Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No: 17303 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT MEXICO PRIMARY EDUCATION PROJECT (Loan 3407-ME) January 20, 1998 Mexico Department Human and Social Capital Development Group Latin America and the Caribbean Region This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Currency Unit = New Peso (N$) US$1.00 = 8.30NewPesos(December, 1997) FISCAL YEAR January 1 - December 31 ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS CAFCE Federal Education Construction Agency (Programa Federal de Construcci6n de lEscuelas) CONAFE National Education Development Council (Consejo Nacional de Educaci6n) DGEI General Directorate of Indigenous Education (Direccion General de Educacion Indigena) ICR Implementation Completion Report IE Initial Education NAFIN National Financing Company (Nacional Financiera S.N. C.) PARE Primary Education Project (Proyecto de Educaci6n Primaria - Programapara Abatir el Rezago Educativo) PAREB Primary Education Project II-Loan 3722 (Proyecto de Educaci6n Primaria II) PCU Project Coordinating Unit PRODET Initial Education Project-Loan 3518 (Proyecto de Educaci6n Inicial) SPCUs State Project Coordinating Units SEP Public Education Secretariat (Secretaria de Educaci6n Puiblica) Managers and Staff Responsible Vice President Mr. Shahid Javed Burki Director Mr. Olivier Lafourcade Sector Manager Mr. Julian Schweitzer Task Manager Ms. Madalena Dos Santos ii FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT MEXICO: PRIMARY EDUCATION PROJECT (Loan 3704-ME) Table of Contents PREFACE ................................................ i EVALUATION SUMMARY ......................................... v ASSESSMENT OF OUTCOME ............................................. , ix PART I: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ASSESSMENT ...............................................1 PROJECT BACKGROUND ...............................................1 PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION .............................................., 2 Assessment of Original Project Objectives ..............................................3 Original Project Design and Organization ..............................................3 Changes ..............................................3 IMPLEMENTATION RECORD ..............................................4 ACHIEVEMENT OF ORIGINAL OBJECTIVES ............................................. 11 MAJOR FACTORS AFFECTING THE PROJECT ............................................. 12 Factors not subject to Government control ............................................. 12 Factors subject to Government control .............................................. 12 Factors subject to implementing agency control .............................................. 12 PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY .............................................. 12 BANK PERFORMANCE .............................................. 13 BORROWER PERFORMANCE ............................................. 13 ASSESSMENT OF OUTCOME ............................................. 14 LESSONS LEARNED ............................................. 15 PART II: STATISTICAL TABLES .............................................. 17 APPENDIXES .............................................. 35 APPENDIX A ............................................. 36 APPENDIX B ............................................. 43 APPENDIX C ............................................. 44 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. IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT MEXICO PRIMARY EDUCATION PROJECT (Loan 3407-ME) PREFACE This Implementation Completion Report (ICR) evaluates the Primary Education Project (PARE) in Mexico, for which Loan 3407-ME, in the amount US$250 million equivalent, was approved by the Board on September 26, 1991. The Loan Agreement was signed on October 14, 1991 and the Loan became effective on December 11, 1991. In September, 1992, as a result of the organizational reform of the education sector, the Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) was placed under the National Education Development Council (CONAFE)'. The reform included assigning a normative and policy (rather than operational) role to the Ministry of Education (SEP) and the initiation of a process of decentralization of education services to the States. In July, 1995, responding to a request from the Borrower, US$37.4 million of this loan were canceled due to lower costs resulting from the December, 1994 peso devaluation. The Loan was closed on June 30, 1997. The final disbursement took place on June 30, 1997, and an unused balance amounting to US$17.4 was canceled. The total amount of the loan disbursed was US$195.2 million and the total project cost amounted to US$268.3 million. The Loan and Government contributions represented respectively 73 % and 27%, close to 71 % and 29% estimated at appraisal. The State governments were not required to commit specific amounts to finance the project costs. However, in effect their actual contribution was US$2.9 million of the Borrower share. The ICR was prepared by Nydia Maraviglia (LCSHD Consultant) after the final supervision mission that took place from October 27 to November 7, 1997. The mission consisted of Anna Sant Anna (Sr. Operations Officer, Mexico Office, LCC1C), Claudia Macias (Consultant, LCC1C), and Nydia Maraviglia (Consultant, LCSHD). The report was reviewed by Madalena Dos Santos (Task Manager, LCHSD) and Carmen Hamann (Sector Leader, LCHSD/LCC1C). This ICR is based on the findings of the project completion mission, documents in the project file including two evaluation studies based on field surveys, field visits, and interviews with Government officials and 'CONAFE is a para-statal institution under SEP's umbrella created in 1971 to extend primary education to poor and remote areas, with a separate budget and legal status, which may seek complementary national and foreign financial and technical resources and apply them to the development of the country's educational system. iv relevant Bank staff. The last mission Aide-Memoire is included as Appendix A. The Borrower prepared its own evaluation of project execution (detailed report available in the project files, and Executive Summary presented as Appendix B). The Borrower was requested to comment on the Bank ICR and the response is included as Appendix C. IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT MEXICO PRIMARY EDUCATION PROJECT (Loan 3407-ME) EVALUATION SUMMARY Introduction This project was developed in response to a specific strategy adopted by the Government of Mexico in the early 1990's, and supported by the Bank, consisting of strengthening the social sectors and alleviating poverty by improving the equity of resource allocation. Several other projects were also financed by the Bank, supporting the same strategy, in health, initial education, low-income housing, water and sanitation, decentralization and regional development, and technical training. Regarding primary education, until 1980 Mexico had made remarkable progress. Illiteracy dropped to 18%, and 91% of children 6 to 14 years of age attended school. However, since 1982 progress slowed down. As a result, by 1988 the Federal education budget was just 6.3% of total Federal spending (down from 17.8% in 1976). Most of the funds (95%) were applied to operating costs, leaving little room for needed system expansion, maintenance and human resource development. Private education, although growing, remains a marginal financing source in the sector. The main issues in this sub-sector are low internal efficiency and a low level of cognitive achievement. In 1992, as part of the educational reform, all basic and teacher education services were transferred to the states, together with personnel, facilities, goods and equipment, although the Federal Government continues to transfer funds, favoring. the poorest states. Project Objectives and Description The project objective was to improve equity, quality, and efficiency of primary education, focusing on four states (Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas and Hidalgo) with the highest incidence of poverty and low education indicators. It would be achieved through: (a) reducing the high repetition and dropout rates; (b) raising the level of cognitive achievement of children; and (c) strengthening management of the primary education system. Overall project coordination and responsibility for attaining objectives was to be undertaken by the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) at the central level and by the State level Education Secretariats. A Project Coordinating Unit was to be responsible for project management. The project consisted of two major components: (a) Educational Services Improvement Component (72% of total cost) would improve the availability and quality of primary education services by providing materials, upgrading teachers and supervisors' skills, and building and rehabilitating schools; and (b) vi Institutional Strengthening Component (28% of total cost) would further improve the efficiency of the primary education sector by providing work incentives to teachers, improving supervision, strengthening the delivery system and the management capacity of SEP at federal and state levels, improving information, monitoring and evaluation systems, and conducting selected studies. Implementation Experience and Results Educational Services Improvement Component. The targets set at appraisal for extending the infrastructure of primary education were amply met. Moreover, the equity strategy was greatly advanced, with two thirds of the new and rehabilitated infrastructure built in predominantly poor communities. Initially, CAFCE, the Federal School Construction Agency, with long experience in building schools mostly in urban areas, carried out the construction. However, the type of buildings required in this project, consisting of modest rural facilities in hard to reach locations, proved to be difficult and expensive for this agency. In the last year of the project, new procedures for construction were developed by CONAFE, entrusting municipalities and using paid labor from the same communities. The State Project Coordinating Units (SPCUs) were assigned a budget equivalent to around 4% of the value of the works to monitor and facilitate design, construction, rehabilitation, and equipment of facilities, as well as to provide the interface with the municipalities. These changes served to test the implications of using the local level as implementing agent. The cost of construction per classroom was lowered by more than 30%, and the system is now being used in the second basic education project (PAREB). However, by 1995 CAFCE had completed 96% of the proposed classrooms and 93% of the planned annexes, additional classrooms or sanitary facilities, and 100% of the warehouses. With the new approach and the remaining funds for construction, it was possible to exceed the target for classrooms by 12%, and of annexes (including bathrooms and latrines) by 6%. In all, 6,875 new classrooms, 5,204 annexes, 43 warehouses, 1039 supervisors' and sector headquarters, 3,185 latrines and 1,102 sanitary facilities were added to the primary school system in the four states. Since 1996, the community was also encouraged to help in rehabilitation of schools with good results and at considerable less cost. The project placed particular emphasis on developing, reproducing and distributing materials including textbooks, school libraries, bilingual books, teaching aids and school supplies. Although with some initial delays, distribution of didactic materials was well within the target. Books and supplies benefited a total of 5,584,305 children (of which over 50% were living in extreme poverty). CONAFE coordinated with the General Directorate of Indigenous Education (DGEI) and with the state education secretariats to produce books and guide teaching in eight indigenous languages. Up to 1995, this sub-component benefited 153,050 children and 8,210 teachers from both cycles. Coverage was 55% of the appraisal because work with so many languages took considerably longer than anticipated. This accomplishment was, however, unprecedented, since for the first time in the country, the primary school system has materials and text books in the eight main indigenous languages. The DGEI is currently evaluating the textbooks and materials before preparing books for the third cycle. Another enhancement for the primary schools in the project was the school library program. At least 50% of the participating children belonged to communities with high incidence of poverty or attended