[UNESCO] Transparency in Education
Content
Transparency in education Report Card in Bangladesh by Shahnaz Karim
Quality Schools Programme in Mexico by Claudia A. Santizo Rodall, Enrique Cabrero Men Mendoza doza
International Institute for Educational Planning
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Transparency in education
This book has been prepared for the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP). The views and opinions expressed in this booklet are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of UNESCO or of the IIEP. The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this review do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO or IIEP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. The publication costs of this study have been covered through a grant-in-aid offered by UNESCO and by voluntary contributions made by several Member States of UNESCO, the list of which will be found at the th e end of the volume.
Published by: International Institute for Educational Planning 7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix, 75116 Paris e-mail: [email protected] IIEP web site: www.unesco.org/iiep Cover design: Corinne Hayworth Typesetting: Linéale Production Printed in IIEP’ II EP’ss printshop ISBN: 92-803-1269-3 © UNESCO 2004
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Several studies conducted over the past decade have clearly emphasized the negative impact of corruption on the economic, social and political development of countries, due to the increased transaction transac tion costs, the reduction in the efficiency of public services, the distortion of the decision-making process, and the undermining of social values. They have also shown a strong correlation between corruption and poverty: Statistical regressions suggest that an increase in the per capita income of a country by US$4,400 will improve its ranking on the index of corruption (international scale) by two points. Moreover, it has been observed that corruption tends to contribute to the reinforcement of inequities, by placing a disproportionate economic burden on the poor, and limiting their access to public services. As a consequence, fighting corruption has become a major concern for policy makers and actors involved in development. In view of the decrease in the international flow of aid and the more stringent conditions for the provision of aid – due to growing tensions on public resources resource s within donor countries, and the pressure exerted by tax payers on governments to increase transparency and accountability in resource management – it is regarded today as a major priority on the agenda of countries and of international agencies for development co-operation. c o-operation. The Drafting Committee of the World World Education Forum has expressed this concern in the following terms: “Corruption is a major drain on the effective use of resources for education and should be drastically curbed”1 . 1.
UNESCO. 2000. Dakar Framework Framework for Action. Education Education for All: meeting our collec collective tive commitments. Adopted by the World Education Forum, Dakar, Senegal, 26-28 April 2000. Extended commentary on the Dakar Action Plan (par. 46).
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A rapid review of the literature shows that a number of attempts have already been made to tackle the issue of corruption both globally and sectorally. Incorruption the socialinsector, for example, studies However, have been conducted on the provision of healthseveral ca re services. care it appears that the education sector has not been given proper attention by national education authorities and donors, despite the many grounds for attaching a particular priority to the challenge of combating corruption in education: •
No pub publi licc ssect ector or ref reform orm aim aimin ing g aatt imp improv roving ing go gover verna nanc ncee aand nd limi limiti ting ng corruption phenomena can obtain significant results resu lts as long as the case of education has not been properly addressed addr essed – given the importance of the education sector, which in most countries, is the first or the second largest public sector both in human and financial terms.
•
Any att attemp empts ts to im impro prove ve the fun functi ctioni oning ng of the edu educat cation ion sec sector tor in ord order er to increase access to quality education for all, cannot prove successful if problems of corruption, which have severe implications for both efficiency in the use of resources and for quality of education and school performance, are not being properly dealt with. Lac Lack k of integ integri rity ty aand nd u une nethi thica call be beha havio viour ur w wit ithi hin n th thee ed educa ucati tion on ssect ector or iiss inconsistent with one of the main purposes of education; that is, to produce ‘good citizens’, respectful respectf ul of the law law,, of human rights and fairness (it is also incompatible with any strategy that considers education as one of the principle means of fighting corruption).
•
In this context, the IIEP launched a new research project within the framework of its Medium-Term Plan for 2002-2007, which deals with ‘Ethics and corruption in education’. Corruption Corr uption is defined as “the systematic use of public office for private benefit that results in a reduction in the quality or availability of public goods and services”. The main objective of this project is to improve decision-making and the management of educational systems
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by integrating governance and corruption concerns in methodologies of planning and administration administrat ion of education. More specificall specifically y, it seeks to develop methodological approaches forshare studying and addressing issue of corruption in education, and collect and information on thethe best approaches for promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in the management of educational systems, both in developing and industrialized countries. The project includes works on topics of relevance such as teacher behaviour,, school financing, textbook production and distribution, and academic behaviour fraud. It also includes monographs on success stories in improving management and governance, as well as case studies which facilitate the development of methodologies for analyzing transparency and integrity in education management.2 Within this framework, the IIEP asked experts to present cases in Bangladesh and Mexico in which the setting up of participatory diagnosis tools and promotion of greater social control in the use of resources improved transparency and accountability in education: •
•
2.
Shahnaz Karim describes the Report Card Survey implemented in
Bangladesh, which, through participatory diagnosis, enabled the identification of the gaps and flaws in the country’s basic education system, facilitated the location and investigation of corruption, alerting public authorities accordingly and encouraging them to take the necessary measures to improve the situation. Claudia A. Santizo Rodall and Enriq Enrique ue Cabrero Mendoz Mendoza a analyze the implementation of the Quality Schools Programme (QSP) in Mexico, which contributed greatly to improving transparency and accountability
An infor informa matio tion n platfo platform, rm, call called ed ETICO ETICO,, has also also been been creat created ed withi within n the fram framewo ework rk of the project. It is available on the IIEP’s web site, at the following address: http:// www.unesco.org/iiep/eng/focus/etico/etico1.html.
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as well as to preventing and limiting corrupt practices in the management of educational funds, thanks to the introduction of mechanisms for social participation. The IIEP is very grateful to the authors for their valuable insights and contributions and would like to thank them accordingly accordingly.. Jacques Hallak and Muriel Poisson
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Contents
Presentation of the series
5
List of abbreviations
13
List of tables, boxes and figures
14
Study 1.
17
Report C Ca ard iin n Ba Bangladesh
Executive summary
19
Chapter 1. IIn ntroduction 1. Background
21 21
2. The primary education scenario in Bangladesh 3. The Report Card survey
24 26
Chapter 2. Objectives and research methodology 1. Objectives of the TIB survey 2. The TIB survey: research methodology
31 31 32
Chapter 3. Survey findings 1. Various unautho unauthorized rized fees co collected llected in p primary rimary schools 2. The Food for Education Programme 3. Corr Corrupt uption ion in th thee prima primary ry educ educatio ation n offic offices es of the government
35
52
Chapter 4. Report Card survey results 1. Recommendations 2. Advocacy activities 3. Impact of the study 4. P Prroblems and constraints
57 57 58 62 66
36 46
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Contents
Chapter 5. Conclusions and future perspectives 1. Lessons learned
67 67
2.. C Fuotnucrleuspiloanns 3
6 7 68
Appendix
Advocacy techniques and characteristics
71
Stu tudy dy 2.
Qu Qual alit ity y Sch Schoo ools ls Pr Prog ogra ramm mmee in Mex exic ico o
75
Executive summary
77
Introduction
79
Chapter 1. Elementary education administration in Mexico
81
Chapter 2. QSP design for implementation 1. QSP administrative structure for implementation
85 87
2. Allocation of resources for the QSP Chapter 3. Policy networks for mutual accountability 1. Policy networks for QSP implementation 2. Soc Social ial pa partic rticipa ipation tion iin n netw networks orks fo forr QSP implementation 3. Tr Transp ansparen arency cy and acco account untabil ability ity in netw networks orks for QSP implementation
91 99 101
Chapter 4. Me Methodology 1. Case studies selected 2. Variables of analysis
105 106 109
Chapter 5. R earcial h fpart indicipatio ingsation: 1.esSoc Social particip n: inten intensity sity of nego negotiat tiations ions during QSP implementation 2. Transparency and accountability 3. Performance by school 4. QS QSP P llin inks ks or enlaces with schools and an d othe otherr ac acto tors rs rela relate ted d to scho school ol poli policy cy ne netw twor orks ks
113
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102 103
113 116 118 123
Contents
Chapter 6. Co Conclusions
125
Appendix 1. School project assessment, school year 2002-2003
131
Appendix 2. Interviews undertaken Appendix 3. QSP schools by State and school year
133 144
References
147 14 7
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These two studies were prepared under the supervision of Muriel Poisson, Programme Specialist at the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and Jacques Hallak, International Consultant.
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List of abbreviations
Study 1. Report Card in Bangladesh BDT
Bangladesh taka
C CCs
Committees of Concerned Citizens
MP
Member of Parliament
N GO
Non-governmental or organization
NI P PA C
National Integrity Programme Public Affairs Centre
TIB
Transparency International Bangladesh
UEO UE O
Upazilla education offices
UNO UN O
Upazilla Nirbahi Officer
Study 2. Quality Schools Programme in Mexico CIDE
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
PETE
Plan Estratégico de Transformación Escolar
QSP
Quality Schools Programme
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List of tables, boxes and figures
Stud St udy y 1. Re Repo port rt Ca Card rd in Ba Bang ngla lade desh sh Tab able le 1.1 1.1
Di Diffe fferen rence ce be betwe tween en Repo Report rt Ca Card rd ap appro proach ach and and in insti stitut tutio iona nall approach
Tab able le 3 3.1 .1
Fees Fees ffor or admi admiss ssio ion n iint nto op pri rima mary ry sch schoo ools ls
Tab able le 3.2 3.2
Fe Fees es fo forr en ente tert rtai aini ning ng g gov over ernm nmen entt of offi fice cers rs
Tab able le 3.3 3.3
Firs Firstt ter term m eexa xami mina nati tion on fees fees
Tab able le 3.4 3.4
Se Seco cond nd term term eexa xami mina nati tion on ffee eess
Tab able le 3.5 3.5
An Annu nual al exam examin inat atio ion n fees fees
Tab able le 3.6 3.6
Fe Fees es ffor or v var ario ious us o oth ther er p pur urpo pose sess
Tab able le 3 3.7 .7
Total otal unau unauth thor oriz ized ed fees fees coll collec ecte ted d
Tab able le 3.8 3.8
Co Corru rrupt ptio ion n in the the se sele lect ction ion of sstu tude dent ntss fo forr the the Food Food ffor or Education Programme
Tab able le 3 3.9 .9
Inte Interv rven enti tion on b by y in infl flue uent ntia iall pe pers rson onss
Tabl ablee 3.10 Irre Irregul gularit arities ies in di distri stribut bution ion of fo food od gra grain: in: an o overv verview iew Tabl ablee 3.1 3.11 1
Sho Shortfa rtfalls lls in dis disburs burseme ement nt of food gra grain in
Tab able le 3.12 3.12
Bri Briber bery y at ed educa ucati tion on o offi ffices ces
Tab able le 3.13 3.13 Co Corr rrup upti tion on iin n Upazilla education offices Tab able le 3.14 3.14 Del Delay ayss in sserv ervic icee de deliv livery ery in Upazilla education offices Tabl ablee 3.15 3.15
Hos Hostil tility ity ttowar owards ds tea teacher cherss duri during ng sch school ool iinsp nspecti ections ons
Tab able le 4.1 4.1
Ad Advo voca cacy cy mee meeti ting ngss on tthe he R Rep epor ortt Card Card ssur urve vey y
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List of tables, boxes and an d figures
Study Stu dy 2. Qualit Quality yS Scho chools ols Pro Progra gramme mme in Mexic Mexico o Tab able le 2.1 Tab able le 2.2 Tab able le 2.3 2.3
Tab able le 4.1 4.1 Tab able le 4.2 4.2 Tab able le 5. 5.1 1
QSP QSP so sourc urces es o off fund fundin ing g (m (mil illio lions ns o off pe peso soss – 20 2003 03 ccon onsta stant nt value) Maxim Maximum um fun fundin ding gp pro rovid vided ed by the the Q QSP SP to sc schoo hools ls by school year in current pesos (total in current US$) Res Resou ource rcess recei receive ved d by sch school oolss by sou source rce and ave averag ragee of resources administered per school during the school year 2001-2002 Total otal n num umbe berr of iint nter ervi view ewee eess pe perr st stat atee Fa Fact ctor orss inc inclu lude ded d iin n eeac ach hv var aria iabl blee Sc Scho hool ol ch chara aract cteri eristi stics cs du durin ring g QSP iimp mplem lemen entat tatio ion n acc accord ordin ing g to high and low performance as revealed by the interviews undertaken
B ox 1 B ox 2 B ox 3 Box 4 Box Bo x5
Schools p paarticipating iin n th e Q QS SP by school y yeear Characteristics o off sc school projects QSP school selection process State aan nd m mu unicipal C Co ouncils ffo or S So ocial P Paarticipation A ssccho hoo ol p pro rojjec ectt an and fu funds co colllecte cted d du uri rin ng tthe he sch school year 2001-2002 Best practices in schools
B ox 6 Fi Figu gure re 2 2.1 .1 Figure Fig ure 2.2 Figure Fig ure 5. 5.1 1 Figure 5.2 Figure 5.2 Fi Figu gure re 5 5.3 .3 Figure Fig ure 5.4
Sc Sche heme me of aact ctors ors d duri uring ng QS QSP P imp imple leme ment ntat atio ion n Reso Resource urcess fo forr QS QSP P iimpl mpleme ementa ntatio tion n by typ typee of sour source ce Acc Accoun ountab tabili ility ty and ssoci ocial al par partic ticipa ipatio tion n leve levell by sch school ool iin n five states Account Accountabi abilit lity y, soci social al par partici ticipati pation on and ttrans ranspare parency ncy me measur asures es Su Surve rvey y ap appl plie ied d to ssch choo ooll co comm mmun unit itie iess Acco Account untabi ability lity and tran transpar sparency ency mea measure suress avera average ge
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Study 1 Report Card in Bangladesh – Survey on primary education Shahnaz Karim is a senior research officer at Transparency Transparency International Bangladesh, which was directly involved in the preparation of the Report Card survey in Bangladesh.
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Executive summary
Education is fundamental for the socio-economic transformation and advancement of a country. In Bangladesh, the education sector is one o ne of the largest and most important public service providers. However, even though compulsory primary education and mass education programmes have been introduced by the government and enormous amounts of money spent, widespread lack of basic education remains the Achilles’ heel of the society and economy of Bangladesh. A Report Card survey is a simple and flexible approa approach ch for organizing public feedback. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) conducted a Report Card survey of the primary education sector in Bangladesh to identify the gaps and flaws in the country’s basic education system and locate and investigate corruption. This survey was conducted from 22 September to 20 December 2000 in eight Upazillas of the greater Mymensingh district. It targeted government primary education offices, primary school teachers, students and their guardians. The survey, which was conducted on 171 head teachers, 966 students and 966 guardians covered a total of 2,103 persons in 171 primary schools. It looked at 105 government, 40 non-government, 14 satellite and 12 community primary schools. addressedinthe issues through school the survey: ascertaining the level TIB of corruption thefollowing appointment of primary teachers; identifying the nature of corruption in the Upazilla Education Office; determining the satisfaction level of teachers concerning services rendered by the officers and staff of the Upazilla Education Office (UEO); ascertaining the overall quality of service of various Upazilla Education Offices; establishing the level of corruption in the admission of students in primary schools; determining
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Report Card in Bangladesh Banglades h
the amount of surcharge subscriptions collected from primary school students; probing the nature and extent of corruption in the Food for Education Programme; and ascertaining the level of guardians’ satisfaction with the education of their children. The survey revealed, in particular, that students are required to make unauthorized payments for admission into schools, purchase of books, sporting events, promotion to higher classes, entertainment of officers from the Upazilla Education Offices and holding of religious events as well as for various other purposes. Money is also collected in the form of examination fees. The TIB survey also revealed misuse of the criterion for eligibility for the Food Education Programme. Progra mme. Finally Finally,, cases of delayed deliver delivery y of services by the Union Parishad Education Offices and incidents of education officer misbehaviour with teachers during primary school inspection were reported. The Report Card survey was conducted as part of TIB’s efforts to raise the general public’s awareness of corruption in certain service delivery sectors of the country. A Report Card survey was conducted in several Upazillas so that the findings could be used as an advocacy tool for curbing corruption and to establish good governance in those areas. Indeed, as a result of the survey the relevant authorities were alerted as to corruption in their areas and took appropriate measures in this regard. The report also contributed towards establishing good relations with these authorities. This report begins by presenting the context in which a Report Card survey was launched in Bangladesh. It then describes the methodology followed in detail. The third chapter groups the survey findings into three major areas, namely: unauthorized fees collected in primary schools, distortions in the management of the Food for Education Programme and corruption corr uption in the government’s primary education offices. The fourth chapter explores the impact of the study and the problems and constraints encountered during its implementation. The last chapter draws conclusions from this experience and explores future perspectives.
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Chapter 1
Introduction
The key to achieving high rates of economic growth in Bangladesh while at the same time ensuring that the fruits of this growth are shared equitably among the population lies in the development and proper utilization utili zation of the country’s human resources. Education is a basic requirement for socioeconomic transformation and advancement and is the prime ingredient of human resource development. It has therefore been recognized as a priority sector by all governments since independence. In Bangladesh, the education sector is one of the largest and most important public service providers. provider s. However, even though compulsory primary education and mass education programmes have been introduced by the Government of Bangladesh and enormous amounts of money spent, widespread lack of basic education remains the Achilles’ heel of the society and economy of Bangladesh.
1. Background Bangladesh has come a long way since its independence in 1971. Per capita income has grown from about US$70 in 1971 to US$350 today. Social indicators such as life expectancy, the adult literacy rate, the primary school enrolment rate, gender parity in education and access to safe drinking drink ing water also have improved remarkably. The improvement in policies since the mid1980s has enabled Bangladesh to grow faster and to reduce poverty. Yet Bangladesh still has a long way to go in terms of human development. develop ment. In the
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Report Card in Bangladesh Banglades h
32 years since independence, independen ce, Bangladesh’s population has more than doubled to approximately 130 million. Excluding the city-states, Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world. It is still one of the world’s poorest countries: Nearly 35 per cent of the population live in hardcore poverty poverty,, 8.5 per cent of newborns die at birth, bir th, 67 per cent of children under the age of five are underweight, 40 per cent of children drop out of primary school and only 15 per cent of the population has access to electricity (World Bank, 2000). Bangladesh’s economy suffered a temporary setback in 1998 due to massive floods flo ods – the worst in recent hist history ory.. However, the country’s mediumterm economic prospects are reasonably good. The most important economic challenges for Bangladesh are to place the highest emphasis on human development, improve governance and build strong institutions, ins titutions, enhance the competitiveness of the private sector, manage foreign direct investment, establish a sound financial system and maintain a stable macroeconomic environment. Many studies have demonstrated the strong links between education and an individual’s income. In recent times, more and more evidence is emerging that links education and a nd a country’s economic growth. According to one study, educated labour played a greater role in Bangladesh’s growth than physical capital (Kaoume, 2000). Even a modest exposure to education has been found to reduce poverty levels substantially subst antially in Bangladesh. Primary education is of 5 years’ duration in Bangladesh, starting at age six. Today Today,, primary education is char characterized acterized by (i) substantial progress made in increasing enrolment during the late 1980s and early 1990s, (ii) a large number of children from very poor backgrounds and from illiterate families famil ies who are now attending school, and (iii) diverse divers e types of schools serving children who have diverse needs, including working children (Latif and Rahman, 2000). Among these are a large number of schools run by non-governmental
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Introduction
organizations that have innovative, well-structured and highly relevant schooling models that are currently being replicated in Africa and other South Asian countries. Prior to independence, schools in Bangladesh were established, managed and financed by local communities with only partial financing by the government. Primary schools s chools were nationalized after a fter independence. Today Today,, approximately half of the schools are managed by government gover nment and the other half privately run and managed. Presently about two-thirds of students are enrolled in government schools. In terms of enrolment and gender parity, Bangladesh ranks well regionally and is on a par with China and Indonesia. The country is however lagging behind in terms of its teacher-student ratio (with only one teacher for every 63 students) and gender parity in the teaching force. The government finances all expenditure in government schools as well as 80 per cent of teacher salaries in registered non-government schools on the basis of school registration and eligibility criteria. The government also provides grants to non-government schools for the repair of school buildings. Students in both government and non-government schools receive free textbooks. Even though Bangladesh’s public spending on education as a percentage of GNP has increased over time, it is still quite low. In fact, Bangladesh has one of the largest and lowest-cost education systems in the world. At the primary level, the cost per student is only US$13 or 3.6 per cent of GNP per capita (Hussain, 2000). Such low costs are achieved through exceptionally large class sizes, low salaries and minimum spending on teaching-learning materials andteacher in-service teacher training. However, education now constitutes one of the largest items in both the revenue and development budgets and education’s share in the government’ gover nment’ss total budget has also increased over time. In the recent past, governments have been fairly consistent in giving priority in allocations to primary education in both the revenue and development budgets.
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Report Card in Bangladesh Banglades h
Achievement of the overall vision for Bangladesh in 2020 depends heavily on substantial progress pr ogress in education (W (World orld Bank, 1998). A major weakness of Bangladesh’s current education system is its inability to adjust adequately to revolutions in science scie nce and technology, economic and political conditions and demographic and political structures. There is a considerable disparity between development needs and the basic form, content and orientation of the education system. The cost of education is increasing and mobilization of public and private resources remains well below what is required. Happily, the government is aware of the need for change in both policies and the governance of the institutional fabric of the education system and is working towards these. The government’s development objectives for the primary education sector are to (i) improve school quality and system efficiency, (ii) establish a sustainable, cost-effective and better-managed education system, and (iii) ensure universal coverage and equitable access to quality primary schooling. Bangladesh by 2020 should achieve a strong system of basic education with virtually every child enrolled and completing primary education with at least minimum levels of competency directly dir ectly related to life skills (World Bank, 1998). Perhaps the greatest strength of the primary education system in Bangladesh is the consistent, high-level national commitment and consensus on the priority of primary pri mary education. As a result of this commitment and the programmes it has spawned, Bangladesh has achieved one of the largest centralized systems of primary education in the world.
2. The pri prima mary ry edu educat catio ion n sscen cenari ario o iin n Ban Bangla glades desh h Five-year compulsory primary education for the 6-10 year age group is imparted mainly in government and non-government non-gover nment primary schools. Full or partial primary level education is also offered in high schools, madrassahs, 3 3.
Instit Institut ution ionss wher wheree main mainly ly religi religious ous educat education ion is im impar parted ted..
