ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK PPA: PHI 21194

PROJECT PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT

ON THE

SECONDARY EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT SECTOR PROJECT (Loan 898-PHI[SF])

IN

THE PHILIPPINES

December 1999

CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS

Currency Unit – Peso (P)

At Appraisal At Project Completion At Operations Evaluation P1.00 = $0.0475 $0.03816 $0.0257 $1.00 = P21.062 P26.201 P38.90

ABBREVIATIONS

ACS ? average class size ADB ? Asian Development Bank AFI ? average family income BME ? benefit monitoring and evaluation BSE ? Bureau of Secondary Education CAR ? Cordillera Autonomous Region CSR ? cohort survival rate DECS ? Department of Education, Culture, and Sports DOR ? dropout rate EDPITAF ? Educational Development Projects Implementing Task Force FGD ? focus group discussion FLR ? functional literacy rate IPF ? incidence of poor family LFA ? labor force in agriculture MIS ? management information system MOOE ? maintenance and other operating expense MPS ? mean performance score NCR ? National Capital Region NSAT ? National Secondary Achievement Test NSEC ? New Secondary Education Curriculum PAR ? participation rate PCR ? project completion report PEHM ? Physical Education, Health, and Music PEP ? Primary Education Project PMU ? project management unit PPAR ? project performance audit report SEDP ? Secondary Education Development Program SY ? school year THE ? Technology and Home Economics TQM ? total quality management TSR ? teacher/student ratio

NOTES

(i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government ends on 31 December. (ii) The school year (SY) is from June to March.

(iii) In this report, “$” refers to US dollars.

Operations Evaluation Office, PE-530

CONTENTS

Page BASIC DATA ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii MAP v I. BACKGROUND 1 A. Rationale 1 B. Formulation 1 C. Objectives and Scope at Appraisal 1 D. Financing Arrangements 2 E. Major Findings of the Project Completion Report 2 F. Preparation of the PPAR 3 II. IMPLEMENTATION PERFORMANCE 4 A. Design 4 B. Contracting, Construction, and Commissioning 4 C. Organization and Management 5 D. Actual Cost and Financing 6 E. Implementation Schedule 6 F. Technical Assistance 6 G. Compliance with Loan Covenants 7 III. PROJECT RESULTS 7 A. Operational Performance 7 B. Financial Performance 14 C. Sociocultural and Socioeconomic Impact 16 D. Institutional and Policy Impact 17 E. Gestation and Sustainability 17 IV. KEY ISSUES 18 A. Provision of Secondary Education: Public-Private Sector Mix 18 B. The New Secondary Education Curriculum 19 C. Preservice Curriculum for Teachers 20 V. CONCLUSIONS 20 A. Overall Assessment 20 B. Lessons Learned 21 C. Follow-Up Actions 22 APPENDIXES 24

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Project was the first loan assistance that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided for the improvement of secondary education (Grades 7-10, ages 13-16 years) in the Philippines. The project design was supportive of the Government’s medium-term goals as set out in the five-year Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan, 1987-1992. The objective of the Project was to improve the quality and efficiency of the secondary education system, and enhance access and equity. The Project was financed under a sector loan in direct support of the Government’s Secondary Education Development Program. Inputs consisted of classrooms and other physical facilities, equipment, textbooks, instructional materials development, in-service teacher training, and research and evaluation activities. Private schools also benefitted from the Project. The Project is evaluated in the context of major Government policy changes enacted during the life of the Project (1988-1995): (i) free secondary education (effective school year [SY] 1988/89); (ii) nationalization of barangay, municipal, and provincial high schools in 1988; (iii) phasing in of the New Secondary Education Curriculum (NSEC) starting in SY1989/90; (iv) implementation of the new salary structure for teachers, which increased the basic teacher salary from P6,000 to P9,000/month effective SY1994/95; (v) decentralization of school management starting in 1997, which gave administrative and fiscal autonomy to schools; and (vi) phaseout of the National College Entrance Examination in 1993 and adoption of the National Secondary Achievement Test (NSAT) in 1994. The actual cost of the Project at completion was $166.9 million equivalent (95 percent of the original estimate). Of this amount, the Government financed $101 million (60 percent) equivalent of local currency cost, and ADB contributed $65.9 million (40 percent). The Canadian International Development Agency provided a bilateral commodity grant in the amount of about $10.7 million equivalent for textbook paper. Partial cancellation in the amount of $8 million was made in October 1994 and the remaining amount of about $1.5 million was cancelled at loan closing. The loan was approved in August 1988 and the Project was completed in November 1995. A delay of almost two years was caused mainly by difficulties in the recruitment of qualified project staff, centrally directed management, multiplicity of implementing agencies, inadequate monitoring and information system, protracted land acquisition, and natural disasters. The Project followed through on the World Bank’s $100 million Elementary Education Project assistance (Grades 1-6), which was closed in December 1988. The Project achieved, and even exceeded, the physical targets set at appraisal. While physical facilities, equipment and textbooks were sufficiently provided in the Project, the gains in the improvement of quality, efficiency and access were not sustained due to Government budgetary constraints. The general outcome indicators (measures of achievement of quality, efficiency, access and equity objectives), specifically participation rate, cohort survival rate, dropout rate, and the NSAT scores, did not improve much (with some even declining over the years). On the other hand, the study found that most of the factors significantly affecting them, particularly functional literacy, family income, and the incidence of poverty, are beyond the scope and control of the Project. The Project provided the initial inputs to the major curricular reform, the NSEC, but much more and a longer gestation period were needed. While the Project contributed to the expansion of classroom capacity to absorb a significant portion of increases in enrollment, upgraded the capabilities of the teaching force and school management, and provided supporting instructional materials and equipment, it was not sufficient to substantially

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narrow the gap between the requirements of the NSEC and what was available. At the classroom level, where most of the teaching-learning process occurs, not much has changed. Despite these limitations, some gains in learning achievements are discernible from the NSAT scores, which has shown a steady improvement over the past five years although the level is still far from ideal. The Project benefited mainly lower income families. Seventy-five percent of the public secondary school beneficiaries were barangay high schools? where the large majority of students of low-income families in the provinces are enrolled. The education sector, particularly basic education, has long been women-dominated. Among principals and teachers, around 75 percent are women. Girls comprise about 51 percent of the enrollment, and generally perform better than their male classmates. Institutional capacity has been strengthened. The majority of the staff at the national, regional, and divisional levels who participated in fellowship programs are reportedly still with the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports in various offices. Their fellowship training combined with the actual involvement in the Secondary Education Development Program are valuable inputs to enhance the sector’s institutional capacity. The need for strengthening the management information system and benefit monitoring and evaluation was confirmed by the Operations Evaluation Mission, based on the difficulty of getting consistent time-series data relating to both the Project and the subsector. The need for reliable, up-to-date, and comprehensive data was urgently felt even in the preparation of this report. A number of issues need to be reviewed: government and private sector mix in the provision of secondary education, the NSEC, and the preservice curriculum for teacher training. There is a need to review existing policies and programs, or design new ones, to encourage and enable private schools to assume a greater share in the delivery of secondary education. At the same time, there is scope for the Government to continue to provide access to secondary education in remote places where costs would be so high that private high schools would not be viable. The effectiveness of the NSEC is limited by the lack of teacher preparation; the far-from-ideal learning environment in the classroom; and the low capacity of the majority of students to absorb what is being taught. The issue, then, is to what extent should the coverage and depth of the curriculum be modified to better suit the capability of the delivery system and the capacity of the students, without falling far behind the international norm. Through in-service training the Project attempted to bridge the gap between the teachers’ preservice training and the requirements of the new curriculum. There is a need to restructure the preservice curriculum of the teacher training institutes so that it will match the demands of the NSEC. The Project has successfully laid a firm foundation for succeeding projects to build on. The physical facilities and the teachers and administrators are still in place and, above all, the NSEC has been implemented systemwide. However, there were major shortcomings in the research and evaluation activities that were envisaged to provide the data and analysis to enable the Government to identify, plan and operationalize future inputs in management and policy development. There were also shortcomings in the establishment of the benefit monitoring and evaluation and the management information system, as well as quality problems in civil works, equipment specification and procurement, and textbook production and distribution. Taking into account the deteriorating state of secondary education since the Project was completed, the Project is rated partly successful. In this context, the implementation of a follow-up project comes none too soon.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Rationale

1. The secondary education subsector was described as the weakest link and the least efficient tier in the Philippine educational system by an education sector review conducted by the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS) and the World Bank in 1988. The Project1 helped strengthen the subsector by supporting the Government’s Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP). When the Project started in school year (SY) 1988/89, the subsector had 5,496 schools with an enrollment of 3.7 million students and a teaching force of 108,716 teachers. As of SY1997/98, the number of schools had grown to 6,673, an average increase of 2.18 percent per annum. Enrollment rose to 4.98 million and the number of teachers to 147,297, an average annual growth rate of 3.24 and 3.43 percent, respectively (Appendix 1). 2. A number of major Government policy changes enacted during this period had profound effects on the educational system. These are (i) free secondary education (effective SY1988/89), which provided full government subsidy for tuition and textbooks to all high school students in public schools; (ii) nationalization of barangay,2 municipal, and provincial high schools in 1988 (about 40 percent of total schools and 20 percent of all high school students at the time); (iii) phasing in of the New Secondary Education Curriculum (NSEC) starting in SY1989/90, replacing the 1973 revised curriculum that had been in use for over 15 years; (iv) implementation of the new salary structure for teachers, which increased the basic teacher salary from P6,000 to P9,000/month effective SY1994/95; and (v) decentralization of school management starting in 1997, which gave administrative and fiscal autonomy to schools.

