Document of The World Bank Report No: ICR00002970 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT (IBRD-73530) ON A LOAN IN THE AMOUNT OF US$150 MILLION TO THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC FOR A RURAL EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT PROJECT - PROMER May 30, 2014 Human Development Department Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay Country Management Latin America and the Caribbean Region CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (Exchange Rate Effective June 4, 2014) Currency Unit = Argentine Peso 1.00 = US$0.12 US$ 1.00 = AR$8.09 FISCAL YEAR January 1 – December 31 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CEAPI Consejo Educativo Autónomo de Pueblos Indígenas or AutonomousEducation Council for Indigenous Groups CFE Consejo Federal de Educación or Federal Education Council CPS Country Partnership Strategy DGI General Directorate for Infrastructure DGUFI Dirección General Unidad de Financiamiento Internacional or General Directorate of the International Finance Unit DINIECE Dirección Nacional de Información y Evaluación de la Calidad Educativa or National Directorate of Information and Educational Quality Evaluation EGB Educación General Básica or General Basic Education ICR Implementation Completion and Results Report ISR Implementation Status Report LEF Law for Educational Financing NAP Núcleos de Aprendizajes Prioritarios or Core Learning Priorities NBI Necesidades Básicas Insatisfechas or Unsatisfied Basic Needs NEA Noreste Argentina or Northeast Argentina NME National Ministry of Education NOA Noroeste Argentina or Northwest Argentina NPRE National Program for Rural Education OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ONE Operativo Nacional de Evaluación or National Evaluation Survey PDO Project Development Objective PISA Program for International Student Assessment PNEDOyFD Plan Nacional de Educación Obligatoria y Formación Docente or National Plan for Compulsory Education and Educator Training PRODYMES Programa de Descentralización y Mejoramiento de la Educación Secundaria or Program for the Decentralization and Improvement of Secondary Education PROMER Rural Education Improvement Project QAE Quality at Entry QSA Quality of Supervision SIGEN General Comptroller of the Nation Vice President: Jorge Familiar Country Director: Jesko Hentschel Sector Manager: Reema Nayar Project Team Leader: Diego Ambasz ICR Team Leader: Diego Ambasz ARGENTINA Rural Education Improvement Project - PROMER CONTENTS Data Sheet A. Basic Information B. Key Dates C. Ratings Summary D. Sector and Theme Codes E. Bank Staff F. Results Framework Analysis G. Ratings of Project Performance in ISRs H. Restructuring I. Disbursement Graph 1. Project Context, Development Objectives, and Design ..................................................... 1  2. Key Factors Affecting Implementation and Outcomes ...................................................... 4  3. Assessment of Outcomes .................................................................................................. 11  4. Justification of Overall Outcome Rating .......................................................................... 19  5. Assessment of Bank and Borrower Performance ............................................................. 21  6. Lessons Learned ............................................................................................................... 23  Annex 1. Project Costs and Financing  Annex 2. Outputs by Component  Annex 3. Economic and Financial Analysis  Annex 4. Bank Lending and Implementation Support/Supervision Processes  Annex 5. Summary of Borrower's ICR and/or Comments on Draft ICR  Annex 6. List of Supporting Documents  MAP  A. Basic Information Argentina Rural Education Country: Argentina Project Name: Improvement Project - PROMER Project ID: P070963 L/C/TF Number(s): IBRD-73530 ICR Date: 10/30/2013 ICR Type: Core ICR GOVERNMENT OF Lending Instrument: SIL Borrower: ARGENTINA Original Total USD 150.00M Disbursed Amount: USD 150.00M Commitment: Revised Amount: USD 150.00M Environmental Category: B Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Education Co-financiers and Other External Partners: B. Key Dates Revised / Actual Process Date Process Original Date Date(s) Concept Review: 02/08/2005 Effectiveness: 12/14/2006 12/14/2006 09/01/2011 Appraisal: 10/28/2005 Restructuring(s): 04/03/2013 Approval: 12/15/2005 Mid-term Review: 10/27/2008 04/05/2010 Closing: 10/31/2011 12/31/2013 C. Ratings Summary C.1 Performance Rating by ICR Outcomes: Moderately satisfactory Risk to Development Outcome: Moderate Bank Performance: Moderately satisfactory Borrower Performance: Moderately satisfactory C.2 Detailed Ratings of Bank and Borrower Performance (by ICR) Bank Ratings Borrower Ratings Quality at Entry: Moderately Satisfactory Government: Satisfactory Implementing Quality of Supervision: Moderately satisfactory Moderately satisfactory Agency/Agencies: Overall Bank Overall Borrower Moderately satisfactory Moderately satisfactory Performance: Performance: i C.3 Quality at Entry and Implementation Performance Indicators Implementation QAG Assessments (if Indicators Rating Performance any) Potential Problem Project Quality at Entry Yes None at any time (Yes/No): (QEA): Problem Project at any Quality of No None time (Yes/No): Supervision (QSA): DO rating before Moderately Closing/Inactive status: Satisfactory D. Sector and Theme Codes Original Actual Sector Code (as % of total Bank financing) Central government administration 3 3 Pre-primary education 25 25 Primary education 60 60 Secondary education 5 5 Sub-national government administration 7 7 Theme Code (as % of total Bank financing) Administrative and civil service reform 14 14 Education for all 14 14 Education for the knowledge economy 29 29 Indigenous peoples 14 14 Rural services and infrastructure 29 29 E. Bank Staff Positions At ICR At Approval Vice President: Jorge Familiar Pamela Cox Country Director: Jesko Hentschel Axel van Trotsenburg Sector Manager: Reema Nayar Eduardo Velez Bustillo Project Team Leader: Diego Ambasz Suhas D. Parandekar ICR Team Leader: Diego Ambasz ICR Primary Author: William Experton ii F. Results Framework Analysis Project Development Objectives (from Project Loan Agreement) The objectives of the Project are to improve: (i) the coverage, efficiency, and quality of the Argentine education system, and (ii) the governance of the Argentine education system through strengthening of the normative, planning, information, monitoring, and evaluation capacity at the national and provincial levels. (a) PDO Indicator(s) Original Target Actual Value Formally Values (from Achieved at Indicator Baseline Value Revised approval Completion or Target Values 1 documents) Target Years Indicator 1 : Reduce by half the number of 6–year-old children in 1st grade who did not attend preschool in rural areas in Argentina. Value 15,861(Original baseline (Quantitative or 4,500 7,921 3,859 9,000) Qualitative) Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2012 12/31/2013 04/30/2013 Comments Surpassed: This indicator was revised at 2011 restructuring. The baseline was (incl. % corrected the target and the wording were revised but the substance was not achievement) changed. Increase the access of students completing the 7th grade to the 8th grade of Indicator 2 : schooling in rural areas in Argentina. Value 77.8 % (Original baseline (Quantitative or 85.0% 82.9% 73%) Qualitative) Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2012 12/31/2013 Comments 82.5% achieved: The Project achieved the targeted access rate from 7th to 8th grade (incl. % in 2011 with 85.1%. However the promotion rate decreased slightly to 84% in 2012 achievement) and to 82.9% in 2013. This indicator’s baseline was corrected at 2011 restructuring. Indicator 3 : Increase the access of students completing the 6th grade to the 7th grade of schooling in rural areas in Argentina. Value (Quantitative or 91.6% 93.0% 87.9% Qualitative) Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2013 12/31/2013 55.3% achieved. Although coverage of lower secondary education increased Comments significantly by 30.8% between 2004 and 2013 in rural schools, the access rate from (incl. % 6th to 7th grade at 87.9% is below the target. achievement) This indicator was introduced at the 2011 restructuring. Indicator 4 : Improve promotion rates in grades 1 to 6 in rural areas in Argentina in rural areas. 1 All the education statistical data were collected at the beginning of the school year 04 /30 /2013. iii Value 85.3% (original baseline (Quantitative or 85% 91% 93.3% 76%) Qualitative) Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2012 12/31/2013 Comments Surpassed: This indicator was revised at the 2011 restructuring (initially it was to (incl. % improve promotion rate in EGB1 grades 1 to 3). The baseline and target were achievement) revised. Indicator : Reduce by two or more years the over-age enrollment in EGB2 (grades 4 to 6) in rural areas from 24 percent to 12 percent. Value (Quantitative or 24% (2002) 12% 16.1% Qualitative) Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2012 12/31/2013 66% achieved. This indicator was dropped at restructuring because other complementary policies such as extra tutoring and flexible hours were intended to Comments bring children that had previously dropped out back to school. This might have led (incl. % to stability in the over-age student population even when Project activities were achievement) designed to decrease it. So the target could not be kept. But in reality these policies had little impact on the number of children who went back to school and the percentage of over-age students decreased substantially in rural areas. Number of rural schools with at least one teacher graduate from the diploma Indicator 5 : program in Math and Spanish. This indicator was introduced at the 2011 restructuring. Value (Quantitative or 0 3,000 2, 735 Qualitative) Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2013 12/31/2013 91% achieved: 6,043 teachers from rural schools (with just one teacher) enrolled in this diploma program (400 hours of in-service training combining distance Comments education with training sessions in 47 teacher training institutions in 20 provinces) (incl. % which took place in 2010 and 2011. Surveys of the 2,735 teachers who graduated achievement) showed that they had improved their teaching practices. All of these teacher graduates returned to work in their original schools. Number of bilateral agreements between national and provincial Governments in Indicator 6 : satisfactory execution. To have 23 agreements have agreements been signed, and Value with 23 executed. Of these (Quantitative or 0 provinces agreements 20 have Qualitative) being executed been executed satisfactorily satisfactorily. Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2012 12/31/2013 12/31/2013 86% achieved: The baseline and target were set at the 08/29/2011 restructuring. Comments All the agreements have been signed and executed. Provinces’ performance in terms (incl. % of execution was uneven: (i) in four provinces execution was rated highly achievement) satisfactory; (ii) in nine, satisfactory; (iii) in seven, moderately satisfactory; and (iv) in three, execution was not satisfactory. Annual plans regarding the compilation, analysis, dissemination and use of Indicator 7 : educational statistics in satisfactory execution. iv System in Federal Education operation and Value Information System updated based (Quantitative or No system in place is fully operational on currently Qualitative) and updated annually available in April information Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2012 12/31/2013 12/31/2013 Achieved: The Federal Education Information System was modernized and is fully Comments operational. Data are collected annually on April 30 in all of the provinces, and are (incl. % currently updated to April 2013. The time required to compile, analyze and achievement) disseminate the data has been reduced from 18 months to nine months. (b) Intermediate Outcome Indicator(s) Original Target Actual Value Formally Values (from Achieved at Indicator Baseline Value Revised approval Completion or Target Values documents) Target Years Percentage of rural secondary schools that receive ICT equipment as a share of Indicator 1 : total rural secondary schools participating in school networks. Value (Quantitative 0% 100% 100% or Qualitative) Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2013 12/31/2013 Comments Achieved: All schools in rural areas have been equipped with a PC, printer, TV, (incl. % furniture and a set of CDs and software. (Indicator introduced at the 2011 achievement) restructuring.) Percentage of rural schools that receive institutional libraries as a share of rural Indicator 2 : schools participating in school networks. Value (Quantitative 0 100% 100% or Qualitative) Date achieved 12/31/2013 12/31/2013 Comments Achieved: All the schools in rural areas received library furniture and a set of (incl. % library books (200 titles in preschool, 272 in primary, and 2,020 in secondary), achievement) textbooks, and teaching guides. Indicator 3 : Number of infrastructure projects completed with PROMER funding. Value (Quantitative 0 420 473 or Qualitative) Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2012 12/31/2013 Comments Surpassed: 473 infrastructure works financed by the Project have been completed. (incl. % In addition, 81 infrastructure projects in rural area were financed outside the achievement) Project. Standardized National Assessment Test (ONE) sample extended and specifically Indicator 4 : designed to assess student learning in grades 3 and 6 in rural schools in 2007, 2010, and 2013. Value No standardized One “ONE” National . (Quantitative National Assessment Test conducted with Assessment Test v or Qualitative) (ONE) results for a an extended were conducted in representative sample in sample of rural 2007, 2010, and rural areas. schools in 2013. 2007 and years 2007, 2010 results were 2010 and 2013. compared and Report delivered to the including the Provinces. comparative performance between 2007 and 2010 delivered to the Provinces to inform educational policy decisions Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2013 12/31/2013 Comments Partially achieved: The results of the National Assessment Test (ONE) 2013 are (incl. % being processed and should be available in July 2014. achievement) Indicator 5 : Percentage of rural schools surveyed for the National Education Map. Value (Quantitative 0% 100% 100% or Qualitative) Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2013 12/31/2013 Comments (incl. % Achieved: The rural schools survey was completed in 2006. achievement) Indicator 6 : Implementation of a web-based system to access information and the results of the new rural schools census. Value System System designed (Quantitative No system in place. designed and and implemented in or Qualitative) implemented. 20 provinces. Date achieved 11/17/2004 12/31/2013 12/31/2013 Comments 87% achieved: In 2013, 20 Provinces were using the web to collect and upload (incl. % education data. The system should be fully operational in all the Provinces by the achievement) end of 2014. G. Ratings of Project Performance in ISRs Actual Date ISR No. DO IP Disbursements Archived (USD millions) 1 12/30/2005 Satisfactory Satisfactory 0.00 2 12/27/2006 Satisfactory Satisfactory 1.45 3 05/18/2007 Satisfactory Satisfactory 1.69 4 12/07/2007 Satisfactory Satisfactory 11.31 vi 5 03/19/2008 Satisfactory Satisfactory 16.18 6 12/20/2008 Satisfactory Satisfactory 24.79 7 06/21/2009 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 36.81 8 12/04/2009 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 45.17 9 06/18/2010 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 57.76 10 02/15/2011 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 79.57 11 12/25/2011 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 101.17 12 07/09/2012 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 120.73 13 04/24/2013 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 141.48 H. Restructuring (if any) Amount disbursed at Restructuring PDO rating at IP rating at Reasons for restructuring restructuring dates restructuring restructuring & key changes made in USD millions - Extensively revise the Results framework 09/01/2011 MS MS 95.32 - Revise Project costs - Reallocate proceeds - Extend the closing date 04/03/2013 MS MS 139.73 - Reallocate proceeds I. Disbursement Profile vii 1. Project Context, Development Objectives, and Design 1.1 Context at Appraisal 1. In 2005, after three years of accelerated growth, Argentina was still recovering from the severe economic and social crisis that had begun in 1998. The Government’s focus was to transition from crisis response to addressing long-term structural issues in the economy, such as improving the investment climate to sustain long-term growth that would further fuel a strong demand for skilled labor and the social inclusion of vulnerable groups. The Government sought to provide equal opportunities by improving the educational attainment of the rural population, particularly in the poorer provinces of the Northwest and Northeast. 2. In rural areas, the education system was characterized by pockets of limited coverage with incomplete access to the ten obligatory years of education. In addition, the quality of education in rural areas was significantly below that of urban areas which resulted in high repetition and dropout rates. Because they served areas with low population density, schools in rural areas tended to be low priorities in terms of the allocation of resources for infrastructure, equipment, didactic materials, and teacher training. Schools in rural areas were characterized by multi-grade classrooms, teachers with limited access to information and professional support, poor facilities, and a lack of equipment and material. 3. The Government’s National Rural Education Program was designed to address the specific requirements of the education system in rural areas and support full coverage of the ten years of compulsory education, including preschool, while improving the quality of basic education, especially as it related to Core Learning Priorities, (NAP: Núcleos de Aprendizajes Prioritarios) to make the education system more productive and equitable. 1.2 Original Project Development Objectives (PDO) and Key Indicators 4. The objectives of the Project are to improve: (i) the coverage, efficiency, and quality of the Argentine education system, and (ii) the governance of the Argentine education system through strengthening of the normative, planning, information, monitoring, and evaluation capacity at the national and provincial levels. In the PAD, the key indicators that follow the PDO indicate that “the Argentine education system” means the rural education system from pre-school to lower secondary education as also indicated by the Project’s name “Rural Education Improvement Project”. 5. The original PDO indicators, identified as specific objectives in the PAD, were: (i) Reduce by half the difference in the access of 6 year old children in 1st grade as compared to 5 year old children in Pre-School in rural areas in Argentina; (ii) Increase from 73 percent to 85 percent the access of students completing the 7th grade to the 8th grade of schooling in rural areas in Argentina; (iii) Improve promotion rate in EGB1 (Grades 1 to 3) in rural areas in Argentina from 76 percent (2002) to 85 percent (2010); (iv) Reduce two or more years of overage enrollment in EGB2 in rural areas from 24 percent (2002) to 12 percent (2010); (v) Improve the percentage of students in Grade 3 in rural schools achieving proficiencies in the nationally ratified standards of the NAP); (vi) ) Improve the 1 percentage of students in Grade 6 in rural schools achieving proficiencies in the nationally ratified standards of the NAP; (vii) Number of bilateral agreements between national and provincial Governments in satisfactory execution; and (viii) Annual plans regarding the compilation, analysis, dissemination and use of educational statistics in satisfactory execution. 1.3 Revised PDO (as approved by original approving authority) and Key Indicators, and reasons/justification 6. The PDO remained unchanged throughout the life of the Project. At the 09/01/2011 restructuring, the PDO indicators were revised to reflect updated data available from the National Ministry of Education (NME) and to be consistent with the changes introduced to the operating environment of the education sector by the December 2006 National Education Law 2. The indicator measuring overage enrollment in grade 6 was dropped because Government policy also intended to bring children that had previously dropped out back to school. The indicators measuring student learning gains in grade 3 and 6 as measured by the National Student Assessment were dropped and replaced by an indicator measuring the number of schools with graduated teachers. Due to data processing lags and delays in implementation of activities, there would only be two data points (2007 and 2010) taken, rendering comparability of performance over time in schools difficult. 7. The revised PDO indicators were: (i) Reduce by half the number of 6-year-old children in 1st grade in rural areas in Argentina who did not attend preschool; (ii) Increase from 77.8 percent to 85 percent the student promotion rate from 7th grade to 8th grade in rural areas of Argentina; (iii) Increase the student promotion rate from 6th grade to 7th grade in rural areas of Argentina; (iv) Improve the average promotion rates in grades 1 to 6 in rural areas in Argentina; (v) Number of rural schools with at least one teacher who had graduated from the diploma program in Math and Spanish; (vi) Number of bilateral agreements between national and provincial Governments being satisfactorily executed; and (vii) Annual plans regarding the compilation, analysis, dissemination, and use of educational statistics, whose execution is rated as satisfactory. 1.4 Main Beneficiaries 8. The main beneficiaries were the population age 5 to 14 enrolled in rural schools, which was estimated to comprise 868,540 students. Other secondary beneficiaries were the teachers in rural schools and the staff in the line departments in the Ministries of Education at the federal and provincial levels dealing with management, planning, information systems, procurement, and school supervision for the rural education system. 