Mexico - Initial Education Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No.: 17192 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT MEXICO INITIAL EDUCATION PROJECT (Loan 3518-ME) October 30, 1997 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 = 7.8 New Pesos (June, 1997) FISCAL YEAR January 1 - December 31 ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS CENDIs Child Development Centers (Centros de Desarrollo Infantil) CONAFE National Education Development Council (Consejo Nacional de Educaci6n) IE Initial Education ICR Implementation Completion Report IMSS Mexican Institute of Social Security (Instituto Mexicano de Seguridad Social) ISSSTE Public Sector Employees Social Security Service (Instituto de Servicios de Seguridad Social para Trabajadores Estatales) MIS Management Information System PAREB Primary Education Project II-Loan 3722 (Proyecto de Educaci6n Primaria II) PCC Pro-Childhood Committee PRODEI Initial Education Project-Loan 3518 (Proyecto de Educaci6n Inicial) SEP Public Education Secretariat (Secretaria de Educaci6n Pziblica) UNICEF United Nations Children Fund Managers and Staff Responsible Vice President Mr. Shahid Javed Burki Director Mr. Olivier Lafourcade Sector Manager Mr. Julian Schweitzer Task Manager Mr. Manuel Vera FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT MEXICO: INITIAL EDUCATION PROJECT (Loan 3518-ME) Table of Contents PREFACE .................................................................................................................................................................. PFi EVALUATIO N SU M M ARY ...................................................................................................................................... v PART I: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATIONASSESSMENT ................................................................................... 1 PROJECT BAC KGROUN ...................................................................................................................................... 1 PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTIO .....................................................................................................2 O riginal O bjectives ................................................................................................................................................. 2 Assessm ent of Original Project O bjectives ........................................................................................................... 3 O riginal Project Design and O rganization ........................................................................................................... 3 Agreed Changes ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 IM PLEM ENTATION RECO RD ............................................................................................................................... 4 H um an Resource Developm en .............................................................................................................................. 5 Developm ent of Educational M aterials ................................................................................................................. 6 Institutional Developm ent ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Coordination with O ther Social Program s ........................................................................................................... 7 Procurem ent of G oods and Services and Distribution ......................................................................................... 8 ACH IEVEM ENT OF ORIGINAL O BJECTIVES ...................................................................................................9 M AJOR FACTORS AFFECTING TH E PROJEC ..............................................................................................11 Factors not subject to G overnm ent control ........................................................................................................ 11 Factors subject to Governm ent contr ............................................................................................................... 11 Factors subject to im plem enting agency control................................................................................................11 PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY ................................................................................................................................ 12 BAN K PERFORM ANCE ......................................................................................................................................... 12 BORROW ER PERFORM ANCE ............................................................................................................................. 13 ASSESSM ENT OF OUTCO M E ............................................................................................................................... 13 LESSO NS LEARNED ............................................................................................................................................... 14 FUTURE O PERATIO N .......................................................................................................................................... 15 PART II: STATISTICAL TABLES ......................................................................................................................... 16 APPENDIXES ............................................................................................................................................................ 31 APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................................................................ 32 APPENDIX B ........................................................................................................................................................ 35 APPENDIX C ........................................................................................................................................................ 36 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. iii IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT MEXICO INITIAL EDUCATION PROJECT (Loan 3518-ME) PREFACE This Implementation Completion Report (ICR) evaluates the Initial Education Project (PRODEI) in Mexico, for which Loan 3518-ME, in the amount US$80.0 million equivalent, was approved on September 8, 1992. Upon loan signing, the Mexican Government changed the designated Federal implementing agency responsible for the project from the Ministry of Education (SEP) to the National Education Development Council (CONAFE). This change required a re- examination of the organizational arrangements for the project and an amendment to the Loan Agreement, which was approved in July 1993. The Loan became effective on August 12, 1993. In July, 1995, responding to a request by the Borrower, US$6 million of this loan were canceled due to lower costs resulting from the December, 1994 peso devaluation. In March, 1996 the Government requested the consolidation of activities from three education projects - including PRODEI - into one, in order to make more efficient use of the administrative resources and simplify financial flows. For this purpose, the second Primary Education Project (PAREB - Loan 3722-ME) was restructured, appropriate funding provided for all consolidated activities, and an amendment to the Loan Agreement approved by the Board on May 15, 1997. PAREB includes financing until December 31, 1999, for continuation of all initial education (IE) activities that were being financed under PRODEI. Concurrently with signing of the PAREB amendment, the Government requested cancellation of the unused balance of Loan 3518-ME, amounting to US$45.6 million. Since IE activities will continue for another two years as part of the restructured PAREB project, this ICR is not an evaluation of a closed operation, but rather an interim assessment of the progress made in IE during three years of implementation (1993-1996). Lessons learned, that could help improve IE under PAREB financing are listed. The Loan was closed on June 30, 1997. The final disbursement took place on June 30, 1997, and the total amount of the loan disbursed was US$28.4 million. Total project cost amounted to US$47.8 million. The Loan and Government contributions represented respectively 40% and 60%, compared with the breakdown of 68% % and 32% estimated at appraisal. State governments had committed to participate with US$15 million or 47 percent of the Borrower's contribution. Their actual contribution was close to 50% of the Borrower share. iv The ICR was prepared by Nydia Maraviglia (LCSHD Consultant) after the final supervision mission that took place from May 5 to 17, 1997. The mission consisted of Manuel Vera (Education Specialist, LCSHD), Nydia Maraviglia (Consultant), Rosita Estrada (Procurement Specialist, (LCCCR), and Patricia Romero-Casco (Task Assistant, LCSHD). The report was reviewed by Manuel Vera, LCSHD Task Manager, and Carmen Hamann, Sector Leader, LCCIC. This ICR is based on the findings of the project completion mission, documents in the project file, field visits, and interviews with Government officials and 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, as indicated in Appendix B). The Borrower was requested to comment on the Bank ICR and the response is included as Appendix C. IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT MEXICO INITIAL EDUCATION PROJECT (Loan 3518-ME) EVALUATION SUMMARY Introduction This project formed part of a specific strategy adopted in the early 1990's by the Government of Mexico, and supported by the Bank, consisting of strengthening the social sectors and alleviating poverty through improving the equity of resource allocation. In addition to IE, several other projects were approved in 1990-91, targeting underserved regions of the poorest states. Since 1981, Mexico has implemented IE programs aimed at child development for ages 0 to 5 years, by involving parents and community members as educational agents. There were two different kinds of child development programs; one type of program, operated by the Education Secretariat (SEP) was intended for children of low income families, and a second type, offered by the social security institutions (IMSS for private employees and ISSSTE for public employees), in specially designed centers called CENDIs, benefited the children of working mothers in the public and private sectors. Both types of programs were designed to strengthen the educational vole of the home in infant and toddler care and the subsequent supporting role of parents to children during their school years. The CENDIs are well funded and continue to offer their services to increasing numbers of families with working mothers. The government funded program had many successes from 1981 to 1985, but it stagnated in the latter part of the decade, both in terms of limited expansion and quality of operations and program contents. There is still a large gap in the coverage of IE services for poor families. In 1996 there were 8 million children under 4 years of age and only around 15% benefited from government initial education programs (including 9.3% coverage from this project). In 1990, initial education for children in poor communities was singled out again as an important way of helping to reverse the deterioration in primary education attainment. In 1990-91, repetition rates were estimated at near 32% for the first grade, partly as a result of low school readiness. An evaluation done in 1987 indicated that the non-formal IE programs were equally effective - and in some cases more effective - than kindergarten programs in improving child school readiness and eventual primary school performance. The evaluation further indicated that these programs would require considerable expansion and quality improvement to have a significant impact. Consequently, the Government decided to seek international financing in support of these changes. Although some elements of early childhood development had been incorporated in a few Bank projects in the past, this was the first time that a comprehensive free-standing initial education project was vi proposed for Bank assistance. The project was an innovative approach to assist children in poor communities in reaching their full development potential, and in improving their school readiness. Project Objectives and Description The project objective consisted of improving the quality and efficiency of initial education and increasing the participation in it of low income families in the ten poorest Mexican States. The project consisted of three components: (a) Human Resources Development (79% of total project cost) would upgrade the performance level of all personnel involved in the management and training process, and improve parents' developmental performance vis-A-vis their children, train community educators and training leaders, and improve supervision; (b) Educational Materials Development Component (13% of total project cost) would improve the quality of printed instructional materials and guidebooks and create additional audiovisual supporting instruments; and (c) Institutional Strengthening (8% of total project cost) would strengthen the managerial capacity of the Federal implementing agency and the State Education Secretariats