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Document of

The World Bank

Report No: ICR00003246

IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT

(IDA-42030)

ON A

CREDIT

IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 15.1 MILLION

(US$ 22 MILLION EQUIVALENT)

TO THE

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN

FOR A

BALOCHISTAN EDUCATION SUPPORT PROJECT

January 30, 2015

Education Global Practice

Pakistan Country Management Unit

South Asia Region

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CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS

(Exchange Rate Effective June 30, 2014)

Currency Unit = Pakistani Rupee (PKR)

US$ 1.00 = PKR 102.270

FISCAL YEAR

July 1 – June 30

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

BEF Balochistan Education Foundation

BEMIS Balochistan Education Management Information System

BESP Balochistan Education Support Project

BoD Board of Directors

BPEP Balochistan Primary Education Project

CAS Country Assistance Strategy

CBO Community Based Organization

CIPs Community Schools Implementation Partners

CPS Country Partnership Strategy

DoE Department of Education

EGMA

EGRA

Early Grade Mathematics Assessment

Early Grade Reading Assessment

EMF Environmental Management Framework

FATA Federally Administered Tribal Areas

GER Gross Enrolment Rate

GoB Government of Balochistan

GoP Government of Pakistan

IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

ICR Implementation Completion and Results Report

IDA International Development Association

IECs Individual Engineer Consultants

IPs Implementation Partners (includes CIPs, PIPs and TIPs)

IR Intermediate Result

KPK Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

MD Managing Director

MIS Management Information System

MTR Mid-term Review

NER Net Enrolment Rate

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

PDO Project Development Objectives

iii

PEC Parent Education Committee

PGEB Promoting Girls Education in Balochistan

PIPs Private School Implementation Partners

PITE Provincial Institute for Teacher Education

PPAF Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund

PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

QALP

QER

RCC

Quality Assessment of Lending Portfolio

Quality Enhancement Review

Roller-Compacted Concrete

SDR Special Drawing Rights

SED Secondary Education Department

SIL Sector Investment Loan

STR Student Teacher Ratio

TIPs Technical Assistance Implementation Partners

TPV Third Party Validation

Vice President: Annette Dixon

Country Director: Rachid Benmessaoud

Practice Manager: Halil Dundar

Project Team Leader: Huma Ali Waheed

ICR Team Leader: Ayesha Khan

iv

PAKISTAN

Balochistan Education Sector Project

Table of Contents

DATA SHEET ............................................................................................................................... vi

A. Basic Information ...................................................................................................................... vi

B. Key Dates .................................................................................................................................. vi

C. Ratings Summary ...................................................................................................................... vi

D. Sector and Theme Codes .......................................................................................................... vii

E. Bank Staff ................................................................................................................................. vii

F. Results Framework Analysis ................................................................................................... viii

G. Ratings of Project Performance in ISRs ................................................................................... xi

H. Restructuring (if any) ............................................................................................................... xii

I. Disbursement Profile ............................................................................................................... xiii

1. Project Context, Development Objectives and Design ....................................................... 1

1.1 Context at Appraisal ............................................................................................................1

1.2 Original Project Development Objectives (PDO) and Key Indicators ................................1

1.3 Revised PDO and Key Indicators and Reasons/justifications .............................................2

1.4 Main Beneficiaries ...............................................................................................................2

1.5 Original Components ...........................................................................................................2

1.6 Revised Components ...........................................................................................................4

1.7 Other significant changes .....................................................................................................4

2 Key Factors Affecting Implementation and Outcomes ...................................................... 5

2.1 Project Preparation, Design and Quality at Entry ................................................................5

2.2 Implementation ....................................................................................................................6

2.3 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Design, Implementation and Utilization .....................8

2.4 Safeguard and Fiduciary Compliance ................................................................................10

2.5 Post-completion Operation/Next Phase .............................................................................12

3 Assessment of Outcomes .................................................................................................. 13

3.1 Relevance of Objectives, Design and Implementation ......................................................13

3.2 Achievement of Project Development Objectives .............................................................13

3.3 Efficiency ...........................................................................................................................17

3.4 Justification of Overall Outcome Rating ...........................................................................17

3.5 Overarching Themes, Other Outcomes and Impacts .........................................................18

3.6 Summary of Findings of Beneficiary Survey and/or Stakeholder Workshops ..................19

v

4 Assessment of Risk to Development Outcome ................................................................. 19

5 Assessment of Bank and Borrower Performance ............................................................. 19

5.1 Bank Performance ..............................................................................................................19

5.2 Borrower Performance .......................................................................................................21

6 Lessons Learned................................................................................................................ 22

7 Comments on Issues Raised by Borrower/Implementing Agencies/Partners................... 23

Annex 1. Project Costs and Financing .......................................................................................... 24

Annex 2. Outputs by Component.................................................................................................. 25

Annex 3. Economic and Financial Analysis ................................................................................. 29

Annex 4. Bank Lending and Implementation Support/Supervision Processes ............................. 35

Annex 5. Summary of Borrower's ICR and/or Comments on Draft ICR ..................................... 37

Annex 6. List of Supporting Documents ...................................................................................... 46

MAP .............................................................................................................................................. 47

vi

DATA SHEET A. Basic Information

Country: Pakistan Project Name:

Pakistan: Balochistan

Education Support

Project - BESP

Project ID: P094086 L/C/TF Number(s): IDA-42030,TF-91827

ICR Date: 12/29/2014 ICR Type: Core ICR

Lending Instrument: SIL Borrower: ISLAMIC REPUBLIC

OF PAKISTAN

Original Total

Commitment: XDR 15.10M Disbursed Amount: XDR 15.07M

Revised Amount: XDR 15.10M

Environmental Category: B

Implementing Agencies:

Balochistan Education Foundation

Planning and Development Balochistan

Cofinanciers and Other External Partners:

B. Key Dates

Process Date Process Original Date Revised / Actual

Date(s)

Concept Review: 01/06/2005 Effectiveness: 08/09/2006 08/09/2006

Appraisal: 04/03/2006 Restructuring(s):

07/15/2010

07/20/2012

05/27/2014

Approval: 06/22/2006 Mid-term Review: 10/31/2009 03/15/2010

Closing: 01/31/2011 07/31/2014

C. Ratings Summary

C.1 Performance Rating by ICR

Outcomes: Moderately Satisfactory

Risk to Development Outcome: High

Bank Performance: Satisfactory

Borrower Performance: Moderately Satisfactory

C.2 Detailed Ratings of Bank and Borrower Performance (by ICR)

Bank Ratings Borrower Ratings

Quality at Entry: Satisfactory Government: Moderately

Unsatisfactory

Quality of Supervision: Satisfactory Implementing

Agency/Agencies: Satisfactory

vii

Overall Bank

Performance: Satisfactory

Overall Borrower

Performance: Moderately Satisfactory

C.3 Quality at Entry and Implementation Performance Indicators

Implementation

Performance Indicators

QAG Assessments (if

any) Rating

Potential Problem Project

at any time (Yes/No): Yes

Quality at Entry

(QEA): None

Problem Project at any time

(Yes/No): No

Quality of Supervision

(QSA): None

DO rating before

Closing/Inactive status:

Moderately

Satisfactory

D. Sector and Theme Codes

Original Actual

Sector Code (as % of total Bank financing)

Other social services 21 21

Primary education 79 79

Theme Code (as % of total Bank financing)

Education for all 33 33

Gender 17 17

Other Private Sector Development 17 17

Participation and civic engagement 17 17

Rural services and infrastructure 16 16

E. Bank Staff

Positions At ICR At Approval

Vice President: Annette Dixon Praful C. Patel

Country Director: Rachid Benmessaoud John W. Wall

Practice Manager/Manager: Halil Dundar Michelle Riboud

Project Team Leader: Huma Ali Waheed Naveed Hassan Naqvi

ICR Team Leader: Ayesha Khan

ICR Primary Author: Ayesha Khan

Aazar Wali Bhandara

viii

F. Results Framework Analysis

Project Development Objectives (from Project Appraisal Document) The development objective of the Project is to promote public-private and community

partnerships to improve access to quality primary education, in particular for girls.

Revised Project Development Objectives (as approved by original approving authority)

The PDO was not revised.

(a) PDO Indicator(s)

Indicator Baseline Value

Original Target

Values (from

approval

documents)

Formally

Revised

Target Values

Actual Value

Achieved at

Completion or

Target Years

Indicator 1 : An additional 35,000 students in primary schools established through public-private

partnerships, by end of project period

Value

quantitative or

Qualitative)

707,000 students in primary

schools of which 45000

students study in the non-

government/private sector

35,000+ 48,354

Date achieved 06/01/2005 01/31/2011 06/30/2014

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

This target was exceeded by 38%. At Project closing, enrollment in community schools

was 25,973. Enrolment in private schools supported under Component 2 of the Project

was 22,381 at the time activities were concluded. Enrollment in project schools at

Project Completion (48,354) is the sum of enrollment in community and private

schools.

Indicator 2 : Average student attendance rate not less than 70%

Value

quantitative or

Qualitative)

84% in community schools;

91% in private schools 70%

85% community

schools; 86% private

schools

Date achieved 05/29/2008 01/31/2011 06/30/2014

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

The baseline reflects performance at the end of the first year of operation of schools

established under the Project. This performance was maintained throughout project

implementation. At appraisal, a target of at least 70% was set in view of average

attendance rates at public schools.

Indicator 3 : Average student grade completion rate no less than 70%

Value

quantitative or

Qualitative)

70% 70%

74% community


schools

Date achieved 05/19/2008 01/31/2011 06/30/2014

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

This target was exceeded. Average student grade completion rate was maintained above

70% in both community and private schools throughout the life of the Project.

Indicator 4 : Average teacher attendance (net of leave entitlement) rate not less than 90%

Value

quantitative or

Qualitative)

95% 90%

95% community


schools

Date achieved 05/29/2008 01/31/2011 06/30/2014

ix

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

The baseline was set at the end of the first year of operation of supported schools.

Average teacher attendance was maintained above 90% in both community and private

schools throughout the life of the Project.

Indicator 5 : Average annual increase of 3% and 5% in learning achievement in language and

mathematics, respectively, in project-supported schools

Value

quantitative or

Qualitative)

Mean score of 13.75 for

Mathematics and 19.36 for

Language

Math>5%

Language>3%

Increase in Math of

9.6%; Language

16.17%

Date achieved 01/01/2009 01/31/2011 06/30/2009

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

This target was exceeded over the 2008/09 period. However, given that only a baseline

and one subsequent round of assessments were conducted, there are insufficient data

available to assess this indicator.

Indicator 6 : At least 40% enrollment in community schools is of girls

Value

quantitative or

Qualitative)

PSLM 2004-05 Data

Pakistan primary GER: M/F

(94/77) Balochistan primary

GER: M/F (83/49)

40%

42% community


schools

Date achieved 10/04/2006 01/31/2011 06/30/2014

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

This target was met for community schools, where female enrollment was maintained

above 40%. However, this target was not met for private schools, where it remained

approx. 35% on average.

Indicator 7 : Direct project beneficiaries (core indicator)

Value

quantitative or

Qualitative)

752,000 primary school

students (707,000 in govt.

schools and 45,000 in

private/non-govt. schools)

19,500 48,354

Date achieved 06/01/2005 07/31/2014 06/30/2014

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

This indicator was added as a core indicator in 2011 (Implementation Status Report 12).

Please see Indicator 1.

(b) Intermediate Outcome Indicator(s)


Original Target

Values (from

approval

documents)

Formally

Revised Target

Values

Actual Value

Achieved at

Completion or

Target Years

Indicator 1 : By Mid Term Review (MTR): 10,500 students in 350 community schools, at least 40%

of whom are girl students.

Value

(quantitative

or Qualitative)


schools of which 45,000



10,500 students in

350 community

schools, at least

40% of whom are

girl students.

26,839 students in

643 community

schools, 47.5% of

whom are girls.

Date achieved 06/01/2005 12/01/2008 03/31/2009

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

By MTR, these targets had been surpassed. The enrollment target had been exceeded by

155% and the community school target by 83.7%. Female student enrollment was 7.5%

above the target.

x


Original Target

Values (from

approval

documents)

Formally

Revised Target

Values

Actual Value

Achieved at

Completion or

Target Years

Indicator 2 :

By Project End: Enrollment maintained or increased above 19,500 students in 650

community schools established in the first three years of the Project. At least 40% of the

students are girls.

Value

(quantitative

or Qualitative)


schools of which 45,000



Enrollment

maintained or

increased above

19,500 students in

650 community

schools established

in the first three

years of the Project.

At least 40% of the

students are girls.

At the end of the

Project, enrollment in

community schools

was 25,973 in 633

community schools

(42% girls).

Date achieved 06/01/2005 01/31/2011 06/30/2014

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

At Project End, the enrollment target was exceeded by 33.2%. Enrollment in CSs was

above the target of 19,500 throughout project life, as was the proportion of female

enrollment. From the 649 CSs established under the Project, 633 remained operational.

Indicator 3 : By MTR: 200 new schools will be supported with total new enrollment of 10,000

students

Value

(quantitative

or Qualitative)

0

200 new schools

will be supported

with total new

enrollment of

10,000 students

18,631 students in

209 supported Private

Schools.

Date achieved 10/01/2006 12/01/2008 03/31/2009

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

By MTR, 209 new private schools were supported by the Project, with the enrollment

target exceeded by 86.3%.

Indicator 4 : By Project End: 300 new schools supported with enrollment maintained at or increased

above 15,500

Value

(quantitative

or Qualitative)

0

300 new schools

supported with

enrollment

maintained at or

increased above

15,500

197 new schools

supported with an

enrollment of 22,381

students

Date achieved 10/01/2006 01/31/2011

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

The number of schools to be supported was decreased to 200 at MTR. Despite this,

enrollment was maintained well above the target until support to this component was

concluded.

Indicator 5 : By MTR: 1,050 teachers trained, members of 350 PECs trained, at least 50% of BEF's

professional staff and Project-related IP staff trained.

