Morocco - Rural Primary Education Project, Rural Basic Education Development Project, and Second Vocational Training Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No. 22492 PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT MOROCCO RURAL PRIMARY EDUCATION PROJECT (Loan 3026-MOR) RURAL BASIC EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (Loan 3295-MOR) SECOND VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROJECT (Loan 2779-MOR) June 28, 2001 Sector and Thematic Evaluation Group Operations Evaluation Department This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by reciients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. Currency Equivalents (annual averages) Currency Unit = Dirham (Dh) US$1.00 = Dh 10.3 (January 2001) Abbreviations and Acronyms AfDB African Development Bank AFPFC Administration de la Formation Professionnelle et de la Formation des Cadres APL Adaptable Program Loan GDP Gross Domestic Product ICR Implementation Completion Report MIS Management information system NGO Nongovernmental organization OED Operations Evaluation Department OFPPT Office de la Formation Professionnelle et de la Promotion du Travail PCR Project Completion Report PlU Project implementation unit SAR Staff Appraisal Report UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Fiscal Year Government of Morocco January I - December 31 Director-Generdl, Operations Evaluation Mr. Robert Picciotto Director, Operations Evaluation Department Mr. Gregory K. Ingram Manager, Sector and Thematic Evaluations Mr. Alain Barbu Task Manager Ms. Helen Abadzi FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY The World Bank Washington, D.C. 20433 U.S.A. Office of the Director-General Operations Evaluation June 28, 2001 MEMORANDUM TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND THE PRESIDENT SUBJECT: Performance Audit Report on Morocco Second Vocational Training Project (Loan 2779); Rural Primary Education Project (Loan 3026); and Rural Basic Education Development Project (Loan 3295) This is a Performance Audit Report (PAR) on three education projects in Morocco: * Rural Primary Education Project (Loan 3026-MOR) for US$83 million, which was approved in FY89 and made effective on November 1, 1989. It was reduced to US$75 in April 1996. After a one- year extension, the loan closed on December 31, 1996. The African Development Bank provided parallel financing of US$40 million. * Rural Basic Education Development Project (Loan 3295-MOR) for US$145 million, which was approved in FY91 and made effective on March 19, 1992. After four partial cancellations, the project was loan was reduced to US$55 million equivalent. After a one-year extension, it was closed on June 30, 1998; US$0.5 million were cancelled. * Second Vocational Training Project (Loan 2779-MOR) for US$23 million, which was approved in FY87 and made effective in August 1987. After extensions totaling 18 months it closed on December 31, 1993; US$0.3 million were cancelled. Objectives. The two rural education projects focused on increasing access and quality of primary and lower secondary education in rural areas, particularly for girls. The vocational training project focused on improving the quality, efficiency, and cost effectiveness of the existing vocational training system. All three projects financed civil works (the two rural projects built hundreds of schools), technical assistance, teacher training, and curricular improvements. Outcomes. The two rural education projects partly achieved their objectives. Although large numbers of schools were built, instructional delivery in the class did not improve to the extent expected. The vocational training project largely achieved its quality improvement objectives, though it only partly achieved its cost effectiveness objective. Relevance and Efficacy. The projects have been consistent with a strategy of developing human resources in Morocco and have been relevant to its economic development needs. The second vocational education project used resources efficiently, but the two rural education projects did not. The primary education project financed prefabricated constructions that have not weathered well, and the lower secondary built only half the expected number of buildings; most lack dormitories, and many were built where land was cheaper rather where a school was needed. As a result, the schools remain underused. Technical assistance for the two rural education projects was underutilized, and efficacy was overall unsatisfactory. This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. 2 The Operations Evaluation Department (OED) rates projects as follows: Criteria Rural Primary Education Rural Basic Education Development Second Vocational Training Project (L3026) Project(L3295) Project (L2779) ICR Audit ICR Audit ICR Audit Outcome Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory Sustainability Likely Likely Unlikely Likely Likely Likely Institutional Negligible Negligible Negligible Negligible Modest Modest Development Impact Borrower Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory Performance Bank Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory Performance The main achievements of the two rural education projects were civil works, and these proved to be of substandard quality, quantity, or utility. Quality objectives for either project were clearly not achieved. Many of the same primary education issues were continued by the ongoing Social Priorities Project, but this operation targets the 14 most deprived areas rather than the rural areas at large and was of limited utility to most of the country. For these reasons outcomes are rated unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, the outlook on these investments is not entirely negative. A social assessment conducted at the end of the rural basic education project' found that the colleges may eventually get more acceptance and attract more students. The primary education project may have also partly achieved its access objectives. Despite droughts which caused migration to accelerate and living standards to fall in the early 1990s, overall school enrollments increased in general as well as for girls. In rural areas, enrollments increased by 35 percent between 1989 and 1995, against 38 percent expected at project appraisal. During the same period, girls' enrollment increased by 65 percent against 75 percent expected at appraisal. The extent to which the eventual increases are due to project inputs in rural areas is unknown, but access objectives may eventually be realized. The possibilities may be better after declaration of a Royal Charter to improve conditions in the education sector. The Charter is in its first of 10 years of implementation. The outcomes of the second vocational training project have improved quality. Course contents and the knowledge of trainers were updated, and a system of internships was put in place. However, the amount of the training tax, which was to cover 100 percent of the operating expenditures of the Office of Professional Training could not be recaptured as expected, partly because it has proved very difficult to find out how much could be recovered. Only about 70 percent of the training expenditures are covered by this tax. Job insertion was found to be only 30-50 percent, and OFPPT has not yet made much progress in forming partnerships with businesses. And the project has focused on the training centers of large cities and for technicians with higher levels of education. As a result, it had little impact on poverty. Nevertheless, the vocational training system is very much in demand, particularly among Baccalaureate holders who did not want to attend the university, partly because of the wide unemployment among university graduates. OED rates the outcome of this project satisfactory. Recommendations for Future Sector Strategy Policy dialogue on the Baccalaureate system, teacher training, languages of classroom instruction, centralization, and budgetary allocations has been going on for at least 15 years. Now that implementation has started on the Royal Charter, it may be opportune to mention again the lessons learned from the recent projects, such as: 1. The rural basic education development project. Social Assessment - Synthesis Report. 1999. 3 (a) Buildings and school programs must respond to local needs; (b) classroom instruction must be tailored to students' learning needs; (c) students' skills must be assessed and improved; (d) effective local initiatives for school development must be encouraged; (e) schools run by NGOs should play an increasing role in reaching the poorest students. Attachment  1 Contents Principal R atings .............................................................................................................. iii K ey Staff Responsible ................................................................................................... i Preface.................................................................................................................................v 1. Background-The Obstacles in Rural Education Investments...........................1 2. Project Implementation Experience ....................................................................... 4 Project Outcomes in Classrooms-Mission Visits.... ....................4 Project Outcomes................................................8 Relevance and Efficiency....................... ..................9 Institutional Development Impact................... ................9 Sustainability .................................................10 Borrower Performance..........................................10 Bank Performance............................................. 10 3. Issues for Future Consideration...................................11 4. Lessons....................................................12 Annex A. Project Activities ............................................................. ........15 Annex B. Basic Data Sheets........................................................................................ 