Bolivia 10842 BTH JM midterm evaluation report 2020

Background

The goal of this project is that students in Tiquipaya, Bolivia will get access to quality vocational education (Bachillerato Técnico Humanístico - BTH) at Jesús Maestro Educational Unit, which will be enabled to offer technical and humanistic baccalaureates within 1. gastronomy and 2. environmental management. This will be accomplished through construction of classrooms for inclusive vocational education, development of quality practical pedagogical curriculum, and capacity building of teachers. The project period is 2019-2021.

Purpose/objective

The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the project progress and results, cost-effectiveness, relevance, local ownership, sustainability, gender mainstreaming, inclusion of people with disabilities, empowerment level, and lessons learned as well as to provide recommendations for the remaining project period.

Methodology

Document review; survey involving students, parents, and teachers; interviews with key actors; inspection of infrastructure.

Key findings

The technical workshops have been built on time and according to national regulations. The school constitutes a model and a benchmark at the departmental level in terms of equipment. The finalization for use by students was delayed because of lack of cooperation between the different actors. The gastronomy specialty is equipped, but there is no equipment for the environmental management specialty yet. Equipment requirements have been made to the Tiquipaya municipality, and the mayor has signed a commitment. There are curricular designs, study plans with their respective annual and bimonthly plans to respond to each specialty. They are framed in in accordance with the Education Law, but it is necessary to incorporate an intercultural perspective in the contents and methodology of said designs.

The school project has generated significant learning and become stronger through visits to specialized training institutions and shared work experience. The methodological courses were relatively successful.

The courses for planning and validating the curricular plans and the lesson plans for the technical studies had the participation of slightly more than half of the teachers. The professional capacity of the two specialty teachers is recognized and valued. Despite not being normal teachers, they show greater predisposition to plan based on the Productive Socio-Community Educational Model approach.

There is lack of coordination of planning and classroom practices between the teachers in the technical area and the teachers in the humanistic area. The BTH is relevant for job opportunities or further studies at a higher level. The degree can also be a tool to pay for higher studies. The project is relevant and largely satisfies the needs of the population and the municipality. It is important to have a greater commitment of the stakeholders, monitoring and socialization of the project permanently.

Parents, in general, comply with the financial contribution. They contribute to the functioning of the school. An item with 96 hours for the gastronomy specialty was obtained from the Ministry of Education; however, the administrative appointment procedures are governed by an annual contract and also receive only a basic salary for not being a collegiate teacher. There are still another 96 hours for the specialty of environmental management not financed by the Ministry of Education. In addition, items are missing for the hours of the general training cycle, from 1st to 4th of the high school. This point is very important for the sustainability of the BTH. The Ministry of

Education hinders the specialty teachers’ permanent position since they are not collegiate teachers. It is urgent to review the laws and legal regulations in force, with a view to a greater good, such as educational quality for BTH students.

Each level of the Management Committee has a way of seeing, perceiving and reading reality, which sometimes brings communication interference and certain disagreements. The Humanistic Technical Bachelor, if well led and directed, has a great advantage over the bachelor only in Humanities. It is important to seek greater coordination and consensus among educational actors, and the Management Committee can empower the entire educational community. It is also important to generate greater commitment, unity and stronger support from members of the Management Committee and external partners, such as the Mayor's Office, the District Directorate for Education and ICEL.

Recommendations

Incorporate the intercultural approach in a general project for a new culture of relationship with nature and respond to cultural, economic and educational diversity. Generating spaces of greater interaction between teachers in the humanistic area with teachers in the technical area would help develop sensitivity and understanding of the BTH. Expand and develop workshops on values, gender, environment, and other specific techniques related to BTH for all teachers. Analyze the possibility of giving functionality to the techniques and content planning by virtual means. Institutionalize the Management Committee, granting them statutes and operating regulations.

Draw up a regulation of the BTH to regulate the use of the environments, the equipment and, the handling of the utensils of the specialties. Develop leadership training courses for parents and students to continue with the implementation efforts of the BTH. Hold a participatory conference on the benefits of agroforestry. The project implementation has been hindered in the achievement of the results due to the limitations and restrictions imposed by the pandemic, especially those related to the technical training of technicians and institutional management. Therefore, it is necessary and opportune to extend the duration of the project.

Comments from the organisation

Project team, management committee and ICEL: The project has been hindered by unfavorable conditions due to the political situation of the country since October 2019 and the pandemic. The evaluation was also somewhat hindered due to restrictions, and most meetings have been virtual.

The formation and capacity building of the students could not be fully evaluated. The pandemic has had a very negative impact on their education, and both the project team and ICEL recognize the need for an extension of the project, as presence and practice is crucial for the technical training and the delay has hindered important strategic work. In general, the findings were positive, and the report has also brough important input to make certain adjustments. There is a written agreement signed by the Tiquipaya Municipality for the equipping of the environmental management classroom, and the project has planned to contribute with the necessary utensils. The equipping was delayed due to mudslide February 2020 followed by the pandemic. The management will look into incorporating an intercultural perspective in the education content and methodology when teaching is back to normal and the ministry has provided the necessary items for teachers.

The management believes that the coordination between the humanistic and technical teachers is a gradual process that will continue to improve with time, but the project will analyze this and take action to strengthen the process by organizing relevant activities. A regulation for the management committee will be made, and they will also define its role and the role of other actors to ensure sustainability.

NLM/Digni

The evaluation report describes a successful project in many ways and provides relevant and important recommendations for improvement. These will be followed up by NLM through project plans and reports. The project has been significantly hindered by the pandemic and other external factors, and NLM/Digni is open for discussing a one-year extension. The evaluation report is missing some specific examples that would have been useful as pieces of evidence of the findings and to create a greater understanding of the project effects. This was not possible due to the pandemic restrictions. NLM will therefore make sure this will be particularly included in a final evaluation at a later stage.