７３

Whole School Development Initiativein Yemeni Basic Education: Lessons Learned
from JICA Girls’ Education Project
SAKURAI Aiko＊
OGAWA Keiichi＊＊１．Introduction
１．
１ Background
The Republic of Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world. With a percapita GNI of US＄５５０，it has a population of ２０．
３ million（World Bank，２００４）．Its
annual population growth of ３．
１ percent has weakened the impact of economic growthand social development. The ２００４ Human Development Index（HDI）ranks Yemen as
１５１st out of １７７ countries（UNDP，
２００４），which implies that education and health standards are lacking in the country in comparison to other countries. In the education sector, achieving Education for All（EFA）by ２０１５! is one of the most important nationaltargets in Yemen. In ２００２，the Government of Yemen established the Basic Education
Development Strategy（BEDS），which aims to achieve ９５ percent net enrollment ratein the basic education sub-sector by ２０１５．The total gross enrollment rate at the basic
level（Grade１−９）is ６９ percent in ２００４； however, the rate for girls is only ５３ percent（World Bank，２００５）．Girls’ completion rate at the primary level（grade６）is only
３３ percent compared to boys’ at ６８ percent（Ogawa，２００４）．
Yemen is one of the EFA: FTI（Education for All: Fast Track Initiative）countries
selected by the World Bank and other international donor agencies after the G８Kananaskis Summit held in June，２００２．Due to this initiative, the Government of Yemen
has also set FTI goals which include １００ percent of the grade ６ completion rate by
２０１５．Since Yemen has participated in the EFA: FTI, with the receipt of the FTI Catalytic Fund and other bilateral/multilateral donors’ increased support, including Germany,
Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, UNICEF, World Bank, and World＊＊＊

Ph.D. Candidate, Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University.
Associate Professor, Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe Unversity.

Journal of International Cooperation Studies, Vol.１
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Food Program, the Government of Yemen has been accelerating the implementation of
BEDS to promote more efficient use of existing education resources, expand access to
education for all especially among girls, and improve the government’s implementation
capacity related to educational policies and services. These reform processes involve
various stakeholders in the sector, including educational officials both at the central andlocal levels as well as teachers and communities.
１．
２ Problem Statement
Basic Eduation Development Strategy（BEDS）has been implemented under a framework of decentralization of educational operations and services from the Ministry of
Education（MOE）to the governorate-level education offices, district education offices,each individual school and community. Decentralization of government services in
Yemen was enacted in ２００１ when the first local council election was successfully held.
However, there is still insufficient authority delegated from the central to the local
level as well as insufficient capacity at the governorate, district and schools levels totackle school-level educational issues.
To achieve the goals of BEDS under the pressures of rapid demographic growth
and an increased demand for improved education quality, the Government of Yemen
has to improve utilization of education resources and increase its efficiency at all levels of the stakeholders from the central level to governorate, district, school, and community levels. For that purpose, capacity building, especially at the local government
levels and school management are urgent issues in Yemen. In May ２００６ during theGovernment/Donor Agencies’ Joint Annual Review Meeting, the Ministry of Education
introduced its Mid-term Results Framework（MTRF），which proposed a concrete midterm target indicators and detailed action plans to achieve BEDS outcomes for the period between ２００６ and ２０１０．School level management and community participation development have been increasingly emphasized as one of eight primary areas in the
BEDS!.
This approach is called Whole School Development（WSD）and is considered by
MOE as an effective way to improve school level management and community support.
Supported by the Basic Education Development Project（BEDP）and funded by World
Bank, DfID, and the Netherlands, MOE is currently trying to introduce the WSD pro-

Whole School Development Initiative in Yemeni Basic Education: Lessons Learned from JICA Girls’ Education Project

