Benin - Second Education Project

Document of The WVorld Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No. 9478 PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT BENIN SECOND EDUCATION PROJECT (CREDIT 1246-BEN). MARCH 28, 1991 Population and Human Resources Division Occidental and Central Africa Department Africa Regional Office khis 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.  ABBREVIAT10NS BAG Baccalaureat Upper Secondary School Certificate BEN Benin BEPC Brevet d'Etudes du Premier Cvcle Lower Secondary School Certificete BID Islamic Development Bank CAA Ceisse Autonome d'Amortissement Autonomous Amortization Fund CAP Certificat d'Aotitude PMdanoriaue Teacher's Certificate CPAP African Financial Community franc CNPMS Cetre National de Production de Manuels Scolairee National Textbook Production Center CP Comolexe Polvtechnioue Vocational Institute CPA Comolexe Polvtechniue Agricole Agricultural Vocatic.al Inetitute CPI Comnlexe Polytechnioue Industriel Induetrial Vocational Institute CUC8S Centre Universitaire de Coopnration Economioue et Sociale University Center for Economic and Social Cooperation (Nancy,France) DON General Directorate of the Ministry DM Deutsche Mark DPE Direction Provincisle ("Ddpartementale, DDE" after March 15. 1990) de l'Enseienement Provincial Directorate of Education DMET Direction Provinciale ("D6yartementale, DDET" after March 15. 1990) de l'Eouicement et des Transeorts Provincial Directorate of Public Works and Transportation ENI Ecole Normale Int6gr6e Teachers College fRB Federal Republic of Germany GNP Gross National Product GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft fOr Technische Zusaemenarbeit German Agency for Technical Cooperation IDA International Development Association IBM Institut National Dour la Formation et la Recherche en Education National Institute of Education Training and Research JIR Jeunes Instituteurs R6volutionnaires National Teaching Service Teachers moEM Minist6re des Enseignements Maternel et de Base Ministry of Pre-Primary and Primary Education (before March 15, 1990) HEMOCT Ministere des Enseienements Hovens C6n6ral. Tecenioue et Professionnel Ministry of General Secondary. Technical and Vocational Education (before 1986) HEMS Minist6re des Enseianemento Movens et Suodrieur Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education (from 1986 to March 15. 1990) HEN Ministre de l'Education Nationale Ministry of National Education (since March 15. 1990) MET Minist6re de l'EQuioement et des Transoorts Ministry of Public Works and Transportation MIP Minist4re de l'Information et de la Prooaaande Ministry of Information and Propaganda (before March 15, 1990) MIS Management Information System (of IDA) MPS Minist4re du Plan et de ia Statistiaue Ministry of Planning and Statistics PB Project Brief PU Project Unit PPF Project Preparation Facility PCR Project Completion Report SAC Structural Adjustment Credit SAP Structural Adjustment Program SDR Special Drawing Rights SEFIC Soci6t6 d'Expertise Comotable. d'Audit. d'Oraenisation, d'Informatique et de Conseils Accounting. Auditing. Organization. Data Processing and Consulting Company S0DETLE Soci6tA d'Etudes et de Techniques et d'Entreorises G6n6rales (Studies and General Techniques and Enterprises Company) (Paris. France) SwF Swiss franc UNDP United Nations Development Program Unesco United Nations Educational. Scientific and Cultural Organization Unesco CP Unesco/World Bank Cooperative Program  FOR OFFCIAL USE ONLY THE WORLD BANK Washington, D.C. 20433 U.S.A. Office of OirectcW.G.wa Opwatons Evluati'rn March 28, 1991 MEMORANDUM TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND TEE PRESIDENT SUBJECT: ProJect Completion Report - Benin Second Education Proiect (Credit 1246-BEN) Attached, for information, is a copy of a report entitled "Project Completion Report - Benin Second Education Project (Credit 1246-BEN)", prepared by the Africa Regional Office. No audit of this project has been made by the Operations Evaluation Department at this time. Attachment 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.  Prolect Comnletion Report FOR OMFCL USE ONLY BENIN Second Education Project (IDA Credit 1246-BEN) TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ,..............................i EVALUATION SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i PART I REVIEW OF THE PROJECT FRRIC THE BAR'S PERSPECTIV . . . . . 1 A. Project Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B. Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . C. Project Objectives and Description . . . . . . . . . . . 2 D. Project Design and Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 E. Project Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 F. Project Results . . . . . . . . . . 5. . . . . . . . 5 G. Project Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 H. IDA Performance. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 I. Borrower Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 J. Project Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 K. Contracted Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 L. Project Documentation and Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 PART II REVIEW OF TE PROJECT FlRM THE B0RR(IRS PERSPECTE . . . 13 1. Introduction ...................... 13 2. Project Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3. Project Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 4. Problems .... . . . . . . . ...... . . . . .. 20 5. Project Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 6. Status of Credit Agreement Covenants . . . . . . . . . . 21 7. Implementation Timetable and Credit Management . . . . . 21 8. Borrower and IDA Performance . . . . . . . . . . . 21 9. Conclu.sions and Lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 PARTIIISTATISTICALi FORMATION . ........ ......... . 25 1. Related IDA Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 2. Project Timetable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 26 3. Credit Disbursements . . e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 4. Project Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 5. Project Costs and Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 6. Project Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 7. Status of Credit Agreement Covenants . . . . . . . . . . 