1

SSA Joint Review Mission

MP, Jan 2009

Mily Roy Anand, GoI; Paul Thomas, DFID;

Yongmei Zhou, World Bank

2

JRM itinerary

Meetings with SSA Commissioner and staff Meetings with departments and agencies

that are also contributing to the SSA goals Visit to SSA training of DIET personnel and

master trainers on activity-based learning Visit to Khargone District: Collector, CEO

ZP, CEO of Janpat Panchayat, PTA, schools, hostels

Visit to Bhawani District: tribal area schools, hostels, CWSN center, PTA

3

Overview of significant progress Good progress towards universal enrollment Good progress in girl enrollment. Residential

hostels seem to be instrumental Good progress in SC/ST enrollment but ST still

lags behind. Hilly areas require more residential hostels and also incentive for boys from very poor families.

Significant progress in basic reading and math evidenced by very good ASER ranking and improved NCERT results.

Dakshata Samvardhan has led to improvement in primary school student competency in Hindi, Math, English based on teacher assessment

4

Overview of challenges and issues to address Intervention in upper primary not adequate. Decline in

learning outcome of Class 8. Limited improvement in retention.

MIS needs to track changes in student competency by gender and social groups. This will facilitate identification of gaps and targeted intervention strategies.

Districts/blocks with high OoSC may benefit from addition block grant to devise innovative ways of getting kids to school, attracting high-quality teachers and hiring supply teachers, improving quality.

School grant is currently uniform. May consider adopting a formula based on size of school student body.

Need improving collaboration between SSA and Tribal Welfare Department, esp. regarding scholarship, number of seats and quality of Ashramshalas and teacher training/mentoring.

5

Goal 1 All children in school

6

Achievements

Number of children aged 6-14 who are not in school/EGS/AIE dropped from 2.97 lakh in 2006-7 to 1.81 lakh in 2007-8

Increase in primary school enrollment from 118.13 lakh in 2006-7 to 120.46 lakh in 2007-8 (net increase 1.33 lakh)

NER in primary increased from 94.6% in 2006-7 to 95.6% in 2007-8

Increase in upper primary school enrollment from 45.06 lakh in 2006-7 to 46.8 lakh in 2007-8 (net increase 1.73 lakh)

Significant increase of schools, esp. at primary level CWSN enrollment in school/AIE increased from 84121 to

98553: good collaboration with NGOs

7

Promising strategies School Chalen Hum (door-to-door enrollment

campaign) before new school year starts Village Enrollment Register documents status of

every child and reasons for staying out of school Mid-day meal seems to be a strong incentive for

school attendance Aganwadi center on the school site relieve

children of sibling care responsibility Human development centers to provide education

and health service to urban slum OoSC (JRM didn’t visit)

Bridge course in rural areas Paraspar in four metro areas (JRM didn’t visit) 2603 registered Madarsas & 595 Sanskrit schools

supported: free text books to enrolled children, annual School Grants, Teacher Grant to two teachers per school, uniforms to girls

8

Remaining challenges and concerns 1.26 lakh OoSC among 5-11-yr-old 55,316 OoSC among 11-14-yr-old Slow progress in construction of upper

primary schools (61% of SSA target)

9

Recommendations

Need targeted intervention to get boys from economically deprived families, esp. in tribal areas, into school

10

Goal 2Bridging gender and

social gaps

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GER 2008: Gender gap is closing; ST needs special attention

80.00%

85.00%

90.00%

95.00%

100.00%

105.00%

primary upper primary

boys

girls

SC boys

SC girls

ST boys

ST girls

12

Promising strategies for girls and CWSNs Incentives for girl enrollment seem to be working

Free uniforms Free bikes for girls enrolled in Class 6 if school is outside

her habitation Ma-Beti Mela: publicize benefits of girl education and

incentives for girl enrollment 9-month residential bridge course for 8-14-yr-old OoSC:

bring them to a competency level where they can be mainstreamed into normal schools or move into KGBV

Residential girl hostels/KGBVs popular among parents and students from deprived families

