IPP687 Lao People’s Democratic Republic Peace Independence Democracy Unity Prosperity Ethnic Groups Development Plan for Early Childhood Development Project Department of Planning, Ministry of Education and Sports December 2013 0 Ethnic Groups Development Plan (EGDP) for Early Childhood Education Project 1. Background Lao PDR has some of the poorest education indicators in Asia, as the country is still struggling with universal access to primary education and with literacy. Enrolment rates only stand at 85 percent for primary and 44 percent for secondary school age children. Literacy also remains a challenge as among the youth, with almost 25 percent of 15 to 24 year olds being illiterate. One reason for low enrolment is the late entry of children into the school system but the main factor is the high drop-out rates in grade 1 (11.7 percent in 2011/121) and 2 (6 percent in 2011/12). This highlights that many children are not ready for schooling, as only 67 percent of students who enter primary school actually complete the full 5 years of primary schooling within 5 years. Additionally there still are important gender disparities in enrolment rates and especially, literacy rates in some provinces. There are large differences in the literacy rates across different regions and provinces, and between boys and girls within these provinces. However with regards to access to education indicators, there are only small differences across gender at the national level. The high drop-out rates and the low progression in basic language and mathematics in the early grades indicates that school readiness is a challenge. The latest Lao Social Indicator Survey (LSIS) 2011/2012 showed that most children between the ages of 3 to 5 are developmentally on track in physical and learning development, but that only 20% are on track in literacy and numeracy. There are substantial differences in child development along socio-economic and geographic dimensions. Over half of 3 to 5 year olds from the richest quintile are on track in literacy and numeracy, while only 6 percent are on track from the poorest quintile. Children in rural and remote areas are also much less likely to be on track; especially those belonging to ethnic groups. 2. The Early Childhood Education (ECE) Project The ECE project is therefore proposed in order to address these challenges. The objective of the ECE project is to increase coverage and improve the quality of pre-primary education and early childhood care services for 3-5 year old children in disadvantaged districts2 through (i) construction of pre-primary classrooms through Community-Based Contracting, with age appropriate sanitation facilities and with accessibility standards for physically disable children; (ii) establishment of Community Child Development Groups for 3-4 year olds; (iii) a supporting services package; (iv) teacher and education officer training; and (v) strengthening project management, capacity development, and monitoring and evaluation at all levels of early childhood education. 1 Education Management Information System (EMIS) 2 56 districts have been identified as priority districts on the basis of their educational needs as indicated by their having a female primary net enrollment ratio and the survival rate until Grade 5 to be below the national mean level from the latest available educational statistics. The ECE project will cover 22 districts in 11 provinces. 1 2.1. Objective of EGDP for ECE The objective of this Ethnic Group Development Plan (EGDP) is to ensure that the ECE Project fully meet the objective of the Bank’s Operational Policy 4.10 Indigenous Peoples, that ethnic groups receive project benefits in culturally appropriate manner and that any negative impacts that may occur from the project, if any, will be fully mitigated. For this purpose, a Social Assessment (SA) was carried out and free, prior and informed consultations were carried out with project affected ethnic groups. The findings of the SA and the broad community support ascertained as a result of consultations are provided in this EGDP.. 3. Legal Framework 3.1. National legal framework Constitution of Lao PDR, ratified in 1991, uses the term “citizens of all ethnicity” throughout the document. It specifically recognizes the need to incorporate the concerns of ethnic groups in developing policy in all sectors, and has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthen the rights of all ethnic groups in various congresses, conferences, decrees, and laws since the 1980s (Articles 8 and 22). Article 75 of the Constitution specifically indicates that “the Lao language and script are the official language and script”. Constitutionally, Laos is recognized as a multi-ethnic society, and Article Eight of the 1991 Constitution states, “All ethnic groups have the right to preserve their own traditions and culture, and those of the Nation. Discrimination between ethnic groups is forbidden.” Article 8 of th e Constitution reads: “The State pursues the policy of promoting unity and equality among all ethnic groups. All ethnic groups have the rights to protect, preserve and promote the fine customs and cultures of their own tribes and of the nation. All acts of creating division and discrimination among ethnic groups are forbidden. The State implements every measure to gradually develop and upgrade the economic and social level of all ethnic groups.” The 1992 ethnic Group policy, Resolution of the Party Central Organization Concerning Ethnic Group Affairs in the New Era, focuses on gradually improving the lives of Ethnic Groups, while promoting their ethnic identity and cultural heritage. It is the cornerstone of current national Ethnic Group policy. The general policy of the Party concerning Ethnic Groups can be summarized as follows: 1) Build national sentiment (national identity). 2) Realize equality between Ethnic Groups. 3) Increase the level of solidarity among Ethnic Groups as members of the greater 
Lao family. 4) Resolve problems of inflexible and vengeful thinking, as well as economic and 
cultural inequality. 5) Improve the living conditions of the Ethnic Groups step by step. 6) Expand, to the greatest extent possible, the good and beautiful heritage and 