19 MOROCCO-SECOND VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROJECT (L2 779-MOR) .........19 MOROCCO-R URAL PRIMARY EDUCATION PROJECT(L3026-MOR) ................21 MOROCCO-RURAL BASIC EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PR (L3295-MOR).......23 Annex C. Comments Concerning the Draft Performance Audit Report on Projects in the Education and Training Sector..................................................................27  111 Principal Ratings Criteria Rural Primary Education Rural Basic Educafion Development Second Vocational Training Project (L3026) Project(L3295) Project (L2779) ICR Audit ICR Audit ICR Audit Outcome Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory Sustainability Likely Likely Likely Likely Likely Likely Institutional Negligible Negligible Negligible Negligible Modest Modest Development Impact Borrower Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory Performance Bank Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory Performance Key Staff Responsible Project Task Manager/Leader Division Chieff Country Director Sector Director Rural Primary Education Project (Loan 3028-MOR) Appraisal Daniel Viens Andrew Rogerson Kemal Dervis Completion Dung-Kim Pham Jacques Baudouy Daniel Ritchie Rural Basic Education Development Project (Loan 3295-MOR) Appraisal Catherine Kleynhoff Andrew Rogerson Kemal Dervis Completion Jeffrey Waite Jacques Baudouy Christian Delvoie Second Vocational Training Project (Loan 2779-MOR) Appraisal Pierre Mersier Andrew Rogerson Kemal Dervis Completion Guillermo Hakim Jacques Baudouy Daniel Ritchie  V PREFACE This Performance Audit Report (PAR) covers the three most recent completed education projects in Morocco: * Rural Primary Education Project (Loan 3026-MOR) for US$83 million, which was approved in FY89 and made effective on November 1, 1989. It was reduced to US$75 in April 1996. After a one-year extension, the loan closed on December 31, 1996. The African Development Bank provided parallel financing of US$40 million. * Rural Basic Education Development Project (Loan 3295-MOR) for US$145 million, which was approved in FY91 and made effective on March 19, 1992. After four partial cancellations, the project was loan was reduced to US$55 million equivalent. After a one-year extension, it was closed on June 30, 1998; US$0.5 million were cancelled. * Second Vocational Training Project (Loan 2779-MOR) for US$23 million, which was approved in FY87 and made effective in August 1987. After extensions totaling 18 months it closed on December 31, 1993; US$0.3 million were cancelled. The audits were conducted to study the reasons why a series of Bank operations targeted to increase educational access to poor and rural areas of Morocco had less than satisfactory outcomes. The PAR is based on the following sources: Implementation Completion Reports (ICRs), Staff Appraisal Reports (SARs), Credit Agreements for the projects, and project files, particularly the supervision reports. An OED mission visited Morocco in January 2001 to collect other pertinent information. The author thanks the many government officials and researchers for their extensive cooperation. Following standard OED procedures, copies of the draft PAR were sent to the relevant government officials and agencies for their review and comments. A number of observations were made, which have been incorporated into the PAR as Annex C.  1 1. Background-The Obstacles in Rural Education Investments 1.1 Morocco is a middle income country with a per capita GDP of US$1260 in 1999. Its educational indicators, however, are those of a lower-income country. Overall adult literacy rate (age 15+) is only 45 percent, and female literacy is 32 percent. In this country of about 26 million, only about half the children ages 6-10 are in school, while two or three million have dropped out, failed, or never attended- Gross enrollment rates are 83 percent for primary and 39 for secondary levels. Net primary school enrollment is about 58 percent and secondary enrollment is 28 percent. Girls' educational indicators are low. 2 Though 44 percent of primary school children are girls, only about 25 percent of girls attend school in rural areas as opposed to about 55 percent of boys.' The percentage of female teachers (38 percent in primary and 33 in secondary) is the second lowest in the Arab world, after Yemen. By comparison, the average adult illiteracy rate of all low-income countries is 39 percent, and gross primary school enrollment ratio is 103 percent4. 1.2 One reason for low enrollments in earlier years had been lack of suitable schools. In the 1980s, researchers (e.g., El Sanabaryt) had underlined the importance of building schools close to village homes so that residents afraid of endangering the honor of their daughters could safely send them to school. Donors such the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) financed the construction and equipment of many small schools near villages, where children could safely attend. To develop a generation of educated girls who might also become teachers, donors also financed rural secondary schools, many with dormitories. Though enrollment rates have improved somewhat, mere access to school thus far has been insufficient to bring this about. Due to the low quality of education imparted in most public schools (particularly rural) youngsters do not acquire sufficient skills to earn a living, and parents are often reluctant to allocate their children's time in school, preferring instead to put them in informal apprenticeships, where they are often exploited. Because nearly half of the workforce is illiterate, Morocco's workers have limited skills and adaptability, and cannot be trained in areas where significant reading of texts is necessary. The limited education of the population has become a significant obstacle to competing in the global economy, particularly in comparison to workforces from south and east Asia. 1.3 Another distortion in the system is the forced dropout of many students at the end of grades 6, 9, and 13. Like other countries formerly colonized by the French, Morocco uses a single examination (Baccalaureate) to determine who will graduate and enter university. Though now most faculties require separate exams and high grades, graduates still have the right to enter certain faculties. An uncontrolled number of university students in a system where hardly any fees are paid means little control over expenditures and gives Morocco strong incentives to set 1. Statistiques Scolaires. 1999-2000. Royaume du Maroc. Ministre de l'Education nationale. Le Maroc en Chiffres. 1998. Minist6re de la Prdvision dconomique et du plan. 2. Linda Likar. 2000. Nonformal schools: Innovations r6centes dans la lutte contre l'enfance non-ou d6-scolaris6e. World Bank: white-cover document. Linda Likar. 2000. The education crisis in Morocco: Who can help and how? What Role for Government, NGOs, the Private Sector, and the World Bank? World Bank: White-cover document. 3. Education in the Middle East and North Africa: A Strategy Towards Learning for Development. World Bank. 1998, p. 8, 21, 49. 4. World Development Indicators. 1999. World Bank. 5. El Sanabari, Nagat. 1989. Determinants of women's education in the Middle East and North Africa: illustrations from seven countries (Vol.1) PHREE series, 89/14. 2 promotion quotas along the road to graduation. To reduce the numbers of students in senior secondary schools who will be eligible to take the Baccalaureate examinations, only about 60 percent of intermediate-school graduates are allowed to be promoted to grade 10. The quota is essentially filled with the large numbers of urban students who pass the examinations, often with the help of private tutoring. The less well prepared rural students fail disproportionately and must repeat grades or drop out. Thus, after repetitions and failures, students who in other countries might graduate from secondary schools become dropouts. Since the road to secondary school graduation is exceedingly difficult, rural families that have sent children to primary school may see little reason to send their children to lower secondary schools. 1.4 In principle, dropouts of the post-primary system may enroll in vocational training courses. The Office de Formation Professionnelle et de la Promotion du Travail (OFPPT) under the Ministry of Employment, Vocational Training, Social Development, and Solidarity is the largest and most important provider of vocational training. (Private vocational education is limited and sometimes of dubious quality.) It has 186 centers in most small and large cities but can only admit about 42,500 students (and 53,200 interns). With a job insertion rate of about 60 percent, however, it has not been a very useful outlet for post-primary dropouts. 1.5 Through a series of projects (Table 1) the World Bank has attempted to help the government deal with its various education problems. Over the years, it was suggested that secondary school graduation be separated from university entrance by using two examinations. However, the government has been reluctant to risk student unrest and change a system that makes its graduates acceptable to French universities. Through the Education Sector Reform program (Loan 2664-MOR, audited earlier), the Bank attempted help the government place strict quotas on upper secondary admissions and Baccalaureate pass rates and to allocate a larger percentage of education spending to the primary level. To improve the conditions of primary education in rural areas, the Bank financed the Rural Primary Education project (Loan 3026- MOR). To improve access to lower secondary schooling in rural areas, the Bank financed the Rural Basic Education Development project (Loan 3295-MOR). To improve the quality of the labor force and provide an outlet to students who fail grades 9 and 12, the Bank financed the first and more recently second Vocational Training project (Loan 2779-MOR). (Project objectives are in Table 1). When these projects neared completion, the Bank financed the Social Priorities project (Loan 4024-MOR, FY96) to target primary schools in particularly deprived areas, and Third Private Sector Development project (Loan 4091 -MOR, FY96) to develop training capacity in the private sector. These two projects were still under implementation in 2001. 3 Table 1. Bank-Financed Education Projects in Morocco Project name Credit no. Approval year Final closing date Credit amount ir$ million) Completed Projects First Education Project Cr. 79-MOR 1966 6/30/1975 11 Second Education Project Cr. 266-MOR 1972 4/30/1978 8.5 Third Education Project Loan 1220T-MOR 1976 9/1/1983 25 Fourth Education Project Loan 1681-MOR 1979 6/30/1988 113 Fifth Education Project Loan 2149-MOR 1982 3/31/1989 50 Vocational Training I Loan 2479-MOR 1985 6/30/1992 27.1 Education Sector Loan I Loan 2664-MOR 1986 12/31/1989 150 Vocational Training II Loan 2779-MOR 1987 12/31/1993 22.3 Rural Primary Education Project Loan 3026-MOR 1989 12/31/1996 83 Rural Basic Education Project Loan 3295-MOR 1991 6/30/1998 145 Ongoing Projects Social Priorities Program Loan 4024-MOR 1996 12/31/2003 54 Vocational Training III Project Loan 4091-MOR 1997 12/31/2001 23 1.6 The Bank Implementation Completion Reports (ICRs) and OED ratings (evaluation memoranda) for the most recently completedformal education projects show unsatisfactory outcomes and negligible institutional development. (See Principal Ratings Table). The earlier Fifth Primary Education project was only partially satisfactory. There has been a pattern of large initial delays, large portions of loans cancelled, a focus on construction with inattention to quality objectives, unwillingness to use foreign technical assistance, and inattentiveness to policy agreements with the Bank. The audit conducted in January 2001 was undertaken to explore further the reasons for the unsatisfactory outcomes of these projects, particularly the two rural- based projects (See project objectives in Table 2.) The vocational education projects had more encouraging outcomes, and the most recent project was studied as a comparison to the formal education projects. Table 2: Main Objectives of the Audited Projects Quality Access-Equity Finance- Management Rural Primary To improve the educational To promote greater equality of Ensure better Education environment through in-service educational opportunity and increased allocation of the Project teacher training, general school attendance by improving college' resources inspections, curriculum enrollment figures among disadvantaged assigned to development, assessment of populations such as rural children and primary student achievement and proper especially girls education. use of students' materials Rural Basic To enhance the teaching- To promote equality of educational Education learning environment by opportunity at the middle school level by Development contributing to the improvement improving access and participation Project of basic education quality, nationwide. Second Consolidate and improve the Increase the efficiency of the vocational Implement cost Vocational quality of Morocco's vocational training system through the reduction and Training Project training system. decentralization of its activities, enhance savings responsiveness to labor markets. mechanisms. 