Algeria - Fifth Education Project

Document of The World Bank IECP FILE COPny FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No. 2634-AL STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT PROPOSED FIFTH EDUCATION PROJECT DEMOCRATIC AND POPULAR REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA February 11, 1980 Education & Manpower Development Division Europe, Middle East and North Africa Region This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (March 1979) Official Rate: US$1.00 = Algerian Dinar (DA) 3.90 DA 1.00 = US$0.26 MEASURES 1 m = 3.28 feet 1 m 2 10.76 square feet 1 km 2 0.38 square mile 1 hectare = 2.47 acres Fiscal Year January 1 to December 31  FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY DEMOCRATIC AND POPULAR REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT FIFTH EDUCATION PROJECT Table of Contents Page No. BASIC DATA GLOSSARY I. THE EDUCATION SECTOR ..................................... 1 Socio-Economic Background ............................. 1 Development of the Education and Training System ...... 2 Educational Issues .................................... 4 Manpower Requirements ................................. 7 Educational Finance ................................... 10 Bank Strategy and Lending for Education .... ........... 10 II. THE PROJECT .............................................. 12 Introduction .......................................... 12 Objectives and Scope ....... ........................... 13 The Project ........................................... 14 National Institute for Maintenance Trades Administration (NIMTA) and Institute for Instructor Training for Maintenance Trades (NIMTI) 14 Maintenance Training Centers (MTC) .................... 16 Industrial Training Centers (ITC) ..................... 17 Relevance and Evaluation .............................. 18 Automation of Data-Processing, MOHE ................... 19 Technical Assistance .................................. 20 III. PROJECT COST, FINANCING, IMPLEMENTATION AND DISBURSEMENT .......................................... 20 Cost of the Project .................................... 20 Project Financing ..................................... 23 Recurrent Costs ....................................... 24 Implementation ........................................ 24 IV. BENEFIT AND RISKS ........................................ 27 Benefits .............................................. 27 Risks ................................................. 27 Key Implementation Dates .............................. 28 V. AGREEMENTS REACHED AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................... 29 This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contenst may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  Table of Contents (Continued) Page No. ANNEXES 1. CHARTS AND TABLES Chart 1 Structure of the Formal Education & Training System 31 Tables 1.1 Comparative Education Indicators 32-33 2.1 Technical Assistance Program 34 3.1 Unit Capital Costs and Areas Per Student 35 3.2 Contingency Allowances 36 Chart 2(a) Implementation Schedule, NIMTA/NIMTI Complex 37 (b) Implementation Schedule, MTCs and ITCs 38 (c) Implementation Schedule, MOHE Computer 39 Table 3.3 Estimated Schedule of Disbursements 40 2. RELATED DOCUMENTS AND DATA AVAILABLE IN THE PROJECT FILE A. General Reports and Studies Relating to Education 41 B. Reports and Studies Relating to the Project 41 C. Selected Working Papers 42 MAP 43  ALGERIA Basic Data (1977) /1 Area 2,381,700 km Estimated Population: In Algeria 17.3 million abroad 1.0 million Rate of Population Growth (1976-1977) 3.2% p.a. Per Capita GNP (1977) /2 US$1,110 Estimated Literacy Rate 37% Primary Enrollments as a Percentage of Age Group 6-12 86% /3 Secondary Enrollments as a Percentage of Age Group 13-18 31% /3 Higher Education Enrollments as a Percentage of Age Group 19-23 6% /3 Central Government Expenditures on Education as a Percentage of Total 26.3% Recurrent Government Expenditures 18.1% Capital 22.8% Total Central Government Expenditures on Education as a Percentage of GDP 7.4% /1 See Annex 1 for comparative educational data. /2 World Bank Atlas. 3/ Gross enrollment ratios.   ALGERIA Glossary Ministries MOLI: Ministry of Light Industries MOHI: Ministry of Heavy Industry MOE: Ministry of Education MOHE: Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research MOL: Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training Project Institutes NIMTA: National Institute for Maintenance Trades Administration NIMTI: National Institute for Maintenance Trades Instructors MTC: Maintenance Training Centers ITC: Industrial Training Centers Education Basic Education: Nine years' schooling (grades 1-9) divided into three cycles, grades 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 to emphasize basic learning, introduction of the abstract and orientation, respectively. Lycee : In the reformed system, grades 7-9 of basic education combined with grades 10-12 offering specialized streams in Arabic, Humanities, Mathematics and Science (general lycee) or Industrial Arts, Mathematics, Commerce and Economics (technical lycee). Successful graduates are awarded the baccalaureat in various specializations qualifying them for entry to university. Technicum: A new type upper secondary school (grades 10-12) with strong vocational bias, designed to produce middle level technicians.  