Kyrgyz Republic: Second Education Project

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Lessons

Successful implementation of curriculum and other education reforms requires full backing and strong commitment from the government in terms of counterpart financing and policy support.

This project, financed by a grant from ADB, aimed to change the content of education in the Kyrgyz Republic through, among other things, curriculum development and the phased development of textbooks and learning and training materials for grades 1–4, 5–9, and 10–11. But because of limited resources, implementation focused on curriculum development and the other targets were postponed beyond the project period. Funding constraints stemmed from the government’s inability to provide counterpart financing for some items. Its actual expenditures amounted to only 56% of what was planned. Despite serious efforts by the executing agency, the Ministry of Education and Science (MOES), which demonstrated strong ownership and capacity in implementing the project, only the new curriculum for grades 1–4 was approved. Institutional disagreements between the MOES and the Kyrgyz Academy of Education, responsible for the approval of curriculum and textbooks for all grades, was among the major reasons that prevented the approval of the new curricula for grades 5–11 within the project period. The revival of the textbook rental scheme (TRS), which was introduced under a previous ADB-financed education project but abolished in 2006, also did not take place. The experience has highlighted the critical importance of government unity and strong commitment in terms of funding and policy support to the successful implementation of thoroughgoing education sector reforms. Continued advocacy by MOES and support from ADB and other development partners are needed to fully implement the phased introduction of the new curricula by 2020 and bring back the TRS, attainment of which is essential to enhancing the project’s long-term impact and sustainability.

Project Cycle Stage:

Preparation

Implementation

Curriculum reforms, to be effectively implemented, need to be supported by sufficient learning and teaching materials (LTMs) and teacher capacities and the establishment of appropriate learning environments.

The development under this project of new curriculums, starting in grade 1, was well received especially by the teachers, who for the first time received clear guidelines and a more manageable workload. Some changes in activities agreed during the midterm review were adequate to address major implementation issues: insufficient budget for teacher training and an ineffective awareness raising campaign. By introducing computer-based interactive teacher training modules, the project managed to train more teachers than expected. Changing the focus of the public awareness campaign from publicity to consultation facilitated the engagement of more than 650 educators throughout the country in the curriculum reform discourse. Notwithstanding funding constraints, the project was also able to provide grade 1 students with high-quality new LTMs in four languages and teaching guides for each textbook, which was the first time it happened. School rehabilitation was highly successful, and fundamental to developing schools into viable learning environments. However, much more needs to be done to ensure that the curriculum reforms will be effectively implemented and sustained. Aligning teacher training and capacity building activities and LTM development to the requirements of the new curriculums demand urgent attention. So does the proven good practice of achieving continuity of content and approach by bidding subject textbooks for a series of grades, such as mathematics LTMs for grades 1–4. (Preparation, Implementation: education reform programs/projects, education reforms Kyrgyz Republic)

Project Cycle Stage:

Preparation

Implementation

More long-term sector financing modalities are needed to improve the national education outcomes in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Because improving national school education outcomes requires adequate time and continuous funding, government education authorities may need to go beyond the single project loan/grant approach. More long-term sector financing modalities from ADB, and other development partners, could be explored to ensure the continuity and completion of the reform process.

Project Cycle Stage:

Preparation

Implementation

Better infrastructure directly increases school attendance rates, and this needs to be sustained through proper operation and maintenance.

A project survey indicated that average daily attendance rate in the 91 supported schools increased to 97% in SY2011/12 from 80% in 2010. The project completion report attributes this increase directly to improvements in learning environments, specifically school rehabilitation and the provision of computers and language laboratory equipment. A visit to some of the supported schools during the completion review mission found the quality of rehabilitation works to be highly satisfactory. All the procured equipment were operating, which indicates that including in the suppliers’ contract equipment maintenance and training for relevant staff is effective in ensuring equipment durability and sustainability. Significant savings from improved heating and energy efficiency of buildings were also reported by school authorities. (Preparation, Implementation: education reform programs/projects, education infrastructure improvement programs/projects, education infrastructure improvements Kyrgyz Republic)

Project Cycle Stage:

Preparation

Implementation

Better alignment and close linkages between indicators in all levels of a project’s results chain/framework is essential to the effective monitoring and evaluation of project progress and performance.