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Introduction
kindergartens, satellite schools, etc. These institutions numbered 14,692 in 2000 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2002). A substantial number of NGOrun non-formal schools catering mainly for drop-outs from fr om government and non-government primary primar y schools also exist. However, very few NGOs impart education for the full five-year primary education cycle. As a result of this, on completion of 2-3 years of non-formal primary education in NGO-run schools, students normally re-enter the higher classes of government/nongovernment primary schools. NGO-run schools differ from other nongovernment private schools in that they operate essentially to meet the educational needs of vulnerable social groups in areas served neither by government nor by private schools. They usually follow an informal approach approac h to suit the special needs of children from vulnerable groups. During the Fourth Five Year Plan (1991-1996) of the Government of Bangladesh, steps were taken to improve primary education, focusing on the introduction of compulsory primary education. education. The Food for Education programme was also introduced to encourage enrolment and reduce drop out rates among poor children. The Fifth Five Year Year Plan (1997-2002) had as its ultimate aim rraising aising the literacy rate and quality of education at all levels. Primary education was made compulsory with the targets of (i) increasing gross enrolment to around 110 per cent, and (ii) attaining a completion rate of 75 per cent by the end of 2002 (Government of Bangladesh, 2002). To this end, compulsory primary education was made more effective through local government and community support. To meet the commitments made in these Plans, the Government of Bangladesh made the eradication of illiteracy through the development of basic education its major focus. Basic education is delivered in Bangladesh through two parallel systems: the formal and the non-formal. Due to the high level of national commitment, outstanding progress has been recorded in education and particularly in primary and non-formal education. Access to primary education over the last 20 years has increased steadily in Bangladesh. The gross enrolment rate rose from nearly 60 per cent in
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Report Card in Bangladesh Banglades h
1980 to 73 per cent in 1990 and 96.5 per cent in 2000 (Bangladesh (Banglades h Bureau of Statistics, 2002). In absolute numbers, in the last two decades, primary education enrolment has more than doubled from 8.2 million to 17.6 million. The current estimate of the net enrolment rate of boys and girls has also narrowed to a ratio of 51 to 49. The drop-out rate in primary school decreased from 60 per cent in 1990 to 35 per cent in 2000. These achievements in terms of enrolment have been made possible by legislative support, provision of physical facilities, massive social mobilization and an increase in the number of primary schools to 62,117 in 2000, of which government primary schools represented 37,677 or 61 per cent of their total number (Bangladesh (Banglades h Bureau of Statistics, 2002). Over 15,000 full primary prima ry schools have been added since 1990. This increase reflected the Government of Bangladesh’s policy of establishing schools in remote areas with community support and participation. However, the primary education scenario is fraught with problems. Shortage of schools within accessible distance is a major difficulty in rural areas. Existing schools face shortages of classrooms, furniture and other supplies as well as overcrowding. There is a dearth of proper teaching aids as well as a lack of equipment, books and supplies for students. There is a severe shortage of teachers and existing teachers lack adequate professional skills. Teacher absenteeism and an unattractive learning environment are great impediments. Finally, there is a lack of awareness and interest of parents and weak community involvement. Policy issues iss ues such as resource resour ce availability, availability, community participation, gender specificity, specif icity, system balance and modernization of the curricula must also be considered.
3. The Repo port rt Car Card su surv rveey Decision-makers in government, academia and advocacy groups have come to recognize the potential of public feedback in making government more responsive and accountable. Public feedback is especially powerful in contexts where the government operates as a monopoly service provider
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Introduction
and leaves the user of the services with no ‘exit’ options. In these disabling conditions, public feedback or the ‘citizens’ ‘citizens ’ voice’ become a potent catalyst 4
for change. When this citizens’ voice is built on an objective assessment of both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of different public services, services , based on first-hand interactions with the agencies providing these services, it is possible to rank agencies on the quality of performance. This ‘score card’ can be used to stimulate collective action by citizens and provide organizational organi zational leaders with an opportunity to design reforms and bring in a strategic reorientation. The Public Affairs Centre (PAC) in Bangalore, India and Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) built on this concept c oncept to design ‘Report Cards on Public Services’, which provides a relatively uncomplicated and widely replicable tool for improving transparency and public accountability. A Report Card survey is a simple and flexibl flexiblee approach for organiz organizing ing public feedback. Its basic objectives are to: • • •
•
4.
generate citizen/user feedback on basic service delivery institutions; convert widespread private complaints into collective campaigns; facilitate comparison of performance of different services and institutions; and serve as a basis to initiate dialogue and advocacy programmes. Ensuri Ensuring ng food, food, clot clothin hing, g, housi housing ng,, educat education ion,, medici medicine ne and and securit security y of life life and prope property rty of citizens are important functions of a state in the present day system of governance. The state engages various organizations to meet these needs of the people. Presently, different non-governmen t organizations alsoservices providewhich various services to the people in exchangenon-government for fees. However, there are many cannot be provided by any organization other than those owned by the state. The state or government enjoys an absolute monopoly in the rendering of these services. The people do not get these services from any organization other than ones owned by government. In these cases, the people do not have any other option. If the quality of the service is poor, the people can play a role in improving its quality. The service quality of the government organization organi zation can also be improved through uniting the people and strengthening their voice. The Report Card was devised devise d to pool the people’s voice in an organized fashion. See ActionAid Bangladesh and Transparency International Bangladesh, 2001.
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Report Cards are an aggregate of public ratings on different aspects of service quality, built on scientific random sample surveys survey s of users of different public services (utilities) in a given locality. The specific aspects addressed in the survey include availability of the service, usage, satisfaction, service standards, major problems with service, effectiveness of grievance redress systems, corruption corruptio n encountered and other hidden costs experienced by citizens on account of poor service. Report Cards provide a benchmark on the quality of public services as experienced by citizens. They seek to capture citizens’ feedback in simple and unambiguous terms and are a means of testing different options citizens wish to exercise – either individually or collectively – to tackle the problems at hand. Issues are placed within the perspective of other elements elemen ts of service design and delivery as well as in comparison with other services, so that ultimately a strategic set of actions can be devised and initiated for positive and sustainable change. Report Card methodology has its roots in quantitative research methods, but is enhanced by qualitative findings obtained from interviews and observations. Mixing qualitative and quantitative research methods has proven valuable as it complements attitudes with statistics and augments opinions with numbers. Report Card methodology combines these two methods of research with two primary (although by no means exclusive) research techniques: focus groups and questionnaires. questionna ires. However, even though Report Card methodology is adaptable it must nonetheless abide by statistical conventions. The credibility of Report Cards lies in the fact that they are neither the opinions of a handful of people, nor the complaints of a few aggrieved citizens. The methodology involves systematic sampling across all subsections or segments of citizens – including those who are satisfied as well as those aggrieved – and presents a complete picture that includes all opinions. Report
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Introduction
Cards are thus able to provide a reliable and comprehensive representation of citizens’ feedback.
Table 1.1 1.1
Dif Differ ferenc encee betw between een Rep Report ort Card Card approac approach h and institutional approach
Report Card
Other research
1. Report Ca Card is an an approach to ga gauge the the qu qual alit ity y of serv servic icee of an or orga gani niza zati tion on
1. Research is carried out to sy syst stem emic ical ally ly inve invest stig igat atee the the pres presen ence ce of a problem
2. Report Card is prepared to gauge the the deg degre reee and and na natu ture re of serv servic icee qua quali lity ty,, irregularities, mismanagement etc. of an organization
2. Research is usually carried out to know know some someth thin ing g and and es esta tabl blis ish h a tru truth th
3. It h haas to to be be ca carried ou out in in rreelation tto oa specified framework
3. It d do oes no not fo follow an any ri rigid framework
4. It is a tool for good governance
4. It is carried out to investigate an event
5. Advocacy is on one of it its co components
5. Advocacy is not required after research
6. It is applied only for gauging service qua l it y
6. Research can be undertaken to inquire about any event
Source: ActionAid Bangladesh and Transparency International Bangladesh, 2001.
Report Cards are prepared and finalized through the following stages: 1. Preparatory stage: – iden identtific ificat atiion of inst nstitut itutio ion ns – de dete term rmin inat atio ion no off g goa oals ls an and do obj bjec ecti tive vess – identification o off re respondents – pre rep parat ration of of d dra raft ft questi stionna naiire – prepre-te test stin ing g and and fi fina nali liza zati tion on o off qu ques esti tion onna nair iree
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2.
– –
de detterm rmiining the size of sam sample de dete term rmiining ning the the sa sam mplin pling g stra stratteg egy y
–
preparin ring the sampling list.
Implementation stage: – collecting information – veri erifyi fying cco ollec ectted iin nform format atiion – ed ediiting collected infor formation – tab tabulating co colllec ectted in info form rmat atiion – an anaalyzing co colllecte cted in infform ormation.
3. Reporting and advocacy – finalizing the Report Card – rele releas asin ing g th thee Re Repo port rt C Car ard d re repo port rt and and iini niti tiat atin ing g ad advo voca cacy cy –
follow-up.
The print media generally publicizes Report Card findings prominently. prominently. Seminars and workshops involving local civic activists, representatives of NGOs and concerned citizens and authorities are also organized in connection with the release of Report Card findings. Report Cards Car ds provide an objective data base to put organized pressure on public service agencies. The information and findings provided by Report Cards have largely succeeded in catalyzing citizens to take proactive steps. Public interest groups, NGOs and international organizations are increasingly realizing the value of Report Cards in chalking out effective strategies to make public service agencies more responsive and accountable.
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Chapter 2
Objectives and research methodology 1. Ob Obje ject ctiv ives es of the the T TIB IB surv survey ey TIB conducted a Report Card survey of the primary prima ry education sector in Bangladesh to identify the shortcomings and defects in the country’s basic education system.5 It also aimed at locating and investigating corruption. This survey was conducted between 22 September and 20 December 2000 in eight Upazillas (sub-districts) of the greater Mymensingh district. It targeted both service providers and recipients: government primary education offices, primary school teachers and students and their guardians. The aim of the survey was to identify the gaps ga ps and flaws in Bangladesh’s primary education system as well as to locate and investigate corruption. The survey endeavoured to address the following issues: •
• •
•
•
5.
ascertaining the level of corruption in the appointment of primary school teachers; identifying the nature of corruption in the Upazilla Education Office; determining the satisfaction level of teachers concerning services provided by the officers and staff of the Upazilla Education Offices (UEOs); ascertaining the overall quality of service of various Upazilla Education Offices; ascertaining the level of corruption corrupti on in the admission of students in primary schools; All data in this paper paper has has been been taken taken from from TIB’s TIB’s report report on corru corrupti ption on in in p prima rimary ry education in Bangladesh (Transparency International Bangladesh, 2001).
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•
•
•
ascertaining the amount of surcharge subscriptions collected from primary school students; probing the nature and extent of corruption in the Food for Education Programme; and ascertaining the level of guardians’ satisfaction with the education of their children.
2. Th Thee T TIB IB Su Surv rvey ey:: rres esea earc rch hm met etho hodo dolo logy gy This Report Card survey was conducted on primary education offices, primary school teachers, students and their guardians in the Mymensingh Sadar, Muktagachha and Gouripur Upazillas of Mymensingh District, the Jamalpur Sadar and Sharishabari Upazillas of Jamalpur District, the Kishoreganj Sadar Upazilla of Kishoreganj District, the Madhupur Upazilla of Tangail District and in the Nalitabari Upazilla of Sherpur District. The Report Card survey was conducted on 171 head teachers, 966 students and 966 guardians – a total of 2,103 persons from 171 primary schools in eight Upazillas under five Districts. The survey covered 105 government, 40 nongovernment, 14 satellite and 12 community primary schools spread over these eight Upazillas. In six of the eight Upazillas,6 TIB had formed Committee Committeess of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) with a view to raising the awareness of the general public on corruption in the country. To this end, TIB also organized seminars and workshops, coalitions with of local groups and conducted research on the legal andformed institutional structures accountabil accountability ity.. These committees were established as part of TIB’s three-year (1 January Januar y 2000-31 December 2002) National Integrity Programme (NIP) and are continuing their operation under NIP Phase 2: Making Waves (1 January 2003-31 December 2007). These 6.
In Madh Madhupu upur, r, Nalit Nalitaba abari, ri, Mym Mymens ensing ingh h Sadar, Sadar, Mukt Muktaga agachh chha, a, Kisho Kishoreg reganj anj Sada Sadarr and Jamalpur Sadar Upazillas.
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Committees actively work to curb corruption in public and private organizations and for good governance. One aspect of their work was the Report Card survey. A specific intention behind conducting the Report Card survey in these six Upazillas is that the CCCs would be able to use the Report Cards as an advocacy tool for curbing corruption and to establish good governance. The other two Upazillas , namely Gouripur and Sharishabari, were used as control areas. Primary schools were selected by random sampling as were the responding students of the fourth and fifth grades. Information was collected from the head teachers of the schools and from students. A minimum of 20 primary schools was selected from each Upazilla. Of these, as a general rule, 10 were from among those covered by the Government of Bangladesh’s Food for Education Programme while the other 10 were from among those not covered by the Programme. In some Upazillas there was some deviation from this standard average. Eight students (four each from grades 4 and 5) were selected from each primary school covered under the Food for Education Programme. Of the four from each class, two were from those covered under the Food for Education Programme and the other two were from among students not covered under the programme. Information was also collected from guardians of all selected students as well as from the head teacher of each school. As for schools not included in the Food for Education Programme, Progr amme, four students (two each from grades 4 and 5) were selected from each primary school. Information alsoselected obtainedschool from also the guardians of these students. The head teacher was of each provided necessary information. Data for this sample survey was collected from 22 September to 20 December 2000. The sampling error of this survey was less than 2.5 per cent on a confidence level of 95 per cent.
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Chapter 3
Survey findings
Survey reports of the eight selected Upazillas indicated that there were 420,000 students enrolled in the 1,299 primary schools. On average, there were 329 students per primary school. It may be recalled that the national average for students per school is 226 (Bangaldesh Bureau of Statistics, 2002). This means that the number of students in this region is higher than the national average. The number of students in the primary schools of Mymensingh Sadar Upazilla is 537, the highest amongst the eight Upazillas. The teacher-student ratio in the survey area is 86 to 1 as against the national figure of 57 to 1. A perusal of the socio-economic conditions of the students revealed that the major occupation of students’ guardians covered in this survey was agriculture, with 46 per cent of guardians working in this sector while 15 per cent were in business and 10 per cent were labourers. Only 6.52 per cent of guardians were in the public service. Guardians of 81 per cent students covered in the survey belonged to the low-income group with a monthly income of Bangladesh Taka (BDT) 4,0007 or less. Only 10 per cent of students’ guardians had a monthly month ly income of BDT 4,000 to BDT 6,000. The survey showed that the average monthly income of guardians of the primary school students was BDT 2,488. It was evident, therefore, that children of low-income families attended these primary schools. The survey unearthed major irregularities in the system. It revealed that teachers, the school management and government employees were major 7.
58 BD BDT = 1 Unit United ed States ates do doll llar ar..
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actors in incidences of corruption. It also showed that lack of accountability was the principal facilitator for corruption. Other major reasons behind corruption were lack of transparency, low salary of employees, use of discretionary power, monopoly of power, the presence of powerful interest groups and last but not least, bureaucratic red tape. The survey also showed that students were required to make unauthorized payments for admission into the schools, purchase of books, sporting events, promotion to higher classes, entertainment of officers from the Upazilla Education Offices, holding of religious events as well as for various other purposes. Money was also collected as examination fees. It should be highlighted that neither specific guidelines nor any accounting accoun ting system existed for tthis his money. The survey findings are reported in this paper under three major headings: • • •
unauthorized fees collected from students; irregularities in the Food for Education Programme; and irregularities in the Primary Education Offices of the government.
Data has been presented using percentage rates and averages in such a manner as to give an overall picture of each Upazilla as well as to present a comprehensive analysis of the situation. The currency used is Bangladesh taka (58 BDT = 1 US$).
1. Vario arious us unau unauthor thorize ized d fees fees collect collected ed in primary primary scho schools ols One of the objectives of the survey was to find out whether students are forced to make any unauthorized payments in the various governmentowned primary schools. This section gives a description of the various fees that the students had to pay in these primary schools.
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Survey findings
a a..
Fees for admission into primary schools
Each year approximately one-fifth of students s tudents in primary schools complete their primary education (there is a substantial number of drop-outs) and move on to secondary schools and a corresponding number are enrolled in the primary schools. Ninety-one per cent of the guardians said that they did not have to pay any fees to have their children admitted to the schools. Only 6.52 per cent of guardians said that they had pay admission fees for their children. The survey showed that these guardians paid on average BDT 63 as admission fees. Guardians of 82.54 per cent of these students said that they were not given any receipts for the fees and only 17.46 per cent said that they were given receipts.
Table 3.1 3.1
Fe Fees es ffor or adm admis issi sion on into into prima primary ry scho schools ols
Name of Upazilla
Percentage of students paying admission fee
Amount collected yearly (in BDT)
M ad hup ur
-
-
Nalitabari
-
-
30.4
41,641
-
-
22.5
27,229
-
-
0.9
5,006
-
-
Mymensingh Sadar Muktagachha Kishoreganj Sadar Sharishabari Go ur i pur Jamalpur Sadar
Mymensingh Sadar, Kishoreganj Sadar and Gouripur Upazillas were respectively ranked as first, firs t, second and third in collecting admission fees for primary schools. In these three Upazillas 30 per cent, 22 per cent and 0.9 per cent of students respectively paid fees for admission. Admission fees were not collected in any of the other Upazillas. Table 3.1 also shows that primary
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schools in Mymensingh Sadar Upazilla collected on an average BDT 341,000 per year as admission fees. b.
Unauthorized payment for books
Primary school textbooks are provided free of charge by the Government of Bangladesh. The survey showed that school authorities collected fees to make these books available to the students. Of the students, 5.28 per cent said that they paid fees to obtain their textbooks. These students paid on average BDT 4. No fees were however taken from students in Kishoreganj Sadar, Gouripur and Sharishabari Upazillas. The survey also revealed that primary schools in Jamalpur Sadar Upazilla collected on average nearly BDT 39,000 per year for books. The amount for Madhupur, Mymensingh Sadar, Nalitabari and Muktagachha Upazillas were BDT 30,000, BDT 28,000, BDT 9,000 and BDT B DT 7,000 respectively. c c..
Fees for sports
The survey also showed that fees were often collected for games and sporting events. This fee fe e was said to be paid by 3.68 per cent of the students students.. An average of BDT 6.33 per person was collected from these students. This was reported in Mymensingh Sadar, Kishoreganj Sadar and Gouripur Upazillas. Fees for sports were not collected from students in the other Upazillas . Primary schools in Mymensingh Sadar Upazilla collected the largest amount of money for games. An amount of BDT 5.75 was collected on average from 17.4 per cent of the students in the Upazilla, amounting to a total of BDT 89,000 for games and sporting events. In Kishoreganj Sadar Upazilla, 6.67 per cent of the students in primary schools paid an average BDT 8.62, amounting to an annual collection of nearly BDT 26,000. In Gouripur
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Survey findings
Upazilla, 7.7 per cent of the students of the various v arious primary schools paid on
average BDT 5.5, which amounted to BDT 17,000 annually. d d..
Fees for promotion to the next class
The survey revealed that fees were collected from students for promotion to higher classes. This should not be misinterpreted to mean that students who had failed their finals were promoted in return for f or a fee. Rather, students who had passed their finals and should have been automatically promoted were required to pay this fee. In this regard, 2.26 per cent of the students said they had paid a fee for promotion to a higher class. These students paid an average of BDT 7.96. Instances of paying fees for promotion to a new class were only reported in Mymensingh Sadar Upazilla. The survey showed that a large amount of money (a total of BDT 16,000 annually) was collected from students being promoted to a higher class. e.
En Enter terta tain inme ment nt fe fees es fo forr P Pri rima mary ry Ed Educ ucat atio ion n O Off ffic icers ers
It is customary for schools to entertain officers from the primary education offices of the government – the Upazilla Education Officer or the Assistant Education Officer Offi cer – when they come to inspect the schools. There is a prevalent feeling among teachers and school management committees that if the officer is adequately entertained, he/she will look favorably upon the school. Some government officers also expect to be lavishly entertained.
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Table 3.2
Fee Feess ffor or entert entertain aining ing governm government ent office officers rs
Name of Upazilla
Average am amount co collected per student
Amount col collected yea yearly (in BDT)
1.90
1 08 , 1 42
-
-
Mymensingh Sadar
0.14
12,487
Muktagachha
2.73
1 41 , 8 80
Kishoreganj Sadar
3.47
1 55 , 7 27
Sharishabari
0.52
16,813
Go ur i pur
-
-
Jamalpur Sadar
-
-
M ad hup ur Nalitabari
The survey revealed that only some schools collected fees for entertaining these government officers, with 7.18 per cent of the students speaking of paying these fees. Primary schools in Kishoreganj Sadar Upazilla collected the highest amount under this head. Each student paid on average BDT 3.47 (see Table 3.2 ). In Muktagachha Upazilla the average fee charged was BDT 2.73. Fees collected from Kishoreganj Sadar, Muktagachha, Madhupur, Sharishabari and Mymensingh Sadar Upazillas amounted to BDT 155,000, BDT 142,000 142,000,, BDT 108,000, BDT 16,000 and BDT BDT 12,000 per annum respectively for entertainment of Education Officers. f.
Subscription for Milad8
Most schools hold a Milad ceremony on various religious occasions such as the birth and death anniversary of the Prophet Mohammad (S.M.). There are recitations from the Holy Koran and singing of hymns, with distribution of sweets afterwards. Schools generally do not have any funds for these ceremonies. 8.
Muslim rel religious ritual.
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Survey findings
According to the survey, a substantial amount was collected as a s fees for these Milad ceremonies. ceremonies. Of the students, 4.03 per cent confirmed paying an average of BDT 7.74 as fees for Milads. Primary schools in Mymensingh Sadar Upazilla collected the highest amount of fees for this purpose, amounting to a total of BDT 172,000 annually. In Muktagachha a total of BDT 19,000 was collected. The collection for Madhupur and Jamalpur Upazillas were BDT 9,000 and BDT 1,500 respectively. g g..
Examinati Examination on fees
The Government of Bangladesh does not award any grants to primary schools for conducting examinations. Consequently, teachers do not get paid for invigilation duties or for grading scripts. Teachers therefore collect fees from students for holding examinations. There is no government policy or indicated rate for such fees. This facilitates corruption and in certain places the fees charged are rather high. The following paragraphs provide a description of the amount of money collected from students in the survey area for conducting various examinations. (i (i))
Fe Fees es fo forr tthe he fi firs rstt tter erm m eexa xami mina nati tion on::
A total of 96.48 per cent of the students mentioned menti oned paying fees to be allowed to sit for the first term examination. On average, a fee of BDT 14.75 was charged per student. The survey showed that primary schools in these eight Upazillas collected a total of BDT 6,100,000 as fees for the first term examination. Primary school teachers in Mymensingh Sadar, Madhupur and Jamalpur Sadar Upazillas annually collected fees amounting to BDT 1,258,000, BDT 1,134,000 and BDT 920,000 respectively. Table 3.3 describes the average and annual amounts of money collected by the primary schools in different Upazillas for the first term examinations.
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Table able 3 3.3 .3
Firs Fi rstt tter erm m exa exami mina nati tion on fees fees
Name of Upazilla
Average am amount co collected per student (in BDT)
Amount col collected yea yearly (in BDT)
M ad hup ur
19.92
1, 133, 7 87
Nalitabari
18.54
48 8, 00 7
Mymensingh Sadar
14.11
1, 258, 4 99
Muktagachha
13.87
72 0, 83 7
Kishoreganj Sadar
13.18
59 1, 49 2
Sharishabari
13.00
42 0, 31 6
Go ur i pur
12.90
56 9, 43 1
Jamalpur Sadar
12.48
92 0, 52 4
Total
14.75
6, 102, 8 93
(ii) (ii) Fees for the seco second nd term exa examin minati ation on
The survey further revealed that fees were also collected from students for the second term examination. Ninety-six per cent of students confirmed paying the fee. BDT 14.64 was collected on average from each student for this examination. Primary schools of these eight Upazillas collected a total of about BDT 6,070,000 as fees for the second term exam. Table 3.4 gives the figures for each Upazilla.