Value

(quantitative

or Qualitative)

0

1,050 teachers

trained, members of

350 PECs trained, at

1000 teachers

trained; members of

643 PECs, and all

xi


Original Target

Values (from

approval

documents)

Formally

Revised Target

Values

Actual Value

Achieved at

Completion or

Target Years

least 50% of BEF's

professional staff

and Project-related

IP staff trained.

professional BEF

staff trained

Date achieved 10/01/2006 12/01/2008 03/31/2009

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

This target is considered met. There is only a marginal shortfall in the number of

teachers trained, and the targets for PEC member- and BEF staff- training were

exceeded.

Indicator 6 : By Project End: 2,100 teachers trained, members of 650 PECs trained, all BEF

professional staff, and 80% of Project-related IP staff trained.

Value

(quantitative

or Qualitative)

0

2,100 teachers

trained, members of

650 PECs trained,

all BEF professional

staff, and 80% of

Project-related IP

staff trained.

1,100 teachers were

trained. 764 teachers

were trained in CSs

and 336 in private

schools. 3,245

members of 649

PECs were trained.

100% of BEF and IP

staff was trained.

Date achieved 01/31/2011

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

This target is considered met. The appraisal estimate target of 2,100 teachers to be

trained was high as it anticipated a larger number of teachers per school.

Indicator 7 :

BEF has successfully enhanced its capacity and that of its IPs to expand its operations

into low enrollment areas and is in a position to scale up its operations in follow-up

project.

Value

(quantitative

or Qualitative)

Partially achieved

Date achieved 01/31/2011

Comments

(incl. %

achievement)

BEF supported schools in all 31 districts of Balochistan through the Project, and

achieved its capacity building objectives. Please see Section 2.5 for a description of

follow-on support.

G. Ratings of Project Performance in ISRs

No. Date ISR

Archived DO IP

Actual Disbursements

(USD millions)

1 10/05/2006 Satisfactory Satisfactory 0.07






xii

No. Date ISR

Archived DO IP

Actual Disbursements

(USD millions)

7 06/18/2009 Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 6.24




11 07/07/2011 Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 11.34

12 02/11/2012 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 14.82






H. Restructuring (if any)

Restructuring

Date(s)

Board

Approved PDO

Change

ISR Ratings at

Restructuring

Amount

Disbursed at

Restructuring

in USD millions

Reason for Restructuring & Key

Changes Made DO IP

07/15/2010 S S 10.21

Extension of Project closing date

from January 31, 2011 to July 31,

2012 to allow completion of

construction activities under

Component 1 of the Project.

07/20/2012 MS MS 14.82

(i) Extension of project closing

date to July 31, 2014 to allow for

completion of construction of

functional community schools

under Component 1 and (ii)

Reallocation of unallocated

expenditure category to finance

Community Implementation

Partner contracts for extension

period, to meet BEF equipment

and operational expenses during

extension period, and to provide

additional resources for school

construction.

05/27/2014 MS MS 20.46

Reallocation of funds originally

allocated for the construction of a

BEF office to cover expenses for

office equipment for BEF staff

(including monitoring equipment),

a refresher teacher training course

for community school teachers,

and overdrawn Category 4

xiii

Restructuring

Date(s)

Board

Approved PDO

Change

ISR Ratings at

Restructuring

Amount

Disbursed at

Restructuring

in USD millions

Reason for Restructuring & Key

Changes Made DO IP

expenditure on support to

construction of community

schools.

I. Disbursement Profile

1

1. Project Context, Development Objectives and Design

1.1 Context at Appraisal

1.1.1. At the time of preparation of the Balochistan Education Support Project (BESP),

Pakistan was the second most populous country in the South Asia region with a population of

over 150 million. Economic growth had increased from an average of 3.3% during 1997-

2002 to an average of nearly 6% during 2002-05. The 2005 earthquake in the north of

Pakistan had no direct impact on the province of Balochistan and was expected to have a

marginal impact on economic growth.

1.1.2. Balochistan's economy historically has differed from the rest of Pakistan. It is the

poorest of the country's four provinces with standards of living and social indicators lagging

substantially behind the rest of Pakistan. With 43% of the total landmass of the entire country,

the province has only 5% of the country's population. This makes service delivery and

infrastructure development challenging. A large proportion of the population lives in small

and dispersed rural settlements with only 24% of the population living in urban areas.

1.1.3. At the time of appraisal, education attainment in Balochistan reflected the province's

overall low development indicators. Literacy levels were at 37%, lagging far behind those of

the other provinces and the national average of 53%. Low and declining enrollment, large

gender disparities, poor quality of education, lack of continued community focus in

community support programs, limited private sector participation, weak public sector

capacity and limited financial resources were identified as issues affecting education sector

development in the province at the time of appraisal.

1.1.4. Rationale for Bank Involvement: The Bank had been supporting education programs

in other provinces and recognized that Balochistan had the greatest need, requiring both

financial and technical support to enable it to test different service delivery models. At the

same time, recognizing the challenges faced by the public sector in delivering quality

education at the primary level, the GoB was committed to testing different models of public-

private partnerships for primary education delivery, which, if successful, could be scaled up.

It designed the Balochistan Education Support Project (BESP) to test an alternate delivery

mechanism and approached the Bank for financial and technical assistance given its

experience of supporting the Balochistan Primary Education Project (BPEP).

1.1.5. The Project objectives were aligned with the 2006 Country Assistance Strategy (CAS)

and provincial priorities as articulated in the Balochistan Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

2003 (PRSP 2003). Specifically, the Project was to contribute to improvements in education

delivery, a key objective of the third pillar of the CAS, i.e., improving lives and protecting

the vulnerable. The Balochistan PRSP emphasized the need to increase focus on improving

human development, one of its five pillars. The Project also contributed to Pakistan’s long-

term objective of achieving its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by increasing net

primary enrollment rates and reducing gender disparity in Balochistan via successful public-

private and community partnership delivery models.

1.2 Original Project Development Objectives (PDO) and Key Indicators

1.2.1 The development objective of the Project was to promote public-private and

community partnerships to improve access to quality primary education, in particular for girls.

2

1.2.2 Success in achieving the PDO was to be measured using the following five PDO level

outcome indicators and targets (PAD page 4):

a) Total enrollment of students (Target: enrollment increased by 35,000, with at

least 40% girls);

b) Average annual student attendance (Target: average attendance not less than

70%);

c) Average grade completion rate (Target: average completion rate not less than

70%);

d) Average annual teacher attendance (Target: average annual teacher attendance,

net of leave entitlement, not less than 90%); and

e) Average annual increase in learning achievement in Language and Mathematics

(Target: an annual increase of 3% and 5% respectively).

1.3 Revised PDO and Key Indicators and Reasons/justifications

1.3.1 The PDO and the PDO level key indicators were not revised.

1.4 Main Beneficiaries

1.4.1 The primary beneficiaries under the Project were students in the private and

community schools funded by the Project. Secondary beneficiaries included the Balochistan

Education Foundation (BEF), parents, teachers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs),

private sector partners, public and private training institutes and local construction

contractors.

1.5 Original Components

1.5.1 The Project supported education service delivery models through partnerships with

NGOs and low-cost private sector education providers. The Project had three components

which were to be implemented under partnership arrangements between BEF and three

distinct types of Implementation Partners (IPs). These included: (i) Community Schools

Implementation Partners (CIPs); (ii) Private School Implementation Partners (PIPs); and (iii)

Technical Assistance Implementation Partners (TIPs). US$1.8 million (9% of the project

cost) was left unallocated at the start of the Project to cover contingencies and the expansion

of successful interventions. The components and partner roles are summarized below.

1.5.2 Component 1: Establishment of New Community Schools in Rural Areas

(US$ 13.9 million): This component was to provide access to quality primary education to

school-aged children through the establishment of new community schools in rural areas

where the community was able to enroll at least 20 students in a school and where there were

no girls’ schools within a radius of two kilometers. These schools had to provide formal

primary education with assistance from eligible partner NGOs, known as CIPs. BEF was

responsible for monitoring performance of these schools and CIPs and their compliance with

the BEF’s Operations Manual, and for arranging third party assessments and evaluations of

the schools established under this component.

3

Table 1: Responsibilities of Key Entities under Component 1 Community Schools Implementation Partners

(CIPs)

Parent Education Committees (PECs)

i. Mobilize communities and ensure their

participation in the selection of PECs;

ii. help PECs get registered with GoB;

iii. arrange training of PEC members in

management and finance;

iv. assist PECs in starting and operating their

community school;

v. arrange for on-site classroom and teacher

support;

vi. establish baseline of the school, PEC and

community; and

vii. monitor enrollment, teacher and student

attendance, community participation, quality

of learning and physical condition of the

school.

viii. Provision of premises for school;

ix. identification and employment of local

teachers;

x. opening and maintaining school accounts in

either a bank or a post office;

xi. maintaining financial and meeting records;

xii. ensuring proper maintenance and physical

condition of the school premises,

xiii. Oversight of student enrollment and teacher

attendance;

xiv. Maintenance of active community

participation; and

xv. monitoring school performance.

1.5.3 The PECs, selected by beneficiary communities, were responsible for managing and

supervising community schools. They were also to pay teacher salaries and other recurrent

costs of schools through funding provided by BEF. The Project was to fund recurrent costs

for the first two years of each school’s operation through BEF at the recommendation of CIPs

and following verification of agreed milestones. To ensure the sustainability of community

schools, GoB committed to fund recurrent costs of schools from the third year of each

school’s operation through BEF. These schools were to continue operating under the

management of the PECs after project closure.

1.5.4 Eligible community schools under the Project which successfully maintained

enrollment for two years and whose community donated land by formal transfer of ownership

by mutation to the respective PEC were to be provided with appropriate funding from the

Project for a new permanent school building in accordance with existing and projected

enrollments. Construction had to be undertaken by the community according to an earthquake

resistant design approved by the Bank and with technical assistance arranged through the

Project.

1.5.5 Component 2: Support to New Private Schools (US$2.1million): This component

focused on promoting access to low-fee quality private primary education in semi-urban and

urban areas through support to private school operators, known as PIPs, to establish new

private schools along the fellowship model tested successfully under BPEP. Each PIP was to

be given a per student subsidy for up to four years according to rates determined by BEF in

consultation with PIPs. PIPs were to receive annual subsidies per student for facilities and

material costs, and a monthly subsidy linked to student enrollment and attendance. New

private schools were to be established (i) if there were at least 50 out of school children (age

4-9) in a locality; and (ii) if there was no government primary school or any other school for

girls in a radius of one kilometer. An additional school in the same locality could only be

established if it were justified based on growth in the number of students or overcrowding in

existing schools. The schools were to charge low fees (at appraisal, school fees were not to

exceed Rs.300 per month). The performance of this model was to be evaluated during the

Mid-Term Review (MTR), and the option of extending support to existing private schools

was to be explored.

4

1.5.6 Component 3: Capacity Building (US$4.2 million): The objective of this

component was to build the capacity of BEF and its partners under Components 1 and 2.

Sub-component 3.1 - Training and Skill Development: To ensure the provision

of quality education in both community and private schools, the Project was

meant to support quality improvements at the school level. These

improvements included local teacher recruitment, teachers’ professional

development, including subject training, close monitoring and the academic

supervision, availability of free textbooks, student achievement testing and

provision of teaching and learning materials. To ensure that key stakeholders

were able to perform their respective functions effectively, intensive training

was to be given to them. PECs, CIPs and PIPs were to be trained in school

management, book keeping, accounting, participatory techniques, gender and

monitoring and supervision. BEF was to receive training in project

management functions including financial management, procurement,

environment and monitoring and evaluation. This capacity support was to be

delivered through technical assistance provided by a variety of consultants,

NGOs, and public and private training institutes, known as TIPs.

Sub-Component 3.2 - Institutional Support to BEF: This sub-component was

meant to support: (i) BEF’s staff salaries and operational costs (including

evaluation studies); and (ii) if land was provided by GoB, the construction of a

permanent office for BEF.

1.6 Revised Components

1.6.1 The Project components were not revised.

1.7 Other significant changes

1.7.1 Closing date: The original project closing date, January 31, 2011, was extended twice

(by a total of 42 months) under two successive Project Restructurings in order to allow for

the completion of construction activities under Component 1. The first closing date extension

was to July 31, 2012, and the second to July 31, 2014. Construction of eligible community

schools faced delays due to a worsening security situation in the province and difficulties

faced in identifying appropriate partners to provide technical support to PECs during the

construction process. Section 2.2 discusses this in further detail.

1.7.2 Reallocation: The Project included an unallocated expenditure category (US$1.8

million) to meet contingency costs and the expansion of successful interventions. This

amount was reallocated in the second Project Restructuring, dated July 20, 2012, to finance

CIP contracts for the extension period to meet equipment and operational expenses of BEF

during the extension phase and to provide additional resources for school construction. At

appraisal, Project funds had been allocated to the construction of a permanent office for BEF

on land that was to be allotted by the GoB. However, no suitable site was provided. These

proceeds were distributed to other expenditure categories (through the third and final Project

Restructuring, dated May 27, 2014) at the end of the Project (July 2014) to fund activities

which would promote the sustainability of project results. These activities included office

equipment for BEF, such as computers, smart phones and tablets to serve as a delivery

mechanism for supplementary education content and material for teachers and students in the

community schools. Other activities included refresher teacher training courses for teachers

5

in community schools and third-party validation of project results. These funds were also

used to cover additional costs associated with the recruitment of engineers to support the

construction of schools under Component 1.

1.7.3 Revision of targets (non-PDO): The following targets were revised during the Project:

The number of private schools to be established under Component 2 was revised

downwards from 300 to 200 schools during the MTR 1 because of the non-

availability of private sector partners that could have qualified under the selection

criteria of this component. Please see Annex 2.

The number of community schools to be constructed using project funds was

decreased from the appraisal target of 450 to 225 schools as documented in the

November 2011 Implementation Support Aide-Memoire (AM) due to significant

escalation in the cost of construction (approximately three times the appraisal

estimate). No additional funding could be secured to bridge the shortfall.