B. Formulation

3. The Project was the first loan assistance that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided for the improvement of secondary education (Grades 7-10, ages 13-16 years) in the Philippines. Originally prepared for World Bank financing as a sector loan to directly support the implementation of SEDP, the Government requested ADB to take over the Project as it preferred a concessional loan, which the World Bank could not provide. The Government’s request was in line with its policy to finance priority programs under the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (1987-1992). The Project was appraised in May 1988. It followed through on the World Bank’s $100 million assistance to improve the efficiency of elementary education (Grades 1-6), which was closed in December 1988.

1 Loan 898-PHI(SF): Secondary Education Development Sector Project, for $70 million, approved on 11 August 1988.

2 The barangay is the basic government unit comprising 100-500 families. Barangay high schools have average enrollments of 270 students.

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C. Objectives and Scope at Appraisal

4. The overall objective of the Project was to improve the quality and efficiency of the secondary education system in the Philippines, and enhance access and equity through the provision of classrooms, equipment, textbooks, in-service teacher training, and research and evaluation activities. The Project consisted of two parts: (i) provision of physical facilities and equipment to selected schools; and (ii) curriculum and instructional materials development, staff development, assistance to improve private secondary education, sector management, and evaluation. 5. The Project was to assist 673 schools in all of the country’s 13 regions,3 accounting for about 20 percent of all public high schools at the time. The provision of additional space was expected to accommodate 11 percent of increased enrolment. The Project was to support the development and production of textbooks and teachers manuals as required by the NSEC with targets of 25.9 million textbooks and 463,000 manuals. All public school teachers (around 68,600), and 20,000 private school teachers, were to be trained in the implementation of the NSEC and the use of the new textbooks and instructional materials. All administrators in national and regional offices (around 3,500), as well as 1,000 administrators from private schools, were to be trained to improve their administrative, supervisory, and managerial skills. To undertake these training programs, a total of 3,744 trainers (half from private schools) were to be trained under the Project. Fellowships, consulting services, the strengthening of the management information system (MIS), the establishment of a benefit and monitoring evaluation (BME) system, and the carrying out of policy-related research involving 20 studies were part of the Project in support of its overall objective.

D. Financing Arrangements

6. The total project cost at appraisal was estimated at $175 million equivalent, with a foreign exchange component of $51.7 million (about 30 percent, including $1.8 million in service charges) and a local currency component of $123.3 million equivalent (about 70 percent). ADB approved a loan of $70 million from its special funds resources to cover 40 percent of the total project cost. The Government was to finance part of the local cost estimated at $105 million equivalent. The Borrower was the Republic of the Philippines.

E. Major Findings of the Project Completion Report

7. A Project Completion Report (PCR) Mission was fielded in October 1995 and the PCR was circulated in August 1996. The PCR noted that the scope of work, given the five-year implementation period, was overly ambitious. There was difficulty in engaging qualified

3 Three regions have been created since, namely, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao, and Caraga which comprises Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur.

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candidates for the project management unit (PMU). Project implementation involved a complex structure of 10 entities at different levels within DECS, including the regional and divisional offices. Central planning and management proved inefficient which were subsequently improved by increased delegation of responsibilities to the regional level. Despite these, the performance of DECS (the Executing Agency) and of the Educational Development Projects Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF? the lead Implementing Agency) were found to be satisfactory. 8. The Project added 216,000 seats in 675 schools, and helped accommodate 24 percent of the increased enrollment in the public high schools. A total of 34.1 million textbooks were produced and distributed increasing the textbook/student ratio from one book for every seven students in 1986 to two books for every three students in 1992. A total of 133,000 teachers and principals were trained, including 47,580 from private schools. Teachers who were trained under the Project were generally satisfied with the training, and expressed interest in further in-service training. While accomplishments in these components exceeded the targets made at appraisal, the MIS and the BME intended for sector management and evaluation improvements, as well as the research and studies component, fell short of expectations. The PCR concluded that generally, the Project successfully achieved its physical targets and supported Government initiatives to improve quality, efficiency, access, and equity in the secondary education system. 9. The PCR recommended that DECS undertake follow-up measures, i.e.: (i) improve the textbook delivery system, (ii) establish a monitoring system at division offices to oversee the status of textbook availability and shortages, (iii) review the curriculum and content of textbooks, and (iv) examine and implement alternative school maintenance initiatives. A number of lessons learned were also listed, which the follow-up project4 took into consideration: (i) early start of the preparation of the BME and MIS framework, with each project component having a built-in BME mechanism; (ii) simplification of implementation structure to ensure coordination, and advanced training for project management staff; (iii) more attention to be paid to the logistics system and management requirements for textbook procurement, storage, and delivery; (iv) teacher training to comprise a series of short courses vis-à-vis a one-shot long training program; and (v) ensure stronger linkages and coordination between DECS and teacher training institutes.

F. Preparation of the PPAR

10. This project performance audit report (PPAR) focuses on pertinent aspects of the Project and presents the findings of the Operations Evaluation Mission, which was fielded from 22 February to 12 March 1999. The PPAR drew its conclusions and recommendations from three sources: (i) survey questionnaires; (ii) focus group discussions (FGDs) and other Mission findings; and (iii) secondary statistical data from DECS. Institutional profile forms (for 320 schools) and survey questionnaires (for 1,600 teachers and 3,200 senior students) were distributed in February 1999 to all 16 DECS regional offices. A total of 110 school profiles, 539 teachers’ and 1,097 senior students questionnaires were returned? more than double the envisaged returns (34 percent). The sample distribution is shown in Appendix 2.

4 Loan 1654-PHI: Secondary Education Development and Improvement Project, for $53 million, approved on 11 December 1998. The loan was declared effective on 19 May 1999.

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11. To complement the quantitative survey, FGDs with teachers were held in the seven priority provinces, i.e., Agusan del Sur, Antique, Benguet, Guimaras, Ifugao, Leyte, and Surigao del Sur, as well as the National Capital Region (NCR). A total of 98 teachers representing 53 schools participated in FGDs, each lasting from 2.5 to 3.5 hours. Highlights of the FGDs are summarized in Appendix 3. The Mission visited a sample of 20 selected schools in four priority regions (Regions 6, 8, Caraga, and CAR) and in Region 10 (Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon). Interviews with regional directors, division superintendents, chiefs of the secondary education divisions, school principals, and other officials were conducted. Secondary research on published statistics and related studies were also made. Findings in the FGDs, interviews, and school visits were used as a cross-check on the consistency and reliability of the survey data. 12. The PPAR assesses the (i) Project’s performance in attaining its overall objective of improving the quality of and access to secondary education; (ii) institutional development impact on the Executing and Implementing Agencies, and other involved agencies; (iii) sustainability of institutional capacity (appropriate policies, management expertise, staff and other personnel), and financial sustainability (meeting recurrent costs); (iv) issues that need to be resolved and follow-up actions that need to be taken by either the Government or ADB, or both, to further strengthen the secondary education sector; and (v) lessons and whether these have been adequately reflected in the follow-up project. Copies of the draft report were sent to the Borrower, Implementing Agency (EDPITAF), the Bureau of Secondary Education (the Implementing Agency of the follow-up project, Loan 1654 [footnote 3]) and other agencies, and ADB staff concerned for review and comments. Comments received were taken into consideration in finalizing the report.

II. IMPLEMENTATION PERFORMANCE

A. Design

13. The project design was supportive of the Government’s Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (1987-1992). In the education sector, the Plan envisaged near universal enrollment for elementary education by 1992, provision of free secondary education, and improvement in cohort survival rates, particularly in the disadvantaged regions. The Project was in direct support of the Government’s SEDP, whose overall objective was to improve the quality of secondary education. SEDP envisaged that (i) textbooks, equipment, classrooms, laboratories, and workshops would be provided to match the NSEC; (ii) teachers and administrators would be trained en masse in the use of the NSEC; (iii) priority would be given to disadvantaged regions and rural areas to reduce inequity in access to education; (iv) school fees in public high schools would be abolished to improve access; and (v) research would be conducted to find ways to improve efficiency. The same components were incorporated into the design of the Project. Given the sector requirements, the design of the Project was more hardware oriented (67 percent of the base cost was for civil works and equipment) and was considered appropriate in meeting its objectives. Institutional and human resource development components, including improvement of private secondary education, were integral parts of the Project, addressing planning, administration, management, and evaluation issues. 14. The design followed a functional management approach to allow each of the five implementing agencies full responsibility for planning, work supervision, monitoring, and reporting. However, owing to the complex implementation arrangements, especially as this was a sector project, DECS initially found it necessary to impose central planning and management of the Project that proved ineffective. Subsequently, increased responsibilities were delegated to the regional offices. The Project design focused on support for the improvement of MIS at the Office of Planning Service and on the establishment of a BME system within PMU at EDPITAF. The role of the Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE) in the management of the secondary education sector was not given sufficient attention. While BSE is responsible for secondary education, the Project design emphasized institutional development in EDPITAF. On the other hand, the follow-up project (Loan 1654 [footnote 3]) has placed full responsibility for project implementation on BSE. An education MIS that will be integrated with the project monitoring information system, is part of the operational strategy of the follow-up project. Finally, the $210,000 for the research and studies subcomponent to review the capacity of DECS to formulate, plan, and implement sector policies was an underestimate, so that only 8 of the envisaged 20 research projects were undertaken.