and support community participation. The objectives of this project were in line with the overall development objectives of Mexico and the Bank, by targeting the poorest states and creating an outreach system for young children and parents with low incomes, living in isolated communities or marginal urban areas. A change in the designation of the Federal implementing agency from the Public Education Secretariat (SEP) to the National Education Council (CONAFE), after the Loan had been approved and signed, required an amendment to the Loan Agreement and a lengthy postponement of loan effectiveness. This change was necessary because of the restructuring and decentralization of the education system, but the delay may not have been entirely unavoidable. Implementation Experience and Results The IE activities that began with this project will continue as part of the restructured second primary education project (PAREB). Consolidation was considered more efficient for handling the financial aspects of education projects in Mexico and does not imply any negative judgment on the performance of the consolidated projects. This completion report is therefore not a final evaluation of IE performance, which will only be possible at the conclusion of the restructured project, on December 31, 1999. Findings and lessons learned presented here would need to be applied to the operation of the restructured project. The project had a good record in the development of human resources. A step-down approach was successfully followed to train the educational agents involved in the project. Promoters' training was based on participatory workshops encouraging initiative and creativity, and consisted of an initial course, three annual seminars, and weekly meetings. The project employed 1,172 external trainers. UNICEF contributed by financing technical assistance for the preparation of courses and materials, as well as consultants for making a diagnosis of training needs, and for developing a program and strategy for management training of technical and managerial staff. Training through three annual seminars took place for 492 zone coordinators and 2,635 module supervisors, representing 83.4% of the cumulative target up to 1996. The vii responsibility for curricula development and training of 29,567 community promoters (or 92% of the target set for 1996) was given to the module supervisors with the support of the zone coordinators. On training content, improvements are needed in child stimulation and play practices, for which better toys would be required, as well as appropriate arrangements among promoters, to double up for some sessions. An aspect of training not covered was post-graduate training in specialties related to IE, for professionals at Federal and State levels, due to the heavy workload of the staff. Alternatively, this need could have been covered by hiring consultants qualified in early child development. Improvement and preparation of new educational materials was a priority and beginning in 1994 intensive preparation and reproduction of printed and mass media material took place. Evaluation of quality and impact of these materials will be done this year as part of the restructured PAREB project. Advances in institutional development were slow and uneven among the States. At the beginning, in many states the project functioned independently of the existing regular Program of Initial Education, although the design prescribed an integrated structure. Organizational changes are currently underway in all project states and in three of them - Guerrero, Hidalgo and Mexico - both operations have been established as an integrated program. Concerning management and evaluation, the new and otherwise useful management information system (MIS) lacked indicators for management decisions and for relating the cost of activities to outcomes. On supervision, the project contributed to strengthening the field teams - zone coordinators and module supervisors. Regarding community participation, Pro-childhood Committees (PCCs) with broad parents' participation were established in 20,000 communities to support IE to ensure its continuity after the conclusion of the regular 80-hour program; these committees have been active in a variety of tasks including support to promoters, children's rights campaigns and, with UNICEF assistance, establishment of about 4,000 playgrounds. An issue in institutional development still unresolved is to strike a proper balance between continuity and obsolescence in the use of promoters. These are volunteers receiving a "gratuity" for their work in the community and although the objective of the program is not to perpetuate them in this role, the efforts and expenditures invested in their training make it worthwhile to coordinate assignments for these persons among several social development programs such as health and literacy campaigns. This approach would also help achieve better complementarity, already taking place in many communities, between IE and literacy, health, nutrition and other programs. The project financed furniture, equipment and vehicles for the central and state coordinating units and to support training and information/communication activities, reaching 95.5% of the 1996 goal. The States provided some additional equipment and generally good building space for the IE offices. The project financed contracts for external lecturers. Technical assistance for strengthening the contents and methodology of human resource development programs and for development of materials was mainly financed from sources other than the Loan (UNICEF gave substantial support in this respect). The project was less successful in contracting and utilizing technical assistance for studies on cost-effectiveness, analysis of content and effectiveness of educational materials, impact on viii changes in parents' attitudes, values, motivation and interests, measurement of the efficiency of the program's processes, and construction of a scale to measure psychosocial development of children, validated in the Mexican context. These studies are still pending and will be carried out under the PAREB project. In the last year of the project, certain successful pilot experiences were undertaken in several states to decentralize procurement; it would be desirable to expand the application of this approach, together with appropriate state level training in procurement. In reference to financial management and flow of funds, there were recurring delays in the release of funds to the States throughout the project period. Late release of project funds from the Federal level to the States also affect other Bank projects in Mexico and would require a national financially related solution, rather than a sector specific one. Assessment of Outcome Notwithstanding initial delays and persistent shortages of financial resources, by the time of loan closing the project had substantially achieved service coverage and staff training objectives. Attainments were less remarkable regarding development of policy oriented capacity, and improvement of evaluation processes at the Federal level and in the State Education Secretariats; these shortcomings may be attributed mainly to the rapid staff turnover, a high diversity in degree of commitment to IE among states, and a reluctance to clearly define and contract technical assistance and studies. In other aspects of institutional development, better progress was made. This was particularly true concerning improvements in the supervision of field activities, in organization of pro-childhood committees and in promotion of community participation. Project impact on child development and parents' attitudinal changes toward child rearing practices have not yet been evaluated. IE activities are being continued under the restructured PAREB project and impact evaluation is planned during the current year. Continuation should also provide an excellent opportunity to apply lessons learned. Major Factors Affecting the Project A factor potentially subject to government control that caused an initial long delay and additional expenses for both the Borrower and the Bank -- the transfer of project responsibility from SEP to CONAFE -- could have been prevented if the transfer had been done before rather than after project appraisal and approval, or if appraisal could have been postponed. Another factor subject to government control were the annual delays in budget approval for project expenses, which created periodic implementation bottlenecks. There were other factors affecting the smooth operation and quality of the project that could have been minimized or eliminated through intervention by the implementing agency --CONAFE -- including: (a) persisting complicated internal procedures and controls for approving budgets for specific activities; and (b) prolonged postponement of decisions regarding important studies for evaluation. Lastly, the low level of commitment to the IE program by some state education secretariats worked against staff morale and resolution of managerial and personnel problems. Summary of Findings The evaluation of this project concluded that its overall performance was satisfactory. IE coverage through this project was substantial. At its originally planned conclusion in mid-1998, ix the project had been designed to benefit about 1.2 million children 0 to four years old in the ten poorest states. By the end of 1996, the actual accomplishment was 90% of the 1996 target, or almost 750,000 children in 23,000 predominantly small, rural communities of the 10 project states, 70% of which suffered extreme or very high incidence of poverty and deficient basic services. The project comfortably achieved the targets set at appraisal and made remarkable progress in staff training and in obtaining substantial community participation. However, with the exception of three states, the project has not yet become fully integrated with the regular IE program and the respective state education systems. Moreover, employment conditions, such as those prevailing in many of the project states for IE staff, has resulted in a high turnover, particularly among technical and managerial levels. Integration and stability of personnel should be a goal of the restructured PAREB project. At the Federal level, CONAFE has recently been reorganized and IE has been given formal status as a Department within the Under-Secretary of Basic Education. Up to loan cancellation, a large proportion of the IE activities (over 70%) depended on external financing (Bank, IDB and UNICEF) although under the restructured education project, recurrent costs for IE (that is, salaries and other recurrent costs) will be financed on a declining basis, so that by the year 2000 all recurrent expenditures would need to be absorbed by the Federal and state governments. The restructured project could ensure project sustainability by carefully monitoring compliance of IE related covenants, which include obligations to establish the IE program with a formal organizational structure, to create managerial and operational positions as part of the Federal the state education secretariats, and to control costs on the basis of information to be obtained through cost-effectiveness studies. Key Lessons Learned The main lessons learned from the implementation of this initial education project may be summarized as follows: (a) the Federal government's financial authorities would need to make their best efforts to maintain the agreed budgetary commitments and release funds yearly in a timely manner; (b) in community based programs it is important to apply an appropriate training methodology for promoters that discourages lectures and emphasizes class interaction and small group discussions; (c) lack of process and impact evaluation studies prevented program managers from evaluating project progress more accurately and for developing strong arguments for strengthening state level commitment; (d) moreover, effective indicators on the cost of activities in relation to outcomes are needed for decision-making, as well as for future cost-effective improvements of program design; (e) there is a need to strike a proper balance between continuity and obsolescence in the use of IE promoters by coordinating their temporary cycles in the program, with assignments in other social sector programs, such as literacy and health; (f) decentralized procurement should be tested and subsequently adopted, as a more effective alternative to a centralized system; (g) decentralizing planning and implementation of the program proved to be very effective and enabled state coordinating units to respond to widely varied challenges and needs; and (h) organizational changes in project administration after appraisal are disruptive and when changes are anticipated appraisal should be postponed. x Lessons learned regarding means to achieve improvements in child development and in parents' attitudes will be drawn from on-going impact evaluation studies under PAREB. Future Operations IE activities will continue to be supported through the restructured PAREB Bank project. The work plan for the current year includes contracting of much needed studies on evaluation of the program and of the educational materials being used. The restructured project will further expand the IE program to a total of 14 states -- four additional with respect to the original operation. It will also extend the project period two more years. The project was scheduled until 1998, while the restructured project will enable to maintain Bank support until the end of 1999. PART I: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ASSESSMENT PROJECT BACKGROUND 1. This project formed part of a specific strategy adopted in the early 1990's by the Government of Mexico, and supported by the Bank, consisting of strengthening the social sectors and alleviating poverty through improving the equity of resource allocation. In addition to Initial Education, the following projects were approved in 1990-91, targeting underserved regions of the poorest states: the first Basic Health Care Project (Loan 3272-ME); the Low-Income Housing Project II (Loan 3140-ME); the Technical Training Project (Loan 3358-ME); the Decentralization and Regional Development Project (Loan 3310-ME); the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project (Loan 3271-ME) and the Primary Education Project (Loan 3407-ME). 