1.5 Original Components 2 The National Education Law increased the length of compulsory education from 9 to 13 years and restructure the education system from a mandatory basic education (grade 1-9) to a system of kindergarten plus 6 or 7 years of primary followed by 6 or 5 years of secondary education. 2 Component A: Improving the Quality and Coverage of Rural Education 1. Carrying out activities aimed at improving the operating conditions of Rural Schools (A.1 Subprojects) and including: (a) provision of didactic materials and teaching equipment; (b) construction and/or rehabilitation of classrooms to accommodate existing and/or additional enrollment and to meet minimum school infrastructure standards, maintenance of Rural Schools and provision of the infrastructure and materials required thereof; (c) provision of technical tools necessary to access distance education through the educational television channels ; (d) provision of technical assistance for the preparation of Institutional Pedagogical Activities in Rural Schools serving predominantly indigenous students including carrying out training programs for Rural Schools implementing the Borrower’s indigenous education programs; and (e) establishment and operation of clusters of Rural Schools designed to deal with common sets of problems such as education planning, training and management of didactic materials, teaching equipment, and other resources for such schools (School Clusters). 2. Carrying out activities aimed at expanding coverage and improving the student promotion flow in Rural Schools (A.2 Subprojects) and including: (a) expansion of coverage of preschool education through the development and application of multi- grade preschool models, including the provision of educational materials and teacher training required thereof; (b) implementation of measures aimed to prevent dropout and repetition in the first years of primary education, such as measures to increase the reading and mathematics ability of students in the early grades, adoption of a three-year learning cycle as a framework for learning and promotion of students, and provision of training as required therein; (c) implementation of selected actions aimed to assist over-age students in catching up academically and reducing the over-age distortion in the latter years of primary education, and provision of the materials and training required therein; (d) design and implementation of learning modules for delivery of compulsory secondary education to students in Rural Schools, including the provision of materials and teacher training required therein; and (e) carrying out Institutional Pedagogical Activities. 3. Undertaking activities aimed at strengthening the management of education delivery in Rural Schools at the provincial level (A.3 Subprojects) and including the provision of technical assistance and training for staff at the Provincial education ministries in management, financial management, procurement, internal auditing, planning, information management and systems, pedagogical activities, administrative tasks, and school supervision. 4. Carrying out procurement at the national level for Component A activities. Component B: Enhancing Stewardship Capacity of the MECyT 1. Strengthening the planning, normative, monitoring, evaluation, implementation, financial management, procurement, and internal auditing capabilities of selected 3 departments in the MECyT through: (a) a review of the institutional arrangements in selected departments to identify and correct overlapping of activities and establish modern procedures and mechanisms to monitor and evaluate education activities and projects; and (b) provision of training to upgrade the technical skills of those involved in improving educational quality, principally in the use of implementation tools and information management systems. 2. Carrying out: (a) surveys of the functional conditions of Rural Schools and impact evaluation studies of the Project; and (b) student learning assessments in Rural Schools and the provision of feedback to these schools. 1.6 Revised Components 9. The components and sub-components were not formally revised. 1.7 Other significant changes 10. The 09/01/2011 level 2 restructuring: (i) revised the Results Framework; (ii) reallocated proceeds because the cost of component B increased as the Project supported student learning assessments on an expanded sample of rural schools and the provision of feedback to these schools in 2006 and 2010 and increased consultant costs needed to support the provincial and national governments3; and (iii) extended the closing date from October 31, 2011 to December 31, 2013 to allow sufficient time to finalize all Project activities. 11. The 04/03/2013 restructuring reallocated proceeds to finance: (i) increased unit costs in infrastructure activities; (ii) unanticipated consultant services related to the production of pedagogical materials; and (iii) increased operating costs linked to the teacher training program, and the financial transfers to schools (“Planes de Mejora”) implemented in 2,033 schools. 2. Key Factors Affecting Implementation and Outcomes 2.1 Project Preparation, Design, and Quality at Entry Strengths: 12. The Project built on the lessons learned from the four previous Bank-financed education projects. The key lessons were: (i) to provide financing to the Federal Government, so it would be responsible for the compensatory programs and instruments required for improved educational service delivery; (ii) to strengthen provincial ownership through extensive consultations with the Provinces to tailor the Project’s interventions to their needs and through bilateral agreements between the Federal government and the Provinces; (iii) to ensure the Project was part of the national policy for rural education in 3 The increased costs of Component B were financed by reallocating the remaining funds of the categories “Refunding of Project Preparation Advance” and “Unallocated”. 4 order to increase its sustainability; (iv) to put emphasis on the timely collection and sharing of education indicators through the inclusion of monitoring and evaluation in the Project, along with the provision of resources and technical assistance for evaluation and dissemination; and (v) to build flexibility into the Project’s design by providing only a general definition of inputs and including a system for annual review and revision based on intermediate results. 13. The Project was implemented within the existing structures of the NME and provincial Ministries. At the national level, the Directorate General for the International Finance Unit (DGUFI), in coordination with the other technical directorates was in charge of coordinating all Project activities. The DGUFI was also responsible for an IDB-financed project4. The need to build provincial implementation capacity (e.g. procurement, financial management, or monitoring and evaluation) was to be accomplished by strengthening existing line departments. This practice was designed to increase both implementation capacity and the sustainability of the rural education policy. 14. The Project design was simple and entirely focused on rural education. The choice of investment and approach were well adapted to the context of rural education, more specifically: (i) the access of students aged four and five years old to preschool; (ii) teaching methods for multi-age classrooms; (iii) teaching guides, textbooks, and library books well suited for learning to read; (iv) a pedagogical and institutional model to develop secondary education. Initially in the preparation process the Project was designed to cover rural education, technical education, and the transition to higher education. However, when the Law funding technical education was adopted in 2005, the Government did not request the inclusion of technical education. Therefore, the Project was simplified to support the National Program for Rural Education (NPRE), which exhibited strong ownership by the National Ministry of Education (NME) and the Provincial Ministries. By expanding coverage and quality of education in rural areas, the Project addressed the issue of social inclusion of vulnerable groups, equality of opportunity, and productivity improvement. 15. The use of bilateral agreements between the federal government and the Provinces was considered the best way to consolidate support for the reforms, build ownership and trust, and strengthen capacity and accountability among participating Provinces. The bilateral agreements: (i) were piloted to facilitate dialogue; (ii) included a requirement for each province to undertake diagnostic work needed to define the gaps in coverage and in the efficiency indicators for rural education using a standardized methodology developed by the NME; (iii) would be supported by annual work plans and would contain targets; (iv) would allocate funds annually based on a review of progress toward compliance with the previous year’s work plan and projected activities; and (v) ensured that provinces that were slow on implementation would receive help and special attention from national authorities. 4 The IDB-financed project supported the quality, equity and efficiency in the Argentine education system, with particular focus on secondary education and expanding infrastructure in urban areas. It was approved in 2004. 5 Weaknesses: 16. A more careful assessment of Provincial implementation capacity should have been undertaken in order to fine tune the implementation arrangements and evaluate the technical assistance to be provided to the Provinces. Although the PAD and the Operation Manual clearly delineated responsibilities and processes, they did not fully anticipate the difficulties that could arise from decentralized implementation. As a result, it took time, effort, and technical assistance for the Project to commence in the Provinces with weak administrative and implementation capacity, especially to test procedures and train staff. This was particularly true for the procurement of civil works. 17. The PDO, as stated in the loan agreement, was too broad. It should have explicitly restricted the scope of the Project to preschool, primary, and lower secondary education in rural areas. This issue arose as a result of the decision to distinguish between general and specific objectives in the PAD. The specific objectives did restrict the objectives to the rural areas. 18. The risk assessment did not anticipate the difficulties that the Project encountered in implementing and modernizing the system of data collection, analysis and dissemination. These were due to: (i) the lack of a culture of evaluation and results; (ii) delays in processing and analyzing the data; and (iii) the impact of changes to the educational regulatory framework at the secondary level. 2.2 Implementation Factors generally subject to Government control 19. The Law for Educational Financing (LEF), approved by the Congress on December 20, 2005, set strategic goals for the education sector and established a set of rules for resource allocation that provided incentives for the Provinces to meet these goals. The Project design built on this new funding framework in which provinces would sign bilateral agreements with the Federal Government committing to achieve specific goals and to match additional federal resources with their general revenues. When the LEF took effect in 2007, the funds from PROMER were the first to be allocated to the Provinces according to the new framework. Essentially, the LEF: (i) led to an increase of the education budget from 4.5% of GDP in 2006 to 6.4% of GDP in 2010; and (ii) guaranteed the provision of resources to the provinces for the duration of the bilateral agreements. 20. The 2006 National Education Law (Law 26.206) recognized the rural education modality5 in education policy and institutionalized it in the administration at the National and Provincial levels. In terms of the Project, the most significant features were: (i) to extend compulsory education to twelve years; (ii) to include 100% of 5 year- olds and 5 The rural education modality, along with the other eight modalities (bilingual intercultural, art, science and technology, special, youth and adults, technical and professional, healthcare, and prison inmate education) are organizational and/or curricular choices within the education system, covering one or more educational levels, that seek to address specific training requirements in order to ensure equality in the right to education. 6 increase 3 and 4 year-old enrollment in preschool, particularly in low income areas; (iii) to ensure that at least 30% of children have a complete school day in basic education; (iv) to provide one computer to all students at the secondary level; (v) to allocate cash transfers to families for each child enrolled in school (Asignación Universal por Hijo); and (vi) the third cycle of basic education (grades 7 to 9), which was integrated in primary education, became the first cycle of secondary education. However, this change to the legal framework delayed the expansion of coverage of secondary education in the Provinces as well as the implementation of the components of the Project related to it because it sparked numerous debates and controversies regarding the integration of grades 7 to 9 within the institutional organization of the schools. 21. In December 2007, the election of a new Government resulted in a change of officials at the NME. However, the PROMER coordinator, the director of DGUFI, and most of the staff in charge of the Project remained in their positions. As a result, the impact on Project implementation was minimal. 22. On December 13, 2010, the Federal Council of Education approved the document “Rural Education within the National Education System” as part of resolution 128/10. The document provided the operational guidelines for the modality and accelerated the implementation of the Project at the Provincial level. This decision was a major policy step toward sustaining the rural education modality in each province. Factors generally subject to implementing agency control 23. In December 2008, after the Provincial elections, there was a change of the administrators and technical staff in charge of the implementation of PROMER in 17 of the 22 provincial education ministries. This, with other factors linked to institutional capacity, explained why Project implementation was slow to start up in many Provinces. 24. In 2009, after implementation bottlenecks were identified, the DGUFI reorganized itself at national level to provide increased support to the Provinces through more frequent visits. At the same time, the Infrastructure Division of the Ministry of Education adopted measures to improve the pace of physical and financial implementation of the school construction programs. 2.3 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Design, Implementation, and Utilization Design 25. The Project design emphasized the timely collection and sharing of education indicators through: (i) the inclusion of monitoring and evaluation requirements in the bilateral agreements with the provinces; (ii) the provision of resources and technical assistance to the provinces for data collection, evaluation, and dissemination; and (iii) the development of a modernized web-based Federal Education Information Network. 26. The design of the Results Framework exhibited some weaknesses: (i) only the PDO indicators had baselines, values, and targets; (ii) intermediate indicators were few and were not structured such that they would facilitate the assessment of the contribution of the 7 different components of the Project to the achievement of the objectives; (iii) the choice of indicators to measure quality in grade 3 and grade 6 was correct, but the initial, mostly urban sample used by the Standardized National Assessment Test (ONE) did not allow authorities to monitor the progress toward the achievement of the Core Learning Priorities in rural areas; (iv) indicators 6 and 7 measuring governance were weak and vague because they lacked baselines and targets. Implementation 27. The 2011 restructuring corrected some of the Results Framework’s initial deficiencies. The following changes were made to key indicators: (i) the baselines for the and targets for PDO indicators 1, 2 and 3 measuring access were modified because additional information was available in 2007 and a significant number of rural schools (particularly in the Province of Buenos Aires, where 25% of rural schools were reclassified) had to be reclassified as urban schools; (ii) a new PDO indicator 3 was introduced to monitor primary school completion; (iii) PDO indicator 3 was dropped 6 ; (iv) a new indicator 5 was introduced, replacing the previous indicators 5 and 6, to monitor improvements in the quality of instruction by measuring the number of rural schools with at least one teacher graduate from the diploma program in math and Spanish7 ; and (v) baselines and targets were set for 6 and 7. An important new intermediary indicator was introduced to reflect that the mostly urban Standardized National Assessment Test (ONE) sample was expanded and specifically designed to assess student learning including in rural areas in grade 3 and in grade 6 in 2007, 2010, and 2013. 28. Regrettably, this restructuring was carried late and did not fully correct all the deficiencies in the Results matrix: (i) PDO indicators 2 and 3, which measured access, are insufficient to measure education coverage; (ii) the intermediate indicators related to component B ‘Enhancing the stewardship capacity’ of the national government, such as “measuring the timely availability of educational statistics” or “measuring sharing of educational statistics with schools”, which were dropped were not repetitive as indicated in the restructuring since they gave more precision to the PDO indicator 7 related to educational statistics. 29. Despite the emphasis on monitoring and evaluation, the NME, and more specifically the DINIECE (Directorate of Information and Educational Quality Evaluation), often processed the data later than required for effectively monitoring the Project. During 6 This indicator measuring the over-age enrollment was dropped at restructuring because other complementary policies such as extra tutoring and flexible hours were intended to bring children that had previously dropped out back to school. This might have led to stability in the over-age student population even though Project activities were designed to decrease it. But, in reality, this policy had little impact on the number of children who went back to school so this indicator remained relevant. Although the initial target was not achieved, the percentage of over-age students and dropouts decreased substantially in rural areas. 7 Indicators C1 and C2 measuring student learning gains in grade 3 and grade 6 as measured by the National Student Assessment were dropped. As a result of data processing lag and delays in implementation, there would have been only two data points (2007 and 2010), rendering comparability of performance over time in schools difficult. 8 the Project, it took about eighteen months after basic education data and Project data were collected (in April at the beginning of the school year) to process and disseminate them. 30. It was only in 2013 that the DINIECE successfully overcame these initial difficulties and put in place a modern and efficient Federal Education Information Network. During implementation, this system could not be put in place because: (i) the subcomponent to support the development of a system of data collection, analysis, and dissemination and to provide technical assistance to the provinces did not begin until 2010; (ii) there were four changes of leadership in DINIECE between 2005 and 2009; and (iii) the Federal Education Information Network was ambitious since the objective was that each school upload their data to the system directly through the Web. Utilization 31. A survey of rural schools was performed by the University of La Plata in August 2005 to determine schools’ rehabilitation and equipment needs and to establish baselines for Project indicators. However, the information from that survey was not fully utilized. In 2007, DINIECE extended this survey of the operating conditions of rural schools in the provinces using funding from the Project. This survey was used: (i) to determine the sample of rural schools for the ONE; (ii) to organize various Project activities; and (iii) to initiate modernization of the Federal Education Information Network. 32. Because of the delays in processing information throughout the life of the Project, data tracked by the DINIECE on rural education were underutilized to inform policy decisions at the national and provincial levels. However, student assessment data was disseminated to the Provinces in 2007 and 2010. 2.4 Safeguards and Fiduciary Compliance Environmental safeguards: 33. This was a category B Project because it included school construction. An Environmental Management Framework was prepared and included in the Operation Manual. All of the construction (mostly expansion and rehabilitation) was completed at the existing school sites. All construction complied with the environmental safeguards. Indigenous Peoples safeguards: 34. One of the Project components is entirely dedicated to indigenous education. It experienced a delayed start due to technical difficulties locating the indigenous population and identifying their needs. It commenced with: (i) the 2007 creation of the Autonomous Education Council for Indigenous Groups (CEAPI Consejo Educativo Autónomo de Pueblos Indígenas); (ii) decision 119/10 (September 2010) of the Federal Council of Education which defined the policy guidelines for Bilingual and intercultural education; (iii) a study of the sociolinguistic situation in the bilingual schools (December 2010); and (iv) an initial mapping exercise, including the linguistic and cultural criteria of 15,314 rural schools performed during from 2005-2009. 