 3.9 -0.6 21.7 10.9 Gross domesticinvestment 0.0 8.0 2.8 4.7 -10 ImDortsof goodsand services 0.1 3.6 5.9 6.7 - Expors Imports Gross national product 2.5 3.7 3.3 -1.3
Note: 1999 data are preliminaryestimates. The diamondsshow tour key indicators in the country (in bold) comparedwith its income-groupaverage. If data are missing, the diamondwill be incomplete.
- 90 - Honduras
PRICESand GOVERNMENTFINANCE 1979 1989 1998 1999 Inflation (%) Domestic prices 40 (%change) r Consumerprices 9.9 13.7 11.6 30 Implicit GDP deflator 11.5 7.1 11.0 11.1 20 Government finance 10i (%of GDP,includes current grants) o Currentrevenue .. .. 18.8 19.4 94 95 96 97 98 9 Currentbudget balance .. .. 4.1 2.8 -GDP deflator eCPi Overallsurplus/deficit .. .. -1.7 -4.4
TRADE 1979 1989 1998 1999 Export and import levels (US$mill.) (US$ millons) Total exports (fob) 903 1,657 1,304 3o000 Bananas 352 176 38 Coffee 191 430 256 2.000 Manufactures .. Total imports (cif) .. 1,045 2,445 2,718 Food .. 172 364 397 1,000 Fuel and enerqy 146 214 256 Capital goods .. 220 615 724 0 93 94 90 96 97 99 99 Exportprce index (1995=100) .. 98 94 90 Import price index (1995=100) .. 76 93 91 r Exports * Imports Terms of trade (1995=100) .. 129 102 99
BALANCE of PAYMENTS 1979 1989 1998 1999 Current account balance to GOP(%) (US$ millions) Exportsof qoodsand services 838 1,061 2,476 2,312 0t imports of goodsand services 930 1,273 2,797 3,055 Resource balance -92 -213 -322 -743 4 Net income -120 -240 -209 -160 Net current transfers 14 43 241 365 -' Current accountbalance -198 -410 -290 -538 12 Financing items (nat) 218 364 458 880 Changesin net reserves -20 45 -168 -342 -16 Memo: Reserves includinggold (US$ millions) .. 28 770 1,209 Conversionrate (DEC,locallUS$) 2.0 2.0 13.4 14.2
EXTERNAL DEBT and RESOURCEFLOWS 1979 1989 1998 1999 (US$ millions) Composition of 1999debt (USSmill.) Total debt outstandingand disbursed 1,184 3,386 5,002 5,356 IBRD 132 528 235 185 G:482 A: 1S5 IDA 47 79 579 841 B r41 Total debt service 179 142 505 367 F:415 IBRD 14 1 68 65 IDA 1 0 6 7 21 Compositionof net resourceflows Official grants 21 71 163 210 Official creditors 86 86 19 158 E:1.486 Private creditors 63 43 109 -35 Foreigndirect investment 28 51 84 222 1737 Portfolio equity 0 0 . 1.3 World Bank program Commitments 35 0 59 61 A -IBRD E - Bilateral Disbursements 32 2 64 273 8 - IDA 0 - Othermultilateral F - Private Principal repayments 4 0 50 49 C- IMF G - Short-term Netflows 29 2 14 224 Interestpayments 11 1 24 22 Net transfers 17 1 -10 202
DevelopmentEconomics 919/00
- 91 - Additional Annex 11
Social Assessmentand IndigenousDevelopment Plan
The present assessment is a joint effort of the Government of Honduras and the World Bank team (November 2000), and it includes a Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) of PROHECO, ADEL, preschools and the Intercultural Bilingual Program in 49 communities of 11 departments. The RRA was conducted in November-December 2000 by four teams of social scientists and education specialists deployed to 49 communities in 19 municipalities nationwide. The sampled communities visited are located in the departments of Santa Barbara, Copan, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Olancho, Valle, Choluteca, Atlantida, Col6n, Gracias a Dios and Bay Islands. Focus groups were conducted in all the communities with teachers, parents, Boards of Directors of AECOs, students and the Indigenous Federations. Interviews were carried out with school principals, Department and District Directors, Mayors and members of Municipal Councils, NGOs working on education, and indigenous authorities. The purpose of the assessment was to consult with stakeholders on their perceptions of: (i) the effectiveness and cultural appropriateness of delivery of PROHECO (basic education, preschool) and the community-based preschool CEPENF program, (ii) the appropriateness and demand of ADEL (Education Development Associations) to be introduced with this project, (iii) the introduction of EIB in traditional schools, and (iv) the creation of PROHECO-EIB schools. Information was triangulated for accuracy.
Several assessments have been made by the Education Quality Measurement Unit (UMCE), the World Bank Team, PNUD/CEPAL, the Agency for Personal Service Overseas (APSO) of Ireland and by independent consultants, to assess the impact of PROHECO not only in terms of coverage, drop-out, and repetition rates, but also in terms of cultural appropriateness, teachers' attendance rates, academic scheduling, and parents' and teachers' satisfaction. The social assessment recommends mid-term impact evaluations of the different programs (ADEL-PECs, EIB) in 2003, and an impact evaluation of PROHECO by December 2001. An education census being conducted by UNDP nationwide is expected to provide useful data on the current status of education in Honduras by the end of January 2001. The impact evaluations should try to measure not only equity (education for all), efficiency (student and teacher performance, student age-appropriateness), and cost-effectiveness relative to remoteness (students, teachers), but also the social capital promoted by the decentralized community-based PROHECO, ADEL, EIB in the beneficiary communities.
The Social Assessment has two parts. The first discusses the qualitative results of the Rapid Rural Appraisal with regard to PROHECO, ADEL, and preschool education. The second part focuses on the Intercultural Bilingual Program, to conclude with an Indigenous Peoples Development Plan for the implementation of EIB at the national level.
Part I. Conclusions and recommendationsof the Rapid Rural Appraisal for the PROHECO, ADEL-PECs,and Preschoolsprograms
1. Situation of PROHECO schools up to December 2000. It's a general consensus that the PROHECO model is an adequate solution to rural education in Honduras. To-date, eight hundred-twenty (820) PROHECO schools operate in 190 municipalities nationwide. Three hundred eighty-six (386) of those include preschool, and two hundred eighty-one (281) include up to sixth grade. PROHECO schools provide education to 40,000 children, and employment to 1,109 teachers. The social assessment recommends a major impact evaluation be carried out to compare results of PROHECO schools with those in the traditional system.