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Table able 3.4
Seco Second nd term term exam examin inat atio ion n ffee eess
Name of Upazilla
Average amount collected per student (in BDT)
Amount unt colle llect cted ed year arlly (in BDT)
M ad hup ur
20.36
1 , 158, 8 30
Nalitabari
18.54
48 8, 80 7
Mymensingh Sadar
13.92
1 , 241, 5 52
Muktagachha
12.53
65 1, 19 7
Kishoreganj Sadar
13.69
61 8, 38 0
Sharishabari
13.00
42 0, 31 6
Go ur i pur
12.84
56 6, 78 3
Jamalpur Sadar
12.58
92 7, 90 0
Total
14.64
6 , 069, 7 65
(i (iii ii)) Fees ffor or the annu annual al exa examin minatio ation n
The survey also confirmed that fees were collected from students for the annual examination, with 96.24 per cent of students saying that they the y paid these fees at an average rate of BDT 14.65. A total of BDT 6,086,000 was raised annually from primary schools in these eight Upazillas as fees for the annual examination (see Table 3.5).
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Table able 3 3.5 .5
Annu Annual al ex exam amin inat atio ion n fees fees
Name of Upazilla
Average am amount co collected per student (in BDT)
Amount col collected yea yearly (in BDT)
M ad hup ur
20.14
1, 146, 3 08
Nalitabari
18.54
4 88 , 8 07
Mymensingh Sadar
14.01
1, 249, 5 80
Muktagachha
13.20
6 86 , 0 17
Kishoreganj Sadar
13.43
6 02 , 7 11
Sharishabari
13.00
4 20 , 3 16
Go ur i pur
12.87
5 68 , 1 07
Jamalpur Sadar
12.53
9 24 , 2 13
Total
14.65
6, 086, 0 59
h.
Fees for other purposes
The survey also revealed that fees were collected from students for various other purposes. It was found that 7.97 per cent of the students paid an average of BDT 7.79 for purposes other than those mentioned above. The highest collection was in Muktagachha Upazilla, where BDT 4.38 was collected per student on average, amounting to a total of BDT 227,000 (see ). Table 3.6 ).
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Survey findings
Table able 3 3.6 .6
Fe Fees es ffor or v var ario ious us oth other er p purp urpos oses es
Name of Upazilla
Average amount collected per student (in BDT)
Amount unt colle llect cted ed year arlly (in BDT)
M ad hup ur
-
-
Nalitabari
-
-
Mymensingh Sadar
0.17
15,162
Muktagachha
4.38
22 7, 63 3
Kishoreganj Sadar
0.39
17,502
Sharishabari
-
-
Go ur i pur
-
-
Jamalpur Sadar
-
-
i.
Tot otal al annu annual al co coll llec ecti tion on of un unau auth thor oriz ized ed fees fees
It was found that a total of over BDT 19,800,000 was collected each year in the eight Upazillas in the primary schools as fees under all the above heads. Of this, BDT 1,649,000 were collected for specific purposes such as fees for textbooks, sports etc, while BDT 18,200,000 was raised as examinati examination on fees. Table 3 3.7 .7 below shows the total amount of unauthorized fees collected by the primary schools in the Upazillas concerned.
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Table able 3 3.7 .7
Tota otall u unau nautho thoriz rized ed fee feess coll collect ected ed
Name of Upazilla
Average am amount co collected per student (in BDT)
Amount col collected yea yearly (in BDT)
M ad hup ur
62.86
3, 578, 0 00
Nalitabari
55.97
1, 475, 0 00
Mymensingh Sadar
48.77
4, 394, 0 00
Muktagachha
47.21
2, 453, 0 00
Kishoreganj Sadar
47.67
2, 139, 0 00
Sharishabari
39.52
1, 277, 0 00
Go ur i pur
39.03
1, 722, 0 00
Jamalpur Sadar
38.12
2, 811, 0 00
Total
1 9, 849 , 000
2. Th Thee F Foo ood d ffor or Ed Educ ucat atio ion n Pr Prog ogra ramm mmee The Government of Bangladesh embarked upon an innovative programme in 1991 to encourage guardians of low-income families to send their children to school. The purpose of the Food for Education Programme was to ensure that children of very poor families or low-income households, who were otherwise forced to engage in income-generating activities at an early age to augment the family’s f amily’s income, were sent to school. The criterion for eligibility was that the family concerned could not possess more than 50 decimals of land (100 decimals = 1 acre). The Government of Bangladesh launched this programme to increase the enrolment rate of children at primary primar y schools and thereby to increase the literacy rate. The project was operational in various primary schools of the country between 1991 and 2002. This section reviews the efficacy of the programme in terms of whether or not children of poor families benefited from the project and whether or not there was corruption in the project.
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Survey findings
Almost 10 years into the programme, the TIB survey found that there were deviations from this set criterion criter ion in 16 per cent of cases. Moreover, on average every student received 22 per cent less food grain every year. a a..
Corruption in selection of students
The sole criterion set by the Government of Bangladesh for inclusion of students in the Food for Education Programme was that the family concerned possessed 50 decimals of land or less. The survey revealed that the criterion was not observed in nearly 16 per cent of the cases. In respective of this deviation, the first, second and third positions were wer e held by Mymensingh Sadar, Kishoreganj Sadar and Gouripur Upazillas respectively, as shown in Table 3.8. The rates of deviation from the selection criterion for the Food for Education Programme in these Upazillas were 38.9 per cent, 28.2 per cent and 27.5 per cent respectively. On the other hand, the criterion was seen to be strictly adhered to in Muktagachha and Jamalpur Upazillas . There were a number of reasons contributing to these irregularities, namely intervention on behalf of the family by influential relatives or some other person and bribes taken by the concerned authorities.
Table 3.8
Cor Corrup ruptio tion n in the the se selec lectio tion n of stud student entss for for th thee Foo Food d for for Education Programme
Name of Upazilla
Percentage of students*
M ad hup ur
7.7
Nalitabari
17.5
Mymensingh Sadar Muktagachha Kishoreganj Sadar
38.90 28.20
Sharishabari
13.7
Go ur i pur
27.5
Jamalpur Sadar
-
* These students did not qualify for inclusion in the programme under the set criterion.
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b.
Intervention by influential persons
In reply to a question posed in the survey as to whether assistance of influential relatives or some other person was necessary, 13 per cent of the guardians said that they had to solicit the help of some such person for inclusion of their children in the project. These were guardians of students who were entitled to the benefits according to the government criterion. Seventy-three per cent of guardians said that they did not need to seek the help of any influential relative/person for the purpose. As illustrated in Table 3.9, 53.84 per cent of the guardians in Jamalpur Sadar Upazilla mentioned securing the help of some influential relative/other person to get their children included in the Food for Education Programme. In Kishoreganj and Mymensingh Sadar Upazillas, 20 per cent and 17 per cent of the guardians said that they had to seek help from such influential persons. Guardians in Nalitabari, Muktagachha, Sharishabari and Gouripur said they did not require the intervention interventio n of any such person on their behalf.
Table 3.9
Inter Interven ventio tion n by by iinfl nfluen uentia tiall pers persons ons
Name of Upazilla
Percentage of intervention
M ad hup ur Nalitabari Mymensingh Sadar Muktagachha Kishoreganj Sadar
5.12 16.67 20.51
Sharishabari
-
Go ur i pur
-
Jamalpur Sadar
53.84
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Survey findings
c c..
Bribes Bribe s
Nearly 16 per cent of guardians said that they had to pay bribes to ensure that their children were included in the programme, and 84.48 per cent of the guardians said that they did not have to pay any money for inclusion of their children in the project. The survey indicated that 15.5 per cent of students paid an average of BDT 32. In most cases it was the primary school teachers who collected this money (from 82.22 per cent of guardians). However 11.11 per cent of guardians paid the dealers and 2 per cent paid various other people involved with the Programme. The survey revealed that guardians guardian s had to pay for inclusion in the Food for Education Programme only in Jamalpur Sadar and Madhupur Upazillas. Money was not collected for this purpose in any of the other Upazillas. Seventy-two per cent of the guardians from whom money was collected in Jamalpur Sadar Upazilla said that the teachers collected this money, and 17.24 per cent of guardians said that the dealers collected the money. In Madhupur Upazilla, guardians reported that all the money was collected by teachers of the schools. d d..
Irregularities in the distribution of food grain
Those covered under the Food for Education Programme were also asked if they were given less food grain than their allocated share. Sixtyeight per cent of guardians said that they were always given less, whereas 24 per cent said that there were occasional shortfalls. Only 5 per cent of the guardians said that they always received their allotted quota. Four per cent were unable to answer this question (see Table 3.10).
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Table 3.10 Irregu Irregulariti larities es in di distribu stribution tion of food grain: grain: an overvie overview w Percentage of students Distribution of food under FEP
r a d a S r u p l a m a J
r u p i r u o G
22.5
80.55 89.74 94.87 48.26
48.27
53.85 67.59
-
62.5
16.67
-
37.93
43.59 24.13
-
12.5
-
-
-
20.69
3.45
2.56
4.82
5.12
2. 5
2.78
10.26
-
-
13.79
-
4.18
i r a b a t i l a N
Less than allocation
94.87
Occasional shortfall Never any shortfall
e.
a h h c a g a t k u M
r a d a S j n a g e r o h s i K
i r a b a h s i r a h S
r u p u h d a M
Did not know
r a d a S h g n i s n e m y M
5.12 31.03
l a t o T
Actual disbursement
In reply to the question as to how much less was distributed per monthly disbursement, 41 per cent of respondents said that they received 2 kilogrammes (kgs) less every time. Nearly 27 per cent of the respondents said that on average the amount received was 3 kgs less. Six per cent of respondents said they received 4.8 kgs less per disbursement. On average every student received 2.47 kgs less of food grain per disbursement. The annual shortfall came to 30 kgs per student. According to this estimate, 1,241 tons of food grain went ‘missing’ every year during distribution under the Food for Education Programme in these eight Upazillas. The market value of this missing food grain – at BDT 10 per kg – amounted to BDT 12,420,000. The survey revealed that of the eight Upazillas, Gouripur, Kishoreganj Sadar and Sharishabari occupied first, second and third positions in distributing
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reduced amounts of food grain under the Food for f or Education Programme. In these Upazillas every student received on average 3.67 kgs, 3.34 kgs and 2.92 kgs less per disbursement. On the other hand, Kishoreganj Sadar and Nalitabari performed better in the sense that they were at the other end of the spectrum.
Table 3.11 3 .11 Short Shortfalls falls in d disburs isbursement ement of food food grain Name of Upazilla
Average shortfall per st student per disbursement (in kgs)
Annual shortfall (in metric tons)
Value of missing food grain (in BDT at 2000 market prices)
M ad hup ur
2.27
231
2, 31 0, 000
Nalitabari
1.62
59
5 90 , 0 00
Mymensingh Sadar Muktagachha
2.84 1.86
356 143
3, 57 0, 000 1, 43 0, 000
Kishoreganj Sadar
3.34
69
6 90 , 0 00
Sharishabari
2.92
117
1, 17 0, 000
Go ur i pur
3.67
135
1, 35 0, 000
Jamalpur Sadar
1.94
131
1, 31 0, 000
1,241
12, 42 0, 000
Total
Looking at the overall picture, Table 3.11 shows that 356 tons less were distributed every year in Mymensingh Sadar Upazilla. The overall figures for Madhupur, Muktagachha and Gouripur were 231 tons, 143 tons and 135 tons respectively. In Jamalpur Sadar, Sharishabari, Kishoreganj Kishorega nj Sadar and Nalitabari Upazillas the quantities amounted to 131 tons, 117 tons, 69 tons and 59 tons respectively. The market value of this missing food grain was BDT 12,420,000. Despite all the irregularities, the survey nonetheless showed that there was a positive side of the Food for Education Programme. Given the socio-
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economic condition of the families concerned, conce rned, the amount of food grain the students took home did help their families. Some families sold the food grain on the market to augment their incomes and some kept it and used it for themselves. Of respondents, 45.51 per cent said that they benefited in several ways from the Programme, whereas 50.34 per cent said that they benefited to some extent. Only 0.34 per cent said that they did not benefit at all.
3. Cor Corrup rupti tion on in the Pri Primar mary yE Educ ducati ation on Office Officess of the government The survey also confirmed that corruption corr uption runs rampant in the primary education offices of the Government of Bangladesh: Approximately onethird of responding headrevealed teachersmany reported they had delays to bribe occasionally. The survey casesthat of intentional in officials delivery of services in the Union Parishad Primary Education Offices. Incidents of misbehaviour with teachers during primary school inspection by Education Officers were also reported. a a..
Bribery at Education Offices
In response to the question as to whether officials needed to be bribed to provide services that were their duty and responsibility (see Table 3.12), 34 per cent of responding head teachers said that they occasionally had to pay bribes. Thirteen per cent said that they had to bribe officials every time. However, 42 per cent replied that they never needed to pay bribes to have things done at the Education Offices. The amount of bribe varied according to the nature of the service required.
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Table 3.12 Bri Bribery bery at ed educat ucation ion o offi ffices ces Bribe required
Victimized head teachers (as a percentage of total)
r u p u h d a M
i r a b a t i l a N
r a d a S h g n i s n e m y M
r a d a S j n a g e r o h s i K
a h h c a g a t k u M
i r a b a h s i r a h S
r u p i r u o G
r a d a S r u p l a m a J
l a t o T
Alwa ys
20.0
0. 0
52.2
8. 0
4.8
4. 5
0. 0
10.0
12.86
Sometimes
65.0
36.8
4. 3
40.0
57.1
13.6
4. 8
65.0
33.92
Never
10.0
31.6
34.8
44.0
28.6
68.2
95.2
15.0
41.52
b.
Comparative positions of Upazilla Education Offices in bribe-taking
As shown in Table 3.13, Madhupur, Jamalpur Sadar and Kishoreganj Sadar Upazillas were respectively ranked first, second and third in taking bribes for providing services to schools and teachers. Eighty-five per cent, 75 per cent and 62 per cent of the teachers in these three Upazillas acknowledged that they needed to pay various amounts of bribes to various staff in the Education Offices. On the other hand, the Gouripur Upazilla Education Office stood at the bottom of the list. Only 4.8 per cent of the teachers of this Upazilla said that they had to pay bribes at these offices. Mymensingh Sadar, Muktagachha, Nalitabari and Sharishabari Upazillas ranked fourth, fifth, fift h, sixth and seventh respectively.
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Table 3. 3.13 13 Co Corru rrupt ptio ion n in Upazilla education offices Name of Upazilla M ad hup ur
Percentage of head teachers facing corruption 85.00
Nalitabari
36.80
Mymensingh Sadar
56.50
Muktagachha
48.00
Kishoreganj Sadar
61.90
Sharishabari
18.10
Go ur i pur
4.80
Jamalpur Sadar
c c..
75.00
Delays in service delivery
The survey revealed many instances of deliberate delays in delivery of services in the Education Offices. Head teachers reported that this was quite customary and that they expected delays and planned accordingly. The Upazilla Education Offices in Jamalpur Sadar, Madhupur and Nalitabari ranked first, second and third in terms of delayed delivery of services. As illustrated in Table 3 3.14 .14 , 95 per cent, 65 per cent and 63 per cent of teachers spoke of delays in service delivery in these three Upazillas respectively. Mymensingh Sadar Upazilla was at the bottom of the list. Only 13 per cent of the teachers of this Upazilla complained that the Education Office did not provide timely service. Kishoreganj Sadar, Muktagachha, Sharishabari and Gouripur ranked fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh on delayed delivery of services.
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Survey findings
Table 3.14 Delay Delayss in servi service ce deliver delivery y in Upazilla education offices Name of Upazilla M ad hup ur
Percentage of affected head teachers 65
Nalitabari
63.2
Mymensingh Sadar
13
Muktagachha
48
Kishoreganj Sadar
57.1
Sharishabari
18.2
Go ur i pur
14.3
Jamalpur Sadar
d d..
95
Hostility towards teachers during school inspections
Approximately one-third (29.82 per cent) of responding head teachers made allegations of misconduct/misbehaviour by Upazilla Education Officers during school inspections. They reported that these officers displayed arrogance, superciliousness and were often outright rude in their selfimportance. However, the majority of head teachers (59.65 per cent) said that the Upazilla Education Officer or Assistant Education Officer never misbehaved with them or any of the school teachers. teache rs. Only 3 per cent of head teachers said that inspecting officers always misbehaved with them during inspections.
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Table 3.15 Hosti Hostility lity towards towards teache teachers rs during sch school ool inspections inspections Name of Upazilla M ad hup ur
Percentage of respondents facing hostility 65
Nalitabari
84.2
Mymensingh Sadar
43.4
Muktagachha
-
Kishoreganj Sadar
23.8
Sharishabari
22.7
Go ur i pur
4.8
Jamalpur Sadar
30
Table from 3.15 the Upazillas is evident from thatUpazilla Nalitabari tops theOffice list ofmisbehave whereItthe concerned officials Education with teachers when inspecting primary schools. Eighty-four per cent of head teachers in this Upazilla spoke bitterly and vociferously about their experiences in this regard. Madhupur and Mymensingh Sadar Upazilla Education Offices occupied second and third places respectively r espectively.. Sixty-five per cent of teachers in Madhupur and 43 per cent in Mymensingh Sadar Upazilla reported incidents of misbehaviour. Jamalpur Sadar, Kishoreganj Sadar, Sharishabari and Gouripur Upazillas occupied the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh positions respectively in this regard. It I t was a very interesting finding that no teacher in Muktagachha Upazilla reported any such incident.
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Chapter 4
Report Card survey results 1. Recommendations A well-executed survey is a fruitless exercise unless the final package allows citizens to judge the accuracy of the research and utility of the findings. These latter must conform to user expectations and lead to practical interventions. Once the survey had been completed, TIB made a series of recommendations based on the findings: •
•
•
•
9.
There should be a valid account for collecting extra payments from students. The rate should be identical for all schools and students/ guardians should receive recei ve a receipt against these payments. pa yments. A guideline in this respect could be formulated after discussion in the School Managing Committees; The Upazilla Nirbahi Officer (UNO)9 should regularly check Meeting Minutes sent by the School Managing Committees. He/she He/s he should send letters to managing committees asking them to keep track of collections and to regularly check the accounts; Adequate measures in should taken to alert managing committees about possible corruption their be schools; The UNO should ensure that those responsible for school monitoring carry out their duties reliably;
The The Chie Chieff Exec Execut utiv ivee Offi Office cerr fo forr th thee Upazilla.
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•
The UNO should also ensure that 40 per cent of poor students are awarded stipends under the new Government stipend programme10 and
that the required guidelines in awarding the stipends are followed to the letter. TIB meticulously planned and subsequently launched extensive highprofile advocacy activities based on the findings of the survey and its recommendations.
2. Adv dvo ocacy activi vitties TIB conducted widespread advocacy activities based upon the survey findings. The major objectives of the advocacy programme were as follows: • • • • •
to curb corruption in the Upazilla Education Offices; to reduce different kinds of fees extorted by the primary schools; to curb corruption in the Food for Education Programme; to improve services in the Education Offices; and to improve the quality of education in the primary education sector. TIB’s advocacy activities were conducted in the following stages:
• • •
identifying the issues; arranging press conferences; sending the report to the authorities concerned;
• •
•
10.
sending letters to the concerned authorities asking forrecommendations; their co-operation; meeting with the concerned authorities and giving and organizing awareness building seminars in the survey areas.
This stipend stipend progra programme mme was intro introduce duced d in July July 2002 after the Food Food for Educat Education ion programme was brought to an end.
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Media releases proved an effective conduit for disseminating the survey findings. To enable a non-technical audience to assess the accuracy of the findings, media releases stressed the following points: • • • • • •
major issues explored in the survey; the survey sample; the response rate; analysis of the responses; identification of the problem areas; and suggested areas for improvement.11
The complete report was sent to various government officials to bring the situation to their notice, alert them about incidences of corruption and solicit their co-operation in resolving these irregularities. The following officials received the report: • • • • • •
•
•
• •
11.
Minister for Education, Government of Bangladesh; State Minister for Education, Government of Bangladesh; Member of the Parliament of each CCCs area; Secretary, Ministry of Education, Government of Bangladesh; Director-General, Directorate of Primary Education; Deputy Commissioners of Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Sherpur, T Tangail angail and Jamalpur districts; Additional Deputy Commissioners of Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Sherpur, Tangail and Jamalpur districts; District Education Officers Tangail and Jamalpur districts;of Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Sherpur, Upazilla Nirbahi Officers of all CCC areas; Upazilla Primary Education Officers and a nd Assistant Primary Educati Education on Officers of all CCC areas; Training workshop for the governance coalition, Bangladesh on the Report Card approach: A resource kit (2001). (2001).
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•
Presidents and Secretaries of the Upazilla Primary Teachers’ Associations of Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Nalitabari, Muktagachha, Madhupur and Jamalpur Upazillas.12
Each CCC sent letters to the District Administration, the District Education Offices, the Upazilla Primary Education Offices and the Upazilla Primary Teachers’ Associations seeking permission to meet with them (see Table 4.1). The main objective of these meetings was to seek co-operation from the authorities in curbing the corruption in the primary education sector se ctor that was identified in the survey s urvey.. Most of the authorities agreed to the meetings to discuss the report at length. Some government officers and teachers criticized the findings but others appreciated the initiatives taken by TIB.
12.
Combating corruption through promoting integrity in Public Service Delivery System
(2003).
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Table able 4.1
Advoca Advocacy cy m meet eeting ingss on the Rep Report ort Car Card d su surve rvey y
Ty p e s o f advocacy meeting
Meetings in CCC Areas
To t a l
Mad adhu hupu purr Nali Nalita taba bari ri Myme Mymens nsin ingh gh Mukt Muktag agac achh hhaa Ja Jama malp lpur ur Ki Kish shor oreg egan anjj Total Sadar Sadar Sadar Press c o nfe re nc e
1
1
1
1
1
1
6
Meeting with district admi nistr ati on
-
-
2
-
1
1
4
admi nistr ati on
1
-
-
1
-
1
3
Meeting with District Primary Education Offic er
-
-
1
1
-
1
3
Meeting with Upazilla Primary E duc ati on Of f icer
1
-
1
-
1
1
4
Meeting with Teachers’ As soc i at i on s
1
1
-
1
1
1
6
Meeting with h e a d t ea c h e r s
2
1
-
-
1
-
4
Meeting with C i v il So c i e ty
1
1
-
-
-
-
2
Education Co mmittee
-
1
1
-
-
-
2
Se mina rs
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
To t a l
7
5
6
4
5
7
35
Meeting with Upazilla
Meeting with Upazilla
Source: Transparency International Bangladesh, 2003.
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3. Impact of the study The final analysis was released releas ed and put in the public domain/forums for discussion and debate. Public officials, confronted confr onted with such public opinion ratings on the quality of service delivery, were called upon to provide explanations for their shortcomings and irregularities. irr egularities. The end result of this exercise was to: • • •
improve the quality of services provided; reduce the level of discretionary power exercised by civil servants; and increase the level of accountability by involving citizens in the entire process of monitoring the service delivery institutions.
The survey involved concerned citizens of the locality from the very outset of the process. These groups were representative of the local communities and TIB strived to involve them intimately with the survey process in order to develop ownership and sustainability of future advocacy programmes. The survey solidly placed the information generated in the public domain. Important feedback was received from the citizens/users on: • • • • • •
availability of services; satisfaction with services; responsiveness of service providers; hidden costs of services/corruption; willingness to pay for better services; and quality of life.