vii bilingual schools. Similar programs had existed since 1986 on a small scale, in a few urban areas. In all, 3.6 million books reached the primary schools in the four states, surpassing the target by 12%; The extent of utilization of these resources and the impact on teachers, children and the community, would need to be followed up through the second Basic Education Project (PAREB). The training sub-component was aimed at upgrading teachers' skills and improving the technical support capacity of school principals and supervisors. Another goal was to raise the quality of pre-service training in teachers' institutes. There were intensive courses during the Summer for teachers, and they also attended ten sessions of 8-hours each during three months, conducted by previously trained zone supervisors. In turn, supervisors and trainers were exposed to special events, seminars, round tables, conferences and workshops to update them on the results of recent research and innovations in education. All the quantitative targets were met. Teacher training was based on well structured materials including diagnostic self-evaluations on each subject, reading lists, and suggestions for activities within and outside the classroom. Moreover, video programs were prepared, as a "distance learning" approach, for rural and indigenous primary teachers, to give them tools (particularly multigrade teachers) to enrich their educational skills. Additionally, the Oaxaca the "teleprimaria" program, intended for primary students at various levels will be used to train teachers. Through all these activities, the project targets were amply met. In all, 265,452 primary teachers from rural, semi-rural, and indigenous schools of the four states were trained, surpassing the target by about 20%. Institutional Strengthening Component, Incentives were provided to teachers working in schools located in indigenous regions and in marginal and isolated rural areas, to reduce high teacher turnover and promote a greater teacher involvement with the community. The incentive is equal to the basic salary of the primary school teacher and is strictly attached to the school, so that the teacher looses it if he or she transfers to another school. The project paid incentives to 5,400 teachers in 3,537 schools with over 160,000 students, in poor or very poor communities. This represented 40% of all teachers working in rural or indigenous communities and fulfilled 100% of the set target. Administration of the incentive improved during the second part of the project with the participation of parents' associations to supervise the teacher's compliance with the contracted conditions. The effects of the incentive on teacher turover appear to have been significant: from a usual 80% rotation in schools located in remote rural areas, analysis of the payroll show that the rotation index has declined by 15%, to about 65%. Since 1996, another form of incentives to schools was initiated, consisting of providing a small fund of Mex$5,000 to parents associations for supplies and maintenance of the school grounds, buildings and furniture. The program comprises 1,930 schools, where parents are beginning to show much more interest for the educational activities and are playing a responsible role in reporting on teacher performance. Further evaluation of both incentive systems will be required through the second Basic Education Project (PAREB). It was not an easy task to introduce changes in the supervision system in order to transform it into a tool of technical support to teachers, besides fulfilling the traditional administrative and monitoring functions. The project provided allowances to 1,230 for visiting schools in difficult to reach locations, built and equipped 1,039 small, conveniently located viii offices for supervisors, purchased 277 vehicles, gave relevant training, and changed supervisors' functions by involving them in training teachers. Thirty five percent of the new supervisor's offices were built in indigenous zones. All these inputs met the Staff Appraisal Report targets, and in the case of office construction, these were exceeded by 38%. Although the old style supervision has not disappeared, significant changes are beginning to be observed. The number of visits to targeted schools by supervisors has increased remarkably in the last five years, from 237 annual supervisory visits in 1991, to over 5,700 in the period 1992-96. Organization/Management Strengthening of Support Service Delivery And Management Capacity. The appraisal requirements for this component were designed to improve problems of storage and distribution of educational materials by constructing a network of 43 warehouses, and providing 43 vehicles of 3.5 ton capacity. Another objective was to strengthen the management capacity of SEP at both central and state levels, by financing technical assistance to support project coordination, monitoring and evaluation activities, as well as training for technical, managerial, and administrative staff. By the end of 1993, thirty two warehouses had been built and equipped and vehicles provided; the task was completed in 1994 with construction of other 11 warehouses and similar equipment and vehicles, reaching in this way the established targets. The other part of institutional development was devoted to advance management and leadership capacity. One hundred eighteen management and leadership, policy, planning, program, and project analysis courses took place during the period 1993-97. Additionally, 38 special courses took place, dealing with administrative and technical issues. Other technical staff and managers attended courses and went on observation visits to countries that are also developing new educational policies. There were also seven promotional campaigns to keep the public informed about educational reformn. Information Monitoring And Evaluation Systems & Selected Studies. This sub- component planned to revise SEP's existing information system to improve the relevance of the data being collected and establish system networks. It also aimed at a more decentralized use of the information for management and evaluation purposes. This was to be done through technical assistance, additional equipment and training. The mid-term review carried out by the Bank in September, 1994 found that although the design of the information system had been initiated in 1992, very little had been accomplished up to that moment. It gave detailed recommendations to redirect the work, with a new team and technical assistance. In early 1995 a supervision mission found that the reorientation had not been initiated and in October the Bank and the Government decided to cancel this sub-component and transfer its development to the restructured PAREB project. Regarding the implementation of project financed studies, The evaluation surveys were disproportionately costly in comparison with their usefulness for assessing the impact of educational inputs on students' achievement, quality of teaching, and internal efficiency. There was a more positive experience with the evaluation of the pilot program of "teleprimaria" in Oaxaca, which provided useful findings to guide the fine tuning of video programs for use as distance education tools for primary school students and for training teachers. There were delays during the project in carrying out procurement; the PCU staff considered that this was due to the numerous steps required to obtain clearances from the ix national financial institution and the Bank; there are also rather elaborate administrative steps within the implementing agencies at state and central levels. CONAFE is studying the existing procedures and bottlenecks and is discussing this issue with Nacional Financiera (NAFIN) and the Bank, for new projects, in an effort to simplify procedures, while maintaining accountability and transparency. Assessment of Outcome The main project objective consisting of expanding primary education giving priority to low income, remote communities, and improving the quality and efficiency of primary education, was to be achieved by increasing the number of schools and reducing the high repetition and dropout rates, raising the level of cognitive achievement of children, and strengthening management of the primary education system. The project achieved a remarkable progress in extending primary education services, reaching and in many cases surpassing the physical targets. Moreover, it correctly targeted those services by investing over 60% of the resources for infrastructure in very poor communities and the other 40% in places with medium levels of poverty. Incentives were paid to 5,400 teachers, representing 40% of all teachers working in rural or indigenous communities. The project also trained over 270,000 teachers, principals and supervisors, 3 to 12% above the set target for almost all categories of training. Although there were delays for didactic and library materials to get to certain schools, particularly at the beginning, toward project completion all targets had been reached, with preference given to schools located in areas with high prevalence of poverty (71% of the school receiving materials were in those areas, compared to a target of 68%). Regarding measures of quality and efficiency, the evaluation studies did not give definitive answers. SEP statewide statistics show that there was a slightly declining trend in dropout rates in three states -Hidalgo, Oaxaca and Guerrero - while in Chiapas there was an increase in the last year after two years of modest decline. Terminal efficiency trends showed improvements in the four states. In conclusion, the project provided a good starting point towards reaching quality and efficiency objectives. Also, remarkable progress was made in compensating for inequalities while expanding and improving the school infrastructure, in ensuring teacher permanence and in making available good quality educational materials in poor communities. However, the task is by no means completed. The compensatory primary education system still needs better measuring and evaluation tools and the four states still remain in the lower range. in the scale of educational achievements nationwide, indicating that significant further efforts are needed to balance educational resources and complete the task. Major Factors Affecting the Project Although the decentralization of the educational system that took place during project execution created some problems, it was an unavoidable part of the educational reform. In turn, decentralization and community involvement gave considerable impetus to the project, lowered the costs of school construction, facilitated monitoring of teacher attendance and helped in distribution of materials. Like in other projects in Mexico, annual delays in transfer of budgetary allocation slowed activities during the first four years, but in 1996 the Government regularized the process. The decision to delegate responsibility for administering and implementing simple x construction to the PCUs and the municipalities, and resorting to community cooperation for construction and maintenance proved very effective in lowering costs and expediting works. Summary of Findings The innovations introduced through this project in the primary education system of four states to assist them close the gap of coverage and improve the quality of schools in poor and indigenous communities have not yet reached its full potential, although they are well conceived and should come to fruition in follow-up projects such as the second Basic Education Project (PAREB). Decentralization of the education system and the involvement of parents and communities will facilitate its assimilation into the regular state systems. Absorption at local level would make these programs more affordable, because promotion of equity and quality in primary education will need to continue for the medium term (ten to fifteen years) in the poorest states. Sustainability would be assured through an increased awareness by parents in all communities of what they can demand of the education system. Key Lessons Learned The main lessons learned from this primary education project are as follows: (a) in social sector projects consisting of expanding services and improving quality, intellectual resources and administrative efforts need to be balanced, so that no only physical targets are met, but substantive work is devoted to institutional building; (b) to improve the quality of primary education in poor rural communities in Mexico it would be cost-effective to focus attention on development of appropriate methodologies and teacher training for multigrade classrooms, since they make up 60% of all schools in the country and a much higher proportion in the areas targeted by the project; (c) tangible benefits are gained by incorporating parents in the school activities, including monitoring teacher attendance and performance, and there is preliminary evidence that in poor communities these benefits increase if parent associations receive training and are given a minimum of financial resources for justifiable and pertinent school related activities; (d) decentralizing administration and implementation of rural school construction to the municipalities and the community has demonstrated its advantages, both in terms of lower costs and expeditiousness, and CONAFE's work in developing detailed procedures and financial controls has been essential to success; (e) delays experienced during the initial stages of the project in procurement may be attributed to the use of rigid, centralized procedures and lack of training and high staff turnover; and (f) problems faced in performing impact studies and in trying to develop an education management information system may be attributed in part to unclear specifications of the tasks and the unsatisfactory level of the technical assistance. 