Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No. 16807 PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT TURKEY INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS PROJECT (LOAN 2536-TU) AND NON-FORMAL VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROJECT (LOAN 2776-TU) June 13, 1997 Operations Evaluation Department 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 (annual averages) Currency Unit = Turkish Lira (TL) At Appraisal 100TL US$0.238 420TL = US$1 At Completion 10,OOOTL = US$0.337 26,609TL = US$1 Weights and Measures International System of Units (SI, "Metric System") Abbreviations and Acronyms CNC Computer Numerical Control ICR Implementation Completion Report ISP Industrial Schools Project METARGEM Vocational Education Research and Development Center MONE Ministry of National Education NFEI Non-Formal Education Institute NFVTP Non-Formal Vocational Training Project OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OED Operations Evaluation Department PAR Performance Audit Report PCU Project Coordination Unit PIU Project Implementation Unit SAR Staff Appraisal Report TA Technical Assistance TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training Fiscal Year Government: January 1-December 31 Director-General, Operations Evaluation : Mr. Robert Picciotto Director, Operations Evaluation Dept. : Mr. Roger Slade for Ms. Elizabeth McAllister Division Chief, Agriculture and Human Development Mr. Roger Slade Task Manager : Ms. Helen Abadzi FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY The World Bank Washington, D.C 20433 U S.A. Office of the Director-General Operations Evaluation June 13, 1997 MEMORANDUM TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND THE PRESIDENT SUBJECT: TURKEY: Industrial Schools Project (Loan 2536-TU) Non-formal Vocational Training Project (Loan 2776-TU) Performance Audit Report Attached is the Performance Audit Report prepared by the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) on the Industrial Schools Project (ISP; Loan 2536-TU for $57.70 million) and the Non-formal Vocational Training Project (NFVTP; Loan 2776-TU for $58.50 million). The ISP was approved in 1985 and closed on December 31, 1994, after two one-year extensions with $1.98 million canceled. The NFVTP was approved in 1987 and closed on the original closing date, December 31, 1995, with $4.10 million canceled. The projects were designed to increase the quantity of trained industrial manpower, improve planning and management of vocational-technical education in the Ministry of National Education (MONE), and strengthen the effectiveness of vocational education projects. To attain these objectives, some buildings were refurbished and equipment was procured. Also, technical assistance and fellowships were provided for curriculum development, teacher training, skills testing and certification standards, and entrepreneurship development. The focus of ISP was on high-tech specialties and skills, while the focus of NFVTP was on rural area residents with basic education, particularly women. Both projects achieved most of their physical targets in terms of civil works and equipment. However, the instructional components did not receive sufficient attention. Though much time was spent on studying equipment for different areas of specialization, little time was spent on the development of curricula that would disseminate information effectively to students. Relatively few teachers received appropriate in-service training, and the staff who obtained fellowships did not always return to their teaching positions. The institutional framework that would have made it possible to coordinate the components and obtain sustainable results from the investments was not sufficiently developed. The government had difficulty recruiting appropriately qualified persons to manage the project, and there was considerable turnover. Institutional leadership was particularly weak for ISP. As a result, expenditures were made, but it is not clear that the quality of vocational-technical education improved. Neither project established monitoring indicators or key indicators of implementation progress, and project effects cannot be measured. The outcome of ISP is rated as marginally satisfactory, whereas the outcome of NFVTP is rated as satisfactory. For both projects, institutional development is rated as negligible and sustainability as uncertain. Bank performance is rated as satisfactory for NFVTP, but it is rated as unsatisfactory for ISP. 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. 2 In both projects, particularly in the latter, the Bank documents provided little implementation detail and guidance. Supervision missions were short and sometimes spaced far apart. Although the Bank proved flexible on procurement issues, it failed to act decisively when it detected institutional weaknesses in the case of ISP. The audit raises some concerns about the emphasis on equipment procurement at the expense of curriculum development and instructional delivery. Attachment 1 Contents Ratings and Responsibilities ..................3 Preface......................................................... 5 1. Introduction..........................................................................................7 2. Project Objectives and Design .............................. ........8 The Industrial Schools Project .....................8... ..........8 The Non-formal Vocational Training Project .............. ............. 8 3. Implementation Experience .............................................10 Industrial Schools Project............................................. 10 Non-formal Vocational Training Project ................. .... .......11 4. Outcomes and Ratings...........................................12 Overall Outcome: Industrial Schools Project.......................... 12 Equipment Provision and Access to Training..................... ................. 12 Teacher Training ............................... .......... 12 Capacity Building ............................... ........ 13 Overall Outcome: Non-formal Vocational Training Project ................................13 Physical Targets ............................................ 13 Entrepreneurship Development ............................... 13 Sustainability .................... .................. 14 Institutional Developm ent....................................................................................... 14 Borrower Performance ............................... ........14 Bank Performance .................................... ..... 14 The Industrial Schools Project ...............................14 The Non-formal Vocational Training Program ................15 5. Issues and Recommendations ............................. ........16 Low Student Qualifications and Training at Higher Levels ................16 The Scope of Training Specializations.............................17 Lack of Responsiveness to Employer Needs ............ ............. 18 Higher Education Attendance After TVET..........................18 Teacher Qualifications and Training ........................19 A Need to Decentralize .................................... 19 The Need for Management Training ..............................20 Financing ........................................ ....... 20 Gender Equity................................................ 21 6. Lessons ..................................................... 22 This report was prepared by Helen Abadzi, Task Manager, and Bo Dahlborg, Consultant, who audited the projects in October 1996. Pilar Barquero provided administrative assistance. 2 Annexes A. Basic Data Sheets ....................................................................................................... 23 B. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the Context of Turkey's Industrial Development Strategy.................................................. 31 C. Curriculum Issues in Turkish Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)....................................................................................... 35 D. Focus Group Questionnaires and Statistics........................................................... 43 E. Borrower Comments..............................................................................................47 3 Principal Ratings Loan 2536-TU Loan 2776-TU Outcome Marginally satisfactory Satisfactory Sustainability Uncertain Uncertain Institutional Development Negligible Negligible Bank Performance Unsatisfactory Satisfactory Borrower Performance Satisfactory Satisfactory Key Staff Responsibilities Industrial Schools Project Loan 2536-TU Task Manager Division Chief Country Director Appraisal C. Sinclair W. Cooper H. E. K6pp Midterm P. Kleysteuber R. Harbison M. Wiehen Completion P. Kleysteuber R. Harbison K. Lay Non-Formal Vocational Training Project (Loan 2776-TU) Task Manager Division Chief Country Director Appraisal B. Laporte W. Cooper H. E. K6pp Midterm P. Kleysteuber R. Harbison M. Wiehen Completion P. Kleysteuber R. Harbison K. Lay 5 Preface This is a joint Performance Audit Report (PAR) on the Industrial Schools Project (ISP; Loan 2536-TU for $57.70 million) which was approved in 1985 and closed on December 31, 1994 after two one-year extensions with $1.98 million canceled, and the Non-Formal Vocational Training Project (NFVTP; Loan 2776-TU for $58.50 million) which was approved in 1987 and closed on the original closing date, December 31, 1995 with $4.10 million canceled. The PAR is based on information collected during an audit mission in Turkey in October 1996, including insights gained through a large number of individual interviews and focus group sessions with Turkish administrators, employer representatives, teachers, and students as well as parents of students; an Implementation Completion Report (ICR) for the ISP and draft materials for an ICR for the NFVTP; and extensive interviews with Bank staff involved in the two projects. Among others, 80 students, 83 teachers, and 49 employer representatives participated in a total of 40 focus group meetings in six cities in Central and Western Turkey which were visited by the audit mission. Many thanks are due to Government officials, teachers, students, and parents for their cooperation. Following customary Operations Evaluation Department (OED) procedures, copies of the draft PAR were sent to the relevant government officials and agencies for their review and comments. The comments received are reproduced as Annex E. T 7 1. Introduction 1.1 In the mid-1980s, the government of Turkey undertook to shift its educational emphasis from general secondary and higher education to technical and vocational education and training (TVET). For years, the government had focused its educational efforts on providing generous access to secondary and higher education. The new initiative was undertaken in response to the changing needs of the country's labor market. Turkish industries were regularly reporting shortages of technicians and craftsmen in all areas, but particularly in skilled trades such as electronics, automobile manufacture, metal machining, and woodworking. The need for skilled workers meant that students with general education diplomas were often unemployed, as were illiterates and school dropouts. The country lacked vocational training programs outside the formal education system that could provide these populations with the skills they needed to become employable. And there was a continuing need to upgrade the skills of workers in technology-based industries. 1.2 The Turkish Government requested the assistance of the World Bank in implementing the first two vocational training programs. The ISP and the NFVTP were developed between 1984 and 1986 to support industrial development (particularly of export industries) and improve the employment prospects of disadvantaged groups, including women, youths with only primary education, and residents of economically underdeveloped areas in eastern Turkey. The ISP did not have specific poverty alleviation goals, but they were prominent in the NFVTP because of the project's emphasis on non-formal training for disadvantaged populations. 