Summary of Terminal Evaluation
I.

Outline of the Project

Sector：Education-Basic Education

Project title：Project for Supporting Community
Initiative for Education Development (Phase 2)
Cooperation Scheme ： Technical Cooperation

Department in Charge：Basic Education Team 1,

Project
Cooperation

Basic Education Group, Human Development

evaluation）:

Country：Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Department

Amount （ At the time ofApproximately 348,059K yen

Cooperation Duration：September 2012– AugustCounterpart organizations：

2016

Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES)
Relevant Japanese organizations：
N/A
Relevant assistances：
N/A

1-1

Background and Outline of the Project

The Government of Lao P.D.R is striving for improving primary education. While Net Enrolment Ratehas risen to 92.7% (2010), only 71.1% of students complete the full 5 years of primary education due tohigh repetition and dropout. The Project for Supporting Community Initiatives for Primary Education
Development

in

the

Southern

Provinces

(CIED

I:

2007-2011)

supported

thetargetschools/districts/provinces to improve access to and quality of primary education based on School
Development Plan (SDP) formulated by the communities themselves. CIED I has shown effective SDP
planning and implementation cycle (SDP cycle) starting from participatory planning, implementation,then to review of SDP, and proved as an effective method for promoting better access to and quality ofschools. Over the Project period, improvement in access and quality were confirmed at the target
schools. However, the educational indicators in southern provinces, such as dropout and repetition rates,
are still much worse than those in the national average. Therefore, necessary countermeasures need tobe continuously taken for achieving the MDG’s indicators related to education in the area. For
improving the access and quality of education at the target area as a whole, local administrative
organizations, such us Provincial Education and Sports Service (PESS) and District Education andSports Bureau (DESB), need to promote SDP cycle at school level beyond the target districts of CIED I
project. Furthermore, increasing the schools that meet quality standard is a key for district to achieveaccess and quality indicators of primary education. With such backgrounds, the Project for Supporting
Community Initiative for Education Development (Phase 2) (CIED II) came to focus on further
strengthening of the capacity of educational administrative organizations, both at central and local
levels, for improving the access and quality of primary education by promoting SDP cycle by utilizing
the outcome of CIED project.
1-2 Contents of Cooperation(1) Overall Goal: Access and quality of primary education in the target provinces are improved.

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(2)

Project Purpose: Access and quality of primary education in the target districts are improved.

(3)

Outputs：
Output 1: Capacity of Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) for planning and implementing
training toward achieving Education Quality Standard (EQS) is strengthened.
Output 2: Appropriate measures based on situation analysis for achieving EQS are considered,
implemented and/or proposed by Provincial Education Service (PESS) and District Education
Bureau (DESB).
Output 3: Capacity of PESS and DESB to support schools for their implementation of School
Development Plan (SDP) is strengthened.

(4)

InputsJapanese side
Equipment:

US$109,603

Long-term Expert

2

Short-term Expert:

Trainees received:

14

Local Cost: US$417,255.68

5

Lao sideCounterpart: 57 (cumulative total at organizations at MoES)

43 (cumulative total at

PESS/DESB)
Office space for Project
Cost for training, monitoring, materials and equipment
II.

Evaluation Team

Members of

1. Mr. Sinichiro Tanaka

Senior Advisor (Education), JICA

Evaluation

2. Mr. Takuya Hakoda

Deputy Director, Basic Education Team 1, Basic Education
Group, Human Development Department, JICA

Team
3. Ms. Erika Tanaka

4. Mr. Kaygnasone NAVAMANE

Deputy Director, IFEAD

5. Mr. Sithat OUTHAYTHANYHead of Primary Division, DPPE

6. Mr. Sithong SIKHAO
Periodof
Evaluation

Senior Researcher, Global Link Management, Inc.