1 PART I: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ASSESSMENT PROJECT BACKGROUND 1. This project was developed in response to a specific strategy adopted by the Government of Mexico in the early 1990's, and supported by the Bank, consisting of strengthening the social sectors and alleviating poverty through improving the equity of resource allocation. In addition to Primary Education, the following projects were approved in 1990-92, targeting underserved regions of the poorest states: the Low-Income Housing Project II (Loan 3140-ME); the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project (Loan 3271-ME); the first Basic Health Care Project (Loan 3272-ME); the Decentralization and Regional Development Project (Loan 3310-ME); and the Technical Training Project (Loan 3358-ME); the Initial Education Project (Loan 3518-ME). 2. Until 1980, Mexico had made remarkable progress in primary education. Illiteracy dropped to 18% and 91% of children 6 to 14 years of age attended school. However, since 1982 progress slowed down. While between 1970 and 1982 Federal spending for the education sector grew yearly in real terms at an average of 14.1%, double the growth rate of GDP, following the onset of the economic crisis in 1982 the growth rate decreased in real terms at a pace of 2.1 % per year (four times faster than the decline in GDP and almost three times faster than the decline in overall public spending). As a result, by 1988 the Federal education budget was just 6.3% of total Federal spending (down from 17.8% in 1976). As a percent of GDP, the rate had fallen from 5.3 to 3.5% (a 32% decline). Most of the funds (95%) were applied to operating costs, leaving little room for needed system expansion, maintenance and human resource development. Private education, although growing, remains a marginal financing source in the sector. 3. The main issues in this sub-sector are low internal efficiency, and a low level of cognitive achievement. Low internal efficiency is characterized by high repetition and drop-out rates. Repeaters represent 10.2% as a national average, but can reach as high as 30% in parts of some poor states, and also they are significantly more numerous in the first part of the primary cycle where 40-50% repetition rates have been registered in some parts of the country. While in 1990 primary level enrollment was 98%, dropout rates are high and the average years of schooling is only 3 to 4 years in the poorest states, with a national average of 6 years. Those who abandon the primary cycle reach 900,000 every year, half a million of them before completing the third grade, that is, before mastering the basic writing and reading skills. It is estimated that only half of the students entering the primary cycle complete it. Levels of cognitive achievement are also low. Data from a SEP evaluation in 1988 which tested students in Spanish, mathematics and natural and social sciences in grades 4 to 6 revealed scores slightly higher than 20 (out of a possible score of 100). 4. The formal education system in Mexico consists of basic education (preschool, primary and lower secondary) and post-basic education (upper secondary and university). Of a total enrollment of 21.4 million in all levels of basic education in 1989-90, 68% were at the primary level. Almost all basic educational services are provided by the public sector (only 6% attended 2 private schools in 1990). In 1992, as part of the educational reform, administrative and technical responsibility for all basic and teacher education services were transferred to the states, together with personnel, facilities, goods and equipment. At the same time, School Councils were established at state and municipal levels to follow up educational activities and to seek additional resources to respond to specific problems and needs. The planning and budget processes for education were decentralized, although the Federal Government continues to transfer funds for education to the states, from both the national budget and foreign sources, paying particular attention to alleviating inequities in the distribution of educational services by favoring allocation of resources to the areas in most need in the poorest states. The Federal educational system retained responsibility for policy, standards and evaluation (SEP) as well as, through CONAFE, for ensuring equitable distribution of resources through compensatory programs and for channeling and administering foreign assistance. 5. In the last five years the Government has conducted structural reforms intended to redefine its role, modernize the economy and create favorable conditions for sustained growth and at the same time, meet urgent needs of the population. The reform of the education sector is part of these overall reforms. Basic education has been given special attention for its significance to human capital formation. In 1992, mandatory basic education was extended from 6 to 9 years and in 1993 the primary education system adopted a new educational plan and revised curricula, as well as redesigned textbooks and other educational materials. Additionally, considerable emphasis was placed on improving the quality of teaching, through a system of horizontal promotion, new incentives favoring those teachers that remain in posts located in outlying areas, and in-service training. PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION Original Objectives 6. The objective of this project consisted of assisting the Government in improving the equity, quality and efficiency of primary education, focusing on four Mexican states (Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas and Hidalgo) with the highest incidence of poverty and low education indicators. Estimates made with 1988 data indicated that, in the four project states, average primary school attendance was 4.4 years, terminal efficiency 39%, the dropout rate 9.9% and repetition rate, 14.7%. Even more worrisome, first grade repetition rates ranged from 28 to 53%. These objectives, considered as being of the highest priority within the Government's Education Modernization Program, would be achieved through: (a) reducing the high repetition and dropout rates; (b) raising the level of cognitive achievement of children; and (c) strengthening management of the primary education system, including program design and implementation, monitoring and evaluation system. 3 Assessment of Original Project Objectives 7. The objectives of this project responded to the overall development objectives and priorities of the country and the Bank, by targeting primary education services to four states where sixty five percent its the population (about 7 million persons accounting for one third of the nation's absolute poor) was estimated to live below the poverty line. These states also included nearly 40% of the indigenous population, which had the least access to the educational system due to isolation and language barriers. The objectives also acknowledged the need to address the two most critical issues in the primary education system regarding low internal efficiency (high repetition and dropout rates) and low levels of students' cognitive achievement. Original Project Design and Organization 8. Overall project coordination and responsibility for attaining objectives was to be undertaken by SEP at the central level and by the State level Education Secretariats. A central Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) was to be responsible for overall project management. The project consisted of two major components: 9. The Educational Services Improvement Component (72% of total project cost) would improve the availability and quality of primary educational services. It would: (i) provide educational materials, books for school libraries and some bilingual reading books in primary schools, mostly rural: (ii) upgrade skills of under-qualified teachers and provide in-service training for primary school teachers and teacher trainers, using traditional methods as well as distance education technologies; and (iii) rehabilitate, replace and build educational facilities; and 10. The Institutional Strengthening Component (28% of total cost) would further improve the efficiency of the primary education sector by: (i) providing work incentives for teachers; (ii) improving the supervision system; (iii) strengthening the organization of the support service delivery system and management capacity of SEP at federal and state levels; (iv) supporting improvements in the information, monitoring and evaluation systems; and (v) conducting selected studies to assess project impact and help refine future project design. Changes 11. Anticipating the implementation of the educational reform and organizational changes in SEP, the project documents established commitments on the part of the Government to ensure that state governments would assume, increasingly through the project period, greater responsibility in implementing and managing the project in the respective states. To this end, it required that the Federal Government would sign an addendum to the existing agreements between the federal and state authorities before February 29, 1992. This requirement was not needed because federal and state authorities signed new decentralization agreements that 4 covered, inter alia, this issue. Another departure from the proposed project administration arrangements was the transfer of the PCU from SEP's Under-secretariat of Educational Coordination, to CONAFE in 1992. This was unavoidable in view of the organizational reform of the system and did not cause undue burden to project operations. IMPLEMENTATION RECORD 12. The current section presents a record of the project activities that took place until project closing regarding the Educational Services Improvement Component, and the Institutional Strengthening Component. A. Educational Services Improvement Component Improvement and expansion of educational facilities 13. Implementation took place during the five calendar years 1992-96 and resulted in substantial progress in extending access to primary education into remote areas in four provinces where 40 % of the country's indigenous population live. Indeed, about two thirds of the new and rehabilitated infrastructure was built in communities of difficult access and with a large proportion of very low income families. With the objective of closing wide gaps in the primary school infrastructure in order to increase enrollment, the project provided financing for building and rehabilitating classrooms, annexes to existing schools, warehouses, supervisors' offices and sanitary facilities. The initial organizational arrangements for undertaking construction gave the responsibility to CAFCE, the Federal School Construction Agency, that has branches in the states and a long experience and good performance in building schools, particularly in urban areas. However, the type of construction required in this project, consisting of modest rural schools and annexes in hard to reach locations, proved to be difficult and expensive for this agency. 