32 8. Use of IDA Reaources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 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.  Paae No. ANNEXES 1. Comparative Implementation Timetable . . . . . . . . . . 38 2. Comparative Table of Project Costs . . . . . . . . . . . 39 3. Comparative Table of Technical Assistance Specialists . . . .............. 40 4. Comparative Table of Training Fellowships .... . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 5. Comments of the Government of Benin . . . . . . . . . . 44  Proiect Completion Report BENIN Second Education Project (IDA Credit 1246-BEN) PREFACE This document constitutes the Project Completion Report (PCR) for the Second Education Project in Benin, for which Credit 1246-BEN, for SDR 12.2 million, was approved on May 13, 1982. The Credit was closed on June 30, 1989, a year later than originally scheduled. It was fully disbursed; the last disbursement took place on February 26, 1990. The Preface, Evaluation Summary and Parts I and III of the PCR were prepared jointly by Unesco (Bureau for Co-ordination of Operational Activities, Operational Policy and Sector Analysis Division) and IDA (Occidental and Central Africa Department, Population and Human Resources Division). Part II was prepared by the Government of Benin (Project Unit). Subsequent to the preparation of this PCR, the comments of the Government of Benin and of the cofinancing agencies (Swiss Development Cooperation and GTZ) on the French version of the PCR were sought by Unesco (July 25, 1990). The Government's comments (cf. Annex 5) were received in September 1990 and have been reflectee In this PCR; no comments have been received from the cofinanciers. Preparation of the PCR began during IDA's final supervision missions in 1988 and 1989. The project completion mission took place from April 21 to May 12, 1990. The PCR is based, inter alia, on the Staff Appraisal Report, the Credit Agreement, the Project Unit's progress reports, IDA supervision reports, correspondence between IDA, the cofinanciers and the Beninese Government, and IDA internal memoranda.  - iii - Proiect Completion Report BENIN Second Education Project (IDA Credit 1246-BEN) EVALUATION SUMMARY Obiectives (sue paras. 1.01, 1.03 and 1.04) 1. The objectives of the project, in line with those of the education sector and with the macroeconomic policy of the National Development Plan, were to improve the quality of primary and lower secondary education with the ultimate object of widening access to the education system, improving its external efficiency and reducing its costs. The Project comprised three components (cf. para. 1.05): (a) Primary and lcrier secondary education: (i) construction, furniture and equipment for three ENIs (teachers colleges). at Lokossa, Natitingou and Parakou, for training about 675 prix@ary sch4ol teachers and 260 lower secondary school teachers annually; (ii) establishment of training programs for ENI students, focussing on the general disciplines at the primary level and the general and vocational disciplines at the lower secondary level; and (iii) about 14 fellowships, equivalent to about 168 training-months, for the Beninese personnel responsible for operation and maintenance of the ENIs. (b) Production and distribution of textbockAs: construction, furniture and equipment for a print shop at Porto-Novo; (ii) construction, furniture and equipment for a central warehouse located near the print shop and six regional warehouses at localities to be agreed upon with IDA; (III) establishment and start-up of a program for printing and distributing about 470.000 textbooks and teaching guides a year; and (iv) about three fellowships, equivalent to 85 staff-months of training abroad, for print shop staff. (c) Proiect manaaement. evaluation and nlanning: (i) strengthening of the Project Unit by improvement of its management, procurement and accounting procedures, supply of additional furniture and equipment, financial assistance for start-up, and about five fellowships, equivalent to 60 staff-months of training, in areas related to project management; (Il) establishment of a system of monitoring and evaluation of  -iv - project activities; and (iii) planning and preparation of future education projects. Implementation Ex_erience ( '. paras. 1.08, 1.09 and 1.10) 2. Substantial variances were noted between planned and actual implementation: (a) the Credit closing was put back a year and physical completion delayed by up to three and a half years (owing essentially to delays in completion of the civil works and project staff training); and (b) total cost exceeded the appraisal estimate by 22Z in US dollar:s equivalent; and (c) the distribution of actual project costs differed from the appraisal estimatea: higher expenditures for equipment. fellowships and operation; lower expenditures for local fees and technical assistance; the distribution of the financing also differed: IDA's share declined from 55 to 46 percent. while that of the Beninese Government rose from 13 to 17 percent. Results (cf. paras. 1.11. 1.12 and 1.13) 3. The project results were achieved only partially: (a) ENIs: (i) the infrastructure and equipment exist but are insufficiently used; (ii) an adequate number of nearby staff residences was not provided; (iii) no maintenance system is as yet in operation; and (iv) the number of teachers trained is still far less than planned (445 instead of 935 at the end of the current school year). (b) Textbooks: (i) the production of manuscripts is still inadequate (12 instead of 36. with only 4 printed); (ii) manufacture is too limited (26,200 copies instead of 470.000); and (iii) a distribution system is not as yet in operation. Sustainabilitv (cf. paras. 