9 35. The Project’s main achievements in this area are: (i) a specific and detailed census and description of intercultural and bilingual education in 499 schools with indigenous children in 14 Provinces in 2011 and 2012 (there were 237 indigenous students in preschool, 313 in primary, and 172 in secondary; (ii) the implementation, mostly in 2012, of 146 school development plans (10 in preschool, 102 in primary, 16 in secondary, and 18 that combined all levels); (iii) 17 trainings organized for 1,260 teachers from 526 schools organized in 13 provinces; (iv) the organization of five regional round table discussions in 2010 to increase awareness of cultural diversity and knowledge of the traditional language, while also debating and formulating education policy for the indigenous population; and (v) an inventory of didactic materials specific to the indigenous population. Financial management 36. Overall, the Project’s financial management was handled adequately. Nonetheless, mid-way through the project, there were some delays in the transmission of audit reports and minor issues continued to be flagged in these audits. By 2011-2012 the situation had improved substantially through the joint efforts of the General Comptroller of the Nation (SIGEN), supervising the actions of the Internal Audit Unit of the NME in coordination with the Provincial Court of Accounts. The quality of control mechanisms regulating the use of funds at the subnational level was considerably reinforced. Fund oversight at the provincial level was adequate. When the audits were flagged, there was a prompt reaction from authorities at the national and provincial levels to fix the issues. The financial management of this Project demonstrates good practice for the Bank’s portfolio in Argentina. Procurement 37. The Project procurement arrangements and action plans were adequate, reflecting the recommendations of the Procurement Capacity Assessment done during Project preparation The DGUFI already possessed ample experience from previous operations with the Bank and the IDB. Apart from assessing procurement capacity and arrangements at the national level, the Bank also undertook a procurement capacity assessment at the provincial level, using one province as a representative example. Based on this methodology, the DGUFI carried out an assessment of the capacity of the Provinces (between April and May 2005) and established a risk level for procurement for each participating Province. This was used to prepare action plans to improve procurement capacity at provincial level. The DGUFI did an excellent job in annually consolidating the procurement plans from all the Provinces into a single Procurement Plan (this was considered to be best practice and PROMER was the only Bank financed project in Argentina that was able to do so). 38. However, there were difficulties procuring civil work at the Provincial level during the early years of implementation. The requirement that the Provinces submit all the technical documentation to the central level for review resulted in considerable delays. To accelerate this process in 2010: (i) the DGUFI reorganized itself to strengthen its Procurement unit; (ii) the Bank organized a one day seminar to train the new procurement staff of DGUFI to use Bank’s documents and guidelines; (iii) the Project paid for consultants to provide technical assistance to the Provinces and train procurement staff to 10 follow the Bank’s guidelines; and (iv) the Operation Manual was updated with information on the procurement of training, maintenance funds, and school development plans. As a result, the procurement difficulties were overcome in all the provinces except for Jujuy and Santiago del Estero where the initial construction plan had to be downsized. Covenants 39. All the covenants stipulated under the loan agreement were met. 2.5. Post-completion Operation/Next Phase The rural modality is now well institutionalized. All the Provinces adopted resolution 128/10 approved by the Federal Council of Education on December 13, 2010. A follow-up Project PROMER II is in preparation to be financed by a US$250 million Bank loan. Its PDO is expected to be: (i) to reduce the repetition rate in primary education; and (ii) to increase access and achievement in secondary education in rural areas. The objectives also include the upper secondary cycle, which became mandatory in December 2006. 3. Assessment of Outcomes 3.1 Relevance of Objectives, Design and Implementation Relevance of objective: Pre 2011 restructuring rating- High / Post restructuring rating - High 40. The Project was instrumental in creating a national policy for rural education in Argentina. The relevance of Project objectives is fully reflected in the enactment of the 2006 National Education Law (Law 26.206) which among its main provisions: (i) recognizes the rural modality in education policy8; (ii) and extends compulsory education to twelve years; (iii), promotes quality at all levels; and (iv) promotes increasing participation in preschool, particularly in low-income areas. In addition the objective of improving governance of the education system is included in the LEF, approved by Congress on December 20, 2005. The Project is consistent with the Government’s strategic objective of social inclusion of vulnerable groups, and it played a defining role in boosting the draf of the Federal Council for Education’s resolution 128/10 which institutionalized the rural education agenda in Argentina. On December 5, 2012 the Federal Council of Education approved the National Plan for Mandatory Education and Teacher Training (Plan Nacional de Educación Obligatoria y Formación Docente, PNEDOyFD) which defined the government’s priorities for 2012-2016. This plan had two main lines of action 8 The Law 26.206 set up the objectives of rural education: (i) ensuring access to knowledge through flexible pedagogical proposals that strengthen the link with the cultural identities and local productive activities: (ii) promoting institutional designs that enable learners to maintain links with their household and local environment of belonging, during the educational process; (iii) allowing school organization models appropriate to each context, such as clusters of institutions, multigrade rooms ensuring compliance with compulsory education and continuing studies in different cycles, and levels of the education system; (iv) promoting equal opportunities and ensuring gender equality. 11 detailed in specific lines for each level of the education system: (i) improving the quality of education services; and (ii) providing universal access to education services, especially for marginalized groups. The objective of the second pillar of the CPS 2010-2012 (the most recent CPS) continues to be relevant: it consists of expanding efforts to reverse the longer- term poverty trend by, among other social measures, assuring high-quality educational opportunities for all by reducing the differences in educational attainment by region, gender and socio economic status, increasing access to secondary education and improving the quality of education to ensure improved entry into the workforce. Relevance of design: Pre 2011 restructuring rating - Substantial / Post restructuring rating - Substantial 41. The Project design, which included the lessons learned from previous projects in Argentina and the best practices from other countries, was substantially relevant to the objective of improving efficiency and quality of the learning process of rural education by focusing on the quality of the learning process particularly at preschool and primary levels, because they are determinant for children’s future, through the provision of textbooks, learning materials, teacher training and clusters of rural schools; of improving coverage to preschool and lower secondary education by improving access by building and rehabilitating classrooms and extending schooling in lower secondary. It was substantially relevant to the governance objective by: (i) supporting bilateral agreements with the provinces to ensure flexibility of implementation and accountability for Project results; (ii) strengthening the implementation capacity at the provincial level to ensure the sustainable development of rural education; and (iii) supporting the development of modern procedures and mechanisms to monitor and evaluate education. 3.2. Achievement of Project Development Objectives 42. To assess the Project’s achievement, this ICR considers the four dimensions of the Project’s PDO (to improve coverage, efficiency, quality and governance of the education system), relying on the Project’s key outcome indicators but also on several supplementary indicators collected at the ICR stage. A. Improve coverage Pre 2011 restructuring rating - Substantial / Post restructuring rating - Substantial 43. The number of 6 year-old children that did not attend pre-school has been drastically reduced beyond the pre and post restructuring target. Preschool enrollment in rural areas (not including the Province of Buenos Aires) increased 32.4% between 2004 and 2013 and in rural areas of the Province of Buenos Aires enrollment increased 5.2% between 2007 and 2013. 12 Table 1: Preschool enrollment in rural areas Baseline Target End Value Change 2004 12/31/2013 (04/30/ 2013) Reduce by half the No. of 6-year-old 15,861 children in 1st grade in rural areas in (corrected in 7,291 3,859 -75.7% Argentina who did not attend preschool. 2011 restructuring) Enrollment in preschool in rural areas, 94,453 125,042 32.4% excluding the province of BA.9 (Baseline 2004) Enrollment in preschool in rural areas 17,828 18,758 5.2% of the Province of BAs (Baseline 2007) 44. The following actions contributed to the expansion of coverage at the preschool level: (i) the Project supported the implementation of Law 26.206, which expands compulsory education to preschool and provides access to kindergarten for four and five year-olds; (ii) the construction and rehabilitation of kindergarten class rooms; (iii) the distribution of didactic materials and learning equipment to 4,455 preschool facilities (100% of preschool facilities in rural areas); and (iv) training provided to 6,137 preschool teachers along with technical assistance to organize multi-grade classrooms. Different provinces used various alternatives to achieve increased preschool coverage: multi-grade classrooms annexed to primary schools, independent kindergartens, traveling teachers, teachers with dual degrees, and attention to children at home. 45. Enrollment in lower secondary education in rural areas without including the Province of Buenos Aires increased 30.8% between 2004 and 2013. In the rural areas of the Province of Buenos Aires, enrollment increased 19.4% between 2007 and 2013. The increase was remarkable (greater than 40%) in 8 provinces –including the poorest provinces-10, average in 10 provinces, and insignificant in 5 provinces11. The target for the access to 7th grade from 6th was 55.3% achieved (this indicator was introduced at the 2011 restructuring). The target of 85% for access to 8th grade from 7th was achieved in 2011, but in 2012 and 2013 the value slipped slightly below the target. 46. The Project contributed to an increase in access to lower secondary education through: (i) the promotion of a pedagogical and institutional model adapted to the rural context; (ii) the construction and rehabilitation of class rooms; (iii) the provision of libraries, library books, teaching guides, textbooks, and manuals to 6,168 schools (100% of secondary schools in rural areas); (iv) equipping schools with science laboratories, computers, printers, and audiovisual material; (v) technical assistance provided to 1,687 schools for school development plans (27.3% of secondary schools in rural areas); (vi) 9 In 2007, about a quarter of rural schools in the province of Buenos Aires were reclassified as urban. Thus, in order to allow for the comparison of enrollment between the baselines and the targets, the tables below present: (i) the data for the rural schools in Argentina excluding those in the province of Buenos Aires with a baseline of 2004; and (ii) the data for the rural schools in the Province of Buenos Aires with a baseline of 2007. 10 Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Misiones, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santiago del Estero, Formosa. 11 Jujuy, Rio Negro, San Juan, La Pampa, Buenos Aires. 13 teacher training; and (vi) the organization of 1,688 rural school clusters to optimize the use of resources12. Table 2: Promotion rate and enrollment in lower secondary education in rural areas Baseline Target End Value Change 2004 31/12/2013 (4/30/2013) Increase the access for students completing the 7th 77.8 % grade and entering 8th grade in rural areas in 85% 82.9% 6.6% (corrected) Argentina. Increase the access for students completing the 6th grade and entering the 7th grade in rural areas in 91.6% 93% 87.9% -4.0% Argentina. (Introduced at the 2011 restructuring). Enrollment in lower secondary education in 7th 137,295 and 8th grade in rural areas (excluding the 179,634 30.8% (Baseline 2004) province of BA). Enrollment in lower secondary education 7th and 17,533 20,932 19.4% 8th grade in rural areas of the Province of BA. (Baseline 2007) B. Improve efficiency Pre 2011 restructuring rating - Substantial / Post restructuring rating - Substantial 47. The post-restructuring target for the promotion rate in primary education in rural areas was exceeded, with a significant reduction in repetition and dropout rates. As a result, the proportion of over-age students declined substantially, in spite of policies that encouraged over-age students to return to school. 48. The Project contributed to an increase in promotion rate and reduction of repetition and drop out among primary education students by: (i) developing students’ reading ability in preschool using books, teaching guides, and didactic materials; (ii) provision of libraries with 272 books and 150 textbooks, 7 teaching guides, and a science laboratory to all 6,540 primary schools in rural areas; (iii) training 11,940 teachers in three main areas: a) teaching techniques to stimulate reading and writing, b)management of multi-grade classrooms, and c) implementation of the three-year learning cycle as the framework for learning and student promotion and (iv) training of 2,735 teachers in the rural education diploma program. 12 The clusters grouped an average of 10 schools with the following objectives: sharing experiences, pedagogical management, achieving economies of scale, organization of supervisors, teacher training, and increasing coverage. 14 Table 3: Internal efficiency indicators in rural areas Target (12/ End value Baseline 2004 Change 31/2013) (04/30/2013) 85.3% Improve promotion rate in grades 1-6 in rural (corrected at 93.3% 91% 9.4% areas13 2011 restructuring) Reduce over-age enrollment in EGB2 (grade 4 to 6) by two or more years (indicator dropped in 2011 24% (2002) 12%14 16.1% -32.9% restructuring) Reduce repetition rate in grades 1-3 in rural areas 13.8% 7% -49.3% Reduce repetition rate in grades 3-6 in rural areas 7.1% 4% -43.7% Reduce dropout rate in grades 1-3 in rural areas 1.4% 0.9% -35.7% Reduce dropout rate in grades 1-6 in rural areas 1.2% 1% -16.7% C. Improve Quality: Pre 2011 restructuring rating - Modest / Post restructuring rating - Modest 49. The standardized national learning assessment test (Operativo Nacional de Evaluación ONE) was conducted in 2007, 2010, 2013 on a sample of schools that ensured the representation of rural schools. However, it is not possible to draw conclusions for quality improvement from the ONE since only the 2013 ONE results (not available at the date of the ICR) could confirm whether some positive trends observed between 2007 and 2010 were sustained as a result of the Project. It is an achievement of the Project that the ONE was conducted regularly every three years in Argentina, but the test still has some limitations: (i) it is a universal standard assessment test only in secondary schools in the last grade but it is administered on a sample of primary schools in grade 3 and 6 ; (ii) the results, available by province, are disseminated to the public only by region on the website of DINIECE so their impact on the behavior of stakeholders at the school level is questionable; and (iii) to guide a policy driven toward quality the ONE should be complemented by studies that assess the incidence of inputs on the improvement of the learning process. 50. The comparison of the results of the ONE in 2007 and 2010 in primary education shows that the results improved in rural areas in this period on the Core Learning Priorities 13 The target for grades 1-3 in rural areas prior to the 2011 restructuring was 85%, and the original baseline was 76%. The indicator was changed to reflect performance in all grades of primary school. 14 Target date was original closing date (March 31st, 2011). 15 (NAP)15, particularly in language and mathematics, at a higher pace than at the national level, in all subject areas except Natural Science in grade 6th. Indicator: Improve the percentage of students in Grade 3 in rural schools achieving proficiency16 in the nationally ratified Core Learning Priorities (NAP) Rural Schools Grade 3 2007 2010 Discipline Low Medium High Low Medium High Spanish 36.7 29.7 33.6 32.6 30.0 37.5 Mathematics 37.3 37.1 25.7 27.0 38.9 34.2 Social Sciences 36.5 33.3 30.3 34.0 31.5 34.5 Natural Sciences 54.3 27.3 18.3 34.2 40.6 25.2 Indicator: Improve the percentage of students in Grade 6 in rural schools achieving proficiencies in the nationally ratified Core Learning Priorities (NAP); Rural Schools Grade 6 2007 2010 Discipline Low Medium High Low Medium High Spanish 45.0 41.7 13.3 38.9 45.9 15.1 Mathematics 47.3 35.3 17.4 44.6 36.4 19 Social Sciences 41.8 37.8 20.5 45.0 37.5 17.5 Natural Sciences 50.7 35.7 13.6 50.9 33.2 15.9 51. The number of rural schools with at least one teacher who graduated from the diploma program in Math and Spanish reached 2,735 a number slightly below the target. (Each teacher that graduated continued to teach at schools where they were the only teacher). The evaluation performed in 2011 and the 2013 survey of beneficiaries showed that17: (i) 95% of the teachers who graduated declared that they received training on the relevant didactic tools to teach in multi-grade classrooms; (ii) 82.7% received the methodology to organize their time, space and resources; (iii) 51.9% strengthened their ability to work more autonomously; and (iv) 49.4% increased their knowledge of the core disciplines. Table 4: Number of rural primary schools with qualified teachers Target End value Baseline 2004 (12/31/2012) (12/31/2012) No. of rural schools with at least one teacher graduate from the diploma program in Math and Spanish. (Indicator 0 3,000 2,735 added in the 2011 restructuring). 15 As established by the Federal Education Board (Resolutions 225/04 and 37/07), Core Learning Priorities are common cognitive competencies at national level in the areas of Language, Mathematics, Natural Science, Social Science. 16 Proficiency is achieved when students obtain a Medium or High performance in the evaluation. 17 Evaluación del Postítulo: Evaluación de la Especialización docente de nivel superior en educación rural para el nivel primario. Ana Belèn Zapata 2011 16 52. The Project contributed to improvement in quality through the training of 6,043 teachers in primary schools of which, 2,735 graduated. The graduation rate is low because: (i) the training was demanding in addition to teachers’ normal working hours; (ii) the training was long, 400 hours combining distance education and face to face training; and (iii) the certification process was strict. 53. This training was successful. First, it contributed to the installation of permanent training capacity at the provincial level, with 256 professors in charge of the training and 191 supervisors trained in 47 teacher training institutions in 20 Provinces. Secondly, all the teacher graduates returned to their positions in their original schools and they expressed a high appreciation for the training. But the number of teacher graduates is too low to have a significant impact (about 5.5% of the 47,133 primary teaching staff in all 11,637 rural schools). 54. In addition the Project contributed to quality by providing didactic materials, learning equipment and improving schools facilities (as detailed in previous section on coverage and efficiency). D. Improve Governance of the Argentine education system: Pre 2011 restructuring rating - Substantial/ Post restructuring rating - Substantial 55. The improvement in governance of the Argentine education system is substantial. The bilateral agreements (convenios bilaterales) including the Provincial Rural Education Plan and the operational mechanisms for the implementation of Project actions were signed with almost all the Provinces in 2006 (La Pampa, Neuquén, and San Luis signed them in 2007) conforming to the sample agreed on in the PAD. They were followed in 2007 by the signing of the first annual covenants (Actas de Monitoreo Anual) specifying activities, goals and indicators. For each year that the Project was in implementation a complementary act was signed to update the bilateral agreements followed by annual covenants for program activities. In 2012, bilateral agreements for the period 2012-2016 were signed with all the Provinces. 56. The flexible approach instituted in the bilateral agreements proved to be successful in particular in terms of: (i) organizing the partnership between the national and provincial education ministries; (ii) adapting the Project to the implementation capacity of each province; (iii) promoting a more targeted and differentiated policy to address the educational disparities in educational opportunity and the peculiarities of school in rural areas; (iii) programming and monitoring inputs; (iv) introducing more transparency and promoting a culture of results; and (v) taking corrective measures when necessary. As a result, most of the Provinces increased the resources dedicated to rural education. The DGUFI designed a diagnostic tool to assess the performance of the provinces. The execution of the bilateral agreements in the provinces was uneven: (i) in four provinces execution was rated highly satisfactory; (ii) in nine, satisfactory; (iii) in seven, moderately satisfactory; and (iv) in three the execution was not satisfactory.18 18 The rating has been established by the DGUFI through a diagnostic tool based on five criteria: (i) percentage of execution of the agreed action plans; (ii) administrative and financial management; (iii) procurement management; (iv) 17 57. The Project made a substantial contribution to improve governance at the provincial level by: (i) undertaking the collaborative planning activities necessary to prepare and monitor the bilateral agreements; (ii) allowing investment decisions to be made based on a more careful assessment of learning conditions and educational performance in rural schools; (iii) transferring all of the elements of the normative framework related to the rural education policy through technical assistance and training; (iv) funding an average of 203 positions in the provinces in key areas such as procurement, financial management, pedagogy, and monitoring and evaluation and (v) the Project was implemented through the existing institutional structure which increases sustainability of arrangements and outcomes. 