Liberia - Fourth Education Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Rqpot No. 8992 PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 1306-LBR) SEPTEMBER 7, 1990 Population and Human Resources Division Western Africa Department Africa Regional Office This document has a rercted distbution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otberwise be disclsed without World Bank authorization.  CURRENCY AND EQUIVALENT UNIT Currency Unit = Liberian dollar US$1.00 = 1.00 Liberian dollar GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ADB = African Development Bank AITB Agricultural and Industrial Training Bureau CBDTC = Commercial, Business and Domestic Training Centre DEF = Division of Educational Facilities GOL = Government of Liberia IEL = Improved Efficiency in Learning (project financed by USAID) IDA = International Development Association ISDS Information Systems and Data Services KRTTI Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute MOE = Ministry of Education MOF - Ministry of Finance MVTC = Monrovia Vocational Training Centre MYS = Ministry of Youth and Sport NCVTET = National Council for Vocational and Technical Education and Training PCR = Project Completion Report PIC = Project Implementation Council PIU = Project Implementation Unit REC = Regional Education Centre SAR = Staff Appraisal Report TBU = Textbook Unit UOL = University of Liberia WAEC = West African Examinations Council ZRTTI = Zorzor Rural Teacher Training Institute FISCAL YEAR July 1 - June 30  THE WORLD SANK FOR OFCIAL US ONLY Washington. DC 20433 U.S A Offoce of Diem t(.Cener opwatumn IVAtuano September 7, 1990 MEMORANDUM TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND THE PRESIDENT SUBJECT: Project Completion Report - Republic of Liberia Fourth Education Proiect (Credit 1306-LBR) Attached, for information, is a copy of a report entitled "Project Completion Report - Republic of Liberia: Fourth Education Project (Credit 1306-LBX)", prepared by the Africa Regional Office. No audit of this project hm_ _ ade by the Operations Evaluation Department at this time. Attachment This document has a restncted distnbution and may be used by rcipients only in the perfonuance of their official dutieL Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed wthout Wodd Dbak authoioQn.  FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 1306-_BR) TABLE OF CONTENTS Pase No. Preface .... . o ........*.................. i Evaluation Sumxary ...... iii PART I. PROJECT REVIEW FROM BANK'S PERSPECTIVE ............. 1 I. Project Identity ................................. I II. Background .......... O.. * .*.... . .. .. ..... 1 Principal Issues in Education .......1 General Strategies for the Sector 2 III. Project Objectives and Description ... 2 IV. Project Design and Preparation ............... 5 V. Project Implementation ............................ 6 VI. Project Documentation and Data ........ 9 VII. Project Results .......... .... ... ... 9 Institutional Strengthening ....................... 10 Upgrading the Quality of Primary Education ........ 11 VIII. Technical Assistance ...... 12 :X. Project Sustainability 13 X. IDA Performance and Lessons of Experience ......... 13 XI. Borrower's Performance and Lessons Learned ........ 14 PART II. PROJECT REVIEW FROM BORROWER'S PERSPECTIVE ........ 17 PART III. BASIC DATA (Annexes 1-15) 19 1. Liberia-IDA Assisted Education Projects ......21 2. Organizational Structure for Project Implementation 22 3. Level of Staff Continuity in PIU 23 4. Project Sites and School Building by County........ 24 5. Textbook Procurement and Distribution...***..*.* 25 6. Schedule of Disbursements.....o... 26 7. Status of Covenants.......s 27 8. Implementation Schedule ............................ 28 9. Agreed and Actual Project Outcomes**..*.*.**.*...** 29 10. Project Costs and Financing 30 11. Division of Information Systems & Data Services.... 32 12. Enrollment in Project oo . . .l. 34 13. Technical Assistance 35 14. Project Timetable.................................. 37 15. Supervision Missions ......... .. .9..*... 9 38 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.  PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 1306-LBR) PREFACE This Project Completion Report (PCR) reviews implementation of the Fourth Education Project in the Republic of Liberia for which Credit 1306-LBR in the amount of US$13.5 million was approved on December 7, 1982. The Credit was closed on June 30, 1988, six months behind schedule. The Credit amount disbursed was US$10.3 million, and US$3.2 million was cancelled. The last disbursement was on September 22, 1988. Parts I and III of this PCR were jointly prepared by UNESCO and the Population and Human Resources Operations Division of the Africa Region (AF4PH). It is based on a review of documents, correspondence, internal memoranda, and interviews with relevant persons in Liberia and the Bank. The Borrower was requested in September 1989 to provide a Review from the Borrower's Perspective (Part II), but none was received. This PCR has been read by the Operations Evaluation Department (OED).  - iii - PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT LIBERIA FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 1306-LBR) EVALUATION SUMHARY Obiectives The project objective was to assist in strengthening the administration of education, improving the quality and efficiency of primary education, expanding access to primary education and making key parts of the publicly supported skill training network fully operational. To achieve this objective the project included: an institutional development program for the MOE and the West African Examinations Council; the procurement and sale of about 1.9 million low-cost textbooks to primary school students; the upgrading of about 2,250 primary school teachers and strengthening of the university department of education; the strengthening of the educational inspectorate and the construction of three regional education centers; the establishment of 6,624 primary school places; the furnishing and equipping of 180 existing primary school classrooms; the strengthening of the AITB and VTC; and the consolidation of three existing training centers into a new 215 place commercial training center (paras. 8 - 9). Implementation Experience The credit was approved on December 7, 1982, signed on December 10, 1982, and declared effective on March 3, 1983; the closing date originally scheduled for December 31, 1988, was postponed to June 30, 1989 because of delays in implementation. Among the factors that seriously hampered the project implementation schedule were: (i) uncertainty and confusion between the PIU and high level officials at MOE; (ii) staff changes within PIU; (iii) minimum PIU control of funds and resources distributed to various departments; and (iv) separation of DEF from PIU during the project implementation. The Bank decided to close the loan and cancelled the undisbursed balance of US$3.2 million, after an assessment found no potential for successful execution and worsening country economic condition and GOL inability to meet debt payments (para 25). To expedite project implementation a provision of US$0.5 million was facilitated by IDA to GOL to undertake pre-project activities (consulting services, procurement of equipment and vehicles, architectural design, preparation of bid documents, etc.). An amendment to the Credit Agreement was made in 1986 at the request of GOL. The CBDTC component was deleted, thus releasing US$2.5 million of the Credit proceeds to: (i) increase IDA financing of fellowships from 90 percent of expenditures to 100 percent; (ii) increase the number of teachers to be trained under the project from 35 percent to 50 percent of the untrained teachers in primary schools; and (iii) meet the shortfall of Credit proceeds due to the declining value of the  - iv - SDR against the dollar (at Credit signature SDR 12.6 million was equivalent to US$13.5 million; in 1985 it was equivalent to US$12.2 million. para 25). IDA project disbursements were suspended in 1985 due to the inability of GOL to meet its financing obligations. Project implementation activities ceased 30 months before the scheduled completion date (December 1988). The program for upgrading teachers was stopped. The fellowship program was excluded from the freeze, however, and it was scheduled for funding through to June 1989. Among the changes made after the freeze of disbursements were: (i) 50 percent reduction on the price of textbooks; (ii) integrating USAID funded IEL primary education program with MOE textbook and in-service teacher training program; and (iii) distributing the teachers' guide free of cost to teachers (para 26). Results Despite the premature termination, many project objectives were achieved due to the extensive project preparation and the effort of PIU staff. Although it is too early to assess the full impact of the project with respect to its quality and efficiency of primary education, there are some promising positive indicators. The project was successful in providing: (i) textbook re-use market that was developed in Monrovia and benefited urban children; MOE delivered 50,400 copies of books free of cost to be kept and utilized in schools; (ii) upgrading of 1,200 untrained teachers from the in-service teacher upgrading program; (iii) establishment of regional offices as part of MOE's effort to decentralize its educational management and supervision; (iv) 9,600 primary school places, 3,600 more than was envisaged at appraisal; (v) better utilization of building for primary and secondary education (paras. 35 - 38). The project also was crncial in the inistitutional strengthening of the MOE by establishing an Information Service and D)ata System Unit (ISDS). This unit has helped in the establishment of educational data and assisted the Ministry of Finance in determining data to be computerized and the textbook unit to establish a computerized inventory system. Through the project the Liberian branch of WAEC has been strengthened by training of its staff and acquisition of new printing equipment (paras. 32 - 34). The technical assistance component was satisfactorily implemented. The experts at AITB were helpful in developing the administrative framework for coordinating skills and establishing a job analysis system appropriate for Liberia. To ensure that the public and private sectors benefited from the training programs, participants for the workshops were drawn from government offices and private sector companies. The poor impact of the services provided by the experts in regard to education planning and administration in MOE was attributed to undefined terms of reference, frequent transfer of Liberian staff and non-appointment of counterpart staff. The fellowship program provided training for 69 fellows and 61 returned to jobs in their specialization (paras. 39 - 40).  -v - Sustainabilitv The key to the sustainability of this project rests with the Government'o ability and commitment to provide adequate recurrent financial resources in the future and to reach clear policy decilsions to sustain training programs and textbook provision. At this stage the project is not fully sustainable. The institutional capacity built up as a result of the project is sufficient to sustain some of the project benefits, but there remains a need to strengthen planning and management at MOE. Findinas and Lessons Learned 'he Bank Group's performance was fairly good during the early stages of tie project cycle including appraisal. Project supervision by IDA was good up to the suspension of disbursements. Supervision teams were able to agree with GOL on chan&es required to facilitate the smooth implementation of the project (para 43). Some of the major lessons that can be learned from this project are: (i) Arrangements for textbook distribution and cost recovery need to be based on realistic assessments of the capacity of pupils to pay for books (para 44). (ii) The overall economiclfinancial conditions and prospects in the country require more rigorous and thorough analysis as a basis for determining whether the project is financially feasible (para 44). (iii) Effective decentralization of education depends, among other things, on the extent to which regional centers are given a clear mandate, adequate staff and operating budget for traasport (para 44). *iv) Need for a close monitoring of the use of the special project account, especially in cases of extraordinary shortage of funds available for non-project purposes (para 46). (v) Sustained changes in educational management and administration require: constant reviews to identify areas of weakness, recommendations for improvement, planned sequence of necessary changes and arrangements that encourage job retention among local staff (para 46). (vi) This project joins the long list of projects that encountered delays in their implementation schedule due to lack of adequate counterpart funding. Since it is so difficult to anticipate periods in the life of the project when financial constraints might become so severe as to paralyze it, there is wisdom in the Bank's policy of using the given region's profile for determining the implementation schedule (paras. 43 - 44).  PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT LIBERIA FOURTH EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 1306-LER) PART I - Proiect Review from Bank's Perspective I. Project Identity Project Name - Fourth Education Project Credit Number - 1306 LBR Country - Liberia Sector - Education II. Background 1. In 1982 when the project was appraised. the government objectives for the education sector were tos (a) improve the quality of education at primary and secondary levels, (b) upgrade and expand vocational and technical education to meet the demand for skilled manpower, (c) strengthen educational planning and administration, and (d) increase access to primary education. 2. Principal Issues in Education. There was remarlkable improvement in the education system between 1968 and 1980: (a) enrollment in pre- primary and primary schools increased from 120,000 to 228,000 and in lower and upper secondary schools from 13,000 to 52, 000, (b) the annual primary trained teacher output was tripled, and (c) training programs were established for lower and middle level personnel in agriculture and other technical and vocational areas. Despite these achievements Liberia was a long way from meeting the needs for literate and skilled manpower. 3. The areas uf concern identified in the Education and Training Review Memorandum (1979), prepared by Bank staff, and the subsequent Staff Appraisal Report (SAR) included the high rate (70 percent) of illiteracy and the poor quality of education which kept productivity and rural incomes low. Occupations requiring comuercial and business skills and industrial crafts such as carpentry, masonry and plumbing were seriously affected. The output of the education system was insufficient to meet the need for trained persons in a range of professional fields. 4. The main problem facing the Government of Liberia (GOL), therefore, was to expand access to education and simultaneously improve quality in the face of contracting financial resources. Because of three previous Bank Group assisted projects, GOL had been able to establish and strengthen the planning units in the Ministry of Education (MOE), the University and the Manpower section of the Ministry of Finance and Planning (Annex 1). In order to ensure adequate coordination of skills training programs, GOL, with the assistance of IDA, established in 1982 an Agricultural and Industrial Training Bureau (AITB) with responsibility for setting trade standards, developing training programs and certification. Further improvements were needed in many areas. According to the SAR,  _ 2 - there was no systematic way of collecting and analyzing education data and therefore educational planners were generally uninformed of the requirements of the system. There were also weaknesses in the general administration, accounting and personnel administration which frustrated the achievement of educational goals. 5. At primary level. the average gross enrollment ratio was about 52 percent and ranged from 30 percent in some rural areas to 60 percent in some urban areas. Although the education system was open to boys and girls alike, the enrollment of girls had been disproportionately low -- less than 40 percent of total enrollment at the primary level and about 30 percent at the secondary level. High dropout rates, the inadequate supply of textbooks and other teachingllearning materials and equipment such as chalk and chalkboards. characterized both primary and secondary levels. Remedial programs were inadequate and most children left school without acquiring basic literacy. 