1.3 Earlier Bank sector work had identified inadequate training capacity as one of the main causes of Turkey's low industrial productivity. Thus, the Bank's support strategy had as its priorities improving labor productivity, assisting development in the eastern regions by upgrading education and training facilities, and reorienting training toward the needs of the labor market. This strategy, which complemented the government's policy, also aimed to ensure the efficiency, quality, and financial viability of training institutions. 1. "Turkey: Industrialization and Trade Strategy," IBRD Report 3641-TU, February 18, 1982; "Turkey: Education and Training Sector Survey," IBRD Report 6249-TU, September 1986. 8 2. Project Objectives and Design The Industrial Schools Project 2.1 The ISP was designed to help the government implement priority training programs to improve productivity and maintain rapid growth, particularly in manufacturing exports. The project's specific objectives were to (i) improve the quality and increase the quantity of trained industrial manpower by providing equipment for 11 trade specializations in 39 schools, (ii) improve curricula and training materials, and (iii) improve planning and management in the Ministry of National Education (MONE). The new training specializations included high-tech fields such as computer-controlled machine tools. Aggregate enrollment in the training programs was to increase by 8,500 students and the number of graduates by 2,460 annually. The project would provide 116 staff-months of consultant services and 716 of overseas fellowships for teacher training. 2.2 Project documentation indicates that the components were prepared with varying degrees of thoroughness. Information concerning the equipment is detailed and includes specific costs. For consultant services and fellowships, the picture is much less clear. Despite indications in the Staff Appraisal Report (SAR) that the project had been thoroughly discussed with the MONE and enjoyed the ministry's wholehearted support, the documentation does not show this level of detailed discussion. It is essentially a list of specializations, projected numbers of students, and the duration of various courses, plus very summary terms of reference for the consultants. There is no information on the subject matter or the prerequisites for fellowships. The SAR includes an implementation plan and schedule showing dates for activities such as procuring equipment and initiating technical assistance (TA), but it provides no specific plans or dates for developing curricula and institutions. Contrary to agreements in the SAR, no terms of reference for the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) could be found in the documentation. There were no stated benchmarks of or key indicators for implementation progress or project impact. The projected implementation period seemed realistic (seven years; the country profile had eight), but in the end two one-year extensions were needed. The Non-formal Vocational Training Project 2.3 The NFVTP was designed with two primary goals in mind. First, it would expand and improve vocational training programs outside the formal educational sector, increasing the supply and enhancing the quality of trained labor for manufacturing industries. Second, it would promote employment and income-generating opportunities for disadvantaged groups with little education and formal training. The NFVTP financed: TA for designing and developing training programs (126 staff-months of specialist services and 687 of fellowships) that would strengthen the effectiveness of in-service instructor training and vocational training programs through improved needs assessment, curriculum design, and instructional development; develop skill testing and certification standards; and develop entrepreneurship courses; 9 * training equipment and minor civil works that would allow the NFVT to reequip 16,600 existing places and equip 16,300 new ones; and * establish some 200 revolving production funds for purchasing consumable materials. 2.4 The inputs were similar to those of the ISP, but project design differed. The NFVTP was to begin by developing curricula, training needs surveys, and skills testing and certification. Subprojects appraised and approved by MONE directorates would equip the training centers. Equipment selection was very centralized, but the logical sequence of project activities avoided most of the costly mistakes that are common when equipment selection is rushed through before priorities have been set. In contrast to the ISP, preparation of the NFVTP appears to have been thorough on substance. The SAR includes brief but adequate terms of reference and summary work plans for all consultants and fellowships, as well as criteria for training centers. 10 3. Implementation Experience Industrial Schools Project 3.1 Although one of the project's chief goals was curriculum development, little was accomplished in this area. Instead, emphasis was placed on procurement issues. The project was thus a hardware-oriented, capacity-building operation with insufficient software inputs and no sustainable institutional development to ensure that the new equipment would be appropriately used. Shortcomings in project design and weak Bank supervision contributed to the failure of the important objective of designing new programs and curricula. 3.2 Implementation was delayed for two years, largely because of the difficulty of recruiting and keeping qualified staff with a good command of English for what was perceived as a poorly defined and, in terms of career benefits, unrewarding activity. Recruitment difficulties were exacerbated by the absence of clear terms of reference for the PIU staff. Finally, the government appointed local university professors as part-time PIU directors, based on the reasonable rationale that they knew English and had some international and project experience. But this arrangement did not provide the necessary continuous leadership; staff were discouraged and got little done, and some left. Coordination also suffered. Staff were sent for English-language training while project-funded consultants were in the country and so failed to benefit fully from TA. 3.3 When implementation did begin, it proceeded slowly until 1992, when a new project coordination unit (PCU) was organized and a competent full-time director appointed. Implementation then proceeded efficiently, particularly in the procurement of computers, which were financed with reallocated loan funds. 3.4 The Bank contributed to the general disarray by not providing better guidance during the preparation stage on organization, work plans, and staff training. Several years had elapsed since the completion of the previous Bank education project, and borrower staff had little institutional memory of Bank requirements. Bank supervision missions provided constructive advice, but the missions were short and sometimes far apart. Eleven months elapsed between supervisions for the ISP in 1987-88, and nine months went by between supervision missions for both projects in 1991-92, suggesting that the projects were low priority for implementation support at the time. In the later stages, supervision became more frequent, and missions followed events more closely. For example, the Bank demonstrated laudable flexibility in allowing the procurement of additional computer classrooms. 3.5 The SAR does not explain how the curriculum development process was to be coordinated or define the consultants' role in a task that should have been the intellectual backbone of this project. The project made no serious attempts to build institutional capacity in curriculum development or to ensure that the curricula produced would be periodically updated. Ultimately, some 70 percent of consultant time and 96 percent of fellowships were devoted to different technical specializations, but only about four staff-months of consultant time and one fellowship were used to develop new programs and curricula. In spite of the substantial TA inputs, the new programs were developed independently of each other and of existing curricula. 11 Non-formal Vocational Training Project 3.6 The NFVTP, which began in 1987, had been given a realistic project life of eight years. It was completed without extensions, thanks to the speedier implementation procedures that began with the new PCU in 1992. However, the project's implementation experience turned out to be similar to the ISP's. The TA program was the primary vehicle for meeting the project's goals, but the overall design of the TA component received little consideration. Implementation plans and schedules were again limited to procurement schedules for TA and equipment, plus target dates for opening the revolving funds. There were no detailed plans or benchmarks that could have helped the borrower implement the major project components. The consultants were to have prepared guidelines for the components, and the preparation mission should have reviewed requirements for implementation. Neither the government nor Bank staff seems to have grasped the amount of resources (human and financial) that would be necessary to carry out the work described in the SAR. For implementation, the NFVTP relied on the PIU established for the earlier ISP, adding only a procurement adviser. This choice was understandable but overly optimistic. Had the NFVTP team carefully reviewed the arrangements, it might have detected the absence of progress on PIU appointments. 12 4. Outcomes and Ratings Overall Outcome: Industrial Schools Project 4.1 The project's overall goals of raising productivity and helping maintain high rates of growth, particularly in manufacturing and exports, were achieved to some extent (the SAR did not provide benchmark figures). The project increased the number of skilled persons available for employment in certain industries. It improved and developed new curricula, but with limited impact. But it did not increase planning and management capacity beyond the PCU. Expected benefits listed in the SAR included equitable distribution of resources, poverty alleviation, and participation by women in project activities. Some equity was achieved in terms of the geographic distribution of training, but not much poverty alleviation took place, nor did women participate significantly. For these reasons, OED rates project outcome as marginally satisfactory. Equipment Provision and Access to Training 4.2 The project met its physical targets or exceeded them by large margins. Seventy-nine schools received equipment against 39 estimated, and 200 classrooms not initially included were equipped with computers. The number of graduates was 32 percent higher than appraisal estimates. The TA and textbook component was implemented essentially as appraised. 4.3 The audit mission saw a large number of workshops and classrooms with equipment supplied by the project, including well-equipped computer classrooms with peripherals and software that students used intensively. Some technical workshops, such as pneumatics and auto controls, were also fully used. These had instructional manuals in Turkish, and the teachers were obviously well trained in methodology. But in others-for instance, a welding workshop-advanced equipment provided under the project was being used only for demonstration, and there was no basic welding equipment for the students to use. In general, however, the equipment and materials had been reasonably well chosen, and staff, students, and employer representatives were obviously enthusiastic about the improvements. In some cases, school officials tended to overestimate the benefits of equipment on training. In many schools, overcrowding prevented optimum use of the equipment, as there was simply not enough equipment to permit each student enough time to practice. 