ethnic identity of each group as well as their capacity to participate in the affairs of the nation. The Ethnic Groups Committee under the National Assembly is charged with the responsibility to draft and evaluate proposed legislation concerning Ethnic Groups, lobby for its implementation 2 as well as implementation of socioeconomic development plans. Ethnic Group research is the responsibility of the Institute for Cultural Research under the Ministry of Information and Culture. The lead institution for ethnic affairs is the mass (political) organization, the Lao National Front for Construction (LNFC), which has an Ethnic Affairs Department. It should also be noted that the government of Lao PDR fully realises the importance of education and therefore has established several significant regulatory frameworks to strengthen the education sector such as the Education for All National Plan of Action 2003-2015 (2003), National Education Sector Reform Strategy 2006-2015 (2006), Education Sector Development Framework (2009), and the National Strategy and Action Plan on Inclusive Education 2011- 2015 ). 3.2 World Bank Safeguard Policy The WB’s Operational Policy 4.10 requires that special planning measures be established to protect the interests of ethnic groups with a social and cultural identity distinct from the dominant society that may make them vulnerable to being disadvantaged in the development process. The OP 4.10 requires Bank funded project should employ measures that will ensure: 1) Affected ethnic groups are afforded meaningful opportunities to participate in planning that affects them; 2) They are given opportunities to receive culturally appropriate benefits; and 3) Any project impacts that adversely affect them are avoided or otherwise minimized and mitigated. In the Lao PDR context, indigenous peoples are called ethnic groups. These ethnic groups meet the eligibility criteria of World Bank’s OP 4.10 Indigenous Peoples and can be identified by the following characteristics:  Self-identification as members of a distinct indigenous cultural group and recognition of this identity by others.  Collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories in the project area and to the natural resources in these habitats and territories.  Customary cultural, economic, social, or political institutions that are separate from those of the dominant society and culture.  An indigenous/ethnic language, often different from the official language of the country or region. It is likely that the World Bank's policy applies to ethnic groups belonging to the Mon-Khmer, Chino-Tibetan, and Hmong-Mien ethno-linguistic families and may not apply to Lao-Tai ethnic groups. However, there are different ethnic groups included in the Lao-Tai ethnic groups, and this will mean that more intensive efforts will have to be made in implementing a culturally and linguistically sensitive consultative participatory process. As a prerequisite for project approval, OP 4.10 requires its clients, in this case the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) Lao PDR, to conduct free, prior and informed consultations with potentially affected ethnic groups and to establish a pattern of broad community support for the project and its objectives. It also requires its clients to establish an appropriate gender inclusive framework that provides opportunities for consultation at each stage of project preparation and implementation, as well as uses appropriate consultation methods to the social and cultural 3 values of the ethnic groups and their local conditions and, in designing these methods, gives special attention to the concerns of ethnic women, youth, and children and their access to development opportunities and benefits. The World Bank policy also addresses public disclosure, especially on the information about the project (including an assessment of potential adverse effects of the project on the affected ethnic groups) in a culturally appropriate manner at each stage of project preparation and implementation. 4 Social Assessment Although there are no major social and environmental safeguards issues associated with the project, a social assessment (SA) was conducted to assess social and cultural habitats of the ethnic groups present in the project targeted areas and provide input to EGDP. The SA also assesses if the ethnic groups in the project areas broadly support the ECE project as required under the World Bank’s (WB) social safeguards policy. The SA process followed the legal framework for consultation, participation and disclosure of information set out by both the WB and the Lao government. This includes the Decree 112/PM (2010), General Guideline for Public Involvement (2013) and Ethnic Group Consultation Guideline (2013) of the Lao government. 4.1. Methodology: The SA was prepared by firstly reviewing relevant secondary data such as previous education sector assessments, reports and other project preparation documents (supported by the WB) necessary for the formulation of the ECE project. The assessment also consulted a number of education reports on pre-primary schools and kindergartens, which have been published by the Research Institute of Education Science, MoES in the Lao language. They include but are not limited to the flowing: National Assessment of Students Learning Outcomes 2010, Education Challenges in Reaching MDG 2 and 3 (2012), Guidelines on Quality Education for Pre-Primary Schools and Kindergartens (2010), and Standard Requirements for Pre-Primary Teachers and Childcare Providers (2010). Additionally, a review was conducted of both the World Bank’s legal framework in reference to the WB’s social safeguards on indigenous people, who are referred to as ethnic groups in this report. Furthermore the review included the GoL’s legal framework on ethnic groups and strategies for improving the education sector in compliance with the MDG 2 and 3 by 2015. Together both the GoL and WB legal frameworks provided the instruction guidelines which were incorporated into the formulation of this EGDP. Key informant interviews and free, prior and informed consultations with project affected ethnic group people were conducted from 20 July to 10 August 2013. The Project will be implemented in 22 districts in 11 provinces. The list of ethnic groups present in these districts is provided in the Annex 2. Field assessment and free, prior and informed consultations were conducted in 30 villages in 5 districts, selected from three provinces, namely Borkeo in the north, Savannakhet in the central-southern region and Champasack in the south (listed in Annex 1). The selection of the sites, villages and schools was jointly made by the WB Country task team and MoES officials at the central, provincial and district levels. The following selection criteria were used in the selection of districts where field assessment and consultations were conducted:  Provinces and districts where MoES plans to expand with further pre-primary and primary education schools and/or classrooms. 