ICRR 13074 Report Number : ICRR13074 IEG ICR Review Independent Evaluation Group 1. Project Data: Date Posted : 05/04/2009 PROJ ID : P044876 Appraisal Actual Project Name : Female Secondary US$M ): Project Costs (US$M): US$144.6 US$127.3 School Assistance Project-ii Country : Bangladesh Loan/ US$M): Loan /Credit (US$M): US$120.9 US$105.8 Sector Board : ED Cofinancing (US$M): US$M ): US$0 US$0 Sector (s): Secondary education (59%) Other social services (22%) Tertiary education (10%) Central government administration (9%) Theme (s): Social safety nets (25% - P) Gender (25% - P) Education for all (25% - P) Rural services and infrastructure (25% - P) L/C Number : C3614 Board Approval Date : 03/12/2002 Partners involved : Closing Date : 12/31/2006 06/30/2008 Evaluator : Panel Reviewer : Group Manager : Group : Gayle Martin George T. K. Pitman Monika Huppi IEGSG 2. Project Objectives and Components: a. Objectives: The project's development objective was to improve the quality of, and girls' access to, secondary education in rural areas of Bangladesh, and was generally consistent with the objective in the DCA: " to improve the quality of secondary education in the rural areas in the territory of the Borrower, with a particular focus on girls' access to education." Progress towards achievement of the project development objectives was to be measured by : - Percentage of girls and boys taking and passing the secondary school certificate (SSC) examinations; - Number of awards for best performing girls in Class VIII and IX; - Number of awards for girls who made the most improvement in learning achievement; - Girls' enrollment; - Girls' enrollment as a percentage of total enrollment in project upazilas; - Number of girls receiving stipends; - Number of disadvantaged girls supported by the Family Attractiveness Program (FAP); - Number of subject teachers trained; - Number of periodic studies carried out on female education issues to inform planning of future investments in female education; and - Establishment of integrated database on all female stipends programs . There were no formal changes to the development obje ctive. The two most important revisions to the DCA were : (i) to accommodate the inclusion of boys in a pro -poor self-targeting pilot after the mid-term review (see Section 11); and (ii) to accommodate the reallocation of credit proceeds to the 2005 Post-Flood Recovery Assistance Program (see Section 1c and 1d). According to the ICR (p3) the latter program will be reported upon in a separate ICR because the supervision and implementation support were provided separately under the Post -Flood Recovery Assistance Program. b.Were the project objectives/key associated outcome targets revised during implementation? No c. Components (or Key Conditions in the case of DPLs, as appropriate): Component A . Secondary Education Quality Improvement (appraisal estimate: US$10.8 million or 7% of estimated cost; actual cost: US$9.6 million or 8% of actual cost): This component had 4 sub-components: A1. The provision of technical advisory services, training and equipment to implement : (i) in-service training for teachers; (ii) academic supervision and management training for head teachers; (iii) in-service training for educational institutions and professional development opportunities for teachers through the development of Mobile Training Resource Teams; (iv) awareness training for Upazila Program Officers and Assistant Program Officers, field-level officials, and educational institutions' School Management Committees and Parent Teachers Associations; and (v) providing fellowships for graduates of the female secondary school assistance program . A2. The distribution of incentive awards to educational institutions for improved performance (more than 5% improvement in transition, drop-out, repetition and completion rates among girls and secondary school certificate (SSC) examination pass rates among girls and boys ). A3. The distribution of incentive awards for student achievement . A4. Improving water and sanitation facilities, through : (i) the provision of minor civil works for tube -wells and latrines; (ii) testing for arsenic contamination of tube -wells; and (iii) carrying out of a school arsenic awareness program. Component B . Increase Access and Retention of Girls (appraisal estimate: US$104.1 million or 72% of estimated cost; actual cost: US$89.1 million or 70% of actual cost). This component had 2 sub-components: B1. Provision of: (i) stipends to secondary school girls moving through classes 6-10 to cover costs of school fees, public examinations, textbooks, stationery, uniforms, shoes, transport and other related expenses; and (ii) support to educational institutions to cover the costs of eligible girls' tuition . B2. Carrying out of outreach programs including support to un -served girls in existing school catchment areas, and establishment or recognition of lower -secondary schools in areas where there is no secondary education facility for girls. Component C . Strengthen Management, Accountability and Monitoring (appraisal estimate: US$11.6 million or 8% of estimated cost; actual cost : US$14.3 million or 11% of actual cost): Strengthening the Department of Secondary and Higher Education's (DSHE) capabilities in project implementation, management, accountability and monitoring, at national and upazila levels, through the provision of technical assistance and