Head of Planning Division, DP

7. Mr. Khonesavanh KOUNLABOTH

Technical staff, Primary Division, DPPE

24 January 2016 – 14 February 2016

Type of Evaluation：Terminal Evaluation

III. Evaluation
3-1 Project Performance(1) Project purpose
Project Purpose: Access and quality of primary education in the target districts are improved.
(Indicators)
Average figures of the following education indicators of the target districts are improved from thebaseline- Net enrollment rate
- Net intake rate
- Survival ratexv

- Dropout rate
- Promotion rate
(Achievement) Achieved
The target level of Indicators is not specified in PDM. However, the indicators of NER (Net EnrollmentRate), NIR (Net Intake Rate), promotion rate, repetition rate and survival rate have been improving.
(2) Output
Output 1: Capacity of Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) for planning and implementing
training toward achieving Education Quality Standard (EQS) is strengthened.
(Indicator)
1-1 Revised training module(s) for achieving EQS is/are adopted by MoES as national standard.
1-2 In order to ensure the project outcomes to be sustainable, an official document is issued by MoES toclarify roles and responsibilities of relevant departments/institutes including budget lines.
1-3 80 % of PESS and DESB trainers who participated in TOT achieved the test scores (50% of total
scores or above).
(Achievement)
1-1 Almost achieved
All three training modules (School Management, VEDC (Village Education Development Committee),
Teaching and Learning) have been revised, incorporating the change from School of Quality (SoQ) to
EQS and the introduction of SBG. Further revisions are still necessary for some modules. These
revision works will be completed in June 2016.
1-2 Achieved
Two decrees were issued. The decree to appoint master trainers was issued as No. 0144/IFEAD dated
11.Jan, 2016 and the decree to approve SBM guideline was issued as No. 1345/IFEAD dated 08 Dec,
2015.
1-3 Achieved
According to the results of the pre-and post-tests during the TOT of School Management for
PESS/DESB trainers in January 2013, the percentage of PESS and DESB trainers who achieved the testscores of 50% or above is 82%.
Output 2: Appropriate measures based on situation analysis for achieving EQS are considered,
implemented and/or proposed by Provincial Education Service (PESS) and District Education
Bureau (DESB).
(Indicator)
2-1 Number of activities supporting lower performing schools in the District Education Development
Plan of the target districts are increased compared with numbers before the commencement of the
project.
2-2 Average score(s) of EQS components based on EQS assessment and monitoring format to be
developed in the activity1-4 in all the target districts is/are increased compared with average score(s)before the commencement of the project.

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(Achievement)
2-1 Achieved
Several activities were newly introduced to support lower-performing schools in the district education
development plan in the target districts. In general, each district introduced three new activities andimplements them based on their own planning.
2-2

To be achieved

The average of EQS scores of six dimensions of all primary schools in target districts have been
increased in most of districts. In Lakhonpheng and Khongxedon, both in Salavan Province, the averagescore of EQS at the end-line survey is lower than that of the baseline survey. In the end-line survey, outof ten districts, seven districts recorded the score in learning and teaching (dimension 2) lower than thatof baseline survey. It may be possible that they realized the meaning of learning and teaching after the
training/workshop during the Project and, consequently, gave a low mark in learning and teaching by
self-assessment, conducted at most schools, at the end-line survey. In the end-line survey, it is found outthat schools that participated in both VEDC training and teacher training increased EQS scores.
Output 3: Capacity of PESS and DESB to support schools for their implementation of School
Development Plan (SDP) is strengthened.
(Indicator)
Score(s) of EQS components in lower performing schools are increased compared with score(s) before
the commencement of the project.
(Achievement) Achieved
In the end-line survey, the data of EQS scores were collected for 100 lower-performing schools
extracted by random sampling out of 333 lower performing schools. The average EQS scores ofsampled 100 lower performing schools are significantly improved in all 10 districts. The difference of
EQS scores between average schools and lower performing schools is diminished at the end-line survey
as compared to that of the baseline survey. This shows that the support focused on lower performing
schools have achieved benefit in improving EQS scores.
(3) Overall Goal
Overall Goal: Access and quality of primary education in the target provinces are improved.
(Indicator)
Education indicators in the target provinces reach ESDP (Education Sector Development Plan) targets
consistent with MoES projections(Achievement) Likely to be partially achieved
The indicators of NER and NIR are achieved as expected in most provinces. The indicators regarding
quality, i.e., promotion rate, repetition rate, and survival rate, are not achieved in some provinces. It
should be pointed out that the average provincial indicators are lower than those in target districts inmost cases. In Champasack Province, most indicators have been achieved in most districts except for
Soukhouma as well as at provincial level, while in Sekong and Salavan Provinces, the target level ofindicators have not been achieved both in target districts and at provincial level, except NIR and NER.