4  Provinces and districts comprising of multi-ethnic groups.  Provinces that consist in terms of wealth of poor, medium and better-off households according to the Lao National Statistic Centre’s ranking system.  Provinces and districts that are accessible by car during the rainy season as the SA was scheduled during the rainy season. Survey provinces and districts were selected so representative ethnic groups affected under the project will be consulted. In total, 29 ethnic groups, which is nearly 60% of the ethnic groups of in Lao PDR, were consulted. Table 1 below lists the 29 ethnic groups that were interviewed and consulted during the assessment period. They represent the main ethnic groups in Lao PDR and so there are no major ethnic groups that have been excluded from the assessment. Table 1: Ethnic Groups in the visited/consulted villages. Provinces and Main Ethno- Ethnic Groups Districts linguistic Groups Lao-Tai Lao, Phouan, Tay Neua, Lue, Youne and Tai Dam Borkeo: 0. Paktha Mon-Khmer Khmu, Lamet, Sam Tao, and Phounoy 1. PhaOudom Chino-Tibet/Hmong Hmong, Akha, Lahu, Lu Mien/Eewmien Mien Lao-Tai Lao and Phouthai Savannaket: Mon-Khmer Taoy, Mangkong (Makong), Trey, Pako, Kaliang, 1. Outoumphone Laosouay (Souay), Kadang (Sadang, Katang). Chino-Tibet/Hmong None Mien Lao-Tai Lao, Phouthai Mon-Khmer Katang, Laven(yur), Taoy, Mangkong, Yearh, Champasack: Brao, Harak, Kriang, Kaliang, Souay, Ngaheun, 1. Patumphone Khamae, Syla. 2. Pakxong Chino-Tibet/Hmong None Mien Source: Field data collection July-August 2013 The assessment involved the process of Free Prior Informed Consultation (FPIC) with the potentially affected people so as to freely assess on whether the targeted villages and their communities support the implementation of the project. The FPIC process is a requirement for project support from the WB and the General Public Involvement Guideline of the government (2013), which is applicable to all development projects. The consultations were then conducted using questionnaire (see Annex 3) as well as informal and focus group discussions that included representatives of village authorities, women and men’s groups, children/students, elderly and youth groups who could freely express their views on early childhood education. 4.2. Characteristics of the affected ethnic groups All the ethnic groups in project areas share a common socio-economic base, that is, they rely heavily on primary agricultural activities and natural resources for their livelihoods. However, their levels of access to modern socio-economic development varies from one location to another depending on how the government allocates common resources and provides support to 5 such areas. The government does promote the preservation of ethnic culture including, traditional clothing and ethnic dialects. However, for the purpose of unifying the nation, the government has declared Lao to be the official spoken and written national language, as it is the most widely shared tongue amongst all of Lao PDR’s ethnic groups. Each ethnic group has its own dialect, custom and cultural characteristics, but not one of these groups have their own territory within the country. Instead all the ethnic groups share common territory and have lived together peacefully for many generations. Each of the groups is distinctive in ways that are sometimes readily apparent and at other times are not open to direct observation. It is important to recognise that each ethnic group may also have their own distinctive way to conceptualize notions of education. Such notions may be sets of presuppositions, assumptions, and associations, or beliefs about the world, resulting in local ecological knowledge that has survival value for the group as a whole. The introduction of early childhood education, especially from the age of 3-5 may be a challenge if cultural sensitivity is not taken into account. The majority of the ethnic groups belong to the Mon-Khmer and Chino-Tibet/Hmong who live in remote rural areas and often have limited access to basic facilities including education. Meanwhile the main ethnic groups belong to the Lao-Tai who are mostly found in the urban areas and therefore often enjoy better public services and opportunities of socio-economic development (including education) offered by the government and private investment. Therefore, there is a large urban-rural gap in education. An illustration of this is that while 57.4 percent of 3 and 4-year-olds attended kindergartens in the capital of Vientiane in 2011/12, only 14.5 percent of children at these ages did in Saravan province. There is also an enormous disparity in enrolment among the ethnic groups. If looking at the entire ECE enrolment within the education system, 90 percent are children belonging to the Lao-Tai ethnic group and only 10 percent belong to the other ethnic groups. Less than 8 percent of the children from households in the lowest income quintile, who live in rural areas without roads or are from non-Lao-Tai communities, have access to ECE services. This lack of access undermines prospects for early learning/school readiness which is, in turn, compounded by poor nutrition, due to food insecurity and malnutrition in the rural upland and highland areas. Chronic malnutrition leads to high stunting rates (44 percent), wasting (5.9 percent) and children being underweight (26.6 percent). This in turn impacts their educational outcomes. 4.3. Findings Free Prior Informed Consultation: The assessment recognised that the ethnic groups in the project areas have the right to support or deny their free prior informed consultation related to the ECE project. The provincial education department, on the behalf of the MoES, informed the ethnic group community of the ECE project and its objectives during the consultation. The information included, but was not limited to, the government intention to support the ECE project in the 22 disadvantaged districts in 11 provinces. The consulted ethnic group communities were informed of the project components including pre-primary school classroom expansion, capacity building in the form of national and local education departments, community awareness campaigns, and the training programmes for principals, ethnic group teachers and childcare providers. The other components included health and disability screening such as child nutrition and weigh status and child development. Due to the later components the communities were informed that the project will not only involve the education department, but also the provincial health department to work with schools, villages as well parents. 