4.4 Whether the achievements mentioned above have really been able to build a solid foundation for training entry-level technicians of the caliber needed in the specializations targeted is an open question, considering the program's weaknesses. Teachers confirmed that the fundamental disciplines on which the high-tech specializations must be based had not been upgraded, a weakness that reflects the lack of systematic curriculum development. Teacher Training 4.5 Teacher training, including the fellowships and an extensive in-service training program within Turkey, was intended to be a major project component. The impact of the fellowship program was mixed owing to inadequate planning and monitoring, trainees' poor language 13 capabilities, and the reassignment of teachers after training. The in-service training program had other difficulties. All teacher training under the MONE is administered by an independent directorate over which the training directorates have no control. The in-service training program therefore had to compete for resources with all other teacher training programs, and only a small fraction of the program was implemented. In the focus groups conducted by the mission, only 10-30 percent of the teachers said they had benefited from in-service training over the last three years, in spite of the fact that they represented "favored" schools. Capacity Building 4.6 One area in which the project clearly did not achieve its objectives was improving the planning and management capacity of the training system for the Directorate of Boys' Technical and Vocational Education in MONE. Project inputs under this objective were simply too limited to have an appreciable impact. Overall Outcome: Non-formal Vocational Training Project 4.7 The NFVTP met two of its objectives, increasing the supply of well-trained labor for manufacturing industries and enhancing employment and income-generating opportunities for disadvantaged groups. Some of the strengthening of vital services and programs for instructor training took place as anticipated, but the expected improvements in areas such as training needs assessment, program design, skills testing and certification, entrepreneurship courses, and evaluation did not materialize. As anticipated in the benefits section of the SAR, the costs of TVET to the government have been far lower than they would have been had the project not been carried out. OED thus rates the project's outcome as satisfactory. Physical Targets 4.8 The project achieved most of its physical targets, equipping 293 schools for 21 different programs and providing computer classrooms for 341 training centers. The TA and fellowship programs were implemented essentially as planned. In general, the facilities were suitable, although the equipment in some apprenticeship centers appeared to be too sophisticated for both the teachers and students. In some women's training centers, the mission observed an overemphasis on revenue-creating activities that could negatively affect the quality of training. As was the case with the ISP, fundamental activities such as curriculum development suffered. The skills testing and certification and entrepreneurship components did not achieve their objectives. The only visible outcome of the ambitious skills testing and certification component was a manual and guidelines prepared by the consultant; the actual preparation of standards has now been included in a different project. In spite of these problems, the project helped a substantial number of low-income trainees, particularly women, obtain the necessary training to start small businesses, mostly in the textiles and garment sector. Entrepreneurship Development 4.9 This component aimed to establish an effective program of training, financing, and support for entrepreneurship development. However, the resources required to implement its ambitious objectives were vastly underestimated during preparation. For instance, both the 14 training program and the advisory and support functions would have required the close and continued involvement of experienced business managers working with suitably experienced teachers. But very few, if any, TVET teachers in Turkey have had such experience. For the program to function at all (beyond some initial training) would have required a strong consulting organization. The SAR contains no plans to address these issues or to mobilize financial assistance of the kind microenterprises require. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the component's achievement was limited to developing a curriculum and textbook for a course on entrepreneurship that is now mandatory in commerce and tourism schools. The result, while useful, was expensive (about $800,000, at the project's standard costs) and very minor compared with the objective. Sustainabiity 4.10 Sustainability for both the ISP and NFVTP is rated as uncertain. In the absence of a sufficiently developed curriculum, trained teachers, and clear provisions for maintenance and updating, the long-term usefulness of the new equipment procured under the ISP cannot be gauged. While those trained under the NFVTP are likely to exercise their skills and generate income, the institutional framework that would make project operations sustainable was not developed. A suitable follow-up operation (currently under consideration) would substantially increase the likelihood of sustainability for both projects. Institutional Development 4.11 Both projects had important institutional development objectives with regard to the MONE, but institutional development is rated as negligible for both projects. The ISP focused on increasing planning and management capacity and capabilities in instructor training. The NFVTP emphasized training needs assessment, curriculum and instructional materials development, skills testing and certification, and entrepreneurship development. The ISP did not have an appreciable impact. and the organizations necessary to carry out the NFVTP's goals were never developed. Borrower Performance 4.12 Overall, borrower performance for the two projects is rated as satisfactory. It was weak in the early stages of both projects but improved markedly during the last three years of the implementation period. Taking into account the projects' design and resourcing deficiencies, most of the realistically attainable objectives were in fact achieved within the time frame agreed on with the Bank. Bank Performance The Industrial Schools Project 4.13 Overall, Bank performance is rated as unsatisfactory. It was unsatisfactory during identification, preparation, and appraisal because the Bank did not address several serious conceptual and design flaws. The borrower is also responsible, but the problems should have been detected, analyzed, and eliminated during Bank missions and the Bank's extensive internal 15 review process. Supervision also was wusatisfactory. The Bank failed to respond decisively to serious implementation delays over a long period, and no supervision mission took place for 11 months in 1987-88, a period when the project should have been receiving particularly strong Bank support to ensure a successful start to implementation. This rating should not be interpreted primarily as a criticism of staff involved in field supervision (their good efforts and advice are well documented), but rather as a shortcoming in the Bank's attitude and procedures with regard to supervision. The 1987 reorganization probably exacerbated the problem. The Non-formal Vocational Training Program 4.14 Overall, the Bank's performance is rated as satisfactory. It was satisfactory at identification, unsatisfactory during preparation and appraisal, but satisfactory again during supervision. The satisfactory ratings are based on evidence of reasonably consistent supervision efforts and on satisfactory project outcomes achieved within the anticipated overall implementation period. 16 5. Issues and Recommendations 5.1 Focus group discussions often generated criticisms of the training strategy at the secondary level. The comments made most often follow: * students' general education level is low; * training specializations are too narrow and not in tune with the contemporary philosophy that advocates training in broader skills; * training programs do not provide the skills employers require; * training is inflexible, slow to change in response to labor market signals, and unable to adapt to local needs; and * secondary TVET is a waste of resources because a large portion of graduates go on to higher education rather than offering their services in the labor market. 5.2 There is considerable justification for some of these criticisms, especially those concerning the inflexibility and lack of relevance of some training programs. The following sections discusses the arguments surrounding these and other issues raised in interviews with project participants. Recommendations are given at the end of each section. Low Student Qualifications and Training at Higher Levels 5.3 Entrants to TVET often have low educational levels, and this lack of education often makes learning difficult. Vocational teachers frequently mentioned in focus group meetings that around 30 percent of recent basic school graduates (who constitute about 50 percent of the general population) have only five years of schooling. Consequently, they often have serious learning problems in even the lowest-level apprenticeship or vocational courses. The government has decided to make eight years of basic general education mandatory (five years of primary and three years of middle school). While this reform could help increase the trainability of school leavers, it risks spreading scarce resources even thinner. One way to compensate for the poor educational level of many entrants might be to strengthen the general education content of non- formal TVET. But this proposal needs to be carefully weighed against the cost and probable negative effects on the recruitment of poor trainees who first of all want and need some training in basic job skills. Expanding a flexible system of separate adult basic education courses may be another solution to this massive problem. 5.4 Because vocational school graduates need a relatively high level of general education, many countries have chosen to offer vocational education at the postsecondary education level. However, this strategy may not be the best one for Turkey. The available labor-related information shows that in the foreseeable future Turkish enterprises will need the midlevel "operation and maintenance" skills that upper-secondary-level TVET typically provides rather than the highly technical and engineering skills usually gained in postsecondary technical 17 schools. Effective demand for graduates of postsecondary technical education will be limited for the medium term. One indication of the needed skill level is the high level of employer financing TVET enjoys. More than employers in comparable economies, Turkish employers contribute, directly and indirectly, to education and training systems for midlevel manpower, and their contributions have grown recently. 5.5 Recommendation: The government should continue financing secondary-level vocational education and strengthen midlevel skills training in its public TVET system for the next 10 years. It should also undertake parallel basic educational reforms to support these efforts. The Scope of Training Specializations 5.6 There is a common misconception that TVET curricula are "narrow"' because many of them train workers only for certain specializations. While there is in fact a trend away from teaching simple manual skills (reflecting diminishing demand), this issue is not key in Turkish TVET. The problem is the lack of a comprehensive and coherent curriculum. For instance, there is nothing particularly "narrow" about training computer numerical control (CNC) operators, especially since Turkish industry needs lots of them. The issue is whether the training program leading to this specialization provides students with adequate basic knowledge and skills (for instance, in metal properties and processing) to perform satisfactorily in an entry-level job in the field. 