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One factor to explain this may be the economic situation. In Sekong and Salavan, the level of poverty issaid to be more serious than Champasack Province.
3-2 Summary of Evaluation Results(1) Relevance
Relevance of the Project is high.
-In Lao P.D.R, primary education is still a priority sector. The education development plan of Lao
P.D.R, "Education and Sports Sector Development Plan (ESDP) 2016-2020" states that highdropout and repetition rates especially in Grade 1 are serious issues. ESDP also describes that
School-Based Management (SBM) is a key to improve primary education. To promote SBM, theneeds for capacity development of VEDC and teachers, including principal, are high. Also there
are still some lower performing schools that especially need adequate support.

-

The target districts of the Project were carefully selected among four provinces in southern area,with consideration to education indicators and geographical coverage by cooperation by CIED I
and programs of other development partners. In ESDP it is expected that schools have physical andhuman resources to equitably improve student learning outcomes (Outcome 4) throughintroduction of school-based management.

-

The Project also aims to contributing to one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), that is,to ensure inclusive and quality education for all (Goal 4).

-

In Japanese ODA policy toward Lao P.D.R, there are four priority areas and one of them isimprovement of education and human resources development. In the rolling plan under this policy,
there are two programs in education and human resources development. One is basic education
improvement program, and CIED II is included in this program.

-

The Project adopts SBM approach. In this approach, emphasis is placed on the management at
school level. Through taking major problems and causes from school level into district andprovincial education development planning, together with management of district, provincial, andcentral levels, the Project aims at improving access and quality of primary education. The
achievement of EQS and education statistics in target districts shows that this approach has bought
benefits.

-

The Project was formulated based on the experiences and outcome of CIED I. In CIED II,emphasis is placed on capacity development of provinces and districts in addition to schools toimprove primary education through further expansion of the outcome of CIED I in terms of quality
and geographical area.

(2) Effectiveness
Effectiveness is high.
-Project Purpose is achieved. According to the end-line survey, indicators of Project Purpose, i.e.,
NER, NIR, promotion rate, repetition rate and survival rate, have been improving.

-

As one factor related to effectiveness, it is observed that accuracy of EQS data may be an issue forthose concerned to the Project. First, EQS data are practically based on self-assessment at schoolxviii

level although it is expected that PESS/DESB conduct EQS assessment in their daily work. Also it
is found out during the interview at one school that there is discrepancy between the data collectedby the school and those recorded at the district level. It seems that some handling error occurs at
some stage in data collection and recording. In addition, the terminal evaluation found that EQS
indicators are not ideal to appropriately assess the education situations.
-

Logic from Output to Project Purpose is appropriate. There are three components in the project
design. The first component is to strengthen the administration at MoES level (Output 1), thesecond one is to capacity development at provincial and district level (Output 2 & 3), and the third,
strengthening of capacity at school level (Output 3). All these components are necessary to
improve access and quality of primary education.

-

There is not much influence of Important Assumptions.

(3) Efficiency
Efficiency is high.
-The Indicators of Output are achieved or being almost achieved.

-

Logic from Input, Activity, to Output is appropriate. Sufficient activities were designed andimplemented, and sufficient inputs have been implemented to conduct activities. However, thenumber of VEDC trained by the Project is not so many. The Project put focus on lower performing
schools to maximize the effects with relatively small scale inputs. Though it may not be an activity"in addition to PDM", collaboration with development partners has been actively implemented.

-

There is not much influence of Important Assumptions to produce Outputs.

-

Inputs are made appropriately to produce outputs.

