Zambia - Fourth Education Project

Docunm_I of The World Bank FOR OMCIL USE ONLY Reust N.. 5552 PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT ZAMBIA - FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT (LOAN 1356-ZA) MarcA 27, 1985 . Education and Manpower Development Division Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office Thks dIe_mm is a re k d ued biy recipt thpezf.mce.f  FOR OFFAL USE ONLY ZAMBIA - FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT GLOSSARY DTEVT Department of Technical Education and Vocational Training EHC Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce ESC Educational Services Center FIs Farm Institutes FTCs Farmer Training Centers MHE Ministry of Higher Education MOE Ministry of General Education MPTW Ministry of Power, Transport and Works NRA National Housing Authority NORAD Norwegian Agency for International Development PIU Project Implementation Unit TTIs Trade Training Institutes First Education Project, Loan 592-ZA (April, 1969) Second Education Project, Loan 645-ZA (November, 1969) Third Education Project, Loan 900-ZA (June, 1973) Fourth Education Project, Loan 1356-ZA (January, 1977) Fifth Education Project, Credit 1251-ZA (June, 1982) This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  ZAMBIA - FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT (LOAN 1356-ZA) PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT TABLE OF CODNTENTS Page No. PREFACE ........................ (i) KEY PROJECT DATA ....(*............ ii) HIGHLIGHTS ...... (vi) I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......... . .... ** ....... ... ... ... 1 Project Objectives and Content ..... ...................... 1 Project Implementation . .......... ......... ......... ..... . 1 Project Operating Outcome .. ....... ........................ 2 Recommendations .......................................... 4 Lessons Learned ................ ,., 4 II. INTRODUCTION . .... 4..... ...... 4 III. PROJECT BACKGROUND .5 Socio-Economic Setting...... ...... 5 The Education Sector ..... 5 Project Identification and Processing. 6 Project Objectives and Strategy .... . 6 Project Content .............. ............. 7 Amendment to the Project. . ... 7 IV. PROJECr IMPLEMENTATION. 8 Loan Effectiveness.... 8 Project Management.... 8 Physical Implementati-on.... 9 V. PROJECT COSTS AND FINANCING ..... ......................... 12 Project Costs ............................................ 12 Contingencies ................ ........................... 13 Financing of the Project .............. .. ................. 14 Area and Cost per Student Place .......................... 14 Disbursements ............ 14  Page No. VI. PROJECT OPERATING OUTCOMES ................. .....0.. 14 Educational Services Ceuter *............................. 14 Busiuess Education ................. ..-.w 15 Evelyn Hone Co lege of Applied Arts and Commerce *..... 16 Trades Training Institutes .... .. .................... 17 Farm Institutes and Farn Trainaing Centers ..... ........... 17 Special Studies ....... ..l.a... **********.***t.*****.*000 18 VII. BANK PERFORMANCE ....... .*. .........* . .* ..... ... 19 VIII. CONCLUSIONS ........ ........... . . . .......... .. .. ...S** 19 ANNEXES Annex 1 - Implementation Schedule, Comparing Planned with Actual Annex 2 - Provision of Technical Assistance Annex 3 - Compliance with Loan Conditions Annex 4 - Project Cost by Components Annex 5 - Project Cost by Categories Annex 6 - Total Project Cost of Physical Facilities Annex 7 - Summary of Civil Works, Cost of FI's and FTC's Annex 8 - (a) Places, Units and Areas of Physical Facilities (b) Summary of Construction Areas (c) Summary of Costs of Sectors Annex 9 - Summary of Training Programs for FIs and FTCs - Residential Courses - Annex 10 - Summary of Train-ing Programs for FIs and FTCs - Non-residential Courses -  PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT ZAMBIA - FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT (LOAN 1356-ZA) PREFACE This is a project completion report (PCR) on the Fourth Education Project in Zambia, for which Loan 1356-ZA was signed on January 17, 1977, for US$13.3 million equivalent. The loan was closed March 31, 1983 and an undis- bursed balance of US$4,718,059 was cancelled. This report was prepared by Bank Group Staff following a mission to Zambia in May 1983. The valuable assistance provided by the Government of Zambia, in particular the Project Implementation Unit staff, toward the pre- paration of this report is gratefully acknowledged. Following a review of the PCR by OED staff, it was decided not to audit the project and the PCR was sent for comment to the Borrower in December 1984. No comments have been received.  (ii) ZAMBIA - FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT LOAN 1356-ZA KEY PROJECT DATA Appraisal Item Estimate Actual Total project cost (US$million) 23.17 1/ 17.63 Cost underrun (Z in US$ terms) - 24 Loan amount (US$ million) 13.30 13.30 Amount disbursed (US$ million) - 8.58 Cancelled (US$ million) - 4.72 Date physical components completed 9/30/82 3/31/83 Proportion completed by above date 98% 1OOZ Proportion of time overrun 92 Institutional performance Satisfactory 1/ Including NORAD US$2.12 m equivalent. OTHER PROJECT DATA Original Item Plan Actual First Mentioned in Timetable - 07/01/75 Governmentts Application - 10/07/75 Negotiations 11/15/76 11/15/76 Board Approval 12/21/76 12/23/76 Loan Agreement Date - 01/17177 Effectiveness Date 04/18/77 03/08/77 Closing Date 03/31/83 03/31/83 Borrower Republic of Zambia Executing Agency Project Implementation Unit Ministry of Power, Transportation and Works Fiscal Year of Borrower January - December Follow-on Project Fifth Education Project Credit Number Credit 1251-ZA Amount SDR 22.2 million (US$25.0 million)  MISSION DATA Sent Month/ No. of No. of ',ic- Date of Mission by Year weeks Persons Weeks Report Identification Bank 7/75 2.0 1(E) 2.0 08/11/75 Preparation 9/75 2.0 3(AG,GE,A) 6.0 10/15/75 Appraisal 10-11/75 3.1 4(A,GE,AG,E) 12.4 12/01/76 Supervision 1/ Bank 5-6/77 3.8 3(A,GE,E) 11.4 07/14/77 Supervision 2/ 11-12/77 2.6 3(A,TE,AG) 7.8 02/15/78 Supervision 3/ 5/78 2.4 3(A,TE,E) 7.2 06/20/78 Supervision 4/ - 1-2/79 2.4 2(A,TE) 4.8 03/13/79 Supervision 5/ 9/79 1.4 3(A,TE,E) 4.2 10/30/79 Supervision 6/ 3/80 1.7 3(A,AG,TE) 5.1 04/15/80 Supervision 7/ 10/80 2.0 3(A,AG,TE) 6.0 11/25/80 Supervision 8/ 3/81 2.4 4(A,GE,TE,E) 9.6 04/29/81 Supervision 91 10-11/81 1.6 2(A,E) 3.2 12/24/81 Supervision 10/ 9-10/82 2.1 3(A,TE,E) 6.3 11/18/82 Completion/ 11/ 4-5/83 1.7 3(A,TE,E) 5.1 - TOTAL 31.2 91.1 Number of supervision missions = 10 Maximum interval between missions = 45 weeks (10 months) Minimum internal between missions = 19 weeks (5 months) LEGEND: A = Architect E = Economist AG = Agricultural Educator CE = General Educator TE = Technical Educator  (iv) Missioal Data Footnotes 1/ Combined with supervision of projects under Education Projects I, II and III, and the education component of Loan 1057-ZA (the Lusaka Squatters Upgrading and Site and Services Project), as well as identification of a Fifth Education Project. CP II, EAIDB also participated in the mission. 2/ Combined with supervision of the above mentioned projects, as well as preparation of a Fifth Education Project. CP II, EAIDB also participated in the mission. The Ministry of Rural Development proposed changes in the program of the FIs and FTCs. The proposal, in essence, to concentrate the upgrading of FI's and FTC's in the Northern and North Western provinces and to provide adequate water supply to all project institutions, was reviewed during the mission. 31 Combined with supervision of Education Projects I, II and III, and Loan 1057-ZA. 4/ Combined with supervision of the above under "1/ mentioned projects. 5/ Combined with supervision of the above under '1/ mentioned projects. 6/ Combined with supervision of projects under Education III and Loan 1057-ZA, and discussions concerning a proposed Fifth Education Project. 7/ Combined with supervision of the Education III and discussions regarding a proposed Fifth Education Project. 8/ Combined with supervision of the Education III and appraisal of a Proposed Fifth Education Project. 9/ Combined with supervision of Educat-ion III. I0/ Combined with supervision of Education III and V. 11/ Combined with superv-sion of Education V and data collecting for the completion report of Education III.  (v) COUNTRY EXCHANGE RATES Name of Currency Kwacha (K) Appraisal year average (1976): US$1.00 - K .77 Intervening years average (1977): US$1.00 - K .78 (1978) US$1.00 - K .82 (1979) US$1.00 - K .77 (1980) US$1.00 - K .80 (1981) US$1.00 - K .80 (1982) US$1.00 - K .83 (1983) US$1.00 - K1.23 CUMULATIVE ESTIMATED AND ACTUAL DISBURSEMENTS FY: 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 (a) Estimated at 0 0.35 2.35 6.10 10.00 12.25 13.30 Appraisal (b) Actual Dis- 0 0.10 0.82 4.60 6.45 7.32 8.58 1/ bursement (c) b Z of a - 29 35 75 65 59 65 1/ Final disbursement US$8,581,941.05; amount cancelled on October 19, 1983: US$4,718,058.95. ALLOCATION OF LOAN PROCEEDS (US$) Original Actual Category Allocation Disbursement 1. Civil works 3,450,000 4,506,724 2. Construction materials 1,800,000 258,324 3. Furniture3equipment and vehicles (including transportation to site) 2,220,000 3,044,748 4. Technical assistance and fellowships 2,400,000 80,377 5. Architectural and Engineering services, Studies and Project administration 730,000 691,768 6. Unallocated 2,700,000 - Total 13,300,0W_ 8,581,941 Cancelled 4,718,059  (vi) PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT ZAMBIA - FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT (LOAN 1356-ZA) HIGHLIGHTS A Loan of US$13.3 million equivalent to assist in the financing of the Fourth Education Project in Zambia was approved on December 23, 1976 and signed on January 17, 1977. The project was completed and closed on March 31, 1983 as scheduled and US$4.7 million was cancelled. Total project cost amounted to US$17.6 million, about 24 percent below the original estimate of US$23.2 million (para. 5.01). Although the project was closed as originally scheduled, an additional six months was granted in order to finalize the accounts and submit withdrawal applications. The project was amended in June 1978 and changes in the agricultural education component were introduced (para. 3.07) to comply with a new Government strategy for developing farmer training. The experience of implementing this project points out the importance of the following: (1) The need to continuously assess Government policy with regard to training and related ability to implement such policy in particular in terms of providing capital and recurrent funds. The Farmer Training Centers (FTCs) and Farm Institutes (FIs) met with little success because of frequent changes of training policy and a lack of adequate operating (recurrent) funds during the implementation period (para. 6.08). (2) The need to closely monitor institutions' administration and their communication with relevant ministries. The constant turnover of administrative staff at the Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce (EHC) resulted in a break-down in communications between various Government agencies and the purpose and use of technical assistance specialists and fellowships remained unclear to its administration (para. 6.06). (3) The advantage of using competent and committed project administration staff. The successful completion of physical facilities includ4ng construction, provision of furniture and equipment was possible thanks to an experienced Project Implementation Unit (PIU) assisted by professionals in various fields provided through a NORAD grant. The swift implementation of these components contracted with competitive prices contributed to the substantial saving of project funds (para. 4.04).  PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT ZAMBIA - FOURTR EDUCATION PROJECT (LOAN 1356-ZA) SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Project Objectives and Content 1.01 The principal objective of the Fourth Education Project was to provide assistance to the Government in establishing an administrative structure to consolidate previous educational achievements; to improve training for agricultural staff and farmers for rural development; and to increase the supply of middle and advanced level commercial and business trained personnel. Included in the project were provisions of technical assistance (specialist servlces and fellowships) for staff development in business education and agricultural education and extension. The project also included specialized studies consisting of a completion and evaluation study and a survey of the construction industry. 1.02 An amendment to the agreement in June 1978 provided that assistance to the FTCs and Fla be concentrated solely in the Northern and Northwestern provinces and including adequate water supply to those project institutions and those supported under the Third Education Project (Loan 900-ZA), a new FI at Kasama and a change of functions between the Zambezi Fl and the Chafukuma FTC. Project Implementation 1.03 The project which was signed on January 17, 1977, became effective in March 1977 about one month prior to the termination date set forth in the legal agreement (para. 4.01). It was implemented under the direction of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) established under the Ministry of Power, Transport and Works (MPTW). The PIU was fully operational from the beginning since it was also responsible for the implementation of most components in the Third Education Project (para. 4.02). The PIU carried out its functions smoothly to completion. Management and monitoring of the software inputs such as training and curriculum development, however, suffered due probably to the lack of an educator on the PIU staff (para. 4.03). Parts of the agreed technical assistance provided under the project was not utilized (para. 4.15). At the request of the Government, the project was amended in June 1978 to comply with a new strategy for developing farmer training (para. 3.07). The project closed as originally scheduled on March 31, 1983. However, an additional six months was granted to finalize accounts and to submit withdrawal applications. Disbursements were completed on October 19, 1983 leaving an undisbursed balance of US$4,718,059 in the Loan Account. Effective on that date the balance was cancelled (para. 5.08).  -2- Project Operating Outcome 1.04 The Phase II component of the Educational Services Center 1/ (ESC) (para. 6.01) was to further consolldate the educational services facilities by adding: (a) an Examinatlon Section lcluding a Standards and Certification Division for the Department of Technical Education and Vocational Training (DTEVT); (b) a Research, Evaluatlon and Guldance Section; and (c) an expansion of the Printing and Documentation Unit. Work on Phase II was completed in August 1980. In September of 1982 the Government established a new Ministry of Higher Education (MEE) which was assigned responsibility basically for higher and technical education. This resulted in the transfer to the MHE of the Standards and Certification Division, Printing and Documentation, Zambia Library Service and the Curriculum Development Center. Consequently, MHE took over a section of the second floor of the ESC constructed under Phase II. The Standards and Certification Division of the DTEVT which has developed between 80 to 90 programs moved back to DTEVT headquarters. The Research and Evaluation Unit remained the responsibility of the Ministry of General Education (HOE) and in 1983 administered about 170,000 primary examinations and 110,000 at the secondary level. At appraisal, it was estimated that by 1985 about 202,000 primary school students and about 57,000 secondary students would be tested. Obviously, the increase in the number of secondary students was not envisaged at appraisal due to a latter change in Government policy. In general, the Center suffers from lack of adequate recurrent funds. For example, the education magazine Orbit which is part of the ESC, received K120,000 in FY82 and only K35,000 in FY83. Thus only two editions of the magazine instead of six were printed. Interriews with personnel assigned to the Center registered an overall complaint about the lack of transportation (although vehicles were provided under the project and delivered in 1980). However, the lack of maintenance and of funds to purchase petrol has exacerbated this situation. The Coordinating Committee for the ESC which was to ensure cooperation among the different educational services was never effective nor was a Chief Education Officer appointed to manage the coordination of the Center. In conclusion, the Center now being adequately staffed and equipped has great potential to improve its services once the financial constraints have been overcome. 1.05 The expansion of the boarding capacity and improvement for the teaching of accounting and related subjects at the Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Co=zerce (EHC) (para. 6.06) was carried out successfully and the number of business students increased from 225 in 1977 to 450 in 1983. During the implementation of the project, the Government requested and the Bank Group agreed to enlarge the dining hall and install a water tower. These changes were basically within the scope of the project description and no amendment to the Loan Agreement was required. Funds for the technical assistance component were not utilized due to the high cost of expatriate teachers, the Government preferring to obtain them on a local 1/ Phase I was the initial step taken towards consolidation and improvement of the service units of the Ministry of Education and carried out under the Third Education Project.  -3- hire basis (para. 4.16). The fellowship program was not carried out as Government failed to identify qualified students for fellowship training. Consequently, the funds for both programs were cancelled. 