India - Education Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No. 5668 PROJECT PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 342-IN) May 23, 1985 Operations Evaluation Department This docuaent has a resbied disbmkm md may be used by redplents only In the perfonmance of thir offial dudes It contemb may net otherwise be dsdosed without Wedd Bank auhorlAfiO. FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY GLOSSARY AAU - Assam Agricultral University CPU - Central Project Unit GOI - Government of India IARI - Indian Agriculture Research Institute IARS - Institute of Agricultural Research Statistics IASRI - Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute ICAR - Indian Council of Agricultural Research RAU - Rajendra Agricultural University (Bihar) This document has a restricted disribution and may be used by recipients only in the performLace of their oflicial duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. PROJECT PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 342-IN) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. Preface ----------------------------------------------------- ..... Basic Data Sheet ------------------------------------------....... ii Highlights .................................................. . ...... v PROJECT PERFORMANCE AUDIT MENDRANDUM I. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY .................. o..... .. 1 II. PRINCIPAL ISSUES ..................................... ...... 3 Project Generation and Appraisal ....................... 3 Project Design .......................... ......... . 4 Procurement -................. ........................... 5 Computer - Need and Procurement ........................... 6 Composition of IDA Supervision Missions .................. 7 III. EDUCATIONAL IMPACT ..................................... 7 IV. CONCLUSIONS ............................................. 9 Comments from the Borrower: Attachment I - Comments Received from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research ..................... ..........11 Attachment II - Comments Received from Rajendra Agricultural Univer3ity, Bihar ................. 15 PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT I. Summary and Conclusions .............. ........ 25 II. Introduction ...................................... ...... 27 III. Project Background ...................................... 27 IV. Project Implementation .......................... ..... 29 V. Project Costs and Financing .............................. 34 VI. Project Operating Outcome ..................... 34 VII. IDA's Performance .................... ............ 43 VIII. Conclusions ............................................. 44 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Cont' d) Page No. Anners: 1. Project Facilities ..... . .................... 47 2. Project Costs: Comparative Analysis .................... 48 3. Specialist Services ........... .......... ....... 49 4. Fellowship Program o ........ -.......... ... ....... 50 5. Schedule of Disbursements ....... ..... ... 51 6. Graduate & Post Graduate Enrollment ..................... 52 7. Graduate and Post Graduate Student Output ............... 53 8. Status of Faculty 1982 ............ ............... 54 PROJECT PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 342-IN) PREFACE This is a performance audit of the First Education Project in India, for which a Credit of US$12 million was approved in October 1972 and sigaed in November 1972. The Credit Account was closed on February 14, 1983 when the Credit had been fully disbursed. The audit report comprises (i) a Project Performance Audit Memorandum (PPAM) prepared by the Operations Evaluation Department (OED), and (ii) a Project Completion Report (PCR) dated February 29, 1984 prepared by the South Asia Projects Department. The audit is based on a review of the PCR, the Appraisal Report (No. PE-51A) dated October 11, 1972, the President's Report (P-1123) also dated October 11, 1972, the minutes of the October 24, 1972 meeting of the Bank's Board of Executive Directors at which the Credit was approved, the Project Agreement between IDA and the two Universities concerned with the Project, and the Development Credit Agreement between India and IDA, both dated November 10, 1972, and material in the IDA files relating to this project. The project experience has been discussed with IDA staff associated with the project. No field visit was undertaken by OED staff in connection with this audit. As is customary in the preparation of audit reports, copies of the draft audit report were sent for comment to the representatives of the Borrower; this was done on January 22, 1985. Comments received from the Borrower have been taken into account in finalizing the report and are reproduced as Attachments I and II. PROJECT PERFORMANCE AUDIT BASIC DATA SHEET INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT (Credit 342-IN) KEY PROJECT DATA Appraisal Actual or Estimate Current Estimate Total Project Cost (US$ million) 19.36 n.a. (Ind.Rs. - ) 140.80 155.90 Overrun (Z) - 10.7 Credit Amount (US$ million) 12.0 12.0 Disbursed - 12.0 Cancelled 0.0 Repaid ) 0.30 Outstanding ) 11.70 Date Physical Components Completed Dec. 1978 Dec. 1983 -in Months Since Credit Signature 73 133 Proportion Completed by Above Date (%) 100 98 Proportion of Time Overrun (Z) - 82% Institutional Performance Good Satisfactory Cumulative Estimated and Actual Disbursements (US$ million) FY 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 (a) Appraisal Est. 0.02 0.33 1.21 3.42 6.54 9.54 11.83 12.00 (b) Actual 0.00 0.00 0.21 0.34 1.40 3.06 5.00 6.83 8.30 10.40 12.00 (c) Actual as Z of Appraisal 0 0 17 10 21 32 42 57 69 87 100 OTHER PROJECT DATA Original Actual or Item Plan Revisions Estimated Actual First Mention in Files 06/30/66 Government's Application none on file Negotiations 9/05-12/72 Board Approval 10/24/72 Date of Credit and Project Agreements 11/10/72 Effectiveness Date * 03/09/73 06/08/73 06/08/73 Closing Date 12/31/79 12/31/81; 12/31/82 02/14/83 Borrower India Executing Agency Indian Council on Agricultural Research coordinating work of Project Units in Assam Agricultural University and Rajendra Agricultural University, Bihar. Fiscal Year of Borrower April 1 - March 31 Follow-on Project Names None - iii - MISSION DATA Mission Sent Month/ No. of No. of Staff Date of by Year Weeks Persons* Weeks** Report Reconnaissance I IDA 12/69 1.5 2 (T,G) 3.0 01/15/70 Identification FAO 09-10/70 6.0 4 (2G,2E) 24.0 11/17/70 Interim Reconnaissance IDA/FAO 05/71' 1.0 3 (T,2G) 3.0 05/28/71 Preparation FAO/IDA 07-09/71 7.0 10 (3G,2A.2E, V,H,S) 40.0 09/20/71 Appraisal IDA 11-12/71 5.0 7 (2G,A,E, V,H,S) 35.0 10/11/72 Post-Appraisal 04/72 1.0 1 (T) 1.0 05/12/72 Total 106.0 Supervision 1 IDA 02-03/73 2.0 1 (A) 2.0 03/29/73 Supervision 2 " 06/73 2.0 1 (C) 2.0 06/22/73 BTO Supervision 3 - 12/73 1.5 1 (A) 1.5 01/02/74 BTO Supervision 4 " 01/74 0.5 1 (E) 0.5 03/26/74 Supervision 5 - 06/74 2.0 2 (A,C) 4.0 07/19/74 Supervision 6 - 11/74 2.0 1 (A) 2.0 12/31/74 Supervision 7 - 02/75 0.5 1 (A) 0.5 02/10/75 Telex Supervision 8 " 03/75 1.0 1 (G) 1.0 04/30/75 not on file Supervision 9 - 06/75 1.0 1 (A) 1.0 07/14/75 letter Supervision 10 " 10/75 0.5 1 (E) 0.5 12/10/75 memo Supervision 11 " 11/75 1.0 2 (E,A) 2.0 none on file Supervision 12 - 09/76 2.5 2 (A,G) 5.0 12/03/76 Supervision 13 " 04-05/77 2.0 2 (2G) 4.0 05/18/77 BTO Supervision 14 05/78 2.0 2 (A,G) 4.0 06/09/78 BTO Supervision 15 05/79 2.0 1 (G) 2.0 06/29/79 Supervision 16 07/80 1.0 1 (B) 1.0 07/18/80 Supervision 17 - 03/81 2.0 1 (A) 2.0 05/18/81 Supervision 18 " 09/81 0.5 1 (A) 0.5 10/30/81 Supervision 19 " 03/82 2.5 2 (G,A) 5.0 03/31/82 Supervision 20 - 09-10/82 0.5 1 (E) 0.5 10/05/82 Completion 07/83 3.5 1 (G) 3.5 02/29/84 Total 44.5 * A = Architect G = Agricultural Educator E = Economist H = Home Science Specialist V = Veterinary Education S = Science Specialist B = General Education Specialist C = Administrative Officer T = Technical Educator ** Number of Staff-weeks attributable to this project. - iv - COUNTRY EXCHANGE RATES Name of Currency (Abbreviation) - Indian Rupees (Rs) Exchange Rates: Appraisal Year (1972) - US$1 = Rs. 7.28 Completion Year (1983) - US$1 = Rs. 9.80 ALLOCATION OF CREDIT PROCEEDS (US$) Original Revised Actual Category Allocation Allocation Disbursements (Sept. 1980) 1. Construction 5,000,000 5,600,000 7,136,707.50 2. Equipment and Furniture 3,800,000 3,800,000 4,173,167.51 3. Technical Assistance 1,250,000 650,000 690,124.99 4. Unallocated 1,950,000 1,950,000 -- TOTAL 12,000,000 12,000,000 12,000,000.00 -v- PROJECT PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 342-IN) HIGHLIGHTS A Credit Agreement in the sum of US$12 million equivalent together with a Project Agreement and an Assam and Bihar Agreement were signed in November 1972 in respect of this project, whose total costs were estimated at US$19.36 million. The project financed additional buildings, furniture and equipment for Assam Agricultural University (AAU) and Rajendra Agricultural University (RAU) in the State of Bihar, together with a new computer and ancillary equipment for the Institute of Agricultural Research Statistics (IARS) at Delhi. An important project-related fellowship and technical assistance program was also included. The original Closing Date was December 31, 1979. The main objective of the project was to enable the two agricul- tural universities concerned to function effectively and combine research, teaching, and extension activities, and to improve the computer capability of IARS. The project has been completed substantially as originally envisaged and is meeting its objectives; however, research is being stressed in the universities, somewhat to the detriment of their teaching and extension func- tic-ns. The Credit was fully disbursed by February 14, 1983. Final project costs in Rupees were some 11% over appraisal estimates. The cost overrun in US Dollars is not known but will be less than 11% as the US Dollar appreci- ated in relation to the Rupee during the period of project implementation. Despite a time overrun of about 80% in the provision of physical facilities for this project both the hardware and software elements of this project were satisfactorily implemented; the fellowship component was particularly successful. A much greater fellowship program than had been originally envisaged was provided, and at much less cost, by using Borrower institutions and staff for training. Less than US$700,000 of Credit funds were spent on this element compared with the US$1,250,000 (excluding contingencies) provided in the Credit Agreement. The savings thus effected went to meet cost overruns in Civil Works. The audit draws attention to certain apparent shortcomings in the procurement of civil works and equipment, and questions why this project was treated differently from others in procurement matters (PPAM, paras. 13-15). Because another agricultural university not anticipated at appraisal has been established in Bihar State it is difficult to compare actual enrollments with those expected at appraisal. Further, some inadequate facilities which were expected by Bank Group staff to close down have continued to function. Including enrollments (of 700) in these facilities, the total enrollment in the two unive-sities in 1983 was 2,170 - vi - (PCR, para. 6.11; Annex 6) against an appraisal estimate of 2,330 (Appraisal Report, Annex 5). Thus, actual enrollments are less than those expected and there is some underutilization of project facilities. Furthermore, with a total faculty of 759 in the two Universities the student-staff ratio is less than three to one, which is decidedly uneconomic (PPAM, para. 20). The limi- tation on student numbers has had however a very positive aspect in that, according to the PCR (paras. 6.13-6.14), most graduates are finding suitable employment, though few as farmers. The quality improvement objectives of the project are being realized by and large, with better qualified faculty members unanimous in their opinion that the up-to-date equipment supplied under the project was helping them to do a better job of teaching and research (PPAM, para. 22; PCR, para. 6.07). However, faculty members attribute some faults in design to the fact that they were not consulted as to their educational and research requirements by the design architects (PPAM para. 22; PCR, para. 6.07). The PCR reports (paras. 6.32-6.33) that the Computer Center in Delhi is function- ing well, with service of a high quality available almost immediately and research results computerized for ready retrieval by investigators. PROJECT PERFORMANCE AUDIT MEMORANDUM INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 342-IN) I. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 1. While various tentative ideas on IDA assistance to education in India were put forward from 1963 onwards, this project should be regarded as having first been mentioned in IDA files in mid-1966, when the idea was mooted of IDA assistance to agricultural education in India. After some exchanges, differences of views between various aid agencies, and some, ultimately fruitless, discussions on assistance to educational television and satellite communication systems, a combined IDA/FAO Reconnaissance mission visited India in December 1969. It recommended an Identification Mission, which was ultimately mounted by FAO in September-October 1970. By this time a project in agricultural education had been definitely decided on, and a second IDA/FAO mission in May 1971 in discussion with GOI officials narrowed the project down to assistance to Assam and Bihar Agricultural Universities, together with financial assistance for the purchase of a computer. The proj- ect was prepared in detail by the Government with assistance from a large FAO/IDA preparation mission in July-September 1971, and appraised by an IDA mission in November-December 1971. There was considerable discussion of the appraisal mission proposals following the return of the mission and a post- appraisal mission was sent to the country in April 1972. A Credit of US$12 million was approved in October 1972 and signed in November 1972 in respect of a project whose total costs were estimated at US$19.36 million. The Credit was estimated to cover all foreign exchange costs and almost half the local currency costs. 