14. The construction plan faced problems with large contractors abandoning the works because they were not profitable, and also there were many cases of inappropriate furniture, delays because of difficulties faced by large contractors to transport materials to certain locations, as well as CAFCE's own problems with supervising the works in many scattered and hard to access sites. In the last two years of the project CONAFE decided to use a different approach, moving the responsibility for construction and remodeling to the municipalities and using paid labor from the same communities where the facilities were being built.. Specific procedures were developed by CONAFE to manage this decentralized process of construction. The administration and supervision of construction under the new procedures was financed by assigning a budget to the state Project Coordinating Units (SPCUs) equivalent to around 4% of the costs of civil works (less than the usual 7% applied to administration and supervision of construction). 15. The SPCUs monitored and facilitated design, construction, rehabilitation, and equipment of facilities, and also provided the interface with the municipalities. Purchase and transport of 5 materials was facilitated by leaving it up to the community to use local materials and traditional means of transportation. These changes, done during the last year of the project, were very useful for testing the implications of moving the implementation of construction to the local level. The cost of construction per classroom was lowered by more than 30%, to an estimated four-state average of Mex.$60,800 compared to a cost of Mex.$90,000 under the CAFCE program. This system is now being used in the second basic education project (PAREB). 16. It is, however, important to point out that by 1995 CAFCE had completed 96% of the proposed classrooms and 93% of the planned annexes. With the new approach and the remaining funds for construction, it was possible to exceed the target for classrooms by 12%, and of annexes (including bathrooms and latrines) by 6%. In all, 6,875 new classrooms, 5,204 annexes, 43 warehouses, 1039 supervisors' and sector headquarters, 3,185 latrines and 1,102 sanitary facilities were added to the primary school system in the four states. In addition, 322 facilities were rehabilitated. The latter was a much lower number than the appraisal estimate of 1,174 schools to be remodeled and provisions for reinforcing the structures of other 696 facilities. The reason for this much reduced rehabilitation program was that CAFCE had already done, as part of a regular program, most of the repairs needed; most of the schools still in poor condition could not be easily reinforced or refurbished and may need replacement in the future. Another useful strategy during the project's last phase was the move to encourage communities to assume responsibility for maintaining and improving their education facilities and grounds by providing them with some funds for materials and labor. This approach to rehabilitation and maintenance has given good results, at considerable less cost. Provision of educational materials 17. In order to strengthen the teaching process and to attenuate the educational disadvantages for children living in poor areas, the project placed particular emphasis on developing, reproducing and distributing materials including textbooks, school libraries (which comprised books for children, didactic materials for teachers, and reading books of general interest for the community), bilingual books, teaching aids and school supplies. During the stated period, distribution of didactic materials, books and supplies reached the set targets and benefited a total of 5,584,305 children (of which over 50% were living in extreme poverty); these materials were also utilized by 210,767 teachers in 68,274 primary schools of the four states. 18. CONAFE, in coordination with the General Directorate of Indigenous Education (DGEI) and the education secretariats encouraged the families of the indigenous regions in the four states to send their children to primary schools, by teaching in the eight main indigenous languages. To this end, the project helped develop, produce and publish text books and exercise booklets for up to fourth grade, in eight indigenous languages. To guide this work, specialized teams were formed in each state. In the first phase, 24 titles for the first cycle of primary were printed and this material was used by 89,555 children and 6,713 teachers and principals. In the second phase, in 1994-95, books for the second cycle were printed, in the same 8 languages. Up to 1995, this sub-component was beneficial to 153,050 children and 8,210 teachers from both cycles. Its coverage was 55% of the target set at appraisal because the development of materials in so many languages took considerably more time than anticipated. Nevertheless, this should 6 not detract from the achievement that, for the first time in the country, there are primary level books and materials in the eight main indigenous languages. The DGEI is currently evaluating those textbooks and materials to learn from the experience before developing similar material for the third cycle of basic education and to revise the materials for the first two cycles as appropriate. School Libraries 19. Another enhancement for schools belonging to communities with high incidence of poverty and for bilingual schools was the provision of libraries (rincones de lectura). At least 50% of the children who received these books belonged to communities with the mentioned characteristics. This prograrn had existed since 1986 in small scale and only had reached a few urban areas. Its expansion through the project was preceded by one month of radio advertising to advise schools on the formation of a library committee (consisting of a teacher, a student, and a parent); these committees became contractually responsible for establishing and maintaining the libraries in their respective schools. The original target was to provide 159 titles and a total of 2.5 million books to establish libraries in all primary schools of the four states, and by 1994 the project had distributed 2.2 million library books to primary schools including all indigenous schools, as well as materials to community courses; in 1995-96 the distribution was completed by sending an additional 1.4 million library books. In all, 3.6 million books reached the rural primary schools of the four states, surpassing the original target by 12%. The extent of utilization of these resources and the impact on teachers, children and the community, would need to be followed up through PAREB. Teacher Training 20. The objectives of this large sub-component were directed to teachers, principals and supervisors. First, the goal was to upgrade skills of the teachers' subject matter knowledge, conmmand of instructional techniques, and ability to handle multigrade teaching, as well as to improve their abilities to monitor and evaluate student performance. A second objective was to improve the technical support capacity of school principals and supervisors. Additionally, support would be given to raising the quality of pre-service training by training current professors and teachers in training institutes. Training took place in two ways: (a) intensive courses during the Summer for teachers of general primary schools and those of indigenous schools; and (b) courses during three months of the school period, through 8-hour sessions on Saturdays, carried out by previously trained zone supervisors, for general primary school teachers and trainers of teachers. Additionally, for the latter, special events, seminars, round tables, conferences and workshops took place to update them on the results of recent research and innovations in education. Through all these activities, the targets set in the project at appraisal were amply met. In all, 265,452 primary teachers from rural, semi-rural, and indigenous schools of the four states were trained, surpassing the target by about 20%. 21. Training of teachers was based on well structured materials, specifically prepared, including diagnostic self-evaluations on each subject, reading lists, and suggestions for activities 7 within and outside the classroom. This methodological approach ensured little deviation from the substantive contents of the subjects to be taught, independent of the quality of the tutor. Training also encouraged the acquisition of knowledge in an active manner, on the basis of the experience and previous knowledge of the trainee. Moreover, video programs were prepared, as a "distance learning" form of reaching rural and indigenous primary teachers, to explain to them the strategy for promoting the principles of the new curricula and to give them tools (particularly multigrade teachers) to enrich their educational skills. Additionally, the Oaxaca the "teleprimaria" program, intended for primary students at various levels will be used to train teachers. 22. There are indications of a positive impact from all these training efforts on teachers of the compensatory programs, who expressed their satisfaction for being "taken into account by the system". However, changes in teaching practices is a slow process that will need to be continuously nurtured to get the necessary results. The following conclusions emerged from this experience: (a) it is important to pay closer attention to the practical aspects of course contents, so that those can be translated into classroom activities; and (b) in order to develop significant teaching experiences teachers should be given opportunities during training to present their most used working or teaching styles, and to encourage open discussions on course contents, so that best practices can be incorporated into future teacher training. B. Institutional Strengthening Component Provision Of Work Incentives To Teachers 23. Incentives were provided to general primary and indigenous teachers working in marginal and extremely isolated rural areas, to reduce high teacher turnover and absenteeism and to encourage a better distribution of teachers within each of the states, thus improving access to educational services for the children of poor families living in those areas. The incentive is equal to the basic salary of the primary school teacher and is strictly attached to the school, so that the teacher looses it if he or she transfers to another school. The project paid incentives to 5,400 teachers in 3,537 schools with over 160,000 students. This represented 40% of all teachers working in rural or indigenous communities selected according to the above described characteristics, and fulfilled 100% of the set target. Fifty per cent of those teachers belong to the indigenous education sub-system, working in schools located in the jungles of Chiapas, the mountains of Guerrero, "La Huasteca" in Hidalgo and "La Mixteca" in Oaxaca. Although when this program begun in 1992 there was some confusion among teachers on the objective and eligibility for this incentive, these problems were mostly resolved with the participation of parents' associations to supervise teacher compliance with the contracted conditions for receiving the incentive. The effects of the incentive to teacher turnover appear to have been significant: from a usual 80% rotation in schools located in remote rural areas, analysis of the payroll show that the rotation index decreased by about 15%, to 65%. The state education secretariat will need to continue to monitor the effects of these school related incentives. In the future, it might be useful to consider variants of this system, for teachers with exceptional performance. 8 24. Since 1996, another form of incentives to schools was initiated, consisting of providing a small fund of M$5,000 to parents associations for improvements, supplies, and maintenance of the grounds and school buildings and furniture. The program comprises 1,930 schools, where parents are beginning to show much more interest in the schools and the educational activities and are playing a responsible role in reporting on teacher performance. Further evaluation of both incentive systems will require follow up through PAREB. Improvement of The Supervision System 25. It was not an easy task to introduce changes in the supervision system in order to transform it into a tool to give technical support to teachers, besides fulfilling its traditional administrative and monitoring functions. To this end, the project adopted measures such as providing allowances to 1,230 supervisors (of which 147 were zone chiefs) for visiting schools in difficult to reach locations. The project also financed building and equipping of 1,039 small, conveniently located offices for supervisors (of which 123 are for zone chiefs), purchasing 277 vehicles, providing relevant training, and changing supervisors' functions by involving them in training teachers, both in courses and during supervisory visits. Thirty five percent of the new supervisor's offices were built in indigenous zones. All these inputs met the SAR targets, and in the case of office construction, these were exceeded by 38%. Although the old style supervision has not disappeared and administrative work is still in many instances the focus of supervision, significant changes are beginning to be observed as a result of training, new job requirements and standards for measuring supervisors' performance. The changed rules can no longer be ignored by supervisors and there are many instances of retirements when new standards are not accepted or can not be met. With all these elements of support to supervision, the number of visits to targeted schools by supervisors has increased remarkably in the last five years, from 237 annual supervisory visits in 1991, to over 5,700 in the period 1992-96. Organization/Management Strengthening of the Support Service Delivery and Management Capacity 26. The appraisal requirements for this component were designed to improve problems of storage and distribution of educational materials by constructing a network of 43 warehouses, and providing 43 vehicles of 3.5 ton capacity. Another objective was to strengthen the management capacity of SEP at both central and state levels, by financing technical assistance to support project coordination, monitoring and evaluation activities, as well as training for technical, managerial, and administrative staff. By the end of 1993, thirty two warehouses had been built and equipped and vehicles provided; the task was completed in 1994 with construction of other 11 warehouses and similar equipment and vehicles, meeting in this way the established targets. 