2 Key Factors Affecting Implementation and Outcomes

2.1 Project Preparation, Design and Quality at Entry

2.1.1 Background Analysis: BESP was designed as a four and half year Specific Investment

Loan (SIL) financed through an IDA Credit. The Project, in its focus on increasing access,

especially for girls, was an appropriate response to challenges faced in the delivery of quality

education in the country’s poorest province. Challenges identified by the task team during

preparation were based on available data and are found to be sound by the ICR team. Most

importantly, the Project builds on the success of community-supported and non-government

and private sector entity involvement in the implementation of education, infrastructure, and

micro-enterprise programs under BPEP and the Bank-supported Pakistan Poverty Alleviation

Fund (PPAF)2. Key lessons learned from BPEP were fully reflected in the design of BESP

and include, among others: (i) avoiding complex project design; (ii) outsourcing

implementation to competitively selected IPs; (iii) ownership of project design by the

borrowers during the preparation phase and actions demonstrating a long term commitment

to the project design; (iv) the involvement of communities improves school performance; and

(v) partnering with qualified NGOs contributes significantly to project success. BESP design

also reflected important institutional and organizational lessons learned from PPAP, some of

which include: (a) establishing the autonomy of the apex body, BEF; (b) recruiting senior

management and staff competitively from the private sector; and (c) establishing clear and

transparent operational procedures and selection criteria for partner organizations.

2.1.2 Project Design: Given Balochistan’s unique challenges in education service delivery

compared to the rest of the country (e.g., large geographic spread, low population density,

poor infrastructure), BESP’s approach was to first test and potentially scale up innovative

models of education delivery outside the public sector. It was the first Bank-supported

1 This is documented in the ‘Preliminary findings of the Mid Term Review of BESP dated March 15, 2010

(Folder ‘2009 Preliminary Findings) and in ISR 10 dated December 21, 2010.

2 The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund Project was implemented from 1999-2004.

6

education project in Pakistan to support an apex organization (BEF) which would use IPs to

execute and implement project components. The design of the Project was simple in its

support to two different models of delivery, and both components were heavily supported by

the technical assistance and capacity building component (Component 3). The Project made

adequate allowances for course correction and design changes by leaving a portion of the

Credit amount unallocated and by setting clear targets for the mid-term. The Project provided

Credit proceeds directly to BEF, which had the following advantages: (i) it mitigated the risk

of provincial budgetary constraints on the Project; (ii) it bypassed institutional capacity

constraints faced by the public sector; and (iii) it emphasized the accountability that the

implementing agency would be held to and thus generated a high level of ownership of the

Project by the implementing agency. The arguments presented in the PAD for alternative

approaches and design elements which were considered and subsequently rejected by the

preparation team are found to be compelling and well thought out.

2.1.3 The PDO and its indicators are deemed appropriate to the Project. Targets set for the

PDO indicators were realistic and phased according to the pace of implementation expected

at the time of Project design.

2.1.4 Risks and Mitigation Measures: Given that BESP sought to test different and new

approaches for service delivery outside the public sector in a challenging context, the Project

was properly identified as high risk. Diminishing government commitment, political

interference, security challenges, and weak fiduciary capacity all posed substantial to high

risk to the Project. All risks were identified and mitigation of risks was handled consistently

and in a timely manner during the Project. The commitment of the GoB in maintaining BEF’s

operational autonomy and its predominantly private sector Board contributed to successful

implementation.

2.1.5 Quality at Entry: No quality-at-entry assessment of the Project was carried out by the

former Quality Assurance Group (QAG). A Quality Enhancement Review (QER) was

conducted in November 2005 during appraisal. It endorsed the design and approach of the

Project and provided guidance on issues of sustainability, capacity building, access and

quality, as well as implementation arrangements. The final design of BESP reflects the

guidance received. It bears mentioning that a Quality Assessment of Lending Portfolio

(QALP) conducted in November 2008 found the design of the Project to be highly

satisfactory.

2.1.6 Quality at Entry is rated Satisfactory. This assessment is based on the following

factors: (i) the PDO is simple and relevant; (ii) the evaluation framework and targets (except

for one indicator, see paragraph 2.3.1) are sound and realistic; (iii) the design is an innovative

response to clearly identified challenges in the sector and province; (iv) project design is not

complex, and has a well-designed technical assistance component to support implementation

of project activities; (v) lessons learned from other projects have been fully reflected in the

design; (vi) risks are appropriately identified and mitigation measures are deemed

proportionate to the magnitude of risk; and (vii) implementation arrangements, including for

fiduciary and safeguards aspects, are suitable and realistic.

2.2 Implementation

2.2.1 Implementation progress remained satisfactory until early 2011 when the rating was

downgraded to moderately satisfactory in the Implementation Status and Results (ISR)

7

reports to reflect delays in the construction of community schools under Component 1. This

rating was maintained until project closing..

2.2.2 The following factors contributed to successful implementation:

(i) GoB commitment to the success of project interventions. This was demonstrated

by: (i) the regular transfer of teacher salaries to PECs with few exceptions; (ii) the

Department of Education’s (DoE) recognition of community schools and the

subsequent allocation of Balochistan Education Management Information System

(BEMIS) codes to each; and (iii) the provision of free textbooks to community

school students and teacher training to community school teachers in the last year

of the Project. The recognition of community schools was of particular

importance insofar as students who were issued a completion certificate from a

BESP-supported community school could continue their education at a public

middle school.

(ii) Timely recognition and resolution of implementation challenges by BEF and the

Bank team. Regular and candid dialogue between the Bank and the counterpart on

implementation progress, and a well-substantiated MTR 3 allowed timely

restructuring of the Project on three occasions – the first two extending the

Closing Date to allow the completion of construction of community schools4, and

the last reallocating funds to other expenditure categories as required. The

dialogue also ensured that adjustments to BESP design and targets could take

place to reflect ground realities. A key instance is the discontinuation of

Component 2 – Support to New Private Schools5 after it was apparent that the

model was not sustainable due to a lack of potential private sector partners and

poor cost recovery by some PIPs.

(iii) Satisfactory Project management and M&E. A dedicated and proactive

implementing agency such as BEF has been pivotal to the success of the Project.

BEF’s operations continuously took into account the ground realities of operating

in a challenging security environment. BEF developed effective protocols to

handle problems related to internal community conflict and teacher replacement in

case of teacher resignation or unavailability.

(iv) Effective use of capacity building and technical assistance funds. Component 3 –

Capacity Building - was instrumental to the successful implementation of

Components 1 and 2. It funded activities such as teacher training, PECs training,

CIPs, PIPs and BEF staff training, student achievement testing, and monitoring

and evaluation (including Third Party Validation (TPVs)). The timing of these

activities was well-aligned to the pace of implementation.

(v) Close project supervision despite difficult security environment. Despite the

volatile and steadily worsening security situation in the province, both the Bank

team and BEF did a commendable job of supervising BESP on a regular basis,

using appropriate alternatives when required. These included the use of third-party

monitoring when Bank visits to the field were not feasible due to security

constraints and meetings between the task team and BEF in locations other than

Quetta or via videoconference on several occasions.

3 A Third Party Validation (TPV) of Project activities was completed in November 2009, well in time to feed

into the MTR. 4 The second Restructuring also reallocated funds to other expenditure categories as required. 5 This Component was implemented for a period of four years as originally designed in the Project.

8

2.2.3 The following factors hindered or delayed implementation:

(i) Difficulties in provision of technical support to PECs and CIPs during

construction of schools under Component 1. This, along with a worsening security

situation, the unavailability of raw materials and skilled labor in some

communities and occasional delays in the release of funds to PECs for

construction resulted in delays throughout the life of the Project. Several

alternatives were considered to address the low capacity of the PECs with regard

to community school construction and to ensure a high quality of construction.

However, none proved satisfactory: a management supervision firm could not be

identified, the cost of services of a similar firm proved too high, and the

supervisory services offered by the GoB’s own Civil and Works Department

proved inadequate. The final option exercised, i.e., the hiring of Individual

Engineer Consultants (IECs) by BEF to facilitate, supervise, and validate school

construction was eventually successful, particularly under the management and

supervision of a Construction Manager hired by BEF.

(ii) Non-transfer of non-salary recurrent costs to community schools. GoB committed

to take on recurrent costs of community schools supported by the Project from the

third year of each school’s operations, as reflected in a legal covenant. Despite

being raised at several levels by the implementing agency and the Bank, from

2009 onwards, GoB only provided recurrent funds sufficient to cover teacher

salaries. Non-salary recurrent funds had to be raised by communities themselves,

or from reduced teacher salaries. Teacher salaries have not been raised in six

years6, making teacher retention at the current salary level difficult.

(iii)Ineffectiveness of the BEF Board. The BEF Board did not meet as frequently in

2013 and 2014 as before. The ICR team has not found any satisfactory reason for

this. The less frequent meetings have resulted in the delay of important actions

such as hiring of BEF staff, hiring of an internal audit firm, and implementation of

the satellite monitoring initiative. The position of Managing Director (MD), BEF,

remained vacant from August 2013 to January 2014 resulting in delays in funds

transfer to PECs for school construction as the MD is the principal signatory for

all PEC transfers.

2.2.4 Quality of Supervision: Quality of Supervision is rated Satisfactory. This assessment

is based on (i) close supervision by the Bank team in a difficult security environment; (ii)

timely identification and response to implementation issues; (iii) attention to project

sustainability; and (iv) intensive capacity development of BEF and IPs. As noted above, a

QALP conducted in November 2008 found the quality of supervision to be satisfactory.

2.3 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Design, Implementation and Utilization

2.3.1 M&E Design: M&E arrangements designed for the Project were adequate and

appropriate for generating data to assess the success or failure of the different models of

6 At the time of Project closing.

9

education delivery tested under the Project. Five key PDO-level outcome indicators and three

Intermediate Results (IR) Indicators were identified to monitor progress towards achieving

the PDO. Information on the indicators was to be measured regularly by BEF’s IPs and

reported to BEF at specified intervals. BEF Field Supervisors were to monitor the operation

of private schools and conduct spot checks of at least 20% of community schools every

quarter. TPVs were appropriately embedded in the M&E framework to verify and provide an

additional layer of monitoring. All project data and information were to be transmitted to the

M&E Unit at BEF which would be responsible for validating and incorporating data into a

computerized education management information system. Data were to be used to assess the

effectiveness of BESP components, inform adjustments in implementation strategy and refine

the Project’s design.

2.3.2 One issue identified in the design of the M&E framework is that the measurement of

the fifth PDO indicator, i.e., annual improvement in learning achievement, is not explained in

sufficient detail, given the highly technical nature of standardized testing. From the PAD, it

would seem that CIPs were to monitor the quality of learning and report this annually to BEF.

Given the high cost and technical complexity of developing and administering standardized

tests on an annual basis, the method and frequency of collecting student achievement data

were unrealistic.

2.3.3 M&E Implementation: The M&E system was implemented as planned for the

majority of project indicators. A baseline for all PDO and intermediate results indicators was

established on time, with delays only in the establishment of a baseline for student learning.

2.3.4 IPs prepared quarterly monitoring reports against targets assigned to them and

submitted these to BEF. Staffing issues faced by the M&E Unit for field monitoring were

resolved by 2010, after which monitoring by BEF remained regular, with over 20% of

schools visited each year until project closing. BEF Field Supervisors monitored private

schools until this component reached its conclusion in December 2010. The M&E Unit, BEF,

set up a computerized database, BEF’s Management Information System (MIS), for

collecting project data early during the Project. The Unit also initiated the dissemination of a

newsletter to communicate the Project’s activities and achievements.

2.3.5 A major milestone achieved through the Project was the assignment of BEMIS codes

to each Project-supported community school in April 2013. This ensured that community

schools were included under the overall provincial education sector Management Information

System (MIS) and in the census reports.

2.3.6 However, implementation of the M&E system as designed was incomplete in the area

of student learning assessment. Student learning assessments were not carried out on an

annual basis, despite a PDO indicator for annual increases in Language and Math learning

achievements. Although national expertise was engaged to design and implement surveys for

learning achievement in project schools, only three rounds were held in 2007 (baseline),

2008/2009, and 2013. It should be noted that 2013 round used Early Grade Reading

Assessment (EGRA) tools which could not be used to assess improvements in student

learning. Although it yielded important information on student learning, it made uncertain the

achievement of the PDO indicator that year. The ICR team feels that the technical nature of

learning achievement measurement, as well as the high level of attention that the BEF

dedicated to the construction component of the Project, discouraged a regular administration

of the learning assessments as envisioned at project design.

10

2.3.7 As per appraisal, BEF had to establish a website that included complete data on all

project components including the selection process of IPs. The BEF established a website for

the Project which was intermittently updated. The website page did not include complete data

on all project components, including the selection process of IPs. BEF also established a

complaint management system in 2008. Through this mechanism, BEF received 44

complaints of which 43 were addressed. Almost half the complaints were related to PEC

performance, teacher absenteeism, and school management. Over one-third of complaints

were related to school construction. At the time of this ICR, BEF was investigating the

remaining complaint.

2.3.8 M&E Utilization: M&E utilization is found to be satisfactory. Encouragingly, data

generated by BEF’s M&E system was not limited to the monitoring of implementation

progress. Analysis of the data: (i) allowed design readjustments to the Project; (ii) revealed

particular issues for further investigation by BEF for which reports and studies were carried

out including on low female enrollment in selected regions of the province, performance

comparison of local vs. non-local teachers in community schools, community schools’ drop-

out and the sustainability of PIPs.