5.7 Thus far there has not been enough feedback from employers for an assessment to be made on this point. However, there are reasons for concern. Industrial school CNC students (who enter with eight years of general education but normally without any vocational skills or work experience) are educated in the basic theory and practice of metals processing only during the first year of study, in parallel with training in basic computer knowledge and programming. But unless the initial training in metal processing is adequate, the students will not be able to make the right decisions in programming CNC equipment for safe and efficient operation. One year is very short for such a course, even assuming that the training institution has excellent facilities and equipment. 5.8 The projects did not address curricular aspects closely enough. For example, basic mechanical laboratories and workshops at the schools selected for CNC courses were not been consistently reequipped. This basic flaw in project design probably has to do with the understandable pressure to provide high-tech equipment to as many schools as possible. A thorough analysis of equipment requirements should have been made based on a previously prepared, detailed, and coherent curriculum agreed on by all parties. Such a curriculum, rather than one worked out following decisions on procuring certain high-tech equipment (as seems to have happened under the ISP) might have resulted in a project design that emphasized comprehensive improvements in a smaller number of schools and thus did not spread resources so thinly. For such systematic curriculum development to take place in Turkey, a strong 2. Documents that offer labor-market information include Govnni Rufo, "The Technology Challenge in Turkey," OECD Observer 198 (1996); METARGEM (Vocational Education Research and Development Center), Evaluation of Company Training of Vocational-Technical Students, Ankara, 1995; METE, A study of the Vocational and Technical Education and Training System, Final METE Report, Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD), Waco, Texas, 1994. 18 analytical capability is needed at the center. Unfortunately, the two projects did not establish such a capability. 5.9 Recommendation: The government and donor agencies must create a process of continuous and comprehensive curriculum development and select new equipment to support the entire curriculum on the basis of clear instructional objectives. Lack of Responsiveness to Employer Needs 5.10 Although almost all employers in the focus groups declared themselves satisfied with the graduates of project-supported schools, there is substantial evidence that the TVET system does not produce graduates with the entry-level skills employers require. The lack of suitable training facilities in most technical and vocational schools and training centers is partly to blame. More important, the procedures for preparing and approving TVET curricula virtually guarantee that many (if not most) curricula are out of date by the time they are applied. Local adaptations are also virtually impossible, severely limiting the relevance of the curricula and reducing teachers' and school directors' motivation to improve training programs and activities. These problems are exacerbated by poorly functioning provincial and local advisory councils and point to a need for more local initiatives and closer links with employers, as well as the decentralization of some functions of the TVET Directorates of MONE. 5.11 There are strong indications that the information available on occupational job requirements, labor market conditions, and training program objectives and content is not sufficient to allow curriculum developers, prospective students, or employers to make appropriate decisions. This fact was evident in interviews with many students who had made career choices based on very diffuse ideas of what the work entailed, and with graduates and even some employers. The graduates and employees said many firms did not appreciate the difference between unskilled and trained workers and therefore did not pay appropriate wage differentials. 5.12 Recommendation: To link curricula more closely to the demands of the labor market, the government should broaden teachers' involvement in the curriculum development process. It should also create mechanisms for ongoing direct contact between teachers and enterprises and between teachers and curriculum developers and administrators at the center. Higher Education Attendance After TVET 5.13 Since a large number of secondary-level vocational graduates go on to higher education instead of entering the labor market, it can be argued that the less expensive general secondary education is on average a better investment. This notion is incorrect. The majority of TVET graduates who pursue higher education attend the Open University while employed full time. Another problem is that technical school graduates are often better at general subjects than secondary school graduates, possibly because the technical students find applying abstract concepts meaningful. 5.14 Recommendation: The country will not benefit by restricting access to technical schools in favor of cheaper general education. Instead, the existing TVET systems (both formal and non- formal) should be improved and expanded. At the same time, basic education should be 19 reformed and the training offered by the Open University expanded. The MONE needs to establish new and more effective mechanisms for modernizing curricula and training teachers and to use more flexible approaches, taking into account employer inputs and the increasingly demanding requirements on training. Teacher Qualifications and Training 5.15 Interviews with teachers revealed an almost total lack of working experience in the relevant industries, a shortcoming that could have been remedied through in-service training and apprenticeships. Only a small percentage of teachers had received training in the previous three years. Although enthusiastic about the new equipment in the schools, teachers were clearly frustrated with their lack of training and ability to influence matters such as curricula. In-service teacher training has been hampered by the organization of the MONE, which has an independent directorate for teacher training with its own priorities and constraints. The conditions under which TVET teachers work are also in urgent need of improvement: the shortage of teachers forces some to work 40-46 contact hours per week. 5.16 Recommendation: To reach more teachers, in-service teacher training needs to be decentralized, probably to the provincial level (with technical support from MONE). Training should be mandatory and should include both modern training methodology and hands-on industrial experience. The acute shortage of computer-science teachers is probably most effectively addressed by contracting with private training providers. A Need to Decentralize 5.17 Responsibility for technical and vocational training is divided among three MONE directorates, one each for formal training, non-formal education and training, and training for all teachers. This threefold division causes insurmountable problems in coordinating the large training programs necessary to bring the system of technical training up to standards. A further division of responsibility among the training directorates--the Vocational Education, Research and Development Center (METARGEM) and the Non-formal Education Institute (NFEIY-makes coordination and standardization even more difficult and further hampers curriculum development. In addition, the audit found that existing mechanisms for information exchange, such as the apprenticeship and training councils, do not function effectively. International experience suggests that the necessary improvements in coordination and information exchange can be achieved only through a major decentralization of responsibilities for technical and vocational curriculum planning and management to local levels, particularly to the level of the larger and best staffed schools. 5.18 Decentralization would also strengthen local links with employers. For training providers to improve their offerings and make them more relevant to the needs of enterprises, information flows need to be improved and should include price signals. Close links and direct, ongoing exchanges of information are needed among schools, training centers, and prospective employers, as well as between employers and the government authorities responsible for planning, implementing, and evaluating public training programs and for supervising nonpublic education and training providers. Also, suitable general information on course offerings and labor market conditions needs to be developed and distributed on a regular basis to existing and prospective students and their parents. 20 S.19 Recommendation: Provinces should be encouraged to develop their own human resource development strategies with help from the MONE. A strong central capacity for policy formulation, monitoring, and technical support should be built into the MONE, including the ability to make occupational analyses and to coordinate the development of standards and procedures for skills certification and accreditation, among other things. With central MONE help, the provinces should prepare and disseminate general information on job requirements and asmble training standards and curriculum materials. The eed for Management Training 5.20 Schools and training centers in Turkey's public sector are clean and well kept, and training activities are carried out in an orderly fashion. However, in today's competitive world, TVET schools need to do more than to teach. Managers need to be in constant touch with employers to get systematic feedback on curricula and performance. They must monitor the employment of graduates, and they need to know not only the overall operating costs but the unit cost of every course. They need to manage their resources with maximum flexibility and precision. 5.21 Recommendation: Schools must be given more autonomy through the decentralization of both substantive and administrative functions, and managers must be specifically trained to be more responsive to labor market requirements and rapidly changing technologies. 5.22 The Turkish education and training system faces enormous demands from growing cohorts of young people as well as adults. Massive investment is needed in all kinds of education, and resources will be stretched very thin even with substantial donor assistance, as the crowded facilities and lack of equipment and materials for fundamental training in the project-supported schools demonstrate. 5.23 The public TVET system continues to rely mainly on state funding but, supported by the projects, is now diversifying sources by setting up revolving funds for productive activities (such S hfods now exist at over 200 schools), charging tuition for applicable courses, and soliciting contributaons and donations from enterprises. In addition, enterprises help finance training by taking on and paying stipends to apprentices and providing practice periods for vocational school students in accordance with the Apprenticeship and Vocational Training Act of 1986 (see foomole 2). Parents' associations also contribute by financing textbooks and clothing for poor ue I -A small number of private foundations have been making major investments in TVET fasilities un by the public sector. A few very large firms have the financial strength and misu-man Wihouse capabilities to provide entry-level training for new workers. Most others, indeding the 97 percent of Turkish enterprises that employ fewer than ten workers, have neither structured training programs nor, in an atmosphere of intense competition and cost cutting, the fioancial means or incentive to sponsor training for their workers. 