1.14 and 1.15) 4. The net project benefits can be expected to increase when (a) the education reform currently under study is implemented, and (b) the official textbook production and distribution policy and strategies are finalized. Pindings and Lessons Learned (po-as. 1.16 through 1.19) (a) The Project was well designed since the components are mutually complementary and respond to the Governmenc's needs and strategies. It was innovative in that (i) it rationalizes  -v teacher training (3 ENIs instead of the previous 6) and made the approach to training more professional; (i) it catered for the training of technical and vocational secondary education teachers; and (iii) it provided linkage between teacher training and textbook production and distribution. However, in the case of the textbooks component, more detailed analysis of the textbooks problem and of the existing publishing and distribution agencies vwould have made it possible to define the content and distribution of each agency's tasks more precisely and to avoid relying on resource-poor and therefore inefficient bureaucratic agencies. (b) Project identification, with IDA assistance, was good, but preparatior. was too hasty on the education side: (i) too little input into the ENI curricula, which ought to have been tailored more closely to the teachers' professional needs, and (ii) too hasty choice of the "printing facility" option. Appraisal rightly diagnosed certain risks, but insufficiently prescribed for minimizing them. The education supervision missions were too few, particularly in the case of agricultural education. The essent4al lesson to be drawn is that a broader, more comprehensive approach to the education system is needed before deciding on the areas of intervention, together with closer and more coherent monitoring of the education aspects during project implementation. (c) The Borrower provided good continuity of the activities, thanks to the stability of the Project Unit, and acted energetically to ensure completion of two ENIs through parallel management of the defaulting contractor (to which two difficult construction contracts had been awarded, despite IDA's recommendation that. having regard to its capacity, it be awarded only one). However, the dispersal of the personnel and powers of the Project Unit among several departments hampered coordination and monitoring of certain activities. The essential lesson to be taken into account in future oparations is therefore the importance of having a coordinating mechanism at an appropriate level of the existing administrative structure.  Proiect Comjletion Report BENIN Second Education Project (IDA Credit 1246-BEN) PART I. REVIEW OF THE PROJECT FROM THE 3ANR'S PERSPECTIVE A. Project Identity Project Name: Second Education Project Credit No.: 1246-BEN RVP Unit: Africa Country: Benin Sector: Education B. Background 1.01 Sectoral develonment goals (Appraisal Report, April 1982). The 1978-80 National Development Plan proposed a strategy based on the decree relating to the 1975 education reform which was geared to the development of primary and technical education and vocational training. The primary education development program comprised (a) provision of additional premises; (b) improvement and expansion of initial and in-service teacher training; and (c) supply to the schools of adapted teaching materials. In addition. the Government wished to develop technical education and vocational training by improving science and mathematics teaching in general secondary schools, and expanding the technical and vocational schools. The Government's strategy aimed at enhancing education quality and efficiency while continuing to widen access to primary education and vocational/technical training. Finally, the Go'ernment sought to reduce the cost of education and diversify its sources of financing. 1.02 Macroeconomic settinx. The medium-term growth prospects justified measured optimism since the National Development Plan looked to average real GNP growth of 5 percent a year from 1981 to 1985. However, a number of sizable risks were anticipated, particularly a slowing of exports and a worsening of the financial situation of the state enterprises. To deal with this situation, the Government adopted as major goals raising agricultural production and exports, and upgrading manpower resources. Benin's active population, estimated in 1980 at 1.5 million (out of a total population of 3.4 million), was employed mainly in the traditional sector (1.4 million); the workforce of the structured modern sector totaled only 60,000. Under-employment and unemployment were very widespread in Benin, which at the same time faced a serious shortage of skilled labor. This shortage was due to the fact that, while the education system trained administrative staff with a wide general education, it neglected vocational training.  - 2 - 1.03 Relationhhips between Droiect Aoals. sectoral goals and macroeconomic policy. The goals of the Project were closely correlated vith those of the sector and of macroeconomic policy as dascribed in paras. 1.01 and 1.02. Quantitativa improvement of the training of primary school and lower secondary school. teachers (the three ENle), *ogether with qualitative it --ement through curriculum reform, strengtheniaig of the scientific and technical areas in the ENIs, and the production of teaching materials for the schools were at the heart of the policy for the sector. Moreover, regrouping teacher training within three ENls, instead of six as before, was expected to help reduce the operating costs of the education system. Ultimately, the pupils were expected to receive a better education, gearec ,re to the scientific and technical subjects, and to be qualified to pursue vocational training, the technical content of which was to help alleviate the scarcity of skilled labor that was limiting the developtuent of the national economy. C. Proiect Objectives and Description 1.04 The main objective of the Project was to improve the quality of primary and lower secondary education by increasing the number of qualified teachers and available textbooks for those education levels, with the object of helping, in the longer run, to resolve the problems of access to education, of its external efficiency (through better preparation for active life) and of its costs (by reducing dropout and repeater rates). Finally, the increase in the number of teachers in the vocational disciplines - agricultural and technical - was intended to make it possible to train a labor force better prepared for the needs of the labor market. 