China - Teacher Training Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY ReportNo. 14071-CHA IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT CHINA TEACHER TRAINING PROJECT (CREDIT 1908-CHA) MARCH 14, 1995 Poverty, Population and Human Resources Operations Division Country Department II (China and Mongolia) 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 mav not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Currency Name - Renminbi Currency Unit - Yuan (Y) At Appraisal - $1 = Y 3.7 At Completion - $1 = Y 8.5 FISCAL YEAR January 1 - December 31 ACADEMIC YEAR September 1 - June 30 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AAPRC - Audit Administration of the People's Republic of China CNTIC - China National Technical Import Corporation ETS - Effective Teaching Services Project, ETV - Educational Television FILO - Foreign Investment and Loan Office ICB - International Competitive Bidding ICR - Implementation Completion Report IOE - Institute of Education JUN - Junior Normal College LCB - Local Competitive Bidding MOF - Ministry of Finance NU - Normal College PBOE - Provincial Bureau of Education PIO - Project Implementation Office SEdC - State Education Commission SOE - Statement of Expenses SPC - State Planning Commission TA - Technical Assistance UBE - Universal Basic Education  FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT CEHINA TEACHER TRAINING PROJECT (CREDIT 1908-CHA) CONTENTS P reface .....................................................i Evaluation Summary .................................................... Ui PART I: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ASSESSMENT Project Objectives .................................................... 1 Achievement of Project Objectives .....................................................4 Implementation Record and Major Factors Affecting the Project ............................................ 6 Project Sustainability ....................................................7 Bank Group Performance .....................................................8 Borrower Performance .....................................................8 Assessment of Outcome ....................................................9 Future Operation .....................................................9 Lessons Learned .....................................................9 PART Il: STATISTICAL INFORMATION Table 1: Summary of Assessments .................................................... 11 Table 2: Related Bank Loans/Credits .................................................... 12 Table 3: Project Timetable .................................................... 13 Table 4 Loan/Credit Disbursements: Cumulative Estimated and Actual ................................. 13 Table 5: Key Indicators for Project Implementation ............................... ..................... 14 Table 6: Studies Included in Project .................................................... 15 Table 7(A): Project Costs .................................................... 16 Table 7(B): Project Financing .................................................... 16 Table 8: Status of Legal Covenants .................................................... 17 Table 9: Bank Resources: Staff Inputs .................................................... 17 Table 10: Bank Resources: Missions ..8............................................... I ANNEXES: Mission's Aide-Memoire .................................................... 19 Borrower Contribution to the ICR .................................................... 24 Borrower's Operation Plan .................................................... 26 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.   -i- IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT CHINA TEACIIER TRAINING PROJECT (CREDIT 1908-CHA) PREFACE This is the Implementation Completion Report (ICR) for the Teacher Training Project for which Credit 1908-CHA in the amount of SDR 36.8 million or $50.0 million equivalent was approved on May 24, 1988 and closed on December 31, 1993 without any extension of the original closing date. The last disbursement was made on December 15, 1993 and the total disbursements were 100 percent of the credit amount. The ICR was prepared by Sandra Erb under the supervision of Hena Mukherjee, EA2HR, of the East Asia Region and reviewed by V-may Bhargava, Division Chief, and Zafar Khan, Acting Project Advisor. The borrower provided comments that are included as an appendix to the ICR. Preparation of this ICR was begun during the Bank's final supervision/completion mission September 12 through October 14, 1994. It is based on materials in the project files as well as those received during the completion mission. The borrower participated in preparation of the ICR by contributing views reflected in the October 12, 1994 project completion mission Aide Memoire, preparing their own evaluation of the project's execution and preparation and commenting on the draft ICR.   IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT CHINA TEACHER TRAINING PROJECT (CREDIT 1908-CHA) EVALUATION SUMMARY 1. Objectives. In 1984, the Government of China stepped up its 1979 reform agenda by adopting a plan that emphasized systemic reforms of education and training to develop China's human capital potential. This was followed up by a May 1985 "Decision on Reform of the Education Structure," which called for, inter alia, universalizing nine years of basic education and strengthening education management at all levels. In 1986, the Government passed the "Compulsory Education Law" under which nine-year Universal Basic Education (UBE) was to be achieved by the year 2000. While universal schooling at the primary level had already reached 96 percent m 1986, at the lower secondary level (grades 7-9), the gross rate was only 52 percent. Therefore, to achieve lUBE the Government planned to increase the number of lower secondary school teachers from 2.2 million in 1985 to 3.1 million in the year 2000. Moreover, to achieve a fully qualified teaching force, the teacher training system was to provide inservice training to massive numbers of unqualified lower secondary school teachers already teaching (and not possessing the required academic qualification of 2-3 years of post-secondary education). The 1.6 million unqualified teachers constituted an overwhelming 73 percent of the lower secondary school teaching force and, therefore, the most urgent task was to provide inservice training for the teachers. 2. The project supported the Government's efforts to achieve UBE by expanding and upgrading inservice training of lower secondary school teachers with an emphasis on improvement in the quality of teachers and on institution building. To achieve this goal, the project sought to: (a) assist 16 provincial and 52 prefectural institutes of education (lOEs) by expanding and improving their capability to meet the urgent demand for qualified lower secondary teachers; (b) assist three municipal IOEs (Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin) in becoming information clearinghouses on teacher training curriculum, methodology and materials as well as monitoring and evaluation centers on key issues in teacher training; and (c) improve the capability of the central State Education Commission (SEdC) and the local authorities to manage the teacher training system. Project inputs included construction of facilities and provision of equipment, books, teaching materials and technical assistance (TA) to improve system management. 3. The education objectives to be achieved were to: (a) alleviate the existing inequality of trainee participation among provinces by setting aside 50 to 100 student places each year for  _ iii _ training teachers from disadvantaged provinces in the residential programs of the more developed provincial IOEs; (b) gradually raise the teaching load of IOE faculty members by 50 percent from 4 to 8 hours per week to about 6 to 12 hours; (c) revise the IOE curricula in order to prepare lower secondary school teachers to teach two subjects instead of one; and (d) raise female participation in inservice lower secondary teacher training. 4. Implementation Experience and Results. During the five-year project implementation period, overall implementation of the project was satisfactory. The total credit amount of SDR 36.8 million ($50 million equivalent) was disbursed, and the indicators to monitor overall progress under the project were met or exceeded. Actual enrollments in the IOEs increased 268 percent over the original target at appraisal, although the original target was for residential programs only, while actual enrollments reflected: (a) less residential training; (b) less training for qualification, though this kind of training is still important; (c) more inservice upgrading and continuing education; and (d) more special courses for administrators. While these changes make comparisons difficult, they represent growth in response to the demands placed on the IOEs and their fiexibility in dealing with the evolving policy framework within which they operate. 5. The majority of project funds (87 percent) were spent on construction of facilities, equipment and books, and, in general, these items were put to good use. Civil works construction was completed by the end of 1993. While the quality of construction seemed good, some of the facilities are beginning to show signs of wear from normal use. In order to sustain this investment, Provincial Bureaus of Education will need to pay particular attention to the maintenance of facilities constructed under the project. To address this issue, SEdC with the assistance of the Provinces will provide a budget allocation for maintenance of all facilities and equipment as indicated in the Operation Plan outline (Annex C). 6. The equipment and books purchased assisted the IOEs to offer all or almost all SEdC- prescribed science experiments (minimum-level science experiments related to specific grade-level curricula), improve computer literacy and enhance the libraries. The IOEs also achieved somewhat higher levels of utilization of libraries and laboratories, with average weekly library hours increasing from 41 to 56 and laboratory hours from 13 to 30. Despite these improvements, there is still a need to increase utilization of libraries and equipment, particularly those of correspondence IOEs, by, for example, offering day and evening adult training courses in foreign language and computer applications. 7. To improve the quality of faculty, one of the major project goals, more than 6,000 teachers and staff were trained in-country and more than 200 sent abroad. The large numbers of newly trained faculty and staff have undoubtedly contributed to improving faculty qualifications. However, the institutes have not capitalized on the training received by staff members upon their return. Institutional staff development plans should promote the use of 11 newly trained faculty and staff as resource persons to train other staff. This issue was taken into consideration in the subsequent Bank-supported Effective Teaching Services Project (Cr. 2471-CHA, approved on  - iv- March 16, 1993), which established a Chinese experts panel that is working with the teacher training institutes to promote the use of their newly trained faculty as resource persons. 8. Training for students from remote areas was also increased. Twenty-two of the IOEs adopted innovative methods for improving the intake of students from poor and minority areas, and some initiatives have been disseminated throughout China. In addition, experience gained in this area was reflected in the second teacher training project, which has an innovation program to encourage more work in this area. 9. The project also achieved somewhat higher levels of female participation by increasing enrollment in inservice lower secondary teacher training from 27 percent to an average of approximately 42 percent. It will, however, be difficult for IOEs to continue this trend because they draw their trainees from Lower Middle School teachers and, since the percentage of women is still low among that group, there is a built-in upper limit to how many women IOEs will be able to enroll in the future. 10. During the project, IOE and Project Implementation Office (PIO) staff received extensive administrative training in order to improve the management capability of the project implementing units and the teacher training system. Although the training provided was effective, planning capabilities are still weak. The provincial offices need to have a better understanding of and control over the existing teacher stock, the need for new teachers, inflow of teachers from preservice training, newly qualified teachers from inservice training and outflow from the profession. As the teacher information system in the follow-on project becomes operational, the Provinces' staff planning capabilities should improve. 11. Another goal of the project was to create a permanent network of professional support to teacher training by using the advanced Municipal IOEs of Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin to disseminate information and best practices to other IOEs. The permanent national role of the Municipal IOEs was never realized, probably due to the absence of linkages between the Municipal and other IOEs to encourage communication of new ideas. Lines of institutional interaction are vertical rather than horizontal and, without putting a horizontal mechanism in place, it is difficult for dissemination activities to proceed. 12. As a result, the findings of three studies conducted by the Municipal IOEs under the project were never disseminated. These studies were in the areas of cost effectiveness of alternative delivery systems including residential, commuter and correspondence/television programs; dual subject teachers and the cost effectiveness of such teachers in rural schools; and methods of increasing female participation in the teacher training system. However, activities being financed by the ongoing Effective Teacher Services Project, particularly its innovation program and Chinese Experts Panel, provide opportunities to build an IOE network and improve dissemination through that network. 13. Summary of Findings, Future Operations and Key Lessons Learned. The overall Project outcome is rated as satisfactory. Of the three project goals, the first (strengthening IOEs)  was fUlly met, the second (creating IOE networks) was marginally achieved, and the third (improving management) was satisfactorily met. Many IOEs developed creative mechanisms for dealing with the issue of inequality, they introduced dual subject teaching, raised female participation, and improved efficiencies in some areas. Since experiences gained under this first teacher training project were reflected in the follow-up projects, the results have been positive. The second project is building on these experiences by providing funds through an innovation program to encourage colleges and institutes to continue their creative approaches to dealing with difficult issues such as female participation, dual subject teaching, etc. 14. The main lessons learned from the project experience are: (a) horizontal dissemination of good practices even within the same type of institutional structure (IOE network) is very difficult and future projects need to incorporate design improvements recognizing structural compartmentalization within the system and dealing with the problem; (b) likewise, future projects need to be better designed to facilitate the dissemination of new ideas and practice within institutions, taking advantage of the rich experience of returning (project- supported) faculty from abroad. To enhance and sustain the project's development impact, it is recommended that the implementing agencies incorporate the following suggested actions in their Operation Plan: 3 develop a plan for further increases in utilization of libraries and equipment. For instance, IOEs could offer day and evening adult training courses in foreign languages and computer applications; - design institutional staff development plans that promote the use of newly trained faculty and staff as resource persons to train other staff, - develop a plan to train provincial education staff in the area of teacher demand and supply so as to improve management of the teacher training process; a design an information or education network for dissemination of new ideas and materials; and * develop regular maintenance programs for facilities constructed and equipment procured under the project.  - 1 - IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT CHINA TEACHER TRAINING PROJECT (CREDIT 1908-CHA) PART L PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ASSESSMENT Project Identity Project name : Teacher Training Project Credit No. : 1908-CHA Country China Sector : Education Subsector Teacher Education A. PROJECT OBJECTrVES 1. Project Objectives and Scope. The project sought to support the Government's efforts to achieve Universal Basic Education (UBE) by expanding and upgrading inservice training of lower secondary school teachers with an emphasis on improvement in the quality of teachers and on institution building. To achieve this goal, the project set out to: (a) assist 16 provincial and 52 prefectural institutes of education (IOEs) by expanding and improving their capability to meet the urgent demand for qualified lower secondary teachers; (b) assist three municipal IOEs (Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin) in becoming information clearinghouses on teacher training curriculum, methodology and materials as well as monitoring and evaluation centers on key issues in teacher training; and (c) improve the capability of the State Education Commission (SEdC) and local authorities to manage the teacher training system. Project inputs included construction of facilities and provision of equipment, books, teaching materials and technical assistance (TA) to improve system management. 2. The project development impact indicators' were to: (a) alleviate the existing inequality of trainee participation among provinces by setting aside each year 50 to 100 student places for lProject development indicators have been extracted from the text of the Staff Appraisal Report and reviewed during the ICR mission.  training teachers from disadvantaged provinces in the residential programs of the more developed provincial IOEs; (b) gradually raise the teaching load of IOE faculty members by 50 percent from 4 to 8 hours per week to about 6 to 12 hours; (c) revise the IOE curricula in order to prepare lower secondary school teachers to teach two subjects instead of one; and (d) raise female participation in inservice lower secondary teacher training. 3. Sector Development Objectives. At the time of appraisal, the Bank Group's lending strategy consisted of three lines of action: (a) develop technical and vocational education to increase the supply of technicians and skilled workers; (b) strengthen the education of teachers and administrators and improve the quality of teaching materials and management in basic education; and (c) expand higher education, aiming to improve both quality and management to provide more high level manpower. 4. In early projects, the Bank Group focused on the development of higher education, in accordance with the Government's priorities. In addition, the Bank completed sector work in support of the Government's policy to expand the vocational and technical education systems to meet the growing needs for skilled manpower and technical assistance in management education. The teacher training project was the first Bank effort to assist the Government in their efforts to strengthen the education of teachers and administrators and improve the quality of teaching materials and management in teacher training institutions. This was done in conjunction with the Government's desire to achieve UBE through financial support directed at the expansion and improvement of inservice training of lower secondary school teachers, the provision of textbooks and other learning materials and relevant technical assistance. 5. Policy Context. To address problems of economic inefficiency and structural imbalance, the Government initiated a program of reform and adjustment in 1979 that focused primarily on invigorating China's rural economy. In 1984 the Government reaffirmed and consolidated the positive results of the earlier reform and adjustment program and adopted a reform plan that emphasized the needs for breakthroughs in areas such as: (a) upgrading managerial personnel to meet the new demands in a reformed economy; (b) extending utilization of foreign capital, advanced technology and scientific research; and (c) carrying out systemic reforms of education and training to develop China's human capital potential. 6. In May 1985 the Central Committee of the Communist Party announced its "Decision on Reform of the Education Structure." The reform called for universalizing nine years of basic education, expanding vocational and technical education at secondary levels, increasing enrollment and autonomy of higher education institutions, and strengthening education management at all levels. On the basis of the decision to reform the education structure, the Government passed the "Compulsory Education Law" in 1986, under which nine-year UBE was to be achieved in stages: (a) in the cities and coastal areas by 1990; (b) in towns and villages with a medium level of development by 1995; (c) in the more remote areas, at rates commensurate with the economic development of each area. This policy was reconfirned in the outline for  - 3 - "Reform and Development of Education in China" issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council in February 13, 1993. 