Glossary (Continued) Education (Continued) ITE Institut de Technologie d'Education; teacher training institute with one and two-year training courses for grade 10 (instructor) and grades 12 to 14 (standard (instituteur). VTC Vocational Training Center IVIT Institute for Vocational Instructor Training offers two-year post-secondary course to train VTC instructors. ENSEP Ecole Normale Superieure de l'Enseignement Polytechnique; technical teacher training college with three-year grades 13-15 courses.  I. THE EDUCATION SECTOR Socio-Economic Background 1.01 Since independence in 1962, Algeria has pursued a policy of rapid industrialization and structural reforms based upon expansion of oil and gas production for export. During the Development Program 1967-1969 and the First Development Plan 1970-1973, emphasis was placed on heavy industries and highly capital intensive technologies. In the Second Development Plan 1974-1977 1/, development of mechanical and electrical engineering industries manufacturing capital goods for various sectors of the economy was fostered, but increasing emphasis was also placed on light industries producing major consumer goods, as well as the development of lagging sectors such as agriculture, housing construction, transportation, telecommunications and urban infrastructure. This emphasis is expected to be reinforced in the Third Development Plan 1980-1984. Shortages of trained manpower have constantly been a major hindrance to economic development and efficiency. 1.02 The following three basic goals for long-term national economic and social development were incorporated in the Second Development Plan 1974-1977; (a) expansion/reorganization of the country's productive base to reach self- sustained growth with full employment, (b) economic independence, and (c) improvement of income distribution among regions; they were reaffirmed in the National Charter approved by referendum of June 27, 1976 and are expected to be maintained in the Third Plan. The strategy used for achievement of these goals may be summarized as follows: (a) continued build-up of a diversified, integrated and geographically well-distributed industrial base, which is viewed as the means of achieving long-term growth and full employment objectives; (b) reinforcement of new management structures for the Algerian economy (central planning, public enterprises, agrarian revolution, decentralization, workers' participation in the management of public enterprises) to strengthen Algerian control and improve efficiency of investments and production; (c) limited expansion and egalitarian distribution of personal incomes so as to generate adequate national savings for investment and avoid excessive resource to external sources; and (d) rapid expansion and reform of education and training to respond quickly to the demand for skilled manpower and to create a socio-cultural environment conducive to modernization and development. 1/ The Third Development Plan 1980-1984 currently being finalized; 1978-1979 officially considered transitional with Second Plan actions being completed.  - 2 - Development of the Education and Training System 1.03 The education and training system in Algeria plays a key role in implementing the country's development strategy. Educational development is aligned, accordingly, to national goals for political, economic and social development and is based on major structural and educational retirms being undertaken over the period to 1985; quantitative targets were clefined in detail for the Education Plan 1974-1977 (aligned to the Second Development Plan) and in broader terms for the later period; the Education Plan 1980-1984 at present being finalized is not expected to contain significant changes in educational objectives or strategies. The strategy is based on the follow- ing main policy objectives: (a) arabization, which entails the development of a socialist system within Arabic-Islamic culture and fostering the Arabic language as the main medium of instruction and communication; (b) democratization, which is aimed at reducing inequalities in allocating resources among levels of education and regions of the country; (c) structural reform to provide a compulsory nine years of basic education followed by three-year upper stage courses in lycees and technicums, or by teacher training courses; the reform implies shortening lower stage courses from four to three years (grades 7-9) and development of basic educa- tion, phasing out of lower technical and agricultural schools and rapid build-up of technicums; (d) curricula reform to render them more relevant to the needs of the economy and society and to the realities of local environments; (e) reform of secondary technical education, whereby the CETs (Colleges d'Enseignement Technique) are phased out, the technical lycee courses are continuously updated in line with the needs of industry and main emphasis is being placed on a new type of middle-level technician training in a national network of "technicums" being established extending over grades 10-12 and strongly job-oriented; (f) development of vocational training for skilled and semi-skilled workers in a national network of VTCs (Vocational Training Centers) and other skills training centers administered by the technical ministries; (g) reform of higher education, including bias towards science and technology, improvement of efficiency, modernization of teaching technologies and gradual incorporation of the Institutes of Technology in the university system; and  - 3 - (h) reduction of adult illiteracy from the existing very high rate of about 63%. 