1.05 Proiect components (a) Primary and lower general secondary (level 1) (i) construction, furniture, equipment and about 6 months of procurement specialists' services for three ENIs (teachers colleges), at Lokossa, Natitingou and Parakou, for training about 675 primary school teachers and 260 lover secondary school teachers annually; (ii) establishment of training programs for ENI students, focussing on general disciplines at the primary level and general and vocational disciplines at the lower secondary level, including about 40 months of specialists' services; and (iii) about 14 fellowships, equivalent to about 168 months of training abroad for the Beninese personnel responsible for operation and maintenance of the EN1s, and about 6 months of maintenance specialists' services. (b) Textbook Droduction and distribution (i) construction, furniture and equipment for a print shop at Porto-Novo;  -3- (ii) construction, furniture and equipment for a central warehouse located near the print shop and six regional warehouses at localities to be agreed upon with IDA; (iii) establishment and start-up of a program for printing and distributing about 470,000 textbooks and teaching guides a year; and (iv) about 166 months of specialists' services and about three fellowships, equivalent to 85 months of training abroad for print shop staff. (c) Project management. evaluation and planning (i) strengthening of the Project Unit: improvement of its management, procurement and accounting procedures, supply of additional furniture and equipment, financial assistance for start-up, about 162 months of specialista' services and about five fellowships, equivalent to 60 months of training abroad in areas related to project management; (ii) establishment of a system of monitoring and evaluation of project activities, including about 9 months of specialists' services; and (iii) planning and preparation of future projects in the education sector, including about 12 months of specialists' servi_es. D. Prolect Design and Orfanization 1.06 The Project was well designed in tnat the three components were mutually complementary and responded to the Government's education development requirements and strategies. The projection of execution ove. five years (1982- 87) was reasonable. However, in the case of the Textbooks Production and Distribution component, more detailed analysis of the textbooks problem-from manuscript design aLd drafting to use of the textbooks in class-and of the existing publishing and distribution structures would have made it possible (a) to define the content of essential tasks such as publishing and distributiont (b) to assess the reliability of the agencies responsible for these functions; and (c) to foresee in greater detail how these activities would turn out and thereby avoid the tensions between the manuscript preparation and publishing agency-the National Education Training and Research Institute (INFRE)--and the production and distribution agency-the National Textboki Production Center (CNPMS). 1.07 The Project has the merit of being innovative in that, for the first time, (a) the training of primary and lower secondary teachers is professionalized (practical courses linked to theoretical instruction) and rationalized (regrouping of the former six training centers int3 three functionally designed and equipped ENIs), and (b) provision is included for  - 4 - training technical and vocational secondary education teachers (at the Lokossa ENI). It also has the merit that it links teacher training closely to the production and distribution of teaching materials. The coherence of the training could have been improved by including systematic in-service training for the ENLI teachers and also giving attention to that of administrators, inspectors, teaching counsellors and primary and lower secondary school instructors (mattres d'annlication). E. Project Implementation 1.08 Project components (cf. para. 1.05 above) have been mostly implemented with, however, the following most critical variances between planned and actual implementation: (a) duration: Credit closing was extended by one year and physical completion was extended by up to three and a half years (cf. Part III, Section 2 and Annex 1), owing to delays in (i) effectiveness of the Credit Agreement; (ii) finalization of a parallel cofinancing agreement; (iii) architectural studies; (iv) awarding certain works, goods and services contractst (v) execution of some of these contracts (particularly those for civil worke on the Natitingou and Parakou ENls); and, consequently, (vi) disbursement of the Credit Proceeds (cf. Part III, Section 3). Project Completion, which was originally scheduled for December 1987, is expected to be achieved in June 1991. (b) cost, which exceeded the appraisal estimate (by 22 percent in US dollar equivalent and 45 percent in ClAF equivalent), the difference being covered by the favorable variation in the exchange rates and an increase (of 60 percent in US dollar equivalent and 90 percent in ClAP equivalent) in Government financing (cf. Part III. para. 5 and Annex 2). (c) distribution of costs (i) among certain expenditure categories (higher than projected for furniture, equipment, fellowships and operating expenses; lower for local professional fees and specialists' services); and (ii) among financing sources: IDA's share declined from 55 to 46 percent, while that of the Beninese Government rose from 13 to 17 percent, in US dollar equivalent (Cf. Part III, Section 5). 1.09 (a) The most serious time overrun, concerning construction of the Natitingou and Parakou ENLIs (5-1/2 years instead of 2-1/2). could have bean avoided if the Goverment had not insisted on awarding both contracts tc. the same contractor, even though IDA had expressed doubt about the contractor's ability to handle both contre.cts and had recommended that it be awarded only one of them.  -5- (b) The cost overrun, resulting mainly from inflation, would have been reduced by a more timely implementation. (c) During project implementation, IDA agreed to the Government's proposals to (i) reduce the number of fellowships for training abroad and to increase local training (cf. Annex 4); (11) include local upgrading of school directors and administrators (cf. Annex 4); (iii) increase the financing of operating costs to ensure basic operation of ENIs and project completiong and (iv) reduce the number of staff-years of specialists' services (cf. Annex 3). 1.10 Those Project risks that were foreseen at appraisal were accurately identified, but others were missed, including the followings (a) the difficulty in recruiting a staff adequately trained, in academic and teaching terms, for the teacher training role in the ENIs; (b) the limitations of INFRE, which was not able to produce all the manuscripts provided for (in retrospect, it might have been better to have set up a private publishing house and given it the opportunity to carry out manuscript preparation, publishing and distribution); (c) delays in finalizing the Government-GTZ agreement; (d) coordination problems between the two education ministries (MIMI and MEMGTP, then HEMS); and (e) the deterioration of the financial situation. F. Proiect Results 1.11 The project objectives were achieved only partially. The infrastructures and equipment exist, although the need for minor complements wee identified by the last supervision mission at the Natitingou and Parakou ENIs, for which the Government has sought the Swiss Development Cooperation' a agreement to use the small uncommitted balance of their cofinancing Fund, (cf. Part III-5.C thereafter); but the system does not operate as foreseen at appraisal. The goals did not change during executiton except as regards textbook distribution policy (cf. para. 1. 13). The lack of adequate staff housing at affordable prices does not alter the purposes of the ENIs, but it may hamper staff availability, motivation and efficiency. 1.12 The ENIs are not meeting the target in terms of number of teachers trained per year, owing to the cumulative effect of the following factors: (a) inadequate level of the crndU.dates presenting themselves for entry examination;  -6- (b) the need to avoid taking teachers away from the classrooms for this two to three year training period; (c) the availability to the teachers of a shorter way of obtaining the Teaching Certificate (CAP); such as education by correspondence, three weeks of seminars, and inspection of job performance; and (d) inadequate number of candidateo for the technical, agricultural and home economics disciplines. 1.13 Moreover, -...r quality of the training is affected by: (a) insA -.e craining-academic and professional--of the teacher t+- t staff, who are not always able to integrate the sv-%Aehi. :.-aching materials into the courses, and these courses remain tco academic; (b) inadequate support staff for the assembly and maintenance of these materials; (c) insufficiently rigorous equipment maintenance; and (d) difficulty in finding trained instructors to supervise the teaching practice of the trainees. 1.14 The Project is nevertheless beginning to have an impact, since the school inspectors consider the new ENI graduates to be of a higher academic and professional caliber than the earlier graduates from the six provincial primary teacher training colleges. The new premises provide a functional physical setting and, when the equipment installed becomes fully operational, will furnish a favorable training environment. 1.15 Textbook production and distribution are behind schedule in terms of both numbers of textbooks and pace of operation. The shortfall in numbers between projected and actual production is explained by the following factors: (a) the parallel cofinancing agreement between the Government and GTZ was signed with a three to four year delay; (b) not enough manuscripts are available; (c) distribution is not operational, owing to weakness of the INERE/DPE (Provincial Education Directorates) network, the slow start-up of the bookstores network, and the failure to make teachers and parents adequately aware of the importance of using the books; (d) the publishing policy of the MEMS, which has not used the services of the CNPMS; and  -7- (e) the fall in parents' purchasing power due to Benin's economic and social situation. 1.16 Of the 36 manuscripts to be furnished by INFRE. only 12 have been given to the printer and only 4 printed. The others are in preparation or are with the authors for correction. A total of seven titles have been produced, i.e. 26,200 books, of which 7,300 have been sold and 18.900 are still in stock. Only one primary school textbook has been produced by INFRE and printed by CNPMS, because the former MEMB (Ministry of Pre-Primary and Primary Education) preferred to pursue its collaboration with the French publishers rather than entrust manufacture of books to CNPMS. Sale to parents is therefore not yet in full swing, despite the recent setting-up of a distribution network by the bookstores (31 points of sale in the cities). The regional distribution network (INFRE/DPE) is not functioning either. The planned six provincial warehouses have not been built, since CNPMS has changed its distribution policy, giving preference to the private bookstores network. G. Prolect Sustainabilitv 1.17 The net benefits already in place (premises, equipment, and textbook production structure) should not only be sustained, but can be expected to increase when: (a) under the education reform currently under study, more flexible and operational agencies are set up and a start has been made on more systematic training of all staff of the Ministry of National Education (MEN), which has now absorbed the former HEMB and MEMS; and (b) MEN has finalized and implemented its textbook production and distribution policy and strategies. 