7. The Government felt that achieving universal schooling at the primary level would not be extremely difficult because the net reported enrollment rate in primary schooling was already 96 percent. However, at the lower secondary level (grades 7-9) it foresaw great difficulty because, at the time of Appraisal, the gross lower secondary enrollment rate was 52 percent. Therefore, to achieve UBE the Government recognized that the number of lower secondary school teachers would have to increase from 2.2 million in 1985 to 3.1 million in the year 2000. Moreover, if a fully qualified teaching force was to be achieved, the teacher training system would have to provide inservice training to massive numbers of unqualified lower secondary school teachers already in the system (and not possessing the required academic qualification of 2-3 years of post- secondary education). The 1.6 million unqualified teachers constituted an overwhelming 73 percent of the lower secondary school teaching force and, therefore, the most urgent task was to provide training for the teachers. 8. Linkages between Project, Sector and Policy Objectives. In order to address both the sectoral and policy consideration outlined above, the Association and the Government developed a project which laid out the following objectives: (a) improve the quality of and the output from the inservice training of lower secondary school teachers; (b) improve the management capability of SEdC, provincial and municipal education administrators in the teacher training system; (c) help resolve participation rate inequalities among provinces; (d) raise female participation in inservice training programs for unqualified lower secondary teachers; and (e) increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the lower secondary school teacher training system. 9. The major risk perceived at the time of appraisal was the inexperience of and variation in the ability of provincial, municipal and prefecture officials in the implementation of an IDA- financed project. However because of the excellent experience gained by the Government during the implementation of previous education projects, the risks were seen to be manageable. The SEdC, working with the Provinces and Municipalities, established Project Implementation Offices (PIOs) headed by the Deputy Directors of the Provincial/Municipal Education Bureau, who functioned as liaisons between the Province/Municipality and the SEdC. In addition, the PIOs maintained close working relations with the responsible units at the prefectural level. Each Project institution also established a PIO and appointed either the President or Vice President of the IOE as the Director. The PIOs operated throughout the life of the Project and were responsible for implementation activities associated with each institute such as construction, installation and maintenance of project equipment and training. 10. Although the SEdC was the focal point of project implementation and responsible for maintaining national standards of education including teacher training, considerable responsibility was devolved to the Provinces and Municipalities included in the Project. This mechanism for implementation gave the Provinces, Municipalities and Institutions much greater flexibility in implementing the Project according to individual institutional needs.  B. AcHEvEMErNT OF PROJEcr OBJECrIVES 11. Project Development Indicators. Achievements of project objectives can be partially measured by reviewing the development impact indicators found in paragraph 2. Briefly, (a) more than the targeted number of positions for students from disadvantaged provinces were set aside in more developed provincial IOEs. Additionally, during the life of the project, (b) faculty teaching hours increased moderately to approximately 8 hours a week; (c) the percentage of IOEs which now prepare students to teach two subjects rather than one has grown substantially from zero to 86 percent; and (d) female enrollment has increased significantly from 27 to 42 percent. Further details and additional evaluative materials can be found in the following paragraphs and Table 5: Key Indicators of Project Implementation. 12. Enrollment. By the end of the Project, enrollments in the IOEs increased 2.6 times greater than the SAR targets. However, a comparison of the target and actual has limited meaning in view of reforms in the methods of delivery of the teacher training courses, including: (a) less residential training; (b) less training to achieve teacher qualification; (c) more inservice upgrading and continuing education; and (d) more special courses for administrators. These changes represent creative responses to the changing demands placed on the IOEs and their ability to adapt to the evolving policy framework within which they operate. 13. Civil Works, Equipment and Books. The majority of project funds (87 percent) were spent on construction of facilities, equipment and books. Civil works construction was completed by the end of 1993. The quality of construction seemed good. Now, however, after a few years some of the facilities are beginning to show signs of wear from normal use. In order to sustain this investment Provincial Bureaus of Education will need to pay particular attention to the maintenance of facilities constructed under the project. In an effort to address this issue the SEdC with the assistance of the Provinces will provide a budget allocation for maintenance of all facilities and equipment as indicated in the Operation Plan outline, Annex C. 14. The equipment and books purchased assisted the IOEs in their ability to offer all or almost all of the SEdC prescribed experiments (minimum level science experiments which are related to specific grade level curricula taught in secondary and post-secondary educational institutions), improve computer literacy and enhance the libraries. 