equipment, and implementation of improved systems and staff development activities. Component Z . Flood Rehabilitation (appraisal estimate: US$0; estimate at time of reallocation: US$15.0 million; actual cost: US$14.3 million): Implementation occurred under Sub -component 2e of the 2005 Post-Flood Recovery Assistance Program * addressing infrastructure rehabilitation for secondary schools . According to the Program's project document (p12) the following were to be financed : reconstruction of schools; vertical extension of schools; flood shelters; tube-wells and furniture. *Reallocations from 4 other projects financed the US$ 200 million Post-Flood Recovery Assistance Program to finance flood-resistant infrastructure rehabilitation, livelihood revival and vulnerability reduction . This project reallocated U$15,0 million, together with US$5 million that was reallocated from another project, a total of US$ 20 million was allocated to Sub-component 2e of the Post-Flood Recovery Assistance Program . d. Comments on Project Cost, Financing, Borrower Contribution, and Dates: Dates The project became effective as planned in May 2002. The mid-term review occurred roughly as planned in Dates. October 2004 and the project was restructured shortly thereafter in March 2005, although there were substantial delays in GOB approval of revisions following the mid -term review. In May 2005 US$15.0 million was reallocated for post-flood recovery activities. The project closing date was extended twice (by 18 months in total). Cost. Cost Actual project cost (US$127.3 million) was 86% of cost at appraisal (US$144.6 million). Component B (which financed the stipends) accounted for by far the largest share (nearly three quarters) of total project costs. Cost for Component Z (the post-flood component) was 95% of the estimate at reallocation (US$15 million). Financing . At closing the IDA credit was 86% disbursed (actual: US$127.3 million). Borrower contribution was US$21.2 million, 90% of the appraisal estimate. The contribution by local communities was as anticipated at appraisal (US$0.24 million). The restructuring after the mid-term review was accompanied by the cancellation of SDR21.4 million (completed in August 2005) due to appreciation of the SDR relative to the US$, devaluation of the Taka and the lower than estimated number of beneficiary girls (ICR p4). The funds earmarked for cancellation at MTR were re-allocated to the post-flood recovery program. 3. Relevance of Objectives & Design: Relevance of objectives . The objective was substantially relevant and consistent with the human capital development objectives of the GOB's Fifth Five -year Plan (1997-2002), the 2001 CAS, as well as with the GOB's and the Bank's sector-specific strategic documents (e.g., the national education policy adopted in 2001 and the Bank's education sector review in 2000). Given the targeting weaknesses under the previous project and leakage to the non-poor, the objective could have more explicitly reflected targeting of the poor . Relevance of design . Relevance of design is rated substantial, but with some shortcomings . The project sought to build on the strengths of the preceding project, and strengthen areas that were found to be weak ---notably, in the area of quality the project experimented with various quality -related interventions such incentives to schools, teachers and pupils and various capacity strengthening initiatives . The QAE criticized project design for its poor targeting. There was strong opposition from government for better targeting, causing the pro-poor pilot to be delayed to after mid-term review. Overall, relevance is rated substantial . 4. Achievement of Objectives (Efficacy): The objective can be divided into t wo parts: (a) to improve the quality of secondary education in rural areas of Bangladesh; (b) to improve girls' access to secondary education in rural areas of Bangladesh . Objective part (a): To improve the quality of girls' secondary education in rural areas of Bangladesh (rated modest ) Outputs: - Teacher education, training and support for stakeholders : Academic supervision and management training reached 6,625 head teachers (exceeding the targeted 6,000) and 3,882 assistant head teachers (of the targeted 6,698). In-service training was provided to 23,484 teachers (of the targeted 26,800). Stakeholder training was provided to 19,000 stakeholders (of the targeted 20,695). The stakeholders included School Management Committees members and Parent Teachers Association members as well as field -level officials such as Upazila Program Officers and Assistant Program Officers . Professional development opportunities for teachers through the development of Mobile Training Resource Teams was provided to 1,077 schools (of the targeted 748). Fellowships for FSSAP graduates were awarded to girls to become future teachers ---125 girls of the targeted 240 were awarded (43% for Higher Secondary Certificate and 57% for BA and/or B.Ed degrees). All but two awardees completed their degree programs . - Incentive awards for improving school performance : School Improvement Plans was introduced in 415 educational institutions (of the targeted 420). Excellence awards were given to 646 schools (of the targeted 860). Cumulatively, in 2005-07, 3,615 educational institutions received SSC incentive awards based on the increase in the number of students passing the SSC examinations . - Incentive awards for improving student performance : Best performing girls award was given to 62,360 girls (of the targeted 64,000). No information is provided on the how performance was improved . - Improved facilities: The ICR reports that the process of testing raised awareness of the detriments of arsenic contamination and remedies to reduce incidence of contamination . Contamination progressively decreased from 18% to 5-6% at project closing - the inference is that better testing led to improvements in well siting and design that allowed them to lower the incidence of arsenic -contaminated groundwater. 