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District Education Plan is an effective and workable tool for the equitable and timely extension of resources to pursue the Education for All with in the district in collaboration with different stakeholders.
The Project Goal is “ to develop quality education system in District Dir” with an objective to ensure that the state education system is made viable at the district level through public private partnership and community participation and in coordination with interventions specifically directed to improve enrolment, retention and completion of primary education. The project, as envisaged, would be benefiting about 70,000 out of school children by bringing them in to schools and will address the issues of enrolled students approximately 90,000.
Project at a glance
- The project activities were initially started in three union councils initially named Chukiatan, Dir and Qulandi. The union councils were identified jointly by District Government and Education Department.
- Extensive meetings have been carried out with all major stakeholders in this religiously charged district to clarify the main objectives of the project.
- The project was expanded to five more union councils i.e. Dislawar, Kotkai, Wari, Bibiawar and Ganori. SRSP, in these union councils, has selected Primary schools (boys & girls).
- Social Mobilization is the centerpiece of the project strategy.
- The communities and the Parents Teachers Associations (men and women) and forum (EFA) have been mobilized.
- SRSP through the communities/PTAs have carried out situation analysis in selected schools.
- School development plans covering the qualitative and quantitative aspects have also been developed with active participation of community members/PTAs and teachers. Up-gradation/rehabilitation of basic facilities along with provision of WES facilities have been identified as one of the major needs as a result of these surveys.
- Through the EFA forums, SRSP has been able to develop an effective channel with in and outside education department for monitoring & follow up support.
- A number of training events have been arranged for District Education Department personnel, primary school teachers and master trainers, which have a visible impact on learning.
- The Adult literacy Centers have been established in the districts with an objective of imparting basic literacy and skills. SRSP on pilot basis has established 10 ALCs. The teachers hired for these centers have been identified with UC Nazims and trained. So far the skills enhancement training has not been initiated, nonetheless, the response has been good as the local shopkeepers, masons etc. are actively participating in these centers.
- Steps have been taken to upgrade the Local Teachers Resource Centers (LTRCs). These LTRCs provide in service trainings to local teachers through master trainers.
- Under the project a number of steps have also been taken to review and improve the existing Education Management System (EMIS) for timely information and decision making and proper resource allocation.
. With limited resources, the DEP project under SRSP has been able to
Political commitment improves projects’ chances for success and sustainability. At present, the project operates in a conducive environment and the needed support of District Nazim, District Coordination Officer and District Education Department is ensured. The commitment can simply be assessed by the actions of the District government. From identification of the union councils to MOUs/agreements to promptly notifying the PTAs and EFA forums and the capacity building events etc are all indicative of the magnitude with which the district government has been involved at various levels.
Effective development requires partnership among different levels of government, the private sector, donor group(s) and civil society. The more this rich array of partners can work together, the better the results will be and the faster education will improve. SRSP through DEP Project has been able to effectively engage all the partners for common objective. The partners involved have different comparative advantages and strengths such as SRSP having an extended outreach, good local knowledge and capacity to mobilize resources or education department with a mandate and expertise etc. The roles and responsibilities have been clearly defined for each partner, which exhibits pooling together different capabilities and creatively sharing comparative advantages of different partners.
Refining the methodologies with an enhanced role of all the stakeholders, following will be the implementation mechanism, once finalized, for District Education Plan:
Step 1- Memorandum of understanding/agreements between District Government & SRSP for DEP preparation.
Step 2- EDO (S & L) to be assisted by SRSP in developing DEP in consultation with District Government.
Step 3- SRSP to mobilize PTAs/Communities (men and women) and raise 20% for minor infrastructure.
Step 4- PTAs to be trained by SRSP to develop School Development & Village Education Plans.
Step 5- PTA/Communities to be trained by SRSP to develop proposals and documentation on minimum standards.
Step 6- Schools for improvement to be identified by PTAs/SRSP and District Education Department.
Step 7- District Government approves proposals and deposits its share in to PTAs account.