2. At the time of project approval various Universities in India had already been assisted, especially by the United States Agency for Interna- tional Development (USAID), in integrating education, research, and extension activities and thus improving the contributions the Universities were making to agricultural development in the States in which they operated. The main objective of this project was to introduce these improvements in the States of Assam and Bihar. Specifically, the project included: (i) construction, furnishing and equipping of academic and communal facilities, farm buildings, boarding facilities and staff houses for the Assam Agricultural University (AAU), and the Rajendra Agri- cultural University (RAU) in the State of Bihar. These facilities were to be built at the main and veterinary campuses of the two universities; the main campus of AAU was at Jorhat and its veteri- nary campus was at Gauhati. The main campus of the RAU was at Pusa and its veterinary campus was (intended to be) at Ranchi. (ii) a total of 26 man-years of specialist services and 118 man-years of fellowships for the two Universities. (iii) equipment to increase the service capacity of the Institute of Agricultural Research Statistics (IARS) computer center in Delhi. 3. Each University was to establish a Project Unit under its Vice- Chancellor to coordinate project implementation at each University. Overall guidance and supervision in project implementation and supervision were to be provided by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) whose Deputy Director-General was to be designated Director of the Central Project Unit. A Credit Agreement was drawn up between the Borrower and IDA, and a Project Agreement between IDA and the two Universities; the States of Assam and Bihar also entered into an Agreement with IDA. These Agreements, in addition to the standard conditions, required the universities to prepare a comprehensive plan for their development. Effectiveness of the Credit Agreement was condi- tional on the appointment of qualified advisors to the Vice Chancellors and of a full time Project Coordinator for the Central Project Unit. Interna- tional Competitive Bidding (ICB) was not required for civil works, bids for which were to be advertised in national and local newspapers. Furniture and equipment contracts estimated to cost less than US$10,000 were to be let on the basis of all-India competitive bidding; such contracts over US$100,000 were to be subject to ICB. The credit was expected to be declared effective by March 9, 1973; the project was expected to be completed by December 31, 1978 and the Closing Date was set at December 31, 1979. 4. Appointments to the University Project Units and of advisors to the Vice Chancellors were delayed, and the Credit was not declared effective until June 8, 1973, three months after the expected date. Further delays followed, with the result that the project's physical components, expected to be completed by December 1978, were not finished until September 1983. While there were some changes in tudividual university project elements, some being reduced or deleted while others, in particular the home science facilities, were considerably expanded over appraisal estimates, the project has been implemented substantially as appraised. A noteworthy feature of the project experience was the savings in technical assistance and fellowship costs which were realized by using local experts and local training institutions rather than foreign experts and institutions. The Closing Date, originally December 31, 1979 was extended twice, to December 31, 1981 and to December 31, 1982. The Credit Account was cl-sed on February 14, 1983, when the credit funds had been completely disbursed. The zost overrun in Rupees was 11%, reflecting increases particularly in civil works unit costs during implementation.l/ 1/ The Rajendra Agricultural University authorities have agreed with the observations in this paragraph and have offered further explanatory comments. Please see their comments on time and cost overruns on pages 17 and 18. -3- II. ?RINCIPAL ISSUES Project Generation and Aopraisal 5. The main aim of this project was the improvement of the quality and relevance of university agricultural education in India, with the physical facilities provided under the jproject being merely means to this end. It is clear that, to improve quality and relevance, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the existing situation in relation to these matters, and that this understanding is unlikely to be achieved for a country such as India unless there is some continuity of staff on project generation. Such continuity, however, was lacking. Not only this, but differing outside expert bodies had differing views on the direction and thrust agricultural education in India should take. Prior to 1967 there had been important studies of Indian agricultural education made by British experts. When FAO became involved in the geueration of this project it differed from the views expressed by the British; the Bank maintaine! a neutral position. Later the aim of the project was to enable RAU and AAU to develop along the lines of a USA land-grant college in which the Universities would combine the functions of teaching, research, and extension. 6. As indicated in the Basic Data, there were six IDA missions involved in the generation and appraisal of this project, with the main missions being preparation (no less than ten persons were involved) and appraisal, with seven persons. Despite these large preparation and appraisal missions there was only one person who took part in both of them and he had been involved only peripherally in the preparation mission. No member of the first reconnaissance mission nor the identification mission took part in the appraisal. 7. It is thus clear that the Indian authorities were having to deal with different people, with different ideas, at each stage of the project generation process. Under the circumstances it is not surprising that the project came to be regarded not so much as a project of the country itself, but as a project originating in the views of external agencies: the appraisal mission in its first letter from the field indicated that the project was regarded as an FAO project, not a Government of India project; in its second letter it was said that Assam had several objections to the "IBRD report--i.e., the preparation document. 8. In the view of the audit these differences could have been mini- mized by a greater continuity of staff on the various project generation mis- sions, which would have permitted the views of the country representatives to have been better ascertained and reflected in the project documents. Indeed, a particularly remarkable feature of project generation is that there was very little contact between representatives of the State Governments and the missions involved. This situation has continued right through until comple- tion, as is made clear in the PCR (para. 4.04), where it is recorded that the PCR mission did not consult members of the State Governments because these Governments had had little to do with the project other than the disbursement of Credit funds. S4- Project Design 9. Associated with the problems outlined above is the question of project design. As a part of the quality improvement which the project sought was the rationalization of the two existing universities. However, what was intended was inadequately spelled out in the Appraisal Report and was to cause continuing conflict during implementation. Section 5.02 of the Appraisal Report detailed the various elements of AAU and RAU to be financed under the project, and Section 5.03 ran as follows: -The Assam Agricultural University has been formed from the agricultural college at Jorhat and the veterinary college at Gauhati, together with a number of research stations. Its main campus with all faculties, except veterinary science which would remain at Gauhati, would be located at Jorhat. The Rajendra (Bihar) Agricultural University, comprising the agricultural colleges at Dholi, Ranchi and Sabour, the veterinary colleges at Patna and Ranchi and research stations, would have its main campus at Pusa. Veterinary Science would remain at Ranchi." 10. IDA staff supervising the implementation of the project interpreted Section 5.03 to mean that the veterinary college at Patna would be closed down, rather a rigid interpretation of the documents, especially in view of the fact that under the project detailed development plans of the Universi- ties were to be sent to IDA within one year of the signing of the Credit Agreement, and the closing of the Patna Veterinary College would seem to pre- empt these development plans. 11. During implementation IDA staff attempted to ensure that Patna was closed down, to prevent duplication. IDA staff appear to have underestimated the problems involved in closing existing institutions, and Patna and the other institutions envisaged to be phased out under the project have all continued to exist. While the PCR regards this as placing the Government in breach of a credit agreement covenant (see PCR, para. 4.16) the audit is of the o3inion that the covenant was so vaguely worded as to give no clear indication as to what was intended, a point which was ultimately made by the GOI in 1979 following considerable exchanges of views on the subject.2/ 2/ In its comments on this Report, the T-dian Council of Agricultural Research has stated "The project document did not specifically envisage phasing out of any college. The overall intention was only to avoid duplication. However, the establishment of another agricultural univer- sity in the State at Ranchi has necessitated further strengthening of the educational infrastructure in the State." Please see Comments, page 13. The RAU authorities have also commented on this matter to the effect that the non-closure of the agricultural colleges has served the very useful purpose of countering regional imbalances and disparities in the growth of agricultural education and research in the State. Please see Comments, page 22. -5- 12. The lessons to be drawn from this experience are, firstly, that it is extremely difficult to close down existing institutions, and that if, not- withstanding this, it is agreed that a particular institution be closed down to rationalize and prevent duplication, then clear undertakings need to be obtained to prevent misunderstandings. It should perhaps be stressed that IDA staff may well have been justified in their fears that, if Patna contin- ued to function, there might have been an excessive capacity for training veterinarians as a result of the project. Procurement 13. This project involves certain important procurement aspects which are worth discussing.3/ First, although the IDA Projects Department consid- ered that ICB should be used for Civil Works procurement, the Programs Department was of the view that in the Indian context local or Indian compe- titive bidding was sufficient, and it was the latter course which was adopt- ed. The audit is not convinced that there were overriding considerations which justified India being regarded as a special case in this manner. Bank Group staff have argued that Indian regulations were such that foreign con- tractors had great difficulty in operating in the country, and that inviting foreign bids would have been a waste of time. This seems to the audit to miss the point, which is that if India put such obstacles in the way of for- eign competition, insisting on the employment of local contractors, then IDA could have refused to finance these construction elements. Indeed, the Bank Group had done this in other countries, e.g., Algeria, even though in this case Bank loans and not scarce IDA Credits were involved.4/ 14. Not only this, but during the whole course of project implement- ation there were many cases where the lowest bidder (local of course) was not awarded the bid even though he had been pre-qualified or registered. The reasons given for the non-acceptance of the lowest bid are interesting and varied. On occasion the lowest bidder was described as having -little experience in construction," or his bid was "absurdly low.- In one case the lowest bidder's bid was taken to pieces, with individual elements "too low and uneconomic;" in the next paragraph other elements of the same bid -were considered to be high." In yet another case, when nothing haa been found against the lowest bidder, nevertheless the bid was awarded to the second 3/ This project was included (Case Study No.3) in the OED Interim Report on Procurement Issues in Bank-Financed Projects (Report No. 3557). The main conclusion of this case study was that -the fact that the Borrower in this case had had significant experience in the civil works being financed under the project should have enabled IDA to relax its need for approval at various stages of construction." 4/ In Algeria, where the Borrower insisted on construction being undertaken by local contractors, the Bank refused to finance the construction under the Loan; however, in this case the Bank had considered that ICB would have been appropriate. See the Project Performance Audit Report on the Algeria First Education Project (No. 3982 dated June 18, 1982), para. 6. -6- lowest because the Borrower considered this bidder as having done extremely good work on another contract. Furthermore, it is evident that bids were often awarded after negotiations of the bid price with the bidders. The audit is of the opinion that these contracts should have been disapproved from the point of view of the expenditure of IDA funds.5! 15. These contracts were as often as not sent to Bank staff for approv- al by the Executive Director's office. This procedure is unusual. Bank staff with whom the auditor discussed this matter have stated that they felt themselves under some pressure to approve these contracts because the Executive Director's office was in a position to take matters up with senior Bank management- Computer - Need and Procurement 16. Within the general context of procurement problems the purchase of the computer under this project is instructive. In the first place, the real need for a computer does not seem to have been well established at apprais- al. When the request was originally put forward the Bank's Computing Activi- ties Department was asked to comment on it. The Department in mid-1971 said that computers were used wastefully in many less-developed countries, pointed out that India had already 120 computers, and generally posed several ques- tions which needed an answer before the Bank Group should agree to finance a computer under the project. Later the same year the Department again put forward questions regarding the computer; there is no record on file that they were ever addressed. In August 1973, with the project approved, the Computing Activities Department still had reservations on the need for the computer; these also appear not to have been addressed. 17. Other problems arose when it came to the evaluation of differing models of computer. In late 1973 Bank Group staff, commenting on the need for benchmark tests for this evaluation, informed borrower staff that the costs of such tests outweighed the benefits, and it was decided to try to proceed without benchmark tests. However, the Borrower's procurement authorities were not disposed to allow the procurement of a computer without benchmark tests having been carried out, and in June 1975, the Bank Group staff reversed themselves, now saying that "Such (benchmark) tests provide the only reliable basis to make an accurate assessment of costs and performance of the various machines which have been bid.- A month later, in July 1975, Bank Group staff reported that procurement of the computing machinery had been delayed because of disputes between Borrower representatives over evaluation procedures, specifically benchmark tests. It is clear that the Bank Group staff themselves had adopted differing views at different points of time over the need for such tests, and that these changes of view had most likely had an effect in causing procurement delays. 5/ The RAU authorities have disagreed with this observation and with the general thrust of these paragraphs on procurement, stressing that the awards of contracts were made in accordance with the rules in force. Please see Section 4 of their detailed comments reproduced on pages 19 and 20. -7- Composition of IDA Supervision Missions 18. As has already been noted, this project, with its emphasis on improvement of the quality and relevance of university agricultural education in a country such as India, needed continuity in IDA staff during the project generation stage, which it did not receive. This lack of continuity in IDA staff continued into project implementation. This project was supervised twenty times by IDA in missions of one or two persons each. No less that 16 different IDA and FAO staff were involved in these twenty missions. This obviously involved Borrower staff in dealing on many occasions with staff who had never been involved in the project before, and who could not possible have been well informed on project status and problems. Fortunately, each supervision mission was augmented by Borrower staff from the Central Project Unit (PCR, para. 4.18) which probably helped to minimize the lack of conti- nuity in IDA missions.d/ III. EDUCATIONAL IMPACT 19. Notwithstanding the problems and difficulties outlined in the pre- vious paragraphs, the PCR records, and discussions with Bank Group staff support the view, that this project has had a very positive effect on the improvement of university agricultural education in the two States concerned in the project. The audit sees no reason to differ with this assessment. The PCR records (para. 6.08) that one of the major successes of the project was its technical assistance fellowship component, which provided training for 166 fellows in programs ranging from master's through Ph.D. to post- doctoral levels, mainly in the fields of agriculture and veterinary science. Nearly all the returned fellows are serving the universities in their specialities. As has already been mentioned, the unit costs of the technical assistance elements were reduced by providing training in suitable universi- ties in India, with the result that the original 118 man-years of fellowships provided under the project were expanded greatly, to cover the studies of 166 persons out of a total employed faculty in the two universities of 759 (PCR, Annex 8). 20. Annex 5 of the Appraisal Report for this project gave the 1970 enrollments of AAU as 690 and the estimated 1980 enrollment as 1,030. Corresponding figures for RAU were 1,100 and 1,300, the latter figure includ- ing no enrollments in the agricultural campuses at Sabour and Ranchi and the veterinary campus at Patna, which were expected to be closed down during project implementation. The PCR (Annex 6) gives the 1983 enrollment in AAU as 910 and the RAU enrollment as 1,260, so the total 1983 enrollment in the two universities was 2,170 against an appraisal estimate of 2,330. However, 6/ The Rajendra Agricultural University authorities have agreed with the observations in this paragraph; please see Section 1 of their comments, reproduced at page 17 of this report. -8- the 1983 enrollment figures include some 700 students still enrolled at Sabour and Patna. The position is further complicated by the establishment of a second agricultural university in Bihar state, which has absorbed the Ranchi campus of RAU. It seems therefore that the enrollments anti%ipated at appraisal in the project facilities have not been achieved; furthermore the student-staff ratio of 2,170:759 or less than three to one is decidedly uneconomic. 21. These reduced enrollments have had of course the effect of reducing output, with an average of 380 students per year completing their studies over the past five years compared with 461 per year for the previous five years (PCR, para. 6.12). The PCR mission found that there was currently no significant unemployment of graduates and it is quite possible enrollments and outputs have been reduced to take account of likely job opportunities. These reduced enrollments do however imply that the project facilities are not being used to the full.7/ 22. The major aim of the project--quality improvement-is being achieved, with the improved facilities provided under the project attracting students, and the faculty members unanimous in their opinion that the up-to- date equipment supplied under the project was helping them to do a better job of teaching and research (PCR, para- 6.07). The curriculum content of many courses has been modified to include principles and use of the equipment and the learning process is more effective. However, faculty members attribute some faults in design to the fact that they were not consulted as to their educational and research requirements by the design architects (PCR, para. 6.07).8/ 23. The three major aims of agricultural university education under the project were research, teaching and extension. The PCR records (para. 6.18) that research has received the greatest emphasis, with teaching second and 7/ The RAU authorities have pointed out that the enrollments are guided not only by intake capacity but by the requirements for trained graduates; they have stated that by and large the project facilities are being optimally utilized for teaching as well as research programs. Please see Section 6 of their comments, pages 21 and 22. 8/ The RAU authorities have offered some detailed comments on certain design faults; please see page 18 for these comments. -9- extension a poor third.9/ The PCR mission had difficulty in obtaining quantifiable results of the adoption of improved technology resulting from research, but gives details of improved wheat and dairy production on farm lands controlled by the university (PCR, para. 6.21). The PCR mission did not gain the impression that there was a serious commitment to quality teach- ing (PCR, para. 6.23) and indeed in view of the considerable extension efforts listed in the PCR (paras. 6.26-6.29) one is led to question whether extension is in fact less well dealt with than teaching. The PCR (para. 6.31) mentions the efforts which are being made to improve practical training for students in the field, efforts which are compromised if students cannot stay the night in the villages in which they are working. 24. Lastly, with regard to the Computer Center in Delhi, the PCR (paras. 6.32-6.33) is of the opinion that the Center is functioning well, with service of a high quality available almost immediately, research results computerized for ready retrieval by investigators, and the entire facility well managed. Nevertheless, in view of the unanswered questions posed by the Bank's Computing Activities Department during project generation, it would have been interesting to have more specific details of the tasks the computer is undertaking, and their utility in the treatment of agricultural research 3tatistics and their utilization in India. IV. CONCLUSIONS 25. The implementation of both the hardware and software components of this project was generally satisfactory, despite an 80% time overrun. The cost overrun in Rupees was only 11%; although the PCR gives no cost overrun in terms of the US Dollar, it would be less than 11% in view of the apprecia- tion of the US Dollar against the Rupee over the period of project implemen- tation. The audit raises questions regarding the procurement of civil works (PPAM, paras. 13-15) which the Bank Group needs to consider in relation to procurement for projects in India generally; nevertheless the PCR records that the buildings and equipment are regarded as very satisfactory by their users and a great advance over what would have been possible without the project. On the software side the fellowship program was particularly successful and a much larger program was made possible by the utilization of local experts and institutions to provide technical assistance and fellow- ships. 9/ Commenting on this report, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has expressed the opinion that infrastructural development under the project has contributed to the quality of research which in turn has improved the quality of both teaching and extension functions. Please see page 13. The RAU authorities have also commented on this question in detail (please see Section 5 of their comments reproduced on pages 20 and 21) to the effect that there is no question of any one of the research, teaching or extension activities thriving at the expense of the others. - 10 - 26. Over the project implementation period there has been a steady increase in the percentage of faculty members with higher degrees, partly due to the fellowship program. Student numbers however have not reached appraisal targets and the student-staff ratio is very low. These facts imply an underutilization of both staff and of the project buildings and equipment which should be of concern to both the State and Federal Governments. On the other hand, all students appear to be finding employment and it may be that student numbers are being limited to conform with the needs of the job market. Few students are however becoming farmers, most finding jobs in government and other agencies. The objectives of the project to create universities which would combine research, teaching and extension activities are being achieved, although a greater concentration of effort on teaching and extension is needed. 27. Experience with this project has also shown that continuity of Bank Group staff both during the project generation and the project implementation stages was lacking (PPAM, paras.5-8, 18; PCR, paras. 1.02, 4.10), as was continuity of Borrower staff. Such continuity is very important especially in projects such as this where improvement in the quality of university level education is aimed at. - 11 - COMMENTS FROM THE BORROWER (1) ATTACHMENT I (page 1 of 2) Telephone: 3 8 2 2 0 3 Telegram 'AGRISEC' Telex IN 31-3701 Dr. MAHARAJ SINGH :41AZ **Q#EF qkq;K (dutiron GeINDIAN COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH (Edcaton)KRISHI BHAWAN. Dr. RAJENDRA PRASAD ROAD, NEW DELHI-1 10 001 .N01P31) Dated the 20th March, 1985. Sub: Proiect Pexformance Auit REo&- Ihncat Rde (credit 34.x6.- Dear Mr. Watalabes Kizdly refer to your letter of Janary, 1985 and V7 letter No.4-2/(2-n.IV dated March 12, 1985. Our ca10ents on the Project Performance Audit Report are given in the Awnemre. With ]dd regards, Yours sincWr, Mr. Mninori Watanabe, Director, Operations Ev8auation Department The orld Bank 1818 H Street, N.W. ashington, D.C. 20433 mk. €.Li n4 - 13 - ATTACHMENT I (page 2 of 2) PROJ3WT PEMOA1E AWIT REPORT - IIIA FIRST EDLTIEON P0JWWT (CIWIT 342 - IN) 1. Po'ect Perfornanoe adit Report (P=% Obmervations of the Proj ect Comdleon Repot Mission. Page V Para II - Research is bi~g stressed in the Universities, sam ~hat to the detrinent of their teaching ard research ftnctions. Omne:IG' Comä~s Taxi:., research and edtnsion education are the threa integral functions of the University. Irastrcturäl develoment under the Project has, no doubt, centributed to the quality of research being il~r take which in tt:= contributes to improve- ment in the quaity of teaching and extendm ducai n ;t ti~n. 2. Project CampLeti Report: Observations of the Pro ect Comrletin Report Missions Page32 para 4.16 - It vas envisaged at appraisal that the project-created faci4i.es ~oul lead to the State of Bihar havi=g only one fanl iyv of agriculture at Puse/tholi ad one faculty of veterinary science at Racb, both nder RAU, and that the other schools of agiculture at Sabour and RancId ad the veterinary colege at Påtna would be phased out. 229ni.2 OCm~Uts-1: the project document did not specifically ensis phaing out of aVy Colege. 'he overall intentio was only to avoid dupiLntion. However, the e n f another agricultaral univer äiy in the State at EalM has neceasEtiaed frther streg ing of the oaannaL åmfrstru~ctural in the Statej -y ~z- - 15 - COMMENTS FROM THE BORROWER (2) ATTACHMENT II (page 1 of 7) Telegraph-Agriversity Phone Resi. 54 Rajendra Agricultural University, Bihar PUSA-848125 (sAMASnPUR) Dr. J. C. Bakhshi Vice-Chancellor Da. I ~~~Dated, Pusa, the..... 9 No.. ..RAU(VC) Dear Mr. Yulcinori Watan abe, Please refer to your letter dated Jauazy 22, 1985. The comments of this University on the draft of the Project Perfomance Audit report are enclosed herewith for further necessary action at your end. Wi th regards, Yours sincerekkk) (J. . Bakchshi T Mr. Y-&kincri Watanabe, Director, Cperations Evaluation Departmento International DevelopMent Association, 1818 H StreetsN.er Washingtom,D.C. 20433, U.S.A. 