- 92 - 2. PROHECO and the social capital of communities. Consultations with communities indicate that this community-based education system strengthens the social network of civil society. The fact that the school is in the village is said to have improved the security, physical and mental health of students, parents and teachers. Before PROHECO, children faced risky situations (rivers, cliffs, mud slides, theft, rapes) when walking up to 8 Km per day to access a school. With PROHECO, significant bonds are created as parents and teachers team up to support the students. 3. Social, Economic and Geographic Pertinence of PROHECO Curriculum. The communities involved demands a quality curriculum which is more pertinent to the immediate needs of remote fanner communities where PROHECO operates. The imperative need of a revised national basic curriculum will be solved by the proposed project. 4. Community Participation and the creation of AECOs. Communities (parents, teachers, authorities, civil society) have shown a desired level of accountability to manage their PROHECO schools. Mayors and municipal authorities interviewed have supported PROHECO by providing facilities, housing, or transportation for the teacher. No major issues were heard from the AECOs, as the disbursement mechanisms put in place to-date work to their satisfaction. Parents and teachers celebrate the fact that they are responsible for purchasing the educational materials. The assessment recommends a second round of training be provided to 800 AECOs on their rights and duties. 5. Shortage of Teachers in the school system. A major problem is the shortage of trained teachers in multi-grade education. To-date, there are 359 AECOs organized in 12 different departments, and 13,000 children, looking for teachers. 6. Perceived risk of becoming a PROHECO teacher. The social assessment found perceived risks derive from lack of information on the rights granted to PROHECO teachers with regard to salary and benefits. Teachers' Unions, threatened by PROHECO teachers' autonomy, continue to plant fears of job instability and privatization. 7. Infrastructure of PROHECO schools. Temporary buildings are being replaced by permanent structures. FHIS built/contracted 532 schools in 13 departments. The newly installed system of "mutual help" for local school construction must be assessed. 8. Supervision system and education quality controls. These systems need improvement. A standard evaluation system of students and teacher performance must be put in place. Education authorities at the Department and District levels must be trained. 10. Preschool Education. Only 32% of preschool-age children have access to preschool education in Honduras. About half of the centers are consideredformal as they have certified teachers. The other half, in rural and periurban areas are community-based (CEPENF, CCIE), informal, and run by volunteers. The latter requested formalization of their status. At present, there is resentment on the part of volunteers with 3-5 years experience, who have been displaced by 1,000 certified teachers assigned by the SE to their posts. The financial sustainability of CEPENFs is also a concem as they are financed by NGOs. Communities perceive that there is value added when children can attend preschool and have therefore requested training in self-sustainability. 11. Local Education Development Associations (ADELs) and School Education Projects (PECs). One of the problems identified by teachers and school principals in meeting their educational goals is the unavailability of timely financial resources to develop school projects. The social assessment consulted with education authorities and communities on the strategies and mechanisms that would be needed to decentralize financial resources directly to the ADELs for the implementation of demand-driven PECs, to be prioritized by the community as part of their Annual Education Plan. There was general consensus in the 49 communities regarding the pertinence of this program. The social assessment recommnendsthe ADEL bonus of US$100 per project be granted to communities based on performance. A community contribution in kind may be required.
- 93 - Part II. Indigenous Peoples Development Plan and the Intercultural Bilingual Program
The autochthonous population of Honduras account for 12.7% of the population. They are multi-cultural and multi-lingual, originating in three different world regions: (i) Mesoamerican Maya-Aztec (Lenca, Chorti and Nahoa); (ii) African Garifuna Creole; and (iii) South American Chibcha (Pech, Tolupan, Tawahka, Miskito). Most of them have been identified as living in extreme poverty conditions (See Poverty Map 2000). They are represented by nine Federations legally recognized by the GOH. Except for the Lencas, all of them conserve their original language. The largest linguistic groups are the Miskito (pop. 60,000) and the Garifuna (pop. 300,000)
The EIB Program to December 2000 The first attempt for EIB was made in 1948 by Rev. Marx in Moskitia of the Morava mission with Miskito-Spanish materials. A separate effort for a pilot bilingual project (Tol-Spanish) was made by De Dennis at Montafia de la Flor. Both efforts were displaced by traditional education introduced by the SE in Moskitia and Francisco Morazan in the '80s. When Honduras ratified ILO's Article 169 on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Tribal Groups, the Confederation of Autochthonous Organizations (CONPAH) signed with SE an agreement to institutionalize EIB, create a technical unit at the SE, and establish guidelines for EIB in Miskito and Garifuna In 1995, the GOH requested support of the World Bank for the implementation of EIB as part of the component "Improvement of the Quality of Education" (Credit 2694-HO). The National Program of Autochthonous Education (PRONEEAAH) was officially created in 1998, and a plan was drawn for EIB. Little has been accomplished to-date, due to lack of coordination of the program.
Two efforts are noteworthy: (i) The Center for Bilingual Miskito Education (CEBIMH) signed a contract with the SE in 1995 to administer a Pilot Bilingual project in 20 schools and 20 preschools; (ii) A PROHECO-EIB pilot was launched by the PROHECO Unit of the SE in 2000, which includes infrastructure of 10 schools built under the "Mutual Help" (community-based) program. Both programs include teacher training and validation of materials. Both efforts need to be validated by the SE.
- 94 - Table 1: Inventorvof Educationaltexts and materials developed.and oth rs needed for the EIB program Lanquaae Validated materialsProduced Yet to be accomplished Garifuna Phonetic and syntactic agreementsamong dialects Texts for preschool,first, second and third grade Garifuna Grammar Validate and reprint existing materals Cartilla for reading-writingfor first grade Miskito Phoneticand syntacticagreements among dialects Validate and repnnt existingmaterials Miskito Grammar Texts for preschool,second, third grade Miskito Diccionaryedited Cartilla for first grade Text for Teaching of Spanish as Second Language Short Story Collection"Kisinani" Coloring book in Miskito Tol Tol Grammar,validated Validate and reprint existing materials Cartilla for first grade Texts for preschool, first, second grade Cartilla in Spanish for Tol speakers Dictionary in Tol Reading Book"Leamos Tol" Short Stories in Tol Creole "Histonade los Negros de habla inglesa" Decide whether Standard or Creole English to be English 'Chata Talk' Reading text. used in grammar and texts Validate and reprint existing materials Texts for preschool,first, second arade Tawahka Phoneticand syntacticagreements among dialects Validate and reprint existing materials Tawahka Grammar Texts for preschool,first, second grade Tawahka Diccionary Pech Cartilla for first grade Validate and reprint existing materials Text for reading and wrting in Pech Pech Diccionary Pech Grammar ______Texts for preschool, first, second grade Chorti Draftedgrammar incomplete Grammar.dictionary, cartillas Nahoa and lenca Nothing Discover language heritage. Source: EIB Unit at the SE, indigenousconsultants and federations. Nov. 2000
The proposed Intercultural Bilingual Program 2001-2005
The EIB Unit and the WB preparation team prepared an Indigenous Peoples Development Plan, agreed with the Government, which will seek to facilitate the institutionalization and systematization of an EIB Program in the SE of Honduras. The plan includes: (i) the institutionalization of EIB in ethnic traditional schools; (ii) creation of PROHECO-EIB schools which include preschool; (iii) on-the-job teacher training for EIB Certification; (iv) piloting of ADEL-PEC program in PROHECO-EIB schools; (v) adaptation of the EIB curriculum based on the revised national basic curriculum; (vi) creation of the EIB student and teacher performance evaluation system; and (vii) institutional arrangements for program administration at the central, department, district and local levels. A point of departure may be the validation of the pilot EIB program in Mosquitia, and the pilot PROHECO-EIB experience in Montania de la Flor, where teachers were trained in EIB under the programs. In other EIB settings, bilingual teachers are self-trained in bilingual education.
Objectives of the proposed Intercultural Bilingual Program (i) To provide quality education to the autochthonous peoples of Honduras with professionals trained in EIB and a culturally-appropriate curriculum adapted to the needs of the students. (ii) To improve the learning school experience and results among ethnic groups. (iii) To systematize the use of the local languages for meaningful academic instruction, adapting the national curriculum requirements to a culturally significant learning experience. (iv) To graduate EIB teachers capable of participating in sustaining, improving and institutionalizing an EIB program that can adequately respond to the needs of the ethnic educational community.
