Afghanistan - Third Education Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No. 12620 PROJECT COMPLETION NOTE AFGHANISTAN THIRD EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 893-AF) DECEMBER 23, 1993 Agriculture Operations Division Country Department III South Asia Regional Office This document has a restricted distribution and may be used bv recipients oniv in the performance of their official duties. Its contents mav not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Calendar 1978 February 22, 1979 Currency Unit: Afghani (Af) US$1 Afs. 40.24 Afs. 40.0 Af. 1 US$0.02485 US$0.025 Note: An exchange rate of Afs. 40.0:US$1 has been used to calculate project cost ABBREVIATIONS CUME = Construction Unit in the MOE IDA = International Development Association ITEC = Indian Technical Assistance MOE = Ministry of Eduation MOHE Ministry of Higher Education PIU = Project Implementation Unit PTTI = Primary Teacher Training Institutes UNDP/IPF = United Nations Development Program/Indicative Planning Figures FISCAL YEAR March 21 to March 20  FOR OFFICIACL USE ONLY THE WORLD BANK Washington, D.C. 20433 U.S.A. Office of DOrator-Ganoal Opeations Ewalustion December 23, 1993 MEMORANDUM TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND THE PRESIDENT Subject: Project Completion Note on Afghanistan Third Education Project (Credit 893-AF) Attached is the Project Completion Note on Afghanistan - Third Education Project (Credit 893-AF) prepared by the South Asia Regional Office. The project, approved in 1979, had been effective for only a few months when all withdrawals by the Borrower were suspended in 1980. The entire amount of the US$21 million Credit was canceled in 1985. The PCN documents the project objectives and describes how, at the beginning of implementation, the Borrower requested a shift in Technical Assistance support from the Credit to grant assistance available from UNDP and Indian Technical Assistance programs. The country situation from 1980 on curtailed all implementation activities and the project cannot be rated. The PCN is satisfactory. Attachment 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 NOTE AFGHANISTAN THIRD EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 893-AF) 1 This is a short Project Completion Note for the Afghanistan Third Education Project (Credit 893-AF). The Credit was approved in March, 1979 for US$21 million, and became effective on July 17, 1979. As with other projects in Afghanistan, withdrawals were suspended indefinitely in April 1980. On March 25, 1985, IDA informed the Government that in view of the inability to undertake effective project supervision, the Closing Date of December 31, 1984 would be adhered to, and that the entire amount of the Credit of US$21 million, none of which had been disbursed, was cancelled. Proiect Description 2 The project was appraised during June-July 1978. The principal objective was to expand primary education on a regional basis and improve its quality through primary teacher training and curricula reform. The project provided for the construction, furnishing and equipping of: (i) 5 new primary teacher training institutes (PTTIs) and extensions of 2 existing PTTIs (total of 5520 student places); (ii) 6 new demonstration schools for the PTTIs and refurbishing one existing school (4284 student places); and (iii) one new academy for teacher trainers and administrators (330 trainee places). The technical assistance (TA) for the foregoing institutions and the project implementation unit (PIU) comprised 26 man-years of experts and 40.5 years of fellowships. The project also included: (a) four man-years of experts for feasibility studies to delineate training needs and required training facilities in the areas of management and planning, public and private sector accounting, mining and para-medical training; and (b) one year of experts for preparation of a pre-investment design for the national agricultural extension staff training and resource center. The total cost of the project was estimated as US$32 million of which US$15 million was the foreign exchange component. Project Implementation 3 To ensure coordination between the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) which were both involved in teacher training, the Credit Agreement called for the maintenance of an Inter- Ministerial Coordination Committee. The need for such a Committee became unnecessary when the Government in November 1979 transferred the Construction Unit in the MOE (CUME), that was implementing the Second Education Project satisfactorily, was given the responsibility for project implementation. 