Step 8- Schools for major infrastructure to be identified by District Education Department, SRSP and PTAs.
Step 9- Major infrastructure to be accomplished as per standard Government procedures and PTA to monitor the work.
Step 10- DCO to provide Policy guidelines and to review DEP
Step 11- Resource allocation to District Education Department by District Government
Step 12- Village Education Development Plan by Union Nazim/PTAs/communities
Step 13- Review of DEP with Major stakeholders
Step 14- Preparation of DEP draft in consultation with District Nazim
Step 15- District Government/DCO/District Education Department to review DEP
Step 16- DEP approval and macro monitoring by District Nazim/DCO and District Education Department.
SRSP experience in education sector reflects that low enrollment and low retention rates are reflection of poor supply in terms of low quality of education offered. Parents do not consider it worthwhile to send their children to schools if they are not learning anything. Children’s time is considered better used in chores at home or assisting parents in income earning activities. Since the opportunity cost of education is high, the quality of education has to be high, in order to convince the parents of the value of sending children to schools.
Under the partnership, the teachers’ are viewed as crucial determinants for improving the quality of education programs and services and what is being learnt in their classes. The focus has been on teachers’ capacity building, considering teachers’ interests in implementing reforms, developing new programs and their involvement in school development plans. These steps have contributed to an enhanced commitment for improvement thereby improving the quality of services and impacts on learning.
The project has been able to foster regular interaction and ensure inclusion and representation of all the key stakeholders-district government, education department and community members. This broad based participation has improved the overall performance of education endeavors in the district, besides emphasizing upon accountability, integrity and transparency of stakeholders action. Reforms have also been observed in various parts of education sectors; for instance professionalizing teachers training using innovative approaches, making secondary and tertiary institutions (EFA forums/PTAs) more responsive, autonomous, more accountable and decentralizing school management to local level etc.
The top down, technocratic approach, as evident from education profile of district Upper Dir has not been able to produce the desired results especially in primary education. The engagement and involvement of civil society, using the participatory approach, has and will impact on improving the provision of adequate financial resources through district education department, transparency in utilization of resources allocated, teachers’ absenteeism, transfers and appointments etc.
The project has significant role in contributing ideas about development transformations and finance to support. Nevertheless, extending support in help improving the service delivery through by strengthening institutions and policies has to be viewed as one of the prominent contribution. This has been done at three levels:
1. Strengthening District Education Department-through a) conducting trainings for education department personnel, b) strengthening EMIS cell, c) teachers/master trainers, and d) help improving planning & management/systems
2. Revitalizing and strengthening the EFA forums- at district, tehsils and union level to provide policy guidelines in light of federal/provincial EFA wings for promotion of education. The networks are also means of developing communication & coordination channels for timely information, monitoring and follow up support. The networks at three levels, through efforts of SRSP, have been constituted by the District Government and are meeting regularly to review the progress at respective levels.
3. Strengthening/Activation of PTAs and communities – through the social mobilization component of the project, PTAs (men and women) have been constituted/notified by the district education department and reactivated by SRSP. Their roles and responsibilities have been clarified through extensive capacity building events. These PTAs have been involved in School Development Plans covering development & infrastructure aspects. The members of PTAs have assumed an active role in improving enrolment and retention rates, bringing in Out of School children, teachers absenteeism and infrastructure needs of the schools.
Realizing the fact that the acceptance of programme and its quality depends largely on appropriateness and relevance of messages delivered for getting support of the partners/stakeholders and influence public policy, emphasis has been given to develop a communication and advocacy strategy and integrate it as an essential component of the DEP. Keeping the scale in view, there is currently little effort in the district to advocate better education or communicate education message of vital importance to masses. The strategy developed, at this stage, defines a framework, which identified the prominent issues which can be advocated for and on which communication would prove effective. The strategy identifies, for SRSP, the areas necessary to tackle by engaging all the partners to ensure a common frame of reference for understanding the problems in delivering quality education for all and how to deal with it.