15. Technical Assistance. Improving the quality of IOE faculty was one of the major project goals. The project sought to achieve this goal by supporting in-service training for existing teachers at home and abroad. The project also supported both short- and long-term local training in China. The normal universities did good work in training IOE faculty and staff in the areas of course content, teaching methodologies, and management, and over the life of the project training more than 6,000 teachers. IOE faculty members were also sent abroad as short-term visiting scholars and long-term degree seeking students. The implementation of the fellowship program went smoothly and by 1993 more than 200 faculty members had been sent abroad. As was the case with the in-country training, large numbers of newly trained faculty have undoubtedly  contributed to improving faculty qualifications, although the institutes have not filly capitalized on the training received by individual staff members. This issue should have been the focus of more attention during the project design. Institutional staff development plans should promote the use of all newly trained faculty and staff both at home and abroad, as resource persons to train other staff. 16. Management of the Teacher Training System. The project was to improve the management capability of the teacher training system by providing training in planning and statistical data processing, management systems, testing and evaluation and facility planning. IOE and PIO staff received extensive training in administrative matters; however, in the area of planning there are still many improvements that need to be made to the system. For instance, the provincial offices need to have a better understanding of and control over the existing teacher stock, the need for new teachers, inflow of teachers from preservice training, newly qualified teachers from inservice training and outflow from the profession. There is much that could be achieved in this area, and as the teacher information system in the follow-on project becomes operational this should improve the Provinces' capabilities. The follow-on operation, the Effective Teaching Services Project (Cr. 2471-CHA), was approved on March 16, 1993. 17. Improvements of the Teacher Training System. Training for students from remote areas was increased over the five-year implementation period (see Table 5). Prior to the teacher training project, there were no special programs within IOEs to assist teachers from the remote and rural areas in their efforts to receive training. During the implementation period, twenty-two of the IOEs experimented with programs for training teachers from the rural areas by adopting a number of innovative methods for improving the intake of students from poor and minority areas. Some institutions reduced the fees for disadvantaged students, some prepared special correspondence, summer and winter vacation courses, special coaching centers in remote counties were setup, and mobile teams of teachers were sent to the remote areas to provide training. These were all useful changes that occurred within the IOEs and the results of these programs should be studied and positive experiences disseminated throughout China. 18. The project was able to achieve a somewhat higher level of female participation by increasing enrollment in inservice lower secondary teacher training from 27 percent to an average of approximately 42 percent. This was achieved by increasing the number of full-time students, commuting students and correspondence students. It will however, be difficult for IOEs to continue this trend because they draw their trainees from Lower Middle School teachers, and since the percentage of women currently in the system at that level is low there is a built-in upper limit to how many women IOEs will be able to enroll. 19. The project supported the revision of the curriculum by introducing dual subject training. By the end of the project, 86 percent of the Project IOEs were offering dual subject training which has been an important element in improving the rural schools. This has been catalytic in improving the quality of teaching as well as efficiency of the lower secondary schools, particularly in rural schools where they cannot afford to hire single subject teachers.  - 6 - 20. The project was also able to achieve somewhat higher levels of utilization of libraries and laboratories. The average weekly library hours increased from 41 to 56 and the laboratory hours from 13 to 30. Despite these improvements there is still a need to focus on increasing utilization of all equipment. In order to further improve equipment utilization, IOEs, especially those providing correspondence courses, could offer day and evening adult training courses in areas such as foreign language and computer applications. This could also assist in further improvements in IOE efficiencies by increasing teaching hours of faculty and greater utilization of all IOE facilities. Each institution should also have a professional development plan and systems should be set up to enable staff to share their expertise and to utilize equipment cross- departmentally. 