1.04 These structural and curricular reforms were introduced with the Education Plan 1974-1977 for completion by 1985, but this target will be difficult to achieve. The policy objectives and reforms are educationally sound and in line with the socio-economic goals of the country's development strategy. However, because of the immense operation required to develop the education system since independence, including expansion to improve participa- tion (while keeping pace with an annual population growth of over 3%) and to meet ever increasing manpower requirements as well as the introduction of necessary structural, educational and administrative reforms, it is not sur- prising that many gaps, bottlenecks, inequalities and weaknesses remain. 1.05 Various reforms are underway to meet these problems. The Ministry of Education (MOE) during the 1974-77 plan delegated much authority to the 31 wilayate (provinces). The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHE) will gradually assume responsibility for all post-secondary education. The technical ministries, especially the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MOL) and the Ministries of Heavy Industry (MOHI), of Light Industries (MOLI) and of Energy and Petrochemicals (MOEP), still retain responsibility for training large numbers of skilled workers and will receive guidance from the National Advisory Council on Vocational Training estab- lished in 1977. Since 1974 primary and secondary education are being reformed from the traditional French 6-4-3 system to nine years basic education in grades 1-9 (a unified system aiming to relate education more closely to training and employment), followed by three-year courses in lycees and tech- nicums, or by teacher training courses. Curricular reforms are also underway at all levels. 1.06 The education system has expanded very rapidly, especially in recent years. Primary enrollment increased by 6% annually during 1973-1978 to 2.8 million or 86% of the 6-12 age-group (1984-85 enrollment projection 3.4 mil- lion); secondary enrollment increased by over 17% annually during 1973-1978 to 742,000 or 31% of the 13-18 age-group (1984-85 enrollment projection 1.1 mil- lion); and even greater annual growth of about 20% was recorded in higher education to 93,000 or 6% of the 19-23 age-group in 1978 (1984-85 enrollment projection 140,000) 1/. Due to the very rapid growth of enrollments, recur- rent expenditures on education are estimated to account for a high 26.3% of total government expenditures in 1978 while capital expenditures on education account for 18.1% of public capital expenditures, representing together 7.4% of GDP. However, although significant quantitative growth and a good effort in supply of urgently needed manpower were achieved, investment in agriculture, rural training/adult education, teacher training, management and health training has lagged, results in efforts to reduce illiteracy have been dis- appointing and quality overall has suffered. 1/ Gross enrollment ratios.  -4- Educational Issues 1/ 1.07 The main educational issues are surmarized in this section under five headings: (a) Basic and Secondary Education, (b) Higher Education, (c) Vocational Training, (d) Adult Education, and (e) External Efficiency. (a) Basic and Secondary Education 1.08 Equity and Quality. Despite government efforts, inequalities are still marked both by sex and by province. Nevertheless, girls' enrollments have increased steadily to a national average of 41% for grades 1-6 and 36% for secondary general and teacher training students, though girls account for just 23% of secondary technical enrollments. Overall enrollment rates and girls' participation vary greatly by province with Djelfa and Adrar in the South and Mostaganem in the West noticeably weak. The MOE completed a very satisfactory school mapping study for basic education in 1978 and a similar study for secondary education financed under Loan 1378-AL, is scheduled for completion by December 1979; it is expected that generalization of the results of these studies, together with implementation of the decentralization policy, will facilitate reduction of inequalities but success will require a major effort, especially in rural areas. 1.09 With rapid quantitative growth quality has seriously suffered. Student/teacher ratios remain somewhat high at 38 for grades 1-6 and 28 for secondary general education, though satisfactory at 14 and 11 for secondary technical and teacher training, respectively. Qualitative shortcomings are also due to certain irrelevancies in curricula, faulty teaching methods and lack of teaching aids as well as home environment conditions including language problems; the primary inspection system also requires reform. 