-

The dispatch of Japanese experts is appropriate. All the experts have adequate expertise and arehighly committed. In the course of Project progress, to further expand the project outputs, expertson system development and training implementation facilitation support were dispatched inaddition to the Experts initially planned. Experts are dispatched on a short-term basis, except
coordinator. C/P personnel conducts their tasks on their own during absence of experts in Lao
P.D.R. Equipment was adequately supplied in general. Training activities in Lao P.D.R were
implemented as planned. The participants in Training in Japan learned education management,
monitoring & evaluation, and teaching method, and they utilize the knowledge in their daily work,
according to interview. Necessary cost is provided adequately by the Japanese side.

-

The Lao C/P has been allocated constantly and appropriately. When personnel reshuffle took place,new person was assigned. Most C/Ps are highly motivated and have adequate expertise. Materials
and equipment provided by Lao side were appropriate.

(4) Impact
Impact is medium at the time of the terminal evaluation.
-

The target of indicators of Overall Goal is likely to be partially achieved. The indicators of NER
and NIR are achieved as expected in most provinces. The indicators regarding quality such as
promotion rate, repetition rate, survival rate, are not achieved in some provinces. Some indicators

xix

are not likely to be achieved even in the projection in 2018-2019. It should be pointed out that the
average provincial EQS scores are lower than those in target districts in most cases. It may be said
that this is because there are certain benefits in target districts through the Project intervention but
the benefits have not been expanded at provincial level.
-

One important factor to achieve Overall Goal is dissemination of activities to non-target districts
with the initiative of PESS. Incorporating dissemination activities in provincial education
development plan, including the budget, will promote the process in the future. While thepercentage of the school that submit SDP has been increased by 30% point (63% - 93%) in target
districts, interview and workshop during the terminal evaluation revealed that there are still someschools that are not able to do so. The status of submission of SDP is even worse in non-target
districts in target provinces. Strengthening the development of SDP through DESB in non-target
districts with the initiative of PESS will contribute to improvement of EQS in the future. One
VEDC interviewed has not participated in VEDC training but they mention that they visit nearby
school that receives support from external organization to share experiences. This kind of
exchange among communities will promote dissemination of the project benefits.

-

The level of performance of non-target areas may be an inhibiting factor. As shown in the resultsof the end-line survey, the tendency is that education statistics in province are lower than those intarget districts. To achieve the Overall Goal at provincial level, it is necessary to improve thesituation of non-target districts. Furthermore, improvement of education depends on many external
factors as well, for example, poverty level and migration of parents. These external factors may be
inhibiting factors.

-

The logic from Project Purpose to Overall Goal, namely, district level to provincial level, isadequate in itself. As to the achievement level of indicators, it is probable that the target level of
NIR and NER is already achieved at the time of terminal evaluation. However, it seems difficult toachieve the target level of indicators related to quality, i.e., repetition rate, dropout rate, andsurvival rate, in some districts and provinces, taking into consideration the current status and the
projection of 2018-19. The target level of Indicators of Overall Goal was defined in line with thenational target, which is totally appropriate. However, it may be reasonable to examine the realistic
target level of Overall Goal.

-

There is not much influence of Important Assumptions to achieve Overall Goal. Meanwhile, it isreported that other development partners schedule to provide support in the area of EQS/SDP/SBM
in the target provinces and districts of CIED II, and it is anticipated that, by 2020, in total of 31
districts across 4 provinces may have received support. As such, it would not be reasonable torecognize that overall goal achievement is made only by CIED II benefit, therefore reconsiderationof indicator definition may be necessary (see he discussion in the recommendation section).

-

There is clear impact on access of primary education, according to the end-line survey. The
indicators of quality have not been achieved in some target districts. However, during the fieldsurvey of the terminal evaluation, some commented that more parents send their children to school
thanks to encouragement by VEDC and that children are more interested in class after the training
for teachers on teaching methodology. This tendency may lead to impact on education quality inxxthe future. In addition, School Management Module Volume 1 and Teaching and Learning Manualare currently utilized at Teacher Training College and School Management Module Volume 2 isplanned to be introduced. Therefore, there will be a positive impact on pre-service teacher training
in the future.
-

As a result of collaboration among MoES and development partners, SBM Guidelines and Training
Modules have been developed and approved by MoES. Also SBM Single Nation-wide plan isbeing developed among MoES and development partners. In addition, under SBM programs
implemented under BEQUAL (Basic Education Quality and Access in Lao P.D.R) and GPE II,
master trainers are planned to be trained.