- 95 - Institutional arrangements of PRONEEAAH and EIB at the SE At the central level, the GOH has agreed to the reorganization of the management unit of EIB under a single coordination unit (Unidad Tecnica Central UTC) called PRONEEAAH-EIB to be staffed by: one unit coordinator, three consultants (an Anthropologist, an Education Specialist, a Linguist), a Procurement/contract Specialist and a Team Assistant. At the department level, the existing EIB units ( Unidades T6cnicas Departamentales y Distritales) would be strengthened along with their EIB volunteer support groups. Lessons learned from attempts to implement EIB at the national level I. The traditional education program (Spanish) has not been able to resolve the issue of poor educational attainment among bilingual indigenous population. The EIB program has proven to be more appropriate. 2. The sustainability of the EIB program depends to a great extent on the commitment of stakeholders such as the indigenous specialists, leaders, federations, communities, department and district education authorities, to support the program. 3. Specialization in teaching EIB school is a requirement for a successful EIB program. Being indigenous and speaking an ethnic language are not enough to teach EIB. 4. In order to implement an EIB program, an EIB curriculum is needed. This curriculum should be based on the national curriculum and adapted to the cultural framework of each language. 5. Some EIB materials are being produced within each linguistic group. However, they need to be organized, validated, piloted and reproduced. Recommendations
1. Carrv out the institutional reorganization of the PRONEEAAH-EIB Unit at the central level, staffing it as indicated abo-s-e. 2. Design a National Basic EIB Curriculum based on the national curriculum presently under revision, and adapt it to the linguistic and socio-cultural needs of each linguistic group. The design should be done with the collab ,ration of linguists, anthropologists and educators, the indigenous federations, and the Departmental and District Education authorities. 3. Provide on-the-job training to 1,500 potential EIB teachers (local) on Teaching of EIB in culturally-bound environments. Also, provide intemships and study tours for successful EIB teachers in other countries. Upon return, they can organize workshops to transfer knowledge acquired. 4. Assess and validate the existing materials (phonetic and syntactic agreements among dialects of each language, Cartillas for reading-writing, story books, grammar books and drafts) by means of consultancies of local and international experts. Print/reprint materials already validated. 5. Contract local and intemational experts for the research and writing of texts for preschool, first, second and third grades in EIB in the different languages. 6. Create PROHECO-EIB schools (include preschool) in hard-to-reach rural communities throughout the country and in the Departments of Gracias a Dios and Bay Islands, where PROHECO has not yet been introduced. 7. Introduce ADEL-PECs system in most PROHECO-EIB schools as an incentive for teachers and schools to sustain the program. 8. Create incentives for PROHECO teachers to live permanently in hard-to-reach caserios. Recommend the employer (the community) to provide housing/lodging and food incentives to keep the teacher in remote rural communities. 9. Launch a sensitivity campaign on EIB for the education community through the media, and for Education authorities at the Central, Departmental and District levels, as well as for teachers and parents.
- 96 - IndigenousPeoples Development Action Plan
In compliance with ILO's Article 169, the Constitution of Honduras, and the World Bank O.D. 4.20 on Indigenous Peoples, the proposed project will support the Intercultural Bilingual Program of the Secretariat of Education of Honduras. To that end, the following Action Plan has been agreed with the GOH as follows:
Table 4: Action Pl n for the InterculturalBilingual Program 2001-2005 Components Description TVDe Years Cost US$ 1.1 Design NationalEIB curriculum consultancies 1-2 400.000 1.2 Design, orintinc and distributionof materials contracts 1-4 518.250 1.3 Quality assessmentladjustments/instruments for ConsulV 1-2 50,000 evaluation workshops ._ . 1.4 On-the-jobTeacher Training Program (2-yr program) contract 1-3 960,000 for 1.500 EIB teachers. and 300 EIB volunteers . 11.1.1 Creationof 200 PROHECO-EIBBasic schools 1-5 2.369.595 11.1.2 PROHECO-EIBvolunteers 5-32.590 11.1.5 Creation of 200 PROHECO-EIBpreschool 1-5 . 536920 111.1.2 Creation of 400 ADEL-EIB 480.000 111.3.2 Transfer to PECs for durable goods basic schools 1-4 726,000 (1-9) 111.3.3 Transfer to PECs for durable ooods pre school 1-4 240.000 111.3.4 Transfer to PECs for non-durablegoods basic 1-5 86,400 school (1-9) 111.3.5 Transfer to PECs for non-durablegoods pre school 1-5 46.000 IV-1 Program Administrationat SE Contracts 1-4 388.800 6,934,555 TOTAL
The Plan describedabove has been agreed on with the Secretariat of Education,Government of Honduras,January 2001,and has been incorporatedin the Honduras: Community-basedProject (PO7397) to be financedby IDA.
- 97 - Additional Annex 12
Evaluation, Monitoring and Information Systems
I. Impact Evaluation
The following Table summarizes the Impact Evaluation System for the project. A detailed explanation of the objectives, indicators, the sample selection (size, control group, selection criteria) and costs can be found in the report Estrategia de Evaluaci6n de Impacto, December 14, 2000.
Table No.1 Impact Evaluation System
Objectives to be Indicators Baseline source Impact Evaluation Source measured
Final Objectives
Coverage -Coverage ratios (gross and net) for -Population and school - Population by age groups: projection based on the preschool and basic education (grades attendance by age groups population growth rate for ages 4 to 6 vears old snd I to 6) in rural areas ofthe (4 to 6 and 7 to 12 year 7 to 12 years old. municipalities targeted by the project old): population census to be carried out in 2001 -School attendance by these age groups: projecti:ms -Ratios of school attendance for school based on enrollment growth by age groups. children-especially between 4 and 12 - Enrollment per grade by years old- in rural areas of the age: education statistics -Enrollment per grade by age: education statistics. municipalities targeted by the project
-Index for preschool and basic education -enrollment in the rural areas ofthe participating municipalities, by targeted schools and the control group.
Learning -Levels ofskills (competencies) acquired -Results of the national -Results of the national standardized tests by the achievements by 3rd and 6th grade students in Math, standardized tests by the National System for Extemal Evaluation of Science and Spanish in the targeted and National System for Education Quality (Sistema Nacional de control groups. Extemal Evaluation of Evaluacion Externa de la Calidad). Education Quality Sistema Nacional de Evaluacion Externa de la Calidad).
Social -Level of development of self steem, - Results of standardized -Results of standardized tests for self este.;m, and Self-Esteem leadership capacity and interpersonal tests for self steeem, leadership, civic and citizenship training, in parallel Achievements relationships of 3rd and 6th grade students leadership, civic and with academic achievement tests. in the targeted and control groups. citizenship training, in parallel with academic ( ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~achievement tests.
Intermediate Objectives
Teachers -Number of days worked per month -Educatonal census and - Records controlled by AECO and ADEL (project productivity -Work schedule per day: times for start survey to communities for monitoring system) and end. baseline
- 98 - Internal Efficiency Estimates for the total rural areas of the -Surveys to existing schools municipalities targeted by the project and in the project areas. -Surveys to the existing schools in the project areas. for each of the targeted and the control groups of schools: -Educational Census / -Education statistics. Repetition rate by grades Irst to 6th Education statistics. - Early entrance and overage. Enrollment distribution for grades I srt to 6th, by ages. - Drop out rate by grade lsrt to 6th.
Availability of - Number of work guides per student - Survey to targeted and - Survey to the targeted and control group of schools. pedagogical - Number of textbooks in the library per control group of schools. - Monitoring system of the project: adequacy, resources student pertinence, and efficiency of arrival of guides and - Number of notebooks per student materials to the schools.
- Availability, situation and use of leaming materials for Science, Maths and Spanish. - Relevance of the curricular content and application to the community context.
- School-based - Use of School Grants for extension, - Survey to the targeted schools improvements to rehabilitation, and/or other school infrastructure, basic infrastructure improvements resources and - Use of School Grants to purchase students well being. pedagogical materials for technical, artistic and physical curricular areas.
Social Impact
Perceptions of - Perception, attitude and behavior parents, principals. regarding capacity to participate and - Survey to parents (or - Survey to AECO's and ADEL's parents; survey to teachers and intervene in school management; AECO where available); principals, teachers and students students in targeted - Perception of the present school to principals, to teachers schools. management model and its dynamics; and to students - Perception of the benefits of a potential or actual shared school management and of school grants; - Perception of the importance of education for their children; - School actors perceptions of the school environment (physical and social) - Perception of the teachers' attitude towards their job, their school and the community; - Perceptions toward students and teachers absenteeism; - Relevance of present education in intercultural bilingual communities; - Perception on the efficiency and quality of schools (leaming, attitude and behavior of students, teachers productivity, students promotion, availability of pedagogical resources and District support).