The survey also proved successful in developing a working relationship with local service providers in order to make future acceptance of citizens’ feedback and engagement possible. Of course, such interaction varied from
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person to person or from institution to institution. A high level of tact and understanding proved essential in order not to tread on toes or to display what might be interpreted as insensitivity. The most important element was the spontaneous and eager involvement of the concerned citizens. Without such involvement the project would have been undermined or sabotaged sabota ged by the intransigence of the local bureaucracy/politicians. bureaucracy/politicia ns. The District Administrations concerned gave positive assurance assuranc e to assist with advocacy activities and take necessary steps to implement the recommendations of the report. The Additional Deputy Commissioners also made a number of suggestions of their own to curb corruption in the primary education sector. Some District Primary Education Officers have taken initiatives to improve services in the Upazilla Primary Education Offices. A number of head teachers (outside the respondents) criticized the report, however most appreciated and agreed with the findings. The Primary Teachers’ Associations of the concerned Upazillas appreciated the initiatives of TIB and related their experiences in the Education Offices where they often faced corruption. Leaders of the Associations agreed with most of the findings of the report and promised to implement the recommendations of the report. The members of the Associations also accepted invitations to work alongside TIB in curbing corruption in the primary education sector. TIB has created an innovative advocacy tool called the People’s Theatre as a means of generating awareness awarenes s about and against corruption at all levels of society and its adverse impact on the country. The general aim of the theatre is to visualize the negative impact of corruption and to create consciousness among the general public in relation to the available service from the state. Findings of the Report Card survey have been incorporated into these theatre performances in order to encourage people to reject corrupt practices and create a demand for anti-corruption programmes that would enhance the level of service provided by the service delivery sectors.
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A number of meetings were also organized or ganized with members of civil society and with various civil society organizations. The discussions focused focus ed on ways and means to overcome corruption in primary education. Participants were representatives of different segments of society. The Kishoreganj CCC also organized a seminar on ‘Faults in basic education and solution’ on 22 August 2002. The main objective of the seminar was to inform various groups of people about different types of corruption in the primary education sector. The seminar was very well attended and an extremely fruitful discussion ensued. Later on, a series of workshops was organized based upon the survey findings on the role of civil society in ensuring transparency and accountability in the public sector. The survey was tremendously successful in engaging the interest of other civil society organizations and the media. TIB has found that the wider the constituency, the greater the success rate in terms of continued c ontinued advocacy. In terms of the changes introduced in comparison with previous practices, the survey made the following impact: •
•
•
Most of the Upazilla Primary Education Offices have become aware of incidents of irregularities in their offices and have taken initiatives to curb corruption. As a result, corruption has somewhat reduced r educed in these offices. A number of teachers informed the CCCs that subsequent to the report being published and the high-profile advocacy activities being conducted, they no longer have to pay bribes to the education educati on office to obtain services; Most of the education officials agreed with the findings of the report. Only a very small number of criticized the findings and complained that the report tarred them with the same brush regardless of the level/ degree of irregularities; The CCCs were able to establish very ver y good relations with the authorities, teachers and the administration;
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•
•
•
The CCCs were able to talk to more than 500 head teachers of primary schools and a large number of education officers; As a result of CCC advocacy, a number of education offices decided on a fixed amount of fees for various purposes. Before the advocacy, the amount was not fixed and a large number of schools collected a huge amount of money as fees from students for various purposes. purpose s. For instance, the examination fee for the students of Madhupur was on average BDT 20. After the CCC initiatives, the authorities decided to collect BDT 15 per student as examination fees. The officials of other areas have also taken decisions to fix lower ceilings for these fees; Teachers have become alert about the consequences of collecting unauthorized payments from students.
In terms of approach, from a political point of view TIB has found a bipartisan approach critical. Concerned citizens maintaining an equal distance in relation to the main political parties can make the difference between success and failure of the initiative. The survey has also presented an opportunity for the ‘other side’ to present their case. The level of interaction has depended on the existing relationship between concerned citizens and service delivery institutions. It has been TIB’s experience that it is far more effective if service delivery institutions can be persuaded that the data is acceptable and that there is need for improvement. Such an acceptance can jump start future fut ure advocacy campa campaigns. igns. The survey was able to identify the nature and extent of corruption in the primary education sector in the selected areas. As a result of continued advocacy, the concerned authorities were alerted about corruption in their areas and took appropriate measures in this regard. regar d. The report also contributed towards establishing good relations with the relevant authorities. However, changes in the behaviour of officials and improvements in the quality of services that they provide are very slow. The above-mentioned findings indicate that only minor improvements have taken place. In some of the TIB working areas in Bangladesh the various incidences of corruption have only slightly
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lowered. TIB hopes that over a period of time such ‘questioning’ by an enlightened group of concerned citizens will help to increase the level of accountability of these public servants.
4. Pr Prob oble lems ms an and d co cons nstr trai aint ntss The concept of a participatory monitoring process in relation to such service delivery institutions as schools and government education offices is a new and innovative approach in Bangladesh. Surveys findings f indings in time became advocacy tools, i.e. the findings were disseminated to raise awareness, which led to demand for better services. In this regard, TIB faced a number of difficulties in implementing its recommendations: •
•
•
•
There were excessive delays in arranging meetings with the authorities concerned. It took a long time to persuade them and to then make appointments; There was significant apprehension apprehensio n on the part of government teachers and officers in co-operating with TIB. A nu number mber of officials were initially uneasy about TIB. Most primary school teachers, being government employees, were not enthusiastic about assisting TIB because becaus e of possible sanctions from the authorities concerned. A number of officials were also anxious about the motives motive s behind the survey. As a result, they di did d not participate in advocacy activities; A number of officials and teachers became unhappy with TIB and the CCCs for putting the survey findings in the public domain. For instance, the Upazilla Education Officer of Muktagachha (who incidentally incidenta lly was also a member of the Muktagachha CCC) resigned res igned from the CCC after the release of the report. Furthermore, she displayed a highly non-cooperative attitude and no longer took part in any activity carried carr ied out by TIB and the CCC; The Official Secrets Act of 1923 was often cited by Government Governme nt officers to withhold information.
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Chapter 5
Conclusions and future perspectives 1. Lessons learned TIB has learned some valuable lessons from f rom implementing this project. Last minute decisions and changes were a great hindrance and in many cases the absence of a systematic work plan hampered the process. The necessity of cordial relations with the concerned concer ned authorities and the value of systematic consultations with all levels of stakeholders have also been learnt. TIB has also realized that an advocacy team should be not only highly motivated and able to rise above petty differences for the sake of a greater cause: It should also be well trained so that it may carry out its responsibiliti responsibilities es in a satisfactory manner. Finally, a realistic budget should be prepared with adequate allocations in order to ensure that project components can be optimally implemented without constraints.
2. Future plans TIB plans to try to curb the particular incidences of corruption revealed by the survey, through the following actions: •
• •
arranging a number of Focus Group Discussions with different education officials at Upazilla and District levels and at the Secretariat; meeting with the leaders of different Teachers’ Associations; holding informal discussions with the guardians of the students;
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•
•
meeting with the food distributors involved with the Food for Education Programme;13 and conducting periodic Report Card surveys to assess changes, note progress and highlight areas for further improvement.
3. Conclusion Corruption in Bangladesh has now become a huge systemic problem that cannot be avoided by any member of society. It has become to a great extent almost part and parcel of the country’s culture. It is necessary to develop first and foremost a holistic approach in order to curb corruption. Furthermore,, in the present context of increasing globalization, the fight against Furthermore corruption needs to originate primarily from an indigenous perspective in order to be effective. Corruption, defined as misuse of public resources resource s and office for private and personal gain, is an endemic issue in most developing countries. It affects the quality of life of ordinary citizens in many ways but one such manifestation is the poor and deteriorating level of service delivery in sectors such as health and education. Researchers and practitioners have identified a number of reasons for such malfeasance. Among the most common reasons are the high level of discretionary power of service providers, the minimal level of accountability between service providers provide rs and recipients and the lack of ‘exit routes’ or choice available to service recipients. In such circumstances it is often difficult for citizens to confront service providers directly. It is even more difficult, politically politicall y and socially, for poor
13.
CCC membe members rs had plann planned ed to sit sit with with the distribut distributors ors to ident identify ify the the reasons reasons behind behind the the various irregularities. irregularit ies. However, the Government of Bangladesh stopped the Programme in June 2002. At present there is a Stipend Programme (since July 2002) that gives 60 per cent of students BDT 100 per month.
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Conclusions and future perspectives perspectives
citizens to openly cite corruption of bureaucrats burea ucrats and politicians, who tend to control the provision of such basic services as health and education. In order to overcome this initial hurdle civil society organizations organization s have been involving citizens in a participatory monitoring process proce ss in relation to such service delivery institutions as schools, hospitals/health centres, courts and municipalities. An empowered citizenry is the mainstay mainsta y of a country’s national integrity system. Citizens need to be informed, aware awa re of their rights, willing to claim them and prepared where necessary to complain without fearing eventual oppression. Substantial and lasting change will be accomplished only if a large number of people from every socioeconomic background demand accountability and transparency in the way services are provided. This Report Card survey was conducted as part of TIB’s efforts to raise awareness of the general public of corruption in certain service delivery sectors of the country. The objective of conducting the Report Card survey in these six Upazillas was that the findings could be used as an advocacy tool for curbing corruption and to establish good governance in those areas. The Report Card surveys carried out in some of these Upazillas have been instrumental in initiating changes in the quality of primary education. The exercise has succeeded in creating greater awareness among both citizens (users) and government agencies (service providers). Dialogue with service providers for reform refor m has been an important outcome of these exercises. The Report Card model has also been applied to the study of significant themes such as quality of health care services servic es in public hospitals and, more recently, to the service delivery of the local government system and land administration. This was Bangladesh’s first independent assessment of the quality of public services by citizens and it provided the platform for a paradigm shift in performance management and accountability in public service delivery. This tool can be a powerful new instrument of collective public voice for effective change at all levels of government and all stages of democracies. TIB TI B hopes
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that the Report Card approach will be replicated by other like-minded organizations and that it will also be used to assess as sess the quality of governance at the state level.
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Appendix
Advocacy techniques and characteristics
Advocacy: Advocacy is a process of effective communication that is used to influence the opinion and behaviour of policy planners and decisiondecis ionmakers towards a specific goal. Advocacy = to influence policy makers to frame pro-people policies Advocate = those who work to influence policy makers to frame propeople policies Lawyer = legal practitioners working on the side of the law Characteristics of advocacy: a) b) c) d) e) f)
plan planne ned d an and d co cont ntin inuo uous us wo work rk alw alway ayss d dire irect cted ed tow toward ardss p posi ositi tive ve tra trans nsfor forma matio tion n deman demands ds n new ewer er aarra rrang ngeme ement ntss in ex exist isting ing po power wer rel relat atio ions ns pro promo motes tes the the in inte teres rests ts o off th thee pe peop ople le iin n th thee po poli licy cy p proc rocess ess invol involve vess tho those se p peop eople le who who h hav avee sta stake kess in tthe he formu formula lated ted pol polic icy y ad dy yna nam mic aan nd ccre reat atiive p pro roccess ess
Advocacy strategies: Five strategies are adopted for achieving the primary objective and for executing the main programme. These are: Co-operation strategy: the main purpose is to build collaboration between the community, group, the state and/or business bus iness sector. Education strategy: the main purpose is to build political awareness and raise critical consciousness; involves strengthening NGOs.
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Litigation strategy: the main purpose is to promote change by using the court system. Persuasion strategy: the main purpose is to use information, analysis and citizens’ mobilization to press for change. Conformation strategy: the purpose is to voice protest pr otest to draw attention to the negative policy impacts and bring pressure for change; this can lead to conflicts.
Qualities of an advocate • • •
• • • • • • • • • •
a clear idea of the relevant issues capacity for analysis of social scenario idea about different phases and practical implications/ramifications of the issue good communicator wisdom capacity to analyze the situation capacity to give prompt decisions a good organizer drive and initiative time conscious good planner mental readiness to accept other people’s opinion good speaker
Different processes of advocacy a)
b)
Build Buildin ing g a net netwo work: rk: bui build ldin ing g a net networ work k among among tthos hosee who lloo ook k at the the problem with similar views and attitudes and are prepared to face it. This is considered the first step in working on a particular issue. Buildin Building g a sshort hort-ter -term m co coalit alition ion:: to bui build ld a shor short-te t-term rm co coali alition tion with tho those se individuals and organizations that work for same or similar short-term
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Appendix
c)
d)
e)
goals. This type of coalition may undergo change anytime; it is better to give it a permanent shape. It can be more effective if unexpected allies – who are not generally considered to be allies – can be included in the coalition. Buil Building ding a longlong-term term coal coalitio ition: n: to b build uild and sust sustain ain a lo long-t ng-term erm coal coalitio ition n with regular action programmes in order to attain specific aims, objectives and decisions. Different individuals and organizations of various segments of the civil society with different ideologies or individual segments such as women can also be partners in this coalition. These coalitions are most effective when they are ready to jump into action on any issue. Mass Mass me media dia:: The The ma mass ss medi mediaa sh shoul ould d be iinv nvol olved ved as th thee ro role le p play layed ed b by y the mass media in projecting the hopes and aspirations of the people is crucial in the formulation and transformation of policies. Leg Legisl islatu ature: re: In Ba Bangl nglade adesh, sh, the pri princi ncipal pal deci decision sion-ma -makin king g autho authorit rities ies are the parliament, parliamentary standing committees and relevant government officials, whether elected officials or government officers: The power of making decisions lies with them. As a result, decisionmakers within the ‘government’ must be approached. Frequently pressured by various vested interests, they surrender to these vested interests if the people do not apply a counter-force to them. Theoretically, the parliament or parliamentarians are very important in the political system of Bangladesh due to its law-making function. Many Man y other people are directly or indirectly involved in the formulation of a law or bill. For example, officials of ministries, ministers, the cabinet and different parliamentary committees are intimately involved with the lawmaking process. Thus, to be able to influence the legislative and policy process, it is important to have a good idea of the whole law-making process; besides, communication must be maintained on a continuous basis with officers of different levels, the parliamentary committees, members of parliament and the ministers.
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prepa ratory tasks Practical aspects of advocacy: As a policy activist, some preparatory are essential when undertaking advocacy work or lobbying with the local member of parliament or relevant government officials. This is because any advocacy work or lobbying has a specific agenda or objective. Orderly and well-planned steps are needed to achieve these objectives, which gradually lead to the goals. First, First , it is essential to fix an agenda. For example, we can consider the subject of conservation of Sal (Sho Shore rea a robusl robusla a) forest. To start advocacy or lobbying on this agenda, the first requirement is the sale of the objective. The objectives objec tives for advocacy on the subject may include: (i) to preserve the Sal forest which is nearing extinction, and (ii) economic and social empowerment of the local people through participation participati on of the poor in the management of Sal forest. Following this, a lobbyist or policy activist would need to know all information about a Sal forest. This may include the present land area of the Sal forest, the land area that is surrounded by Sal trees, the degree of destruction of the forest during the past two decades, government and private initiatives for forest conservation and general information about the outcome of these initiatives. The above-mentioned information would assist an advocate or lobbyist lobbyis t by serving as the primary basis for f or conducting a lobbying programme on “Sal forest conservation” with the elected MP of the area, relevant forest official and local people. Apart from these, a lobbyist must also have a clear idea about many other practical aspects (Transparency International Bangladesh, 2001).
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Study 2 Quality Schools Programme in Mexico – Improving accountability and transparency in schools* Claudia A. Santizo Rodall is consultant for education policies. She has a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Birmingham, UK and is the author of articles on decentralization policies for the education sector in Mexico. Her PhD dissertation deals with the implementation of Carrera Magisteria Magis teriall (an advancement programme for teachers) in Mexico. She teaches Public Policy Analysis at the Institu Instituto to Tecnológico ecnológ ico de Estudios Estudi os Superiores de Monterrey, ITESM, in Mexico City.
Enrique Cabrero Mendoza is professor and researcher at the Centre for Research and Teaching Economics (CIDE) in Mexico City. He has a PhD in Public Management from the Centre d’Enseignement Supérieur des Affaires, France. He is the author of books and articles on decentralization topics, local government, organization theory and public management. He belongs to the National Researchers’ System (SNI) in Mexico.
*
The presen presentt resea research rch benefi benefited ted from from the the financ financial ial suppor supportt of the the Nati Nationa onall Co-or Co-ordin dinati ation on of the Quality Schools Programme, QSP. QSP. This agency is interested in external eevaluation valuation of its programme in order to improve its practice. César Nájera Tijera collaborated on this research during the fieldwork stage.
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Executive summary This research analyzes the implementation of the Quality Schools Programme (QSP) created in 2001. This programme delegates functions to elementary education schools so they can improve material materi al and pedagogical aspects of their teaching. School directors, teachers and students’ parents are responsible for developing a school project, which is financed by the QSP.. The QSP introduc QSP introduces es mechanisms fo forr social partic participation ipation that can prom promote ote transparency and accountability during QSP implementation. These mechanisms can also prevent, and fight, corruption practices. QSP execution overcomes vertical and bureaucratic practices in education sector policies by promoting horizontal relationships among school community members that foster mutual responsibility in solving problems. The QSP also promotes the contribution of external actors to schools’ development. QSP operations demand negotiations among school directors, teachers and parents: Policy networks for QSP implementation are formed as a result. The policy networks approach used in this research highlights the balance of power between actors implementing the QSP. QSP. Actors’ interactions within networks determine success in achieving transparency, accountability and social participation in schools during QSP implementation. T To o assess success in these areas, this research has developed case studies in 25 schools in five Mexican states in order to interview members of School Councils such as directors, teachers and parents. School sector chiefs, school supervisors and State QSP Co-ordinators were also interviewed. In total, 118 interviews were undertaken, the results of which were codified according to the following indicators: level of social participation, par ticipation, transparency and accountability. accountability. These indicators made it possible to rank schools according to low or high performance perf ormance as well as the extent to which QSP rules were followed.
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Quality Schools Programme in Mexico
Indicators of social participation were lower than those of transparency and accountability in most of the case studies. The most active school members sit on the School Councils: They trigger transparency and accountability in order to encourage school community participation in QSP implementation. The main lesson for public policies, in Mexico Mexic o and in other countries, is that policies based on mutual responsibility create incentives for transparency during decision-making processes at schools while at the same time promoting accountability at the school level. Those schools identified with low performance warn us about potential problems that can develop during QSP operations. Among these problems are: lack of collective work, lack of transparency in decision-making and dominance dominanc e of a small number of actors during QSP development. These problems must be prevented in order to successfully implement the QSP in the future and to discourage corrupt practices.
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Introduction
This report deals with the experience of designing and implementing a new programme in Mexico to enhance the quality of elementary education: the Quality Schools Programme (QSP). This programme was initiated in 2001 and has among its purposes to eliminate bureaucratic culture by promoting horizontal relations in which responsibilities at the school level are shared among school directors, teachers and parents in order to advance children’s education and improve schools. The design of QSP established among its priorities the promotion of transparency and accountability in schools in order to solve problems of efficiency and effectiveness. It was not designed with the purpose of ending specific situations where corruption could be present, but rather to contribute to fighting them. The QSP promotes community participation through formulation and implementation by each school community of a school project that must foster quality and improvement in the environment for children’s education. The QSP allocates financial resources that are a re administrated directly by each school in the programme. Consequently it is important that school communities, which represent social participatio participation, n, demand transparency and accountability in relation to their school projects and the use of financial resources. The National QSP Co-ordination sponsored the present research, the objective of which is to analyze QSP implementation at 25 schools in five Mexican states. This study was undertaken from July to September 2003. The main finding is that QSP design, based on shared responsibilities among school community members (such as the school director and parents’ and teachers’ representatives) representative s) fosters co-operation and mutual supervision. This brought, first of all, more efficient and transparent decision-making processes
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inside schools and secondly the promotion pr omotion of a culture of accountability. It is emphasized that the design of QSP facilitates social prevention of corruption cor ruption practices. This paper begins by introducing a brief background of the administration of the education sector in Mexico. In Chapter 2, the implementation of QSP is described. In Chapter 3, political relationships surrounding QSP implementation are analyzed. Chapter 4 develops the research methodology methodology.. Chapter 5 introduces research results and is followed by conclusions.
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Chapter 1
Elementary education administration administration in Mexico
The federal government, through the National Ministry of Education, and the National Teachers’ Union signed the National Agreement for Elementary Education Modernization Modernization in 1992. This supported three main policies to reform public elementary education, which were: i) to reorganize its administration by decentralizing responsibilities to the state governments, ii) to improve appreciation of society by teachers by introducing a civil service or carrera nationally- used textbooks magisterial , and iii) to reformulate the content of nationally-used for elementary education schools. The National Agreement becomes relevant to the decentralization of public elementary education if one takes into account that from fr om 1921 to 1992 this type of education was mainly the responsibility re sponsibility of the federal government. When the process of decentralization took place in 1992, 21 million students, 800,000 teachers (equivalent to 72.6 per cent of the total number of elementary education teachers in the country) and 154,000 elementary education schools (comprising kindergarten, primary and secondary education) were transferred from the federal government to the states for their administration (Barba, 2000; Moctezuma, 1994). If we define decentralization as the deconcentration and/or devolution of decision-making authority (Allen, (Allen , 1990), the National Agreement was an incomplete decentralized policy, or a functional devolution, in the sense that responsibilities were assigned but not accompanied by decision-making power (Cabrero et al, 1997; Santizo, 1997). In other words, state government administrators must strictly follow federal directives for education policies,
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leaving few opportunities to develop local initiatives or foster innovation. Furthermore, the elementary education sector in Mexico has been characterized by the absence of accountability mechanisms and means to promote transparency, which also reaches the school level. Mexican public administrations have focused on enacting government policies polici es , leaving aside the public side of policies, in the sense that the constituency had no role in public policies’ formulation or implementation (Cabrero, 2000). In 2001 the federal government through the Ministry of Education created the QSP as a policy that incorporated the public side of public policies as it focuses on the school level to empower school communities. School communities should improve aspects of pedagogy and infrastructuree that have an effect on schools’ development and the quality of infrastructur education the QSP thereforeeducation contributes to ending trend that provided; characterized the Mexican system fromthe itscentralization origins until recent developments. During its first year of operations, the school sc hool year 2001-2002, the QSP counted 2,240 participating schools. s chools. T Two wo years later, during the school year 2003-2004, the QSP aimed to include 15,000 schools. This target represented 16 per cent of the total number of public schools in which the QSP could be applied.
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Elementary education administration in Mexico
Box 1. Sch School oolss p part articip icipati ating ng in the QSP by sch school ool yea yearr In the early stages, the QSP operated in primary schools situated in poor urban areas only. In 2002, however, schools for indigenous people in rural areas and schools with facilities to provide secondary education through TV broadcasting were included.
QSP Schools Total of schools1 % of QSP schools *
Cycle 2001- 2 002
Cycle 2002 - 2003
Cycle 2003-2004 Goal set by the QSP
2,240
9,820
15,211
93,996
94,507
94 , 5 07 *
2.4
10.4
16.1
This This total total repres represent entss all all publi publicc primar primary y educa educatio tion n scho schools ols in the the ccoun ountry try includ including ing indigenous education. In addition secondary education through TV broadcasting (telesecundarias in Spanish) is included. For the school year 2003-2004, the total amount of schools from the previous year was considered.
The QSP strategy for implementation is based on the construction of inclusive or extensive social participation as well as the improvement of accountability and transparency mechanisms in public management. In this sense, the QSP programme is fostering the formation of networks for implementation and QSP principles could develop into a fight f ight against corruption from the most basic unit in the education sector: the school. Moreover, democracy in Mexico is experiencing a process of consolidation and therefore therefor e a programme such as the QSP has the challenge of multiplying its effects ef fects on other public policies.