Collaboration with Social Justice Department and NGOs (Red Cross and Ashagram) for targeted interventions benefiting CWSNs (home-based edu, hostels, community-based rehabilitation, medical services)

DIET training of teachers using CWSN resource room

13

But other state initiatives for girls’ education not well publicized Who manages and publicizes scholarship

schemes such as Ladli Laxmi Yojana and Kanya-Saksharta? Rs 150/year for all SC/ST girls at primary level Rs 300/year for all SC/ST girls at upper primary level Rs 300/year for all OBC and General poor girls at upper

primary level Rs 500 to girls enrolled in class 6 Rs 1 lakh for 21-yr-old girls who finish Class 12

Stronger collaboration between SSA and other departments regarding scholarship scheme is needed

14

Remaining challenges and concerns ST needs special attention, esp. in

access to upper primary Boys from deprived families Teacher retention in remote areas is

poor. High turnover, vacancy and absence of teachers. Supply teachers not eligible for funding under SSA.

15

ST needs special attention

97.5 97.6

103.7

90.4

100.2

104.3 102.3104.2

102.3

80

85

90

95

100

105

110

GER-P GER-UP GER-elementary

Overall SC ST

Pass %

91.4

85.7

89.9

83.88

90.98

82.45

76788082848688909294

class5 class 8

Overall SC ST

Drop out rate

15.6 14.716.9

15.2

20.3 20.6

0

5

10

15

20

25

Primary Upper Primary

%

Overall SC ST

GER

16

ST needs special attention

ST GER lags significantly behind others (incl. SC) groups at upper primary

Dropout rate of ST significantly higher than others at both primary and upper primary levels

Among OoSC aged 5-11, 45% are ST; among OoSC aged 11-14, 52% are ST.

Pass rate of ST students in upper primary lags behind others

17

Teacher retention in remote areas, esp. tribal areas High teacher turnover Frequent vacancy What are the options?

18

Recommendations

Need targeted intervention for ST enrollment and retention

Need targeted intervention for attracting high quality teachers to remote areas

Consider residential school/hostels for tribal areas and teachers’ quarters on campus

Publicize scholarship schemes in school (public notice board)

Need analysis whether the strategies are effective

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Goal 3All children retained in elementary education

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Achievements

Retention at primary level improved from 82% to 84.4%

Transition rate from primary to upper primary remains 94%

Retention at elementary level improved marginally from 59% in 2007 to 61.6% in 2008

Dropout at primary level reduced from 17.6% in 2006-7 to 15.6% in 2007-8

Dropout at upper primary level reduced from 16.3% in 2006-7 to 14.7% in 2007-8

21

Concerns

Limited improvement in retention Dropout of alarmingly high: more than

15% overall and more than 20% for ST Poor learning outcome in upper primary

may have contributed to poor retention No tracking studies of students after

they finish Class VIII. Need data to understand returns to education and poor retention performance.

22

Recommendations

Need better understanding of poor retention

Intensive intervention to expand access and improve quality of upper primary edu is critical

23

Goal 4Education of satisfactory

quality

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Achievements: quality of primary education is improving

Class 3 learning outcome: MP is catching up with national average

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

Class III (NCERT BAS 2003Round1) Maths

Class III (NCERT BAS 2006Round2) Maths

Class III (NCERT BAS 2003Round1) Language

Class III (NCERT BAS 2006Round2) Language

MP

National

25

ASER 2008 confirms good performance at primary level Class 1

94% can read words and letters (national: 65%) 91% can identify numbers 1-9 (national: 63.7%)

Class 3 82% can read a standard 1 level text (national: 50.3%) 72% can solve at least a subtraction problem

(national: 38.7%) Class 5

87% can read a standard 2 level text (national: 56.2%) 78% can correctly solve a division problem (national:

37%)

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Promising strategies

Building as Learning Aid (BALA): pleasant classroom with TLM

Reading and Writing Campaign in 2005.