3. Te aud ission was given impressive lists of company contributions to buildings and equipment for public 21 5.24 The MONE has a foundation of studies that can be improved and expanded. Further analysis of Turkish TVET strategy has been proposed in a new 1996 study developed as part of the ongoing National Education Development Project. These feasibility studies would address essential issues including those referred to in this document. A study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the technological challenge facing Turkey shows particularly high returns to secondary-level education and training for countries at Turkey's level of economic development.4 5.25 Recommendation: The government needs to continue taking the initiative in providing vocational training. However, it can ease the financial burden by further diversify financing sources and including private training providers as well as MONE trainers. Gender Equity 5.26 In Turkey, vocational education is frequently segregated by gender. Both Bank- supported projects were expected to increase the benefits to women and minorities from technical and vocational training, but these effects were seen as less important than economic and efficiency considerations. The audit mission found that the proportion of women in existing technical specializations supported by the ISP had not changed much with the project. Some of the new high-tech specializations such as CNN machine tooling did succeed in attracting significant numbers of female students. However, information about these careers has not been well disseminated, and women may not know about the options available. In the focus group sessions, it became obvious that only a few students had based their choice of a career on adequate and objective information about the requirements and opportunities of each specialization. 5.27 Recommendation: To increase female participation in the TVET system, the authorities need to provide better information to prospective students on the requirements and conditions for studying and working in different occupations. 4. "The Technology Challenge in Turkey," OECD Observer 198 (1996). 22 6. Lessons 6.1 These two projects confirm a number of important lessons for Bank projects in support of TVET: * Improving TVET requires more than modern training equipment is a necessary, and adding high-tech equipment without modernizing underlying technologies may be ineffective. Decisions on procuring equipment must be based on effective, up-to-date curricula and consultation with potential employers. * Highly centralized training systems such as Turkey's have their strengths. However, they do not respond quickly enough to technological change and are poor at adapting curricula to local employers' needs. The decentralization of training, administration, and financing is an important means of making these systems more flexible and thus better able to respond to local demands. * Systems for hiring and training (preservice and in-service) TVET teachers often do not provide the necessary training to update skills or exposure to the workplace. * Project components that are not thoroughly prepared and supported by adequate financial and staffing resources are less likely to be implemented than others. In such situations, risks are often underestimated. * Bank supervision missions often lack the budgetary and staff resources, time, and clout to correct shortcomings in project design and preparation and to assist the borrower effectively in implementation decisions. 23 Annex A Basic Data Sheet TURKEY: INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS PROJECT (LN. 2536-TU) Key Project Data (amounts in USS million) Appraisal Actual or Actual as % of estimate current estimate appraisal estimate Total project costs 72.70 68.92 94.8 Loan amount 57.70 55.72 96.6 Cofinancing n.a n.a - Cancellation - 1.98 - Date physical components completed 12/31/92 12/31/94 - Cumulative Estimated and Actual Disbursements (amounts in US Millions) FY86 FY87 FY88 FY89 FY90 FY91 FY92 FY93 FY94 FY95 Appraisal estimate 2.5 4.0 8.2 15.2 26.2 40.2 52.7 57.7 Actual 2.03 2.03 4.23 19.97 21.54 28.65 28.65 36.36 42.61 55.72 Actual as% ofappraisal 81.2 51 52 131 82 71 54 63 74 96 Date of final disbursement: April 25, 1995 Undisbursed balance cancelled: US$1.98 million Project Dates Steps in project cycle Planned Actual Identification (Initial Project Brief) 08/84 08/14/84 Preparation 09/84 09/84 Appraisal 12/84 11/26/84 Negotiations 04/85 04/08/85 Board Presentation 05/09/85 05/09/85 Signing 05/29/85 05/29/85 Effectiveness 08/27/85 07/19/85 Project Completion 12/31/92 12/31/94 Loan Closing 12/31/92 12/31/94 24 Annex A Staff Inputs (staff weeks) Stage ofproject cycle Planned Revised Actual Through Appraisal No data available No data available 46.7 Appraisal-Board No data available No data available 2.7 Supervision 80.9 127.3 133.9 Completion 12.0 12.0 14.2 Total 197.5 Mission Data Stage ofproject Date No. of Staff days Specializations cycle (monthyear) persons infield represented Performance rating Implementation Development status objectives Through appraisal 07-12/84 5 16 EDC, ECN, ARC Appraisal through 01-05/85 5 - EDC, ECN, ARC Board approval Supervision 10/85 3 2 TM, ECN, ARC 1 1 04/86 2 2 EDC, ECN 1 1 11/86 2 3 TM,PRC 1 1 02/87 3 5 TM,EDC,ARC 1 1 01/88 2 5 EDC, TM 1 1 07/88 1 5 EDC 1 1 09/88 1 5 EMT 1 1 12/88 2 6 TM 06/89 2 6 TM, EMT 1 2 10/89 2 6 TM, EMT 2 2 05/90 3 8 TM, EDC, ARC 2 2 11/90 1 4 EDC 3 2 05/91 2 3 EDC, TM 2 2 02/92 2 5 TM,EDC 2 2 10/92 3 4 TM, EDC 2 2 02/93 3 5 TM, EDC, OPR 2 2 06/93 3 6 TM, OPR, EDC 2 2 05/94 3 8 TM, EDC, COM 2 2 11/94 3 6 TM, COM, EDC 2 2 Completion 02/95 2 10 TM, EDC, HR 2 2 ARC=Architect; COM-Computer Technology Specialist; ECN= Economist; EDC- Technical Educator; EMT=Employment and Training Specialist; HR= Human Resources Specialist; PRC=Procurement Specialist; TM=Task Manager 25 Other Project Data Borrower/Executing Agency: FOLLOW-ON OPERATIONS Year Operation Loan no. Purpose approved Statr Industrial Training II 2922-TU Expansion of postsecondary 1988 Active technician training programs National Education 3192-TU Quality enhancement and 1990 Active Development Project management of sectoral development programs 27 Annex A Basic Data Sheet TURKEY: NON-FORMAL VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROJECT (LN. 2776-TU) Key Project Data (amounts in US$ million) Appraisal Actual or Actual as % of estimate current estimate appraisal estimate Total project costs 71.10 72.20 101.5 Loan amount 58.50 54.40 93.0 Cofinancing n.a. n.a. - Cancellation - 4.10 Date physical components completed 6/30/95 12/31/95 Cumulative Estimated and Actual Disbursements (amounts in US$ Millions) FY88 FY89 FY90 FY91 FY92 FY93 FY94 FY95 FY96 Appraisal estimate 3.50 6.50 14.50 27.00 41.50 52.00 57.00 58.50 Actual 2.99 3.75 4.54 5.40 12.68 22.49 24.10 26.00 54.40 Actual as% ofestimate 85 58 31 20 31 43 42 44 93 Date of final disbursement: May 9, 1996 Undisbursed balance cancelled: US$4.1 million. Project Dates Steps in project cycle Planned Actual Identification (Initial Project Brief) 09/11/85 Preparation 10/85 Appraisal 05/86 04/01/86 Negotiations 11/03/86 Board Presentation 02/87 01/06/87 Signing 01/12/87 Effectiveness 04/02/87 Project Completion 06/30/95 12/31/95 Loan Closing 12/31/95 12/31/95 28 Annex A Staff Inputs (staff weeks) Stage ofproject cycle Planned Revised Actual Staffweeks Staffiweeks Staffweeks Through appraisal No data available No data available 65.2 Appraisal-Board No data available No data available 2.9 Supervision No data available No data available 108.4 Completion 11.0 11.0 Mission Data Stage ofproject Date No. of Staff days Specializations cycle (month/year) persons infield represented Performance rating Through appraisal 10/85 n.a n.a n.a 12/85 Appraisal through 04/86 3 17 ECN, PRC, EDC Board approval 05/86 1 2 LEG Supervision 03/87 3 6 ARC, EDC, EDC 1 1 01/88 2 6 TM, EDC 1 1 06/88 1 8 EDC 1 1 12/88 2 3 TM, EMT 1 1 06/89 2 TM, EMT 2 1 11/89 2 5 TM, EMT 2 2 05/90 3 8 TM, ARC, EDC 2 2 12/90 1 5 EDC 2 2 05/91 2 7 TM, EDC 2 2 02/92 3 5 TM, EDC, EMT 2 3 09/92 3 5 TM, EDC, HR 2 3 12/93 3 5 TM, EDC, HR 3 3 04/94 2 4 TM, COM S U 10/94 3 8 TM,COM,EDC S U 07/95 3 12 TM, COM, HR S U 12/95 1 7 TM S U Completion 04/96 3 10 TM, COM, HR S U ARC-Architect; COM=Computer Technology Specialist; ECN=Economist; EDC=Technical Educator, EMT=Employment & Training Specialist; PRC=Procurement Specialist; TM= Task Manager 29 Annex A Other Project Data Borrower/Executing Agency: Fouow- oPERATimos Amount Operation Credit no. (US$ million) Board date Industrial Training II Expansion of postsecondary 1988 Active (Loan 2922-TU) technician training programs National Education Quality enhancement and 1990 Active Development Project (Loan management of sectoral 3192-TU) development programs 31 Annex B Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the Context of Turkey's Industrial Development Strategy Industrial Strategy 1. Turkey began to open up its economy to the World in the early 1980s, and took a major step in the 1990s by joining Europe in a customs union. The intended next step is to apply for membership in the European Union. The country's main economic strategy today is to exploit its good physical and human resources, favorable geographic position, and low production costs, to gain and benefit from major export markets for quality industrial and consumer goods in Europe as well as in the former Soviet Union, including both Russia and culturally close countries in Central Asia, and others. For the near and medium term, it emphasizes the extensive use of imported technology-in many cases, the most productive and flexible technology commercially available-to help outcompete lower-wage competitors from Asia and elsewhere in its markets. In other words, Turkey is (generally, and wisely) not aiming to join immediately the cutting edge of high technology development, but is content for the time being to get rich exploiting other peoples' inventions. However, this does not imply that Turkish industrial expansion is limited to "shallow" industrial development of the type emphasized by some countries, such as assembling imported components. The basic and heavy industries are already present: most semi-finished goods, from the fabric for the garment factories to the most complicated chassis components which go into the locally built cars and trucks, and even the advanced tools necessary to make them, are made in the country (and also exported to foreign processors and assemblers). In Turkey, with its very enterprising population, the strategy has also promoted a diversified industrial structure with a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises. In fact, while a limited number of large firms exist particularly in the textile and automotive sectors, 97 percent of Turkish enterprises have less than ten employees. 2. This strategy is well conceived and realistic, and if combined with consistent and stable macroeconomic management (which would be a new development), is probably the most effective way for Turkey to generate as quickly as possible the resources necessary to raise the standard of living of its population. Even in the depressed economic conditions prevailing since 1994, and in the face of high inflation, Turkish export enterprises are demonstrating a high degree of resilience and great optimism concerning the prospects for future expansion. Implications for Skill Needs, and for Education and Training 3. In general terms, the strategy for industrial development described above strongly favors the expansion of sectors and companies which need large numbers of people with solid "utilization" and maintenance ("U&M") skills-which are typical of skilled workers and mid- level technicians-rather than the conceptualization and design skills typical of the graduate engineer. However, "U&M" are exactly the categories of skills which are in short supply in Turkey, as in many other countries with a strong academic tradition. As a leading Turkish industrialist expressed the issue in a meeting with the audit mission: "We lack the people between the unskilled workers and the engineers." 