21. Studies. During the project the three Municipal IOEs conducted studies on: (a) the cost effectiveness of alternative delivery systems including residential, commuter and correspondence/television programs; (b) the training of dual subject teachers, investigating the appropriate combination of subjects and the cost effectiveness of dual subject teachers in rural schools; and (c) methods of increasing female participation in the teacher training system. The findings of the studies were to be sent to the Association as well as disseminated through an information network of IOEs, with the three municipal IOEs acting as the focal point for dissemination. The studies were received and reviewed by the Association. However, the dissemination activities within China have not occurred (see para. 23). C. IMPLEMENTATION RECORD AND MAJOR FACTORS AFFECTING THE PROJECT 22. Implementation Record. During the five-year project implementation period, the overall implementation of the project went well. The total credit amount of SDR 36.8 million ($50 million equivalent) was disbursed and the indicators to monitor overall progress under the project (Table 5) were met or exceeded. The PIOs operated throughout the life of the Project and provided the necessary oversight required for smooth implementation activities associated with each institute such as civil works, installation and maintenance of project equipment, purchase of books and training. 23. Major Factors Affecting the Project. One of the major goals of the project was to create Municipal IOEs that would: (a) become clearinghouses for gathering, evaluating and disseminating information on teacher training curriculum and methodology, (b) become research, evaluation and monitoring centers on key issues in teacher training, and (c) undertake the three studies discussed above. A permanent network of professional support in teacher training was also to be established by using the three advanced municipalities, Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, to assist other IOEs. The permanent national network role of the Municipal IOEs with institutions at the provincial level was never realized, and this was one of the major weaknesses of the project design. Bank missions noted this problem during implementation, highlighting the issue as one for improvement. However, the ICR mission found little improvement in the implementation of this component of the project. One reason for the weakness of this component could be the absence  - 7 - of linkages between IOEs in different provinces and municipalities; lines of interaction are vertical rather than horizontal and without putting a horizontal mechanism in place, dissemination activities cannot proceed. 24. Consulting Services. The services of one US and one UK institution were contracted to assist the Government of China in implementation of the TA component. The contracts were negotiated and signed by the Government of China with the assistance of the Bank. Each organization successfully completed the implementation of its contract and has submitted a final report to the Government of China and the Association. The use of international institutions to successfully facilitate the placement and carefully monitor the progress of Chinese scholars who went abroad under the project can be seen as further evidence of the utility of international advisory mechanisms and training facilities in Bank-supported Chinese education projects. D. PROJECr SUSTAmABILmuY 25. Measures of project sustainability are faculty training and development, enrollment levels, and adequate provision for operation and maintenance of facilities and equipment. 26. More than 6,000 IOE faculty and staff were trained during project implementation which, no doubt, contributed to improvements in faculty qualifications. However, to sustain the investment, each institution will need to allocate much more importance to "in-house" recurrent training. They will need overall professional development strategies that are continuously updated. 27. All of the civil works construction was completed by 1993. The quality of the construction seemed good, with facilities only starting to show signs of wear from normal use. The SEdC and the Provincial Bureaus of Education will need to pay particular attention to the maintenance of the facilities constructed under the project and start a regular maintenance program. 28. For project institutions to continue to obtain value from their project-supported investments, they will need to ensure efficient use of the equipment, books and materials. Project institutions need to provide adequate provision for storage, inventory, maintenance and servicing. The best way to sustain the physical plant investment will be for municipal, provincial and prefectural authorities to systematically provide necessary recurrent funding annually for the maintenance. 29. Enrollments increased over the life of the project. Although, as stated above, the changes in the structure of the clientele present difficulties for assessing the actual increases in enrollment, these structural changes suggest a growing response to the demands of the market, thereby implying that sustainability is more likely.  - 8 - E. BANK GROUP PERFORMANCE 30. The project was designed based on close cooperation between IDA and the Chinese Government. The previous Bank Group projects in education had established good communication channels with the Chinese Government and this assisted the IDA preparation teams in developing the first IDA assisted teacher training project. The Bank Group mobilized a team of qualified experts to work with SEdC as well as provincial and municipal education commissions so that the provinces and municipalities could participate on a larger scale in the preparation of future projects. IDA supervision missions visited the IOEs and continuously monitored the implementation of the Project. 