Sri Lanka - General Education Project

Document of The World Bank FOk OFFICIAL USE ONLY ZZ~~~~- Zoz_ Report No. 7918-CE STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT SRI LANKA GENERAL FDUCATION PROJECT NOVEMBER 7, 1989 Population and Human Resources Division Country Department I Asia 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.  crLI V mAM Currency Unit - Sri Lan!'- Rupee (Rs.) US$1.00 - Rs. 33.5 (Kay 1989) SLks 1 _ US$0.0303 Fiscal Year January 1 - December 31 (Government of Sri Lanka) July 1 - June 30 (IDA) Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank DEO Divisional Education Office GDP Gross Domestic Product GOSL Government of Sri Lanka HRDC Human Resources Development Council 'CB International Competitive Bidding IDA International Development Association LCB Local Competitive Bidding MDU Management Development Unit MOE Mir.istry of Education MOECAI Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs, and Information NIE National Institute of Education p.a. per annum PMOE Provincial Ministry of Education PPF Project Preparation Facility  SRI LANKA General Education Project Table of ConLents Page No. CREDIT AND PROJECT SUMMARY .............................. iii I. EDUCATION, TRAININC,, AND THE ECONOMY ............................ 1 A. Introduction ............................................... 1 B. Structure of the Education and Training System ............. 1 C. Education-Employment Linkages .............................. 4 II. THE GENERAL EDUCATION SYSTEM .............................7 ..... 7 A. System Characteristics ..................................... 7 B. Institutional Arrangements ................................. 9 C. Management ................................................. 11 D. Staffing and Personnel Practices ........................... 13 E. The Role of Clusters and School Boards ..................... 14 F. Teacher Quality and Training ............................... 15 G. Physical Facilities and Regional Disparities ............... 17 H. Public Expenditure on General Education .................... 18 I. Educational Planning and Policy Analysis ................... 20 J. Sector lending Strategy and the Role of the Bank .. .... 21 III. THE PROJECT ................................................... 22 A. Project Objectives ......................................... 22 B. Project Description . .............................. 22 C. Project Costs .............................................. 26 D. Financing Plan and Items for IDA Financing ................. 27 E. Implementation Arrangements and Status of Froject Preparation ..................................... 27 F. Proc..rement and Disbursements .............................. 28 G. Accounts, Audit, and Reporting ............................. 30 H. Environment .............. ................................... 31 I. Project Benefits and Risks ................................. 31 IV. AGREEMENTS REACHED AND RECOMMENDATION .......................... 33 This report is based on the findings of a mission to Sri Lanka in May 1989, consisting of W. James Smith (Mission Leader), Frank Farner (Principal Education Planner), Anita Nazareth (Education Planner), Barbara Butterworth and Troels Ritzau (Consultants). Logan Van Tassell and Deborah Ricks assisted in preparing the report. This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their otuicial duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  - ii - ANNES Annex ; - Comparative Education Indicators ........ ..................... 35 Annex 2 - Education, Training and Employment ............................. 37 2.1 Characteristics of the Education and Training System 2.2 Education, Employment and Unemployment 2.3 Terms of Reference - Study of Employment-Education Linkages Annex 3 The General Education System .................... 45, 3.1 Characteristics of the School System 3.2 Distribution of Schools by Type and Size 3.3 Internal Efficiency of the Education System 1987 3.4 Public Expenditures on General Education Annex 4 Teacher Supply Issues .. .................. 50 4.1 Teacher Utilization and Absenteeism 4.2 Terms of Reference - Teacher Absenteeism Study 4.3 Teacher Supply and Demand (1986-2000) Annex 5 Organization Charts .................... 59 Annex 6 Detailed Project Description - Physical Eacilities .64 6.1 Description of Physical Standards 6.2 Criteria for Physical Investments 6.3 Equipment List 6.4 Consumable Supplies Annex 7 Management Component ..70 7.1 Strengthening Divisional Offices Component 7.2 Supervision, Clusters, and Boards Component 7.3 Management Development Unit 7.4 Management Procedures Development Annex 8 Management Training Component .78 Annex 9 Education Planning and Policy Component ................ ........ 82 Annex 10 Project Costs and Implementation ...... 84 10.1 Project Cost Tables 10.2 Implementation Schedule 10.3 Disbursement Schedule 10.4 Project Co-ordination and Implementation Annex 11 Documents on Project File ...... 