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５gram in ６
００ schools in ten governorates of the Republic of Yemen. WSD is one of
the reform approaches developed in Anglo-Saxon countries, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, to improve education quality by giving schools autonomy to manage themselves in a framework of educational decentralization. Given this situation in
the education sector, we wonder to what extent the WSD approach can contribute toimproving access and the quality of education sector in Yemen, including educational
decentralization at the school level.
１．
３ Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the WSD approach to improving access and quality of education in Yemen. For the objective, thestudy first defines a concept of WSD as applied to developing countries by reviewing
previous related studies. With a clear understanding of WSD as it applies to developing countries, the study examines a current project that has been using this approachover the last two years in the Taiz Governorate−Japan International Cooperation
Agency’s（JICA）Broadening Regional Initiatives for Developing Girls’ Education（BRIDGE）Project.
The objective of the BRIDGE Project is to improve girls’ enrollment at basic education through the building capacity of schools and local educational authorities by providing school-level financing to implement pilot activities, and promote community participation in school activities by awareness raising activities. The project is implemented
in six districts within the Taiz Governorate, namely, Maawiyah, Same, Maqbanah, Al
Makha, Al Waziiyah and Dubab.
Using the BRIDGE Project as a case, this study conducts in-depth analyses of thefollowing aspects. First, the study analyzes the various situations the pilot schools arelocated in rural and disadvantaged areas in the country. Based on a clear understandingof the reality in rural schools, the study investigates what kinds of institutional mechanisms the BRIDGE Project has at the school level and at each level of government（e.
g., steering, coordinating, implementing, supporting, monitoring, and evaluating the project process）．The study assesses what kind of achievements the JICA BRIDGE Project
could make in terms of students’ enrollment, improvement of school environment andquality of education. The study also examines to what extent the BRIDGE Project can

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contribute to activate community participation in school. Finally, based on the analysesof the BRIDGE Project, this study provides lessons learned from the Project as one of
the WSD initiative implemented in Yemen, and concludes with policy recommendations
for expanding a similar approach at the national level.
１．
４ Significance of the Study
There is much analysis done on the key elements of successful implementation ofschool-based management both in developed and developing countries. However, there
are no such studies conducted in the case of Yemen. Since the level of decentralization, education system, and educational issues are different from other countries, it isvaluable to examine the Yemeni case with the WSD approach education project. This
study will be the first attempt to analyze a process of school improvement by using an
actual case study in Yemen.
The government of Yemen is about to implement whole school development initiative in the piloted governorates first, eventually to be expanded at the nation-widelevel. Findings from this study will have a significant contribution to the government
policy implications and planning of concrete implementation activities by providing lessons learned from the JICA BRIDGE Project. The study will also provide recommendations to the government on the roles she should play for the successful implementation of such school-based approach. Ultimately, this could enhance the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, from the central and local government, to theschool and community level under educational decentralization.
２．Defining Whole School Development（WSD）
The concept of whole school development（WSD）is derived from experiences ofschool improvement in developed countries, known under various names, such as
school-based management, school-site management in the United States, the United
Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. According to Briggs and Wohlstetter（２００３），
school-based management（SBM）has been popularly adopted for reforms by states andschool districts across the United States since the １９６０s as a vehicle for improving
schools. Up until the late １９８０s, SBM was most often adopted and implemented as astand-alone reform to remedy a variety of ills of the school system. However, as Ful-

Whole School Development Initiative in Yemeni Basic Education: Lessons Learned from JICA Girls’ Education Project７
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lan and Watson（１９９９）conclude, SBM failed when it was treated as an end in itself.
By the late １９８０s, SBM efforts entailed much more than a change in governance. The
purpose of SBM efforts became to improve student achievement. Since improving student outcomes involves a process of change, SBM has constituted a redesign of thewhole school organization.
A similar path of development has also been observed in developing countries. SBM
has been popularly implemented throughout the world starting in the early １９９０ s in
Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and then Africa coupled with the trend of decentralization of education. Since the trend reached less developed countries, the emphasis
has been increasingly placed on the idea of “whole school” change. According to
Akyempong（２００４），WSD could be defined as an approach by treating a school as theunit of change, to change the “whole” school’s organizational culture and structure andthe relationships with the community to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
In the existing literature, the clear distinction between SBM and WSD cannot be discerned. Since school-based management itself evolved and emphasizes aspects of thewhole school development, this study, therefore, regards the re-conceptualized SBM as
the WSD.
Previous studies including Fullan and Watson（１９９９），Simkins et al（２００３），De
Grauwe（２００５），and Caldwell（２００５）discuss the similarities and differences when applying SBM experiences in developed countries and developing countries. The similar
points that they mentioned are as follows:!The role of leadership, which means head teacher, is key to improve the school;!It is a new teaching and learning methods;!It is the process of capacity building at school;!Parents and community play an active role in school management;!More accountable and transparent system could be introduced; and!External supporting system to provide trainings and advices to head teacher andteachers is indispensable.