58. DINIECE was successful in establishing a modernized Federal Education Information Network in 2013 which significantly improved data collection analysis and dissemination. As a result, an effective annual plan is now in place to collect, analyze and disseminate the annual education data and the time necessary went from 18 months during the period from 2005-2012 to 9 months in 2013. The Project contributed to build the network through different steps: (i) in 2006, the Federal Education Information Network project design was modernized and strengthened; (ii) in 2007, the procurement plan for the network equipment (computers, servers, printers) was completed; (iii) in 2010, the equipment was distributed to the Provinces and the staff was trained; (iv) in 2011, the software for data collection and analysis and the website for direct queries were finalized; (v) in 2012, in some of Provinces a new system that allowed the data to be directly uploaded at the school level through the web was piloted; and (vi) in 2013, the network was fully operational in all the Provinces. 3.3 Efficiency Pre 2011 restructuring rating - Negligible/ Post restructuring rating - Negligible 59. The economic and financial analysis that was conducted includes: (i) an analysis of the fiscal impact of the Project including its contribution to key results achieved by the rural education sector and comparing the fiscal performance of the Project to the results initially forecasted in the PAD; and (ii) a cost analysis of the education system, that takes into account each province as well as the characteristics of the rural education system. However, it was not possible to measure the efficiency gains in rural areas or to perform a cost benefit analysis of the Project’s interventions because the Provincial education budgets do not make a distinction between education in rural areas and total education expenditure. 60. The increase of the expenditure of the MECyT as a result of the Project was1.5 percent on average (with a minimum of 0.12 percent in 2006 to a maximum of 2.62 percent in 2010 when Project investment was at its highest). The resulting fiscal impact measured by this indicator is significantly lower than what was estimated in the PAD (4.6 percent on average, with varying rates that peaked above 8 percent), chiefly because expenditure on education by MECyT increased at a faster pace than planned in the PAD, owing to the provisions set forth in the LEF passed in late 2005 which increased the share of public management of activities related to the coordination of the program in the provinces; and (v) management of training activities. 18 expenditure on education as a proportion of GDP. This suggests that the fiscal pressure exerted on the Government budget was limited and sustainable. The increase in Provincial expenditure as a result of the development of rural education (increased enrollment at preschool, primary, and lower secondary levels) was minimal: 0.9 percent on average during the life of the Project. 61. The expenditure increase was accompanied by an expansion in the supply of services in rural areas which is far more important, as evidenced by the increase in the number of teaching positions and classrooms during the period under review. The share of teachers in rural areas relative to the national total increased from 17.1 percent in 2005 to 18.7 percent in 2012. The number of classrooms at each level increased in tandem with the number of teaching positions in rural areas, climbing from 6,863 to 8,549 at the early childhood level (an increase of 24.6 percent) between 2007 and 2012, from 29,788 to 34,730 at the primary level (16.6 percent increase) and from 11,082 to 15,330 at the secondary level (a 38.3 percent increase). This suggests that rural education was given priority while efficiency gains were realized. 62. The cost analysis shows that: (i) there was a relative reduction in the Government transfers to the Provinces for education corresponding to teachers’ salary payments (from 73.9 percent in 2005 to 52.1 percent in 2012) and a corresponding increase in the line items related to infrastructure and equipment; and (ii) there was great variability among Provinces in the allocation of resources especially with regard to teacher salaries and transfers to fund private education. As a result, the level of expenditure per student varies greatly from one Province to another. In 2012, Tierra del Fuego exhibited the highest level of expenditure per student, disbursing five times more than Salta at the opposite end of the spectrum. These differences are partially explained by geographical, socio-demographic, and climate factors, but the most important reason is the variation in teachers’ salary levels. 4. Justification of Overall Outcome Rating Rating: Moderately satisfactory 63. Relevance of objective and design are respectively high and substantial both pre and post 2011 restructuring. Efficacy ratings are substantial pre and post restructuring. Finally, the Efficiency rating is negligible pre and post restructuring. The combination of these partial ratings yields an overall moderately satisfactory rating for both periods (Table 5). In turn, the overall ratings for the two periods are weighted by the disbursement percentages prior to and following the 2011 restructuring, yielding an overall weighted rating equivalent to moderately satisfactory. 19 Table 5. Weighted Project rating Pre-restructuring Post-restructuring Overall (Dec. 2005 - Sept. 2011) (Sept. 2011- Dec. 2013) Relevance of objective High High Relevance of design Substantial Substantial Coverage Substantial Substantial Efficiency Substantial Substantial Quality Modest Modest Governance Substantial Substantial Overall Efficacy Substantial Substantial Efficiency Negligible Negligible Overall outcome rating Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Rating value 4 4 Weight 65% 35% Weighted value 2.6 1.4 4.0 Moderately Final rating Satisfactory 3.5 Overarching Themes, Other Outcomes, and Impacts (a) Poverty Impacts, Gender Aspects, and Social Development 64. In dispersed rural areas, about 36% of the population was estimated to be poor and vulnerable. Low educational attainment levels are strongly associated with poverty.19 The rural education policy precipitated an important change in the sector by prioritizing rural areas and adapting schools and programs to fit the context and necessities of a hitherto marginalized population. At the same time, by improving learning conditions in rural schools the Project substantially increased access and retention. Since an increase in educational attainment reduces the likelihood of falling into poverty the contribution of the project to poverty reduction could be significant but not measured. (b) Institutional Change/Strengthening 65. The Project contributed to institutional changes consolidating accountability among participating Provinces by: (i) implementing bilateral agreements between the federal government and the Provinces; and (ii) strengthening capacity in the Provinces. c) Other Unintended Outcomes and Impacts (positive or negative) 3.6 Summary of Findings of Beneficiary Survey and/or Stakeholder Workshops (optional for Core ICR, required for ILI, details in annexes) 4. Assessment of Risk to Development Outcome 19 The invisible poor: A portrait of rural poverty in Argentina World Bank 2010. The population in dispersed rural areas represents 8% of total population of Argentina and 62% of rural area population. In dispersed rural areas, it is estimated that 36% of the population are poor according to the unsatisfied basic needs methodology (UBN), 42.8 percent have not completed even primary education, and a mere 7.3 percent have completed secondary school. And children are more at risk of not attending school: it is estimated that 5% of households have at least one child who is not at school. 20 Rating: Moderate 66. Overall, the risk that the increase in coverage and improvement in internal efficiency, quality and governance might not be maintained is moderate. On one hand the National Program for Rural Education is well established in a legal framework and in the 2012-2016 National Education Plan which defines priorities. In addition, all of the instruments and inputs are in place to improve the learning processes in rural schools. On the other hand, the Provinces remain highly dependent on the national Government for their resources. Even if the financing of the expansion of rural enrollment accounted only for 0.2 percent of total expenditures in the early years of the Project and below 0.1% in the subsequent years For instance, provincial budgets allocate insufficient funding for the maintenance of educational infrastructure and for new school supplies and learning materials. In the event of a budget crunch, priorities may easily shift to urban areas and to secondary education where enrollment pressure is the strongest. In contrast, the rural population is declining and the cost per student will probably remain high in rural schools. 67. The following activities will be pursued with Government financing ensuring that quality outcomes can be maintained : (i) the provision of school libraries and books for the schools which have not benefited from the Project; (ii) the provision of didactic materials and teaching equipment to the clusters; (iii) organization of trainings for the head of secondary schools; (iv) school development plans at the secondary education level; (v) infrastructure which was initially planned but not financed by the Project; (vi) meetings for the primary school teachers (from rural schools with one teacher); and vii) a national plan for improving teacher training. 68. Most of the implementation arrangements of the Project will remain in the follow- up operation ensuring that most of the governance outcomes will be maintained: (i) the implementing agency will be the NME through the DGUFI and most of the staff presently in charge of the Project will remain in their posts; (ii) the coordinating units in the Provinces will remain; (iii) the bilateral agreements that will delineate responsibilities between the national and the provincial Governments will be signed for five-year periods; and (iii) within this framework, subsidiary agreements will specify the activities of the follow-up operation, the monitoring indicators, and the targets to be reached. 5. Assessment of Bank and Borrower Performance 5.1 Bank Performance (a) Bank Performance in Ensuring Quality at Entry Rating: Moderately satisfactory 69. The Bank’s preparation team worked in close partnership with the Borrower. The Project was well prepared. Its design supported Government policy and creatively built upon a decentralized approach with the provinces. Moderate shortcomings were: (i) the lack of a robust results framework; and (ii) the underestimation of the delays in implementing the bilateral agreements. 21 (b) Quality of Supervision Rating: Moderately satisfactory The Project was well supervised with regular field missions and in-depth supervisory missions. Regular field visits were organized in the Provinces. The Bank provided support when necessary, particularly on procurement issues. There were some moderate shortcomings: - Monitoring and evaluation suffered a systemic lack of quality and timely information that was an issue throughout the education sector and was not corrected until the end of the Project; - The Project restructuring could have been performed sooner. In 2009 and 2010, it was confirmed that the Project would be unlikely to achieve its PDO by the 2011 closing date and the Government and the Bank agreed that a 24-month extension was necessary. However, it took 8 months after the midterm review for the request to arrive at the Bank (December 2010) and the restructuring was approved on 09/01/2011. - At restructuring, the Bank missed an opportunity to define the content of the impact evaluations that should have been carried out during the last year of implementation. As a result, no impact evaluation was performed in 2013. (c) Justification of Rating for Overall Bank Performance Rating: Moderately satisfactory 70. Overall the Bank’s performance is considered moderately satisfactory. 5.2 Borrower Performance (a) Government Performance Rating: Satisfactory 71. The Government provided its full support for the Project as evidenced by: (i) the approval of the 2005 Law for Educational Financing (LEF) and its enactment in 2007 and 2006 National Education Law (Law 26.206) which recognized the rural education modality; (ii) the Federal Council of Education’s 2010 approval of the document “Rural Education within the National Education System” as part of resolution 128/10; (iii) the annual signings of all the bilateral agreements and annual program covenants with the provinces beginning in 2006; and (iv) counterpart funding (about 10% of total Project financing) and resources to the Provinces for the rural education modality. (b) Implementing Agency or Agencies Performance Rating: Moderately satisfactory 72. The DGUFI exhibited strong ownership of the Project and commitment to the achievement of its objectives. The DGUFI was staffed with highly qualified professionals who demonstrated their experience in dealing with complex issues. Designing and negotiating implementation plans and results with 23 autonomous provincial governments, 22 some with low capacity, was extremely challenging. The Project had a slow start, but only the activities initiated or procured at the provincial level were affected. When it was clear that the provinces needed more support to implement the infrastructure program the DGUFI took the appropriate actions to improve the processes, to reorganize itself, and to provide more technical assistance to the provinces. The DGUFI made constant efforts to accelerate implementation and complied with the Bank’s requirements diligently. There were moderate shortcomings: the coordination between DGUFI and line departments of the NME, mainly the DINIECE, could have been more efficient to develop monitoring tools and impact evaluation. 73. The performance of the Ministries at the provincial level was uneven: (i) in four provinces the implementation of the Project was highly satisfactory; (ii) in nine provinces, satisfactory; (iii) in seven provinces, moderately satisfactory; and (iv) in three provinces, unsatisfactory. (c) Justification of Rating for Overall Borrower Performance Rating: Moderately satisfactory 74. Since the Government performance is satisfactory and the implementing agencies at national and provincial levels are moderately satisfactory the outcome rating applies. Lessons Learned - Embedding the Project into the national education policy is key to achieving results. Project design should be flexible enough to allow staying the course and not slowing down progress. - Bi-lateral agreements provide the flexibility necessary to stimulate ownership, to adapt education policy to different contexts, and to promote innovations at the Provincial level. However, managing a national project in which implementation is decentralized in 23 Provinces remains a complex task. Ensuring smooth implementation requires not only significant technical assistance for the Provinces but also a monitoring instrument that can quickly diagnose the issues, trigger a rapid response, and increase accountability. - Educational statistics are key for programming and annual monitoring. Dramatic improvements to the monitoring and evaluation system have begun through the Project financed improvement of the Federal Education Information Network. The next step is to induce practices and behaviors conducive to quality improvement. Common standards should also be introduced and annual testing systems should be used to measure learning outcomes and progress in the achievement of the Core Learning Priorities, particularly at the end of primary school. 7. Comments on Issues Raised by Borrower/Implementing Agencies/Partners (a) Borrower/implementing agencies (b) Co-financiers (c) Other partners and stakeholders (e.g. NGOs/private sector/civil society) 23 Annex 1. Project Costs and Financing (a) Project Cost by Component (in USD Million equivalent) Actual/Latest Appraisal Estimate Percentage of Components Estimate (USD (USD millions) Appraisal millions) Component A 144.79 140.54 97 Sub-component A1 106.01 115.01 108 Sub-component A2 29.17 15.62 54 Sub-component A3 9.61 9.91 103 Component B 4.83 8.13 168 Sub-component B1 2.14 5.18 242 Sub-component B2 2.69 2.95 110 Total Baseline Cost 149.62 148.67 99 Physical Contingencies 0.00 0.00 Price Contingencies 0.00 0.00 Total Project Costs 149.62 148.67 99 PPF 0.00 0.95 Front-end fee IBRD 0.38 0.38 100.00 Total Financing Required 150.00 150.00 100.00 (b) Financing Appraisal Actual/Latest Type of Co- Estimate Estimate Percentage of Source of Funds financing (USD (USD Appraisal millions) millions) Borrower 90.58 67.43 74.00 International Bank for Reconstruction 150.00 150.00 100.00 and Development 1 Annex 2. Outputs by Component Component A: Improving quality and coverage of rural education (US$ 234.85 million incl.US$144.79 Bank financing) Sub-component A1: Improving operating conditions of rural schools i) Providing basic didactic materials and teaching equipment All rural schools received a standard package of didactic materials and teaching equipment according to their level and the size. The Directorate of the rural education modality in the Federal Ministry of Education in coordination with Directorates of each educational level selected and developed all of the didactic materials. Meetings were organized in the Provinces with teachers and school directors to adapt the materials, equipment, textbook contents, and book lists to their needs. School level Didactic materials and teaching equipment Four sets of didactic games Library shelves Pre-school Library books (95 titles in 2008, 105 in 2009) Textbooks (25 teaching guides in 2008, 2 “impresiones” in 2012 and 2013) Individual school supplies Library shelves Library books (136 titles in 2008, 136 in 2009) Text books (115 text books in 2008, 36 in 2009, 7 teaching guides in 2012, Primary “impresiones” in 2012) and Dictionaries Science laboratory Individual school supplies Library shelves Library books (106 titles in 2008, 96 in 2009) Text books (36 in 2009, Dictionaries and Atlas, 22 teaching guides “impresiones” Secondary Science Laboratory PC, printer, TV, audio system, and DVDs Furniture for PC and TV Individual school supplies Didactic games Special education Equipment Teaching guides “Impresiones” Procurement was centralized at the national level except for the small individual school supplies procured locally. The distribution was carried out by the Provinces according to the Operation Manual. Selections of sets of didactic materials were made in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011 and distributed every year from 2008 to 2013. 1 Education Selection 2007 Selection 2008 Selection 2009 Selection 2011 Total level Pre-school 1,805 1,733 1,671 2,052 7,261 Primary 3,893 1,974 5,011 1,060 11,938 Secondary 2,899 1,241 315 809 5,264 Equipment and didactic Distribution Year Level materials 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 S09 + S07 + Preschool Set of games for preschool S11 + S08 NI12 S08 (plus S07 (except S07 from Preschool Library shelves preschool BA, SF, CBA) BA, SF, and CBA) S08 ( plus S07 from S07 (except Primary Library shelves primary BA, SF, BA, SF, CBA) and CBA ) S08 ( plus S07 from S07 (except Secondary Library shelves secondary BA, SF, BA, SF, CBA) and CBA ) Preschool Set of Books preschool S07 S08 Primary Set of Books primary S07 S08 Secondary Set of Books secondary S07 S08 S08 + Preschool Teaching guides Preschool S07 S09 +S11 S08 + Primary Teaching guides Primary S07 S09 +S11 S07 + S08 + Secondary Teaching guides Secondary S07 S09 +S11 Impresiones Primary Dictionaries Primary S07 S08) S08 + S09 + S11 Secondary Dictionaries Secondary S07 (except BA, SGO) S08 + S09 + Secondary Atlas S07 S11 (except BA, LR) TV+PC+Printer+voltage Secondary S07 S08 stabilizer 2 Audio system and DVD Secondary S07 S08 recorder/player TV programs S07 + Secondary Encuentro, Horizonte S08 S07 + S08 + Secondary Laboratories Secondary S09 +S11 + P7 Primary Laboratories Primary PR1736 Special Education Equipment, Special didactic games, and teaching AGR Education guides References: S07: Selection PROMER 2007 S08: Selection PROMER 2008 S09: Selection PROMER 2009 S11: Selection PROMER 2011 BA: Province of Buenos Aires SGO: Province of Santiago del Estero LR: Province of La Rioja SF: Province of Santa Fe CBA: Province of Cordoba NI12: Pre-schools that were integrated after the 2012 update. PR1736: Schools which received the remaining laboratories in 2012. AGR: Clusters selected. Distribution Selection Level Year S07 S08 S09 S11 NI12 Preschool 1,991 2008 Primary 3,973 Secondary 3,780 Preschool - 2,007 2009 Primary - 2,022 Secondary 3,774 2,017 Preschool 1,989 1,978 22 1 2010 Primary 3,062 1,983 19 - Secondary 3,744 1,949 17 6 Preschool 1,805 1,733 1,671 2012 Primary 946 4,087 Secondary 2,899 1,241 315 809 Preschool 1 1 1,537 1,832 132 2013 Special 373 education *In addition 1,736 laboratories were distributed in 2012 3 The survey performed among 2,687 teachers participating in national meetings in August and September 2013 showed that: (i) about 50% received trainings; (ii) they valued that the didactic material and teaching equipment were specifically designed for rural education; (iii) they found the materials and equipment particularly useful; (iv) 25% used them every day; and (v) 20% were worried about the possible deterioration or loss of books and materials. i) Providing minimum school infrastructure standards for all schools in rural areas This activity financed: (i) the expansion of existing schools to absorb additional enrollment; (ii) the replacement or rehabilitation of dilapidated schools; (iii) infrastructure for the provision of drinking water, electricity, and sanitation. Initially, the project planned to allocate funding of this activity based on two criteria: the unsatisfied basic needs methodology (NBI, Necesidades Básicas Insatisfechas) and the education challenges. This methodology was abandoned because the Provinces’ needs were not homogeneous enough to allow prioritization. Instead, basic standards for school facilities were established and a survey of school rehabilitation and construction needs was performed by DINIECE in 2006. The total cost was estimated at AR$831,770,762 (of which AR$141,835,980 was for replacement and the rest was for rehabilitation). The program’s implementation was slow. The main reasons were the following: (i) many provinces were not able to determine their priorities because of a lack of planning capacity and construction specialists; (ii) inconsistencies in the documentation sent to the MECyT and a lack of interaction between the provincial staff and the construction inspectors; (iii) procurement difficulties at the provincial level (particularly in Santiago del Estero, Jujuy, Chubut, Rio Negro, and Santa Fe); (iv) delays between the transfer of funds and the signing of the construction contracts; and (v) difficulties with the construction processes. In 2008, various measures were put in place which facilitated and accelerated the implementation of the program: (i) the improvement of the coordination between the Directorate General for Infrastructure and the Provinces; (ii) the reorganization of the processes at the national level; and (iii) the organization of meetings and training sessions at the provincial level. The program initially planned was executed in all the Provinces except for Santiago del Estero and Jujuy where it was downsized. In total, 473 school infrastructure projects in rural areas (for a total cost of AR$296,968,482) were financed by the Project and 81 (for a total cost of AR$84,969,404) by the Government. 