4 The sites for all the new institutes had been selected. At the time of the July 1979 supervision mission (the only supervision mission), the architectural drawings for the PTTIs were reviewed. The invitation notice for the pre-qualification of civil works contractors was announced in the Development Forum Business Edition issue of September 13, 1979. With the  increasingly difficult country situation, only 3 foreign contractors exhibited interest along with a number of local contractors. 5 By September of 1979, CUME reported difficulty in the commencement of construction of the PTTIs due to lack of local funds. The Deputy Minister of Planning gave IDA the assurance in December of that year that funds would be available. 6 The Credit provided some US$2.3 million for Technical Assistance. By August 1979, the Government proposed for IDA consideration the utilization of funds and assistance from UNDP (under existing UNDP-financed projects) and Indian Technical Assistance (ITEC) with a view to reducing utilization of the Credit for TA. Following discussions between IDA, UNDP and Unesco, IDA in November 1979 agreed in principle to substitute IDA funds under Credit 893-AF with UNDP and ITEC grant assistance with some modification in the details of the proposal and the inclusion of a coordinator in consultation with IDA. Tentative approval was accorded by UNDP, subject to Unesco fielding a preparatory mission. However, by March 1980, UNDP had placed a suspension on the recruitment of consultants and experts and had also scaled down the UNDP- IPF allocations. 7 The Bank mission that visited Kabul in March 1980 concluded that the effective execution of the project would be very difficult and that the prospects of further supervision by Bank staff were poor. Proiect Achievements and Difficulties 8 In retrospect, the project was well conceived, concentrating on the preparation of teachers, teacher trainers and educational administrators, with a view to improving the quality of basic education. It also sought to lay the foundation for urgent manpower development programs by financing feasibility studies. If there is a lesson to be learned from the early months of project supervision, it is that when a Borrower is faced with budgetary constraints, it is more likely to seek grants to finance TA than to use Credit funds. This can lead to delays in implementation of TA and to management and coordination problems (para 6 above). 9 The all pervading security situation hampered both the IDA supervision effort and also the submission of quarterly progress reports by CUME. It is, therefore, not possible to report on the achievement, if any, of the project targets and goals.  - 3 - Annex Page 1 of 3 Basic Information Project: Third Education Project Estimated Project Cost: US$32 million Credit Amount: US$21 million Borrower: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Implementing Agencies: Ministries of Education and Higher Education Guarantor: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Beneficiaries: Ministries of Education and Higher Education Ministries of Finance, Planning, Agriculture, Mines and Industry, and Public Health Onlending Terms: Standard Time taken to prepare project: Two years Project Appraisal: July, 1978 Completion of Negotiations: February, 1979 Board Presentation: March, 1979  - 4 - Annex Page 2 of 3 A. Key Project Data Item Appraisal Actual or Expectation Current Estimate Total Project Cost (in US$ Million) 32.0 n.a. (Underrun or Overrun (e) Credit Amount (US$ Million) 21.0 n.a Disbursed 0.0 Cancelled in March 1985 0.0 21.0 l Repaid 0.0 0.0 Date Physical Components Completed 06/84 n.a. Months Since Credit Signing so n.a. Proportion Completed by Above Date (%) 100 n.a. Proportion of Time Overrun () - n.a. Institutional Performance Good n.a. I The whole amount of the Credit was cancelled by the Bank on 03/25/85 pursuant to Section 6.03 (c) of the General Conditions applicable to the Development Credit Agreement. B. Other Project Data Original Actual or Item Plan Revisions Est. Actual First mention in files or Timetable 11/76 Government's application 11/76 Appraisal 06-07/78 Negotiations 02/79 Board Approval 03/79 Credit Agreement Date 04/79 Effectiveness Date 07/79 07/79 Closing Date 12/84 12/84 Borrower Republic of Afghanistan Executing Agency Ministries of Education and Higher Education Fiscal Year of Borrower March 21 to March 20 Follow-on Project None  Annex Page 3 of 3 C. Mission Data No. of No. of No. of Item Sent by Month/Year Weeks Persons Man-Weeks Reconnaissance Bank 10/77 1 1 (ec) 1 Preparation Assistance Bank 03/78 2 3 (e; ec;a) 6 Appraisal Bank 06-07/78 3 6 (a;e;ec;ht,at) 16 Total 23 Supervision Bank 07/79 1 3 (e;a;at) I a = architect ec = economist e = general educator at = agricultural trainer ht = health trainer D. Credit Allocation and Actual Disbursement Original Actual Type of Expenditures Allocation Disbursements ---------- US$ Million -------------- Civil Works 11.1 0.0 Furniture and Equipment 6.1 0.0 Technical Assistance 2.3 0.0 Unallocated 1.5 0.0 Total 21.0 0.0