27. The other part of the institutional development component was devoted to develop management and leadership capacity among middle and high levels of administration. One hundred eighteen management courses took place during the period 1993-96 on leadership and management, and on policy, planning, program, and project analysis. Other courses dealt with 9 instruments for program management, including use of indicators and monitoring and evaluation systems, personnel and organization management and development, administration of infrastructure, equipment and materials, and administration of financial resources. Three subjects cut across each of these courses: (a) organizational and pedagogic reform and innovation; (b) decentralization context (Federalization); and (c) information systems (handling data bases and information). For organization and preparation of the management courses, Technical Groups were formed at central and state levels with the objective of identifying consultants and instructors/lecturers to be contracted, select and prepare course contents and materials, agree on methods and prepare a technical file. Additionally, 38 special courses took place, dealing with knowledge acquisition evaluation, financial accounting of educational projects, microplanning, exchange visits among states, programming and budget, procurement and bid process, information systems and updating computer software and hardware, and organizational development. Management training abroad took place through attendance to courses and observation visits to countries that are also developing new educational policies, plans and models. Countries visited included Colombia, Chile, Guatemala and El Salvador. 28. Lastly, this component financed seven promotional campaigns to inform the public about the new orientation and strengthening of the educational system and to seek, through better understanding, improved community cooperation. This was accomplished through billboards, meetings, radio and television spots, in coordination with the social communication sections of the Education Secretariats in the four states. Improvement In The Information Monitoring And Evaluation Systems & Selected Studies 29. This sub-component planned support to a revision of SEP's existing information system to improve the relevancy of the data being collected as well as the effectiveness of the information networks between the states and with the central level. It also aimed at a more decentralized use of the information for management and evaluation purposes. This was to be done through technical assistance, additional equipment and training. The mid-term review carried out by the Bank in September, 1994 found that although the design of the information system had been initiated in 1992, very little had been accomplished up to that moment. That mission identified problem impeding progress, including the need for technical assistance, computers functioning outside consolidated systems and networks within each state, and with incomplete technical support for users. This was making it impossible, for instance, to obtain simple information on the progress of teacher training and on school incentives. The mission advised on a number of actions to move ahead with the design of the system and recommended to change the strategy in order to begin receiving, within a few months, information on PARE's performance, so that it could be utilized by management in the preparation of PAREB. 30. The most important recommendation was that a new strategy and a new team were needed, no later than the end of 1994, to develop in phases a responsive information system. Steps suggested were, inter alia: to coordinate the various groups dealing with information, give technical support to users, and have initially a simple system to handle essential data exchange on PARE (first Primary Education Project), and move later on (in 1995) to a more sophisticated 10 system (to be piloted first in one state) introducing electronic mail and general information boards, servers and local networks for the states, relevant software, and a plan for training users in utilization of the system. In early 1995 a supervision mission found that progress was not forthcoming and the work done on information systems continued to be inadequate and in October the Bank and the Government decided to cancel this sub-component and transfer the responsibility for developing a new education information system, to the restructured PAREB project. 31. Regarding the implementation of project financed studies, an issue that was the subject of many exchanges during the first two years of the project between the Bank and CONAFE, was the design and contracting of consulting groups to undertake impact evaluation studies. It was concluded that there were only two qualified groups to do this work in Mexico (the Centro de Estudios Educativos and the Grupo the Investigaci6n de la Universidad de las Americas); but each had different kinds of expertise; therefore it was decided to split the assignments of qualitative and quantitative evaluation between the two groups. It took several revisions to arrive at final products, which still fell short of providing clear guidance for designing educational changes and improvements. These studies were disproportionately costly in comparison with their usefulness for assessing the results of educational inputs on students' achievement, quality of teaching, and internal efficiency. The detailed terms of reference prepared to invite bids for the studies were adaptations to the capabilities available in the institutions within the country and the concept of longitudinal studies proposed at appraisal was broadly interpreted. 32. Moreover, the studies were carried out in 1993-94, at a time when the contributions of the project were just being introduced in the selected primary schools of the four states. Construction of facilities, training of teachers, distribution of materials and reinforcement of supervision were at various stages of execution during that period; consequently, it was not possible to fully attribute the conclusions of the studies to the project inputs. A useful application of the study results, that were based on data gathered in 1993-94, could be as baseline data to make comparisons with other studies that might be undertaken in the future, in the same geographic areas and on the same subjects. This experience points to the importance of timing, specificity of terms of reference and use of experts in the definition of complicated studies or consultancies, as well as allowing wide international competition among qualified institutions before selecting consultants for expensive studies requiring a well qualified pool of various kinds of professional backgrounds. There was a more positive experience with the evaluation study on the pilot program of"teleprimaria" in Oaxaca, which provided useful findings to guide the fine tuning of video programs for use as distance education tools for primary school students and for training teachers. Procurement of Goods and Services 33. There were delays during the project in carrying out procurement; the l'roject Coordinating Unit (CPU) staff considered that this was due to the numerous steps reuLIir-ed to obtain clearances from the national financial institution and the Bank; there are also ratlier elaborate administrativc steps within the implementing agencies at state and central levels. CONAFE is studying thc existing procedures and has identified 180 steps required in bi iding proce'ses, withi potcnaial foir 11 bottlenecks at several stages. It is discussing this issue with NAFIN and the Bank, for new projects, in an effort to simplify procedures, while maintaining accountability and transparency. A related issue is the need to determine from the beginning the type of procurement to be applied to specific packages. In cases where interest from foreign contractors is unlikely because of the nature of the construction program, mainly consisting of small and scattered facilities, or of simple furniture, it would be more expedite to designate such packages for local competitive bidding. ACHIEVEMENT OF ORIGINAL OBJECTIVES 34. The main project objective consisting of expanding primary education giving priority to low income communities located in places far away from urban centers, and improving the quality and efficiency of primary education, focusing on the mentioned selected areas of four Mexican states (Oaxaca, Guzerrero, Chiapas and Hidalgo) was to be achieved by increasing the number of schools and reducing the high repetition and dropout rates, raising the level of cognitive achievement of children, and strengthening management of the primary education system. The project achieved a remarkable progress in extending primary education services, reaching, and in many cases surpassing, the physical targets. Moreover, it correctly targeted those services by investing over 60% of the resources for infrastructure in very poor communities and the other 40% in places with medium levels of poverty. Incentives were paid to 5,400 teachers, representing 40% of all teachers working in rural or indigenous communities. The project also trained over 265,000 teachers, as well as principals and supervisors, going 3 to 12% above the set target for almost all categories of training. Although there were delays for didactic and library materials to get to certain schools, particularly at the beginning because of the difficulties in reaching certain locations, toward project completion all targets had been reached, with preference given to schools located in areas of extreme poverty (71% of the school receiving materials were in those areas, compared to a target of 68%). 