6. The insufficiency of trained teachers waS a major contributor to the unsatisfactory quality of education. Of the 30 percent of all primary school teachers who had received pedagogical training, about one-half was teaching in onmrovia. the capital city. Education supervision was inadequate and was further impeded by the lack of vehicles for field visits and of adequate office space for education officers in the various regions. 7. General Strategies for the Sector. In the National Education Plan (1978-1990) the Government proposed to improve the quality of education and training programs by upgrading teachers. improving the supply of educational materials and strengthening the management of education programs. In response to the demand for middle level manpower. GOL expected to: (a) expand enrollment in certain key areas such as science and technology, (b) facilitate full operation of newly established institutions for industrial training, and (c) consolidate publicly supported training. Access to primary education was expected to be increased through a government school construction program. Private groups were also encouraged to construct school buildings. The objective was to maintain an annual primary school enrollment growth rate of about five percent and slow down the growth rate of secondary school enrollment. In addition. GOL expected to strengthen the inspectorate and the school examinations system. Bank staff conducted extensive sector work and dialogue with the Government on a possible Fourth Education Project. This project was identified in 1979, prepared with the help of Bsank staff and consultants in 1980 and appraised in 1982. The Credit Agreemnat was signed on 10 December, 1982. III. Project Obiectives and Description 8. The general objective of the project was to consolidate the outcomes of the three previous Bank Group assisted education projects to: (a) strengthen the administration of education. (b) improve the quality and efficiency of primary education. (c) expand access to primary education. and (d) make the skills training program fully operational.  - 3 - 9. Specifically, the project comprised the objectives and content indicated in the following tables Table 1 Project Objectives and Components Objectives Components To strengthen education planning Provision of (a) office equipment, and administration and preparation vehicles, (b) 10.5 staffyears of of future projects. expert assistance, and (c) 24 staffyears of fellowships. To strengthen the Liberian branch Provision of (a) 2.5 staffyears of of the Vest African Examination expert assistance, (b) eight Council (WAEC). staffyears of fellowships and (c) vehicles and equipment. To improve primary education. Establishment of a national text book program for primary grades by (a) procuring pupils' books and teachers' guides and transporting them to sales agents and (b) by providing: (i) office equipment, furniture and materials, (ii) three staffyears of expert assistance and (iii) six staffyears of fellowships. To upgrade untrained primary In-service training of about 2,250 school teachers. primary school teachers. Strengthening of the Department of Education, University of Liberia, by ppoviding one staffyear of expert assistance and 26 staffyears of fellowships. To strengthen the inspectorate and Construction of, furnishing and improve school supervision. equipping three regional educational centers. Provision of (a) one staffyear of expert assistance, (b) 16 staff- years of fellowships and (c) equipment. To provide access to primary Construction, furnishing and education. equipping of 24 rural primary schools.  Furnishing and equipping of 30 existing schools. To allow for full operation of Provision for (a) minor civil skills training facilities which works, (b) 3.5 staffyears of were provided under the Third expert assistance, 'c) two staff- Education ProJect. years of fellowships, and (d) consumables, for the Monrovia Vocational Training College (MVTC). Providing for AITB: (a) three staffyears of expert assistance, (b) office equipment and materials, and tc) technical books. To upgrade clerical business and Constructing, furnishing and domestic training. equipping a 215-place Clerical Business and Domestic Training Center in Monrovia. Providing (a) 5.5 staffyears of expert service and (b) five staffyears of fellowships. 10. The Project was intended to provide low-cost textbooks appropriate to the curriculum. Suitable textbooks were to be selected by a textbook committee set up by MOE. Books for particular subjects were to be procured on the basis of international competitive bidding and all books were to be sold, at a price set by MOE, through commercial agents in all counties in Liberia. It was expected that the program would be self financing ultimately, and that the textbook supply would be replenished annually from the income from sales. 11. In-service teacher upgrading was to be conducted under a contractual arrangement between HOE on the one hand and the University of Liberia and the Cuttington University College on the other hand. The teacher training courses were to be offered for two months each year during the school vacation. Board and lodging were to be provided free of cost to all participants and each of them was expected to receive a stipend of seven dollars weekly in addition to an allowance to cover the cost of travelling to and from their teaching posts. These allowances were considered incentives to encourage untrained teachers to participate in the program.  