Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No: 27345 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT (TF-22951 IDA-33180) ON A LEARNING AND INNOVATION CREDIT IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 2.8 MILLION (US$3.8 MILLION EQUIVALENT) TO THE REPUBLIC OF MALI FOR THE IMPROVING LEARNING IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS PROJECT March 8, 2004 Human Development 2 Africa Region This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized
IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 2.8 MILLION (US$3.8 MILLION EQUIVALENT)
TO THE
REPUBLIC OF MALI
FOR THE
IMPROVING LEARNING IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS PROJECT
March 8, 2004
Human Development 2Africa Region
This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.
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CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS
(Exchange Rate Effective as of October 31, 2003)
Currency Unit = CFA Franc (CFAF) CFA 590 = US$ 1.00US$ 1.00 = CFA 590
FISCAL YEARJanuary 1 - December 31
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
AE Teaching Academies Académies d’EnseignementAPE Parents' -Teachers' Association Associations de Parents d’ElèvesCAP Pedagogical Acitivity Centers Centres d’Animation PédagogiqueCAD/DE Department of Decentralization/Deconcentration Cellule d'Appui à la Décentralisation et à
la Déconcentration de l'EducationCECI Canadian Studies and International Cooperation Centre Canadien d’Etude et de Coopération
InternationaleCGS School Management Committees Comités de Gestion ScolaireCGE Education Management Committees Comités de Gestion d'EducationCMDT Textile Development Corporation of Mali Compagnie Malienne pour le Développement des
TextilesCNEB Directorate for Basic Education Direction de l'Education de BaseCNE National Education Center Centre National de l'EducationDAF Administration and Finance Unit Division Administrative et FinancièreDGMP General Directorate for Public Procurement Direction Générale des Marchés PublicsDRE Regional Directorates for Education Directions Régionales de l'EducationEMIS Education Management Information System Système de Gestion de l’Information en EducationGRIP Grassroots Initiative Project Projet d’Assistance aux Initiatives de BaseICB International Competitive Bidding Appel d’Offres International IDA International Development Agency Agence Internationale de DéveloppementIFM Teacher Training Institutes Instituts de Formation des MaîtresLIL Learning and Innovation Loan Prêt au Développement des Connaissances et à
l’InnovationMBE Ministry of Basic Education Ministère de l’Enseignement FondamentalNCB National Competitive Bidding Appel d’Offres NationalNGO Non-Governmental Organization Organisation non-gouvernementale PAAA Improving Learning in Primary Schools Project Projet d’Appui à l’Amélioration des Apprentissages
dans les Ecoles FondamentalesPC Bilingual Education Pédagogie Convergente PCU Project Coordination Unit Unité de Coordination du ProjetPISE Education Sector Investment Program Programme d’Investissement dans le Secteur de
de l’EducationPRODEC Ten-year Education Development Program Programme Décennal pour le Déeloppement. de
l’Education SIP Sector Investment Program Programme d’Investissement SectorielSMC School Management Committee Comité de Gestion ScolaireUNICEF United National Children’s Fund Fonds des Nations Unies pour l’EnfanceUSAID United States Agency for International Development Agence des Etats-Unis pour le Développement
International
Vice President: Callisto MadavoCountry Director A. David CraigSector Manager Alexandre Abrantes
Task Team Leader/Task Manager: Abdoulaye Ky
MALIIMPROVING LEARNING IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS PROJECT
CONTENTS
Page No.1. Project Data 12. Principal Performance Ratings 13. Assessment of Development Objective and Design, and of Quality at Entry 24. Achievement of Objective and Outputs 45. Major Factors Affecting Implementation and Outcome 126. Sustainability 147. Bank and Borrower Performance 158. Lessons Learned 179. Partner Comments 1810. Additional Information 19Annex 1. Key Performance Indicators/Log Frame Matrix 20Annex 2. Project Costs and Financing 22Annex 3. Economic Costs and Benefits 24Annex 4. Bank Inputs 28Annex 5. Ratings for Achievement of Objectives/Outputs of Components 30Annex 6. Ratings of Bank and Borrower Performance 31Annex 7. List of Supporting Documents 32Annex 8. Borrower's Comments 33Annex 9. Background and Context for the Project 35Annex Map 36
Theme: Rural services and infrastructure (P); Access to urban services for the poor (P); Education for all (P); Participation and civic engagement (S); Decentralization (S)
KEY DATES Original Revised/ActualPCD: 01/14/1999 Effective: 01/15/2000 10/05/2000
Borrower/Implementing Agency: GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALI/MINISTRY OF BASIC EDUCATION
Other Partners: Government of the Netherlands
STAFF Current At AppraisalVice President: Callisto E. Madavo Jean-Louis SarbibCountry Director: A. David Craig Hasan A. TuluySector Manager: Alexandre V. Abrantes Nicholas R. BurnettTeam Leader at ICR: Abdoulaye Ky Linda EnglishICR Primary Author: Shobhana Sosale
3. Assessment of Development Objective and Design, and of Quality at Entry
3.1 Original Objective:
The overall objective of the Project was to further develop and assess the merits of bilingual education in Mali, in terms of its financial and educational sustainability. To achieve the objective, the approach taken was to introduce a bilingual education model known as "pédagogie convergente" (refer to Annex 9 for background and context) in six languages as the basis for introducing curricular revisions, producing textbooks in keeping with changed curricula, testing the teaching and learning materials, testing student achievement at end-of-project to determine the efficacy of using pédagogie convergente, and building community partnerships to elicit local level support for introducing pédagogie convergente at primary education level. Pédagogie convergente is characterized by the use of mother tongue/national language as the primary language of instruction during the first year of schooling with progressive introduction of the French language during the second year and beyond until the second cycle of schooling (Grades 7-9).
The Project development objective was consistent with: (a) the Bank's Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Mali, which was to increase the quality of and access to basic education while maintaining cost at affordable levels; and (b) the Government's ten-year program for developing the education sector (PRODEC). The objective was relevant, responsive to key issues regarding the use of the pédagogie convergente model, and consistent with the government’s overall strategy for human resource development. The objective was clearly stated with defined key process, output and outcome indicators. The Project development objective was appropriate and relevant to Mali's education sector. The pédagogie convergente approach is in line with evidence from Mali and other countries [Belgium (MBE and ADEA, May 2003); Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Haiti, Nigeria, the Philippines, Canada, New Zealand and the United States (Cummings and Tamayo 1994; Chiswick 1996; Patrinos and Velez 1996; Dutcher 1997)] linking bilingual teaching method with improved school performance and, particularly, greater learning outcomes for all students.
The Project was designed as a Learning and Innovation Loan (LIL) at a time when the education system was: (i) facing low enrollments, including gender and regional imbalances; (ii) suffering from poor learning results in primary schools; (iii) experiencing low efficiency in public education; (iv) characterized by poor accessibility to education for all children; (v) using a wide range of models for community involvement in schooling; and (vi) managed centrally. The learning and development issues of the Project included: (i) Further developing pédagogie convergente and related curricula, including producing textbooks in national languages in line with new curricula and distributing them; (ii) Monitoring and evaluation; (iii) Testing systems and procedures; (iv) Participation; (v) Accountability; and (vi) Literacy. The project design was, therefore, relevant to the needs of the primary education sector.
The roles and responsibilities of the implementing agencies were clearly defined. A Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) staffed by government employees was established to carry out project administration, financial management, procurement, monitoring and evaluation, and overall project implementation and supervision. At the regional level, the Directions Régionales de l’Education (DRE) were responsible for: (i) implementing the training program for teachers, school directors and pedagogic advisors in pédagogie convergente; (ii) organizing the community mobilization campaigns in collaboration with local NGOs; (iii) managing the selection process for the school improvement projects submitted by communities; (iv) monitoring the use of project funds at the community level; (v) managing the distribution of textbooks to schools; (vi) providing inputs for the preparation of annual work programs and budgets to be reviewed and consolidated at the central level; and (vii) preparing progress report on status of project
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implementation at the local level.
3.2 Revised Objective:
The original objective remained unchanged throughout project implementation.
3.3 Original Components:
To achieve the objective, the Project had four components:
Component 1. Learning to implement bilingual education in primary schools (US$3.76 million). This was the most critical component for achieving the Project objective, and it received the largest share of the project funding. The purpose of the component was to systematically introduce the use of the pédagogie convergente model as the basis for curricular revisions, to test systems and procedures to produce teaching and learning materials to suit the new curricula, to improve quality of education by training teachers, school directors, inspectors and pedagogic advisors in the use of pédagogie convergente, and to monitor and evaluate student learning. Towards achieving this purpose, the Credit supported the introduction of systems and procedures to: (i) develop curriculum using the pédagogie convergente model as the basis; (ii) revise, produce, publish and distribute textbooks in six national languages; (iii) train teachers in the areas of pédagogie convergente model and active learning methods; and (iv) monitor and evaluate student learning.
Component 2. Testing Family/School/Community Partnerships (US$0.73 million). The objective of this component was to foster partnerships at the local level, to assist the Government to streamline the prevailing diverse approaches to school management and financing by setting up new community/family partnerships to promote learning and sharing of experiences, to provide financially sustainable approaches to expanding primary school coverage and quality, and to improve understanding of community partnerships. To achieve the purpose, the Project supported: (i) the establishment of School Management Committees (SMCs); (ii) training for SMCs; (iii) improvements for adult literacy; (iv) campaigns to raise community awareness; and (v) the systematic use of school improvement projects. Within the context of community partnerships, this component aimed to develop Government’s capacity to contract out functional literacy services to NGOs and involve communities in decision-making.
Component 3. Decentralizing the Education System (US$0.54 million). The purpose of this component was to improve local level accountability by moving the responsibility for service delivery from the government's side closer to the beneficiaries (students, parents, communities). Towards this end, the Project was designed to: (i) clarify roles and responsibilities through consensus/agreement; (ii) test various procedures for developing a management and decision-making system that would allow authorities to be accountable to its citizens; (iii) provide a role for local communities in the preparation of school improvement plans in collaboration with school directors and inspectors, thus rendering schools more accountable to parents and students; and (iv) assist central government authorities to prepare evaluation reports and develop communication strategies which would increase their capacity to report on activities to Parliament and the public in general, thereby increasing their accountability.