1.18 The slowness in setting up the building and equipment maintenance systems could have an eventual negative impact on the outcome of the Project. The attention of the authorities should be drawn to this point to ensure that conserving the existing assets through proper maintenance is given high priority in national education policy. The reform of the education structure currently planned should lead to the installation of a rational system and a limited, but competent and motivated staff. In the longer run the Project will be an additional factor in facilitating the implementation of that reform. H. IDA Performance 1.19 Strengths and weaknesses (a) While identification of the Project went forward correctly. there was inadequate preparation of the education aspects. At project preparation, there should have been more attention paid by IDA to ensuring that the ENI curricula were geared more closely to.the teachers' real needs and basing them less on a  university type of course. This would have avoided a training course that was too long, too costly and insufficiently relevant to the needs of the classroom. Concerning the textbooks component, it is not c3ear that the prior technical and economic studies were sufficiently detailed and adequately controlled to provide a basis for (i) choosing between the options of setting up a printing facility and having the books printed abroad by international tender; or (ii) tailoring the print shop capacity to the size of the country, bearing in mind that it was originally intended to serve national rather than regional needs. At appraisal, risks other than those listed above (cf. para. 10) were correctly identified, and certain measures were appropriately included in the project; however, these measures proved insufficient to prevent the foreseen risks linked to lack of experience in training technical teachers, in operating a full-scale textbook production unit, and in managing large. widely dispersed civil works. (b) During implementation of the Project, the recommendation by IDA to use the letters of credit procedure helped to sustain the Government's efforts to restart and complete the construction of two ENIs (Natitingou and Parakou). The supervision missions on the education aspects, relevant as they were, were neither sufficiently frequent and regular, nor performed with the necessary personnel continuity to redress the situation. Technical and vocational-particularly agricultural-education does not seem to have been monitored closely, otherwise the appropriate conclusions would have been drawn from the poor performance of the Level 2 Agricultural Vocational Institute (CPA) and the failure to set up the three Level 1 CPAs. These training streams needed to have been reorganized in the ENIs accordingly (cf. para. 1.12 (d) above and Part 111-7. Covenant reference 4.08). 1.20 Lessons (a) Local constraints should be fully analysed and reflected in project design; (b) In implementing a project of this type, the approach to the training agencies, curricula and methodologies needs to be widened to consider the whole of the education system to ensure that the areas of project intervention selected dovetail properly with the system. (c) Closer and more coherent monitoring by IDA of the education aspects during implementation would also be desirable, together with IDA's active participation in preparation of decisions on the Project, such as the formulation of training strategies and preparation of curricula.  -9- I. Borrower Performance 1.21 Strengths and weaknesses (a) Stable staffing at management level resulted in continuity beneficial to the Project, and the financial audits recognized that the Project had been properly managed. The Project Unit monitored the architectural studies extremely well and later energetically conducted parallel management of a defaulting contractor to ensure completion of two ENIs. However, the dispersal of the personnel and other powers of the Project Unit among several departments (Education - two Ministries -. Public Works, and Planning) hampered coordination by the PU of certain activities, particularly (i) technical supervision of civil works for the two ENIs that fell behind schedule, and (ii) supervision of equipment acceptance, which was not always coordinated enough (for example, the mission noted the absence of certain connection components of the audiowisual equipment which is currently preventing assembly and utilization of the closed circuit TV and the audio channels for training). (b) Another weakness was that there was insufficient innovation in the design of teacher training in the ENIs. A training system should have been proposed which, unlike the traditional university course, was (i) better rooted in the pedagogical needs at the classroom level, and (ii) organized in such a way that a large number of teachers could benefit from short- duration training and thereby contribute significantly to improving the entire education system. Adequate account w.-, not taken in formulating the ENI training strategies of the country's true financial capabilities. This led to operating bottlenecks (personnel resources in particular, though properly deployed, fall short of needs in the present training structure). (c) The Borrower did not honor all of the obligations entered into in the Credit Agreement, mainly due to inadequate financial resources (qualitative and quantitative improvement of agricultural education; adequate number of staff residences near the ENls; and suitable resources for the operation and maintenance of the ENIs). (d) Finally, the choice of the construction contractor for two ENIs failed to take account of probable capacity constraints. 1.22 Lessons (a) The creation of free standing project units outside the Government's normal administrative structure should in most cases be avoided, as it is both difficult and, in the long run,  - 10 - undesirable to grant such units appropriate authority to coordinate project operations and handle contingencies vis-a-vis the national administration. Because they circumvent the Government's normal decision making process, the creation of separate ad hoc project units does not sufficiently contribute to long term institutional development. Operational schemes for project management must be designed to allow investments to be managed within an institution's existing or revised administrative structure, with appropriate autonomy granted to the responsible units to enable them to carry out their project management responsibilities. Furthermore, the experience of this project, in which four ministries were involved, demonstrates the importance of having some coordinating mechanism at an appropriate high level so that problems of weak performance could be dealt with. (b) Insufficient determination of whether the bidder whose bid has been evaluated the lowest has the capability and resources effectively to carry out the contract concerned, as provided for in IDA procurement guidelines, may prove extremely costly. J. Proiect RelationshiRs 1.23 Relations between IDA and the Borrower were positive throughout the Project and their joint efforts enabled them to overcome the difficulties encountered and in particular to resume and complete certain construction works. 