4 Investment in school infrastructure 11/30/2013 PROVINCE INVESMENT (AR pesos) % of Total Buenos Aires 55,748,016 21.02% Córdoba 9,995,651 3.77% Entre Ríos 1,992,592 0.75% La Pampa 3,188,992 1.20% Santa Fe 12,329,992 4.65% Mendoza 17,823,061 6.72% San Juan 11,707,592 4.41% San Luis 0 0.00% Chaco 14,431,904 5.44% Corrientes 3,657,308 1.38% Formosa 35,210,405 13.27% Misiones 16,971,282 6.40% Catamarca 1,588,519 0.60% Jujuy 9,406,460 3.55% La Rioja 4,716,379 1.78% Salta 20,915,151 7.89% Santiago del Estero 5,805,319 2.19% Tucumán 25,417,093 9.58% Chubut 0 0.00% Neuquén 2,677,013 1.01% Río Negro 2,603,556 0.98% Santa Cruz 9,064,894 3.42% Tierra del Fuego 0 0.00% Total 265,251,176 Contract Total of $ Educational Level Type of Work Quantity Amount $ Redetermination Lodging Water 1 274,490.00 0.00 Expansion 1 73,141.11 0.00 Minor Replacement Parts 1 51,963.00 0.00 EGB 1-2-3 Water 2 1,328,710.70 0.00 Expansion 7 4,871,831.97 77,988.24 Expansion and Parts 18 18,474,296.47 848,662.62 Connectivity 9 477,909.29 0.00 Supplementary Building 1 968,682.96 0.00 I. Santitation Potable Water 1 495,140.48 0.00 Replacement Parts (with M²) 8 2,046,526.35 0.00 Minor Replacement Parts 4 268,977.20 0.00 Substitution 2 1,712,189.98 0.00 5 EGB 3 Expansion 1 1,476,580.26 143,870.43 Expansion and Parts 2 2,158,989.02 0.00 EGB 3 + Multimodal Expansion 2 1,438,787.60 0.00 Expansion and Parts 2 1,783,894.16 79,127.83 Initial Expansion and Parts 7 4,892,207.64 61,956.30 Replacement Parts (with M²) 2 806,113.62 0.00 Initial + EGB 1-2-3 Expansion 5 4,654,979.77 0.00 Expansion and Parts 9 9,850,242.70 501,106.46 Sewers 1 65,731.63 0.00 GAS 2 137,792.34 0.00 I. Sanitation Potable Water 1 248,017.36 0.00 I. Sanitation Humid Centers 2 483,647.41 0.00 Replacement Parts (with M²) 5 2,327,724.56 0.00 Minor Replacement Parts 1 64,630.00 0.00 Substitution 2 1,896,872.71 172,717.00 Initial + Primary Water 31 1,967,695.90 56,166.98 Expansion 6 4,747,736.72 59,777.00 Expansion and Parts 36 36,286,977.35 773,068.70 I. Sanitation Potable Water 5 1,069,902.04 0.00 I. Sanitation Humid Centers 3 459,941.82 0.00 Electrical Installations 3 427,512.28 0.00 Parts Electrical System 1 74,640.13 0.00 Parts (with M²) 29 12,053,622.44 436,258.87 Minor Replacement Parts 1 74,803.97 0.00 Restoration 1 1,309,592.00 0.00 Substitution 9 11,756,018.79 574,245.35 Initial+Primary+ Water 32 1,155,119.63 0.00 Secondary Expansion 8 15,307,389.54 994,905.00 Expansion and Parts 15 16,517,770.47 374,137.80 Supplementary Building 1 1,330,020.56 68,900.00 I. Sanitation Humid Centers 2 965,965.12 0.00 Replacement Parts Potable 2 277,020.85 0.00 Water System Replacement Parts (with M²) 4 1,122,548.66 0.00 Minor Replacement Parts 2 186,132.70 0.00 Substitution 3 7,208,315.44 153,280.46 Expansion and Replacement Middle 6 5,352,610.88 92,921.41 Parts Connectivity 5 302,594.35 0.00 Substitution 1 676,535.70 61,271.94 6 Expansion and Replacement Multimodal 2 2,121,216.32 77,966.52 Parts Primary Water 13 665,548.28 0.00 Expansion 4 2,576,775.46 239,914.92 Expansion and Replacement 30 28,159,574.40 1,031,083.22 Parts Connectivity 3 165,304.69 0.00 Supplementary Building 10 10,342,864.38 0.00 I. Sanitation Potable Water 4 891,047.46 0.00 I. Sanitation Humid Centers 4 1,792,832.63 0.00 Replacement Parts Sewer 1 63,018.63 0.00 Drainage System Replacement Parts (with M²) 22 6,939,858.70 213,155.34 Minor Replacement Parts 4 298,223.58 0.00 Substitution 25 27,903,008.38 175,354.00 Primary + Secondary Water 2 55,687.21 0.00 Expansion and Replacement 10 6,922,315.40 268,290.94 Parts Connectivity 2 95,671.73 0.00 I. Sanitation Potable Water 2 282,260.59 0.00 Replacement Parts (with M²) 6 1,174,238.68 86,373.77 Minor Replacement Parts 1 59,971.51 0.00 Secondary Water 1 27,790.33 0.00 Expansion 1 226,785.43 0.00 Expansion and Replacement 18 17,941,992.54 1,552,342.97 Parts Substitution 3 4,301,958.96 320,250.65 General Total 473 296,968,482.92 9,495,094.72 The allocation of the Project resources did not fully correspond to the distribution of the needs as assessed in 2006. Distribution of financing needs Distribution of the cost of Region according to 2006 infrastructure financed by the infrastructure survey Project CUYO 10.66% 11.1% NEA 21.41% 26.5% NOA 44.18% 25.6% PAMPANEA 18.85% 31.3% PATAGONIA 4.9% 5.4% The average cost for new construction was AR$ 6,121 per square meter (about US$ 1,000), with rehabilitation costing 60% of this amount per square meter. The construction cost varied depending of the location: AR$ 8,000 in Patagonia, AR$ 7,500 in Cuyo and AR$ 6,000 to 6,200 in the NOA and NEA regions. Before approving a project’s technical documents, the DGI (General Directorate for Infrastructure) compared the cost per square meter for the project to the average cost per square meter for projects in the same 7 geographical region, taking into account all sources of funding. Any costs 10% or more above the average had to be justified and were subject to the DGI’s authorization. Thus, the cost efficiency of the construction program was ensured by the initial control over the price of the pre-awarded works.   ii)  Establishing clusters of rural schools to facilitate local organization and management DINIECE estimated the number of rural educational units at 17,425 in 2011. About 1,688 clusters of rural schools had been established as of July 2011 with an average of 10 CUEA per cluster. Quantity of Clusters and educational units by provinces Educational Jurisdictions Clusters Units per cluster units BUENOS AIRES 3,464 403 8.6 CATAMARCA 494 54 9.1 CHACO 1,070 103 10.4 CHUBUT 117 11 10.6 CORDOBA 1,836 143 12.8 CORRIENTES 941 93 10.1 ENTRE RIOS 1,006 67 15.0 FORMOSA 1,080 82 13.2 JUJUY 311 47 6.6 LA PAMPA 232 13 17.8 LA RIOJA 395 36 11.0 MENDOZA 578 71 8.1 MISIONES 936 65 14.4 NEUQUEN 185 25 7.4 RIO NEGRO 208 14 14.9 SALTA 649 84 7.7 SAN JUAN 223 35 6.4 SAN LUIS 243 22 11.0 SANTA CRUZ 35 4 8.8 SANTA FE 1,291 72 17.9 SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (1) 1,546 166 9.3 TIERRA DEL FUEGO 5 1 5.0 TUCUMAN 580 77 7.5 General Total 17,425 1,688 100 Note (1) Currently, the date from the Province of Santiago del Estero are in the verification process with the jurisdiction. The figures are provisional. Source: Actualización de Agrupamientos 2011. DiNIECE. Ministerio de Educación. Realización: 24/05/2011 The table below summarizes how the clusters have been used in the provinces. 8 Type of use of the clusters Some experiences in the Provinces Tucumán, Salta, Jujuy, Chaco, Chubut used the clusters to: (i) design proposals for training; (ii) organize common proposals for Exchange of experiences science fairs, spot, and artistic activities; and (iii) to exchange works created by students in secondary schools Santiago del Estero, San Juan and Jujuy used the clusters to design Pedagogic management curriculum proposals. Provinces which participate in the PBL activities optimized the use Economies of scale of resources, like sharing technical assessment and travel resources. Corrientes and Entre Ríos organized a meeting of school directors Organization of supervisors and supervisors by cluster. Training sessions have been organized by clusters in many Teacher Training provinces. Traveling teachers have been organized by clusters in some Increase coverage provinces. iii) Supplying technological tools to permit schools and students to receive distance education through TV channels. This activity was not implemented. iv) Developing actions to increase awareness of cultural diversity as well as knowledge of the traditional language and culture of the indigenous population. The component dedicated to indigenous education started slowly due to technical difficulties locating the indigenous population and identifying their needs. This component commenced in earnest with: (i) the 2007 creation of the Autonomous Education Council for Indigenous Groups (CEAPI, Consejo Educativo Autónomo de Pueblos Indígenas); (ii) the Federal Council of Education’s decision 119/10 (September 2010) which defined the policy guidelines for the Bilingual and intercultural education modality; (iii) the study about the sociolinguistic situation of the bilingual schools (December 2010); and (iv) the first mapping exercise including the linguistic and cultural situation of 15,314 rural schools undertaken during the period from 2005-2009.20 The Project’s main achievements are: (i) a specific and more detailed census and description of the intercultural and bilingual education system in 499 schools with indigenous children in 14 Provinces in 2011 and 2012 (the census showed an indigenous population of 237 at the preschool level, 313 at the primary level, and 172 at the secondary level); (ii) the implementation, mostly in 2012, of 146 school development plans (10 in preschool, 102 in primary education, 16 in secondary, and 18 combining all levels); (iii) 17 trainings organized for 1,260 teachers from 526 schools organized in 13 provinces; (iv) the organization of five regional roundtable discussions in 2010 to increase awareness of 20 In 2005, the mapping exercise included 1,200 schools with indigenous enrollment, 5,391 in 2006, 2,570 in 2007, 4,076 in 2008, and 3,700 in 2009. 9 cultural diversity and knowledge of the traditional language, while also debating and formulating education policies for the indigenous population; and (v) an inventory of didactic materials specifically for the indigenous population. The implementation of the intercultural and bilingual policy demonstrated mixed results in the provinces depending on their management capacity and the way in which it was integrated into their legal framework and procedures. No systematic evaluation was performed, but the best results were observed in the Northeast and Northwest regions where the indigenous population is the highest. Sub component A2: Expanding coverage and improving student promotion flow i) Expanding coverage of preschool education The provinces chose among different alternatives to expand coverage: multi-age classrooms, independent kindergartens, traveling teachers, teachers with dual certification, and attending children in their homes, among others. The decision regarding which of these models to use was the result of an analysis of the local situation. Thus, no universal solution was implemented. 6,137 preschool teachers were trained on working with books in multi-age classrooms and the use of games in teaching. The training was divided into monthly 8-hour training sessions and on-site classroom sessions for practice.21 Two teaching guides (one to improve reading in multi-age classrooms and the other on using games in the learning process), created by the Preschool department at the national level were distributed to all preschool teachers. ii) Reducing repetition in EGB1 (Primary education) a) Training on teaching methods in multi-grade schools and to improve reading and writing Primary school teacher training focused on: (i) reading and writing in multi-grade classrooms in grades 1 to 3; and (ii) "learning to learn” with books in grades 4 to 6. This training was specifically designed (i) to improve the learning process in multi-grade classrooms; and (ii) to support isolated teachers. The training was divided into monthly 8- hour sessions. The training included an analysis and self-assessment of teaching practices. Meetings were organized at provincial level and in the clusters. Support materials for 21 The training in preschool, primary, and secondary education followed the same system: (i) an initial meeting was organized in the province to present the modalities, the curriculum proposal, the didactic materials, and the teaching equipment; (ii) classroom practice sessions as a first step to analyze the materials and use the teaching guides to experiment with students; (iii) a meeting organized in the clusters to exchange experiences and discuss teaching practices; (iv) classroom practice to adapt teaching methods and the use of didactic materials to the school’s and students’ needs; (v) further classroom practice and analysis of the improvements made; and (vi) a final meeting of the participants in the province to analyze their experiences and discuss working in multi-grade schools and addressing issues with the teachers. The training’s duration was 40 hours. 10 teachers were developed by the Area Plan Reading division in the national Ministry of Education. 11,940 primary school teachers were trained. b) Advanced specialization diploma in rural education (Postítulo) A new advanced specialization diploma in rural education was organized at the national level. It consisted of a 400-hour training program organized at 47 teacher training institutions in 20 Provinces. The national team first created the curriculum and teaching materials (one on Literacy and one on multi-grade education in rural contexts) and then conducted a training of trainers with 256 professors and 191 supervisors who were in charge of training teachers. Some 6,043 teachers (about 13 percent of the 47,133 teaching staff in the 11,637 rural schools) enrolled, of which 2,735 graduated. The evaluation performed in 2011 showed that participants highly valued the training program 22 : (i) 95 percent of the teachers who graduated stated that they received didactic tools for teaching in multi-grade classrooms; (ii) 82.7 percent learned time, space, and resource management techniques; (iii) 51.9 percent received tools to help them work more independently; and (iv) 49.4 percent upgraded their knowledge of core subjects. However, since there was no assessment of the training’s impact on the learning process in the classroom, it is not possible to determine how the training impacted education quality. The postítulo model restricted teacher participation due to: i) the high time commitment on their part, which filtered out less- motivated teachers; ii) the very high trainer to teacher ratio, limiting the available spaces in the program; and iii) generalized teaching methods that were not specific enough to pedagogical models like Horizontes. iii) Increasing attainment in EGB2 (Primary education grades 4 to7) The actions designed to accelerate the transition of students from grades 4 to 7 were implemented universally in urban and rural schools. The measures consisted of teacher training, distributing teaching guides, and disseminating instructions. Although these measures were not financed by the Project, their impacts on promotion rates were significant and the gap between rural and urban schools decreased significantly. In general, most of the actions directed at improving learning conditions described in the previous paragraphs had an impact on educational attainment in EGB2. iv) Expanding schooling to EGB3 (secondary education grades 7 or 8 to 9) The Horizontes program was an important step toward introducing lower secondary education (expansion of the previous seven-year primary school system to nine years) in rural primary schools. With the promulgation of the 2006 National Education Law (Law 26.206), provinces could choose between different sets of modalities to expand schooling to 22 Evaluación del Postítulo: Evaluación de la Especialización docente de nivel superior en educación rural para el nivel primario. Ana Belèn Zapata 2011 11 EGB3 in rural areas. Differences focused on school enrollment, the presence of permanent or traveling secondary education teachers, and the availability of connectivity. In order to define the implementation modalities, the national team worked closely with curriculum teams, supervisors, and teachers at the provincial level. The Project contributed to: (i) the recruitment of specialists (writers and editors) for the preparation of didactic materials (textbooks and teaching guides for Horizontes and a set of TV programs); (ii) production of the materials (printed for students and teachers and DVD format for TV shows produced in coordination with the Canal Encuentro); (iii) distribution of these materials to 6,168 schools; (iv) teacher trainings focused on activities aimed at knowledge sharing and alternative uses of specially developed materials such as printed guides, TV programs for students, institutional libraries, and teaching equipment (via 8- hour training sessions organized by clusters or through traveling teachers); and (v) technical assistance provided to 1,677 schools by technical provincial teams collaborating with the national Directorate of Educational Management. Still, the program was implemented unevenly, with some provinces adopting the approach, while others were more resistant to the changes in methodology. Provinces that did implement the program were able to expand coverage at the lower secondary level quite significantly, despite facing operational challenges such as insufficient numbers of specialized teachers assigned to rural schools, difficulty among technical teams and teachers to internalize and implement the pedagogical principles and concepts, weak linkages between the primary and secondary education levels that limited the possibilities for synergies and efficiencies in the use of resources as well as other missed opportunities, and inadequate technical assistance to the schools. In some provinces, implementation was hampered by the inconsistency presented by transplanting the predominant vision of urban secondary education to rural areas. Special education In special education, 2,893 teachers from 341 schools were trained to use the equipment and didactic materials provided to the schools. The training was organized according to clusters in the nine participating provinces. Provinces Clusters Salta 44 Tucumán 42 Catamarca 30 Santiago del Estero 88 Jujuy 21 Misiones 35 Corrientes 53 Formosa 32 Chaco 53 12 Creating School Development Plans in rural schools The school development plans were implemented in 16 provinces (out of 23). There were 1,072 school development plans (May 2012). Each school project received AR$ 4000 in funding. This activity was initiated at the end of 2009. This start-up delay was caused by changes to the schools that were initially selected and the appointment of staff to manage the activities in the provinces. Number of school Number of school Provinces Provinces development plans development plans Buenos Aires 48 La Pampa 33 Catamarca 73 La Rioja 62 Chaco 22 Misiones 100 Chubut 46 Salta 77 Cordoba 133 San Juan 86 Corrientes 32 San Luis 32 Formosa 93 Santiago del Estero 80 Jujuy 22 Tucuman 132 The school development plans were targeted to multi-grade schools with low enrollment. Each province carried out a selection process that was checked at the national level. Some informal interviews conducted during school visits highlighted that it was necessary: (i) to increase the involvement of the communities to determine the main issues for intervention; (ii) to strengthen the connection with the curriculum; (iii) to provide more support to the teachers to enable them to maximize their potential to improve results; and (iv) to improve the integration of the school development plans school-level time management. There is no evidence that the funding of the school development plans will be maintained. Sub component A3: Strengthening line departments at the provincial level i) Strengthening line departments at the provincial level in the areas of planning/information management, pedagogy, administration, and monitoring The Project funded an average of 203 positions over seven years to strengthen the capacity in the Provinces. This number varied each year according to the Project’s implementation needs, with a peak of 262 positions in 2011. The distribution among provinces varied greatly according to their needs and the size of the program to be implemented. The main functions funded were: (i) project coordinator; (ii) programming; (iii) administration and finance; (iv) infrastructure; (v) accounting; (vi) pedagogy; (vii) procurement; (viii) monitoring and evaluation; and (ix) bilingual education. Many of these positions will be maintained with PROMER II. 13 Table: Distribution of positions funded by the Project in the provinces Provinces 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Buenos Aires 5 17 17 18 17 10 Catamarca 6 5 11 16 15 8 5 Chaco 5 7 11 14 19 17 13 Chubut 3 5 7 7 7 6 2 Córdoba 11 16 19 23 20 23 16 Corrientes 9 9 15 20 14 13 13 Entre Ríos 3 5 3 3 3 2 2 Formosa 2 12 11 15 18 16 11 Jujuy 6 7 9 12 13 11 9 La Pampa 3 6 7 9 9 8 7 La Rioja 6 4 6 5 8 5 3 Mendoza 6 10 11 9 9 11 7 Misiones 10 10 14 15 14 18 14 Neuquén 1 2 5 6 3 4 Río Negro 2 2 2 2 2 Salta 3 9 12 15 15 17 12 San Juan 5 4 7 8 11 11 10 San Luis 2 5 7 6 7 6 Santa Cruz 2 2 4 5 3 Santa Fe 10 20 16 15 11 8 Santiago del Estero 10 14 16 14 12 13 8 Tierra del Fuego 1 1 1 Tucumán 8 15 21 18 23 22 19 Total 98 158 229 253 262 244 182 Provincial jurisdictions were characterized by administrative diversity and complexity in terms of using Project funds for implementation. As a result, the Project had to fund technical assistance to make the necessary adjustments. Coordinators, financial specialists, procurement specialists, and infrastructure specialists were invited to participate in training sessions and in meetings to promote horizontal cooperation and the sharing of experiences. To simplify the work of the provincial administrations and increase accountability some adjustments were made to the Operating Manual after the mid-term review. The changes were related to accounting policies, recordkeeping, and other issues related to procurement. The changes related to procurement processes were adopted by the DGUFI for all internationally funded projects. During execution, the project improved the use of the UEPEX system as a management tool both at the central and provincial levels. 