_ 99 - Objectivesto measure Indicators Source for Baseline Source for impact evaluation
Parents and community - Location, distance and time to reach the - Survey to parents and - Survey to AECO parents; survey to leaders in communities schools community leaders, principals, teachers and students where schools will be - What type of schools are they: PROHECO, created traditional, EIB? If PROHECO schools, are parents of the community participating in the AECO? Problems of student absenteeism, drop out and repetition Perception of the importance of their children' education Perception of their capacity to participate in school management and benefits of shared school management Perception of the efficiency and quality of the school Teachers productivity on these schools School environment (physical and social) Perception of the teachers' attitude towards their work at the schools and the community If EIB: Pertinence of present education in intercultural bilingual schools. Perception of the type and dynamics of these schools' organization and management
-100 - II. Information System
The information system is described in the report "Sistema de Informaci6n de Seguimiento v Evaluaci6n" (Dec. 14, 2000). The following tables offer a summaryof the sources and the type of informationgenerated by different institutions and the information produced by the different levels (local, departments and national)by various actors and its periodicityin time.
Table No. 2 Sources of information
Sector Institution Responsible Type of information System Traditional Schools School Director Information on school activity Formal Education Centers Information on the progress of activities and contracts ADEL ADEL President referring to the project Information on the status of the PEC
PROHECO System Education centers Information on: (i) school activities; (ii) financial resources Pre-school Center Director execution: (iii) activities and contract related to the project Basic progress; and (iv) progress on the PEC. Intercultural schools AECO President Bilingual Preschool education Sections Non Formal education PROHECO System centers Education Centers Information on center's educational activity. Jardines Center Director Information on financial resources execution CEPENF CCIE AECO President CCEPREBA Education System Admin. School district offices Office Chief Consolidated reports on school activity in the district. Progress of activities and contracts Consolidated reports on school activity in the department. Department education offices Office Chief Progress of activities and contracts
- 101 - Table No. 3 Periodic Flows of Information - by Activity
Level Monthly Quarterly Bi annual
Local - Progress report of activities for Progress report on PEC execution. ADEL which they are responsible
Local- Progress report on project Supervision meeting with the school Contractors execution. district office
Local - Progress report of activities for Supervision meetings with educational Consolidation and revision of PEC School District Office which they are responsible centers and contractors progress in the district. Consolidated report to the department. Report for departmental level
Department - Progress report on contract Supervision meeting with the Contractors execution Department education office
Department - Progress report of activites for Supervision meeting with school Consolidation and revision of PEC Department education offices which they are responsible district offices. progress in the department. Supervision meetings with contractors. Report to UTEN. Consolidated report to UTEN.
National - Progress report on contract Supervision meeting with UTEN Contractors execution.
National - Progress report of activities for Supervision meeting with Department Consolidation and revision of PEC UTEN which they are responsible education offices and contractors. progress in the country Consolidated report.
Table No. 4 Periodic Information Flows - School Activity
Level Monthly Quarterly Bi annually
Local - School activity report (days and Educational statistics. Educational center school hours, news).
Local - Accountability on the use of AECO financial resources
Local - Supervision visits to education centers. Consolidation of educational statistics. District Office Consolidated report of school activities Departmental office report. and departmental office report
Department - Evaluation meetings with the districts Consolidated educational statistics. Departmental office offices. UTEN's report. Consolidated report of school activity and the UTEN's report
National - Evaluation meeting with districts Consolidated educational statistics. UTEN offices. Consolidated report of the schools activities reports.
-102- Additional Annex 13
InstitutionalAnalysis HondurasCommunity-Based Education Project
Background. Honduras is one of the poorest and less developed countries in Latin America. To improve its social and economic situation, the country is making significant efforts and giving priority to education as an important tool to fight poverty. In addition, Honduras has embarked in an institutional modernization process to improve the efficiency, transparency and effectiveness of its public organizations.
Organizational setting. The Secretariat of Education (SE) is the main agency responsible for implementing the Community-Based Education Project. The SE has had considerable experience in managing Bank-financed projects, similar projects sponsored by IDB, and several donation/grants from bilateral agencies. Traditional institutional weaknesses have included (i) low input from schools and communities in defining needs, priorities and development investments; (ii) weak local education offices at the department and district levels, and (iii) lack of interaction between the Project Coordination Units (PCUs) and the staff of the SE. In spite of the SE's traditional institutional capacity weaknesses, recent improvements are evident in (i) the successful launching and implementation of a community participation and school-based management strategy (PROHECO -- Honduran Program for Education with Community Participation), (ii) the expansion of responsibilities and resources to education departmental offices and school districts, and (iii) the implementation of policies which aim at creating a cohesive organization within the SE for the planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of education development projects, especially internationally supported investments.
To continue to improve its project implementation capacity, the SE has created an education reform coordination unit, called UTEN (Unidad de Transformacion de la Educacion Nacionat). UTEN will guarantee synergy among the various internationally supported projects currently established to improve the quality and efficiency of education. A small team within the UTEN will be responsible for coordinating and monitoring the Community Based Education Project. The UTEN staff will be selected through national competitive procedures and will receive support from external consultants during project implementation.
The Project will also benefit from the participation of other donors and agencies who are, on a coordinated basis, supporting the implementation of the education reforms in the country. The Government has created an international assistance coordinating body called MERECE (Mesa Redonda de Cooperantes en Educacion), as a platform to share lessons and resources among different projects, programs and pilots supported by donors, international agencies and multilateral banks.
Finally, the SE is expanding its service delivery capacity by strategic alliances with other institutions in the education sector. One of the most important alliances is with the National Pedagogical University, Francisco Morazan (UPNFM). During the execution of the prior Bank-supported education project, the UPNFM managed the external evaluation of the quality of education at the Basic Education level (UMCE -- Unidad de Medicion de la Calidad Educativa), and executed the in-service training program for teachers (PFC - Programa de Formaci6n Continua). This successful strategic alliance will be expanded and strengthened during the implementation of the Community Based Education Project.
- 103- Recent reforms. Despite inherent institutional weaknesses, the Government's priority to the education sector during the last decade has contributed to educational improvements. The SE has tripled primary education enrollment, increased the average years of schooling from 3.8 to 4.2 school years, and has successfully launched a community and school-based management education programs. Also, the Government has promoted exchange of lessons learned among successful education programs in the Central American region. For example, PROHECO was designed through adaptations of similar community education programs in the region, especially the EDUCO program in El Salvador. Subsequently, to increase local education management effectiveness, the SE has strengthened its decentralized units at the departmental and district levels. Especially, school districts are earmarked as the key organizational level to provide close technical assistance to schools. Finally, to guarantee society's ownership and commitment to education innovations, national participation workshops have consulted, debated and agreed on education needs, priorities and reforms.
Decision-making process. Currently major policy decisions are still centralized. However, the proposed Community Based Education Project is in itself proof of a new structure to improve decision-making process at the school, community, district and departmental levels. The new decision-making structure for education priorities and investments includes school and community management and leadership, decentralization of school and teacher services at the district and departmental level, and, in general, the empowerment of local education actors in order to improve the quality of education in the classroom.
Overall assessment of SE's capacity to implement the project. The Project Appraisal team and external consultants concluded that the Government of Honduras will be able to implement the Project provided that: (a) the UTEN's Project team is selected from the highest qualified professionals for the required technical, procuwement and financial management functions; (b) Project activities are developed gradually following the schedule defined during project preparation, including coordinated delivery of school inputs (pedagogical, physical, and managerial), quality measurements (institutional and student assessments), and innovative interventions (especially interventions related to multigrade pedagogical methodologies and school-based management); (c) the Government closes any financial management capacity gaps before prcject effectiveness (see annex 6 for details); and (d) the Project continues to provide capacity building activities (training, technical assistance, performance evaluations, etc.) during Project implementation. To this end, the Project design has identified clear objectives, targets and tasks by each key Project implementation actor.