B. Contracting, Construction, and Commissioning

15. The Project provided 675 schools with a standard package (at a cost of around P3.8 million per package) comprising four classrooms, a workshop (for Technology and Home Economics [THE]), a science laboratory, a library, a teachers’ room, administrative rooms, and toilets, as well as equipment and furniture. The schools were selected nationally according to a

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set of criteria. Civil works contracts were awarded on the basis of competitive bidding among prequalified local contractors. The standard equipment package for each school comprised science, mathematics, and practical arts equipment amounting to some 160 items. Equipment was procured through international competitive bidding, international shopping, or limited tendering. Furniture design and specifications were developed by the Physical Facilities Division of BSE. Procurement was through local competitive bidding. Textbooks and corresponding manuals for eight subjects5 in each of the four grade levels were developed by the Instructional Materials Council in cooperation with BSE. A total of 34.1 million textbooks and 255,100 manuals were distributed by the Instructional Materials Corporation, now the Instructional Materials Development Center of DECS. Printing services were procured through local competitive bidding and contracted to around 20 private printers. 16. Originally envisaged to be completed by March 1992, civil works were completed only in early 1995. The appraisal process of the subprojects took longer than estimated, and delayed implementation by nearly two years due to (i) the sheer number of schools to be appraised (over 1,000 schools were appraised to select 675 schools); (ii) the requirement that each school own at least 10,000 square meters (m2) of land (although the size was later reduced to 6,000 m2, more than 50 percent of the selected schools had to acquire additional land prior to construction); and (iii) shortage of building materials. The delay in land acquisition had a detrimental effect on procurement and delivery of equipment and furniture. Late procurement and delivery were also due to (i) time-consuming internal clearance processes and the involvement of various government units associated with procurement, (ii) large numbers of contracts (over 2,000) and suppliers, (iii) repackaging of equipment for delivery to individual schools, and (iv) remote locations of some schools. Additionally, textbook development, production, and distribution required twice the time estimated at appraisal. 17. Notwithstanding the constraints, the civil works components contributed to the achievement of the Project. The performance of the majority of the contractors was found satisfactory. The buildings were completed as designed and the quality of construction was generally satisfactory. However, two of the schools visited by the Mission are exceptions, i.e., Barobo National High School in Surigao del Sur, and Moscoso Rios National High School in San Jose, Antique. In future projects, it would be useful to extend the warranty period of civil works to, say, 24 months. The performance of consultants was generally satisfactory, except those involved in MIS improvement and establishment of BME.

C. Organization and Management

18. Following the functional management approach, overall direction was under EDPITAF, whose Executive Director was also appointed the Project Director. Five Implementing Agencies were given full responsibility for the implementation of their respective components: (i) EDPITAF? for procurement, civil works contracts, project budgeting and disbursements, recruitment of consultants, BME; (ii) BSE? for developing and implementing educational programs related to curriculum, teacher training, physical facilities planning; (iii) Instructional

5 English, Filipino; Mathematics; Physical Education, Health, and Music; Science, Social Studies, Technology and Home Economics; and Values Education.

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Materials Corporation? for printing and distribution of textbooks, teachers manuals, instructional materials; (iv) Office of Planning Service? for maintaining MIS; and (v) DECS Regional Offices and Divisional Offices? for implementing project components at the regional and district levels. It took two years for the PMU within EDPITAF to become operational because of difficulties in engaging qualified personnel. The central planning and management initially employed by DECS proved ineffective in getting things done in the provinces. Implementation of each project component involved coordination among multiple entities at the central and regional levels. This resulted in problems in the sequencing and synchronization of various project activities and strained interoffice and interagency relations. 19. The volume of ADB supervision was adequate. Nine review missions comprising 127 person-days were fielded during the Project (average of 1.5 missions per year). Additionally, a special loan administration mission was fielded in April 1994 (the closing date specified in the Loan Agreement). As ADB headquarters are close to the offices of EDPITAF, review missions were supplemented by frequent informal meetings and consultations as needed. The DECS Secretary’s regular meetings with regional directors were also used as a forum to discuss project-related issues. ADB review missions tended to concentrate on monitoring input delivery, physical targets, and loan disbursements, and failed to give importance to the assessment of operational impact and to BME. It would also have been more useful if the emphasis had been on the sustainable achievement of project objectives, helping the DECS regional offices resolve implementation difficulties, and improve administrative processes? especially the procurement of textbooks, instructional materials, and laboratory equipment, and the supervision of civil works.

D. Actual Cost and Financing

20. The actual cost of the Project at completion was $166.9 million equivalent (95 percent of the original estimate). Of this amount, the Government financed $101 million (60 percent) equivalent of the local currency cost, and ADB contributed $65.9 million (40 percent). The Canadian International Development Agency provided a commodity grant amounting to about $10.7 million equivalent for textbook paper. Partial cancellation in the amount of $8 million was made in October 1994 and the remaining amount of about $1.5 million was cancelled at loan closing. The loan savings resulted from the fluctuation of exchange rates (appreciation of special drawing rights [SDR] versus the dollar, and the depreciation of the peso versus the dollar) and the lower cost of equipment and instructional materials vis-à-vis appraisal estimates.

E. Implementation Schedule

21. The loan became effective on 9 December 1988. The Project was implemented over a period of seven years vis-à-vis the planned five years (implementation was extended from 60 to 83.25 months). The expected closing date of 30 April 1994 was extended once, and the loan was closed on 15 November 1995. The delay of two years was caused by difficulties in the recruitment of qualified project staff, centrally directed management, multiplicity of implementing agencies, inadequate monitoring and information system, protracted land acquisition, and natural disasters.

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F. Technical Assistance

22. The World Bank provided a project preparation facility under its Primary Education Project (PEP) (approved in 1981 in the amount of $100 million and completed in 1988) to EDPITAF to prepare a project in support of the SEDP. The SEDP project was originally planned to be approved in 1988 and financed by the World Bank as a follow-through of the improvements brought about by PEP. The Government had expected a concessional loan of $63 million from the World Bank to help finance the Project, but was informed in July 1987 that it would not be possible to provide International Development Association funds as the Philippines had graduated from the group of low-income economies (per capita gross national product of $400; that of the Philippines was $736 in 1983). The Government then requested ADB to provide a loan from its Asian Development Fund resources to finance the Project. ADB projects staff found the project proposal? which was completed in 1988 after four years of detailed preparation under the cooperation of DECS and World Bank missions? well designed, well documented, and technically viable. In September 1987, ADB informed the Government of its agreement in principle to further process the project as requested. The Project was designed and developed according to the scope proposed by the project study.

G. Compliance with Loan Covenants

23. The Government, EDPITAF, and the Implementing Agencies generally complied with the majority of the loan covenants. However, the provision of qualified staff for the effective operation of the PMU (Loan Agreement, Schedule 6) was delayed considerably. Civil works were also delayed and had to be extended by three years because more than 50 percent of the selected schools had to acquire additional land (to qualify for the civil works package) prior to construction (Loan Agreement, Article IV). Of the 20 research topics specified, only 8 were undertaken (Loan Agreement, Schedule 6[N]). Establishment of an imprest account was not needed, as the Government advanced the required funds (Loan Agreement, Schedule 6[Q]). Counterpart funds were provided on time, qualified and competent project staff posted, contracts awarded with the minimum of delays, and comprehensive reports submitted promptly.

