General Education
   Report No: ; Type: Report/Evaluation Memorandum ; Country: Sri Lanka; Region: South Asia; Sector: Other Education; Major Sector: Education;
                                                             ProjectID: P010343


    The Sri Lanka General Education project supported by Credit 2072-CE for US$49 million equivalent,
was approved in FY90. After an extension of one year, the loan was fully disbursed and closed on
December 31, 1996. The Implementation Completion Report (ICR) was prepared by the South Asia
Regional Office. The borrower's report on the implementation and achievements of the project is included
as an Annex.

    This was the first education project IDA financed in Sri Lanka. Its objectives were to: (a) increase the
effectiveness of the education system by upgrading facilities and increasing the supply of educational
materials; (b) improve efficiency through better management and supervision; (c) reduce regional and
local disparities in the quality of schools; (d) support decentralization; (e) strengthen planning; and (f)
better calibrate education and training to labor market requirements. The project financed construction
and rehabilitation of schools, maintenance, equipment, books and materials, teacher and staff training,
technical assistance, and labor-market studies.

    The project disbursed very little during its first three years owing to the civil war, which also
exacerbated institutional weaknesses. However, implementation accelerated after a mid-term review, and
by the end of the project, planned activities had been carried out. Targets for civil works and supply of
educational equipment were met or substantially exceeded. In-service training of staff principals was
successful. Studies of educational finance and management, physical facilities, teacher deployment and
absenteeism were successfully completed despite delays in the provision of technical assistance.
However, institutional development was not as successful. Decentralization efforts were halted, and the
goal of improving education planning and policy analysis was only partially achieved.

 The Operations Evaluation Department (OED) agrees with the ratings in the ICR. Project outcome is rated
as satisfactory, institutional development as modest, sustainability as likely, and Bank performance as
satisfactory.

    The project outcome illustrates the importance for preparatory activities, such as standard bidding
documents and school maps, in limiting startup delays. Project implementation unit staff must also be
selected and trained with a view to minimizing delays. Implementation units must also have the level of
responsibility necessary to carry out their allotted tasks so that long waits for government approvals are
avoided.

   The ICR is satisfactory. An audit is planned because this is the first primary education project
completed in Sri Lanka.