1.7 The Moroccan government has many partners in its formal and vocational educational activities, such as USAID, Belgium, and France. It also borrows extensively from the AfDB for school construction. However, donor actions have been poorly coordinated. Although the World 4 Bank and the AfDB have repeatedly financed projects in parallel, communication between them has been limited. 2. Project Implementation Experience 2.1 Implementation of all three audited projects was marked by various delays and changes. The government was quite attentive to budgetary issues and cancelled or refinanced significant portions of the projects, particularly in formal education. Though budgets were tight, the lack of counterpart funds that had been initially identified as a risk was not as severe as expected. 2.2 The Rural Primary Education Project (Loan 3295-MOR) saw large reductions in the budget allocated to quality objectives, and by the completion date most activities had only been implemented on a pilot basis. The pedagogical goals took place on a limited scale due to the budget reduction. For example, technical assistance cost was reduced from 4 million to 2.5 million and was agreed only after three years of debate over terms of reference. The rigid and centralized administrative structure made it difficult for communities to carry out a construction program with accountability (Annex A,Table 1). 2.3 The Rural Basic Education Development Project (Loan 3295-MOR) was initially too large; unit costs and the implementation capacity of the Ministry of Education were overestimated. The project started two years behind schedule due to budgetary disputes and did not achieve its physical or quality objectives (Annex A, Table 2). To complicate matters, there was a parallel construction project of 42 lower secondary schools (called "colleges") financed by AfDB, vying for funds and attention (35 were put in operation). The rural college concept was neither pilot tested or compared with other options, and very few dormitories were built. There were many difficulties with site selection, and often the schools were built in unsuitable places, creating difficulties for students. Initially the schools were to be built without regard for electricity, sanitation, or water needs, but these issues were eventually addressed. 2.4 The Second Vocational Training project (Loan 2779-MOR) had the least number of problems in its implementation. Mobile maintenance and production units were cancelled (Annex A, Table 3), while many fellowships and studies were financed with bilateral and UNDP funds. Its primary goal was to improve quality rather increase the number of student places. Construction and equipment proceeded largely as expected. The all-important training activities took place, and large numbers of trainers went overseas or received local training. Those returned later and provided training to local instructors. Of particular emphasis was training in electronics, which has met with considerable demand. Somewhat less successful were the several studies to be carried out. Though most were indeed carried out, some did not have clear recommendations and did not prove useful. An orientation and screening system was put in place for best choice of candidates. Although it is underpinned by rather obsolete theories, it is functional and innovative. The professional training administration has several bilateral and multilateral partners and seems to be making effective use of their resources. Project Outcomes in Classrooms-Mission Visits 2.5 The audit mission visited the OFPPT headquarters and vocational training institutions of various levels in Casablanca and Ayn Bourj. It also made unannounced visits to about 18 rural primary and seven lower secondary schools. Most were relatively close to main highways in the 5 delegations of Khemiset, Settat, Marrakesh, Ouarzazad, Rashidia, and Sefrou, and the mission chose many sites at random, while traveling. The schools visited had the following conditions: * The prefabricated constructions of primary schools, made at the insistence of the World Bank, have deteriorated quickly. They seemed useful for remote areas where suitable materials were scarce, but they are in effect semi-permanent buildings with tin roofs. These deteriorate rapidly in the south, where temperature changes are extreme, and are noisy during wind and rain. Furthermore, many did not have water or bathrooms. It is unfortunate that this large investment in infrastructure has resulted in such low-quality buildings. (The current project (Ln. 4024-MOR) installs bathrooms and running water in the schools it serves.) * Although the outward appearance of the rural colleges (lower secondary schools) is satisfactory, some essentials are missing. They were all built on the same plan, with no variations or concern for local needs. Many haves a dining room and provide food, but none of them have a library, a teachers' room, or access for handicapped children. Two of the colleges visited had no electricity or water. Few schools have dormitories (only 30 were planned), and those dormitories have almost no facilities; students lack cupboards for their belongings, must bathe in cold water in the winter, and have no place to wash or dry their clothes. Teachers as well as delegation staff complained that contractor rates were above those charged to the private sector. Staff told the mission that the donors had purportedly specified the unsatisfactory configuration of the institutions, but the mission ascertained that this was not the case. * School construction apparently has not yet increased enrollments to the extent expected. Being mainly on traveled roads, the primary schools visited by the mission could be full of students, but many were half-empty. Rural colleges without dormitories could serve only those students who live a few kilometers away and were underused. Where dormitories were available, they were filled beyond capacity, and the schools had many more students than those without dormitories. Equal dormitory space was supposed to have been available for girls, but in actuality, girls had only about one-third the space. In some areas, NGOs had built dormitories next to the school especially for girls. Without access to a dormitory, many students had to walk 6-9 kilometers to get home and thus spend much of their day commuting. There is very little organized transport in rural areas. Due to land costs in more central areas, many colleges and primary schools were located inconveniently outside small towns, forcing students to walk greater distances than would have been the case if schools had been centrally located. * There were almost no instructional materials in the primary schools. Nevertheless, almost all primary school students and most college students were found to have their own textbooks, which they take home and study, and the books were in use. This is a very welcome change brought about through the projects; 10 years earlier, only the teacher had a textbook. The primary school books are nicely illustrated and sell in local markets for 13 Dh (about US$1.2) each, which most students apparently can afford. The very poor children of grade I receive school bags with books and supplies. In rural colleges, textbooks were also available, although some students did not buy textbooks of secondary importance, such as history. A rental scheme was found in operation in many colleges. However, the textbook covers are of low quality and easily torn, making books hard to reuse beyond one year. The textbooks in 6. The country has thousands of primary schools, and most of those visited were along main roads. The sample visited may therefore be upward biased compared to the actual population. 6 general were found to develop material adequately but did not ask evaluation questions or otherwise help students analyze and synthesize the material learned. * Though both rural projects had curricular components, very little development was done. Furthermore, a single set of courses and curricula was developed that was to be taught without variation in the entire country. Therefore, the rural college students did not learn anything that might prepare them better for the life they are likely to lead or help them increase farm and animal productivity. Colleges had the possibility of teaching agricultural technology but only one was found that did. (See box.) Instead, students learned art and sculpting, which they hardly need. The course syllabus provides for female education, which focuses on cooking and knitting along with family planning. Rural girls might learn about small animal husbandry, running market stalls, and increases in productivity, but such issues are not in the curriculum. In effect, rural colleges may be adding little value to students' education if they are to live in villages. In fact, they may prepare them to leave the area. * Despite in-service and pre-service training in both formal education projects, instructional delivery left much to be desired. Students were quiet and sat orderly, but time on task was limited. Typically one or two students did exercises on the blackboard and the rest watched or did nothing. The teacher sat in front of the class on a raised podium and asked questions, often inviting responses only from those who sat in front rows and raised their hands. The rest were left alone. Predictably, those who were not asked to respond often were not good readers or did not know the answers. They would be likely to drop out. Though teachers were generally found at school, some classes were left unattended. In one satellite school, the teacher was at her lodging next door cooking, while students copied sentences. Those asked did not know the meaning of the