32 Annex B 4. For technical and vocational education and training (TVET), including training provided by employers, the above translates into a need to educate and train competent middle-level manpower in large numbers. (More engineers will be needed, too, but less critically and in smaller quantity than in countries emphasizing the development of cutting-edge technology.) This raises issues as to how and by whom this middle-level manpower can be trained, and who should pay for the training. Training Provided or Supported by Enterprises 5. At the lowest levels of qualification such as some very basic assembly operations, some of the largest Turkish enterprises can and will provide much of the entry-level training required in new workers. However, several large and most medium-sized enterprises, and the vast majority of small firms have no structured training programs and no real capability to adequate provide entry level training for their employees (although they do provide apprentice places and on-the-job training of students in the education system, in accordance with the Apprenticeship and Vocational Training Act). This applies even in industrial sectors usually perceived as low- tech, such as textiles and garments, where competitive pressures, high quality requirements, and increasing technical sophistication (such as computerized cutting) makes it increasingly difficult for firms individually to fully finance, organize and carry out either entry-level or upgrading training. 6. In this situation, most enterprises opt for recruiting entry-level workers who have at least some pre-employment training usually obtained, in practice, in a public institution, and in return to help support and improve such institutions through donations of equipment and materials or funds for construction. Such donations are common and substantial, according to documentation collected by the audit mission, which also attended the opening of an industry-sponsored and - equipped new training specialization (garment machine maintenance and repair) at a public vocational school. As mentioned above, enterprises also contribute to public training by taking on apprentices and practice-period students from vocational schools. By contrast, training institutions entirely financed and operated by enterprises or groups/associations of enterprises are rare in Turkey, although there are a few major private foundations devoted mainly to higher general and technical education. This may be a tradition but also an expression of confidence in existing public institutions (as indicated also by the donations mentioned above). Training Provision External to Enterprises 7. Education and training outside the enterprise is provided in Turkey by private and public institutions of varying size and type, from individual consultants to major private and state universities. In the area of mid-level TVET, as is the case in many countries, private training provision is largely limited to commercial and secretarial training of variable quality, including training on different aspects of computers (the latter usually associated with high tuition fees). In areas touched by the two projects under audit, private provision is very limited (for good reasons having to do with risks and possible profits), and is not likely to expand substantially in the foreseeable future. Therefore, in practice the discussion of external training in this Annex concerns mainly public providers. (Nevertheless, as a matter of principle it is obviously important for Turkey to ensure that-in accordance with existing law-private training providers 33 Annex B are accorded equal access to the training market, under adequate supervision, since great changes in training technology can be anticipated in the future which may enable private providers to compete and promote more efficient and effective education and training.) Priority Programs and Linkages with Enterprises: A Need to Decentralize 8. Within the public training subsector, a key question concerns which of the many existing programs for the training of skilled workers and mid-level technician responds best to the needs for different kinds of enterprises, and which are most critical or most in need of improvement and/or expansion in order to support as effectively and efficiently as possible the chosen industrial strategy. The answer is that no single program can do it all with maximum economic efficiency. All of those categories of trained workers are needed-skilled workers trained in the apprenticeship and adult training programs, junior technicians from the vocational and technical schools, and higher technicians from the post-secondary institutes. How many should be trained in each program and in which specializations within each program should ultimately be determined by effective demand in an open and competitive labor market. 9. For such a market to function effectively in Turkey, and for training providers to be able to improve their offerings and make them more relevant to the needs of enterprises, information flows need to be improved, and should include price signals to the extent possible. Close links and direct, continuous exchanges of information are needed between all schools and training centers and prospective employers of graduates, as well as between employers and Government authorities responsible for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public training programs and the control and supervision of non-public education and training providers. Also, suitable general information on course offerings and labor market conditions needs to be developed and distributed on a regular basis to existing and presumptive students and their parents. (The curriculum aspects are described in greater detail in another Annex and the main report; here the main issue is the need to broaden the involvement of teachers in the curriculum process and create mechanisms for direct, continuous and direct contacts between teachers and enterprises, as well as between interested teachers and curriculum developers and administrators at the center). 10. The findings of the audit mission indicate that existing mechanisms, such as the apprenticeship and training councils, are not sufficient to achieve effective information exchange and other operative linkages. International experience suggests that the necessary improvements in information flows and employer-school-staff cooperation can only be achieved in Turkey through a major decentralization of responsibilities for technical and vocational curriculum planning and management to local levels, and particularly to the level of the larger and best staffed schools. Financing of Training 11. The public TVET system continues to rely mainly on state funding but, supported by the projects, is now diversifying sources by setting up revolving funds for productive activities (such funds now exist at over 200 schools), by charging tuition for applicable courses, and by soliciting contributions and donations from enterprises (the audit mission was given impressive lists of company contributions to buildings and equipment for public TVET institutions). In addition, 34 Annex B enterprises contribute to training finance and provision by taking on and paying stipends to apprentices and providing practice periods for vocational school students in accordance with the Apprenticeship and Vocational Training Act of 1986. This is more than employers in most competing economies effectively contribute to their education and training systems for mid-level manpower. Parents' associations also contribute by financing textbooks and clothing for poor students. A small number of private foundations are making major investments in TVET facilities but usually turn them over for operation by public authorities. A few very large firms have the financial strength and adequate in-house capabilities to provide entry-level training for new workers, but most others, including the 97 percent of Turkish enterprises which employ less than ten workers, have no structured training programs nor, in an atmosphere of intense competition and cost cutting, the financial means or even the incentive to sponsor training for their workers. In this situation, publicly provided training is the only realistic means to provide entry-level training to new workers and to increase productivity in the small and medium sized enterprises. Nevertheless, the notable progress made on diversifying funding of training as mentioned in this paragraph should be analyzed in preparation for future projects, and could be important factors in catalyzing further development and achieving basic goals. In terms of the Bank's policy for TVET, mid-level training financing in Turkey is not a primary issue at this time. 35 Annex C Curriculum Issues in Turkish Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Reasons for this Annex 1. A detailed review of the subject of curriculum is warranted in connection with this audit for several reasons, including (a) the central role of curriculum development in both projects (equipment and facilities being only means to implement a curriculum); (b) the relative failure of these components in the two projects; (c) the several criticisms which have been expressed regarding Turkish TVET curricula, and which deserve a discussion; and (d) the fact that issues of TVET curricula are complex and ever changing in an era of rapid technological development and increasing international competition, requiring a rather incisive discussion which would be too lengthy for inclusion in the main audit report. What follows may also be of interest as a basis for further discussion among Turkish educators and training specialists and administrators. In discussing the issues, it may be useful to begin with the objections raised concerning existing curricula as well as those developed or improved by the two projects under review. Past Criticisms of Turkish TVET Curricula 2. Among several criticisms of TVET curricula which have been expressed in connection with the two projects are the following: (a) training specializations are too narrow and not in tune with perceived contemporary philosophy of training in broader skills; (b) training programs do not provide the skills required by employers; (c) training is inflexible and slow to change in response to labor market signals, and is unable to adapt to local needs because of the centralized nature of the Turkish TVET system; and (d) secondary TVET is a waste of resources because a large portion of graduates go on to higher education rather than offer their services in the labor market. As discussed below, there is considerable justification for the criticisms expressed in (b) and (c) above, while issue (a) is largely based on misunderstandings and (d) is a highly questionable statement from several points of view. 36 Annex C The Issue of "Narrow" Specializations 3. Issue (a) is an illustration of the complexities and misconceptions which tend to plague discussions of TVET curricula. This objection to "narrowness" has something to it, but the real issue is quite different from what the statement conveys. For example, training in Turkey does not have to any great degree the severe problems of public training programs in the former Soviet Union, with their high number (until recently, thousands) of strictly delimited areas of activity and skill defined on the basis of "taylorist" analyses of early processes of industrial mass production. 4. In Turkey, what is wrong with the high-tech specializations emphasized by the ISP, for instance, training on computer controlled machine tools (CNC machines), is not that this concerns some kind of routine skills or skills required in a few highly specialized workers. It certainly does not. This specialization requires broad understanding and skills in both metals processing and computers, and is an essential and complex discipline required in substantial numbers of people in any industrial society. The issue is instead whether the training programs adopted under the project are adequate to train a worker to perform satisfactorily in an entry- level job in a factory using CNC technology. There is not yet enough feedback from employers for an assessment to be made on this point, but there are reasons for concern. Industrial School CNC students (who enter with: eight years of general education but normally without any vocational skills or work experience) are educated on the basic theory and practice regarding the properties and processing of metals during the first year of study, in parallel with training in basic computer knowledge and programming. Unless this initial training on metal properties and processing is adequate, students cannot reasonably be expected to be able to make the right decisions m programming CNC equipment for safe and efficient operation. One year is very short for such a course even assuming the training institution has very good facilities and equipment for practical studies of properties of materials and conventional machining operations. On the other hand, there is no reason to overload the curriculum by dwelling forever and beyond reason on conventional technologies, and the matter is open to debate and evaluation; but the real issue-whether perhaps what we have here, rather than too narrow a specialization, is too broad, demanding, and sophisticated a specialization on too narrow a base-has apparently not even been discussed during project preparation or implementation. 