A summary of the Institutional Assessment and Capacity Building Analysis is presented below.
B. Institutional Assessment and Capacity Building Analysis.
Objectives and Methodology. A detailed institutional analysis was carried out to determine the Secretariat of Education's capacity to implement the Project, based on the following objectives:
* Identify the institutional activities necessary to achieve successful and sustainable implementation of the Project; * Identify the key units involved in the implementation of the Project and assess their organizational structure, resources and incentives for successful implementation of the activities defined by the Project; * Propose capacity strengthening strategies, policies and actions for these key units; and * Contribute to the understanding, ownership, and commitment of the actors involved in Project implementation.
- 104- The institutional assessment data was collected through a highly participatory process, which included SE workshops and field visits to schools, departments and districts in several regions of the country. The team used the analytical tool "Assessing Implementation Capacity" (E. Orbach). The analytical framework include a range of dimensions from global objectives/strategies to specific management activities, as well as the identification of each organizational unit responsible for implementing key Project activities. These analytical dimensions included, among others, the organizational setting, leadership, financial aspects, and work practices. The following table presents the steps involved in the implementation capacity assessment.
Part I Part 11 Part III
Step 1: Steps 4 to 9: Step 10: Identificationof tasks Identificationof gaps between existing Capacity Building Measures/ Step 2: or expected capacity of implementing Recommendationsto close the gaps Identificationof implementing actors/units, regarding: identified in the previous steps. actors/organizationalunits -Organization Step 3: -Leadership Identificationof expectations and -Financial Resources responsibilities. -Human Resources -Material Resources -Synergy in the mix of resources
The full institutional assessment report is included in the Project Preparation Files. This annex summarizes the key conclusions of 11 organizational units and sub-units directly responsible for Project execution:
* The Direccion General de Educaci6n is responsible for issues related to education management, including liaison with departmental offices and the community and school-based management programs; within this directive department, the capacity of the Unit for School-Based Management (Unidad de Gesti6n Escolar) and the coordination unit for PROHECO were also assessed. * The Direcci6n General de Servicios Pedag6gicos is responsible for policy development and design of curricular inputs, such as curriculum content and programs, educational materials, and teacher training; within this directive department, the capacity of the Curricular Design Department (Departamento de Diseno Curricular) and the Education Technology Department (Departamento de Tecnologia Educativa) were also assessed. * The Direcci6n General de Evaluaci6n de la Calidad Educativa is responsible for learning assessments, student evaluation support for teachers, and monitoring and evaluation of education programs. * Direcci6n Departamental de Educaci6n (SE's decentralized offices at the departmental level); each of the 14 offices across the country is responsible for teaching staff administrative support and monitoring and evaluation of education investments within their departmental jurisdiction. * Direcci6n Distrital (a unit within each of the 18 decentralized departmental offices) is responsible for school districts and the supervision of, and technical assistance to, schools in both pedagogical methodologies and community and school-based management processes. * Unidad Tecnica de Tranformaci6n de la Educacion Nacional (UTEN) is responsible for the coordination of internationally supported education programs, projects and investments. * Universidad Pedagogica Nacional, Francisco Morazan (UPNFM) is the leading teacher training institution of the counLtlyat the university level. It is also responsible for standardized national testing at the basic education level (through its unit for external measurement of education quality -- UMCE).
- 105 - For the above-mentioned units and sub-units, the matrix tables below summarize each area of institutional capacity studied, the capacity gaps identified, and the action plans or capacity building measurements taken by or agreed with the SE.
C. Institutional Capacity Assessment, by Unit
Table I General Directorate of Education (Direcci6n General de Educaci6n)
Area of Capacity j Capacity gaps identified Capacity building Measures taken/agreed
Organization Fonnally created as part of the structure This New Directorate was recently established. Its The SE is defining (i) the profile of the Director of the of the SE, by Decree 207-99 (November administrative structure and functions need to be DGE and; (ii) consolidating its administrative 12, 1999). consolidated and its new Director selected. structure.
The General Director of Education The role of this unit is key to the project success by During the first year of operations, the Project will (DGE) is expected to have a leadership allowing: (i) clear and effective coordination of the provide technical and financial support to the DGE role, motivating, coordinating and work with decentralized offices; and (ii) effective Director. monitoring tie work of decentralized coordination with other projects in SE. units, including departmental offices, The SE will determine the appropriate budget for the school districts, and school councils, The DGE will require financial resources to support DGE. Financial commitments were agreed during effectively the SE decentralized offices. project preparation.
Leadership and administration I On a temporary basis, an education specialist is The project will support: (i) leadership and leading the unit, but without having the strong management training activities for the DGE's director management profile for this position. and the departmental offices' chiefs; and (ii) the information systems and technology required to support j decision making at the central and local levels.
|lumnan Resources Limited permanent staffing has been assigned to this The SE is in the process of interviewing and selecting ounit. On a temporary basis, several education staff for the DGE; it should be fully staffed by Project specialists have been fulfilling the functions launch. The project will support capacity building required by the unit. activities in management and communications and use of information technologies.
Material Resources There has been insufficient budget allocations to The project will provide technical and financial support. the acquisifion of material resources for the resources to the DGE. The new SE budget allocations unit. for 2000 and 2001 calendar years will reflect increased operational cost resources.
Processes and practices The mechanism established to support the DGE is preparing formal guidelines to guarantee a decentralization of the education services to the minimum of decentralized functions and performance departmental offices and school districts are not in all 14 departmental offices in the country. fully systematic. The DGE does not have formal guidelines to measure decentralization progress. The project will support the establishment of Sonte stronger departmental offices have absorbed management mechanisms and monitoring systems, as increased functions and decision making, while well as incentives for departmental offices and school others are still dependent on the SE. districts.
- 106- Table 2 General Directorateof Education(Direccioin General de Education) SchoolManagement Unit (Unidadde Gestion Escolar)
Area of Capacity CapacityGaps Identified Capacitybuilding measures taken/agreed
Organization Created by Decree but not yet functioning. There is TA hired during Project preparation is A School Management Unit is a key part of the a need to define the structure and organization of already supporting the organization of the General Directorate of Education. It will be the unit, as well as the strategies for promoting and School Management Unit of the DGE. responsible for developing norms and guidelines for legalizing the community and school-based During Project implementation, long-term school management promotion, coordination and management activities (ADEL and PECs) in consultants will be contracted to support training, especially for Departmental Offices and traditional schools. management activities of this unit, while it School Districts. Within the Project, this unit will is strengthened institutionally. establish and monitor procedures to implement and operate the ADELs and PECs.
Leadership and administration Head of sub-unit not yet appointed yet During Project preparation, the TORs for the head of this sub-unit were developed. This position will be filled prior to project launching. Long-term consultants and TA will support the head of the sub-unit.
Human Resources While the sub-unit is staffed permanently, several As mentioned before, the sub-unit will technicians of the SE are performing the activities to include both permanent staff and TA be developed by this unit. However, pennanent competent in school-based management staffing with high quality personnel should be filled and decentralization in the education prior to Project launch. sector.
The procedures and manuals for the organization of school councils (ADELs) and the promotion of school improvement plans (PECs) have already been developed by the SE.
The project will also provide financial, technical and material resources for the sub-unit's technical team, in order to support their promotion and monitoring of the ADELs.
Material Resources This unit is temporarily functioning with extemal The project will provide permanent resources, transferred personnel and some resources resources to strengthen this sub-unit, from the DGE. including computer equipment, vehicles for field visits, and operating costs support.
