annual report rida

RIDA Annual Progress Bulletin 2009 (Volume 1, Year 1)

PO Box: 25414, Kathmandu, Nepal, Phone: 977-1-6227793/4472416, Email:[email protected], [email protected], www.ridanepal.org

ABOUT THIS BULLETIN Research Inputs and Development Action (RIDA) conducted various researches, advocacy and monitoring activities in 2009. This bulletin is prepared to summarize and disseminate the achievements/findings of the activities conducted by RIDA in the year 2009.

MESSAGE FROM CHAIRPERSON This is my pleasure to launch annual progress bulletin of 2009. In year 2009, RIDA recovered its glorious image of 1980s and established itself as a leading research and advocacy institution. Our team made immense effort in making Year-2009 a grand success for RIDA. In this year, we got opportunity to be a part of various development related studies, consultations and advocacy interventions that had implications over national development policy, especially in education and health sector. We are really thankful to our clients for entrusting us with such a huge responsibility and we are committed to continue the same level of efforts in coming years. We hope Nepal will get new direction in development sector through the upcoming constitution.

Uttam Prasad Upadhyay, Chairperson

HIGHLIGHTS OF YEAR 2009

KEY ACTIVITIES IN YEAR – 2009

Activity 1: Monitoring System for Analysis of the Impact of 3F crisis on Children’s Education

RIDA, with support from UNICEF Nepal and in coordination with Department of Education, is facilitating a monitoring mechanism developed to analyze and assess the impact of 3F (food, fuel and financial) crisis on children's education. RIDA produced three quarterly monitoring reports in 2009.

Objectives Map possible impacts of crisis on children’s education

through regular monitoring at community, school and household level

Disseminate the findings for government policy responses.

Duration: June, 2009 – December, 2010

Coverage: Humla, Jumla, Mugu, Bajura, Achham, Dadeldhura, Kapilbastu, Tanahun, Parsa, Saptari, Panchthar

Key Individuals involved: Dr. Yagya Raj Pant, Uttam Prasad Upadhyay, Jeevan Raj Lohani, Resham Thapa

Key Activities Household Level Monitoring (based on quarterly

household survey data collected from 40 districts made available by WFP/Nepal)

School Level Monitoring (based on monthly information collected from 22 schools of 11 districts through District Education Offices)

Community level monitoring (based on Focus Group Discussion with mothers, children and teachers)

Implemented PMT activities in all 75 districts and covered all secondary and higher secondary schools

Partnership with largest financial institution of Nepal – Rastriya Banijya Bank

Started partnership with UNICEF Country Office in Nepal

Both Education and Health related activities conducted

ANNUAL PROGRESS BULLETIN 2009

Research Inputs and Development Action (RIDA)



Major Findings Crisis affected children through the coping mechanisms

taken by households like sending children for paid work

and increasing work load for parents. Crisis has affected student attendance and learning

through child labour and reduced educational expenses. Quite a few students also dropped out.

Around 15% of the households made their children irregular to school to cope with the crisis.

Absence of 21% of the students in 3rd quarter was due to their inability to bring along notebook, pencil etc.

Dalit households, households in Karnali region, households experiencing food price increase, large households, poverty-stricken households, and households using kerosene as a source for light are more likely to take education-related coping.

Activity 2: Administration of Student Financial Assistance Trust Fund

Rastriya Banijya Bank Ltd. (RBB) administered student financial assistance program on behalf of Student Financial Assistance Fund Administration Board. The program was implemented in all 75 districts in partnership Devtec Nepal and immense support from DOE, HSEB and DEOs.

Objectives Identify beneficiary students through Proxy Means

Testing (PMT) to select beneficiaries, Support in providing financial assistance (scholarship

and loan) to selected students Monitor the performance of such benefiting students

and facilitate work-study initiatives. Duration: November, 2009 – November, 2011

Key Individuals: Binod Kumar Guragain, Pankaj Raj Joshi, Navin Badal, Sushma Bhatta, Sriram Tripathi

Key Activities Developed awareness material and disseminated

throughout the country Supported RBB in preparing Award Confirmation Form

and disbursing scholarship to student account. Supported in application form distribution and collection

from secondary and higher secondary schools Developed PMT scoring software and prepared result Verified SLC and HSEB results in the process of

finalizing student list Supported in conducting field verification of 1800

students selected for the program

Achievements Conducted awareness activities in all 75 districts in

coordination with Department of Education, HSEB and District Education Offices

Selected 1800 (1000 for higher secondary and 800) beneficiary students through PMT process

Supported RBB in providing grants to 404 students for the first year

Activity 3: Country Case Study on Effectiveness of Local service delivery for MDGs in Asia: Education Sector in Nepal

With support from UNESCO Bangkok under UN initiative for MDGs, RIDA in partnership with FHD conducted a study on education service delivery focusing primary and secondary sub-sectors.