1.24 Cooperation between IDA and the cofinancing agencies--Swiss Development Cooperation and GTZ-was good in both Project preparation and implementation (visits to headquarters or local field offices, announcement of missions, communication of mission reports, exchange of correspondence and advice or approval requests). The Swiss contribution was administered by IDA, as agreed. K. Contracted Services 1.25 Architectural services. The system of association with an experienced consultant instituted for the design of the first ENI provided an opportunity for young Beninese architects to receive advanced training before assuming responsibility for the other construction designs under the Project, at the cost of doubling the projected time needed for the ENI studies. The fact that designing the printing facility took nearly five times as long as planned was due mainly to the time taken to work up the agreement with GTZ, which moreover had its own consultants supervise finalization of the architectural studies and the works. Apart from a few technical details, the architectural design work was correctly carried out. 1.26 Construction contractors. Of the contractors retained after international prequalification, only the one responsible for the Natitingou and Parakou ENIs failed to perform its contract regularly. apparently owing to management difficulties. The substantial delay led the Administration to ensure  - 11 - first restarting of these two project items by undertaking parallel management of the defaulting contractor, then their completion on force account, at the end of the Project. 1.27 Equipment and furniture suDoliers. Fol'lowing international or local competitive bidding, or comparison of at least three price quotations, as agreed, goods were generally delivered in conformity with the contractual specifications and delivery dates. 1.28 Technical assistance (specialists' services and training). The technical assistance specialists who participated in the preparation and implementation of the Project cooperated properly with the Borrower and made positive contributions. It is regrettable that the technical education specialist's services provided for helping develop curricula and start-up teacher training at ENI, Lokossa (30 months) was not used, and that the pedagogical adviser was not involved at the time of preparation of the curricula and teaching strategy (perhaps because of excessive confidence on the part of the government authorities in the schemes drawn up; cf. also Part III, Section 7, Reference to Covenawnt 4.01 (e)). L. Prolect Documentation and Data 1.29 Overall, the legal agreements (cf. Part III - 7) were appropriate, particularly those that were only partly respected, such as (a) availability of housing near the ENIs (the inadequacy of which is effectively hampering the current operation of the ENIs, even though they are not yet operating at full capacity); (b) expansion and upgrading of agricultural training (the weakness of which is one of the causes of the difficulties in developing the agriculture program at the Lokossa ENI); and (c) operation and maintenance (which are only partially assured for the ENIs). On the other hand, it was perhaps unrealistic to envisage the transfer--from the provincial ENIs, after they were closed, to the new ENIs--of unsuitable curricula, inadequately qualified staff and obsolete equipment (a transfer that was in the event minimal). Moreover, it would have been better if IDA had not waited until 1984 to draw the Government's attention to discrepancies between the French translation of the Credit Agreement, which it was using, and the English (and officially valid) text, even if no serious misunderstanding appears to have resulted. 1.30 rhe Appraisal Report constituted a useful framework for monitoring implementation of the Project. However, the sharp reduction in the number of annexes and the difficulty in reading some of them (particularly the summary of specialist services) sometimes necessitated, for both the PU and IDA, longer research within the "working papers" and other preparation documentation. 1.31 The mission obtained most of the data required for preparation of the Project Completion Report from the Project Unit, the ENI principals' offices, and CNPMS management. Data collection, however, was sometimes long and difficult; it is therefore recommended that properly organized and up to date files be maintained in the future.  - 13 - PART II. REVIEW OF THE PROJECT FROM THE BORROWER'S PERSPECTIVE (1Naiies of Contractors, Specialists and IDA Staff have been deleted by IDA) A. Introduction 2.01 This report examines the execution of the Second Education Project. the purpose of which was to build and equip three Teachers Colleges (ENls) at Lokossa, Parakou and Natitingou and a teaching materials printing facility at Porto-Novo. 2.02 The cost of the Project. CFAP 9,900 million, was financed jointly as follow8s CFAF Million Teachers Colleges IDA Credit 5,075 Swiss Governemnt Grant 1.331 Benin 1,919 Teaching Materials Printing Facility FIG Government Grant 1,575 9.900 ..... 2.03 Management of the Sw'ss contribution was entrusted to IDA. 2.04 The agreement between Benin and IDA was signed on June 25, 1982. It was ratified by Decree no. 82-266 of August 6, 1982 and published in the Official Gazette (Journal Officiel) of the People's Republic of Benin on August 8, 1982. 2.05 The convention between Benin and the Swiss Confederation was signed on August 1, 1982. 2.06 The arrangement between Benin and the Federal Republic of Germany was entered into in February 1986. 