ICRR 12256 Report Number : ICRR12256 ICR Review Operations Evaluation Department 1. Project Data: Date Posted : 09/13/2005 PROJ ID :P071012 Appraisal Actual Project Name :Primary Education Project Costs 200.00 215.30 Development Program US$M ) (US$M) Country :Tanzania Loan/ US$M ) Loan /Credit (US$M) 150.00 165.36 Sector (s):Adult ): literacy/non-formal US$M ) Cofinancing (US$M) 50.00 49.97 education; Primary education L/C Number :C3570 FY ) Board Approval (FY) 02 Partners involved : Netherlands Closing Date 10/31/2004 10/31/2004 Evaluator : Panel Reviewer : Group Manager : Group : Manisha J. Modi Denise A. Vaillancourt Alain A. Barbu OEDSG 2. Project Objectives and Components a. Objectives The project development objectives were to support the Government of Tanzania in reforming its primary education system through the Primary Education Development Program (PEDP). The objectives of the PEDP were to : improve education quality, expand school access, and increase school retention at the primary level . These objectives would be achieved through measures to : increase resource availability, and improve their allocation and utilization, and strengthen institutional arrangements for effective primary education delivery . b. Components (or Key Conditions in the case of Adjustment Loans ): Tranche releases were conditional on progress in 6 areas of reform outlined in a policy matrix agreed to with the government: General education: general progress on PEDP performance indicators; Expanding primary enrollment: abolishing fees and introducing double -shifting; Improving the quality of teaching and learning processes by revising teacher training programs, curriculum, exams, and teacher incentive structures; Building capacity in the education system and other public and private sectors involved in primary education delivery; Strengthening institutional arrangements that support planning and delivery of primary education services; and Financing the PEDP. Note: The PEDP was designed to disburse in 3 tranches, each one to be released upon Government fulfillment of a set of policy decisions and actions in accordance with a policy matrix, discussed and agreed with Government . Cost by component is, therefore, not available . c. Comments on Project Cost, Financing, Borrower Contribution, and Dates IDA disbursed the full amount of the credit in three equal tranches, the first at effectiveness (1/2/2002), and the subsequent two after fulfillment of conditions in the policy matrix (in June 2003 and November 2004, respectively). In addition, IDA acted as Administrator of a $US 50 million grant from the Netherlands. Disbursements of the Dutch grant were also structured in three tranches corresponding to the IDA tranche releases : US$10 million in the first tranche and US$20 million in each of the two subsequent tranches . 3. Relevance of Objectives & Design : The PEDP is consistent with the government's sector policy and poverty reduction strategy, as well as the Bank's most recent Country Assistance Strategy, all of which place high priority on improving and expanding Tanzania's primary education sector. Moreover, the importance of strategies and measures implemented by the PEDP has been validated by recent economic and sector work (produced in consultation with a cross -section of country stakeholders). The project design/lending instrument was appropriate in that it was fully supportive of Tanzania's agenda to carry out sector reform affecting all levels of the system . It was also supportive of needed capacity strengthening, providing both inputs and opportunities to managers and staff at all levels of the system to manage (a) service delivery and (b) the reform process, itself. 4. Achievement of Objectives (Efficacy) : Improving education quality (Substantial): Project targets included decreasing the average pupil /textbook ratio and improving classroom learning. The pupil/textbook ratio dropped from 1:7 at the start of the project, to 1:4, by 2004, and Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE) pass rates went from 22% in 2000 to 48% in 2004. While this shows great progress, there obviously remains much room for improvement. In addition, although increased awareness of HIV /AIDS and improved health status of school-aged children were stated objectives in the Tanzania PEDP Workplan, there was no mention of these objectives in the ICR. Expanding primary school access (High): Specific targets were to attain enrollment capacity for all 7-year olds in Grade 1 by 2003. The percentage of 7-year olds enrolled went from 18% in 2000 to 84% in 2004. (At the outset of the project, most children started primary schooling later than the official age of 7, so the initial enrollment rate somewhat understates the percentage of children who eventually enrolled in primary school .) The gross enrollment rate went from 78% in 2000 to 106% in 2004 and the net enrollment rate went from 59% in 2000 to 91% in 2004. These rates should be monitored in the next few years to evaluate whether gains are sustained . Improving retention at primary level (High): The target was to reduce dropout rate between grades 4 and 5 from 13% to 10% by 2003. The dropout rate was reduced to 5% by 2004. Resource availability, allocation, and utilization (Substantial); ; Targets included: allocating at least 20% of the primary education budget to nonsalary expenditures . The proportion of the budget allocated to non-salary expenditure increased from a baseline of 4% in 2002 to 27% in 2004, allowing schools to spend more on teaching materials . allocating and disbursing capitation grants equivalent to US$ 10 per student for all primary school students by fiscal year 2002/03. This target was met. introducing a decentralized primary school funding and financial management mechanism, under which funds for primary education are allocated and released from the Ministry of Finance to the primary school accounts through the education accounts of local authorities . Eighty percent of primary schools were expected to be managing capitation and development grants using school /community bank accounts, by project end . This target was exceeded; all schools have opened and fully operated Capitation and Development Grant Bank Accounts. Better institutional arrangements (Modest); ; The PEDP was to educate all local government authorities (LGAs), including regional secretariat offices, councils and wards, on their roles in primary education delivery, and to strengthen the capacity of school committees in the management of PEDP by September, 2002. This goal was met; all LGAs were instructed on how to manage the PEDP. School committees received guidelines on PEDP, and procedures were introduced by March, 2002 including sensitization seminars to build capacity . An Education Management Information System was to have been established to provide education managers and planners with accurate and timely information; however, progress on this component is behind schedule . 5. Efficiency : According to the ICR, budget support in a SWAp for a sub -education sector was effective in enabling the Government to develop and take charge of the consultative process for ongoing policy making, system reform, planning, and budgeting in the education sector . It also helped to ensure that external assistance was channeled to priorities within a coherent strategy for the sector and within the MTEF to ensure Aid effectiveness . 6. M&E Design, Implementation, & Utilization: An Education Management Information System (EMIS) was to have been established to monitor key indicators, including enrollment, attendance, and dropout rates, student -teacher ratios, and PSLE scores . Unfortunately, this system is not yet up and running, and most data on key indicators seem to come from periodic monitoring reports such as the National Monitoring Report on Implementation or Annual Performance Reports . 7. Other (Safeguards, Fiduciary, Unintended Impacts--Positive & Negative): Using local contractors for classroom construction improved accountability (timeliness, better construction ), increased local ownership of schools, and had provided income in poor communities . Successful implementation of PEDP has put pressure on the government to provide more access to secondary education. 8. Ratings : ICR IEG Review Reason for Disagreement /Comments Outcome : Satisfactory Satisfactory Institutional Dev .: Substantial Substantial Sustainability : Highly Likely Likely Although institutional arrangements have been strengthened, and the Government has committed a higher share of the GDP to education spending, foreign funding still comprises most of the development budget. Government's long term ability to sustain recurrent expenditures in the education sector is unclear . Challenges also remain to improve the coherence of sector reforms with ongoing changes in local government. Bank Performance : Satisfactory Satisfactory Borrower Perf .: Highly Satisfactory Satisfactory Although the borrower showed a high level of commitment to the program, there were delays and irregularities in disbursing funds from the center to LGAs . 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. - ICR rating values flagged with ' * ' don't comply with OP/BP 13.55, but are listed for completeness . 9. Lessons: Some especially salient lessons from the ICR include the following : 1. Financing and disbursement procedures in SWAPs should be harmonized among donors and government, to avoid implementation delays. Tranche releases should be aligned to Government ’s fiscal year. Inappropriate timing of disbursements can, otherwise, cause inconvenience in Government's allocation of funds and consequent delays in plan implementation, particularly at the school level . 2. A phased-out approach in expanding primary enrollment can mitigate risks of over loading capacity and declining quality. An effective design feature of the PEDP was to manage the anticipated enrollment surge resulting from implementation of the PEDP by phasing in the enrollment expansion . 7-10 year olds were enrolled between 2002 and 2006, helping to eliminate the backlog of 8-10 year olds, through double-shifting and other strategies. Meanwhile, the government built classrooms and recruited teachers to build the capacity to admit all 7-year olds in Grade 1 from 2006 onwards. 10. Assessment Recommended? Yes No 11. Comments on Quality of ICR: The ICR is well-written and well-documented. It provided data on performance indicators laid out in the President's Report against which outcomes could be evaluated .