6 The consulted ethnic group communities expressed their support to ECE and their willingness to contribute to the ECE project’s implementation. They believe that the early the children attending school the better the children learn. They proposed to have proper schools and classrooms for their young children as well as have extra assistance in terms of school supply such as playground, toys, teaching and learning material. Broad Community Support: All of the consulted villagers, including village authorities, teachers and students/children were unanimous in their desire for a new school building and/or additional classrooms for both pre-school and primary school students. They all also expressed their willingness to offer support by contributing in the construction of schools and classrooms. This could be either through the supply of local building materials such as wood, sand and gravel or by offering labour. There were further indicators of the villages’ or villagers’ support for pre- and primary education, such as their desire to encourage girls to attend school. Additionally they voiced their support in contributing to basic inputs like tables, chairs, toilets and other supplies on the one hand and in fining parents of children who drop out of school (100,000 to 300,000 LAK) on the other. Furthermore some villages have a special policy to exempt the poorest children from wearing school uniforms and shoes, and provide them with books and pencils. According to the villagers this type of allowance and assistance has a strong positive influence on the enrolment rate of poor students and especially of girls. Current Status: Many of the villages and schools that were visited currently do not have pre- primary education or have appropriate classroom facilities. Unlike primary education, pre- primary education is not a compulsory education system of Lao PDR. Focus group discussions revealed that children aged between 3 and 5 go to school with their siblings only to familiarize themselves with school, and are not formally registered as pre-primary school students. The majority of the existing schools are rather in a very poor condition as they are constructed out of bamboo and have thatched roofing panels. The classrooms are too small and there is not enough space to accommodate the increasing number of students/children. Some of these classrooms are also located just outside of the main school building. Furthermore there are several primary schools that only cater for grades 1 to 3, so therefore students who are in grades 4 to 5 need to walk a few kilometers to the next village’s school. All schools that were visited have toilets, but these are in a rather poor state and only consist of one or two rooms, which are not adequate facilities for hundreds of students during the short break times. All visited schools have on average between 0.6 and 2 hectares of land. Those lands were officially issued by the Provincial Land Authority with Communal Land Use Rights certificates. Therefore land acquisition is not an issue for schools and classrooms building. Ethnic groups Issues in education: Generally it was noted that ethnic groups in all of the three provinces are poorly represented in education system as a whole. The SA, discussions and village data show that there is not a large the gap between the number of girls and boys attending pre and primary school. However, this gap is getting bigger as well as the number of students attending school decreases significantly as they move up to the higher grades and onto secondary school. Low school attendance can be attributed to factors such as poverty and hunger, as children are embarrassed of being poor and having no food to bring to school and/or being poorly nourished and hungry. The other factors include the parents’ education level; labour demands according to gender and that children are required to assist their mothers during the day. The actual quality of the school and the existence of a language barrier at a very early 7 school age are also factors that lower attendance rates. Limited access to land, public services and infrastructure as well as problems of food security also play their part. Many of the villages that were visited, especially the Khmu in Borkeo province, reported to have insufficient rice to feed the family and that some families only have enough rice supply for 4-6 months of the year. The whole of the family is therefore forced to work as labourers for the rest of the year just to be able to survive. Furthermore, all of the provinces shared similar challenges within the pre and primary education sectors. In those villages that have a complete primary school, which includes pre-school classrooms and classes for Grades 1-5 there is a shortage of teaching and learning materials and there is pressure on teachers to teach multiple classes. Attendance is lowered by the parents requiring the children to help out in the fields, whether it is for harvesting rice, coffee beans, fruits or vegetables. Numerous children in the pre-school aged between 3 and 5 attend classes at the beginning of the school year but then drop out altogether once the rice harvest begins. Attendance is also affected by the fact that many of these schools have only either a morning or an afternoon session for a particular class/grade in a day. It discourages the attendance of students in the afternoon session as some of them would already have gone out to work with their parents in the morning. Poverty has a significant impact on the children in the complete primary schools as they lack school uniforms, materials and shoes and some fail to attend because they are embarrassed of being poor. The inadequate school facilities are also an issue, as a lack of playground equipment and toys do little to encourage younger children to attend. As schools are also unable to provide food and drinking water there are many