2. Prior to the Initial Education Project (PRODEI) , there was experience in Mexico with initial education (IE) programs. In 1981 SEP initiated a program of child development for ages 0 to 5 years, involving parents and community members as educational agents. The program was aimed at strengthening the educational role of the home environment in early infant care and the subsequent supporting role of parents to children during their school years. Although the program had many successes from 1981 to 1985, in the latter part of the decade it stagnated. The program underwent organizational downgrading and merging with pre-school education, both at the Federal and state levels. By 1991 non-formal initial education was operating in all 31 states plus the Federal District, but its quality had deteriorated, funds were scarce, and had experienced loss of institutional capacity including a deterioration in administration, planning and training capabilities. Moreover, enrollment had fallen to 183,400 (or less than 3% of all children aged 0- 3 in the country), from its peak of almost 300,000 in 1985. There is still a large gap in coverage of low income families with these services. In 1996 there were 8 million children under 4 years of age and only around 15% benefited from government initial education programs (including 9.3% coverage by this project). 3. Other IE experiences pioneered in the 1980's, consisted of formal initial education programs -- Child Development Centers (CENDIs) -- that were offered to 0-5 year old children of working mothers employed in the formal public and private sectors, as part of a child care and preschool program mandated by Social Security Law. By 1991 CENDI enrollment reached 153,700 children. These programs continue to be offered to the children and parents of Mexico's workforce and are a very valuable benefit, carefully monitored and protected by the workers' unions. Due to the high cost of their inputs, however, they could not possibly be used as affordable models to reach parents and children in many poor communities. 4. In 1990, initial education for children in poor communities was singled out again as an important resource to help reverse a deterioration in educational attainment, particularly concerning primary education. In 1990-91, repetition rates were estimated at near 32% for the first grade, partly as a result of the low school readiness of children who did not attend any pre- 2 school classes; other contributing factors included poor teaching, scarcity of didactic materials, as well as poverty related conditions within the family and the community. Although the Government should be credited with the rapid nationwide expansion of kindergarten coverage of children 4 to 5 years of age, which reached 60% in 1990 and then increased to 70% in 1991, in many communities of the poorest states pre-school attendance was very limited. 5. An evaluation financed by a Dutch Foundation in 1987 indicated that the non-formal IE programs were equally effective - and in some cases more effective - than kindergarten programs in improving child school readiness and eventual primary school performance. But the evaluation also concluded that although proven valuable when given appropriate resources, the programs were hindered, among other factors, by a low priority profile, limited institutional capacity, inadequate targeting mechanisms, poor educational inputs, and sporadic linkages with other complementary programs. It was further concluded that, in order to have a major impact among the country's poor communities, the program needed to significantly increase its coverage and improve its institutional capacity and quality. The Government then decided to seek international financing for these purposes. 6. The Public Education Secretariat (SEP) was designated as the Federal implementing agency. However, immediately after the Loan had been approved and signed, the Government changed the designation of implementing agency to the National Education Council (CONAFE) due to restructuring and decentralization of the education system; this change required an amendment to the Loan Agreement and a lengthy postponement of loan effectiveness. 7. Prior Bank experience in this field was through the incorporation of some elements of early childhood development in a few Bank projects. PRODEI was the first comprehensive free- standing initial education project that was proposed for Bank assistance. The project was designed to introduce activities for early childhood stimulation during the age period 0 to 3 years and at the same time, to inform and educate parents on effective child rearing practices, including play, reassuring parent-child interchange, as well as paying attention to proper child health care and nutrition. PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION Original Objectives 8. The project objective was to alleviate poverty and increase human capital development by improving the efficiency and quality of the non-formal education program in the ten poorest Mexican states. This was to be accomplished through: (i) preparing young children of low- income families for timely school entry, and improving their primary school attendance and performance; (ii) educating parents, especially mothers, in home-based child development practices; and (iii) strengthening the Government's policy oriented capacity to plan, expand, monitor and evaluate the initial education programs. The project would help develop a non- 3 formal initial education model in the 10 poorest states, that could be expanded and replicated in the rest of the country. The new model was to constitute an improvement on the contents and operation of IE activities and it was designed to strengthen institutional capacity at federal and state levels, refine targeting criteria, promote community participation, and establish linkages with existing complementary social programs. Assessment of Original Project Objectives 9. The objectives of this project were in line with the overall development objectives of Mexico and the Bank, by targeting the poorest states and creating an outreach system for young children and parents with low incomes, living in isolated communities or marginal urban areas. The purpose of the outreach efforts consisted of providing information and guidance to parents on how to improve child rearing and care and to encourage early stimulation of children from birth to age four in order to promote physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development. These objectives addressed long standing problems of low human capital formation, particularly among the extremely poor with low levels of education. The objectives rightly focused also on the need to achieve greater preparedness for primary school among children of low socioeconomic groups. Lastly, taking into account lessons learned from past experience with similar programs in Mexico and elsewhere, the objectives appropriately aimed at creating a new model that would bring about improvements in critical aspects where weaknesses had been most prevalent in the past. Thus, the objectives correctly singled out for especial attention aspects such as improving the teaching methodology of IE concepts, by making it more participatory, and strengthening the institutional capacity at Federal and state levels to refine targeting criteria, promote community participation, and establish linkages with existing complementary social programs. Original Project Design and Organization 10. The project consisted of three components: (a) Human Resources Development (79% of total project cost) would upgrade the performance level of all personnel involved in the management and training process, and improve parents' developmental performance vis-A-vis their children. The project would: (i) develop parents' skills in fostering their children's cognitive, psychomotor and social development; (ii) train community educators to lead their local activities with parents, children and the community; (iii) improve the supervisory and coordinating skills of module supervisors and coordinators; (iv) improve the performance of training leaders and technical staff; and (v) upgrade the managerial capacity of the high level professionals in the Federal implementing agency and the State Education Secretariats. (b) Educational Materials Development Component (13% of total project cost) would improve the quality of printed instructional materials and create additional audiovisual supporting instruments. It would particularly: (i) revise the existing Parents' Guidebook to include new areas like health and nutrition, family planning, and environmental protection, as well as more adequate illustration; (ii) revise the operating handbooks to accommodate the use of 4 new educational strategies and methods; (iii) produce better illustrated printed materials with greater contents for training and communication purposes; (iv) develop a series of educational games and videos; and (v) produce a series of promotional and educational radio programs. (c) Strengthening of Policy Oriented Capacity (8% of total project cost) would strengthen the managerial capacity of the Federal implementing agency and the state Secretariats of Education and support community participation. The project would: (i) strengthen the central Initial Education Unit at the Federal implementing agency; (ii) organize Initial Education Unit at the State level; (iii) design and support the implementation of an educational Management Information System (MIS); (iv) design and implement an evaluation system (including process and impact analysis, quality audit, and special and tracer studies); (v) improve the supervision system; (vi) promote the organization of Pro-Childhood Committees (PCCs) at local and state levels; and (vii) support the cooperation with other community oriented services like health and nutrition. Agreed Changes 11. Immediately following project appraisal, loan approval and signing of the Loan Agreement, in October 1992 the Government re-assigned responsibility for this project to the National Education Council (CONAFE), from the Public Education Secretariat's Basic and Normal Education Department. The Loan Agreement had to be amended, involving a protracted process of consultations between the Bank and the Government, that resulted in almost one year delay in loan effectiveness. This change was necessary because of the restructuring and decentralization of the education system. IMPLEMENTATION RECORD 12. As already mentioned, the IE activities of this project will continue as part of a restructured primary education project. The consolidation of several education projects into one project is a more suitable manner of handling the financial aspects of education projects in Mexico and does not imply any negative judgment on the performance of the projects that were being financed with the canceled loans. This completion report is not therefore a final evaluation of IE performance, which will only be possible at the conclusion of the restructured project, at the end of 1999. The current section presents a record of the project activities that took place until the loan closing date regarding: human resource development, educational materials, institutional development, and administration, procurement and disbursements. Subsequent sections discuss achievements, lessons learned, and other conclusions that could be drawn from this on-going program. Findings should be taken into account in the continuation of IE activities under the restructured project. 