world bank document...apr 19, 2010  · country: pakistan program name: punjab education development...

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Document of The World Bank Report No: ICR00001291 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT (IDA-43170) ON A CREDIT IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 66.1 MILLION (US$ 100 MILLION EQUIVALENT) TO THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN FOR A FOURTH PUNJAB EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT POLICY CREDIT December 17, 2009 Human Development Sector South Asia Region Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized

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Page 1: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

Document of The World Bank

Report No: ICR00001291

IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT (IDA-43170)

ON A

CREDIT

IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 66.1 MILLION (US$ 100 MILLION EQUIVALENT)

TO THE

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN

FOR A

FOURTH PUNJAB EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT POLICY CREDIT

December 17, 2009

Human Development Sector South Asia Region

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Page 2: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS

(Exchange Rate Effective as of April 1, 2007)

Currency Unit = Pak Rupees (PKR) US$ 1.00 = PKR 60.70

FISCAL YEAR

July-June

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ADP Annual Development Plan

CAS Country Assistance Strategy

CIDA Canadian International Development Agency

CPD Continuous Professional Development

DAC Departmental Accounts Committee

DLI Development Linked Indicator

DPC Development Policy Credit

DPL Development Policy Lending

DSD Directorate of Staff Development

DTEs District Training Educators

DTSC District Teacher Support Centers

EDO Executive District Officer

FAS Foundation Assisted Schools

GOP Government of Pakistan

ICR Implementation Completion Results Report

IDA International Development Association

LEAPS Learning and Educational Achievement in Punjab Schools

MEA Monitoring and Evaluation Assistant

NEAS National Education Assessment System

PAD Project Appraisal Document

PDO Project Development Objectives

PEAS Punjab Education Assessment System

PEC Punjab Examination Council

PEDPC Punjab Education Development Policy Credit

PEF Punjab Education Foundation

PESP Punjab Education Sector Project

PESRP Punjab Education Sector Reform Program

PIFRA Project to Improve Financial Reporting and Auditing

PKR Pakistani Rupee

PMIU Punjab Monitoring and Implementation Unit

Page 3: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

PRMP Provincial Resource Management Program

PPRA Public Procurement Regulatory Authority

PRSC Poverty Reduction Support Credit

PSLM Pakistan Social Living Standards Measurement Survey

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

MTBF Medium-Term Budgetary Framework

MTDF Medium-Term Development Framework

MTSF Medium-Term Sector Framework

SMCs School Management Committees

TPV Third Party Validation

Vice President:Isabel Guerrero

Country Director: Yusupha B. Crookes

Sector Manager:Amit Dar

Task Team Leader:Tahseen Sayed

ICR Team LeaderUmbreen Arif

Page 4: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

PAKISTAN PUNJAB EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT POLICY CREDIT

CONTENTS

Data Sheet A. Basic Information

B. Key Dates C. Ratings Summary D. Sector and Theme Codes E. Bank Staff F. Results Framework Analysis G. Ratings of Program Performance in ISRs H. Restructuring

1. Program Context, Development Objectives and Design............................................. 1 2. Key Factors Affecting Implementation and Outcomes............................................... 3 3. Assessment of Outcomes .......................................................................................... 10 4. Assessment of Risk to Development Outcome......................................................... 14 5. Assessment of Bank and Borrower Performance...................................................... 14 6. Lessons Learned........................................................................................................ 15 7. Comments on Issues Raised by Borrower/Implementing Agencies/Partners........... 16 Annex 1 Bank Lending and Implementation Support/Supervision Processes.............. 17 Annex 3. Stakeholder Workshop Report and Results................................................... 20 Annex 4. Summary of Borrower’s ICR and/or Comments on Draft ICR ..................... 21 Annex 5. Comments of Cofinanciers and Other Partners/Stakeholders ....................... 30 Annex 6. List of Supporting Documents....................................................................... 31 MAP

Page 5: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

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A. Basic Information

Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV

Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170

ICR Date: 12/23/2009 ICR Type: Core ICR

Lending Instrument: DPL Borrower: GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN

Original Total Commitment:

XDR 66.1M Disbursed Amount: XDR 66.1M

Revised Amount: XDR 66.1M

Implementing Agencies: Department of Education

Cofinanciers and Other External Partners: B. Key Dates

Process Date Process Original Date Revised / Actual

Date(s)

Concept Review: 01/24/2007 Effectiveness: 06/29/2007 06/14/2007

Appraisal: 03/26/2007 Restructuring(s):

Approval: 06/07/2007 Mid-term Review:

Closing: 12/31/2007 12/31/2007 C. Ratings Summary C.1 Performance Rating by ICR

Outcomes: Satisfactory

Risk to Development Outcome: Moderate

Bank Performance: Satisfactory

Borrower Performance: Satisfactory

C.2 Detailed Ratings of Bank and Borrower Performance (by ICR) Bank Ratings Borrower Ratings

Quality at Entry: Satisfactory Government: Not Applicable

Quality of Supervision: Satisfactory Implementing Agency/Agencies:

Not Applicable

Overall Bank Performance:

Satisfactory Overall Borrower Performance:

Satisfactory

Page 6: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

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C.3 Quality at Entry and Implementation Performance IndicatorsImplementation

Performance Indicators

QAG Assessments (if any)

Rating:

Potential Problem Program at any time (Yes/No):

No Quality at Entry (QEA):

None

Problem Program at any time (Yes/No):

No Quality of Supervision (QSA):

None

DO rating before Closing/Inactive status:

Satisfactory

D. Sector and Theme Codes

Original Actual

Sector Code (as % of total Bank financing)

General education sector 85 85

Sub-national government administration 15 15

Theme Code (as % of total Bank financing)

Administrative and civil service reform 20 20

Education for all 40 40

Law reform 20 20

Public expenditure, financial management and procurement

20 20

E. Bank Staff

Positions At ICR At Approval

Vice President: Isabel M. Guerrero Praful C. Patel

Country Director: Yusupha B. Crookes Yusupha B. Crookes

Sector Manager: Amit Dar Michelle Riboud

Program Team Leader: Tahseen Sayed Khan Tahseen Sayed

ICR Team Leader: Umbreen Arif

ICR Primary Author: Umbreen Arif

Amna W. Mir

Sofia Shakil F. Results Framework Analysis

Program Development Objectives (from Project Appraisal Document) The PEDPC IV is based on the following three pillars and PDOs:

Page 7: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

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(A) Enhance fiscal sustainability and improve the fiduciary environment to: (i) ensure that public expenditure continues to be increased for education at both provincial and district levels in accordance with sector needs; (ii) strengthen the districts# financing capacity and ensure that adequate resources are transferred to districts to meet education needs; (iii) increase transparency of financial management and procurement processes and practices; and (iv) strengthen provincial and district capacities to monitor financial flows. (B) Increase equitable access to education and improve quality and relevance of education. This forms the core reform agenda. Access agenda focuses on programs to: (i) increase participation, retention and completion rates, especially for girls; and (ii) encourage the participation of private sector. The quality agenda seeks to: (i) improve school performance and student learning outcomes; and (ii) improve quality of learning through better teaching practices, better textbooks and a credible examination system. (C) Improve public education sector governance and management to: (i) strengthen sector planning and policy development capacity of the provincial education department; (ii) strengthen district education departments# management and monitoring capacity; (iii) strengthen monitoring and evaluation to gauge education sector performance; and (iv) enhance school based management, and monitoring of school performance by communities. The DPC was closed at the end of the first operation in the second cycle - and replaced by a three year investment lending. Revised Program Development Objectives (if any, as approved by original approving authority) The PDO or key indicators were not revised during implementation (a) PDO Indicator(s)

Indicator Baseline Value

Original Target Values (from

approval documents)

Formally Revised Target Values

Actual Value Achieved at

Completion or Target Years

Indicator 1 : Increase in: a) primary completion rates in government schools; b) enrolments in public schools grade pre-primary to X; c) female participation rates in government schools as % of total enrolment

Value (quantitative or Qualitative)

Baselines for: a) 61%; b) 11 million; c) primary level 46%, 42% female share at middle level and 42% at secondary level

Targets for: a) 66%; b) 3% annual increase; c) primary 48%, middle 45% and secondary 49%

a) 61% b) 11.2 million c) Primary 46%, middle 43%, secondary 41%

Date achieved 12/30/2006 06/30/2009 12/30/2007 Comments a) 0% achievement b) 2% c) primary 0%, middle 33% achievement at

Page 8: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

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(incl. % achievement)

completion of one year, secondary drop in baseline so no achievement in one year.

Indicator 2 : % Increase in: a) Primary NER and GER (Male/Female); b) elementary NER and GER (male and female); c) Secondary NER and GER (Male/female)

Value (quantitative or Qualitative)

Baseline data is as follows with male/female breakdown in brackets: a) primary NER 58(60;55), GER 95 (100;89); b) middle NER 20 (21;19), GER 49(52;45); c) secondary NER 11 (12;11), GER 45 (50;39)

For: a) primary NER 66 (68;64)/GER 100 for both M/F; b) middle NER 30 (35;25), GER 65 (70;60); c) secondary NER 15 (15;14), GER 60 (65;55)

For a) Primary NER 62 (64:59), GER 100 (106:95) b) Middle NER 20 (21:19), GER 55 (59:51) c) Secondary NER 10 (10:9) GER 51 (57:44)

Date achieved 06/30/2006 06/30/2009 12/30/2007 Comments (incl. % achievement)

Achievement in Primary NER 50%, GER 100%, Middle NER 0%, GER 38%, Secondary NER a drop as compared to baseline, therefore no achievement GER40% in the first year of completion.