5. In terms of equipment, the ISP has not addressed this aspect to any substantial extent, for instance, basic mechanical laboratories and workshops at the schools selected for CNC courses have not been consistently re-equipped as part of the project. This is a basic flaw in project design which probably has to do with the understandable pressure to provide high-tech equipment to as many schools as possible. A thorough analysis of equipment requirements based on a previously prepared and agreed, detailed, coherent curriculum (rather than a curriculum worked out following decisions on procurement of specific high-tech equipment, as seems to have been the procedure at least under the ISP) might have resulted in a quite different project design emphasizing comprehensive improvement of a smaller number of school rather than spreading the resources thin, as was done in the case of the ISP. 6. As for specific CNC equipment provided for these courses, its composition appears to indicate a similar lack of prior, comprehensive analysis of training needs. The CNC laboratories have unnecessarily many small model CNC machine tools-which are only used once students 37 Annex C have developed their programs-and too few computers to develop programs on. (Excess CNC machines could be moved to other schools with good basic machine tools programs.) 7. The same caution (a possibly weak base for a broad high-tech skill) applies to the schools provided with advanced Tool and Die machinery such as electro-erosion equipment: Do they have the resources and adequate curricula to impart the basic knowledge needed for students to be trained to entry-level proficiency in using such advanced processes? The answer may be yes, but the project documentation provides no particular reason to believe that it is. Tool and Die used to be considered the epitome of practical mechanics, and training even as a conventional tool and die maker used to be reserved for only the best and most experienced machinists. Again, this should not and cannot be the model for training in Turkey today, but the present curriculum model warrants review and evaluation. 8. A similar comment applies to some advanced welding equipment (MIG-MAG-TIG etc.) provided under the project, which was obviously only being used at one school for demonstration (and not very professional at that, without adequate evacuation arrangements for gases or protective equipment for eyes, etc.) and not backed up by basic welding equipment for fundamental training in welding technology. -Using a rough analogy, one could argue that teaching CNC programming to students without a solid machining background is like teaching autopilot programming to people who don't know how to fly an airplane, and teaching basic welding on MIG equipment is a bit like basic pilot training using jumbo jets-probably doable, but not very effective and very expensive. But in any case, the basic problem is not outdated job analyses or narrow training but-in the context of the specializations developed and supported under the projects discussed here-rather one of too little systematic and coherent analysis of skill needs and as a consequence, a spotty and somewhat haphazard program of incoherent investments and curricula which may be partly inadequate for each specialization. But the problem is broader, as briefly discussed in the following section. "Broad" TVET Curricula 9. The above discussion of curricula concerns only the need for adequate fundamental technical knowledge and skills in a technical-vocational field for students to be able to be able to learn and acquire entry-level proficiency in advanced applications within the same field. If not at least the fundamental technical knowledge and skills are taught, the curriculum is not a technical or vocational one. The objectives of this technical or vocational component should ultimately be based on detailed analyses of the requirements of occupations in the labor market (which may be different for the same occupation in different sectors, geographic areas, etc.), preferably documented in standard skill certification requirements. In this area of skills standards and certification, Turkey still has a long way to go, in spite of some progress under one of the projects under review (as described separately). The results of such analyses should determine the characteristics of the technical and vocational portion of curricula, for instance, whether they should emphasize training in broad clusters of employable skills (as may be necessary in remote or sparsely populated areas) or more specialized and high-tech applications, as needed in the more industrialized regions. 10. For such systematic curriculum development to take place in Turkey, a strong capability for fundamental general analyses would be needed at the center; unfortunately, the two projects 38 Annex C under review have not done much to help establish such a capability. For the curricula to be fully realistic and adapted to the needs of employers, there is also a need, no less important, to delegate substantial portions of the work on development and preparation to provincial and local authorities, and to the schools themselves. This is discussed further below under the issue of centralization. 11. But the purely technical-vocational education and training component is not the entire curriculum. There is also the general education portion, which is important not only because certificates from technical and vocational schools at the secondary level qualify for entry to higher education, but because ever better proficiency in the classic basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics is required of those graduates who do directly to the labor market. Yet even this is not enough to satisfy employers, who are increasingly expecting new recruits to be competent in respects which have become important in the new situation of rapid technological development and intense competition which has led to new, slimmer work organizations. Such competencies include problem analysis and solving, independent judgment, and other higher level intellectual processes. 12. There is no consensus yet as to what should be the education and training establishment's response to these new demands. However, no doubt many of those higher level competencies could be effectively developed in the contextual environment of technical and vocational subjects. For instance, many people could probably acquire good problem solving skills more easily working on physical equipment and systems, than using pencil and paper (or even computers) in a general education classroom. 13. One common response to the crowding of the TVET curriculum in highly industrialized countries is to move the technical and vocational programs to the post-secondary level, and reserve the secondary level for mainly general education. This might appear as an attractive option for Turkey in view of the large numbers of unemployed general secondary school graduates clamoring for a place at university. However, for reasons discussed in the Annex on industrial strategy and TVET, effective demand in Turkey for graduates of postsecondary technical education (which already exists, and is supported by the Bank under a different project) will be limited for quite some time, given the industrial structure, so that a general expansion of this system is not warranted at this stage. Also, for the foreseeable future, adequate financial and staff resources to generalize this approach in a way that would produce competent technicians would simply not be available, so that the likely result would be only to add another two or three years of theoretical instruction at the end of secondary school for those who could afford it. Instead, the most economical and effective way for Turkey to train the bulk of its qualified industrial manpower is improving and expanding the existing TVET system (in parallel with basic education reform and improvement, and strengthening and expanding the training offered by the Open University), including both formal and non-formal TVET, and establishing new more effective mechanisms for curriculum modernization and teacher training, and using more flexible approaches, taking into account employer inputs and the ever more demanding requirements on training as discussed above. The studies of the future development of Turkish secondary education which have been agreed under the ongoing National Education Development Project will be very valuable in guiding this further work on secondary TVET. 39 Annex C The Relevance of Curricula to Employers'Needs 14. Several evaluations, including those reported in documents listed as references to this report, are critical of the skills and knowledge of technical and vocational graduates relative to the needs of employers. Such criticisms were not confirmed in the audit mission's many individual conversations and focus group meetings with employers, probably a natural phenomenon in view of the Bank's role of potential supplier of further resources to improve the schools, and the preponderance of employers who recruit graduates from the schools which have already been substantially improved under Bank projects. 15. However, simply based on the current, centralized and slow procedures for preparation and approval of a TVET curriculum in Turkey, one can safely assume that many if not most curricula are out of date by the time they begin to be applied. Local adaptations are also virtually impossible, which severely diminishes the relevance of the curricula and reduces teachers' and school directors' motivation to take initiatives to improve training programs and activities. Computer Curricula 16. The computer equipment and training provided under the two projects have been an apparent success. No formal evaluation has so far been made of this training, but indications are that it has contributed greatly to both student motivation and graduate employability. Nevertheless , there are some issues concerning the curricula and exercises used in this training. As is reasonable, all courses begin with a section on familiarization with the computer and the disk operating system. Thereafter, at most schools the courses seem to go into fairly substantial sections on programming in BASIC or PASCAL, while there is fairly little training in basic standard applications such as text processing, spreadsheets, and databases (which one would normally expect to be more useful to most students than programming, both during their studies and after graduation). In the case of training of workers for banks, it was argued that bank information processing systems are all proprietary and confidential and therefore not available to schools to use in training; but even in this case one could ask if practicing the use of standard financial/accounting software would not be more useful to most students than outright programming. However, those are issues on which there is still much dispute even in countries where computer training has a much longer history. The still rather limited availability of software in Turkish language is also a factor to consider in this context. The Centralization Issue 17. The centralization of authority in the Turkish TVET system has its advantages For instance, there is a documented curriculum for each program and course which is supported, albeit to a varying degree, by training equipment and materials, textbooks and manuals for practical work. The curriculum has a reasonable balance between theory and practice, and includes practice periods in industry. The curriculum is enforced with some degree of uniformity nationwide. The disadvantages have been discussed earlier in this Annex. The lack of participation by teachers in curriculum development, and the absence of local adaptations of curricula, are the main disadvantages of the present organization. 