Processes/practices The sub-unit is learning from the experience and The Project has provide technical procedures adopted by PROHECO. The unit will assistance (consultants) to support the promote, organize, train and monitor school design of processes, procedures and councils in traditional rural schools (ADEL). Draft manuals for school-based management in manuals have already been prepared to define the traditional rural schools (i.e., the ADEL role of this sub-unit and the procedures to support model). the school-based management strategies. A close integration between this unit and In terms of work practices, a team approach with the coordination unit of PROHECO is the PROHECO counterpart can augur adequate being promoted through exchange of absorption of the experience of this latter unit. lessons leaned and mutual training, workshops and field visits to rural communities.
- 107- Table 3 PROHECO-Programa de Educacion con la Participacion de la Comunidad
Area of Capacity Capacity Gaps Identified Capacity Building Measures agreed/taken
Organization The PROHECO Coordination Unit has developed strong The PROHECO program will be The PROHECO Unit has successfully launched expertise in design of instruments and implementation of institutionalized within the structure of the and implemented the first community-based school activities to support community-based school programs. SE. The PROHECO coordination unit program in Honduras. The coordination unit is The high commitment of the PROHECO staff and the will become a sub-unit of the DGE, to structured around functional needs to identify, field promotion teams has made the pilot phase of the guarantee direct coordination with the promote, train and supervise community groups project very successful. School Management Unit, which will and schools to implement this innovative program. support similar community participation However, centrally, the PROHECO unit has been and school-based management activities in operating on a parallel basis to the SE structure. Thus, traditional rural schools. now that the program is expanding, it needs to be an integral part of the SE. The Project will support transferring responsibilities for the promotion, The next phase of institutional developing will focus at organization, and monitoring functions fnr institutionalizing community participation and AECO-PROHECO and ADEL schocls school-based management promotion capacity at the within Departmental offices and school departmental level. This development efforts should districts. include monitoring and evaluation of community participation and school-based management activities at the Department and District levels.
Leadership and administration PROHECO leadership is highly committed and The project will provide training enthusiastic. The evidence of changes at the community activities in the areas of leadership and level, and the participation and empowerment of management, both at central and education actors in poor and isolated rural communities departmental levels, given priority to has created a participatory culture and leadership within those departments with large rural and the program. poor populations.
In addition, PROHECO leadership has created trust from To strengthen the quality c f other govemmental authorities and is highly respected by implementation, the Project will provide its subordinate team. long-term facilitators, trainers for the PROHECO program, as well as for other Additional training for leadership and management sub-units of the DGE. would be necessary to continue to improve program effectveness.
Human Resources Local PROHECO promoters still lack adequate and Local PROHECO promoters will be systematic training. Information collection is still trained along school district staff in limited, which limits proper planning and verifiable strategic planning, monitoring arid monitoring of program development and needs. program development.
PROHECO promoters will become part of the staff of school districts to guarantee a coordinated work effort at the community level between organization of PROHECO schools and other educational assistance provided by school districts.
Material Resources Financial support for material and other operation A detailed plan including the basic resources for PROHECO have been available. However, equipment and other materials required by procurement procedures have been delayed due to lack of PROHECO in its next phase was prepared experience with bidding processes and/or development of to facilitate a timely acquisition of specifications and terms of references for required goods material resources. The procuremerit and services. specialists of UTEN and the TA hired eo support the Project will expedite procurement procedures for PROHECO) as well.
- 108- Processes/practices The strategy and methodology to train AECOs and Performanceindicators and a monitoring teachersneeds to be furthersystematized. systemare being developedto support the supervisionand monitoring activitiesof Limited supervisioncapacity and availabilityto measure PROHECO. impact, due to the lack of definition of performance indicatorsand limitedstatistics. The PROHECO/AECOmanual is being revised to incorporate the departmental In some school districts, weak coordination between and school districtfunctions in support of districtand PROHECOstaff. the program.
PROHECO field staff will be part of school district as active participants in school districtplanning, developmentand managementstructures.
- 109- Table 4 General Pedagogical Services Directorate (Direcci6n General de Servicios Pedagogicos)
Area of Capacity Capacity Gaps Identified Capacity Building Measures taken/Agreed
Organization Insufficient coordination of services between the It was agreed that all services provided by This unit is under the Technical Pedagogical three sub-units which compose the Directorate. the Directorate's sub-units will reach Viceministry (Subsecretaria Tecnica schools in an integrated manner: Pedag6gica). This unit is subdivided in three curricular guides, textbooks and sub-units responsible for different educational educational materials, and training for its areas. Curriculum Department, the Educational appropriate use by teachers. Training Department (INICE) and the Educational Technology Unit. In addition to student leaming evaluations, the Project will assess the integrated and coordinated approach provided by the Directorate; especially it will assess teacher opinions on the quality and integration of these services.
Experts in multigrade methodologies, including the Escuela Nueva (New School) model, will be closely working with the pedagogical teams to improve not only pedagogical strategies, but also appropriate teaching materials and teaching training.
Leadership and administration The isolation across the Directorate's sub-units The project will provide TA to increase contributes to fragmented leadership and decision team building and exchange of ideas and making. products between the Directorate's sub-units. A shared leadership and management approach at the Directorate level will guarantee an integrated provision of educational inputs at the school level.
Human Resources Around 75 people employed between the Measures to assess the level of staff Directorate and its sub-units. The technical knowledge will be developed by SE with capacity of the staff is very heterogeneous (ranging the support not only of the Project but also from high to low). of other education programs supported by international agencies and donors. A better strategic mix of personnel will improve the quality of human resources.
Material Resources The Directorate has limited computer equipment, Required materials resources for Project operational materials, and other physical resources, implementation will be made available to to support the work of the unit the Directorate, including support of incremental operational costs for Project activities.
Processes/practices Limited coordination mechanisms across the The Project will provide TA and other Directorate's sub-units for curriculum development, incentives (staff development, coordinated educational materials and training. Also the research and field studies, and team Directorate needs to plan and program activities building workshops) to establish closely with other SE's Directorates, especially those coordination mechanisms across the for learning evaluation and school-based sub-units of the Directorate. management. Project planning and programming will be done in a coordinated manner by all SE's units and sub-units participating in Project implementation.
School districts will support and monitor the provision of integrated pedagogical services (e.g., teacher and student guides, textbooks, and training) to schools.
- 110- Table 5 Educational Technology Department (Departamento de Tecnologia Educativa)
Area of Capacity Capacity Gaps Identified Building Measures taken/Agreed
Organization This unit traditionaily has not been The Project will work on a coordinated manner This Department is part of the General Directorate of very proactive in proposing with this sub-unit. It will also make available Pedagogical Services ("Direcci6n General de Servicios innovative materials for schools. It technical assistance and field visits to improve Pedag6gicos") has usually worked on a parallel the team knowledge of the most recent track to internationally supported developments in the area of didactic materials, This sub-unit is responsible for the preparation of didactic programs and projects, which design, especially for multigrade and EIB schools. materials and will be responsible for developing materials for develop and distribute their own urban and rural schools, both for multigrade and intercultural school materials. and bilingual (EIB) methodologies.
Leadership and administration Since most educational materials The Community Based Education Project will activities are implemented by the guarantee coordination between all SE's units project coordination units of responsible for Project execution, and will education investment projects, the provide training programs and on-the-job unit leadership has been weak. technical assistance in pedagogical methodologies, leadership and management skills.
Human Resources Team of 13 education experts. The Project will support professional Skills required to develop and development for this unit. However, the actual produce educational materials are design, development, and production of limited. educational materials will be contracted out. The regional and international market can provide the required educational materials with high quality and efficiency. The educational technology unit, in tum, will support policy formulation, coordination with other SE's units and decentralized offices, and monitoring of educational matenals use and impact.