On the other hand, the differences that were pointed out are as follows:

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are of great importance for school support in developing countries; and!Ensuring equity, it is important to develop a flexible policy reflecting different
levels of capacities and experiences of each school and head teacher in developing
countries.

The education system and schools in developing countries, especially less developed
countries like Yemen, are different from those in developed countries in that the education systems are underdeveloped and lack experience, resources and facilities. WSD
approach could not just be planted in these countries. In addition, considering thesesimilarities and differences, it becomes obvious that it is a natural consequence to emphasize the “whole” school development in developing countries. They do not have all
the tools, resources, and facilities needed to be function as a school. Therefore, providing support separately for the construction of school infrastructure, training teachers andhead teachers, deployment of teachers, delivering textbooks and teaching materials, improving curriculums, and encouraging community participation, could not be effective.
A school without management capability would not be able to coordinate these separate
elements of support to improve the educational services that the school provides.
In developed countries, WSD mainly focuses only on quality of education. However,as UNESCO（２００５）defines it, the success of teaching and learning is likely to bestrongly influenced by the resources made available to support the process and the direct ways in which these resources are managed. Therefore, the whole school development approach in developing countries includes the rehabilitation of school buildings
and the provision of resources such as textbooks, furniture and stationary as conditions
to improve quality of education.

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Schools in developing countries are not only lacking in infrastructure, they receive
only few capacity-building opportunities. Head teachers, especially in the more remoteschools, are often isolated and receive little or no support from the administration.
Therefore, for those head teachers in remote schools, school-based management sometimes makes their life harder by increasing the administrative and managerial workload.
This could contribute to a widening disparity among schools（De Grauwe，２００５）．
Community participation in school councils could be double-bladed, it can help to develop an effective school council by bringing local needs and resources and at thesame time, bring interpersonal conflict among community members and between theschool and the community to the school council（Leithwood and Menzies，１９９８）．
When the majority of the community is illiterate, school management tends to be controlled by local elites who are interested in building up their power. In such a situation, greater inequities within the school community are created, and then the monopolization of power leads to the lack of transparency, especially in the use of school
funds. Schools in which the head teacher has no management training, where theteachers have few resources, and the surrounding community is extremely poor withlittle expertise in education, can hardly be expected to engage in strategic planning andself-evaluation with enthusiasm（De Grauwe，２００５）．
WSD is not only an approach for schools and communities to implement school
management, but also includes a supporting and monitoring and evaluation system fromthe local education authorities. However, in many developing countries, educational decentralization is an on-going policy and full allocation of decision-making authority andfinancial resources are not yet realized. Local educational authorities tend not to clearly
understand their roles and responsibilities, as they have not received training to adjust
themselves to new circumstances. Therefore, sometimes, local educational authorities become obstacles for schools to implement their own management by not supporting but
rather controlling schools.
This paper defines the objective of the Yemeni WSD approach as to improve accessand quality of basic education in rural public basic education schools through：１）
strengthening capacity of local educational authorities, including district education officers and head teachers; and２）promoting community participation in schools’ decision−making with providing school level financing.

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It is a process that takes time since WSD intends to change the culture and ways ofthinking in school management. As even the developed countries have been modifying
its model, the WSD should also be carefully reviewed considering the prerequisite conditions of each individual country.
３．Methodologies
In order to investigate the objectives, the study reviews JICA BRIDGE Project documents and conducts interviews to several officers at the Ministry of Education（MOE），
Governorate Education Office（GEO）and District Education Office（DEO）．Field visits
to BRIDGE Project’s piloted schools are also conducted to assess the progress of pilot
activities and interviews to school committee members and fathers and mothers in thecommunity. More specifically, the study assesses the BRIDGE Project in terms of thefollowing three aspects. First, the study draws a clear picture of BRIDGE Project areas
and reveals project characteristics from baseline survey report and observation at thefield survey. Then, it identifies the implementation mechanism of BRIDGE Projectfrom two perspectives：１）school level implementation and；２）school support system
by local educational authorities based on the project’s inception report and interviews.
Finally, it examines achievements of the Project for the first １８ months from two
perspectives, school pilot activity implementation and community participation based onprogress reports and school visits observation.
４．Results: Assessment of BRIDGE Project４．
１ Situational Analyses of Pilot Districts and Schools
When the BRIDGE Project started in June ２００５，girls’ enrollment was not only low
but the physical conditions of the pilot schools were also very poor. There was only
one girls’ school included in the pilot school, and only five out of ５６ schools could
offer a separate building only for girls. Due to shortage of classrooms at schools,
about ２０ percent of classes were offered outside of the buildings, such as under thetrees or in the building shade. With an average of ５７ students in one classroom, almost all the schools do not have any facilities other than the classrooms, such as thelibrary and laboratory. Bathrooms were only available at ５ schools among all. The
shortage of female teachers was a serious issue. Among the ５５５ governorate teachers