Component 4. Strengthening implementation capacity for project management and implementation (US$0.49 million) The purpose of this component was to strengthen Ministry level administrators' capacity to manage project implementation. The Credit financed: (i) technical assistance; (ii) training; (iii) logistics and equipment costs for project coordination; and (iv) financial management.
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Project components 1, 2 and 4 were appropriate and relevant to achieve the development objective. Component 3 was premature and not linked directly to achieving the Project objective.
3.4 Revised Components:
The four components of the Project remained unchanged throughout the Project implementation period.
3.5 Quality at Entry:
Satisfactory. The quality at entry is rated as satisfactory as the Project was relevant, responsive to key issues regarding the use of the pédagogie convergente model, and consistent with the Government’s overall strategy for human resource development. Project design was consistent with the Bank's CAS for Mali [dated May 26, 1998 (Report No.17775 MLI)] which supported the use of a Learning and Innovation Loan (LIL) operation to enable the Government to commence implementation of its ten-year education development plan (PRODEC) and to go to scale with the pédagogie convergente model. Project design was the result of extensive consultations with stakeholders at community and school levels, and participation by Government officials at central and regional levels. The earmarking of nearly 68 percent of the Credit for Component 1 on learning to implement the pédagogie convergente model in primary schools was appropriate. The Project focused on building capacity at central, regional, and community (parents, teachers, school directors, students) levels. The overall project design was rational and addressed key issues in the sector in an achievable and realistic manner. By and large, project risks were realistically identified, and risk minimization measures were adequately incorporated into project activity plans.
There was no formal Quality at Entry criteria in effect at the time of project preparation and appraisal. Nevertheless, the project design followed the essential standards of the Bank Quality Assurance Group regarding: (a) technical, environmental and social aspects and lessons learned; (b) financial management; and (c) Borrower's commitment, ownership participation and readiness for implementation. International experience in designing and implementing bilingual education was factored into the Project design.
4. Achievement of Objective and Outputs
4.1 Outcome/achievement of objective:
Satisfactory. The Project objective of strengthening bilingual education by increasing the pace of its application in primary schools was satisfactorily tested. The majority of the Project outputs were achieved (refer Sub-section 4.2 for details), and they are in line with the Government’s ten-year program policy framework (PRODEC). They have helped to increase the momentum for the sector investment program (SIP) which operationalizes PRODEC.
The output indicators (Annex 1) were clearly specified. The main outcome indicator specified was to introduce pédagogie convergente in six languages in approximately 700 schools in Mali by end of the Project. The target was achieved. The model was effectively implemented in the six selected languages and about 2,056 schools had introduced pédagogie convergente by the end of the Project. Three qualitative outcome indicators were specified for the Project: (i) demonstrating repetition and dropout rates to be better in participating pédagogie convergente schools when compared to other school systems; (ii) evaluating results in reading, French and Mathematics for pédagogie convergente schools and demonstrating these results to be better than in other school systems; and (iii) cost savings of pédagogie convergente model
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compared to other systems and schools.
(a) Demonstrating repetition and dropout rates to be better in participating pédagogie convergente schools when compared to other school systems: The Project outcome was satisfactorily achieved because the use of the pédagogie convergente model has resulted in repetition and dropout rates averaging 3.7% and 1.6%, respectively, over the 1999-2002/03 period, which are much lower than in traditional schools, where the same rates are 18.1% and 5.7%, respectively.
(b) Evaluating results in reading, French, and Mathematics for pédagogie convergente schools and demonstrating these results to be better than in other school systems: The Project outcome was satisfactorily achieved. Test results show that students of pédagogie convergente schools out-performed their peers in traditional schools. Towards the end of Project implementation student learning in Grade 5 was conducted in languages (French and national languages) and mathematics. Comparable tests were used for both types of schools. In spite of the fact that pédagogie convergente schools are more predominantly located in rural areas and are, therefore, expected to have lower student achievement rates, actual evaluation results indicate that they had better performance (see Table 1 below). In addition, students in pédagogie convergente schools know how to read and write in one of the national languages, while other students lack this competency.
Table 1. Post-Project Evaluation Test Scores (2002-2003)
Test ScoresN (100, 15)
Traditional Schools Pédagogie Convergente Schools
Mathematics 98.2 102.2 French 99.9 100.2
National Languages - 99.7Source : MBE. Evaluation de la performance en français, en mathémathique et en langues nationales des élèves
des classes de 5ème année des écoles à pédagogie convergente et des écoles classiques du premier cycle de l’enseignement fondamental au Mali. August 2003.Test scores in Mathematics, French and national languages have been normalized at 100 to fit a standard distribution; the standard deviation is 15.
The scores show that in mathematics pédagogie convergente students achieved 102.2 points in the range of learning tests whereas traditional students were at 98.2. This statistically significant difference suggests that teaching mathematics through pédagogie convergente (using national language instruction) contributes to improving the level of student performance in the subject. In French, the test scores for pédagogie convergente students was 100.2 against 99.9 for traditional education students. While these figures are more or less similar, they seem to demonstrate that even though pédagogie convergente schools use a national language as the medium of instruction in the first year of primary schooling, students tend to pick up a second language (French) very quickly, since they have the foundation of various concepts, and reach a level of proficiency slightly higher than that of their counterparts in traditional schools.
(c) Cost savings of pédagogie convergente model compared to other systems and schools with active community involvement: Efficiency gains can be attributed to introducing pédagogie convergente in the classroom. Efficiency gains relate to lower repetition and dropout rates for pédagogie convergente education than for traditional education. Cost savings are related to lower repetition and dropout rates (for details refer key performance indicator (i) above). The unit cost for pédagogie convergente education is estimated to be 26,594 CFAF, and for traditional education, it is estimated to be 24,588 CFAF (for details see Annex 3). The reason for the difference is that an additional textbook in national language is needed for
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pédagogie convergente education. When wastage through repetition and dropouts are factored in, the total cost for a student to complete the primary cycle of education in traditional public schools is 202,722 CFAF, whereas it is only 159,342 CFAF for pédagogie convergente education (for details refer Annex 3).
Analyzing the Project outcomes in key performance indicators (a) (b) and (c) above, and based on the data in the Table, it can be concluded that pédagogie convergente education is more cost-effective than traditional/classic education and, therefore, leads to a reduction in the cost per primary school graduate.
4.2 Outputs by components:
Component 1. Learning to implement bilingual education in primary schools (US$2.50 million) (Highly Satisfactory). The main output indicator specified for the Project was that bilingual education (pédagogie convergente) is successfully introduced in six languages and is used in at least 700 schools in Mali by end-project. The Project contributed towards expanding the use of the pédagogie convergente model progressively to assist the Government's vision of covering the majority of public primary schools eventually.
This was the most critical component of the Project, and it received the largest share of the project financial allocation for implementation. This component contributed substantially to the government's sector policy of using bilingual education in primary schools. Interviews with parents revealed overall satisfaction with the performance of the retrained teachers and the positive impact of the Project on student learning, school attendance and improved disposition of children to go to school. At project-end, about 2,056 public school classrooms (1,256 public schools and 800 community schools which are considered to be in the non-public domain) were finally using the pédagogie convergente model, against only 300 at project-start. This was a significant achievement as it required that over 5,640 teachers be trained and about 150,000 students (11.6% of total gross enrollments of 2002-03,) of which 44% girls, be exposed to the pédagogie convergente methodology in less than 3 years of time.
An implementation assessment of the component activities revealed that:
Activity 1: Introduction of a system and procedures to develop new curriculum for bilingual education. The overall output of this activity was highly satisfactory. Learning standards, expected competencies and pedagogy for each grade at the primary education level in reading, mathematics (in national languages and French) for Grades 1-6 and in Science for Grades 3-6 were approved and implemented. The Project helped to systematically introduce pédagogie convergente as the basis for curricular revisions, to test revised curricula, and procedures to produce teaching and learning materials to suit the new curricula. Pédagogie convergente is the heart of the Malian primary education curriculum. The old curricula had several disciplines. Through the Project, new curricula were developed and tested in all primary education subjects for the three cycles at the basic education level. New curricula were regrouped under five domains: (i) language and communication in two languages--mother tongue and a second language; (ii) social science with history and geography; (iii) natural sciences, mathematics and technology; (iv) civics, moral education, and physical education; and (v) arts which encompasses dramatic arts, music, dance etc. These five domains were developed on the basis of three categories of competencies: (i) subject area competencies; (ii) transversal competencies; and (iii) life skills. By end-of-Project, new curricula were approved and implemented for all modules from Grades 1-6 (first two cycles of basic education).
Activity 2: Introduction of systems and procedures to produce textbooks in national languages and distribute them. The output of this activity was highly satisfactory. Prior to project implementation,
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there were few textbooks in the national languages and they were of poor physical quality. The Project helped to introduce systems and procedures to edit, produce, publish, and distribute books in six national languages on the basis of the revised curricula. Niono workshops were conducted to discuss the approach to publishing, producing and distributing textbooks, developing terms of references and adopting them towards preparing preliminary versions of manuscripts. Intensive workshops lasting 21 days were successfully conducted, and resulted in (i) the elaboration of didactic materials [three types: petits matériels for active classroom teaching, reprint of didactic materials/textbooks/manuscripts including French Rencontres, and new editions], and (ii) the preparation of terms of reference defining the type of production (exercises, documentary texts, dialogues, games, counting, etc.), the number of themes to be included and the production characteristics (length of text by level of education, number and types of exercises). Teachers undergoing training in pédagogie convergente methodology participated in the workshops. The work was organized to elicit maximum participation and promote group dynamics. Teachers contributed to developing the new textbooks.