2.4 Safeguard and Fiduciary Compliance

2.4.1 Safeguard and fiduciary compliance are rated Moderately Satisfactory based on the

following assessments:

2.4.2 Environmental aspects: The Project was given an environmental category of B at the

concept review stage. The Bank’s safeguards policy OP 4.01 required an environmental

assessment for BESP’s proposed activities, such as the construction of school buildings,

which could have had low to moderate, short-duration and minor negative environmental

impact. Other anticipated project activities were expected to have minimal environmental

impact. The construction of community school building required conformity with standard

engineering design requirements to avoid safety hazards associated with earthquake and

floods as well as to ensure proper ventilation and lighting in the school buildings. Some other

minor environmental impacts included issues such as a scarcity of water during construction

and improper waste disposal. These were characterized as ‘low negative impacts’.

2.4.3 BEF prepared the Environmental Management Framework (EMF) at the design stage

of the Project. BEF was also responsible for implementation of the EMF and the Project’s

compliance with it. Implementation of the EMF in the field was the responsibility of the PEC

and IPs which ensured compliance with the EMF’s environmental guidelines.

2.4.4 BEF trained PEC and IPs engineers on the EMF. All PECs were trained in

environmental aspects. Due to high turn-over, training was not conducted for new PEC

members as the membership changed from year to year. The BEF did not recruit an

Environmental Coordinator for the Project. This responsibility stayed with BEF’s Director

(Operations) as an additional responsibility and, later, with the Manager (Construction) as an

additional charge until project closure.

2.4.5 An area of significant accomplishment was in school design and construction using

roller-compacted concrete (RCC) structures. These are stronger and less vulnerable to

earthquakes. Boundary walls were built with prescribed heights for 189 schools out of total

219 schools constructed under the Project. Boundary walls were not built for the remaining

schools because by the time construction reached this phase, contracts were closed due to

11

Project closure. Boundary walls made it safer for children to attend school and helped

increase girls’ enrolment. As required in the EMF, the Project also conducted TPV for the

implementation of the EMF.

2.4.6 Social aspects: Communities provided land for schools in rural areas free of cost.

Successful implementation of BESP contributed to a significant increase in girls’ enrollment

in rural areas. Out of a total of 48,354 students enrolled in project schools at closing7, female

enrollment comprised 42% of community school enrollment and 34% of private school

enrollment.

2.4.7 The Project extended quality education to underserved communities in rural, peri-

urban and urban areas across all 31 districts in the province. Project-supported schools (under

Components 1 and 2) have increased overall enrollment in the province by 5%, and girls’

enrollment by 5.3%8.

2.4.8 Financial management: Financial management compliance is rated Moderately

Satisfactory based on the following assessment: Financial management capacity in

Balochistan is generally weak with ‘high risk’ rating. The project design included measures

to mitigate these risks, such as the training of IPs, and payments to IPs on their achievement

of milestones as agreed in the Partnership Agreement and through regular monitoring by BEF.

Overall, financial management staffing and arrangements remained adequate and in

compliance with annual audit throughout the life of the Project. CIPs closely monitored PECs

and community schools. The external audit firm reviewed the performance of all IPs on a

sample basis on an annual basis and IPs had their accounts audited annually. However, two

issues persisted during the Project, i.e., delays in putting in place internal audit arrangements

within BEF, and failure by the GoB to release the non-salary budget for community schools

(see paragraph 2.2.3).

2.4.9 Procurement: Procurement compliance is rated Satisfactory. Selection of all IPs under

the BESP was carried out in accordance with the Bank’s guidelines. BEF developed a

procurement plan for project implementation which provided a basis for the choice of

procurement methods and review thresholds. This plan was agreed between BEF and the

Bank. The procurement plan was updated annually or when required in agreement with the

Bank.

2.4.10 PECs were given grant funds for community school construction. There was no

centralized procurement of building material or for contracting school construction at the

BEF level. The design of community schools buildings was done by a consulting firm hired

by BEF through competitive bidding. Individual Engineer Consultants (IECs) were hired to

facilitate, supervise and validate school construction in accordance with designs provided by

BEF. IECs facilitated the PEC in identifying potential areas for the procurement of labor and

materials and trained communities in skills to support construction. PECs either (i) contracted

construction labor and material on a competitive basis, or (ii) contracted labor and procured

construction material themselves. The joint supervision of school construction by consultants

and the local communities provided a highly effective oversight model.

7 Before support to schools under Component 2 reached its conclusion, enrollment in private schools supported

under the Project was 22,381 students. At the end of the Project, enrollment in community schools was 25,973. 8 BEF calculations using BEMIS Annual Census 2013/14, BEF data

12

2.4.11 A lack of procurement staff with relevant expertise led to minor delays in the award

of contracts. Procedural difficulties were also encountered for obtaining approval through the

BEF structure which hindered the efficient and timely procurement of goods and services.

2.4.12 The institutional capacity of BEF, CIPs, PIPs and PECs was strengthened through

training. The capacity of IPs was built to follow procurement procedures agreed between the

BEF and the Bank. Third Party monitoring of the IPs ensured compliance with agreed

deliverables. PECs were made accountable to communities through disclosure of school

procurement and financial matters.

2.5 Post-completion Operation/Next Phase

2.5.1 Post-completion Operation: Community schools will continue to be monitored by

BEF and their functionality is expected to continue provided their recurrent costs are met by

the GoB. BEF is piloting the use of smart phones to engage with students and teachers on a

regular basis. Please see Section 0 – Risk to Development Outcome for a discussion on

sustainability of project outcomes and activities.

2.5.2 Next Phase: A clear indication of the success and ownership of the community-

supported school model in the province is the GoB’s use of community involvement in

expanding access to the public school system.

2.5.3 The Bank’s response to the GoB’s request for continued support to the education

sector was the Promoting Girls’ Education in Balochistan (PGEB) project, which became

effective in September 2012. It is funded by the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) for Khyber

Pukhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan. PGEB which is a

US$10 million grant to the GoB, aims to improve the availability and accessibility of

education services for all children, with a special emphasis on girls, in the province of

Balochistan. Community-supported mechanisms similar to those used under BESP are used

by the GoB in its efforts to rehabilitate shelter-less schools to improve their functionality,

improve school physical infrastructure and construct new schools in areas where no schools

are available. The implementation of all activities is based on active community participation

at all levels of project design and implementation.

2.5.4 In March 2014, the GoB submitted an application for US$34 million in grant

financing from the Global Partnership for Education for the Balochistan Education Project

(GPE-BEP) prepared by the Bank as supervising entity for Balochistan under the GPE. This

application was approved by the GPE Board and is to be negotiated with the GoB in 2015.

The proposed development objective of the Project is to increase school enrollment and

retention in project-supported schools, with a special focus on girls’ participation, and to

develop mechanisms for information collection and use for the improved management of

education. Under the project, 2,000 public schools will be established with community

partnership and involvement in school management.

2.5.5 Several design aspects have been built into both PGEB and GPE-BEP based on

lessons learnt from BESP: (i) the schools established are recognized upfront as ‘government

schools’ using successful community support mechanisms, as opposed to being set up as

‘community schools’; (ii) contract teachers hired for newly established community schools

set up under PGEB are employed using rules and procedures applicable to regular

13

government teachers, ensuring they can be regularized onto the GoB payroll after the life of

the projects; and (iii) supervision support must be made available to the government for

better management of construction related activities.

3 Assessment of Outcomes

3.1 Relevance of Objectives, Design and Implementation

3.1.1 Project objectives remained highly relevant during the life of the Project, and were

well-aligned with the Government of Pakistan’s development and education sector priorities

articulated in the PRSP II (Government of Pakistan, 2009) (Pillar VI, Chapter 9) and the

Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy (FY10-13 and extension to FY14).

3.1.2 Objectives: BESP’s objective to increase access to quality primary education, in

particular for girls, remains highly relevant and consistent with the Government of Pakistan’s

current development priorities as articulated in the draft five-year development vision, Vision

2025, and the Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for FY2015-19 for Pakistan. The

four priorities of Vision 2025, Energy, Economy, Extremism, and Education, are anchored

within the CPS as results areas. The objective of the Project is well-aligned and specifically

relevant to Result Area 3, ‘Inclusion’, which supports inclusive growth by reducing inequities

for vulnerable groups, including women and youth, and those in poor or conflict-affected

areas including Balochistan, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KPK) and Federally Administered Tribal

Areas (FATA). It is also aligned to CPS (FY2015-19) Result Area 4, ‘Service Delivery’,

which supports the acceleration of improvements in service delivery, including education.

The project objectives are strongly relevant to the achievement of monitoring indicators

under Outcome 3.2, ‘Reduced Vulnerability of Groups at Risk’ (Result Area 3; page 21 CPS

FY15-19) and Outcome 4.3, ‘Increased School Enrollment and the Adoption of Education

Quality Assessment’ (Result Area 4; page 24 CPS FY15-19).

3.1.3 Design and Implementation: The design and implementation of the Project remain

relevant in the current context in Balochistan. Sector and provincial challenges identified at

the time of design remain unchanged except for a worsened security situation. The GoB’s and

Bank’s response to these challenges builds on BESP design and lessons learned from its

implementation. These are evidenced by the adoption of community-supported mechanisms

in public education service delivery in two subsequent Bank-supported projects, i.e., PGEB

and GPE-BEP.

3.2 Achievement of Project Development Objectives

3.2.1 Achievement of the PDO was to be measured using five PDO level outcome

indicators (paragraph 0.). By the end of the Project, 633 community schools and 197 private

schools had been established. Activities under Component 2 – Support to New Private

Schools – were completed by 2011. Details of component performance are available in

Annex 2 – Output by Component.

3.2.2 Four out of five PDO indicators were exceeded. Most PDO indicators were

maintained above their target level for the duration of the Project, with the exception of that

for female enrollment in private schools (see paragraph 3.2.4). Highlights include:

14

i. PDO 1 – An additional 35,000 students (at least 40% girls) enrolled in project-

supported schools, was met well ahead of time in 2009. Project-supported schools

(under Components 1 and 2) have increased overall enrollment in the province by

5%, and girls’ enrollment by 5.3%9. Targets for enrollment in both community

schools and private schools were exceeded by 33% and 38%, respectively, by

Project end, the latter despite a revision of Component 2 targets (new private

schools to be established was decreased from 300 to 200 at MTR - see paragraph

1.7.2). Female enrollment in community schools was maintained at above 40%

throughout the Project and stood at 42% at project closing.

ii. Average student attendance, teacher attendance and student grade completion

rates for both community and private schools were maintained consistently above

their target levels for the duration of the Project and at project closing.

3.2.3 There is insufficient data available to assess the fifth PDO indicator, ‘Annual

Improvement in Learning Achievement’. Assessments conducted over 2008/09 showed an

increase of 16.17% and 9.60% in mean scores of student learning achievement in Language

and Mathematics, respectively, from the 2007 baseline, exceeding annual targets. However,

as mentioned in paragraphs 2.3.1 and 2.3.5, student assessments were not carried out on an

annual basis. An assessment of student learning outcomes at Grades 2 and 5 in BESP

community schools was carried out in 2013/14 using Early Grade Reading Assessment

(EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) tools to measure learning in

Urdu and Mathematics. While this assessment yielded important information on learning

outcomes, it did not measure improvements in learning achievement and hence cannot be

used to measure PDO indicator progress.

Student Learning Assessment: Oral Reading Fluency and Basic Numeracy in Community Based Schools

in Balochistan, Pakistan (2014)

Key findings from the study show that the oral reading proficiency and basic numeracy skills of both grades two

and five children are weak and significantly lower than expected levels commensurate with their grades.

Children’s oral reading fluency in both grades two and five is significantly lower than recommended

benchmarks of 45 and 100 correct words per minute (CWPM), respectively. Less than 5% of children in grade

two and only 6% in grade five can correctly read a grade-appropriate paragraph. Similarly 7 percent of children

in grade two and 13 percent in grade five have the capacity to write a sentence in Urdu without a mistake. While

children in grade five on average read twice as many correct words per minute as grade two children—

indicating positive, but inadequate progression between grades two and five—their oral reading fluency is

significantly lower than the recommended benchmark of over 100 CWPM. Boys tend to outperform girls by a

small but significant margin in grade two. However the difference diminishes in grade five.

Children’s basic computational and problem solving skills are weak across the province. Boys tend to have

significantly stronger foundational mathematical skills than girls. Significant differentials exist between boys

and girls at both grade two and five levels reflecting that girls’ learning outcomes in mathematics are weaker

than boys.

3.2.4 Female enrollment in private schools fell below the target of 40%. The reason for

this offered by the BEF and Bank team that private schools were co-educational and girls

dropped out after Grade 4 due to the prevalence of male teachers in private schools is found

to be incomplete by the ICR team. Data from December 2010 (a few months before the

conclusion of Component 2) shows that boys and girls enrolled in private schools have

9 BEF calculations using BEMIS Annual Census 2013/14, BEF data

15

similar drop-out rates of 10% and 9%, respectively. Female teachers constituted almost 53%

of the teaching force at these schools. This issue clearly warranted further investigation given

that female enrollment in community schools, which were located primarily in rural areas,

was maintained at over 40%.

16

Table 2: Progress on PDO Indicators

PDO Indicator

Jun-07 Jun-08 Jun-09 Jun-10 Dec-10 Sep-11 Dec-12 Jun-13 Jun-14

End of

Project

target

1 - Total enrollment of students in primary schools

(community supported and private) 12,582 27,216 47,656 49,053 50,214 27,687 26,300 26,648 25,973 35,000

Enrollment in Community Schools 7,000 16,783 27,435 27,610 27,833 27,687 26,300 26,648 25,973

% girls' enrolled 49% 52% 44% 44% 43% 43% 43% 42% 40%

Enrollment in Private Schools 5,582 10,433 20,221 21,443 22,381 N/A N/A N/A N/A

% girls' enrolled 48% 36% 35% 34% N/A N/A N/A N/A 40%

2 - Average student attendance rate

Community Schools N/A 87% 86% 84% 81% 78% 85% 88% 85%

>70% Private Schools N/A 89% 87% 87% 86% N/A N/A N/A N/A

3 - Average student grade completion rate



4 - Average teacher attendance rate



5 - Annual Improvement in Learning Achievement

Language N/A N/A 16.17% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A See para 3.2.3

>3%

Mathematics N/A N/A 9.60% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A >5%

17

3.2.5 Achievement of the PDO is found to be Moderately Satisfactory. Based on the

assessment above, the Project contributed significantly to increasing access to primary

education in Balochistan through its support to the establishment of community- and private

sector-supported schools in all 31 districts of the province. Student and teacher attendance

and student grade completion rates were maintained well above target values for the entire

life of the Project. This is commendable in a province characterized by governance, security

and poverty challenges. However, given the shortfalls in targets for female enrollment in

private schools and the lack of data on student learning outcomes, a rating of Moderately

Satisfactory is deemed appropriate for achievement of the PDO.