Indicator 3 : Reduction in primary age out of school children Value (quantitative or Qualitative)

40% 30% 38%

Date achieved 06/30/2006 06/30/2009 12/30/2007 Comments (incl. % achievement)

20% achievement. Original target values were to be achieved by 6/30/2009. The above targets achieved are till Dec 2007 at the closure of the first program of the series.

Indicator 4 : a) Improvement in matriculation pass rates; and b) % improvement in standardized grade V and grade VIII examination results

Value (quantitative or Qualitative)

Baseline for: a) 62%; and b) is a new activity and baseline to be established after conduct of the exam in May 2008

No target as new activity

Not measurable within this time frame

Date achieved 06/30/2006 06/30/2009 12/30/2007 Comments (incl. % achievement)

Original target values were to be achieved by 6/30/2009. The above targets achieved are till Dec 2007 at the closure of the first program of the series.

Indicator 5 : Student performance improved (using national assessment test results as baseline)

Value (quantitative or Qualitative)

Grade 4 NEAS: Urdu 382; Math 430

10% improvement Grdae 4 NEAS: Urdu 382: Math 404

Date achieved 06/30/2006 06/30/2009 12/30/2007

Comments (incl. % achievement)

Grade 4 NEAS Urdu same, Math a drop in value as compared to baseline therfore no achievement. Original target values were to be achieved by 6/30/2009. The above targets achieved are till Dec 2007 at the closure of the first program of the series.

Page 9: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

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(b) Intermediate Outcome Indicator(s)

Indicator Baseline Value

Original Target Values (from

approval documents)

Formally Revised

Target Values

Actual Value Achieved at

Completion or Target Years

Indicator 1 : District support and cluster centers functioning for teachers Value (quantitative or Qualitative)

12 out of 35 districts All 35 districts 16 districts

Date achieved 12/30/2006 06/30/2009 12/30/2007 Comments (incl. % achievement)

54% achievement. Original target values were to be achieved by 6/30/2009. The above targets achieved are till Dec 2007 at the closure of the first program of the series.

Indicator 2 : Number of district education staff provided capacity support

Value (quantitative or Qualitative)

New activity All 35 district education staff

Activity was underway, not completed during this timeframe

Date achieved 06/30/2007 06/30/2007 12/30/2007 Comments (incl. % achievement)

Original target values were to be achieved by 6/30/2009. The above targets achieved are till Dec 2007 at the closure of the first program of the series.

Indicator 3 : Increase in education budget

Value (quantitative or Qualitative)

60

34% increase over the baseline by end of program period in 2009

73

Date achieved 06/30/2006 06/30/2009 12/30/2007 Comments (incl. % achievement)

Approximately 21% increase. Original target values were to be achieved by 6/30/2009. The above targets achieved are till Dec 2007 at the closure of the first program of the series.

Indicator 4 : Improvement in student attendance and reduction in teacher absenteeism

Value (quantitative or Qualitative)

New activity using Composite Monitoring Index data

50% improvement for both student and teacher attendance

Monthly reports showed some improvements in targets. Teacher absenteeism reported at 15%

Date achieved 12/30/2006 06/30/2009 12/30/2007 Comments (incl. % achievement)

Original target values were to be achieved by 6/30/2009. The above targets achieved are till Dec 2007 at the closure of the first program of the series.

Indicator 5 : Opening of textbook development (printing and publishing) through open competition; and textbooks authored through open competition

Value (quantitative or

Textbooks printing and publishing open to

All Textbooks open to

Textbooks and printing and

Page 10: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

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Qualitative) competition for 4 classes; no books authored through open competition

competition for all classes

publishing open for competition for 7 classes. All new books being authored through open competition

Date achieved 12/31/2006 06/30/2009 12/30/2007 Comments (incl. % achievement)

Original target values were to be achieved by 6/30/2009. The above targets achieved are till Dec 2007 at the closure of the first program of the series.

Indicator 6 : Government financing for Punjab Education Foundation (PEF)increased for providing support to low cost private schools, and increase in number of students benefiting from PEF assisted schools

Value (quantitative or Qualitative)

Baseline allocation for PEF: Rs. 500 million; and students 100,000

Rs. 1.5 billion and 350,000 students

Rs. 2.5 billion allocated benefitting 150,000 students

Date achieved 12/31/2006 06/30/2009 12/30/2007 Comments (incl. % achievement)

166% achievement, Rs 1 million above the end of series target of Rs. 1.5 billion

G. Ratings of Program Performance in ISRs

No. Date ISR Archived

DO IP Actual

Disbursements (USD millions)

1 12/12/2007 Satisfactory Satisfactory 99.43 H. Restructuring (if any) Not Applicable

Page 11: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

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1. Program Context, Development Objectives and Design

1.1 Context at Appraisal At the time of preparation of the Fourth Punjab Education Sector Development Policy Credit (PEDPC IV), Pakistan’s economy had staged a remarkable turnaround, laying the ground for sustained growth and poverty reduction. The good performance by the industrial and services sector led to a significant acceleration in economic growth reaching 8.6% in 2004/05. In 2005/06, the economy withstood serious adverse shocks emanating from a devastating earthquake, increase in oil prices and less favorable weather conditions and registered a strong growth of 6.6%. All segments of the population in rural and urban areas gained from income growth, poverty declined significantly and the social indicators started to show some improvements, but still compared poorly with those of other countries with similar level of per capita income. The Government also embarked on several reforms to attract investments and improve the business climate in Pakistan. Tax revenue collection during the first half of 2006/07 increased by 27% than the corresponding period in the previous year. The results of the 2006/07 Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLMS) were also encouraging and showed an improvement in education and health indicators. The federal government approved a five year Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF) 2005-10, complementing the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Punjab, the most densely populated province of Pakistan with almost 56 percent of the country’s total population, showed better health and education outcomes as compared to the rest of the country. The provincial revenue continued to show a healthy growth rate at about 15 percent p.a. over the last five years (FY01-FY06). The government’s fiscal strategy was effective in creating significant fiscal space to sustain the wide ranging reform efforts that were initiated by the government. The PEDPC IV followed the satisfactory completion of a series of Punjab Education Development Policy Credits. The progress in education was declared commendable by the implementation completion and results report (ICR) prepared at the completion of this series. This progress was also evident through the PSLM 2006/07 results and enrolment data of the Punjab Education Department. The 2006 Annual School Census data from the Education Department showed significant progress in student enrolments since 2003, with an increase of approximately 2.1 million students in grades 1 through 10. Girls’ enrolment (an increase of 1.1 million) trends were slightly higher than that for boys (1 million). Punjab Government’s experience with the Development Policy Credits (DPCs) was evaluated as highly successful not only in terms of access but also fiscal reforms, and the government requested World Bank’s support for the second phase of the Punjab Education Sector Reform program (PESRP). The objectives of the phase II of PESRP were to improve performance and quality of school education to improve students’ learning outcomes; improve school participation and retention rates; and reduce gender and regional disparities (grades 1-10). PEDPC IV was closely aligned to the World Bank Country Assessment Strategy (CAS) approved in 2006; it also shared the fiduciary and fiscal reform agenda with the Development Policy Lending (DPLs) operations for irrigation in Punjab. The operation was also linked to other efforts to improve the fiduciary environment such as Project to Improve Financial Reporting and Auditing (PIFRA) and at the federal level with the Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) series. At the provincial level, the fiduciary reforms promoted under the PEDPC series were implemented by Government in the Asian Development Bank-supported Provincial Resource Management Program (PRMP).

Page 12: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

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The PEDPC IV was intended to be the first of a programmatic series of three development policy credits providing continuity to the government’s education reform program. By continuing and deepening the already successful programs, such as girl’s stipends and free textbooks, it provided the necessary support to poor and rural households. The PEDPC was approved in June 2007 by the Board of Executive Directors and IDA financing was committed through US$100 million single tranche DPC. Follow up credits of US$100 million each were planned for FY08 and FY09 as part of the programmatic series in support of the government’s medium term reform program. The series, however, was discontinued, although the Bank continued to support the reform agenda of PESRP through a programmatic investment lending operation (Punjab Education Sector Project) , approved by the Board in June 2009 to support Government’s PESRP for three years..

1.2 Original Program Development Objectives (PDO) and Key Indicators (as approved)

The Fourth Punjab Education Development Policy Credit (PEDPC IV) was the first operation of a series of three development policy credits designed to support the ongoing PESRP, which entered a second Phase. Phase I was supported under a series of three programmatic Development Policy Credits (DPCs) from 2004-2006. The PEDPC series were designed to support PESRP’s three pillars – i) to improve fiscal environment and accountability, ii) expand access and improve quality and iv) improve education sector management and governance.

The objectives of the Phase II PESRP, as outlined in the project document were, to improve performance and quality of school education to improve student learning outcomes; improve school participation and retention rates; and reduce gender and regional disparities (grades 1-10). Some of the results indicated in PEDPC IV for the three year DPC series were (i) 34% increase in education allocations; (ii) increase in primary Net Enrolment Rate (NER) in primary, middle and secondary from a 2006 baseline of 58%, 20% and 11% to 66%, 30% and 15% respectively by 2009/10; (iii) 5% increase in primary completion rate in government schools from 61% to 66%; and, (iv) a percentage improvement in examination and assessment results.

1.3 Revised PDO and Key Indicators, and Reasons/Justification Neither the PDO nor the key indicators were revised.

1.4 Original Policy Areas Supported by the Program The Phase II reform program is based on the following three pillars: I. Enhance fiscal sustainability and improve the fiduciary environment to: (i) ensure

that public expenditure continues to be increased for education at both provincial and district levels in accordance with sector needs; (ii) strengthen the districts financing capacity and ensure that adequate resources are transferred to districts to meet education needs; (iii) increase transparency of financial management and procurement processes and practices; and (iv) strengthen provincial and district capacities to monitor financial flows.