material they were copying. In multigrade classes, sometimes teachers did not alternate between oral and written work, as they had been taught, thus wasting the students' time. The mission observed many occasions in which grouping could give much better time on task, but this was done on only one occasion. (Desks, which are heavy and made for two or three students, are a problem, but students can turn.) One teacher stated that in cities like Marrakesh, teachers form group work, but in rural areas this is not practiced. One might expect inspectors, who have received training and vehicles, to correct such instructional deficiencies, but it was not evident that they had. * Most teachers, particularly of lower secondary schools, reported that they had not received in- service training within the last one or two years. Whatever in-service had been received earlier was not targeted to the rural environment. In the most deprived districts, the follow-on Social Priorities project conducted teacher training in rural sociology, multigrade teaching techniques, and instructional delivery, but only through oral presentations. There were no audiovisual presentations, microteaching, and other role-modeling techniques, which are more likely to change teaching behaviors. * Language issues were quite prominent in the south, where most of the population is Berber. In effect, students must deal in four languages formally or informally. Teachers typically knew only Arabic, and taught the classical Arabic (lughat al fusha), as the curriculum requires. Ironically, the children were taught a language that had little relevance to their daily life transactions; people in Morocco (except in mosques, radio and television) do not use 7. By contrast the second vocational education project did not emphasize learning materials for students. They are expected to copy notes from instructors' lectures and then go to the library to read certain assignments. Books for the subjects under study (e.g. clothes design in French) are extremely expensive and students cannot afford them. The materials development unit financed by the project operated for a few years in a very small space and then closed. In upcoming months, many materials will be put on the web for the benefit of instructors in all institutions. 7 classical Arabic. Children were not taught "derija," the one language they will need in daily life, which is linguistically distant enough to be a separate language. It was unclear to what extent the Berber children knew "derija," whether they understood its etymological relationships with the lughat al fusha, and whether they could effectively learn useful material in lughat al fusha. To top it all, third graders had to start learning French. The curriculum does not provide for linguistic assessments or bilingual transition classes. With only a limited understanding, children must learn the rapid decoding needed for reading in two scripts without linguistic cues. Many can, but many others cannot. In the half-empty rural classes it was impossible to know who had dropped out due to deficient language instruction. * Almost all of the teachers interviewed hailed from other parts of the country and were quite dissatisfied with their lives in rural schools. They cited lack of water, toilets, and heat in teacher lodgings. Many lived in nearby towns and commuted, hoping to be transferred soon. They often spoke negatively about the local children; the mission found one female teacher who severely berated her class, accusing the students of laziness and ignorance. Ironically, the mission also found one local primary school janitor who had a science Baccalaureate. But he lacked the two years of teacher training. So, he guarded the premises while imported and unhappy teachers taught the children. * The schools had administrators, who seemed underoccupied. Rural colleges had "surveyant general," an "econome," a separate "econome" for the dormitory, a janitor, and a non- teaching principal. The nuclei of primary schools also had a non-teaching principal, who was supposed to visit the satellite schools regularly. But in rural areas this could not be done often. One principal told the mission he visited his four schools once a week and seemed to have little work the rest of the time. (Currently school principals have almost no control over their teachers, no budget, and mainly do paperwork.) Some of these positions could be consolidated, but administrative regulations currently prohibit this. * Regulations also get in the way of income generation. All schools cited multiple needs to improve physical facilities and a lack of money from the government. In a country deluged by tourists, it may be possible to do fund-raising8, but principals are not allowed to raise any money. Only the parents' associations may do that, and they are often dormant. (The mission saw only one example of parental association contributions, a courtyard faucet.) Potentially, administrators could attract parents through festivities and other activities and thus offer them something in exchange for closer collaboration, but this is not customary and no one had considered it. * The government now allows most students who complete primary school to enter lower secondary, and the percentage of those who pass the examination has increased from 66 percent to 83 percent since 1996. However, only about 40 percent are allowed to pass the examinations from grade 9 to grade 10; there are few senior secondary schools, and the policy requires a small number of students passing the Baccalaureate examination. For this reason, most students of rural colleges are destined to fail. Not only are their teachers younger and unwilling to teach in rural areas, there is competition from towns where students are better off and who get private tutoring in order to pass. In many respects, rural colleges are terminal courses of study that teach no special skills and that end with a failure. 2.6 In recent years, the country has seen considerable activity in rural and periurban schools run by about 160 NGOs, some of which (such as Zakoura) have become well-known for their 8. In some countries a dollar is added to room rates for UNICEF. In others (e.g. India), students my hand out pamphlets to tourists and ask for donations. 8 activities. The schools, considered nonformal, serve very poor children and adults. Classes are full of girls, take place in the evenings in houses or other simple buildings, and are taught by local people (often women) who may not have the qualifications required by the government. The government has agreed to pay for teacher salaries. The two examples visited by the mission seemed to carry out their work admirably and point toward a solution for increasing school enrollments. The Royal Charter on education foresees a greater role for NGOs, and hopefully this work will become more widely disseminated. Box: Teaching Needed Rural Skills: An Experiment in Agricultural Education Lack of instruction in any useful skills is a complaint many parents voice. The Sefrou education director (ddlgu6) and a local inspector decided to do something about it. Through the delegation's budget they obtained gardening materials and two goats for a course in gardening and agricultural education, including small animal husbandry. The course started in grade 7 and would be extended upward to grade 9 for those students who wanted it or scored well in it. The delegation's goal was to prepare certain students to enter the agricultural colleges. The students liked the course so much that they came on weekends to water the garden and take care of the plants. A course in bee-keeping is also planned for next year, and the delegation is making preparations to acquire bees. Students will sell the school produce on the local market and, in the course, learn about prices and small business accounting. The district office appointed as a part-time teacher a staff member who had coordinated gardening courses at the headquarters for many years. (The teacher found it demeaning to teach again after being a coordinator for 18 years and started judicial proceedings, an illustration of how administratively rigid teacher regulations are.) However, it became apparent that it was not necessary to appoint special agricultural education teachers. The local director of the Ministry of Agriculture agreed that it would be feasible to assign extension agents to teach such courses part-time, given that they try to disseminate to the parents of students much of the same material. This interministerial coordination is unfortunately difficult in Morocco but is very badly needed. Project Outcomes 2.7 The main achievements of the two rural education projects were civil works, and these proved to be of substandard quality, quantity, or utility. Enrollments increased marginally but did not get the push expected when the projects were appraised.9 For these reasons outcomes are rated unsatisfactory. Quality objectives for either project were clearly not achieved. Quality and equity are also the focus of the ongoing Social Priorities Project, but this operation targets the 14 most deprived areas rather than the rural areas at large, and its impact to most of the country is limited. 2.8 Nevertheless, the outlook on these investments is not entirely negative. A social assessment conducted at the end of the rural basic education projecto found that the colleges may eventually get more acceptance and attract more students. The primary education project may have also partly achieved its access objectives. Despite droughts which caused migration to accelerate and living standards to fall in the early 1990s, overall school enrollments increased in general as well as for girls. After a sharp decline from 1984-85 to 1989-90, enrollments increased, growing at an average annual rate of 6.2 percent. In rural areas, enrollments increased by 35 percent between 1989 and 1995, against 38 percent expected at project appraisal. During the same period, girls' enrollment increased by 65 percent against 75 percent expected at 9. Due to a lack of an organized monitoring system, it was not possible to get an update on the extent to which enrollments had increased in the target areas since project completion without conducting a separate study. 10. The rural basic education development project. Social Assessment - Synthesis Report 1999. 9 appraisal. The extent to which the eventual increases are due to project inputs in rural areas is unknown, but access objectives may eventually be realized. The possibilities may be better after declaration of a Royal Charter to improve conditions in the education sector. The recently declared Charter is in its first of 10 years of implementation, but there is a concern that the thinkers who have developed it have limited implementation capacity. 