students who go home for lunch and then fail to return for the afternoon classes. The other villages have schools that are only able to cater for grades 1- 3 and these are termed as being incomplete primary schools. They face the same challenges as the villages with complete primary schools but there are also other issues that they need to contend with. Children aged from 3-5 sometimes attend the first grade in school with their older siblings, but then drop out during the rice harvest as the parents do not want to leave their young children unattended whilst they are out in the fields harvesting rice and other crops and therefore bring them along. Furthermore some of the older children in these villages from grade 4 upwards are required to walk distances of 2 to 4 km to the other villages so that they can attend a complete primary school. The children’s travel needs are not helped by the fact that there is a lack or limited means of transport such as bicycles, motorbikes and minibuses in these areas. 5. EGDP for the Early Childhood Education Project The main objective of this EGDP is to increase the coverage and improve the quality of early childhood education services for 3 to 5 year-olds in 22 disadvantaged districts of Lao PDR in a culturally appropriate and respectable manner. More specifically ECE’s EGDP proposes pro- poor financing as the backbone and to create affordable early childhood education as well as expanding coverage and access to it, especially in poorer areas and/or those with more difficult access. The EGDP seeks to achieve the objective through ensuring that core project activities are designed in such a way that will address ethnic groups’ concerns as found under SA and describe above. This EGDP also links in with the government’s goals in the ECE sub-sector, namely to reach an enrolment rate of 39 percent for 3 – 5 year olds and 63 percent form 5 year olds by 2015, as it recognises that expanding early childhood education opportunities for 3 to 5-year-olds is the key 8 to reducing repetition and the dropout rate in primary education, as well as improving the school readiness of students and helping them learn. The project’s EGDP firstly addresses the shortage and quality of school buildings and facilities by building, expanding and improving classrooms as well as constructing new pre-primary school classrooms through community-based contracting. The classrooms are to be provided with adequate numbers of tables and chairs and other essential school equipment and resources are to be acquired. Basic playground equipment is to be installed and playgroups with toys established in order to encourage younger children. The school facilities are also to be improved through the construction and/or upgrading of toilets together with the provision of a proper water supply. This EGDP also aims to promote community incentives and support of ECE through firstly a community awareness campaign on the importance of early childhood education through parenting guidance. Furthermore the Village Education Development Committees (VEDCs) are to encourage information sharing and link school projects to other livelihood development projects in the village such as children health and disability screening and water supply programmes, which will be facilitating by the Ministry of Health. MoES is to advocate a pro- poor policy and subsidise school fees and costs for the extremely poor in the village as some can not afford uniforms, shoes and school materials. A National School Meals Program (NSMP) is also to be continuously implemented as some students face hunger and food security problems. Other incentives include the provision of school equipment, resources and water supply in order to further build community confidence and support. Once the pre-primary facilities have been improved and a safer environment has been created in the care of trained teachers, mothers will be self assured to leave their younger children at school instead of taking them to work. Furthermore to encourage such behaviour the younger children are to be organised into groups to walk to and from school so as to provide safer travel arrangements. Another focus of this EGDP is to increase the number of qualified ethnic group pre-primary school teachers through the promotion and provision of ethnic group teachers’ training programmes and/or scholarships for members of ethnic groups to attend teacher training school. The VEDCs are also to link this effort with the government’s other education capacity building projects as well as to those of donors including ADB, Australian AID, UNDP and other NGOs. Ethnic group teachers are also to be supported through the provision of teachers’ books and teaching guidelines due to a lack of ethnic groups’ teaching materials and the fact that the school curriculum and other materials are in Lao. The EDGP will also address students’ concerns and their motivation to attend school by firstly ensuring the fundamental provision of pre-school classrooms with basic school supplies as well as teaching and learning materials so that the higher number of young children in the villages can be accommodated. At the same time the communication skills of the teachers are to be strengthened so that they are more effective in encouraging young children to attend school. This is to be coupled with awareness raising efforts for “equal opportunity and education for all” which address the importance and benefits for ethnic children in attending school. Further support is to be given by training and providing community based caregivers for young children and through the promotion and implementation of NSMP. Younger children will also not have to rely on older siblings to take them to school and so travel arrangements will be made safer and more enjoyable to increase motivation, through the Community Child Development Groups’ (CCDGs), and VEDCs’ promotion and creation of school walking groups. 