II. Increase equitable access to education and improve quality and relevance of

education. This forms the core reform agenda. Access agenda focuses on programs to: (i) increase participation, retention and completion rates, especially for girls; and (ii) encourage the participation of private sector. The quality agenda seeks to: (i) improve school performance and student learning outcomes; and (ii) improve quality of learning through better teaching practices, better textbooks and a credible examination system.

Page 13: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

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III. Improve public education sector governance and management to: (i) strengthen sector planning and policy development capacity of the provincial education department; (ii) strengthen district education departments’ management and monitoring capacity; (iii) strengthen monitoring and evaluation to gauge education sector performance; and (iv) enhance school based management, and monitoring of school performance by communities.

1.5 Revised Policy Areas The original Policy Areas were not revised

1.6 Other significant changes The PEDPC IV was designed as the first in a second series of three programmatic DPC’s to support the government’s ongoing education reforms under the PESRP. Because of the weak macro-economic situation at the time, PEDPC V was not considered, and the series was discontinued after the fourth education sector credit. Instead, a programmatic approach to investment lending was considered to help sustain the fundamental policy shifts achieved under the DPC series, and to emphasize the focus on implementation and results in the sector. The support to the government’s education sector reforms is now continued as a Sector Investment Credit – the Punjab Education Sector Project (PESP). This program was approved by the Board of Executive Directors of the Bank on June 4, 2009.

2. Key Factors Affecting Implementation and Outcomes

2.1 Program Performance Table 1

Tranche # Amount Expected Release Date

Actual Release Date

Release

Tranche 1 100,000,000 6/30/2007 6/14/2007 Regular

Since the start of the PESRP there has been a steady progress in the education reform program. The implementation of the first phase of the PEDPC was declared highly satisfactory and significant progress was made on increasing enrollments, sector financing and quality agenda. Following the success of the three year DPC series, the implementation of PEDPC IV, although faced with political, economic and security challenges, was satisfactory. The first and the second phase of the DPC series are assessed to have been well embedded in the province’s long-term development agenda, thereby ensuring there was no rollback of the reform efforts even with the changes in government. The achievement of all prior actions as stipulated in the program document laid a good foundation for continuation of the reform program (Table 2).

There was a satisfactory trend in education budget increase and the commitments to MTBF were maintained. The Government of Punjab’s allocation for education at the provincial level

1

increased from Rs. 12.9 billion in 2005/06 to almost Rs. 24 billion in 2006/07 and Rs. 39 billion in 2008/09. The government continues to give priority to development sectors, as is evident by the Budget 2008/09 in which education sector constituted almost 25 percent of the total ADP

2

.

1 Punjab Education Budget data from PMIU, Government of Punjab

2 Government of Punjab, White Paper Budget 2008-09

Page 14: World Bank Document...Apr 19, 2010  · Country: Pakistan Program Name: Punjab Education Development Policy Credit - IV Program ID: P101243 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-43170 ICR Date: 12/23/2009

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The Operation Policy Matrix set annual targets for each policy area, although the operation was discontinued after the first year the Operation Policy Matrix guided the development of the new lending program, PESP, and in defining the Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) agreed under the program. The program performance is summarized pillar by pillar below: Pillar 1: Enhancing fiscal sustainability and improving the fiduciary environment There was satisfactory trend in increasing public allocations for education in the provincial and district budgets. There was evidence of some weakening of the Punjab fiscal position but the situation generally remained stable. The 2007/08 provincial and district budgets showed an increase of approximately 33% allocation for education, this increasing trend continues in the budget of 2008/09 as can be seen from Table 2. A review of the 2006/07 provincial and district budgets shows an increase of 21% in allocation for education sector with recurrent allocation being higher by 23% and development budget increasing by 12%, this trend continued in 2007/08 with an overall increase of 33 %, recurrent allocation being higher by 36% and development increasing by 54%, see table 3 for details. (Since devolution, provinces have made district allocations as a one line item. Each district makes its own sector allocations, at times also receiving federal funding, as in the case of Higher Education. Therefore calculating exact district allocations on education is a tedious task, PMIU has collected district level information on education expenditure to present a picture of district allocations for education sector.) Table 2: A Comparison of Provincial Education Allocation in Punjab (2007/08-2008/09)

(Rs. in millions) Sr. No.

Sector Original Allocation 2007-08

Revised Allocation 2007-08

Allocation 2008-09

% Increase over 2007-08

1 School Education 8,488.000 6,956.412 16,454.000 136.52 Higher Education 9,936.000 9,033.877 9,100.000 0.73 Special

Education 954.450 800.000 1,825.000 128.1

4. Literacy 1,200.000 650.000 1,250.000 92.35. Sports 902.00 638.000 1,500.000 135.1

Total Education 21,480.450 18,078.289 30,129.000 66.7

Table 3: Punjab Education Budget (District and Provincial)

Year District (Dev + Non-Dev)

Provincial (Dev+Non-Dev)

Total (Province and District)

% age Increase

2005-06 47,479.17 12,770 60,249.17 17.96 2006-07 48,686.70 24,713 73,399.70 21.83 2007-08 57,839.66 40,084 97,923.66 33.41

The government has continued to develop MTBF, although at times with some delays, creating additional fiscal space for spending on education reforms. A continued improvement in the budgetary planning processes is evidenced by the preparation of a medium term sector framework (MTSF) by the Education Department in close coordination with the Planning and Finance Departments.

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Continued implementation of fiscal management reforms resulted in an enhanced awareness of accountability processes within the department. A Provincial Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) was established to oversee implementation of public procurement reforms, including development of revised procurement rules. The PESP continues to emphasize the need for continued improvement and capacity building of provincial staff on procurement and for further improving procurement practices in the education sector; this was also reported as an important area of support in the ICR of the first phase of PEDPC. Pillar 2: Increasing equitable access to education and improving quality and relevance of Education

One of the major achievements witnessed after the first phase of the PEDPC was a sharp increase in net enrollment rates, at a much faster rate than in the rest of the country. Primary net enrollments increased from 45% in 2001/02 to 62% in 2006/07, which was considerably higher than the national average of 56%. The increasing trend was observed for both boys and girls, in rural and urban areas and in public and private schools. Total enrolment in public sector increased by 22%, and the private sector also showed improvements by making up approximately 40% of the total enrolment. However, the increase in primary net enrolments has slowed down and shows a slight reversal of 1% by 2007/08. This may be attributed to an increase in the financial burden on families due to rising inflation, lack of physical infrastructure to absorb the enrolment surge and the inability of the quality actions to catch up with the increase in enrolments. This has been an important lesson for the design of the new PESP initiative which emphasizes a deep coordination between demand and supply side interventions to sustain the surge in enrolments overtime. The middle school gross enrolments however, continued to show an encouraging trend during 2007 and beyond that period. The 2007/08 PSLM survey showed middle school gross enrolment for Punjab at 59%, up from 55% in the previous year, with a higher increase for girls as compared to boys. The fluctuating enrolment figures (gross and net) are to be examined in detail to develop a better understanding of the stagnation in net enrolments in government schools and to align program support accordingly. Under PEDPC IV, the government continued to roll out its programs to reduce costs and encourage families to send children to schools. The stipend program was extended to include girls enrolled in grade 9-10. As of 2007/08 roughly 350,000 girl students were benefitting from the scheme. At the same time, the province saw an increase in the gross enrolment ratio for girls in middle school from 43% in 2003 to 51% in 2007. The delivery of free textbooks increased dramatically from distribution of 12.2 million free textbooks in 2004/05 to 27 million in 2007/08. The delivery mechanisms for both stipends and textbooks have been improved over the years resulting in timely and efficient delivery. In addition to textbook distribution, PEDPC IV supported continuation of textbook reforms to promote textbook development (printing and publishing) through an open competition process, which has greatly improved the physical quality of the textbooks making them more attractive and durable, and have led to further improvement in the procurement process of textbook development, including opening up of authorship to private sector. Teacher professional development reforms, with focus on putting in place on-site mentoring support for teachers was also continued under PEDPC IV. Another key reform of PESRP was to improve quality of the school examination system (Grades 5 and 8). The Punjab Examination Commission was unable to conduct examinations in 2007 due to administrative and management weaknesses, but the efforts to strengthen PEC as an autonomous body continued. PEC was able to hold exams in

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2008 and 2009; results have been analyzed and made available on the PEC website for policy and decision makers. These efforts are continuing to be supported by PESP, and the Government is making effective use of these results to give incentives to teachers, and identifying schools requiring the most support and directing specific incentives for teacher improvements. Recognizing the key role that the private sector plays in enhancing access to education, the Punjab Government continued to enhance its support to the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) for the Foundation Assisted Schools (FAS). PEF was restructured in 2004 as an autonomous institution, but was provided public financing to support public-private partnerships, especially for low-cost private schools. In the previous DPC series, the emphasis was on creating the legal environment for establishing PEF’s autonomy and for strengthening the management and implementation systems. Under PEDPC IV, public funding for PEF increased from a baseline of Rs. 500 million to approximately Rs. 3 billion in FY08. In recognition of the role PEF has played in increasing access and quality of education in underserved areas, the current MTSF envisages expanding public financial support for PEF to Rs. 4 billion. With this enhanced support, more than half a million children in Punjab studying in low cost private schools are now benefiting from public support through PEF. The success of the governance structure and autonomous functioning of PEF model has led to good results and triggered a similar initiative in Sindh Province. The program for provision of missing facilities first initiated in March 2004 continued to be pursued under PEDPC IV, by 2006 approximately 33,140 physical infrastructure schemes were completed out of the 36,495 approved by the Government. Implementation was assessed to be slow and several initiatives to speed up construction work and improve its quality were discussed and explored under this program, including expanding the role of School Councils in civil works oversight and management (although there is a long way to go to strengthen community participation in this area). The missing facilities were implemented by district governments, and funds made available directly under PESRP to districts as part of the Terms of Partnership, in 2006-07 Rs. 2.5 billion were allocated for missing facilities. Pillar 3: Improve public education sector governance and management

The education department took important steps to improve education sector management at the district level, specifically focusing on the capacity building of district management staff. After reorganization of district education staff into functional lines, a training program in partnership with a private training institution (Government College University) was developed under PEDPC IV to help build skills in management, planning, financial management and other aspects. Although training activities were slow to start and could not be initiated under PEDPC IV, these are now being held. To date, three batches of district education staff have completed training and received advance certificates in education management (84 officers) and five batches of certificate in education management (145 officers). The Punjab Government is continuing with this phased training program, and is planning to undertake a review of district education management system to explore options for better management models. The monitoring system of the education sector, coordinated by the PMIU, has been the strength of the program; please see section 2.3 for more details. Regular collection of data, monitoring visits to schools and monthly review meetings with districts are some of the key aspects of the monitoring system. The data and analysis continues to guide and shape program performance and implementation.