With respect to financing, since 1994 Mali has a line item in the budget for basic education teaching and learning materials. The maximum amount allocated annually equals about 4 million CFAF--an amount which is insufficient to address the enormous dearth of teaching and learning materials. Through the Project, supplementary funds were made available to finance the reprinting, publishing, production and distribution of books in six national languages for the first three grades. Financial assistance also came from USAID, the Netherlands, the Inter-government Agency for Francophone countries, and from GTZ. Significant efforts were made to produce the didactic materials (textbooks, teachers’ guides, visual aides). The SIP is continuing to reinforce the approach adopted in the context of the LIL.
The large-scale production of textbooks in national languages meant procuring the services of publishers who had the potential to conform to the rigorous regulatory procedures of the General Directorate for Public Procurement [Direction Générale des Marchés Publics (DGPM)] and those of the bi-lateral and multilateral partners. Calls for bids were made in two modalities: ICB and NCB. Bidding documents were opened according to specified procedure and contracts were awarded for the production of books. Books in national languages were generally produced locally. The books produced were of good physical quality (the quality of the content of these books needs to be evaluated). Both teachers' guides and student textbooks were produced. The Project assisted in this regard and the output was highly satisfactory. At the basic education level, textbooks are provided for free. In all, as of 2002 a total of 547,800 books and 80 titles (63 languages, 17 mathematics) of didactic materials in eleven (six supported through the Project; five already in use) national languages were produced at the Niono workshops at the district level.
Activity 3: Teacher training in the areas of bilingual education and active learning methods. The output of this activity was Satisfactory. It was envisaged that in 70% of participating schools, interactive and individual teaching methods would be used, and action plans would be developed for non-performing schools by end-of-Project. The output was achieved, although a little below target at 60%. The objective was to train teachers to use national language in teaching concomitant with French. In order to improve the quality of teaching, teachers were required to (i) be fluent in a national language; (ii) use active teaching techniques in class to engage students; (iii) be capable of using differentiated teaching techniques taking into consideration differing levels of comprehension among students; and (iv) apply formative evaluation techniques. At the beginning of the Project, only 1,000 teachers were assessed as having the required characteristics. As envisaged in the Project design, all 15 Académies d'Enseignement and 70 Centres d'Animation Pédagogique (CAP) were targeted, and over 5,640 teachers were trained in the use of pédagogie convergente methodology in the classroom. In addition, teachers also received technical training in developing didactic materials. They co-edited textbooks which are now being used in
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pédagogie convergente schools. Feedback from school inspectors' reports indicate that teachers are using new techniques to promote listening comprehension, oral expression and written exercises for children to acquire a number of useful skills.
A positive aspect of the Project was that trained teachers are now the champions of using pédagogie convergente as the primary approach to teaching. Some children interviewed said that their teachers were using a different teaching technique which they liked because they are now able to understand the concepts and participate in class discussions. During the Project implementation period, teachers on the verge of retirement, who had received training in pédagogie convergente methodology, received a three-year service extension. Capacity was enhanced in the MBE to: (i) develop training materials--multilingual training materials, trainer and school level supervision support; (ii) organize in-service training (since pre-service/initial teacher training did not include pédagogie convergente until 2002/03); (iii) identify teachers to be trained (criteria being teachers who spoke the national language, and their potential for being deployed to existing and new pédagogie convergente schools in accordance with the objectives of extending the Project, and were prepared to use innovative approaches to classroom teaching); (iv) develop a linguistic map of Mali (languages spoken by pupils and teachers) to serve as a planning tool for deploying teachers; and (v) carry out the training in a phased or gradual manner. Teacher training activities of the Project are being continued through the SIP: (i) institutional reinforcement of the Centres d'Animation Pédagogique (CAP) so as to ensure in-service teacher training and follow-up; and (ii) pre-service training in the pédagogie convergente methodology at the Institutes of Teacher Training [Instituts de Formation des Maîtres (IFM)].
Activity 4: Introduction of a system and procedures to monitor and evaluate student learning. The outputs of this activity were satisfactory although the overall monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for the Project was unsatisfactory. Evaluation and monitoring of student learning are based on year-end, end-of-cycle examinations. Pédagogie convergente and traditional school students were tested during Project implementation (refer section 4.1 for details). The capacity of the evaluation unit in the MBE was enhanced through technical assistance support and training in student learning evaluation methodology. The department’s evaluation of the use of pédagogie convergente shows that from a sectoral perspective, the Project component helped to provide some evidence to show that pédagogie convergente actually has educational advantages and serves as a means (improved learning) to an end (to progress with schooling, to become literate and numerate).
Component 2. Testing Family/School/Community Partnerships (US$0.33 million) (Moderately Satisfactory). It was envisaged that 60% (equivalent to 24 out of 40) of School Management Committees (SMCs) would adopt a school improvement plan including pédagogie convergente within 6 months of creation. Furthermore, a communication strategy aimed at gaining support within communities and decision-makers was envisaged. In 1999-2000 an information campaign/strategy was designed and adopted. It was transmitted in 49 sub-regions via 34 regional and sub-regional radio broadcasts. It was only towards the end of the Project implementation period that 85 SMCs were set up, and school improvement plans mainly focusing on financial improvements at the school level (optimizing the use of school budgets) were developed.
Building on the existing tradition of strong community level support for education, the partnerships at the community and school level fostered through the Project resulted in the institutionalization of SMCs in four pilot regions (Kayes, Mopti, Timbuktu, Gao) which had the lowest student completion rates, and assisted in the development of school improvement plans. This was the result of concerted efforts to foster communication and partnership between teachers, parents, families and the local communities. In the pilot regions parents now contribute to decision-making on issues such as school hours, focus on educating the
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community about the value of sending children (especially girls) to school, and perform an important social development function.
The major stumbling bloc in setting up the SMCs was the resistance from the Federation of Parents-Teachers’ Association to support partnerships between the PTAs and the communities/families to be set up. They perceived that they would have to relinquish decision-making authority and diffuse their power over a number of additional actors. This prevented them from readily agreeing to the experimentation of community/families/PTA partnerships. Another issue was that the SMCs which were formed so late in the Project implementation phase did not know that project funds were available to help them jump start revolving funds for the community. SMCs became aware of the availability of funds only after project closing. While the component output was achieved, the timing of the results did not permit as planned, to reasonably test or assess the applicability of the partnership approach in making schools more efficient.
Component 3. Decentralizing the Education System (US$0.00 million) (Unsatisfactory). The objective was to develop and test an approach to decentralization that MBE could adopt to transfer education responsibilities to local authorities. The purpose was to improve local level accountability by moving responsibility for service delivery closer to beneficiaries (students, parents, communities). The output was envisaged to be a results-oriented system where the budget, personnel policy, financial investment plan and resource allocation are based on results, and tested in 5 municipalities by Project completion. Little action was taken to achieve the output.
The timing of the design and implementation of the decentralization component had important implications for the component outputs. The component was designed towards end-1998. The Project was approved in January 2000. Implementation commenced in October 2000. The policies, strategies and a timeline for transfer of responsibilities to local authorities had been developed and were to be tested in partnership with five pilot communities. Before mid-term review terms of reference were developed to hire a consultant (from January 2001-February 2002) to assist with the planning and management of the five pilot communities. The terms of reference were unsatisfactory and were revised three times based on feedback from the Bank as well as the Director General for Public Procurement [Direction Générale des Marchés Publics (DGMP)] in Mali. A call for tenders had been prepared to recruit the consultant. Meanwhile, under legislation No.99-046 of December 28, 1999 and per a policy letter of December 14, 2000, MBE created a separate department with responsibility for education decentralization and deconcentration. The terms of reference for the Project component and the call for tenders were transferred to the new department. The consultant was never recruited, and none of the activities envisaged under the Project were implemented. The Department of Education Decentralization and Deconcentration felt that the component as designed was no longer valid. Therefore, the estimated Project funding of US$540,000 (of which $20,000 was the Government’s contribution, $40,000 from the Netherlands grant and $480,000 from IDA) was not utilized.
The LIL component was designed at a time when the Government did not have a clear plan of action for decentralizing education. The Project component was designed to pilot an approach to decentralization from which the Government could draw lessons before making appropriate changes and taking it to scale on a countrywide basis. However, at mid-term review, it became clear that there was no need for the Government to use the estimated funds for the component as the activities were already being implemented through the SIP. Part of the reason why the LIL’s decentralization component activities were never implemented immediately after Project effectiveness was because the Borrower was unsure about the envisaged roles and responsibilities involved in decentralizing educational management. There were concerns about financial decentralization (transferring central budget for local authorities to manage) as
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well--which was an unresolved issue at Project closing.
Component 4. Strengthening implementation capacity for project management and implementation (US$0.43 million) (Moderately Satisfactory). The Project Coordination Unit's (PCU) capacity to manage project implementation increased over time. Planned evaluation activities to monitor key indicators of the Project were launched, however, only towards the end of project implementation. Technical assistance was provided through the Project to assist the Evaluation and Pedagogical Research team of MBE to assess the impact of the pédagogie convergente methodology. At Project closing the evaluation team carried out an analysis of variance of student achievement in pédagogie convergente schools and traditional schools. The quality of the work indicated the improvements in student learning in pédagogie convergente schools. Technical assistance was commissioned in the context of the ICR to provide specialist feedback on the research methodology and analysis of results.
The PCU submitted on time the final report on project implementation. In addition to the technical assistance support for substantive areas of the Project, PCU staff also received training in procurement and financial management. Trained staff were able to follow the Bank’s procurement guidelines and the financial safeguards requirements closely. Through the Project supervision process, PCU staff received on-the-job training which helped to reinforce both the substantive aspects of the Project (pédagogie convergente methodology, textbook development, teacher training) and the related processes, contributing to considerable institutional development. The Project financed the purchase of equipment to assist the PCU with day-to-day operations. The equipment is being utilized for the implementation of the SIP.