13. Although the change in implementing agency from SEP to CONAFE was an unavoidable event in view of major organizational restructuring of the education sector, the project sustained serious initial implementation delays which are not entirely justifiable. While appraisal had 5 taken place in May 1992, it was only in August 1993 that the loan was declared effective. After the organizational changes in SEP took place, there was a long interval of an apparent misunderstanding in the Government/Bank dialogue before it was possible to reach agreements on project adjustments and legal document revisions. Moreover, CONAFE took some time to create the organizational structure that was to take charge of the project. This delay was costly to the Government and to the Bank in terms of staff time and other expenditures incurred in renegotiating the changes and in time lost in implementing field activities. An amendment to the Loan Agreement was finally approved by the Board in late 1993 and project implementation only started in earnest after the launching seminar in February 1994. Another problem were the recurring difficulties on fund availability at state level due to delayed release of funds. Indeed, a yearly occurrence throughout project implementation was the late approval of budgetary allocations for the project by the Federal Finance Ministry. Similar problems of delays in the annual release of funds have affected other Bank projects in the social sectors in Mexico and they would need a country (rather than a sector) specific solution. Human Resource Development 14. The project had a good record in the development of human resources. Throughout this process, UNICEF provided substantive technical and financial assistance for the preparation of courses and materials. A step-down approach was successfully used to train the educational agents involved in the project. The technical teams and managers of the initial education units at Federal and state level received training in 1994 through one course each for technical (50 persons) and administrative (47 persons) staff; but in 1996 the workload made it impossible to bring together these groups for training; instead, a more flexible approach was adopted, carrying out workshops three times a year for smaller groups, according to their specialty. 15. Promoters' training was not based on rigid, pre-established contents, but on general guidelines. From there, small groups of supervisors and coordinators participated in curricula development workshops which took into account local situations. The training received by the promoters consisted of an initial course, three annual seminars, and monthly meetings to discuss needs and problems and to identify the best approaches to educate parents and children. 16. In all courses, seminars, and workshops conducted during the project period for all levels of initial education agents the program employed 1,172 external trainers from various higher education institutions, as well as from national public and private organizations. Also, in 1995, with financing from UNICEF, consultants prepared a diagnosis of training needs, and developed a program and strategy for management training of technical and managerial staff. However, management training did not take place due to the heavy workload of the involved staff. Moreover, it was not possible to send technical and managerial staff to post-graduate courses covering specialties related to initial education due to high staff turnover. Access to such expertise could have been acquired through hiring qualified consultants or employing graduates on early child development with university degree courses. 6 Development of Educational Materials 17. In the project design, emphasis was placed in the improvement and preparation of new educational materials to give IE workers good support to carry out their functions vis-A-vis parents and children. Beginning in 1994, the Federal IE coordinating unit, with assistance from national and international consultants, reviewed the materials that had been used in the regular program and, during 1995, the following materials were developed: (a) a complementary package of 12 illustrations for use as flip charts; (b) 20 promotional radio programs; (c) TV programs showing IE committees in action, entitled "In favor of our children"; and (d) an almanac and the first two numbers of a newsletter on the program. The materials were developed with the purpose of reinforcing the messages that the program is designed to transmit and particularly to encourage parents to express their creative and demonstrative capacities toward their small children. A required evaluation study on the quality and impact of initial education has not been carried out within the project period, but will be initiated by CONAFE before the end of 1997, under the restructured PAREB project. Institutional Development 18. With the transfer of project responsibility from SEP to CONAFE, the latter took some time to prepare itself to assume an implementing role. After this initial delay, the project structure evolved satisfactorily with the establishment of an IE in CONAFE. Regarding the structure of IE at state level, when the project began it was interpreted in some states that the project would function independently of the existing regular Program of Initial Education (which, as mentioned earlier, has been functioning since 1981). The central IE unit explained through meetings and technical visits that the concept of the project was to integrate, improve and expand the operations of the existing program, rather than duplicating functions. In many of the project states modifications in organizational structure were made and in three - Guerrero, Hidalgo and Mexico - it has been established as a Department; but in the remaining project states integration with the regular IE program has not yet been achieved. 19. A management information system for IE was created by a specialized team appointed at the Federal level (rather than using a private firm, as proposed by the Staff Appraisal Report). This approach proved to be effective and by October, 1994 the system had been tested and delivered for use. The management information system is a source of valuable information about program performance and comparison with original targets. One significant omission, however, has been the preparation of indicators for management decisions and on cost of activities in relation to outcomes. 20. The project also contributed to strengthening of the field teams - zone coordinators and module supervisors - as well as promoters, some of whom were working in the ten states prior to the initiation of the project under the state Directorates of Basic or Elementary Education. The existing teams in the ten project states consisted of 43 zone coordinators, 202 module supervisors and 2,722 promoters. The project incorporated 136 zone coordinators and 725 supervisors (respectively 87% and 73% of the set goals). PRODEI also added 17,081 education promoters to the existing 2,722 in the regular program. All of these workers received either induction training or retraining within the project period. 7 21. Another important feature of the IE project were Pro-Childhood Committees to support the activities in the communities and to ensure their continuity after the conclusion of the regular 80- hour program (carried out during a ten-moth period). PCC functions vary among the states. In addition to supporting the work of the promoter, these committees engage, for example, on organization of campaigns to disseminate and promote concepts such as respecting children's rights, community cleanliness, sport events, child nutrition and health, and layout and establish children's recreation parks (or playgrounds). Almost 4,000 children playgrounds were created with assistance from UNICEF. In 1994-1995 the project supported the preparation of a manual and video explaining the formation and functions of the committee. In 1996 those materials were widely available and each committee was given an introductory presentation. From 1993 to 1996, over 20,000 committees were formed. 22. The project placed emphasis on sensitizing municipalities to the benefits of this program for children and families; the objective was to facilitate its institutionalization within the local governments, thus ensuring its permanence. A good start was made in 22 municipalities of four states, which assumed the costs for about 30 promoters. Promoters are not state employees, but volunteers who receive a "gratuity" for their work in the community; but a still pending problem is the need to fully equalize gratuities given to promoters in the project and in the regular program.. In the case of the project, the promoters were recruited from within the community where they lived and were only engaged for the period of the community IE sessions (about 10 months) and then released. In the regular program they keep receiving gratuity as volunteers for long periods of time, but in many cases their usefulness decreases once most parents and children in the community go through the IE program. There is a need to strike a proper balance between promoters' continuity in their community work and the risk of obsolescence. In view of the investments made in promoters' training and in order to better use their experience and knowledge of the community, CONAFE and the State Education Secretariat are looking into the possibility of coordinating using these "volunteers" in coordination with other community programs, either within the same Secretariat (e.g., with the literacy program) or in cooperation with other agencies (e.g., health). Coordination with Other Social Programs 23. The project design recommended to seek close coordination between the activities of the IE promoters with workers in other relevant social programs. And indeed, such complementarity took place at the local level in almost 7,000 communities, between IE activities and pre-school or primary programs, health services, nutrition and other programs for indigenous groups. In many communities, the program also made important linkages with the adult literacy program (INEA). While in contact with parents, particularly with mothers, IE promoters found that a large proportion were illiterate. In the process of transmitting to them good child rearing practices and other information on child development, nutrition and health, illiteracy became a strong barrier and many promoters, with the assistance of the zone coordinator, began to address this problem by directing the mothers toward INEA classes or, in same cases, taking the initiative of giving mothers the first elements of reading and writing. The importance and usefulness of this particular link has come more widely to the attention of State coordinators and Federal education authorities, which begun to establish a more formal relationship, in order to strengthen 8 both programs. The IE divisions in the states of Chiapas, Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosi and Veracruz, undertook coordination initiatives with other programs of the respective state Public Education Secretariats and of the National Institute for Adult Education, to enable the participation of IE promoters in adult literacy campaigns. A total of 24,457 persons learned to read and write through these efforts, using IE materials. 24. There are several other examples of inter-institutional cooperation, including the participation of IE workers in health and vaccination campaigns of the Health Secretariat and the IMSS. Moreover, health and nutrition professionals have joined in IE sessions to discuss child health and nutrition issues with parents, and have advised communities in the construction of latrines and potable water sources. Other worthwhile actions of the IE workers have been to refer children with abnormal development and physical or mental impediments to appropriate organizations for care. Another instance of cooperation was the introduction of Initial Education among indigenous groups, though an agreement in the state on Oaxaca, between the state Public Education Institute and CONAFE to provide IE materials to 25 regional representatives and 238 IE promoters. This program will be expanded in 1997-98 as part of the continuation of IE activities under the restructured PAREB project. Procurement of Goods and Services and Distribution 25. The project financed furniture, equipment and vehicles for the central and state coordinating units and to support training and information/communication activities. Between 1993 and 1996 the project procured and financed 1,627 pieces of equipment comprising audiovisual, office and computing equipment, furniture and vehicles (the latter financed by the Government). This represented 95.5% of the goal up to the fourth year. The state governments contributed with 337 units of supplemental equipment. The States also provided generally good building accommodations for the IE offices. Technical assistance for strengthening the contents and methodology of human resource development programs and for development of materials was primarily financed from sources other than the Loan. The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) gave technical and financial assistance in this respect. The Loan financed contracts for external lecturers. 26. Until 1996, procurement for this project was centralized and carried out by CONAFE's Financial and Administrative Unit, which made the task difficult and consumed considerable time from the Federal technical teams, for preparing proposals, terms of reference and technical specifications. This process also involved a complicated system for distribution of the acquired goods. In 1996, CONAFE, with Bank support, initiated several pilot programs that involved decentralizing procurement in some of the project states, giving the state project implementing units the necessary authority. Expanding this approach of decentralized procurement to the state executing units, with the appropriate training for this purpose, would be advisable in view of the good results achieved through the mentioned experiences. 9 ACHIEVEMENT OF ORIGINAL OBJECTIVES 27. Despite the initial delays, coverage of IE through this project has been substantial. The project had been designed to benefit about 1.2 million children 0 to four years old in the ten poorest states, at its originally planned conclusion in mid-1998. By the end of 1996, 90% of the 1996 target (830,000 children in the stated age groups) was achieved. That is, 680,000 children in 23,000 communities were reached. About 600,000 parents received training. The project operated predominantly in very small communities. About 43% of the localities had populations of 100 to 500, another 45% had 500 to 2,500, and only 12% had a population above 2,500. The use of good targeting mechanisms enabled to select many communities with extreme or very high incidence of poverty and deficient basic services (70% of the localities chosen were in these categories). 28. Another planning criteria was to give priority to child development needs in the rural areas (the target was 70% rural children). This goal was surpassed, since 86% of the children served by the project were from rural communities, including 15% belonging to indigenous communities. Penetration into isolated areas was amply accomplished by choosing two thirds of the localities in mountainous territory. Reaching those communities and expanding the program represented great challenges for the state coordinators regarding recruiting supervisors, zone coordinators, and promoters, training and supervising them, and transporting materials. However, during some periods in the year, these workers had to face hardships because of the delays in receiving funds for making monthly payments and difficulties encountered in some areas due to lack of safety in transporting the funds. In all these aspects, the states have used, in many instances very effectively, different strategies and approaches to resolve the problems that were within their control. The successful results of allowing for flexibility have demonstrated the advantages of decentralizing planning and implementation of the program in responding to widely varied challenges and needs. 29. Regarding human resource development, training through three annual seminars took place for 492 zone coordinators and 2,635 module supervisors, representing 83.4% of the cumulative target up to 1996. The responsibility for curricula development and training of 29,567 community promoters (or 92% of the target set for 1996) was given to the module supervisors with the support of the zone coordinators. From observations of some classes and of the work of supervisors, zone coordinators and community promoters, it is evident that training was enriched by the abandonment of rigid practices based on traditional lectures, and by the use of a participatory approach, as well as by the encouragement of initiative, self-esteem and the development of self-learning habits. The approach of continued training for supervisors and coordinators and their involvement in curricula development, as well as the intensive training of promoters and the close follow up of their performance in the community by supervisors has been crucial in enabling promoters to transmit strong educational messages to community members and to help mothers understand the importance of increasing their own self-esteem, seeking medical care for their reproductive health needs, and practicing good child-rearing. The success thus far detected in transmitting undiluted messages to parents and in motivating them to change their attitude regarding child rearing may be attributed to the participation of seasoned 10 educators in curricula development and to the use of a participatory approach to training staff and parents. The impact of not having implemented management training and attendance to post- graduate courses for professional staff, is not clear and should be examined in the evaluation studies proposed under the restructured PAREB project. 30. The good quality of community promoters training was observed in instances in which promoters succeeded in bringing about attitudinal changes in parents groups, from a resistance to participate, to open exchanges and reflection on many subjects related to problems affecting the community, family life, and child development. Yet, the program could be enriched even further if it would be possible to increase the interaction of the promoters with the children, by forming, for part of the sessions, separate groups for parents and children, and by having access to more appropriate sets of toys for children. Definitely, efforts to encourage child stimulation should be increased and more resources allocated so that better materials and toys are made available. Also, as observed in some parts of the country, the municipal governments could be encouraged to provide additional resources for the program. Given that there is only one promoter per community, group sessions could be organized through cooperation between two promoters in nearby communities or by enlisting the help of mothers from the local PCC. 31. Concerning materials development, the visual materials have helped maintain uniform and consistent messages. The project distributed 1.2 million Parents' Guides (more than double of the original set target for 1996). The program also produced and distributed manuals for module supervisors, the PCC committees and the promoters, as well as other materials for training (over 400,000 units) and 3.7 million units of promotional and educational materials. Beginning in 1996, responsibility for acquiring and distributing material was transferred successfully to the states. Free public space has been used to make the program known through radio, television and road billboards. An evaluation of the materials produced for the project is still pending and will be implemented within the restructured project. 32. The institutional development goals of IE activities consisting of integration and operation of the program by the states are beginning to be achieved through the absorption of the program in the respective state education secretariats. But this change needs to be formalized in most States. Implementation of this organizational stage is important for proper institutionalization of the IE project and will need to be completed during the continuation of this project under the restructured PAREB project. The same principle of absorption of activities by the state level applies to procurement. The transfer of these functions will need to be strengthened with training and technical support from the Federal level. 33. The original design prescribed five main studies that would have required contracting of consultants, but this process suffered considerable delays largely due to the heavy workload of Federal project staff in launching and expanding project activities. There were also problems with selection of consultants, including several instances of non-response from the groups or firms invited to submit proposals for the studies. The following studies were not carried out: (a) cost-effectiveness; (b) analysis of content and effectiveness of educational materials; (c) an impact study of changes in parents' attitudes, values, motivation and interests; (d) a study to measure the efficiency of the program's processes; and (e) construction of a scale to measure 11 psychosocial development of children, validated in the Mexican context. These studies are planned to be implemented under the restructured PAREB project. MAJOR FACTORS AFFECTING THE PROJECT Factors not subject to Government control 34. Community support and participation in IE activities was in some instances difficult to obtain and in such cases IE workers spent considerable time and effort trying to gain acceptance. There were, however, many satisfying experiences in which the program managed to break through stubborn resistance and become a welcome activity by the communities, once the new ideas being introduced in favor of children were understood. Factors subject to Government control 35. A main cause of extensive delay in project initiation was the transfer of project responsibility from SEP to CONAFE. Although this change was unavoidable in view of an overall reorganization of the Education Sector, timing such change so that it occurs at an earlier stage of project development, prior to its final appraisal, would have saved considerable effort and expense both to the Government and the Bank. Another alternative could have been to postpone project appraisal until after the change of administrations. 36. Another factor subject to Government control are the annual delays in budget approval for project expenses. Prompt release of annual funds at the beginning of each fiscal year would enable smoother implementation of programmed activities. This problem, however, applies to Bank projects in other sectors as well, and needs to be discussed and resolved in that general context. Factors subject to implementing agency control 37. Factors that affected project implementation, that would be subject to intervention by CONAFE, were: (a) persisting complicated internal procedures and controls for approving budgets for specific activities; and (b) prolonged postponement of decisions regarding important studies for evaluation. Another factor that depended on the state Education Secretariats was the low level of commitment to the IE program in some states, which worked against staff morale and resolution of managerial and personnel problems. Reliable data on project effectiveness and impact on school preparedness, from evaluation studies, would make it easier to obtain support for IE among state education authorities. 12 PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY 38. While IE made remarkable progress in outreach and staff training, the project is not yet fully integrated with the regular IE program and has not yet been completely absorbed by the state education systems. Nevertheless, a beginning has been made in this direction in a few states where state level coordinating staff are holding state government positions. There are also some municipalities that have absorbed a few positions for promoters. However, as a consequence of the unstable employment conditions prevailing in the project and the periodic delays in monthly payments to workers due to lagged release of Federal funds, in most states IE has been affected-by a high technical and managerial staff turnover. At the Federal level, CONAFE has recently been reorganized and IE has been given formal status as a Department within the Under-Secretary of Basic Education. Assimilation of IE into the regular education system will continue to be pursued under PAREB. 39. Until the Loan cancellation a large proportion of the IE activities (over 70%) depended on external financing (Bank, IDB and UNICEF) although under the restructured education project, recurrent costs for IE (that is, salaries and other recurrent costs) will be financed on a declining basis, so that by the year 2000 all recurrent expenditures would need to be absorbed by the Federal and state governments. The restructured project will also ensure project sustainability by carefully monitoring compliance of IE related covenants, which include obligations to establish the IE program with a formal organizational structure, to create managerial and operational positions as part of the Federal the state education secretariats, and to control costs on the basis of information to be obtained through cost-effectiveness studies. BANK PERFORMANCE 40. Preparation and Appraisal. Project preparation was thorough and was based in many national and international studies on issues regarding the importance of programs to enhance the educational climate in households, in low income communities. The Bank prepared an Initial Education Strategy Paper (Report No. 10129-ME) and discussed and agreed upon its contents, issues, and conclusions with the Government. The issues raised in the sector report were carefully considered in the design of this project. Additionally, the Bank guided the overall planning of costing of IE activities for the five years of the project, allowing for enough resources to implement an effective program. Nevertheless, costs were estimated without taking fully into account predictable delays in annual budget approval and fund releases, which usually affect Bank operations in Mexico, and under-spending for this reason did indeed occur. Moreover, expenditures were much lower due to peso devaluation. For all these reasons a substantial amount of unused funds from the loan had to be canceled. 