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Table 3 below details the set of prior actions for the PEDPC all of which were met in a timely manner

Table 3: Prior Actions for PEDPC IV

Tranche 1 List conditions from Legal Agreement/ Program Document Status Education Budget approved for 2006-07 showing at least a 15% increase, with levels and composition aligned with sector strategy.

• Substantial increase in allocations to education sector observed over the years.

• MTDF developed which gives priority to increasing education budget. The share of education in MTDF 2006-09 shows an increase of 24% by 2008-09

• Education Budget 2006/07 shows an increase of 21%

Met

At least 30 ToPs signed with districts for FY07, with agreed annual performance indicators and targets with conditional grants provided on the basis of a need and performance formula

• TOPs signed with 35 districts with transfer of funds in account 4.

Met

At least once Monthly DAC/SDAC meetings held to review and settle ‘advance’ audit paragraphs (backlog and arising) raised on the Provincial Account No. 1 of the Education Sector and demonstrate progressive reduction (at least 10 percent) in outstanding paragraphs

• Starting with a baseline of 32,481 outstanding paragraphs on April 15, 2006 there was a significant decline to approximately 27,000 by March 2007. The DAC/SDACs met regularly.

Met

Draft law for the establishment of Provincial Procurement Regulatory Authority approved by Chief Minister and placed before the Governor for its issuance as an Ordinance

• The ordinance was passed by the provincial assembly in October 2007

Met

Approval of policy and implementation modality to scale up government financial support to private schools

• Policy approved by the Chief Minister. Additional financing also included in FY08 budget

Met

District Training Educators (DTEs) placed in 12 districts through notification, and onsite support for teachers started through cluster based approach

• Education department approved the services of 478 secondary school teachers (Grade 16). The DTEs were placed in 12 districts by the DSD, the finance department also approved the summary of 926 teachers (Grades 9-15) for further posting as DTEs

Met

Textbooks for four classes printed and published through open competitive process

• Process of outsourcing of four classes was implemented. At this time the Text Book Board is continuing this practice and approximately 11 new books have been developed and approved by the Federal Curriculum Wing.

Met

Draft Act for the establishment of an autonomous PEC approved by the Chief Minister and placed before the provincial Cabinet for approval

Met

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• The summary was approved for the establishment of autonomous body “Punjab Examination Commission” as an autonomous body on 16th January, 2006. Draft Act presented to the provincial cabinet for approval.

District education teams’ capacity building programs approved by the provincial government and implementation commenced

• Programs were approved

Met

Composite performance monitoring index, including for teacher absenteeism, approved with quarterly ranking of districts against performance indicators

• Monitoring Index approved and in use by districts for regular reporting.

Met

2.2 Major Factors Affecting Implementation: Overall the government remained committed to the broad goals of the reform program and political support did not weaken over several years of implementation. Some key factors that created greater and sustained political ownership and appetite for continuing with reforms included the following. The participation and ownership of key stakeholder departments, including Finance and Planning and district governments was integral to PESRP implementation, and part of the previous DPC series as well as during PEDPC IV. A substantial focus on quality improvements in education was introduced in the second phase of the PESRP support supported by PEDPC IV. The earlier focus on institutional reforms (such as for teacher professional development, examinations, textbooks) under the first series created the foundation for an enhanced emphasis on quality improvement. Strong MIS and data analysis continued to help monitor progress and guide design and implementation of education activities in the province. This remained the strongest component of the reform program. Information is now readily available to make decisions about teacher recruitments, incentives, school up gradation and analyzing factors that impact student learning. Regular and sustained dialogue between the Bank and senior level Government officials and various stakeholders at the district and school level played a key role in supporting the new government in implementing improvements in sector governance. At the same time, technical inputs from Bank staff through, for example, analytical reports and a variety of just-in-time policy and technical assistance notes have supported design and implementation. The government ensured that other donors support the reform framework, discouraging standalone supply side or project initiatives. UNICEF’s technical support was directed to support the PEC, while CIDA’s support was utilized for the strengthening of teacher education initiatives in the province. Similary, GTZ has recently started providing support to the province on textbooks and learning material development in line with the PESRP framework. Continuity in the Bank’s support and message were central to guiding implementation. The continuity of the DPC series has clearly shown the Government and Bank’s commitment to the PESRP agenda. This is even now continued through a new lending operation as the PESP.

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Risks were well identified and mitigated through program design. The risk mitigation strategy predicted that the good implementation will ensure public pressure to continue program activities even if there is a change in political leadership; this was proved correct as the new political leadership fully endorsed the PESRP and is continuing to support the new lending operation.

Despite these positive factors, there were numerous factors that slowed down implementation.The year 2007 was marked by several economic and political upheavals. After several months of political turmoil and security concerns Emergency was declared in the country in November, followed immediately by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. These and preceding actions at times completely stalled implementation, and at others slowed them down. Political commitment although remained strong but attention was diverted to the economic and security concerns facing the country. The macroeconomic growth seen in advance of project preparation was not sustained during implementation, due in part to the various crises (food, fuel and financial) that likely increased the opportunity cost associated with going to school (or sending one’s children to school). These factors greatly affected the achievement of quantitative targets envisaged under the program but the government’s commitment to continue reforms and policies was commendable.

2.3 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Design, Implementation and Utilization: Strong monitoring systems and data analyses have been instrumental in refining program implementation and in shaping policies. The government selected a few and focused indicators that were a continuation of the first phase DPC, the only addition being a focus on children’s learning achievements. This was an important addition to the framework, focusing governments’ attention on the quality agenda, along with access. This also resulted in the need to collate relevant and authentic data on children’s learning, some sources of this information are PEAS, PEC and the Learning and Educational Achievement in Punjab Schools study. The use of timely data and information has been embedded in the PESRP implementation. The PEDPC IV continued the emphasis on strong field monitoring system that is now incorporated into the district education department’s main responsibilities. The Government approved a performance monitoring index comprising of twelve simple indicators to measure and monitor district performance (see box below), this is now referred to as the performance management index. This index has enabled the PMIU to provide specific feedback to the district governments on areas where improvements are required. The Program Management and Implementation Unit (PMIU) operates a comprehensive system of monitoring performance and results using information from Districts, Directorate of Staff Development (DSD), Punjab Examination Commission (PEC) and Punjab Education Assessment System (PEAS). The information is widely disseminated on the governments’ website. M&E implementation has received extensive support throughout the first DPC series, and continued under PEDPC IV. Punjab has the most extensive education monitoring system tracking sector expenditures, supported through the public financial management system. Sector monitoring of implementation through the Monitoring and Evaluation Assistants (MEAs) provides updated information on a regular basis. To effectively implement M&E, the government of Punjab developed a comprehensive capacity building project for local government education managers. This capacity building scheme provided logistical support (vehicles), technical support (computers) and managerial training (discussed above) on education management. While the hardware support was provided under PEDPC IV, the training activities are now underway. In addition to the ongoing monitoring by PMIU the M&E was supported by third party validation

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(TPVs). The TPVs conducted so far are on a range of activities to test the validity of enrolment data, quality of civil works and distribution of stipends and textbooks.

Box 1. Monitoring District Performance Performance Monitoring Index (PMI)

Indicator Weight Assigned -Increase in Enrollment 8 -Student presence in schools (attendance gap) 8 -Functionalizing of School Councils 8 -Missing Facilities (pace of work) 14 -Missing Facilities (quality of work) 18 -Free textbook distribution 9 -Stipend distribution 7 -Re-opening of non-functional schools 3 -Illegal fee/levies charged 5 -School inspection by district staff 5 -Teacher absenteeism 12 -School cleanliness 3 Total 100

2.4 Expected Next Phase/Follow-up Operation (if any): The discontinuation of the second phase of the DPC series after only the first of three planned credits was immediately followed by the preparation of the Punjab Education Support Project, approved on June 4, 2009 by the Board ($350 million over 3 years). The lessons learned from the DPC series were incorporated into the design of the program and many of the initiatives build on the momentum initiated under the previous programs. The PESP is a specific investment credit using a programmatic approach, disbursing against achievement of education sector indicators directly the government’s budget. This is an innovative instrument maintaining a focus on implementation outcomes through the achievement of measurable targets while providing an enhanced focus on strengthening associated provincial systems through technical capacity building and implementation support. The Operation Policy Matrix targets set the foundation for the PESP Disbursement Linked Indicator matrix. In addition, the PESP provides continued assistance over 3 years, reflecting the Bank’s commitment and predictability of financing, predicated on achievement of results. An important lesson learned from the DPC series was to explore mechanisms to sustain the surge in enrolments observed in the province due to a focus on access related incentives. A study is planned under the present PESP support, this will explore the reasons for dropping primary enrolments in public schools and attempt to match quality initiatives to sustaining and improving enrolments.