Whole School Development Initiative in Yemeni Basic Education: Lessons Learned from JICA Girls’ Education Project８
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at all ５６ pilot schools, only ２８ female teachers are identified. Among ５６ schools, only
３７．
５ percent of schools offer grades １ to ９ of basic education.
In spite of poor conditioned school infrastructure, it was found that there was strong
demand for girls’ education among parents. According to the Project’s baseline survey,
ninety-five percent of parents agreed to both male and female having equal rights foreducation. Eighty percent of parents disagreed, indicating that it is enough for girls toread and write. Ninety-eight percent of parents agreed with the idea that women’s participation in education is necessary to improve education. However, most parents do
not know about their children’s school and teachers.! The results indicate that lack ofknowledge and understanding about the schools makes parents hesitate when considering sending their daughters to school.
４．
２ Implementation Mechanism
In the BRIDGE Project, school committee is a key engine at each pilot school tohelp encompass both school and community participation in planning, implementing andevaluating school’s pilot activities. School committee is composed of ２０ members,
which includes a head teacher, teachers, representatives of fathers and mothers’ council,
community leaders, such as a sheikh（tribal leader）and preachers. Each school was encouraged to form the school committee to represent diversified members from the community. The chairperson of the school committee plays a central role at the school toagree on a contract with JICA regarding the school’s pilot activities, to supervise thewhole implementation process of the pilot activities, including accountability of funding.
In most of the pilot schools, the chairpersons are head teachers of the schools. In
some exceptional cases with inexperienced and weak head teachers, community leaders
become the chairperson. Features of the implementation mechanism under the BRIDGE
Project are that the school committee is composed by representing both school andcommunity, and that the school committees have strong power over the decision making regarding the use of school grants. Outside of the BRIDGE Project, social workers
play a key role to bridge the school and community. Instead of social workers,
BRIDGE Project encourages the school head teachers to work closely and directly withthe community. In most of the pilot schools, social workers were not originally assigned. Therefore, it was thought to be more effective to set up a place for both

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schools and communities to discuss about the school matters together, instead of making another layer（social worker）between the school and community. Since the schoolcommittees include representatives from fathers’ and mothers’ councils, opinions of fathers and mothers could be reflected to the decision at the school committees. Fathers’
and mothers’ councils are encouraged to have separate meetings to discuss their interests to the school matters and are encouraged to be responsible for implementation ofpilot activities.
Each school committee has a treasurer and auditor. These three members, chairperson,
treasurer and auditor, are core players and are provided training twice every year on
how to prepare proposals（２days）and financial reports（１day）on school pilot activities. Based on the schools’ proposal, the school grant of a maximum of ５００，
０００!
５２５）per school, is provided to each school. The Project does not imYER （US＄２，
pose, but encourages the school to make local contributions. Each school committee
opens a bank account to receive and manage the school grant. Each school committee
is requested to keep financial records and submit the report at the end of the projectyear.
District Education Offices（DEOs）are responsible for supporting schools. Since they
are the closest to and know the best about their schools, DEOs are requested to visit
each school twice a month to monitor progress and provide advice to resolve problems
related to implementation of pilot activities. In the project, DEOs are expected to be amentor to schools. For weak schools, special support programs are developed to help
head teachers achieve a single progress to give them confidence. The Project emphasizes that the DEOs’ role is not to control and overwhelm schools, but it is to support
schools to enable them to improve their schools by themselves. On the other hand,
Governorate Education Officer（GEO）s roles are to guarantee transparency and accountability of the use of school grants, to share the pilot schools’ and districts’ experiences among other districts in Taiz Governorate. Moreover, GEO are responsible for
implementing awareness raising activities in Taiz Governorate.
４．
３ Achievements
Since the Project began in June ２００５，it is too early to discuss achievements of the
Project as a whole. Therefore, this study only reviews achievements of the first １８