IV. Protect Desisn and Preparation 12. There was a conceptual framework for the Project. The broad issues identified in the Education and Training Memorandum (1979) were addressed in the project design and outlined in the SAR. Detailed arrangements wete made for textbook procurement and distribution and for the teacher upgrading component - the two largest and most complex components. More work was needed to identify the precise needs of educational administration and management. In order to ensure: (a) that the project design was understood by all relevant parties and (b) sufficient collaboration among the various organizations, the establishment of an advisory body to the PIU, with representatives from the participating agencies (inter alia MOE, MVTC, AITB) was included. Completion Mission review of the economic issues identified in the SAR in addition to discussions held with senior officers in the Ministry of Planning suggested that the economic situation would have continued to deteriorate in the early eighties. Thus the Project was designed and subsequently launched in an economic and financial situation that deteriorated to the point where it eventually thwarted project completion. 13. Although the problem of poor attendance of girls was recognized (para. 2.26 of SAR), it was given little attention, whether in terms of policy or operation or both. GOL needed to relax the regulation requiring school uniforms which has deterred many poor rural parents from sending the children to school, particularly the girls - already a disadvantaged group. 14. The textbook component was designed to be self-financing. The supply of books would be replenished from a revolving fund, established using the proceeds from book sales. In order to facilitate monitoring of the program, bi-annual audits and annual evaluations were to be undertaken. In spite of these efforts, the design of this component was deficient in some respects. Rural children were at a disadvantage because of their poor economic circumstances and the distance of the bookshops in town centers far from the rural communities (up to 60 kilometers), although these bookshops were closer to schools than in previous years. The local book development program conceived during project preparation was appropriate. At appraisal, however, this proposed component was replaced with a different book procurement and distribution program because of the immediate need for textbooks which were less expensive than those being utilized at the time. If this component had been considered in terms of the global issue of providing learning materials in the schools, it could have been more cost-effective and beneficial to a larger number of children. For instance, this component could have provided a simplified book presentation in terms of color and size. For Grade 1, reading cards and discussion charts would have been effective learning materials and less costly than the provision of a set of five textbooks per pupil. Sets of books provided for each rural school would have ensured that all pupils had access to textbooks regardless of their financial means. If, however, it was considered essential to sell the books, a prior market survey was needed in order to determine the best approach to the sale of primary school textbooks.  15. Support for programs initiated under previous Bank Group assisted projects to ensure that they were fully operational was an indication of continuity in the approach to project design. The National Council for Vocational and Technical Education and Training (NCVTET) was established in 1976 as a policy making body for technical education and vocational training. Under the Third Education Project, AITB was conceived as the operational arm of the NCVTET in the area of agriculture and industrial training. Over time, this distinction in their respective roles has become blurred. There is need, therefore, for a clear understanding to be worked out on the part of both organizations as to their roles and responsibilities. 16. Insufficient attention was given to the variations in the size of the catchment areas when the standardized school building design was being prepared. The use of a uniform school capacity as the basic unit instead of a classroom module did not encourage flexibility in determining the size of the project school. Consequently, some project schools were too large for the catcbment areas. In addition, the number of fellowships (persons to be trained) was not given - only staff years were given. This deficiency has affected the evaluation exercise. V. Project Implementation 17. An advisory body, the Project Implementation Council (PIC), comprising representatives from the various ministries and departments involved in the Project, assisted in coordinating project implementation. Each organization involved in the Project understood its primary responsibility for implementing its own components. At the same time, the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in MOE undertook the day-to-day co- ordination with responsibility for specific aspects of the Project - procurement, school construction undertaken through the Division of Education Facilities (DEF), and accounting. The rate of project implementation was facilitated by a provision of about US$500,000 by IDA for GOL to undertake pre-project activities which included: (a) consulting and professional services, (b) procurement of equipment and vehicles, (c) architectural designs, (d) preparation of bid documents, and (e) a pilot study for the textbook program. The organizational structure for project implementation is sunmmarized in Annex 2. 