Although the government has a major role to play in education, governments can not do every thing. Realizing the fact, the project management has taken steps to ensure community participation context in which the project strategies focusing decentralized planning & management and community ownership can flourish. Through EFA forums at UC level and PTAs, community members have been involved fully in identifying problems and needs and finding solutions for it. Two pronged approach is followed to generate the interest of communities at village and union council level.
Village level-Unlike the previous system with head teacher being the responsible authority, the PTAs have been given more autonomy in school developing plans vis-à-vis resources required. The PTA members in this new system have been delegated authorities to identify development and infrastructure needs, besides delegation of financial powers for funds utilization. Active local participation in governance and activities of schools, with a sense of shared ownership of their affairs has been proving vital in school success.
Union Council level-quarterly EFA forum meeting are arranged to discuss, review and examine the factors important in ensuring the effective implementation of primary education programme at union council level. The outcomes are shared with other forums and with stakeholders for identification of possible solutions and resource commitment.
The emerging PTAs/EFA forums institutions whose capabilities are growing will make decentralization of management to communities more feasible. Arguably, the more communities become involved in management of the problems related to education, the greater is the likelihood of success.
Local monitoring & supervision through PTAs, Local Councilors and EFA forums is cost effective and less expensive because of the proximity to the point of provision and better interaction with local communities easing up pressure on the inspection staff with the education department. One Assistant District Officer (inspection) in Upper Dir has to monitor 200 schools in his circle without any support mechanism from education department.
Increasing local participation- Lack of manpower with education department coupled with weak structures in dealing with daily administrative tasks and taking effective actions against teachers who do not perform well are contributing in poor service delivery. The concept of participatory organization has been introduced for the first time in education sector in Upper Dir. Interestingly, these organizations have helped in identifying and implementing services that are demand induced and not supply driven. Their involvement has improved the quality, reduces the cost of delivery and enhanced sustainability. The extensive trainings have built the community’s capacity that now frequently focuses on monitoring teachers’ performance, ensuring school supplies and other qualitative aspects.
School Development Plans- Currently, education department circulates proformas to collect quantitative information on monthly basis which is then consolidated yearly in to district Education Management Information System (EMIS) without validation. The resource allocation by the provincial government is mostly based on this information. The project has engaged PTAs effectively in developing school plans. Apart from quantitative information, the overarching objective of quality education, setting yearly targets, developmental and infrastructural needs and extra curricular activities are important components of this plan.
PTAs Training-A comprehensive PTA Training Manual has been developed, in extensive consultation with education department, covering the needs of the recipients. The new manuals designed are covering the very important aspects of quality education, child rights, women rights in Islam, school development plans, behavioral change etc. Trainings to men and women PTAs have been imparted based on this new manual. The trainings have given new dimensions to PTAs changing their roles from receivers of training to change agents. The focus has now shifted from just record keeping to ownership of the programme and linking up the school goal with macro education goal, besides phasing, timing, sequencing, implementing and monitoring education development efforts at micro-level.
Teachers’ Education- The approach of mechanically conducted teachers training programmes with content knowledge, mostly supply driven, has slightly been challenged by the project. The aim is to educate and not train the teachers. The factors impeding the effectiveness of teachers’ education programme has been considered while designing these sessions in consultation with district education department and master trainers. Proper/detailed Training Needs Assessment (TNAs) was carried out to ensure teachers involvement at preliminary stage. Apart from catering to the needs identified in TNAs, discussions on women & child rights, quality education, effective planning & management have been integral part of the teachers’ education programme with an aim to enhance their critical thinking, innovations and devising mechanisms for reforms/improvement in their respective schools, specifically, and society in general. Unlike the temporary project approach, the sustainability of the teachers’ education has been kept in mind. Their role (head teachers, ADOs and master trainers) from being a participant in the initial rounds was transformed to educators at intermediate stages to keep the momentum even when project’s technical or financial support is withdrawn.
Students’ role-students have most crucial and too often under appreciated & under supported roles, extending beyond just being consumer of schooling. Competition in amongst the schools, poster competitions, interactive theatres etc. have contribution to children’s cognitive, social & cultural development.