31. The Association conducted a mid-term review of the project in January 1992, using its sector work on Provincial Education Planning and Finance to focus more attention on teacher planning and statistical data processing aspects of the project. The mid-term review attempted to strengthen the IOE's focus and role in addressing these issues by encouraging more training as well as an improved system for gathering the data required for such planning, but with limited success. The delay in the mid-term review can be seen as partially responsible for such limited success. 32. SEdC, working with IDA, contracted two internationally recognized organizations to provide TA. IDA also frequently communicated with the TA implementing units to ensure that the TA was being implemented smoothly. The overall assessment of IDA's performance would be satisfactory. F. BORROWER PERFORMANCE 33. In line with a good record in designing, preparing and implementing the IDA assisted education projects, the Chinese team demonstrated satisfactory performance in preparing and implementing this project. 34. The Foreign Investment and Loan Office (FILO) of SEdC coordinated with the Provincial and Municipal Education Bureaus to carefully develop proposals and collect the necessary data and information for project preparation. Officials from the SEdC and provinces also attended an Economic Development Institute (EDI) seminar on the techniques of facility planning during the preparation phase. 35. During implementation the SEdC also coordinated with the Provinces and Municipalities in procurement of equipment and books, technical assistance, and preparation of annual progress reports and audit reports sent to the Association. The Borrower also provided the necessary counterpart funds to complete the civil works in time to install the imported and locally procured equipment as well as house the books purchased in conjunction with the project.  - 9- 36. The national level IOE network and dissemination system was not implemented as expected at appraisal. However, with the current follow-on teacher training project there is an opportunity to build the network and improve the dissemination capacity of the IOEs through the later project's innovation program and the work of a Chinese Experts Panel. In addition, the SEdC can continue to focus attention on teacher demand and supply by using the management information system component of the second teacher training project to enhance the capacity of the provinces and the IOEs. G. ASSESSMENT OF OUTCOME 37. The Project outcome is rated as satisfactory. Many IOEs developed creative mechanisms for dealing with the issue of inequality, introduced dual subject teaching, raised female participation, and improved efficiencies. Since experiences gained under this project were reflected in its follow-on operation, the overall project impact has been positive. In particular, the second project includes an Innovation Program which provides funds to encourage colleges and institutes to continue their creative approaches to dealing with difficult issues such as female participation, dual subject teaching, etc. H. FuTURE OPERATION 38. The Government and the Association discussed an outline for the attached Operation Plan (Annex C) during the October 1994 implementation completion report mission. The report reflects the decision of the Government as to how to sustain the project for a five-year period as well as ways to promote the development of the IOE network and the dissemination of information. The Operation Plan provides estimated levels of support for maintaining facilities, faculty development, and increasing enrollments. In addition, it addresses ways in which the Government will continue to promote female participation in IOEs and improvement in efficiencies. 39. As mentioned above, the Government of China and the Association have negotiated a second teacher training project which builds on the experiences of the first project and through this project the Government and the Association will be able to monitor the progress of IOEs as they begin to work toward sustaining the benefits of this project. L LESSONS LEARNED 40. The main lessons learned from the project experience are: (a) horizontal dissemination of good practices even within the same type of institutional structure (IOE network) is very difficult and future projects need to incorporate design improvements, recognizing structural compartmentalization within the system and dealing with the problem; (b) likewise, future projects need to be better designed to facilitate the dissemination of new ideas and practices within institutions taking advantage of the rich experience of returning (project-supported) faculty from  - 10- abroad. To enhance and sustain the project's development impact, it is recommended that the implementing agencies incorporate the following suggested actions in their Operation Plan: * develop a plan for further improvements in the utilization of libraries and equipment. For instance, IOEs could offer day and evening adult training courses in foreign language and computer applications; * design institutional staff development plans that promote the use of newly trained faculty and staff as resource persons to train other staff, * develop a plan to train provincial education staff in the area of teacher demand and supply so as to improve management of the teacher training process; * design an information or education network for dissemination of new ideas and materials; and * develop regular maintenance programs for facilities constructed and equipment procured under the project.  - 11 - Table 1: SUmmARY OF AssESSMENTS A. Achievement of Obiectives Substantial Partial Neliible Not Anolicable Macro polices U El O O Sector policies O 0 U O Financial objectives O 0