14 The Project has been continuously audited by various agencies including: (i) the Auditor General’s office annually for financial compliance and once (for the period 23/10/2006 to 31/12/2011) for management compliance; (ii) the Office of the Comptroller General through the Court of Auditors in the participating provinces under the Federal Public Network Control (annually); and (iii) annually by the internal Audit Unit of the Ministry of Education for both financial and accounting compliance. All observations and recommendations resulting from these audits were examined with the provinces in regional and national meetings. This process has ensured that the information has been systematized and integrated, increasing the probability that the lessons learned and corrective actions will be implemented. ii) Developing a provincial plan of rural education in each province All the activities dedicated to develop rural education in the provinces were integrated in a single national plan (PNEOyFD) 8. Component B: Enhancing the stewardship capacity of national Government (US$5.35 million incl.US$4.83 million Bank financing) 3.37% of the total credit Sub component B1: Strengthening line departments at the national level This component funded positions in the DGUFI to coordinate Project activities. In 2009, the Project Coordinating Unit was reorganized, adopting a matrix scheme in which functions were defined in terms of areas -- Financial Management, Assistance to the Provinces, and Technical and Monitoring – and subordinated to the Project Coordinator. The Assistance to the Provinces department was organized in regional teams with each team consisting of a generalist, a financial specialist, and a procurement specialist. This reorganization contributed to the improvement of the planning, monitoring, and technical assistance to the provinces. The provinces’ administrations became more responsive partners on all management issues and worked toward common goals. Project Coordinating Unit positions Positions 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Project Coordinator 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Technical Area Head 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Planning Specialist 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 Technical Area Assistant 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 Administrative Assistant 3 3 1 2 3 3 4 Head of assistance and monitoring of the 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Provinces Provinces Coordination and Monitoring 1 4 5 5 4 4 4 Specialist Provinces Coordination and Monitoring 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 Assistant 15 Procurement Area Head 1 1 1 Procurement Consultant 3 3 5 3 4 4 3 Financial Administration Head 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Budget Specialist 1 1 1 1 1 1 Accounting Specialist 1 1 1 1 1 1 Treasury Specialist 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Disbursement Specialist 1 1 1 1 1 Administrative and Financial Consultant 2 3 3 6 5 4 4 TOTAL 19 24 26 29 29 28 27 Sub component B2: Supporting the development and implementation of a system of data collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of information for policy decisions at the national level. (i) Surveys and impact evaluation studies of rural and technical schools The DINIECE conducted a survey of the operating conditions of rural schools. The purpose of the survey was to conduct a census of rural schools with one or two teachers that were isolated and located in remote areas or that were difficult to access. Specific procedures and methodologies for data collection, processing, analysis, and reporting were used. The Project financed nine studies for DINIECE related to specific aspects of rural education: - A policy study on organizing the school degree programs in the second cycle of the primary education level in Mendoza province (2008) - A training proposal in multi-grade rural schools in the province of Santiago del Estero (2008) - Improvements in educational conditions in rural areas: teaching processes that include the use of students’ native language for literacy in Spanish in the province of Corrientes (2009) - The implementation of a proposal to organize the supply of Basic Secondary Education in rural areas: provincial management and institutional aspects in the province of Misiones (2009) - Possibility of organizing multi-age classrooms in Entre Rios to expand preschool coverage in rural areas (2010) - Description of intercultural and bilingual education in rural areas (2010) - From training to teaching in multi-grade classrooms in rural Education in the province of Santiago del Estero (2011) - Secondary schools in rural areas and clusters as strategy for sustaining the educational trajectories of rural students in the province of Misiones (2012) - Multi-age classrooms in rural areas: Tensions and transformations in educational practices with the distribution of games for learning in the province of Tucumán (2012) The DINIECE progressively instituted a modern and efficient Federal Education Information Network through several steps: (i) the system was designed in 2006; (ii) the equipment procurement plan was drawn up in 2007; (iii) in 2010, the PCs, servers, printers were allocated to the to the provinces and development of the software, including the 16 template for the school survey and data collection, analysis, and comparison was completed; (iv) in 2011, the province of Cordoba piloted a system to collect data directly from schools through the web; (v) in 2012 the system was expanded to other provinces; (vi) in 2013, 20 provinces collected data directly from the schools and the web-based queries of the Federal Education Information Network were fully operational. The difficulties encountered included: (i) Subcomponent B2 in support of the development of a data collection, analysis, and dissemination system and to provide technical assistance to the provinces started very slowly (the 06/21/2009 ISR could not find evidence of substantive activities in component B); (ii) it was technically complex to collect, validate, and standardize data from 23 provinces, some of whose education systems are structured differently; (iii) there were four leadership changes at the DINIECE between 2005 and 2009; and (iv) the Federal Education Information Network was an ambitious project because it allowed schools to load their data directly into the system via the Web. (ii) The expansion of a sample of standardized national student assessments (Operativo Nacional de Evaluación ONE) to ensure adequate representation of rural schools. The Federal Council of Education resolution No.116/10, states that the National Operational Evaluation (ONE), which evaluates learners’ cognitive performance, should be carried out every three years. As a result, the DINIECE conducted the ONE with rural representation in 2007, 2010, and 2013. At the primary education level student learning in different knowledge areas (mathematics, social studies, science, and language) is evaluated in 3rd and 6th grade. The students’ results are measured on a scale with three values: low, medium, and high. The cognitive and expected capabilities are evaluated according to the curriculum and Priority Learning Areas (NAPs). Each test consists of 30 questions. A probability sample representative of the provincial and national level was applied. It is a complex sample that is stratified according to the public and private, urban and rural systems and clustered according to the size of the schools. The results of the ONE for primary education are communicated by provinces to each of the provincial administrations, and they are disseminated to the public by regions. In secondary education, the ONE is conducted during the last year in all secondary schools. The results of the ONE for secondary schools are shared with each school. The 2013 ONE for primary education was carried out in November, while the secondary education ONE took place in August. The results of the latter will be available in the first semester of 2014, while the results of the primary education ONE will be available later. Indicator C1: Improve the percentage of students in Grade 3 in rural schools achieving proficiencies in the nationally ratified standards of the Core Learning Priorities (NAP) 17 Grade 3 2007 2010 Discipline Low Medium High Low Medium High Spanish Country 29.7 30.7 39.6 26.9 32.8 40.3 Urban public 34.1 33.4 32.4 31.0 34.7 34.4 Urban private 12.8 23.5 63.7 10.6 29.4 60.0 Rural schools 36.7 29.7 33.6 32.6 30.0 37.5 Mathematics Country 31.8 43.1 25.1 26.2 45.0 28.8 Urban public 36.6 43.8 19.6 29.6 45.4 25.0 Urban private 15.0 44.4 40.6 15.5 47.7 36.8 Rural schools 37.3 37.1 25.7 27.0 38.9 34.2 Social Country 35.4 38.1 26.5 33.8 39.5 26.7 Sciences Urban public 40.1 38.3 21.6 38.1 38.7 23.1 Urban private 21.1 40.3 38.5 21.8 46.5 31.7 Rural schools 36.5 33.3 30.3 34.0 31.5 34.5 Natural Country 54 32.8 13.2 33.2 48.1 18.7 sciences Urban public 59.0 30.2 10.8 36.6 47.7 15.7 Urban private 39.3 43.6 17.1 22.1 54.5 23.4 Rural schools 54.3 27.3 18.3 34.2 40.6 25.2 Indicator C2: Improve the percentage of students in Grade 6 in rural schools achieving proficiencies in the nationally ratified standards of the Core Learning Priorities (NAP); Grade 6 2007 2010 Discipline Low Medium High Low Medium High Country 33.7 43.1 23.2 27.7 49.4 22.9 Urban public 37.9 45.2 16.9 31.3 51.7 17 Spanish Urban private 13.2 37.1 49.8 11.7 45.5 42.9 Rural schools 45.0 41.7 13.3 38.9 45.9 15.1 Country 36.2 37.4 26.4 35.7 40.2 24.1 Urban public 40.1 39.0 20.9 40.3 40.8 18.9 Mathematics Urban private 16.8 33.5 49.7 18.2 41.0 40.8 Rural schools 47.3 35.3 17.4 44.6 36.4 19 Country 34.9 39.8 25.2 38.0 41.8 20.1 Urban public 39.4 41.0 19.6 43.2 41.9 15.0 Social Sciences Urban private 16.2 37.3 46.6 20.2 44.3 35.5 Rural schools 41.8 37.8 20.5 45.0 37.5 17.5 Country 44 39.2 16.8 44.5 37.5 18.0 Natural Urban public 48.6 38.5 12.9 49.3 37.0 13.7 sciences Urban private 25.2 43.6 31.3 27.9 41.4 30.8 Rural schools 50.7 35.7 13.6 50.9 33.2 15.9 18 Annex 3. Economic and Financial Analysis (including assumptions in the analysis) The economic and financial analysis of the Rural Education Improvement Project (PROMER) is divided in two sections: (i) an analysis of the fiscal impact of the Project including its contribution to key results achieved by the rural education sector and comparing the fiscal performance of the Project to what was initially forecasted in the PAD; and (ii) a cost analysis of the education system, that takes into account each province as well as the characteristics of the rural education system. However, it was not possible to measure the efficiency gains in rural areas or to do a cost benefit analysis of Project interventions because the Provincial education budgets do not distinguish between education in rural areas and total education expenditure. I) Fiscal impact of the project In order to analyze the project’s fiscal impact, it should first be noted that expenditure by the National Education Ministry (MEN) (excluding tertiary education) and by provinces on education, measured in United States dollars, increased substantially between 2006 and 2013, averaging a 15 percent increase at the national level and 19 percent in the provinces each year during this period (Table 1). The measurement of the trends in dollars was used as a proxy indicator for the net real changes of the impact of price increases. The fiscal adjustment underway in the country coupled with the devaluation of the peso in early 2014 suggest a roughly 20 percent reduction in expenditure on education at the national and provincial levels in FY 2014, and a rebound in 2015 with a year-on-year increase of 6 percent in both cases. During the entire period, expenditure on education in the provinces increased beyond that spent at the national level, accounting for 89.9 percent of total expenditure in the country (excluding universities) in 2006, and 92.1 percent during the remaining years. The expansion of rural enrollment in the provincial education system required widely varying increases in resources, accounting for 0.2 percent of total expenditure in provinces in the early years and below 0.1 percent in the subsequent years. Increased expenditure was accompanied by an expansion in the supply of services, as evidenced by the increase in the number of teaching positions and secciones during the period under review. Chart 1 shows that the share of teaching positions in rural areas increased steadily relative to the national total in five of the seven years between 2005 and 2012, starting with a proportion equivalent to 17.1 percent of the total number of positions in the first year reviewed and reaching 18.7 percent at the end of the period under review. 1 Table 1. Summary of the Fiscal Impact of the Project Millions of US Dollars* 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Expenditure by the National Education Ministry (excluding 855 1,286 1,332 1,266 1,349 1,807 2,052 2,120 1,695 1,798 tertiary education)** Rural Education Improvement 1.0 11.2 9.4 19.4 35.4 37.9 48.4 42.6 30.7 16.6 Project (PROMER) Investments - 0.1 1.0 5.5 10.1 22.4 38.6 34.4 8.9 - Goods and services 0.2 8.9 5.1 8.6 19.1 8.3 2.7 1.5 5.7 5.1 Recurrent costs 0.8 2.3 3.4 5.3 6.2 7.1 7.0 6.7 16.1 11.5 Increase in expenditure by the National Education Ministry as a 0.12% 0.87% 0.71% 1.53% 2.62% 2.10% 2.36% 2.01% 1.81% 0.92% result of the project Provincial education 7,638 9,713 13,737 14,136 16,196 21,212 24,140 24,726 19,771 20,966 expenditure*** Increase in provincial education expenditure as a result of increased rural enrollment 0.20% 0.00% 0.21% 0.08% 0.09% 0.09% 0.03% 0.07% n/d**** n/d**** (preschool, early childhood, primary, and secondary) Clarification: *Data expressed in United States dollars. The average annual exchange rate taken from the webpage of the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) was used for all years, except for 2014, for which the estimated exchange rate is $8 and 2015, for which the projected average exchange rate is $9. **Expenditure by the National Education Ministry for 2015 is estimated in accordance with the provisions set forth in the LEN (National Education Law). *** Reported provincial education expenditure for 2013-2015 is estimated in accordance with the provisions set forth in the LEN. ****n/d: no data Source: CGECSE/SsPE/SE/M.E. based on budget information provided by school district authorities, DINIECE/SE/M.E., Budget Directorate/SsCA/M.E., Accounting and Finance Directorate /SsCA/M.E., UFI/SsCA/M.E, DINIECE/SE/SsPE/ME, and BCRA. 2 Chart 1. Percentage of Teaching Positions in Public Schools, by Location (*) 450.000 20% Ambito urbano Ambito rural 400.000 18,7% 19% Ambito rural / total (eje derecho) 18,5% 350.000 17,7% 17,6% 17,7% 17,6% 18% 17,1% 17,2% 300.000 17% 250.000 16% 200.000 15% 150.000 14% 100.000 13% 50.000 12% 0 11% 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 - Urban area - Rural area - Rural area/total area (right axis) Source: Compilation based on data extracted from DiNIECE Annual Reviews, Ministry of Education When these increases are analyzed by level of education (see Chart 2), there is a higher percentage over the period at the primary level (an increase from 20.6 percent of teaching positions in rural areas in 2005 to 22 percent in 2012), followed by the early childhood and kindergarten level (15 percent of the teaching positions at this level were in rural areas in 2012), and, lastly, at the secondary level, which, despite still accounting for a share of rural teaching positions relative to the entire country that is lower than at all other levels of education (14.1 percent during the last year reviewed), had the highest relative percentage increase in the period under review (the percentage for this education level was 10.8 percent in 2006). The number of secciones at each level increased in tandem with the number of teaching positions in rural areas, climbing from 6,863 to 8,549 at the early childhood level (an increase of 24.6 percent) between 2007 and 2012, while there was a 16.6 percent increase at the primary level (29,788 in 2007 to 34,730 in 2012). The relative increase at the secondary level was substantially higher, with a 38.3 percent increase in the number of secciones during the period (11,082 in 2007 to 15,330 in 2012). The number of secciones and rural teaching positions increased significantly, attaining a level of relative stability in the last few years, thus obviating the need to project short-term growth trends, except for a small group of provinces that continue to address the challenge of expanding rural secondary education. 3 Chart 2. Share of Teaching Positions in Rural Public Schools Relative to the Total Number of Teaching Positions, by Level of Education 26% Nivel Primario Promedio Nacional 24% Nivel Inicial - Jardin de Infantes Nivel Secundario 21,9% 22,0% 22% 21,5% 21,4% 21,4% 21,2% 21,1% 20,6% 20% 18,7% 18,5% 17,7% 17,6% 17,7% 17,6% 18% 17,2% 17,1% 16% 15,0% 14,8% 15,0% 14,2% 14,1% 14,0% 14,1% 13,8% 14% 13,2% 13,3% 11,7% 11,6% 12% 11,3% 11,3% 10,8% 10,7% 10% 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 - Primary school - National average - Early childhood and kindergarten - Secondary school Source: Compilation based on data extracted from the DiNIECE Annual Reviews, Ministry of Education The increase in supply can be analyzed in conjunction with a number of key results achieved by the rural education sector in the last few years. The following succinct conclusions can be drawn from the data summarized in Table 2. It is necessary to keep in mind that in all cases these are national averages that include high variability among provinces that constitute a very heterogeneous territory. - Education coverage gaps at the early childhood education level fell significantly (73.6 percent), and in 2012, 4,191 five-year-old children had no access to schools (15,861 in 2004). - Promotion rates in rural primary schools increased from 85.3 percent in 91.3 percent on average over the six years between 2004 and 2012. As is often the case, this rate is lower in the first year of primary school (85.5 percent in 2012). However, in this case, it accounts for a higher percentage increase with respect to the 2004 benchmark, (the promotion rate for Grade 1 students was 77.3 percent in 2004). 4 - The rate for students who are over-age by two or more years in the second cycle of primary education in rural areas declined substantially from 21.2 percent in 2004 to 17 percent in 2012, thus contributing to lower dropout rates. - The rate of transition to basic secondary school in rural areas increased at an uneven pace during the period under review. Between the first and second years of this level (Grades 7 and 8 of general basic education), the promotion rate increased by 8 percent from 77.8 percent in 2004 to 84 percent in 2012, while between completion of primary school and the first year of secondary school, the transition rate fluctuated more and remained relatively stable at around 90 percent, without any obvious increases. In any case, there was a marked increase in the number of students enrolled in basic secondary school, from 170,520 students in 2004 to 198,629 students in 2012 (16.5 percent of the increase occurred during the period under review). Ideally, this examination should be supplemented with an analysis of the trends relating to learning outcomes in language and mathematics. However, available information (the 2010 and 2013 Standardized National Assessment Tests – ONE) can be compared only at the aggregate level as it is not possible to make a distinction between the corresponding situation in rural areas. In the framework provided, PROMER’s fiscal performance (Chart 3) accounted for 1.5 percent of national expenditure on education on average during the period under review, with a maximum of 2.62 percent in 2010 and a minimum of 0.12 percent in 2006, the first year of project implementation. The resulting fiscal impact measured by this indicator is significantly lower than the estimate in the PAD (4.6 percent on average, with varying rates that peaked above 8 percent), chiefly because expenditure on education by Argentina’s Ministry of Education increased at a faster pace than planned, owing to the provisions set forth in the Education Financing Law (LFE) passed in late 2005. Among other things, this law made provisions for an increase in the share of public expenditure on education in GDP (during a period of sustained GDP growth), with a 40 percent contribution from the central government. As a result, allocations to the project continued during its implementation at the same time that the central government and the provinces increased educational resources at an unprecedented rate. The breakdown of PROMER’s expenditure (Chart 4) shows that the share of allocations started increasing from the third year of implementation, reaching a maximum equivalent to 80 percent of project expenditure in 2012 and 2013. These capital investments, especially in infrastructure, helped bridge coverage gaps as previously mentioned, and meet the needs required by the system to address sector demands in the short and medium term, at least with respect to early childhood and primary education. 