Ex-post Evaluation

1. Outline of the Project

Country:

Philippines

Project title:

Project for the Improvement of Educational Facilities Phase 3

Issue/Sector:

Education

Cooperation Scheme:

Grant Aid

Division in Charge:

Grant Aid Management Department

Total Cost:

1,430million yen

Period of Cooperation

FY 1995

Partner Country’s Implementing Organization:

Department of Education, Culture and Sports (currently the Department of Education)

Supporting Organization in Japan:

Related Cooperation:

1-1.Background of the Project

By acknowledging that capacity building and basic education were essential issues for the country, the government of the Philippines formulated a Mid-term National Development Plan (1993 – 1998), with the objective of improving the quality of teacher training. The plan also oversaw the development of teaching materials for primary and secondary schools, while continuously upgrading educational facilities. However, there was a lack of elementary and secondary school facilities. Due to natural disasters and a 3% annual increase in the population of school -age children, the proliferation of educational facilities and materials became an issue.

The government of the Philippines planned a “Project for Improvement of Educational Facilities” by constructing approximately 630 school buildings within six years, using conventional construction techniques/methods. The government requested Grant Aid from the government of Japan for the construction of 117 schools in regions 5, 11, 12 and ARMM in phase 1 and 2, and 69 schools (39 primary schools and 30 secondary schools) in regions 6, 7 and 10 in phase 3.

1-2 Project Overview

Grant Aid was provided to construct 69 primary and secondary schools and to enhance the quality of both formal and informal education.

(1) Overall Goal
To improve the quality of education in the Philippines

(2) Project Purpose
To improve the chronic shortage of educational facilities

(3) Outputs
To improve educational facilities of schools

(4) Inputs

Japanese Side:

1,430 million yen

Philippine Side:

Others Site cleaning work before school building construction took place Construction for power and water supply

2. Evaluation Team

Members of Evaluation Team

Rey Gerona, JICA Philippine Office
Nigel Paul Villarete, Center for Local Development Studies

Period of Evaluation

December 13, 2002 – March 12, 2003

Type of Evaluation:

Ex-post Evaluation by Overseas Office

3. Results of Evaluation

3-1 Summary of Evaluation Results

(1) Impact
The newly constructed schools show a positive impact in improving the academic rating of students who used the facilities. Students studying in the classrooms built by the project were found to have performed better than students using other classrooms, according to the study at five schools; (three secondary schools and two elementary schools). Academic performance here refers to average academic ratings in all subjects. Although there are various factors involved in the students’ increased performance, principals and teachers acknowledged that improvements made in the learning environment through the construction of the buildings were among of the more significant contributing factors in increasing the quality of education.

The construction of science laboratories enabled the students to actually perform various experiments by using equipment provided by the project, rather than just learning theories. This improved the contents of the teachers’ science classes and increased the motivation of the students. Further, there is an example where a student from a secondary school who had been able to pass the written exams but not the experiments in science contests, was able to perform the experiments and won first prize.

The schools constructed by the project are also being used for informal education and as gathering place by local residents.

(2) Sustainability
The construction of the school buildings by the project enabled an increase in the enrollment of an additional 135 students per district and it was recognized that the shortage of insufficient classrooms has been solved. Among these, there even were several schools, which were built in addition through the grants of regional governments. However, due to the overall dramatic increase in the population, the average of the number of students per classroom reached 50-60, and there are concerns that there will be shortages of classrooms again in the future.

Although the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) was renamed the Department of Education (Ed. Dept.), the organizational mission remained unchanged and is aiming for “education for all” by focusing on capacity building. Under this policy, public schools receive assistance from the government, and teacher training is taken as an important issue.

The school buildings and facilities constructed by the project are maintained appropriately at each school, and no major repairs were found to be necessary at the evaluation point. This is likely because an efficient system for operation and management (O&M) of facilities at public schools has been set up. The facilities coordination offices, situated in the regional offices of the Department of Education, cooperate with the regional government and supervise the O&M of the schools under their jurisdiction by visiting the schools about once every three months. When repairs are necessary, the schools could use technicians from the local government or technicians in the community. There are no financial problems, since the schools receive a budget from the government. The maintenance fees are fully secured since the schools receive 10,000 pesos as O&M funds from the government every year, and receive additional assistance from regional government and PTAs in addition to O&M funds.

3-2 Factors that Promoted the Realization of Effects

(1) Factors Concerning the Planning
N/A

(2) Factors Concerning the Implementation Process.
One of the major promoting factors is that the Philippine government emphasizes education as a priority issue among its policies and cooperation plans within the educational organization existing at the regional level. In particular, organizational and financial assistance at the regional level have improved the quality of the teachers and enabled schools to run smoothly. This is identifiable as an important contributing factor to realizing the project’s impact. For the improvement in quality of teachers, teacher training was supported not solely by the Department of Education. Along with the project, the Philippine-Australia project on Basic Education (PROBE) for primary education was implemented since 1998 in cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the University of the Philippines (UP), and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) .

3-3 Factors that Impeded the Realization of Effects

(1) Factors Concerning the Planning Process
N/A

(2) Factors Concerning the Implementation Process
N/A

3-4 Conclusion

Implementation of the project has contributed to resolving the insufficient number of classrooms and it was found from the evaluation study that the new school buildings and equipment were maintained and operated appropriately. Since the Department of Education and other aid donors have been active in improving the quality of the teachers, the academic performance of students in the schools targeted by the project was favorable. It can be concluded that the impact of the project’s results could be sustained since education is one of the government’s priority issues and because there are effective cooperative systems at the regional level. However, some schools are again facing an insufficient number of classrooms since the population primary and secondary school children are increasing.

3-5 Recommendations

Training for teachers and staff in the education field should be continued to ensure that the current high standards of education are maintained in the future as well.

3-6 Lessons Learned

N/A

3-7 Follow-up Situation

N/A