3.3 Efficiency

3.3.1 A comparison of the cost of education delivery at appraisal based on 2004/05 data

estimated that recurrent expenditure per student in government schools would be less than

half (US$44.78) than expenditure per student in community schools, which would cost

US$98.26 (including monitoring costs) due to project low student-teacher ratios (STR). Costs

would equalize (at US$44.78)) if community schools had an STR of at least 25 (the STR for

government schools was 43). Per student recurrent expenditure was projected to double for

community schools in thinly populated areas where the STR was expected to be only 15

(page 74, PAD).

3.3.2 Based on similar analysis conducted by the ICR team using actual data from FY14,

the community school model is found to be more cost-efficient than delivery by the

government school system. However, in the absence of a comparison of quality at community

schools and government primary schools, overall efficiency cannot be assessed. Government

primary schools in Balochistan are delivering primary education at a recurrent cost of

US$104.91 (PKR 10,729) per student per year (in FY14). In comparison, the recurrent cost of

delivering primary education per student per year under the Project community schools (in

FY14) with monitoring through external organizations is US$69.15 (PKR 7,072), which is

34% less than government costs. The cost, excluding monitoring through external

organizations, is US$37.52 (PKR 3,838)which is 64% less than the cost of delivering primary

education through government schools. Please see Annex 3 for more details, including the

fiscal implications of the community schools on the GoB.

3.4 Justification of Overall Outcome Rating

3.4.1 The overall outcome is rated Moderately Satisfactory to reflect the following: (i)

the PDO and design remained highly relevant throughout project implementation and

continue to remain relevant, as can be seen in subsequent operations; (ii) almost all key PDO

and intermediate results indicators were met and exceeded and the Project made significant

contributions to increasing access to primary education in the province; and (iii) the Project’s

model of delivery (under Component 1) was found to be more cost-efficient than the

alternative, i.e., government provision of primary education, although overall efficiency

cannot be assessed in the absence of a reliable comparison of education quality. Finally, the

achievement of the BESP’s objectives in a security environment which steadily worsened

since the time of project design is commendable.

18

3.5 Overarching Themes, Other Outcomes and Impacts

3.5.1 Poverty Impacts, Gender Aspects and Social Development. BESP had a direct

impact on increasing enrollment in the province, specifically in areas where there was no

school in a one kilometer (Component 2) or two kilometer (Component 1) radius. Project-

supported schools (under Components 1 and 2) have increased overall enrollment in the

province by 5%, and girls’ enrollment by 5.3%10. The provision of these schools led to

increased enrollment from urban, peri-urban, and rural poor households. Community

mobilization and its involvement in the selection of PECs are likely to have had a beneficial

impact on people’s perception of schooling and generated increased social demand for

education. A high teacher attendance rate likely contributed to consistent enrollment of

students in project schools over the life of the Project, despite the fact that the majority of

community schools are still without a building. The construction of buildings for 219

community schools and the provision of free textbooks by GoB in the last two years of the

Project are also likely to have contributed to increases in stabilization of enrollment,

especially for girls. BESP also had an impact on gender equity. The percentage of female

enrollment at the end of the Project was 42%, higher than the government primary school

average of 39%11. The construction of boundary walls in community schools which were

provided with a building is likely to have had a positive impact on female enrollment.

3.5.2 Institutional Change/Strengthening. BESP implementation resulted in significant

institutional changes and made progress towards strengthening the capacity of BEF and its

partners. For instance:

i. During project design, amendments were made to the BEF Act to increase private

member representation on its Board to mitigate risks stemming from political

interference.

ii. An enabling environment was created for the private sector. All private schools

were established in low-income communities where private operators were

unlikely to open schools without BEF support. All private school operators and

teaching staff were trained in private school financial management and

administration, record keeping and managing relationships with parents among

other topics.

iii. BEF’s capacity was enhanced through Component 3 to expand its operations into

low enrolment areas, evidenced by its presence in remote, rural areas in all

districts of Balochistan.

iv. PECs were trained to deliver school management, financial management, record

keeping and, for some, school construction and functioning. This contributed to

improvements in governance at the community level.

v. Under the Project’s capacity development component, 1,100 teachers were trained

(764 community school teachers and 336 private school teachers). Training

included on-site classroom support and multi-grade teaching modules, and

teaching kits were provided to all community schools. These initiatives are

expected to have had positive impacts on teacher professional development and

overall teaching quality.

10 BEF calculations using BEMIS Annual Census 2013/14, BEF data 11 BEMIS 2013-14 Annual Census data

19

vi. BEF and CIP professional staff members were trained in project management,

financial management, social mobilization, human resource management and

M&E areas.

3.5.3 Other Unintended Outcomes and Impacts (positive or negative). There are no

other unintended outcomes or impacts other than what has been reported.

3.6 Summary of Findings of Beneficiary Survey and/or Stakeholder Workshops

3.6.1 Not applicable.

4 Assessment of Risk to Development Outcome

4.1 The risk to development outcome is rated High based on the following assessment:

There are positive signs of sustainability of project outcomes and delivery

mechanisms: (i) the adoption of the community-supported model of education

service delivery by the GoB (see Section 2.5); and (ii) 75% of schools established

under Component 2 were still operational over three years after support to them

ended12. However, several risks, if realized, threaten the sustainability of BESP

outcomes. These include: (i) withdrawal of GoB funding for community schools’

recurrent expenditure (non-salary recurrent funding has not been provided to

community schools since 2009); (ii) dwindling GoB commitment for supporting a

community-based model of education service delivery once ongoing support to

the GoB concludes; (iii) low teacher retention due to non-competitive salary

increases over time; (iv) a decline in school-level and community-level capacities

for effective school management once capacity building activities are no longer

externally funded; and (v) a worsening security situation which can result in

school closure.

The risks to development outcome sustainability which have been identified are

mitigated, in part, by the Bank’s ongoing dialogue with the GoB as part of two

education projects (BPEP and GPE-BEP) in the province, and options to promote

sustainability of project outcomes were discussed in detail prior to project closing

with BEF, SED and the GoB. No decision on the future of the community schools

established under Component 1 has been taken as yet. Of concern, however, is

that the options discussed, including the regularization of community school

teachers and the handover of community schools to the Secondary Education

Department (SED), entail the sacrifice of PEC and thus community authority over

teacher recruitment and termination. This could potentially dilute the success of

the BESP delivery model and instead allow governance issues which afflict the

public sector service delivery system to take root.

5 Assessment of Bank and Borrower Performance

5.1 Bank Performance (a) Bank Performance in Ensuring Quality at Entry

5.1.1 The Bank’s performance in ensuring quality at entry is rated Satisfactory based on the

following assessment:

12 Based on a sample-based sustainability review conducted by BEF in end 2013.

20

i. The PDO was highly relevant and remained so throughout the Project, as

discussed in Section 3. The PDO was well aligned to the Bank’s CPS, and GoB

and Government of Pakistan priorities in the sector.

ii. The preparation task team incorporated the advice and lessons learned from other

similar Bank-financed operations, as well as guidance received throughout project

preparation, including from a QER held in 2005. Technical aspects of the Project

were well-developed and appropriate for sectoral, institutional and policy

constraints in the province and to address capacity limitations among

implementing partners.

iii. M&E arrangements designed for the Project were adequate (with the exception of

one indicator; see paragraph 2.3.1), with appropriately built in and timed third

party monitoring.

iv. Risks (see Sections 2.1 and 0) were aptly identified at entry and the mitigation

measures proposed were adequate.

v. Fiduciary and social and environmental aspects of the Project were well-designed

and aligned to the Project’s design.

5.1.2 BESP was covered under a Quality Assessment of Lending Portfolio conducted in

November 2008. The Assessment found the Quality of Design to be Highly Satisfactory

based on findings similar to those described above. It highlighted two main shortcomings

with the design: (i) there was no economic analysis or cost-benefit analysis conducted to

provide a basis for the Project; and (ii) international TA should have been included under the

Project to work with BEF and local IPs to set good implementation standards. The ICR team

feels that while there are merits to the first point, it is highly unlikely that an international

firm would have been able to provide support to IPs in Balochistan given the challenging

security situation.

(b) Quality of Supervision

5.1.3 The Bank’s performance with regards to quality of supervision is rated Satisfactory

based on the following assessment:

i. The Bank team was comprised of an appropriate skills mix (education, fiduciary,

environmental and social experts, economics/poverty reduction experts,

engineers) for supporting and supervising the Project. Missions were conducted

regularly, and during times of heightened security risks, the team did a

commendable job of using alternatives to supervise and monitor the Project

(videoconferences with BEF, holding missions in Karachi/Islamabad, using third

party monitoring services).

ii. Risks and implementation issues were identified and addressed in a proactive

manner, and candidly highlighted and discussed in all supervision documentation

(e.g., ISRs, AMs). Project ratings are found to be realistic and in line with

implementation progress. The Bank team maintained a strong focus on the

achievement of the PDO throughout the life of the Project.

iii. Attention was paid to the sustainability of Project initiatives from an early stage of

implementation, which contributed significantly to the design of follow-on

operations in the sector in Balochistan.

5.1.4 The QALP assessment conducted in November 2008 found the Quality of

Supervision to be Satisfactory based on similar findings to those described above. It

21

highlighted one main shortcoming with project supervision, i.e., delays and inconsistencies in

support from the environmental safeguards team. However, this issue was eventually

resolved and the level of support provided to the Project once the construction of community

schools commenced has been found to be acceptable.

Justification of Rating for Overall Bank Performance

Rating: Satisfactory

5.1.5 The Bank’s overall performance is rated Satisfactory based on the assessments above.

5.2 Borrower Performance

(a) Government Performance

5.2.1 Overall, the GoB showed a high level of commitment to and ownership of activities

supported under the Project and to the achievement of the PDO. At the design stage, the GoB

facilitated amendments to the BEF Act to allay risks stemming from political interference by

increasing private member representation on the BEF Board. During implementation, the

GoB maintained close oversight of the Project and met regularly with visiting Bank missions.

Also, as mentioned in paragraph 2.2.1(i), the DoE’s recognition of community schools and

the allocation of BEMIS codes to each, the regular transfer of teacher salaries to PECs (with a

few exceptions) and the provision of free textbooks to community school students and

teacher training to community school teachers serve as further demonstrations of the GoB’s

commitment.

5.2.2 Government performance was found lacking in one critical area, i.e., the undertaking

of financial responsibility for operation and maintenance of project community schools from

the third year of each school’s operation, as committed by the GoB through a legal covenant

contained in the BESP Legal Agreements. The GoB only provided recurrent funds sufficient

to cover teacher salaries. Non-salary recurrent funds were raised by the communities

themselves, sometimes at the expense of reductions in already-stagnating teacher salaries (see

paragraph 2.2.3(ii)). Despite repeated commitments by the GoB to address this issue, non-

salary recurrent funds were only provided once in April 2011. In addition, the GoB did not

allocate land to BEF for the construction of a new building to be funded under the Project.

5.2.3 Given the risk posed to the sustainability of community schools established under the

Project due to the non-provision of adequate non-salary recurrent funds, Government

performance is rated as Moderately Unsatisfactory.

(b) Implementing Agency or Agencies Performance

5.2.4 Implementing Agency performance is rated as Satisfactory. Overall, BEF

demonstrated strong commitment and ownership to achieving the BESP development

objectives and coordinated with the provincial government, in particular the Department of

Finance and DoE. In its role as the implementing agency for the Project, BEF: (i)

implemented several models of delivering primary education to 48,629 students, achieving

targets under most PDO indicators; (ii) proactively identified, resolved, and reported

implementation challenges that arose during the Project, especially in a challenging security

environment; (iii) efficiently verified, analyzed and shared data collected by the IPs in a

timely manner to concerned stakeholders, including the Bank task team; and (iv) complied

with the Bank’s fiduciary and safeguards requirements. BEF performed consistently well

22

throughout the life of the Project, albeit with some challenges in the last two years of

implementation: there were delays in important actions such as hiring of BEF staff due to

infrequent meetings of the BEF Board, and delays in funds transfer to PECs for school

construction due to a vacant Managing Director position (see paragraph 2.2.3(iii)).

(c) Justification of Rating for Overall Borrower Performance

5.2.5 Overall Borrower performance is rated Moderately Satisfactory, given the

assessments above. While the performance of BEF in a context such as Balochistan is

commendable, as is the achievement of the PDO, the risk posed to the sustainability of

community schools established under the Project is significant enough to warrant the rating

assigned by the ICR team.

6 Lessons Learned

6.1 Significant lessons have been learned from BESP’s experience, several of which have

been included in the design of PGEB and GPE-BEP:

Government commitment and ownership. Strong government commitment and

ownership are critical for successful implementation and sustainability of service

delivery models which make use of mechanisms outside the public sector. For

instance, the recognition of community schools by the DoE was fundamental to

enabling community school students to transition to higher grades in mainstream

public schools. Similarly, project objectives are at risk because of a lack of

financial commitment by the Government to sustain community schools.

Empowerment of communities can lead to high levels of ownership. Community

involvement in designing and monitoring schools cultivated a strong sense of

ownership. Communities raised non-salary recurrent funds in the absence of GoB

funding, ensured female student enrollment and retention, and helped identify and

attract teachers to their communities.