Reasons behind absences

Unknown7% Illness

15%Illness in family

9%

Domestic work13%Paid work

6%Migration

1%

Child not dropped to

school3%

Geographicbarrier11%

Hunger13%

No stationery

21%

Others1%



Objectives conduct a review about the education policy and

evaluate the performance, examine current system of formal and informal

institutional and fiscal arrangements and its effect over actual functioning of the sector, and

Identify issues, draw lessons learned and provide options for improving education service delivery.

Key Activities: Literature review, FGD with teachers and community, information collection from school, field level consultation school and district level stakeholders, central level consultations with think tank, and wider sharing of the study findings.

Key individuals involved from RIDA: Dr. Shiva Raj Lohani, Dr. Rajendra Suwal, Uttam Prasad Upadhyay, Hem Raj Lekhak, Binod Guragain, Jeevan Raj Lohani, Pankaj Raj Joshi

Major Findings Government has demonstrated commitment to ensure

free basic education as fundamental right for each and every child.

There is a gap between the declaration of free primary education and its implementation in actual practice. The resources mobilized to education subsector are not adequate and needs special attention.

Nepal has made a few remarkable efforts to decentralize education management. SMCs have been provided with meaningful roles.

Though enough evidences are yet to be collected, available evidences indicate that schools with management responsibilities transferred to the communities are performing better.

There are overlapping in roles and responsibilities among existing education service delivery institutions, primarily at central level.

The coordination between school and local government is limited as reflected in limited level of resource mobilization from local bodies to education.

Fund flow mechanism to school is time consuming due to the involvement of various institutions at central as well as local level.

The report is now internationally published and disseminated by UNDP Bangkok in its website. Activity 4: Evaluation of the partnership for quality education through parental participation

RIDA conducted independent external evaluation of Partnership for Quality Education through Parental Participation (QEP) program implemented by World Education/DOE/UNICEF. Objectives Assess relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness Evaluate partnership arrangement including

management, planning and decision making aspects Document lessons learned, identify strong/weak

practices and recommend for improvement Analyze the sustainability of intervention

Duration: January, 2009 - May, 2009.

Coverage: 28 schools from 7 districts (Humla, Banke, Sunsari, Nawalparasi, Kaski, Dhanusha, Achham) Key individuals involved: Dr. Yagya Raj Pant, Uddhab Karki, Uttam Upadhyay, Binod Guragain, Hem Raj Lekhak, Ram Pyari Shrestha, Resham Thapa, Jeevan Raj Lohani



Key Activities: FGD with teachers, children and mothers, data collection from schools with different modes of intervention, Consultations at center and field level.

Major Findings The program was successful in initiating the focus on

enhancing quality of teaching learning process. Though the program was targeted to weak performing

schools, only better schools with active community and teachers have been able to take maximum benefit.

QERP packages were strong in contents and the training on QERP was found effective. Trained teachers have learned the techniques but the knowledge have not been transferred to the school level.

The understanding about the partnership is different among partners, though it has been successful to mainstream a few activities to the government system.

Direct interventions by UNICEF/WEI through local NGO were found effective.

There is a need to integrate Child Friendly School Initiative (CFSI) with QERP to make it effective.

Activity – 5: Rapid Assessment on Effectiveness of Free Health Services in Nepal

RIDA with support from RECPHEC and OXFAM-GB carried out the research and monitoring program on the effective implementation of free health services.

Objectives Document and analyze the extent to which free health

service policies have addressed health issues of poor and marginalized people

Assess policy, capacity and delivery gaps

Assess the role, contribution and capacity of CSOs Identify lessons learnt and come up with the follow-up

actions to be taken in future.

Duration: February – April, 2009

Coverage: Bardiya, Surkhet, Dailekh and Dadeldhura.

Consultants Involved: Dr. Shiva Raj Lohani, Dr. Hom Nath Chalise, Shiva Bhakta Sharma, Jeevan Raj Lohani Major Findings Health facilities and delivery mechanisms were not well

prepared in terms of human resources, orientation, local resource mobilization, wider campaigning etc. to understand and implement the free health service provisions effectively.

Many (around 70%) of the respondents, though not in sufficient proportion, have heard about FHS.

Thirty one per cent of households from poor category have not heard about FHS while it was only 17 per cent for households from rich category.

Dalits were found benefiting much from FHS program since 22 per cent of beneficiaries were dalits (only 16% of total population).

Conditional cash transfer approach adapted in free maternity program was highly acknowledged by the participants of FGDs conducted at community level.

DOHS is looking forward to build a strong and self-operating monitoring mechanism by developing/circulating citizen charter and formation of central and facility level monitoring committee.

Other Activities Support in formulation of Health Sector Implementation

Plan on the role of Non-State Sector (November-December 2010)

Assessment of the fulfilment of minimum conditions by local government (VDC, DDC) commissioned by MOLD and DDC, Bhaktapur for the period of April – July, 2009.

ACTIVITIES FOR 2010

Evaluation of Urban Out of School Program (UOSP) Analysis of the impact of 3F crisis over education

(monitoring four quarters of 2010) Coordination with CPReC in implementing Pro-Poor

Targeted Secondary Stipend Program (2009-2012) Educational Need Assessment of the Himalayan

Region Global Briefing Paper on Essential Health Care

Services in Nepal

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