One of the outputs of the component was that best practices are identified and disseminated by end-of-Project. Informally, best practices (aspects of curriculum development, teacher training strategy, community partnerships in pilot regions) were being shared with traditional schools (non-Project schools) by end-of-Project. The Division of Evaluation and Pedagogical Research was sharing its draft report on the results and findings of the use of pédagogie convergente.
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E). (Unsatisfactory). The only aspect of M&E that functioned well was the measurement of student learning achievement. For all other aspects, at Project closing, the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system was still not operating despite recommendations made by successive supervision missions. The monitoring and evaluation software (TECPRO) which allows for regular monitoring of the Project activities and outputs had not been successfully used by component managers. The M&E system was also ineffective in flagging the problem early that non-performing schools (interactive and individual teaching methods) were not preparing action plans as envisaged under the Project.
The reasons for the unsatisfactory performance of the system were that: (i) there was fundamentally limited capacity from the start in the PCU to handle M&E. The Project design did not include dedicated personnel for M&E, particularly for a Project such as the LIL which required substantive education M&E (for example, whether pédagogie convergente methodology requires more time to impart knowledge in the classroom than the traditional approach; the Project M&E could have included an indicator to show this aspect), and project implementation process-related M&E; (ii) the PCU became preoccupied with the Project implementation process; and (iii) until mid-term review, the PCU was weighed down with many bureaucratic responsibilities as explained in sub-section 4.2 above. Several aspects of the Project could have been more consistently measured during project implementation had an Education Management Information System (EMIS) been systematically maintained.
In addition to the above, the mid-term review took place only eight months before Project closing.
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The consequences/implications of this was that mid-course corrections during Project implementation could not be put in place during the remaining implementation period. A number of concurring factors led to the delay in mid-term review: (i) some delay in project effectiveness--the Development Credit Agreement was signed in April 2000, and the project became effective in October 2000; (ii) political economy factors: presidential elections in early 2002 which led to a brief interlude in schools being closed for the period; and (iii) Mali was responsible for organizing CAN 2002 (Coupe d'Afrique des Nations) which took up the entire month of January 2002.
4.3 Net Present Value/Economic rate of return:
The cost of educating a student through the primary cycle (6 years) using traditional education is estimated to be nearly 27% (202,722 CFAF) more than using pédagogie convergente methodology (159,342 CFAF). When cost, qualitative aspects (gains in test scores) and efficiency considerations (repetition and dropout rates) are combined, pédagogie convergente is more cost-effective than traditional pedagogies.
4.4 Financial rate of return:
No financial rate of return was calculated for the Project.
4.5 Institutional development impact:
Substantial. The Project had substantial institutional development impact. MBE gained experience in the areas of (i) using pédagogie convergente as the basis of changed curricula which were being tested; (ii) developing and testing improved teaching and learning materials in national languages; (iii) instituting active teaching methods in the retraining teachers; (iv) applying monitoring and evaluation centered on the comparison of different types of schools, and the teaching and learning programs that Malian children have access to; (v) determining if the bilingual education interventions are replicable on a larger scale gradually; and (vi) extending on a larger scale the lessons learned from schools where pédagogie convergente is currently being applied. The institutional strengthening that resulted from what was a short-term (3 year) project was significant and is continuing through the ongoing policies of the MBE. The various institutions involved in the development of curricula, teacher training and development and publishing of textbooks now have established systems and processes. The MBE is committed to the institutional changes put in place.
Prior to the Project, use of pédagogie convergente methodology was in slow progress and limited geographically. Moreover, there was a shortage of trainers. As a result of the Project, all 70 CAPs in the country now have the capacity to organize teacher training in the use of pédagogie convergente methodology. The training which took place in 2003 was entirely organized by the 70 CAPs. Each CAP now has its team of trainers. Furthermore, all didactic materials used in pédagogie convergente schools/classrooms were developed by teams comprising teachers, pedagogical counselors, pedagogues, linguists, and illustrators in the MBE. The Project helped to demonstrate positive results of accelerating the pace of, and more in-depth use of the pédagogie convergente methodology.
The Project contributed to bringing different institutional groups to work together in a coordinated manner to implement the MBE’s policy of using pédagogie convergente as the mode of teaching and learning in primary schools. The internal rearrangement of the Ministry resulted in fostering exchanges and synergies among operational teams for effective implementation of both the Project as well as the SIP which had been launched and was being implemented concurrently by close of Project implementation.
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Improved management practices have been put in place in the PCU, and in the districts and schools. New, trained personnel in the implementing unit helped to improve accounting processes. Electronic mail capacity and phone lines were set up for facilitating communication between key staff. The Project helped to impart basic training to teachers, management, and PCU staff. More technical assistance and training are being provided through the SIP to reinforce the principles of democratic management for schools to embrace and implement decentralized responsibilities.
5. Major Factors Affecting Implementation and Outcome
5.1 Factors outside the control of government or implementing agency:
There were no significant external factors which affected implementation and attaining the Project objective: (i) the exchange rate of the CFAF remained stable throughout the implementation period; (ii) there was no civil or political unrest which impeded project implementation; and (iii) there were no natural disasters which affected project implementation.
5.2 Factors generally subject to government control:
The Government was committed to the Project objective, and strived to address problems that arose during Project implementation. The Project became effective about 10 months after approval and closed on time without restructuring. The lost time at project-start contributed to the fact that the Credit was not fully disbursed. The PCU structure and its location in the Ministry were helpful in ensuring the smooth implementation of the Project. The Government provided the necessary counterpart funds of US$0.36 million (about 6.5 percent of total project costs) equivalent in CFAF on time as planned. The counterpart funds were accounted for in the Government’s budget. While the Project was designed to suit the Government’s implementation capacity, in the beginning the PCU Director was over-burdened with significant multiple bureaucratic responsibilities. Time was lost with the PCU Director performing multiple, equally attention demanding responsibilities. Following mid-term review (albeit this was only 8 months before project closing), the government put in place corrective measures and the responsibility for managing the decentralization component was transferred to a separate department—the Decentralization/ Deconcentration support unit of the SIP. In addition, a separate Planning and Statistics Unit was also set up. These helped to separate the bureaucratic responsibilities, leaving the PCU Director to focus solely on Project implementation.
5.3 Factors generally subject to implementing agency control:
Since the PCU was located in the MBE, the factors which were subject to government control were also closely linked to the implementing agency. With the exception of the Decentralization Component and the monitoring and evaluation sub-activity of Component 4, the other components of the Project were implemented satisfactorily. PCU staff were responsive and responsible for ensuring that the various educational aspects of the pédagogie convergente methodology (teacher training, learning materials) were implemented appropriately. There were two areas in which the PCU could have helped to ameliorate the project outcomes: (i) ensuring that actions were taken in a timely manner to select the consultant who was to assist with the implementation of the proposed decentralization mechanism; and (ii) being more systematic about monitoring and evaluating Project outcomes. Setting up the EMIS should have been a priority for the PCU. However, the unit was preoccupied with project implementation.
5.4 Costs and financing:
The Project was implemented between October 5, 2000 and June 30, 2003. Total estimated project
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cost at appraisal was US$5.52 million of which IDA funding was US$3.81 million (about 68 percent)--IDA’s funding was approved on January 21, 2000. The remaining 31 percent of estimated projects cost was financed by grant funding (US$1.35 million) from the Government of the Netherlands, and Government of Mali’s counterpart funding of US$0.36 million equivalent in CFAF. The arrangement was pooled financing for all the Project components. The Project closed as scheduled on June 30, 2003. Of the total IDA Credit only 60.6 percent (US$2.31 million) was actually disbursed. Of the total contributions US$0.73 million from the Government of the Netherlands and US$0.22 million from the Government of Mali were utilized.
Some of the reasons why about US$1.5 million of IDA funds remained undisbursed are as follows: (i) there was no extension of the closing date although project effectiveness was delayed by more than 6 months; (ii) Component 2 (Testing Family/School/Community Partnerships) failed to disburse against activities targeting the SMCs and aimed at jump-starting community revolving funds; and (iii) the Project closed with no disbursements for Component 3 (Decentralizing the Education System) but, as noted before, this component was not directly linked to the project objectives. Notwithstanding these aspects, the Project outputs were satisfactorily achieved.
Table 2. Allocations and Disbursements by Component (IDA funds in US$ millions)
Components Allocation(US$ millions)
Percentage of total
Actual Disbursements
Percentage of Allocations
1. Learning to implement bilingual education in primary schools
2.38 62.5 1.78 74.8
2. Testing Family/School/Community Partnerships
0.63 16.5 0.28 44.4
3. Decentralization of the Education System
0.48 12.6 0.00 0.00
4. Strengthening implementation capacity for project management and implementation
0.32 8.4 0.25 78.1
Total 3.81 100.0 2.31 60.6
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6. Sustainability
6.1 Rationale for sustainability rating:
The overall prospect for the sustainability of Project activities is rated as likely. Institutional capacity has been built to implement, assess, monitor and evaluate the use of the Pédagogie convergente model of education in classrooms. More efforts are being undertaken in this area through the SIP. Positive student achievement results and the observed changes in school attendance or retention rates have helped to convince parents that pédagogie convergente is not a second rate methodology. The outputs of the LIL have helped to further institutionalize pédagogie convergente methodology in the Malian education system.
Government is committed to introducing pédagogie convergente in phases through PRODEC. The policy environment is conducive and supports the large-scale application of pédagogie convergente to cover all public schools in the country. There is a firm plan to commence with instruction entirely in the mother tongue/national language in Grade I with gradual reduction of instruction in the mother tongue/national language and increasing instruction in French at higher grades in the first cycle (Grades 1-6) of primary education. All students are required to take a standardized assessment test at the end of Grade 5 to move into Grade 6 starting when all instruction will be exclusively in the French language. Institutional and management effectiveness was evident through project implementation. The success of the pédagogie convergente methodology evidenced through reduced dropout rates, higher attendance rates, the availability of learning and teaching materials in national languages and in French, and the advantages of decentralized management of schooling decisions have provided impetus for sustaining the benefits of using pédagogie convergente. Based on the evidence provided in sub-section 4.1, pédagogie convergente is technically viable as a methodology to improve student learning.