吮心一 户不才户书夕介岁澎‘矛 17 - ATTACHHENT 11 (page 2 of 7) %;GmmentS - rst Draft Of PrOJSCt DM4 ance &sMt Report Indian F = Education Project 3S The views and comments furnished hs..re relate to Pi-Diect performance In Rajendra Agricultural University. This University has noted the views expressed In the Report that despite a time Over run of about 80 %, the Project has been completed subs- tantially as originally envisaged and is meeting its objectives, the provision of physical facilities including both tne hardware and software elements of this project has been Implemented satisfactori;y and that the fellowship progrimme was particularly succe- ssful. The Audit has however pointed out certain deficiencies or short comings In the Implementation of the Project under various sections of Its reporti These are of academic, Organizational, procedual and financial nature. These along with the comments are given below 1. Compolftion of th-C I.D.Ab Siogm1sory 1MI:J1_0n The Audit has pointed out that there was Reflected lpck of continuity of same L.D.A-i staff from the Proje& i'L PPAH- generation to the implementation stage causing commu- para- 18 nication difficulty between the Supervisory and Borrow- er staZf. The thiversity agrees to this observation and it is for the Bank to consider this for future projects. Howe,s-r to the extent the Implementation of this project li. this University was concerned not much difficulty was encountered because as right-1Y Pointed by the Audit itself, there was more or less continuity of the Indian counterparts from the I.CiA.R. visiting a "ong with the I.DiA. Supervisory missiOnso 2. Time and cont ovex%-rm 1he A-udit has recorded a time ovex-rm Reflected of 82 % and cost ovex-run Of ii%, Circumstances cau- ia PPAM, Sir.9 the delay and cost escalation have been given para. 4 in the Project complition Report as well as in the Performance Audit Report. Actual implementation started late and it took iLO years in place of the ontd.. - 18 - ATTACHMENT II (page 3 of 7) original stipulated period of 7 years. During the period the cost of construction materials, equipmnts furnitures etc. rose very high with the result that inspite of some reduction In the magnitude of cons- truction work, the cost increased by II %. Some structural changes in construction work and site development had also to be made on the advice of the users and consultants and in the light of the e)pe- rience gained in earlier phase. The Audit Report has factually mentioned the time and cost over-run and factors responsible for the same. This thiversity accepts the same. 3. Desian Faults : The Project completion Report mentions the appreciation by the sdudents and d teachers of Reflected in PPAM, the excellent facilities created through this Project para. 22 which affected the teachlog favourably and learning was more effective. However, some staff reportedly spoke of design faults which they attributed to the fact that they were not consulted by the Architects. In the opinion of the Lbiversity such cases of design faults were only few. Whenever possible the users were consulted. But in some Department Persons consulted In the beginning left an transfer or due to cetter placement elsewhere. By the time others came in their place, construction had achieved a phase where further alteration was not possible. Sometimes specialists were not In positions when this kind of consultation was made particularly in the oeginning. Some design faults particularly in respect of sanitary fittings, sewerage etc. were noted at Pusa and possible corrective measures were taken as soon as possible. It is also a fact that the Architect based at Delhi could not visualise the climatic conditions and power positions at Pusa which too caused some design defects. Contd... - 19 - ATTACHMENT II (page 4 of 7) 4. Award of contracts : Ukdell Principal Issues of the Project afnected in PPAM. Performance Audit Memorandum (Chapter II, pp 8 & 9) para. 14 certain important procurement aspects have Dea discussed. (a) According to the Audit although the I.IA. Projects Department envisaged that the I.C.B. should be used for civil works procurement, in the Indian context this was not insisted upon by the Programs Department as in some other couiteries like Aloeda. Thus In the Opinion of the Audit, India was regarded as a special case for which there wes no justification. This thiversity considers this as a policy matter for the Govt. of India Agencies and the World Bank. All that can be said here is that - This Ebiversity awarded contracts to and procured equipments etc. from the Indian sources wherever possible as it was easy and less costly. Efforts were however made to ensure the quality of the materials and services procured. In some cases, costly equipments were procured from foreign sources through their Indian authorised dealers. (b) The Audit has further pointed out that during the whole course of Project implementation there were many cases where the lowest bidder (local of course ) was not awarded the bid even though he had been prequalified or registered on various gromdsa The Audit is of the opinion that these contracts should have been disapproved from the point of view of the expenditure of I.D.A. funds. The Uhiversity does not agree with the conclusion of the Audit in this matter. All the civil construction contracts were finalised at meetings of the Tender Lommittee under the chairmanship of the Vice-Chancellor. The membership of the committee included among others the ,comptroller, Director Works and Plant of the Univer- sity and senior officers of the Works Department of the State Govt. The bidders were also invited to attend the meetings to present their case. The main purpose of such a high level committee was to oversee "ontC. - 20 - ATTACHMENT II* (page 5 of 7) that State Govt. 's rules as well as the terms and conditions envisaged in the Agreement with the World Bank are implemented. Ep and large the lowest bidders were awarded the contracts. There were few cases in which the lowest bidders could not be awarded the contracts in accordance with the rules since his papers antecedents etc. were not In order. Simply because a bidder is registered, it does not entitle him to an award unless his offer is complete in all respects and there is a reasonable chance of his completing the work satisfactorily. Similarly the meetings held to decide the award of contracts for procurement of equipments and furnitures were participated besides the Director Works and Plant, Executive Engineer, Procurement Officer, t;omptroller and the Vice-Chancellor also by the actual Scientist users. The representatives of the tendering firms also attended the meetings, so that they could freely contest the awards and put forth their own claims. Awards were made as per rules. 5. Stress on Research vis-a-vis teachino : The Audit has cited the P.C.R. to say that in the Liversities financed under the Project, research has received the greatest emphasis with iefleAM, teaching second and extension a poor third. It has para. 23 been concluded that research has thrived to the detriment of quality teaching. The Uhiversity does not subscribe to this view. This University since its inception inherited a large net-work of research activities located in various campuses and regions; rZany coordinated and Adhoc Research Projects too are in operation with the financial help from the I.C.A.R This has in no way affected the teaching programmes - on the other hand it has definitely helped the Post-graduate (M.Sc. & Ph.D.) teaching of which curricular research is an important part. Even for the Under-graduates, the large number of field trials help in broadening their out-look and com- prehension. The Research Projects also help in maintaining the quality of teaching since it enables to have a good number of specialist contd.. - 21 - ATTACBMENT II (page 6 of 7) teachirs. It may be mentioned that in this University all the three functions namely teaching, research and extension education are integrated at the level of the Department and the Colleges. Because of this it is possible to pool resources in respect of both the facilities and personnel and utilize them for teaching, research and extension education. There is no question of one thriving to the determent of another. During the implemen- tation of the Project and after its completion, the teaching programmes have been greatly enlarged and diversified. Due emphasis is also being given to impart field and village experience to the students. trop production credit courses have been introduced. Interniship has already been planned in Veterinary Science and is likely to be introduced very shortly in Agricultural Colleges too. 6. Enrolment and under utili7tion of facilities : The enrolment to the various degree programmes in this University is guided not only by the intake capacity determined according to the Reflecced facilities created but also as prescribed by the in PPAM, State Goverment from time to time as well as to para. 21 meet the requirements of some other States in India and sometimes from foreign countries, channel- ised through the I.CbA.R. Therefore, there is a scope to increase or decrease it as per requirement. The enrolment in 1983 in this University according to the PC.R. was 1260 against an estimate of 1300 - thus it is only marginally short. Taking into the account the erstwhile Raiendra Agricultural Uhiversity including Ranchi campus (now Birsa Agricultural tiverdty ) the enrolment position is quite satisfactory and is likely to improve further in the future. The facilities created under this Project have 6 even according to the Audit substantially enhanced the educational standards and these are by and large being Contd... - 22 - ATTACHMENT II (vaze 7 of 7) optimally utilized for teaching as well as research programmes. 7 -losure of a2ricultural colletes at Sabour and Ranchi and Veteriary Colleae at Patna. The Auit has pointed out that as per understanding the above colleges were not closed and continued to operate. The Audit takes exception to some vague terms in the Agreement due to which this understanding could not be enforced. The Ref:lected University accepts the view that terms of the iru PPM Acreement were not clear in this respect. Subse- quent events have however shown that non-closure of these colleges has served very useful purpose of countering regional imbalances and disparity in the growth of agricultural education and research in this State which is quite big with variations in agro - climatic and socio-economic factors. Now these colleges are being strengthened and imporoved upon with the help of State and Central G-overnentsv .e********** - 23 - INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT - CREDIT 342 IN PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT February 29, 1984 Education and Human Resources Division South Asia Projects Department Du - 25 - PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 342-IN) I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1.01 The project as appraised in November/December 1971 aimed at improving the quality of university-level agricultural education in Bihar and Assam and increasing the effectiveness of research, teaching and extension activities. The project consisted of (a) constructing new and remodelling existing facilities at Assam and Rajendra (Bihar) Agricultural Universities and equipping them; (b) providing technical assistance for university plan- ning and development, project implementation and staff development; and (c) purchasing new computer and ancillary equipment for the Computer Center of the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI) at Delhi. Total project cost was estimated at US$ 19.4 million with a credit amount of US$ 2. million. The credit became effective on June 8, 1972, three months after due date. 1.02 The project as designed was relevant to the needs of agricultural education in Assam and Bihar. Implementation of the project extended over 10 years compared with 7 years planned at appraisal. Delays were caused mainly by late appointment of staff and consultants, shortages of construe- tion materials, disputes with contractors over price increases, numerous changes in senior university administrators and political unrest in Assam. Procurement of goods and services was undertaken according to acceptable procedures, although with some delay. There were some- deficiencies in the design and construction of the civil works component but they did not sig- nificantly affect the overall quality of the project. Such deficiencies could have been avoided if there had been adequate consultation between architects and teaching and research staff. Provision for maintenance is inadequate at RAU but somewhat better at AAU. The latter is the respon- sibility of the state governments which should have been more closely involved in project implementation. 1.03 The project was implemented with a cost overrun of 11%. There was a substantial cost overrun in civil works (41%) in spite of the deletion of some physical facilities to reduce costs. Considerable savings were made in the technical assistance program mainly through the employment of local rather than expatriate specialists and through awarding fellowships exclusively for study in Indian universities rather than overseas. 1.04 The impact of the technical assistance progam has been satisfactory. The specialists financed under the project were well-qualified and performed competently with the exception of some weaknesses in architectural design work. The fellowship program was implemented according to faculty develop- ment plans and with only a couple of exceptions, the fellows have returned to posts in the universties. 1.05 As far as can be ascertained at this stage the educational impact of the project has been positive. Improved physical facilities, modernized - 26 - curricula and better qualified staff have led to an enhanced teaching and learning environment. Nevertheless within the universities, the balance of attention seems to be in favor of research as opposed to teaching and exten- sion. Although the importance of improved teaching is widely recognized there does not seem to be a clear commitment to qualitative improvement. In extension, a number of relevant activities are being undertaken and a fairly extensive publications program exists. However, more attention needs to be given to increasing the adoption rate of innovations, improving links with the State Ministries of Agriculture and ensuring greater involvement of women and children in extension activities. 