5 Table 2. Selected Indicators for General Public Education in Rural Areas Level of Education Indicator 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Primary Education Primary Education ary Childho l) Educati Prim Early Coverage pending (Tota od 15,861 13,200 11,631 10,102 9,387 8,154 6,265 5,286 4,191 (number of students) Annual promotion rate 85.3 85.6 87.8 88.3 88.8 89.1 89.8 90.3 91.3 (Grades 1-6) First Cycle of Annual promotion rate in 82.5 83.2 84.9 85.8 86.1 86.4 87.3 88.1 89.3 this cycle Annual promotion rate for 77.3 78.2 80.0 81.0 81.6 81.8 83.2 83.8 85.5 Grade 1 Second Cycle of Over-age rate (over-age by 21.2 20.9 20.6 21.1 21.3 20.4 20.2 18.8 17.0 2 years or more) Number of students 275,362 268,202 279,844 278,848 282,319 280,707 279,417 281,375 277,271 enrolled Basic Secondary Cycle Transition rate from Grade 77.8 82.0 80.4 78.6 80.4 81.1 83.7 85.1 84.0 7 to Grade 8 Transition rate from Grade 91.6 92.4 89.4 83.7 87.1 88.5 89.1 89.6 87.6 6 to Grade 7 Number of students 170,520 173,036 183,824 169,071 179,188 185,980 193,501 199,436 198,629 enrolled Source: DiNIECE Annual Reviews, Ministry of Education 6 Chart 3. Project Breakdown and Proportion of MEN Expenditure on Education\ 60 3,0% Costos recurrentes Bienes y servicios Inversiones 50 2,5% Proporción gastos MEN correspondientes al proyecto (eje derecho) 40 2,0% millones de USD 30 1,5% 20 1,0% 10 0,5% - 0,0% 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 - Recurring costs - Goods and services - Investments - Proportion of MEN expenditure relative to the project (right axis) Source: Compilation based on data extracted from Table 1 Chart 4. Project Breakdown (Percentage Structure) 100% Costos recurrentes Bienes y servicios 80% Inversiones 60% 40% 20% 0% 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Recurring costs Goods and services Investments Source: Compilation based on data extracted from Table 1 7 Consistent with the initial cost plan, recurring expenditures were higher during the first year of project implementation (accounting for close to 80 percent of total project expenditure), and then fell to close to 20 percent, until 2014 when they began to rise again as project investment levels decreased. Expenditure on goods and services declined as well from the start of project implementation until 2014, when its share relative to the total also increased. From this perspective, it can also be stated that the facilities and infrastructure in place demonstrate a sustainable level of resources for the system in the rural areas in the coming years, primarily with respect to early childhood and primary education. II) Cost analysis of the education system In order to carry out a cost analysis of the education system, that takes into account each province as well as the characteristics of the rural education system, it is important to begin by identifying how transfers from the central government are allocated to educational institutions and then examine a breakdown of the related expenditure within the education system. Such an analysis is not confined to, but includes the rural sector, since under Argentina’s federalist system; the provinces are responsible for providing pre-university education at all levels and in all areas. Throughout the period under review, there was a significant increase in central government transfers to the education sector in the provinces. The vast majority of these transfers were effected on the basis of bilateral agreements between the central government and each school district, and included objectives and monitoring indicators. Table 3 shows that when measured in real terms and using United States dollar equivalent values, as mentioned above, government transfers more than tripled between 2005 and 2012. An analysis of the breakdown of central government transfers (Chart 5) reveals that over the period, there was a relative reduction in allocations for the payment of teachers’ salaries and a corresponding increase in the line items related to infrastructure and equipment. Salaries and infrastructure account for 85 percent of central government transfers to the education sector, while the remaining 15 percent is used to fund study grants, school textbooks, teacher training activities and other projects carried out by the educational institutions themselves. While central government allocations are made to the education sector as a whole, thus making it impossible to determine the share assigned to the rural area, the aforementioned change in the structure of allocations is consistent with the increased coverage and improvement in the educational levels and outcomes, as previously indicated. Ideally, one should be able to link these trends to the targets and indicators incorporated in the inter- governmental bilateral agreements alluded to above, in order to identify the link between funding and the improved performance of the education sector. 8 Table 3. Central Government Transfers to School Districts, by Line of Expenditure (2005-2012) Millions of US Dollars* Line of Expenditure 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Funding for Teachers’ Salaries 451.5 504.4 857.8 749.9 660.6 735.0 1,036.6 1,070.6 Infrastructure and Equipment 65.8 140.2 307.5 267.7 322.4 340.8 939.2 643.0 Study Grants 65.4 61.7 78.3 129.4 130.6 16.7 14.7 17.4 Teacher Training 14.8 18.5 30.7 29.2 52.4 67.3 105.2 143.4 School Textbooks 5.1 20.7 25.0 13.2 19.0 8.3 40.5 26.4 Projects carried out by 5.4 29.1 50.2 54.6 39.0 76.5 138.9 125.3 Educational Institutions Strengthening of Management 2.0 2.3 3.5 10.2 1.1 1.3 10.5 11.0 in the Provinces Statistical Information and Assessment of the Quality of 0.8 0.2 1.3 0.9 2.3 5.6 1.1 1.5 Education Total 610.8 777.2 1,354.3 1,255.1 1,227.4 1,251.5 2,286.6 2,038.5 Clarification: *Data supplied in US Dollars. For each year, the exchange rate used was taken from the annual average supplied by the BCRA webpage. Base Cash Amount for each year corresponds to the amount allocated each year, regardless of the financial year in which each line item was included. Includes data from the Ministry of Education of Argentina, the Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services of Argentina (National Plan 700 Schools/ more schools), ANSES (Conectar Igualdad Program). Source: General Coordination of Cost Studies of the Educational System (DNPE/SsPE/SE/ME) based on information supplied by the General Directorate of the International Funding Unit/SsCA/ME, Equity and Quality Secretariat/SE/ME, Conectar Igualdad Program/ME and Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services of Argentina. 9 Chart 5. Breakdown of Central Government Transfers to School Districts, by Line of Expenditure (2005-2012) Percentage Share Source: Compilation based on data extracted from Table 3 An analysis of expenditure by the provinces points to significant differences in the uses of resources among the various provinces. As shown in Chart 6, some school districts disburse more than 90 percent of their allocations to defray staffing costs (La Rioja, Jujuy and Tierra del Fuego), while in others with a more flexible budgetary structure, (City of Buenos Aires and San Luis), salaries account for less than 70 percent of total expenditure on education. Central government transfers to fund private education account for the second largest line item in educational expenditure in the provinces. In some cases, more than 20 percent of total expenditure is devoted to private education, while outlays for capital goods represent an average of 1.9 percent of the total and are only marginally significant in almost all school districts. 10 Chart 6. Breakdown of Educational Expenditure in Provinces, According to Economic Category (2012) Percentage Share Clarification: The reported expenditure refers to activities funded exclusively with provincial resources. Disbursements funded by non-automatic transfers are excluded. Expenditure by the Ministries of Public Works in School Districts was added under the line item: “capital disbursements” Source: CGECSE/SsPE/SE/M.E. on the basis of information supplied by Subnational Governments. There are also great variations in teachers’ salaries among the provinces. Table 4 shows that disparities existing between urban and rural areas and that the relationship between these two sectors is not the same in all provinces. For example, in some provinces, the gross salary of a grade school teacher with 10 years’ experience working in a rural area may be double that of a teacher at the same level in the urban area. In other provinces, on the other hand, the difference may only be around 10 percent or 20 percent. These disparities in salary levels may arise as a result of salary disputes, demographic considerations or differences in costs of living among the various school districts. Specifically in the rural area, the differences may be attributable to difficulties in filling positions in remote areas, owing to a shortage of teachers with the necessary qualifications. These shortages are most pronounced among middle school teachers. 11 Table 4. Teachers’ Salaries in Urban and Rural Areas, by Province (2013) Ordered by rural salary/urban salary ratio. In US Dollars* School District Urban salary (1) Remote rural Rural salary / salary (2) Urban salary Tierra del Fuego 1,679.90 1,841.40 1.10 Santa Cruz 1,627.90 1,967.10 1.21 Santa Fe 1,262.90 1,564.40 1.24 Chubut 1,198.20 1,485.60 1.24 Santiago del Estero 757.5 968.5 1.28 Neuquén 1,149.80 1,474.60 1.28 Salta 1,001.90 1,285.40 1.28 Córdoba 1,311.20 1,728.30 1.32 San Luis 1,071.80 1,420.10 1.32 Mendoza 966.7 1,297.60 1.34 Misiones 885.9 1,196.40 1.35 La Pampa 1,383.70 1,938.30 1.40 Río Negro 1,068.90 1,497.60 1.40 Buenos Aires 937.8 1,334.90 1.42 Jujuy 892.4 1,270.70 1.42 San Juan 939.7 1,364.10 1.45 Entre Ríos 952.7 1,396.20 1.47 Formosa 830.2 1,328.80 1.60 Tucumán 1,040.40 1,675.60 1.61 La Rioja 942.7 1,520.10 1.61 Chaco 1,023.00 1,658.70 1.62 Corrientes 917 1,565.90 1.71 Catamarca 782.4 1,581.50 2.02 Clarification: *Data expressed in United States Dollars. The average annual exchange rate of the Central Bank of Argentina webpage was used for all years. 1) Gross salary of Grade School teacher with 10 years’ experience. Provincial and Central Government funding. “Urban” Salary. 2) Gross salary of Grade School teacher with 10 years’ experience. Provincial and Central Government funding. “Remote Rural” Salary (maximum % for the area). Source: Gral Coord. Cost Study (CGECSE)/ SsPE/ SE/ ME, on the basis of information supplied by the Provinces. On the basis of available data, one can analyze the expenditure per student within the education system. Table 5 provides data relating to public schools for the period 2005- 2012. It can be observed that over that period, the unit expenditure expressed in dollars increased steadily at an average year-on-year rate of 21 percent. This suggests that over the seven years under review, there was a cumulative increase of 270.5 percent for the national average. The most significant increase (382.3 percent) occurred in Misiones Province, while the lowest (138.9 percent) was in the Province of San Luis. 12 Table 5. Expenditure per Student in Public Schools (2005-2012) Figures quoted are in US Dollars* School Districts 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Buenos Aires 672.4 845.3 1,023.,4 1,469.0 1,527.6 1,656.3 2,137.9 2,405.8 Catamarca 790.2 1,061.9 1,3538 2,043.4 1,813.3 1,955.7 2,425.9 2,824.8 Chaco 569.9 677.5 939.1 1,318.3 1,334.4 1,465.3 1,827.5 2,230.5 Chubut 1,225.2 1,372.7 1,729.5 2,226.6 2,070.8 2,618.9 3,159.5 3,512.3 City of de Buenos Aires 1,143.7 1,664.3 1,922.4 2,492.7 2,506.0 2,730.1 3,720.3 3,814.2 Córdoba 547.4 675.3 867.1 1,259.0 1,262.5 1,441.6 1,848.8 2,080.3 Corrientes 479.7 547.9 699.9 1,002.1 963.2 1,138.9 1,647.1 1,949.5 Entre Ríos 594.2 720.6 937.9 1,336.6 1,312.2 1,497.5 1,985.0 2,269.1 Formosa 493.5 729.3 1,034.1 1,334.8 1,389.8 1,582.0 1,909.4 2,216.8 Jujuy 585.4 733.8 962.5 1.295,8 1,331.4 1,631.5 2,036.9 2,356.7 La Pampa 986.5 1,208.9 1,637.7 2,353.3 2,395.0 2,929.3 3,597.2 4,384.1 La Rioja 698.7 805.7 974.9 1.386,3 1,562.3 1,803.0 2,183.7 2,640.2 Mendoza 581.0 735.9 1,008.9 1,298.8 1,320.1 1,478.8 1,986.2 2,350.2 Misiones 337.9 431,1 648.0 799.8 835.8 1,109.7 1,439.0 1,631.1 Neuquén 1,206.9 1,483.5 1,932.3 2,804.5 2,747.4 2,990.3 3,554.7 4,351.0 Río Negro 812.0 1,051.2 1,256.7 1,666.5 1,706.6 1,992.7 2,712.8 3,066.1 Salta 353.9 421.8 535.3 719,0 744.7 837.2 1,074.5 1,256.7 San Juan 586.7 714.2 953.7 1,295.9 1,299.7 1,470.1 1,683.2 1,926.4 San Luis 877.9 751.1 910.8 1,065.0 972.0 1,147.2 1,493.3 2,097.7 Santa Cruz 1,103.7 1,320.7 2,169.1 3,610.2 3,332.6 3,737.4 4,674.7 4,669.3 Santa Fe 633.6 814.3 1,100.1 1,535.0 1,606.1 1,850.5 2,577.8 2,836.1 Santiago del Estero 508.9 612.1 722.9 1,013.6 1,031.9 1,259.3 1,591.5 1,675.7 Tierra del Fuego 1,863.0 2,216.6 2,937.4 3,988.7 3,706.3 4,390.2 5,760.7 6,337.5 Tucumán 467.5 585.1 739.8 1,045.3 1,068.2 1,254.3 1,607.4 1,914.9 Country average 658.2 822.8 1,042.7 1,452.7 1,475.2 1,662.2 2,154.3 2,438.5 Clarification: *Data expressed in United States dollars. The average annual exchange rate taken from the BCRA web page was used for all years. Source: CGECSE/SsPE/SE/ME on the basis of budgetary information supplied by Provincial School Districts, DINIECE/SsPE/SE/ME. The level of expenditure per student varies greatly from one school district to the next. In 2012, the province with the highest level of expenditure per student (Tierra del Fuego) disbursed more than five times that of the province at the other end of the scale (See Chart 7). As mentioned above, these differences may be partially explained by geographical, socio-demographic, climatological, and other factors. However, the most important reason for the differences is the variation in teachers’ salary levels. 13 Chart 7: Expenditure per Student in Public Schools (2012) Figures quoted are in US Dollars Source: Compilation based on data extracted from Table 5 Lastly, on the basis of a review of information supplied by the Cost Monitoring Units (UOCs) of the various school districts, there are four scenarios on which one may base an analysis of education labor costs in the different sectors (urban, rural settlements, and remote or sparsely populated rural areas). It must be noted that while this examination is not necessarily representative of the entire country, it is nevertheless an important step forward in analyzing the rural educational sector. Based on the data derived from Table 6, one may calculate the cost per educational institution and per student, as well as analyze the differences in the average levels of early childhood, primary, and secondary education between urban and rural areas. In the cases under review, the additional cost for rural settlements vis-a-vis urban areas was 2.7 percent, 8.7 percent, 15.2 percent, and 18.6 percent. An analysis of sparsely populated or remote rural areas reveals even greater divergences, of up to 12.9 percent, 45.5 percent, 34.8 percent, and 144.3 percent over and above the cost for urban areas. The wide disparity in the data makes it difficult to draw conclusions that may be applied to the rest of the country. Furthermore, the data represent averages that include performance indicators associated with the different levels in the education system. 14 Table 6. Total Labor Cost and Average, by Area and Public Sector. Four Cases (2012/2013) In pesos COST OF LABOR ACCORDING TO AREA (*)                                                Indicators Number of Labor Gap Enrollment CUEs Cost as Average Average between Cost of Annexes % of Monthly Monthly Urban Province Area Labor Total Cost by Cost by and Abs. % Abs. % Wage Instit. Student Rural Bill Costs Remote Rural 34,021,769 22,628 15.5% 114 15.4% 17.1% 298,437 1,504 12.9% Rural Case 1 Settlement 23,940,325 17,502 12.0% 79 10.7% 12.0% 303,042 1,368 2.7% Urban 141,402,922 106,191 72.6% 545 73.8% 70.9% 259,455 1,332 Total 1 199,365,016 146,321 100.0% 276,392 1,345 Remote Rural 58,342,298 25,799 4.6% 615 22.1% 6.5% 94,866 2,261 45.5% Rural Case 2 Settlement 58,126,297 34,403 6.2% 267 9.6% 6.5% 217,701 1,690 8.7% Urban 775,262,393 498,765 89.2% 1,903 68.3% 86.9% 407,390 1,554 Total 2 891,730,989 558,967 100.0% 321,191 1,595 Rural 615,180 859 0.4% 8 0.5% 0.5% 76,897 716 25.3% Remote Rural 39,327,298 51,075 23.5% 985 66.2% 28.8% 39,926 770 34.8% Case 3 Rural Settlement 14,703,696 21,706 10.0% 118 7.9% 10.8% 124,608 677 18.6% Urban 81,967,170 143,452 66.1% 378 25.4% 60.0% 216,844 571 Total 3 136,613,344 217,092 1,655 100.0% 94,637 666 Rural 2,231,350 1,289 1.8% 29 3.9% 1.9% 76,943 1,508 28.8% Remote Rural 18,066,008 6,315 8.9% 304 41.0% 15.1% 59,428 2,861 144.3% Case 4 Rural Settlement 31,456,894 21,479 30.2% 181 24.4% 26.2% 173,795 1,349 15.2% Urban 68,186,204 41,947 59.1% 227 30.6% 56.9% 300,380 1,171 Total 4 119,940,457 71,030 768 100.0% 159,124 - Source: CGECSE on the basis of data supplied by Cost Monitoring U 15 Annex 4. Bank Lending and Implementation Support/Supervision Processes (a) Task Team members Names Title Unit Lending Gaston Mariano Blanco Sr Social Protection Specialist LCSHS-DPT Sr Financial Management Antonio Leonardo Blasco LCSFM Specialist Sergio Espana Consultant LCSHE Joseph Paul Formoso Senior Finance Officer CTRLA Maria Lucy Giraldo Senior Procurement Specialist LCSPT Tania N. Gomez-Carcagno Executive Assistant INTOP Suhas D. Parandekar Senior Education Economist EASHE Supervision/ICR Mario Cristian Aedo Inostroza Sr Education Economist ECSH2 Keisgner De Jesus Alfaro Senior Procurement Specialist LCSPT Diego Ambasz Senior Operations Officer LCSHE Sarah Ruth Bailey Junior Professional Associate LCSHS-DPT Sr Financial Management Antonio Leonardo Blasco LCSFM Specialist Ezequiel Cambiasso E T Consultant LCSPT Vanina Camporeale Operations Officer LCSHH Daniel Chalupowicz Financial Management Specialist LCSFM Sr Financial Management Regis Thomas Cunningham EASFM Specialist Sergio Espana Consultant LCSHE Maria Lucy Giraldo Senior Procurement Specialist LCSPT Tania N. Gomez-Carcagno Executive Assistant INTOP Ana Maria Grofsmacht Procurement Specialist LCSPT Jose C. Janeiro Senior Finance Officer CTRLA Efraim Jimenez Consultant EASIS Cecilia L'Avena Consultant LCSHE Marta Elena Molares-Halberg Lead Counsel LEGES Judith C. Morroy Consultant LCSHH Luis M. Schwarz Senior Finance Officer CTRLA Santiago Scialabba Program Assistant LCC7C Sr Financial Management Alejandro Roger Solanot LCSFM Specialist Ximena B. Traa-Valarezo Consultant LCSSO Alexandria Valerio Senior Economist HDNED Janet K. Entwistle Senior Operations Officer LCSHE Sara Troiano Junior Professional Associate LCSHS Mariela Alvarez Program Assistant LCC7C 1 (b) Staff Time and Cost Staff Time and Cost (Bank Budget Only) Stage of Project Cycle USD Thousands (including No. of staff weeks travel and consultant costs) Lending FY02 63.63 FY03 20.28 FY04 43.64 FY05 254.60 FY06 213.64 FY07 0.00 FY08 0.00 Total: 595.79 Supervision/ICR FY02 0.00 FY03 0.00 FY04 0.00 FY05 0.00 FY06 63.35 FY07 109.81 FY08 99.63 Total: 272.79 2 Annex 5. Summary of Borrower's ICR and/or Comments on Draft ICR As per the letter received on June 9th, 2014, the General Director of the International Financing Unit of the Ministry of Education, on behalf on the Borrower, agrees with the contents and ratings described in this Implementation Completion Report. DINIECE also provided comments and informed that the institution considers that all the actions agreed during meetings with the Bank Team were adequately taken, including provision of quality information in a timely manner. Introduction The Development Objectives of the Argentina Rural Education Improvement Project (PROMER)—Loan 7353-AR—are to support national Government policy to (i) improve the coverage, efficiency, and quality of the Argentine education system; and (ii) improve the governance of the Argentine education system through strengthening of the normative, planning, information, monitoring, and evaluation capacity at the national and provincial levels. With regard to project implementation, passage in 2006 of National Education Law No. 26.206, which established the rural education system and extended compulsory schooling to the preschool and secondary levels, has been the most substantive modification. In particular: - Article 17 of the National Education Law establishes that Rural Education is one of the modalities of the National Education System. - Article 49 of the National Education Law establishes that Rural Education is the modality aimed at ensuring achievement of compulsory schooling through methods adapted to the needs and specificities of the population living in rural areas. - Article 51 of the National Education Law establishes that the national Ministry of Education, together with the Federal Education Council, is responsible for defining the necessary measures to ensure that educational services in rural areas are of an equivalent quality to those in urban areas. In this way, comprehensive attention to the specific needs and possibilities (potential) of the population living in rural areas was promoted, for all schools at all levels located in rural areas. Implementation of the components of PROMER 1. Component A: Improving Quality and Coverage of Rural Education. 