18. Although the organization for project implementation was considered by the Completion mission to be satisfactory, progress in implementation was affected by several factors. Uncertainty and confusion between the PIU and high level officials at MOE resulted from changes of minister, deputy minister and senior staff of the PIU. Within the PIU there were also considerable staff changes (detailed in Annex 3). The PIU was not empowered to follow up the utilizatidn of the project funds and equipment following handover of these resources to the various departments. Thus the PIU did not take responsibility for the irregularities in expenditures and the misuse of project veh'cles and equipment which occurred during project implementation. This was identified during project implementation by IDA supervision missions and confirmed by the Completion mission. Nevertheless, the PIU made every effort to: (a) document expenditures from the Special Account, (b) secure up-to-date project  -7- audits, (c) identify fellows who defaulted on their fellowship obligations. and (d) collect the funds owing the Government from book-sellers. The separation of DEF from PIU in this project did not prevent a close working relationship between the two units while the former was able to undertake other MOE projects. 19. Despite shortcomings, the implementation of the civil works component undertaken by DEF was satisfactory. The schools, as built, needed little maintenance and allowance was made for future expansion. In most of the 10 schools visited by the Completion mission, drainage was inadequate, resulting in problems during the rainy season. There were also instances where wood-fire cooking areas provided within the building unit were not utilized because the wind carried the smoke to nearby classrooms. Such problems could have been avoided by better site planning. The statutory requirement for a 10-hectare (25 acre) site for primary schools resulted in schools being established where such tracts of land were available, often at considerable distance from water and electrical supplies. About a third less land would have been adequate and more accessible. Furthermore it was not feasible to enclose these large sites, (although enclosure would have enhanced security). In the evant, the school compounds have not been enclosed. The locks for classroom doors were unsuitable for heavy usage. 20. All 24 primary schools were constructed as planned and savings on building costs were utilized to construct nine additional primary schools. Because of the suspension of disbursements of both IDA and ADB lending proceeds, however, the additional schools have not been furnished. A breakdown of sites and schools by county is given in Annex 4. 21. The perimeter solid wall fence around the AITB/4VTC compound, although fairly well designed, was only about 1.3m (4.5ft.) high and incorporated regular lampstands. To be effective in keeping out trespassers, this wall needed to have been at least 1.8m (6.00ft.). The lampstands, which have been since vandalized, could have been omitted from the design. 22. The buildings for the three Regional Education Centers (RECs) have been built but accessibility is limited because they are located too far away from the main roads and town centers. Locating education service centers near main roads should be given serious consideration for future development of education as most teachers and administrative staff do not own vehicles and rely on public transportation. Because there was no appropriate program for fleet maintenance and control, only 16 of 38 vehicles provided under the Project were operable at the time of the Completion mission (1989). 23. Textbooks were selected by a committee comprising curriculum officers and other HOE staff, to ensure that of the available books, only those most relerant to the curriculum would be selected for procurement under the project. According to IDA staff involved with the Project, MOE was fair and efficient in selecting books for ICS procurement. The Textbook Unit (TBU), established under the Project to manage the textbook comDonent, experienced difficulties attributable to administrative  -8 - shortcomings and poor logistical procedures. Although the physical distribution of textbooks to sales agents was adequate, the standard of record keeping and accounting was weak. Up to the time of the Completion mission, the TBU procurement and distribution records had not been reconciled and about 38,000 books (not including books transferred to the Primary Department) had not been accounted for (Annex 5). As a result of the implementation and subsequent evaluation of the pilot phase of this component, HOE made changes in the arrangements for book sales, intending to increase the number of books sold and the remittance of book sales from the agents. In 1985, HOE cancelled contracts with dealers responsible for distributing books, and introduced variable commission in order to encourage sales agents to remit the proceeds from textbook sales. Book sales were slow in rural areas and, although MOE had established a policy making the purchase of textbooks mandatory for primary school pupils, there were difficulties enforcing it. 24. The contractual arrangements made with a consortium of U.S.A. universities for the implementation of the staff fellowship orogram facilitated the implementation of this component. 25. An amendment was made to the Credit Agreement when it became apparent that GOL could not provide the financing that was originally agreed. In 1986, at the request of GOL, the Clerical Business and Domestic Training Center (CBDTC) component, which was to provide direct benefits to females, was deleted. thus releasing US$2.5 million of Credit proceeds to: (a) increase IDA financing of fellowships from 90 percent of expenditure to 100 percent, (b) increase the number of teachers to be trained under the project from 35 percent to 50 percent o