2.9 The outcomes of the second vocational training project have improved quality. Course contents and the knowledge of trainers were updated, and a system of internships was put in place. However, the training tax, which was to cover 100 percent of the operating expenditures of the Professional Training Office, could not be collected in full by the government as expected, partly because it has proved very difficult to find out how much could be collected. So, there is a shortfall, and only about 84 percent of the OFPPT recurrent expenditures are covered by this tax. On the less positive side, job insertion was found to be 5 7-78 percent, and OFPPT has not yet made much progress in forming partnerships with businesses. (One large company that the mission interviewed takes only five trainees per year and hires only 2-3 of them.) And the project has focused on the training centers of large cities, i.e., Rabat, Casablanca, Fez, Khenitra and for technicians with higher levels of education. As a result, it had little impact on poverty. Nevertheless, the vocational training system is very much in demand; in 2000, for about 31,000 places, the system received 150,000 applications, about 5 applicants per available place. It was in particular demand among Baccalaureate holders who did not want to attend the university, partly because of the wide unemployment among university graduates. The orientation system that was put in place offers effective counseling and screening to students. OED rates the outcome of this project satisfactory. Relevance and Efficiency 2.10 The projects have been consistent with a strategy of developing human resources in Morocco and have been relevant to its economic development needs. The second vocational education project used resources efficiently, but the two rural education projects did not. The primary education project financed prefabricated constructions that have not weathered well, and the lower secondary built only half the expected number of buildings; most lack dormitories, and many were built where land was cheaper rather where a school was needed. As a result, the schools remain underused. In addition, budgetary restrictions and large delays militated against completing the construction programs. Technical assistance for the two rural education projects was underutilized, and efficacy was overall unsatisfactory. Institutional Development Impact 2.11 None of the projects had clear institutional development objectives, but one would expect the inputs to strengthen implementing institutions. The institutional development impact of the rural educational projects has been negligible. The centralization of government decisionmaking meant that staff in the various delegation offices and schools could not take actions that might improve the condition of schools or obtain additional benefits for their students. Despite prolonged policy dialogue over years, the administration remained rigid and centralized. Also, technical assistance was severely limited, and the country was unable to benefit from international experts. Teacher appointment process, in-service training, and improvement in classroom behaviors were negligible. 2.12 The impact of the second vocational training project on the administration of OFPPT and the strength of various institutions that benefited from it was greater. Trainers and teachers were trained extensively and they improved the level of classroom instruction. Although the system did 10 not decentralize, it devolved some initiatives to its institutions and to 10 regional offices, which acquired responsibility in determining local labor market needs and finding suitable business partners. Overall, institutional development impact is rated modest. Sustainability 2.13 The sustainability of instructional inputs to the two rural projects is uncertain, particularly because the follow-on project has focused on only the more deprived areas of the country. However, the schools built under both projects remain operational and may receive more students in the future as the population increases and instructional inputs improve. The Royal Charter drawn up for education will deal with many policies that the Bank has been trying to convince the government to carry out. So, even belatedly, important changes are expected to take place. 2.14 OFPPT continues to train teachers and seems to have received a permanent boost from the second vocational project. Despite some reservations regarding resilience to risk of net benefits over time for the rural projects, sustainability for all three projects is rated likely. Borrower Performance 2.15 The reasons for the continuing unsatisfactory outcomes seem to be limited government interest in implementing needed reforms and policy changes. The government paid little attention to the policy and quality issues raised by the Bank. The issue became obvious in the 1980s, when the disbursement criteria of the first sector adjustment loan (Loan 2664-MOR) were not met. In the 1990s also, the government showed limited interest in implementing Bank suggestions. For example, national assessments were to be introduced to help document the levels of classroom learning, but they were never carried out. Management remained extremely centralized, and centralization stifled the initiative of many delegation chiefs, who have shown competence and innovativeness. Though the government permitted regionalized teacher appointments, it did not permit the use of less qualified 'assistant' teachers, so that particularly remote schools could be staffed. 2.16 Overall, government support for the rural education projects has been limited, and ownership has been weak. The centralized procedures in the Ministry of Education created long delays and obstacles to implementation. It also did not help that the Minister of Education changed almost every two years and that government staff had to be debriefed repeatedly. The Ministry of Education had few incentives to work with the Bank, since it received no extra benefits or larger budget. As with other sectors in Morocco, some conditions (like provision of technical assistance) were not met. For these reasons, borrower performance in the rural education projects was unsatisfactory. 2.17 The vocational training project and related policies proved easier to deal with. The project was implemented relatively efficiently, although the central policy issue, 100 percent financing of training activities through employees' tax, proved impossible to attain. Overall, borrower performance was satisfactory. Bank Performance 2.18 The policy dialogue on primary and rural education proved very frustrating to the government and the Bank. Though it was intense at times, it had almost no impact. The Bank was quickly resigned to a realization that the government was mainly interested in funds for civil work and not interested in changing policies such as the Baccalaureate examinations or centralization. Therefore the institution disengaged from dialogue on government policies that 11 were sensitive, but which made the educational system dysfunctional. It tried to lend within Morocco's vision and policy limitations, and the result was disappointing. Perhaps the Bank should have stopped education lending in Morocco until its investments could realistically contribute to poverty alleviation. 2.19 Also, the rural education projects had unsatisfactory designs. The Bank overestimated implementation capacity and created larger loans than needed. In planning the components, only government officials were consulted. There was no stakeholder participation or consultations. There was very little educational expertise in the appraisal of the rural colleges project. The documents indicate a preponderance of economic rather than educational issues. It is not surprising, therefore, that the two formal rural education projects did not perform as expected even in civil works. 2.20 Furthermore, the Bank's supervision of the two rural education projects was inadequate. There was high turnover of task managers, six in the case of the rural colleges project. Some of the staff involved were not sufficiently familiar with the project and its key players. As a result, Bank performance in the two rural education projects is rated unsatisfactory. 2.21 The vocational training project did not face the wide-ranging challenges of the two rural projects; it had a simple design that overall proved feasible to implement and relatively stable task management. It could have been structured so as to reach more of the poorer population and the residents of small towns, but at the time it was implemented, poverty alleviation was not as prominent an issue as it is today. Overall Bank performance was satisfactory. Nevertheless, the mission heard criticism by OFPPT management regarding the scant attention and limited expertise that the Bank has demonstrated in the past few years. It was pointed out that the Bank no longer offers the intellectual challenge it offered earlier and has just become another bank. 2.22 There is a need to develop suitable mechanisms in Bank interventions for monitoring and evaluation. Despite many discussions on the issue for years, these were conspicuously absent from the projects audited, particularly from the vocational project. 3. Issues for Future Consideration 3.1 Policy dialogue on the Baccalaureate system, teacher training, languages of classroom instruction, centralization, and budgetary allocations has been going on for at least 15 years. Now that implementation has started on the Royal Charter, it may be opportune to mention again the lessons learned from the recent projects. 3.2 Local entities must be responsible for the details of local programs. Thus far, Morocco has been reluctant to decentralize powers to the delegations and schools. This is probably the most important reason why Bank-financed projects have had so little success. The delegates or even school authorities should have the authority to make local adaptations to buildings, curricula, and other issues that affect them. When provincial offices, schools, and other local bodies are allowed to determine how to operate within certain parameters, people are energized, and work that takes much effort at the central level gets done much more easily at the local level. The international experience from India to Chile underlines this effect. 3.3 Buildings and school programs must respond to local needs. It is possible to use the secondary subjects of the curricula to teach some skills needed for income generation. (For 12 example, in areas of major tourist activity, students might learn English instead of art.) For example, rural lower secondary schools may teach agricultural education in lieu of arts, and female education in rural areas may include animal husbandry. To find out more about how students use the education they have acquired and whether they found it useful, a tracer study might be conducted. 