Material Resources Material resources (equipment, The Project will provide resources to support vehicles, operational budgets) are the unit in implementing its activities within the limited. Project. Project funds will support the procurement of didactic materials to be distributed to schools.
Processes/practices The unit functions have traditionally As part of the Project, the unit will begin focused on the distribution of implementing better work practices related to textbooks and other materials to policy development, coordination of inputs to schools. schools, and monitoring of teaching and However, its role has been limited in learning in the classroom. regards to educational materials policy formulation, coordination Based on feedback from schools, the unit will be with other pedagogical units of the better able to propose corrections and SE, and monitoring of the use and adjustments to educational materials and to impact of educational materials in improve a coordinated provision of services the classroom. with SE's units for curriculum development and teacher training.
- 111 - Table 6 Department of Curriculum (Departamentode DisedioCurricular)
Area of Capacity Capacity Gaps Identified Capacity Building Measures Taken/Agreed
Organization This unit is part of the General PedagogicalServices At present the unit lacks the organizational The Project will hire specialized TA Directorate ("Direccidn General de Servicios structure and capacity to successfully carry out within the curriculum unit to support Pedagdgicos') curriculumadaptation for EIB, specialeducation, curricular adaptations for EIB and and urbanmarginal and multigradeschools. multigrade schools. It will also provide The unit is an important"client" for the Project. The some financial resources to support the Project will provide resources for the applicationin unit in other programs related to special rural classrooms of the curriculum guidelines educationand urban marginalschools. developedby this unit.
Leadershipand administration The unit's leadershipis experiencedand has key The SE is proposing measures to management skill. However, the pedagogical strengthen the skill mix of the unit, in team needs to strengthen in issues related to order to lead the new curricularareas and intecultural and bilingual education and their adaptation for rural, multigrade and multigrademethodologies. EIB schools.
The Project will finance specializedTA and field studiesto improvethe specialized skills of the unit.
Human Resources The unit has 14 professionals. It has limited The Project will finance consultants to specialists in the areas of multigrade, urban guaranteethe developmentand transfer of marginal,EIB and special education. adequatetechnical knowledge.
The SE is proposingmechanisms to assess suitabilityof present personnel for their positionsand attract people with adequate academicand professionalbackgrounds.
MaterialResources There is a lack of material resources. For The Project will provide the required example, the unit has only two computers equipment for the technical personnelof availablefor 14 professionals. the unit.
Basic NationalCurriculum for basic educationis The project will finance the design, ready. Review of study programs (los planes y printing and distribution of necessary prograrnasde estudio) stillpending. materials to support the socializationand promotion of the new curricular interventions.
Processes/practices The principalweakness is in the The SE, through the Project, will hire lack of a participatorystrategy for the feedback facilitators to support a participatory and validation of the new national curriculum, strategyfor feedbackand validationof the including coordination with other SE's units new curriculum. Planning, programming (especiallyeducational technology and training). and monitoring for Project activities will be done in a coordinated manner by all implementingunits.
-112 - Table 7 General Directorate for Quality Evaluation Direccion General de Evaluacion de la Calidad (D I G E C E)
Area of Capacity Capacity Gaps Identified Capacity Building Measures Taken/Agreed
Organization The organizational structure of the unit requires The Project, and other intemational Within the Project, DIGECE will (i) institutionalize roles and functions directly related to student agencies working with the SE, will a mechanism for formative evaluation of student assessment in the classroom, formative evaluation provide TA to the design and learning in all rural classrooms; (ii) develop teacher systems, and participatory feedback of school development of the evaluation activities. guides and reference materials regarding student leaming outcomes. assessment; (iii) coordinate with other SE's pedagogical units to provide them feedback of student leaming outcomes and to plan any adjustments to lesson plans, instructional materials and teacher training.
Leadership and administration Although highly motivated, unit leadership needs Training programs on evaluation and specialized training on evaluation technical areas. management will be provided under the Project.
TA will be contracted from local and international agencies and universities specialized in student leraming evaluations.
Human Resources Personnel lacks strong background in evaluation. Openings due to retirement will allow Many staff are close to retirement and new staff possibility to fill them with professionals may need to be hired eventually. with extensive evaluation academic and professional background.
Continuous training and technical assistance will be provided to this unit during the implementation of the Project.
Material Resources Insufficient computer equipment and school The Project will provide resources to information materials on student assessment. design, produce and distribute evaluation manuals, evaluation sheets, posters, and other informational materials for schools.
Computer equipment will also be provided.
Processes/practices Traditionally, there is limited coordination among The Project implementing guidelines pedagogical units within the SEs. DIGECE needs will guarantee coordination by all units to coordinate not only with the curriculum, involved (through participatory educational technology and training units of the SE, planning, team building workshops, but also with the extemal education evaluation unit sharing of information, etc.). (UMCE) of the Pedagogical National University (UPNFM). The UPNFM carries out bi-annual Specific training and TA in team standardized testing of 3rd, 6th and 9th graders. building and participatory working practices will be provided.
Based on feedback by the standardized testing by UMCE, DIGECE needs to follow at the school level to guarantee that teaching practices and formative student evaluations correct any problems in learning encountered.
- 113- Table 8 Education Departments Direcci6n Departamental de Educacion (DDE)
Area of Capacity Capacity Gaps Identified Capacity Building Measures Taken/Agreed
Organization Each Department has a minimum organizational The SE is advancing on its The Project is supporting the SE's strategy to gradually structure composed of six offices for human decentralization process by filling up shift responsibilities from the central level to the resources, financial management, school departmental positions and establishing decentralized units and community organizations. supervision, and education quality. Some key clear rules and guidelines for the work to These responsibilities include administrative support of positions at the department levels have not filled be done at that level. teaching staff, monitoring and evaluation of education up. projects, and to give incentives for innovative The SE is validating the proposed pedagogical proposals at the school and school district Revisions to Operational Manual guidelines for revisions to the operational manual of levels. departmental staff have been proposed but are not the DDE (supported by the project) and yet approved. will complete the approval of the revised The Director of the SE's Departmental Offices is drafts of the manuals. expected to manage successfully all new decentralized functions and to motivate and coordinate its staff both Departmental Directors will call a in the departmental offices, as well as in School meeting at least once a month with Districts. District Directors, assistants and chiefs of units in order to share information and monitor progress.
Leadership and administration Field visits confirmed high interest, motivation and The Project will take advantage of the optimism in the Departmental Directors, positive climate in favor of education including their openness towards the new reforms at the departmental level. community participation models in the education Training, TA, and other incentives will sector. be provided to SE's Departmental Offices leadership to continue to There was still some skepticism regarding real strengthen their managerial and team decentralization of decision making at the local building skills. level. The DGE leadership will guarantee information sharing and coordination horizontally with other departmental offices and vertically with the SE and School Districts.
Human Resources The human resource mix of departmental offices The SE is giving priority to finding needs to be strengthened to guarantee adequate suitable personnel in the areas of performance of their new decentralized functions. pedagogical services, project evaluation, Especially lacking are skills in planning, and educational planning. monitoring and evaluation of education programs. The Project will provide training and TA at the Departmental level to support the There are concems about high rotation of implementation of their respective personnel in departmental offices, especially activities within the Project (mainly during changes in govemment administrations. education needs assessment, education statistics, and monitoring of the community participation and school-based management strategies).
Training and capacity building will be provided to Departmental Directors on leadership, management and information technology.
Material Resources The construction of the new DDEs is almost SE will guarantee the provision of basic completed. Some DDE's installations have limited equipment for departmental offices, equipment. through various investment operations been supported by intemational donors.
-114- Processes/practices There is still no systematic processes and The Project will support participatory mechanism to orient the working relations of workshops for Departmental, District departmentaloffices, both with School Districts and SE staff to agree on communication and SE's centraloffices, systems. The project will financethe development of a statistical information system for monitoring of departmental educational needs and outcomes, which will be shared across institutional levels. An appropriate management information system will help develop a more systematicsharing of informationacross the educationsector.