2.07 Closure of the IDA credit and the Swiss contribution took place on June 30, 1989, i.e. one year after the originally scheduled date. 2.08 The amounts were fully committed. The Project was completed overall 12 months late.  - 14 - 2.09 The Teachers Colleges were designed to train primary school teachers and lower general and technical secondary education teachers. 2.10 The basic design is that of professionalized schools devoted primarily to initial training and in-service training. 2.11 Recruitment level initially adopted: (a) primary teachers: BEPC (lower secondary school certificate) + 1 year of JIR (b) secondary teachers: BAC (upper secondary school certificate) + competition 2.12 Recruitment level adopted on opening of the schools: (a) asst. primary teachers: BEPC + average 4 yearsservice (b) primary teachers: BAC + average 4 years service (c) secondary teachers: BAC + average 4 years service 2.13 Duration of training: (a) primary teachers: 1 year academic + 1 year practical training (b) asst. primary teachers: 2 years academic + 1 year practical training (c) secondary teachers: 2 years academic + 1 year practical training 2.14 Salient facts. The Project was based on the conclusions drawn from all the studies geared to implementation of Education Reform in the People's Republic of Benin. 2.15 These studies demonstrated that the expected changes in the new education system could not come to pass without furnishing training, providing qualified teachers, and making high-quality textbooks available to students and teachers cheaply and in sufficient quantity. 2.16 The Project was dssigned to meet basic and urgent needs of the education sector, characterized by a scarcity of qualified teachers. It would at the same time enhance the impact of the efforts accomplished by the Government and all users of the education system to help improve the design of coherent education policies and strategies. 2.17 The Credit became effective on March 17, 1983. It was closed on June 30. 1989, following one postponement of the Closing Date. This delay made it possible to execute certain supplemental works recognized as essential to optimum completion of the ENIs.  - 15 - 2.18 The credit lines were distributed as follows: Category Description IDA + Benin Swiss Gvt. 1 Civil Works 662 34Z 2 Equipment and Furniture 1002 - 3 Feas of Local Experts 1002 - 4 Technical Assistance 1002 - 5 Training Fellowships 1002 - 6 Project Management 802 202 2.19 The Project was fully implemented, in conformity with the Credit Agreement, without exceeding the estimated total of SDR 12.2 million. 2.20 Although the physical elements were completed 12 months late, they conform to the final designs for each Project component. All cost overruns were absorbed, thanks to the continuous rise in the value of the SDR in relation to the CFA franc. 2.21 The civil works component accounted for the greater part of the delay and led to postponement of the Closing Date of the IDA credit and Swiss contribution. Execution Delays in Relation to Contracts iNI Contract Contractor's Delay Deadline Execution Tlime Likossa 18 months 21 months 3 months Parakou 18 months 59 months 41 months in Oct. 1989 Natitingou 16 months 60 months 44 months in Oct. 1989 2.22 Construction of the Lokossa ENI by one contractor presented no major problems. However, the same cannot be said of the Parakou and Natitingou ENIe. The contractor did not give full satisfaction, for organizational reasons internal to the firm. Despite all the offorts made by the Project Management and the Administration to help the firm, enormous difficulties had to be overcome. The contractor found it extremely difficult to adjust to a rational work tempo.  - 16 - 2.23 Anxious to avoid cancellation of the contract, the cost and repercussions of which would be extremely heavy, the Administration called on the firm to honor its comitments. Hundreds of meetings of every kind were hold in an effort to avoid the worst. Despite all this, and despite all its promises, unacceptable delays transpired. Penalties were applied in order to motivate the contractor, but to no avail. 2.24 Despite all this, the Administration was compelled to relieve the firm of responsibility for the ENI works and have them completed on force account supervised by the Parakou and Natitingou Provincial Public Works Directorate. 2.25 At a higher level, the firm's unacceptable defaults compelled the Government to take draconian measures concerning it. 2.26 This firm is no longer authorized to bid on any civil works in Benin until further notice. 2.27 During execution of the Project all the civil works took place under the supervision of the Director, Urban Planning and Housing (Ministry of Public Works and Transportation), Deputy Director of the Project. 2.28 The works to be completed on supervised force account concerns (a) a few small works at Natitingou; (b) the supplementary works at Parakou and Natitingou. 2.29 The Administration regards these works as very important for optimum completion of the ENIs. 2.30 Upon provisional acceptance, despite the country's economic difficulties, the Government opened the three ENTs. The first class graduated from the Parakou and Natitingou ENIs in 1989. 2.31 The economic difficulties, which have thrown the education sector out of -ear, compelled the Lokossa ENI Administration to defer formation of the first class. B. Protect Prenaration 2.32 The Project was IDA's first operation of this size in the formal education sector in Benin. 2.33 In February 1980, the Government of Benin requested World Bank financial assistance in setting up infrastructures for training teaching staff in the following localitiess - Natitingou - Parakou - Lokossa  - 17 - 2.34 Each of the three ENIs was meant to specialize in a precise type of training: llatitingous training of secondary school humanities teachers and primary school teachers; Parakout training of secondary school science teachers and assistant primary teachers; Lokossa: training of secondary school technical, science, humanities, home economics, agriculture teachers and assistant primary school teachers. 2.35 The appraisal mission arrived in 1982. 2.36 The Government of the People's Republic of Benin was the Borrower. The former MEMGPT, now HEMS, was the Project Principal (Ma