3.4 Classroom instruction must meet students' learning needs. To the extent possible, teachers must be local hires and must share the students' mother tongue. They should be trained in correcting common instructional errors, such as neglecting the students who do not volunteer to answer, maximizing time on task, and dealing with information at levels that include comprehension and analysis. (These issues apply to the vocational education classrooms as well.) More systematic instruction of Arabic as a second language must be developed. The Charter promotes decentralization and offers the option to teach initially in Tamazight or another local language; hopefully these initiatives will be implemented. 3.5 Students' skills must be assessed and improved. In 1999, Moroccan 8th graders scored second lowest in an international math and science study." At this time, it is uncertain in Morocco how much of the curriculum rural (and urban) students master. Testing must be developed to find out what they really learn in rural schools, particularly vis-i-vis the basic skills they need to be effective residents of rural areas. More resources should be put to making instruction more efficient than to extending the number of school years to lower secondary level. 3.6 Effective local initiatives must be encouraged. Clearly the government cannot cover all school expenses, particularly when it comes to upper and lower secondary education. Many parents are unable to provide much cost recovery, but delegations and school authorities should be able to generate funds for schools. To do so, it is important to involve the community in activities, such as festivities, that will create positive impressions and encourage the community to participate. 3.7 Schools run by NGOs should play an increasing role in reaching the poorest and most isolated students. The Bank and the donor community should continue to finance such initiatives in a coordinated manner. 4. Lessons 4.1 What do these projects reveal about education in hard-to-reach rural areas? Below are some conclusions. * A program to build small village schools in rural areas may increase enrollment of boys and girls, particularly if enrollment campaigns are done. To sustain enrollments, the school must be equipped with bathrooms and running water and must be conveniently positioned for children to walk to school safely and relatively quickly. Schools located at the edge of a village may be too remote and lose some of their prospective clientele. 11. Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS), 2000. Moroccan 8th graders scored 325 and 350 out of 650 in science and mathematics respectively; their performance was the second lowest after South Africa and far below other lower middle income countries. 13 * Distance in sparsely populated areas is problematic, particularly when organized transportation is limited. For the secondary school years in Morocco, dormitories have been shown to attract large numbers of students. Dining rooms may help keep day students fed without the need to carry food from home, but they cannot attract distant students. Nevertheless, dormitories are costly, and governments usually cannot afford large numbers of them. School authorities must have the flexibility and sensitivity to help organize means of transport when needed. They must also have the flexibility to generate income or donations for the schools. * To continue enrolling students, the school must respect the agricultural and commercial calendar of the area. Students should be able to attend market days and carry out their usual chores with minimal interference. * Many rural parents are illiterate or do not speak the schools' language, and dropout may result if students do not receive educational support services. Students may need extra help learning the language, overcoming reading difficulties, or even malnutrition. Rural-urban differences in performance are inevitable almost everywhere in the world. Yet, rural area schools are not well equipped to handle the problems students are likely to have. * Keeping parents involved as much as possible has been shown in other countries (e.g., Chile) to create support for school programs and generate funds. Parents' associations might become more active if parents actually get benefits from belonging to them. For example, schools could invite parents to social activities and create occasions of enjoyable togetherness, thus improving the parents' perception of the schools. For rural parents of limited or no education, such activities might prove pivotal in engendering support for the schools. * Stable, sympathetic, and well-trained teachers are badly needed in rural schools. Stability may be greater when local residents are trained to become teachers or assistant teachers; urban residents who are appointed to remote areas may be unhappy, request transfers, alienate the local population, and mistreat children, thus encouraging dropout. Though teacher unions may oppose local assistant teachers, the potential benefits to education are considerable. * It has been long held that female teachers are instrumental in attracting female students in conservative societies. The evidence for the particular utility of female teachers is rather weak, but local female teachers tend to stay in their villages, and the position may increase their personal status. * Rural residents who have urgent survival concerns, may take a dim view of programs that do not offer their children viable skills. Nevertheless, teaching the skills needed for a general education and skills that may be suitable for the rural milieu requires a delicate balance. Rural residents in other countries have been known to reject skills that may merely make children more efficient farmers, possibly because the social status of agricultural work is low. For this reason, agricultural education has rather limited demand. One solution, therefore, is to offer agricultural subjects as secondary subjects that do not interfere with children's mastery of general subjects. To bring about this instruction, extension agents may be used in lieu of regular teachers. * Children must acquire in school the skills needed to transact business satisfactorily, read books and documents that will help improve their life and productivity, get the information needed to safeguard health and education. What matters is not so much the number of years children are in school but what they have managed to learn that will be useful in their lives at least as rural residents. Basic skills should be acquired as fast as possible during the school 14 lives, and then there may be less need (or for a few truly willing students) to go to lower and upper secondary schools. Certainly, the more schooling the better, but benefits and costs must be weighed for countries and families. If schooling is of such low quality that students need to go to lower secondary schools to learn these skills, then measures must be taken to improve the efficiency of primary schools rather than invest more in secondary schools. 4.2 It might be tempting to compare the success of the vocational education project with the failures of the rural projects and to extract some lessons. However, the two are not directly comparable. The vocational education project had a relatively simple and finite number of tasks oriented towards quality improvement, carried out in a few large cities and with a relatively small number of students and teachers. The rural projects encompassed the entire country, including some very hard-to-reach areas and populations. The most pertinent comparison point between the two was the stability of task management in the vocational education project. This is often cited in the Bank as a factor that facilitates project implementation, and it has probably done so in the vocational education project. 15 Annex A Annex A. Project Activities Table 1. Rural Primary Education Project Components/ Activities Targets to be Outputs Outcomes Subcomponents Achieved To promote To increase rural 38% Rural enrollments Though positive, large greater equality of enrollment increased by 35% numbers of children educational are still out of school opportunity Construct, furnish and 11,600 classrooms Physical targets met Prefabricated materials equip facilities 1400 canteens proved unsuitable; bad 2900 staff houses quality, communities 1500 offices did not want them. 120 wells 120 sanitary blocks Decentralize Unclear procedures, Few schools were built construction to limited incentives, in this way. commune level unsuitable materials Increase girls' By 75% By 65% Though positive, large enrollment numbers of girls are still out of school Awareness campaigns Organized Initial positive impact, effects lost during the school year. To improve the In-service teacher Program reduced Some teachers have educational training improved teaching environment behaviors, others not. Through: Textbook program A few grades Now almost all children produced, materials have textbooks remain theoretical Textbook loans Never implemented General inspections Practical guidelines Development started Inspectors still have at the end of the limited means of pro ject transport Curriculum Few grades were Curricula revised development developed around year 2001 Assessment of Not carried out No impact student achievement Proper use of Teacher training Teacher training Textbook use much students' materials improved Strengthen multigrade Teacher training Training carried out Multigrade teaching teaching carried out Improve teacher Recruitment done in Most teacher still recruitment in rural specific provinces, unhappy with areas but teachers may still assignments, while come from far away. local teachers are rare. Strengthen preservice Curricula somewhat Uncertain if there are teacher training improved classroom effects Strengthen School mapping Relatively reliable educational planning more advanced school-level information is available Strengthen monitoring Pilot activities No further and evaluation undertaken advancement Improve health 2-week study tours No impact awareness by a few doctors Computerizing files Program developed Software could not be used Studies Prescription glasses Needs listed, no Not carried out recommendations 16 Annex A Components/ Activities Targets to be Outputs Outcomes Subcomponents Achieved Students' learning Study produced Results not achievement implemented Promotion from Study produced Results not primary to secondary implemented Rationalization of Increasing primary Study undertaken in Bias remains in favor of resources education resources 1989, no further secondary and higher discussion education Technical For studies and other Subcontracted to International and Results and added assistance quality components UNESCO national staff value uncertain contracted 17 Annex A Table 2. Rural Basic Education Development Project Components/ Activities Targets to be Outputs Outcomes Subcomponents Achieved (i) To increase From 51,600 (in Net basic enrollment rural enrollment 1989/1990) to rates increased very 115,200 (at project slightly completion 26,000 enrolled in (1995/96); the 78 colleges Overall, 54,500 students enrolled Girls enrollment Of the 26,000 24% Enrollment changed increases were girls from 23% to 28% during project period (a) the construction, 208-240 middle Only the 208, only 78 Constructed schools equipping and schools, each were put in service are mainly operational furnishing of middle accommodating by the end of the schools in rural areas some 360 students in project a cluster of 9 57 others were under classrooms; construction 55 were cancelled (ii) increase Increase continuation from 62% to 77.2% Attainment uncertain, Dropout happens, often continuation from objective was never due to girls' marriage at lower basic to quantified. 