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Table１：Comparison of School Pilot Activities between Year１and Year２（％of the funding allocated）
Activities

Year１

Year２

Building and maintaining school

３８％

１９％

Hiring local teachers

３６％

５３％

Buying school materials

１７％

７％

Organizing extracurricular events

２％

４％

Mothers' activities

３％

１４％

Others

４％

３％

TOTAL

１００％

１００％

Source: Progress Report No．
２ and No．
３（JICA，２
０
０
６a and ２００６b）months. In summary, the Project is so far successful since all the pilot schools could
complete the first round of pilot activity implementation with proper and transparent
use of the funds, and girls’ enrollment has improved.
The Project has already contributed to increasing the number of girls in school in
the first year. The total number of female enrolment has increased. In total, female enrollment increased by １，
７２７ in one year, from ６，
０９５ in ２００４ to ７，
８２２ in ２００５．As
per the results, the female/male ratio has improved in target schools from ６１／１００ in
２００４ to ７５／１００ in ２００５．In the first project year，２２７ pilot activities were implemented in ５６ pilot schools and currently ２５６ school activities are implemented in ５９
pilot schools. Table１displays the composition of pilot activities. Implementing pilot activities contributes to improving the school environment for education by building classrooms, hiring teachers from local community. In Year １，eighty-two classrooms were
newly added or rehabilitated under the Project, which meets the urgent needs for classrooms. One hundred forty-five teachers（６５ females／８０ males）were hired under the
Project in Year１and １６５ teachers（６３ females／１０２ males）in Year２．There are growing demands to hire local teachers at pilot schools.
Implementing pilot activities also helps to activate the community’s participation in
education. Based on Shaffer’s ladder of participation（１９９４），the first year of participation is examined as follows:
１．The mere use of a service: There are some activities, such as purchasing thefirst aid boxes, holding literacy and sewing classes at schools. Mothers participatedin these activities.

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２．Involvement through the contribution of resources: Both labor and financial contributions were realized though implementation of pilot activities. In the first year,
six percent of the total funding spent for the BRIDGE Project activities was mobilized from the community.

Construction workers were male members from local

families. Since these labors were from the community, which was strongly encouraged by the Project, construction was quickly completed. Women in the community provided food and water for workers at the school.
３．Involvement through attendance and the receipt of information, implying passive
acceptance of decision made by others: The BRIDGE Project encouraged meetings
to be held at each school committee, and fathers’ and mothers’ council to discuss
the progress and concerns of activity implementation. Even though official discussions were limited to a number of members, educational issues discussed at themeetings were brought up at social events, such as wedding parties and weekendsgatherings, by community people involved at the meetings, including fathers andmothers.
４．Involvement through consultation on a particular issue: In a course of implementing pilot activities, many problems arose. When some conflicts between
schools and community occurred, they were solved individually through consultation with the school and community in the presence of a DEO.
５．Participation in the delivery of a service: Community people were actively involved in finding candidates for contract teachers. Male teachers are selected fromthe educated local community members. Female teachers were identified among
their family networks, such as a wife who grew up in the city and got married toa local man. Since teachers were located within the local networks, the people
feel they can trust them and are willing to send their daughters to schools, even
if the teachers are male.
６．Participation as implementers of delegated authority: Even though the core members of the school committee tend to be run by limited members, such as a headWhole School Development Initiative in Yemeni Basic Education: Lessons Learned from JICA Girls’ Education Project８５

teacher, community leaders and wealthy men, politically important men, the schoolcommittee has for the first time brought the school and community together withthe primary motive of improving the school.
５．Discussion and Conclusion
Since the implementation of the JICA BRIDGE Project began １８ months ago, theProject has achieved significant outputs and has made improvement in the schools involued. Reflecting on the past １８ months, the following five points are identified as
lessons learned based on analyses of school achievement and the authors’ field experiences.
１

The model of support for individual schools by allocating small grants makes asubstantial impact to mobilize and motivate the community and school to work together for improving their schools.