41. Supervision. In order to strengthen the rationale for investments in IE programs, there is a need for data on costs and effectiveness in relation to results. These were aspects in which the Bank would have needed to place more emphasis during supervision. Even though the project design included studies to link and analyze financial and performance data, and to conduct process and impact evaluation, these studies were not done during the project period. The studies will, however, be undertaken as part of the restructured project which includes 13 continuation of IE activities. The project would have benefited from more participation of early childhood development specialists as part of supervision missions, to review programs in action and advise on quality of program contents and on the use of materials and toys for child stimulation. BORROWER PERFORMANCE 42. The Borrower provided an effective and cooperative role in preparing this project. The SEP (initially designated as implementing agency) managed several national consultants who contributed with various documents which were used in the preparation of the proposal, and SEP staff responsible for project preparation directly produced many documents and papers dealing with IE program contents, implementation modalities, targeting and selection of communities, and program evaluation. The SEP staff also prepared the final project proposal and collected and compiled detailed cost information. Moreover, in 1991, in cooperation with UNICEF, it conducted a pilot project on IE. 43. An earlier transfer of functions for implementation from SEP to CONAFE would have avoided the long and costly delay in project initiation. It would have been less disruptive if the change of agencies would have been decided before project appraisal or if the appraisal would have been postponed. Another recurring problem during implementation were the delays in transferring funds to the states, from the Federal level. Regarding audits of project accounts, the Government submitted them to the Bank in a timely manner. ASSESSMENT OF OUTCOME 44. Notwithstanding initial delays and persistent shortages of financial resources, by the time of loan closing the project had substantially achieved service coverage, staff training objectives and parents participation. Attainments were less remarkable regarding development of policy oriented capabilities, and improvement of evaluation processes at the Federal level and in the state Education Secretariats; these shortcomings may be attributed mainly to the rapid staff turnover, a high diversity in degree of commitment to IE among states, and a reluctance to clearly define and contract technical assistance and studies. In other aspects of institutional development better progress was made. This was particularly true concerning improvements in the supervision of field activities, in organization of pro-childhood committees and in promotion of community participation in IE activities. Instances of cooperation with other community oriented programs were more a result of the efforts of local authorities and community promoters, than of formal agreements among agencies at Federal or state levels. 45. The project made considerable progress in the three years of implementation (1993-1996). Continuation of IE activities under the restructured PAREB project should provide an excellent opportunity to apply lessons learned thus far and implement the necessary assessments. These evaluations should pay particular attention to the contents, quality and costs of the program and 14 measure the impact upon children and communities regarding improvements in school readiness, return to education, and potential reductions in welfare burdens. LESSONS LEARNED a) Delays by central government in transferring funds to the states cause considerable disruption in the work programs and waste valuable resources and staff time; consequently, once an annual budget for a project is approved and programs are prepared by state governments, central financial authorities would need to make their best efforts to maintain the agreed commitments. b) In community based programs, a key element to project success in transmitting undiluted messages to the grassroots is the participation of seasoned educators in curricula development and a training strategy and methodology for promoters discouraging a lecture approach, and instead emphasizing a participatory mode with dynamic promoter-participants interaction, complemented by small group discussions and frequent reinforcement through weekly meetings. c) Process and impact evaluation studies are essential to demonstrate the project's effectiveness to meet stated objectives, and to measure impact. In this project, delays in planning such studies and failure to conduct them within pre-established dates resulted in a lack of meaningful indicators to evaluate project progress more accurately and to develop firm arguments that could have strengthened the commitment of state education authorities to this program. d) Social sector projects need to include the development of effective indicators on the cost of activities in relation to outcomes. Unit costs should be accounted for annually in relation to specific products, and this information should be used for decision-making, as well as for future cost-effective improvements of program design. e) There is a need to strike a proper balance between continuity and obsolescence in the use of IE promoters; although the objective of the program is not to perpetuate them in this role, the efforts and expenditures invested in their training make it worthwhile to coordinate assignments for these persons among several social development programs such as health and illiteracy campaigns. This approach would also help achieve better complementarity, already taking place in many communities, between IE and literacy, health, nutrition and other programs. f) Given the temporary nature of IE promoters and in view of the investments made in promoters' training, it is highly desirable to coordinate the use of these "volunteers" with other community programs, either within the same Secretariat (e.g., with the literacy program) or in cooperation with other agencies (e.g., health). In this way, the experience and knowledge of the community acquired by these workers would be better utilized. 15 g) In cases where centralized procurement of goods and services is the norm, decentralized procurement should be tested and subsequently adopted, as a more effective alternative, providing appropriate training to the state staff which will be responsible for it; h) Decentralizing planning and implementation of the program made it easier for state coordinating units to respond to widely varied challenges and needs, including reaching communities with difficult access, recruiting supervisors, zone coordinators, and promoters, and taking initiatives for training and supervising them, arranging for transportation of materials, and providing and making monthly payments to workers. i) Organizational changes in project administration after appraisal are disruptive and should be avoided. A main cause of extensive delay in project initiation was the transfer of project responsibility from SEP to CONAFE after Loan signing. Although this change was unavoidable in view of an overall reorganization of the Education Sector, decisions on new organizational requirements should have been expeditiously studied and agreed upon and amendments to documents made accordingly; this would have saved considerable effort and expenses both to the Government and the Bank. FUTURE OPERATIONS 46. IE activities will continue to be supported through the restructured PAREB Bank project. The work plan for the current year includes contracting of much needed studies on evaluation of the program and of the educational materials being used. The restructured project will further expand the IE program to a total of 14 states -four additional, with respect to the original operation. It will also extend the project period two more years. The project was scheduled until 1998, while the restructure project will enable to maintain Bank support until the year 1999. u 17 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT MEXICO INITIAL EDUCATION PROJECT (LOAN 3518-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 "A AchievemetMobjctives Substantial Patial 7 Negibe Not applicable Macro policies Sector policies Financial objectives Institutional development Physical objectives Poverty reduction Gender issues Other social objectives Environmental objectives Public sector management Private sector development Other (specify) B. Vroject&SustaHblity Ladey Un# kely Unce*rtea Sustainability C. Bankperforance Hghly Stsatr eiln Satisfatory Identification Preparation assistance Appraisal Supervision Satisfactory Preparation Implementation Covenant compliance Operation Satisactor ofOverallOUntsary Assessment of Overall Outcome4 Table 2: Related Bank Loans Loan Year of Name/Number Purpose Approval Status Comments Primary To assist the Government of Mexico in 1991 Closed Lower repetition and abandonment rates Education Loan improving the quality and efficiency of were achieved, compared to non-project 3407-ME Primary Education, focusing on four states Mexican states (Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas and Hidalgo). 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 Steps in project cycle Date planned latest estimate 1. Preparation 05/21/91 10/28/91 2. Appraisal 05/05/92 05/05/92 3. Negotiations 08/03/92 08/03/92 4. Board presentation 09/08/92 09/08/92 5. Signing 10/08/92 10/08/92 6. Effectiveness 12/92 08/12/93 7. Project completion 03/01/97 05/05/97 8. Loan closing 06/30/98 06/30/97 Project Timetables 24-Jul-98 1 1-Mar-97 28-Oct-95 15-Jun-94 31-Jan-93 Date planned 19-Sep-91 Date actual 7-May-90 23-Dec-88 1 1-Aug-87 --- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Processing Steps 21 Table 4: Cumulative Estimated and Actual Disbursements (Millions of US$) IBRD FY.Y 9 4 Y FY95 FY96 Y97 FY98 Appraisal estimates 11.00-a 20.00 36.00 52.00 70.00 80.00 Revised estimates 11.00 20.00 36.00 52.00 a) 74.00 --- (1995) Actual --- 9.36 16.86 20.30 b) 28.43 --- Disbursements Actual as % of --- 46.8 46.8 39.0 38.4 --- Revised Estimate Date of Last June 30, 1997 Disbursement a) The Government requested cancellation of $6.0M in July 1995. b) An undisbursed balance of US$45.6 million was canceled at loan closing, on 6/30/97. Disbursements 80_ 60 -4--Appraisal estimates .2 40 -U- Revised estimates 20 --Actual Disbursements 0_ C0) LO (0 ( 0 )0) 0) 0) 0) LL UL LL U- U- U. 22 Table 5: Key Monitoring Indicators Key Implementation Indicators in Original Targets Revised Actual Percent SAR' through 1996 Targets Achieved as Achieved Set for end- of Dec. 31, over '96 1996 Revised Targets A. Human Resource Development 1. Train Higher level professionals 48 50 50 100% 2. Train leaders and tech. staff 2 80 - - - 4. Train superv, & coord. 5,260 3,736 3,127 83.4% 5. Train promoters 40,500 32,100 29,567 92.0% 6. Train parents 641,823 641,823 597,482 93.1% * Parents learning achievement Annual assessments * Rate parents attendance " * Rate promoters performance " * Effectiveness of educational " materials * Frequency of home visits " B. Edue. Materials Development 1. Print and distribute revised 604,000 1.6 million 1.2 million 75% parents' Guidebook 2. Print and distribute revised 85,000 85,000 71,578 84.2% Promoters' Guidebook 3. Print and distribute revised 8,800 8,800 3,142 36.0% supervisors' Guidebook 4. Print and distribute revised zone 1,300 1,300 - - coordinators' Guidebook 5, Develop audiovisual cassettes 51,200 51,200 45,549 a) NA 6. Conduct public campaigns by 448 NA 61,700 3 NA radio 'Indicators marked with an asterisk were to be evaluated on a random sample basis by the independent annual control assessment; qualitative assessments are given in the text of the report, based on a sample of 12 communities where case studies were made to examine the effects of the project. 2Although a strategy for management training was developed with technical assistance provided through UNICEF, no training took place due to heavy workload of high level program staff. During the project period there were 61,000 radio announcements or broadcasts about the project, and 13,200 on national TV. a) Of these 4,960 videos were produced in 1997. 