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Chapter 2
QSP design for implementation
The QSP promotes community participation through formulation and implementation by each school community of a school project that is financed by the QSP but conditional on schools’ acquisition of additional funding from municipal authorities and the private sector. 14 A school community comprehends the school director, teachers and parents. School communities are organized around their projects and the relationships established between their members are at the heart of QSP implementation.15 This section describes the administrative structure of the QSP and the process of resource allocation to school projects. f ocuses on analytical issues to explain relationships among actors Chapter 3 focuses during QSP implementation.
14. 15.
The State State Counci Councill for social social partici participati pation on select select school school projec projects ts accordin according g to the the rules for projects selection established in the QSP operation rules described in Appendix 1. This paper paper takes takes into into accoun accountt QSP operat operation ion rules rules for the the school school year year 2002-20 2002-2003 03 wh where ere schools developed school projects. These rules changed for the school year 2003-2004, when the school project changed its name to Strategic Project for School Transformation (Plan Estratégico de Transformación Escolar or or PETE in its Spanish acronym) acronym) which represents a broader concept of school transformation. A PETE should contain results of a school management’s management’s self-evaluation, a brief description of the school’s vision as well as its mission towards its community and the functions and compromises of the director and teachers. In addition, a PETE should describe the objectives and strategies that the director and its teachers will follow to improve their school’s operations in three dimensions: its management, its pedagogical techniques and its community’s participation. See rule 4.4.1.3 of the QSP National Operation Rules, The Federation Official Diary, 29 August 2003.
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Box 2. Char Charac acte teri rist stic icss of sc scho hool ol p pro roje ject ctss QSP operation rules for 2002-2003 established (in rule 5) that each state would design its own strategy for QSP operation according to their own school transformation transformat ion programmes and the support needed by schools in poor areas. A school project is an instrument for planning and development. Planning should comprehend at least 5 years so as to overcome problems associated with shortterm planning or annual planning. The school project should start from the analysis of the school’s diagnostic (rule 5.3.1). Each school community should express its vision, goals, strategies and compromises in its project. A p project roject must also include strategies for innovation and actions for each one of the following three dimensions: (i) the organization of the general functioning of a school, (ii) teaching, and (iii) collaboration between the school and parents. Rule 4.15 mandates that 80 per cent of QSP resources received by schools should be used to furniture buy pedagogical and for20 school maintenance equipment such as or books.material The remaining per cent can be usedand for teacher training, courses to update the director’s skills and parental guidance. In practice, each school project must include three elements: •
•
•
a diagnosis of the school’s situation including its main problems or needs. Problems and needs in each school should be identified through a survey of parents and teachers. Once problems have been identified these should be ranked and priorities established; general and specific objectives and the activities necessary to attain them, those responsible for each activity and the evaluation instruments to be used. Specific objectives should refer to each of the following three topics: – t e a c h i n g m e t ho d s ; – s c h o ol m maanagement; and – re rela lati tion onsh ship ipss bet betwe ween en pa pare rent ntss aand nd sc scho hool ol auth author orit itie ies; s; an annual working plan that should include all those proposed actions as well as sources of funding and actions and their costs according to the following activities: – bu buil ildi ding ng pl plan ans, s, ac acqu quis isit itio ion no off eequ quip ipme ment nt an and db boo ooks ks;; – sc scho hool ol m mai aint nten enan ance ce aand nd aacq cqui uisi siti tion on o off pe peda dago gogi gica call ma mate teri rial al;; – ot othe herr ac acti tivi viti ties es tto o re rein info forc rcee te teac achi hing ng aand nd llea earn rnin ing g pr proc oces esse ses. s.
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QSP design for implementation
1. QSP adm admini inistr strati ative ve str struct ucture ure for imp implem lement entati ation on Three main groups of administrative structure are involved in QSP implementation as shown in Figure 2.1.16 The first group is composed of each school’s Council for Social Participation (School Council). This council is composed of a school director, who is president of the Council; a parents’ representative who in most cases is the President of the Parents Association; and a teachers’ representative who may in turn be the representative of the National Teachers’ Union in his/her sschool. chool.17 School Councils have functions that include the formulation of school projects, management of projects’ financial resources and supervision of the achievement of project objectives.
16.
17.
See Table Table 11, 11, Particip Participants ants in the the program program and their their main main responsib responsibilit ilities, ies, “QSP “QSP Natio National nal Operation Rules”, published in The Federation Official Diary, Mexico City, on 3 March 2002. School School Council Councilss for Social Social Participati Participation on were were created created before before the QSP QSP regulati regulations ons of 2001 by the General Law for Education of 1993 (see Articles 68 to 73). School Councils, however, were given concrete concret e operational functions in 2001 when the QSP was created.
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Figure 2.1 Scheme of actors actors during QSP implementat implementation ion (first group)
(second group)
Unit of analysis: School Council of Social Participation School directors Teachers Parents Other actors, such as: municipal governments, former students, state entrepreneurs, and local professionals
National QSP co-ordination
State QSP co-ordination Links amongst states’ education authorities and schools School sector chiefs School supervisors Supervisors’ technical and pedagogical assistants
(third group) Councils State councils of social participation Municipal councils of social participation
The National and State QSP Co-ordinations, Co-ordinations , made up of the education authorities, are part of a second group of administrative structures. State QSP Co-ordinations are responsible for implementing the QSP in each state. They select school projects and in co-ordination with other agencies supervise super vise the application of QSP evaluations in participating schools. In this second group those who serve as a link (or enlace) between schools and each State QSP Co-ordination are included. Among Among these latter are: ar e: School Sector Chiefs, School Inspectors or Supervisors and Supervisors’ Technical Pedagogical Assistants.
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QSP design for implementation
Box Bo x 3. 3. QS QSP P schoo schooll ssel elect ectio ion n p proc roces esss The QSP application process involves the following five stages: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
sch school ool reg regist istrat ration ion onc oncee tthe he QSP ope openin ning g ha hass b been een pub publis lished hed by tthe he State QSP co-ordinati co-ordination; on; sch school ool d dire irecto ctors rs and and tea teache cherr tra traini ining ng fo forr ela elabor borati ation on of scho school ol pr proje oject; ct; sch school ool pro project jectss and and aannua nnuall pr progra ogramme mme form formula ulation tion for eac each h of the appl applica icant nt schools; scho school ol proj projec ectt as asse sess ssme ment nt;; an and d scho school ol pro proje ject ct sele lect ctio ion n.
Rule 5.2 indicates that QSP participation is voluntary and that all schools that comply with the requirements established by the QSP can apply for the project selection process. However, schools should commit themselves to activating their School Council for Social Participation and directors and teachers should receive training for their school project and annual programme elaboration.
Finally, the State and Municipal Councils ffor Finally, or Social Participation comprise a third group. The General Law for Education of 1993 (see Box 4) established these Councils in addition to the School Councils. Parents’ and teachers’ representatives as well as officials of education and members of the local community should be part of State and Municipal Councils (see Box 2). Each year State Councils select those schools that will be part of the QSP based on the advice produced by each state selection committee (see Chapter 2 and Section 1). Furthermore, Municipal Councils should promote the involvement of schools in the QSP QSP.. These Councils are respons responsible ible along with School Councils for seeking donations for school projects, which can be provided by the private and social s ocial sectors in each local loc al community community..
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Box 4. State and municipal Councils for Social Participation The General Law for Education of 1993 established that education authorities must promote society’s participation in activities related to education. Article 70 of the General Law establishes that in each municipality a Municipal Council for Social Participation will operate. Municipal authorities, parents and their associations, distinguished teachers, school directors, teachers’ unions and social organizations’ representatives as well as any person interested in the improvement of education may sit on these Councils. Article 71 establishes that State Councils for Social Participation will have a consultancy role in the education sector, therefore providing advice and support. In these Councils parents and their associations, teachers and their union’ss representatives as well as pedagogical institutions, state and municipal union’ authorities and those members have their participation ensured.of society with an interest on education will In the State of Aguascalientes, for example, the State Council was composed of a supervisor of secondary education education;; the director of indigenous education; municipality representatives, representatives, some of whom are teachers; education officials from each municipality; a teacher’s union representative; primary and secondary school directors’ representatives; the state’s parents’ association representatives; and representatives of society such as doctors and media workers. There were 33 members of the State Council for Social Participation P articipation in Aguascalientes in 2003. The Municipal Council of the city of Aguascalientes was composed in 2002 of the president of the parents’ association; municipality and teachers’ union’s representatives; education officials such as supervisors; representatives of parents and school directors at the primary and secondary education levels; and distinguished teachers at the same levels of education. There were also some representatives of social organizations and the commerce sector. This Municipal Council comprised a total of 21 members.
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QSP design for implementation
There are administrative instances for QSP operation that were not included in the fieldwork stage of this analysis, such as the QSP Technical Committees of the States Trusteeship and the State QSP Project Selection Committees.
2. Al Allo loca cati tion on of re reso sour urce cess for for th thee Q QSP SP The QSP budget is composed mainly of federal and state government financial resources, complemented with funds collected by School Councils. QSP national operation rules set the financial allocation to the QSP and to each school as follows: The federal government provides funding for the QSP to each state according to the proportion of the population aged between 4 and 14 years enrolled in elementary education in each state, on the condition that states commit themselves to providing additional financial supporting the programme.18 In 2001, the federal government provided funding to the states on a 2 for 1 basis. This means it gave 2 pesos pes os for each peso provided by each eac h state, however this rule changed in 2002 and 2003 when the federal government provided funding on a 3 for 1 basis. The federal government currently finances 75 per cent of the total QSP budget in each state, the other 25 per cent being provided by local governments gover nments as shown in Figure 2.2.
18.
Federal Federal contri contributi butions ons to QSP are de deposi posited ted in in the National National Trusteeshi Trusteeship p of the the QSP (or Fideicomiso Nacional de Escuelas de Calidad in Spanish) and contributions to each state are transferred to each State Trusteeship of the QSP, which administers these funds in each state.
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Figure 2.2 Resour Resources ces ffor or QS QSP P im implemen plementation tation by ttype ype of of source source
QSP resources allocated by levels of government Federal government resources 75%
State government resources 25%
QSP resources in schools
QSP allocates a fixed amount of funding to each school
+
QSP allocates 2 pesos by 1 peso collected by each school
+
Funds collected by schools
Schools’ counterpart collected by students’ parents, private and social sectors’ donations and municipal governments’ contributions to schools.
Source: Data collected by the authors.
A School Council can obtain resources for its school project as shown in the second part of Figure 2.2. First, the QSP assigns a fixed amount to each school. Secondly, it assigns an additional amount depending on the amount collected by the school community on a 2 for 1 basis, meaning 2 pesos for each peso collected by the school. School Councils can collect financial resources from parents, municipal governments governments or the private sector. Parents’ contributions can be through annual quotas, activities organized by parent associations 19 and parents’ voluntary work, which has a monetary moneta ry value that is estimated by the State QSP Co-ordination. Municipal governments and the private sector can contribute with financial or material resources.
19.
Parent associations associations run activities activities such as lotterie lotteries, s, special special events or a school co-operative co-operative operated during school breaks to sell refreshments.
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From its inception in 2001 until its third year of operation in 2003, the federal government has allocated to the QSP a total of US$292.4 millions (at 2003 values), which represents 68.7 per cent of the total resources that the QSP has received as shown in Table 2.1. State governments have contributed to the programme with 20.7 per cent of resources resour ces and School Councils have been able to collect 14.5 per cent of resources resour ces for the QSP from municipalities and the private sector.
Table able 2. 2.1 1
QSP QSP sou sourc rces es of fund fundin ing g (millions of pesos – 2003 constant value) School year
Source
2001-
2002-
2003-
Total QSP
Total QSP
of funding
20a02
20b03
20c04
byfu2n0d0in3gat Present value** p eso s (a*r1+b*r2+c)
bfuyn2d0in0g3 in millions of US$***
Federal Government*
407
1,278
1,277
3,156
292.4
68.7
State Government *
156
366
365
952
88.2
20.7
63
266
300
665
61.6
14.5
605
1,838
1,867
4,594
425.7
100.0
Municipalities and private sector** Total
%
*
Source of funding established in the QSP national operation rules. Federal Federa l funding includes 6 per cent of resources for QSP administration and funding for the QSP in the Distrito Federal, the capital city. ** Amounts published in the QSP electronic page. ** * Present value of 2003 of the total resources res ources allocated to QSP since 2001 until 2003. r 1 and r2 correspond to interests rates used to calculate the present value. Sources: National QSP Operation Rules 2001, 2002 and 2003; www.escuelasdecalidad.net/
pub/numeralia/index.html
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At the school level, the allocation of resources on a 2 for 1 basis has not changed, however the amount provided by the QSP to each school at the beginning of the school year has been modified as shown in Table 2.2. In 2001, the QSP allocated a fix amount of 100,000 pesos per school in the programme at the beginning of the school year. In addition, schools could collect up to 66,600 pesos in order or der to receive, on a 2 for 1 basis, a maximum amount of 133,300 pesos from the QSP. Thus, the maximum total annual budget per school in the programme was of 300,000 pesos pes os (around US$32,000 at 2001 rates).20
Table 2.2
Max Maximu imum m fund funding ing pro provid vided ed by the QSP to sch school oolss by school year in current pesos (total in current US$) 20 01- 200 2 100, 0 00
20 02- 20 03 50,000
2 003- 2 004 50,000
133 , 33 3
16 6, 6 67
125 , 00 0
66,667
83,333
62,500
Total in pesos
3 00, 000
300 , 00 0
2 37, 5 00
Total in US$
3 2, 1 16. 9
3 1, 0 53. 9
2 2, 0 06. 5
Fixed amount allocated by QSP Variable amount allocated by QSP School contributions
The QSP rule mentioned changed in 2002. Although the maximum budget per school project was maintained at 300,000 pesos (around US$31,000 at 2002 rates), the QSP allocated a fixed amount of 50,000 pesos at the beginning of the school year per school in the programme. In addition, each school should collect up to 83,300 pesos in order to t o receive funds on a 2 for 1 basis and be able to double that amount. Only in special cases, depending on the QSP State State Coordination’s decision, could a school receive a fixed amount of 100,000 pesos at the beginning of the school year. 21 The decrease in the initial amount of 100,000 pesos to 50,000 pesos was due to the rapid increase 20. 21.
QSP National National Operation Operation Rules, Rules, Federati Federation on Officia Officiall Diary Diary, 3 April 2001. 2001. QSP National National Operation Operation Rules, Rules, Federat Federation ion Offic Official ial Diary Diary,, 13 March March 2002. 2002.
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in the number of schools in the programme, which was not accompanied by an increase in federal and a nd state resources for the QSP. QSP. In 2003, given public budget restraints and the growth of programme, progr amme, the maximum amount provided by the QSP to schools was 175,000 pesos and a nd the maximum total budget per school was of 237,500 pesos (around US$22,000 at 2003 rates). 22 During the school year 2001-2002, schools collected 12 per cent of additional financial and material resources from fr om municipalities and activities organized by parents (see Table 2.3). A smaller amount of 4 per cent was obtained from entrepreneurs and small merchants’ donations. At that time, the average amount of resources administered administer ed per school stood at US$17,404, which represents 54.19 per cent of the maximum total budget approved (of US$32,116.9) for that period (see Tables 2.2 and 2.3).
Table 2.3
Resource Resourcess re receiv ceived ed b by y sschoo chools ls b by y source source and aver average age of resources administered per school during the school year 2001-2002 2001-2002
QSP contributions
86%
Municipalities
6%
Pa re nts
6%
O t he r s
4%
Total
100%
Ave vera rage ge of reso resour urce cess per per scho school ol (p (pes esos os))
16 162, 2,56 565 5 pe peso soss (U (US$ S$17 17,4 ,404 04))
Source: Bracho, 2002.
22. 22.
“QSP “QSP Nati Nation onal al Op Oper erat atio ion n Rul Rules es”, ”, Federation Official Diary, 29 August 2003.
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Box 5. A sch school ool proj project ect a and nd ffund undss col collec lected ted duri during ng the the sch school ool year 2001-2002 The school Rafael Ramírez Castañeda of the State of Aguascalientes required 240,000 pesos from the QSP to develop a 300,000-peso 300,000-p eso project during the school year 2001-2002. The school therefore had the task of collecting an additional amount of 60,000 pesos. The project output is presented in the following two tables. The first table below shows that the school collected 61,500 pesos mainly from the municipality and student’ student’ss parents. Contributions were material and pecuniary in addition to the QSP contribution: This school administered 284,500 pesos for its project. The second table below shows that this school obtained 94.9 per cent of the total resources required for its school project. In absolute terms, however however,, the amount administered was superior to the national average av erage per school project of 162,500 pesos.
Sources of funding for the school project (current pesos and dollars in 2001) C a sh
I n kind
To t a l
18,262
18,262
Funds collected by school Parents
P a i nt an d t h e j o b o f p a i nt i n g
Par en ts
F ee s
Mu n i c i pa l i t y
Donation
Mu n i c i pa l i t y
B u i l d in g ma t e r ia l
Total ( a) QSP funds Fix amount
5,435
5,435
13,333
13,333
18,768 (b )
24,492
24,492
42,754
61,522 100,000
Variable amount 2: for 1 basis (c)
123,044
Total funds
284,566
a +b +c
Total funds (dollars)
30,465
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Funding required by activity planned in the school project and funds allocation (current pesos in 2001) Planned inves esttment Funding to build classrooms, buy furniture for classrooms and books for the library
Funds allocat atiion
1 60 , 0 00
40,489
Funding allocation for classroom maintenance and to buy equipment to teach (such as computers)
80,000
24 3, 64 7
Funding to strengthen learning activities
60,000
--
30 0, 00 0
2 84 , 13 7
Total Percentage of funding obtained by the school to its project
94.9%
The amount of resources collected for school projects reflects the level of commitment to QSP implementation of the actors involved. The QSP financial scheme creates vertical and horizontal accountability obligations. School Councils are vertically accountable to federal and state governments for an efficient and transparent allocation of financial resources. School Councils areand alsouse horizontally accountable to school as regards the impact of all types of resources in the communities school’s project and to donors on the use of those resources that were donated. One point is remarkable: Parents and teachers’ representatives are part of each School Council and are therefore decision-makers through whom school communities can exert checks and balances during project implementation. Furthermore, private sector donors that collaborate with QSP implementation have the right to request resource allocation reports and to find out the impact of
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expenditure on the education provided. New public management schemes followed by the QSP administration therefore favour mutual accountability (as suggested by Behn23) among stakeholders in public elementary education schools.
23.
Robert Robert D. Behn Behn promo promotes tes the the idea idea of creati creating ng webs webs of mutua mutuall and collectiv collectivee responsi responsibili bility ty in the education sector. In this way “each one of us will accept that we all have responsibility for improving education”. He emphasizes that everyone wants to be an accountability holder (to (to supervise others) but he is proposing to think about each of us as an accountability holdee (as one that could be supervised). Behn wishes to end the traditional concept of hierarchical, unidirectional unidirectiona l systems of accountability, in particular in education systems where everyone is thinking in terms of holding educators accountable or in terms of holding someone else accountable. In contrast, in webs of mutual responsibility parents would be neither clients nor customers nor accountabilit accountability y holders. They would be partners. Behn poses the following questions to make us aware of sharing responsibility responsibi lity and the need to respond to others for the consequences of our acts in relation to achievements in education: Why shouldn’t we hold districts accountable? Why shouldn’t we hold the school board and city-council members accountable? Why shouldn’t we hold state superintendents, state legislators, and governors accountable? Why shouldn’t we hold students accountable? Why shouldn’t we hold parents and taxpayers accountable? Why shouldn’t we hold local business executives, union officials, and other civic leaders accountable? Why are all these people accountability holders? Why can we not think of them as accountability accountability holdees? (Behn, 2003).
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Chapter 3
Policy networks for mutual accountability
QSP design is based on new public management and decentralization principles princip les in which power relationships inside the schools will be redefined through community participation in order to constitute new ways of governance governa nce that go beyond mere hierarchical and bureaucratic relationships. New types of governance are based on horizontal relationships that can be analyzed through analytical frameworks for policy networks (such as those developed by Rhodes and Marsh, 1992 a, 1992b; Marsh, 1998; Marsh and Smith, 1996, 2000). Policy network analysis emphasizes interactions between actors in which negotiations or resource exchanges are based on a mutual resource interdependency situation (Benson, 1982). Actors negotiate an exchange of material, financial and political resources as well as information and knowledge. Negotiations are based on some type of rational decisionmaking, in the sense that actors gather all the information inf ormation possible and attempt to obtain the best result possible from each resource exchange that they undertake. Classic rationality assumes that actors make decisions based on complete information about the costs and benefits of all their possible alternatives and that all relevant information is common knowledge for the interacting actors (Dowding, 1991). Assuming these conditions all actors’ decisions will be transparent for the rest of the actors in the society in the sense that all of them know the costs and benefits of each decision and its possible alternatives. Classical rationality as a result has been criticized in different ways, however its assumptions allow establishing the conditions in which information exists and flows in policy networks, which could determine the existence of different levels of transparency during negotiations and agreement settlement.
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It is necessary to consider some assumptions about the interests and objectives of government officers and employees. One assumption is that government representatives have as their own interest the promotion of the public interest (Laffont, 2000). This would imply that government representatives exchange resources in networks according to the public interest. A second assumption is that of govern government ment representatives making decisions under conditions of complete information, as classical rationality assumes. Both assumptions mentioned above would lead government representatives to make transparent decisions. The assumption of complete information implies that all members of society have the same knowledge and information about an issue as officers. Thus, officers’ decisions are transparent tointerest the society. Inthe addition, the assumption that officers areagenda. guided by the public limits possibilities of them having a private In this sense, being accountable appears appea rs to be an exercise without complexity. The assumptions of public interest and complete information infor mation make easy “the obligation to inform, explain and justify a decision, in other words, w ords, of being responsive to a constituency”.24 These assumptions mentioned above have been questioned in different ways (Simon, 1957, 1997; Tsebelis, 1990; Williamson, 1996). In practice, society does not own complete information and actors possess private information and can obtain private benefits from it. This is an important problem in the public sector as in the best case scenario it may provoke non-efficient and non-effective decisions decisi ons and in the worst it may facilitate the emergence of corruption, understood as decision-making processes processe s to promote personal benefits. 25 These problems could exist in policy networks for QSP implementation even where the design of the QSP attempts to prevent them.
24. 25. 25.
Random House dictionary of the English language, 1987 (2nd edition).
Trans ranspa pare renc ncy y Inter Interna nati tion onal al,, 2003 2003 at www.transparency.org.
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1. Po Poli licy cy n net etwo work rkss fo forr QSP QSP im impl plem emen enta tati tion on Negotiations among members of a school community depend on the level of actors’ participation and the interest promoted. When a balance of power is in place, mutual oversight among the members of a school community may exist, however it is not rare that some actors dominate negotiations, particularly those actors that possess some type of authority. This fact could mean that some decisions are made by leaders and passively accepted by the rest of the community. In cases such as this, a minor participation of parents gives more decision-making power to other actors. Passive actors could comply with certain QSP requirements such as voting in a school meeting. This follows the QSP rule r ule of collegiate decision-making, however it shows that compliance with QSP rules alone cannot ensure achievement of the objectives of transparency, accountability and efficiency in QSP implementation in each school. Actors’ information and knowledge are factors that can influence the
type of policy network in place in a school community community.. An actor participating in the QSP is an informed actor when he/she is aware of QSP operation rules, objectives and those responsibilities and rights acquired as well as of his/her right to participate in school project formulation form ulation when a school project’s objectives are established. For example, members of school communities such as parents and teachers should be aware of how goods and services suppliers are selected and a nd bought. Actors have knowledge of a school project if they know the annual working plan that will be followed, what has been achieved after a short period per iod of time and what still needs to be accomplished when the school year has ended. Actors in a school community must be informed and aware of relevant issues concerning a school project if social participation, transparency and accountability objectives are to be fulfilled. The level of compliance on each of the issues mentioned above shows the level of actors’ participation and the quality of the decisions made.