3. Assessment of Outcomes

3.1 Relevance of Objectives, Design and Implementation Relevance of Objectives: The objectives of the project were relevant and consistent with the Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy for 2006-2009. This CAS emphasized strengthened

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macroeconomic management and resource utilization (CAS Pillar 1), strengthened governance and service delivery (CAS Pillar 2), and improving lives and protecting the vulnerable. Theses priorities are core elements of the program objectives and design.

The project also contributed to Pakistan’s priority for investing in human development articulated in PRSP II (Government of Pakistan, 2009), finalized in January 2009. PRSP II emphasizes the need (i) to address financing for the sector; strengthen planning and implementation capacity; (ii) improve resource utilization; (iii) enhance governance for greater accountability of education providers to the community; (iv) build capacity of district and local institutions; and (v) strengthen the role of school committees; all of which are central in PERSP. Design and Implementation: The design of the project was relevant, reflecting proper diagnosis and plans to meet the development priorities. The program’s focus on (i) implementation capacity, (ii) governance reforms; (iii) strengthening monitoring and evaluation; and (iv) improved service delivery for underserved groups were appropriately identified as key issues for effective service delivery. The Bank’s implementation assistance was responsive to the government’s needs. The Bank team engaged in high level policy dialogue throughout project implementation, and provided continued technical assistance. In addition, the shift in Bank support from the series of policy credits to investment and results based financing reflected the enhanced focus on implementation outcomes and the need to strengthen associated provincial systems through technical capacity building and implementation support.

3.2 Achievement of Program Development Objectives PEDPC IV was expected to be the first in a series of three DPCs, the PDOs and targets were therefore framed in the context of a three year program. The progress on the achievement of quantitative targets by the end of PEDPC IV varies, the province however continued to show satisfactory progress on gross enrolments, fiscal reforms and policy interventions. A detailed progress against the PDO indicators and some of the intermediate indicators are given below. PDO Indicator 1: Increase in: a) primary completion rates in government schools; b) enrolments in public schools grade pre-primary to X; c) female participation rates in government schools as % of total enrolment Although the gains in this indicator are not very significant but the support provided by the PEDPC program ensured there was no regression due to economic and political turmoil facing the country. The fiscal reforms supported under pillar 1 greatly improved the fiduciary environment of the province, the education budget continued to show an increase for both recurrent and development allocations. Financial commitments for key interventions supporting access such as stipends and textbooks were maintained, reducing the direct cost of schooling for poor and disadvantaged households. The absolute enrolment figures in government schools increased from the baseline of 11 million in 2006 to 11.2 million, this is calculated as an annual increase of 2% as compared to the 3% envisaged in the targets. The participation of girls in government schools showed a varying trend, remaining static for primary, increasing by 1% for middle level and dropping by 1% for secondary level. PDO Indicator 2: % Increase in: a) Primary NER and GER (Male/Female); b) middle NER and GER (male and female); c) Secondary NER and GER (Male/female) As explained above the programs combined focus on fiscal reforms and maintaining education budget for key activities allowed the province to show progress achieved in the previous DPC series, in addition to the above, the program also supported capacity and system improvement to

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improve service delivery. A significant achievement of the previous DPC series was recruitment of more than 49,000 teachers to address student teacher ratios and reduce the number of non-functional schools; under PEDPC IV the policy for recruitment was further improved resulting in a plan to hire 34,000 more teachers in 2008/09. The program specially focused on increasing specialist teachers in middle and secondary schools. PSLM data of 2006/07 collected for both public and private schools shows a slight improvement in primary gross enrolments for both boys and girls. The middle school gross enrollment also shows an increasing trend that continues across 2005/06 through 2007/08. This is especially encouraging for girls’ enrollment as it indicates an increase of approximately 6%. The gross enrollments for secondary level also show good improvement for both girls and boys, suggesting progress towards achievement of targets indicated in PEDPC IV. The slow progress in primary enrolments is however a clear indication of a need to focus program activities on improving access and quality to ensure gains in enrollments can be sustained over the years. PDO Indicator 3: Reduction in primary age out of school children The program anticipated that increasing enrollments and bringing out-of-school children will require schools to be physically ready. Activities were designed to provide districts with need-based and performance -based grants to undertake infrastructure improvements, this combined with policies to support free education, free textbooks, low-cost private schooling and stipends has contributed to reducing out of school children. Previous assessments of civil works had raised concerns about slow progress, quality and piecemeal selection of missing facilities in schools. The program supported the use of external contracting mechanisms to speed up school up-gradation and rehabilitation work, this not only improved the capacity of the education department to undertake contracts but also allowed them to focus on whole-school approach to providing missing facilities. There was a slight reduction in the percentage of primary age (5-9 years old) out of school children from 40% baseline to 38%; however this was still better in comparison to national averages. There is a continued need to improve district management capacity to plan, assess and deliver on school improvements in the province. PDO Indicator 4 and 5: a) Improvement in matriculation pass rates; and b) % improvement in standardized grade V and grade VIII examination results Student performance improved (using national assessment test results as baseline) Although quality achievements anticipated in the DPC series could not be quantified in one year of implementation, however there was good progress made to introduce innovative activities to improve and measure quality of teaching and learning in schools. Textbooks that are at times the only learning tool in schools are now out-sourced, the competition allowing the government to select the best quality books, textbook procurement reforms are still underway in the new PESP initiative. Efforts were made to strengthen PEC and the results on national assessments were shared widely to influence policy making. District support cluster centers were developed for 16 districts to provide on-site support for continuous professional development of teachers and the monthly reports collected by the PMIU indicated an improvement in student attendance and teacher absenteeism in schools. The CPD program made operational in 12 districts is ongoing; expansion in other districts is envisaged under PESP after an evaluation of the first phase of implementation in 12 districts. Among the intermediate outcome indicators a most significant achievement of the first year was the increase in PEF funding which increased substantially to Rs. 2.5 billion from a baseline of Rs. 500 million. PEF continues to be recognized as an important activity that is contributing to improving access and quality of education in underserved areas. The success of PEF can be contributed to the program’s emphasis on regular assessments and documentation of PEF

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activities and ensuring that PEF systems follow the highest accountability standards. This has contributed to the government’s acceptance and expansion of this innovative scheme. A significant contribution of the program in achieving all PDOs has been its focus on monitoring and evaluation with efficient data collection and analysis at the provincial, district and school level. This emphasis on data analysis has not only contributed to improved planning, management and decision making by government but has also raised awareness among all stakeholders about the issues in schools, especially in the rural areas. The database continues to be used for teacher incentives, evaluation of district performance

3.4 Justification of Overall Outcome Rating Rating: Satisfactory The achievement of the development outcomes is rated satisfactory, reflecting progress towards achievement for most of the key performance indicators. While some of the indicators have not fully achieved the targets, this assessment is limited to occur well in advance of target completion date. Nevertheless, there has been substantial progress across all indicators, and in many cases achievement of targets well in advance of projected completion date. The substantial achievement in most of the key project development outcomes has resulted in improvements in the access, equity and quality of the education sector. In addition, the PDOs remained relevant throughout project implementation and continue to remain relevant today. These achievements are expected to have long term benefits of positive impact on level of human capital and economic development as the investments are sustained.

3.5 Overarching Themes, Other Outcomes and Impacts (a) Poverty Impacts, Gender Aspects, and Social Development The incentives provided under the PESRP helped increase the enrollment of children in school by reducing the cost of education and providing households an incentive to send children to school. These incentives were also designed to improve equity across regional and gender disparities. The program has also subsidized private schooling for children who would otherwise be unable to study in private schools.

(b) Institutional Change/Strengthening Implementation of PEDPC has resulted in many significant institutional changes, thereby strengthening capacity. Some of the most significant areas of improvement are listed below:

i. Fiscal sustainability and effectiveness of public expenditures have been improved through a continued focus on MTBF processes and financial management and procurement reforms.

ii. Education department’s capacity has been strengthened through continued technical assistance and the supporting role played by the PMIU, which is an integral arm of the education department. The PMIU is the primary coordination unit for informing policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation, donor coordination and other reform initiatives.

iii. MIS has greatly strengthened the planning processed in the education department resulting in information based decision making.

(c) Other Unintended Outcomes and Impacts (positive or negative, if any) The program has greatly unified donor support in the province, providing a single platform for education development.

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3.6 Summary of Findings of Beneficiary Survey and/or Stakeholder Workshops Not applicable

4. Assessment of Risk to Development Outcome Rating: Moderate There were a number of identified risks that threatened the sustainability of the reform program, and possibly negatively impacting the progress and achievement of the PDOs. These included: (i) declining political commitment to the reform program; (ii) uncertainty in political stability; (iii) capacity constraints, despite improvements to date; and (iv) questions of national security that limit Bank supervision. However, by maintaining intensive policy dialogue and continued and sustained support over a number of years, these risks were mitigated and reduced. Some mitigation measures that were undertaken as part of both PEDPC and PESP included: (i) intensive, high quality and continued dialogue between the Bank team and government; (ii) strong emphasis on continued capacity building for the implementation of reform initiatives; and (iii) systematic third party validations and ability for video-conference supervision in the event of restricted mission. Further, ownership of the education reforms and widespread awareness among communities created an irreversible demand on government – despite changes in government – to continue on the same path of objectives that PESRP had promoted.