-115- Table 9 School Districts Direccion Distrital
Area of Capacity Capacity Gaps Identified Capacity Building Measures Taken/Agreed
Organization School Districts have not had a The SE is reviewing the organizational structure of School Districts As part of their Project defined structure of functions to in order to incorporate improved functions regarding promotion, responsibilities, school districts promote and support community organization and training for community participation and (Direcciones Distritales) will provide participation and school-based school-based management. technical assistance and will monitor management activities. schools. The SE budget has already incorporated into its budget increments for The traditional role of school districts institutional strengthening of school districts. In addition, the promotion, has been mainly supervision of organization and training functions for schools. The SE's Modemization Unit is producing a revised Organizational AECOs and ADELs will be and Functional Manual for School Districts. incorporated within the functions of the School Districts.
Leadership and administration Leadership skills in school districts To guarantee ownership and commitment, the Project has involved all range from high to very low. The SE school districts in preparing the Project. School Districts directors ( needs to guarantee a minimum level of Directores Distritales) are aware of their new responsibilities in the leadership capacity for all School community participation and school-based management models, and Districts. have been participating in some initial training workshops.
Human Resources The 89 School District Directors were The human resource mix of School Districts will be complemented by selected through a competitive process. the incorporation of PROHECO promoters. PROHECO promoters have extensive experience in community participation promotion, organization of school governments, and monitoring of financial On average, there are 3 assistants by transfers to schools. district, and an average of 20 schools In addition, long-term TA will be hired to support on-the-job training for each of them (district assistants are of all School District staff, in both school management and usually seconded teachers). pedagogical models (especially multigrade teaching and EIB methodologies). Traditionally, there has been no systematic training on school supervision and technical assistance.
Material Resources Lack of adequate office space. For the approximate 86 districts with high rural populations, the Project will provide vehicles, infrastructure, fumiture, computers and Limited transportation resources-- training for its use. including vehicles, travel funds, and maintenance resources--to visit rural The SE will provide gas and resources for maintenance of vehicles schools, especially those hard to reach and infrastructure. and isolated.
Processes/practices Traditional, work practices have The Project--through training, TA, and financial resources--will tended to be supervisory and support improved working practices aimed at creating good working administrative. School Districts relations between school districts and schools' staff, including should become more involved in specialized support of teachers by school districts in both pedagogical technical assistance and training of and school-based management areas. teachers in their classrooms, to guarantee adequate teaching and learning.
- 116- Table 10 UTEN Unidad Tecnicade TransformacionEducativa
Area of Capacity CapacityGaps Identified CapacityBuilding Measures Taken/Agreed
Organization As a new organizationalunit, terms of The UTEN has been created to referencefor each of the staffposition The administrative positions for procurement and financial provide synergy between programs, of the UTEN have been developed. management will be filled through a competitive process. projectsand investmentsin support of Key positions have been filled. Acceptable candidates would have private sector experience and education reforms, especially those However,the administrativepositions excellentperformance recommendations. supported by international agencies. for the procurement and financial It organization structure is divided management of the Project are still Contracts for Project coordination staff will include performance between a technical body, which vacant. clausesand annualevaluations. coordinateswith each of the Directive Units of the SE responsible for different areas of education investment (curriculum reform, student assessment, school management,etc.), and administrative units, which coordinate with the corresponding international financial agencies.
Leadership and administration The key leadershiprole of the UTEN The terms of reference for the leadership positions of the UTEN is one of coordination and team emphasizetheir role as facilitatorsfor the SE's directorsto guarantee building. The highestrisk for the unit their ownershipof the educationprograms, projects and investments. is to also become an isolated unit withinthe SE. Decision making regarding education intemationally supported educationprograms, projects and investmentswill be done by full participationof the SE's directors through a coordinatedboard, of which the UTEN is but one additional member.
Human Resources Only the key leadership positions of The competitiveprocess for selection of the administrativepositions the UTEN have been appointed. of the UTENhas been fullyagreed with the SEs and the Secretariatof Administrative staff for each of the Finance(SEFIN). The full staffingof the UTEN, acceptableto IDA, large investment projects, supported is a condition of Project effectiveness. TechnicalAssistance for the by the World Bank and the IDB still selectionand training of the proposedcandidates is being providedby need to be selectedand hired. a ManagementTechnical Assistance Agency.
Material Resources Adequatefacilities and equipmentare The prior-Bank supported Project (PROMEB) is supporting the still requiredfor the UTEN. availabilityof facilitiesand equipment.
Processes/practices The key function of the UTENwill be Training in areas of team building, informationsharing and alliance its role in team building, sharing of building will be permanently provided to the UTEN during the information,and building alliances in implementationof the Project. Annual institutionalassessments of favor of internationally supported the UTEN will monitor and evaluate the quality of its organization education programs, projects and and the impact on projectimplementation quality. Any adjustments investments. If work practicesare not on UTEN functions, organization and staffing will guarantee conducive to these functions, the appropriatefunctioning. UTEN impact on improving the quality of the education investment portfoliocan be jeopardized.
- 117- Table 11 NationalPedagogical University, Francisco Morazan Universidad Pedagogica Nacional, Francisco Morazan (UPNFM)
Area of Capacity CapacityGaps Identified CapacityBuilding Measures Taken/Agreed
Organization The provision of in-service teacher The CommunityBased EducationProject will support the UPNFMin The UPNFM has been developingits trainingand extemaleducation quality institutionalizingboth university level in-servicetraining for teachers organizationstructure and capacity to evaluation need to be fully and the bi-annualstandardized assessment to evaluate the qualityof becomea key providedof pedagogical institutionalizedwithin the UPNFM. basic educationin 3rd and 6th grades. Incrementaloperational costs training, at the university level, in Up to now, these programshave been will be financedon a decliningbasis to guaranteeappropriate human Honduras. Also,the Govemmenthas dependent on extemal projects and and physicalresources for this activities. invested in the creation of a unit for financing. the extemal evaluation of education quality. As such, the University will be working as a co-implementing agency with the SE in the in-service teacher training and extemal education quality evaluation subcomponents.
Leadershipand administration The UPNFM has developed a clear The Project is tapping into the UPNFM's efforts in education visionof its goals and functionsin the excellence. Continued support and technical assistance will be educationsector, mainly as a provided provided to the Universityto guaranteethe quality of its in-service or high quality training for teachers, training programs and evaluation quality. The leadership of the and educational research and Universitywill also benefitfrom regionalexchange of lessonslearned evaluation. The University should in teacher training and leaming assessment,to be supportedby the continue with its improvement for Project. intemational accreditation of its programs.
HumanResources The University has appointed high The Project will guaranteethe continued qualityof human resources quality staff for its Unit of External for the componentsexecuted by the UPNFM. Evaluation of Education Quality (UMCE). Additionally, the Universityis buildingup the qualityof human resourcesto provide pertinent in-service teacher training in areas relevant to the Project: multigrade teaching, inter-cultural and bilingual education and school-based management.
MaterialResources The UPNFMhas an extensivenetwork The in-service teacher training program will make use of university of facilitiesand equipmentnationwide, facilities and satellitesat the departmentaland municipallevels. which will be put to use in the implementation of the in-service training and education evaluation componentsof the Project.
Processes/practices The highest risk related to work The UPNFM will work in a coordinatedmanner with the SE for the practices for the components to be planning, programming, monitoring and evaluation of the teacher implementedby the UPNFMis lack of training componentsand educationquality assessment. Especially, coordination with the SE, especially UMCEwill guaranteethat feedbackto departments,school districts, with the SE units responsible for communities, and schools regarding student leaming is done in teacher training and student coordinationwith the SE. assessment.
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