Establishment of school committee and fathers’ and mothers’ council at each pilot
school helps to create a forum to gather the school and community together for discussions about their own school and children’s education. This contributes to shorten
the gap between the school and the community. In addition, providing the school
grant directly to the schools creates a positive atmosphere showing that they are
trusted and valued. This helps to empower the school and the community to resolve
their own problems by themselves.
Whenever the BRIDGE Project team visits the school, the school is asked to invite key members of the school committee, such as the treasurer, internal auditor,and head of fathers’ and mothers’ councils. It is beneficial that the school can share
information and can avoid situations where the head teacher dominates all the decision−making by himself. Since the members are selected among the people, it helps
to create a democratic system. After continuing the regular monitoring for a year,
schools became accustomed to discussing the issues among the members by themselves.
２

Continuous follow up and provision of support from DEOs to schools is indis-

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pensable for schools’ successful implementation of pilot activities.

Building trusting relationships between DEOs and the school−community is thelargest and most valuable asset brought forward in the first １８ months of the Project.
Before the Project started, some DEOs had never visited their district pilot schools.
After a year, all the DEOs became fully aware of all the situations and issues intheir schools and were able to successfully resolve the issues, taking on a role asmediator. It has been good learning opportunities for the DEOs to develop tailor−made support according to different levels of schools.
The areas in which the JICA Project operates are usually remote and half abandoned, including sites in the middle of the deserts or on mountain tops. In the beginning, people were unable to trust the government and were unsure whether the
Project could really benefit them or otherwise. After repeated visits with continuous
communication and ongoing support throughout the year, the people started to feelthat they could trust what the Project is doing and have faith in the government.
Furthermore, schools and communities were not accustomed to managing such a fund.
Therefore, support from the DEOs helped them to build more confidence about what
they were doing.
３

Close and rigorous monitoring is essential to hold schools accountable and ensure value for public money.

JICA-GEO team visits all the pilot schools three times in one project year to approve school proposals and monitor the progress of pilot activities and proper use of
the funds. This frequent monitoring makes schools think seriously about the use of
the funds. It is also helpful for JICA−GEO team to identify problems before they
escalate into a crisis.
４

Capacity building of the head teachers is essential not only for implementationof the pilot activities, but also for linking pilot activities toward improving qualityof education.

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The BRIDGE Project proved to improve access to basic education by increasing
number of students’ enrolled and improving the school environment. However, one
challenge to be addressed by the end of the project period in November ２００８ is
how the Project can increasingly contribute to improving the quality of education.
Pilot activities tend to focus on improving the basic conditions of school infrastructure, such as building classroom and toilets, hiring teachers, and buying goods forschool. Schools and the communities tend to be satisfied with buying goods, building facilities, and hiring teachers. They are less interested in how to make use of
these new resources to improve the quality of education. To improve the school atmosphere so that students feel comfortable enough to learn and to improve teachers’
attitudes and teaching skills requires strong and effective leadership of head teachers.
The Project has begun to provide head teachers with training to increase their awareness of their responsibility for school improvement both in access and quality and toprovide practical skills to improve school management.
５

Lack of teachers is the most serious educational issue in rural and disadvantaged schools. A local teacher contracting system is one of the solutions. In addition, contracted local teachers are more efficient than deployed teachers from cities in rural and disadvantaged schools because they are known and trusted bycommunity people and could easily stay in the school community.

One hundred sixty−five teachers were hired by the BRIDGE Project in Year２，
showing that there is a huge demand for teachers. Selection criteria for contract
teachers are: i）the teacher should complete minimum of １０th grade, ii）the teacher
should come from the local community or be familiar with the local community; andiii）if both male and female could be identified, female teachers could be preferable
for appointment. Since these teachers were found and selected by the community
people, parents were encouraged to send their daughters to the school even though
they were male teachers. The most important point is not whether these teachers are
male or female, but whether they come from the same community and are familiar
to the parents. Even though ６３ female teachers is a smaller number than １０２ maleteachers, this number is remarkably large compared to the number of GEO female

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The BRIDGE experiences reveal the fact that female

teachers could be found from the local community.