III. PROJECT RESULTS

A. Operational Performance

1. Provision of Physical Facilities and Equipment

24. The PCR estimated that the 675 building packages provided by the Project absorbed about 24 percent of the increase in enrollment of public high schools between SY1988/89 and SY1994/95. Being an input with fixed capacity, this figure is now down to about 20.5 percent based on the incremental enrollment of 1.24 million students between SY1988/89 and SY1997/98 using the same assumptions (Appendix 4). While this number constitutes a significant contribution, its relative importance decreases over time as the growing enrollment increases the need for additional rooms. DECS estimated that, as of SY1998/99, the classroom shortage for public secondary schools was 3,138 classrooms. This is equivalent to about the same number of building packages under the Project. 25. During field visits, the Mission noted that SEDP buildings are fully utilized, accommodating much bigger class sizes (50-80 students depending on the location) than planned (40 students). However, some of the buildings (three out of eleven SEDP buildings visited) were found to be of substandard quality. For example, cracks on floors and walls were observed due to sinking foundations, crumbling floor surfaces due too weak concrete mixture, and leaking roofs. These could have been caused by the fast-tracking of some of the construction projects. According to the school officials concerned, these defects appeared one or two years after construction. It is difficult to estimate, however, what percentage of the total SEDP buildings provided under the Project are substandard. 26. The teachers generally find the equipment provided by the Project useful. During the FGDs, however, some aired complaints, e.g., the items they received were not needed; there were cases where one school received too many of one item such as ripple tanks, while other schools did not receive any;6 some equipment lacked accessories or was already damaged, but no replacement arrived after the lack or damage was reported; and the quality of the equipment in general was inferior (it broke down very easily) compared with what they received from other foreign-assisted projects. These could indicate deficiencies in procurement and handling procedures. Of the equipment they received, only 50-70 percent are still usable or functioning. Schools have no maintenance and repair capability. 27. The teachers’ assessment of the status of the physical facilities of their schools is in Appendix 5. In general, teachers rated their facilities as slightly above average in physical condition and adequacy, but gave them a higher rating for utilization rate, reflecting the overall shortage of classrooms, laboratories, and equipment. There is no significant difference between

6 Inequities at the recipient school level were to be expected considering that the project allocation used a standard package, regardless of the enrolment size.

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the ratings of schools in urban and rural areas, an indication that the rural schools may have caught up with their counterparts in the urban areas with the help of the Project. Comparing public and private schools showed that private schools have more facilities available, but the physical condition, adequacy, and utilization rates do not significantly differ between the schools. As for classrooms, private schools have more adequate classrooms, and these are in better physical condition, understandably because they are less crowded.

2. New Secondary Education Curriculum

28. The implementation of the NSEC was one of the major project components. Started in SY1988/89 on a staggered basis (one level per year), full implementation was completed in SY1992/93. The various FGDs involving the teachers gave the following feedback: (i) Topic overload. Given the time allotted per subject, many of the topics included

cannot be covered. The majority of the teachers are able to deliver 70-85 percent of the intended curriculum to the students during the year. The balance of the topics are usually taken up in the next higher year level, compounding the backlog of topics to cover and distorting the logic in the sequencing of topics.

(ii) Time allotment too short. Except for science subjects, a great majority of the

teachers find the 40-minute class period too short. Many student-centered activities or exercises required by the curriculum simply cannot be done, particularly for large class sizes.

(iii) Content beyond the level of comprehension and interest of many students. This

is particularly true of students in the rural areas where about 5-10 percent are nonreaders and the majority are slow readers. The teachers feel that the content is relevant and enriching, but not always understood and absorbed by the students.

29. On the curriculum structure, the teachers were about evenly divided between the old and the new. Those who prefer the new integrated, spiral structure of the NSEC pointed out that the diversity of topics makes learning very interesting and enriching for both teachers and students. It encourages teachers to broaden their knowledge base even as it also encourages team teaching and activity-based learning. Above all, it develops among teachers and students the ability to look at things in relation to the whole, a mind-set more attuned to real life situations. On the other hand, those who prefer the old, “specialized” structure (e.g., separate subjects for grammar and literature in English and Filipino, or separate subjects for algebra, geometry, and statistics) argued that the NSEC structure lacks focus and is confusing to teachers and students. The students do not gain mastery of any topic. The teachers also need to master other disciplines to be able to teach well. These teachers, who were also trained under the SEDP, believe that the students, especially the low and average performers, learn better under the old structure. For mathematics where the curriculum is more fully integrated, a great majority of the teachers? including those who favor the NSEC? prefer the old structure because it is focused and enables the students to master concepts and manipulative skills.

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30. In view of the consensus that the 40-minute class period is too short, one group suggested that the 40 minutes be raised to 60 minutes, but that classes still be held daily. This schedule, however, would exceed the prescribed number of class hours per week. Another group wanted to go back to the old schedule of 60-minute class periods with classes held every other day. This would give them more momentum in discussing a topic. It would also be lighter for the students in terms of the amount of concepts or information to be absorbed in a day’s time, and give them more time to study or prepare assignments. But given the number of subjects, this schedule would result in less time per week per subject than that prescribed by DECS. It appears that either way the main problem is topic overload. There is a strong basis for the clamor to “decongest” the curriculum, to prioritize the contents that should be included, but still keeping in mind the need to be at par or at least not too far behind the international norm. 31. Asked to rate the relative strength or weakness (i.e., in terms of curriculum, teachers, instructional materials) of specific subjects over two time periods (around 1989 and 1998), the teachers in public schools perceived significant improvements in all subjects while those in private schools did not. Although the ratings for 1998 were generally higher than for 1989, the differences were not statistically significant (Appendix 6). At the start of the Project, the public school teachers assessed the strengths of their secondary school subjects as lower than those of their private school counterparts. Over the past 10 years, a significant change in perceptions occurred. Public school teachers now have a higher estimation of the strength of subjects they teach than do the teachers in private schools. This positive change in perception may be largely attributed to the Project. The mass training of teachers and principals; provision of buildings, equipment, and textbooks; and the systemwide introduction of the NSEC have created an impression of positive change. The accompanying substantial increases in teacher salaries must have added to this favorable perception. In all these, the private schools’ participation was mainly in training/orientation on the NSEC? hence, their feeling that not much has changed.

3. Textbooks and Instructional Materials

32. The Project aimed to achieve a 1:1 textbook/student ratio through the production of textbooks and instructional materials, but managed to improve it only to 1:1.5, which is still much better than the pre-project ratio of 1:7. By SY1998/99, however, DECS revealed that the ratio had already deteriorated to 1:8 in public secondary schools. The estimated shortage is about 100 million textbooks? 8-9 textbooks per year per student. At an average cost of P65 per textbook, the total funding required would be about P6.5 billion ($167 million). This excludes other instructional materials such as teachers manuals and supplementary materials. Clearly, even the level attained by the Project was not sustained by the Government. Problems cited include the doubling or tripling of prices since the privatization of textbook production was approved in 1995, rapid deterioration in the physical condition of textbooks due to poor binding (validated during the FGDs), and delays in the releases of the textbook budget. A bribery scandal on textbook production, which was under investigation at the time of the Mission’s fielding, may have exposed one of the root causes in the worsening textbook situation. 33. The textbook problem concerns not only quantity but quality as well. During the FGDs, teachers complained of superficial treatment and illogical organization of topics, wrong labeling of charts, obsolete rules (e.g., in Physical Education), and too few examples. There is a general preference for books patterned after the SEDP-prescribed format and content written by other

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authors. Many teachers suggested the inclusion of a glossary of terms in every book, provision of maps where appropriate, and also student workbooks. The workbooks can be made reusable by having the students write their answers on separate sheets of paper. Students from private schools buy their own textbooks and workbooks.

4. Profile of the Teaching Force

34. A general profile of the teaching force in secondary education is shown in Appendix 7. Of the 533 teachers nationwide who responded to the survey, 23 percent have only bachelor’s degrees, 56 percent have taken masteral units, and 17 percent have completed a master’s degree. About 3 percent have either doctoral units or have finished a doctoral degree. The teaching force in public secondary schools appears to have a better educational profile than their private schools counterpart. Nearly 60 percent of public school teachers have master’s units and 17 percent have actually completed a master’s degree, while private schools have only 44 percent and 14 percent, respectively. The average age is about 40 years old (those between 31 and 50 years old comprise about 77 percent) and the average length of teaching experience is 15 years. There is no difference between teachers in public and private schools in these respects. The subsector appears to have an experienced and mature teaching force of whom more than 75 percent have either taken or completed a postgraduate degree. The Project helped strengthen the teaching force through further training.

5. Teacher Training and Methods of Instruction

35. Some 131,918 public and 47,581 private secondary school personnel (of whom about 95 percent teachers, 3 percent principals, and 2 percent master trainers), received training under the Project. The teachers rated the training programs favorably in quality and effectiveness. There is no difference in this favorable assessment between teacher-participants from public and private schools (Appendix 8). As to how much of what they learned from the training they were able to apply in the classroom, 63 percent replied “quite a lot,” and another 29 percent said “all of it.” Only 7.5 percent said “not much” and only one respondent said “none at all.” About 74 percent of the participants found the duration (2-4 weeks) just right. For the future, their preferred scheme is a short training period (about two weeks) on a regular basis, say, once or twice a year. Survey results show a high retention rate among SEDP-trained teachers? about 92 percent are still in their respective schools. 7 36. The training exposed the majority of the teachers in both public and private high schools to modern teaching strategies. The majority of the teachers have already “graduated” from the “chalk-and-talk” method and have gradually assumed the role of learning facilitator rather than being the direct source of knowledge. But despite their exposure to student-centered, activity-based teaching approaches, some of them admitted during the FGDs that they oftentimes find it difficult to implement such approaches because of a number of constraints, such as the large

7 In a sample of 110 schools, 5,971 teachers received SEDP training; of that number, 5,496 are still in their respective schools.