2/ To improve quality a major effort in teacher training (especially for basic education) is required. The Institut Pedagogigue National (IPN) now upgraded and incorpo- rating the National Center for Science and Equipment and the Norms and Stan- dards Unit, for which plans for a new building are under consideration and for which technical assistance is financed under Loan 1209-AL, will also play an important role in quality improvement. The IPN has 4 directorates, pedagogy, audio-visual aids, printing and finance, and over 8 million textbooks in Arabic and French for primary and secondary schools were produced by the Center in 1978. 1.10 Internal Efficiency. Repeater and attrition rates, often related to the weaknesses mentioned above as well as to the traditional role of women in Algerian society, remain very high. Repeater rates in 1978 ranged from about 8% to 13% for grades 1-5 but the rate was 22% in grade 6; attrition rates were about 4% for grades 1-4 but over 16% for grade 5; transition rate from grade 6 to secondary was about 55%. Repeater rates were not as serious 1/ Data are for 1978 unless otherwise stated. 2/ See Project File: Robert Melet, Primary Inspection in Algeria, IIEP, Paris 1976.  - 5 - at 4% in secondary grades 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12, but high at about 10% and 13% in grades 10 and 13, the terminal years for middle school and upper secondary, respectively. Attrition rates were also high in secondary, averaging about 12%. 1/ 1.11 Teacher Training. Further reform in basic education teacher train- ing is now due, especially that Algerianization is practically achieved for grades 1-6 (1.3% expatriates). The ITEs (Instituts de Technologie de l'Edu- cation) established in 1970 to reform teacher training and train primary and middle school teachers are not having the desired impact. The grade 9 and 10 entry standard for grade 1-6 teachers is inadequate (while acceptable in the past because of shortages) and pedagogical training seems insufficient in content and duration. The baccalaureat entry standard for grades 7-9 (middle school) teachers is adequate but the content and duration of training require review; in particular the sections added at selected ITEs to train teachers of practical subjects are insufficient for implementation of the curricular reforms envisaged in the 1974-77 plan. Further efforts are also required to replace over 28% of expatriate teachers for grades 7-12; improvement of physical facilities in the ITEs is also required. Special attention to making the secondary teaching profession competitive with industry is necessary, especially for science and technical teacher training which is being supported under Loan 1595-AL. 1.12 Administration. The Education Plan 1974-77 was well designed and has defined well the needs to achieve government policies and programs. There were many weaknesses in implementation, however, due to faulty administration at central, regional and institutional levels and, in particular, lack of inter-directorate and inter-ministerial coordination, which persists. The government now recognizes the need to establish a system of training in educa- tional planning and administration. 2/ Very high costs are also problematic. As annual recurrent costs already absorb about 26% of the government's re- current budget, a close check must be maintained through improved efficiency and strict policies on scholarships, boarding and deployment of teachers; this is particularly necessary in view of the need to make teachers' salaries more competitive. Cost of construction per student place is extremely high and control must be exercised through rational location planning and standar- dized construction. 3/ 1/ For further details of attrition in Algeria, see Project File: Mohamed Chaibderraine, Educational Wastage at the Primary Level, Linkoping University Department of Education, Linkoping, 1978. 2/ A UNDP/Unesco project started in 1979 (US$1.0 million) will include study of means to improve educational planning and administration in the MOE and MOHE. 3/ The inordinately high construction cost is due to scarcity of trained manpower in the construction industry, low productivity, high import taxes on raw materials and management shortcomings, which have affected virtually all sectors of the economy.  - 6- (b) Higher Education 1.13 While the government has decided that the MOHE will assume re- sponsibility for all post-secondary education, coordination oi- efforts on development based on manpower requirements is lacking among the MOHE and other concerned ministries, especially the ministries of Agricultur- and Industry. The MOHE Master Plan 1976-1985 (Programme de Developpement de l'Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche Scientifique 1976-1985) does not spell out how absorption of the Technological Institutes controlled by other ministries will be achieved. This plan projects university enrollments to increase to 80,000 in 1981 and 140,000 in 1985 (5 to 13 universities) but contains no analytical justification of this expansion on manpower grounds; nor does it contain adequate analysis of pedagogical aspects and scientific/technological develop- ments. 1/ An analysis of the contribution the MOHE should make to the develop- ment of agriculture and forestry is also missing. Feasibilitv of achieving these targets (even if justified) is questionable as detailed educational and architectural briefs for the period to 1980 are not yet available. In any event, improved planning of enrollment structure, study programs, physical facilities and staff development (47% expatriate teaching staff in universi- ties) by the MOHE is required. Meanwhile, some other ministries continue in an uncoordinated way to plan their own post-secondary expansion. In brief, updating of a thorough, comprehensive plan for all post-secondary education based on defined manpower requirements and agreed by the MOHE and the other concerned ministries is required as a basis for rational development at this level. (c) Vocational Training 1.14 From a training system practically confined until recently to that provided by the national industrial enterprises, a creditable base of 55 VTCs enrolling 25,500 trainees has been built up. Preinvestment studies to evaluate the needs for the development of vocational training were financed under Loan 1209-AL and Bank support for training, in accordance with the findings, is being provided under Loans 1378-AL and 1595-AL. However, an enormous effort is still required to supply the estimated annlal output of 100,000 skilled workers and the government has incorporated its commitment to this task in the National Charter 1976. Though considerable training is undertaken in the technical ministries, especially the MOHI and MOLI, the MOL has major responsibility for the development of vocational training and will, in due course, have responsibility for all such training. The National Advisory Council on Vocational Training, established in the MOL in 1977, must play an active role in coordinating efforts in training and retraining and avoid the tendency towards duplication among ministries. 1/ The plan is based, however, on a well prepared document: ROMCONSULT, Etude Concernant le Developpement de l'Enseignement Superieur en Algerie 1976-1985, Bucarest, 1975.  -7- (d) Adult Education and Literacy 1.15 The CNEG (Centre National d'Enseignement Generalise, MOE) has responsibility for "second chance" education and enrolls about 21,000 students, mainly (95%) in secondary education. The CNA (Centre National d'Alphabetisa- tion, MOE) enrolls about 645,000 (4% women) in literacy programs. 1/ The large national enterprises also play an important role in adult education, as well as in general and functional literacy for employees and their families. However, despite a wide-ranging approach (including correspondence courses and use of the media), adult illiteracy remains about 63%. A target was set in the 1974-1977 plan to reduce the rate to 50% by 1981, but progress has been disappointing because of greater emphasis on rapid development of the formal system, as well as administrative and teaching shortcomings. A much stronger commitment and definition of a comprehensive strategy with detailed programs and projects are a prerequisite to substantially reducing by a reasonable date the present high adult illiteracy rate of 63%. (e) External Efficiency 1.16 Although commendable advances have been made in the 1970s, the objective of expanding and gearing the education system to meet the manpower needs of Algerian economic and social development is far from achieved. Severe shortages of trained manpower at all levels still constitute severe constraints to development. These shortages have been alleviated by recruit- ing expatriates (a temporary and very costly expedient) who comprise up to 40% of professionals and higher technicians in industry and up to 25% of all engineers as well as the large numbers of expatriate teachers in secondary and higher education mentioned above. Continued rapid expansion is obviously necessary to replace these expatriates and meet the manpower needs of the economy as described in paras 1.17 and 1.18, but care must also be taken to gearing existing training programs to these needs at all levels but especially in secondary and higher education. A very special effort is required in agricultural training as productivity has very seriously lagged in this critical sector, which will be given greater emphasis in the Third Plan; the time is ripe too for special attention to health training; assessment of needs in this regard is necessary. 2/ In addition, emphasis must be placed on man- agement training in all sectors because of widespread deficiencies. Manpower Requirements 1.17 The effort required from the education and training system to achieve the growth targets of the Third Development Plan 1980-84, lay the foundation for later plans and meet priority manpower needs is summarized in the following table where Bank support in this regard is also outlined. 1/ Technical assistance for the CNEG and the CNA is financed under Loan 1209-AL. 2/ An Education Sector Survey is planned for FY1980.  - 8 - Estimated Manpower Requirements 1979-90 Average Annual Annual Annual Output Due Output Reqd. Output to Bank Projects 1978-90 1977 Educ. I-IV Ed. V (by 1985) Higher Education graduates 24,600 6,700 4,380 0 of which: Engineers 2,400 370 585 0 Higher Technicians 4,830 1,460 3,345 O Vocational Training Instructors 1,370 200 450 200 Middle Technicians Commercial 19,700 4,000 1,020 0 Industrial 16,600 7,500 3,480 0 Skilled Workers 100,000 25,000 480 5,400 Heavy Industry & Energy & Other 51,000 /1 25,00 480 0 Light Industries 45,000 /2 '