Philippines - Sector Program For Elementary Education Project

Document of The World Bank FILE COPY FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No. P-3085-PH REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ON A PROPOSED LOAN TO THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES FOR A SECTOR PROGRAM FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION June 4, 1981 This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of | their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  CURRENCY EQUIVALENT P 7.5 = US$1.00 p 1.0 US$0.13 ABBREVIATIONS BEE - Bureau of Elementary Education in the Ministry of Education and Culture EDPITAF - Educational Development Projects Implementing Task Force MEC - Ministry of Education and Culture OPS - Office of Planning Services in the MEC GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES FISCAL YEAR January 1-December 31 GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES SCHOOL YEAR July-April  FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY PHILIPPINES SECTOR PROGRAM FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION Loan and Program Summary Borrower: Republic of the Philippines Amount: $100.0 million Terms: The loan would be for a term of 20 years, including 5 years of grace, with interest at 9.6% p.a. Program Description: The Government's development program (1981-90) for elementary education is designed to strengthen policies, management and instructional programs in elementary education. It gives particular emphasis to regions with low rates of student achievement and participation. Policy changes are being introduced to reduce disparities in educational opportunity, to improve quality, and to increase the efficiency of the school system as follows: a revised procedure is being adopted to allocate a larger share of development expenditures to educationally deprived regions; the share of recurrent expenditure for nonsalary items is being increased to improve the quality of instruction; the policy for teacher utilization is being revised to make more efficient use of subject matter teachers; and policies for student admissions, evaluation, and progression are being improved to raise the participation rate of the school-aged group and to reduce the dropout rate. The organization, functions, and staffing of the main agencies involved with elementary education are being modified to strengthen sector management and planning. Instructional programs and materials and the distribution of facilities and teachers will also be improved. The development program involves about 60 subprojects to be undertaken between 1982 and 1985. These subprojects would provide instructional materials (an average of 11 million basic textbooks per year), facilities (11,000 classrooms per year), and training for managers, planners and school staff. A revised curriculum, a scheme for monitoring teacher supply, and systematic evaluation of sector performance would also be introduced. The cost of the program is estimated at $448 million in 1982-85, with a foreign exchange cost of $129 million. The proposed Bank loan would finance about 22% of This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without IFC authorization.  - ii - the program's total cost and about 77% of its foreign exchange cost. As a result of improvements in efficiency, particularly in teacher utilization, the development program is not expected to increase the real recurrent cost per student enrolled. A deliberate effort has been made to rely as much as possible on the Borrower for program management. The Ministry of Education and Culture would be responsible for subproject approval and implementation. Criteria and procedures have been developed to ensure that subprojects adhere to program objectives and are feasible. The sector program is innovative and complex. In addition, the exact outcome of the revised policies and management practices cannot be accurately predicted. A risk exists that delays will be encountered during implementation. To reduce this risk, experienced staff, responsible for formulating the sector program, have been recruited for program management and the assistance of consultants will be provided. In addition, management and implementation procedures have been designed to allow for adaptation and modification as experience is gained. Estimated Cost: Local Foreign Total ----- $ million