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class size, insufficient time, and lack of consumables. Modern instructional aids such as overhead projectors, video tapes, and computers are rare in most public high schools although they are common in private high schools.

6. Supervision and Monitoring

37. The main task of the school is to deliver the “intended” curriculum to the students. Much of this task is being carried out by the teachers in the classroom. To ensure that teachers implement the curriculum according to specifications, there must be effective supervision and monitoring. As described by the teachers, this is done ordinarily by way of the lesson plan (daily preparation and weekly submission in most cases, as well as the “no lesson plan, no salary” policy), classroom observations by principals or duly authorized subject coordinators, and occasional visits by division supervisors. The seriousness with which lesson plans are required and classroom observations conducted depends largely on the will of the school management. On supervision by the division, a concern raised was that the supervisors, mostly at the elementary level, feel uncomfortable supervising at the secondary level. It was, therefore, proposed that there be district supervisors primarily for the secondary level. 38. One major problem in school management is the lack of full-fledged principals. As of SY1998/99, there were no principals in 1,820 schools, almost half of the public secondary schools. These are mostly schools in the rural areas which, because of their small enrollments, are entitled to have only head teachers or teachers-in-charge. Lacking in mandate and vulnerable to political pressures as the politicians try to position their own people in case a budget item for principal is finally approved, the teachers-in-charge find it difficult to exercise leadership effectively. In a decentralized setup, which is an ongoing thrust of DECS, the appointment of full-fledged principals in every school is of crucial importance. Such appointment should be followed by intensive training. Another area that should be looked into, which surfaced during school visits, is the provision of adequate support personnel so that the principals can devote time to management functions. The ratio of support personnel to total personnel in private secondary schools is about 25 percent, while that in public schools is only 10 percent.

7. Internal Efficiency

a. Classroom Conditions

39. Teacher/Student Ratio (TSR). The TSR was about 1:33 when the Project started, decreased to 1:37 by project completion, then slightly improved to 1:36 (net TSR) by SY1998/99. Among regions, the disparity in TSR is wide, with the NCR having the highest at 1:29 while Regions VII and XI has the lowest at 1:40. The public high schools have better TSRs than the private high schools, but the situation is expected to be reversed given the enrollment trends described earlier. The TSRs by region from 1989/90 to 1995/96 is shown in Appendix 9. DECS estimated that for SY1998/99, bringing up the TSR to 1:33 would require an additional 7,335 teachers at a cost of about P1 billion per year. Bringing up the TSR further to 1:30 would

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require 20,318 new teachers and about P2.6 billion per year.8 However, even with the provision of the required number of teachers but with no corresponding increase in the number of classrooms, the class size will be about the same unless another shift will be implemented? although some schools in large urban areas have already started the scheme. Nonetheless, the average teaching load will decrease. 40. Class Size. Official DECS statistics placed the average class size in public secondary schools, both urban and rural, at 50 students as of SY1998/99. This figure, however, does not capture the whole range of field conditions. During the FGDs, participants revealed that the majority of classes in their schools have about 55-65 students and in some cases up to 70-80 students, particularly in the urban areas. This is obviously the logical consequence of the growth of enrollment outpacing the investments in additional classrooms as mentioned earlier. The average class size in private schools is about 47, but the range is narrower—between 45 and 50 students. The teachers feel that a class size of 40-45 would be ideal. However, this would mean more investment for additional classrooms over and above the current shortage of 3,138 classrooms, at a cost of about P280,000-P375,000 per classroom with a floor area of 56 m2. 41. Student Mix. Since public secondary schools are mandated to accept anyone who wants to enroll, i.e., no screening and qualification requirement, the students are heterogeneous in intellectual capacity. While there are those who are exceptionally bright, others are nonreaders (comprising about 5-10 percent), and the majority are slow readers. This makes the task of the teacher very difficult. So as not to drag down the fast learners, most schools have what is called the “crack” sections. Teachers have much less problem handling such sections. It is with the great majority where teachers find it difficult to apply the activity-based, student-centered, experiential learning strategies called for by the NSEC. This forces the teacher to slow down the pace and go back to the traditional lecture-type method. 42. Teaching Load. Compounding the problem is the teaching load in public secondary schools. While the officially prescribed load is five classes with one advisory class, the majority of the teachers who participated in the FGDs had a teaching load of 6-8 classes plus an advisory class for some. Thus, they hardly have time for preparation, which they badly need as many of them teach subjects beyond their major in their preservice course. This factor, combined with the low TSR, large class size, and low quality of students, makes the classroom environment not very conducive to learning. The situation in private secondary schools is better on almost all counts, and this is reflected in the learning achievement of students.

b. Participation, Cohort Survival, Dropout, and Completion Rates

43. Participation Rate (PAR). PAR also reflects, in a sense, the ability of the school system to bring into its fold the corresponding age group population. In SY1988/89, about 54 percent of the 13-16 years age group were enrolled. The Project aimed to raise the PAR to 60 percent by SY1994/95, and achieved 59 percent. As of SY1997/98, the PAR increased to 64 percent. Over the past decade, the PAR increased at an average of 1.9 percent per year nationally. High rates of increase were experienced in CAR, Regions V, VII, and VIII. However, at the level of major

8 Average cost of P10,000 per month multiplied by 13 months.

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island groups, the pattern is the same, i.e., NCR followed by regions in the rest of Luzon, then those in the Visayas and, at the tail end, the Mindanao regions (Appendix 10). While the Project may have contributed to the increased PAR by making the assisted schools more attractive due to better school buildings and more equipment, most of the increase, however, could be attributed to the free public high school policy starting in SY1988/89. 44. Cohort Survival Rate (CSR). The pre-project CSR was 76 percent. The Project set at appraisal a target of 92 percent by SY1994/95, but achieved only 76 percent. As of SY1997/98, the CSR deteriorated to 70.5 percent. Over the years, there is no clear pattern on the movement of the CSR at the national and regional levels. What is consistent is the ranking of the CSR level among the major island groups, with the NCR having the highest CSR, followed by the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and then Mindanao. The private high schools also consistently fared better in the CSR than the public high schools during the period 1988/89 to 1996/97 (Appendix 11). 45. Dropout Rate (DOR). The Project aimed to bring down the DOR from the pre-project level of 5.8 percent to 3 percent by SY1994/95. Instead, the DOR increased to 9 percent by project completion, although it was slightly lower for project schools at 5 percent. In SY1996/97, the DOR even rose to 10.3 percent. Across the regions, a DOR pattern similar to that of the CSR emerged. The best performing region in this regard is Region I, averaging 5.3 percent. At the other end is the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, averaging 14.8 percent. The private schools again fared better than the public schools (Appendix 12). 46. Completion Rate. The proportion of students who reached and completed the fourth year level averaged about 71 percent over the period 1989-1997. There is no clear trend in the movement of the completion rate over the years and across regions, although in terms of major island groups, similar rankings as in the other indicators are evident: NCR, rest of Luzon, Visayas, then Mindanao. The details, by region, are shown in Appendix 13. 47. It is not clear how the targets on these performance indicators were set. A general sense, however, emerged during the FGDs: that these measures are influenced, among others, by factors largely beyond the control of the Project, such as the general economic condition, peace and order situation, level of education of parents especially the mothers, financial condition of the family, planting and harvest seasons, and weather conditions. It appears that in setting the targets, no serious efforts were made to analyze how the project inputs would lead to the improvement of the selected outcome indicators, if at all. The project inputs were expected to contribute towards achieving the desired outcome as measured in terms of these performance indicators. However, the Study shows that most of the factors significantly affecting these performance indicators, particularly functional literacy rate, average family income (AFI), and incidence of poverty, are largely beyond the scope and control of the Project. To determine whether the factors significantly affecting the indicators are within the Project’s scope and control, a cross-sectional multiple regression analysis was done to explain the regional variations in terms of such outcome indicators (Appendix 14).

c. Learning Achievements

48. BSE conducted its own pre- and post-project test on a sampling basis among all levels of secondary students. The results showed an improvement of 7.3 percentage points, but fell far

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short of the 21 percentage points targeted by project completion. It was pointed out, however, that at the time the posttest was taken, not all the students had fully benefited from the project inputs. Since the National Secondary Achievement Test (NSAT) started just after the Project was completed, it could give some indication of the post-project impact on the students’ learning achievements. A trend on the composite NSAT mean performance score (MPS) for the past five years at the national and regional levels is shown in Appendix 15. It must be noted, however, that NSAT tests are not standardized from year to year. In general, performance in the NSAT showed an increasing trend in composite MPS in all regions—averaging 39 percent in 1994 to a high of 49 percent in 1997. NCR is still the best performing region, followed by the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. By type of school ownership, private schools consistently scored better by at least 20 percent over public schools. By subject area, the consistently lowest MPS is recorded in Science followed by Mathematics then English, while the relatively easier subject appears to be Filipino (Appendix 16). 49. While an upward trend is discernible over the last five years, it is noted that the level of MPS in Science, Mathematics, and English, is still below 50 percent, way below the ideal norm of 75 percent set by DECS.9 That the students find Mathematics and Science difficult is further validated through the survey questionnaire on the relative ease/difficulty of the different high school subjects. The responses of some 1,097 senior students are summarized in Appendix 17. Students find Mathematics and Science difficult. The perception of difficulty is more pronounced among female students. In public schools, the difficult subjects include Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and General Science while in private schools, they are Mathematics and Physics. During the FGDs, the teachers estimated that 50-65 percent of the intended curriculum is achieved by the students. This is optimistic compared with actual NSAT results. It would be useful to take all these observations into account in the design of succeeding projects.