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Following this reasoning, this research is not focused on the functioning of formal QSP mechanisms but on the way in which these mechanisms are perceived, interpreted and applied by actors during day-to-day decisionmaking. Networks can generally operate with minimal membership or a core of members. The core of each QSP policy network is composed of the school director, parents and teacher representatives. These actors are the most active members in a school and therefore regularly participate in school matters, however in a QSP policy network all parents and teachers should participate. In addition, QSP regulations set the conditions for extending these networks by involving other actors in the school environment that could contribute to children’ss education. children’
2. So Soci cial al par parti tici cipa pati tion on iin n ne netw twor orks ks ffor or Q QSP SP implementation The objective of QSP is for education to be seen as an issue for a school community as well as for all those in a school’s environment who share an interest on education. There is a pecuniary interest when support from entrepreneurs, professionals and authorities in the community is sought but there is also the purpose of making them responsible for the education of children in their community co mmunity.. This makes networks for QSP implementation appropriate for broadening social participation, which differentiates them from f rom the closed communities that the literature on policy networks has identified as policy communities characterized by restricted access (Rhodes, 1986). QSP policy networks’ functioning makes them more likely to resemble issue networks where access is open, especially to all actors with an interest in and valuable resources to exchange in relation rela tion to the pursued objectives. All actors in issue networks could therefore intervene in debates or define public policy orientation. In these networks there is no clear structure or entry
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barriers; exit is also flexible as actors can belong to the network on a temporary basis. These networks therefore do not have a rigid structure (Van Waarden, 1992). The objective of promoting formation of policy networks in schools can encounter some problems, among which is parents’ lack of motivation. This tends to occur when parents are not well informed about the schools’ functioning. For example, some teachers have pointed out that parents sometimes do not agree to pay an annual voluntary fee for the school or do not participate in collective activities. This is understandable, in part, as parents who send their children to public schools have low incomes inco mes and as historically school teachers and directors have not provided explanations of financial resource allocation to parents. If lower levels of trust are shown by parents it is likely that there will be higher levels of uncertainty un certainty from actors that are ar e not directly linked to schools, but from whom schools are nowadays asking for co-operation. Under these circumstances, policy networks for QSP implementation are facing difficulties in expanding their membership to include actors of the school environment or the social community that have traditionally tradit ionally been outsiders to schools.
3. Tran ranspa spare rency ncy and acc accoun ounta tabil bility ity in n net etwor works ks fo forr QSP implementation The QSP makes School Councils accountable to their superior authorities (vertical accountability) and to the school community and donors (horizontal ( horizontal accountability). In addition, parents and teachers’ participation can reinforce re inforce demands to be informed or receive explanations about decision-making processes inside schools. In this sense, more participation would bring transparency.
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There are many factors that could affect transparency and accountabili accountability ty levels and which are relevant to deterring practices that could involve corruption. First of all, during decision-making some social conventions or operating understandings (Richardson and Jordan, 1979) intervene in negotiation processes. Among the most common social conventions in schools are the director’s leadership as the highest school authority and social leadership exerted by some parents and other members of the school communities. In practice, a leader could be dominant in the sense that only he/she exerts decision-making capacity, substituting for the whole school community. The important issue to analyze is the influence of dominant decisions on both achievement of education educati on policy objectives and on promotion of the interests of the school and social communities. Secondly, interacting actors possess material, financial or political resources to different degrees. Resources grant power to those who possess them, in such a way that resource distribution amongst actors determines power distribution.26 Legal and political types of authority are resources owned by the school director and those parent representatives elected by the parents’ community. The power of each actor could nonetheless be balanced by collective decision-making in School Councils. It is necessary to acknowledge that a school’s director, teachers and parents have a common interest in the satisfactory functioning of schools that is reflected in student achievements. Differences in interests among actors can arise in the form of differences in their preferred ways of achieving objectives; therefore to ensure success of QSP implementation, a regular flow of information inf ormation among actors in School Councils is needed to develop trust and reciprocity. recipr ocity.
26.
According According to Dowdin Dowding g (1996) (1996) and and Nunan Nunan (1998), (1998), the the possessi possession on of resou resources rces makes makes it possible for actors to exert influence over others and therefore to change the behaviour of others. Actors’ power power is unequally distributed in networks as resources are unequally distributed. See also Santizo, 2002 (Chapter 3).
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Chapter 4
Methodology
One task of this research is to determine the interests promoted in the policy networks created in each school. The dominant interests are determined by some of the factors mentioned above, such as the level of social participation and the type of information and knowledge that actors possess. Dominance of some interests over others in policy networks can affect the levels of transparency transpar ency,, accountability and efficiency achieved. It is therefor thereforee necessary to provide an explanation of policy the conditions lead to and the their prevalence of some interests over others in networksthat in schools effect on QSP objectives. This is an issue that goes beyond mere QSP operation oper ation rules compliance, residing in political and interpersonal relationships inside each school community. Political relationships between actors during decisionmaking processes in schools are the object of analysis of the present research. The methodology used in this research is presented in this section. This research applies qualitative methods such as in-depth, semistructured interviews and documentary analysis to develop case studies. Interviewees can express their point of view on the issues raised and their answers are interpreted in the context in which the interviews take place. It is important to take note of the terms that respondents employ as these represent part of the information that allows understanding of the respondents’ interests in specific issues (May, 1997).
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1. Case stu tud die iess se sellected The present research has as an objective to identify those factors that could provide an explanation of higher or lower levels of success during QSP implementation implementatio n in different school environments. Thus, as external researchers to QSP administration, we asked the National QSP Co-ordination to select five Mexican states including three states where QSP implementation is considered successful according to the School Councils’ functioning and the institutional capacity of the State QSP Co-ordinations to administer the programme. The remaining states were not to have these characteristics. The same procedure was applied in each state analyzed; we therefore asked the State QSP Co-ordinations to select five schools including three with acceptable School Council functioning and two that were experiencing exper iencing difficulties.
Box Bo x 6. Be Best st p pra ract ctic ices es in ssch choo ools ls According to rule 9 of the QSP national operation rules for the school year 2002-2003, the following are standard practices that allow identification of best school performances performances:: 9.1.1 9.1.2 9.1.3 9.1.4 9.1.5 9.1.6 9.1.7 9.1.8
A ssch choo ooll co comm mmun unit ity y set setss go goal alss and and aach chie ieve vess them them.. A ssch choo ooll aact ctiv ivit itie ies’ s’ ca cale lend ndar ar pu purs rsue uess at atte tend ndan ance ce an and d p pun unct ctua uali lity ty and optimizes the time assigned for teaching. A ssch choo ooll d dir irec ecto torr exe exert rtss aca acade demi mic, c, ad admi mini nist stra rati tive ve an and d ssoc ocia iall llea eade ders rshi hip p to accomplish school community transformation. A sc scho hool ol d dir irec ecto torr an and d te teac ache hers rs w wor ork k as an iint nteg egra rate ted d te team am ttha hatt sh shar ares es interests and goals. A ssch choo ooll d dir irec ecto torr aand nd te teac ache hers rs ac acqu quir iree ttra rain inin ing go on n a regu regula larr b bas asis is.. Le Lear arni ning ng iiss fa faci cili lita tate ted d by te teac ache hers rs wh who o of offe ferr le lear arni ning ng o opp ppor ortu tuni niti ties es to students in relation to their rhythm, style and aptitudes. Tea each cher ers’ s’ co cour urse se p pla lann nnin ing g ta take kess in into to aacc ccou ount nt sstu tude dent nt d div iver ersi sity ty.. Tea each chers ers rei reinfo nforc rcee sstu tude dents nts’’ co confi nfiden dence ce in the their ir ca capa pacit citie iess and and encourage their efforts by acknowledging their accomplishme accomplishments. nts.
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9.1.9 9.1.10 9.1.11
9.1 .1.1 .12 2 9.1.13 9.1.14
9.1.15 9.1 .1.1 .16 6 9.1.17 9.1.18
9.2 9.2.2 9.2.3 9.2.4
Tea each chers ers ac achie hieve ve ac activ tive, e, cri critic tical al and cre creat ative ive parti partici cipat pation ion fro from m tthei heirr students. Tea eache chers rs aare re aable ble to ccrit ritici icize ze tthei heirr ow own n pe perfo rforma rmance nce and to rrect ectify ify it by having a positive perception about themselves and their work. A sc scho hool ol ccom ommu muni nity ty eevo volv lves es in in an eenv nvir iron onme ment nt th that at ffos oste ters rs u uni nive vers rsal al values such as solidarity, tolerance, honesty and responsibility, all of which compose a frame for civic formation and the emergence of a culture of legality. A sch school ool envi environ ronment ment fav favours ours app apprec reciat iation ion of our mult multicu icultur ltural al rea realit lity y. A sscho chool ol promot promotes es st stude udents nts’’ h hea ealth lth,, ccult ultura urall aappr pprec eciat iation ion and the preservation of the environment. Par Parent entss aare re org organi anized zed and par partic ticipa ipate te in tea teachi ching ng act activi ivitie tiess ssupp upport orting ing teachers. Parents are informed regularly of the progress and performance of their children and have channels to make comments on school performance. Sch School ool com commun munity ity mem member bers, s, ccomp ompos osed ed o off a sscho chool’ ol’ss p pers ersonn onnel el aand nd students’ parents, participate in decision-making and the execution of actions for the benefit of the school. Sch School ool com commun munity ity mem member berss pra practi ctice ce sel self-e f-eval valuat uation ion,, pro promot motee ext extern ernal al evaluation and use results of evaluations as a tool for improvement and not for sanction. A sch school ool is o open pen to ssoci ociety ety’’s su super pervis vision ion and is aacco ccount untabl ablee fo forr it itss performance. A sc scho hool ol im impr prov oves es iits ts in infra frast stru ruct ctur uree in or orde derr to ac acco comp mpli lish sh it itss teaching goals by having classrooms in good conditions, adequate furniture and modern laboratories for teaching in addition to having proper lighting in classrooms, pedagogical material, security and clean spaces. Ex Exte tern rnaal ef effi fici cien ency cy aand nd eedu duca cati tion onal al iind ndic icaato tors rs aare re m mea easu sure red d by rres esul ults ts,, such as: 9.2.1 Increases in students’ abilities for logical-mathematic reasoning as measured by the national examination standards. Im Impr prov ovem emen entt iin n sstu tude dent nts’ s’ co comm mmun unic icat atio ion n sski kill llss aass m mea easu sure red db by y tthe he national examination standards. St Stu ude dent ntss exp xper eriience ence le lesss re rep pet etit itio ion. n. S t ud e n t d drrop-out d deecreases.
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The states selected as examples of states where the programme was not having the expected results were Aguascalientes and Estado de México. Baja California, Campeche and Zacatecas were selected as states where QSP was having better results. 27 The total amount of interviews was 118 as shown in Table 4.1.
Table able 4.1
Tota otall nu numbe mberr of int intervi erviewe ewees es per per state state
Aguascalientes
23
Baja California
24
Campeche
29
Estado de México
21
Zacatecas
21
Total
118
In each school the school’s director and representatives of teachers and parents in the School Council were wer e interviewed. We We took care to ensure privacy during interviews to reduce the influence of peers and this helped to create an environment of confidence in which actors expressed their opinions and perceptions about the th e QSP freely freely.. In addition, confidentia confidentiality lity of identity was assured. A second group of actors interviewed were the linkages (or enlaces) between education authorities and school communities such as the School Sector Chiefs, School Supervisors and Supervisors’ Technical and Pedagogical Assistants. To learn about the context in which each one of the schools sc hools analyzed is embedded, it was necessary to interview the State QSP Co-ordinators in each of the five states selected. It was also considered relevant to interview 27.
In Appendix 3 the QSP schools in all states of the country are shown.
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state and municipal representatives dealing with QSP implementation, however these last types of interviews could not be obtained in most of the cases mainly due to electoral agendas in the states analyzed.
2. Variab riable less of of anal analys ysis is This research focuses on the analysis of the variables of transparency, accountability and social participation during QSP implementation. The research also obtained information on other variables such as efficiency and effectiveness during QSP implementation, but an analysis of these last two variables is not included here. In Appendix 2 the topic guide that assisted interviewees to express their point of view in an ordered and sequential manner is presented. A total of 31 questions, out of 66, are related to the main variables of analysis in this research, however the remaining questions were useful for identifying elements of the context and way in which actors in policy networks relate to each other in each school. Table 4.2 shows those factors included in the interviews undertaken and related to the three main variables of analysis of this research mentioned above.
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Table 4.2 4.2 Variables of analysis Social pa part rtic icip ipat atio ion n
Fa Fact ctors ors in incl clud uded ed in ea each ch vari variab able le Impacts on QSP implementation
Question numbers related to each variable of analysis (see Appendix 2)
How are members of the School Councils chosen? And who selects them? Who intervenes in the formulation of a school project? Who decides how to allocate resources during school project implementation? Who promotes linkages between a school and its environment? And by which means?
7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10 10, 11 11, 14 14, 15, 1 16 6, 1 19 9, 2 24 4, 5 50 0, 51, 55
Tran Transp spar aren ency cy Wh What at is the the leve levell of kn know owle ledg dgee and and info inform rmat atio ion n of the the inte interrvie viewed wed acto tors rs about bout rele releva vant nt is issu sues es during a school’s project’s formulation, execution and evaluation?
22 22,, 27, 27, 28 28,, 29, 29, 30 30,, 31, 31, 3 33, 3, 43, 44, 44, 4 45 5
Accoun Acc ountab tabili ility ty How is a scho school ol comm communi unity ty info inform rmed ed abo about ut the use of all all type typess of resou resourc rces? es? How often often is is infor informa matio tion n about a school project delivered to the school community? Do school community members know about the use of additional resources donated to the school project by the social community?
23, 25, 25, 26, 42, 4 46, 6, 48, 49, 6 60 0
The variables of analysis in this study are relevant outcomes of the negotiation processes process es established during QSP implementation in each school. These outcomes are also influenced by those regulations established by the National and State QSP Co-ordinations as well as by the practices developed in each school. For example, in question number 27 of our topic guide (see Table B in Appendix 2 ), members of School Councils are asked about who decides where to buy materials and services related to their school’s project . This question must be answered by at least three members of a
School Council. These separately obtained answers could indicate some of the following situations:
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•
•
•
a school where either only one or more, mor e, but not all, of the School Council members interviewed know about its school’s scho ol’s acquisitions and the rest of the members of the Council do not have information about this issue, or there are contradictions on their answers. If either of these two situations are observed, then there is a possibility that School Council members are not observing QSP rules related to supervision of the use of their project’s financial resources; When School Council’s meetings are used to discuss acquisitions, then the school is following, or complying with, the rules; Where there are mechanisms in place to foster an active participation on behalf of all the School Council members for goods and services’ acquisitions, then this type of school will be one that is not only complying with the rules but is going beyond rules compliance and improving QSP functioning.
To make an assessment of the answers obtained in each school s chool we will assign a score to each of the answers to match them with the cases described describe d above. A value of zero will ther therefore efore be assigned in the first case and values of one and two in the last two cases mentioned respectively. Interviewee answers must be consistent or non-contradictory to make sure that we are getting the right description of a Council’s dynamics in each school. This scoring system is a way to offer a quantitative interpretation of qualitative information as proposed in a publication of the United States General Accounting Office (1992). This could assist us in building an index that emphasizes qualitative aspects of each of the case studies. It is expected that the variables under analysis will show different levels of attainment in each of the schools to be anal analyzed. yzed. W Wee therefore applie applied d our three-value system mentioned above to each answer obtained according to the following criteria:
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•
•
•
A value of zero will be assigned to those answers that denote low performance or performance below the standards set by the QSP national operation rules, or when actors contradict each other when explaining the same fact; A value of one will be assigned if actors’ answers reflect performance according to the QSP national operation rules and if there are no inconsistencies among the actors’ (or members of the School Council’ Council’s) s) versions of the facts. A value of two will be given to those answers that relate to high performance or performance above the standards established by the QSP rules and where actors’ versions of the same facts is not contradictory or, in other words, where there is consistency amongst different actors’ versions.
Each of the actors’ answers is related to a relevant variable vari able of analysis. In practice the variable of social participation is related to 13 questions (see Table 4.2.) whose answers may have a score of 0, 1 or 2. An average of the values of the 13 answers will give us a measure for the social participation variable in a determined school. For example, if four answers answe rs were assigned a value of zero, five were assigned a value of one and four were given a value of two, then their average (which in this case is one) constitutes a measure that tells us where that school is located in relation to social participation according to QSP rules compliance. This procedure will also be followed for those variables related to transparency and accountability in a total of 25 schools. The usefulness of these quantitative indicators mentioned above is to offer a simplified version of each of the 25 schools’ performances in relation to the main variables under analysis during QSP implementation. This simplified version will easily portray each school situation, allowing identification of those factors that produce higher or lower performance in relation to QSP standards in each of the schools analyzed.
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Research findings
It is important to mention that our questionnaire was adjusted during the fieldwork stage according to the time available for each e ach interview and to the need for clarification on the meaning of the questions for the interviewees. As expected, in each analyzed school the levels of attainment of each variable analyzed were different. Figure 5.1 shows the average per school of those answers related to accountability and social participation (see Section 1) while Figure 5.2 adds to these averages mentioned the average for those answers related to transparency (see Section 2). This makes it possible to compare each of these three variables per school or per case study. Finally, Figure 5.4 groups the averages of two of the variables introduced before (in Figures 5.1 and 5.2 ): those of accountability and transparency by school, which allow measuring schools’ performance by setting aside the variable of social participation.
1. Soci Social al partic participa ipatio tion: n: int intens ensity ity of neg negoti otiati ations ons during during QSP implementation Social participation is a variable to measure the level of compromise of the school community and the capacity to exert checks and balances to guarantee an efficient use of resources and as a consequence limit corrupt practices. Participation is expressed when both teachers’ and parents’ representatives for Schools Councils are elected as well as through actors’ participation during project formulation, formulatio n, approval and implementation. There is also social participation when levels of expenditure are decided on, sources
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of income are explored and when special events are organized by the school community to collect funds for fo r a school project. All of these activities imply intense negotiations among a school’s director, teachers and parents. Figure 5.1 shows results of levels of social participation par ticipation in each of the schools analyzed, including the accountability variable in order to compare both variables. Figure 5.1 demonstrates that most of the analyzed schools have social
participation levels that are under the value of one, which is under the level established by the QSP national operation rules. This is in part a consequence of the following factors: parental parenta l apathy towards becoming involved in school issues and some teacher apathy towards committing to the school project’s implementation by dedicating some extra working hours. These situations mentioned were found in the following followi ng schools: E4, E6, E7, E9, E11 and E12.
Figure 5.1 Accoun Accountabili tability ty an and d soc social ial pa particip rticipation ation level by school school in five states h g i h = 2.0 2 ; s e l u r 1.5 e h t y b = 1.0 1 ; w o l = 0.5 0 : e c n a 0.0 m r o f r e P
Aguascalientes
Baja California
Campeche
Estado de México
Zacatecas
E15 E19 E8 E5
E3
E7
E
E2
E2
E11 E10
A E6 E1
E9
E13
E4
E18
A
E6
E7
E8
E9 E1 E1
BC E1 E1
E1
E20
EM
Z E23 E24 E24 E25
E16
E12
E5
E22 E21
C
BC
E4
E3
E14
E17
E1
E1
E1
C
E1
E1
E1
E1
E2
EM E2 E2 E2
E2
Case studies: schools Accountability
Social participation
Source: Data collected by the authors.
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E2
E2
Z
Research findings
These results are not atypical considering that the schools in the QSP are located in low-income zones and therefore parental involvement in school activities is limited by economic and social conditions. Lack of extensive social participation in Mexico is a product of a centralized political system in which access to policies was restricted at every stage of the policy process. Mexican politics cultivated this culture of social exclusion during several decades. Despite this fact, it must be acknowledged that most of the school communities organized themselves around special events to collect additional funds for their school project. These events are their main source of income as they sometimes do not receive donations from municipalities or the private sector. The situation described above does not imply the absence of policy networks. On the contrary, these have emerged since the beginning of the QSP. Although in many cases different types of leadership, such as that of parents or community leaders, have activated (together with school authorities such as directors, teachers and school supervisors) those latent networks. QSP implementation is establishing policy networks, however in most cases these are of narrow membership, member ship, even when the intention of QSP is to make them all embracing or extensive. The fact, however, is that narrow networks do not imply absence of plurality, openness and democratic practices. Figure 5.1 shows the highest value of accountability in relation to social
participation in the schools analyzed. In general, QSP implementation is activated in each school by its School Council members who request support from all parents and teachers. Thus accountability account ability is needed to trigger broader participation in schools. As a result, negotiations in networks fundamentally fundamental ly depend on pre-existing relationships inside each school between active parents, the school’s director and teachers.
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2. Tra rans nspa pare renc ncy y aand nd ac acco coun unta tabi bili lity ty As mentioned above, QSP implementation requires the participation parti cipation of several actors, not only in the school project’s design stage but in the variety of activities that participation in the QSP implies. A school community mus mustt collect funds to achieve the financial support required to enter the QSP QSP.. These funds should represent one-quarter of the total budget of the school’ school’ss project. The main activities to collect funds are events organized by parents par ents or parents’ voluntary work that is valued as pecuniary support. These are some of the reasons why a school’s director and teachers require the support and assistance of parents. Parent representatives in Schools Councils are also the most active parents in school communities. Active parents do not only do what they are told to do by the school director or teachers, they instead demand more transparency in decision-making, decision-maki ng, which results in an increase in the flow of information among actors or an increase increa se in transparency. The same could be said of accountability as active parents also demand reports on school activities in order to encourage the participation of passive pass ive parents. Active parents, in some of the cases, constituted a link between the school and its environment as they had the initiative to promote their project objectives with possible donors of resources. The QSP requirement of parental support (in the form of financial assistance or voluntary work) fostered higher measures of transparency and accountability than social participation in most of the schools’ analyzed, as shown in Figure 5.2.
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Figure 5.2 Accoun Accountabili tability ty,, so social cial partici participatio pation n and transparen transparency cy measures h g i h 2.0 = 2 ; s e l u r 1.5 e h t y b = 1 1.0 ; w o l = 0 0.5 : e c n a m r 0.0 o f r
lieentes Aguascali
E
E2
E3
E4
E5
Baja Cali liffornia
A
E6
E7
E8
E9 E1 E1
P e
BC
Campeche
E1
E1
E1
E1
E1
Esta Es tad do de México
C
E1
E1
E1
E1
E20 EM EM E2 E2
Zaca catteca cass
E22 E23 E24 E25
Z
Case studies: schools Accounta tab bilit ity y
Social parti ticcip ipaation
Tran anssparen enccy
Source: Data collected by the authors.
The Secretaría de la Función Pública (2003) conducted a survey that confirms higher levels of transparency and accountability than of social participation participatio n during QSP implementation. This survey shows that both teachers and parents have knowledge about their school project’s project’s development, which is considered in this research an indicator for transparency and accountability at the school direct level. involvement Social participation was measured accordin according g to teachers’ and parents’ in School Councils. Figure 5.3 below shows that parents’ and teachers’ knowledge of their representatives on School Councils and their knowledge about the QSP are higher than their direct participation on School Councils. These results support those found in the present research, where accountability and transparency indicators in schools were higher than social participation indicators, as shown in Figure 5.2.