1.06 The provision of furniture and _nstruct_onal equipment at five ex-isting Trade TrainIng Institutes (para. 6.07) proved successful and the new commercial and secretarial courses report an average of about 25 students enrolled per class with a reported 5Z p.a. dropout rate. These graduates have begun to fill the gap in the growing demand for secretarial manpower. 1.07 The Farm Inst-tnces and Farmer Training Centers (para. 6.08) prov-ided additional student and boarding places and differed from the appraisal report in terms of location and provision of boreholes, water reservoirs, and water reticuLation due to an Amendment in the Loan Agreement in June 1978. An evaluation study concerning farmer train-ng and extension activities f-inanced under the Third Education Project concluded that while farmer training and extension activities had some influence in improving agricultural production, the overall impact has been minimal due to, inter alia, the inadequate training of the instructors for FIs and FTC, and of the agr-icultural extension staff members. Consequently, in order to counteract this shortcoming, a technical assistance component under the Min-istry of Rural Development was included. However, this technical assistance was financed through bilateral assistance from the Government of the Netherlands. The assistance did not prove effective as the team members could not agree among themselves nor communicate effectively w-th other Zambian counterparts. The team spent most of i-ts time prepar-ing manuals for cou-odi-ty demonstrators and about which no consensus could be reached. The provision of phys-cal facilities was successful. However, continued lack of sufficient operating funds to carry out the programs at the institutes and centers resulted in a reduced training program. The Government assurance that it would endeavor to achi'eve an equal participation rate for women was not achieved (para. 6.09). 1.08 The survey of the construction i'ndustry (para 6.11) from the outset met wi-th difficulty particularly from the private sector. Funds were not allocated in the Government's budget and consequently the study was never carried out. The completion and evaluation report (para 6.12) on the project likewise was not undertaken by the Government. 1.09 The overall assessment of the project (paras. 8.01 and 8.02) indicates that the educational objectives fell below what were originally envisioned. In particular, the agricultural training has not met expectations due to changes of policy by the Government; the failure of the techn-ical assistance team to develop the programs as originally envisaged, and most critical the lack of adequate operating funds to fully utilize the facilities. Government's reluctance to use funds provided for technical assistance specialists has also affected the outcome of the project. It is difficult to evaluate the impact on EHC since specialists were obtained in a reduced rumber. The college is however operating at full capacity and its graduates are in high demand both in the publi-c and private sector. In general, the short term outcome of the educational and train-ing objectives of the project can be considered moderately  -4- successful with the exception of the agricultural training component. It is too early to judge the long term effects of the project which may be highly dependent on the Government's ability to provide adequate recurrent funds. Implementation of the physical aspects of the project were effectively and efficiently carried out and can be considered to be highly successful. Recommendations 1.10 Future Bank Group missions should continue to monitor the educational objectives of this project. 1.11 The use of technical assistance should have Government's firm commitment prior to inclusion in future projects and experience indicates a need for better coordination and understanding of the requirement within Government. Lessons Learned 1.12 Government's commitment in regard to: (a) the carrying out of the staff development program at ERC was lacking, since the Government did not wish to use the funds provided for the hiring of the technical assistance specialists; and (b) provision oa adequate operating funds for the FTCs and FIs has also had a negative effect on the educational objectives of the project. Although difficult to predict Lu advance, the Government's commitment to the use of (a) high cost expatriate technical assistance (para. 4.15) and (b) to provide adequate operatiug (recurrent) funds should be carefully assessed during the project preparation cycle for future projects (para. 6.09). 1.13 Supervision missions may also have been too narrowly focused and did not concentrate sufficiently on educational objectives, in particular the agricultural component which was noted to be a risk (para. 7.02). 1.14 To improve coordination and supervision of the software components of the project it may be better to relocate the PIU within the MOE (para. 4.03). II. INTRODUCTION 2.01 This completion report i-s based on the findings of a mission by Ms. R. Brandenburg (economist) and Messrs. J. Segerstrom (technical educator) and C. Hammerschmidt (architect, consultant) which visited Zambia i.n May 1983. The mis^ion reviewed the physical execution of the project as compared with appraisal estimaLes and analyzed the project vis-a-vis its educational objectives. 2.02 This report is based on: (a) information obtained from background files in Washington, particularly supervision and progress reports; studies and data obtai-ned from the Project Implementat-ion Unit  -5- (PIU) and departments and ministries of the Government of the Republic of Zambia, the Government of the Netherlands, and the Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD); (b) visits to various project institutimons; and (c) discussions with staff of the PIU and other Government officials, principals, staff and students of project institutions and Bank Group staff familiar with the project. III. PROJECr BACKGROUND Socio-Economic Setting 3.01 At the time of appraisal in March, 1976, the Government of Zambia was facing a situation whereby -t was failing to contain the growth of recurrent expenditures and had failed to maintain adequate foreign exchange reserves when copper prices were high. Duri-ng 1975, low copper prices led to a drastic drop in Zambia's foreign exchange earnings and low profits in the mining i'ndustry caused reduced tax revenues. With-in this context, the Government announced a rural reconstructi'on program with specific measures aimed at the improvement of agricultural output i'n both the short and long term. The Bank Group agricultural sector survey recommended the following: (a) an increased allocation of infrastructure investment and provision of supporting services to rural growth centers; (b) a greater allocation than an the past or ski-lled manpower to the planning and execution of rural developmeat projects and a regional decentralization of these functions; and (c) an improved efficiency of the marketing organization. The Goverrment decision to increase producers' prices for major agricultural commodities indicated that acti-on was being taken to stimulate an increase in farm output and reduce income differentials. Thus, farmers' training would have to play an important role with-in the context of this strategy. 3.02 At the same time, the Government planned to rationalize and improve manufacturi'ng and commerce in order to increase thei'r contribution to output and employment. A shift from capital intensive to labor intensive techniques and a general improvemenc in management and organization of both parastatal and private companies was needed to increase the competitiveness of Zambia in industry and reduce the high degree of subsidy and protection. Government felt that improved training an business and accounring, inter alia, was required to meet these objectives. It was within thbis framework that the Fourth EducatEon Project was prepared. Consequently, during the execution of the Project, Zambia's economy was in protracted econom-i-c depression. Between 1977 and 1980 real GDP declined an average of 2.5% p.a. to its lowest level since 1971. The Education Sector 3.03 At Independence in 1964, Zambi-a was one of the African countries least prepared i'n educational terms. Very few Zambbians had completed higher or secondary education or participated in skills training. As a result, Zambia relied almost entirely upon expatriates for preparation and  -6- execut4ion of development programs. It was therefore apparent that national development could be gained only by placing major emphasis on education and training which consequently received priority in the various development plans during the 1964-76 period. In 1975 the Government prepared a draft education reform which was rublished in 1978 and was to be implemented in phases starting at the beginning of the Third National Development Plan (1979-1983). The Plan aimed at modifying the existing education structure into three stag4s: a basic education cycle, covering the first nine years of school; a second stage, cuvering the present three-year senior secondary cycle; and a third stage consisting of the present higher