There is Government and donor commitment to financing a further extension of the use of pédagogie convergente in Mali. This is currently ongoing through the Sector Investment Program (SIP). There are agreed pledges/commitment to the SIP from the donor community (14 donors with a total financial commitment of approximately US$162 million) as well as counterpart funds from the Government to mainstream pédagogie convergente and to address other access and quality issues following the LIL.
6.2 Transition arrangement to regular operations:
Overall, Project outputs show positive results. The 3-year duration of the LIL has helped to set the stage for its wider application through the SIP. Analysis of the Project outcomes shows that sustainability will depend on the administrative and organizational measures being carried on by the SIP. There are additional financial resources to consolidate the achievements of the Project. The internal rearrangement of the Ministry has resulted in fostering synergies among operational teams for effective implementation of both the Project as well as the SIP. A greater convergence of institutional capacities in the various departments of the MBE will foster the transition from the Project to the SIP.
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7. Bank and Borrower Performance
Bank7.1 Lending:
Satisfactory. As indicated in sub-section 3.5, Project identification was consistent with government priorities. The Learning and Innovation Loan (LIL) was a new instrument introduced by the Bank in 1998-99. The decision to utilize the LIL instrument in Mali was appropriate. It helped to commence implementation of the Government’s ten-year program (PRODEC). In designing the Project, the preparation team reviewed and took into consideration lessons learned from other LIL projects in the Bank, thereby bringing best practice lessons to the Project design. The LIL helped to create a good relationship between the MBE and the Bank by fostering understanding of Bank operations on the one hand, and the education system in the country on the other hand, through the process of project preparation and implementation. Based on Bank knowledge and experience in the education sector in general and on experiences in similar countries, the technical, financial, institutional, procurement, financial management, environmental, and sociological aspects of the project design were consistent with the Bank's safeguard policies and were technically and institutionally sound. The project preparation teams from identification to appraisal were well balanced in terms of technical and Bank operational staff. Overall Project design was satisfactory, and it included a monitoring and evaluation sub-component at the preparation stage.
7.2 Supervision:
Moderately Satistactory. Close supervision was fostered since the task manager, the procurement and financial management specialists were located in-country. Regular supervision and finer aspects of project implementation were not overlooked—for example, continued dialogue with the MBE to obtain reassurance for commitment to the Project. Therefore, few supervision missions from Bank Headquarters were required--only four supervision missions from headquarters took place during project implementation. The composition of the supervision missions was adequate and suitable to the Project. The supervision mission ratings in the Project Status Reports (PSRs) were realistic. Efforts were made to provide continued technical assistance throughout project implementation. The Bank team collaborated effectively with the PCU and relevant counterparts in the MBE and regional level education administrators. The supervision missions worked consistently with MBE and PCU counterparts to ensure that project activities were on track. Concerted efforts were made towards attaining the process and output indicators. The Bank coordinated its activities well with the various teams in the MBE which were responsible for developing curricula, training teachers, developing textbooks which were also being financed by other agencies. Bank supervision missions were proactive in advising the PCU about corrective measures, and in building in appropriate transition mechanisms from the Project to the SIP.
Despite the positive aspects of overall supervision efforts, the mid-term evaluation came too late--only eight months before Project closing. The delay in the mid-term evaluation resulted in lost opportunity to put in place mid-course corrections for the remaining portion of the implementation period. Although the PSRs consistently rated the monitoring and evaluation of the Project as unsatisfactory, there was no concerted follow-up action taken to ensure that a remedial mechanism was put in place. Finally, the supervision team failed to formally make a number of adjustments, chief among them were the number of schools in which the pédagogie convergente method was to be implemented and to cancel unused funds.
Despite the fact that project implementation period was shortened, the Project was executed satisfactorily. The partner agency (the Netherlands donor agency) expressed that communication was not
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fostered between the Bank, the Government and the agency. However, it must be noted that the Bank did not have difficulties communicating, coordinating and collaborating with other donors. The Bank was not responsive to a query by the Netherlands donor agency to extend the closing date of the LIL because this would have been against the fundamental premise for the use of the LIL instrument in the context of the Government's sectoral program (PRODEC) and the donor support through the SIP. Although some activities were not implemented, the LIL allowed both the Government and the donors to draw lessons in a relatively short period of time and feed them into the follow up SIP.
7.3 Overall Bank performance:
Satisfactory. As explained above.
Borrower7.4 Preparation:
Satisfactory. The Government’s willingness to involve communities in managing the education system as a means to improve sustainability in the sector, and its ambition to strengthen institutional capacity of the sector were in line with the Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy. Early in the Project preparation stage, the Government established a Steering Committee called Comité d’orientation et de suivi chaired by the Secretary General of the MBE and comprising the Directors from technical departments of MBE, the technical unit for PRODEC, a Project Coordinator and a representative from the National Parents’ Association of Mali. The Steering Committee played an important role in ensuring that Project activities were consistent with Government’s overall policy objectives in the education sector, and provided guidance on the overall scope and direction of the Project. It was the primary mechanism for ensuring that the interests of key stakeholders, particularly those at the regional level, were adequately addressed during project implementation. The Steering Committee worked consistently to address and overcome initial resistance to the introduction of bilingual education on a wider scale, and at a faster pace. It fulfilled its responsibilities and helped to attain the goal of further developing the use of bilingual education. Government also established a Project Coordination Unit (PCU) to assist the Steering Committee in the day-to-day management of project activities, and for being responsible for overall project administration, financial management, procurement, monitoring and evaluation and overall project implementation and supervision.
7.5 Government implementation performance:
Satisfactory. Despite a late start, the Government showed a high level of commitment to project implementation, and provided counterpart funds as required and in a timely manner. The counterpart funds were accounted for in the central budget. Government’s commitment to the Project objective was reflected in its compliance with all the legal covenants. Initially, there were some hurdles which rendered project management to be rated as unsatisfactory. The physical integration of the Project within the MBE and the appointment of the Project Coordinator as Deputy Director of the structure responsible for overall coordination of the SIP had resulted in cumbersome bureaucracy which did not foster good project management practice. The Project Coordinator had new responsibilities to discharge, including heading the component on decentralization. Within a short period of time, the overwhelming administrative tasks were acknowledged by the Director General, and the implementation responsibilities of the decentralization component were transferred to the Decentralization support unit of the SIP. This resulted in smooth project coordination with the Project Coordinator, and managers of the bilingual education and family/community/school partnerships components keeping the Project on track.
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7.6 Implementing Agency:
Satisfactory. The overall performance of the PCU was satisfactory with regard to project management and coordination of project activities. Reports were prepared in a timely manner and submitted to IDA for review and discussion. The PCU was active in addressing issues identified as requiring attention by the Bank’s supervision missions. For instance, responding to an unsatisfactory rating for procurement management, the PCU reviewed procurement plans and prepared action plans which were approved by the Bank. Efforts were made to abide by the procurement plan, and procurement issues were addressed in accordance with Bank procedures. The PCU consistently requested the Bank’s advice for prior review of bidding documents and contracts. The on-the-job training during Project implementation proved to be a useful learning ground. Procurement staff in the Ministry of Education, Department of Accounting and Finance received procurement training in Dakar. Trained staff are now working as team members for the SIP. They will receive additional training to handle a variety of procurement challenges under the SIP. Financial management was satisfactory.
The PCU established a financial management system (TOMPRO) which was approved by IDA. The system includes accounting, financial reporting and auditing elements. This system provided the Government and IDA with accurate and timely information regarding resources and expenditures. Successive supervision missions were satisfied with the performance of the accounting tasks using the computer software, the budgetary module, and the financial and disbursement monitoring modules. A Special Account was opened in the Central Bank of Mali for all project related transactions. Financial reports were provided to the Bank in a timely manner. The audit reports were unqualified. The financial management responsibilities of the Project were transferred to the SIP, thereby extending the use of assets of the Project for longer-term goals in the SIP.
The one negative aspect was that, at the end of the implementation period, the Project M&E system was still not operating despite recommendations made by previous supervision missions. The M&E system software (TECPRO) which was designed to allow for regular monitoring had not been used by the PCU component managers. The issue was related to a lack of will on the part of the PCU to systematically monitor the Project. However, planned evaluation activities to monitor key performance indicators of the Project were launched towards the end of implementation to assess the impact of bilingual education on student learning.
7.7 Overall Borrower performance:
Satisfactory. As explained above.
8. Lessons Learned
General lessons
The use of the LIL instrument can help to test the deepening of an ongoing reform process, and help lgovernment to assess the pace at which a reform could be implemented. It is a good instrument to test the acceleration of implementing a policy reform on a small scale before acquiring experience and factoring in the lessons for replicating the positive results on a large-scale, both from educational as well as financial perspectives.
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Housing the PCU in the Ministry of Education helps to foster communication between the limplementing agency and the Ministry. The downside, however, is that the PCU could become burdened with other bureaucratic requirements thereby diffusing its attention to project implementation. Mitigating measures need to be put in place during Project preparation stage.
Mali's experience in using bilingual education has potential for being replicated in other countries in the lregion. Mali's experience demonstrates that, in a multi-lingual environment, a focus on few national languages can lead to increased educational coverage (for example, over time only four Malian national languages will help to reach over 80 percent of the primary education student population) and improvements in student learning among a significant student population.
Project-specific lessons
The value of bilingual education as a primary education strategy in multi-lingual countries (which have lboth a national and several indigenous languages) is that it improves school attendance, reduces dropout rates, and has cumulative advantages for student learning. However, this requires government’s continued commitment to an irreversible policy reform for using bilingual education. This is essential if the policy has to succeed, since the initial financial investment in introducing bilingual education is significant, and the benefits are visible only over a period of time.