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Figuree 5.3 Surve Figur Survey y applied applied to school school commu communitie nitiess 120 Teachers
Parents
100
e g a t n e c r e P
80 No Yes
60 40 20 0 Direct participation
Knowledge of representatives
Knowledge of QSP
in School Council
Direct participation
Knowledge representatives
Knowledge of QSP
in School Council
Source: Data collected by the authors.
3. Pe Perrfo forrmanc ncee by scho hool ol It was mentioned in the methodological section that QSP State Coordinators selected schools scho ols for analysis and that some schools had Councils that were functioning well, while others were having difficulties operating theirs. That selection obviously was based on what each State Co-ordinator considers a success, which is not easy to define. Thus the basis of their selection not good necessarily coincide with theduring criteria used in the present analysis todoes qualify or regular performance QSP implementation. Most of the schools analyzed in the present research rese arch have been following QSP national operation rules, however differences among schools consist in the way in which the rules are executed. These variations in the execution of QSP rules execution are a dependent variable of interactions, or negotiations, observed in each school policy network.
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Figure 5.4 below shows all the case studies undertaken according to
their average mark accountability and transparency, in . Schools were ranked in increasing presented order and above grouped Figures 5.1 and 5.2for within the following three categories: high performance, performance by the rules, and low performance (as shown in Figure 5.4). This classification served the purpose of assisting the explanation of school characteristics.
Figure 5.4 Acco Accounta untabili bility ty and transpare transparency ncy measures measures (av (averag erage) e) h g i h = 2 ; s e l u r e h t y b = 1 ; w o l = 0 : e c n a m r o f r e P
E15
1.40 E19
1.30 1.20 1.10 1.00
E6
E7 E20 E24 E25
E5
E6
E7 E20 E24 E25
E13
E9 E10 E11 E14 E18
E3
E2
E13
E9 E10 E11 E14 E18
E3
E8
E22
E8
E21
E1
0.90 0.80
E5
E2
E22
E23
E12
E17
E4
E16
0.70 0.60 E16 E12 E17
E4
E1
Low performance
Performance by the rules
E21 E19 E23 E15
High performance
Source: Data collected by the authors.
The group of high performance schools and that of low performance schools represent opposing ends of this qualification qualif ication of activities to comply with school project implementation as conceived by QSP national operation rules. Some characteristics that assisted in identifying levels of compliance with QSP regulations among the schools analyzed are shown in Table 5.1.
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This research revealed that high performance in schools, measured by the observation and improvement of QSP rules, was the rule in of 6 out of 25 cases. These schools are characterized by their joint development work, such as creating commissions to comply with different requirements of the school project and the fact that the school sc hool community is constantly informed about the achievement of project objectives. In this sense, while observing the rules, those schools with high performance in the development of their school projects also strengthened transparency transparenc y and accountability mechanisms mechanisms..
Table 5.1
Sch School ool charact characteris eristics tics dur during ing QSP impleme implementa ntation tion according to high and low performance as revealed by the interviews undertaken
High performance in QSP
Low performance in QSP
Actors
Actors
•
•
•
Parents are encouraged to verify each new acquisition. Parents support the school with financial resources. Parents have done some voluntary work in the school.
•
•
• •
•
•
•
School Council •
•
The School Council is functioning and when wh en a pa pare rent nt ca cann nnot ot atte attend nd a meet meetin ing g a written report is sent to him/her. School Councils are arranged by commissions to engage in different activities re related tto o tth he sc school p prroject.
Parents are not informed about their school’s project. There is low financial support from p aren t s. Few parents attend parent meetings. Some parents think that by mandate they cannot be deeply involved in their school’s project. There is lack of training for parents and teachers. Some teachers show apathy in relation to the QSP. In some cases the school’s director shows apathy towards the school project.
School Council
•
•
•
The school director asks for support fr from om only only the the mos mostt aact ctiv ivee par paren ents ts.. There is no information about School Council members’ responsibilities. The School Council does not work prop roperly rly.
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•
There is agreement between the director, teachers and parents before project
•
•
resources are expended. Decisions are taken by consensus of the School Council’s members. The school’s director, teachers and parents ha have lleearnt to work as a team.
•
•
•
•
Execution of a school’s school’s project •
•
Parents, teachers and the school’s dire direct ctor or co comp mpar aree pr prod oduc ucts ts’’ p pri rice cess and and their quality before buying. Pa Pare rent ntss kno know w so some me re resu sult ltss of of aca acade demi micc eva evaluati ations th that mea measu sure re th theeir ssccho hoo ol project’s objectives achievement. School Co Council’s me members co consider they have maximized the use of their resources by exchanging ideas in the school council. Financial information related to the school project is posted in open places, such as the school entrance. There are meetings to inform about the the pro projject ect at at lea least st thre reee ti times a year ear. There is feedback of teachers’ experiences during school project implementation. The school’s supervisor or his/her technical pedagogical assistant shows interest in the programme. Some of these schools have had experience in the programme Gestión Gesti ón Escolar Escolar or or School Management.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
buy items to achieve the school project’s objectives. There is only one financial report about the sc school pr project at at th the en end of of tth he school year. There is no real evaluation of the school’s needs.
Execution of a school’s project
•
There are no planning activities. The school director decides where to
•
•
•
There is no systematic evaluation of the the ped pedag agog ogic ical al as aspe pect ctss of of tthe he proj projec ect. t. In some of these schools there were no pa pare rent nt or or teac teache herr atte attem mpts pts to obt obtai ain n ad add ditiona onal re resou sourc rces es for for th the pro proje jecct; therefore th they di did no not o ob btain th the maximum am amount o off rreesources po possible for th their pr project. In some of theses schools there was a history of financial resources mismanagement. There is no assistance from the school’s supervisor. The school supervisor is not aware of common pro procced edu ure ress rreela latted tto o tth he school project.
Most of the schools however showed performance levels that indicate compliance with QSP design requirements. There were only four cases in which the situation observed was far from the QSP National and State Co-ordinations’ expectations; expectati ons; this is due to the lack of commitment of some actors towards their school project. Examples of this last situation are
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supervisors that are not interested intereste d in or committed to their school’s school’s projects, school and teachers teache that are sensiblerole or do necessary trainingdirectors to perform a morersopen andnot efficient innot thehave QSPthe and parents that are not interested in or not informed of their new role in the Schools Council. In relation to acquisitions, high performance schools search for prices and compare products’ quality so they can evaluate their options before buying. In this activity, teachers and parents share responsibilities or take turns to find out prices and decisions are made in School Council meetings and parents’ association meetings. In these meetings, the work done and to be done are also set out. In contrast, in some of the low performance schools, teachers and parents do not know who was responsible for certain decisions and how these decisions were made. Examples of important decisions not made collectively in School Councils were those pertaining to acquisitions, elaborations of diagnoses diagnose s of school needs and formulation of the school project. It is important to note, however, that not all schools analyzed deliver written reports of resources allocation to financial resources’ donors such as municipalities or local entrepreneurs. The variables analyzed are composed of factors derived from the formulation, execution and evaluation of the school projects. As a result, positive and negative aspects of each of the variables were found in all the schools’ analyzed. Given differences among groups, it would be useful to transform low performance schools and schools performing by the rules into high performance schools by increasing the amount of information delivered to them by the State QSP Co-ordination and by promoting the exchange of experiences amongst schools at different performance perfor mance levels that are located in the same territory.
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4. QSP links or enlaces with schools and other actors related to school policy networks QSP links or enlaces are a support for QSP implementation in schools. In part, the success of the programme pr ogramme depends on their activities that include timely delivery of information, advice on schools’ pedagogical and organizational issues and authorization of working hours for collegiate work wor k in schools. The nature of the supervisors’ tasks and their position in the education system’s structure means that they have a direct relationship relat ionship with the schools’ directors and teachers. Their relationships relations hips with parents, however, are rare or inexistent. As a result, from the parents’ point of view view,, education links ((such such as supervisors and their technical pedagogical assistants) are unknown to the school community community.. This explains why if the QSP programme has the support of education links as part of the hierarchical structure of the system, their relationship with parents should be of a different nature. This is because becaus e in a programme such as the QSP, QSP, where decisions ar aree made by a collegiate body, supervisors and their assistants must combine their responsibilities as hierarchical authorities, where schools’ directors director s have to inform them, with an institutional relationship relation ship with the QSP QSP.. This latter type of relationships relationship s implies close contact with School Council members where, besides education authorities, there are parents and former students. Fieldwork results demonstrate demonstra te that the opinions of education sector links or enlaces are divided on the QSP. A group of 10 of the education links interviewed have a positive perception of the QSP while another 9 have a negative perception about the programme, the main reason re ason for this last point of view being the extra working hours hour s that they must allocate to comply with the programme requirements.
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Schools E21, E22 and E23 that have a high performance mark also have perceptionschools of the QSP. fact, however, is notsupervisors common towith othera positive high performance such This as schools E15 and E19, whose supervisors have a negative perception of the QSP QSP.. This indicates that a supervisor’s supervisor ’s role is important but not determinant for QSP development. This is because some schools that were not supported by their supervisors achieved high performance through the work of their School Council’s members. This confirms the importance impor tance of a good functioning of the School Council for the development of a school project.
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Conclusions
QSP implementation is part of a reform process in the education sector in Mexico that began in 1992 with the National Agreement for Education Modernization. The QSP seeks to overcome the limitations of a vertical structure in the education sector by emphasizing the emergence of horizontal relationships in which school authorities, teachers and parents are mutually responsible for their schools’ functioning. The purpose of QSP is to develop capacity in schools so they can solve their main mai n and urgent problems, which should be identified by members of the school s chool community. The QSP is part of the new public management movement movement that fosters transparency, accountability and social participation in the delivery of public services. The QSP fosters two main objectives: i) on the one hand, school community supervision of their project’s implementation through social participation as a mechanism to oversee operations, and ii) an extended social participation that results in the requirement on behalf of school community members of transparency and accountability. The QSP is implemented through School Councils made up of the school’s director and teacher and parent representatives. These Councils are the social unit that supports QSP functioning. Negotiations between these actors promote the integration of public policy networks for implementation implement ation at the school level. Policy networks at QSP depend not only on the conditions of reception and the type of mechanisms and instruments required by the QSP, but also to a large extent on local conditions, the culture or social conventions as regards community involvement and legitimate leadership leaders hip in school communities.
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This research had the objective of evaluating those levels of transparency, accountability and socialThe participation (our main variables) in eachs of the schools analyzed. level of development of each ofachieved these variables variable depended on the policy networks’ functioning. It was also observed that the characteristics of the context in which networks operate contributed to shaping a structure of dependencies among actors in the school networks analyzed. Our findings indicate that social participation is a variable that shows less development than that of transparency and accountability in schools. This is due to parents’ pa passivity ssivity in most of the schools analyzed. This, however, has not affected the development of transparency and accountability accountability,, as School Councils are compelled to inform the community of their activities, with the purpose of obtaining the support of parents and the local community. This leads to an improvement in accountability acc ountability and transparenc transparency y, which is a way to overcome parents’ passivity. Social participation in QSP schools has not fostered transparency transp arency and accountability development, as would be desirable. If the QSP continues in the long term, relationships among the variables analyzed should work both ways, in other words with social participation demanding transparency and accountability and with these two factors fostering social participati participation. on. Three factors were identified as determinant for the emergence of school policy networks: committed supervisors supervisor s aware of the needs of a school project, directors and teachers with both awareness of their programme requirements and training in school and education management and the existence of parent leadership or active parents. When all these factors are present, QSP is implemented successfully and at the same time transparency in school management is increased and accountability mechanisms enhanced on a daily basis. There were four main difficulties faced face d during QSP implementation in the schools’ analyzed.
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First of all, plannin planning g requires the building of agreements among school school members on issues amount such asof the setting of to goals. QSP requirements imply an increasing negotiations comeThus, up with a plan for action accepted by school members. Negotiations, however, require time for explaining and convincing others about what every member in a School Council should do. In most cases, teachers were not used to negotiating among themselves or, in other words, negotiations among colleagues were not common. Each teacher used to have a high degree of autonomy in planning his/her activities. Thus, planning requires not only more negotiations among a school faculty but also knowledge about the tasks and compromises of each one of them, so that the school as a collective body can reach its objectives. For these reasons, it is advisable to institutionalize mutual responsibility by providing information about its benefits. This could be part of a more aggressive strategy of the State Co-ordinations to make clear the benefits for schools of complying with QSP requirements. Secondly, searching for funding takes time away from the director, teachers and parents at the school level. This does not please directors and teachers who have a teaching agenda to cover set by the federal and state education authorities and reduced time to comply with it. In some states, states , the QSP State Co-ordination assists schools by promoting them in their municipalitiess so that municipal authoritie municipalitie authoritiess become aware of the implications of a school being in the programme, such as social participation, social supervision of funding allocation and the completion of an annual working plan. In this way, some municipalities aresearch becoming interested inter estedState in supporting QSP schools, facilitating these schools’ for funding. QSP Coordinations should have a strategy to inform all possible donors and bring them closer to schools. Social recognition of donors’ actions on behalf of the state education systems could motivate them to get closer to schools. Furthermore, the State QSP Co-ordinations could help schools to receive donations by making these free of taxation.
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Thirdly,, parental involvement has not been easy as in the past they wer Thirdly weree always out of thesome schools’ and to concerns. In some schools, teachersleft have devoted timeactivities to explaining parents how they can help at home with their children’s education. It is only through parental pa rental guidance that collaboration has been possible, possible , as most of the parents in the QSP schools did not complete their elementary education. It is crucial to strengthen QSP State Co-ordination communication with parents so that they may feel a crucial part of this policy. Finally, most teachers were used to having a ‘closed doors classroom’. class room’. What QSP is doing is to open a dialogue so that teachers explain to other teachers (and to parents) their plan of action, what they are trying to achieve and how are they going to achieve it. In this way, teachers receive feedback from other teachers and parents understand better the complexity of teachers’ tasks. The State QSP Co-ordinations could provide an incentive to create an ‘open classrooms policy’ by offering official of ficial recognition (a QSP diploma) to those teachers that are fostering change. As we have seen in these research results, some s ome of the schools analyzed have reacted efficiently and some have gone further than initial expectations, as intense participation was identified among members of some schools’ communities. Furthermore, Furthermor e, school directors are interacting actively with their immediate environment and teachers are abandoning hermetic attitudes by opening channels to exchange experiences with other actors and reach agreements. An important group of schools – most of the schools analyzed here – have made significant progress progres s and are incrementally accepting QSP as equivalent to an efficient and open networking situation. In this type of school, parents are adopting dynamic attitudes. In all types of schools described mutual accountability is being practised; transparency mechanisms are being adopted and as a result corruption and clientelismo could be fading away. It is of relevance that in
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Conclusions
those cases where practices have been improved and policy networks made their consolidation comes in the short term. To them. achieve this, the QSP couldway, identify best practices to support and publicize The main lessons offered by QSP to other public policies in Mexico and in other countries is that delegation of responsibilities to school communities and the sharing of responsibilities inside school communities create incentives to overcome limitations imposed by bureaucratic structures in the education sector to solve material and pedagogical issues in each school. QSP implementation created a mechanism for mutual responsibility that fosters supervision and monitoring of school communities in their school’s activities. This generates transparency and accountability as intended by the QSP and in general by new public management principles. Those cases where QSP practices have not flourished, which correspond corre spond to the low performance schools identified in this research, r esearch, represented only a limited number in our sample, however these schools send us a warning signal about the potential problems confronted confr onted by QSP execution. It will be useful to transform low performance schools into high performance schools through deploying actions such as: improvements improv ements to keep parents informed in order to trigger parent and teacher participation; promotion of collective decision-making by emphasizing that resource allocation under QSP is the responsibility of all parents and teachers; informing school communities that QSP objectives are the improvement of children’ c hildren’ss education; fostering support from the QSP enlaces to the School Councils; and increasing the information delivered by the QSP State Co-ordination to schools. One important action would be the exchange of experiences among schools at different differ ent performance levels that are located in the th e same territory or eve even n within the whole country. Finally, in all the schools analyzed it is necessary to promote the need to Finally, report use of resources to donors such as municipal governments and the private sector. Elaboration of reports could improve schools’ external actors’
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perception about their management. However, an important restriction to receiving deductible.external funding nowadays is the fact that donations are not taxThere are still many challenges to overcome and supplementary actions to implement, however it is very gratifying to see progress in a programme that radically changed schools’ perceptions perceptio ns of their possibility to contribute to the education system in Mexico. The fact that the QSP is able to put an end to inefficient routines that lasted decades makes us certain of the feasibility of introducing innovations in the education system and gives us confidence that efficiency, social participation and effectiveness will be achieved in Mexican schools if practices such as those promoted by the QSP continue.
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Appendix 1
School project assessment, school year 2002-2003
QSP operation rules set out the following procedures for assessing school projects. 6.1 6.1
6.2 6.2
6.2. 6.2.1 1
6.2.2 6.2 .2
Sc Scho hool ol proj projec ectt aass sses essm smen entt aand nd as asse sess ssme ment nt of the the aann nnua uall w wor orki king ng plans to achieve them are the responsibility responsibi lity of State Project Selection Committees, which are established establishe d according to the rules set out by each State Co-ordination. working in gareas tharelated that t have an effect onQSP school performance All suchthose as those working workin in jobs to teacher training, school evaluation, social participation and annual planning as well as supervisors and technical pedagogical assistants in elementary education, should be invited to these Committees. QS QSP PP Pro roje ject ct S Sel elec ecti tion on Co Comm mmit itte tees es ffol ollo low w th thee st stan anda dard rdss est estab abli lish shed ed in point 9 of the QSP National Operation Rules. In addition, these Committees should follow the following criteria: A ssch choo ooll pro projec jectt sho shoul uld d be ba based sed o on n a dia diagn gnosi osiss of th thee school school’’s situation. Special attention should be given to education indicators, indic ators, to the school’s mission as established in article 3 of the Mexican Constitution and in the General Law for Education and to the objectives for education established in the national plan and its programmes. Sch School ool proj project ectss should should sspec pecify ify medi mediumum-ter term m goals goals ((or or five five-ye -year ar go goals als)) for the promotion of equity and quality in education. Achievement Achievement of these goals will be possible through the improvement of retention of students and graduation indicators and the decrease of rates of repetition.
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6.2.3 6.2 .3
6.2.4 6.2 .4 6.2.5 6.2 .5 6.3 6.3
6.4 6.4
Sch School ool proj projects ects shou should ld inc include lude stra strategi tegies es and acti actions ons for each of tthe he three areas included ii) in school theseand being: i) classroom teaching dynamics, school activities, management, iii) relationships between schools and the students’ parents. A sch school ool’’s ann annual ual p prog rogram ramme me sh shoul ould d est establ ablish ish iits ts go goals als aand nd tthe he co costs sts of the actions that it will support. An aannu nnual al sscho chool ol p prog rogram ramme’ me’ss ac actio tions ns sshou hould ld b bee co consi nsiste stent nt w with ith the school’s diagnosis results and the school’s project goals. Se Sele lect ctin ing g ssch choo ools ls for for in incl clus usio ion n iin n the the QS QSP P iiss a rres espo pons nsib ibil ilit ity yo off the the State Council for Social Participation, which bases its decisions on the State Projects Selection Committee’s report. Th Thos osee ssch choo ools ls sele select cted ed to part partic icip ipat atee iin n tthe he QS QSP P aand nd wh whic ich h aass a consequence receive its financial support should sign a contract that includes performance goals. This contract contains indicators, goals and a calendar for resource allocation to the school and defines the responsibilities of the school community and State QSP authorities. It should contain the signatures of the school’s director director,, teachers and all members of the School Council for Social Participation.
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Appendix 2
Interviews undertaken
Interviews were undertaken in some schools that, accor according ding to the QSP Coordinators interviewed, have School Councils that are working well and in others that are experiencing problems. This allows us to compare successful schools with unsuccessful ones. In this way, it was possible to have diverse objects of study enabling the researcher to test some assumptions about the School Councils under QSP regulations. Among these assumptions are the idea that School Councils produce collegiate decisions that lead to mutual responsibility through mutual oversight. It was necessary to compare successful with unsuccessful cases as unsuccessful cases are useful for confirming (or rejecting) the relevance of certain variables of QSP functioning (Yin (1994: 33) refers to this as construct validity). In addition, the diversity of cases enables the researcher to abandon false relationships among variables (or to seek internal validity). At the same time, the methodology followed allowed application of concepts conc epts from policy networks’ literature to provide explanations of policy outcomes during QSP implementation implementation (or to have external validity). Finally, the specifications for case selection and the purpose of each section in the interview’s topic guide described below will enable researchers that follow the same method to obtain similar findings (or reliability).
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Interviews’ topic guide This research focus is the analysis of the variables of transparency, accountability and social participation during QSP implementation. The research also obtained information about other variables such as efficiency and effectiveness during QSP implementation but an analysis of these last two variables is not included here. The topic guide developed for this research had the purpose of assisting interviewees to express their point of view in an ordered and sequential manner (functional purpose). Each of the eight topics (see Table A) in which questionnaires are divided contains questions related to variables that are relevant for the present analysis (analytical purpose). The first topic, actors’ perception of QSP, is about actors’ awareness of their rights and responsibilities when participating in the QSP. QSP. Their answers will help to determine if the actors are ar e interested in their school project and if they consider themselves part par t of a school community where they can promote their interests through the exercise of their functions and their active participation. All questions included attempt to reveal the density and frequency of interactions among participants in each school network. In other words, they attempt to show the density and frequency of negotiations inside each school community. In addition, questions attempt to reveal the type of resources that each actor possesses and the reasons why interdependencies amongst actors exist. The second topic refers to the process of integration of School Councils. This will serve the purpose of identifying which members of the school communities are participating and determine whether there are dominant leaders inside each school community. It will also help to assess who participated in the formulation of the school project and who was more involved in its implementation. In this way way,, it will be possible to know the functioning
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of School Councils and the type of negotiations developed inside School Councils. Other questions attempt to find out about negotiations during project formulation, when the establishment of priorities occurs. Some questions about decision-making processes inside School Councils were also included. This allows identifying those who participated in those decisions that define the development of a school project, which is a way of identifying promoted interests in school policy networks. In the same vein, topics five and six look for evidence of the degree of knowledge of interviewees about achievement of their school project’s objectives. This enables researchers to know about the effectiveness that school communities are having during their project execution. It is also necessary to know about the type of mechanisms in place to evaluate a school project’s development, which is why is important to know what the actors consider to be their mistakes as well as their learning experiences during their school project’s implementation.
Table able A
Top opic icss ffor or in inte terv rvie iews ws o on n QSP QSP im impl plem emen enta tati tion on
Topics
Topic’s purpose
1. Actors’ perception of QSP
To know the interviewees’ opinion about QSP functioning. In particular, to know which aspects of the QSP should be
2. Integr Integrati ation on of Sch Schoo ooll Coun Counci cils ls for for Soci Social al Participation
modified according to them. To find find out how how the the Schoo Schooll Counci Council’ l’ss members were chosen. It is important to know whether the School Council’s Counc il’s members participate in other activities or if they have ever participated in programmes similar to QSP. Is important to identify the level of interest of the School Council’s members in the development of the school project.
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Table A
( co n t i n u e d )
3. Proce rocess ss of pro rojject ect fo forrmulati ation and prio priori riti ties es es esta tabl blis ishm hmen entt in scho school olss
To lear arn n about the dev eveelopment of a scho school ol proj projec ect. t. In addi additi tion on,, to to fi find nd out out the the levels of participation of the School Council’s members during project formulation and the setting of priorities. It is also important to know the advisory role of the State QSP authorities in those participating schools.