23 Key Implementation Indicators in Original Revised Actual Percent SAR Targets Targets Achieved Achieved through 1996 Set for end- as of Dec. over '96 31, 1996 Revised Targets C. Institutional Strengthening 1. Establish Pro-childhood On-going Committees 2. Select and hire new staff 80 70 70 100 3. Purchase vehicles 27 27 29 107.4 * Level and regularity of Annual promoters' payments assessments * Quality and frequency of supervision * Q & F of module supervision * Q & F of state and central supervision. * PCC and community participation * No. of PCCs established * Type and Q of PCC activities Service Coverage to children 0 to 4 830,000 830,000 147,316 90% 24 Table 6: Technical Assistance and Studies Included in the Project T e ichtiaAssistance (T.A.) Purpose as defined at Status Impact or Study Appraisal/ redefined I.I.A Initial technical review Objective was to add new Parents' Guidebook and Formal evaluation of of design and printing of topics, bring old topics up Promoters' Guidebook impact planned for Guidebooks for: Parents, to date, and improve write- revised, reproduced and September,'97 under Promoters, Module ups and visual distributed restructured PAREB Supervisors, and Zone presentations project Coordinators 2. TA for audiovisual Assist CONAFE and Institutional logos were Id. communication program particularly the IE Unit, in designed and reproduced improving its printed in a multitude of printed materials and mass media and visual materials. Two programs, as well as its Guidebooks were communication strategy, designed: for module and quality of designs, supervisor and for PCCs. write-ups, artistic Flip charts with 12 illustrations, coordination illustrations was designed of production, quality and reproduced, as well as control during production many other materials, of materials including brochures, radio and TV programs, video on IE program and on PCC functions, calendar, and diplomas for courses 3. T.A. to prepare and present To provide annual training Workshops for 50 Favorable evaluation Annual Workshop for on planning, technical staff conducted of training by Technical Staff communication, on September 26-October participants information systems, 5, 1994, and March -Dec., management and training 1996 (several short strategies sessions throughout period) 4. T.A. to prepare and present To provide training to Two workshops offered, Favorable evaluation Annual Workshop for state trainers on planning, on Dec. 5-16, '94 to 47 of training by trainers organizing and supervising trainers and on Nov. 20- participants all step-down training 29,'96 to 31 trainers activities in the state 25 Table 7A: Project Costs (US$ Million) Appraisal Estimates Actual Costs Item Local Foreign Total % Local Foreign Total % Foreign Foreign 1. Equipment 0.7 1.0 1.7 58.8 0.4 0.5 0.9 55.0 and furniture and vehicles 2.Educational 6.4 5.7 12.1 47.1 3.1 - 3.1 - materials and supplies 3. Staff 23.5 - 23.5 - 5.6 - 5.6 training and conferences 4. Studies and 1.5 0.3 1.8 16.7 0.3 0.3 0.6 50.0 technical Assistance 5. Salaries & 63.7 - 63.7 - 36.6 - 36.6 - other recurrent costs Baseline 95.8 7.0 102.8 6.8 47.0 0.8 47.8 1.7 Costs Physical 0.6 0.2 0.8 0.3 - - - - contingencies Price 10.8 0.6 11.4 5.3 - - - - Contingencie s Total Project 107.2 7.8 115.0 6.8 47.0 0.8 47,8 1.7 Costs Table 7B: Project Financing (US$ Million) Appraisal Estimates Actual Costs Source Local Costs Foreign Total Local Costs Foreign Total Costs Costs IBRD 72.2 7.8 80.0 27.6 0.8 28.4 Government 34.0 - 34.0 19.2 - 19.2 UNDP UNICEF 1.0 - 1.0 0.1 0.1 0.2 1 107.2 7.8 115.0 46.9 0.9 47.8 26 Table 8; Bank Resources: Staff Inputs ........ .................... ../ .4 ..:.:.:.: . .. ..4.:. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. Preparation to Appraisal 135.2 255,313 Appraisal-' 21.7 40,746 Negotiations through Board Approval 9.2 15,779 Supervision 131.2* 372,820 Completion 10.6 30,923 Post appraisal work was required to amend the Loan Agreement, as a result of project organizational changes made by the Government. * Supervision figures included the time spent by a full time resident staff following up construction activities. Table 9: Bank Resources: Missions Performance Rating Stage of Project Cycle Month/ Number SW in Specialized Staff Implementation Development Types of year of Field Skills on Objectives Problems * Persons Represented States Through Appraisal Identification 05/91 4 1.5 A N/A N/A Preparation 07/91 3 2.8 A N/A N/A Preparation 10/91 5 0.8 A,B N/A N/A Preparation 12/91 4 2.0 A N/A N/A Preparation 02/92 6 2.0 A N/A N/A Preparation 02/92 1 0.7 B N/A N/A Preparation 05/92 5 2.0 A,C N/A N/A Appraisal Through Board Approval Appraisal 09/92 8 2.0 A N/A N/A Post Appraisal 10/92 2 1.0 A N/A N/A Supervision Supervision 1 05/93 3 0.7 A N/A N/A N/A Supervision 2 02/94 7 2.0 A,B,C,D N/A N/A N/A Supervision 3 03/94 3 1.0 A,C N/A N/A N/A Supervision 4 10/94 3 1.0 A,D S HS N/A Supervision 5 02/94 6 0.8 A,C,D S HS F Supervision 6 06/95 6 2.1 A,C,D,E,F S HS F,P,S,T,Tr, Supervision 7 10/96 6 2.0 A,E,G S S E,F,S,T Completion 05/97 3 1.2 A,-C,H S S T a/ A= Education Specialist; B= Management; C= Procurement Specialist; D= Architect; E= HR Economist; F= Portfolio Manager; G= Office Manager; H= Task Assistant h/ 1= Problem Free; 2= Moderate; 3= Major Problems; S= Satisfactory; U= Unsatisfactory q/ M= Management; F= Financial; P= Procurement; S= Studies; E= Monitoring & Eval.; T= Technical Assessment; TR= Training; 28 Table 10: Status of Legal Covenants Setiftin Covenant Status Original Revised Description ofcovenant Comments Type Fulfilknent Fulfillment Date Date Guarantee Agreement G. 3.03 5 C Evidence that satisfactory For effectiveness agreements have been signed with at least three of the ten project states G. 3.05 13 C 06/30/93 12/31/94 The Educational Management In process of developing the Information System will be in Administrative-Finance Module with operation. PAREB. G. 3.06 13 C 06/30/93 Evidence of timely monthly Complied in 1996. payments of community educators compensation of at least US$50 equivalent in real terms G. 3.06 13 C 06/30/93 Evidence that the monthly Complied. supervision travel allowance for module supervisors and zone coordinators are at least US$60 and US$50 equivalent in real terms, respectively. G. 3.08 10 C 06/30/93 Evidence that the Advisory Formal Committee will not be Committee has been established. established. However, ad-hoc meetings take place regularly with all potential members. Not applicable under new structure G. 3.09 (a) 10 C 10/31/93 Annual project progress reviews 1992-1996 progress was reviewed during SPN mission. By October 31 each year, 93-96. G. 3.09 (b) 13 C Evidence that communities have For Annual Review each year 1993- been identified in each ofthe ten 97. Communities identified in all project states to meet project states. expansion targets set for year. G. 3.09 (b) 13 C 06/30/93 Evidence of timely monthly Monthly allowance of MEX$500 is payments of community educators being paid to community educators, compensation of at least US$50 at each annual review. equivalent in real terms. G. 3.10 (a) 10 C 04/30/95 04/30/96 Furnish terms of reference for mid- Complied. term implementation review meeting. G. 3.10 (b) 10 C 10/31/95 A mid-term review conducted by Complied. SEP, jointly with the Bank. G. 3.10 10 C 11/30/95 Action plans based on the results Complied. (b)(iii) of the mid-term review meeting. G. 3.12 13 C Contract for independent research Substitute with annual process center or consulting firm to evaluation before August 31. perform a quality control review. G. 4.01 (b) 10 C Furnish to the Bank a certified 1994-1995 completed. 1996 in (i)(ii(iii) I copy of the audit reports. revision. Before June 30. Loan Agreement L. 3.03 09 C Annual project progress reviews Complied. L. 4.01 (b) 01 C Furnish to the Bank a certified 1994-1995 completed. 1996 in L.(i)(ii)(iv) copy of the audit reports revision. Before June 30. L. 6.01 (b) 10 C Evidence that satisfactory For effectiveness. agreements have been signed with at least three of the ten project states. L. 6.01 (c) 03 C Central and State Initial Education For effectiveness, and for Units. Evidence that at least the disbursement of project resources for Deputy Directors at the Central IE each individual state. 29 unit and two of the Technical positions in the state IE units have been filled. Sch. 1, 3 10 C Evidence that an agreement has Complied. (b) been signed with each state for project implementation. Sch. 1, 3 10 C Review of the graduate program Not applicable. (c), (d) for top-level executives. Annex 1, 10, 09 C 11/30/92 Select consultants and contract for Not applicable. 3.3 the study of information needs and for the design of a system to generate and process information required for project monitoring and implementation. Annex 4.4 9 C Preparation of a work plan and Complied. budget for the following fiscal year. Side Letter 13 C Evidence that communities have Complied. Annex 1, been identified in each of the ten 4.1 (a) project states to meet project expansion targets set for year. Side Letter, 13 C Evidence that the appropriate Complied. Annex number of module supervisors and 1.4.1 (b) zone coordinators to meet the year's project expansion targets have been recruited. Side Letter, 13 C Evidence that initial training Complied. Annex courses have been completed for 1.4.1 (c) all module supervisors and zone coordinators. Side Letter, 13 C Evidence that Pro-Childhood Complied. Annex 1, Committees have been organized 4.1 (e) and community educators have been trained for the year. Side Letter, 13 C Evidence that parent training Complied. Annex 1, groups have been organized and 4.1 (f) that training courses are being conducted. Side Letter, 13 C Evidence that continuing in- Complied. Annex1, service training activities for 4.1 (g) community educators, module supervisors, and zone coordinators are proceeding regularly. Side Letter, 13 C Evidence that an annual training Complied. Annex 1, seminar has been conducted for 4.2 training specialists. Side Letter, 13 C Evidence that an annual training Complied. Annex 1, seminar has been conducted for 4.3 members of the technical staff. Side Letter, 13 C Evidence of revision, updating, or Complied. Annex 1, design of all printed educational 2.1. (a) materials have been completed. Side Letter, 13 C Printing and distribution of all Complied. Annex 1, printed materials. 2.1 (b) Side Letter, 13 C Revision of all educational Approved TORs. Contracts in Annex 1, materials. process. 2.1 (c) Side Letter, 13 C Printing and distribution of the Pending revision of education Annex 1, balance of all education materials. materials. 2.1 (d) 30 Side Letter, 13 C Develop and submit for Bank Complied till 1996. Annex 1, approval terms of reference and 2.1 (al) content specifications for non print educational materials. Side 13 C Contract for the design and Complied. Letter, production of education games. Annex 1, 2.1 (bl) Side Letter, 13 C Contract for the production of a 6 Complied. Annex 1, to 8 minute educational video 2.1 (bI) cassette. Side Letter, 13 C Contract for the production of four Complied. Annex 1, 60 minute audio cassettes. 2.1 (bl) _ 3_ C Side Letter, 13 C Contract for the development and Complied. Annex 1, production of tree different one- 2.1 (cl) minute radio spots. Side Letter, 13 C Evidence that appropriate Complied till 1996. Annexl, arrangements have been made with 2.1 (dl) local and regional radio stations. Side Letter, 13 C Contract of the development and Complied. Annex 1, production of a series of radio 2.1 (el) 1 1 programs. Side Letter, 13 C Process evaluation: (i) Select Waiting for technical proposals Annex 1, consultants and contract for the 3.4 process evaluation. Sid 'Letter, 13 C 07/31/93 Selection of consultants and Integrated into impact evaluation. Annex 1, contract for the study Complied. 3.4 Psychological Development Scale. (Final Report). Side Letter, 13 C Impact Evaluation: (i) Select Waiting for technical proposals. Annex 1, consultants and contract for the 3.4 (i) impact study. Side Letter, 13 C Impact Evaluation: (ii) Sampling Impact evaluation. Annex 1, and instruments design. 3.4 (ii) Side Letter, 13 C Impact Evaluation: (iii) First Integrated into impact evaluation. Annex 1, Report. 3.4 (iii) Side Letter, 13 C 12/31/94 Selection of consultants and TORs approved. Contract in process. Annex 1, contract for the study Evaluation 3.4 of Educational materials. (Final I _Report). Side Letter, 13 C 04/30/94 Selection of consultants and Complied. Annex 1, contract for the study Parents 3.4 attitude and Behavior. (Final Report) Side Letter, 13 C 12/31/95 Cost Effectiveness. (Final Report). Integrated into impact evaluation. Annex 1, 3.4 Side Letter, 13 C Evidence of cooperative Complied. Annex 1, arrangements among SEP and the 3.7 federal and state health secretariats or equivalent organizations. 31 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: 1 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 13 APPENDIXES APPENDIX A 35 BBL-335-VI-97 GERENCIA DE FINANCIAMIENTOS MULTILATERALES 9 de junio de 1997 SR. MANUEL VERA Especialista en Educación Banco Mundial 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. Hago referencia al Préstamo 3518-ME contratado con ese Organismo para financiar parcialmente el Programa de Educación Inicial (PRODEI), y específicamente a la Ayuda Memoria generada con motivo de la Misión de Supervisión que el Banco realizó en nuestro país del 5 al 6 de mayo de 1997. Sobre el particular, anexo me permito enviar a usted un ejemplar de dicho documento, el cual contiene las firmas correspondientes a la SHCP, CONAFE y esta Institución. Sin más por el momento, aprovecho la ocasión para enviarle un saludo. ATENTAMENTE J MA EL IZQUIERDO SOSA Ger it Anexo: lo citado c.c.p. Lic. Alejandro de la Canal.- Director General de Planeación. Programación y Presupuesto.- SEP. Anexo c.c.p. Lic. Edmundo Salas.- Director General.- CONAFE. Anexo c.c.p. Lic. Lorena Gabilondo A.- Subdirectora de Proyectos Sociales y de Recursos Humanos.- SHCP. Anexo c.c.p. Lic. Manuel Morales H.- Asesor de la Dirección General.- DGPPP.- SEP. Anexo c.c.p. Lic. Timoteo Harris Howard.- Subdirector de Organismos Internacionales.- NAFIN. c.c.p. Lic. Socorro Padilla Monroy.- Gerente de Operación de Financiamientos Especiales.- NAFIN. Anexo AEP*EGD*lmg 36 MÉXICO MISIóN DE SUPERVISION DEL BANCO MUNDIAL PROYECTOS DE EDUCACIÓN INICIAL (PRODEI - Préstamo 3518-ME), Y EDUCACIÓN PRIMARIA I Y II (PARE - 3407-ME Y PAREB - 3722-ME) AYUDA MEMORIA Mayo 5 al 16 de 1997 1. Una misión integrada por Manuel Vera, Madalena Dos Santos, Fernando Reimers y Patricia Romero (LASHD), Rosita Estrada (LADCR), y Nydia Maraviglia (consultora) se realizó del 5 al 16 de mayo de 1997 para preparar el Informe de Cierre (Project Implementation Report - ICR) del PRODEI, y revisaí los compromisos legales de PAREB (recientemente reestructurado mediante una enmienda), y PARE. La misión mantuvo reuniones con el Lic. Edmundo Salas Garza, Director General del CONAFE, Lic. Lorena Gabilondo, Sub-Directora de Proyectos Sociales de la SHCP, Lic. Manuel Morales, Asesor de la Dirección General de Planeación, Programación y Presupuesto de la SEP, Lic. Juan Manuel Izquierdo Sosa, Gerente de Financiamientos Multilaterales de NAFIN, Lic. Carlos Márquez Pérez, Coordinador de Programas Compensatorios del CONAFE, Lic. Joaquín Jardí, Director de Planeación del CONAFE, y funcionarios ejecutivos y técnicos del CONAFE, SEP, NAFIN y otros organismos técnicos. 