There are initial costs of introducing bilingual education due to the need to revise curriculum, train all lteachers (have a well targeted teacher training plan that takes the long-term into consideration), develop appropriate teaching and learning materials, and introduce active teaching and learning methods in the classroom. However, there are associated benefits in terms of improved learning achievements as demonstrated by the Project. Introducing bilingual education in a phased manner helps to adjust central and local budgets for education.
Information campaigns should be an integral part of the introduction or wider use of bilingual leducation in order to sensitize the public, disseminate positive results of a bilingual education policy, and shore up support for the policy. Parents are perhaps one of the most important links in information campaigns to raise social awareness with respect to girls attending school.
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) requires careful attention during project design and implementation. lProject implementation process becomes a preoccupation for the PCU. A tested, well functioning education management information system (EMIS) needs to be put in place to gather relevant data for analyzing the impact of the use of new teaching and learning methodologies, and for providing the government with appropriate data to inform decision-making. A well-funded monitoring system with systematic technical support for monitoring and evaluation is a fundamental requirement for continuous evaluation and renewal of curricula, teaching and learning materials, teacher training and student assessment.
9. Partner Comments
(a) Borrower/implementing agency:
The Borrower was satisfied with project implementation and felt that the principal activities of the Project were well managed during the designated project implementation period. The Government confirmed that the successive supervision aide-mémoire showed evidence of corrective actions which were
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taken whenever problems were identified, and that these actions resulted in the achievement of the principal Project activities. The Borrower found the Bank's performance to be satisfactory, and specifically appreciated the World Bank Country Office Team's timely advice. Overall, it was felt that the Project provided a valuable learning opportunity. Annex 8 includes the Borrower's detailed comments on the Project.
(b) Cofinanciers:
The Dutch felt that some positive results had been achieved in terms of developing bilingual learning materials. With respect to implementation procedures, it was felt that: (i) the Bank's financial management requirements did not provide for efficient mobilization of the financial resources that had been made available by the Netherlands Government, and that the Bank did not respect the agreed principle with the Netherlands to disburse the Dutch grant money first before using the Bank’s Credit funds; (ii) the project structure within the Ministry could have been better integrated; and (iii) communications, coordination and collaboration with other relevant support programs could have been better promoted.
(c) Other partners (NGOs/private sector):
Not applicable.
10. Additional Information
The Closing Date was not extended since there was a follow-up Project. The innovations and lessons from the LIL are being extended under the ongoing SIP. Through the LIL, the departments of MBE which house various capacities and which received institutional development support (curriculum development, teacher training, materials development) have continued to execute their responsibilities seamlessly through the SIP. As designed under the Project, the Direction Nationale de l'Education de Base (DNEB) is providing teacher training in pédagogie convergente methodology during school vacation; the training efforts were extended to over 70 Centres d'Animation Pédagogique (CAP). In addition to in-service teacher training, pre-service training in PC methodology has been introduced. The Centre National de l'Education (CNE) is continuing to develop didactic material and is focusing on student evaluation in accordance with the reformed curricula. The didactic material development strategy through multidisciplinary workshops was one of the strengths of the LIL Project. The strategy assisted in introducing innovations in textbooks and teaching materials. This strategy is being used in the SIP to develop new curricula and teaching and learning materials. The Department of Decentralization/ Deconcentration [Cellule d'Appui à la Décentralisation et la Déconcentration de l'Education (CAD/DE)] which was created under the auspice of the SIP is continuing with community mobilization efforts (extending the concept of community/family/teacher partnerships) which was commenced under the LIL Project. MBE is developing regulations to institutionalize the community partnerships in all schools in the country.
1.1 Bilingual education (pédagogie convergente) is successfully introduced in six languages and is used in at least 700 schools by end project.
Target 700 schools using pédagogie convergente.
--2,056 public school classrooms [1,256 public schools and 800 community schools considered to be in the non-public domain] are using pédagogie convergente. -- Pédagogie convergente has been introduced in 6 languages (4 of these will eventually cover nearly 80% of children in all public schools). --The pilot schools for introducing pédagogie convergente have trained teachers in pédagogie convergente methodology. As of 2002-2003 over 5,640 teachers had been trained in the use of pédagogie convergente.
1.2 Repetition and dropout rates demonstrated to be better in participating pédagogie convergente schools when compared to other school systems.
15% repetition in traditional public schools;5% repetition in pédagogie convergente schools.
--Repetition rate in traditional public schools: 18.1% over the period 1999-2000 to 2002-2003.Repetition rate in pédagogie convergente schools: 3.7% over the period 1999-2000 to 2002-2003.--Dropout rate in traditional public schools: 5.7% over the period 1999-2000 to 2002-2003.Dropout rate in pédagogie convergente schools: 1.6% over the period 1999-2000 to 2002-2003.
1.3 Results in reading, French and Maths for pédagogie convergente schools will be evaluated and demonstrated to be better than in other school systems.
Testing completed for Grades 2 and 4 in reading, French and Math, and test items pre-tested for Grade 6.
--Testing completed for end-grade 5 (entry to Grade 6) in French, Maths, and National languages. Tests confirm that pédagogie convergente students fare generally better than average.
1.4 Cost savings of pédagogie convergente model compared to other systems and schools with active community involvement.
Unit Cost: 25,000 CFAF for primary public schools and wastage is 20%.
Unit Cost: 30,000 CFAF for pédagogie convergente schools with wastage at 10%.
--Unit cost: 24,588 CFAF for primary public schools and 26,594 CFAF for pédagogie convergente schools. However, it costs less to produce one graduate in pédagogie convergente schools that in traditional schools.
[For details on unit cost calculation, refer to Annex 3--Project Cost-Effectiveness Analysis).
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Output Indicators:
Indicator/Matrix
Projected in last PSR1
Actual/Latest Estimate
1.1 In 70% of participating schools, interactive and individual teaching methods are used; and action plans are developed for non-performing schools by end of project.
70% --In about 60% of participating schools, interactive and individual teaching methods were being used. By end-of-Project, there was no evidence that non-performing schools had developed action plans.
2.1 Learning standards / expected competencies/ and pedagogy for each grade at the primary level in Reading, Maths (national languages and French) (Gr. 1-6) and Science (Gr.3-6) reviewed and agreed.
Approval and implementation of all modules for grades 1-6.
--All modules for grades 1-6 approved and implemented.
3.1 60% of management committees adopt a school improvement plan including pédagogie convergente within 6 months of creation (equivalent to 20 out of 40 management committees to be created).
20 of 40 new management committees have adopted an approved school improvement plan.
--School improvement plans mostly in the area of financial improvement were developed and adopted by 85 school management committees which the Project helped to set up. Financial improvement plans (optimizing the use of school budgets) constitute a portion of larger school improvement plans which includes in addition to financial plans, infrastructure improvements, additional didactic materials, etc.
4.1 A communication strategy aimed at gaining support within communities and decision-makers is designed by the 1st quarter of project.
Adoption and implementation of the strategy. --In 1999-2000 an information campaign/strategy was designed and adopted. It was transmitted in 49 sub-regions via 34 regional and sub-regional radio broadcasts.
5.1 A results-oriented system where the budget, personnel policy, financial investment plan and resource allocation is focused on results is tested in 5 municipalities by end-of-project.
A system for budgeting, personnel policy, financial investment plan is tested in 5 municipalities.
--No action was taken. Detailed explanation provided in Section 4, sub-section 4.2.
5.2 Best practices identified and disseminated by end-of-project.
Dissemination of best practices. --By end-of-Project, best practices were being shared informally and being institutionalized in the MBE. Best practices include various aspects of curriculum development, associated learning materials development, and teacher training strategy, community partnerships in pilot regions--all of which are being shared with schools in the non-Project areas/regions. --Research on pédagogie convergente was completed and being finalized for dissemination. Early results showed pédagogie convergente to be an effective methodology.
1 End of project
2/
Actual/Latest Estimate based on "Final Evaluation Report" from the PCU. September 2003.
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Annex 2. Project Costs and Financing
Project Cost by Component (in US$ million equivalent)AppraisalEstimate
Actual/Latest Estimate
Percentage of Appraisal
Component US$ million US$ million1. Learning to implement bilingual education in primary schools
3.55 2.50 70.4
2. Testing family/school/community partnerships 0.67 0.33 49.33. Decentralization of the education system 0.52 0.00 04. Strengthening implementation capacity for project management and implementation
Total 0.59 0.06 2.61 0.00 3.26(0.15) (0.06) (2.10) (0.00) (2.31)
1/ Figures in parenthesis are the amounts to be financed by the Bank Loan. All costs include contingencies.2/ Includes goods procured through limited shopping competitive bidding, consulting services, training, studies, technical
assistance services, and incremental operating costs related to managing the Project.3/ Exchange rate as of October 2003: US$1= CFAF 590.4/ The overall actual/latest estimate include IDA, the Government, and the Government of the Netherlands' contributions.
Project Financing by Component (in US$ million equivalent)
Component Appraisal Estimate Actual/Latest EstimatePercentage of Appraisal
Bank Govt. CoF. Bank Govt. CoF. Bank Govt. CoF.1. Learning to implement bilingual education in primary schools
2.38 0.17 1.13 1.78 0.05 0.71 74.8 29.4 62.8
2. Testing family/school/community partnerships
0.63 0.04 0.18 0.28 0.04 0.02 44.4 100.0 11.1
3. Decentralization of the education system
0.48 0.02 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.0
4. Strengthening implementation capacity for project management and implementation
0.32 0.13 0.00 0.25 0.13 0.00 78.1 100.0 0.0
Total 3.81 0.36 1.35 2.31 0.22 0.73 60.6 61.1 54.1
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Annex 3. Economic Costs and Benefits
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Pédagogie Convergente and Traditional Education
Background and Introduction.