Four years of effort to experiment with measures to improve primary school education

Promising start of Dakshata Samvardhan

27

Promising start of Dakshata Samvardhan Currently operating in all class 2-5 Baseline test of students of class 2 to 5 Group formation of students according to competency

level Regular teaching of students in these groups according

to time table Monthly test, tracking of student competency Planned external assessment of “A” grade school (more

than 90% students have achieved required competency level)

Planned award to be given to teachers of “A” grade classes

Khargone DIET evaluation shows rapid improvement in student competency level during the first three months of Dakshata Samvardhan

28

Activity-based learning

Training of teachers in ABL, following Tamil Nadu and Chattisgarh experiments

Pilot of ABL in 1,900 schools

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Improving standards of teaching cadre• Creating regular teacher cadre in place of para teachers.

No teacher can be regularized without professional qualification – 2.49 lakh teachers professionally trained

• Ensuring teacher presence in schools - ban non-teaching duties

• Digitizing Teacher Data Base, pay-bill preparations, call center for complaints

• Continuous and comprehensive evaluation• Regular and effective In-Service Training for elementary

teachers: 10 days in summer vacation at block level, 6 days on Dakshata Samvardhan (Competency Improvement Program), inter and intra-state visits

• Subsidized training for upper primary school teachers by IGNOU to acquire qualification in subject areas

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Ensure quality in decentralized teacher recruitment process State Cadre declared a dying cadre. All new

teachers at elementary level are appointed by Janpat Panchayat; all new teachers at secondary level are appointed by Zilla Panchayats, subject to the revised teacher recruitment policy

Selection by panchayats based on merit (marks obtained in CET, marks of professional qualification and teaching experience)

Appointment by panchayats on probation for three years and then regularized after satisfactory performance and passing an exam

Examination for new teachers has been conducted. Result declared. Counseling will begin in Feb. 2009

31

Performance incentives for teachers Acharya Samman (Best Teacher) in each block

identified through a combination of assessment by Janpat (Block) Panchayat and SSA; award (certificate, shawl, Rs 5,000 given by Minister personally)

Dakshata Samvardhan awards a teacher with Rs 5,000 if his/her class has 90% or more kids can reach required competency level; Rs 2,500 if 80-90% kids can reach required competency level.

PTAs of schools where more than 90% of students reaching required competency level get Rs 10,000

Rs 1,350 reward for teachers for every OoSC student they help mainsteam after bridging course

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Concern: quality of upper primary education needs significant improvement

Class 8 learning outcome

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Class VIII(NCERT BAS200? Round1)

Maths

Class VIII(NCERT BAS200? Round2)

Maths

Class VIII(NCERT BAS200? Round1)

Language

Class VIII(NCERT BAS200? Round2)

Language

Class VIII(NCERT BAS200? Round1)

Science

Class VIII(NCERT BAS200? Round2)

Science

Class VIII(NCERT BAS200? Round1)Social Science

Class VIII(NCERT BAS200? Round2)Social Science

MP

National

33

Some issues for consideration:

Need estimate on % of schools that can become “A” grade

Are teachers who contributed to significant improvement in student competency (e.g., 10% to 60%) worth rewarding?

Performance incentive is effective if the target is difficult but reachable.

Monitoring quality of education is a difficult task for PRIs and PTAs, esp. in backward areas. Strong monitoring and mentoring by CRCs, BRCs and DRCs is essential.

34

Recommendations

Tracking student competency level should be done in upper primary schools as well (GoMP plans Dakshata Savardhan Phase II for upper primary)

Student competency tracking should also be disaggregated by gender and social categories so as to devise targeted interventions

Experiments with teacher performance incentive are encouraged but their efficacy need to be evaluated, possibly using randomized experiments. A small number of teachers should be able to reach the target with exceptional effort

35

SSA program management

36

Involving stakeholders and decentralizing responsibilities MP Jan Shiksha Abhiniyan 2002 and

MP Jan Shiksha Niyam 2003 Integrate state administration and SSA

program management structure Role of PRIs Role of Tribal Department Role of VEC, PTA

37

PTA: Maximizing their contribution to education PTA are key provider of accounting/budgeting

and procurement services at village level. Evident that they have been provided with

appropriate guidance/documentation and training.

