Philippines - Sector Program For Elementary Education Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No. 3423a-PH STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT PHILIPPINES SECTOR PROGRAM FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATIO} May 29, 1981 Projects Department East Asia and Pacific Regional Office 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 EQUIVALENT P 7.5 = US$1.00 P 1.0 = US$0.13 GLOSSARY BEE - Bureau of Elementary Education in the Ministry of Education and Culture EDPITAF - Educational Development Projects Implementing Task Force MEC - Ministry of Education and Culture MIS - Management Information System of the Office of Planning Services in the MEC MPW - Ministry of Public Works NEDA - National Economic Development: Authority OPS - Office of Planning Services in the MEC SOUTELE - Survey on the Outcomes of Elementary Education GOVERNIENT OF THE PEIILIPPINES FISCAL YEAR January I-December 31 GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES SCHOOL YEAR July-April f  FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY PHILIPPINES SECTOR PROGRAM FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION Table of Contents Page No. BASIC DATA 1. INTRODUCTION ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. ISSUES IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Main Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Policy Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Sector Finance .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Teacher Utilization .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Student Admnissions and Progression . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Management Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Bureau of Elementary Education and the Regional Offices. 7 Office of Planning Services and Regional Planning Staff. 9 Textbook Agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Performance Problems .1.0.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lo Curriculum and Teaching Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Instructional Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Teachers ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3. SECTOR PROGRAM FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Strategy .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Sector Development Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Policy Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Regional Expenditure Allocations . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Apportionment of Recurrent Expenditures . . . . . . . . 20 Teacher Utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Student Admissions and Progression . . . . . . . . . . 21 Management Changes .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Bureau of Elementary Education and the Regional Offices 23 Office of Planning Services and Regional Planning Units ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The Instructional Materials Corporation . . . . . . . . 26 Performance Improvements (Expenditure Components). . . . . 28 Curriculum and Teaching Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Instructional Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 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- Page No. Teachers .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Staff Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Sector Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 4. MANAGEMENT A-ND IXPLEMENTATION OF THE SECTOR PROGRAM . . . . . 39 The Sector Approach ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Organization and Staffing ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Organization ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Procedures for Subproject Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Identification and Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Appraisal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Supervision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Monitoring ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Guidelines and Criteria for Investment and Approval of Subprojects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Guidelines for the Allocation of Funds . . . . . . . . . . 45 Criteria for Subproject Approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Implementation Schedule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 5. PROGRAM COSTS AND FINANCING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Development Expenditures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Recurrent Cost Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Financing and the Bank Contribution . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Procurement ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Disbursements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Accounts, Documentation and Auditing . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 6. BENEFITS AND RISKS .57 Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Risks.. .. 58 7. AGREEMENTS REACHED AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 LIST OF TABLES 2.1 Regional Variations in Educational Opportunity . . . . . . . 