1.06 Recommendations. The operating outcomes of this project lead to several recommendations: (a) The educational objectives of the project should be explicitly stated together with the expected outcomes. There should be agreed-upon criteria for evaluating the objectives and progress towards achieving .em should be reviewed during supervision missions in the same way as for physical objectives relating to civil works, equipment procurement, etc. (b) IDA should evaluate carefully local bidding and other relevant proce- dures to ascertain their applicability within overall IDA guidelines. If local procedures generally meet IDA requirements, time should not be expended trying to change local procedures to fit exactly IDA requirements. Flexibility in interpretation is called for. (c) Realism needs to be exercised in including covenants in credit agree- ments which call for structural change in education systems. Such change often involves social and political issues and the leverage obtained through a particular project is usually insufficient to ensure success. Desirable change is more likely to be brought about over time if it is addressed through the continuous process of sector dialogue between IDA and borrowers. (d) A clear assessment should be made of the roles of all institutions involved or likely to be involved in project implementation. In this project the State Governments of Bihar and Assam were involved only marginally in project implementation. Nevertheless they are respon- sible for the recurrent costs of the project institutions including the maintenance of facilities and though the Ministries of Agricul- ture for state wide extension activities. The importance of the State Governments over the long-term in ensuring that the full benefits of the project will be gained is clear and should have been recognized in the development of the project implementation arrange- ments. - 27 - (e) The design of educational facilities should include inputs from educators who are going to use them. This will assist in achieving the most efficient utilization of space, adequate lighting and ven- tilation, proper placement of electrical outlets, etc. II. INTRODUCTION 2.01 This completion report on the First Education Project (Credit 342-IN) is based on a report prepared by Frederick K.T. Tom (Agricultural Educator Consultant) who visited India from July 4-26, 1983. The mission made visits to the Computer Center at the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, (IASRI), Rajendra Agricultural University (RAU) and Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) in Bibar State, the latter because it now encompasses Ranchi Veterinary College, which until 1981, was a part of RAU receiving support under Credit 342-IN. Unfortunately, the mission was unable to visit Assam Agricultural University (AAU) in Assam State because of the unsettled political situation there. However, the latter institution supplied all needed information by mail and by sending three representatives to meet with the mission in Delhi, headquarters for the project executing agency. The mission utilized information obtained from: (a) records available from the World Bank, the Central Project Unit, the Project Implementation Units, Universities and the Computer Center; (b) visits to the institutions concerned and to- farms served by the universities; and (c) interviews with administrators, faculty, students and farmers. III. PROJECT BACKGROUND Sector Setting 3.01 After the threat of famine in the mid 1960s, self-sufficiency in food grain production was made one of the country's highest priorities. Since then, in some states, notably Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, remarkable agricul- tural progress has been made, largely attributable to the effective work being done in their state agricultural universities. These were modelled after the American land-grant system wherein the tripartite functions of research, teaching, and extension were thoroughly integrated in a manner which contributed directly to increased food production. The success of these institutions and others led to the proposal that assistance be provided to the States of Assam and Bihar so they too could develop effective agricul- tural universities. 3.02 Assam and Bihar, with populations exceeding 15 million and 57 million respectively, surpass the size of many of the world-s nations. These states account for 13% of India-s population and 10% of her GNP. They are among the - 28 - poorest states in India with per capita incomes below the national average. Agriculture is relatively more important in these two states than in the country as a whole. In Assam and Bihar, more than 80% of the population are dependent upon agriculture, which accounts for 50%-60% of total output in comparison with 18% contributed by mining, manufacturing and construction. 3.03 The most important food crop in the region is rice, with wheat increasing in importance in Bihar. Tea, Assam-s major source of income, is grown on 750 estates which cover some 180,000 ha., employ 500,000 workers and account for more than half of India-s total tea production and 20% of world production. Excepting Assam-s tea industry, agriculture in both states is characterized by a low degree of commercialization, i.e., little of their annual production is marketed. Livestock production is still an undeveloped industry, probably due to lack of surplus production which could be used for feed, absence of suitable breeding stock and religious resistance to cattle slaughter. 3.04 With struggling agricultural colleges and state research stations, albeit ill-housed and ill-equipped, and with an inadequately trained faculty already in existence in these two states, the basic ingredients were never- theless present for the building of land-grant type agricultural universities which would be responsive to the developmental needs of the people in the rural, agricultural regions of these states. Project Generation 3.05 This project, the Bank Group's first lending operation in India for education, was first identified by an FAO mission which visited India in November/December 1970. A joint FAO/Bank mission in July/August 1971 assisted the Government of India in its preparation of a proposal. The project was appraised in November/December 1971, negotiated in Washington in September 1972, and approved by the Board on October 11, 1972. The Credit Agreement was signed on November 10, 1972 and became effective on June 8, 1973. The agreed upon closing date was December 31, 1979. Project Description and Objectives 3.06 The project consisted of: (a) constructing new and remodelling old facilities at Assam and Rajendra Agricultural Universities and furnishing and equipping them; (b) providing technical assistance for university plan- ning and development, project implementation and staff development; and (c) purchasing new computer and ancillary equipment for the Computer Center of the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI). 3.07 While the above functional activities were explicitly stated in the Credit Agreement and the Appraisal Report, much less specificity was used to delineate the educational objectives which the above mentioned kinds of assistance would help achieve. In fact, "educational objectives" was not - 29 - used at all, much less the criteria by which progress towards achieving these objectives was to be measured. However, it may be inferred from scattered statements in the Appraisal Report that the implied objectives of the project include the following: to improve the quality of the education provided students, especially undergraduates; to increase emphasis on practical train- ing; to encourage graduates to enter private farming; to disseminate more effectively research results; to promote rural development; and to become cohesive units in charge of statewide agricultural education, research, and extension education programs. It was anticipated that the project would cost US$19.4 million of which US$12.0 million would be in the form of an IDA credit. IV. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION Overview 4.01 The project was completed on December 31, 1982 with full disbursement of the credit. Delays in implementation resulted in inflation taking its toll and in the extension of the closing date by three years. Accordingly, it was necessary to reduce the magnitude of construction work undertaken and equipment/furniture procured. Still a cost overrun of 11% was encountered. The reduction in scope us made on a priority basis to minimize the impact on the project. Actual ieementation took ten years, or 43% longer than the originally projected seven years. Whereas 106,815 m2 of construction work was anticipated, 111,634 m2 was actually constructed and remodelled, or an increase of 4.5% in area. A major change in the original plan was made when it was learned that the appraisal estimate of 300 m2 each for a home scienc2 complex at AAU and RAU was grossly in error. Actually 2,070 m2 and 7,050 m respectively were utilized for this purpose. See Annex 1 for details. 4.02 Another noteworthy change was the decision to utilize virtually all the fellowship assistance for staff development at well-established Indian universities where significantly more fellowships could be financed than if overseas training had been sought. Also of benefit was the decision to reduce the size of staff houses in Bihar so that more of this crucial facility could be built. In the case of RAU alone, this meant an increase from 135 units planned to 195 actually built. 4.03 A clearly successful aspect of the project was the Delhi Computer Center, which through improvements brought about by new equipment financed under the project, is now performing very effectively. There is no back-log of work to be done, more sophisticated analyses can be made, and efficiency has been greatly improved through the computer-s capability of simultaneously executing multiple analyses. 4.04 The completion mission inquired into the desirability of consulting members of the State Governments, parties to the Project Agreement, but was - 30 - advised by the CPU that this would not be necessary since, other than dis- bursing credit funds, the State Governments had little to do with the project. 4.05 Finally, the appraisal report implied that desirable educational outcomes would result from the project. The completion mission did see many encouraging and favorable signs of improving quality and concludes that while satisfactory progress is being made, the full impact of the project is yet to come. Credit Effectiveness 4.06 Conditions of effectiveness were: (a) the execution and delivery of (i) the Assam and Bihar Agreement and (ii) the Project Agreement; (b) the appointment of a qualified adviser in university administration to each Vice-Chancellor; (c) the designation of the Deputy Director-General for Education of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) as Director of the Central Project Unit; and (d) the appointment of a full-time Project Coordinator for the CPU. The credit was declared effective on June 8, 1973, three months after due date. Project Management 4.07 The top management officials involved in this project were the Deputy Director-General for Education of ICAR, who served as the director of the project and head of the Central Project Unit in Delhi, a full-time project coordinator of the CPU, and the two vice-chancellors of AAU and RAU. Unfor- tunately, during project implementation, there were frequent changes in project leadership personnel namely six deputy-directors, four project coor- dinators, five vice chancellors at AAU, and six at RAU. In view of the numerous staff changes and the various levels of interest and abilities brought to the project by these key officials, project management was not as effective as it might have been. Not suprisingly, the suporvision reports indicate that the effectiveness of implementation depended upon the calibre of the persons in charge at any particular time. Sites 4.08 At appraisal, the four needed campus sites were selected at Gauhati, Jorhat, Pusa, and Ranchi. All were used, with the exception or the cne at Pusa, where inability to acquire the chosen site without further delay neces- sitated the choice of a suitable alternate site in the same Immediate vicinity. Construction and Maintenance 4.09 All goods and services required for civil works were procured, except as IDA had otherwise agreed, under procedures consistent with the Guidelines - 31 - for Procurement under World Bank Loans and IDA Credits. Some deficiencies in design and in construction, e.g., wastefully excessive lighting, uneven floors, exposed interior wiring, absence of needed electrical outlets for laboratory equipment, and poor quality of finishing work, were noted by various supervision missions and corrections made when possible. While these faults contributed to user inconvenience and caused some irritation, none was judged to have militated against the success of the project in any sig- nificant manner. 4.10 Delays, in project implementation were caused by the late appointment of advisors to the Vice-Chancellors and of architects and campus planners, numerous changes of university administrators, shortage of construction materials, political unrest in Assam, and disputes with contractors over rising prices. These had two negative effects: First, the purchasing power - of allocated funds was greatly reduced (the current exchange rate (July 1983) is US$1-Rs9.80 as compared with USS1-Rs7.28 at appraisal). A construction cost overrun of 41Z was encountered in spite of deletions from the project; at RAU the auditorium, cafeteria, students center, health center, primary school, and shopping center were deleted and in Assam, the primary school and staff club. See Annex 2 for financial details. Second, it was necessary to extend the life of the agreement from seven to ten years, or a 43Z time overrun. 4.11 At RAU, inadequate funds have been earmarked for the maintenance of the civil works program supported by credit funds. Local officials appear well-grounded in their understanding of the importance of proper and sys- tematic maintenance, but unfortunately, the State Government has not found it possible to fund the university at the level needed to provide buildings and equipment with adequate maintenance. Apparently, the State has excellent manuals outlining proper procedures for maintaining buildings. It even has published norms indicating that Rs 2.5/sq.f: should be set aside annually, but funds have not been forthcoming to do the job. It was reported to the mission that the situation at AAU, while not fully satisfactory in regard to maintenance, is somewhat better than it is at RAU. Equipment and Furniture 4.12 Due primarily to the delayed construction schedule, the purchase of equipment a7d furniture for the new buildings fell behind schedule. There was simply no storage space to keep materials had they been purchased on time. Because of inflation less equipment and furniture was bought for the project than planned, and this with a cost overrun of 11%. The advice of the Faculty was sought prior to making purchases. The quality of items purchased was good. In many cases, needed teaching laboratory equipment, e.g., microscopes and artificial insemination equipment was present in class sets, thus increasing the efficiency of the teaching/learning process. Equipment was being shared among departments in order to avoid costly duplication of expensive items. - 32 - 4.13 The credit also financed a third generation Burroughs 4700 computer and ancillary equipment for the Computer Center located in Delhi at IASRI. This acquisition supplemented work performed by an IBM 1620 computer installed in 1964 and which was being operated for twenty-four hours a day with a three-month backlog of work to be done. Technical Assistance 4.14 Specialist Services. The project originally provided thirteen staff-years of specialist services for each of the two universities. These were for high level advisors to the vice-chancellors and to the deans of the faculties of home science and veterinary science and for project unit administrators including architects and campus planners. According to university administrators interviewed, the advisors were well qualified and performed satisfactorily. However the mission felt that the advisors could have been better grounded in the fundamentals of the land-grant philosophy in actual operation and that outcomes observed had demonstrated that the advisors had an equal concern for the tripartite functions of instruction, research, and extension. As noted earlier, some architects were found want- ing in design work, but not critically so. There was considerable cost saving through the use of local instead of foreign experts. See Annex 3 for details. 