1. In the context of evaluating the results of the « Improving Learning in Primary Schools » Project, the Ministry of Education and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) completed in May 2003, a study on the quality of education entitled La pédagogie convergente comme facteur d’amélioration de la qualité de l’éducation de base au Mali: analyse du developpement de l’innovation et perspectives. The study included an analysis of the recurrent costs of the pédagogie convergente teaching and learning methodology. This Annex focuses on cost-effectiveness analysis, summarizing the costs and benefits of bilingual education and traditional education. It draws on the data in the Ministry of Education and ADEA study.
2. Towards the end of Project implementation, a student evaluation was conducted in Mathematics, French and national languages for a sample of children undergoing bilingual education and for a sample of students undergoing traditional education. The results of this evaluation are used as proxies for the benefits of using bilingual education at the primary education level. Furthermore, increased student flow as a result of efficiency gains (or reduction in wastage) using dropout and repetition rates are also taken into account in the cost-effectiveness analysis.
Computing Unit Costs.
3. The cost of constructing classrooms has been excluded from the analysis. The reason being that the use of pédagogie convergente does not require per se the construction of classrooms. In order to keep the cost calculation simple, omitting the investment cost helps to isolate the recurrent costs (for teacher training, teaching and learning materials). Arguably, there are development costs involved for re-orienting teaching and learning materials. However, this is negligible in the present context and has, therefore, not been factored into the calculations.
4. In-service Teacher Training: Using the in-service training costs supported by the World Bank (through the Project) and by USAID, the minimum cost to train a teacher to use bilingual education methodology in the classroom is estimated to be 100,000 CFAF. This estimate includes: (i) the cost of developing training materials (multilingual training materials, trainer and school level supervision support), organizing the training (in-service training since initial or pre-service teacher training did not include pédagogie convergente until 2002/03), identifying teachers to be trained (teachers who speak the national language, and their potential for being deployed to existing and new pédagogie convergente schools in accordance with the objectives of extending the Project benefits), developing a linguistic map of Mali (languages spoken by pupils and teachers) to serve as a planning tool for deploying teachers, and finally conducting the training; (ii) per diems to teachers for attending training workshops which were in some instances twice the amount paid to teachers for traditional education training. Nearly 60 percent of the allocated Project costs for teacher training constituted per diems for teachers; and (iii) a 20 days classroom based training program. Training in pédagogie convergente is offered at three levels (Level 1--Grades 1&2; Level 2--Grades 3&4; and Level 3--Grades 5&6). Teachers must undergo all levels of training to reach proficiency in the use of pédagogie convergente in the classroom.
5. As of 2002-2003 there were 21,126 primary education teachers (permanent and contractual) in Mali (MBE Statistical Department, October 2003). The total cost to train the total number of existing teachers to use bilingual education is estimated to be approximately 6.338 billion CFAF (21,126 x 100,000 x 3 levels). This is a simplified calculation and does not take into account that teachers may be at differential levels of in-service training. For example, some teachers may require all three levels of training, some may require Levels 2 and 3, and still others may require only Level 3. Furthermore, the direct cost of training is taken into consideration since teachers are typically trained during the summer vacation, after the academic year is completed. The cost of training teachers in pédagogie convergente is annualized over a 10-year period. The opportunity cost of investing
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in teacher training is assumed to be 5 percent. The calculation yields an annualized cost of 38,851 CFAF for in-service training in bilingual education methodology for a teacher. According to government regulation the average size of a primary school class is required to be around 52 students in 2002-03. Therefore, the annualized unit cost of in-service teacher training in bilingual education is 747 CFAF (38,851 / 52).
6. Teaching Materials: Schools using pédagogie convergente teaching methodology require different materials (charts, posters, more chalk and blackboard cleaners) compared to traditional schools. The estimated per class cost of these materials is approximately 55,000 CFAF. The recurrent cost of using bilingual education in all existing primary schools in the country is estimated to be around 1.334 billion CFAF (55,000 CFAF x 24,248 classes). Since teaching materials are expected to last over a period of time, the cost of teaching materials is annualized over a period of 3 years. The opportunity cost of investing in teaching materials is again assumed to be 5 percent. The calculation yields an annualized total cost of teaching materials to be 500 million CFAF. The gross enrollments in the primary cycle in 2002-2003 was approximately 1.295 million students. The annualized unit cost of teaching materials is 378 CFAF (500 million / 1.295 million).
7. Textbooks: Table 1 provides the example for the cost of textbooks in Grade 3. One of the government's policy reforms is that students in Grades 1 and 2 will receive automatic promotions. It is at Grade 3 level that students are officially required to take standardized tests. Since student achievement in Grade 5 is used as the proxy for the benefits of bilingual education, it would be appropriate to use Grade 3 (most proximate grade) textbooks as the benchmark average.
8. Assuming that the government supplies textbooks to all children in both types of schools, books for pédagogie convergente schools are relatively more expensive than textbooks for non-pédagogie convergente schools. This is because additional textbooks in national languages are required for pédagogie convergente schools. However, children in traditional schools also have an additional textbook for French grammar which is not required for bilingual education students. On average, the national language textbook for bilingual education is more expensive than the French grammar textbook. The total cost of providing textbooks to all children in 2002-2003 is estimated to be 3.108 billion CFAF (2,400 x 1.295 million students). The total cost is annualized assuming a textbook has a usage value of 3 years. Again the opportunity cost of investing in textbooks is assumed to be 5 percent. The calculation yields an annualized total cost of textbooks to be 1.1 billion CFAF. The annualized unit cost of textbooks is 881 CFAF (1.1 billion / 1.295 million).
Aggregating the individual unit costs
9. Table 2 shows the total unit cost of teacher training, teacher salary, teaching materials and textbook for using bilingual education compared to traditional education.
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Table 2. Unit costs of pédagogie convergente and traditional education
Inputs Unit Costs (CFAF)
1. Teacher training 7472. Teaching materials 3783. Student textbooks 881
4. Additional cost per pupil for bilingual education 2006 5. Estimated total unit cost of traditional education * 24,588
6. Total unit cost for introducing bilingual education (4 plus 5)
26,594
* Includes teacher salary, teacher training, teaching materials and textbook costs.
The unit cost of bilingual education which is estimated to be 26,594 CFAF is a little higher than in traditional schools which is estimated to be about 24,588 CFAF.
Computing Benefits.
10. The benefits of bilingual education can be attributed to two variables: increased student flow through the primary education cycle due to reduced repetition and dropout rates, and improved student learning.
(a) Efficiency gains can be attributed to introducing bilingual education in the classroom. Efficiency gains relate to lower repetition and dropout rates for bilingual education than for traditional education. Cost savings are related to lower repetition and dropout rates. The wider use of bilingual education has led to lower repetition and dropout rates averaging 3.7% and 1.6% respectively over the 1999-2002/03 period when compared to 18.1% and 5.7% respectively in traditional schools.
(b) Student Achievement. An end-Project student evaluation was conducted for Grade 5 students (entry into Grade 6) in Mathematics, French and national languages. Students of bilingual education were required to take an additional test in national languages. The scores are provided in Table 3 below.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.
11. The cost-effectiveness analysis for the Project builds on three aspects: the unit cost calculations above, the efficiency gains in the wider use of bilingual education, and the results of the end-Project student test in Mathematics, French and national Languages which are used as proxies for the benefits of using bilingual education at the primary education level. The elements of the cost-effectiveness analysis are summarized in Table 3.
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Table 3. Costs and Benefits of Pédagogie Convergente Education Versus Traditional Education (2002-2003)
Traditional Education Pédagogie Convergente EducationUnit Costs 24,588 26,594BenefitsStudent Flow (average from 1999-2002/03) % of repeaters 18.1 3.7 % of dropouts 5.7 1.6Student Achievement Scores N (100, 15) Test scores in mathematics 98.2 102.2 Test scores in French 99.9 100.2 Test scores in national languages -- 99.7Source : MBE. Evaluation de la performance en français, en mathémathique et en langues nationales des élèves des classes de
4ème année des écoles à pédagogie convergente et des écoles classiques du premier cycle de l’enseignement fondamental au Mali. August 2003.Student flow data from CPS/MEN, February 2003.Test scores in Mathematics, French and national languages have been normalized at 100 to fit a standard distribution; the standard deviation is 15.
12. The unit cost of bilingual education is slightly higher than in traditional schools by about 8.2 percent. The student success rate is about 16.3 percent more among bilingual education students who took the mathematics test than among traditional school students. The test scores in French are more or less equivalent for both bilingual and traditional school students. For unit cost to be offset, efficiency gains in terms of repetition and dropout rate will need to be factored in to determine the cost-effectiveness of bilingual education. Cost-effectiveness can best be analyzed by computing the total cost for a student completing the primary education cycle. Table 5 shows the estimated total cost of a primary education completer.
Table 4. Total Cost for a Primary School Graduate for Traditional and Pédagogie Convergente Education
Type of Education Total cost for a primary school graduate(CFAF)
The total cost of educating a student through the primary cycle (6 years) using traditional education is estimated to be nearly 27% more than using pédagogie convergente methodology. When cost, qualitative aspects (gains in test scores) and efficiency considerations (repetition and dropout rates) are combined, pédagogie convergente is more cost-effective than traditional pedagogies.
Conclusion.
13. There is Government and donor commitment to financing pédagogie convergente/bilingual education methodology in all classrooms at primary education level in Mali. This is currently ongoing through the Sector Investment Program (SIP). There are agreed pledges/commitment to the SIP from the donor community (14 donors with a total financial commitment of approximately US$162 million) as well as counterpart funds from the Government to mainstream bilingual education and to address other access and quality issues. The pédagogie convergente methodology is, therefore, financially sustainable.
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Annex 4. Bank Inputs
(a) Missions:Stage of Project Cycle Performance Rating No. of Persons and Specialty
* Project preparation costs include support from the Norwegian Trust Fund #TF021432 for an amount equivalent to US$89,951. The Bank's project preparation costs were, therefore, US$90,425.43.