35. Regarding measures of quality and efficiency, the evaluation studies did not give definitive answers because the studies had design problems and took place too early in the project implementation to measure real impact. Indications of statewide changes during the period are given by information from the SEP system of continuous statistics, from 1990-91 to 1994-95. They show that there was a slightly declining trend in dropout rates in three states -Hidalgo, Oaxaca and Guerrero - while in Chiapas there was an increase in the last year after two years of modest decline. Terminal efficiency trends showed improvements in the four states. It may be concluded that the project provided a good starting point towards reaching stated objectives. It also achieved remarkable advances in compensating for inequalities by expanding and improving the school infrastructure, ensuring teacher permanence, training teachers and supervisors, and making available excellent educational materials in remote areas. However, the task is by no means completed. The compensatory primary education system still needs better measuring and evaluation tools and the four states still remain in the lower range in the scale of educational achievements nationwide, indicating that significant further efforts are needed to balance educational resources and complete the task. 12 MAJOR FACTORS AFFECTING THE PROJECT Factors not subject to Government control 36. Although the decentralization of the educational system that took place during project execution created some problems, it was an unavoidable part of the educational reform. In turn, decentralization and community involvement gave considerable impetus to the project, lowered the costs of school construction, facilitated monitoring of teacher attendance and helped in distribution of materials. Factors subject to Government control 37. Like in other projects in Mexico, annual delays in transfer of budgetary allocation to the project affected this project during the first four years and delayed activities and disbursements. These delays affected particularly the use of project funds for recurrent expenditures, since the overall level of disbursements for this category ended up being much lower than estimated. In the last year of the project, the Government regularized the process of budgeting and funding, making financing available for all project activities at the beginning of the year. This continued to be the case in 1997 for other related education projects. Factors subject to implementing agency control 38. Changes in the manner of implementation of the construction component took a long time to be effected. Discussions between CONAFE and the Bank on the high costs of construction through CAFCE extended for at least two years and only were resolved in 1996, when new management in CONAFE took over. The decision to delegate responsibility for administering and implementing construction to the State Education Secretariats and the municipalities, and resorting to community cooperation for construction and maintenance proved very effective in lowering costs and expediting construction, but savings would have been considerable if solutions would have been found earlier in the project period. 39. There were problems with timing, design and contracting of evaluation studies. These studies ended up being extremely costly and their results of limited value. A design that would have allowed to take some measurements of conditions of educational quality and achievements in 1992-93 as a baseline, and a repeat of those studies in 1996 (or a longitudinal study as planned at appraisal), would have been more useful. CONAFE would have obtained better results by contracting consultants with expertise and first hand knowledge in measurement of special interventions to promote equity. If the expertise was not available at that time in the country, it would have been more cost-effective to undertake a wider search, including institutions of other countries of Latin America and elsewhere. PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY 40. The innovations introduced through this project in the primary education system of four states to assist them in closing the gap of coverage and improving the quality of schools in poor and indigenous communities have not yet reached its full potential, although they are well conceived and should come to fruition in follow-up projects such as PAREB. Decentralization 13 of the education system and the involvement of parents and communities will facilitate its assimilation into the regular state systems. Absorption at local level would make these programs more affordable, because promotion of equity and quality in primary education will need to continue for the medium term (ten to fifteen years) in the poorest states. Sustainability would be assured through an increased awareness by parents in all communities of what they can demand of the education system. BANK PERFORMANCE 41. Preparation and Appraisal. This project had a one year preparation period, from its identification in early 1990, to its appraisal in March 1991. Preparation was of good quality and included, in 1990, a Background Paper on Education in Mexico. Preparatory activities received consultant support financed through a Japanese Assistance Grant. Several studies took place during the preparation period including a microplanning survey in three states, assessment of needs for an education information system and an evaluation system, as well as support to the technical group that was preparing the sub-component on distance education. The longitudinal studies for evaluation of children's cognitive and educational achievement described at appraisal would have consisted of following up student streams or cohorts, representative of different types of primary schools, both in the project areas and in locations used as control; these longitudinal surveys, if properly designed and implemented as planned, would have enabled to obtain comparative data throughout the project period and, at the same time, develop a methodology for continued evaluation. 42. Supervision. The project was well supervised by the Bank through two or three missions a year and the presence (since May 1993) of an implementation facilitator for infrastructure in the Bank Resident Mission in Mexico City. A constant preoccupation of the missions during the first part of each year was the lack of funds for the project, due to a delay of six months in the release of funds by the Federal Government, and this detracted from the attention that should have been paid to technical aspects. Even so, Bank missions were thorough in their reviews and always careful to make field visits to observe real events and obtain first hand information from state staff and authorities. An exception to this careful monitoring of project performance was the unclear positions adopted and communicated by supervision teams regarding terms of reference, invitations to consultants and their selection, as well as weak feedback during implementation of the evaluation studies. BORROWER PERFORMANCE 43. The transfer of the Project Coordinating Unit to CONAFE did not appear to cause undue problems, although some delays in implementation experienced during the first two years may have been in part the result of frequent management and other personnel turnover at the PCU. But the cause of many delays was clearly the yearly hiatus between the budget approval for project activities which took place in January, and the release of funds in June. This problem was finally solved in 1996, as explained earlier. The PCU could have been more decisive in decentralizing the construction of schools to the state and local levels earlier, and in ensuring an 14 appropriate design, technical assistance and monitoring for the management information system and the evaluation studies. ASSESSMENT OF OUTCOME 44. When this project closed, it had comfortably met all the physical targets of service coverage, distribution of materials, textbooks and libraries, as well as those regarding training of teachers and managers. It also achieved significant progress in developing and distributing textbooks and teachers' guides in eight indigenous languages and initiating distribution of guidelines, promotional materials, and special training, to help teachers utilize the rich supply of well conceived books and teaching aids. A stricter control and quicker corrective decisions could have resulted in greater economies in the construction sub-component. Regarding institutional development, some progress was made in starting the change process in supervision, by defining these functions as supportive and tutoring, rather than exclusively administrative, but it will be necessary to increase efforts to make this strategy fully effective. Introduction of incentives for teachers in schools located in places of difficult access and low development appears to be a good instrument to improve teacher attendance and permanence. In other institutional development actions, there was little advance in modernizing the information systems, and in establishing a good base for improving evaluation. These shortcomings could have been lessened if the PCU had acted with less reluctance in resorting to the best possible sources of technical assistance in evaluation studies and in development of a computerized management information system. 15 LESSONS LEARNED a) In social sector projects consisting of expanding services and improving quality, intellectual resources and administrative efforts need to be balanced, so that no only physical expansion targets are met, but substantive work is devoted to institutional building; b) In order to improve the quality of primary education in rural and poor communities in Mexico it would be cost-effective to focus attention on development of appropriate methodelogies and teacher training for multigrade situations since they make up 60% of all schools in the country and a much higher proportion in the areas covered by this project. c) Tangible benefits are gained by incorporating parents in the school activities, including monitoring teacher attendance and performance, and there is evidence that in poor communities these benefits increase if parents receive training and parents' associations are given a minimum of financial resources for justifiable and verifiable activities, such as school maintenance and appearance. This approach will require periodic examination and refreshment to maintain positive interaction among parents, school and teachers. d) The approach used toward the end of this project, of decentralizing administration and implementation of construction of schools to the municipalities and the community has demonstrated its advantages, both in terms of lower costs and expeditiousness; CONAFE has developed detailed procedures and financial controls for delegating the construction related transactions to municipalities. The approach should be validated through PAREB. e) Delays experienced during the initial stages of the project in procurement may be attributed to the use of rigid, centralized procedures and lack of training and the high turnover of the staff responsible for these tasks; this demonstrated the need for training the relevant staff before project initiation and for a proper transition when staff changes occur. f) The project also demonstrated the effectiveness of decentralizing procurement to regional and state levels, and the need to review and simplify, as much as possible, the steps required to complete a bidding process, as well as to select and contract technical assistance with funds from an international loan; this issue should be revisited in the context of new projects. g) Development of management information systems in any sector is a complex task and its success depends heavily on highly skilled technical expertise for the design of the system; the overall high cost and the usefulness of such systems justify the use of the best quality of technical assistance available through national or international recruiting. The finalized design should include the specifications for the equipment to be purchased. h) The weakness of the products resulting from the evaluation studies points to the importance of timing, specificity of terms of reference and use of experts in the definition of complicated studies or consultancies, and allowing wide competition among qualified institutions before selecting consultants for studies requiring a pool of various kinds of expertise and hands-on experience on the subjects being evaluated. Moreover, the project coordinating office should provide a proper follow up to ensure an acceptable final product. 16 FUTURE OPERATIONS 45. PAREB was restructured in 1996 to continue supporting, until the end of 1999, primary education innovations in the four states covered by this project, as well as in other 10 states with similar issues to address in primary education. Thus, it will be possible to keep working on all recommendations concerning refinements in teaching approaches and methodology, supervision, management information, community involvement, as well as on evaluation. 17 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT MEXICO PRIMARY EDUCATION PROJECT (LOAN 3407-ME) PART II: STATISTICAL TABLES Table 1: Summary of Assessments Table 2: Related Bank Credits Table 3: Project Timetable Table 4: Cumulative Estimated and Actual Disbursement Table 5: Key Monitoring Indicators Table 6: Studies included in Project Table 7A: Project Costs Table 7B: Project Financing Table 8: Bank Resources: Staff Inputs Table 9: Bank Resources: Missions Table 10: Status of Legal Covenants 18 Table 1: Summary of Assessments Macro policies 4 Sector policies 4 Financial objectives 4 Institutional development 4 Physical objectives 4 Poverty reduction 4 Gender issues 4 Other social objectives 4 Environmental objectives 4 Public sector management 4 Private sector development 4 Other (specify) B,_ Project -ostatnahitity L_kely X iilikely . Thice.to. L Sustainability 4 C Bankpe.taring.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~wst:i;:;:;:;:.........~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~........ ..... _ _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..... Preparation assistance 4 Appraisal 4 Supervision 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~.......... X. ........... .... .g . . ............ 0......,W Preparation 4 Implementation 41 Covenant compliance 41 Operation 41 Assessment of Overall Outcome 4 Table 2: Related Bank Loans .. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ...... . .... .. .. . Initial Improving the quality and efficiency of 1992 Closed IE activities in the selected states will Education Loan initial education in the 10 poorest continue under a restructured Second 3518-ME Mexican states and increasing Education Project participation of low income Primary Improve quality and efficiency of primary 1994 Ongoing The Loan Agreement was amended and Education II education, focusing on the poorest approved by Board on 5/15/97, to include Loan 3722-ME municipalities, and continuing with Initial continuation of IE activities initiated with Education activities. Loan 3518-ME 20 Table 3: Project Timetable lanned tix3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..at........ 1. Preparation 03/90 11/20/89 2. Appraisal 03/03/91 03/03/91 3. Negotiations 08/06/91 08/06/91 4. Board presentation 09/24/91 09/24/91 5. Signing 10/14/91 10/14/91 6. Effectiveness 11/91 12/11/91 7. Project completion 07/15/97 11/07/97 8. Loan closing 06/30/96 06/30/97 Project Timetables 24-Jul-98 11-Mar-97 - 28-Oct-95 A 15-Jun-94- -4Date planned a 31-Jan-93 - - 1 . A + 1 9-Sep-91 ; . -U- l Date actual 7-May-90 23-Dec-88 _ f . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Processing Steps 21 Table 4: Cumulative Estimated and Actual Disbursements (Millions of US$) (Bank Fiscal Year) Appraisal estimates 15.0 43.0 107.0 187.0 239.0 250.0 2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Revised Estimates 2 19.2 99.4 152.7 174.0 190.0 212.6 Actual 19.2 99.4 152.7 173.9 186.1 195.2 3 Disbursements Actual as % of 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.9 97.9 91.8 Revised Estimate Date of Last Disbursement April 24, 1997 Disbursements 260 240 220 200 __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ 180 [-4.-Appraisal estimates o 160 E140 40120 -U-Revised estimates Th 100 (1995) 80 aSieActualDisbursements 40- 20 0 LL LL. LL L. LI. 2The Government requested a cancellation of US$37.4 million in July 1995. 3Teamount of US$17.4 million was canceled at loan closing. 22 Table 5: Key Monitoring Indicators Key Implementation Indicators at Original Targets through Actual Percent Project Appraisal 1996 Achieved as of Achieved Dec. 31, 1996 over Revised Targets DIDACTIC MATERIALS No. of schools to receive educational 66,250 68,274 103% materials of which extreme poverty 68% 71% 104% No. of students to be reached 5 5,151,500 5,584,305 108% No. of teachers benefited 200,000 210,787 106% No. of schools benefited 56,500 68,274 121% LIBRARY BOOKS No. of schools to receive library books No. of Librarypackages 15,500 17,356 112% No. of library books distributed 28,000 27,911 100% 3,600,000 3,615,744 100% BILINGUAL READING BOOKS No. of textbooks distributed 6 N/A 174,032 No. of reading books distributed N/A 173,132 No. of Schools benefited N/A 2,104 No. of children benefited 280,000 153,050 55% No, of Teachers benefited N/A 8,210 No. of teachers guides N/A 14,166 TEACHER AND ADMINISTRATOR TRAINING Summer intensive courses: - Rural teachers, principals, supervisors -Urban teachers, principals, supervisors 46,000 -Indigenous teachers, principals, {180,373 100% supervisors 37,000 40,000 {85,079 100% Semi-monthly courses: -Rural teachers, principals, supervisors -Urban teachers, principals, supervisors 54,000 {included 43,000 3bcve} Training CONAFE instructors 6,000 N/A Teachers of teachers training 3,200 4,117 138% 4The abbreviation N/A means that there were no targets set for the corresponding indicators, but the results are reported for their high significance as project accomplishments. 5Npmkers apply, for all beneficiaries, to the five year period 1992-97. 6Tegtbooks distributed in 8 local dialects. 23 DISTANCE ED. MATERIALS - Production of video for training 60 (revised 32) 32 100% - Production of audio for training 270 (revised 72) 72 100% - Production od video, indigenous (revised 32) 32 100% - Production of Radio programs - Indigenous radio programs (revised 8) 8 100% - Pilot TV Oaxaca Program 1,080 (revised N/A) 612 57% - Pilot Radio Serial Oaxaca 156 (revised N/A) 104 67%/o - Pilot Videos, Oaxaca N/A 90 (82 indigenous) NO. OF TEACHERS RECEIVING INCENTIVES 5,400 5,400 100% SUPERVISORS offices & eq.7 1,210 1,039 86% SUPPORT SERVICES WAREHOUSES to be built 43 43 100% Other support facilities 8 - New construction 1,068 2,282 9 214% - rehabilitations N/A 322 CLASSROOMS - New construction 6,117 6,875 113% - Annexes 4,957 5,204 105% - Rehabilitation BUDGET ALLOCATION INCREASE 2%, FOR PRIMARY PER YEAR 2.8%,4%,5%,5%(increases in 1992-96) 7It comprises supervision offices and sector headquarters. 8Includes sanitary facilities (about 85%) and offices and supply rooms. 9It was possible to lower costs considerably by using the community to do these works; therefore the target was doubled. 24 Table 6: Studies Included in the Project Study Purpose as defined at Status Impact Appraisal/ redefined Impact Evaluation and Cost- Evaluate impact of project Completed Findings unclear to evaluate Effectiveness of the PARE activities and measure cost impact Program (Quantitative effectiveness of Evaluation) interventions Qualitative evaluation of the Redefined objective was to Completed Report provided copious PARE Program obtain first-hand information on the results of information on current interviews. Although attitudes of teachers and informative, report was supervisors on the changes anecdotal, since samples did in the primary education not have statistical system. It was based on significance. interviews of a sample of communities and education facilities Evaluation of Impact of Evaluate the impact of the Completed The evaluation was well Oaxaca "Teleprimaria" pilot program and the conducted and provided Program (Distance Education) feasibility of its extension. considerable material and recommendations for improving and expanding this program. 25 Table 7A: Project Costs (US$ Million) Appraisal Estimates Actual Costs Item Loa Foeg Toa % oa oeg Total 1. Civil 101 18 119 15% 97.4 17.5 114.9 15% Works 2. Furniture 8 2 10 22% 6.4 1.8 8.2 22% and equip. (excl. vehicles and educ. materials) 3. Vehicles 4 1 5 19% 3.2 0.7 3.9 19% 4. 25 4 29 21% 28.4 7.6 36.0 21% Educational materials 5. Training, 33 7 40 27%' 29.7 11.1 33.8 12% studies, and tech. assist. 6. Teacher 46 46 - 44.6 - 44.6 - incentives 7. 9 2 11 14% 23.6 3.4 27.0 13% Incremental Costs Baseline 264 41 305 13% 233.3 35.1 268.4 13% Costs Physical 12 2 14 14% - -0.1 -0.110 - contingencies Price 31 2 33 6% - - Contingencie s Total Project 308 44 352 13% 233.3 35.0 268.3 13% Costs I_I I_I_I Table 7B: Project Financing (US$ Million) Appraisal Estimates Actual Costs Source Local Costs Foreign Total Local Costs Foreign Total Costs Costs IBRD 206.0 44.0 250.0 160.2 35.0 195.2 Government 102.0 - 102.0 73.1 - 73.1 Total 308.0 44.0 352.0 233.3 35.0 268.3 'Effect of pulling in initial special account. "Ift includes US$2.9 million contributed by the four estates, as follows: Chiapas 32%, Hidalgo 15%, Guerrero 1%, Oaxaca 52%. 26 Table 8: Bank Resources: Staff Inputs Preparation to Appraisal -55.0 135.1 Appraisal 9.2 23.0 N.gotiations through Board Approval 7.1 19.0 SuperviSion * 159.2 217.5 C~ompletion 16.0 21.8 * It includes time spent in construction supervision by resident Bank Staff Table 9: Bank Resources: Missions .. ....................:::...:::...::...:::...:::.. Through Appraisal Identification 11/89 2 1 EA N/A N/A N/A Preparation 3/90 3 2 EA N/A N/A N/A Preparation 6/90 4 3 EAC N/A N/A N/A Preparation 8/90 6 3 EAD N/A N/A N/A Preparation (Pre-appr) 10/90 7 3 EADH N/A N/A N/A Preparation Preparation Appraisal Through Board Approval Appraisal 3-4/91 7 3 AEDH N/A N/A N/A Post Appraisal 4/91 4 1 IC N/A N/A N/A Supervision Supervision 1 11/91 1 1 D I I Supervision 2 12/91 4 1 EAH 2 1 TM Supervision 3- 1/92 4 1 AED 2 1 FMT Supervision 4 3/92 4 1 ADH 2 1 FM-T Supervision 5 8/92 4- 1 EADH 2 I MT Supervision 6 10/92 3 AB- 2 1 MI Supervision 7 12/92 6 2 ACDB 2 I MTF Completion a A= Education Specialist; B1=Management;- C=Procurement Specialist; D=Architect; E=HR Economist; F=Portfolio- Manager, G=Office Manager; H=Task Assistant; I+lnfo. Systems; J=Financial AnaLyst. b/ 1= Problem Free; 2=Moderate; 3=Major Problems; S=Satisfactory; U=Unsatisfactory c/ M=Management; F=Financial; P=Procurement; S-=Studies; E=Monitoring &EvaL; T=TechnicaLAssessment; TR=Trainirg; Supervision Supervision 8 6/93 7 2 AEDM 2 1 MT Supervision 9 2/94 7 1 ADCMI 2 1 FMT Supervision 10* 9/94 8 2 AMCDI 2 TM Supervision 11 4/95 1 4 J 2 1 F Supervision 12 7/95 3 1 ACD 2 1 TM Supervision 13 11/95 4 1 ACD 2 TM Supervision 14 10/96 4 1 ACD 2 1 TM Supervision 15 10/96 3 1 AD 2 1 MT Supervision 16 5/97 3 1 ABC 2 1 MT Supervision 17** 3 2 BC I I Completion a/ A= Education Specialist; B=Management; C=Procurement Specialist; D=Architect; E=HR Economist; F=Portfolio Manager; G=Office Manager; H=Task Assistant; I= Info. System; J=Financial Analyst. b/ I= Problem Free; 2=Moderate; 3=Major Problems; S=Satisfactory; U=Unsatisfactory _/ M=Management; F=Financial; P=Procurement; S=Studies; E=Monitoring & Eval.; T=Technical Assessment; TR=Training; **ICR mission, to close project Patricia Casco, LASHD 0:\MXEDTEAM\7690_1CR\TAl3LES.DOC November 21, 1997 4:24 PM 29 Table 10: Status of Legal Covenants Guarantee 3.01 01 C 01/14/92 Borrower and Guarantor to enter into Complied contractual arrangements providing for transfer of funds. Such arrangements to be furnished to the Bank. l 3.03 (a) 08 C Public primary school supervisors to Distribution Completed. distribute educational material packages to indigenous and CONAFE schools and multi-grade general primary schools with no more than one or two teachers. 3.03 (b) 13 C 11/30/91 School needs survey to be furnished to Survey completed and furnished the Bank and precise content of to Bank. educational material packages under 3.03 (a) above to be revised on the basis of this survey. 3.04 13 C SEPs Educational Publications Unit to Distribution completed (15,289 distribute library books: (i) during first schools). year of project implementation to indigenous schools and rural schools with not more than five teachers; and (ii) during subsequent years, to urban schools and larger rural schools. 3.05 (a) 13 C SEP to carry out Teacher and Training More than 185,000 have been Incentives programs with the assistance trained (October 1996). of GTCs and GTEs, under supervision of:(i) DGEI for indigenous teacher, principal or supervisor training; (ii) DGEP for primary education teacher, principal or supervisor training; (iii) CONAFE for its community instructors; and (iv) CONACEN for teacher trainers. 3.05 (b) (i) 13 C Each GTC to be composed of teacher Complied. training specialists, of which half are SEP professionals, and half professionals provide by other teacher l___________ _________ _____________ training institutions. 3.05 (b) 13 C GTC to train member of GTEs, Complied. (ii) supervise GTEs, and prepare, test and produce the course materials required for teacher training programs. 3.05 (b) 13 C GTEs to: (a) select and train instructors Complied. (iii) who will train the teachers, principals or supervisors; (b) monitor progress of such teachers, principals or supervisors in the courses they take; (c) be responsible for day-to-day operations of training programs; and (d) monitor __________ _________attendance at training sessions. 3.05 (b) 13 C Training incentives under the teacher Complied. (iv) training program to be distributed in accordance with terms of SEP's 1974 regulation of employee promotion rules. 30 3,05 (c) 13 C 06/30/92 SEP to submit to the Bank for review a Complied. detailed description of teacher training courses and course materials. 3,0,6 (4) 13 C Distance Education Program to be Complied. carried out through a technical committee headed by a general coordinator and including representatives from DGEI, DGEP and CONAFE, all acting under the I_________ supervision of SEP's Television Unit. l ' 3.06 (b) 13 C 04/30/92 03/31/94 SEP to cause: (i) radio programs under Complied the Distance Education Program to be Broadcast by local radio station for free; (ii) television programs to be broadcast by Radio Television programs to be broadcast by Radio Television de Oaxaca for free; and (iii) SEP to present to the Bank for approval the description of all Distance Education programs as well as transmission schedules in the case programs to be broadcast. 