8. External Efficiency

50. After the students are “processed” for four years, they are expected to graduate armed with certain knowledge, skills, and attitudes in preparation for whatever the next phase of their lives would be. The teachers’ and the senior students’ assessments of such preparation are shown in Appendix 18. While the absolute value of the mean ratings indicates above-average preparedness, teachers from private schools seem more confident of their outputs than teachers from public schools. For all four purposes, the differences in mean ratings are significant in favor of private school teachers. This is not consistent with their assessment of secondary subjects in their schools (para. 31). It is possible, however, that other factors such as the quality of their students were taken into consideration. The students, especially females, feel more prepared for college and day-to-day living than for employment. This assessment is consistent with the stated objectives of secondary education. The problem, however, would be those who do not go to college. They would need much more to join the world of work.

9 SEDP Completion Report, BSE, 1995.

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B. Financial Performance

1. Budget Trends and Expenditure Pattern

51. The share of education in the national budget steadily increased from 12.9 percent in 1992 to 18 percent in 1997, growing at an average of 14.6 percent per annum. Of the education budget, the share of DECS (representing basic education) averaged 83.9 percent during the past eight years. Secondary education, in turn, accounted for about 18.4 percent (16.5 percent in Thailand in comparison) of the DECS budget during the same period, growing at an average of 9.5 percent per annum (Appendix 19). The allocation of the DECS budget by expenditure item during the past nine years is shown in Appendix 20. Growing at 17.3 percent per annum (faster than the total DECS budget), the share of personal services significantly increased from 74.3 percent in 1990 to 87.9 percent in 1998. This was, however, attained at the expense of maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), whose share dropped from 16.5 percent in 1990 to only 8.7 percent in 1998. Consequently, the MOOE per student per year, even at current prices, steadily declined from P378 in 1990 to P268 in 1997. In real terms, the numbers look even more dismal, decreasing from P295 to P112 in the same period (Appendix 21). This partly explains, as validated during school visits, why many buildings and much equipment (including that provided by the SEDP), are in a state of disrepair, and why many student-centered exercises requiring consumables are not being undertaken.

2. Unit Cost of Secondary Education

52. For public secondary schools, the average cost per student increased slightly from P2,289 in 1990 to P3,082 in 1997 in current prices. In real terms, however, the cost, or more appropriately, the budget expenditure per student declined from P1,787 to P1,288 during the same period. This represents a significant drop of about 27.9 percent in real expenditure per student during the period (Appendix 21). The 9.5 percent annual growth in the public secondary education budget was grossly inadequate to cover for inflation and the rapid increase in enrollment brought about mainly by the free high school education policy; hence the worsening shortage in almost all education inputs such as classrooms, teachers, textbooks, equipments, and other instructional materials. In a recent study, the total unit cost of secondary education, i.e., operating cost plus direct social cost (privately financed books, supplies, etc.), was estimated to be P5,576 for public schools and P5,521 for private schools.10 Given this unit cost vis-à-vis performance of private school students in the NSAT, which was consistently higher by 20 percent over those in public schools, the private school is clearly the more efficient delivery system.

10 ADB/IBRD. 1998. Education Finance in the Philippines, Table 2.12, page 86. November.

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3. Family Expenditure on Secondary Education

53. On the average, how much does it cost a family to send a child to either public or private high school? An itemized breakdown of typical expenditure items (Appendix 22) is taken from a survey conducted by the Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE) in 1994. A family sending a child to a private high school would have to spend more than twice (or 130 percent more) what it would cost them if they sent their child to a public high school. The absolute amount, however, could be lower because most children stay with their families rather than in boardinghouses. But what must be noted is the unaffordability even of free public high schools to many poor families. The average expenditure on education as a percentage of family income in 1994 was 3.7 percent (also 3.7 percent in 1997). The estimated private cost of public high school education of about P4,255 per year (excluding board and lodging) would already be about 10.6 percent of the income of families earning P40,000 per year. The proportion of families earning P40,000 or less in 1994 (poverty threshold for a family of 6 was P53,310 per year) was 34 percent of the total. Thus, the private costs, excluding the income opportunity loss of a child at high school age, are simply beyond their reach.

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4. Financing Sources

54. In 1994, the total expenditure for secondary education was estimated to be P18.06 billion. This increased to about P31.19 billion in 1997, an average annual growth of 20 percent. How these expenditures were funded is shown in Appendix 23. In 1994, the financing of total expenditures for secondary education was shared almost evenly by the government (national and local) and the private sector (families). By 1997, however, the government share had increased to 61.3 percent, the Government having taken on responsibility greater than that assumed by the private sector. During the same period, the shortage of classrooms, textbooks, and funds for MOOE persisted and even worsened, clearly indicating the Government’s inability to provide the necessary resources.

C. Sociocultural and Socioeconomic Impact

1. The Beneficiaries: Predominantly Poor Families

55. From the fact that the beneficiaries were mainly public secondary schools? 75 percent of which were barangay high schools? the Project automatically benefited lower income families, which comprise the large majority of the schools’ clientele. As shown in Appendix 24, about 45 percent of the students in public high schools belong to families earning P50,000 or less per year, while only 25 percent of families of students in private schools earn the same level of income. More than 50 percent of families of students in private schools earn P100,000 or more a year. About 46 percent of the fathers of students in public high schools are farmers, fishermen, or factory/construction workers. Only 55 percent of them have completed high school. The figures for their private schools counterparts are 28 and 35 percent, respectively.

2. Access and Equity

56. Although 75 percent of the beneficiaries were barangay high schools, the allocation pattern at the regional level did not reflect the existing PAR, a key indicator of access and equity. (It should be noted, however, that the SEDP utilized a regional investment allocation formula that, in addition to PAR, considered two other indicators, i.e., achievement level, and the cohort survival level). As shown in Appendix 25, Region IV, which ranked fourth in PAR, got the most number of buildings, while Region VIII and Region IX which had the lowest PARs received relatively much less. Looking at the outcome as of SY1997/98, the gains in the PAR did not reflect the allocation pattern of buildings. CAR, which got the smallest share in school buildings provided, posted the highest gain of 25 percentage points in the PAR, while Region IV, which received the biggest share, gained only 10 percentage points. Thus, the Project’s contribution to improvement in access and equity if measured by the PAR is not clear. As shown earlier (para. 43), other factors affect this indicator. But to the extent that the provision of buildings is necessary although not a sufficient condition for the PAR to improve, the Project’s contribution would be undeniable, although the allocation pattern could have been improved.

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3. Women in Development

57. Increasing women’s participation was not a major concern of the Project because in the Philippines, the education sector, particularly basic education, has long been women-dominated. Among principals and teachers in secondary schools, roughly 75 percent are women, although the private schools have slightly more males than the public schools. In enrollment, the sex ratio is about even between male and female, with the latter having a slight advantage at about 51 percent. These ratios are in contrast with those in South Asian Countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, where the average proportions of females among teachers and students as of 1996 were 25.5 percent and 39.1 percent, respectively.11

D. Institutional and Policy Impact

58. The Project included a component to strengthen the capacity of the sector to formulate plans and policies, manage programs and projects, and monitor and evaluate results at the national, regional, and division levels. In support of this objective, 58 staff at the national level, 16 at the regional level, and 5 at the division level were given fellowships. Majority of the staff is reportedly still employed with DECS. Their fellowship training, combined with actual involvement in the SEDP, should be valuable inputs to enhance the sector’s institutional capacity. 59. To provide research-based inputs to the sector’s long-term planning and policy-making tasks, the Project lined up 20 separate research projects and studies covering such important areas as changes in functions and structure of BSE, role of and assistance to private secondary schools, barangay high schools, teacher education, and financing of secondary education. Of the 20 research projects, however, only 8 were completed mainly because the unit cost was underestimated ($10,500 vis-à-vis the actual average unit cost of $40,500). Although the results were disseminated, to date only two are being actually utilized, namely (i) review and assessment of the Government subsidy to private secondary education, and (ii) effective and affordable secondary education (Project EASE). 60. The PCR reported that the strengthening of the MIS and BME did not turn out as envisaged at appraisal for various reasons cited in the report. The Mission confirms this assessment based on the difficulty of getting consistent time-series data relating to both the Project and the subsector. Every supposedly official publication has different figures even on such basic information as enrollment, number of schools, number of teachers, performance indicators, budgets, unit costs, etc. The need for reliable, up-to-date, and comprehensive data has been urgently felt even in the preparation of this report. The failure to operationalize the MIS and to establish a BME system deprived DECS and the Project of an effective tool for sector management and project impact assessment. Project inputs were not sufficient to improve and

11 ADB. 1998. Impact Evaluation Study of the Secondary Science Education Projects in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, December, Appendix 4.