4. Dec ecis isio ionn-m mak akin ing g in Scho School ol Coun Counci cils ls for Social Participation
To und under erst stan and d how how dec decis isio ions ns to to allo alloca cate te a school project’s resources are made. To know the levels of knowledge, participation and compromise of school community members in those decisions to allocate resources for the school project.
5. School project results
To find out the school project’s effectiveness; in other words the level of accomplishment of its objectives. To determine the level of knowledge of the school community about the school project’s results.
6. Eval Evalua uattion ion an and ssel elff-ev eval alua uati tion on dur uriing development of of a sc school pr project
To lear learn n abou aboutt scho school ol eeva valu luat atio ion n mechanisms during school project development and feedback information that schools could receive about their project’s development.
7. Activ Activit ities ies to obta obtain in add additi ition onal al resou resource rcess
To ask abou aboutt those those strat strateg egies ies in in place place to promote donations of additional resources (financial in kind) for school projects. To find outorwhich public and private agencies have donated resources to schools.
8. Relati Relationsh onships ips amon amongst gst schoo schools ls and and other other administrative bodies for QSP development
To find out the the relatio relationshi nships ps maint maintaine ained d by ac actors in interested in in de development of of school projects.
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Topic seven refers to other important issues related to the strategies
used SchoolThe Councils obtainused financial resources necessary for their schoolbyproject. type of to strategy will serve to identify the integration of school communities within their environment in order to determine whether policy networks could be extended to their immediate environment or the rest of the society, or are in fact limited to school communities. Finally, topic eight refers to linkages of School Councils with other QSP administrative structures such as State and Municipal Councils for Social Participation, School Sector Chiefs, School Supervisors and Supervisors’ Technical Pedagogical Assistants. This allows determining the level of compromise of the interviewed actors with their school projects and their integration or lack of integration within school policy networks. Tabl ablee B shows those questions included in each topic and also contains conta ins
the position of the actors that will be selected for interviews. It identifies each of the questions related to the variables of transparency (T), accountability (A) and social participation (P).
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l o o t s i t h c c m s ? i u l r r t d ? r u s e d e o s o b v e k a t y o e i o t l t r w c o o e a t p h u r m t P o e S o j e m r y m i o e t d Q r e i e p l c t b e l m j u e i s r h t o u n t e n o o o l y o n u n i o r p w e t r a t r v l a g d i n r a e o n r e l r e o i r i o n a p i v e t h o h m o s o a c r t ? i r s i s t e p P e s t c c I n s p S p r n a r u e e u u Q o ? o f t n o m c y P f s o m e f P ? p o S i m e j t e ? o r a o S v l t o l Q u r d r c e c s Q o i g a e t p e o e v r y o ? l o l a c e p f o p c n p s a d n x e d e r t p i s m e s t s i a s i t o t x y h d c c n a i e c r i n c e e n l f h e j j s a e p o s t i a t e o o p r v e ’ d s r r d a m o i t u o l a g p p d S o P u r l o r n s l h y p a S o u r o e e c h p o o Q h o t i s r o o a s y c a s e h o r h h o h n c t o D o I n W i W W t s c s D i
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. . 7 8
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e l r a e y ? o h v l t n t o o i m o o r r f i d t p o o h e a p h l c l t a t a a u s u s i p v e ’ a m o t h r r c r ? t c i o u p n e t f g j r o p o a i n s a y o t i ’ r p r t a r e p l l c u r i u h e t e d d c j ? u n m n n e o o r r v m a u y u o i p i o o s t f e l l h i n C t b o c o o c a ? l o o e r w t e o o h j h b t o m n c u o c o i s r o o h s o y r c t p y f t o t e l h e S a s u h t d ’ s n t d i c e l i i n e d h f f n d t o o t f i A i r o e l i f o c h y u d ? d o o c n c e n i C s s y n a a v o f l t s i t f e e n n i s r a i o i v s n u d a y ’ P m h f o t c g i a l S b e ? n e t n n w j f m s i Q o a r o i a o o e e m r o r i s u f r t n w e h d k p a p e c s t s v o t r y ’ h y u l ’ t e h t S i h l c o p e t o e e e r h W W a j y v o u i s t e ) h o ) t h o r t c c P P ( W p W a ( a D s r o
. 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 5 1 1 1 1 1
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e l e ? c d a a b s ? e i e l e t s l d d c p r t l d c a e i a n i l c i s r t n n o a f ’ e e v u n a l g i w m s u e s l o i o r r l l t p d t o i o o ? s e s s n a o d s n t f y o a i w i s b e o h e o c a t e r e r r c o e t e t h i o l c h e c p e s e y i h s i d a h c w u t s j r s s i i c v s o d v a i g h a e t o c h s i t s r s i r e u n r t h n e p n f e e e e e n c m h i e q o y t c s d d c r h s i r t s u o o h i a i i t k g t f t c r o . t i a e u c f ’ d v u n w u m o s p l y n r o o e t p i e i q o o o r d c e d s a d v e i e a s e c l y b a u o m n e t a h t e h o t s u s d s f y d a h i n t e e l v c c a m q t n q c a a h i c u l f a e a d n l a o . c o e u c s o q i h l n e l e o ) e a r a s a i r c e e u e s a h r s f r y e e e r s o i t r s r o m t a n o c t t f r t h h f a t u c i ? m s h o s t e ? t m c e e w t e c p c o t e r c e d e t j f u r g ? e c e m y f s h m d h d j r e u b e c c o o a o t n g t t r u o u e e z r e i h h y ? y n o j c o i s u c t t u o b d w t i s r h p n l c r u r o l e i t e e s i o y i i a e c o a k p r j p e r t t b e c o e s d t c n e s h i i a s r o p o v j u h s d s a o e e w ’ t h t e t r y o n r e o t u o e o l r o r e m r h l t h y c u i p s r r o d l p f l p o e c l a t e o t n o m e t p c ? e W e a e m s o s l l v i a r r t r t o o t c i n o e o m h e e c a n t o p n m r n ? e c u l s l r ? y h f o a ’ o e r i c e t u h e q u g h s b h l m s a c n l a o t n s n o a e r a r r n o o w j o p o s e w s i o o v c i e i a c m e r e g r s t e e n o o i e r i v h e t h e u c o o n c r p t a s ’ e p e r e h c h e l e t h b d w f o i p e m s l t a i o t r e c a c p l l h s t t s t d r i b y y h s r t d e b r o g i t i r ’ e t o n e p u h n r o n l n j l s a i s o c e i e e a c f o l e o e e b r s f o b e i k n l P b b f e a r r h s p a o c s S o i r s i ? o a e p o i f o n i b s a t e e I i r s d t u s t e t r s h r s p e ( i r Q ’ d t l l s s r c c s c a o o o e e e h c w r o t t . s ? o w i s o s o a c e c e o o f y t c t h s o h h c i v c e o P h o o s e t t r t r c c o h t s s c r p s u s e S p t l e g u u n i H I I e e e D W H s W I D I l e c e j d j j h t d e I o o v r ) t ) ) o ) s s ) h o Q s i r o e ) d ) a ) ) a ) s f r o r r r r f . T s e o A o T n I A p T ( n a A ( m P ( A ( t ( e r o T ( t ( a ( p T ( o e r T ( w p o i s r p
. 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 0 2 2 2 2 2 2
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t p u o o l b e e a ? r v h t s t e ? u d e b t f e v o c r y t i o j e o e u o t t g c h o n w d e n r i j e e n p n e i m l b ? e l o o e o v e ? i r r o c c p t d s r p a o n ’ c e e t m l t a h n l u t c v a a i c u x o s e h f o s f i j l t y e s o e u o e s s t r f n ? n h h a t p n e t a d d g r o h l a a i p n h o d n o t o i h ? e w o a t e e l o u b e i v u t e e n c h t o i o v c n v e c i r v a e p e n y s s m h d a m d m m t r e o e a r u e s g v o i u i f u m t o a o a s o s d o y s e y g e y t ? s n h u a a s o y n i d v s i v d n n i r e e e m t m l n o m e o s e i v ? d v i i c u f e t i c t e l a e l i n j r e t b g b c t r o v k ’ h c m a e b o p o j r o i e e i g t C i ? e a s s c e o t r o p r n e u j o t p v l c c u u t r f e e o n n e e b l o o o i p c j j h y e y y o t o a e a r o r t o e o l r e h r m s o e p d d e l p r p o u e l v h t v y a a c l a u o e s y t h o r c t w o o t H C r s o a e s h a o o o r p h d ) h h u h e h i a o . c c T m h ( a s W y D H s i W t W W
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. 4 . 5 . 3 3 3 3
. 7 . 8 . 6 3 3 3
t n e m p o l e v e d g n i r u d n o i t a u l a v e f l e s t d c n j a o e n r o p i t l a o o u h l a c v s E a . f 6 o
d d e e s t n e a n k t u a a l u l t a h s o ? t i v b s e i p a t m r l w e t a u d c n ? e s i t e s e ? u e j a c t n ? r n m c e o s i o r m j e ’ s r t i e j t o o p n e c t r f c o c s o h p n n r a t l ’ i c e e p l t j i n l r o a o u o o e r o t h o o e o e p p o h h y n b c x e h r c e W s k ? s e r c e u r a t v o e g a s t c u a e y h n s e t o e h f i h t j t r n y m t u a r s f r a o a i o o f s o p h o n l b e n n l s a a s w i o e h e e i o o t n t o c w a m o m c m h r o e o i e t a i o c n c i t s c t v s s m t a p f i u n h e n u i h o o o c o o h t n d m i n i r h u e l ? w , f t n i o w d a t e h a o o o s t y t y h p g e s m o a n s r s n u g i h e r d a e c a u i r o u t r s o a o u g r o h w r w m y h p y d d o u o l o ? r e l T W H o N p t m d u ) e ) ) y ) e v x o r a o A h e T T T n F m C ( t ( ( i ( d e n
. 0 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 9 3 4 4 4 4 4
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Quality Schools Programme in Mexico
* s n o i t i s o p e s e h t d l o h d l u o h s d e w e i v r e t n i e b o t s r o t c
P S Q S
B e l b a T
A P T
X
X X X X
X X
X X X X
S
X
X X X X
X X
X X X X
S C
X
X X X X
X X
X X X X
P X
X
X
X X X
X X
X X X X
T X
X
X
X X X
X X
X X X X
D X S
X
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s n o i t s e u Q / s w e i v r e t n i r o f s c i p o T
X X X X X X X X X t ? s h e ? o n r r e t s t s e t t t n i o o e l d l i f m n n t ? e i d v a e a i u e w e e c t e u l a s n t h b e g d a o d p t e h d a o l m a a m e t r t d e e t u l v i b r n i t s s n s a f i a o u u h m s e r o d e r a o s i d h p j r t P c o n t n c e u t n s r i d o m t a ? i y S o t c h e d f t a d i m t s n c s t n o u c Q u n t i o d o t o u o n e i g a y n e h e e i s r a d l d e e f j i o e b e n l p g h n t y t m s a o b t s w i r p t o a r u m s n i i a c c n t h e r p x i o d o e o o p o p n o o S i f r e d o j a t e u h c a c d t h l t r o n l t e e e e h e h u o b b , m i o s t r t n e m h h r o o o p c t i v e h c m w o o m t h n a i s r e f e t s e t d t t t n l l y j ? c i e e u o d W n u u n c s u p n h r t s i i i v ? o o t i c o o o s r e s t a o s e e m f e t y b b p t e c b a r y h ? h j h e m h c o o t a a a a t e h r a ? i p j t l c i g o e ? e t c t c t f t s r t e l w n u d d d r s f e o n c e o s a p b a o c u I n e t y m e ? e e e j o e o o o j e h r i i l f s s o i r t t c s h r m m p m m r ? y r n y m r r a r t p l i o d t p o r i l n r o s o u e f b f e p a i o m t c c o u n o h f o f c h o o p a c b s n s o r e e r o n o n n h r i m s l ’ o j j c i l e n n n e t c o l o u a f i e m i i s r u h o n o / o i p u a l m o r d y o h v e l t o o o e o o r e l e ? l a c m h i i o i s p s p e a t t s n C h a m c c c i l o e a n ? l o d n i n h s e m u o h e e c f n c t i l ’ r n c e h o y u d j u p s o r t s o l h n h c h s u t o o e t o f t s a e n t h e s f t g m j n c e h o ? h c h i t n C o r p o o C r o s o h e h o o t d e n t h e p e e h o v o i s t c f a s f t y o c e r t e i h m c l o l l ’ a h e t t o u c r n n t s S e s t m e b o n w c o o h e n n o o p C o o ? t e s i j r s c e h e f y o P o o i e e n l m t t ? o i e m e l t f n o u d e l h h c d h h h h s s v i e o r o a t t d a m o m s o s t e t t e c c S c e a ’ h w c o p n f d o o p t e p l S Q s S i s s s a h c e e p s t h s o l t a o s a h r o o s o r r u e a o e e e d c t u e c s n l c i n t r u D e w u H I h e l e s H D H e o a o n h t o e t h h h a o t t o ) v o y e h ) v r ) e ) f ) e b h h o t t e ) a h s r o t e H f e a e P A s S f s C b s s e ( d I h t w A ( d p A ( h t P ( o P ( A c s I o I ( u p W W e r I r
r s e n b o i m t u s n e u y Q b
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A
) d e u n i t n o c (
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. 9 . 0 . 1 . 2 . 8 4 4 5 5 5
. 3 5
. 5 . 6 . 7 . 4 5 5 5 5
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Appendices
* s n o i t i s o p e s e h t d l o h d l u o h s d e w e i v r e t n i e b o t s r o t c
P S Q S
X X
A P T
X X X X X X
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s n o i t s e u Q / s w e i v r e t n i r o f s c i p o T r s e n b o i m t u s n e u y Q b
X X X X X X
s e c r u o s e r l a n o i t i d d a n i a t b o t s e i t i v i t c A . 7
s e e v c a r h u t o a s e t r h n s i a e c t r b o u o o s e t r y r a f o w e r e l b h a t o t n y u o n a c c e a r e d l h e t h s i n l o ? o ? l i h d o n e o c i s h e t p a o c n s h o t r e s d u h I o y t ) n e r e n o I f A ( b
. 9 . 8 5 5
X X X X X X e v i t a r t s i n i m d a r e h t o d n a s l o t o h n e c s m g p o n l o e m v e a d s P p i S h s Q n r o o i t f a s l e e i R d . o 8 b
t s e u q e r u o s y t n d a l n t u o s i i o t s s w a p t i A n a c o l i h i a t t r c a w ? i e a p , l g i P P p o c l i S o g a t e i r a Q p c a d e r o P e h S l r P t o a o r l s f a t e f o i c o i c a f o i c l n g e i n i n S i r n e c r d h h o i n o r s n g e a u f o C i c i t o g C o i l - t o r e o v ’ r T c n c C i s l c p n n r a e u u P w u o f l p S S o s o S i i r l l l c C Q v e o i o o t r t n f e e o o t t e e u a a h h e b t t c c p u h t M r S S S S o f . S . . . . . F o a b c d e f
. 0 6
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r o t a n i d r o o C P S Q e t a t ; r S o t = c e P S S Q f e S i ; h t n C t a = i S s s C s ; A s l t a n c e i r a g P o = g a P d ; l s r P e e a h c c i a n e h T c = e T T ; r = o A t c P e r T i ; D r o l s i o v o r h c e S p u = S D = S * S
143 International Institute for Educational Planning
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Appendix 3
QSP schools by State and school year States
School year 20 01- 20 02
School year 200 2- 200 3
School year 2003 - 2004 (estimated figures)
AGUASCALIENTES
21
82
137
BAJA CALIFORNIA
48
246
428
BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR
8
40
50
C AM P E C H E
14
93
109
C O AH UI L A CO LIMA
47 25
265 55
331 67
CHIAPAS
122
402
535
C HIHUAH UA
76
309
470
DISTRITO FEDERAL
143
719
1,002
D U R A NG O
64
200
300
G U A N A J U ATO
104
418
745
G UE R R E R O
59
241
550
HI DALGO
49
241
322
J A L I SC O
129
614
815
MEX ICO M I C HO A C AN
265 90
1,500 419
2,001 713
M ORE L OS
35
100
203
N AYA RI T
21
95
126
NUEVO LEON
112
343
771
O AX AC A
100
310
455
PUEBLA
163
637
1,040
144
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Appendices
QUERETARO
32
159
295
QUINTANA ROO SAN LUIS POTOSI
16 50
127 317
426 393
S IN A L O A
52
260
299
SONORA
60
107
249
TABASCO
41
209
275
TAMAUL I PAS
51
258
540
T L AX C AL A
21
88
88
VERACRUZ
152
647
990
YUC ATAN
33
166
295
ZACATECAS
37
153
191
2,240
9,820
15,211
Na ti ona l
Source: Statistics of QSP at http://www.escuelasdecalidad.net/pub/escuelas/escuelas.html
Note: Highlighted rows correspond to the states analyzed in this research.
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Study 1. Report Card in Bangladesh ActionAid Bangladesh; Transparency International Bangladesh. 2001. Report card methodology: a tool for good governance: training manual.
Dhaka: ActionAid Bangladesh; Transparency Internationa Internationall Bangladesh. Gopakumar, K. 2000. Natio National nal works workshop hop on report card metho methodolog dology: y: selected reading. Public Affairs Centre: Bangalore, India. Government of Bangladesh. 1996. Fourth five year plan (1991-1996). Dhaka: Government of Bangladesh. Government of Bangladesh. 2002. Fifth five year plan (1997-2002). Dhaka: Government of Bangladesh. Hussain, Z. 2000. Bangladesh education finance. W Washin ashington: gton: World Bank. Kaoume, A.-T. 2000. Bangladesh: sources of long run economic growth. Washing ashington: ton: World Bank. Latif, Scherezad M.; Rahman, H. 2000. Bangladesh: primary and pre primary education. Washington: World Bank. Public Affairs Affairs Centre; Transparency International Banglades Bangladesh. h. 2001. Training workshop for the governance coalition-Bangladesh on the report card approach: a resource kit. Bangalore, India: Public Publi c Affairs Centre;
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Transparency International Bangladesh. 2001. Corruption in primary education in Bangladesh: scenario of eight upazillas of greater Mymensingh. Dhaka: Transparency International Bangladesh.
Transparency International Bangladesh. 2003. Combating corruption through promoting integrity in public service delivery system.
Dhaka: Transparency International Bangladesh. Upp, S. 1995. Mak Making ing the gra grade: de: how do public pub lic servic ser vicee provider provi derss in you r cit your cityy mea measure sure up? A gui guide de for imp implem lement enting ing the report repor t card methodology . Working Paper, 101. Bangalore, India: Public Affairs
Centre. World Bank, 1998. Ba Bang ngla lade desh sh 20 2020 20:: a lo long ng ru run n pers pe rspe pect ctiv ivee st stud udyy . Washin ashington, gton, DC: W World orld Ban Bank. k. World Bank, 200 2000. 0. Bangladesh education sector review. Vol. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: World World Bank.
Study 2. Quality Schools Programme in Mexico Allen, H. 1990. Cultivating the grass roots. Why local government matters. Bombay:: IUL Bombay IULA A & AllLSG AllLSG.. Barba, B. (Co-ord.). 2000 . La federalización educativa: una valorización externa desde la experiencia de los estados. Mexico: Secretaría de
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Benson, J.K. 1982. “A Framework for Policy Analysis”. In: D. Rogers, D. Interorga erorganiz nizati ationa onall coordin coo rdinati ation: on: Whetten and associates (Eds.). Int theory, research and implementation. Ames: Iowa State University
Press. Bracho, T. Quality schools program, external evaluation. Mexico: CIDE. Cabrero, E. 2000. “Usos y costumbres en la hechura de las políticas públicas en México”. In: Gestión y Política Pública, 9(2). Mexico: CIDE. Cabrero, E., et al. 1997. “Claroscuros del nuevo federalismo mexicano: estrategias en la descentralización federal y capacidades en la gestión local”. In: Gestión y Política Pública, 6 (2). (2). Mexico: CIDE. power ower . England: Edward Dowding, K. 1991. Rational choice and political p Elgar.
Dowding, K. 1996. Power . Buckingham: Open University Press. General Accounting Office. 1992. The evaluation synthesis. Program Evaluation and Methodology Division. Divisi on. W Washington ashington:: GAO/PEMD-10.12. Laffont, J.J. 2000. Incentive Incentivess and politica politicall economy. USA: Oxford University Press. Marsh, D. (Ed.). 1998. Comparing policy networks . London: Open University Press. Marsh, D.; Smith, M.J. 1996. Understanding policy networks: towards a dialectical approach. Paper presented to ESRC Whitehall Programme seminar, University of Birmingham. Marsh, D; Smith, M.J. 2000. “Understanding policy networks: towards a dialectical approach”. In: Political Studies, 48(1), 4-21.
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May, T. 1997. Social research. Issues, methods and process (2nd edition). Buckingham: Open University Press. Moctezuma, E. 1994. “La educación pública frente a las nuevas realidades”. In: Carreño, J. et al . (Co-ords.). Re Resu sume men n de una un a vi visi sión ón de la modernización en México. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica. National Ministry of Education. 1993. Gen General eral law fo forr educati education on. Federal Official Paper. National Ministry of Education. 2001. Quality schools program. program. National operation rules. Federal Official Paper. National Ministry of Education. 2003. Quality schools’ program. National operation rules. Federal Official Paper.
Nunan, F.S. 1998. The politics of influence in environmental policymaking: an application of policy network analysis . PhD thesis. United Kingdom: University of Birmingham. Rhodes, R.A.W. 1986. The national world of local government . The New Local Government Series, 26. London: Allen & Unwin. Rhodes, R.A.W.; Marsh, D. 1992a. “New directions in the study of policy networks”. In: European Journal of P Political olitical Research, 21, 181-205. Rhodes, R.A.W.; R.A.W.; Marsh, D. 1992 b. “Policy Networks in British Politics”. In: Marsh, D. and R.A.W. Rhodes (Eds.). Policy networks in British government . Oxford: Clarendon Press. Richardson, J.J.; Jordan, A.G. 1979. Governing under pressure. Oxford: Martin Robertson.
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Santizo, C.A. 1997. Las pers perspect pectivas ivas del nuev nuevo o federali fede ralismo: smo: el sect sector or educativo. Las experiencias de Aguascalientes, Guanajuato y San Luis Potosí. P otosí. Documento de Trabajo, 56. Mexico: DAP-CIDE.
Santizo, C.A. 2002. Implementing reform reform in the education sector in Mexico: the role of policy networks . PhD thesis. United Kingdom: University of Birmingham. Simon, H. A. 1957. “The Psychology of Administrative Decisions”. In: H.A. Simon, Administrative behaviour. A study of decision-making processes in administrative organisation (2nd ed.). USA: Macmillan Company. Simon H.A. 1997. Models of bound bounded ed ratio rationalit. nalit. Vol. 3. London: MIT Press. Secretaría de la Función Pública, Públi ca, Subsecretaría de Con Control trol y Auditoría de la Gestión Pública, Dirección General Adjunta de Participación Social. 2003. Contraloría social en el programa escuelas de calidad. Mexico: PEC. Tsebelis, G. 1990. Nested games: rational choice in comparative politics. Berkeley; Los Angeles; Oxford: University of California Press. Van Waarden, F. 1992. “Dimensions and types of policy network” . In: European Journal of Policy Research, 21, 29-52. Williamson, O.E. 1996. The mechanisms of governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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