2,042 tube-wells (977 shallow and 1,065 deep tube-wells) were constructed, exceeding the targeted 2,000); and 2,042 latrines were constructed (exceeding the targeted 2,000). Five rounds of testing of tube -wells for arsenic contamination was conducted . - Strengthening Management, Accountability and Monitoring : Training in school management and accountability was provided to 64,000 School Management Committee members and 64,000 parent-teacher association members from 6,000 institutions. In-country training provided to 1,391 officials and overseas training provided to 25 officials. Outcomes and Impacts: - SSC pass rates: The absolute number of awardee girls passing the SSC examinations increased from 23,231 to 32,282 between 2001 and 2008 although the number of students taking the SSC exam decreased over the same period (from 59,797 to 51,223). Over this period the SSC pass rate for awardee girls increased at an average annual rate of 8.6% (from 39% to 63%) and coming close to the average annual increase in SSC pass rate of 9.0% for boys (from 39% to 64%). Both awardee girls and boys exceeded the SSC pass rate for non -awardee girls which increased at an average annual rate of 6.8% (from 37% to 55%). This is a major problem related to the poor M&E systems in operation . According to the PAD of the follow-on project (p1) completion rate for secondary education is as low as 20 percent and is closely linked to the high drop-out rates after Grade 8 (48% at Grade 10 compared to 12% at Grade 8). According to the ICR and the TTL many of the quality improvements that were experimented with were either were adopted by MOE or are being implemented under the follow -on project (which has a strong focus on quality). - Training (teachers): A system of in-service teacher training was established . The ICR is silent on the quality of the in -service training, particularly in view of the observation in the School Quality Study (commissioned by the project) that teacher performance in mathematics and English was described as "dubious" (p44). The impact of the Mobile Training Resource Teams on teacher professional development is not known . There is no reliable information on the impact of these various training initiatives on quality, instructional time and other factors identified in the Bank's 1999 Education Sector Review as key determinants of education performance. - Training (other): According to the ICR training contributed to modest but important improvements in capacity of School Management Committees and parent -teacher associations, although no supporting evidence was prese nted. - Other Incentives. In addition to the stipends (which included performance criteria ) the project financed numerous types of incentive awards (e.g., excellence awards; incentive awards for schools; best performing girl awards ). From the ICR it is not clear whether there was any assessment to understand the contribution of each incentive mechanism on student or teacher or school performance . (As discussed in section 5, this information could have helped improving the efficiency of the system of incentives that have been implemented under this project .) Objective Obj ective part (b): To improve girls' access to secondary education in rural areas of Bangladesh rate d substantial (rated with some shortcomings ) Outputs: Stipends: The project financed stipends to secondary school girls (grades 6-10) covering 6.9 million school years (exceeding the targeted 6.3 million school years). Following the pro-poor pilot the project also financed stipends for poor boys . The project formalized the steps for stipend and tuition disbursement involving bank branches, education institutions and pupils. The project supported the simplification of criteria for stipends, which according to the ICR, resulting in reduction in disbursement delays. The Family Attractiveness Program (one of the outreach programs ): The project reached 760 un-served girls, just under the revised target of 800 un-served girls in existing school catchment areas. According to the TTL this program was incorporated into the pro -poor targeting strategy implemented after the mid-term review. The New School Program: The project reached un-served girls through the establishment or recognition of lower -secondary schools in areas where there is no secondary education facility for girls . Twenty five schools were established, well short of the target of 60 schools. Outcomes and Impacts: Between 2001 and 2008 annual enrollment increased from 1.15 million to 1.18 million among girls. The number of girls receiving stipends decreased from 931,102 to 723,980 according to the ICR due to more stringent application of the stipend criteria (The more stringent application of the criteria is a good development, but it is surprising that the revised target did not anticipate that more stringent application would likely reduce the number of recipients). Girl enrollment as a percentage of total enrollment in project upazilas remained in excess of 50% (i.e., gender parity is achieved ). Drop-out rates remain a serious problem across both sexes (12% for grade 8 and 48% for grade 10). Even so, an independent evaluation of the stipend program shows that drop -outs due to marriage have declined (Pushing the Boundaries: Girls and Secondary Education in Bangladesh , DFID 2005). No information was provided on the incide nce of stipends among the poor, despite the fact that IEG's assessment of the previous project showed that there is unequal access among the poor . A pro-poor self-targeting pilot was introduced after the mid -term review following extensive dialogue with various parts of GOB (notably the MOE, Planning Commission). This pilot formed the basis for the development of a proxy-means testing targeting methodology adopted under the follow -on project. Overall efficacy rating is rated substantial in view of the small share of the project costs that were devoted to objective part (a) which was rated modest. 5. Efficiency (not applicable to DPLs): Returns to investment : No formal economic rate of return was calculated for this project . The project maintained the expanded access to secondary education among girls, and maintained the gender parity in secondary school enrollment. The indirect returns have been significant . Household data from Bangladesh show strong association between girls' education attainment and improvement in health and welfare indicators : such as postponed marriage, delayed childbearing, lower fertility, and lower under -5 mortality of children born to secondary school educated women. In the sector the internal efficiency (reflected in high drop-out rates and low completion rates ) continues to suffer due to weaknesses in the quality of both primary and secondary education . Targeting efficiency was sub-optimal. Project efficiency : There were several delays in implementation (e.g., delays in contracting consultants resulting in delays in the introduction of several interventions under the quality component ), and delays in government decision-making (e.g., after the mid-term review). On the other hand, the project financed interventions that adopted cost-effective approaches, e.g., the use of a Mobile Training Resource Team instead of an institution -based permanent resource person. According to the ICR, the project realized cost savings while still meeting targets (e.g., targets for training, latrines; see ICR p 11, p25). Efficiency is rated substantial . ERR )/Financial Rate of Return (FRR) a. If available, enter the Economic Rate of Return (ERR) FRR ) at appraisal and the re- re -estimated value at evaluation : Rate Available? Point Value Coverage/Scope* Appraisal No ICR estimate No * Refers to percent of total project cost for which ERR/FRR was calculated. 6. Outcome: There were some shortcomings in the operation ’s design and in the achievement of quality improvements, justifying a moderately satisfactory rating . The project outcome is rated moderately satisfactory . a. Outcome Rating : Moderately Satisfactory 7. Rationale for Risk to Development Outcome Rating: Government commitment to the female stipend program and to secondary education in general has been strong . Borrower contribution has been high (90% of estimate at appraisal) and the female stipend program has now evolved into a pro-poor stipend program for girls and boys . The government support is not subject to the country's troubled party politics. However, some risks are posed by weak institutional capacity . Despite the extensive training initiatives financed by the project (and its predecessor), some risk is posed by the moderate levels of capacity in the structures supporting schools at the upazila -level and relatively low capacity of the school management committe es. There is also little information about girls' drop -out rates in the higher grades and how this could be mitigated . a. Risk to Development Outcome Rating : Moderate 8. Assessment of Bank Performance: at -entry. Quality -at- entry The project design was informed by sound sector analysis . It sought to build on the lessons from previous projects in the sector ---notably, by adding a component addressing quality of education . The quality improvements, however, were quite limited (in-service training for teachers, incentive awards and school facility improvements) given the magnitude of the quality problems . The project's quality improvement efforts were to be complemented by another operation (financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB))---although it was not clear how complementarity was to be ensured . Some weaknesses of the previous project were : low uptake among poor girls; shortcomings in M&E . Weaknesses in this project's M&E were highlighted in the QAE assessment but these were not fully responded to by the task team. Outreach programs aimed at expanding access among the poorest girls was included in the design through the Family Attractiveness Program but the QAE deemed it to have a modest impact because of its small scope . According to the TTL these were intended to be pilots destined for further expansion . Quality of supervision . Bank supervision was supportive, flexible and according to the ICR there was timely identification of procurement and financial management issues . Lack of attention to M&E was a further weakness . After the mid-term review a pro-poor targeting pilot was implemented, the outcome of a long and challenging dialogue with the GOB, an important achievement for the project team. (The pilot formed the basis of the proxy means test targeting strategy implemented under the follow -on project). According to the QSA, ISR ratings tended to be overly optimistic (In fact, for the project's last two ISRs the region's own quality control mechanisms suggested downgrading; neither recommendation was followed ). at -Entry :Moderately Satisfactory a. Ensuring Quality -at- b. Quality of Supervision :Satisfactory c. Overall Bank Performance :Moderately Satisfactory 9. Assessment of Borrower Performance: Government perf ormance . The timely provision of GOB counterpart funds contributed to the timely disbursement of stipends, and owners hip of the female stipend program among GOB was high . The government demonstrated some resistance to addressing a glaring weakness in the stipend program - the poor targeting - despite concerns voiced by the Bank . The GOB was slow to incorporate the agreements after the mid -term review (this took more than 8 months to be approved). According to the ICR, the GOB released a circular relating to the use of additional eligibility criteria without IDA ’s consent which threatened the enrollment process (ICR p5). Implementing agency performance . The DSHE actively participated in project design, and according to the ICR, DSHE helped improve the weaknesses in management of and monitoring of implementation . Significant implementation delays were caused by the sudden departure of key experienced staff (ICR p5), and a high level of turnover in project directors toward the latter half of the project (5-6 project directors in total). Despite this, according to the ICR, the capacity of the DSHE improved in project implementa tion, through the establishment of a Project Operations Unit and staff training and institutionalization of program management in DSHE . The Project Operations Unit and the Program Monitoring Unit performed well in overall coordination and oversight of the project. But there were some weaknesses and inadequ acies in procurement and financial management (similar to that found in the first project ) which continued throughout the project ’s duration. a. Government Performance :Moderately Unsatisfactory b. Implementing Agency Performance :Moderately Satisfactory c. Overall Borrower Performance :Moderately Satisfactory 10. M&E Design, Implementation, & Utilization: Design . The M&E design potentially had important strengths: establishment of a Program Monitoring Unit (intended to monitor the entire stipend program regardless of source of funding ); creation of a database of female stipend programs to inform improved programming; the inclusion of specific studies; performance -based monitoring through performance audit, an annual stipends and tuition audit . Responsibilities for these were divided among the Program Monitoring Unit and the Project Operations Unit . Some M&E weaknesses were identified in the QAE that were not fully addressed (e.g., the recommendation to track access among poor girls ). As remarked in the ICR, the project design could have benefitted from a separate M&E component or sub -component, which could have given greater focus on M&E activities. Performance indicators were not well articulated though several indicators were identified in the project framework. For example, the use of the SSC pass rate as an indicator of quality proved to be flawed : it is subject to selection bias because poorly performing pupils are less likely to take the examination; it is also subject to variance in the quality/difficulty of the SSC examinations. This indicator should have been complemented by other measures of quality, such as completion rates and drop -out rates. Implementation and Utilization . While the Program Monitoring Unit and Project Operations Unit had assigned responsibilities, the coordination between the two units was weak . The previous project experience suggested falsification of data and improper reporting of some school -level indicators (e.g., attendance), yet it is not clear what efforts were implemented to address these data quality weaknesses . Several studies were included on the design, and according to the TTL they were all conducted but no information was provided on their quality . No information was provided on incidence of stipends among the poor, of interest because the previous project showed that there was unequal access among the poor . The data platform for the integrated database was developed but it is not implemented because of failure to incorporate the ADB funded part of the database due to systems incompatibility and the large amount of time needed for conversion to the common platform . A pro-poor pilot was implemented after the mid-term review, and it provided the basis for the proxy means tested targeting strategy that is currently being implemented in the follow-on project. a. M&E Quality Rating : Modest 11. Other Issues (Safeguards, Fiduciary, Unintended Positive and Negative Impacts): Safeguards . The project was classified as environmental category B, requiring a partial environmental assessment . The main issues related to provision of arsenic -safe drinking water, testing