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operationalize what should have been a systemwide monitoring and feedback system encompassing the functions of PMU/EDPITAF, BSE, and the Office of Planning Service.

E. Gestation and Sustainability

61. The Project ushered in major changes in the subsector centered on the implementation of the NSEC. Designed to align the country with the international trend in secondary education, the NSEC calls for a profound change in mind-set and strategies in the teaching-learning process. Its integrated and spiral structure is a radical departure from the old specialized or segmented curriculum structure. Now, a subject and its contents are no longer independent compartments, but rather must be viewed, taught, and learned as an integral part of a whole, more akin to real-life situations. 62. But the NSEC has its own requirements. The teachers must have a broad knowledge base beyond their specializations. The teaching-learning process must be student-centered, activity-based, and experiential, and the role of the teacher is mainly that of a facilitator rather than the authoritative knowledge provider. Physical facilities such as the classrooms and equipment must match the required learning activities. In the Philippine context, such changes would require a very long gestation period. Consider the three major gaps that need to be addressed if the potential benefits of the NSEC are to be fully realized: the knowledge and attitude gap on the part of the teachers, the instructional materials gap (textbooks, teachers manuals, student workbooks), and the facilities gap. 63. The broad knowledge base and different mind-set required of teachers in an integrated curriculum may be difficult to remedy through in-service training of the present stock of teachers. While there will be those who are motivated on their own to learn new things and adjust to the new demands, by and large the majority will find it difficult to fully rise to the new challenge. The ideal situation is when the whole teaching force will have graduated from teacher training institutes with an integrated preservice curriculum. However, the preservice curriculum of teacher training institutes has yet to start making the necessary changes. And it will take years to produce the required number of teachers from then on. 64. The instructional materials gap, on the other hand, is something that cannot be dispensed with because materials provide the content and structure of the NSEC. To reverse the worsening textbook situation that could nullify much of the potential gain from the NSEC would require huge amounts of additional investment just to cover the backlog and, further on, to sustain the level of TSR. This does not even include the teachers manuals, student workbooks, and other reference materials. 65. Then there is the physical facilities gap. The activity-based, experiential learning approach requires adequate space for the students—divided into smaller groups—to move around. This implies bigger classroom spaces or smaller class sizes. Either way would require major capital outlays. In a situation where even basic classrooms and chairs are in perennial shortage, providing the optimum physical facilities best suited to the requirements of the NSEC could remain long on the wish list.

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66. Thus, to fully realize the potential benefits of the NSEC, much obviously has yet to be done. The Project provided some of the required inputs. But the sheer magnitude of the requirements cannot be met by one project alone, but by continuing investment over time. Dramatic improvement in learning achievements can be realized only when the gaps noted are significantly narrowed down. So far, even the level of inputs relative to requirements attained under the Project has not been sustained. The problem, however, lies not with the Project, but more with Government’s inability to provide the necessary resources after project completion.

IV. KEY ISSUES

A. Provision of Secondary Education: Public-Private Sector Mix

67. There have been two important trends in secondary education over the past decade: the increasing role of Government in the delivery of secondary education, and the deteriorating quality of secondary education based on the performance indicators. The first was brought about by the constitutional mandate to provide free public secondary education. In 1994, the cost of secondary education was shared almost evenly by the Government and the private sector (i.e., the families). By 1997, the Government share increased to about 60 percent of the financing burden. The second trend resulted from the inability of the Government to provide the wherewithal to carry out the constitutional mandate. Even the level of sufficiency of inputs, e.g., classrooms, desks/chairs, textbooks, teachers, achieved during the Project was not sustained. The pressure continues to intensify as enrollment in public schools outpaces the available resources. On the other hand, many private schools are experiencing slack capacity in physical facilities due to the slowdown in the growth of their enrollment. In terms of unit costs vis-à-vis learning achievement of students, the private schools are found to be the more efficient delivery system. Clearly, there is a need for a more balanced share of the work. This requires a thorough review of existing policies and programs, or the design of new ones to encourage and enable private schools to assume a greater share in the delivery of secondary education. For equity consideration, however, the Government should continue to provide access to secondary education in remote places where operating private high schools would not be viable.

B. The New Secondary Education Curriculum

68. The realities of global competition make imperative the development of a globally competitive manpower. This consideration apparently has been at the back of the minds of the NSEC designers. From the various FGDs conducted, the general sense is that the NSEC tries to cover as many areas and teach as much information, concepts, principles, and skills at the level considered at par with international norms. Specifically, the two most common feedback items from teachers were (i) the overload of topics, which cannot be covered given the allotted time; and (ii) the observation that much of the content was beyond the level of comprehension and interest of most students (para. 28). Two main factors need to be considered: (i) the ability of the teachers to teach the subject matter, given their academic preparation and the state of physical facilities and support instructional materials; and (ii) the capacity of the students to absorb what is being taught. On both counts, there are major problems. The teachers have yet to adjust to the demands of the integrated and spiral structure of the NSEC in terms of knowledge base, teaching strategies, and general attitude toward the integrated teaching-learning process. As for the students, the majority come from the rural areas and have a very poor basic foundation at the elementary level. Further, the classroom conditions at the secondary level are far from the ideal learning environment. The NSAT MPS of below 50 percent, particularly in Science, Mathematics, and English, indicates that the students are not absorbing much of the intended curriculum.

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69. The issue, then, is to what extent should the curriculum be modified in terms of coverage and depth to better suit the capability of the delivery system and the capacity of the students to absorb them, without falling far behind the international norm. One possibility that may be considered is adding another year to the four-year secondary education curriculum which will make it possible to de-load the present subjects by spreading out the topics over the longer period. This will bring the Philippine secondary education system at par with most countries in the region as far as number of years of schooling is concerned. On the other hand, potential advantages to be derived from this expansion will have to be balanced against the additional capital investment and recurrent expenditure costs such a change will entail (such as classrooms, equipment, furniture, teachers, books). The NSEC and the duration of secondary schooling need to be revisited.

C. Preservice Curriculum for Teachers

70. About seven years after the full implementation of the NSEC, the majority of the teachers still find its structure difficult and confusing. Given a choice, they still prefer the old curriculum. The basic problem appears to be the mismatch between the preservice curriculum under which they trained, and the curriculum of the subjects they now teach. The Project attempted to bridge the gap through in-service training. However, while the new teaching strategies may be learned quite easily, the knowledge content is more difficult to manage. Actually, there is no shortage of teacher applicants, except in Science. But, aside from the limited capacity of the Government to hire new teachers, the bigger problem is that these applicants have the same kind of academic preparation as the existing stock of teachers. A decisive step, therefore, needs to be taken to restructure the preservice curriculum of the teacher training institutes to match the demands of the NSEC. This is something that DECS and the Commission on Higher Education will have to work out closely together.

V. CONCLUSIONS

A. Overall Assessment

71. The Project achieved, and even exceeded, the physical targets set at appraisal. While physical facilities, equipment, and textbooks were sufficiently provided in the Project, the gains in the improvement of quality, efficiency, and access were not sustained due to Government budgetary constraints. The general outcome indicators (measures of achievement of quality, efficiency, access and equity objectives), specifically PAR, CSR, DOR, and NSAT scores, did not improve much (with some even declining over the years). On the other hand, the study found that most of the factors significantly affecting them, particularly functional literacy rate, AFI, and incidence of poverty, are beyond the scope and control of the Project. 72. A major curricular reform, the NSEC calls for a profound change in the teaching-learning process, one that requires not only massive investment, but time as well. The Project provided the initial inputs, but much more and a longer gestation period was actually needed. Thus, while the Project contributed to the expansion of classroom capacity to absorb a significant portion of increases in enrollment, upgraded the capabilities of the teaching force and school management, and provided instructional materials and equipment, the measures were not sufficient to substantially narrow the deficiency in meeting the requirements of the NSEC. At the classroom level, where most of the teaching-learning process occurs, not much has changed. Despite these limitations, some gains in learning achievements are discernible from the NSAT scores, which showed a steady improvement over the past five years, however, the level is still far from ideal. 73. The Project has laid a foundation for efforts to build on. The physical facilities and the teachers and administrators are still in place and, above all, the NSEC has been implemented systemwide. However, there were major shortcomings in the research and evaluation activities; these were envisaged to provide the basis to identify, plan, and operationalize future inputs in management and policy development. There were also shortcomings in the establishment of the BME and MIS, and quality problems in civil works, equipment specification and procurement, and textbook production and distribution. Taking into account the deteriorating state of secondary education since the Project was completed, the Project is rated partly successful.12 In this context, the implementation of the follow-up project comes none too soon.