2. Miembros de la misión realizaron visitas a los estados de Guanajuato, Oaxaca y Veracruz, y se entrevistaron con los Secretarios de Educación, así como con funcionarios ejecutivos y técnicos y autoridades municipales de dichos estados. También realizaron visitas y observaron el funcionamiento de grupos del programa PRODEI en comunidades rurales e indígenas. 3. La misión desea agradecer la amable cooperación y el apoyo brindado por las autoridades del Gobierno Federal y los Gobiernos de Guanajuato, Oaxaca y Veracruz. A continuación se presenta un resumen de los principales asuntos tratados y los acuerdos tomados durante las reuniones llevadas a cabo durante esta misión. ASUNTOS ACORDADOS 4. La misión recibió un informe de avance y logros del proyecto PRODEI, en preparación para el cierre de este préstamo. Se realizaron reuniones en NAFIN, destinadas a tratar los aspectos financieros relacionados con el cierre de PRODEI, y la revisión del estado de cumplimiento de los compromisos legales para PRODEI Y PAREB. NAFIN informó a la misión que solicitará la cancelación de los saldos no utilizados de los préstamos 3518-ME (PRODE1) Y 3407-ME (PARE) a la fecha de la firma de la enmienda al proyecto PAREB (Préstamo 3722-ME). 37 5. Los informes financieros de PRODEI presentados a la misión deben considerarse como preliminares. Los informes financieros definitivos incluirán la comprobación de los gastos pendientes y el monto sujeto a cancelación. De acuerdo con la información financiera tentativa suministrada a la misión, puede estimarse que la cancelación para cerrar el préstamo sería de $US 45.6 millones. La misión fue informada, asimismo, que la cancelación del remanente no desembolsado del préstamo 3407-ME (PARE) será entre US$16.5 millones y US$17.3 millones. 6. La misión verificó que el objetivo de extender la cobertura de servicios de educación inicial a 1.2 millones de niños menores de 4 afios en zonas altamente marginadas y mejorar la calidad de dichos servicios, fue en gran medida alcanzado. En efecto, hasta el 31 de diciembre de 1996, se había logrado beneficiar con este programa a casi 750,000 niños, o un 90% de la meta originalmente establecida para esa fecha. 7. Se acordó que con respecto a las obligaciones comprometidas bajo el préstamo 3518- ME, cuya ejecución no se haya completado al tiempo de la cancelación, NAFIN elaborará un listado de éstas (contratos) para recabar del Banco una nueva "no objeción" a fines de financiar la parte pendiente con fondos del préstamo 3722-ME. 8. La información obtenida por la misión permitirá proceder a la preparación del informe del Banco ICR. Dicho informe se finalizará una vez que se haga efectiva la cancelación del remanente no utilizado del préstamo, dentro de los seis meses siguientes a dicha cancelación. 9. Se acordó que CONAFE enviará al Banco, en las fechas indicadas, la siguiente información o documentación: 10. Antes del 15 de junio de 1997, información actualizada acerca del monto de las contribuciones financieras al proyecto por parte de los estados participantes, en categorías elegibles, las cuales constituyen parte del aporte nacional al financiamiento del proyecto. Esencialmente estos gastos corresponden al componente de Recursos Humanos (ver el SAR en inglés, Annex 20 para tener una idea clara de los gastos elegibles procedentes de los estados, que se habían estimado en US$15 millones al momento de preparar el SAR). 11. Antes del 31 de mayo de 1997, el informe final de consultoría para la primera fase de la reorganización administrativa de la unidad coordinadora de los proyectos financiados por el Banco, y la nómina del personal de la nueva organización. 12. El CONAFE informó a la misión que el estudio sobre la educación secundaria en México, se realizará bajo un diagnóstico previsto en el nuevo proyecto de educación básica actualmente en preparación. 13. Asimismo, se acordó que el CONAFE contratará, antes del 31 de agosto de 1997, la consultoría externa para el segundo estudio evaluativo de procesos, el cual deberá incluir los aspectos relativos a la organización institucional y administrativa a nivel 38 estatal, al uso y efectividad de los materiales educativos, y al funcionamiento y estado de implantación del sistema de información educativa y gerencial. 14. CONAFE informó a la misión que se ha iniciado el proceso de contratación para la consultoría de evaluación de impacto y se espera que la iniciación del estudio tenga lugar dentro de un plazo no mayor de tres meses a partir de la fecha. 15. La misión participó, junto con personal del CONAFE y de la Secretaría de Educación del Estado de Oaxaca, en el Seminark convocado por la Organización Civil TRASPARENCIA para informar a un grupo de organizaciones civiles del estado sobre los objetivos, organización y alcances del proyecto de educación inicial PRODEI. El seminario solicitó que se tome en cuenta la posible colaboración de las organizaciones civiles en el diseño y ejecución de los proyectos de educación. Ciudad de M' o. 6 d mayo de 1997 Lic.Edm AalManuel Vera Director e al d 1 AFE Í Banco Mundial Lic. Juan Manuel 1 uie doý Lic. a dabilondo Alpízar Gerente de Financi ien Subdifectora de Proyectos Sociales Multilaterales, NAF SHCP. 39 APPENDIX B GOVERNMENT EVALUATION REPORT AVAILABLE IN THE PROJECT FILES 41 APPENDIX C Consejo Nacional de Fomento Educativo Río Elba No. 20 Piso 16 C.P. 06500 México, D.F. Teis. 553.88.82 553.29.77 México D.F., 22 de octubre de 1997 OFICIO No. CPC/744.97 CARMEN HAMANN GERENTE DEL SECTOR SOCIAL DEPARTAMENTO DE MEXICO P R E S E N T E. AT'N: Lic. Claudia Macias. Adjunto a la presente le envío los comentarios al documento Implementation Completion Report. Informe que el Banco Mundial ha preparado para presentar la operación del Proyecto para el -Desarrollo de la Educación Inicial PRODEI, de 1993 a 1996; a la Junta de Directores del organismo internacional. Conviene precisar,. que los comentarios resumen los beneficios importantes no considerados en el informe del Proyecto, a lo largo del periodo señalado, y que son parte de las experiencias esenciales de carácter educativo que se han derivado de éste como accciones innovadoras. Sin otro particular, hago propi a la/¿casión para enviarle un cordial saludo. ATENTAM LIC. CARLOS M UEZ PEREZ COORDINAD DE LOS PROGRAMAS COMPENS ORIOS DEL CONAFE c.c.p. Lic. Lorena Gabilondo Alpizar SHCP. Lic. Alejandro de la Canal Knapp, SEP. Lic. Timoteó.Harris, NAFIN. Lic. Juan Manuel Izquierdo. NAFIN. CMP/1GRA/srm. 42 Consejo Nacional de Fomento Educativo Río Elba No. 20 Piso 16 C.P. 06500 Méx.co. D.F. Teis. 553.88.82 553.29.77 Comentarios al documento Implementation Completion Report, elaborado por el Banco Mundial La información presentada en el documento Implementation Completion Report (ICR), sobre la operación del Proyecto para el Desarrollo de la Educación Inicial PRODEI, (enviado al CONAFE el 29 de septiembre de 1997); la considero pertinente. No existen datos o hechos que alteren el desarrollo del Proyecto de 1993 a 1996, y por lo tanto, no habría inconveniente para que la junta del Banco Mundial (BM) la utilice para los fines que considere convenientes. El ICR describe las acciones emprendidas en cada uno de los componentes del proyecto: las metas de operación comprometidas, el monto presupuestal asignado, el costo global desembolsado; los alcances y las limitaciones, la problemática detectada, los resultados y las experiencias obtenidos, los pendientes y las recomendaciones a incorporar en la continuación del Proyecto a partir de su reestructuración en el PAREB. Sin embargo, habría que señalar al Banco Mundial, en el punto del Componente de Desarrollo de Recursos Humanos, que las capacitaciones para Promotores Educativos que participan en la operación del Programa de Educación Inicial No Escolarizado, se llevan a cabo en tres fases: Inicial, Trimestral y Mensual; y no de manera Semanal como lo indica el documento ICR, para que realice la rectificación que proceda. También considero necesario destacar tres puntos en los que se resumen los beneficios del Proyecto y que podrían ser incorporados en el Informe del BM, éstos son: 1. Municipalización del Programa de Educación inicial no Escolarizada El Proyecto tiene como compromiso prioritario, instrumentar acciones que faciliten su institucionalización en los estados donde se implementa. Un avance que el Proyecto ha tenido en este sentido, es sensibilizar a los Municipios para que participen con el Programa de Educación Inicial, logrando que 22 de ellos, en los Estados de Hidalgo, México, Puebla y Veracruz han asumido los gastos de la gratificación de 30 Promotores Educativos, con beneficio directo a 600 padres y 780 niños. Lo que significa que de seguir impulsando esta política en los Municipios, de estas entidades, y de los demás estados que conforman el Proyecto, propiciará el arraigo y la permanencia del Programa No Escolarizado en la comunidades donde se ofrece el servicio educativo. De tal forma que los beneficios de éste, continúen llegando a los padres de familia capacitándolos en el mejoramiento de las prácticas de crianza hacia los menores de 4 años y favoreciendo el que los niños alcancen su desarrollo integral para que ingresen con mayor éxito a los niveles educativos posteriores. 2. Apoyo a los sistemas Estatales de Educación Inicial e Inicial Indigena. El Proyecto ha apoyado a las Coordinaciones Estatales de Educación Inicial para que a la fecha cuenten: 43 Consejo Nacional de Fomento Educativo Rio Elba No. 20 Piso 16 C.P. 06500 México. D.F. Tels. 553.88.82 553.29.77 a) Con un equipo técnico que apoya la implementación de las acciones previstas en los componentes del Proyecto, además de 162 recursos humanos que las Secretarías de Educación Pública ha asignado a las mismas. b) Con mobiliario, equipo y vehículos de conformidad con las metas establecidas para cada año, ya que se entregaron en forma global: 1627 unidades de equipamiento audiovisual, de oficina y cómputo, mobiliario y parque vehicular, cumpliéndose con ello el 95.5% de la meta comprometida. A este respecto, es importante destacar que gradualmente los Gobiernos Estatales fueron proporcionando equipo complementario: un total de 337 unidades de mobiliario y equipo con lo que se ha mejorado substancialmente las condiciones físicas de las Coordinaciones. c) Con la contratación de 136 Coordinadores de Zona, 725 Supervisores de Módulo y, 17,081 Promctores Educativos para la cobertura del Proyecto. Además de los recursos humanos que sé han incorporado, producto de los esfuerzos de institucionalización del Proyecto: 63 Coordinadores de Zona, 327 Supervisores de Módulo y 3,654 Promotores Educativos. d) En cuanto a Educación Inicial Indígena, recientemente en el Estado de Oaxaca se estableció un acuerdo entre el Instituto Estatal de Educación P'ública de Oaxaca y el Consejo Nacional de Fomento Educativo para que a partir del ciclo operativo1997- 1998, el PRODEI capacite y suministre materiales a 25 representantes regionales y a 238 promotoras de Educación Inicial indígena. Al respecto, se sugiere apoyar la elaboración de materiales educativos en lengua indígena, a fin de que tales figuras puedan utilizarlos en la capacitación que se brinda a los padres que atienden en esta modalidad. La acción anterior representa un ejemplo de coordinación y apoyo entre diferentes instituciones, que se seguirá fomentando en las demás entidades para facilitar una mejor atención, tanto en cobertura como en la calidad de prestación de dicho servicio educativo. De forma tal que se logre responder a la filosofía del Proyecto, que es llegar a las comunidades más marginadas del país, entre ellas, las indígenas. 3. Actividades de Alfabetización. En el rubro de enlaces interinstitucionales se avanzó más allá de lo establecido en el Proyecto ya que. las Coordinaciones Estatales de Educación Inicial en los estados de Chiapas, Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosí y Veracruz han emprendido acciones de Coordinación Interinstitucional con las Secretaria Estatales de Educación Pública y con el Instituto Nacional de Educación para Adultos, con el propósito de participar en las cruzadas estatales para la Educación de los Adultos, en beneficio de las madres y padres analfabetos que participan en el Programa No Escolarizado de Educación Inicial. 44 Consejo Nacional de Fomento Educativo Rio Elba No. 20 Piso 16 C.P. 06500 México, D.F. Teis. 553.88.82 553.29.77 Como producto de este esfuerzo, durante 1995 y 1996 se capacitó a 3 752 Promotores Educativos que, gracias a su movilidad y presencia en los municipios y comunidades más marginadas del país, así como su capacidad de liderazgo, representatividad, solvencia moral y compromiso con el programa, alfabetizaron a 24,457 adultos de las comunidades donde opera el Proyecto utilizando materiales del programa que atendemos para cumplir exitosamente con esta encomienda. Experiencia que se aprovechará para continuar con estas acciones, ya que brindan grandes beneficios a los adultos que participan en nuestro Programa educativo. 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