5. Assessment of Bank and Borrower Performance

5.1 Bank Performance (a) Bank Performance in Ensuring Quality at Entry

Rating: Satisfactory The Bank performance for ensuring quality at entry is rated as satisfactory. The Bank team remained proactively engaged with the government on the program design, including policy dialogue, while reinforcing ownership and active participation and consultation of various stakeholders, from provincial to district government. In addition, project objectives established at entry remained relevant through implementation and continue to be in line with country priorities because of sound design focused on addressing key poverty, gender and social development aspects. (b) Quality of Supervision

Rating: Satisfactory The quality of supervision is rated as satisfactory. The Bank’s task team was composed of Human Development, PREM, Financial Management and Procurement, and Social Assessment staff and international and national consultants who contributed significantly. The cross sectoral support was exemplary, with seamless integration of reforms across the various sectors in the project. The close collaboration with the government during preparation and negotiation continued through implementation, and ultimately the preparation of the PESP. In addition, strong donor coordination, notably with DFID, UNICEF, CIDA and GTZ, enabled better alignment of technical expertise and sources while reduced the reporting burden for the government. (c) Justification of Rating for Overall Bank Performance Rating: Satisfactory The Bank team worked closely with the government, proactively engaged in design and preparation of the project. Strong dialogue with key policy makers was maintained to ensure quality during implementation. The team, consisting of staff from various sectors of the Bank, maintained efficient supervision and monitoring of the program. The engagement and close collaboration ensured a continued dialogue, resulting in the preparation of the PESP.

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5.2 Borrower Performance (a) Government Performance

Rating: Satisfactory The government showed high ownership and commitment to implement the project at all levels and across departments. This was demonstrated by instituting crosscutting reforms, both in the education sector and in public finance, and making considerable progress to improve service delivery. Monitoring and evaluation system were maintained and analysis was actively used for decision making and performance monitoring. (b) Implementing Agency or Agencies Performance

Rating: Satisfactory The Education Department under the leadership of the Punjab Government demonstrated due diligence and commitment to implement activities agreed under the program. The PMIU formed under the PESRP played a key role in managing and monitoring the reform program and in providing regular analysis to inform program implementation and decision making. PMIU also played a key role in the timely and quality distribution of free textbook delivery and girls’ stipends. The linkages between districts and provincial education departments were strengthened, supporting service delivery at the school level. (c) Justification of Rating for Overall Borrower Performance

Rating: Satisfactory

The Borrower ensured quality at preparation and implementation and complied with covenants and agreements, ensuring progress toward the achievement of development objectives.

6. Lessons Learned There are many lessons from the implementation of PEDPC, many of which were included in the design of the PESP: Sustained sector improvement requires higher level alignment at both political and bureaucratic levels and overall enabling fiscal and fiduciary frameworks. Lessons from PEDPC have confirmed that leadership and political championship are critical for successful implementation of sustainable reforms. A sector program that combines sector-specific interventions with cross-cutting fiscal and fiduciary interventions is more likely to yield results and to be sustained. It also contributes to increased ownership of the sector program beyond the line department. A strong partnership between key stakeholders – Planning and Development, Finance and Education Departments (P&D, FD and ED respectively) – facilitated increased implementation momentum. Complementary non-lending analytical and advisory support and sustained dialogue is essential.Bank engagement at the highest political levels played a key role in supporting the new government in implementing improvements in sector governance. At the same time, technical inputs from Bank staff through, for example, analytical reports and a variety of just-in-time policy and technical assistance notes supported design and implementation. Given the educational context in Pakistan, it is important to simultaneously address the issues of school access and quality. Without quality, access may start showing a downward trend over

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time. There is deeper coordination required between putting children in schools and ensuring that schools are the learning places that can contribute to children’s development. A good monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system that provides timely and reliable information is essential. A well-designed and comprehensive M&E framework needs to be integrated into the design of any sector-wide program. Establishment of baselines, followed by intensive monitoring, and verification/triangulation from different data sources increases the credibility of and accountability for results. The use of data in planning and monitoring itself helps focus attention on the quality of monitoring data and on improving their reliability. A reliable and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system can contribute to the political sustainability of programs; it also facilitates mid-course program corrections and refinements. Systematic communication can play a key role in ensuring wider understanding and ownership. Strategic communications can increase understanding among the general public, media and civil society, local communities as well as internal stakeholders such as teachers or other employees. This involves two way communications and extensive consultations. An outcome of such communication and creation of wide ownership was the continuation of PESRP when the leadership and government of the province underwent a change. Focused and consistent messages in the government and World Bank dialogue can be critical to ensuring continued implementation progress even after project preparation and approval.

7. Comments on Issues Raised by Borrower/Implementing Agencies/Partners (a) Borrower/Implementing Agencies

(b) Cofinanciers Not Applicable (c) Other partners and stakeholders None

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Annex 1 Bank Lending and Implementation Support/Supervision Processes

(a) Task Team members

Names Title Unit Responsibility/ Specialty

Lending Tahseen Sayed Task team Leader SASHDEducation

Sofia Shakil Co-Task Team Leader SASHDEducation

Hadi Abushakra Chief Counsel LEGMSKishore Uprety Senior Counsel LEGMSIsmaila B. Ceesay Sr. Financial Mangt. Specialist SARFMSaeeda Sabah Rashid Financial Management Specialist SARFMHanid Mukhtar Senior Economist SASEP Helen J. Craig Sr. Education Specialist. SASHDNazmul Chaudhury Senior Economist SASHDAsif Ali Senior Procurement Specialist SARPS Zia Al Jalaly Senior Social Development Spec SASDI S. Ameer Naqvi Senior Education Consultant Riaz Mahmood Financial Management Analyst SARFMShaheen Malik Research Analyst SASPR

Amna W. Mir Program Assistant SASHDM. Khalid Khan Program Assistant SASHDPeer Reviewers

Robin S. Horn Education Sector Manager HDNEDEduardo Velez Bustillo Sector Manager LCSHEBarbara Bruns Lead Economist HDNVP

Supervision Syeda Madiha Mansoor Ahmed

E T Consultant SASHD

Zia Al Jalaly Senior Social Development Spec SASDI Asif Ali Senior Procurement Specialist SARPS Nazmul Chaudhury Senior Economist SASEDHelen J. Craig Sr. Education Specialist SASEDRiaz Mahmood Financial Management Analyst SARFMShaheen Malik Research Analyst SASEP Amna W. Mir Program Assistant SASHDHanid Mukhtar Senior Economist SASEP Saeeda Sabah Rashid Financial Management Specialist SARFMSofia Shakil Sr. Education Specialist SASED

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(b) Staff Time and Cost

Staff Time and Cost (Bank Budget Only) Stage

No. of staff weeks USD Thousands (including travel and consultant costs)

Lending FY06 0.00 FY07 51 150.04 FY08 0.24

Total: 51 150.28 Supervision/ICR

FY06 0.00 FY07 0.55 FY08 38 133.27

Total: 38 133.82

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Annex 2. Beneficiary Survey Results

Not Applicable

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Annex 3. Stakeholder Workshop Report and Results Not applicable

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Annex 4. Summary of Borrower’s ICR and/or Comments on Draft ICR

Punjab Education Sector Reform Program (PESRP)

PUNJAB EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT POLICY CREDIT (PEDPC)

1. Program Objectives, Design and Implementation The PEDPC IV was intended to be the first of a programmatic series of three development policy credits providing continuity to the government’s education reform program. By continuing and deepening the already successful programs, such as girl’s stipends and free textbooks, it provided the necessary support to poor and rural households. The PEDPC was approved in June 2007 by the Board of Executive Directors and IDA financing was committed through US$100 million single tranche DPC. Follow up credits of US$100 million each were planned for FY08 and FY09 as part of the programmatic series in support of the government’s medium term reform program. The series, however, was discontinued, although the Bank continued to support the reform agenda of PESRP through a programmatic investment lending operation (Punjab Education Sector Project) , approved by the Board in June 2009 to support Government’s PESRP for three years.

1.1. Key Program Objectives The Fourth Punjab Education Development Policy Credit (PEDPC IV) was the first operation of a series of three development policy credits designed to support the ongoing PESRP, which entered a second Phase. Phase I was supported under a series of three programmatic Development Policy Credits (DPCs) from 2004-2006. The PEDPC series were designed to support PESRP’s three pillars:

• To improve fiscal environment and accountability, • Expand access and improve quality and • Improve education sector management and governance.

The objectives of the Phase II PESRP were:

- to improve performance and quality of school education - to improve student learning outcomes - to improve school participation and retention rates - to reduce gender and regional disparities (grades 1-10).

Some of the results indicated in PEDPC IV for the three year DPC series were (i) 34% increase in education allocations; (ii) increase in primary Net Enrolment Rate (NER) in primary, elementary and secondary from a 2006 baseline of 58%, 20% and 11% to 66%, 30% and 15% respectively by 2009/10; (iii) 5% increase in primary completion rate in government schools from 61% to 66%; and, (iv) a percentage improvement in examination and assessment results.

1.2. Program Design

The Phase II reform program is based on the following three pillars: III. Enhance fiscal sustainability and improve the fiduciary environment to: (i) ensure that

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public expenditure continues to be increased for education at both provincial and district levels in accordance with sector needs; (ii) strengthen the districts financing capacity and ensure that adequate resources are transferred to districts to meet education needs; (iii) increase transparency of financial management and procurement processes and practices; and (iv) strengthen provincial and district capacities to monitor financial flows.

IV. Increase equitable access to education and improve quality and relevance of education. This

formed the core reform agenda. Access agenda focused on programs to: (i) increase participation, retention and completion rates, especially for girls; and (ii) encourage the participation of private sector. The quality agenda aimed to: (i) improve school performance and student learning outcomes; and (ii) improve quality of learning through better teaching practices, better textbooks and a credible examination system.

III. Improve public education sector governance and management to: (i) strengthen sector planning and policy development capacity of the provincial education department; (ii) strengthen district education departments’ management and monitoring capacity; (iii) strengthen monitoring and evaluation to gauge education sector performance; and (iv) enhance school based management, and monitoring of school performance by communities.