11 2.2 Elementary Education - Participation, Survival and Achievement Rates by Region, 1978/79 ... . . . . . . . . 12 2.3 Estimated Needs for Elementary Classrooms at the Start of School Year 1978/79 ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2.4 Student-Teacher Ratios in Public Elementary Schools, 1978/79 17  Page No. 3.1 Projected Requireiients for Elementary School Teachers . . . 21 3.2 Targeted Rates f)r Participation of Seven-Year Olds and for Cohort Survival in Elementary Education . . . . . . . 22 3.3 Projected Enrollment and Efficiency Rates . . . . . . . . . 23 3.4 Elemetntary CurriculIlm - Time Allocations by Subject . . . . 30 3.5 Scheduled Introduction of New Series of Basic Textbooks 32 3.6 Staff Development - Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 4.1 Regional Guidelines for the Allocation of Development Expenditures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 5.1 Ten-Year Development Program - Estimated Expenditures by Year and Category ... . . . . . . . . ..... . . . . 49 5.2 Development Expenditures by Type of Expenditure, 1982-85 50 5.3 Development Expenditures by Local and Foreign Currency Components 1982-85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 5.4 Estimated Recurrent Costs for Elementary Education . . . . . 53 5.5 Financing Plan, 1982-85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 5.6 Disbursements Schedule by Semester . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 CHARTS 2.1 Philippines - .Ministry of Education and Culture (Organization Chart) ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8 4.1 Sector Program for Elementary Education - Management Responsibilities ... . . . . . ..... . . . . . . . . 41 4.2 Sect)r Program for Elementary Education - Procedures for Generating and Processing Subprojects .......... 44 ANNEXES 1. Comparative Education Indicators 2. Materials in the Program File 3. Terms of Reference for Program Technical Staff 4. Guidelines for the Allocation of Development Funds and Criteria for Subproject Approval 5. Implementation Schedule MAP   PIIILIPPINES SECTOR PROGRAM FOR ELEM4ENTARY EDUCATION /a Basic Data GENERAL Population (mlns.) 46.8 Annual Growth (x) 2.4/b Labor Force (mlns) 16.8 /c Participation Rate (%) 63 /c Employment by Sector (%) Agriculture 48 Industry 18 Services 34 GNP per capita (US$) 600 EDUCATION Enrollment Net Parti- Enrollment cipation Enrollments (mlns) Rate (%) Elementary Schools 7.8 84 Secondary Schools } Vocational Schools } 2.9 55 Colleges, Universities 1.1 21 Literacy Rate (%) 75/d Elementary Education Rate of Student Completion (%) 65 Rate of Student Progression to Secondary School (%) 89 /a Data are for 1979 unless otherwise noted. Further comparative data are shown in Annex 1. lb Growth rate for 1980. Ic Data for 1978. /d Although literacy rates as high as 90% of the population aged 10 years or more have been reported in the Philippines since the mid-1970s, more recent government data suggest a rate on the order of 75%. Given the large proportion of adults who never completed elementary schooling (60% of the population over 25 years of age in 1975), the lower rate appears to be reasonable.  Grades 1-4 142,400 Teacher-Student Ratio 1:40 Grades 5-6 106,000 Teacher-Student Ratio 1:20 Expenditures on Education Total Public Expenditure on Formal Education as % of 5NP 2.8 as % Total Public Expenditure 14.0 Public Expenditure for Elementary Level Recurrent expenditure per student/year (US$) 42 /a % salaries and administration 98 Capital expenditure per student/year (US$) 4 /a /a Expenditure for 1980.  INTRODlUCT IO 1.01 Development strategy and related requirements for human resource development in the Philippines have undergone a shift in emphasis since the nid-1970s. Throughout the l960s and early 1970s, development policy stressed growth in output in agriculture, traditional exports and large-scale industry. More recently, facing limits to further agricultural expansion, public resourze constraints and problems of unemployment, development strategy has changed. Emphasis is given to greater self-sufficiency in food production and energy, agricultural diversification and development of small and medium scale manufactures (including nontraditional exports) to generate productive employment and alleviate poverty. Particular priority is given to providing opportunities to the rural population to adopt improved agricultural methods and to acquire new, off-farmn skills to maintain or generate productive employment and to raise incomes. 1.02 The development strategy supports the widespread provision of basic infrastructure and services, including education, as requirements for achiev- ing productivity and employment objectives. Both the economic development process and the task of subsequent learning (through work or future education) are enhanced by general education. The knowledge, attitudes and skills devel- oped through effective basic education are essential for attaining development objectives. Recent research demonstrates a positive relationship among basic education, farm productivity, health and ability to adapt to socio-economic change./I 1.03 Despite relatively high participation rates, basic education in the Philippines requires strengthening to achieve the desired development of skills. In the first (elementary) cycle of educat.in, disparities, reflected in regional variations in student participation and achievement, remain; the average quality of education, reflected in student performance on standard achievement tests, is low; and inefficiencies, reflected mainly in dropout rates, persist. To support the development strategy, improvements in the quality of basic education, with emphasis on reaching Large numbers of disad- vantaged youths, are required. 