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Annex 5. Ratings for Achievement of Objectives/Outputs of Components(H=High, SU=Substantial, M=Modest, N=Negligible, NA=Not Applicable)
RatingMacro policies H SU M N NASector Policies H SU M N NAPhysical H SU M N NAFinancial H SU M N NAInstitutional Development H SU M N NAEnvironmental H SU M N NA
SocialPoverty Reduction H SU M N NAGender H SU M N NAOther (Please specify) H SU M N NA
Private sector development H SU M N NAPublic sector management H SU M N NAOther (Please specify) H SU M N NA
Lending HS S U HUSupervision HS S U HUOverall HS S U HU
6.2 Borrower performance Rating
Preparation HS S U HUGovernment implementation performance HS S U HUImplementation agency performance HS S U HUOverall HS S U HU
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Annex 7. List of Supporting Documents
Cellule d’Appui à la Décentralisation/Déconcentration de l’Education. Cadre référentiel de la décentralisation de l’éducation au Mali. Août 2003. Ministère de l’Education Nationale, République du Mali.
Chiswick, Barry. "The Economics of Language: The Roles of Education and Labor Market Outcomes." September 1996. Human Capital Development Working Paper #70.
Cummings, S. M. and Stella Tamayo. "Language and Education in Latin America: An Overview." May 1994. Human Resource Development and Operations Policy Working Paper #30.
Dutcher, Nadine and Richard Tucker. "The Use of First and Second Languages in Education: A Review of International Experience." 1997. Pacific Islands Discussion Paper Series #18803.
Diagne, Amadou Wade. Étude sur les stratégies de transfert des acquis des écoles communautaires en matière de gestion des écoles vers les écoles pratiquant la Pédagogie Convergente. Août 1999. Ministère de l’Education de Base, Secrétariat Général, République du Mali.
Fomba, Dr. Cheick Oumar (Responsable méthodologique) et Dr. Kabule W. Weva (Coordinateur thématique). La pédagogie convergente (PC) comme facteur d’amélioration de la qualité de l’éducation de base au Mali: Analyse du développement de l’innovation et perspectives. Mai 2003. Ministère de L’Education Nationale et Association pour le Développement de l’Education en Afrique (ADEA) [UNESCO]. Etudes de cas sur la qualité de l’éducation. Membres de l’équipe : Fantamady Keita, Cheick Oumar Fomba, Samba Traoré, Koura Diallo, Souleymane Kone, Youssouf Haidara, Alain Chabert.
Ministère de l’Education Nationale, Secrétariat Général, République du Mali. «Projet d’appui à l’amélioration des apprentissages dans les écoles fondamentales (PAAA). Crédit No.3318 MLI : Rapport Final» Présenté par l’équipe du projet. Septembre 2003.
Ministère de l’Education Nationale, Centre National de l'Education, Division de l’Evaluation et de Recherche Pédagogique. Evaluation de la performance en français, en mathématiques et en langues nationales des élèves des classes de 5ème année des écoles à pédagogie convergente et des écoles classiques du premier cycle de l’enseignement fondamental au Mali. Version provisoire. Août 2003.
Patrinos, Harry and Eduardo Velez. "Costs and Benefits of Bilingual Education in Guatemala: A Partial Analysis." October 1996. Human Capital Development. Working Paper #74.
World Bank. Project Appraisal Document. “Republic of Mali: Improving Learning in Primary Schools Project.” Report No: 19601-MLI. January 2000.
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Additional Annex 8. Borrower's Comments
1.0 The Government of Mali’s role during project implementation was satisfactory for the following reasons:
1a. Counterpart funding was made available regularly and diligently, and this helped to ensure the smooth functioning of the Project.
1b. The timely availability of funds constituted a significant amount in the Special Account and helped to ensure disbursements.
1c. The Government facilitated the arrangement of Project activities to coincide with the SIP.
2.0 The principal activities of the Project were well managed during the designated project implementation period. The successive supervision aide-memoire show evidence of corrective actions which were taken whenever problems were identified. These actions resulted in the achievement of the principal Project activities.
3.0 With the exception of Component 3—Decentralization, which was not clearly defined, and therefore the details could not be clearly outlined, Component 1 Pédagogie Convergente and Component 2. Community partnerships worked very well, and anticipated results were achieved successfully.
4.0 The Project has brought about the following principal changes: (i) the reinforcement of decentralized structures to manage training and to develop teaching materials which helped to develop real competence in developing training materials; (ii) a change in attitude with respect to the policy of teaching in national languages; (iii) the formalization of partnerships; and (iv) managing contracts with NGOs.
A final evaluation report showing the results was prepared and shared with the ICR mission. However, it would be prudent to state that Project sustainability is likely in the medium-term since (i) there have been changes in the directors of the Pedagogical Centers [centers d’animation pédagogique (CAP)] who will play a critical role in sustaining Project outcomes; and (ii) because the Project has just been completed.
5.0 The Bank’s performance was also satisfactory during project implementation. For the Project specifically, the World Bank Country Office team provided timely advice. The Project provided a valuable learning opportunity.
6.0 There were some problems encountered during project implementation:
6(a) The delay in the procurement of books in national languages for the first three levels of basic education, caused concerns about using pédagogie convergente, even though this should be independent of the procurement efforts of the PCU.
6(b) The Community Partnerships component suffered some delays due to the signing of contracts with NGOs and because communities needed to be reassured that the school management committees would be formed. The contracts were signed finally in December 2002 as an urgent measure prior to project closing.
6(c) Besides the difficulty in defining aspects to do with decentralization (content as well as implementation details), the issue of anchoring decentralization in the DAF and the creation of a separate unit in the department posed institutional problems.
6(d) The Project contributed to developing and reinforcing personnel capacity in procurement matters through external, professional development which was reinforced by practical application. The quality of the procurement procedures improved slowly.
6(e) The Government found that the procedures of the Bank were poorly adapted for a “Learning and Innovation Loan.”
6(f) The refinancing/replenishments for Project activities suffered from some delays. Accompanied with limited initial deposit, certain activities of the Project took time to be implemented.
6(g) During the most active phases, the Project had two Task Managers. The World Bank Country Office Task Manager really helped to manage the Project towards achieving its objectives. Project implementation was also made possible by the diligence of the personnel who worked on the Project, and by the spirit of
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encouragement and enthusiasm that prevailed in the World Bank Country Office project team. The Task Manager had an excellent grasp of the issues in the sector and the actors at all levels, having himself been a government official in the first place. An administrator and an accomplished pedagogue, he had a clear vision of the project and issues relating to the quality of education. These qualities helped to improve project management.
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Additional Annex 9. Background and Context for the Project
Experimentation of the use of pédagogie convergente began in 1979 in the Ségou district in Mali. Pédagogie convergente is a child-centered pedagogy which uses mother tongue or national language instruction concomitant with French--the official language of instruction in Mali public schools. Pédagogie convergente is founded on the principle of introducing children to concepts in the mother tongue and, then, moving on to acquiring expertise in other languages (Bamananakan [the most widely used language for commercial purposes] and French). Pédagogie convergente is characterized by the use of mother tongue/national language instruction as the primary form during the first year of schooling with progressive introduction of the French language during the second year and beyond until the second cycle (Grades 7-9) of schooling. In 1994 the Government extended the 1979 experiment, to introduce Pédagogie convergente in phases starting with the first year of schooling. The objectives were to: (i) improve the quality of teaching; (ii) promote greater integration between the work of schools and communities; (iii) develop bilingualism in children; (iv) help children to value their maternal language; (v) increase the use of bilingual education; and (vi) improve access to education. In 1996, following an evaluation of students who had undergone pédagogie convergente oriented instruction which showed improvements in student learning, the Government passed a legislation (No. 96-049 dated August 23, 1996) stipulating that education at the primary level would be imparted through the use of bilingual education. This laid the policy foundation for the use of bilingual education in Mali.
In 1998 the Government’s education policy framework called Programme Décennal pour le Développement de l’Education (PRODEC) which provides a broad vision of pedagogic, administrative and financing reforms was being developed. Through PRODEC the Government anticipates that efficiency gains from introducing bilingual education will gradually increase total education levels at a lower cost after allowing for the initial higher cost of bilingual schooling due to developing supplementary mother tongue/national language learning materials, teacher training and supervision. As a step to help the Government to operationalize PRODEC, the Bank commenced the preparation of a Sector Investment Program (SIP). Since PRODEC was still being articulated, in anticipation of its completion and to bridge the gap between the commencement of the SIP, the World Bank provided financial and technical assistance in the form of a Learning and Innovation Loan (LIL). At the time of designing the LIL (1998), pédagogie convergente was being imparted in just over 300 public schools in Mali. This methodology was scheduled to reach a full cycle 1 (Grades 1-6) in 2000. This resulted in the preparation and implementation over a three-year period, of the “Improving Learning in Primary Schools” Project. It was understood from the outset that the Project was not intended to generalize bilingual education or PC in all schools in the country, but that this would be the first step towards accelerating the use of bilingual education towards the goal of improving access to education for all. As the LIL was being implemented, the SIP took off slowly. There was to some extent overlap in the implementation of the LIL and the SIP, with the LIL leading the way to test the deepening of the use of bilingual education, and the lessons arising from the progressive implementation being followed up by the SIP.
Mali has a two cycle education system: Cycle 1 being Grades 1-6, and cycle 2 being Grades 7-9. From the perspective of teaching/didactic and learning materials, Cycle 1 is divided into three levels: (i) first and second years; (ii) third and fourth years; and (iv) fifth and sixth years. In 1998, the education system was characterized by low gross enrollment rates--well below 50% overall, and much lower in rural areas (30% on average, and 25% for girls), low student achievement at the end of primary and lower secondary schooling literacy levels over the years (from 64% to 56%), low internal efficiency resulting in high unit costs, high repetition and dropout rates, poor accessibility to education for all children—inadequate coverage of public primary schools for rural and peri-urban populations; growth in community schools mainly supported by NGOs has improved access to some extent.