14 or 15. upper basic (b) the rehabilitation 100 Furniture and Physical aspects are and partial there should be 1200 equipment delivered adequate reequipment of about books in each 100 dilapidated middle schools; (c) canteen and 9500 in 1995/96 6090 in 1996-97 Scholarships enable boarding scholarships, 40% to girls only 17% awarded to needy students to which would be continue schooling if provided on an equal they live within 5-6 km basis for boys and scholarships or if there is a girls financed through dormitory available national budget rather than loan (d) free educational Textbooks were not Most students have materials and delivered most needed textbooks textbooks for all Many schools have participating schools obtained textbooks which they rent to students (e) vehicles for 46 were purchased Number is inadequate, inspectors and a in 1996 none were found in the program to strengthen delegations visited curriculum development; (f) the introduction of a Notdone Impossible to know if national educational the project had any achievement impact on achievement assessment program; (g) a study to measure Completed, None yet the impact of factors endorsed affecting middle school participation in rural areas; (h) a comprehensive 52000 teachers to be Training was Teachers did not have in-service teacher trained provided but not a clear idea how to training program specifically to deal with rural students address rural teachers' needs 18 Annex A Co ponentsl Activities Targets to be Outputs Outcomes Subcomponents Achieved To increase the from lower basic to from 62.0% to 77.2% Rate has risen to More students enter rate of upper basic education over the same 83% lower secondary continuation period. schools Technical assistance No activities were No impact undertaken that needed it Table 3. Second Vocational Training Project Components/ Activities Targets to be Outputs Outcomes Subcomponents Achieved Training of Training and technical About 80 trainers 82 trainers Trainers mainly fulfilling trainers assistance 58 trained in their functions Canada, 24 in Italy Upgrading training Re-equipment 33 existing training 31 carried out Specific training programs centers specializations carried out Minor training 15 technical centers Training carried out Quality of courses in electronics improved Periodic improvement Courses routinely A periodic review put Courses correspond of training courses improved in place better to market needs Construction Minor construction, 10 regional Construction Buildings used for equipment coordination units complete training 50 sub-regional units Construction Buildings used for complete training Improving Equipping 10 mobile repair Component No effect planning and units cancelled management Improving vocational Agreements signed, Recovery increased Recovery very hard to tax recovery from Periodic withdrawals to some extent ascertain, even after businesses made auditing Expert services Services Insertion rate is only 40-50% Fellowships 10 per year in France Financed with Trained staff remained bilateral help in service, raised level of other instructors. Studies Managerial Not completed during Completed later, no accounting the loan period concrete recommendations Organization of Not completed during Completed later OFPPT the loan period Professional Completed Methodology used in orientation screening Various other studies Most completed Recommendations partly used. 19 Annex B Annex B. Basic Data Sheets MOROCCO-SECOND VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROJECT (L2779-MOR) Key Project Data Appraisal Actual or Actual as % of Estimate current estimate Appraisal estimate Total project costs (US$) 27.97 27.97 100 Loan amount (US$) 22.3 Cancellation (US$) 0.36 - Date physical components completed: December 31, 1993 Cumulative Estimated and Actual Disbursements (US$ million) FY86 FY87 FY88 FY89 FY90 FY91 FY92 FY93 FY94 Appraisal estimate 2.50 8.30 10.30 0.80 0.40 Actual 0.75 5.95 3.43 5.31 2.96 2.05 1.03 Actual as % of Estimate 31 72 33 664 740 Date of final disbursement May 9, 1994 Project Dates Steps in project cycle Original Actual Identification July 28, 1985 August 31, 1985 Preparation January 17, 1986 February 1986* Appraisal mission April 15,1986 April 14,1986 Loan negotiation November 19, 1986 November 24, 1986 Board approval January 20, 1987 January 20, 1987 Loan Signature March 13, 1987 March 13, 1987 Loan Effectiveness N/A August 12, 1987 Project Completion June 30, 1992 December 31, 1993 Loan closing October 31, 1992 April 30,1994 * Preparation mission date not available due to error in MIS data. 20 Annex B Staff Inputs (staff weeks) Fiscal Year Preappraisal Appraisal Negotiation Supervision Total 1983 6.5 1984 14.0 1985 1986 7.9 23.3 1987 10.1 2.2 1.2 1988 4.6 1989 4.4 1990 7.5 1991 8.0 1992 9.0 1993 15.0 1994 10.4 Total 28.4 33.4 2.2 60.1 124.1 Mission Data Mission Date (mont"kr) N of aff D ion Specializations represented Overall Types of problemsc (# of days) Reconnaissance n/a n/a n/a n/a Identification July/Aug. 1985 1 5 Vocational Educator Tech. Education & Vocational Preparation Jan./Feb. 1986 2 22 Educator Appraisal ApriMay 1986 3 22 Technical Educator; Vocational Apprisal Aprl/Ma 198 22 Educator; Architect Supervisions 1 Oct.INov 1987 1 6 Tech.Noc. Specialist 1 n/a 2 MarchlApril 1988 1 3 Tech.Noc, Specialist 1 n/a 3 October 1988 1 2 Tech.Noc. Specialist 1 Payroll tax and counterpart funds. 4 October 1989 2 6 Tech.Noc. Specialist & I n/a Edc./Econ. 5 March 1990 1 16 Economist 1 n/a 6 September 1990 2 11 Economist & Financial Analyst 2 Delays in procurement of equipment 7 Feb./March 1991 1 38 Financial Analyst 2 OFPT financial equilibrium 8 September 1991 1 10 Financial Analyst 2 Delays in completion of studies 9 February 1992 1 12 Financial Analyst 2 Training of trainers 10 Sept./Oct. 1992 2 18 Financial Analyst & H. R. 2 Placement of trainers in Economist enterprises. 11 April/May 1993 4 9 Training Policy Spec.; H.R. 1 Placement of trainers in Economist; Industrial Dev. Spec.; enterprises Financial Analyst 12 Nov./Dec. 1993 4 18 Training Policy Spec.; H.R. 1 Placement of trainers in Economist: Industrial Dev. Spec.; enterprises Financial Analyst 21 Annex B MOROCCO-RURAL PRIMARY EDUCATION PROJECT(L3026-MOR) Key Project Data Appraisal Actual or Actual as % of Estimate current estimate Appraisal estimate Total project costs (US$) 165 150 90.9 Loan amount (US$) 83 Cancellation (US$) 8 Date physical components completed: December 31, 1996 Cumulative Estimated and Actual Disbursements (US$ million) FY89 FY90 FY91 FY92 FY93 FY94 FY95 FY96 FY97 Appraisal estimate 0.00 8.00 19.00 42.00 57.00 70.00 81.00 83.00 Actual 0.00 0.00 23.06 25.58 40.36 52.66 55.09 65.65 72.5 Actual as % of Estimate --- --- 121 60 71 75 68 79 - Date of final disbursement March 17, 1997 Project Dates Steps in project cycle Original Actual Identification February 15, 1988 Not available Preparation March 28, 1988 Appraisal June 1988 June 6, 1988 Negotiations January 23, 1989 Board presentation November 15, 1988 March 14, 1989 Signing July 21, 1989 Effectiveness November 1, 1989 Project Completion December 31, 1996 Loan closing April 30, 1997 Staff Inputs (staff weeks) Stage of project cycle Planned Revised Actual Weeks US$(oos) Weeks US$(oos) Weeks US$(oos) Through appraisal 38.0 47.9 Appraisal Board 41.7 69.9 Board Effectiveness 7.5 16.5 Supervision 20.5 39.2 19.0 41.6 67.2 163.5 Completion 5.5 8.4 7.0 10.5 2.8 4.3 Total 26.0 47.6 26.0 52.1 157.2 302.1 Note: Due to system changes from MIS to COS, Plan and Revised data are not available for the full project cycle. 22 Annex B Mission Data Duration of Performance ratings Stage of project m t r . s mission Specializations Implement. Develop. Types of problems' cycle (monthWy) sfi (# of days) represented' Status Objectives Through appraisal 2/87 4 15 Appraisal through 6/88 6 15 Board approval Board approval 10/88 2 5 TM, C Government request to increase number of through school facilities; reduce scope of wells and effectiveness sanitary facilities, and exclude Adult Literacy component. Supervision 10/89 2 TM, ES 1 1 -Bid opening for first school construction tranche inconclusive, resulting in a 6-month delay. - Change of Minister. Recommendation by the commissions on various aspects of the education system due in June 89, delayed to September 89 and further delayed to December 89. 5/91 2 TM; A 1 1 - Implementation of TA component delayed. Scope of work revised. - Decentralization of school construction program to local communities. - Sustainability of textbook loan program questioned. 2/92 3 SES; SIS; OA 2 2 - Weak project management. -Delay in implementation of TA component. - Decentralization of school construction leads to inadequate quality control of construction and delay in Bank's disbursements. 2/93 2 PPO; SIS. 2 2 - Due to decentralization, PIU lost control of construction program. - Contract with UNESCO signed but work has not started. 2/94 1 SEE 2 2 - Technical quality of construction. - Delays in payments to suppliers. - Weak project accounting of utilization of loan proceeds. 7/94 2 PPO; ES S S - Decision on the provision of eyeglasses to rural school children is pending. 