1.3. Expected Benefits:

The program helped school education department to focus on key areas and as a result enrolment of students at all level witnessed significant increase. It also helped to identify weaknesses in the system which necessitated improvement in the financial resources and continuous oversight on different initiatives under implementation. In addition to this the following benefits were also achieved:

• All initiatives in the school education department were taken on the basis of data and this helped the department to use resources wherever they were required.

• Recruitment of educators, up gradation and missing facilities were provided on the basis of need and this practice resulted in efficient use of funds and resources made available to schools.

• To improve learning and teaching environment at schools the role of school councils was enhanced and a comprehensive guideline was developed by the PMIU to be used by the school councils. As a result most of the issues pertaining to procurement of learning material and other minor expenditures were addressed.

• The PMIU (PESRP) instituted a comprehensive monitoring system through which all schools were monitored and performance of districts was measured against key indicators.

1.4. Program Implementation and Operational Experience

Since the start of the PESRP there has been a steady progress in the education reform program. The implementation of the first phase of the PEDPC was declared highly satisfactory and significant progress was made on increasing enrollments, sector financing and quality agenda. Following the success of the three year DPC series, the implementation of PEDPC IV, although faced with political, economic and security challenges, was commendable. The first and the second phase of the DPC series are assessed to have been well embedded in the province’s long-term development agenda, thereby ensuring there was no rollback of the reform efforts even with the changes in government. The achievement of all prior actions as stipulated in the program document laid a good foundation for continuation of the reform program (Table 2).

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There was a satisfactory trend in education budget increase and the commitments to MTBF were maintained. The Government of Punjab’s allocation for education at the provincial level

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increased from Rs. 12.9 billion in 2005/06 to almost Rs. 24 billion in 2006/07 and Rs. 39 billion in 2008/09. The government continues to give priority to development sectors, as is evident by the Budget 2008/09 in which education sector constituted almost 25 percent of the total ADP

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.The Operation Policy Matrix set annual targets for each policy area, although the operation was discontinued after the first year the Operation Policy Matrix guided the development of the new lending program, Punjab Education Support Program (PESP) and in defining the Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) agreed under the program.

1.4.1. Performance under Reform Program Pillars

Pillar 1: Enhancing fiscal sustainability and improving the fiduciary environment Achievements:

- Public allocations for education in the provincial and district budgets were increased. The

2007/08 provincial and district budgets allocation for education increased by 33% and this increasing trend continued in the budget of 2008/09. A review of the 2006/07 provincial and district budgets shows an increase of 21% in allocation for education sector with recurrent allocation being higher by 23% and development budget increasing by 12%, this trend continued in 2007/08 with an overall increase of 33 %, recurrent allocation being higher by 36% and development increasing by 54%.

- Since devolution, provinces have made district allocations as a one line item. Each district makes its own sector allocations, at times also receiving federal funding, as in the case of Higher Education. Therefore calculating exact district allocations on education is a tedious task, PMIU has collected district level information on education expenditure to present a picture of district allocations for education sector.

- The government has continued to develop MTBF, although at times with some delays, creating additional fiscal space for spending on education reforms. A continued improvement in the budgetary planning processes is evidenced by the preparation of a medium term sector framework (MTSF) by the Education Department in close coordination with the Planning and Finance Departments.

- Continued implementation of fiscal management reforms resulted in an enhanced awareness of accountability processes within the department. A Provincial Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) was established to oversee implementation of public procurement reforms, including development of revised procurement rules. The PESP continues to emphasize the need for continued improvement and capacity building of provincial staff on procurement and for further improving procurement practices in the education sector; this was also reported as an important area of support in the ICR of the first phase of PEDPC.

Operational Experience: The provincial government developed Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF) through which financial support to the education sector was ensured. This three year MTDF ear marked the resources against all sectors and those particular to education were especially

3 Punjab Education Budget data from PMIU, Government of Punjab

4 Government of Punjab, White Paper Budget 2008-09

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increased and protected throughout this period. MTDF and Medium Term Financial Framework (MTFF) showed commitment of the provincial government and improved financial management. In order to ensure better financial management a high level focus was given to the settlement of audit paragraph. A committee under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary Punjab was constituted to oversee progress vis a vis settlement of audit paragraphs at provincial level. The school education department maintains huge number of DDOs who require comprehensive and continuous training for better financial management. To address this need the project also provided an opportunity to the education department staff to have their capacity built under different training programs at both provincial and district levels.

Pillar 2: Increasing equitable access to education and improving quality and relevance of Education

Achievements:

- A sharp increase in net enrollment rates, at a much faster rate than in the rest of the country. Primary enrollments increased from 45% in 2001/02 to 62% in 2006/07, which was considerably higher than the national average of 56%. The increasing trend was observed for both boys and girls, in rural and urban areas and in public and private schools. Total enrolment in public sector increased by 22%, and the private sector also showed improvements by making up approximately 40% of the total enrolment.

- The government continued to roll out its programs to reduce costs and encourage families to send children to schools. The stipend program was extended to include girls enrolled in grade 9-10. As of 2007/08 roughly 350,000 girl students were benefitting from the scheme. At the same time, the province saw an increase in the gross enrolment ratio for girls in middle school from 43% in 2003 to 51% in 2007.

- The delivery of free textbooks increased dramatically from distribution of 12.2 million free textbooks in 2004/05 to 27 million in 2007/08. The delivery mechanisms for both stipends and textbooks have been improved over the years resulting in timely and efficient delivery.

- In addition to textbook distribution, PEDPC IV supported continuation of textbook reforms to promote textbook development (printing and publishing) through an open competition process, which has greatly improved the physical quality of the textbooks making them more attractive and durable, and have led to further improvement in the procurement process of textbook development, including opening up of authorship to private sector.

- Teacher professional development reforms, with focus on putting in place on-site mentoring support for teachers was also continued under PEDPC IV.

- Another key reform of PESRP was to improve quality of the school examination system (Grades 5 and 8). The Punjab Examination Commission was unable to conduct examinations in 2007 due to administrative and management weaknesses, but the efforts to strengthen PEC as an autonomous body continued. PEC was able to hold exams in 2008 and 2009; results have been analyzed and made available on the PEC website for policy and decision makers. These efforts are continuing to be supported by PESP, and the Government is making effective use of these results to give incentives to teachers, and identifying schools requiring the most support and directing specific incentives for teacher improvements.

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- Recognizing the key role that the private sector plays in enhancing access to education, the Punjab Government continued to enhance its support to the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) for the Foundation Assisted Schools (FAS). PEF was restructured in 2004 as an autonomous institution, but was provided public financing to support public-private partnerships, especially for low-cost private schools. In the previous DPC series, the emphasis was on creating the legal environment for establishing PEF’s autonomy and for strengthening the management and implementation systems. Under PEDPC IV, public funding for PEF increased from a baseline of Rs. 400 million to approximately Rs. 3 billion in FY08. In recognition of the role PEF has played in increasing access and quality of education in underserved areas, the current MTSF envisages expanding public financial support for PEF to Rs. 4 billion. With this enhanced support, more than half a million children in Punjab studying in low cost private schools are now benefiting from public support through PEF. The success of the governance structure and autonomous functioning of PEF model has led to good results and triggered a similar initiative in Sindh Province.

- The program for provision of missing facilities first initiated in March 2004 continued to be pursued under PEDPC IV, by 2006 approximately 33,140 physical infrastructure schemes were completed out of the 36,495 approved by the Government. Implementation was assessed to be slow and several initiatives to speed up construction work and improve its quality were discussed and explored under this program, including expanding the role of School Councils in civil works oversight and management (although there is a long way to go to strengthen community participation in this area). The missing facilities were implemented by district governments, and funds made available directly under PESRP to districts as part of the Terms of Partnership, in 2006-07 Rs. 2.5 billion were allocated for missing facilities.

Operational Experience: Under PESRP the provincial government initiated a program to bridge missing facilities in all public sector schools in a phased manner. PMIU generates a list of schools on the basis of need and enrolment load. These schools are surveyed by the joint survey team, constituted for the purpose, and then prioritized by the district steering committee for undertaking of missing facilities schemes. Once a school was selected all its missing facilities were addressed in one go. Similarly, in order to improve access schools were upgraded on the basis of approved criteria. This system of prioritizing schools according to criteria is now being accepted and implemented by the districts. The stipend program was successful and contributed to increasing enrolment. However, the districts faced some capacity issues vis a vis delivery of stipends by the post offices. The post office staff handles delivery of stipends manually and the capacity of this channel is not enough to manage huge number of money orders particularly in districts where the enrolment of girls ranges from 3000 – 40000. Over the span of five years PMIU has managed to identify and rectify loop holes in the delivery of text books. The system is now more institutionalized at both the provincial and district level and ensures delivery of books within the first week of the start of the academic year to all students in schools. The Directorate of Staff Development (DSD) has successfully launched Continuous Professional Development program (CPD) in twelve districts of Punjab. Under this program the District Teacher Educator (DTE) provided on site support to teachers. In view of the

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success of the program the CPD framework is being rolled out in another twelve districts of Punjab. The mandate of the DTEs has been enhanced to include all teachers. Punjab Examination Commission (PEC) successfully conducted class 5 and 8 examinations during 2008 and 2009. PEC data has enabled the school education department to identify schools and subjects which are showing unsatisfactory results. The department plans to launch a study to identify weaknesses in learning outcomes of children and school facilities and suggest measures to make improvements. PEF is expanding its operations to cover areas where the access issue is acute. Due to support to the private sector, enrolment in PEF assisted schools has witnessed huge increase. PEF is now assisting the private sector to set up new schools in areas still not covered by both the public and private sector. Pillar 3: Improve public education sector governance and management Achievements:

- The education department took important steps to improve education sector management at the district level, specifically focusing on the capacity building of district management staff. After reorganization of district education staff into functional lines, a training program in partnership with a private training institution (Government College University) was developed under PEDPC IV to help build skills in management, planning, financial management and other aspects. Although training activities were slow to start and could not be initiated under PEDPC IV, these are now being held.