9 The ECE project will carry out community-based school construction. This action is well- welcome by the consulted ethnic groups as they expressed their willingness to support and contribute to school construction up to 20-30 percent of the total cost to plan as an “an engagement strategy”. Additionally the project will also pay special attention ethnic groups’ poorer families and children who suffer from malnutrition. Children health and disability screening will be carried out during the project period. The project will also incorporate the NSMP and provide teaching and learning material to pre-primary classrooms. Table 2 below attempts to illustrate that the ECE project ensures that ethnic group communities and their children in the project targeted villages have access to, participate in, gain benefit from project implementation. Table 2: Summary of EGDP for ECE Project Main Themes Ethnic Group Issues EDGP Action Plan School Buildings  Lack of Early  Through community-based contracting to and Facilities Childhood Education construct new pre-primary buildings. (ECE)/ Pre-primary  Through community-based contracting school buildings improve existing school  Poor and unstable buildings/facilities. school buildings/facilities.  Build/expand a sufficient number of classrooms and provide tables and chairs.  Inadequate number of  Improve and/or complete the incomplete classrooms, tables and schools with the provision of proper toilets chairs. and a water supply (digging a simple well  Inadequate toilet could be an option). facilities and water  Install a basic playground and establish supply. playgroups for pre-school classes.  Provide sufficient school equipment and resources.  Lack of school playground equipment and toys to encourage younger children.  Lack of school equipment and resources. Community  Parents take children to  Promote community awareness Incentives, work with them; campaigns on the importance of pre- Support and especially younger primary education through parenting Commitment children aged 3-5. guidance.  Provide better pre-primary school facilities, a safer environment and improve the quality of teaching so that mothers are confident in leaving their children at school.  Families cannot afford  MOES to promote a pro-poor policy and 10 to buy uniforms, shoes to subsidise school fees and costs for the and school material. extremely poor in the village.  Hunger and food  Promote and implement the National security problems. School Meals Program (NSMP).  Lack of transportation and so young children  Promote group walks of children to and have to walk to school by from school to discourage parents from themselves. taking young children to the fields.  Students lack motivation to attend  Provide an incentive through the school due to a lack of provision of school materials and resources, school materials and lunch as well as clean water. resources as well as other factors such as food. Teachers and the  A shortage of teachers,  Promote and provide ethnic group Quality of especially of ethnic group teachers’ training programmes. Teaching and pre-school teachers,  Provide scholarships to ethnic group people for teacher training.  School curriculum and  Provide teachers’ books and teaching other materials are in Lao. guidelines for ethnic group teachers.  Lack of ethnic groups teaching materials. Students/Children  A much higher number  Provide pre-primary classrooms with Issues and of young children live in basic school supplies and the necessary Motivation the villages, but there is a teaching and learning materials so that they limited attendance rate. can attend.  Parents take children to  Raise awareness of “equal opportunity work and/or children need and education for all” and address the to help parents work and importance and benefits for young children generate income. in attending school.  High dropout rate  Train and provide community-based during and after the caregivers to encourage parents to leave harvest season because children at school. parents take children to the rice fields.  Food security – children  Promote and continue implement NSMP. are hungry and also cannot afford to buy sweets at school.  Children have to walk a  Community Child Development Groups long way and rely on their (CCDGs), and VEDCs’ promotion and older siblings to attend creation of school walking groups for 11 school safety reasons and to make travel more enjoyable for young children.  Young ethnic group  Improve the communication skills of the children are unable to teachers to encourage young children to understand Lao at an attend school. early age. 6. Implementation and Monitoring The ECE project is expected to be implemented over a 5-year period between 2014 and 2019. The MoES is the project executing agency and has final responsibility for the implementation of the project including measures provided in this EDGP according to agreed administrative arrangements, financial management and procurement practices and applicable safeguards policies. Under the authority of the MoES, the Education Sector Development Framework Coordination Unit (ECU) will coordinate program activities. The ECU will be guided by a Project Steering Committee and a Project Advisory Council and supported by a Project Working Group. The MoES will implement program activities including those provided in this EGDP as part of the day-to-day work of the MoES line departments, referred to as the Coordinating Departments (CDs), which will liaise with the Project Coordinator. This implementation arrangement incorporates the accountability mechanisms of project management that would encourage timely execution of the project, at the same time as it builds on existing capacity of the MoES in the individual functional responsibilities of the MoES line departments. The M&E scheme includes a Result Framework and Monitoring agreed during project preparation. This framework will include specific outcome indicators for the Program Development Objective (PDO) and each of the project components, including those related to the implementation of this EGDP. Associated with each of these outcome indicators will be agreed baseline figures for 2012/2013, target values for each year of project implementation and a description of data collection and reports to support the M&E of the project. Monitoring the project’s effectiveness and the results outcome will also come largely through data from the Educational Statistics and Information Technology Centre (ESITC) together with information from the Department of Information (DOI) collected through its M&E network (various other centres and line departments) at all levels. The DPPE M&E unit will lead this effort at the project level. The reporting of project progress will be integrated into the ESDF Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) operational cycle, including annual Joint Sector Reviews with Development Partners. The PAF, as a means to measure ESDF progress, is the agreed whole sector monitoring mechanism and is the foundation of the results framework. The DOI will be responsible for collecting all the information from different sources in a timely manner according to the PAF. Special attention will be paid to the community monitoring of results through the effective functioning of VEDCs. The proposed monitoring indicators are provided in PAD, Annex 1 Results Framework and Monitoring. These data will be derived from administrative data that is collected through the Education Management Information System (EMIS). The relevant core indicators will also be tracked, and data will be reported, disaggregated by gender. 