education cycle. Also provisions were to be made for continuing education, including adult literacy and other types of non-formal education. Implementation of the Plan has been delayed In large part due to the inability of the Government to provide adequate recurrent and capital funds to carry out its objectives. A study supported under the Fifth Education Project (Credit 1251-ZA) is currently underway which is reviewing in particular the fiscal implications of the proposed educational reform. The Bank Group has played a major role in expanding the education system in Zambia, including institution building. Five Bank Group-assisted projects have helped Zambia's primary, secondary and commercial, agricultural and technical education. Project Identification and Processing 3.04 The project was identified during a Bank Group economic mission which visited Zambia in June 1975. A Government request for Bank Group assistance was received in October 1975. Bank Group missions in November 1975 and March 1976 assIsted the Government in preparing the project and appraised it . The project was negotiated in November 1976 in Washington, D. C. and a Loan of US$13.3 million was approved by the Bank's Board of Directors on December 23, 1976 and signed on January 17, 1977. Project Objectives and Strategy 3.05 During the decade after Independence, priority was given to quantitative expansion of the formal school system at all levels. Nonformal education and the development of efficient adainistrative and educational support servi-ces received relati'vely little attention even though their institutional framework was set up. In the meantime the educational system had grown into dimensions which made it necessary to consolidate and strengthen its administrative and support services before other important targets were approached. Also, the training of agricultural personnel and farmers required urgent up-grading to allow the implementation of programs for increased agricultural output and productivity and training of accountants, bookkeepers and middle-level administrators was of high priority. Therefore, as an interim 4nvestment program the Fourth Educat-ion Project was designed to provide Zambia with an administrative structure to consolidate the educational achievements, to improve training for agricultural staff and farmers for rural development, and to increase the supply of middle and advanced level commercial and busi-ness know-how, atypically scarce, and consequently, in strong demand in the modern sectors of the Zambian economy.  -7- Project Content 3.06 Specifically, the project included: (a) improvement of education admiinistration, examination system research and curriculum development through the construction, furnishing and equipping of Phase II of the Educati'onal Services Center (ESC) (Phase I was a component of the Third Education project, Loan 900-ZA)); Estimated expenditure US$3.57 mlllion, actual US$3.15 million. (b) expansion and improvement in business education through: (i) the expansion of the boarding capacity of the Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce (EHC); and (ii) provision of equipment and furniture for the Business and Secretarial Studies Department at EHC and for five Trades Training Institutes (TTIs); Estimated expenditure US$2.26 million, actual US$2.07 million. (c) improvement in the training of agricultural staff and farmers through provisions for and/or replacement as required of teaching facilities and boarding facilities for women, utility servi'ces, staff housing, instructional equipment and transport in eight existing Farm Institutes (FIs) and about 20 existing Farmer Training Centers (FTCs); Estimated expenditure US$9.24 million, actual US$8.01 million. (d) technical assistance consisting of 25 man-years of specialist services and 40 man-years of fellowships for staff development at the EHC and 13 man-years of specialist services and 8 man-years of fellowships in agricultural education and extension; 36 man-years of specialists' services for the PIU (to be provided by NORAD on a grant basis); and Estimated expenditure US$5.55 million, actual USS2.44 million. (e) specialized studies consisting of: (i) a survey of the construction industry; and (ii) completion and evaluation studies of the proposed project. Estimated expenditure US$0.5 million, actual nil. Amendment to the Project 3.07 The Government, in September 1977, requested an amendment to the supplemental letter to the Loan Agreement in regard to the FIs and the FTCs. Thi-s amendment was requested