3/95 3 PPO, A; OAn U S - Slow disbursements due to MOE's inability to collect supporting documents for construction work done. 11/95 3 PPO; ES; OAn U S -Approximately US$11.0 million will not be utilized from loan. 6/96 2 TM, SES S S - Due to the important delay at start-up, full benefits deriving from the activities undertaken under the UNESCO Convention cannot be appreciated. Completion 12/96 2 TM: E S U The prefabricated methods used in school construction did not adequately meet the needs of the users. There were technical problems (sagging ceilings, falling panels, problems with heating and cooling). Most importantly, the communities did not take a proprietary interest in the prefabricated schools, considering them as low quality, compared to schools built under the traditional method ("en dur") in urban areas. Activities prescribed under the TA program contracted to UNESCO took place late during project implementation. Their general multiplying effects will only occur after loan closing and therefore, benefits deriving from them cannot yet be seen, a. A = Architect; C Consultant; E = Educator; ES Education Specialist; OAn Operations Analyst; OA= Operations Assistant; PPO = Princ. Projects Officer; SES = Senior Education Specialist; SEE = Senior Education Economist SIS = Senior Implementation Specialist; SES = School Equipment Specialist; TM = Task Manager 23 Annex B MOROCCO-RURAL BASIC EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PR. (L3295-MOR) Key Project Data Appraisal Actual or Actual as % of Estimate current estimate appraisal estimate Total project costs (US$) 238 98.9 41.6 Loan amount (US$) 145 Cancellation (US$) 90.47 Date physical components completed: December 31, 1997 Cumulative Estimated and Actual Disbursements (US$ million) FY90 FY91 FY92 FY93 FY94 FY95 FY96 FY97 FY98 FY99 Appraisal estimate 0.0 0.0 8.0 30.0 55.0 85.0 115.0 145.0 Actual 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.5 8.8 24.8 40.6 44.8 49.1 54.5 Actual as% estimate -- -- 0 8 16 29 35 31 34 38 Date of final disbursement: November 15, 1998 Note: FY90 ran from July 1, 1989 to June 30, 1990. Project Dates Steps in project cycle Original Actual Identification (Executive Project Summary) April 1, 1989 April 1, 1989 Preparation September 30, 1989 September 30, 1989 Appraisal May 4, 1990 May 4, 1990 Negotiations January 14, 1991 January 14, 1991 Board presentation February 26, 1991 February 26, 1991 Signing September 6, 1991 September 6, 1991 Effectiveness March 19, 1992 March 19, 1992 Loan closing June 30, 1997 June 30, 1998 Staff Inputs (staff weeks) Stage of project cycle Planned Revised Actual Weeks US$ Weeks US$ Weeks US$ Preparation to appraisal 69.8 198.9 Appraisal-Board 21.3 64.4 Negotiations through Board approval 2.3 7.4 Supervision 67.8 218.7 Completion 19.5 63.0 19.5 63.0 10.3 29.1 Total 171.5 518.5 Note: Due to the changes in budgetinglaccounting, only actuals show for stages Preparation>Board approval. 24 Annex B Mission Data Duration of Performance ratingsb Stage of project Date No. of mission Specializations rmplement. Develop. Types ofproblems' cycle (month/yr) staff in (# of days) represented' Status Objectives field Through appraisal 10188 3 12 E. C. NA NA Exclusion of adult literacy from program; reduce in scope size of project due to complexity. 3/89 2 15 E, 00 NA NA Quality of language teaching due to arabization, teacher training; financial burden linked to rapid expansion and flow of students. 10/89 4 21 SGE, ES, 00, NA NA Achieving universal basic education; evaiuation AP; ADB 0 mechanism hoped to select or orient pupils from grade 9 to upper secondary education and related policies; investments to improve access to schools in rural areas and enhance quality of basic education. 1/90 3 15 SGE, 00, AP, NA NA Needs in financing and coverage are very ADB 0 ambitious; impact on recurrent and investment budgets for construction program; agreement on construction design of schools and decentralization of construction program to delegations. Appraisal through 5/90 3 15 E, A NA NA Legal details regarding involvement of local Board approval authorities in project activities. 5/90 4 21 SGE, 00; AP, NA NA Long-term financial commitment; local authorities EAS assuming cost of school construction and basic education expenditures. Supervision 2/92 3 8 SES; SIS; OA 1 1 Construction cost overrun received by government needs to be confirmed (in relation to estimated cost during appraisal); project management weak and cut-off from the MEN; procurement guidelines are not being consistently applied. 2/93 2 17 SIS; POO 1 2 Implementation delay in construction program (by two years following board approval); major implementation problems not resolved prior to board still remain; payment procedures to contractors a serious issue (8-18 months for a contractor to be paid). 11/93 3 11 POO; SIS; C 2 2 Slow payment to contractors and slow disbursement an issue; Ministry of Finance (MOF) micro-manages project civil works, resulting in undue influence on PlU to circumvent normal procurement procedures; delays in implementation progress due to disputes between MOF and MOE. 7194 2 11 POO; CEE U S Contracting, payment and disbursement procedures still require significant improvement, proposal made to increase community involvement and devolve contracting responsibility to some regional authorities. 3/95 3 7 POO; OA; CA U S New project director in place; continued lag in disbursement; teaching equipment not yet procured, inability to collect construction documentation from local communities; impact evaluation study not yet contracted; cost overruns in construction of schools may make it difficult to complete entire program within allocated budget; extension of loan closing date may be necessary. 11/95 3 8 POO; OA; CE U S Rate of construction remains slow; MOE and MOF to work out investment priorities before reviewing Bank proposal to reduce scope of project; need to study the system of school directors' selection-directors lack motivation and management skills. 7/96 2 5 SEE; OA U S Cancellation of $45.0 million; quantitative objectives have been revised; discussions on revised investment program; procurement issues (processes regarding one-envelope system required by the Bank being disputed because it is contrary to local practice of two-envelope submission). 12/96 Update Update Update U U Schools operating with inadequate equipment; contract on assessment support continues to undergo delay in implementation due to continued review by MOE (administrative issues). 25 Annex B Duration of Performance ratings' Stage of project Date No of mission Specializations Implement Develop. Types of problems cycle (monthlyr) staff in (# of days) representec Status Objectives field 5/97 2 10 HRS; OA U U Stop construction program, as of May 23, 1997, given poor attendance of rural schools, high recurrent costs, low proportion of female students, and difficulty in assuring proper water and electricity inputs; in order to finish current schools under construction. 9/97 Update Update Update U U Cancellation of US$15.0 million. Cancellation of March 1998 of US$10.0 million; extension of closing date by 12 months to 6/30/98 impact study yet awaited. 12/97 2 8 HRS; OA U U The impact study to be sent before closing date. Two outstanding contracts (didactical materials and furniture) due 1/31/98. Completion 7/98 1 10 ES NA NA NA a. A = Architect; AP= Architect Planner; ADB 0 = ADB Official; C = Consultant; E Educator; EAS= Education Assessment Specialist; ES Education Specialist; 00 = Operations Officer; SES = Senior Education Specialist; SGE = Senior General Educator; SIS = Senior Implementation Specialist b. I or HS = Highly satisfactory; 2 or S = Satisfactory; 3 or U = Unsatisfactory; 4 or HU = Highly unsatisfactory  27 Annex C ANNEX C. Comments Concerning the Draft Performance Audit Report on Projects in the Education and Training Sector The draft Performance Audit Report on projects in the education and training sector, particularly the section concerning the Second Vocational Training Project (Loan 2779-MOR), prompts the following comments: Pa2e 2 - paragraph 1.4: * "Private vocational education is limited and sometimes of dubious quality." Private vocational training is currently provided by 1,555 institutions located throughout the country. More than 56,000 students are enrolled for the year 2000-01, representing 42 percent of the total number of trainees enrolled in public and private vocational training institutions. As to the quality of the training, since 1995 the Ministry of Vocational Training, in cooperation with businesses, has been implementing a program to upgrade the sector. Initial results have shown definite improvements in the quality of training at private institutions. Accreditation of training courses - one of the tools considered useful for upgrading the sector - has been under way since 1998. Since then, three accreditation cycles have been completed, resulting in the accreditation of 389 training courses provided by 166 institutions whose students account for over 24 percent of persons enrolled in private vocational training classes. A new legal framework has also been established to promote the improvement and development of the private vocational training sector. * "[OFPPT] has 186 centers in most small and large cities but can only admit about 26,000 students...." OFPPT vocational training facilities currently have the capacity to accommodate 45,200 teacher trainees. For the year 2000-01, 53,200 trainees are enrolled in training programs. * "...job insertion rate of...30 percent..." 28 Annex C Job insertion surveys and follow-up surveys of graduates conducted by the Vocational Training Department reveal the following data for OFPPT: Insertion rate Insertion rate (nine months after receiving degree) (12 months after receiving degree) OFPPT 1997 1998 1999 1993 1996 57 60 58 78 72 Page 9 - paragraph 2.9: * "...only about 70 percent of the training expenditures are covered by [the] tax." The training tax collected for 1999/2000 covered 84 percent of OFPPT's operating expenses. See the preceding paragraph for information regarding actual insertion rates. * OFPPT/business partnerships The Professional Training Office has developed partnerships with more than 21 professional associations and groups representing various economic sectors (such as textiles, mechanics, electric power, construction, and services). OFPPT also has signed a number of partnership agreements with various economic operators within the framework of its activities to support and increase the competitiveness of the private sector. Moreover, in implementation of this contracting policy, the associations mentioned above are helping to establish training programs for various entities (including steering committees, vocational training center monitoring committees, business management committees). * Project focus on large cities It should be noted that under the equipment and planning/construction components of the Second Vocational Training Project (loan 2779-MOR), more than 33 vocational training facilities were established in cities throughout Morocco, and not, as the report maintains, only in the major cities. Page 9, paragraph 2.12: * Impact of the project on the administration of OFPPT The project has affected the administration of OFPPT in a number of ways and at various levels: 29 Annex C - Establishment of ten regional offices; - Establishment of a contracting system as part of regional office headquarters/vocational training facility performance contracts, with jointly negotiated objectives and implementation procedures; - Establishment, under the Third Vocational Training Project (In-service Training - Loan 4091-MOR) of a "pursuit of excellence" component in which 50 vocational training facilities are participating; - Granting of increased autonomy to regional offices and participating facilities to enable them to gain a firmer foothold in their social and economic environment; and - Introduction of cost accounting in the vocational training facilities. Paze 10, paragraph 2.12: * The "study on the reorganization of OFPPT has not been implemented yet." Contrary to the assertion in the report, two studies on the reorganization of OFPPT have been carried out: - an initial study on OFPPT reorganization was conducted in 1992; and - a second study, conducted in 1995, resulted in the establishment of the regional offices and tools for establishing and implementing information procedures and systems.