12 7. Budget for EGDP Implementation Since all provisions under this EGDP to address specific concerns and needs of ethnic groups are embedded in the overall project design, it is not possible to develop a separate budget table for the implementation of EGDP. The table attached below provides indication of the share of project budget that be used to implement provisions of this EGDP for the benefit of ethnic groups. Estimated Ethnic Project Cost Project Components Groups Benefits from (US$M) the Project 1. Increasing Coverage of Early Childhood Education in Target Districts (financed by US$6.0 US$6.0 IDA Grant) 2. Improving Quality of Early Childhood Education in Target Districts (financed by US$13.30 US$10.0 IDA Grant US$8.0 million and Credit US$5.3 million) 3. Project Management, Capacity Development and Monitoring and Evaluation (financed by IDA Credit) US$8.70 US$6.0 Total Project Costs US$28.00 US$22.00 Total Financing Required US$28.00 US$22.00 13 Annex 1: List of Visited Villages and Schools Note: Village and school names are the same names ì½¹ñ©À´õº¤ ì½¹ñ©®É¾ນ §ˆ®É¾ນ ì½¹ñ©Â»¤»¼ນ §ˆÂ»¤»¼ນ District code Village code Village name School code School name Bokeo Province °¾º÷©ö´ ( Phaoudom District) 504 504072 »´¦÷¡ Homesouk 10504007 ¦ö´®ນø»´¦÷¡ 504 504081 ¸¼¤£¿Ã¹¨È Viengkhamgnai 10504016 ϸ©¸¼¤£¿Ã¹¨È 504 504004 ¯¾¡¹¾© Pakhat 10504028 ¦ö´®ø¯¾¡¹¾© 504 504079 Á¡Èນ£¿ Kheankham 10504056 ¦ö´®øນÁ¡Èນ£¿ 504 504074 ´ö¡Â§½ Moksok 10504125 ¦ö´®øນ´ö¡Â§½ 504 050409 °¾º÷©ö´ Paoudom 10504025 ¦ö´®øນ°¾º÷©ö´ 504 504094 «…ນÁ¡É¸Thinkeo 10504004 ¦ö´®øນ«…ນÁ¡É¸ 504 504113 ħº÷©ö´ Xayoudom 10504039 ¦ö´®øນħº÷©ö´ 504 504007 ¯¾¤êº¤ Pangthnong 10504012 ¦ö´®øນ¯¾¤êº¤ ¯¾¡ê¾ Parktha District 2 505 505003 ¯¾¡ê¾ Paktha 10505001 ¦ö´®øນ¯¾¡ê¾ Savannakhet Province º÷ê÷´²ºນ (Outhoumphone) 1302 1302033 ນ¾£ø Nakhou 11302001 ນ¾£ø 1302 1302087 À¹ìö¾Ã¹¨È Laoyai 11302003 ®É¾À¹ì‰¾Ã¹¨È 1302 1302082 ¡ò¸´É¾ Kipmar 11302006 ¡ó®´É¾ 1302 1302083 ²ນ¹´¾¡¹¨É¾Phonmakgna 11302013 ²ນ¹´¾¡¹¨É¾ 1302 1302010 ¥º´À²ñ© 11302015 ¥º´À²ñ© 1302 1302037 ²ນຍ¾ນ¾¤ Phon Gnanang 11302019 ²µ¾ນ¾¤ 1302 1302023 ຍ Makngyo 11302020 ຍ 1302 1302035 ນນ Non Palai 11302023 ນນ 1302 1302036 º¾»ö¤Ã¹¨È Ah Hongyai 11302029 º¾»ö¤ 1302 1302013 ນ¾ê¾© Nahad 11302032 ນ¾ê¾© 1302 1302025 ນ¾§¾¨êº¤Naxaythong 11302052 ນ¾§¾¨êº¤ Champasack Province À´õº¤¯¾¡-§Èº¤ (Paksong District) 1604 1604001 ¸ñ©¹ì¸¤ WatLouang 11604001 ¸ñ©Í¸¤ 1604 1604096 ນÕ¡¤ Namkong 11604003 ນÕ¡ö¤ 1604072 ¹ìñ¡¦ò®¦º¤ Lak 12 11604010 Íñ¡ 12 1604 14 1604051 ¡½ª¸© Katoud 11604027 ¡½ª¸© 1604 1604 1604076 ¥ñນ¦½¹¸È¾¤ Chansavang 11604030 ¥ñນ¦½¹¸È¾¤ 1604022 ¹ìñ¡¦†¦ò® Lak 40 11604051 Íñ¡ 40 1604 1604094 쾦½ìò Lassasinh (Jadsan) 11604093 ®É¾ນ¥ñ©¦ñນ 1604 1604 1604036 ໜº¤ແຫວງ Nongveng 11604098 κແຫວງ À´õº¤¯½ê÷´-²ºນ (Pathoumphone District) 3 1605 1605011 ນ´È¸¤ Mouang 11605002 ນ´È¸¤ 1605001 ນ ສ ຍຄຳ Nasaykham 11605013 ນ ສ ຍຄຳ 1605 15 Annex 2: List of 49 Ethnic Groups of Lao PDR No. General Name Subgroup 28 Oy Sapouan 1 Lao Phouan Sok Kaleung Inthi Bo 29 Kriang Chatong Yooy Ko’ Nyo 30 Cheng 2 Phou Thay 31 Sadang Kayong 3 Tai Tai Dam Sadang Douan Tai Deng 32 Souay Tai Khao 33 Nya Heun Tai Moey 34 Lavi 4 Lue Kheun 35 Pacoh Kado Kanay 5 Nyouan Kalom 36 Khmer Ngiau 37 Toum Liha 6 Yang (Nhang) Thay Cham 7 Sek Thay Pong 8 Tay Neua 38 Ngouan 9 Khmu Khmu Ou 39 Meuang Khmu Lue 40 Kri Maleng Khmu Nyouan Mlabri Khmu Khrong 41 Akha Akha Chi Cho Khmu Rok Akha Pouly Khmu Khwène Akha Pana Khmu Mè Akha Fé Khmu Kasak Akha Nou Kouy Khmu Cheuang Akha Louma 10 Pray Thin Akha Oe Pa 11 Ksing Moul Akha Chi Pya 12 Phong Phong Piat Akha Mou Chi Phong Lane Akha Ya Oe Phong Fène Akha Kong Sat Phong 42 Singsily Phou Yot Chapouang Tapat 13 Thène Ban Tang 14 Oe Du Cha Ho 15 Bit Lao Xeng 16 Lamet Phay (Phong Saly) 17 Sam Tao Doi Lao Pane 18 Katang Pha Keo Phong Kou 19 Makong Trouy Phong Set Phoua 43 Lahu Lahu Dam Maroy Lahu Khao 20 Tri Kouy 21 Jrou Jrou Kong 44 Sila Jrou Dak 45 Hanyi 22 Triang 46 Lolo 23 Ta Oy Tong 47 Ho Yinr 4 Hmong 24 Yè’ Hmong Khao 25 Brao Kavèt Mong Lai Halang Hmong Dam 26 Katu Triu 49 Iu Mien Dak Kang Lantène 27 Halak Yao Phon May Deng Yao Khao 16 Annex 3: SA Questionnaire SOCIAL ASSESSMENT SURVEY FORM Early Childhood Education Project and Primary Education Project. 1. Identification General Information School number: Province: Village number: District: Village name: Type of discussion/interview: Number of participants: Number of female: No. current primary school classroom: No. current secondary school classroom: 2. Ethnic Groups Composition: Ethnic Group Name No. of people Daily Language Male Female Lao Non-Lao 3. Participants’ Composition: Age group Male Female Total 1 (Under 5) pre-education 2 (5-14) primary -education 3 (15- 25) higher-education 4 (25 -60) adult group 5 (over 60) elderly group (No. school attending among the adult groups refer to people who can read and write a simple letter) 4. Education Information: 4.1 How many children in this village are of pre-primary school age (2-5)? ……….. 4.2 How many children in this village are of primary school age (6-12)? ……….. 4.3 How many children in village attend pre-primary school? ……….. 4.4 How many children in village attend primary school? ……….. 4.5 If children of primary school age, not attending school, main reason for non-attendance? cannot afford school costs ……….. Have to help in business ……….. Take too long to get to school ……….. Have to help on the farm/rice field ……….. Looking after house/younger sibling ……….. other (describe).............. ……… .. 1 4.6 How many children in this village are of lower secondary school age (14-19)? ……….. 4.7 If children of lower secondary school age, not attending school, main reason for non- attending? cannot afford school costs ……….. Have to help in business ……….. Take too long to get to school ……….. Have to help on the farm/ricefield ……….. Looking after house/younger sibling ……….. other (describe).............. ……… .. 4.8 Is there a lower secondary school in this village? ……….. 4.9 If no, how far away is the lower secondary school nearest to this village? ……….. Km. 4.10 How long does it take students to reach the lower secondary school? in Min. Walk … Bicycle; …….. Motorbike …….. Car or Bus; …….. Other, describe ……….. 4.11 Village Education Summary: Age group Male No. school Female No. school Total attending attending 1 (Under 5) pre-education 2 (5-14) primary -education 3 (15- 25) higher-education 4 (25 -60) adult group 5 (over 60) elderly group 5. Village Information: 5.1 How many years in this location? ................................... 5.2 Previous location: (i) Name of district ............ (ii) Km........................ from here. 5.3 If merged village, how many villages were there before 5.4. Ethnic group or language in the previous village(s): .................. 6. Knowledge of the project and land acquisition 6.1 Do you know about the Early Chidhood and Pre-Primary Education Projects?............................. 6.2 Do you know how much land will be taken to build school ?................................. 6.3 Will the school building work affect village or private/individual land: No/Yes, if yes indicate areas of land loss? House, if yes how many……………………………………………………………… Agriculture/garden land………………………………………………………………. River land/Pond/Well ………………………………………………………………… Shop/Market…………………………………………………………………………. Grave/Cemetery………………………………………………………………………. Spiritual Forest/Site………………………………………………………………….. Fence………………………………………………………………………………….. Other communal land ……………………………………………………………… Other, describe:……………………………………………………………………….. 6.4. If any of private land acquisition is unavoidable , what will you do? Replacement of land for land……………………………………………………… 2 Cash compensation………………………………………………………………… Donation………………………………………………………………………………. Other, describe……………………………………………………………………….. 7. Attitude to the project: 7.1 When was the pre-primary and primary school built in your village? ………………………… 7.2 Do you want to have pre-primary and primary education in your village?………………………… If yes: only during school season ………………………… Only few Months ………………………… All year round ………………………… School season only ………………………… 7.3 Previously, what type of support did you receive from primary school and/or education sector ? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7.4 Will pre-education and primary education improve your family/village? …………………………if yes how?.................................................................................................................................................. ...... 7.5 What do you think about the school and the construction work? …………………. Very Bad……. Bad……………Good………. Very Good………………Not Sure If not sure, answer can answer all good and bad section below: If good or very good, answer the following questions: It will improve household/village income via paid labors and construction material supply ………………………………………………………………………………………………. It will improve or encourage girls and boys attending school ………………… It will decrease dropout rate ………………………… It will increase enrollment rate ………………………… It will help my family in the future through better job opportunity ………………………… Other reasons, describe ……………………………………………………………………… If very bad or bad, answer the following questions: It will damage community forest due to the supply of wood ………………………… It will cease girls and boys to help family’ works ………………………… It will cost household money for school uniform, material, books, etc ………………………… It will not good for the village/house or a person spirit and belief ………………………… Other reasons, describe …………………………………………………… 7.6 What management arrangements should be in place to ensure that access to pre-primary and primary education is equitable?........................................................................................................... ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3 7.7 How do young children and students speak Lao language? If communication in Lao language is an issue, what would you do or what type of support you need to overcome the language barrier? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7.8 Are there any government, NGOs or other development programs in the village? If yes give: Name of the program....................................... ; Number of years in the operation.............................. Name of the program....................................... ; Number of years in the operation............................... Name of the program...................................... ; Number of years in the operation................................ 7.9 If pre-primary and or primary education/classroom has been expanded and improved, will it benefit you and your village significantly? ………If yes, indicate how much: A lot ………………………… Moderate ………………………… Some benefits ………………………… 8. Community Contribution participation: 8.1 Would the households in your village be able/ prepared to contribute labour, material, wood and/or cash to construction and ongoing maintenance of the school? Construction Y/N Maintenance Y/N Cash for O&M Y/N Others, describe 8.2 Would the households and/or individuals in your village be able/ prepared to participate in the construction and ongoing maintenance of the school? Yes …….. No …….. why not? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8.3 Would the households and/or individuals in your village be able/ prepared to participate in other activities related to pre-primary and primary school? Yes …….. No …….. why not …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9. Existing Community Facilities: Give the three most important activities needed in the village (tick at the answer): .1. School _____ .2. Health Centre / Clinic _____ .3. College _____ .4. Road improvement _____ .5. New road _____ .6. Credit _____ .7. Post office _____ .8. Electricity _____ .9. Drinking water _____ .10.Drainage _____ 4 .11.Market / Commercial area _____ .12.Latrines _____ .13.Demining/UXO clearance _____ .14.Other (Specify) _____ 10. Main socio-economic and livelihood problems, coping mechanisms and best solutions to those problems Reasons/Cause of Opportunity/Action Problem Constraint Problem Needed 11. Other Suggestions or concerns over the project by the village, specific groups and/or others: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5