-

Some unexpected positive impacts are reported. At MoES, working structure in collaboration
among several relevant organizations has been established. As coordination among development
partners progresses, terminologies on SBM and related matters are in the process of unification
among development partners.

-

There is a concern that introduction of SBM activities may lead to more workload for community,
however, there is no report on this at the moment, according one official interviewed. As to thisissue, if it happens, close communication among community people and school, together withDESB officials when necessary, will mitigate negative impacts.

(5) Sustainability
Sustainability is expected to some extent.
-

It is likely that policy support will continue. The current ESDP, which emphasizes the importanceof SBM and teacher training among others, covers the period up to 2020. Also GPE II covers theperiod up to 2019.

-

In organizational aspect, C/P organizations are planning to continue to implement activities
introduced by the Project. In Thateng District in Sekong Province, which was target district in
CIED I and is not included in CIED II target, DESB is continuously implement training with theirown initiative and budget. To continue activities, it is necessary to incorporate the activities intheir development plan together with budget.

-

The financial foundations of MoES are not very strong. The budget of their own is not always
sufficient. However, during the period of GPE II, it is expected that MoES is provided with
sufficient budget to promote SBM. Most of VEDC do not have sufficient budget at the moment toimplement their planned activities to improve schools, for example, constructing pre-school class.
However, it is possible to implement their activities more effectively through improvement ofplanning capacity and efficient utilization of available resources.

-

SBM is supported by GPE II up to 2019. The prospect after GPE II is not very clear at the moment
but a majority of development partners are considering continuous support to Lao education sector.

-

General election is planned to take place in April-May 2016 and MoES is under the process oflarge-scale organizational reform. However, there will not be major changes in the working
procedure, according to interview.

-

In technical aspect, trainers are trained and the management capacity of PESS and DESB officialsxxi

is improving. School principals and teachers improved their capacity in management and/or
teaching through training/workshop during the Project. Interview and observation during theterminal evaluation revealed some issues, however, for example, it seems that some VEDCs do nothave clear understanding on the methodology of formulation of SDP, and their ability to formulatea plan based on data and facts is still weak.
-

SBM Training Module is under development in collaboration among MoES and development
partners. Utilization of this Module will help utilization of knowledge and techniques acquired
through SBM during CIED II.

-

One concern is personnel turnover. Staff turnover sometimes takes place at PESS and DESB. Some
VEDC have member change quite frequently.

3-3 Factors promoting better sustainability and impact(1) Factors concerning to Planning-

The Project is focused on support for lower-performing schools that were identified in situation
analysis during the annual district education development planning process.

(2) Factors concerning to the Implementation Process-

A majority of trainers had high motivation and capacity.

-

With the initiative of VEDC, communities are encouraging parents to send their children. In
addition, teachers provide extra class for slow learners. Some district officials, including
Pedagogical Advisors, visit schools for monitoring. These efforts contribute to improving
education indicators, such as NER, repetition rate, and dropout rate. Some schools and districts
incorporate these activities into SDP and/or district education development plan. It will beeffective to further strengthen the development of an education plan in a consistent manner fromschool to district and provincial levels, with improved quality of the plans.

-

Several activities of technical assistance. In regard to EQS scores, the tendency is that schools thatparticipated in both VEDC training and teacher training increased EQS scores. Many of thoseinterviewed comment that one-time training is not enough for capacity development and follow-up
after training promotes the effect. At school level, internal supervision (internal peer training
facilitated by principal) is also effective.

-

Good relations between community and school promote improvement of school. Through the fieldsurvey, it is considered that the leadership of VEDC is a key for good performance of school.
Many point out administration capacity of principal as a promoting factor for school improvement.