40 Annex C The Higher Education Syndrome 18. This is not primarily a curriculum issue, but is included here because of the implications for TVET curricula which are often read into the fact that a portion of technical education graduates go on to higher education . 19. In Turkey's case, much has been made of the high percentage of technical and vocational education graduates (currently about 40 percent and 25 percent, respectively) who pass the national university entrance examination annually (the numbers of those who are actually admitted to a higher education institution-after a second exam-is lower; exact quantification is difficult because many of those admitted have been applying for several years). However, according to Turkish authorities and as corroborated by information gathered in focus group sessions with students, the majority (about 60 percent) of TVET graduates who actually enter higher education go to Turkey's Open University which they attend in parallel with full-time employment. Thus they are not lost from the labor market point of view. Almost as a rule, students stated that the Open University was their only realistic choice within the higher education system, but that they were determined to pursue further studies there if admitted. This leaves about ten to 20 percent of all TVET graduates who pass to full-time formal higher education, a portion considered normal and desirable in many countries (and out of those, about one third enter the two-year vocational teacher training program, for which a secondary TVET certificate is a minimum requirement). The majority enter higher education courses in professional fields closely related to their old specialization. When they graduate from these courses, they are likely to be better engineers, technicians, etc. because of they have a grounding in practical skills, an insight which has made Germany encourage a progression of gifted vocational trainees to high engineering degrees. In economic terms, the benefits of the higher education obtained by these people should more than outweigh the loss associated with the delay in their entering the workforce. 20. However, some consider each and every case of a TVET graduate going on to higher education instead of entering directly the labor market to be a failure of TVET, and an argument for reducing (expensive) technical programs and expanding (cheaper) general education programs, since the graduates go to higher education anyway. This is a particularly curious standpoint in an era of persistent and growing shortages of professionals with practical and interdisciplinary capabilities, for instance, physicians with an understanding of electronic apparatus, not to mention economists with an inkling of what is really behind that mystical dummy variable called technological development. Other important aspects are the individual's right to a choice of a career, and to change her mind as to a career at the young age we are considering here. Finally, putting restrictions on progression to higher education, apart from being ethically questionable, doesn't work: so-called, or de facto, terminal secondary level TVET programs currently have severe problems in countries as different as Germany and Mexico. The only effective and equitable way to address the embarrassing problem (as perceived by some) of technical school graduates being better at general subjects than general secondary school graduates is not to destroy good technical schools, but to raise the quality of general secondary schools so that they can provide a level of general education to their students which is at least equal to that which the best technical schools achieve in a fraction of the class time. 41 Annex C The Projects' Contribution to Curriculum Development 21. The ISP had important objectives in the area of curriculum development. Responsibility for curriculum development for TVET is divided among the training directorates, the Vocational Education Research and Development Center (METARGEM), and the Non-Formal Education Institute (NFEI). Establishing new curricula and improving existing ones was an important objective of this project. However, the SAR does not explain how the curriculum development process would be coordinated, and how the consultants were to assist effectively, in such a fragmented organizational environment, in this very substantial task-which should have been the intellectual backbone of this project, rather than an adjunct to equipment provision. Curriculum development is an area where the project should have made a serious attempt to build institutional capacity, for its own needs if nothing else, and to ensure that curricula produced under the project would be periodically updated. 22. The lack of a mechanism for coordination of curriculum development must have created serious difficulties for the project. For instance, it is hard to imagine that even the most skilled project specialist could develop independently a new, separate, coherent and effective curriculum for computer controlled machine tools, without also revising in depth the entire "upstream" curriculum prerequisites for the specialization with specialists in mathematics, engineering materials, basic machining processes, etc., and with due regard for standard qualifications for related disciplines. In addition, even the best technological curriculum needs to be updated regularly. Currently, the mechanisms for such a coordinated and continuous process do not exist in the Ministry.) However, while in the project 70 percent of consultant time and 96 percent of fellowships were devoted to the different technical areas of specialization, only about 4 person months of consultants and one 6 month fellowship were specifically for "new program development" and "curriculum development" respectively. Based on these observations, the audit has concluded that the ISP did not perform satisfactorily on this point, basically due to flawed project design. 43 Annex D Focus Group Questionnaires and Statistics Questions for Teachers Groups 1. Individuals to introduce themselves -- courses taught, education and training received, industrial and teaching experience 2. What is your opinion on the curricula now in use -- are they well balanced as to general knowledge vs. specific skills, theory vs. practice? 3. Are your school's equipment, materials, textbooks etc. generally adequate? Same question re. project-supplied inputs. 4. Do you feel that you have adequate knowledge and skills to be able help your students to learn effectively all they need to learn in your courses? 5. What training (in-service, etc.) have you received during the last three years? 6. In your opinion, what are the main overall weaknesses of Turkish technical and vocational education and training? 7. In very general terms, what is your own biggest problem in your capacity and activity as a teacher? Questions for Student Groups 1. Individual presentation -- age, course, specialization, educational background 2. Why did you choose to join this school and this particular course? 3. To what extent does the education and training you are receiving match your expectations? What is best, what is weak, what would you change if you could? 4. How do you feel about the mix of general vs. vocational subjects, theory vs. practice? 5. How adequate are the school's facilities, equipment, textbooks, etc.? 6. If you manage to graduate at the necessary level, will you apply to University? 7. In very general terms, what is you worst problem as a student in this course/at this school? 44 Annex D Questions for Parent Groups 1. Individual presentation: parent of student in which course? Parent's occupation? 2. Why did you decide/support the decision for you child to join this course and school? 3. To what extent does the education and training provided match your expectations? Best/worst; what would you change? 4. Do you have an opinion on the training programs - is there a suitable balance of general and vocational subjects, theory and practice? Does the schools have adequate facilities, textbooks, etc.? 5. If your child decided to go on to University, can you support her/him? 6. In very general terms, what is your biggest problem as a parent of a student at this school? Questions for Employer Representatives 1. Individual presentation: industrial sector, company size, position in company 2. From the point of view of human resources, what are the main problems of starting and/or successfully operating an enterprise in Turkey today? 3. What role should the technical and vocational schools play in providing adequately trained workers, and what role should be the role of enterprises in (a) financing, (b) provision? 4. Do employers feel that adequate channels and opportunities are provided for them to influence education and training provided in schools, or is everything decided by the Ministry of National Education? 5. In general terms, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the Turkish education and training system? Specifically, does it provide enough general skills and knowledge (communication, mathematics, etc.) and good enough occupational skills for an entry-level job? 45 Annex D Focus Group Statistics (Numbers ofparticipants in each focus group session) City School/Training Center Date Project Teachers Students Parents Employer No. of Represent. Groups Ankara Yuzuncu Yil Women's Training Oct.14, 96 NF 8 6 3 - 3 Center. Gazi Vocational High School. Oct. 15, 96 ISP 6 5 - 5 3 Konya Merkez Meram Public Training Oct. 02, 96 NF 5 6 2 - 3 Center Konya Merkez Technical and Oct. 02, 96 ISP 8 8 - 3 3 Vocational High School Eskisehir Merkez Apprenticeship Training Oct. 04, 96 NF 5 8 3 12 4 Center. Yunus Emre Vocational High Oct. 05, 96 ISP 4 5 - 5 3 School Bursa Hurriet Vocational. High School Oct. 07, 96 ISP 7 6 3 4 4 Necatibey Maturity Institute and Oct. 08, 96 NF 4 5 - - 2 Women's Trainmg Center Istanbul Hardarpasa Technical and Oct. 09, 96 ISP 4 6 - 5 3 Vocational High School Maltepe Women Training Center Oct. 09. 96 NF 5 7 2 3 Kadik6y Public Training Center Oct. 10. 96 NF 12 7 - 7 3 Afyon Afyon Technical and Vocational Oct. 05, 96 ISP 10 6 - 4 3 High School Afyon Apprenticeship Center Oct. 06, 96 NF 5 5 - 4 3 Total 83 80 13 49 40 47 Annex E Borrower Comments Ezterna 1 Note DATE: 11-Jun-1997 10:03am EDT TO: Ferda Sahmali ( FERDA SAHMALI@A1@TURKEY FROM: TURK MOE, EC1HR ( TURK MOE@A1@TURKEY EXT.: 90-312-2295394/2295477 SUBJECT: Performance Audit Reiort for ISP (2536-TU) and NVTP (2776-TU) Dear Sahmali, We reviewed the Performance Audit Report prepared for the Industrial Schools Project (2536-TU) and the Non-Formal Vocational Training Project (2776-TU) . The findings and recommendations stated in the report are in parallel with the MONE's. The MONE shall coordinate and cooperate with the relevant units to remove the problems determined and to improve the on-going project-related activities. The lessons learned during the implementation of those two projects shall be the basis for possible future vocational and technical projects of the MONE. Thank you for your assistance and I remain Sincerely, Salih CELIK Director, PCU CC: HAZINE ( HAZINE@Al@TURKEY IMAGING Report No.: 16807 Type: PPAR
Groupe de la Banque mondiale · Project Performance Assessment Report
Turkey - Industrial Schools and Non-Formal Vocational Training Projects
Voir le document original
Le texte intégral est hébergé par l’organisation qui le publie. lawenc.com indexe les métadonnées et renvoie vers la source officielle.
Texte intégral
Informations clés
Organisation
Groupe de la Banque mondiale
Type de document
Project Performance Assessment Report
Pays
Turquie
Source
Banque mondiale