1.1. Subcomponent A.1: Improving Operating Conditions of Rural Schools Provision of basic didactic materials and teaching equipment: 1 All schools received basic didactic resources, reference materials, and teaching equipment. Development of this activity focused on the provision of (a) textbooks; (b) multimedia, computer, and furniture packages; (c) play areas; (d) laboratories; (e) reagents and other inputs; (f) microscopes and accessories; (g) printing of curriculum development materials for teachers and students; and (h) school supply kits (done in a decentralized manner). The regulations/criteria for purchase and distribution included in the Operating Manual were the same for all provinces. Provincial meetings on the activities were conducted with directors and teachers, and schools were visited. On these occasions it was possible to observe the specifics relating to implementation of the components. In the case of local projects, there was a greater and more systematic presence over the last two years with a view to completion of a publication. At the First National Meeting of Professors of Single-Teacher Schools [Primer Encuentro Nacional de Maestros de Escuelas Unidocentes] (held in August and September of this year), direct contact was made with professors and the particular situation in these schools was the topic of analysis. For the selection, development, and production of didactic materials, the Coordinating Unit for the Rural Education modality took into account the “Core Learning Priorities” [Núcleos de Aprendizaje Prioritarios NAP], which form the framework for decisions on provincial curricula and the different departments under the ministry. Once material was prepared on the modality, it was submitted to the “Curriculum Areas” teams for analysis. In addition, it was also submitted to the directorates of each level and in the instances where it was deemed necessary, decisions were jointly made. This joint work included all the stages of designing the materials and critical analysis of the output. Minimum Standards for Schools The expansion, replacement, and rehabilitation of school buildings were financed with the aim of improving the condition of the existing school infrastructure. At the beginning of project implementation, priority was established as follows: (i) provision of basic services (potable water, electricity, and heating); (ii) improvement of the infrastructure of schools in particularly dilapidated condition; (iii) expansion of existing buildings; and (iv) construction of new schools (when restoration would not have been feasible). The General Directorate for Infrastructure [Dirección General de Infraestructura DGI] was responsible for defining and disseminating the standards for implementation of the actions relating to infrastructure. In this context, it reviewed and approved the technical documentation prepared by the provinces in accordance with the criteria, regulations, and procedures established in the Operating Manual. In addition, the DGI gave its no- objection to the work certificates prior to payment and conducted monitoring and ad hoc supervision of the progress of the work, requesting of its counterpart units in the provinces fulfillment of the administrative, technical, legal, and financial requirements. Distribution of the funds for the investment in infrastructure was not completed by quotas 2 because there was insufficient effective demand for works by the provinces in order to apply this approach. The delay in implementation was due to various reasons, among which the following should be mentioned: (i) delays in decision making, in some cases stemming from the changes in management; (ii) difficulties identifying a shortlist of three competitive candidates in the provinces and selecting suitable technical personnel; (iii) challenges with project preparation; (iv) delays in the qualification process in the provinces regarding those invited to bid; (v) a scarcity of bidders owing to problems accessing the works or dealing with smaller contracts, with complex procedures, which are less appealing to businesses; and (vi) prioritization by the provinces of other lines of financing, whether because they correspond to programs with an approaching due date or because their implementation would be easier. With respect to corrective measures, normative and organizational adjustments were made to improve program performance. In this regard, there was skills redistribution within the technical teams from the General Directorate of Infrastructure, as a result of which the professional capacity to review PROMER projects was increased four-fold. In addition, a new organizational model of linkages was established (outward and inward), introducing a matrix-based operating scheme through which the assignment of tasks to the professional project reviewers was based on the school district supported and not the project framework program. This change significantly accelerated internationally financed programs, harmonized the technical evaluation criteria, promoted greater interaction among all the members of the DGI team, and facilitated exchanges with the provinces whenever there was a professional counterpart in this ministry for all the financing operations. Regarding the priority established at the beginning of project implementation for execution of this activity, however, it was decided in 2009 that the “comprehensive participation” criterion would be incorporated. In this context, procedures were made more flexible with the aim of reducing the processing time, better monitoring the work in the provinces, increasing opportunities for provincial technical teams to work in the DGI and thus make the necessary corrections to more quickly obtain the “technical skills.” School Clusters In the last update of PROMER beneficiaries, done in July 2011, there were 1,687 school clusters, with an average of 10.1 CUE/Anexos 23 per cluster. Among the beneficiary schools, it was found that 7,261 were at the preschool level, 11,938 at the primary level, and 5,264 at the basic secondary cycle (CBS) level. If we take into account the CUE/Anexos from the State sector in rural areas, along with kindergarten and/or common 23 All educational institutions in Argentina are assigned a Clave Unica de Establecimientos y Anexos (CUE/ANEXOS), a nine-digit unique identifying number issued by the Ministry of Education. 3 primary and/or secondary education up to September 2013, we see that 93 percent are included in the July 2011 clusters. The effective functioning of the clusters takes place in relation to specific actions. There are as yet no benefits noted with respect to the structure of these clusters. In this regard, work continues with the provinces to create an effective network structure based on an initial formal definition. With respect to the technical, financial, and institutional sustainability of the clusters as a management unit to execute the rural dimension policy in the provinces, it can be mentioned that technical sustainability is the most advanced, as the clusters have been taken into account for decision making. In November 2013, resources from the National Treasury were transferred to all single-teacher schools to complete activities by cluster. Distance education No distance education projects or programs were implemented. Indigenous education One of the objectives of National Education Law No. 26.206 is the integration of intercultural and bilingual education (IBE) into the national education system. Against this institutional backdrop, the ME has proceeded with the restructuring of the Office of the Undersecretary with responsibility for Equity and Quality, incorporating a Coordinating Unit for IBE into the National Education Management Directorate. This activity supported the execution of actions designed to improve education conditions in rural schools attended by indigenous students, through the hiring of individual consultants and through training sessions at the national and provincial levels. IBE activities with respect to PROMER dovetailed into the gradual and phased introduction of the IBE modality in the provinces. Execution levels and results varied across provinces based on their respective management capacity. No comparison of the results obtained in each province was conducted. Instead, technical assistance was provided to the school district teams, on the basis of their specific difficulties and capabilities, to help them make progress. And yet, the best results and highest levels of execution were achieved in Northeast and Northwest Argentina, the regions with the highest indigenous enrollment rates. In addition, the activity achieving the best results was the teacher training program. 1.2. Subcomponent A2: Expanding Coverage and Improving Student Promotion Flow Expanding coverage of preschool education With a view to expanding coverage, technical assistance, teacher training, and teaching guides were provided in the provinces to share alternatives for organizing multi-age classrooms. The provinces chose from among various alternatives, including multi-age classrooms annexed to primary schools, independent kindergartens, traveling teachers, 4 teachers with dual degrees, and schooling of children in their homes. In view of the fact that the selection of these models was based on an analysis of the local situation, no universal solution was implemented. Trends in the indicators for monitoring coverage reveal significant progress with respect to the education policy objectives to which these actions contributed. At the preschool level in 2010, the expected coverage indicator (number of five-year-old boys and girls with no access to school) exceeded the 2013 target set by the project for this indicator (7,979). Since then, the indicator has continued trending downward, as the number of children with access to education from the first level of preschool education continues to increase each year. Reducing repetition in Years 1, 2, and 3 of compulsory education The activities planned at the start of the Project were executed at the expected rates. Activities were being conducted in accordance with the PROMER incorporation phases and all the institutions were covered based on its structure in August 2011. That database was created for PROMER-financed activities, although provisions were made for subsequent databases for activities executed on the basis of levels and provinces. Organization of school programs in Years 4, 5, and 6 of compulsory education – acceleration program This activity was not executed because once general activities had been implemented, it was not necessary to introduce the model provided specifically for rural schools. The reason for not implementing this activity was linked to two related concurrent factors: first, alternative solutions were developed for all primary schools (urban and rural) by the primary education directorate, the unit within the MEN with responsibility for this activity and, second, the implementation of inclusive social policies that had an impact on the increase in overage levels, given their capacity to promote the return to school of adolescents and youth through cash transfers to families for each child enrolled (Asignación Universal por Hijo). During the project restructuring exercise carried out as part of the project expansion process, the project’s results matrix indicator used to monitor overage levels was dropped. However, it bears noting that the analysis of the project’s various monitoring indicators continued to include the rate for students who are overage by two or more years among the primary education indicators. Since 2009, there has been a downward trend in the value of this indicator, which has become more pronounced in recent years, attaining a value of 18.8 in 2011, 2.4 points below the baseline value at the start of the project.24 Special education 5 This component and the activities (provision of equipment) that were developed were implemented in the provinces (Northwest and Northeast). The Coordinating Unit for Special Education continues to provide technical assistance that is related to an understanding of the need to adopt the cluster concept in order to design specific activities for rural schools. 6 Expanding coverage in Years 7, 8, and 9 of secondary education This activity was implemented under the conditions that each province could provide at the secondary education level. In 2010, the transition rate from Grade/Year 7 to Grade/Year 8 at the secondary level exceeded the target set for that year (83). During the last period, an upward trend was also observed, which made it possible to reach and exceed in 2011 the target set for 2013 (85). The transition rate from Grade/Year 6 to Grade/Year 7 increased by less than one percentage point year-on-year during the period 2009-2010 and achieved a value of 89.6 during the period 2010-2011, still falling somewhat short of the target set for 2013 (93), despite coming very close. School development plans (local projects) School development plans were implemented in the following provinces: Buenos Aires, 48 schools; Catamarca, 73; Chaco, 22; Chubut, 46; Córdoba, 133; Corrientes, 32; Formosa, 93; Jujuy, 22; La Pampa, 33; La Rioja, 62; Misiones, 100; Salta, 77; San Juan, 86; San Luis, 32; Santiago del Estero, 80; and Tucumán, 132. These plans sought to supplement the proposed teaching method with respect to printed and audiovisual materials with this activity that is linked to rural development. Each school received AR$4000 in funding. 1.3. Subcomponent A3: Strengthening Education Management at the Provincial Level Strengthening line departments at the provincial level As part of the tasks designed to strengthen management capacity in provincial administrations, corrective measures were implemented in light of the observations made in the audit reports to achieve the following: (i) in order to address the diverse and complex nature of administrative proceedings for the disbursement of funds to each school district, coordinators and specialists from the provinces were invited to participate in technical training sessions aimed at promoting horizontal cooperation and the sharing of experiences, by taking advantage of similar visions; (ii) with a view to simplifying the work of the school districts and facilitating oversight of reports at the central level, modifications were made to the corresponding instructions during the second stage of project implementation; (iii) changes were made in the Operating Manual to the accounting policies, recordkeeping, and other issues pertaining to procedures and accountability, as well as to procurement processes carried out at the central level by DGUFI for all internationally funded projects; and (iv) the function and use of the UEPEX system as a management tool at the central and provincial levels were improved. PROMER’s Coordinating Unit ensured ongoing monitoring of the adoption of the corrective measures provided by each provincial team in response to the observations. In addition, as a result of visits to the provinces, the degree of progress achieved based on planned corrective actions was formalized in the Supervision and Technical Assistance Agreements (Actas de Supervisión y Asistencia Técnica). Although retaining the teams is 7 a provincial-level decision made by the Ministry of Education through the Education Office, there was a push to maintain the teams as a way to ensure continuity and make progress toward recognition of rural-focused activities as state policies. Developing a rural education plan for each province Activities targeting rural schools were included in the National Plan for Compulsory Education and Educator Training (PNEOyFD), that is, if a rural education plan for each province has been integrated into all provincial policies. The Coordinating Unit for Rural Education has the capacity to update this plan in the same context. 2. Component B: Enhancing the Stewardship Capacity of the National Government This component financed the strengthening of the relevant ME line departments involved in the management of the Project, with a view to (i) making ongoing management of the system as effective as possible; and (ii) ensuring that the technical and administrative conditions needed for its execution are in place. 2.1 Subcomponent B1: Strengthening Line Departments at the National Level The Project fully supported the national programs, and resources provided at the national level were aimed at strengthening administration, rural education, intercultural bilingual education, infrastructure, statistics and internal control activities of the ME’s directorates and departments involved in their implementation. With respect to the resources initially earmarked for this subcomponent, although funds were reassigned to the relevant investment category, this funding accounted for 3.37 percent of the total credit. The resources provided by PROMER supplemented those for the rural education modality. In fact, for some stages, it would have been necessary to hold on to some of the resources financed by the Project, which was not possible for reasons unrelated to financing restrictions. The Coordinating Unit for Intercultural Bilingual Education viewed the allocated resources as inadequate. Consideration is also being given to the possibility in the future of ensuring the continuity of efforts to strengthen the team at the national level. 2.2 Subcomponent B2: Monitoring and Evaluation In order to obtain information on the operating conditions of rural schools, the Rural School Census (RER) was conducted in the provinces. The RER sought to survey rural schools with one or two teachers located in provinces in Argentina that were remote or difficult to access, and propose procedures and methodologies for collecting, processing, analyzing, and reporting education sector and background information. The information gathered was used to meet the information needs of ME directorates and provincial governments. 8 It was reported that INET and not the DiNIECE conducted the longitudinal survey of graduates of technical schools. With regard to studies/surveys financed by PROMER, the DiNIECE implemented systems for the compilation, analysis, and reporting of education statistics, as well as for the financing of nine special studies for the assessment of specific aspects relating to the impact of the project’s activities: ‐ A policy to organize school programs in the second cycle of the primary education level in Mendoza province (2008); ‐ A training proposal for multi-grade rural schools in the province of Santiago del Estero (2008); ‐ Improvements in education conditions in rural areas: teaching processes that include the use of native languages to promote literacy in Spanish (2009); ‐ The implementation of a proposal to organize the Basic Secondary Education program in rural areas: provincial management and institutional aspects (2009); ‐ Possibility of organizing multi-age classrooms in Entre Ríos to expand preschool coverage in rural areas (2010); ‐ Description of intercultural and bilingual education in rural areas (2010); ‐ Training and teaching in multi-grade classrooms and the advanced specialization diploma in rural education (2011); ‐ Secondary schools in rural areas and clusters as a policy strategy for maintaining rural students on track academically in the province of Misiones (2012); ‐ Multi-age classrooms (secciones) at the preschool level in rural areas. Tensions and transformations in educational practices with the distribution of games for learning (2012). The DiNIECE has been conducting standardized national student assessments (ONE) that include rural schools every three years since 2007. Each school that participated in the ONE for secondary schools was informed of its respective results. The 2013 ONE for secondary schools was conducted in August and the ONE for primary schools in November 2013. The DiNIECE estimates that the final results [for primary education] will be available in late 2014, while results for secondary schools will be available in July or August of the same year. Sustainability The allocation of national resources for certain activities is part of the national rural education policy and relates to the integration of the rural dimension into the education policy. Resources are received from various sources and pooled. Provinces have achieved varying degrees of progress. With regard to teacher training in rural schools, it should be noted that the advanced specialization diploma was not identified as a general policy. However, training sessions 9 linked to resources provided by PROMER were indeed general in nature, and the content developed surpassed the resources provided. Consideration is being given to the continuity of the IBE modality in the context of the implementation of the 2012-2016 National Compulsory Education Plan (PNEO) and the National Educator Training Plan (PNFP). Five future activities have emerged from these plans. They seek to generate strategies for achieving better results with respect to quality of learning, working in collaboration with the various representative bodies of the indigenous peoples. It is essential for the IBE modality to institutionalize participation mechanisms to ensure ongoing involvement in the design of the action plan for each activity. Management of PROMER PROMER’s Coordinating Unit assumed responsibility for general planning, administration of the fiduciary aspects and monitoring of same, reporting directly to the DGUFI. Control and Auditing The entire operation was subject to internal controls, which were conducted by the Ministry’s Internal Auditing Unit (UAI). This unit is under the direct supervision of the minister, and is responsible for conducting audits and issuing recommendations in accordance with the powers vested by Law No. 24.156 (Law of September 30, 1992 on Financial Management and Control Systems), with a view to promoting and providing advice on the implementation of a system that ensures the continuity and adequate functioning of the administrative, financial, and operating controls and of electronic data processing, in a way that helps minimize operational risks and maximize Project efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public funds assigned thereto. The regulatory framework established for the Project requires provincial school districts to notify provincial regulatory bodies and incorporate into the provincial budget the funds agreed to in the bilateral agreement concluded between the central government and provinces. It also bears noting that the Coordinating Unit conducted supervisory visits and provided technical assistance in the provinces, in accordance with the transfers made and the reports submitted. Each province was supervised at least once a year by relevant staff from the Coordinating Unit and UAI. In sum, internal controls promoted a fairly secure environment for the achievement of the following objectives: - Effectiveness and efficiency of operations; - Reliability of financial reports, including reports on budget execution, financial statements, and other documents that are prepared for internal and external use; and - Compliance with the laws and regulations applied for their execution. 10 Changes in the internal organization and structure of the Project’s Coordinating Unit. In 2009, the Project’s Coordinating Unit was reorganized, adopting a matrix scheme in which departments and functions were identified and defined in terms of areas—financial management, assistance to provinces, technical assistance, and monitoring—subject to the authority of the Coordinating unit. The Assistance to Provinces department was organized into regional teams, with each comprising a non-specialist, a financial specialist, and a procurement specialist. This reorganization contributed to the planning, monitoring, and technical assistance in the provinces, providing them, in this way, with extraordinary interlocutors with the capacity to respond to all management-related issues, and, within the Coordinating Unit, to work toward common goals, viewing provincial management as a collective effort. 11 Annex 6. List of Supporting Documents Country Partnership Strategy for the Republic of Argentina (CPS) Period – 2010-2012 Evaluación del Postítulo: Evaluación de la Especialización docente de nivel superior en educación rural para el nivel primario. Ana Belèn Zapata (2011) National Education Law (Law 26.206) – (2006) National Plan for mandatory education and teacher training (Plan Nacional de Educación Obligatoria y Formación Docente, PNEDOyFD) ( December 5, 2012) PISA 2012 Results in Focus: What 15-year-olds know and what they can do with what they know: Key results from PISA 2012 OECD (2012) Project Appraisal Document on Proposed Loan in the amount of US$150 million to the Argentine Republic for Rural Education Improvement Project – PROMER (November 17, 2005) Raising student learning in Latin America, Emiliana Vegas and Jenny Petrow, World Bank (2008) The invisible poor: A portrait of rural poverty in Argentina World Bank (2010) The Law for Educational Financing (LEF) (December 20, 2005) Letter dated June 9, 2014 from Alejandro F. Penillas, General Director of the International Financing Unit (June, 2014) " 1