This project delivered most of its planned outputs but only partially achieved its intended outcomes. This represents a disconnect between the indicators it used to monitor progress and performance, especially at the output and outcome levels. The relevance of all indicators is critical for effective monitoring and evaluation, and such indicators need to be closely aligned and linked to each other at various levels of the results chain. ADB and the borrower share the responsibility for not amending the outcome indicators and eliminating the disconnect between the project’s output and outcome indicators following the midterm review, which highlighted the partial irrelevance of many of the outcome indicators identified at appraisal.

Project Cycle Stage:

Preparation

Implementation

Completion and Evaluation

Background

Basic education in the Kyrgyz Republic deteriorated substantially after independence. Considerable investment was required to improve quality, access, and participation and to meet the Millennium Development Goals for education. In response, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $15.5 million grant for the country’s Second Education Project in October 2005. The project was to help create a general education system responsive to the needs of a modern market-oriented economy and focused on poorer areas. Its expected outcomes were (i) increased enrolment in primary and general secondary education in poorer areas, and (ii) improved student performance. These outcomes were to be achieved through activities/components to (i) modernize curricula and learning assessments, (ii) strengthen the teaching profession, and (iii) improve participation and quality in rural schools. The project continued and expanded the achievements of the previous ADB-funded the Education Sector Development Program in the republic.

A participatory and informed curriculum review process was conducted, resulting in the development of contemporary subject curricula. Relevant policy studies and policymaking informed the review process. The open bidding to develop and print learning and teaching materials (LTM) attracted a big number of professionals whose competencies otherwise would not have been utilized. School rehabilitation and equipment have notably improved daily attendance rates in supported schools.

Following its midterm review (MTR), some of the project’s activities were redesigned to make it more effective. Public awareness campaigns for the new curriculum were made more consultative to gain support from teachers and parents. The in-service teacher training for the revised curriculum was adjusted due to insufficient funding for the targeted training sessions. A self-learning tool was developed and implemented to replace the training sessions. The MTR also indicated that the project was unlikely to achieve some of its outcome targets, but did not revise the targets. As a result, the project only partially achieved its outcome targets, mostly falling short on those that were unreasonably optimistic, poorly related to project components, or significantly influenced by factors beyond its control.

For example, while the project contributed to improved access for students in rural areas, it failed to accomplish its target to increase by 100% the basic education enrollment in 2010. This was because the main reason for school nonattendance in the Kyrgyz Republic is poverty, which is beyond the project’s control. The project also aimed to improve student performance on national examinations take placing at the end of the secondary grades (grades 9 and 11). However, as it only supported the effective rollout of the new curriculum for grade 1, improvements in national examination results resulting from the project components are unlikely to be achieved before SY2019/20, when the curriculum introduction would reach grades 9–11 as planned. The target to decrease the teacher–student ratio had no directly supporting project activity.

Nevertheless, the launch of the new curriculum under the project represented a fundamental change to the country’s education system. The old but still predominant education system has failed to meet contemporary economic and social demands while the new curriculum reflects the best contemporary education practice. Over time, by shifting the focus from memory-based to skills-based, student-centered teaching techniques and updating the content of subject curricula, the system will be able to generate graduates with more relevant skills and knowledge. Improved educational results are expected to support the country’s economic development and provide better opportunities for the youth, especially in rural areas.

The project had the Ministry of Education and Science as executing agency. A central project implementation unit was established to coordinate the day-to-day project activities. Two regional project implementation units were created to take charge of project activities in the regions.

Project Information

Project Name:

Second Education Project

Report Date:

June, 2013

Main Sector:

Education

Country:

Kyrgyz Republic

Project Number:

39304

Report Type: