USAID: Ethiopia FY 2002 Congressional Budget Justification

PROGRAM: ETHIOPIA
TITLE & NUMBER: Quality and Equity in Primary Education System Enhanced, 663-009
STATUS: New
PLANNED FY 2001 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $10,872,000 CSD
PROPOSED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $10,955,000 CSD
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 2001 COMPLETION DATE: FY 2006

Summary: Low enrollments, high repetition and dropout rates, untrained teachers, poor infrastructure and materials, inadequate funding, and a rapidly growing population are major educational challenges in Ethiopia. At the primary level, there are nearly 6.5 million students (40.7% girls) and only 116,000 teachers (29.4% women). In 1999/2000, the national gross enrollment rate for primary education was 51%. Despite improvements in the last five years, the gap in schooling between boys and girls continues to grow, even as the enrollment rate for girls increases.

USAID/Ethiopia's new strategic objective (SO) builds on achievements under the previous SO 3, Quality and Equity Improved in an Expanded System of Primary Education. This new SO will: 1) enhance the quality of professional education personnel; 2) strengthen teacher-learner support systems; 3) strengthen community-government partnerships; and 4) implement improved systems for managing personnel, instructional materials, and monitoring and evaluation. Girls and children in disadvantaged circumstances, such as nomads and those displaced due to war or famine, receive particular emphasis. The ultimate beneficiaries of this program will be children in primary education, especially girls.

The Government is implementing a comprehensive education-sector development program. The objectives are to improve overall educational attainment of the population with greater social equity and to achieve universal basic education by 2015. USAID-funded activities and the national program are fully integrated.

Key Results: Results will focus on ensuring that more pupils continue and complete primary schooling (grades 1-8) and learn basic skills and competencies. By FY 2006, use of interactive, student-centered methodology by instructors in teacher training institutions will increase by 30%; use of child-centered methodology by teachers in the selected regions and zones will increase by 30%; and the number of female teacher trainees in training institutions will increase by 15%.

The Government program emphasizes decentralized capacity building at the regional level. Under the new SO, USAID support to systems development focuses on specific problem areas: personnel administration, distribution and logistics of educational materials, and planning, monitoring and evaluation. By FY 2006, at least eight out of the eleven regional education bureaus will have improved personnel management systems and will utilize new Ministry of Finance budgeting and accounting systems.

Under the SO, USAID will work with U.S. and Ethiopian private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to increase support to community-government partnerships in education. Working in selected zones in six priority regions, 20% more schools will reduce female dropout rates in grades 1-4, and the school committees actively involved in school management will have increased by 80% by FY 2006.

Performance and Prospects: The old SO 3 was implemented through the Basic Education Systems Overhaul (BESO) project. Under BESO, in-service training benefited thousands of teachers and headteachers. Capacity building in curriculum development and evaluation methods has continued. The curriculum departments in the two focus regions are the best in the country.

The new SO 9 activities commencing in FY 2001 will enhance the quality of professional education personnel by focusing on pre-service and in-service training. This will include strengthening linkages between higher education institutions in the United States and Ethiopia and supporting instructional resource centers in selected areas. Activities to improve teacher-learner support systems will strengthen capacity to develop interactive radio teaching modules in English and math. Plans to improve teacher in-service training and strengthen school cluster resource centers are underway. Developing syllabi and materials, especially in critical areas such as HIV/AIDS, nutrition, and family planning, is crucial.

USAID's education sector program will continue support for the development of supplementary educational materials and interactive radio programs. By FY 2006, the percent of schools in selected areas using interactive radio in grades 1-4 will increase by 50%. Regional education bureaus will improve textbook production and distribution systems. The SO will continue these efforts on a broader scale, with the aim of covering one-half of all teachers and schools in Ethiopia.

USAID activities to strengthen community-government partnerships include strengthening school committees and local capacities, as well as community outreach in support of education and gender equity. The over 1,300 schools currently involved in a USAID-funded community-school grants program have succeeded in reducing female grade-repetition rates, improving school environments, and establishing closer relationships between participating schools and communities. USAID will expand these initiatives to additional zones and schools. Through the PVO-managed community school-grants program and the school leadership program, schools will strengthen educational resource centers.

USAID will provide technical assistance and training in FY 2001 to strengthen use of systems for managing personnel, instructional materials, and monitoring and evaluation. The result will be better, automated systems to plan and manage human resources and improved education system monitoring and evaluation. USAID support for the Government's civil service reform program will help the regional education bureaus use the new Ministry of Finance budget and accounting reforms. FY 2001 resources for these components comes from the Child Survival and Diseases account ($10,672,000 Basic Education).

This new SO will also implement activities to promote HIV/AIDS awareness in schools and teacher training institutions and will work with curriculum research and development offices to develop appropriate materials for inclusion in schools. HIV/AIDS activities will be funded from the Child Survival and Diseases account ($200,000 HIV/AIDS) in FY 2001.

In FY 2002, $10,995,000 is requested in CSD funds to support activities that will enhance the quality of teachers through pre-service and in-service training. Teacher-learner support systems and community-government partnerships will benefit from interactive radio instructional modules, the development of syllabi and materials in critical areas such as "culture of peace," environment, and nutrition. These funds will also be used to develop appropriate HIV/AIDS education materials for inclusion in schools and awareness promotions in schools and teacher training institutions.

Host Country and Other Donors: As noted, the Government has a comprehensive education-sector development program. The World Bank, African Development Bank, European Union, Germany and Japan have been the primary sources of funding for capital components, notably school and teacher training institution construction. Other donors supporting primary education include the UNICEF, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Norway, and Ireland. USAID plays a leading role, as the largest bilateral donor among the Government's education sector supporters. USAID works closely with all donors involved in primary education.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: The Academy for Educational Development consortium, World Learning, Inc, Save the Children/US, State University of NY/Buffalo, Pact, Inc., Harvard University, and the Tigray Development Association (an Ethiopian NGO). New instruments will be competed for SO 9.

Selected Performance Measures: This is a new Special Objective. Performance measures are to be developed as the new program is implemented.

U.S. Financing

(In thousands of dollars)

	Obligations		Expenditures		Unliquidated
Through September 30, 1999	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA
Fiscal Year 2000	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA
Through September 30, 2000	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA
Prior Year Unobligated Funds	0	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	SEED
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA	0	DA
	10,872	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	SEED
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001	0	DA
	10,872	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	SEED
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
			Future Obligations		Est. Total Cost
Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	10,955	CSD	44,773	CSD	66,600	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA

ETHIOPIA

Activity Data Sheet

U.S. Financing