1.04 During the mid- and late-1970s, the Government began to address the problems of its basic education system. It initiated a program for text- book development and production (assisted by the Bank through Loan 1224T-PH), developed and experimented with a revised curriculum and educational radio for elementary education (the latter assisted by the Bank through Loan S-8-PH), and launched a regular program for the expansion and replacement of school facilities. A 1977 Bank sector memorandum recommended that further attention be directed towards improving the quality and efficiency of basic /1 For discussion on education as a requirement for sustained development, see the Education Sector Policy Paper, IBRD, April 1980, especially pp. 12-15; and Philippines: Poverty, Basic Needs and Employment, IBRD Report 2984-PU of December 1, 1980, pp. 30-31 of main volume.  education./l During 1979 th-e Government prepared a ten-year development pro- gram designed to reduce disparities and improve overall quality and efficiency in elementary education./2 Thnis program was submitted to the Bank to support a request for a loan -in October 1979 and forned the hasis for Bank pre-- appraisal during Novenher-December 1979. Appraisal was carried out during Septemiber-October 1980 /3 with foLlow-up in February 1981. 1.05 The Oovernment-s development program (1981-90) addresses the main policy, management and quality issues in elementary education. Revised policies for finance and management would be introduced to reduce disparities in educational opportunity and to support general improvements in quality and efficiency. Further modifications would be made in the organization and functions of the main agencies involved in the sector to improve management and planning. Development funds would be allocated for curriculam develop- ment; provision of textbooks and related materials; facilities and equipment; monitoring of teacher supply; staff development; and sector evaluation. The proposed loan of USSI0O0 million would help to finance development comnponents scheduled during the four year period 1982-85. 1.06 The Bank thas previously supported six education projects in the Philippines. (Related loans and credits have amounted to US$108.7 million)./4 /1 Philippines Education Sector Memorandum, August 16, 1977 (Report No. 1704-PH) /2 Entitled Program for Decentralized Educational Development - Elementary Education, EPPITAF, September 1979. /3 Consisting of Mrs. E.L. Schreiber (economist, mission leader) and Messrs. H.r. Chai (educator), S.Z. Sung (educator) and P. Neumann (textbook publisher and consultant). Mlessrs. S. Sigurdsson (architect), D. Jamison (evaluation specialist) and J. Rose (management specialist, consultant) and Ms. N. Birdsall (evaluation specialist) also visited the Philippines in connection with preappraisal of the project. /4 The first project (Loan 393-PUH, 1964), completed in 1973, assisted in developing the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture at Los Banos; the second (Credit 349-PI4, 1973), completed in 1973, centered on the development of two regional agricultural colleges, 13 agri- cultural high schools, and 10i technical and three technician training institutes; the third (Loan 1224T-PH, 1976), for which the recommended closing is scheduled for June 1982, was designed to reduce a severe textbook shortage in elementary and secondary education; the fourth Loan 1374-PIU, 1977) is designed to furth,er strengthen selected facilities at the University in Los Banos, develop a college of agriculture in the Visayas and introduce nonformal training to farmers; the fifth (Loan S-8-PUi, 1973) supports experimentation with development of educational radio for classroom use and inservice teacher training; and the sixth (Loan 1786, 1979) is designed to strengthen technical and managerial manpower and research for fisheries development.  Four of these have centered on developing technical and managerial manpower for agriculture and fisheries. Two projects have focussed on improving basic education through experimentation with educational radio and through the pro- vision of about 30 million textbooks to students in public elementary and secondary schools (para. 1.04). The Educational Projects Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF), created in 1972 on an ad hoc basis to provide expertise in educational developmnent, has had overall responsibility for the execution of these and other externally-assisted education projects. Generally, implemeni- tation of the projects has been satisfactory and objectives have been largely achieved. However, earlier projects have also met with some implementation constraints. The completion and audit reports have been prepared for the first project (IBRD Report 820) and the completion report for the second project is being prepared. General lessons relata to. (a) the importance of providing local financing in a timely manner; and (b) the need for improved procedures to expedite procurement. Experience gained from more recent projects confirms the importance of sufficiently advanced preparation prior to project appraisal and implementation. These concerns have been addressed in preparing the elementary education program. 1.07 Bank financing is recommended to support the development program for elementary education. The program is central to the Government's overall development objectives to achieve widespread provision of basic services, to support rural development and to increase productivity. The program addresses the major issues in elementary education and arrangements for management and financing have been organized to achieve objectives. 2. ISSUES IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION Overview 2.01 Enrollments in elementary education in the Philippines expanded rapidly during the 1960s and early 1970s and nearly doubled between 1965 and 1979. By 1979, about 7.7 million children, including more than 80% of those in the relevant age group (7-12), were enrolled in elementary schools. Despite this relatively high participation rate, substantial changes are needed in the elementary sector to improve the quality and coverage of basic education. (a) Policy Problems. Financial and administrative policies have contributed to an uneven development of elementary education. Policies for financing and the utilization of teachers perpetuate disparities in educational opportunity and an inappropriate balance among educational inputs (e.g., teachers and mnaterials) provided. Policies for student admissions and progression further reduce the  - 4 - productivity of elementary education. Revised policies are needed to support improvements in the quality, coverage and efficiency of elementary education. (b) Management Problems. The management structure for elementary education is inadequately organized to guide sector development in accordance with the national development strategy. Rigidities and inefficiencies in the schooling process derive largely from the absence of effective support from the center and from incomplete planning efforts. A fragmentation of management responsibilities contributes to additional problems of functional overlap and poor coordination. The structure, functions and staffing of agencies involved in elementary education na d to be oriented towards effective management and planning. (c) Performance Problems. The impact of policy and institutional prob- lems is evident in variations in student participation an-a achieve- ment. In the regions, the availability of facilities and teachers differs as does the relevance of the curriculum, teaching methods and instructional materials. Moreover, average student achievement in basic skill areas (i.e., the language arts, mathematics) is low. Both disparities in educational opportunity and more general quality shortcomings need to be corrected to improve sector performance. Main Issues Policy Problems 2.02 Policies for financing and administration have detracted from the effectiveness of elementary education. Emphasis has been given to enrollment expansion (primarily by expanding the teaching force) with inadequate atten- tion to quality, efficiency and regional variations in student performance. Policy weaknesses are reflected in the main outcomes of elementary education: on average, student achievement scores are a third lower than the designated norm; and 35% students entering grade 1 never complete the six-year edu- cational cycle. 2.03 Sector Finance. The Central Government carries the main responsi- bility for financing elementary education./l In 1980 capital expenditure on elementary education amounted to about US$4.00 equivalent per student and /1 The localities retain a portion (5%) of real estate tax revenues for educational expenditures. While the amounts of such funds vary in accordance with property values, they represent nominal increments to the Central Government-s contribution.  - D - recurrent expenditure to US$42.00 per student. W4hile the level of recurrent expenditure Falls within the lower range for Asia,/l the main constraints to Improvements in t'he quality and coverage of elementary education are found in policies for allocating funds. Development and recurrent appropriations are allocated in equal portions to the regions on the basis of standard appropria- tions per student enrolled. The policy discriminates against regions with large numbers of children not in school and provides no compensatory financing for regions where student achievement is low. Further, allocations by cate- gory of recurrent expenditure are poorly balanced. Of the total recurrent appropriation for elementary education, 98% is allocated for salaries and administration and 2% (about US$0.80 per student) is available for other inputs. The resulting gap in resources available for instructional materials, classroom supervision, teacher upgrading, and mnaintenance of facilities is substantial. 2.04 The share of public expenditure on education appears to have stabi- lized after a recent period of decline (20% of public expenditure was allocated for education in 1973 by comparison with 14% in 1979). However, significant increases in real recurrent expenditure per student in elementary education will not likely be made in the near future. In order to expand the coverage and raise the quality of elementary education, improvements in cost-effectiveness are required. Revised policies and guidelines for the allocation and use of resources, by region and by type of expenditure, are needed. 2.05 Teacher Utilization. Adequate financing for nonsalary expenditures from recurrent appropriations would be available if the policy for teacher utilization were more effective. One classroom teacher is responsible for classes of students in grades 1-4 while subject matter teachers are used in grades 5 and 6. In 1979, the average student-teacher ratio in elementary education was about 31:1. However, the ratio was 40:1 for grades 1-4 and 20:1 for grades 5 and 6 (for which 42% of teachers were serving 27% of the stu- dents). The lower student-teacher ratio in grades 5 arnd 6 is attributable largely to the underutilization of the subject teachers: the teacher-class ratio is 2:1 on average (e.g., the subject teachers work on average 50% of the time). Present requirements for teachers would be reduced by about 14% (35,000 teachers in 1979) if the teacher class-ratio at grades 5 and 6 were reduced to 1.2:1. Such a policy change is needed to improve efficiency and free resources for nonsalary expenditures. 2.06 Student Admissions and Progression. Present practices for student admissions and the policy for advancing students from grade to grade contri- bute to problems of poor student admissions, which requires that children /1 On average, annual recurrent expenditure (public only) per elementary school student in Asia (nine country sample) was about US$66 equivalent in 1976 (1976 prices), ranging from about US$10-45 in Burma, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Korea to US$125-152 in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.  - 6 - enter grade 1 at age seven, is appropriate but ineffectively enforced. In 1979, some 15% of students in elementary schools were over- or under-aged while 26% of seven year olds were not enrolled at all. The policy for advancement bases promotion on the results of a single year-end examination. The elementary curriculum includes a relatively large number of subjects to be covered in detail. Inadequate time is available for diagnostic testing and remedial instruction prior to final examinations, and 8% of students enrolled repeated grades during the mid-1970s. Research findings suggest that both teaching and learning are most effective when children are grouped with age peers./l Results of recent studies further suggest that grade repetition does not necessarily improve the performance of low achievers and can create morale problems that lead to the dropout of such students./2 MIore effective enforce- ment of the admissions policy and revised procedures for student evaluation and progression are needed to raise achievement and survival rates. Due to the high dropout rate at present, eight years (rather than the prescribed six) are required to produce a graduate and the efficiency of the system is 76%./3 IManagement Problems 2.07 The principal agencies involved in elementary education are the Bureau of Elementary Education and the Office of Planning Services in the national offices of the 'Ministry of Education and Culture (MIEC), the Regional Offices of the MEC, and the Government's Textbook Agency. The tIEC's 13 Regional Offices were created in conjunction with a 1974 reorganization of Government agencies: at that time routine responsibilities for educational planning and administration were transferred from the center to the regions. Control over policy, budget, curriculum and the mass development and produc- tion of textbooks was retained at the national level. The decentralization effort was intended to improve the responsiveness of education to local needs through effective planning and management at the regional level. However, appropriate modifications in the organization, functions and staffing patterns of agencies involved were not undertaken. As a result, management weaknesses persist at both the central and regional levels. The problems are manifest in a lack of systematic support for the regions, poor coordination of sector activities and incomplete planning. /1 T.N. Posthlewaite, "Success and Failure in School" Prospects, Vol. X, No. 3, 1980. /2 A review of the literature on the effects of repetition is found in "Educational and Economic Effects of Promotion and Repetition Practices," World Bank Staff Working Paper No. 319, MIarch 1979. /3 In 1978/79 graduates numbered about 930,000 and represented a useful outcome (including repetition) of 5.58 million student-years (930,000 x 6). The total number of student years required to produce this result was 7.34 million (the sum of student cohorts from grade 1 in 1973/74 through grade 6 in 1978/79). The efficiency of the system was thus 5.58/7.34 = 76%.  - 7 - 2.08 Bureau of Elementary Education and the Regional Offices. The Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE) is charged with recommending policies for elementary education and guiding sector management. However, the BEE