4.15 Fellowships. Once the decision was made to convert most of the planned foreign fellowships to the much less-costly domestic ones, this staff development aspect of the technical assistance program was quickly put into action and implemented satisfactorily. Each faculty was requested to develop a fellowship program in consultation with IDA. In consequence, thirty-three individuals at RAU and 133 at AAU received advanced training at the masters, doctoral or post-doctoral levels. See Annex 4 for details. Of the 133 fellows at AAU supported through credir funds, only two were not employed by the University at the time of the completion mission took place, seven mouths after the credit closing date. For personal reasons, the two did not return to their posts, but each repaid the university the expenses incurred on their behalf. Covenants 4.16 All covenants provided for in the Agreement were fulfilled with two exceptions. First, according to the Credit Agreement, Section 2.11, RAU in Bihar was to avoid duplication and imbalance among its departments, institutes and bodies. It was envisaged at appraisal that the project-created facilities would lead to the State of Bihar having only one faculty of agriculture at Pusa/Dholi and one faculty of veterinary science at Ranchi, both under RAU, and that the other schools of agriculture at Sabour and Ranchi and the veterinary college at Patna would be phased out. Actually, a new agricultural university has been created at Ranchi, named - 33 - Birsa Agricultural University (BAU). The project-supported Ranchi Veterinary College has been absorbed by the new university. All the institutions planned for termination at appraisal still exist, with the school of agricul- ture at Sabour and the veterinary college at Patna remaining with RAU and the school of agriculture at Ranchi joining BAU. 4.17 Second, adcording to both the Project Agreement and the Assam and Bihar Agreements, Sections 3.02 and 2.02, respectively, adequate financial support, including funds for effective maintenance of buildings, equipment, and furniture, were to be provided to enable the universities to carry out their functions efficiently. University administrators with whom the mission discussed this topic indicated that funds provided have been inadequate, for proper maintenance especially at RAU (para 4.11). An exception is the case of the Computer Center of IASRI, where adequate funds have permitted a very satisfactory maintenance contract with a highly reputpble firm. Supervision 4.18 Sixteen IDA supervision missions visited India during the ten-year life of the project at an average interval of 7.6 months and a range of 3-13 months. The average length of a visit was 1 1/2 weeks. The missions con- sisted of either an architect or an educator, or both. Four missions were made up of only an architect, seven only an educator(s), and five of both. See Basic Data Sheet for details. Because the bulk of the assistance was devoted to civil works, there was a tendency for most supervision missions to emphasize the construction aspects of the project. Less attention was given to the progress made in achieving the difficult- to-measure educational outcomes. 4.19 IDA supervision missions during the course of the project appeared to have a salutary effect in moving the project ahead. It should be noted that each supervision mission was augmented by a member of the Central Project Unit. Thus, problems encountered were immediately brouaht to the attention of the Project Coordinator, the campus vice-chancellor, or IDA or all three for attention and remedy. The supervision given seemed to work out satisfactorily and had it not been.a regular part of IDA's modus operandi, it might have been less rigorous and helpful. 4.20 A few administrators interviewed implied that-some of the Bank-imposed consultation and approval steps might have contributed to project delays. Special mention was made of GOIs understanding that IDA wanted its own international bid format when each State already had an approved format. Apparently, a great deal of time was consumed in consult- ations before a final version was agreed upon. - 34 - V. PROJECT COSTS AND FINANCING 5.01 The project cost was originally estimated at Rs140.84 million, or US$19.35 million, of which the Credit provided US$12 million. At the time of closing, Rs 155.92 million had been spent, representing a cost overrun of 11%. A major difference between appraisal and actual cost occurred in the technical assistance and fellowship category in which much less was expended than planned, Rs 7.74 versus Rs20.32 million. A saving of 70% was made, which was allocated to finance other components of the project. This cost reduction was due to the fact that not all the man-months of specialist advisory services were found necessary on account of earlier-than-expected appointments of senior experienced faculty members, that nearly all the specialists were locally-hired personnel appointed at lower-than-expected rates, and that most of the fellowships were used at Indian instead of for- eign universities. See Annex 2 for details and a summary of project costs. 5.02 At appraisal, it was estimated that the cost per m2 of university construction in India would be US$65, or approximately Rs475. From figures presented earlier, it can be noted that 111,634 m2 were newly constructed or remodelled (approximately 90% new construction and 10% remodelled) at a cost of Rs105.73 million, or a unit cost of Rs940. At the current rate of exchange, the cost of construction and remodelling was estimated to be more than US$96, or 36% higher than anticipated. It is estimated that the current construction cost in India is US$125 m2. 5.03 Actual disbursements of credit funds were very slow, due to the many project delays. After two years, only 17%, and after seven years, the original length of the project, only 51% of the anticipated disbursements had been made, thus necessitating an extension of the closing date. See Annex 5 for details. VI. PROJECT OPERATING OUTCOMES Institutional Aspects 6.01 This project was conceived primarily as an attempt to provide two Indian agricultural universities, wishing to develop according to the American land-grant system of agricultural education, with well-equipped physical facilities and a well-trained faculty. In addition, it was to aid in the purchase of new computer and ancillary equipment for India's chief agricultural computer center. The expectation was clearly implied that the fundamental purpose of project was to raise the quality of the teaching, research, and extension activities of the universities concerned. 6.02 The new Birsa Agricultural University in Bihar, was formed in part by taking away from RAU the project-assisted Ranchi Veterinary College. It was - 35 - noted by a special Parliamentary Delegation in May of 183, that this college "is almost the best" such college in the country. Its loss to RAU could not help but have a negative influence on the overall quality of the educational program there. Having a similar effect is RAU-s decision to retain Patna Veterinary College and Sabour College of Agriculture, both previously scheduled for closing. Because these two schools had been scheduled for closing, during the ten-year period of the project, they received no funds for capital expenditures and little for maintenance and operation. This has resulted in inadequate physical facilities and antiquated and meager research and teaching equipment in the institutions. At Patna Veterinary College, with a student body of 341, there was only one slide projector available, and it was out of order at the time of the completion missions visit. For reasons justifiable to Bihar State, it now has two agricultural universities instead of one. Without question, both have benefited from Credit 342-IN. 6.03 Recognizing the possibility of conflicting interests between its two universities,Bihar State has defined clearly the geographical jurisdiction of each, and has even created a special committee to coordinate the activities of the two for the benefit of the State. 1/ 6.04 Unquestionably, one of the most impressive outcomes of the project was the improvement of physical facilities which contributed to establishing an effective teaching environment. For each university there were lecture rooms, teaching and research laboratories, veterinary clinics, libraries, offices, cafeterias, dormitories, guest houses, staff houses, and farm build- ings. All are being utilized well. It was the consensus of the many persons interviewed by the mission that had it not been for IDA assistance, it would have taken perhaps twenty years before local resources would permit the present level of physical development. 6.05 The scope of the facilities for academic pursuits is adequate for the student body expected in the forseeable future. On the other hand, it appears that if the faculty increases dramatically in size, office space and staff housing would be in short supply. The latter is especially critical, since successful staff recruitment in large measure depends upon the availability of staff housing commensurate with the new member's rank. 6.06 Excellent equipment was observed in productive use in both teaching and research, inluding but not limited to balances, projectors, ph meters, autoclaves, spectrophotometers, farm machinery, transport vehicles, surgical equipment. growth chambers and various types of microscopes. In an atypical case, a special fluorescent microscope, the only one available within hundreds of miles, has been "drafted" for use by local health personnel. 1/ This process is being reinfored by the National Agricultural Research Project, Credit 855-IN. - 36 - This is an illustration of how the university can in many ways, be woven into the life and fabric of the community it serves. 6.07 Post-graduate students at Ranchi Veterinary College indicated that one reason they decided to enroll in this institution was that they had heard of its excellent well-equipped facilities (and a well-trained faculty). It was held that the small and large animal clinics particularly were of high quality. Especiall7 impressive was the large animal operating room with its special overhead lights, rotating operating table, and amphitheater seats for students. Throughout RAU, faculty members consulted were unanimous in their affirmation that the furniture and up-to-date equipment were helping them to do a better job of teaching and research. Teaching was favorably affected in two ways. First, the curriculum content of many courses had been modified to include principles and use of the equipment itself. Second, with increased opportunity for meaningful, manipulative laboratory excercises, learning was made more effective, as well as more pleasant. Nevertheless, many staff members attributed design faults to the fact that they were not consulted as to their educational and research requirements by the design architects. Thus, expensive alterations had to be undetaken, especialy with respect to the placement of laboratory equipment. 6.08 One of the major successes of the project was its technical assis- tance in providing fellowships for staff development. For each university, a faculty fellowship committee developed a well-formulated program, in consult- ation with IDA, identifying those academic areas requiring greatest develop- ment, choosing the educational institutions best qualified to provide the needed training, and establishing criteria for selecting fellows. As a result, 10 were awarded for post-doctoral study, 84 for master-s degrees and 72 for Ph.D. degrees. Of these 166 scholars, 90, 64, 10, and 2 represented the faculties of agricultu-e, veterinary science, home science, and basic science, respectively. See Annex 4 for details. Practically all of the former fellows are currently performing.service in their respective specialities. 6.09 As a truly crucial feature of an institution engaged in teaching and research, the library deserves epcial mention. Credit funds were made avail- able for construction, furniture, equipment, and books. In the case of the latter, it was estimated that more than USS600,000 would he spent. Because books and periodicals could not be purchased until the libraries were com- pleted after long delays, the funds set aside for this purpose could buy fewer volumes than expected. It was observed at RAU that the library was administered by a well-qualified and enthusiastic director, and in response to the library's increased capability to render service to its clientele, the percentage of students and faculty using it has increased from 10% to 35% from appraisal to project completion. While a 35% utilization rate is not fully satisfactory progress is being made. - 37 - 6.10 Under the projectrcomprehensive master development plans for the two campuses were prepared and the Director-General of ICAR, the agency respon- sible for the development of agricultural universities throughout the country, affirmed that it is a matter of national policy that these plans would be implemented to the degree possible. The members of the CPU also concur with this view although some faculty members doubted that the policy could be implemented with despatch. It can be recorded that all buildings under construction when the project closed are being funded for completion as soon as possible, that when credit funds were exhausted, computer equip- ment planned for purchase was bought with GOI money, and that since project closing, all equipment requests have been compared with the original master list, and only justifiable deviations have been allowed. For future construc- tion, the buildings deleted from the project will be given high priority. Thus it appears that the project has initiated a process of long-term planning for campus development. Student Enrollment and Output 6.11 In 1970, AAU had a student enrollment of 689 graduates and 50 post-graduates, or a total of 739. In 1983, the comparable figures were 799 and 109, or a total of 908. Similarly, the figures for RAU were 590 and 183, or a total of 773 in 1970, and 972 and 288, or 1,260 in 1983. Statistics for RAU do not include enrollment at Ranchi Veterinary College and Ranchi Agriculture College, aow parts of BAU. Using the data for the two years mentioned, the student enrollment increased by 22% in AAU and 63% in RAU for a total increase between the two assisted universities of 43%. See Annex 6 for more details. Enrollment trends show that post-graduate students are a growing proportion of the total student body. At AAU the percentage rose from 6% to 12%, while at RAU the figures were 23% to 29%. Overall, the increase was from 15% to 21%. 