"A new beginning" Children, primary schools and social change in post-conflict Preah Vihear Province Cambodia

Background

Prear Vihear is a remote province located in northeast of Cambodia, and is seriously affected from geographical isolation (least accessible) and poverty. Remoteness, lack of physical and social infrastructure makes most of children become alienated from the national reconciliation and reconstruction of the country's social-economy. School annual enrollment rate is meager, especially enrollment of children from the ethnic minority groups, the challenges are related to lack of schools, resources available and social economic development in the province.

Save the Children Norway - Cambodia Office's (SCN-CO’s) basic education project in Preah Vihear is funded by a grant from the World Bank/ Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF Grant # TF052059), and has its mandate from August 2003 to December 31st, 2005. The project has an innovative designed based on SCN-CO education work experience gained from several provinces. The development objective is to improve enrollment, transition and achievement of poor and disadvantaged learners at primary and lower secondary levels. The objective will be achieved by (a) enabling equitable access to education for disadvantaged children (b) supporting education quality improvements (see Grant Proposal attached).

According to agreement made between SCN-CO and donor (World Bank/ JSDF) by the end of project period the propject will be evaluated by external consultants in order to appraise the progress, outcome and impact of the project according to the development objectives of the grant. To compare between the designs of earlier evaluated Siem Reap project and the present project highlight (a) convergent/replication aspect, (b) new innovative aspects as present in the present project.

Specific objectives

1. To appraise the progress/outcomes of project activities against the specific objectives stated in components A.B.C of the grant proposal, and assess potentials in the project designs for implementation in other disadvantage provinces.

2. To assess the impact/effectiveness of project activities for the project beneficiaries, especially children and adolescents from ethnic minority groups.

3. To identify and assess levels of community participation and/or contributions in all areas of the project objectives.

4. To assess strength/weakness of (a) the project designs (b) the project implementation, and produce appropriate and realistic recommendations which are relevant to the local context and the development strategies of the Ministry of Education.

5. To assess the appropriateness and feasibility of the continuation of the project after the end of the project JSDF grant period. Considering the limitation of funding after the grant period, indicate which project activities should have priority for further continuation.

Methodology

The evaluation was carried with participation from beneficiaries at community level. A team of five people carried out the evaluation between July and November 2005. The team leader and his members drafted sets of questions which could be used to collect evidence. They circulated the questionnaires to knowledgeable individuals in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) and non-government agencies asking them to choose topics from a list (or nominate their own topics) which they believed would be most important to highlight in the evaluation. Team members visited the Provincial Education Office (PEO), the seven District Education Offices (DEOs) and 29 of the 154 schools in the province during ten days of field work. They collected data by observation and by structured and semi-structured interviews with officials at PEO/DEO level and with small groups of stakeholders at school and community level. The evaluation team presented tentative findings at a morning meeting with stakeholders at the PEO. Team members subsequently discussed and revised a full draft of the report which was then presented to SCN-CO.

Key findings

Major achievements: Amongst many significant achievements in 27 months of work, the project has been successful in:

• creating schools which children are happy to attend and community members consider are serving their needs well

• raising morale, productivity and levels of professional competence amongst administrative and teaching staff in education offices and schools

• introducing strategies which have successfully made use of local resources and developed the confidence and capacities of people within the province

• building on the initial willingness of local stakeholders to work on practical activities related to improving school environments to an involvement on other levels and feelings of ownership over project results

• transforming thinking amongst education officials and school staff about school accountability by adding a horizontal dimension (community accountability) to what had previously been primarily a vertical one (the Ministry chain of command)

Results: The evaluation team found clear evidence of:

• large increases in the participation, retention and progress of children in primary schools because of school construction, improvements in the quality of teaching and learning and community support for schools; at the end of academic year 2004-2005, key indicators had reached 85.74% (enrolment), 79% (promotion) and 4.18% (drop out)

• significant improvements in teacher performance and morale

• innovative, inclusive, child friendly and child-centred approaches to teaching and learning

• major improvements in administrative efficiency and the quality of management at all levels of the public education system

• a functioning, supportive system of management of public education in Preah Vihear in which staff at each level of management and/or coordination have direct knowledge, through regular contact, about the institutions and personnel for whom they are responsible and through systematic practices of planning and reporting (province to district, district to cluster and school, cluster to school)

• strong participation by community members in activities to support schools and teachers

• recognition by community members of linkages between children's school learning and the quality of home life (life skills)

• demonstrations of commitment by education officials, School Head Teachers and teaching staff to investigate and be responsive to the needs and aspirations of children and their families from the villages served by schools

Recommendations

It is important to note that as the end date for activities under the JSDF grant nears, however, everyone concerned with the project is conscious that December 2005 marks only the end of the beginning. SCN-CO's ongoing commitment will be critical in sustaining the impact of the work which has taken place so far. But everyone should recognize that many of the biggest challenges lie ahead. This is particularly the case in the DEOs where staff have experienced full-time mentoring for two years. Planning, reporting, monitoring and record keeping structures and systems are demonstrably in place but must be considered fragile, particularly if current low levels of salary are maintained and no government funds are available for travel within the District. Further support, both financial and technical, will clearly be required, especially if the MoEYS continues to have difficulty delivering Priority Action Program and other funding in full and on time.

Even though the evaluation team observed morale amongst teachers, especially young teachers, to be at surprisingly high levels, it should also be considered fragile. Perhaps nothing could have a more serious impact on rates of student participation, promotion and drop out, and on quality in general, than a turn around in teacher morale. It would be a familiar downward spiral - frustration, demoralization, a loss of child friendliness and professional commitment, reductions in instructional time, absenteeism, the need to form larger classes and so on.

It is very likely that there will be some falling away of interest as the impact of the new buildings fades and the reality of working in an under-resourced system in a very poor part of the country re-asserts itself. Even external factors, such as one or two bad seasons and poor rice harvests, could produce a sharp increase in drop out rates, irrespective of the performance of schools and the public education system. The rapid expansion of Lower Secondary education, now being planned by the government for remote areas, will also bring pressures of its own, especially if some of the best teachers are drawn out of primary schools into re-training courses and redeployment. The reform of the national curriculum and the shift to standards-based teaching and learning will add pressure of its own. In this context the decision by SCN-CO to continue a technical assistance role in the province is a critical and reassuring one. SCN-CO staff will have a major role in maintaining momentum and enthusiasm and helping schools be realistic about what they can do in what still is a very challenging educational context.