3-4 Factors inhibiting better sustainability and impact(1) Factors concerning to Planning
Nothing special.
(2) Factors concerning to the Implementation Process-

Some officials do not fully understand SBM approach yet. For example, some local officialsxxii

implement policy in a "top-down" manner without giving much consideration to community
request, according to interview.
-As possible inhibiting factor in the future, there are still only a few master trainers at central level
who can conduct training on development of provincial education plan. Furthermore, almost halfof total schools in target districts have not received VEDC training. Also it is reported that sometrained personnel at PESS and DESB were relocated to other province. During the project period,
new personnel are replaced and this does not cause much problem.

3-5 Conclusion
The Project has been implemented smoothly as planned.
Relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency are high. Impact is medium because the achievement of
indicators, especially those related to education quality, is slower than expected. As to sustainability,
although there is concern in financial aspect, it is expected that relevant stakeholders continue SBM
with their own initiative and with support by development partners when necessary.
Although there are some remaining issues in impact on quality of education as well as in sustainability,
expected Outputs and Project Purpose achieved, therefore, the Project will be completed as planned.
3-6 Recommendations(1) Utilization of human resources developed through CIED II
Through CIED II, human resources have been developed at MoES, PESS, and DESB, who can takeappropriate responses and support according to different needs and capacity of schools. As these humanresources are important assets to promote SBM, Lao government is strongly recommended to utilize
them in planning and implementing SBM at the Ministry, provincial, and district levels as well as intraining for district, village, and schools. It is also recommended that these human resources take aleading role in GPE II implementation as well.
(2) Further capacity development
While the majority of trained personnel have developed capacity as expected, some still need further
capacity development. To further strengthen the implementation of SBM, it is recommended tostrengthen capacity of relevant organizations and personnel in the remaining period of the Project aswell as after the completion of the Project.
It is necessary that MoES, PESS, and DESB make efforts to continue activities introduced by the
Project. It is especially important to develop capacity of provincial and district trainers, including
pedagogical advisors, who are engaged in training activities on the ground. It is expected that thiscapacity building be implemented in collaboration with master trainers and based on the ministerial
decree on SBM-guidelines.
It is important to conduct follow-up regularly after training. For example, it is recommendable that
district officials and district trainers conduct follow-up and monitoring to schools and VEDC. Internal
supervision conducted at school facilitated by principal is also effective.
As staff turnover is reported at provincial, district and village levels, it is effective to establish a system
to train personnel who are newly assigned to the organization with the responsibility of respectivexxiii

organization. In regard to staff turnover, it is recommended that the government further encourageremaining personnel, as well as replaced staff, to continuously implement activities as resource person
for training.
In regard to capacity development, focus should be placed on the improvement of quality of education,for example, conducting training for teachers on learning & teaching and encouraging teachers toprovide extra class for slow learners.
JICA will continue to provide technical assistance to be coordinated under the JICA Education Policy
Advisor as appropriate. Also, if it is necessary, additional short-term experts in monitoring phase will bedispatched under coordination with other development partners.
(3) Provincial and District Education Development Plan
It is essential to further strengthen the development of provincial and district education development
plan, through incorporation of data and facts at school presented in SDP. Necessary activities, including
those related capacity building above mentioned, should be clearly and regularly incorporated inprovincial and district education development plan together with budget.
To consolidate budget sources, it is recommended to secure financial foundations, combining
governmental budget and funds by development partner to finance activities related to EQS/SDP/SBM.
Possible financial sources by development partner include district grant supported by BEQUAL, GPE
II, and UNICEF, as well as funds supported by other development partners..
(4) Monitoring of SBM based on EQS
To promote quality SBM, it is effective to support school in planning and implementing SDP in
accordance with EQS. To materialize such support, it is recommendable to formalize school support for
SDP planning and implementation as a part of regular tasks of school monitoring by district officials
and pedagogical advisors, and to allocate budget to mobilize them in district plan.
(5) Review of EQS
EQS is utilized as an effective tool to assess access and quality of education. It is preferable to improvethe utilization of EQS indicators.
In most cases, EQS monitoring is conducted by self-assessment when utilized by schools, therefore, it isnecessary to train teachers and district officials on assessment methodology as objective as possible.
This should be included in the training for principals and district officials, including pedagogicaladvisors and in follow-up that district officials provide to school. It is suggested that personnel trained
by CIED II at MoES, provincial, and district levels take a leading role in these activities.
The terminal evaluation found that there is still some room to make EQS user-friendly. It is
recommendable to improve EQS, utilizing the ideas and experiences of provincial and district officials
trained in the Project. It is also necessary to discuss this issue with relevant stakeholders anddevelopment partners.
(6) SBM Implementation in the framework of GPE II
It is expected that SBM activities be continued and strengthened by the initiative of Lao relevantorganizations, and support by GPE II will help facilitate this process. It is strongly recommended toutilize human resources developed through CIED II so that these trained personnel can continue SBM
activities in the framework of GPE II.