6.12 Annex 7 shows the student output for the two universities for the last ten years. Taken as a whole, an average of 380 students per year com- pleted their degree programs in the last five years (one year excepted from calculation because AAU was closed for reasons of political unrest) cumpared with 461 for the previous five years. This 17% decrease in output was attributed by university officials to: (a) the large number of master-s candidates who prematurely left school to take lucrative positions with local banks which are expanding their services to the agriculture sector; and (b) the creation of BAU which siphoned off some of RAU's enrollment. 6.13 An important aim of the project is that its graduates obtain meaning- ful employment in jobs which are relevant to their training and qualifica- tions. While the student welfare offices at AAU and RAU are not yet organized to collect placement data, the mission found almost complete una- nimity among faculty and students alike that there was currently no sig- nificant unemployment of graduates. Thus, some earlier fears that enrollment - 38 - shou.La .:t be increased on account of possible unemployment have not been borne out to date. Common sources of employment are large corporations (e.g., tea estates), state departments of agriculture, research institutes of ICAR, agricultural universities, banks and other financial institutions. Furthermore, faculty members feel that their graduates are securing positions equal to those obtained by graduates of more established universities. 6.14 It was ascertained that practically no one has yet entered into private farming on his own. This situation was attributed to the con- siderable number of employment opportunities available to graduates. Yet, one of the early premises of the project was that a truly land-grant philosophy would teach a student the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in farming and also inculcate in him the attitude and desire to do so. Of course, many factors impinge upon entry into farming, especially the availability of land and access to affordable credit. Faculty Development 6.15 At appraisal, only 7% of the faculty in AAU and 17% in RAU held Ph.D. degrees. For comparison, today, the percentages are 36% and 38%, respec- tively. Much of this significant improvement was a result of IDA participa- tion, although an important contributing factor was the rule adopted in 1975 that all persons hired for the-faculty must possess a Ph.D. degree, unless exempted by mitigating circumstances. Taken as a single group, 37% now have Ph.D. degrees, 55% have masters and only 8% have bachelor's degrees, the latter being research technicians with no teaching assignments. See Annex 8 for details. It is encouraging to note that even these two universities have continual staff development plans to induce less-qualified faculty members to seek higher degrees. 6.16 From Annex 8, it can be seen that AAU has a 9% vacancy rate in its faculty roster while RAU has a seemingly large 33% of unfilled positions for a total combined vacancy rate of 25%. It was explained to the completion mission that such vacancy rates are not unusual in view of special, time-consuming recruitment procedures involving international notification. However, there was no plausible reason for the wide discrepancy between the two universities. 6.17 Good faculty morale contributes to a high quality program. While it is difficult to quantify, there was no doubt in the mind of the mission that good faculty morale exists in the project institutions. Among the many persons contacted, there was a definite air of enthusiasm, optimism, and dedication. People were highly interested in discussing their research programs, the work of their graduate students, the importance of their dis- ciplines, the manner in which they are promoting the adoption of new agricul- tural technology, the curricular adjustments they are making, how pleased they are with the new facilities for teaching and research, how they now feel qualified to teach and do research in new fields, the excitement they feel - 39 - from interacting with an ever improving calibre of faculty member, and the like. This high faculty morale augurs well indeed for the success of these universities in accomplishing their mission in the future. Research, Teaching and Extension Education 6.18 Both universities reported that all research stations in their respective states have been turned over to them for administration. This is making the integration of research, teaching, and extension education more effective. Everyone contacted appeared well-informed on the philosophy of the American land-grant college system. It makes sense to them. The majority seem agreed that research has been receiving the greatest emphasis, with teaching second and extension a poor third. It is common for each faculty member to perform two out of three of these functions, the only exception being those staff members located on distant research stations. 6.19 At RAU, it was reported that each researcher is "obliged" to ideatify those findings of his which are -extensionable" to farmers. In this way, scientific investigations have become quite "applied" in nature with an emphasis on overcoming obstacles to increased food production. The following selected topics of research programs illustrate this point: wheat and rice improvement project, soil salinity and water management, sugarcane foundation seed, improvement of tuber crops, biological control of insects, breeding for increased milk and meat production, and control of foot and mouth diseases. So called -basic- research, that which is not immediately applicable to an identified problem, receives comparatively little attention. 6.20 A satisfactory system of providing general oversight and policy formulation for the research program in each state is effected by the use a university-wide Research Council, which includes representatives of allied agricultural agencies. This body formulates policies for and provides general oversight to the research effort and its integration with the teach- ing and extension programs. 6.21 Research. Regrettably, quantifiable results of the adoption of improved technology resulting from effective research were difficult to obtain. Apparently, this aspect of record keeping has not been given the attenticn it deserves. Nevertheless, it can be reported that at RAU, on farm lands under its direct control, wheat production in the last three years was increased from 9.0 to 19.5 quintals per hectare. In its dairy herd of about 100 milking cows, the native Hariana produced 3.8 liters, the 25:75% Jersey I Kariana 4.0 liters, the 50:50% Jersey X Bariana 7.3, and the 50:50% Sahiwal X Holstein-Friesian 8.3 liters per day. 6.22 Modern research equipment and a better-trained staff have permitted more sophisticated research to be done and in a shorter period than in the past. Also with increasing frequency, the interdisciplinary team approach is being followed. To foster exemplary research, a prestigious Professor - 40 - of Eminence Award is presented to those whose studies have been judged clearly outstanding. This is a coveted distinction and serves as one motivating force in stimulating good research. It also illustrates the esteem with which administrators and faculty members alike hold this fune- tion. 6.23 Teaching Most administrators and faculty members contacted proclaim that the teaching function is important. However in discussions with faculty the mission did not gain the impression that there was a serious commitment to quality teaching. Indeed a certain hesitancy was evident in discussions of teaching matters. Furthermore there is no equivalent to the previously mentioned Professor of Eminence Award in research. Also to be noted is that while there is an Academic Council, it functions considerably less well in its sphere of influence than do the Research and Extension Education Councils in theirs. National policies and programs do exist for the improvement of teaching, but it seems that the agricultural universities are not yet taking full advantage of the opportunities provided. The mission reviewed the latest annual report of a major constituent college and found that 125 pages were devoted to research, forty to extension, and only six to teaching. The conclusion, therefore, is drawn that teaching is less important than research in the institutions visited, a trend which is reinforced through the incen- tive system which tends to reward research rather than teaching. 6.24 Signalling hope for the future, the two vice-chancellors, the Project Coordinator, the Project Director, and the Head of ICAR, all pledged that a greater effort will be made to call attention to the importance of improving the quality of teaching. 6.25 Extension Education. At the outset, it should be made clear that India differs considerably from the United states in its concept of the third function of a land-grant college. Whereas in the United States the respon- sibility is called extension, in India, it is called extension education. In the former country, the responsibility includes the transmission of improved technology from research stations to the individual farms of an entire state. In the latter, that responsibility rests with the State Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, while the state agricultural universities transmit newer prpctices directly only to farms in the immediate vicinity of the universities. Additionally, the universities are expected to train professionals to perform various extension roles and to provide ir-secvice training to state extension subject matter specialists. 6.26 Within the above-mentioned concept, both AAU and RAU have engaged in a number of bonafide extension activities. While no data were collected from AAU on this point, its performance was claimed to be similar to that of RAU in 1982-83, which was as described below: (a) specifically adopted 2,000 farm families to receive assistance in crop and animal production; -41 - (b) analyzed 5,344 soil samples (capacity 10,000); (c) sold 10,000 Farmer-s Diary, a book for record keeping which also contains helpful hints; (d) catered to 10,000 paid-subscribers to its special publications; (e) printed 7,000 copies each of twenty leaflets on agricultural sub- jects, 26,000 packages of practices on rabi crops, 30,000 packages of practices on khariff crops, 300 copies of RAU-s Research Journal, and numerous other miscellaneous publications; (f) conducted monthly two-day workshops for subject matter specialists; (g) conducted special seminars for water managers, banking officers, and farm inspectors; (h) conducted numerous on- and off-campus training programs of flexible duration from three days to nine months in various crop and animal enterprises for selected farmers; (i) carried out 1,989 demonstrations, many at the village level; (j) sponsored two massive campus field days attended by some thousands of villagers; (k) produced foundation seed for multiplication by another agency; (1) distributed purebred animals to farmers; and (a) provided artificial insemination and clinical treatment. 6.27 RAU has achieved a fairly extensive publication program and although publications are distributed only to farmers residing near the university the State Government regularly reproduces RAU materials for distribution statewide, thus increasing the influence of whatever is published at the university. The crucial assistance provided by IDA in purchasing a new printing press to replace an outmoded one is acknowledged. 6.28 At the request of the mission, visits were arranged with an extension block leader, two village level workers, a rice farmer, two dairymen, and two goat herdsmen, to observe the adoption of approved technology. Among those in the visiting party were the Director of Research, the Director of Exten- sion Education, the Dean of the Veterinary College, assorted faculty members, and the Project Coordinator. Everyone was impressed with a progressive farmer, who at the time, was himself conducting a trial of the two most highly recommended rice varieties for comparison with his own. He had - 42 - learned of these new varieties through his contacts with the university. Both dairymen had switched from the native breed of cattle to a 50% Hol- stein-Friesian cross, a practice which has doubled their production with only slight additional cost for feed concentrates. Feeding advice as well as the artificial insemination service were provided by RAU. Both goat herdsmen proudly showed their crossbreds, clearly superior in conformation and size to the native stock, and proclaimed their appreciation of the fine work of the university. Riding through the village, one could not help but notice the more than a scattering of cross bred cattle and goats. RAU is clearly making a positive impact on farming methods in its locality. 6.29 However there are negative aspects of extention education to be observed: neither university appeared very active in researching ways and means of increasing the adoption rate among villagers; no special focus was given to developing a closer working relationship with the Ministries of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry which are responsible for the transfer of technology throughout the state; extension efforts to assist women and children to help themselves, to increase their economic capability, and to raise their stand- ard of living were meager; and little concern was evident regarding the keeping of records to show the impact of extension efforts. For example, data are available to show what kinds of activities and how many of each are conducted (printed 7,000 copies each of twenty leaflets, analyzed 5,344 soil samples, etc.), but data are not available on the effect of these activities (did the farmer increase his production, did he make a larger profit, was his labor eased, was he more efficient, etc.). Curriculum 6.30 It was envisioned at appraisal that both AAU and RAU would expand their curricula by forming new faculties of basic science and home science to supplement their then current agriculture and veterinary faculties. Since then, both universities have created faculties of home science, but only RAU has formed a faculty of basic science and humanities. In this regard, it might be noted that of twenty-three agricultural universities in India, only seven have faculties of basic science. All others simply have staff members teaching the needed courses. 