Comparing the process of whole school development to driving, we can see that so
far the JICA Project has successfully brought a car, a metaphor for school mechanism
necessary for the implementation, to each pilot school. The Project has also provided
gasoline（school grant）to the car, and put a driver（a head teacher）in the driver’s seat.
However, what is missing is the road map for the driver. The goal is for the car toarrive at the destination where there is an improvement of “access of good quality”.
This study emphasizes the importance of policy coordination among and within different levels of government for the successful implementation of WSD. In Yemen, educational decentralization is still an on-going process. Clear definition of roles and responsibilities at each level of government is not yet determined, and financial decentralization is a process that reguires a long time to implement. Due to this, government
policy coordination is vital in the WSD approach. For instance, the JICA BRIDGE
Project hired nearly １８０ contracted teachers from the local communities. The government, such as the MOE, Ministry of Civil Services, and Governorate Education Office,should consider developing a sustainable policy and mechanism to provide training andmaintain the hiring of these contracted teachers in order to substitute the official
teacher employment policy. Without qualified teachers in the classrooms, it is not possible to provide education in remote areas and as a result, high quality of education
could be never achieved. One way that has already started is to hire qualified contract
teachers under the government payroll as official teachers. Another way could be tohire the BRIDGE contract teachers under substitute teacher employment system that isfunded at the local government level. In either way, the most important point is tokeep these contract teachers at the same school that they were originally hired.
Another example is the abolishment of school fees which began in school year
２００６−２００７ for female students from grade１to grade ６ and for male students from
grade １ to grade ３ ．The goal of this initiative is to attract students from poor families. However, an alternative financial arrangement for the schools has not been implemented. Schools used to keep ３０ percent of the school fees for their own activities,
but with the abolishment of fees, schools have now lost one of their financial re-Whole School Development Initiative in Yemeni Basic Education: Lessons Learned from JICA Girls’ Education Project８９sources. When the JICA project is over, schools will not enough any financial resources to maintain their activities. The MOE, Ministry of Finance, Governorate Education Office, and Local Councils should coordinate to arrange appropriate financial transfers to the school level and identify alternative resources to continue JICA’s efforts after the BRIDGE project ends. Achievements previously discussed have only justemerged. The school and community need to not only accumulate more years of experience until their efforts are rooted into the ground, but also need to receive strong
support from the Yemeni government.
Coordination at the GEO is also necessary if the JICA project to be expanded nationally. The Girls’ Education Unit at GEO is responsible for the implementation of
the project but the WSD process requires a range of expertise to monitor the progress.
It is necessary to include inspectors to monitor the quality of teaching, financial officers to monitor the accountability of school grants, community participation experts toraise the community awareness, and training experts to provide training to teachers andhead teachers.
In February of ２００７，ten high-level MOE officers conducted study visits to JICA
Project sites in Taiz, which was an indication that the MOE is examining the JICA
Project with an intention to expand it nationally. It is certainly encouraging to expand
the JICA BRIDGE model nationally as it is obvious from this study that the WSD approach used in the project has a significant contribution in achieving access to goodquality education. However, WSD does not become a silver bullet simply by introducing it into a model. There are no straightforward solutions to the education situation in
Yemen. Even if more responsibilities and resources were introduced at the school levels, strong government support is requisite to making schools fully functional and effective. The WSD approach is a process of learning that requires a great deal of time;
as such, patience and continuous support are key to its successful implementation.
Notes
Authors gratefully acknowledge the support and provision of information to the study from JICA-BRIDGE
experts, namely, Dr. Chiaki Kuranami, Prof. Tatsuo Kawashima, Mr. Shinichiro Tanaka, Ms. Emily Allardyce,
Ms. Aya Sonoda and Dr. Hamoud Seyani（Head of BEDS Technical Team），and JICA Human Development Department. This draft paper bene fited from comments recieved from Ms.Yumi Tokuda at JICA.

! EFA in Yemen is １００ percent of completion rate at grade６of basic education.

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第１
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" Eighty-two percent of the parents don’t know whether they respect their children’s teacher. Sixty-seven percent of the parents do not know whether they are willing to help the school or not. Eighty-three percent of
the parents do not know whether they must cooperate with community to improve education.

# Exchange rate as of November ２５，２００６：１USD＝１９８ YER
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