Unlike the conventional Local Teachers Resource Centers, the project has also planed to strengthen these centers through diffusion of Information & Communication Technologies (ICT). The DEP project is also focusing on building the capacity of Assistant District Officers/master trainers in ICT applications and promoting ICT for knowledge management and intermediation between LTRCs and development support agencies, other sources of knowledge and new technologies. These steps would help reduce the information & communication gap and improving relations with external agencies, besides enhancing the capacity of local teachers with availability of latest updates on education.
Citizen community Boards (CCBs)- under the devolution programme, the process of formation of CCBs have also been triggered enabling access to the allocated development funds. The project has facilitated formation of CCBs of PTAs. These CCBs have been allocated Pak Rs. 90,000 from district government funds. The project, still to be initiated, is for electrification of schools.
Successfully convening or establishing partnerships is a complex and challenging task and all partners must play significant roles for the partnership to succeed. Though the project period is for only two years (2003-2005) and with limited finances, SRSP has facilitated all the entities to encourage, create and possibly sustain partnership. The partnership in Upper Dir is based on clear goals, is broad based and has included key stakeholders (District Nazim, District Coordination Officer, District Education Department and Communities) from the beginning. It has established clear governance structure that defines partners’ roles and responsibilities to avoid organizational duplication. The partnership has enabled the partners to benefit by drawing on their strengths/comparative advantages and contributions.
On programmatic side i.e. developing and implementation of DEP, SRSP has developed effective strategies to maintain the momentum and sustain the activities undertaken. Though the scale is quite small i.e. concentrating DEP activities initially in three and now in eight union councils and at primary school level, yet SRSP has been:
a) able to identify the partners who have interests in improving the education services. The benefits of the partnership, when approaching the potential partners, has been clarified at an initial stage through extensive dialogues and meetings.
b) able to engaged the District Nazim, District Coordination Officer, District Education Department, Teachers and community members meaningfully. Though the steps taken may appears small, but all the partners have been assigned significant roles, such as creating new guidelines for education development by developing DEP and influencing policy, partners have contributed valuably with a sense of accomplishment that energies spent and time invested has been worthwhile.
c) able to disseminate/share information, through education forums, on practices/success stories to other union councils. It has contributed in inspiring members from other union councils to adopt new ideas and approaches introduced by the project.. This, in turn, would also help in maintaining the momentum and sustain activities even when the financial and technical assistance is with drawn, but that too depends on the level of commitment at all levels.
d) able to demonstrate positive results through the partnership. Through the efforts of the project by effectively engaging PTAs, a visible increase of almost 20 children per school has been observed.
District Education Plan is a new concept in NWFP and can simply be termed as ‘forward-thinking’ tool bringing innovation in education planning and management by engaging meaningfully all the partners. It has taken the planning from ‘approximation to precision’, however responsibility lies with district government/education department to settle funds based on the budgeting in DEP and EFA plans. |
Project Scope and activities
The Project has been designed in the socio-political development context of the area, and it is based on strategies most of which have been tested in the field by SRSP. The project takes advantage of government policy initiatives in education, and emerging decentralized structures under District Devolution Plan by strengthening and promoting inter institutional linkages besides working towards sustainability of all components.Much progress has been made, so that girls and boys in district Upper Dir are far much better off in terms of education than they were several decades ago
Case Study on District Education Plan
Workshop on District Education Plan
Executive District Officer Explaining District Education Program Features
SRSP District Education Plan has resulted in Increased Student Enrollment and better facilities for Schools.
CASE STUDY PTA Kas Kalay
The members of PTA Kas Kalay through awareness have been able to enroll 90 Out of School children raising the total enrolled form 200 to 290. Using the PTA funds and community contribution, the PTA constructed, on make shift basis, a room to accommodate the children.
Observation: Enrolment in schools
The three union councils where project activities have been initiated, initially, has observed an average increase of 20 students per school
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