xxiv

GPE II covers the period up to 2019, therefore, it is necessary that MoES starts considering the future
plan to continue SBM within the period of GPE II. It is recommendable to formulate a plan, simulatingnecessary activities and their cost, well before GPE II terminates.
(7) Additional Indicator for Overall Goal
In the current PDM, the target level of Indicators for Overall Goal are defined as five education
indicators, that is, NER, NIR, survival rate, dropout rate, and promotion rate The target level ofindicators are set in line with the national target. Three issues can be pointed out for the Indicators of
Overall Goal. First, the target level is too ambitious, taking the current status and projection into
consideration. Second, these Indicators do not clearly reflect the benefit of CIED II after the completionof the project period. Third, out of 37 districts across the four provinces of CIED II target, 31 districts
are planned to be supported by either BEQUAL or GPE II, consequently, it would not be reasonable torecognize that changes in provincial indicators in the future are the consequences of CIED II. Therefore,
it is recommended to introduce additional indicator to complement the current ones to assess the impact
of CIED II. It is preferable that the additional indicator is something to reflect the activities of CIED II
more directly. Suggestions are; the number of SDP presented to DESB as well as number of activities todevelop SDP and number of participants in the activities in 10 districts of CIED II target.
3-7 Lessons Learned(1) Importance of SBM approach
In SBM approach, emphasis is placed on the management at school level, through taking major
problems and causes from school level into district and provincial education development planning andmanagement. The achievement of EQS and education statistics in target districts at the end-line survey
shows that this approach is effective in producing benefits in access and quality of primary education.
(2) Focus on lower performing schools
In target districts, there is a huge difference among the situations of schools in terms of access, quality
and management. In the current Lao education situations, many schools suffer problems such as highrepetition and dropout. It is necessary to improve the situation of lower performing schools to improvethe education situation as a whole. With this backdrop, the Project has been implementing activities
with focus on lower performing schools. According to the end-line survey, the average EQS scores oflower performing schools have been significantly improved and the difference of average EQS scores
between lower performing schools and all primary schools has been decreasing. This implies that
focusing on lower performing schools is effective and efficient way to produce benefits and improveeducation situation.
(3) Importance of VEDC training and teacher training
In the end-line survey, the average EQS scores of lower performing schools that participated in VEDC
training and teacher training were improved. Considering that all school principals received School
Management Training, this means that additional training to teachers and VEDC, who really work on
learning-teaching and participating in school development planning, will bring benefit to lower
performing schools.
Such practice of identifying disadvantaged schools to provide additional support for the personnelxxv

directly in charge of lesson provision and SDP preparation is effective to bring the schools out of thelower performing group, and is also effective to improve equity. This is in line with the SDG4
(Sustainable Development Goal4) goal that prioritizes both of the learning and equity(4) Dissemination to non-target area
One VEDC interviewed during the terminal evaluation has not received VEDC training but they visited
nearby school to learn methodology of development of SDP. This kind of exchange among communities
will be useful to disseminate experiences. Also these exchange activities can be introduced todisseminate experiences of target area to non-target area. It may be recommendable that local
administrative body, such as DESB or PESS in the case of this Project, has initiative to promoteexchange activities.
(5) Additional dispatch of Japanese experts
In the Project, system development expert was dispatched to support EMIS. This facilitated clear
appropriate data collection and analysis, which was an urgent issue to assess the achievement of EQS.
The dispatch of these experts was not included in the original plan. Additional dispatch of experts withadequate expertise in line with the needs of the Project is effective.

xxvi