School-based management through the community also allowed for better

accountability. Empowering communities with teacher hiring and firing ensured

that teacher absenteeism and student drop-out rates were low.

Community school models that are well designed and well-managed are

examples of successful public, private and community partnerships. These

models are cost- and time-effective and address the issues of out of school

children’s access to education.

The community school model tested under the Project proved to be a viable

alternative to government service delivery, especially in conflict-prone areas. The Government should play a role in providing adequate resources for models

using community-supported mechanisms to provide education service delivery in

underserved and conflict-prone areas.

Private sector participation in low-cost education delivery is not as viable in

Balochistan when compared to the rest of the country given a lower propensity of

households to pay.

Community involvement in designing and managing schools is crucial for

increasing children’s access to school, in particular girls, and for decreasing

drop-out and reducing teacher absenteeism rates.

Capacity development support is crucial for ensuring timely and effective

implementation of projects in provinces and regions with limited public sector

23

capacity, weak private sector presence and deteriorating law and order

environments. Continuous engagement and support to community partners under

the community-supported model is important to ensure that no knowledge is

“lost” due to migration, etc.

Community schools need regular monitoring to remain operational. Low cost

technology based monitoring systems need to be explored and introduced in

projects that are implemented in conflict-prone and hard to reach terrains.

The public sector’s institutional capacity to measure learning achievement in

Language and Mathematics in schools is weak. This capacity needs to be built

within public sector institutions that deal with such assessments.

7 Comments on Issues Raised by Borrower/Implementing Agencies/Partners

(a) Borrower/implementing agencies

7.1 BEF reviewed the ICR and concurred with the assessment. No substantive issues were

raised in the Borrower’s ICR. No comments were received from the SED, FD and P&D.

(b) Co-financiers

7.2 There were no co-financiers in the Project.

(c) Other partners and stakeholders

7.3 Not Applicable.

24

Annex 1. Project Costs and Financing

(a) Project Cost by Component (in USD Million equivalent)

Components

Appraisal

Estimate

(USD million)

Actual

Expenditure

(USD million)

Percentage of

Appraisal

Investment Costs

Capital Costs for BEF 0.30 - 0%

Furniture & Equipment-BEF 0.11 0.19 174%

Training and Skill Development 2.26 2.30 102%

Set-up & Capital Costs for Schools 6.61 11.24 170%

Sub-Total 9.28 13.73 148%

Recurrent Costs

Salaries

BEF 0.73 2.21 302%

Schools 3.10 0.61 20%

Sub-Total 3.83 2.82 74%

Operational Costs

BEF 0.81 1.11 137%

CIPs' Delivery 3.08 3.35 109%

Schools' Non-Salary 3.16 0.57 18%

Sub-Total 7.05 5.02 71%

Unallocated/ Contingencies (@9%) 1.83 - 0%

TOTAL PROJECT COSTS 22.00 21.57 98%

(b) Financing

Source of Funds Type of

Cofinancing

Appraisal

Estimate

(USD million)

Actual

Expenditure

(USD million)

Percentage

of

Appraisal

Borrower - 1.55 3.27 211%

International Development Association

(IDA) - 22.00 21.57 98%

25

Annex 2. Outputs by Component

Balochistan Education Support Project

Overall Achievement:

Four out of five PDO indicators exceeded targets set. These PDO indicators were

maintained above target level for the duration of the Project, except female enrollment in

private schools. Project-supported schools (under Components 1 and 2) have increased

overall enrollment in the province by 5%, and girls’ enrollment by 5.3%13.

a) Total enrollment of students stood at 48,354 with 42% girls in community

schools and 37% in private schools (Target: enrollment increased by 35,000,

with at least 40% girls);

b) On average, annual student attendance was maintained above 70% in both

community and private schools. At project closing, student attendance was

85% and 86% in community schools and private schools14, respectively

(Target: average attendance not less than 70%);

c) On average, average grade completion rate was maintained above 70% in both

community and private schools. At project closing, the grade completion rate

in community schools and private schools15 was 74% and 85%, respectively

(Target: average completion rate not less than 70%);

d) On average, annual teacher attendance was maintained above 90% in both

community and private schools. At project closing, teacher attendance was

95% in community schools and 94% in private schools (2010) (Target:

average annual teacher attendance, net of leave entitlement, not less than

90%); and

e) The target for increases in learning achievement in Language and

Mathematics was exceeded (6.17% and 9.60%, respectively) in 2008/09


Component 1: Establishment of New Community Schools in Rural Areas (US$13.9

million)

Status of Targets Comments

At project closing:

Total enrollment in the 633

community schools stood at 25,973

students (Target: Enrolment

maintained or increased above

19,500 students in 650 community

schools established in the first three

years of the project).

42% of the students were girls

(Target: At least 40% the students

are girls.)

All the targets for Component 1 were met.

The target of enrolling an additional 35,000

students (at least 40% girls) in Project supported

schools was met well ahead of time in 2009. The

percentage of female enrollment at the end of the

Project at 42% was higher than the government

school primary school average of 39%16.

Year wise total enrollment in community schools is

presented in the table below:

13 BEF calculations using BEMIS Annual Census 2013/14, BEF data 14 Data for private schools is from December 2010 when support to this component was concluded. 15 Ibid. 16 BEMIS 2013-14 Annual Census data

26

The average annual student

attendance was 85% and the

average grade completion rate

was 74%. (Target: Attendance

and grade completion rate> 70%

throughout.)

The average annual teacher

attendance was 95%(Target:

Teacher Attendance > 90%)

Mean score in Language

increased by 6.17% and in

Mathematics by 9.6% in 2008/09.

(Target: Annual learning

Achievement Improvement > 3%

for language > 5% for

Mathematics)

Year Total Enrollment

Jun-07 7,000

Jun-08 16,783

Jun-09 27,435

Jun-10 27,610

Sep-11 27,687

Dec-12 26,300

Jun-13 26,648

Jun-14 25,973

Average student attendance, teacher attendance,

and student grade completion rates for community

schools were maintained consistently above the

target for the duration of the Project.

The Project established 649 community schools

against a target of 650 by July 2011. At Project

closing, 633 of these were operational. The

remaining 17 community schools were closed due

to internal community conflict mainly tribal in

nature, unavailability of local teachers or finding a

new teacher when the existing one resigns or non-

compliance with fiduciary requirements.

(Reference: AM February 3, 2011 and AM April

12, 2013). Encouragingly, BEF developed

protocols to deal with community school closures.

The number of community schools to be

constructed using project funds was decreased from

the appraisal target of 450 to 225 schools in 2011

due to significant escalation in the cost of

construction (approximately 3 times the appraisal

estimate). Difficulties in provision of technical

support to PECs and CIPs during construction of

schools along with a worsening security situation,

unavailability of raw material and skilled labor in

some communities, and occasional delays in the

release of funds to PECs for construction further

delayed school construction. By the close of the

Project, 219 schools building were constructed.

Teacher turnover remained high because the

salaries paid to the teachers are about 30% less than

the minimum wage rate.

Non-salary expenditure for community schools of

PKR 3,000 per month has not been released by the

GoB from April 2011 onwards.

Community schools were formally recognized by

the DoE to ensure that school leaving certificates

and Grade 5 completion certificates were duly

recognized.

27

Component 2: Support to New Private Schools (US$2.1 million)


At the conclusion of support to this

component (December 2010):

Total enrollment in the 197 new

private schools supported stood at

22,381 students; 34% of these

were girls (Target: 200 new

schools supported with enrolment

maintained at or increased above

15,500 with and at least 40% of

the students are girls.)

Total average annual student

attendance was 86%; average

grade completion rate was 85%;

and average annual teacher

attendance was 94%.

All the targets for Component 2 were met except

the number of schools and proportion of female

enrollment. The number of private schools to be

established under Component 2 was revised

downwards from 300 to 200 schools during the

MTR because of the non-availability of private

sector partners that could have qualified under the

selection criteria of this component.

Two sustainability studies of the PIPs were

conducted by BEF in 2011 and 2013. The findings

of these studies highlighted that 75% of the private

sector schools funded by the Project were

operational.

Component 3: Capacity Building (US$4.2 million)


1,100 teachers were trained. 764

teachers were trained in

community schools and 336

teachers in private schools. 3,245

members of 649 PECs were

trained. 100% of BEF and IP staff

was trained. (Target: 2,100

teachers trained, Members of 650

PEC’s trained, all BEF

professional staff and 80% of

project related IP staff trained.)

BEF’s capacity through

Component 3 was enhanced to

expand its operations into low

enrolment areas and scale up its

operations as evident from its

presence in the remote rural areas

of all districts in Balochistan. The

TPV highlighted that the

advantage of a capable and

experienced Managing Director

coupled with motivated

managers, remained a core reason

for successful operations by BEF.

(Target: BEF has successfully

enhanced its capacity to expand

its operations into low enrolment

areas and is in a position to scale

BESP implementation resulted in significant

institutional changes and made progress towards

strengthening capacity of BEF and its partners.

All private school operators and teaching staff were

trained in private school financial management and

administration, record keeping, managing

relationships with parents, etc.

BEF’s capacity was enhanced through this

component to expand its operations into low

enrolment areas, evident from its presence in

remote, rural areas in all districts of Balochistan.

PECs were trained to deliver school management,

financial management, record keeping, and for

some PECs, school construction, thus contributing

to improvements in governance at the community

level.

The target of 2,100 estimated at appraisal was high

as it anticipated a larger number of teachers per

school. Training included on-site classroom support

and multi-grade teaching modules, and teaching

kits were provided to all community schools. These

initiatives had and will continue to have positive

impacts on teacher professional development and

overall teaching quality in the province.

BEF and CIP professional staff members were

trained in project management, financial

management, social mobilization, human resource

management and M&E areas.

It was observed during the ICR Mission that there

28

up its operations as indicated by

an independent performance

assessment by a third party.)

is limited ability within the GoB to build capacity

of PITE to conduct Training of Trainers for

primary school teachers.

Community school teachers who were hired as

replacements for teachers who resigned were not

trained. Similarly, PEC members who replaced the

members who left PECs were not trained.

29

Annex 3. Economic and Financial Analysis

PAKISTAN: BALOCHISTAN EDUCATION SUPPORT PROJECT

Fiscal Impact of Community Schools established under the Project on GoB’s Current

Budget

The establishment of community schools under BESP (Component 1) was the only

component that had and will have fiscal implications for the current expenditure of the

Government of Balochistan (GoB). The Project funded all current costs associated with new

community schools through the BEF. The Bank funded these costs for the first two years of

operations of each newly established community school. The GoB agreed to finance current

costs of community schools from its budget via BEF from the third year of each school’s

operation. The analysis that follows looks at the fiscal impact on the GoB’s budget for

supporting these schools. 633 schools were completed over the life of the Project and all have

now been shifted to the GoB for the financing of operational costs. These include teachers’

salaries and fixed non-salary expenditures per school per month.

The total cost to the GoB of these schools in FY 14 was PKR 76.88 million (US$0.75

million) under Scenario I. This scenario is based on the actual release of funds by the GoB

for both salary and non-salary expenditures over the life of the Project.

The total cost to the GoB of these schools in FY 14 was PKR 85.58 million (US$0.84

million) under Scenario II. This scenario is based on the actual financial requirements of

these schools irrespective of whether these were released or not by the GoB. This includes

the actual teacher salary and the non-salary expenditures as agreed by the GoB.

Based on the GoB’s total current expenditure, total current expenditure on education, total

current expenditure on primary education (Table 1 below) and the total cost of maintaining

BESP’s Community Schools under the two scenarios discussed above (Tables 2A and 2B

below), it is estimated that the GoB spent PKR 75.6 billion (US$739.3 million) on education

in FY 14. Of this, PKR 9.3 billion (US$90.9 million) has been spent on primary education.

Based on these figures, the GoB has spent 0.26% of its education expenditure and 0.83% of

the primary education expenditure in FY 14 for maintaining these schools under Scenario I.

The GoB would have spent 0.29% of its education expenditure and 0.92% of the primary

education expenditure for maintaining these schools under Scenario II. In both these

scenarios, the cost to the GoB is insignificant when compared with GoB’s total current

expenditure on education and on primary education.

30

Table 1: Balochistan Education Expenditure

(PKR Million)

2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14

Total Balochistan Government Expenditure

(Current PKR Million)

13,540 22,236 27,370 30,375 49,515 58,415 65,244 75,608

Total Balochistan Education Expenditure

(Current PKR Million)

6,611 7,072 8,760 10,955 18,483 22,289 26,601 29,978

Total Balochistan Primary Education

Expenditure (Current, PKR Million)

2,420 2,452 3,307 4,019 5,576 6,001 8,570 9,305

Source: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) Progress Reports, Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan.

31

Table 2A and 2 B: Fiscal Impact on the GoB's Education Budget (Current) for funding the BESP Community Schools

Table 2A (Scenario 1): Based on release of funds by the GoB (PKR Million)

No Component 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14

Years

I. Community Schools

1 Number of new schools set up 191 434 649 643 633 633 633 633

2 Number of students enrolled 7,000 16,783 27,435 28,000 26,892 26,301 26,136 25,973

3 Number of teachers employed 200 434 700 747 755 764 764 764

4 Government of Balochistan *

I Recurrent costs 0.00 0.00 6.36 31.20 48.52 71.88 76.88 76.88

A Salary 0.00 0.00 3.98 18.96 48.52 71.88 76.88 76.88

B Non-Salary ** 0.00 0.00 2.38 12.24 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

5 Cost of CIP for Delivery

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (10% of Recurrent Costs) ***

6 Total Government of Balochistan 0.00 0.00 6.36 31.20 48.52 71.88 76.88 76.88

* Figures are reported on basis of actual releases by the GoB during different financial years.

** PKR 3,000 per month per school was agreed by the GoB as non-salary expenditure. This was released only in FY 2008-09 & 2009-10.