of tube -wells, provision of latrines, and an awareness program to help manage arsenic risks, hygiene and sanitation . In consultation with School Management Committees and the Department of Public Health Engineering an "Environmental Analysis and Guidelines for Improvement of School Sanitation" was prepared. The Environmental Management Plan was developed . School Management Committees were particularly active in ensuring satisfactory compliance . According to the ICR, no compliance issues were reported . Fiduciary . Despite being preceded by a similar project, the financial management and procurement systems and capacity were weak hampering effective financial management and procurement . According to the ICR, audit objections were "duly responded to", although no further information was provided in the ICR . As remarked in the ICR, during the 6 years of project duration the DSHE did not develop adequate procurement management capacity . No major deviation was found in a post -review of contracts, according to the ICR, yet it concluded that DSHE has "considerable weaknesses in internal control bid /proposal evaluation, award delays, transparency, management of procurement process, and handling complaints; more specifically selection of complex consultancy services ". (As mentioned, in section 1 the ICR for the Post-Flood Recovery Assistance Program will be done separately . For completeness the three mis-procurements that occurred under Component Z are flagged in this ICR Review). Unintended Positive and Negative Impacts . There were some unintended positive consequences : greater awareness among communities for girls' participation in secondary education and employment, delays in marriage, demand for access to banking services . An unintended negative consequence was the decrease in enrollment among boys because the project focused exclusively on incentives for girls . After the mid-term review a pilot was implemented that included poor boys which is now part of the revised targeting instrument being implemented under the follow-on project. 12. Ratings : 12. ICR IEG Review Reason for Disagreement /Comments Outcome : Satisfactory Moderately There were some shortcomings in the Satisfactory operation’s design and in the achievement of quality improvements, justifying a moderately satisfactory rating. Risk to Development Moderate Moderate Outcome : Bank Performance : Satisfactory Moderately According to the Harmonized Satisfactory Evaluation Criteria, a moderately satisfactory rating for quality -at-entry and a satisfactory rating for supervision should result in an overall rating of moderately satisfactory for Bank Performance. Borrower Performance : Satisfactory Moderately According to the Harmonized Satisfactory Evaluation Criteria, a moderately unsatisfactory rating for government performance and a moderately satisfactory rating for implementing agency performance should result in an overall rating of moderately satisfactory for Borrower Performance if the project outcome rating is in the satisfactory range. Quality of ICR : Satisfactory NOTES: NOTES - When insufficient information is provided by the Bank for IEG to arrive at a clear rating, IEG will downgrade the relevant ratings as warranted beginning July 1, 2006. - The "Reason for Disagreement/Comments" column could cross-reference other sections of the ICR Review, as appropriate . 13. Lessons: The lessons in the ICR were used to inform the follow -on project (in fact, lessons in the ICR and exactly the same as those in the PAD of the follow-on project). The lessons below complements some of the lessons in the ICR : The project confirmed a lesson from the experience with conditional cash transfers, namely that while demand-side initiatives may stimulate enrollment, the development impact depends on the quality of the education being supplied. On the demand-side complementary efforts are needed to facilitate uptake among the poor such as awareness raising and community mobilization efforts to inform poor households of the existence of incentive programs, the eligibility criteria and practical advice on how to enroll . Without information on the incidence of stipends access among the poor cannot be assessed, and the impact of outreach activities cannot be fully evaluated . 14. Assessment Recommended? Yes No 15. Comments on Quality of ICR: The ICR quality is rated moderately satisfactory . It provided a reasonable overview of project implementation, although the following areas could have been improved upon : The ICR could have been a bit more frank about the project's shortcomings, or where shortcomings have been noted it could have done a better job at holding the Bank or borrower accountable . The result was that the ratings were at variance with some of the sections in the ICR . There could have been a more explicit treatment of the results -chain and a stronger effort made to link inputs and outputs to outcomes and impacts . In reviewing the ICR some questions arise regarding the veracity of the d ata cited as in some instances it contradicts other sources (e.g., the QSA). Concern about data quality have been raised on numerous occasions, e.g., in the previous project's PPAR, the QSA for the present project, and some concerns raised in the mid-term review. In this regard the sources of the data cited in the table with the PDOs (piii-iv) would have been helpful. a.Quality of ICR Rating : Satisfactory