- To date, three batches of district education staff have completed training and received advance certificates in education management (84 officers) and five batches of certificate in education management (145 officers).

- The Punjab Government is continuing with this phased training program, and is planning to undertake a review of district education management system to explore options for better management models.

Operational Experience: Education in Punjab is a huge sector and faced with a lot of problems. Capacity constraints both at provincial and district level hamper efforts in implementation of various initiatives. In order to overcome this capacity problem the department has launched a capacity building program for District Education Managers. However, the department feels that mere capacity building of the district education staff will not solve the problem and there is a need to create financial and administratively independent authority at each district for effective management. This proposal is being considered seriously for implementation by the provincial government.

2. Assessment of Outcomes PEDPC IV was expected to be the first in a series of three DPCs, the PDOs and targets were therefore framed in the context of a three year program. The progress on the achievement of these targets by the end of PEDPC IV was satisfactory, detailed progress against the PDO indicators and some of the intermediate indicators are given below.

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PDO Indicator 1: Increase in: a) primary completion rates in government schools; b) enrolments in public schools grade pre-primary to X; c) female participation rates in government schools as % of total enrolment Although the gains in this indicator are not very significant but the support provided by the PEDPC program ensured there was no regression due to economic and political turmoil facing the country. The fiscal reforms supported under pillar 1 greatly improved the fiduciary environment of the province, the education budget continued to show an increase for both recurrent and development allocations. Financial commitments for key interventions supporting access such as stipends and textbooks were maintained, reducing the direct cost of schooling for poor and disadvantaged households. The absolute enrolment figures in government schools increased from the baseline of 11 million in 2006 to 11.2 million, this is calculated as an annual increase of 2% as compared to the 3% envisaged in the targets. The participation of girls in government schools showed a varying trend, remaining static for primary, increasing by 1% for middle level and dropping by 1% for secondary level. PDO Indicator 2: % Increase in: a) Primary NER and GER (Male/Female); b) elementary NER and GER (male and female); c) Secondary NER and GER (Male/female) As explained above the programs combined focus on fiscal reforms and maintaining education budget for key activities allowed the province to show progress achieved in the previous DPC series, in addition to the above, the program also supported capacity and system improvement to improve service delivery. A significant achievement of the previous DPC series was recruitment of more than 49,000 teachers to address student teacher ratios and reduce the number of non-functional schools; under PEDPC IV the policy for recruitment was further improved resulting in a plan to hire 34,000 more teachers in 2008/09. The program specially focused on increasing specialist teachers in middle and secondary schools. PSLM data of 2006/07 collected for both public and private schools shows a slight improvement in primary gross enrolments for both boys and girls. The middle school gross enrollment also shows an increasing trend that continues across 2005/06 through 2007/08. This is especially encouraging for girls’ enrollment as it indicates an increase of approximately 6%. The gross enrollments for secondary level also show good improvement for both girls and boys, suggesting progress towards achievement of targets indicated in PEDPC IV. The slow progress in primary enrolments is however a clear indication of a need to focus program activities on improving access and quality to ensure gains in enrollments can be sustained over the years. PDO Indicator 3: Reduction in primary age out of school children The program anticipated that increasing enrollments and bringing out-of-school children will require schools to be physically ready. Activities were designed to provide districts with need-based and performance -based grants to undertake infrastructure improvements, this combined with policies to support free education, free textbooks, low-cost private schooling and stipends has contributed to reducing out of school children. Previous assessments of civil works had raised concerns about slow progress, quality and piecemeal selection of missing facilities in schools. The program supported the use of external contracting mechanisms to speed up school up-gradation and rehabilitation work, this not only improved the capacity of the education department to undertake contracts but also allowed them to focus on whole-school approach to providing missing facilities. There was a slight reduction in the percentage of primary age (5-9 years old) out of school children from 40% baseline to 38%; however this was still better in comparison to national averages. There is a continued need to improve district management capacity to plan, assess and deliver on school improvements in the province.

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PDO Indicator 4 and 5: a) Improvement in matriculation pass rates; and b) % improvement in standardized grade V and grade VIII examination results Student performance improved (using national assessment test results as baseline) Although quality achievements anticipated in the DPC series could not be quantified in one year of implementation, however there was good progress made to introduce innovative activities to improve and measure quality of teaching and learning in schools. Textbooks that are at times the only learning tool in schools are now out-sourced, the competition allowing the government to select the best quality books, textbook procurement reforms are still underway in the new PESP initiative. Efforts were made to strengthen PEC and the results on national assessments were shared widely to influence policy making. District support cluster centers were developed for 16 districts to provide on-site support for continuous professional development of teachers and the monthly reports collected by the PMIU indicated an improvement in student attendance and teacher absenteeism in schools. The CPD program made operational in 12 districts is ongoing; expansion in other districts is envisaged under PESP after an evaluation of the first phase of implementation in 12 districts. Among the intermediate outcome indicators a most significant achievement of the first year was the increase in PEF funding which increased substantially to Rs. 2.5 billion from a baseline of Rs. 500 million. PEF continues to be recognized as an important activity that is contributing to improving access and quality of education in underserved areas. The success of PEF can be contributed to the program’s emphasis on regular assessments and documentation of PEF activities and ensuring that PEF systems follow the highest accountability standards. This has contributed to the government’s acceptance and expansion of this innovative scheme. A significant contribution of the program in achieving all PDOs has been its focus on monitoring and evaluation with efficient data collection and analysis at the provincial, district and school level. This emphasis on data analysis has not only contributed to improved planning, management and decision making by government but has also raised awareness among all stakeholders about the situation in schools, especially in the rural areas. The database continues to be used for teacher incentives, evaluation of district performance

3. Borrower Performance (a) Government Performance

Rating: The government and implementing agency are the same so the discussion and rating are given below in section (c). (b) Implementing Agency or Agencies Performance

(c) Justification of Rating for Overall Borrower Performance Rating: Satisfactory

The government showed high ownership and commitment to implement the project at all levels and across departments. This was demonstrated by instituting crosscutting reforms, both in the education sector and in public finance, and making considerable progress to improve service delivery. Monitoring and evaluation system were maintained and analysis was actively used for decision making and performance monitoring. The Borrower ensured quality at preparation and implementation and complied with covenants and agreements, ensuring progress toward the achievement of development objectives.

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4. Bank Performance (a) Bank Performance in Ensuring Quality at Entry

Rating: Satisfactory The Bank performance for ensuring quality at entry is rated as satisfactory. The Bank team remained proactively engaged with the government on the program design, including policy dialogue, while reinforcing ownership and active participation and consultation of various stakeholders, from provincial to district government. In addition, project objectives established at entry remained relevant through implementation and continue to be in line with country priorities because of sound design focused on addressing key poverty, gender and social development aspects. (b) Quality of Supervision

Rating: Satisfactory The quality of supervision is rated as satisfactory. The Bank’s task team was composed of Human Development, PREM, Financial Management and Procurement, and Social Assessment staff and international and national consultants who contributed significantly. The cross sectoral support was exemplary, with seamless integration of reforms across the various sectors in the project. The close collaboration with the government during preparation and negotiation continued through implementation, and ultimately the preparation of the PESP. In addition, strong donor coordination, notably with DFID, UNICEF, CIDA and GTZ, enabled better alignment of technical expertise and sources while reduced the reporting burden for the government. (c) Justification of Rating for Overall Bank Performance Rating: Satisfactory The Bank team worked closely with the government, proactively engaged in design and preparation of the project. Strong dialogue with key policy makers was maintained to ensure quality during implementation. The team, consisting of staff from various sectors of the Bank, maintained efficient supervision and monitoring of the program. The engagement and close collaboration ensured a continued dialogue, resulting in the preparation of the PESP.

5. Institutional Arrangement for Sustainability of Reform Program In view of the success of the PESRP World Bank committed continued support for the ongoing reform agenda of the Punjab Government. Under the recently signed PESP the World Bank agreed to provide $350 million for the next three years. PESP also includes TA component that would help build the capacity of the department as well as support implementation of the agreed program. The school education department would continue to implement its ongoing program with more focus on quality and improved governance in the sector. In order to ensure effective implementation of PESP a high level provincial steering committee under the chairmanship of Chairman P&D Board has been constituted to monitor implementation of all activities. PMIU PESRP has also been strengthened to manage and implement reforms in financial management and procurement. There is high level political and bureaucratic commitment and support for the reform program. Both the Bank and the Govt. of Punjab regularly consult each other and maintain strong, effective communication links.

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Annex 5. Comments of Cofinanciers and Other Partners/Stakeholders

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Annex 6. List of Supporting Documents Government of Pakistan, Federal Bureau of Statistics (2008). Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) 2006/07. Government of Pakistan, Federal Bureau of Statistics (2009). Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) 2007/08. Government of Pakistan, Finance Division (2009). Pakistan Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) –II. Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Finance (2003). Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), “Accelerating Growth and Reducing Poverty, The Road Ahead”. World Bank (2006). Pakistan Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for FY06-09, April 4, 2006 (Report No. 35718-PAK)

World Bank (2007). Program Document: Fourth Punjab Education Development Policy Credit

World Bank (2009). Project Appraisal Document. Punjab Education Support Program

World Bank. Aide-Memories, Back-to-office reports, Management Letters, Project Status Reports/Implementation Status and Results reports of all implementation review missions and project preparation missions from May 2007-July 2009.

Government of Punjab, MTDF 2008-11 & Development Programme 2008-09

Government of Punjab, Punjab Economic Report 2007/08

Government of Punjab, White Paper Budget 2007-08 and 2008-09

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MAP

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