6.31 One of the implied objectives of the project was emphasis on pracci- cal training. Common methods used at AAU and RAU to achieve this objective include a mandatory crop/forage production course, in which a student joins others in raising a crop, bearing the expenses, and reaping the profits, if any; an internship program as a requirement for graduation, but only in the veterinary colleges; a voluntary extension education course in which students live in a village for a short period of time to gain experience in helping farmers with their daily problems; National Service Programs in which stu- dents volunteer to go to the villages at intermittent intervals to assist farmers; and in AAU, an elective tea husbandry practical course which - 43 - requires students to live on cooperating tea estates for one week. Regret- tably, no unusual effort appears to be directed toward increasing the emphasis on practical training. There are reasons why practical training is not emphasized more, e.g., insufficient land area for crop/forage production, tillage operations are frequently done by the college farm unit instead of by the students, over-dependency on faculty advisors, and absence of transporta- tion to and sleeping facilities in distant villages (so students do field work only in nearby villages, returning to headquarters at night, thus defeating a major purpose of the excercise). The Delhi Computer Center 6.32 At appraisal, the Government of India had a Computer Center to serve the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, the twenty-eight research institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the numerous agricultural universities, and the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute. It was equipped with an IBM 1620 computer provided by the Ford Foundation in 1965. Working twenty-four hours six days per week, the Com- puter Center was regularly back-logged with three months of work. Under Credit 342-IN, a Burroughs 4700 computer and ancillary equipment were originally acquired to augment equipment on hand. Subsequently, three ter- minals and additional memory units were added. Furthermore, clearance has been obtained to purchase four terminals to be located at ICAR headquarters, and under consideration is a plan to install three terminals in the Agricul- tural Economics Division of IARI. A noteworthy accomplishment is the fact that now, with the IBM 1620 and the Burroughs 4700 in operation twelve and eight hours, respectively, six days a week, service of a high quality is available almost Immediately. Expansion in computer use would pose no problem in the foreseeable future. 6.33 The new computer has made it possible for the Computer Center to participate more fully in the international Agricultural Research Information System whereby research results are computerized for ready retrieval by inquiring investigators. This capability will greatly speed-up the litera- ture review process in the planning of a research project. 6.33 The completion mission was pleased to note that plans for the pur- chase of new equipment were thoroughly made, the standards set were high, the installation was competently performed, a most satisfactory maintenance contract was finalized and the entire facility is being well-managed. VII. IDA-S PERFORMANCE 7.01 Project design was appropriate to the need to expand and improve the quality of university level agricultural education in Bihar and Assam. Although educational objectives of the project were not explicitly stated - 44- they could be clearly inferred from the project inputs. During project implementation, IDA maintained generally smooth working relationships with local project authorities. However, the completion mission did note that implementation was largely the responsibility of ICAR and the universities with almost no participation by the State Ministries of Agriculture. 7.02 The majority of IDA supervision missions included an educator but there was a clear tendency for the missions to emphasize progress in constuc- tion aspects of the project and pay less attention to educational issues. This is partly a function of the common existing view in those days that hardware components were the crucial areas but also to the fact that educa- tional objectives were not clealy set out in the appraisal report and there- fore regarded, perhaps unconsciously, as less important. The latter is reinforced by the difficulty of measuring educational achievements compared wth measuring progress in civil works. Delays in implementation were largely beyond the control of IDA especially in respect of general shortages in the supply of building materials and political unrest in Assam. Nevertheless, the completion mission noted that some local administrators considered that IDA requirements contributed to delays especially in relation to bidding documents which were already available in standard form in each state but which seem to have required lengthy review and amendment to make them accept- able to IDA. 7.03 In general covenants were adhered to. A major exception related to the rationalization of agricultural education in Bihar into one faculty of agriculture and one faculty of veterinary science. Three other institutions were to be closed down. The latter still exist and a second agricultural university has been established. This is an example of IDA attempting to pursue structural improvements in the system to enhance its effectiveness but ultimately not having the leverage to bring about reforms in the face of socio-political pressures to expand rather than rationalize. VIII. CONCLUSIONS 8.01 It is typical of education projects that at the time of completion it is easier to draw conclusions about physical results than about educa- tional outcomes which bear on qualitative improvement. The latter take considerably longer than the life of a project and in addition are more difficult to measure. Bearing this in mind, the conclusions to be drawn from the project under review are as follows: (a) The project as designed was relevant to the needs of university-level agricultural education in Assam and Bihar and its objectives, although implicit, were sound. - 45 - (b) Project implementation was d .iayed by late appointment of staff and consultants, shortages of construction materials, disputes with contractors over price increases, numerous changes in senior univer- sity administrators and political unrest in Assam. Some delay could also be attributed to inadequate architectural design work in some areas which required subsequent alterations. This could have been avoided if there had been adequate consultation between architects and faculty. (c) Those delays resulted in the project being completed three years behind schedule with a total cost overrun of 11%. The cost overrun in construction was 41% even after deletion of some project facilities. The overrun on construction was offset to some extent by s.%.vings in the technical assistance program. (d) Technical assistance was implemented satisfactorily. Specialists financed under the Project were well qualified and for the most part performed competently. The fellowship program was well planned and fully met its objectives of raising the quality of teaching staff. Award of fellowships for graduate study exclusively in Indian Univer- sities rather than overseas led to significant savings which helped to offset cost overruns in otber components. (e) On the evidence available to the completion mission, the educational impact of the project has been positive. Staff and students agree that the teaching environment has improved through the provision of adequate physical facilities, properly equipped laboratories which are being used effectively, modernized curricula and a much better qualified teaching staff. These inputs are essential to the long-term goal of raising the achievement levels of students and ultimately the quality of graduates which in turn will enhance farmer productivity. Although it is too soon to measure these outcomes, the project has put in place the basic building blocks of qualitative improvement. (f) Graduates of the universities have obtained for the most part jobs in fields relevant to their training. There is little evidence of graduate unemployment. However, there is also no evidence that graduates have entered private farming, preferring instead to take up salaried positions in state departments of agriculture, research institutes, banks, etc. (g) Within the two universities, the research function seems to get the most attention and has the most prestige followed by teaching and extension. The importance of teaching is recognized but there is no clear commitment to raising the quality of teaching. In extension a number of appropriate activities are being undertaken and a fairly extensive publication program exists. However greater attention - 46 - needs to be viven to increasing the adoption rate for improved farr- ing practices, improving links with the State Ministries of Agricul- ture and making a greater effort to include women and childrea in extension activities. (h) Assistance to the Delhi Computer Center has been successful and has fully met its objectives. - 47 - Annex 1 FIRST EDUCAION PEJECT - CREDIT 342 IN cOMPLETION R~EEOR Projact Faelliti=s C=2) AAU RAU IOTAO. Item Planaed actual Planm actual PSmE- ctual I. Detail A. Academie and Co ual Factilitie 1.General Tea.hinF Rooum: Laetura seminar ro~ 1,730 a.a 2,010 1,066 3,740 a.a 2.Teaching 6 Research Lab. Baie Science 2,500 n.a 2,500 3,036 5,000 =.a A&riculture 9,730 G.a 9,730 8,515 19,460 a.a Eome Science 300 2070 300 7,050 600 9120 Veterinary Scene 12,300 a.a 2,40 2,567 14.700 a-& Sazb-Total 26,560 33,340 16,940 22,234 43,500 5,574 3. Caomanl Facilities Library, adminUstration offices, health center, uest houae, cafeteria, toLlets 12,280 5,720 9,360 8.611 21,640 14,331 B. para Bildings 2,800 2,800 2,800 2,244 5.600 5,044 C. Boarding Facilities 6,435 6,450 6,240 6,335 12,675 12,785 D. Staff Houe 7,605 7,705 15,795 16,195 23,400 23,900 Total 55,680 56.015 51,135 55.619 106.815 111,634 II. Suma Acade~c 6 Co.mnal Facilities 65.140 69,905 4,765 +7.31 Fara Buildings 5.600 5,044 556 -9.93 Boarding Facilitiea 12.675 12.785 110 +0.87 Staff HoUses 23,400 23,900 500 +2.14 Total 106,815 111,634 4.819 +4.51 - 48 - Annex 2 INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT - CREDIT 342 IN COMPLETION REPORT Project Costs: Comparative Analysis (In Rupees and U.S.S millions) - Appraisal Estimate Amount Spent_1 Difference Item Rs USS Ra Rs I. Detail A. Delhi Computer a. Equipment 7.90 1.09 7.44 - 0.46 - 5.8 B. RAE a. Construction 38.78 5.33 55.39 + 16.61 + 42.8 b. Furniture 2.40 0.33 3.22 + 0.82 + 34.2 c. Equipment/Books 19.47 2.67 17.65 - 1.82 - 9.4 d. TA a Prof. Fees 9.52 1.31 2.41 - 7.11 - 74.7 RAU Total 70.17 9.64 78.67 + 8.50 + 12.1 C. AAU a. Construction 36.32 4.99 50.34 + 14.02 + 38.6 b. Furniture 2.41 0.33 2.14 - 0.27 - 11.2 c. Equipment 13.24 1.82 12.00 - 1.24 - 9.4 d. TA & Prof. Fees 10.80 1.48 5.33 - 5.47 - 50.7 AAM Total 62.77 8.62 69.81 + 7.04 + 11.2 TOTAL 140.84 19.35 155.92 + 15.08 + 10.7 II. S A. Construction 75.10 10.32 105.73 + 30.63 + 40.8 B. Furniture 4.81 .66 5.36 + 0.55 + 11.4 C. Equipmentl3ooks 40.61 5.58 27.09 - 3.52 - 8.6 D. TA & Prof. Fees 20.32 2.79 7.74 - 12.58 - 69.9 TOTAL 140.84 19.35 155.92 + 15.08 + 10.7 I/ As at December 31, 1982 - 49 - Annex 3 INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT - CREDIT 342 IN COMPLETION REPORT Soecialist Services Staff-Years AAU RAU TOTAL Item Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual University Administration Advisor to the Vice-chancellor 3 3 3 3 6 6 Faculty of Home Science Advisor to the Dean/Specialist 3 3 3 3 6 6 Faculty of Veterinary Science Advisor to the Dean/Specialist 2 2 2 1 4 3 Project Administration Project Unit Architects 5 7 5 3 10 10 TOTAL 13 15 13 10 26 25 - 50 - Annex 4 INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT - CREDIT 342 IN COMPLETION REPORT Fellowship Program Number Faculty AAU RAU TOTAL Agriculture 72 18 90 Home Science 10 - 10 Veterinary Science 51 13 64 Basic Scienc - 2 2 Total 133 33 166 Fellowships Awarded Number Type AAU RAU TOTAL Ph.D. 58 14 72 H.S./H.Tech./H.V.Sc. 66 18 84 Post-Doctoral 9 1 10 Total 133 33 166 - 51 - Annex 5 INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT - CREDIT 342-IN COMPLETION REPORT Schedule of Disbursements Accumulated Disbursements (USS M) Actual Disburse- Fiscal Year Actual Appraisal Revised New ments as Z of the and Semester Total Estimate a/ Estimate b/ Estimate c/ Appraisal Estimates 1973 =.7u1 72-Dec 72 - - - - - 2.Jan 73-Jun 73 - 0.02 - - - 1974 1.Jul 73-Dec 73 - 0.09 - - - 2.Jan 74-Jun 74 - 0.33 - - - 1975 1.Jul 74-Dec 74 - 0.66 - - - 2.Jan 75-Jun 75 0.21 1.21 - - 17 1976 1.Jul 75-Dec 75 0.22 2.12 - - 10 2.Jan 76-Jun 76 0.34 3.42 - - 10 1977 1.Jul 76-Dec 76 0.57 4.98 - - 11 2.Jan 77-Jun 77 1.40 6.54 - - 21 1978 .11 77-Dec 77 2.10 8.10 - - 26 2.Jan 78-Jun 78 3.06 9.54 - - 32 1979 1.Jul 78-Dec 78 4.11 10.85 - - 38 2.Jan 79-Jun 79 5.00 11.83 - - 42 1980 1.Jul 79-Dec 79 6.01 12.00 7.00 - 51 2.Jan 80-Jun 80 6.83 9.20 - 74 1981 1.Jul 80-Dec 80 7.50 - 10.70 - 70 2.Jan 81-Jun 81 8.30 - 11.70 - 71 1982 1.Jul 81-Dec 81 9.70 - 12.00 - 81 2.Jan 82-Jun 82 10.40 - - 11.20 93 1983 1.Jul 82-Dec 82 12.00 - - 12.00 100 Closing Date Dec 31,79 Dec 31,81 Dec 31,82 a/ Assumed starting point, March 1973 (Effectiveness Date). bi As of April 15, 1981. l As of March 15, 1982. - 52 - Annex 6 INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT - CREDIT 342 IN COMPLETION REPORT Graduate and Post-Graduate Student Enrollment 1970 1983 Institution G PG Total G PG Total A. Assam Agricultural University Faculty of Agriculture 377 40 417 444 61 505 Faculty of Home Science - - - 75 - 25 Faculty of Veterinary Science 312 10 322 280 48 328 Sub - total 689 50 739 799 109 908 B. Rajendra Agricultural University Faculty of Basic Science - - - - 7 7 Faculty of Agriculture, Pusa 174 13 187 298 207 505 Faculty of Agriculture, Sabour 152 106 258 333 43 376 Faculty of Rome Science - - - 17 - 17 Faculty of Dairy Technology - - - 14 - 14 Faculty of Veterinary Science, Patna 264 64 328 310 31 341 Sub - Total 590 183 773 972 288-1,260 C. Grand Total 1,279 233 1,512 1,771 397 2,168 - 53 - Annex 7 INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT - CREDIT 342 IN COMPLETION REPORT Graduate and Post-Graduate Student Output AAU RAU Total Year G PG Total G PG Total G PG Total - - 1973 166 16 182 202 2 204 368 18 386 1974 118 32 150 248 63 311 366 95 461 1975 131 53 184 220 81 301 351 134 485 1976 135 36 171 219 102 321 354 138 492 1977 172 49 221 201 63 264 373 112 485 1978 90 38 128 189 82 271 279 120 399 1979 113 34 147 187 54 241 300 88 388 1980 -* 47 47 179 57 236 179 104 283 1981 182 21 203 182 27 209 364 48 412 1982 166 23 189 204 29 233 370 52 422 Total 1273 349 1622 2031 560 2591 3304 909 4213 * Instruction was suspended and no examinations were held this year. -54- Annex 8 INDIA FIRST EDUCATION PROJECT - CREDIT 342 IN COMPLETION REPORT Status of Faculty, 1982 AAU RAU* TOTAL Item Number z Number Z Number z Total number 301 100 717 100 1,018 100 Vacant 26 9 233 33 259 25 Filled 275 91 484 67 759 75 Ph.D. 100 36 184 38 284 37 Master's 172 63 246 51 418 55 Bachelor-s 3 1 54 11 57 8 * These figures exclude those of Ranchi Veterinary College and Ranchi Agriculture College, formerly parts of RAI but now incorporated into Birsa Agricultural University.