Key role is played by Secretary/Head Teacher. Provide effective stakeholder participation and

oversight. Key players in MP decentralization Program.

38

Planning and budgeting

Bottom-up planning and budgeting Some constraints due to SSA norms

which can make planning and budgeting challenging

Historically budgets included in AWPB have not accurately reflected final expenditure.

SSA program has been consistently under-spent over past four years.

39

Budget execution Accounting and MIS systems are both

comprehensive and effective: however … Budgets have been under-spent for a variety

of reasons: Delay in civil works (Code of Conduct related to MP

election Oct 2008) Teacher vacancies – currently 15,898 Practice of carry over of funds and State’s practice

of providing SSA with funds for subsequent year at the end of previous March (two disbursements of Rs 100 Crore on 31st March in 2006 and 2007 – provided Rs 131 Crore for 2007/8 on 29th March 2008!)

Carry over balance of additional Rs 357 Crore on 1st April 2008

40

Internal controls related to financial management and procurement (1) SSA program has made significant progress in

improving internal control and audit oversight such as laudable introduction of concurrent audit and extending Internal audit’s role in 2008/9 to include reconciling accounts back to 2002/3.

State statutory audit report for 2007/8 is overdue. Reason for this is increased role of Internal Audit which has relayed publication of final audit report and this has effected External Audit report. Expected in early February. Introduction of concurrent audit/appointment of new Statutory Auditors will mean that in future External Audit report will be on time.

41

Internal controls related to financial management and procurement (2) Appropriate oversight arrangements of

spending by local units – further strengthened through adoption of concurrent audit approach in 2008/9.

Main issues and solutions identified by state monitoring system: Need compensating controls to reflect lack of

segregation of roles in spending, accounting, cash management that are currently performed by the PTA Secretary/head teacher

42

Internal controls related to financial management and procurement (3) There is only limited procurement activity

undertaken by SSA Functionaries. Most of activity has been decentralized to PTAs and local bodies.

Most of procurement managed by State Office and District (such as hiring of vehicles, construction of KGBV) has been given to MP State organisations such as MPLUN to undertake using State norms which reflect requirements of FM&P Manual.

43

Transparency

School bulletin board publishes source of income and expenditure

Recommend that school bulletin board also publish purpose of expenditure and purchasing

arrangement scholarships and other incentives provided

to student The toll-free number under SSA for

complaints by parents and teachers

44

Monitoring and learning

A sophisticated monitoring system involving CM monthly review, OIC minister visits, regular visits and reports by SSA staff (OIC, DRC, BRC, CRC)

Monthly meeting of teachers at Model Cluster School and BRC

Comprehensive Education MIS (such as details of teachers) to be put online for public access by end of March 2009

Regular training provided to SSA functionaries (incl PTA)

45

Feedback to MoHRD (1)

Very positive progress being made in MP for most of SSA targets at primary level, particular in relation to education of girls.

Many good example of innovative interventions and high levels of commitment of SSA staff many of which work in difficult environments.

However we feel that States need some flexibility in SSA Norms SSA does not allow contractors for school buildings. ULBs don’t

like to be directly involved in building schools. State requested that SSA to allow contractors without state having to submit requests to PAB.

The State SSA Mission requests GoI to consider increasing residential training cost per teacher, which is currently Rs 100.

Cost of supply teachers should be eligible expenditure under SSA.

Cost norms of KGBVs should be increased to allow for expansion.

46

Feedback to MoHRD (2)

FM&P processes are generally good but there are still a few areas where improvement is needed such as:-

Issues with recurrent MP SSA under-spend and large amounts of carry-over funding

Timing of MP State funding – frequent advance payments made in different financial years

Large amount of State “off budget” funding for innovative and highly effective items such as construction of CWSN hostels, completion of school buildings, girls bikes, supply teachers.

Delay in disbursement of SSA GoI funding (currently only provided 32% of year’s planned reimbursement)