*** No releases have been made by the GoB under this category over the life of the Project.

32

Table 2B (Scenario 2): Based on required operational cost (Not linked to GoB financing) (PKR Million)

No Component 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14

Years

I. Community Schools

1 Number of new schools set up 191 434 649 643 633 633 633 633

2 Number of students enrolled 7,000 16,783 27,435 28,000 26,892 26,301 26,136 25,973

3 Number of teachers employed 200 434 700 747 755 764 764 764

4 Government of Balochistan

I Recurrent costs 0.00 0.00 21.28 76.93 77.15 77.80 77.80 77.80

A Salary 0.00 0.00 14.18 53.78 54.36 55.01 55.01 55.01

B Non-Salary 0.00 0.00 7.09 23.15 22.79 22.79 22.79 22.79

5 Cost of CIP for Delivery

0.00 0.00 2.13 7.69 7.71 7.78 7.78 7.78 (10% of Recurrent Costs)

6 Total Government of Balochistan 0.00 0.00 23.40 84.63 84.86 85.58 85.58 85.58

33

Cost of Education Delivery: A Comparison

Government primary schools in Balochistan have an average student teacher ratio of 43 and are

delivering primary education at a cost of PKR 10,729 (US$104.91) per student per year.

Government schools do not provide free textbooks and instructional materials and the non-salary

repairs and maintenance budget for primary schools is almost negligible.

In comparison, the cost of delivering primary education per student per year under the project

community schools is substantially less under similar circumstances. This has been calculated

under two scenarios. Scenario I calculates this cost based on actual expenditure borne previously

by the Bank and now by the GoB. This includes salary, non-salary expenditure and monitoring

costs of these schools by TIPs (NGOs). Scenario II calculates this cost based on actual

expenditure borne that includes salary and non-salary expenditure and excludes the monitoring

cost of these schools by TIPs (NGOs). The reason for excluding TIPs (NGOs) is that these

NGOs now do not have a contract for monitoring community schools due to the non-availability

of funds with the GoB/BEF. Community schools established by the Project have an average

student teacher ratio of 34.

Based on this analysis, the cost of delivering primary education per student per year under the

project community schools in both scenarios is given in Table 3 below. Under Scenario I, the

cost of delivering primary education per student per year through the Project’s community

schools is PKR 7,072 (US$ 69.15), compared to the government school cost of PKR 10,729

(US$ 104.91). This is 34% less than the cost of delivering primary education under government

schools. Similarly, under Scenario II, the cost of delivering primary education per student per

year through the Project’s community schools is PKR 3,838 (US$ 37.52) as compared to the

government school cost of PKR 10,729 (US$104.91). This is 64% less than the cost of delivering

primary education under government schools. The cost of delivering primary education with

monitoring through TIPs (NGOs) or without monitoring through TIPs (NGOs), remains

substantially less than the cost of delivering primary education through government primary

schools.

If the student teacher ratio in community schools goes down to 22 from 34, the cost of delivery

of primary education will match that of government schools, where the current student teacher

ratio is currently at 43:1.

34

Table 3: Comparison of Government and Community Based Cost of Education Delivery (PKR)

Type of Primary School

Student

Teacher

Ratio

Children in

Primary

Schools

Total Current

Expenditure

Current

Expenditure

per Student

(2013-14) (2013-14)

Government Schools (Salaries, with

negligible non-salary recurrent budgets

and no fees)

43

867,282

9,305,000,000

(US$90,984,648)

10,729

(US$104.91)

Scenario I: Project Community Schools

(Salary, non-salary expenditure, and

monitoring cost)

34

25,973

183,677,188

(US$1,796,003) 7,072

(US$69.15)

Scenario II: Project Community Schools

(Salary and non-salary expenditure only)

34

25,973

99,671,400

(US$974,590) 3,838

(US$37.52)

Project Community Schools with

Student Teacher Ratio that matches the

per student recurrent expenditure of

the Government schools (expenditures

on Salaries and non salary (current) and

monitoring for community schools)

22

17,120

183,677,188

(US$1,796,002)

10,729

(US$104.91)

Source(s):

(i) For Government Schools Expenditure: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) Progress Reports, Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan.

(ii) For Government Primary Schools Enrollment and Student Teacher Ratio, Balochistan Education Management Information System.

(Iii) For Community Schools: Balochistan Education Foundation

35

Annex 4. Bank Lending and Implementation Support/Supervision Processes

(a) Task Team members

Names Title Unit

Lending

Naveed Hassan Naqvi Program Leader ECCU8

Ameer Hussein Naqvi Senior Education Specialist GEDDR

Michelle Riboud Consultant GEDDR

Tahseen Sayed Country Manager ECCAL

Amna W. Mir Senior Program Assistant SACPK

Anwar Ali Bhatti Financial Analyst SACPK

Rosita Maria Van Meel Senior Education Specialist ECSH2 - HIS

Huma Ali Waheed Senior Operations Officer GEDDR

Supervision/ICR

Javaid Afzal Senior Environmental Specialist GENDR

Syeda Madiha Mansoor Ahmed E T Consultant SASHD - HIS

Asif Ali Senior Procurement Specialist GGODR

Irajen Appasamy Senior Operations Officer GEDDR

Amer Zafar Durrani Senior Partnership Specialist ECCKA

Qazi Azmat Isa Senior Rural Development Specialist GFADR

Nasreen Shah Kazmi Program Assistant SACPK

Mohammad Khalid Khan Program Assistant GSPDR

Riaz Mahmood Financial Management Analyst GGODR

Amna W. Mir Senior Program Assistant SACPK

Amir Munir Senior IT Officer, Program Man ITSCR

Sheila Braka Musiime Chief Counsel LEGES

Ameer Hussein Naqvi Senior Education Specialist SASHD - HIS

Michelle Riboud Consultant GEDDR

Hasan Saqib Senior Financial Management Specialist SARFM - HIS

Tahseen Sayed Country Manager ECCAL

Corinne Siaens Economist SASED - HIS

Rosita Maria Van Meel Senior Education Specialist ECSH2 - HIS

Huma Ali Waheed Senior Operations Officer GEDDR

Ayesha Khan Operations Analyst GEDDR

Naveed H. Naqvi Program Leader ECCU8

Rehan Hyder Senior Procurement Specialist GGODR

Aazar Wali Bhandara Consultant GEDDR

(b) Staff Time and Cost

Stage of Project Cycle

Staff Time and Cost (Bank Budget Only)

No. of staff weeks USD Thousands (including travel

and consultant costs)

Lending

FY05 25.34 67.11

FY06 54.93 113.45

FY07 0 0.00

36

Stage of Project Cycle

Staff Time and Cost (Bank Budget Only)

No. of staff weeks USD Thousands (including travel

and consultant costs)

FY08 0 0.00

Total: 85.80 180.56

Supervision/ICR

FY05 0 0.00

FY06 0 0.00

FY07 35.31 85.84

FY08 36.33 88.60

FY09 22.50 57.17

FY10 18.56 52.08

FY11 18.57 44.83

FY12 16.56 44.32

FY13 11.82 44.86

FY14 12.67 80.29

FY15 10.63 23.36

Total: 182.95 521.38

37

Annex 5. Summary of Borrower's ICR and/or Comments on Draft ICR

The Note of Thanks and Annexes (Fiscal Analysis and List of Supporting Document) have not

been included in this Summary and are available in the complete Borrower’s ICR.

Executive Summary

Balochistan Education Support Project (BESP) started in August 2006 with the support of World

Bank financed IDA credit. Government of Balochistan was the borrower and Balochistan

Education Foundation was the client of the project in coordination with Government of

Balochistan. The project rationale was the improvement and development in the public private

and community partnership in the province. The Project implementation mechanism was

designed after assessing the lessons learned from the previous project in the name of BPEP

(Balochistan Primary Education Project) from 1993 to 1999. Revised mechanism was a unique

design which hired local NGOs as CIPs (Community Implementation Partners) private

individuals and organizations as PIPs (Private schools Implementing Partners) and public and

private institutes as TIPs (Technical Implementing Partners). The organizations collaborated the

partnership with BEF for achievement of three set Project Development Objective intermediate

outcomes as establishment of 650 Community Schools, 200 private Schools and building

capacity of Teachers, Parents Education Committee members, Community Implementing

Partners (NGOs), Private schools Implementing Partners (PIPs) and BEF staff.

The Project Development Objective (PDO) based on the outcome indicators of enrolling 35000

children with 40% girls, retaining the students’ attendance to 70%, teachers attendance to 90%,

students grade completion rate to 70%, and annual increase of 3% and 5% in learning

achievement in language and mathematics respectively. All the PDO level outcome indicators

were achieved in access by the end of the project except the backlog of 3% in overall target of

40% girls enrollment in first outcome indicator on enrolling the children in community schools.

All the Project Development Objective indicators were achieved through three set intermediate

outcomes.

The project contributes 5% of total Balochistan primary enrollment.

The project design introduced a new cost and time effective model to Balochistan Education

Department in terms of immediate access to all the deprived population/locations. Planning and

Development Department, Government of Balochistan strongly recommends that the design

should be adopted for an instant enrollment of an alarming number of out of schools children in

Balochistan.

Project Background and Context

With a population of over 150 million people, Pakistan is the second most populous country in

the South Asian region. Economic growth has increased from an average of 3.3 % during 1997-

2002 to an average of nearly 6 % during 2002-05. The FY06 data indicates that economic growth

would continue to be strong at about 6.3%. The earthquake in the north of Pakistan had no direct

impact on Balochistan, and was expected to have only a marginal impact on economic growth.

38

However, the fiscal impact of the earthquake was expected to be substantial due to large

additional expenditure on relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Balochistan’s economy differs from that of the rest of Pakistan. It is the poorest of the country’s

four provinces, with standards of living and social indicators lagging substantially the rest of

Pakistan. With 43% of the total land mass of the entire country it has very low population density

with5% of the country’s population. This makes service delivery and infrastructure development

extremely challenging. A large proportion of the population lives in small and dispersed rural

settlements with only 24 % of the population living in urban areas.

Moreover, Balochistan’s financial resources for addressing its development agenda are limited

and continued prevalence of governance issues deeply impair development prospects.

Education attainment in Balochistan reflected the province’s overall low development indicators.

Literacy levels at 37% lagged way behind the other provinces, and the national average of 53%.

Some of its districts had one of the lowest rates in the world, with one district recording literacy

of 4%, and with only 2% enrollment at primary level.

The issues of the sector in Balochistan can be summarized as follows:

Low and declining enrollment in primary education: National survey statistics 17 for

Balochistan show that Primary Net Enrolment Rate (NER) has increased only marginally from

36% in 1998-99 to 37% in 2004-05. Over this period net enrolment rates have shown an

alarming lack of progress for both boys (44% in 1998-99 and 44% in 2004-05) and girls (28% in

1998-99 and 29% in 2004-05).

Large gender disparities: Primary gross enrolment rate (GER) for girls, at 49% compares very

unfavorably with that of 83% for boys. Female enrolment is 35% of total primary enrolment.

Female participation is constrained by insufficient female teachers for girls’ schools, lack of

qualified local women who could potentially become teachers, large distances affecting female

mobility, and cultural and social issues of a tribal society in rural areas which places less value

on girls’ education. Then there were slightly over 40,000 teachers in the government system

from primary to higher levels out of which only about 12,000 were female. It had a total of 9734

government primary schools, out of which 6862 were male. The number of schools at the

middle level were only 772 (228 for girls), and there were 550 (124 for girls) high schools in the

province. Government schools’ enrolment was 707,000 at the primary level, only 100,000 at the

middle level, and 40,000 at the high school level.

Poor quality of education: Poor teacher training, lack of qualified teachers, especially women,

high teacher absenteeism, poor monitoring and supervision, lack of textbooks, overcrowded

classrooms in some schools, ineffective use of facilities in others, and outdated pedagogical

17 Pakistan Integrated Household Surveys (PIHS) in 1998-99 and 2001-02, and its successor the

Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) in 2004-05, the PSLM

results are preliminary as raw data is not yet available for a detailed analysis.

39

practices have resulted in very poor quality primary education. Poor quality of teaching has

contributed to low levels of student learning

Lack of continued community focus in successful community support programs: The spirit of

community participation is strong in Balochistan, and builds upon the successful experience of

the Community Support Program (CSP) under the IDA supported Balochistan Primary

Education Project (BPEP) between 1993-99, which established about 1,300 new girls schools,

with 60,000 girls’ enrolment, in partnership with communities. After the end of BPEP, the CSP

Schools were converted into government schools under government management. The teachers

no longer felt accountable to the communities and as a result the community involvement

declined over time. The government system was unable to sustain community participation due

to its own institutional constraints.

Limited participation of the private sector: Private schools account for about 6 % of enrollment

in primary education18 in Balochistan, compared with 28 % for the country as a whole. The

primary GER in government schools in Balochistan at 63 % compares well with the Pakistan

average of 62 %. The overall GER of 67 % for Balochistan was lower than that for Pakistan at

86%. While the rest of Pakistan had experienced an expansion in low cost private schools, in

Balochistan, private schools had only increased from around 250 schools in 1993-94 to around

1,300 in 2003-04, 19 mainly operating in the urban and semi-urban areas. Private sector

expansion into rural areas was limited by financial constraints on both the potential private

school operators and the target population.

Weak institutional capacity of the public sector: In 2004-05 there were 707,00020 primary

school students enrolled in government schools, taught by about 17,000 teachers. The Provincial

Authorities at various levels (provincial, district, local) lacked the capacity to plan, regulate and

monitor the delivery of quality primary education, especially in the rural areas. Weak capacity

has been further affected by a poor governance environment which in turn affected quality of

public service delivery.

Lack of financial resources: Balochistan has limited revenue generation capacity with low

growth of the private sector. This was exacerbated by the province’s geographic spread, with low

population density, which makes it difficult for government to offer full coverage in a cost-

effective manner.

18PSLM 2004-05.

19Estimated by the private school operators association in Balochistan. In the year 2000 the Federal Bureau of

Statistics carried out a sample survey of private educational institutions in Balochistan and estimated the total

number of private schools at 452, of which 261 were primary schools. This data will be updated with an ongoing

census of all educational institutions in Pakistan.