3. ,Q7 (A) X 3! '' CAPFCE to carry out all civil works Complied. financed with Loan proceeds as follow: (i) prototype designs, satisfactory to the Bank, would be followed for new facilities constructed under the Project, and to the extent feasible, for rehabilitated facilities under the Project; and (ii) no furniture and equipment would be procured under the Project unless contained in prototype furniture and equipment lists, prepared for each I________ type of facility by SEP. 3A7 (b) 13 C 12/31/91 SEP to complete preparation of technical Technical plan completed. The plans for all rehabilitation work under 1996 rehabilitation. Part C. I of the Project to be undertaken during the first year of Project l _________ __________ __________ Implementation. 3.07 (c) 13 C 06/30/92 08/21/92 SCEPs with participation of parents' Plans received by the Bank. associations and technical assistance from CAPFCE, to carry out the preventive maintenance program in acordance with plans prepared by each of the SCEPs. SCEPs that have not presented Preventive Maintenance Plans by the Effectiveness Date shall present their plans to the Bank. 3.07 (d) 13 C All civil works for public primary school Complied. facilities in the Project States (including those carried out by PNS) to be monitores by SEP. 3.08 . . 13 C SCEPs to provide teacher incentives Complied. under the supervision of DGPRL and in accordance with SEPs July 1991 Guidelines pertaining thereto. 31 3.09 13 C SCEPS to provide work incentives for Complied. Supervisors under the supervision of DGPRL and in accordance with SEP's July 1991 Guidelines pertaining thereto. 3.10 13 C SEP to use warehouse constructed under Complied. the Project in a manner consistent with the inventory system referred to in paragraph 3 (c) of Schedule I to the Loan Agreement. 3.11 (i) 13 C 12/30/91 05/31/93 Carrying out an informal needs study As a result of the decentralized according to terms of reference already policy, the mission and the agreed upon with the Bank, and government decided to cancel the furnishing results to the Bank. implementation of this subcomponent. (October 1995). 3.11 (ii) 13 C Carrying out an information system As a result of the decentralization action plan already agreed with the policy, the mission and the Bank. government decided to cancel the implementation of this subcomponent 3.11 (iii) 13 C 02/29/92 05/31/93 Modifying such plan so as to take into As a result of the decentralization account the results of the information policy, the mission and the needs study. government decided to cancel the implementation of this subcomponent. (October 1995). 3.16 (b) 13 C 09/30/92 PCU and SPCU operating directors to On Sept. 10 of each year. prepare and submit to the Bank annual implementation progress reports based on the indicators and criteria referred to in Section 3.16 (a) above. 3.16 (c) 13 C 11/30/92 SEP, the SCEPs, SHCP, SPP and On November of each year. NAFIN to participate in annual Project Implementation reviews to be held in conjunction with the Bank and prepare an annual plan of action for the following twelve months. 3.16 (d) 13 C Annual plan of action to include: (i) list Complied. all civil works for public primary education facilities carried out in the Project States by SEP and PNS during the preceding twelve months, and to be carried out through SEP and PNS during the following including, if necessary, adjustments in the amount and type of civil works to be carried out under the Project; (ii) technical plans for all rehabilitation works under the Project for the upcoming twelve months; (iii) evidence that land for new facilities to be constructed under the Project during upcoming twelve months has been purchased by or donated to SEP and that such facilities will be adequately staffed; and (iv) list the schools for which teacher work, incentives will be paid during upcoming twelve moths. 32 3.17 (a) 13 C 09/30/94 Mid-term review to be carried out by Mid-term review took place with SEP with the assistance of consultants September 1994 Mission. and results presented to the Bank; such lmid-term review to assess initial Project impact with regard to meeting Project objectives and conforming to SEP policies. 3.17 (b) 13 C 11/30/94 SEP to prepare and initiative carrying Complied. ________ ______ ________ out action 3.18 13 C 02/29/92 02/29/92 SEP to enter into agreements with The covenant is no longer Project States of Chiapas and Guerrero applicable since there is a new regarding state public primary schools decentralization agreement. (as opposed to Federal) for: distribution of Educational Materials received from SEP; adequate supervision of performance of teachers supervisors and principals to obtain training under the Project; provision of information for annual and mid-term reviews referred to in Sections 3.16 and 3.17 of this Agreement; and non-interference with Guarantor's compliance with its obligations under this Agreement. l 3.19 13 C If, during the course of Project N/A applicable (see 318). Implementation state (as opposed to Federal) public primary schools are established in the Project States of Oaxaca and Hidalgo, SEO to enter into agreements identical to those described in Section 3.18 above. l 4.01 (a) 01 C Guarantor to maintain records and Complied. separate accounts for operations, resources and expenditures of SEP (including PCU and SPCUs) in connection with the execution of the Project.__ 4.01 (b)(i) 01 C Guarantor to (i) have records and See comments to Section 4.01 (b) accounts referred to in Section 4.01 (a) of Loan Agreement. above for each Fiscal Year audited by independent and qualified auditors; (ii) furnish to the Bank as soon as available, but in any case not later than six months after the end of such year, these audit reports; and (iii) furnish to the Bank other information regarding such records and accounts and the audit thereof as the Bank reasonable requests. 33 4.01 (c) 01 C With respect to withdrawals from Loan Complied. Account made on the basis of SOEs Guarantor to: (i) maintain records and separate accounts reflecting such expenditures; (ii) retain all records until one year after Bank has received the audit report; (iii) enable Bank's representatives to examine such record; and (iv) ensure that such records and separate accounts are included in annual audits, with separate opinion regarding their reliability. l 4.01 (d) 01 C With respect to withdrawals from Complied. Special Account, Guarantor to provide Borrower with information required to comply with Borrower's obligations under Section 4.01 (b) of the Loan Agreement. l Loan 3.01, 6.01 03 C 01/14/92 Borrower and Guarantor to enter into Complied. (c), 6.02 contractual arrangements providing for transfer of funds. Such arrangements to be furnished to the Bank. l 4.01 (a) 01 C Borrower to maintain records and Complied. separate accounts for the Special Account 4.01 (b) 01 C Borrower to: (i) have records and (i) Audit for 1995 was completed accounts referred to above for each by SECODAM and the external Fiscal Year audited by independent and auditors. (ii) NAFIN send it to qualified auditors; (ii) furnish to the the Bank on June 30 of each Bank as soon as available, but not later year. than six months after the end of such year, the audit report under (i) above; (iii) furnish to the Bank each month certified statements of the Special Account; and (iv) furnish to the Bank other reasonable requested information concerning records and accounts in Section 4.01 (a) above. 4.01 (c) 01 C With respect to withdrawals from Loan Complied. Account made on the basis of SOEs, Borrower to provide information required to comply with Section 4.01 (cv) of Guarantee Agreement. 6.01 (a) 10 C 01/14/92 At least two of the SCEPs to present Plans presented for all fours Preventive Maintenance Plans to the states. Bank (see Guar. Agr. 3.07 (c)). 6.01 (b) 10 C 01/14/92 PCU and SPCUS to be staffed as Complied. indicated in Sections 3.14 and 3.15 of Guarantee Agreement. Sch. 1, 03 C Bank to be furnished with a detailed Condition of disbursements for para. 3 (b) proposal for pilot "Radio-Television de part B.5 (d) of the project. Radio Oaxaca" program in the Project State of and TV programs are already Oaxaca. being transmitted. Evaluation has been contracted. 34 |Sch. 1, 13 C 08/21/92 SEP to prepare an inventory control Complied. para 3 (c) systean regarding items to be stored in _ ~~~~~~~~~warchouses.l Status: C - Complied with CD - Compliance after Delay NC - Not Complied With SOON - Compliance Expected in Reasonably Short Time CP - Complied with Partially NYD - Not Yet Due Covenant Class: I Accounts/audit 2 Financial performance/generate revenue from beneficiaries 3 Flow and utilization of Project Funds 4 Counterpart Funding 5 Management aspects of the Project or of its executing agency 6 Environmental Covenants 7 Involuntary resettlement 8 Indigenous people 9 Monitoring, review and reporting 10 Implementation 11 Sectoral or cross-sectoral budgetary or other resource allocation 12 Sectoral or cross-sectoral regulatory/institutional action 13 Other 35 APPENDIXES 36 APPENDIX A- AYUDA MEMNIORIA CIERRE DEL PROYECTO DE EDUCACION PRIMARIA (PARE) PRRESTAMO 3704-MFE MISI6N DEL BANCO MUNDIAL Octubre 28- Noviembre 7, 1997 La misi6n de cierre del proyecto 3407-ME tuvo lugar entre el 28 de octubre y el 7 de noviembre de 1997. La misi6n estuvo compuesta por Anna Sant' Anna y Claudia Macias (Departamento de Mexico) y Nydia Maraviglia (consultora, LCSHD, Washington). La misi6n tuvo reuniones en NAFIN y CONAFE con funcionarios de estas dos instituciones, y de las Secretarias de Hacienda y Credito Publico (SHCP) y de Educaci6n (SEP). Tarnbien visit6 los estados de Hidalgo y Oaxaca entrevistindose, respectivamente, con el Secretario Estatal de Educaci6n y el Director General del Instituto de Educaci6n, asi como con funcionarios tecnicos y gerenciales de ambas entidades y con funcionarios de prograrmas compensatorios. La misi6n agradece a las autoridades y funcionarios del Gobierno Federal y de los estados visitados por la hospitalidad y cooperaci6n brindadas durante su perrnanencia en el pais. El proyecto fue financiado con un prestamo del Banco MIundial originalmente establecido en US$250 millones, aprobado por la Junta de Directores el 26 de septiembre de 1991, que se hizo efectivo el I de diciembre de 1991. En julio de 1995, a solicitud del Prestatario se cancelaron USS37.4 millones debido a una disminuci6n de los costos del proyecto en raz6n de ladevaluaci6n del peso. El desembolso final tuvo lugar el 30 de jtnio de 1997 y en ese momento se cancelaron USS17.4 millones adicionales, quedando el total del prestamo reducido a S195.2 millones. La cancelaci6n final se debi6 en parte a la devaluaci6n del peso, aunque tambien, en gran medida, a un desembolso mucho menor para gastos incrementales debido a demoras v consiguientes economias en la utilizaci6n de este rubro y la aplicaci6n de tasas de desembolso decrecientes hacia los uiltimos afios del proyecto. La contribucion del Gobiemo Federal. que no incluye la contribuci6n directa de los estados participantes, fue de USS70.2 millones, dando un costO total del proyecto de US$265.4 millones. Asi, excluyendo la contribuci6n de los estados, el Gobierno contribuy6 un 26.5% al financiamiento del proyecto (muy cercano al estimado de 29% al momento de la evaluaci6n inicial, en la cual no se habia estimado por anticipado el nivel de contribuciones de los estados). Sin embargo, es importante que CONAFE obtenga informacion sobre el monto de contribuciones de los estados participantes, y envie esta informaci6n al Banco antes del 30 de noviembre de 1997, para poder presentar la inversi6n final en el informe del Banco sobre el cierre de este prestamo. SEP/CONAFE entreg6 a la misi6n un informe de cierre titulado Programa para abatir el rezago educativo (PARE), Informe de conclusi6n (1992-1996)" y una Sintesis Ejecutiva. Ambos informes tienen un valioso contenido sobre la ejecuci6n del proyecto y los resultados, con cuadros y graficos de ex:celente calidad sustantiva y grafica, que 37 ayudan a interpretar los resultados. Ademas la misi6n recibi6 informes financieros completo-s sobre la ejecuci6n del prestamo y las contribuciones nacionales e informes suplementarios sobre infraestructura. Los Estados de Hidalgo y Oaxaca tambien hicieron presentaciones orales detalladas de la marcha del proyecto PARE hasta su cierre y entregaron informes explicativos completos sobre el mismo tema. Las uinicas inforrnaciones pendientes son, como se sen
Группа Всемирного банка · Implementation Completion and Results Report
Mexico - Primary Education Project
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Implementation Completion and Results Report
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Всемирный банк