91  - iii - n 1 SRI LANKA GENERAL EDUCATION PROJECT Credit and Project Summary 5orrmmrs Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka d eg8 MtSDR 38.5 million, (US$49 million equivalent) Terms: Standard, with 40 years' maturity Prolect DeucriDtion: The objectives of the project are: (a) to increase the effectiveness of the school system, by upgrading physical facilities and increasing the supply of material inputs; (b) to improve operational efficiency through better management and supervision; (c) to reduce large regional and local disparities in the quality of schools; (d) to support decentralization of the school system, and facilitate the transition to Provincial Councils; (e) to strengthen educational planning capability; and (f) to begin the process of adjusting the balance between various types of education and training - to bring them more closely in line with employment opportunities and manpower requirements. The project consists of three main elements: (a) Physical Facilities: an infrastructure component designed to upgrade substandard schools to an agreed minimum level by the provision of classrooms, furniture, water supplies, basic sanitary facilities, equipment, and recurrent material inputs; as well as rehabilitation of buildings, including those damaged in recent flooding; (b) Management Strengthening: a management component designed to improve school and teacher performance by upgrading management skills, strengthening management structures, and revising management and supervision procedures; and (c) Education Policy Development: including (i) a study of the linkages between labor market requirements and the output of the educational system, with a view to exploring options for longer-run adjustments of the education and training system; and (ii) strengthening of the planning and analysis capability within the Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs, and Information. Benefits and Risk.t The principal benefit of the project will be better education for children in Sri Lanka through: (a) improved teacher attendance and performance due to increased supervision and better management; (b) better conditions for teaching and learning, due to relief of over-crowding, and provision of basic facilities; and (c) improved teacher morale and performance due to provision of basic classroom supplies and teaching aids. The project will also improve the  - iv - effectiveness of the overall training system by laying the groundwork for a re-adjustment of secondary and post-school training - reducing redundant training expenditures and increasing the employability of those leaving the system. There is a risk that implemwntation of the mariagement component will be piecemeal because it relies on the informal cooperation of central and local staff. Recognizing this, a Hanagement Development Unit will be established to coordinate and guide management activities. In addition, there is a danger that competing pressures on the budget might limit the Government's contribution to project costs. This has been hendled by keeping counterpart funding relatively low in the '-irst years, and by explicit commitment to GOSL financing for certain items. Provided there is not a major deterioration in the security situation, it is expected that the projezt can be implemented as designed. Project Costs: Local Foreign Total -(US$ million)------ School Upgrading 16.6 1.1 17.7 Furniture 3.8 0.9 4.7 Classroom Equipment 2.2 2.3 4.5 Management Strengthening 4.7 3.5 8.2 Schooj Rehabilitation 15.9 - 15.9 Education Policy Development 0.1 0.5 0.6 Recurrent Costs 5.2 - 5.2 Total Base Costs 48.5 8.3 56.8 Physical Contingencies 4.8 0.8 5.6 Price Contingencies 11.4 1.0 12.4 PPF Refinancing 0.2 0.2 Total Costs 64.; 10.3 75.0 /a Findncing Plan: Local Foreign Total ------(US$ million)------ Government 26.0 - 26.0 IDA 38.7 10.3 49.0 Total 64.7 10.3 75.0 Estimated Disbursements: FY90 FY91 FY92 FY93 FY94 FY95 FY96 -----------------(US$ million)------------------ Annual 2.5 5.6 8.6 9.5 10.4 9.5 2.9 Cumulative 2.5 8.1 16.7 26.2 36.6 46.1 49.0 a/ Includes identifiable taxes and duties of US$0.7 million. Totals may not add due to rounding.  SRI LAN GENERAL EDKEATIOk PROJECT I. EDUCATION, TRAINING, ANr THE ECONOMY [. A. Introduction 1.01 Sri Lanka has attained remarkable achievements in the -ducation sector fot such a low-income country. A well developed school system covers the whole country, almost half of the population has at least some secondary school education, and literacy rates approach 90?. Enrollment rates are over 901 for primary school, relative to about 70X for South Asia as a whole (Annex 1). Of particular note in Sri Lanka is the equal participation of boys and girls in education. 1.02 These achievements are largely the result of a long continuing Government commitment to the universal provision of education, and the allocation by successive Governments of a high proportion of public expenditure to education (consistently 15Z up to the the late 1970's). B. Structure of the Education and Tra 'ing System 1.03 The training system consists of the generai "aoot system, which provides academic education to anyone up to the age of a t 8; a small university network; a growing number of technical institutions for post- secondary training; and a large number of relatively srmall vo:ational and technical training programs. 1.04 The major issues confronting the system as a whole are variable quality and weak management in general education on the one hand; and the unemployment of graduates on the other. The problems of inequitable distribution of rescurces within the school system, and their poor management are being addressed by the current project. Post-secondary school unemployment is largely a function of population growth in the adolescent age group, coupled with the failure of the economy to create sufficient iobs, however, it also reflects inappropriate curricula and excessive emphasis on paper qualifications, and the underdevelopment of alternative post-school training programs.  - 2 - 1.05 The general structure of the educational system is illustrated below. The following sections briefly summarize the salient features of each segment of the system. About 350.000 ONRAL Yo 1 -ao 46,000 Drpol EDUCATIONI SYSTEM -_------LON U M _ Figure- 10 - Tar000 DucaS Note 2s0: o a/ s~~~~bu 1 abOU 2 0,000 PA 6.00G0 pawS b/ a I 75,npe a/ abOut 55 D000 A - L@ I * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~abOUt j t ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~25,000 p.a. 20,000P bt Na,o,t 6.