20 GER rates from PSLM (CWIQ) 2004-05 together with population estimates from the National Institute of

Population Studies (NIPS) indicates that there are 707,000 primary school students in government schools in 2004-

05. Administrative data from BEMIS also reports 707,000 primary school students and 16,872 primary grade

teachers in government schools in 2004-05.

40

Achievement of Project Development Objective and Intermediate Results

Project Development Objective and Key Indicators:

The development objective of the project was to promote public-private and community

partnerships to improve access to quality primary education, in particular for girls.

Key Indicators:

For the achievement of the PDO, following Key Indicators were set as project Key Performance

Indicators (KPI’s):

(a) Total enrollment of students (Target: enrollment increased by 35,000, with at least

40% girls);

(b) Average annual student attendance (Target: average attendance not less than 70%);

(c) Average grade completion rate (Target: average completion rate not less than 70%);

(d) Average annual teacher attendance (Target: average annual teacher attendance not

less than 90%); and

(e) Average annual increase in learning achievement in Language and Mathematics


Below table shows the achievement against the set targets to contribute into PDO:

Indicators Target Achievement

Degree

Remarks

Total enrollment of

students

1- enrollment

increased by

35,000, with at

least 40% girls

Enrollment increased by

48629 with 37% girls

26248 of the

enrollment was from

Community Schools

and 22381 enrollment

was from Private

Schools.

The ratio of the girls

enrollment being 37%

determines standing

behind target of 40%

girls enrollment which

chalks out the variance

between target and

achievement as of 3%.

Average annual

student attendance

2- average

attendance not

less than 70%

86% This indicator has been

achieved with access

achievement of 16%

Average grade

completion rate

3- average

completion rate

not less than

70%



achievement of 11%

41

Indicators Target Achievement

Degree

Remarks

Average annual

teacher attendance

4- average annual

teacher

attendance not

less than 90%



achievement of 04%

Average annual

increase in learning

achievement in

Language and

Mathematics

5- an annual

increase of 3%

and 5%

respectively

6% and 9.6% This indicator has been


achievement of 03%

and 4.6%

Indicators: (1) Total enrollment of students (Target: enrollment increased by 35,000, with at least

40% girls); (2) Average annual student attendance (Target: average attendance not less than

70%); (3) Average grade completion rate (Target: average completion rate not less than 70%);

(4) Average annual teacher attendance (Target: average annual teacher attendance, net of leave

entitlement, not less than 90%); and (5) Average annual increase in learning achievement in

Language and Mathematics (Target: an annual increase of 3% and 5% respectively).

All five PDO level targets were met except the enrollment of girls. The enrollment of girlswas

37% of the total enrollment (42% in community schools and 30% in private schools) against a

target of 40%.

By the end of the project, the total enrollment in 633 community schools and 197 private sector

schools was 48,629 with 17,794 (37%) girls covering all districts of Balochistan.The total

enrollment of students in community schools was 26,248, average annual student attendance was

84%, average grade completion rate was 81%; and average annual teacher attendance was 96%.

The total enrollment of students in private schools was 22,381, average annual student

attendance was 86%, average grade completion rate was 85%; and average annual teacher

attendance was 94%. The average annual increase in learning achievement in Language and

Mathematics for community schools was 6.17% and 9.60% respectively in both the schools. No

assessment was carried out for measuring this for private schools.

The student attendance, completion rate, and teacher attendance increased by 3%, 3%, and 1%

respectively; the reason was continuous monitoring and follow up from BEF and its IPs.

The 42 months extension period was focused on construction of building for community schools.

The enrollment during these 42 months only dropped by 1,585 in community schools because of

the low retention rate of school teachers. The target for community school construction was

reduced from 450 at appraisal to 225in 2011. The target was revised because the funding for this

activity was only sufficient to construct 225 schools due to increase in the cost of construction

material and labor that was not anticipated at the time of appraisal. Out of these 225 community

schools, only 219 were constructed and the remaining 6 were dropped because of the community

conflict. The construction of community schools started in 2012 instead of 2009 because the

construction modality could not be finalized in time. Eventually it was agreed between the Bank

42

and the GoB that the community schools will be constructed through PECs with facilitation of

Individual Engineering Consultants (IEC) hired by BEF.

During the extension period, only community schools were monitored and the private sector

schools component was dropped in December 2010 because it was not in the original design of

the project. The target for private schools was revised from 300 to 200 schools because of the

non-availability of PIPs that could have qualified under the selection criteria of this component.

Parent Education Committees (PECs) of all 633 community schools were registered as legal

entities. Their accounts were opened and made operational either in a bank or a post office. To

ensure sustainability of the Project schools, the Government of Balochistan allocated and

subsequently transferred funds for salaries and non-salary expenditure.

Under the capacity building component of BESP, 1,100 teachers were trained (764 community

school teachers and 336 private school teachers), against a target of 2,100. The target of 2,100

estimated at appraisal was high because it anticipated a larger number of teachers per school. All

BEF and CIP professional staff was trained in project management, financial management, social

mobilization, human resource management, M&E along with other training areas as per the need

of the professional staff. All private school operators and teaching staff was trained in private

school financial management and administration, record keeping, managing relationships

with parents, etc. against a target of 80%. 3,245 Members of all 633 PEC’s were trained. PEC

members were trained only once during the duration the entire project. These members left PECs

when they migrated to other villages or became ineligible for PEC membership once their

children graduated. The new members that replaced the old members were not trained.

BEF’s capacity through component 3 was enhanced to expand its operations into low enrollment

areas and scaled up its operations as evident from its presence in the remote rural areas of all

districts in Balochistan. The TPV highlighted that the advantage of a capable and experienced

Managing Director coupled with motivated and hardworking managers, remained a core reason

for successful operations by BEF.

Factors Affecting Implementation

Widespread Geographical Area:

The project dared a good successful attempt to access to the communities where the GoB ED

could not access. The purpose contributed a model support to Education Department but the

widespread and scattered communities hurdled service delivery and communication means.

However, the commitment of BEF and the IPs and communities made it possible to establish the

schools.

Lack of interest of community participation:

The low literacy rate in rural Balochistan ultimately results lack of the interest of rural

communities in educational activities and development. The regular social mobilization being the

part of the project design made the participation of the communities sure throughout the project

period.

43

Risk to Development Outcome

The risks identified during project preparation were appropriate and addressed through

implementing mitigation measures. These included strengthening BEF’s Board membership to

reflect a majority of the members from the private sector, establishment of a central complaints

mechanism, intensive training to BEF, IPs, Teachers, and PECs, regular programme and

financial monitoring, and improvement in procurement procedures. Risks that still persist are: (i)

weak economic management and volatile security situation can limit GoB’s investments in

education; (ii) GoB’s commitment diminishes with regard to supporting community based

primary education; and (iii) and Government funding for the recurrent expenditures of

community schools eventually dwindles or is withdrawn due to a tight fiscal situation

Sustainability of the Project

The project has been managed by BEF from its inception to closeout. BEF was able to manage

the establishment, operationalization, and construction of primary schools. It built the capacity of

teachers, IPs, and PECs; successfully produced and distributed child centered learning materials;

established a fully operational education monitoring system; and created partnerships with

private sector and NGOs partners to help deliver quality primary education. The project has built

sufficient institutional capacity in BEF and its local IPs to manage the project interventions after

the close out of the project.

The community schools established under the project will continue to function if the financial

support that includes teacher fees and community schools’ operation and maintenance charges

continue to be funded by the GoB’s annual budget for primary education and the community

schools are regularly monitored by BEF. Private schools will function on a sustainable basis

through charging fees that cover their operational cost.

The low cost private schools established under the project are not monitored since July 2011.

This component was closed in December 2010 because of the non-availability of PIPs that

qualified under the selection criteria for PIPs. The Third Party Validation conducted in 2009

highlighted that about 29% of these schools were operating at a break even and the remaining

71% were saving between PKR 15,000 to PKR 50,000.

Banks involvement in the province will continue in the education sector. The Bank plans to

transition its existing US$14.46 million ‘Promoting Girls Education in Balochistan’ (PGEB)

project when it ends in June 2015 to a new US$34 million ‘Global Partnership for Education’

project for Balochistan in 2015.

Other Outcomes and Impacts of the project

Poverty Impacts, Gender Aspects, and Social Development

BESP had an impact on gender equity. The Gender Parity Index (primary school) in project

schools was 0.60 for rural areas that is quite close to the provincial ratio of 0.69. Since the

project was focused on vulnerable groups, it promoted inclusion of disadvantaged populations in

the education system.

44

Institutional Change/Strengthening

BESP implementation resulted in significant institutional changes and made progress towards

strengthening capacity of BEF in education development, financial management, grant

management, monitoring and evaluation, fostering relationships with the communities and the

private sector education institutions, and inclusion of disadvantaged populations.

Lessons Learned

It is very important that the public sector commitment and ownership for the

implementation and successful completion of any project are efficient.

The PECs when migrate or their children graduate, they have to quit the membership

of the PEC. The PECs should be imparted with regular training every year or every

second or third year.

In retaining children and teachers attendance, and increasing children enrollment and

decreasing dropouts, community active participation is important.

Public sector institutions capacity to measure average annual increase in learning

achievement in Language and Mathematics in Schools is weak. This needs to be built

within institution, which deal with the education sector.

To retain teachers at Community Schools, their salaries need to be at the minimum

equivalent to the minimum wage rate.

Capacity development support is crucial for ensuring timely and effective

implementation of projects in provinces and regions that have limited public sector

capacity, weak private sector presence and have deteriorating law and order situation.

Community School construction should be undertaken through professional

engineering contractors under the supervision of PECs.

Early Childhood Education should be made a part of primary school teacher training.

Most importantly, the community school establishment design is far time and cost

effective. The province is suffering from and alarming access issue. Education

Department of Balochistan should adopt this design to ensure access throughout

Balochistan.

45

Borrower’s comments on Draft ICR (received on December 31, 2014 from Prof. Dr. Abdul

Tawab Khan, Managing Director, Balochistan Education Foundation)

Dear Aysha,

Thank you very much for sharing the draft ICR. We have gone through it and it seems aligned

with the discussion and consultations during ICR preparation process.

However, through this communication I would avail opportunity to bring on record, the

continual support and professionalism of The World Bank team during implementation of BESP

project. No doubt, without which achievements and successful implementation would have not

been possible. Certainly, it is an appreciable contribution of The World Bank in education sector

of most underprivileged rural communities of deprived province.

I would also like to record that Balochistan Education Foundation (BEF) as an implementing

agency of the BESP has demonstrated visible progress and learning enthusiasm, despites of

several challenges of distances, peace & security, cultural barriers and lack of infrastructure.

BEF has successfully completed the challenge of establishing 633 Community Driven Schools in

far flung rural areas of Province, enrolling 27,000 children with 44% girls’ students. The

performance has been recognized by line departments and the donor at various forums. BEF

remained successful in maintaining and ensuring transparency and good financial management

practices during the implementation of BESP. During the period of project, BEF is turned into

performing organization and able to establish professional, honest and dedicated team.

Now, this is the time to make efforts in sustaining Community School Model and enhance it to

scale, so that development indicators on access to quality education in the province could be

achieved. In this regard, BEF expects and requests all possible support of The World Bank in

future as we enjoyed in past.

Best Regards,

Prof. Dr. Abdul Tawab Khan,

Managing Director,

Balochistan Education Foundation

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Annex 6. List of Supporting Documents

1. Project Appraisal Document for Balochistan Education Support Project. Report No.

34999-PK, The World Bank, May 24, 2006

2. BESP Aide-Memoires and Management Letters 2005-2014

3. BESP Implementation Status Reports Seq. 01-17

4. Restructuring Paper for Balochistan Education Support Project. Report No. 57315-v1,

The World Bank, July 15, 2010

5. Restructuring Paper for Balochistan Education Support Project. Report No. 71544-v1,

The World Bank, July 20, 2012

6. Restructuring Paper for Balochistan Education Support Project. Report No. RES14628,

The World Bank, May 27, 2014

7. Project Implementation Completion Report for Balochistan Primary Education Program.

Report No. 20464, The World Bank, May 30, 2000.

8. BESP Quality Enhancement Review Panel Report. Email to BESP TTL. November 16,

2005.

9. Pakistan: Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), FY 2006-09, Report No. 35718-PAK,

dated April 4, 2006.

10. Pakistan: Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), FY 2010-13, Report No. 53553-PK, dated

July 20, 2010.

11. Pakistan: Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), FY 2015-19, Report No. 84645-PK, dated

April 4, 2014.

12. Pakistan’s Balochistan Economic Report. 2008. World Bank, Asian Development Bank

and Government of Balochistan. Report No. 40335-PK. Volumes I and II.

13. Third Party Validation of Balochistan Education Support Program. Sustainable

Development Consultants (Pvt.) Ltd. 2009.

14. Provincial Budget (2014‐15), Government of Balochistan.

15. Learning for All, Investing in People’s Knowledge and Skills to Promote Development.

Education Strategy 2020, World Bank Group.

16. BEMIS Annual Census 2009-10.

17. BEF Quarterly Progress Monitoring Report June 2011.

18. Federal Budget 2014-2015, Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan.

19. Student Learning Assessment: Oral Reading Fluency and Basic Numeracy in Community

Based Schools in Balochistan, Pakistan. Dr. Jahanzaib Khan. June 2014.

20. Educational Competencies of Post - Kachi Class Children. Balochistan Education

Foundation. January 2009.

21. Baseline Basic Competencies of Children Entering into Kachi Class. Balochistan

Education Foundation. June 2008.

22. Narrative report of Study to assess the sustainability of BESP Private schools Phase 1

(2007-2009). Balochistan Education Foundation.

23. Brief Narrative Report of the Sustainability Study of BESP Private Schools. Balochistan

Education Foundation.

24. BESP Community Schools Dropout Report 2012. Balochistan Education Foundation.

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MAP