12 The Projects Division feels strongly that the Project should be rated as generally successful for the following reasons: (i) it is unrealistic to expect that a limited single intervention could have a sustainable impact on general education indicators; (ii) delayed processing of a planned second project, rapidly increasing school populations, and changing organizational and legal circumstances contributed to the lack of momentum and follow-up; and (iii) the lack of longer term sustainability is attributable more to insufficient government funding and changing circumstances than to project design, and that, further, project design is less at fault than overall ADB strategy.

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B. Lessons Learned

74. Lessons of the Project have been reflected in the design of the follow-up project (paras. 9, 14). These lessons include (i) a two-phased implementation approach that lends itself to a more flexible, demand-driven project; (ii) project implementation is now the responsibility of BSE; (iii) resources to be provided as per need and not according to a prepackaged set of inputs; and (iv) a continuous school and division-based in-service training of teachers instead of the one-time centrally organized mass training. The follow-up project will benefit further from the following lessons:

1. Need for More Substantive Policy Dialogue

75. ADB should engage in more substantive policy dialogue with the Government and develop a framework for sector development (in this case secondary education development) to be implemented over a period of a decade or more supported by continuing financial inputs and policy dialogue. In the past, ADB has been reluctant to commit itself to providing inputs beyond a single project.

2. Choice of Appropriate Measures of Performance

76. In choosing measures of performance and, subsequently, in setting the targets against which the Project’s success or failure will ultimately be evaluated, it is important to understand precisely which factors affect such measures and to what extent the Project has control over such factors. Using the wrong measures of performance or setting unrealistic targets can lead to inappropriate or misleading conclusions with costly consequences.

3. Need for a Flexible Assistance Package

77. While schools have some common needs, they also have needs that differ from one school to another. Some schools have adequate classrooms, but do not have desks or chairs. Many have toilets, but do not have a regular water supply. Other schools do not have electricity at all. All these simply suggest the need to have a flexible, rather than a standard or uniform assistance package, so as to maximize the potential impact of inputs that are already in place. This approach, which could be more complex administratively, can also be more cost-effective.

4. Mass Training Necessary, But Not Sufficient

78. In a transition phase such as the systemwide implementation of the NSEC, mass orientation and training of principals and teachers are necessary to achieve a critical mass of “agents” to effect the change. But the momentum generated must be sustained, or backsliding

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to old attitudes, habits, and practices will invariably follow. Experience from the Project suggests that mass training must be followed by an institutionalized professional development program.

5. Procurement: Lowest Cost Not Necessarily the Best

79. A common practice in Government procurement of equipment or supplies is to go for the lowest-cost item, oftentimes disregarding quality and after-sales service. This is not necessarily the most cost-effective approach, as borne out by experience in the Project. Teachers reported that SEDP equipment and apparatus break down much more easily than do similar items supplied by other foreign-assisted projects. And repairs or replacement do not come about easily. Paying a little more for better quality products would turn out cheaper in the long run than acquiring low-cost, low-quality items.

6. Longer Warranty Period for Civil Works

80. Vigilance is necessary to ensure that contractors comply with agreed-upon specifications; oftentimes, however, it is not enough. For one reason or another, major deviations from specifications still happen. From experience with the Project, the defects were not evident upon turnover, they appeared only after one to two years (paras. 17, 25), by which time certificates of acceptance had already been issued. To ensure better quality, the warranty period should be long enough to safeguard against extended defects. This may raise the bid price to some extent, but the incremental cost would most probably be lower than the subsequent cost of repair due to construction defects. Additional safeguards would, however, need to be put in place as this new requirement could open up new opportunities for shady deals. The executing agency will need to monitor the soundness of completed civil works beyond project implementation and ensure that contractors adhere to addressing defects during the warranty period.

C. Follow-Up Actions

1. Strengthening the Project Management Office

81. Strengthening the project management office in the follow-up project is imperative, considering that on it depends much of the success or failure of the project. In addition to careful selection of the staff and the training that may be given them, two features are proposed to ensure better performance: (i) establishment of the concept of total quality management (TQM), and (ii) the appointment of resident regional advisers. 82. A TQM section could be responsible for the application of the TQM concept specifically for physical input components such as civil works, procurement of equipment and apparatus, and production and distribution of textbooks and other instructional materials. Anchored primarily on the concept of customer satisfaction, the TQM section will provide quality

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checkpoints at every stage of the process, instead of only at the end when it is already too late or too costly to remedy the defects of the product or service. The resident regional advisers, on the other hand, will provide management and technical support to the regional directors in the region covered by a project. They will also serve as the PMU’s eyes and ears in the field. On long-term engagement, the resident regional advisers should be carefully selected for their relevant technical expertise, project management skills, and leadership.

2. Strengthening the Implementing Units under DECS

83. In order to sustain operation and maintenance requirements especially after the completion of the project, the regional and divisional offices should be assigned full-time, regular, technical personnel who will be tasked to monitor the status of equipment and facilities, and provide repair and maintenance. This would help institutionalize the facilities maintenance function that, heretofore, has been assigned on an ad-hoc basis to the Regional/Division Physical Facilities Coordinators who are at the same time tasked to do instructional supervision.

3. Operationalizing the Educational Management Information System

84. Several attempts in the past were reportedly taken to install a computerized information system in the education sector. However, judging from the difficulty of getting even basic data that are consistent (i.e., figures from one source tallying with those from another source) and up-to-date (the latest available statistics are two years behind), the system is obviously not working well, if at all. This must be given high priority. Managing such a huge bureaucratic complex and all its different projects efficiently would be extremely difficult without an operational MIS. A functional MIS assumes an even more important role in view of the imminent start-up of the follow-up project, Loan 1654. Getting the system in place right at the beginning of the project, along with a good system for monitoring implementation of project activities and providing consistent support at school level will ensure that inputs are properly integrated into the running of the schools.

4. Linking the Project with Adult Literacy, Livelihood, and Other Poverty Reduction Projects

85. One of the significant findings of this study through secondary research is the very high influence of functional literacy on PAR and CSR, and the relatively high influence of poverty incidence on DOR and of AFI on learning achievement (Appendix 14) at the secondary level. What these findings suggest is that the impact of similar future projects will be maximized if they are linked with other projects related to adult literacy, livelihood, and poverty reduction in specific geographic areas.

5. Advocacy of Parental Involvement

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86. It is common knowledge that children assisted by parents at home in their academic studies perform better in school than those who are not assisted. The involvement of most parents in project schools is limited to attendance at parent-teacher association meetings, where the concerns are almost always money matters. Most parents do not assist their children at home because they are not knowledgeable in the subject matter, are illiterate, or have little education. Assisting, however, does not necessarily mean knowing the lessons (although it helps), but includes, perhaps more importantly, monitoring and encouraging children to study and do their assignments and giving them time for such activities. The important point is for the parents to emphasize the value of education to their children. To do this, they must be convinced of that value themselves. Just as DECS has a campaign called War on Waste or WOW, advocacy of parental involvement at home may also be launched. This could be one missing link toward higher learning achievements of students.

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APPENDIXES

Number Title Page Cited on (page, para.)

1 Trends in the Number of Secondary Schools, Enrollment, and Teachers, by Type of School Ownership, 1988-1998 26 1,1 2 Tracer Study Sample Distribution 27 3,10 3 Highlights of Focus Group Discussions 28 3,11 4 Project Contribution in the Absorption of Increases in Enrollment of Public Secondary Schools, by Region, 1989-1998 33 7,24

5 Teachers’ Assessment of Physical Facilities, by Location and Type of School Ownership 34 8,27

6 Teachers’ Assessment of Relative Strength or

Weakness of Secondary Subjects, 1989 and 1998 35 9,31 7 Profile of the Teaching Force 36 10,34 8 Teachers’ Assessment of SEDP Training 37 10,35 9 Teacher/Student Ratio, by Region, 1989-1996 38 11,39 10 Participation Rate, by Region, 1988-1999 39 12,43 11 Cohort Survival Rate, by Region, 1988-1997 40 13,44 12 Dropout Rate, by Region, 1989-1997 41 13,45 13 Completion Rate, by Region, 1989-1997 42 13,46 14 Multiple Regression Analysis on Factors Affecting Performance Indicators for Secondary Education Subsector 43 13,47 15 Trend in Composite NSAT Scores, by Region, 1994-1998 47 14,48 16 Trend in NSAT Performance, by Subject Area 48 14,48 17 Senior Students’ Assessment of Relative Ease or Difficulty of Secondary Subjects 49 14,49

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Number Title Page Cited on (page, para.)

18 Assessment of Preparedness of Graduates by Teachers and Senior Students 50 14,50 19 Trends in Educational Budgets 51 14,51 20 DECS Budget Expenditure Allocation 52 15,51 21 Average Cost Per Student and Average MOOE per Student for Public Secondary Schools, 1990-1997 53 15,51 22 Average Expenditures of Families for a Child in

Secondary School, SY1994/1995 54 15,53 23 Total Expenditures for Secondary Education and Source of Financing, 1994 and 1997 55 16,54 24 Education, Occupation, and Income Profile of Parents of Senior Students 56 16,55 25 Indicator of Project Impact on Access and Equity: Improvement in Participation Rate 57 16,56